More than Just Writing

The deeper I’ve gotten into the writing community the more I’ve realized that authors are regular people with regular interests and plenty of everyday triumphs and problems. Just for fun I thought I’d write up a little about me that goes beyond my love of writing. I’ll keep it to ten this time!

1. Kids — I adore them. For as long as I can remember I’ve been a total baby person. I love the way they smell. I love their tiny fingers and toes. I love the sweet innocence that radiates from them. Now as an adult with my own kids I’m still in awe of how much I love them. Being a mom is such a great job even if it makes me want to put in earplugs from time to time.

Three of our kids at the state capitol before Garret (age 11) spoke at the hearing on ALD

2. ALD — Adrenoleukodystrophy is a word we’d never heard before and then in 2015 it became a big part of our lives when our then four year old son was diagnosed with it. Since that time we’ve come to love our “ALD family” so much. There are some incredible people fighting and advocating for this disease. We’ve been able to join them and have spoken frequently on behalf of ALD in our home state of Washington. We are very excited that Washington State will begin screening newborns for ALD by 2018. At the end of my life I know that I’ll still remember the feeling when I heard this law was passed.

3. I drive a twelve seater van. Living in a small town and driving a big rig means everyone always knows where I am. I hear it all the time, “I saw you at the store this morning.” Or “how was the library?” I can’t go anywhere undetected. I guess that’ll help keep me out of trouble.

4. All my kids have names that have a story or meaning to them. Naming everything is fun for me. Our house, car, and even chicken coop all have names. I love naming characters too.

5. I played volleyball all through high school and even though I’m really out of shape now I try and go help out with the high school team when I can. I think the net has either gotten higher or I’m not jumping as high. Probably the net’s gotten higher, don’t you think?

6. I have several books I could read over and over and never ever get sick of. A couple of favorites — Jane Eyre (This book has everything suspense, mystery, romance), Anne of Green Gables (first book crush Gilbert), These is my Words (there’s so much tragedy in this book and yet I find it unbelievably beautiful and full of so many bits of wisdom), Where the Red Fern Grows (This should be mandatory reading for every ten year old kid. No, it should be mandatory for everyone. It’s so good and I cry every time)…. Maybe I’ll do a whole blog post on favorite books some other time. I could go on and on.

7. I have the best husband around. Call me biased if you want but he’s THE BEST. He’s funny. He’s hard working. He’s romantic. He’s supportive. He’s the best dad. He’s an all-around good guy.

8. We’ve been foster parents for well over six months now (where has the time gone) and since taking that plunge (it’s a story for another post too) we’ve become advocates for the thousands of kids that are in the system. Opening our home and hearts has been a challenging and growing experience. It’s also been one of the greatest courses on love I could have ever taken.

9. When I was younger I did a couple of those food eating challenges. I ate a two pound hamburger in Idaho and got my picture on the wall. We just took the kids back and the picture’s not there anymore. They tried to get me do it again but some hobbies are best left in the past.

10. Tyler and I have a goal to go to all fifty states. We are missing a few states in the south, Minnesota, North Dakota, