100 Things About Me

This may be full of things you already know, but maybe there's something new in there somewhere. I'm going to try not to state anything too obvious to everyone.

1. I love writing whether it's blogs, letters, e-mails, or anything else.
2. I've thought of writing a book and know exactly what it would be about and how it would start.
3. My friends and I used to sit around and write stories all the time
4. I am still in contact with every close friend I've had since I was six.
5. I have had and do have the best friends anyone could ever ask for.
6. I've never had a fight with a friend.
7. I love to read.
8. I can remember staying up late reading things like Anne of Green Gables when I was seven.
   
9. I walked into a wall once while reading a book.
10. I didn't play sports because I was always reading.
11. I've played the piano for 23 years.
12. Piano recitals made me nauseous but I can sing without getting nervous. I used to play so fast that you could hear people let our their breath when I finished.
    
13. I have one piano student and enjoy spending time with the piano again.
14. I took sewing lessons from age 5 to 16.
15. I made my graduation dress.
16. I graduated at 16.
17. I was homeschooled all through my school years.
18. I loved every minute of it.
19. Growing up I never had another child or teenager say something negative to me about that but heard many adults do it.
20. Just goes to show you that we are not born threatened by other people who do things differently than we do. It's something we learn.
21. Because of this, it has been a goal of mine to always look at other people's choices and decisions from their point of view and not mine.
    
22. I had never been inside a school while classes were going on until I started working in the Oklahoma City ISD.
23. I thought many of the teachers and principals I met during my work with the schools were absolutely amazing. I have the deepest admiration for what they do.
    
24. I started traveling doing ministry when I was fourteen.
25. When I was fifteen I went to Mexico and Australia teaching a children's program.
26. The kids in Australia thought I rode a horse everywhere because I was from Texas.
    
27. I've been on stage in front of hundreds of kids and never get nervous but put me in front of fifteen teenagers and I'm slightly terrified.
    
28. I didn't go to college and neither did John.
29. Neither one of us have ever regretted it.
30. I knew I was going to marry John when I was 17.
31. He's the only guy I've ever kissed and I always tell him he's the best kisser in the world. :)
    
32. We got married a month after I turned 21.
33. We invited over 1,400 people to our wedding and still had to leave people off the list.
    
34. I hand addressed each invitation in calligraphy.
    
35. That took a very long time.
36. John stuffed the envelopes with my sisters. He was very involved in planning our wedding.
    
37. We had already known each other for 16 years when we got married.
38. Before and after we got married we taught kids at church together for years and this led to many great discussions about how we wanted to raise our kids before we ever had them.
    
39. I've been pregnant five times.
    
40. I have no idea how many children we're going to have.
41. I start hoping for another baby about the time mine turns six months but God has had other plans so far.
42. God has taught me a lot about patience over the last five years.
    
43. I think God makes better decisions than I do and always provides the energy and resources for His plans (which is the reason for #40).
44. I love roller coasters and thrill rides.
45. I hate scary movies.
46. I love strawberries and birthday cake.
47. I really love my Bimi's mac and cheese, my Mema's chocolate cake, and both of my grandmothers' turkey and dressing.
    
48. I hate raw onions and tomatoes.
49. I love having people over and we usually do two or three times a week.
50. I love board and card games.
51. In high school all my friends would come to my house and play games for hours.
52. Sometimes my mom would play with us and that was usually the most fun.
53. My friends and I knew each other's parents almost as well as we knew each other. This probably prevented a lot of problems.
    
54. I used to cry a lot and wear my heart on my sleeve.
55. My dad was the most influential person in helping me overcome that tendency.
56. Now it's pretty hard to hurt my feelings.
57. I love hugs but I never know if other people like them as much as I do.
58. I love snuggles and think that may have something to do with how much I love babies.
59. I grew up on old movies and my favorite actors/actresses are the classic ones like Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, the Marx Brothers, and many others.
60. I love history and historical fiction.
61. I like jobs where I know exactly what to do and when I'm finished.
62. So I like cleaning and ironing.
63. I like laundry because of the piles of dirty clothes disappearing but don't like that I can't get it all cleaned at once.
64. I grew up on a 2,400-acre ranch
65. I lived across the pasture from my grandparents
66. I used to get my school done as quickly as possible so I could get outside and go feed the horses, ride bikes, or just play.
67. When I was seven we lived on a golf course.
68. I was going through a major Anne of Green Gables phase and named places on the golf course things like Angel's Shining Lake.
69. I still believe in kindred spirits.
    
70. I kept a journal during that time and it is dramatic and hilarious.
    
71. I think I must have really annoyed my brothers doing things like that.
72. In spite of that, my brothers were my best friends.
73. My mom used to make us sit in the corner and hug after we fought.
74. That taught us a lot about dealing with our issues instead of running away from them.
75. Since I was the only girl for 11 years, we played a lot of guy things like Batman and Robin. I insisted on being Batman because I thought Batgirl was ridiculous. Cameron was Robin and Kyle was the bad guy.
76. When the boys played girl things with me it didn't work as well because they would eventually throw something in like robbing my restaurant or terrorizing my family of dolls.
77. I played with dolls until I was thirteen. Then I only stopped because I got too busy.
    
78. I am very competitive.
79. Another girl told me she wanted to marry John.
80. She didn't. : )
    
81. I have always had a hard time doing anything I didn't feel I was good at (which is a lot of things).
    
82. I'm really good at crosswords, word games, and puzzles.
83. My IQ is in the top one percent but I can't catch or hit a ball to save my life.
84. This was frustrating when playing volleyball with friends seemed more important than being smart.
    
85. Fortunately I have grown a little more coordinated and can at least play catch with my son.
86. My shoes used to have names and I would play with them.
87. When I shop, I like to shop quickly. In the store, scan, leave.
88. I always end up waiting on John when we shop. Especially if we're somewhere where he can smell things like candles or lotions. : )
89. I love lists.
90. Sometimes I add things to them after I've done them so I can check them off and see that I did them.
91. Yes, I'm aware that I am crazy.
    
92. I get excited about making a plan.
93. We have decided it is physically impossible for us to go to bed early.
94. On a regular basis John and I will be in bed at a decent hour and talk until 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning like kids at a sleepover.
    
95. Fortunately, our kids sleep late.
96. We have seriously considered packing our family up at some point and traveling around the world doing mission work as we go.
97. We want to make it a high priority for our kids to understand how other people live and to have a heart for people everywhere.
98. My life is wonderful!
99. My family is amazing!
100. My God is GOOD!!!