1. I am a Christian first and foremost and believe in the unerrency of God's word, the Bible, and the sanctity of marriage.
2. I am a passionate person, my beliefs, principles, values are unchanging. While some of my ideas/opinions do change, my core beliefs do not.
3. I'm very patriotic and I believe we should follow the Constitution and its original intent and that this nation was founded on Christian beliefs. I have ALWAYS voted since I turned 18--it's a right, a privilege and a duty.
4. I also like to debate/argue, and I have to be careful as my passion sometimes can come across as a bit harsh.
5. I like guns, hunting, outdoors, football (Go HOGS!), camping, 4 wheel and motorcycle rides, climbing trees, walking and wrestling with my honey. I've been a Tomboy since knee high, a Daddy's girl and can use all kinds of tools and YET--
6. I love being pregnant, rocking babies, nail polish, earrings, Victorian things, chick-flicks, romance, dressing up and girly things. I love that my husband desires me, and only me. Proud to be a woman. I am FEMININE, but not a feminist!
7. I have OCD tendencies. . .there, I said it. LOL! For example: Laundry/clothes in my hands MUST be folded, even if it's going in the trash, give away or mend pile. I have had to force myself to stop.
8. I have a thing for lists and numbers and certain things must be a certain way. The security tape MUST be taken off all dvd cases--even ones I am borrowing! LOL! Price tags/stickers off immediately once home--make it nice and tidy which is so funny when you read the next one.
9. Most days my house looks like a bomb went off, or a tornado--actually I do have 8 little tornadoes! At times I don't see it, I get used to it, but when I do--it drives me crazy cause in my heart of hearts. . .
10. I am a perfectionist!! Though many times my husband likes to tease me as he looks around our house that no, I am not...but being one can make you procrastinate til you can do things...perfectly. FLYLady (at Flylady.net) and dear friends have been helping me and I'm reforming.
11. I have decluttered, given away and tossed A LOT!! <shhh don't tell MOM!> still working on it--there are a few ppl who live with me so not just my stuff! It is MUCH easier than it used to be. But the clothes are about to do me in.
12. I also get distracted easily! <SQUIRREL!!!> I was ADHD LONG before the label and LONG before I had children!
13. We have 8 children, # 9 on the way and one in heaven.
14. My husband is my best friend, my partner and my Lover! We've had our share of stormy times and had ups and downs....but I'd still say "I do" all over again. Our trials only made us stronger and love more deeply. He is an awesome Daddy to our children! He loves to make me laugh! We complete each other! He is my rock and I lean on him when I need his strength. I love his beard!
15. I love to read and write. Always had my nose in a book growing up, not as much now, but I read a lot on my computer and I read a lot to my children!
16. I've written poems and even had a poem or two published (so has our oldest child) But it's been awhile, I need to write more.
17. Someday--I'd like to build w/hubby a big log house (lg family style), nice big barn, for his John Deere tractor (of course), a horse for me and several for the children. While I'm dreaming....a place where hubby can be home to do what he truly loves--be with his family and farm--raise beef cows on his own place with LOTS of acres to explore, expand, hunt and teach his children. Oh, yeah! A creek! It has to have a year round creek for swimming, fishing and science lessons. Few ponds would be good too!
18. Someday I WILL write a book. Hubby keeps telling me I need to write a book. Make a million so he can have his farm ;-) I do have several ideas floating in my head and on paper.
19. I am a dreamer, head in the clouds, positive thinker, creative soul, occasionally melancholy. Sometimes clashing w/my much more realistic, sometimes negative, feet on the ground, hard working hubby.
20. I LOVE music and the WORDS in songs are VERY important to me. Hubby likes to make up his own words and drive me crazy!
21. I love playing the piano, and so happy to finally get ours moved in! I played clarinet in school band. Learning violin alongside oldest. Music is important to me!
22. I LOVE to sing alto. I am not as talented as my oldest daughter, or trained like hubby, but I love to sing! I did sing in a small acappella chorus my Freshman (and only) year at Harding University.
23. I was in Spring Sing while at HU and my group won 1st place! Lot of work and a lot of fun. I was a raggedy doll. Our theme was TOYS WILL BE TOYS! The judges said we were as good as an act on Broadway!
24. I finished college in 3 years! It's doable but not highly recommended. Hubby said one of us had to graduate before we could marry and I took him at his word! Already had CLEP-ed out of several classes, and summer school every summer (my load was like a reg sem most sessions), I managed to finish w/2 summer classes right before our wedding!
25. It was while I was getting my elementary education degree that I decided to homeschool when we had children.
26. I can drive a standard and in fact my first car was a standard. And the car we bought
after I got a teaching job was also a standard. Large vehicles like we need to cart our crew do NOT come in standard, but that's good, I need one less thing to think about while driving them around!
27. I taught 2/3 split class and then 1st grade at a small elem public school for 4 yrs with a lot of great teachers, but still determined to teach my own. I was able to finish out the 4th school year and retired just before #2 was born!
28. I don't believe you have to have a teaching degree to home educate. In fact, I encouraged several parents to begin homeschooling THEIR child while I was still teaching, not all were my students' parents.
29. I have an amazing younger sister that is so supportive of me and our family. She is a great teacher and has a double degree in special education and elem ed, yet she and her husband are very supportive in our homeschooling adventure! They have even had our children visit them for a week at a time, but in groups of 2 or 3 so they can drive them around!
30. I have lots of great ideas, not so great on the follow through.
31. I LOVE my new Canon digital camera!! I really enjoy taking pictures of my family, everyday life, and nature.
32. I have had a camera since I was 9, my pictures, like my writing, are my "other" babies, very dear to me.
33. Which is why I cried my heart out, privately, down in our barn, the day one of my sweeties accidentally deleted ALL of my 00s of digital pictures on my camera that I had NOT saved...including the ones I took during the Great Ice Storm of 2009. A one of a kind storm, when we were w/o power for a week and the awesome ice pictures, the damage to our place, the craziness indoors. That was hard. I felt like Jo in Little Women when her sister burned her writings. I had used my camera to capture the memories of that time period and it's all gone...I was devastated, but hey, accidents happen and lesson learned.
34. My first camera and love for taking pictures came from my mom's dad, PaJohn. It was a box camera complete with case and flash cubes! I have had a 110, disc camera, and reg 35mm and now love my digital cameras, I can delete when little ones take pictures of my floor or an unflattering picture of me! HaHa!
35. I am blessed with a rich heritage of loving Christian parents and grandparents. Grandparents who deeply loved their spouses til death, and parents who have always loved each other and shown their love! "I come from a Long Line of Love!" is so true!
36. I LOVE my computer!! All my friends live in it! haha! Okay not all, but it gives my writer's soul an outlet and my people person self a chance to connect with some of my grown up friends and be a better wife/mom! In case of fire--children, pets, computer out first! (oh and purse w/camera!)
37. Unfortunately, I'm NOT a computer geek so I still require lots of help!
38. I am, however, a math geek! LOVED Algebra and still love numbers, have a thing for numbers. . .
39. Also love names and their meanings--all of our children have special names. It is a very VERY big deal to me what they mean, sound like, etc. HUGE, it is no small matter.
40. I understand the pain of a loss of a baby, even now I have tears for our little one. But God is merciful and GREAT and blessed us with our firstBORN, conceived only 2mos after my miscarriage. I hurt for dear friends who have had many more miscarriages and loss compared to us.
41. I've always felt that the little baby we lost (1st preg) was a boy. He will forever be John Michael in my heart. I was only 8wks--it was so tiny but definitely a BABY!! I had just gone off the PILL and we believe that is why I m/c. The insert and the physician's book says the 3rd way the Pill "prevents" pregnancy is to prevent implantation by having a thin lining. That my friends, means it can be abortive! We did not know...so we share with others!
42. I love that my husband never has forgotten our little one and often when talking about how many children we have he includes the one in Heaven. I love that man!
43. I LOVE children, LOVE being a mom and LOVE my life!!!
44. This is my dream, to be married to my sweetheart, stay home and raise our family. To me, there is nothing better than being a wife and mom!! Second only to being a Christian--a child of God :-) A Titus 2 woman.
45. I am a "preacher's kid" and a grandchild of a preacher.
46. My mom's dad was an elder(in the church) and my dad was a preacher's son. I am a preacher's daughter married to an elder's son :)
47. I obeyed the gospel and was baptized into Christ by my dad after a church meeting. I was 9. So far our oldest 2 have also made the decision to be baptized and are now following Jesus. "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."
48. I am a reforming night owl. I'd rather be up all night and sleep all morning.
49. My favorite time of the day is twilight--I love to go on walk-abouts around sunset--always have.
50. Did I mention my love for nature/outdoors?!?!? LOVE it, except for ticks (especially seed ticks), mosquitoes, spiders and snakes! :) But those things do not keep me away!
51. Definitely NOT a coffee drinker!! NOPE!! But I do LOVE hot chocolate!
52. And I like herbal tea with some honey, please. Enjoy tea parties with my girls, especially when the guys go off to their annual deer camp.
53. I love Italian food, steak/potatoes and chocolate--especially dark chocolate, with mint--THAT is my favorite--YUM!!!
54. I like taking quizzes and tests and filling out forms (though not at the ER when I have sick children LOL!)
55. I LIKED taking the yearly tests in school. Yes, I did. Yes, I was one of THOSE students.
56. I graduated 4th in my class, honor student. I was Pres of FHA (Future Homemakers of America) my senior year.
57. I paid for my own contacts so I wouldn't have to wear glasses in high school. Glasses were so not cool back then. Only to get braces slapped on for ALL 4 yrs of high school...also totally not cool then. But now...everyone including teen stars have both!
