Me…
Me oh my … If I am being real here, I have to tell you that even thought of you reading this freaks me out. Writing a bio about myself, sharing my real life, my world, my people with you, well- its freaky and scary. Lot’s of insecurities pop up, but if I am going to be obedient to what I know God has called me to do, then here we go…it’s time to get real.
If you would know me from my old life I am sure you would laugh that I am writing a blog about Jesus. Jesus didn’t come into my world til I was 26, and when I finally said yes, I had to say no to the whole other world I was living. You’ll hear all about it soon enough …but just know I am not the stereotypical “Jesus Freak” girl that you may have already labeled me as.
When I did said yes to Jesus, I didn’t just say no, I also said YES to a whole new and exciting world. My husband basically was dropped literally from the heavens right into my lap. Jesus and Jeremy saved me, and I say that in all seriousness and with 100% certainty… more on this later!
As for me in my real life. My husband Jeremy and I live a pretty hectic and crazy life, really we know no other way. It has always kind of been like that, we met fast, got married fast and had kids fast, like 3 kids in 4 ½ years fast…fast just seems to be a pattern of ours. We have 5 kiddos ranging in age from pre-school to college. I’ve been a momma since I was 18 years old, so for me I really don’t know much of anything else. Mommin’ is what I do. I will share alot about our family, our kids, what I’ve learned, what I regret, how we roll as a big crew of 7 and how we try to keep Jesus in the middle of it.
My real job is real estate, it’s basically a huge part of our life. I am a real estate agent, my husband is a real estate agent and we own a real estate management company. You see the pattern here … real estate, real estate, real estate. When people come to our house to visit us, our kids actually will give them a tour of our house, like they are trying to sell it or something, which still totally cracks me up. What I love most about real estate is it’s one of the few professions that allows me to be deep in the middle of people’s lives, in their homes and really getting to know their families. I truly love that part, I love meeting new people, I love the challenges of the job and I love seeing God connect the dots in my world through real estate. There are also things that I detest about real estate and could easily throw something through a window on some days…you’ll probably be hearing plenty about our real estate world.
So here I am … finally doing what God told me to do several years ago. Sharing, being real, challenging, encouraging, learning and writing. I am even more freaked out now that I know you’ve read this far, but since you have…keep going there is more.
Me … a little deeper.
I am the dreamer that makes my husband nervous. I am the “what if” girl that says let’s change that. I love seeing people come from the bottom and make their way to the top. I cheer on the underdog because I was the underdog. I love sitting and listening to someone’s dreams and goals and encouraging them. I love helping women see that their God given personality and abilities are already formed in them. I love my babies and my husband like a fierce momma bear that doesn’t play around. I am a total extrovert and a total introvert. I love people and parties and get togethers. I also crave to be alone with my little family or alone in my house when none of my little people are there. I love solitude and the quiet (my husband loves loud music and drums). I love sitting on the beach and just staring at the ocean waves for hours, God fills me up there. Racial reconciliation are 2 new words that are inspiring and motivating me lately. I am passionate about missions in Swaziland Africa and Haiti. I am committed to make a difference there. I want to fight and be a voice for those that are voiceless. For you-I want you to dream big and I want you to see yourself as worthy and called.
My People … Ferguson Party of 7
I always tend to call my family “my people” or you may catch me call my kids “my little people.”
These crazy cats are 100% my people, my #1 people. The ones I wake up to, the ones I want to spend my days with (most of the time) and the ones I go to sleep with.
My people are the ones that I influence the most and they are the ones that influence me the most.
My husband is my everything. When God dropped him into my life, my whole world truly changed. Jesus and Jeremy saved me. He is my biggest cheerleader, my biggest encourager and is the MOST patient person on the planet. How he deals with my kind of crazy is next level patience…..when Jeremy came into my life he gave me the freedom to dream again. So much more on this later…
I have 5 kiddos and my mommy days started early. I was only 18 when I became a mommy and now I have 21 years of mommin’ business under my belt My oldest daughter is in college and our youngest is in pre-school and then we have them all in between. That’s a WIDE range of kiddos up in this house.
Our oldest daughter Riley is kind free bird spirit. She and I basically grew up together. This girl is going to be one amazing and loving teacher very soon! I have no doubt she will live on a farm one day with a million goats, a couple kids strapped on her back, dye her hair purple and sell homemade soap at the Farmers Market on the weekends.
My middle school daughter Ella, is my mini me, she is a dreamer and creative and ready to take on a new challenge everyday. Spreadsheets and lists are totally her thing. Her heart is huge and she sees the world as one big open dream.
Drew and Seth are my boys, they are only 14 months apart (yes totally not planned). They are the light in my day. Boys are so fun, they say funny stuff and do funny things. Drew is our sensitive level headed kid that wants to be a preacher or quarterback (same thing right?!). Always safety first with this one.
Seth is momma’s baby and he is the firecracker, if it’s quiet you better take cover because he is up to something. He loves big and lives life big. This kid as an adult, I have no clue, but I am sure it’s going to be exciting and fun to watch.
Lera is our youngest she came to us at 13 months old as a foster placement and never left. We adopted her when she was 2 and she is the grand finale. We need James Dobson to come over here and give us a one-on-one seminar just for her. She is strong willed to the next level, but funny and sweet as all get out. There is alot to share and tell with our Lera. I am still working through how to share safely and protect her, yet still be real with the heartache and hardness of fostering and adoption.
You will learn more and more about our kiddos here in this space. All the way from the crazy stuff my boys say and do to the time we put our 18 year old daughter on a plane and she moved to Africa. From our experience in foster care to the adoption of our youngest daughter. From being a single mom to having a new family almost overnight.
I feel that God is creating a space here for me to share some real life stories about my family, not just all the fun, but the hurts, the hard stuff, the confusing stuff …and how we as a family try to bring Jesus into every aspect of it. By all means, we DO NOT have it figured out, but we are learning, we are growing and we are trying to be real through it all.
