our giant adventure

i am kristin, he is joe. we are the giants, welcome to our adventure.

[ourgiantadventure]

ForTen Minutes a Day.

8:21am 01/05/2020

The last time I updated this blog I had just started my second trimester of pregnancy with my now 3.5 year old. I just read back a few frames, remembering the secretive nature of it all, so afraid that I would lose another pregnancy.

And now I’m two kids in. Francis is 1.5 and larger than life. Last night Joe and I celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary and our 10 year dating anniversary. It seems unfathomable now that we’ve been married longer than we dated, because it felt like we’d dated for soooo long before Joe proposed. When really I was just so ready for the things I have now.

And I think that’s what this first new post is about.

“As a woman in her thirties its hard not to encounter beautiful scripted prints/napkins/notebooks/phone cases that say something along the lines of notice that the things you have now are the things you so desperately prayed for before.”

To me there’s a real sting to this trite saying because I’ve always struggled to find joy in the joyous times. Its in the longing and fighting for that I feel most connected to God and to myself and to who I’m striving to be, and then when I get the things I prayed and longed for there tends to be a period of letdown. Not that it’s not everything I hoped it would be! I think its just destination ennui...if you idealize that destination too much you’re disproportionately disappointed by the rainy days.

So I’m restarting this blog, Our Giant Adventure, about 6 years after anyone has any reason to blog. Because this exercise in sharing our lives with those “back home” taught me gratitude and reflection, two things that I’m missing more than I’d like to admit in this stage of life.

So prepare to welcome a few things:

1) 10 minutes a day of stream of conscious style writing/reflection

2) Periodic life updates about the kiddos, Joe, and myself hopefully with lots of great photos

3) Some articles/quotes/blogs that I’m finding inspiration from if that feels relevant or important to share

One of the most grounding things about this space 4 years ago was that I really knew my audience was invested in me and us. Cheering our reality on, not just a version of our reality. So I hope that coming back to that feels like coming home.

I’m grateful for the chance to share our world with the people that I love.

[ourgiantadventure]

When words fail for good reason.

Words have always come naturally to me, but for months these particular words have been stuck in my throat.

The words are too swollen with goodness, bursting with redemption, and overflowing with weight (both literal and metaphorical):

I am pregnant. Joe and I are expecting a baby.

In November we were given tough odds for conceiving naturally. We were staring down the word “no” in all directions. So we turned our eyes and hearts to the Lord. We asked for prayers as we processed the news. We held hands as we prepared to step forward together into this new journey of the unknown. We were ready to shift our thinking, to accept the will of God independent of our own desires.

And then I was staring in disbelief at a positive pregnancy test. Our lives were turned upside down in that moment. Our simplest dream - to start a family together - had begun to seem like an impossibility. And now here we are. Holding the dream in our hands/my body.

Today I am in my second trimester. In fact, today I was looking in the mirror and thought to myself, “Geeze, I look like I’m in my second trimester.” And then...I realized I’m here. We made it past both of our previous loss milestones. We’ve seen a beautiful ultrasound image and heard the perfect, strong heartbeat. We’ve shed tears of joy and tears of fear and I’ve shed my fair share of tears of emotional confusion and survivor’s guilt. But mostly the joyful kind.  Especially whenever I think about the incredible dad that our baby is going to have. Or the incredible aunts and grandparents. Or Marc being an uncle (whoops crying now).

Our miracle baby is set to arrive earth-side on September 3, 2016. He or she will be born in Indiana. Their whole life their story will start with being born in Indiana. But they’ll always be a product of our time and love in Minnesota...made in Minnesota if you will. And what an incredible end to our time there.

You might be starting to count major life milestones and realizing that they’re adding up pretty quickly! 1) Cross-country move; 2) New job; 3) Baby on the way; 4) Living apart from each other for months; 5) Buying a house (what? oh yea, we’re doing that, too). We’re hoping that will be the extent of it for now. We want to be able to slow down long enough to really enjoy these moments together, and this precious time of carrying life on the inside.

So now that the inside news is out in the world I’ll be sharing periodic updates here! I’m excited to document and remember this new time in our giant adventure! And even more excited to welcome the newest adventurer later this year!

Love to you all.

Kristin and Joe and infant baby G

[ourgiantadventure]

Post hip-hop glow with my fave intern extraordinaire Hazel!! The soundtrack to tonight's class was pretty much 2001 prom. Oddly, my moves have actually improved! I was still no @libraryisopen though, obvi. #isitworthitletmeworkit #missyelliott #hazelsgotmoves #ifeltold

[ourgiantadventure]

Found a quiet spot with big, tall trees surrounding me to bundle up and watch the sunrise this morning. 17* but steadily climbing, and maybe I'm not ready for this wild ride of a winter to be over yet anyway! #ourgiantadventure #indianasunrise

[ourgiantadventure]

