100 Things About Me

Apparently I have reached a milestone in my blogging life - my 100th post. And apparently when that happens the appropriate thing to do is make a post of 100 facts about yourself. And as Father Tim would say, "There's the rub". I can't imagine I can come up with 100 interesting things about me. But I don't want to be the one to break tradition. So bear with me as I work through this list. And if you make it through to the very end - there will be a prize! A reward for your perseverance. A special way to say thank you for indulging my very fun blogging addiction. A very nice prize that reflects many of the things I love in life. A prize that will take you a whole year to use. No peeking now - you have to read through to the end of my list!


1. I was born on All Saint's Day. - a fact I NEVER let my husband forget. I once worked with a girl born the day before All Saint's Day - on halloween. I always thought her birthday fit her. I've always hoped my birthday fits me.

2. I am the oldest of seven children. That worked well for me when I was younger. It fit in with my bossy, er.. I mean my confident personality. Now I think - "Great - I will probably be the first one to die".

3. My family moved a lot. But only between two states. North Dakota in the summer where my dad was a crop duster and Florida in the winter where he was a flight instructor and mechanic. Until I was in the fourth grade. Then we stayed in North Dakota. But we still moved a lot. By the time I was married I had lived in over 30 houses. I still don't know what that was all about.

4. I started wearing glasses in the 4th grade. I am very, very near-sighted.

5. I am going to have Lasik eye surgery next week to correct my very bad astignatism and near-sightedness. I cannot even imagine what it will be like to wake up in the morning and see!

6. I always thought my dad was tall. He was 5'3".

7. When I was little I was very skinny. My mom even took me to the doctor once to see if there was something wrong with me. Hmmm...those were the days!

8. I loved Vacation Bible School every summer. It lasted all day and we had to bring our lunch. Crafts was my favorite part of all.

9. I begged my mother to teach me to sew when I was 9- it was always fascinating to me.

10. I also remember begging her to let me stay home from church on a Sunday night so she could teach me how to knit.

11. I taught myself how to crochet.

12. The first of the only two times I ever saw my dad cry was when he prayed with me at the altar to ask Jesus into my heart. I wasn't old enough to really understand what I was doing, but my dad's tears told me how important it was. The second time was when he left me in my college dormitory.

13. The first time I went to camp I cried every day because I was so homesick. But I loved it anyway.

14. I met my first boyfriend, Keith, at camp when I was in junior high. We loved each other for years even though we only saw each other once each summer lol!

15. I finally gave up on him when I fell in love with his older brother, Rick.

16. Rick never knew I was alive.

17. I have always, always loved to read. When I was younger I used to get in trouble for reading too much and not getting my work done. My mom always told me "you can't live your life like a book". I always told her "I can try." So far I think my life has been a very good book.

18. I worked as a checker in a grocery store while I was in high school.

19. My dad bought me a brand new Honda Civic that he said would be all mine if I wouldn't go to college. Weird huh? I was the oldest and he didn't want me to leave home. I turned him down.

20. I moved 1400 miles away from home to go to college. My dad really wished I would have taken that car.

21. I was more homesick than I could possibly imagine - but I stuck it out. I loved college - it changed my life forever.

22. It changed my life forever because it was at college that I met my future husband. We fell in love quickly! We met in September, got engaged in November, and married in May.

23. I was 19 years old.

24. I have never regretted one moment of that decision.

25. We honeymooned in Yellowstone National Park.

26. My dream of being a mama came true in 1980 with the birth of our daughter Michelle.

27. Tara, Andrea, and Jessica joined over the next 9 years.

28. I lost a baby in 1989.

29. I grieved more than I ever thought I could.

30. I look forward to getting to be with this child again in heaven someday.

31. If I had not lost this baby, I would not have Jessica today. That is unimaginable.

32. God's ways are not my ways. His are always better. Even when I don't understand. Even when it hurts.

33. Although I have always had to be a working mama, I have never had to use daycare. My husband and I have always been able to raise our own children - to which I am very thankful.

34. My kids are much better people than I am.

35. I was deathly afraid of dentists as a child. Mom always drug me screaming and kicking into the dentist's office.

36. I was a dental assistant for 8 years. I loved it.

37. My mom just shook her head.

38. I taught myself how to drive a stick shift.

39. My husband lost his dad who was also his very best friend in a logging accident in 1990. Watching my husband suffer this loss was excruciating.

40. One year later I lost my dad in a plane accident.

41. My mom moved in next door to me and I was her main support person as she began her journey into widowhood. I was also working full time, raising 4 children and trying hard to be a pastor's wife. I didn't do a very good job at anything.

42. Just a few months later, my brother confided in me that he was living a homosexual lifestyle and was HIV positive.

43. I had to tell my mother.

44. I never became suicidal but I remember thinking that death sounded like a nice way to escape.

45. God began speaking to my heart. I had to make a decision. I either trusted Him with my life or I didn't. The choice was mine.

46. I gave every single part of my life to God and decided to place my total faith in Him. My circumstances didn't change - but my life did.

47. Jeremiah 29:11 became my life verse: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future." I clung desperately to that verse.

