We #wearorange today in solidarity with women and We #wearorange today in solidarity with women and men who've faced an infertility diagnosis, in support of those still in the trenches of infertility and waiting for their miracle babies, in celebration of every miracle baby created with the help of these amazing treatments, and in hope that Tennessee will recognize the importance of the TN Pro-Family Building Act SB425/HB1379. 
 #TurnTNOrange #WearTNOrange 

#TNProFamilyBuildingAct #1in6 #Building families #fightforfamilies #TNfertilityadvocates #infertilityawareness #infertility #infertilitywarrior #infertilityjourney #infertilitysupport #ifawareness #inthewait #inthewaiting #motherhoodafterinfertility #ttccommunity #fertilityjourney #ivfsupport #iuisupport #infertilitysucks #tnmom #motherhoodigcreator #yourstorymatters #knoxvillemoms #knoxvillemom #knoxvilleparents
#niaw2021 #whatiwantyoutoknow
๐‘พ๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐‘ฐ ๐‘พ๐’‚๐’๐’• ๐’€๐’๐’– ๐’•๐’ ๐‘ฒ๐’๐’๐’˜ ๐‘จ๐’ƒ๐’๐’–๐’• ๐‘ฐ๐’๐’‡๐’†๐’“๐’•๐’Š๐’๐’Š๐’•๐’š

As we fight for infertility coverage here in Tennessee, I've seen stories about the financial and emotional hardships that infertility causes and many lawmakers being moved by learning about how wide reaching this disease is with many even speaking up about their own personal experiences. I have an entire blog post dedicated to our struggles to add to the inventory.

But then I've also heard concerns and one of them being the old myth that IVF and infertility treatment is "playing God." I'd like to give those people the benefit of the doubt that they don't really know how IVF works. So let me share my insider info with ya'll. Guess what? ๐™๐™๐™š๐™ฎ'๐™ง๐™š ๐™จ๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™ก๐™ก ๐™ข๐™ž๐™ง๐™–๐™˜๐™ก๐™š๐™จ! That's right IVF is no more playing God than a pair of glasses giving sight or an inhaler giving breath.

We did IVF with ICSI which is literally injecting a sperm into an egg, the act of life creation right? Wrong. Did you know that you can stick and egg and sperm together and literally nothing will happen? Yup, that's because it's still up to God to create life! And there are a million more hurdles for this little life to pass to become the smiling kids you see in this picture today. Did you know IVF gives infertile couples about the same chance of conceiving as fertile couples do trying "naturally?" Again, we're not playing God, we're simply treating a disease. And honestly having gone through this process has just been even more reaffirming of the miraculousness of life.

That's #WhatIWantMyTNLegislatorToKnow

#IRepresentSomeoneWho
#YourStoryMatters #NIAW #niaw2021 #tnfertilityadvocates #tnprofamilybuildingact #hb1379 #sb425 #tnmom #WhatIWantYouToKnow #TNFertilityStrong #motherhoodafterinfertility #infertilitywarrior #infertilityawareness #mamahoodcontent #infertilitysupport #ivfbabies #ivfjourney #ivfsupport #infertilityhope #inthewaiting #ivfsisters #ttccommunity #fertilityjourney #fightforfamilies #twinsplusone #knoxvillemoms #whatiwantmylegislatortoknow
โ˜€๏ธ You Are My Sunshine โ˜€๏ธ ๐ŸŽถThe other n โ˜€๏ธ You Are My Sunshine โ˜€๏ธ

๐ŸŽถThe other night dear, as I lay sleeping
I dreamed I held you in my arms
But when I awoke, dear, I was mistaken
So I hung my head and I cried.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away๐ŸŽถ

Happy Friday and weekend friends! Excited for #NIAW next week, celebrating my miracle babies, and furthering the cause of parenthood! Stay tuned!

