Welcome, friend! It’s so good to have you here!
I’ve lived all my life in the rural South, and I’m just a country girl at heart. I love wide open fields, going barefoot, late evenings on the front porch with my love, and being a mom. Oh, and coffee.
My husband and I met in junior high. We became high school sweethearts a few years later, and three years after that, we got married. God has greatly blessed us! Though we’ve been through some really rough times, we are indeed blessed.
We are parents to eight wonderful children. Our oldest two children came in pretty close succession. In 2006, the Lord began dealing with our hearts about adoption, and we followed his leading. Number three came home from the Philippines in 2009 at 15 months old!
At that point, knew that I needed (and wanted) to be home with my children. And so, we decided that we would work towards that goal. After another year teaching 8th grade ELA, I did just that…I came home. I have never looked back. That’s not to say I haven’t wanted to throw in the towel, even if just for few days, but I know my calling: to be home, teaching my kids, managing my home, being a helper to my husband.
Our family blossomed and grew, becoming bigger than either of us ever dreamed! Number four was a girl, followed 19 months later by boy/girl twins. A couple of years later, we added another boy, followed by the caboose, whom we lovingly call our little Torinado! We just thought the rest of them kept us busy. She has broken the mold and showed us we hadn’t seen anything yet!
While I love and cherish (though, admittedly not enough) these treasures, it’s not all roses.
It’s not pretty all the time. The truth is, it’s downright yucky sometimes.
If sometimes it all feels yucky, you are not alone!
Being in the trenches of life is hard. It’s scary, and frustrating, and it seems like it’s never going to end. When I am in the trenches (and I almost always am), I can’t see past the dirt and yuck in front of me. Maybe you know that feeling.
That’s why I am here. I want to always be honest with you, to share my struggles, share my trench-life. There are two reasons: 1) I have so often felt so isolated and alone and that no one really gets it, and so I want to be open and transparent in an effort to help you know you are NOT alone, and 2) I want to be an encouragement when you do feel that way and urge us all to find joy in the trenches.
You were created for such a time as this. Let’s do this together!