58. I took 2yrs of French in high school and a sem of Intermediate French in college. I can read/translate some still but I really never could understand real SPOKEN French...I'm just too visual!
59. I've always wanted indoor pets (besides fish) and thanks to hubby now we do, much to the dismay of my mother and a certain friend of mine. My mom banned our poor Freckles pup outdoors while I was in hospital with Angus! Mom loves animals but not in the house!
60. I also have a soft heart for rescues...Little Lady joined our family when I found her in an empty Walgreens parking lot last year at 1AM snuffing up trash for food. Freckles wandered up to our house a young pup the yr before that and Cowboy, our 3 legged cat, was in need of a home when our oldest child's cat was dying of kidney failure right after moving, well, I couldn't say no! Yes, I'm a softie!
61. No soda pop in our house--except maybe for a birthday or with take out pizza.
62. We have water, raw milk and tea (decaffeinated), occasionally juice. I admit I like Dr.Pepper and Coca-Cola when visiting or few times we eat out, but do not keep it at home. I had caffeine overload in college and Dr. made me go off all caffeine--COLD TURKEY! Sure lowers the food bill!
63. I have to admit though, this pregnancy I've been absolutely GREEN, so I did buy some Sprite to help w/pregnancy nausea. Has sweetener but no caffeine and lovely bubbles to settle my tummy. I have to store it at my neighbors so my sweeties don't drink it up!
64. I use butter and whole wheat and lots of healthy things yet I admit before this preg, I could consume a whole bag of Sam's choc covered peanut butter cups in one sitting. Haha! However, now that I am pregnant I cannot even stand the smell of peanut butter so they have no hold on me now!
65. LOVE my progesterone cream! Pro-lief by Arbonne, natural progesterone cream, gave me (and my family) my old happy self again. Hormone imbalance is all too common in women today and this cream is made to Dr. Lee's specifications by an ob/gyn. I got my joy back, and my family got me back! My husband is a believer now and won't let me run out! PPD is real and it's no picnic!
66. Babies #3 thru 7 were born at home! LOVE LOVE LOVE my home births and my midwives! Calm, quiet, peaceful! But we had to have #8, this one, and any future ones in the hospital to prevent future hemorrhaging. I admit I hate hospitals, but I love my doctor!
67. My midwife told me my body was just made for birthing babies. I'm thankful to have the support of my husband during labor/delivery, he is my rock!
68. I love being pregnant, except for the nausea but even in that I can find joy. For, I had NO sickness before I miscarried, but I do with every other pregnancy! So I count it all joy!
69. Love horses and riding and miss that a lot. So happy my daughter has been able to do lots of riding with her Poppy, much more than I did at her age.
70. I wanted to barrel race but never did. My dream horse was a quarter horse.
71. At 13, I bought my own horse, well, actually a welsh pony...stubborn pony! She and I went around and around. She was fat as a barrel, loved to sidestep! I had to trick her to get a harness on her. But I was just as stubborn or more so!
72. I have been bucked off a horse...twice... We figured out 2nd time, my mom's horse must have never been trained to ride double. OOPS!
73. I once blacked out (fainted) trying to leave a crowded fellowship hall before my first Bible bowl competition. And then got sick. 25+ yrs later I still remember as if it was yesterday, not what I would call a stellar day.
74. I still loved Bible Bowl. I even helped teach and take the youth from our church to two Bible Bowls after we were married.
75. I've been blessed with the most wonderful neighbor and friend since we moved to our REAL house. She is the age of my dad and yet, we chat every day and I count her as one of my dearest friends. We are a lifeline to each other. She and "Pop" consider our crew as their own grandchildren and our children love them, too! There was a spiritual connection from day one. I love my JA!
76. I've always wanted to adopt some day, since I was a child myself. My heart is especially on India, but also Africa, but there is a need here as well. I have several friends who have adopted. They are heroes in my eyes! We are to take care of the fatherless! Even if we never adopt, my goal is to get debt free so we can help others to adopt.
77. Orphans/missions both equally deep in my heart. I would LOVE for any or all of mine to go to the mission field part time or full.
78. I wanted a large family to raise an army for the Lord, not a physical fighting army but a spiritual one to bring others to Jesus. The ONLY thing we have any hope of taking with us to Heaven is our children, IF they choose to follow and serve HIM!
79. My parents say I told them I was going to have 12 children. I don't remember that, but do remember reading the book "Cheaper by the Dozen" and loving it, I also loved the Waltons and pretended I was in a lg family. After 5 children they told everyone they are starting to believe me about the dozen! HAHA! I do remember wanting at least 8!