Do I work for the coolest company or what?!? #FWDC #Repost @fwdancecollective with @repostapp. ・・・ Don't miss @axisdanceco performing acclaimed choreographer Joe Goode's (of @joegoodeperformancegroup) "to go again" along with two other original works for one-night-only at the Arts United Center on Saturday, March 12th. The San Francisco Chronicle raves, "You come away from Goode’s work feeling that dancing is the most therapeutic way of combating the sorrows of the world." Buy your tickets today by calling 260.424.6574, or visit FWDC.org

[ourgiantadventure]

Found a 👌 cinnamon roll this morning! Baby steps, made much easier by having my valentine here as my co-explorer. ❤️ #ourgiantadventure #fortwayneindiana (at Zinnia's Bakehouse)

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Last night was the #fwdcsweetheartdance at work, I was so excited to bring mystery heart Joe! We both got a bit teary-eyed watching these sweet, talented kids dance and play and hangout in such a safe, welcome, and empowering atmosphere! Plus root beer floats! 😍 #dreamjob (at Fort Wayne Dance Collective)

[ourgiantadventure]

The faces of my people haphazardly arranged on a cork board is what makes a house a home (or an office a home) // Today was good. Yesterday was good. I miss my husband, but these days are good. The fit is 🙌, the people are👌, and the blessings are abundant 🙏. #ourgiantadventure #nostandingonlydancing

[ourgiantadventure]

This space is part of my new home in Fort Wayne, IN. This morning I took a sunrise yoga class RIGHT HERE in our studios before rinsing off and digging in to big things in my office the next room over! #Dreams. #Goals. Yes!! #ourgiantadventure (at Fort Wayne Dance Collective)

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I live here now. Great first day! #ourgiantadventure #fortwayneindiana (at Fort Wayne, Indiana)

[ourgiantadventure]

A perfect send-off from some of my most favorite people on this planet. Thanks for hosting @hannaloraine! My heart is full from the love of my Mpls tribe and now I'm ready to go make a new home in Indiana. Blessings on blessings on blessings. One way flight in the morning! ✈️ #sotagoodbyes #thisisit #seeyoulaternotgoodbye (at Minneapolis, Minnesota)

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Bowling and not crying in public. Two things I'm doing just okay at tonight 😭. #sotagoodbyes #ourgiantadventure (at Bryant Lake Bowl & Theater)

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#tbt Our second weekend as Minnesota residents we went to a county fair in New Ulm, MN (home of August Schell Brewing Company) and Joe met this goat and was still Charleston tan. I am getting so excited to explore new parts of the country all spring and summer from our new INDIANA home base! #ourgiantadventure (at New Ulm, Minnesota)

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One last romantic skyway rendezvous with my handsome city planner. We ate Indian, did some window shopping, held hands, and got excited about our next lunchtime walk to be in Fort Wayne!!! #sotagoodbyes #thegiantfam #hateleavinghim #minneapolis #skyway (at Northstar Center)

[ourgiantadventure]

This city was never meant to be the final destination for us. I think one of my proudest accomplishments in life so far is that, despite knowing we wouldn't be here forever, we still dug-in deep, fell in love with the place and the people, and put down roots. We loved every day as it was given to us (even if it was -15), and enjoyed every edge of this city, and most edges of this state. We lived like we were on permanent vacation: eating out an ungodly amount, drinking an even more ungodly amount, ice skating and bar-hopping and day-tripping and sightseeing and picture snapping and piano dueling and staying out late and walking with our mouths open in the snow and biking and hiking and marathoning. We walked on a frozen Great Lake, we went canoe camping, we saw every pro sport there was to see (except hockey-no regrets), we tasted every cheese curd and local brew. We ate at Nye's roughly once a month and we ate at The Nook roughly once a week. I saw nearly every small town in the state and had meals with locals, while Joe was presenting in front of the mayor and city council. We volunteered and formed ties and made airport runs. We did it all while juggling school and jobs and missing home...Because even though we were absolutely making a life here, a part of us always knew that our time in Mpls was fleeting. There's got to be a bigger lesson there? I leave Minneapolis with no regrets and no missed opportunities. But in addition to leaving all of my incredible Minnesota friends who've become family, I'm also leaving a city that has become one of the great loves of my life. 6 days left. #sotagoodbyes #minneapolis #mycitymylove

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My foofy. My go to. My smart brilliant brave early rising gym going aerial arts partner in crime. So glad we got you last night for laughs, rants, tears, memories, swooning, (puking) and carbs. I'll be back so soon for you!! #sotagoodbyes (at Black Sheep Pizza)

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12 days left of waking up to my gorgeous urban skyline. Today I saw that the forecast was -8 with NO additional windchill, so I put on a pair of tights, a silk dress, and a light weight down coat and thought -- I will not be leaving Minnesota unchanged 💪🏼. Also, I love the way that the humid air escaping from buildings freezes in the winter here and takes on the colors of the morning, usually a perfect peachy pink. I love you my warehouse district home. #sotagoodbyes (at Warehouse District / Hennepin Avenue)