Molly and I met on a National Tour of the Broadway show Annie in 2009.  We toured the country together for 4 years and had a blast and made a lot of great friends, working on 3 different shows.  We decided to settle down in 2012 and since we had purchased a house in Tampa, FL from a family member, that's where we decided to make a go at life.  We took our life savings from the road and bought a small pet store that had been around for many years.  We Married in 2013.  Molly learned to be a dog groomer and I run the store side.  Being in our late 30's, we decided to leave kids up to fate and now fate has decided it is time.  We found out in October that we are expecting a child in June.  We are super excited and are trying to get ready for this life change.   We like our life; but being small business owners we don't make a lot of money, and molly works on 100% commission.  I feel like maternity leave is very important for both the baby and the mother.  Also, being a dog groomer, molly's job is very physical and she will not be able to do the job right before or after child birth.  My job is to find someone to cover for her so she doesn't lose any clients, but we can't survive on my salary alone.  So we have asked family and friends that instead of baby cloths or toys or gifts for a baby shower, we are asking for a donation towards her maternity fund.  We think for every 2,500 we can raise she can take a month off with the baby and I really feel she will need one month before the baby and then two after.  If you would like to donate we would be very grateful and you would help put these small business owners minds at ease going into this exciting but stressful time.  Thanks and much love.