#raisingwildflowers
#raisingmytribe
#motherhoodafterinfertility #niaw2021 #niaw #ivfbabies #ivfjourney #ivfsupport #infertilityhope #infertilityawareness #infertilitywarrior #infertilityjourney #tnfertilityadvocates #youaremysunshine #tninfluencer #knoxvillemoms #knoxvillemom #tennesseemom #bloggingthroughchaos #childhoodunplugged #raisingdaughters #girlmama #twinsplusone #girlmomlife #sistersquad #sistergoals
๐Ÿ ๐•๐•–๐•’๐•ฃ ๐•‹๐•ฃ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•ค๐•—๐•– ๐Ÿ ๐•๐•–๐•’๐•ฃ ๐•‹๐•ฃ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•ค๐•—๐•–๐•ฃ๐•ง๐•–๐•ฃ๐•ค๐•’๐•ฃ๐•ช
Wow ya'll 5 years! They weren't kidding when they said don't blink. Here's proof there is an other side of infertility. We've officially been with the girls longer than we were without as a couple. Not that infertility completely goes away but praise God it can take a backseat in our life.
@baileyannhawkins recently shared that she doesn't know what she's going to think about 24/7 once she gets her rainbow baby (praying that'll be very soon for her and everyone in the wait ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™), and I knew exactly what she was talking about. I remember the days where all I could think about is infertility. Now my days are consumed by what I'm going to feed these munchkins ๐Ÿ˜‚ and how cute they are and how much I love them!! Happy 5 years sweet girls and praying for many many more with you! 
Swipe for all 5 years of pictures. โžก๏ธ
.
.
.
.
. 
#motherhoodafterinfertility #tnfertilityadvocates #infertilitywarrior #infertilitysupport #infertilitysisters #infertilityawareness #infertilitysucks #infertilitycommunity #infertilityjourney #ivfsisters #ivfjourney #ivfsupport #weare1in8 #infertilityhope #ivf #fetsuccess #ivfbabies #ivfjourney #fertilityjourney #fertilityfriend #transferday #cnyfertility #fertilityjourney #ivftwins #fet #transferversary
So I don't have any new van update reels to share, So I don't have any new van update reels to share, but I do have this cute photo from the girls over the weekend.

There's a lot going on in the van but everything is sort of mid-project. Brad's been working on the electrical (we have house power now ๐Ÿ™Œ), the Maxx air fans (waiting on a clip to come to finish this project), and the "garage" framing around the electrical and water, which is also the base for our bed (as soon as he finishes up the other side of this I'll do a layout tour).

Posting some polls in my stories to get ya'lls help with some of the design, so head over that way to cast your vote. I'm currently trying to figure out how to stain our butcher block countertops.

#vanlife #sprintercampervans
#campervans #conversionvan #vantravels #vanlifeideas #projectvanlife
#vanbuild #sprinterconversion #sprintervanconversion #camperconversion
#campervanconversion #vanlifewithkids #diycampervan #vanconversion #vanlifedreams  #vanlifeculture #familyvanconversion #vanfamilies #vanlifewithkids #vanlifefamily
#mamahoodindoses
Happy Easter from the Hicks Family! Thankful to ha Happy Easter from the Hicks Family!
Thankful to have spent this holiday with family and at church!
๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿฃ๐ŸŒทCan you believe Easter is only a littl ๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿฃ๐ŸŒทCan you believe Easter is only a little over a week away? Got it all covered thanks to Walgreens! @walgreens #sponsored
They have everything you need, and it's so easy to get in and out quick. I picked up everything for the Easter baskets, the Easter egg hunt, and Easter egg dying on my lunch break!
Check my stories to get a glimpse of everything they have. ๐Ÿ™Œ #Walgreens
.
.
.
#easterbasket #walgreensdeals #easterbasketideas #easterbasketstuffers #xosignedbymama #eastertraditions #easterideas #easter2021
Having some serious wanderlust and daydreaming abo Having some serious wanderlust and daydreaming about our next big adventure. #sponsored In the meantime, we are so excited to have connected with Chelsea (@chelsealeighdamon) and her family who live in Greenville, South Carolina and have offered to take us on a virtual vacation and show us around Greenville! Chelsea and her family love spending time exploring the outdoors, so I am looking forward to learning about what outdoor, family-friendly adventures Greenville has to offer. Over the next few weeks, she'll be sending us a care package with some local goodies and sharing more about her city. Stay tuned!
@discover_sc
.
.
.
.
. 
#yeahthatgreenville #yeahthatgreenvillesc #discoversc #discoversouthcarolina #wanderlustwednesday #virtualvacation #familytravel #familyadventures #travelmoms #familytraveltribe #familytravelblog #littleadventurers #travelfamily #vacationideas #wanderlustfamily #vanlifewithkids #vanfamilies #outdoorfamilyadventures #1000hoursoutside #childhoodunplugged #travelkids #travelmore #everydaymamaandlife
Heidi is super excited to show off (but not share) Heidi is super excited to show off (but not share) her @spoonfulone snacks that help us get 16 common allergens into her diet on a consistent basis! Did you know that food allergies have doubled in the last generation? And food allergies are not just genetic: 2 out of 3 children with food allergies don't have a parent with a food allergy. That is why experts recommend introducing a diverse diet and food allergens early and often once you start solid foods. SpoonfulONE makes it easy and safe to include all of the most common food allergens in your babyโ€™s diet.

