When it comes to raising kids, the saying goes “it takes a village”. So, when we talk about parents here, it may look a little different than some families do. We have 4 adults with parenting roles in our family dynamic, but we all work together to raise the best tiny humans we can.

Outside of the home are C&C. My ex, and G’s biological dad, is National Guard and his wife (whose name also happens to start with a C – cute, right?) is Airforce. My ex and I have been coparenting like a dream for years now, and there is a mutual respect between our households. We don’t always agree, but we are able to talk it out like adults and find middle ground most of the time. Unless the military has other plans, G goes to his house every other weekend. Our households have spent many holidays together in the past, but that dynamic may be changing, as they are welcoming a child together early next year. For their privacy, I will avoid pictures of them at this time. G refers to my ex as Dad and his wife mostly by her first name, but sometimes as Mom as well.

In 2014, I began dating Trenton, the man who is now my husband. Trenton is hilarious, intelligent, and always seems to be thinking outside of the box. He is an avid skier and a video game enthusiast. Trenton came into our relationship full boar, taking on my daughter as if she was his own, all the while respecting and communicating with her biological father. Together, we had P and S. All 3 of our kiddos refer to him as Dad and me as Mama.

We were married in August of 2019 and our first year of marriage was the most challenging experience of our lives (which is a story for other time). We have had many struggles over our marriage and sometimes we have felt like giving up, but we are powering through to find our bliss. It’s been hard, but together I know we can do anything. We were super happy together before we got married, but then when chaos struck, it tainted that vibe and it’s been hard to recover from.

Trenton and I each have our own struggles with mental illness that can make communication and parenting together difficult. Trenton is ADHD (combined type) and has a diagnosed struggle with depression and anxiety. He may be struggling with PTSD from the first year of our marriage, but it has not yet been diagnosed. I have Complex PTSD, spanning multiple repetitive events ranging from early childhood into adulthood. I am diagnosed anxiety and bipolar type 1. I also struggle with a professionally recognized but yet to be diagnosed diagnosed dissociative disorder.

As you can imagine, there are a lot of hurdles and hoops to jump through to find success, but we are doing our best. We have a ton of coping mechanisms, resources, and tools we utilize just to get by every single day. Our hope is to raise children who thrive in this life, regardless of any diagnosis or struggle they may have. We strive to teach them to be emotionally intelligent people with goals and dreams that they can unlock and live out.