About These Prices

Hi! I’m Johanna, and I’m so glad you’re here.

These Prices is a blog about faith, marriage, motherhood and everything that happens in between.

I believe in faith, miracles, and second chances. I’m living proof of all three.

I’m a Southern Midwesterner, which is just a fancy way of saying I grew up in Texas, spent formative years in Atlanta, but am the daughter of two Ohioans and now call Minnesota home.

I’ve been writing online since 2000, but the archives only go back to 2005, when I upgraded to blogging software. (Before then I hand coded all my entries and uploaded them via FTP, which is practically like doing math on an abacus.)

In 2002, when I was 25 years old, I ran away to Atlanta, and God followed me all the way there to bring me back to Him. I’m so thankful He pursues us.

When I turned 30, I gave up on dating my way and surrendered my future to God. And a few months later I met my husband Aaron in a dog park. After only dating six weeks he told me—over margaritas and Mexican food—that he was moving back to his native Minnesota. We picked at our dinners and he said, “We don’t have to decide anything over this guacamole.”

We kept dating long distance, and on May 2, 2008, we were married in front of 100 friends and family at the Don CeSar Beach Resort in St. Pete Beach, Florida.

These days we live in suburban Minneapolis with our toddler son, infant daughter, and our dogs.

After two years trying to conceive, one loss and one surgery, we started the domestic infant adoption process in August 2010 and we welcomed Harry into our hearts on Nov. 21, 2010, when he was two days old!

In Summer 2012, we were connected with a young woman looking to place her unborn baby for adoption. That November, on Harry’s second birthday, our daughter Posey was born.

I love email, and even though I’m not always the best at responding, I love and read every one. Your stories inspire me.

• E-mail @ hanbeth [at] gmail [dot] com