We think this product is super cool because when Brooklyn started solids, she had a reaction peanut butter, which was new territory for us since no one in our family has food allergies. Over the next year we often gave her tiny amounts of peanut butter off our finger to train her body to be okay with peanut butter. Now she eats peanut butter right off the spoon! We wish we had known about SpoonfulONE then. #ThrivingTummies

And since I couldn't convince Heidi to share her snacks, SpoonfulONE gave me a coupon code ๐—ฆ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—›๐Ÿฏ๐Ÿฑ to share with you all instead! Go check them out! #SpoonfulONEPartner
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Samantha Raising Wildflowers

A Blog of Everyday Motherhood and Family Travel and Adventures

  • Everyday Motherhood
  • Family Travel
  • Outdoor Adventures
  • Knoxville Local
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· March 27, 2018

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Welcome to my blog on everyday motherhood and family travel and outdoor adventures!

I'm Samantha from @samantharaisingwildflowers on Instagram.

I am blessed to be raising three "wildflowers" after years of infertility. Sharing and connecting on all things mamahood and mom life has become my passion. I am constantly learning, growing, and evolving on this journey of parenthood. One this is certain; I am determined to give my girls a slow, carefree childhood. We love Jesus, family, nature, travel, books, and laughing. We are not afraid to be different.

โ€œ[A wildflower is] a free spirit. Uncultivated by the mainstream. Independent thinker. Bravely growing wild and free in a world plagued by conformity.โ€ โ€“ Urban Dictionary

โ€œThere are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other wings.โ€ โ€“ Author Unknown

We would love to connect with you and have you along for the journey!

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We #wearorange today in solidarity with women and We #wearorange today in solidarity with women and men who've faced an infertility diagnosis, in support of those still in the trenches of infertility and waiting for their miracle babies, in celebration of every miracle baby created with the help of these amazing treatments, and in hope that Tennessee will recognize the importance of the TN Pro-Family Building Act SB425/HB1379. 
 #TurnTNOrange #WearTNOrange 

#TNProFamilyBuildingAct #1in6 #Building families #fightforfamilies #TNfertilityadvocates #infertilityawareness #infertility #infertilitywarrior #infertilityjourney #infertilitysupport #ifawareness #inthewait #inthewaiting #motherhoodafterinfertility #ttccommunity #fertilityjourney #ivfsupport #iuisupport #infertilitysucks #tnmom #motherhoodigcreator #yourstorymatters #knoxvillemoms #knoxvillemom #knoxvilleparents
#niaw2021 #whatiwantyoutoknow
๐‘พ๐’‰๐’‚๐’• ๐‘ฐ ๐‘พ๐’‚๐’๐’• ๐’€๐’๐’– ๐’•๐’ ๐‘ฒ๐’๐’๐’˜ ๐‘จ๐’ƒ๐’๐’–๐’• ๐‘ฐ๐’๐’‡๐’†๐’“๐’•๐’Š๐’๐’Š๐’•๐’š

As we fight for infertility coverage here in Tennessee, I've seen stories about the financial and emotional hardships that infertility causes and many lawmakers being moved by learning about how wide reaching this disease is with many even speaking up about their own personal experiences. I have an entire blog post dedicated to our struggles to add to the inventory.

