Our Journey

Ben and I met through a (wonderful) mutual friend our senior year in high school. Ben had been bugging Katrina for weeks to meet the girl in the photo on her 3 ring binder before she finally gave in! We were introduced over the phone and talked for hours across the span of 6 days before we went on our first date (March 20, 1999). Even before I met him in person, I knew he was the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with. Here is an excerpt from my journal dated March 22, 1999:

"...It's like he holds all the missing puzzle pieces to my life...the first time I heard his voice I felt like I'd been waiting all my life for him...and now he's here."

The rest, as they say, is history. We dated for two and a half years before we were married on September 8, 2001...one of the best days of my life!

Over the last 8 years, we bought our first house (our current home), raised two adorable puppies (Bailey and Beaumont), completed our Bachelors degrees, advanced our careers with a national insurance company and traveled as much as our vacation and bank account would allow! These were all things we wanted to accomplish before starting our family...and as of last Spring (2008) there was only one item left to cross off the list...a trip to EUROPE!!! We dreamed and planned for months on end until the day finally arrived to board the plane...destination - ITALY! We spent 10 incredible days touring Rome, Sorrento/Amalfi Coast, Florence and Venice before spending another 10 amazing days touring the southern half of IRELAND...just the two of us. It was more spectacular than we ever dreamed it would be!

Although we were devestated to be leaving the adventure of a lifetime behind to resume our normal lives, we were thrilled to know we would be returning home to embark on a new adventure...starting a family!!!

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Now, as I re-live the beginning of our journey, 16 short, but oh so very looong months ago...I long to travel back in time and warn my naive self about the devestating heartache that lies ahead...