For months now, we’ve been looking forward to a trip to the Caribbean Island of Bonaire. Bonaire is a very “chill” sort of island that has no high-rises, no all-inclusive resorts or things of that nature. A lot of the research we read said that you’d be bored within 3 days on the island – which is precisely why we chose that island. We needed to be bored. Here’s why:
2019 was a year. Let me tell you. I don’t even need to tell you, if you’ve been following along, you already know. Personally, I felt that the IVF took a physical toll on my body and it was a struggle to repair. I experienced hair loss, weight gain, joint pain, massive energy and mood fluctuations and even some symptoms similar to Postpartum depression. All of which are common after you’ve injected all those hormones into your body in a short amount of time. You basically create a menopause-like situation by halting your ovulation with injections, simultaneously you’re injecting large doses of hormones to grow your eggs then when they’re big enough, you get a massive dose of hormones that are the equivalent of being pregnant. It really takes a toll. Add in the psychological stress and it’s tough. Really tough on a person.
Immediately following our IVF failure, my mother-in-law was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, the mass was about the size of a fist. We barely had time to process what we had been through with our fertility before her cancer diagnoses and treatments began. It was a real struggle to get her the proper care. The family really had to micro-manage the doctor she was seeing in Goshen because more than once, they tried to take her off of her immunotherapy treatment to go home to just, let cancer run it’s course… translate that how you will. Meanwhile, a doctor advisor from Northwestern in Chicago was saying that she should continue immunotherapy. Thank God that Dave, his sister and mother were so vigilant in making those decisions because a month or two ago we found out the cancer is GONE. This was a huge lesson in how you must advocate for yourself and your own loved-ones during medical emergencies because sometimes Doctors don’t make the right decisions. Second opinions are HIGHLY recommended!
In the midst of that, we tried to find time and emotional energy to process what the next step was for us in our desire to expand our family – which led us into the adoption adventure. They say preparing your dossier and getting through the home study is similar to a full-time job. On top of tackling that mountain of paperwork and appointments, we had serious projects to complete on our home in order to make it more kid friendly. We finished our basement, pulled 15 years worth of weeds and finally put in landscaping. I powerwashed the house, purged, organized and re-organized. It was quite a to-do list to get through, but somehow, we did it. My goal was to get our dossier to China before January 1, (which would’ve been 3-5 months ahead of schedule). Our dossier made it to China in early December.
And to top it all off, we still had a business to run. Between our Indiana real estate business, the Florida company and a few deals in Michigan, we closed $14,000,000 in real estate deals in 2019, making that our best year ever. It’s impossible to convey just how proud of us I am, without sounding narcissistic. But we have worked so hard to build up a higher-end clientele. In the past, we closed 200+ sales a year, but this year we closed half that and made more money. Work smarter, not harder has been our goal and it feels good to say we are getting there.
A few more accomplishments… Dave was the 2019 President of the Simonton Lake Sportsmen’s Club, and was recently re-elected as the 2020 president. As the 2019 president, he started a quarterly newsletter for the lake, which I designed and we helped deliver. We fundraised and put on a great fireworks show at the lake for 4th of July. We themed it “Christmas in July” and it was fun to see so many people decorate and get into the theme. I designed the shirts for the 3rd year in a row and we sold out! Dave held the first fish fry at the SLSC and made money to stock the lake with walleye. And then he asked me to put together a charity golf outing this Fall. I assembled what I thought was the “dream team” and boy did they blow my expectations out of the water. We completely sold the event out with a waiting list, and raised something like $4500 with less than 8 weeks to plan the thing.
I was voted into a 3 year position on the Elkhart County Board of Realtors Board of Directors – which I’m extremely excited about. I also joined a golf league as a substitute and got to make some new friends. I secured a partner and a regular spot on the league for 2020 – greatly looking forward to that! Also had my first ever girls getaway with my bestie in Las Vegas. Climbed some red rocks, saw the Hoover Dam and stepped out of my comfort zone and took some intense golf lessons.
We also took the first BIG family vacation to Fort Myers with my Dad’s side of the family. What a fun week with my siblings, little niece and nephew and parents. Definitely something I hope we all do again!
I’m almost certain that I’m forgetting some major projects, but you get the picture. 2019 was a year.
So being bored on Bonaire for a week sounded like the perfect trip! We weren’t bored at all though, and that much is evident by the photos I will eventually get around to sharing with you. The island had much more to offer than we were led to believe. And on top of that, we were matched with our little girl during that trip. Needless to say, 2020 is off and running. I am going to try to keep up with the blog and keep everyone informed on our adoption process, but boy is life happening!
I guess that’s all for today. I’ve got to run out to photograph two new listings in Indiana, then we are packing up to head to Florida. I’ve got a house to list down there and some family to hug. I promise an adoption update to you all soon!
Cheers!
Stacey