But then I've also heard concerns and one of them being the old myth that IVF and infertility treatment is "playing God." I'd like to give those people the benefit of the doubt that they don't really know how IVF works. So let me share my insider info with ya'll. Guess what? ๐™๐™๐™š๐™ฎ'๐™ง๐™š ๐™จ๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™ก๐™ก ๐™ข๐™ž๐™ง๐™–๐™˜๐™ก๐™š๐™จ! That's right IVF is no more playing God than a pair of glasses giving sight or an inhaler giving breath.

We did IVF with ICSI which is literally injecting a sperm into an egg, the act of life creation right? Wrong. Did you know that you can stick and egg and sperm together and literally nothing will happen? Yup, that's because it's still up to God to create life! And there are a million more hurdles for this little life to pass to become the smiling kids you see in this picture today. Did you know IVF gives infertile couples about the same chance of conceiving as fertile couples do trying "naturally?" Again, we're not playing God, we're simply treating a disease. And honestly having gone through this process has just been even more reaffirming of the miraculousness of life.

That's #WhatIWantMyTNLegislatorToKnow

#IRepresentSomeoneWho
#YourStoryMatters #NIAW #niaw2021 #tnfertilityadvocates #tnprofamilybuildingact #hb1379 #sb425 #tnmom #WhatIWantYouToKnow #TNFertilityStrong #motherhoodafterinfertility #infertilitywarrior #infertilityawareness #mamahoodcontent #infertilitysupport #ivfbabies #ivfjourney #ivfsupport #infertilityhope #inthewaiting #ivfsisters #ttccommunity #fertilityjourney #fightforfamilies #twinsplusone #knoxvillemoms #whatiwantmylegislatortoknow
โ˜€๏ธ You Are My Sunshine โ˜€๏ธ ๐ŸŽถThe other n โ˜€๏ธ You Are My Sunshine โ˜€๏ธ

๐ŸŽถThe other night dear, as I lay sleeping
I dreamed I held you in my arms
But when I awoke, dear, I was mistaken
So I hung my head and I cried.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away๐ŸŽถ

Happy Friday and weekend friends! Excited for #NIAW next week, celebrating my miracle babies, and furthering the cause of parenthood! Stay tuned!

#raisingwildflowers
#raisingmytribe
#motherhoodafterinfertility #niaw2021 #niaw #ivfbabies #ivfjourney #ivfsupport #infertilityhope #infertilityawareness #infertilitywarrior #infertilityjourney #tnfertilityadvocates #youaremysunshine #tninfluencer #knoxvillemoms #knoxvillemom #tennesseemom #bloggingthroughchaos #childhoodunplugged #raisingdaughters #girlmama #twinsplusone #girlmomlife #sistersquad #sistergoals
๐Ÿ ๐•๐•–๐•’๐•ฃ ๐•‹๐•ฃ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•ค๐•—๐•– ๐Ÿ ๐•๐•–๐•’๐•ฃ ๐•‹๐•ฃ๐•’๐•Ÿ๐•ค๐•—๐•–๐•ฃ๐•ง๐•–๐•ฃ๐•ค๐•’๐•ฃ๐•ช
Wow ya'll 5 years! They weren't kidding when they said don't blink. Here's proof there is an other side of infertility. We've officially been with the girls longer than we were without as a couple. Not that infertility completely goes away but praise God it can take a backseat in our life.
@baileyannhawkins recently shared that she doesn't know what she's going to think about 24/7 once she gets her rainbow baby (praying that'll be very soon for her and everyone in the wait ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ™), and I knew exactly what she was talking about. I remember the days where all I could think about is infertility. Now my days are consumed by what I'm going to feed these munchkins ๐Ÿ˜‚ and how cute they are and how much I love them!! Happy 5 years sweet girls and praying for many many more with you! 
Swipe for all 5 years of pictures. โžก๏ธ
.
.
.
.
. 
#motherhoodafterinfertility #tnfertilityadvocates #infertilitywarrior #infertilitysupport #infertilitysisters #infertilityawareness #infertilitysucks #infertilitycommunity #infertilityjourney #ivfsisters #ivfjourney #ivfsupport #weare1in8 #infertilityhope #ivf #fetsuccess #ivfbabies #ivfjourney #fertilityjourney #fertilityfriend #transferday #cnyfertility #fertilityjourney #ivftwins #fet #transferversary
So I don't have any new van update reels to share, So I don't have any new van update reels to share, but I do have this cute photo from the girls over the weekend.

