What really happened after our first date is that we never stopped spending time together. We jumped head first into each other's lives. And what an adventure it has been!

Before naturopathic medical school, Chris had lived all over - Lake Tahoe, Chicago, England, New York City, France, North Carolina, Missouri, and, when we met, Portland, OR.

He had been a soldier, a perpetual student, a musician, a fitness coach, a writer, seriously considered monastic life, and I'm sure that I'm missing about a dozen other things. He is more of the dreamer, risk-taker, adventurer, wild one.

I have lived in the Pacific Northwest in Washington state my whole life. I was working in dentistry, raising a family, had life-long friendships, and, at the time, I was really just enjoying my life with my girls.

In my adult life, I carried ALL of the responsibilities - head of the school PTA, led the Girl Scout troop, organized the girls' softball association, ran the marketing and all the meetings and planning... Can anyone say "burn out"?

We got married a couple of years after we met, and we are living our happily ever after ;)

But, it hasn't come without some huge challenges and surprises. Like I said, it's been an adventure. While we are different in some ways, we are both growth-minded, eternally curious and love to learn, and value our family, faith, fitness, and fun (maybe that sounds cheesy but it's true!).

During his third year in naturopathic medical school, on the downslope to finishing his doctorate, Chris made the hard decision to walk away from his medical career. He was a great student and loved what he was learning, but it became undeniably clear that the right choice for him and our family was to leave his medical career behind.

It probably goes without saying, but this was scary for us. He'd been working for 10 years towards that dream and was almost finished! We had no idea what was next! Looking back, we are so thankful that things worked out the way they did, but it was a leap of faith into the unknown at the time.

WHAT THAT DECISION GAVE US WAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO REASSESS WHAT WE REALLY VALUE AND WHAT WE WANT OUR LIVES TO LOOK LIKE AND BE ABOUT.

So, there we were, both in our late 30s and standing in the middle of basically starting over. We had conversations. We prayed. We cried and worried and felt overwhelmed.

Meanwhile, I was still working full-time in dentistry and feeling increasingly pulled to a different season of life. I had this growing desire to SLOW LIFE WAY DOWN and MOVE INTO A MUCH MORE FULFILLING WAY OF LIVING.

As we navigated the uncertainty, I witnessed Chris really grow as a man, husband, and father. I don't know how else to say it but that God was at work in his life (that's how he would describe it). It's been amazing to see.

He started driving trucks while we figured it all out, which was obviously not ideal, but it was part of the adventure.

Gradually, the atmosphere in our home and marriage shifted in beautiful ways, and a handful of priorities began to emerge.

It became clear that the lifestyle we want doesn't fit into the '9-5' box.

What we wanted was time! Time with our family, time with each other and our friends, and time doing things that we want to do.

Another important priority was impact. In 20 or 30 years from now, what will be important to us when we look back? The ways we bettered the lives of those around us - living well, serving well, loving well, and leading well. It's about leaving our corner of the world better than how we found it - for our kids and grandkids (someday) and for other families.

However cliche it may sound, freedom and sovereignty emerged as important values for us. For us, that looks like physical and emotional health, having land and growing healthy, yummy food, building strong relationships with other like-minded families, traveling, making happy memories, and not being reliant on an employer or a 9-5 job to make it all work.

I am now home full-time after 18 years in dentistry with our precious baby Dottie and my two older girls, Dylan and Edie.

We are launching a family leadership academy that equips young people and their families to live well.

I get the privilege of supporting women in pregnancy, home birth, and postpartum as a birth keeper.

And we have an online business that matches up seamlessly with the things we wanted and are creating. We can now work from anywhere, build a legacy for our family, create true generational wealth, and help other families do the same.

WHAT WE FOUND TO CREATE THAT REALITY WAS AN ONLINE BUSINESS THAT ALIGNED WITH OUR VALUES AND DIDN'T REQUIRE US TO SACRIFICE OUR INTEGRITY

Building a brand around our passions, who we are, and a message that aligns with our core values.

The truth is, we didn't have a huge social media following, had zero experience with running an online business, and no experience with digital marketing.

We have learned the valuable skill set we need to succeed along the way with some coaching from others who have been successful in this space, earning as we go.

WE HAVE A VISION.

WE HAVE A MISSION.

To encourage and facilitate sovereignty and show other families how to live freely and prosper in all areas of life - health, relationships, and finances.