48. I have never been the same.

49. Part of my new faith filled life was quitting my job. My family needed me at home and I needed to be with them.

50. I started making and selling crafts.

51. God blessed my little business.

52. I have sewed probably a million miles on my simple Singer sewing machine that my husband gave me on my 20th birthday.

53. I recently gave that machine to my daughter, Michelle. I felt a little like Marty in Love Come's Softly when she gives her much loved and much used sewing machine to her daughter Missy!

54. I got a brand new Bernina sewing machine - Bernina and I have become very good friends! She is so awesome, she is very talented, and she makes me look good.

55. My husband and I did a paper route for 6 months to put our oldest daughter through college. We got up at 1:30 a.m. and got home at 6:00 a.m. We took showers and went to our day jobs.

56. The paper route caused us to draw very close to God and very close to each other.

57. We both enjoyed spending those nights talking about everything under the sun - I mean moon!

58. 6 months was all we could physically do.

59. We invested our last paycheck in two Yorkshire Terriers - we decided breeding dogs had to be easier than a paper route.

60. It wasn't.

61. I still breed dogs - but it is a lot of work.

62. It is also a lot of fun.

63. There is nothing sweeter than brand new puppies.

64. Except finally letting them go to their new homes - I am very weary of cleaning up after them for 10 weeks.

65. I am a pastor’s wife.

66. I like being a pastor's wife.

67. Except it would be nice to have some weekends off.

68. My husband and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in Hawaii.

69. It was an incredible time for both of us.

70. We definitely plan to go back again someday.

71. While in Hawaii, we agreed to not talk about the kids or the church.

72. We never talked about the church.

73. I swam with a dolphin - a life goal of mine!

74. My husband and I plan to take a sabbatical someday and do a road-trip around the perimeter of the United States. We plan to go where we want to go and stay as long as we want to. No agenda, no time frame. Pure freedom!

75. I want to write a book someday. I already have a storyline planned. My next step is to do an outline.

76. I enjoy going to rodeos. My husband is glad about that. He loves them.

77. I am very afraid of flying. My dad was a pilot - a very good one. It was his life profession. He always told me flying was safer than driving. But he died in a plane accident.

78. As I get older, I seem to get more afraid of flying.

79. But, I refuse to let me fear of flying stop me from traveling.

80. I have medication to take if I have to - but I try not to. I don't like relying on medication.

81. I am also very afraid of snakes. I get chills just typing the word.

82. I am trying to lose weight.

83. My weight goal is not a number on a scale - it is more about how I feel about myself.

84. I think being middle-aged makes me more sensible about things like that. It is freeing.

85. I just started coloring my hair - I was getting more grey than I was comfortable with!

86. I have good genes - my great-grandparents lived to their hundreds.

87. When I was 38 I had to have a hysterectomy. For a couple of years I displayed symptoms of ovarian cancer. It is a very hard disease to diagnose and I have a very strong family history of it. Having a hysterectomy was the hardest decision for me to make. But I have never regretted it. I did have pre-cancerous cells in my ovaries - so it was a good decision. It is good to not have to worry about it anymore.

88. I took hormone replacement therapy pills for 10 years. I took myself off of them cold turkey last fall. Aside from a few hot flashes - I'm okay. I decided that menopause wasn't a disease that needed treating - it was the way God made my body. I don't care for the hot flashes, but they are bearable. And they are getting fewer.

89. I love Disneyland. My family makes fun of me because I love it so much. One time when we went on a family vacation - we had to drag the kids back in the evening. They were tired and wanted to stay at the hotel. Not me - there were fireworks to see!

90. I love the 4th of July - it is one of my favorite holidays to decorate my house for.

91. I make home-made Christmas tree ornaments for my girls every year. When they get married, I give them to them to use on their tree.

92. I bite my nails. I wish I didn't. But I can't stop.

93. I collect fabric. I use it occasionally!

94. I also collect scrapbooking supplies. I use them seldom. But I have good intentions.

95. Everyone tells me I look good in green. I don't like green - but I wear it because well, you know, everyone tells me I look good in it.

96. My favorite color is blue.

97. I would love to own and operate a Bed & Breakfast someday. It probably will never happen - but I am collecting awesome breakfast recipes - just in case!

98. I hate to paint - I would rather take a beating! But I keep thinking I am going to paint my kitchen and dining room soon.

99. In 2008 we are having a year of celebrations. We will celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary, our 20th year pastoring at our church, my youngest daughter will graduate from high school, my third daughter will graduate from college, and I will celebrate my 50th birthday. So to celebrate everything, our kids and their spouses and us are going to Italy – a real dream come true for all of us!

100. I am very tired of talking about me. But it's okay - I'm done now!

You did it! And now for the prize! To celebrate the fact that you read clear to the end of this post and the fact that I have 100 posts, I am hosting a give-away. My prize is a one year subscription to one of these three magazines. You get to choose from:


Martha Stewart Living
Today's Christian Woman
Real Simple

or

Home Companion

Here's how to enter:
1)Just leave a comment telling me you would like to enter and which magazine you would prefer.
2)And then mention my celebration give-away in a post on your blog.
3)Be sure to leave an email address or a link to your blog so I can contact you. Then your name will be placed into my sweet dog, Josey's,



food dish and she will pick a winner! Because I don't have the heart to do it myself! And I will post the winner on August 10th - my mom's 70th birthday!