Karen Pence

The COVID-19 pandemic has added some unusual stresses for our military families, such as all of their PCS moves being put on hold.

We want people to know, especially our veterans, that there is help.

With veterans, we want them to be able to talk about their struggles and sometimes they can't. Sometimes they're dealing with trauma that damages the brain. Sometimes they just don't know how to tell people they're struggling.

My godfather had his own plane, and when I was a teenager, I got to fly with him and it just kind of got in my blood.

I kind of grew up around planes.

My dad worked for United Airlines.

I was born on an Air Force base.

It took us six years before we were able to get pregnant with our first child.

In retrospect, I look back, and I am so glad that we didn't have our kids when we wanted to have them. The time that they came along was just the right timing.

For us, adoption was a real answer. In fact, we actually did get called by an adoption agency, and they did have a little boy that was going to be born in July. Our son was born the following November, but by the time they called us with a possible child, we already knew that I was pregnant with Michael.

When I first met Mike Pence, it was love at first sight. On our first date, we went ice skating at the Pepsi Coliseum at the state fairgrounds. We skated around for a little while, then he reached over and took my hand.

It was really a matter of just letting God bring us kids when He was ready to bring us kids, and that's where they come from, and so we just had to wait until He was ready.

My main thing was - how could God put this desire in my heart and not bring me kids? It made me question Him a lot. I kept thinking we'd be these great parents. 'We're ready. We want kids. Why don't You bring us kids?'

I remember my little niece looked up at me one day and said, 'Auntie Karen, why don't you have any babies?' It can be a very heartbreaking.

We're people of faith so we just try and approach everything with prayer.

I don't think that a lot of people understand the difference between therapeutic art and art therapy.

Every family has to do what's right for them.

That's really my love, is teaching art to elementary kids.

I think there are people out there who feel like they know me so when they hear me say something, maybe it reassures them.

If you're struggling, you're probably not going to be able to help anybody... so get help for yourself first.