80. I LOVE Bollywood movies (usually set in India)! I am sooo hooked! I am getting quite the collection now and I'm happy to say that my children enjoy them with me! Bride and Prejudice (Indian version of Jane Austins' P&P) started it all. The ones we have/seen are clean, modest, adventure, romance, song/dance, and Indian dress--what's not to love?!?
81. I LOVE babies! There is nothing sweeter, more precious, more miraculous than a baby. Precious gifts of God. And yet I'm loving the new relationships that are developing as our oldest children grow up and become young Christian adults. Where does the time go?
82. I tend to procrastinate. Like starting this blog several months ago, and just now actually following through...
83. I have 4 different movie versions of Pride and Prejudice! And love them all for different reasons. Hubby just laughs at me, but I think he actually liked the shorter one!
84. I actually LOVED using cloth diapers. Had to stop because of well issues and then w/twins, it was easier to have olders help w/disposables. Want to go back to them with the next baby if I get caught up with laundry! I also actually enjoy hanging clothes on a line, but not during allergy season!
85. My mom taught me to sew and I have through the years sewed my own clothes, including some things for our children, but it's been years. I miss sewing, so I'm doing more decluttering/rearranging so I can sew again! And teach my girls who are ready.
86. I am claustraphobic. Very. If I get too hot, I feel the same as I do when I'm in small tight spaces. And I panic. Same thing if I get pinned down and a certain someone still thinks it's funny...it's not!
87. I also HATE spiders! Used to have a deathly fear of them. I refuse to watch Arachnophobia and we used to live where there was a LOT of brown recluse spiders, but no way to get rid of all of them, because of location.
88. Early in our marriage, God and I had a talk. I realized I was alone often and seeing bad spiders so I said if He'd protect me and let me see the spiders before they bit me, I'd find the strength to kill them. He has and I do! I have killed 00s of brown recluses and I truly Thank GOD that not a one of us ever got bit! We have had so many close calls that it could only be God's help...I still give him the glory for my "kills" and safety!
89. Why I'm THRILLED that our new house has NONE, ZIP, ZILTCH brown recluses! We do have some in the garage/storage but it's totally separate from house! WAHOO!!!! 4 yrs and counting of freedom! We were so careful moving in!
90. I have seen and killed brown recluses in church bldgs, doctor's offices, a friend's bathtub, more than one friend's wall. I consider it part of my mission in life to show others what they are and to kill as many as I can.
91. I met my hubby at church camp 1988, we were 17. We dated long distance 2yrs! He moved closer to me and I went to a college further away! Finally at the same school for 1.5yrs!
92. We were born the same year, same state, graduated high school the same year and both had Panthers as our mascots but lived 2hrs apart!
93. I am older than my hubby by 3.5 months and he loves to tease me that truly makes me his "old lady" and he will ALWAYS be younger than I am! Haha! Yes, I'll be 40 before him!
94. Though we dated for a total of 4 yrs, we were only officially engaged for 4 months! But I knew early on he was THE ONE!
95. I have grown and matured a lot from when I was a girl, especially a teen. I cannot believe we are the same person, as some ways I have changed so much. Thankful for God's grace, mercy and molding me to the woman I am today! I wasn't "bad" by the world's standards but off the mark by God's standards.
96. I identify most w/Dory from Finding Nemo. I often will say I'm having a Dory moment or "Hi, I'm Dory!" I too, suffer from short term memory loss, comes with having children and craziness of pregnancy. But I'm also optimistic, glass is half-full, don't worry, we can do it kinda gal! I've been known to chat away with complete strangers and try to cheer up those around me.
97. LOVE all of the Pixar movies....Finding Nemo, Cars, UP, Ratatouille, The Incredibles, Bug's Life, Monsters Inc. All GREAT! We quote a lot from these movies! And never tire of them! We can't wait to see Toy Story 3...not on DVD yet. And the short films they have done are awesome, too! See, having all ages gives you a good reason to watch them over and over <wink>
98. I think children not only teach us important lessons such as unselfishness, patience, forgiveness and unconditional love, but they also keep us young too! We have so much fun with our children and having littles in the house definitely keeps us young!
99. I LOVE LOVE LOVE roller coasters! I think they are great fun! Hubby hates them, but now I have children who love them, too, and ride with me!
100. I love to share tips and things I've learned along the way. I am an advocate of breastfeeding and natural childbirth and homeschooling. Natural foods and no vaccines are a biggie too. Someday I may be a doula or childbirth teacher, etc.
101. I often have our newest cat, Mr. Tux on my lap, like now, while at my computer. Last month he came to live with us since my grandma, MaMarie, died. The new renters didn't want him and he wouldn't stay with my folks. My lap's his favorite spot to be and it's so good to be "owned" by a cat once again!