There's a lot going on in the van but everything is sort of mid-project. Brad's been working on the electrical (we have house power now ๐Ÿ™Œ), the Maxx air fans (waiting on a clip to come to finish this project), and the "garage" framing around the electrical and water, which is also the base for our bed (as soon as he finishes up the other side of this I'll do a layout tour).

Posting some polls in my stories to get ya'lls help with some of the design, so head over that way to cast your vote. I'm currently trying to figure out how to stain our butcher block countertops.

#vanlife #sprintercampervans
#campervans #conversionvan #vantravels #vanlifeideas #projectvanlife
#vanbuild #sprinterconversion #sprintervanconversion #camperconversion
#campervanconversion #vanlifewithkids #diycampervan #vanconversion #vanlifedreams  #vanlifeculture #familyvanconversion #vanfamilies #vanlifewithkids #vanlifefamily
#mamahoodindoses
Happy Easter from the Hicks Family! Thankful to ha Happy Easter from the Hicks Family!
Thankful to have spent this holiday with family and at church!
๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿฃ๐ŸŒทCan you believe Easter is only a littl ๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿฃ๐ŸŒทCan you believe Easter is only a little over a week away? Got it all covered thanks to Walgreens! @walgreens #sponsored
They have everything you need, and it's so easy to get in and out quick. I picked up everything for the Easter baskets, the Easter egg hunt, and Easter egg dying on my lunch break!
Check my stories to get a glimpse of everything they have. ๐Ÿ™Œ #Walgreens
.
.
.
#easterbasket #walgreensdeals #easterbasketideas #easterbasketstuffers #xosignedbymama #eastertraditions #easterideas #easter2021
Having some serious wanderlust and daydreaming abo Having some serious wanderlust and daydreaming about our next big adventure. #sponsored In the meantime, we are so excited to have connected with Chelsea (@chelsealeighdamon) and her family who live in Greenville, South Carolina and have offered to take us on a virtual vacation and show us around Greenville! Chelsea and her family love spending time exploring the outdoors, so I am looking forward to learning about what outdoor, family-friendly adventures Greenville has to offer. Over the next few weeks, she'll be sending us a care package with some local goodies and sharing more about her city. Stay tuned!
@discover_sc
.
.
.
.
. 
#yeahthatgreenville #yeahthatgreenvillesc #discoversc #discoversouthcarolina #wanderlustwednesday #virtualvacation #familytravel #familyadventures #travelmoms #familytraveltribe #familytravelblog #littleadventurers #travelfamily #vacationideas #wanderlustfamily #vanlifewithkids #vanfamilies #outdoorfamilyadventures #1000hoursoutside #childhoodunplugged #travelkids #travelmore #everydaymamaandlife
Heidi is super excited to show off (but not share) Heidi is super excited to show off (but not share) her @spoonfulone snacks that help us get 16 common allergens into her diet on a consistent basis! Did you know that food allergies have doubled in the last generation? And food allergies are not just genetic: 2 out of 3 children with food allergies don't have a parent with a food allergy. That is why experts recommend introducing a diverse diet and food allergens early and often once you start solid foods. SpoonfulONE makes it easy and safe to include all of the most common food allergens in your babyโ€™s diet.

We think this product is super cool because when Brooklyn started solids, she had a reaction peanut butter, which was new territory for us since no one in our family has food allergies. Over the next year we often gave her tiny amounts of peanut butter off our finger to train her body to be okay with peanut butter. Now she eats peanut butter right off the spoon! We wish we had known about SpoonfulONE then. #ThrivingTummies

And since I couldn't convince Heidi to share her snacks, SpoonfulONE gave me a coupon code ๐—ฆ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—›๐Ÿฏ๐Ÿฑ to share with you all instead! Go check them out! #SpoonfulONEPartner
"The most important thing one woman can do for ano "The most important thing one woman can do for another is expand her sense of actual possibilities." Adrienne Rich
#raisingwildflowers #girlsquad #girlmama #girlgang #twinsplusone #mamaofgirls #raisingdaughters #internationalwomensday #womensday2021#motherhoodiskingdomwork #girlmom #girlmomlife #raisinggirls

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