Meet the Family

My husband and I have been married for almost 16 years.  We were both in high school and a mutual friend set us up on a blind date.  It was so romantic....a spring dance.  Actually, I'm lying.  It wasn't romantic.  We stopped by the dance, which was taking place in our high school cafeteria.  If I remember right, there weren't even decorations.  But he was absolutely adorable so who cared!  Our second date was my prom, and third date was his prom.  Maybe I should write a book about how to get a guy to fall in love with you in three dates.  It's easy!!  Go to a whole lot of dances!  I'll admit, he was pretty smitten with me from the start.  I'm not sure why, being that I tooted on him during our first date.  Maybe that should be added to the dating book....toot immediately because apparently high school boys love that.  Or maybe we were both just desperate.... I had a white girl afro and he had little chicken legs.  The awkwardness of those first dates was fantastic.  It took my man three months to kiss me, but when he did...fireworks.  Three years later, we were married and have lived happily ever after.

When it comes to men, my husband is pretty fantastic.  He's a dentist, an Air Force officer, a square dancer, hiker, camper, and awesome dad.  He takes our kids fishing and camping at every opportunity.  I think he's hoping that at least one of his kids will be a forest ranger when they grow up.  That's what he wants to do when he retires.....

My goal in life is to have at least one athlete in the family.  My ideal evening is going to my child's sporting event, eating a pretzel, and cheering my kids on.  I'm that scary mom that doesn't shut up when my kid is playing soccer or basketball.  I'm the mom that watches her daughter during Special Olympics with a tear in her eye due to pure pride.  But I'm also the mom that can't help my kids with home work because I get too agitated.  Dad's gotta do that....and he's good too.  I wish I had his patience.  It's a beautiful thing.  Notice there's no picture of me....that's because I haven't taken a great picture since 1995.  And it's my blog so I don't have to show you a picture if I don't want to.

We have four amazing children.  And when I say amazing, I mean AMAZING.  Sophia is my oldest and her goal in life is....hmmmm....well, she doesn't really have any at this time (she's only 10).  She loves reading with a passion.  She also loves to travel.  I have her pegged to join the Peace Corp one day.  She's my escort for charitable events because her heart is huge.  That, and my husband prefers to stay at home and
NOT go to events that involve dressing up.  Sophia doesn't mind.  She loves going places and seeing new things.  I've tried pushing her into sports...... basketball, softball, and soccer just to name a few.  You can often times catch me praying for God to make Sophia an athlete...but I'm pretty sure he's got other plans for her.  She is a diva in every way.  I love to watch her run around the bases during softball....it's much like watching Mariah Carey run in heels.  But heck, she's beautiful so I will continue to just cheer her on. 

Molly is my sweet angel.  We found out she was born with an extra chromosome right after birth.  I didn't care.  I knew she could make me proud and be involved with Special Olympics.  For someone with very bad gross motor development, the girl can play sports.  She's my ballet, soccer, swimming, basketball, and softball loving girl.  I'm so proud.  She's also daddy's girl because she loves to watch Dr Who episodes with him.  That's all it takes to win his heart....

Lily is my rough tom-boy.  She has to be first in every realm of her life.  Everything is a competition for Lily and she's brilliant too.  She sees every detail in a book and will do her homework until it's perfect.  If a friend at school does the monkey bars, she will keep practicing the monkey bars until she can do them backwards and with a flip.  Raising Lily was rough though.  She wanted her way at all times and would scream without ceasing for hours.  I'll be honest...I went back to work for a few years.  Yes, it was THAT rough.  Her first day of kindergarten was the best day of my life, and surprisingly, she didn't throw fits at school.  She needed school and she needed to be around friends.  It is still amazing to watch her blossom into a beautiful little girl.  And I'm a stay-at-home mom again.  Life is good.

Brady was my surprise.  I had planned on adopting our 4th child, but my little man came along.  After three girls, I didn't even know what to do with a boy.  But turns out, I didn't have to do anything.  He just magically became all boy.  Trucks, tractors, and animals came naturally.  Except he did occasionally put on his sisters dresses.... but that's normal, right?  He's stubborn like an ox.....just like his daddy.  For several YEARS, he wore his underpants, shirts, and jeans backwards because he was sure that's how they were supposed to be.  Try going to the grocery store like that.  Brady is amazing though and I love watching him and his dad work outside together.  He is truly a blessing.

All of my children have put so much magic into my life.  How do people function without the dinner time belches, continuous poop in the toilet, and messy house?  I love it!!  I love being a mom to these great little human beings.  Life is not just good.  It's wonderful.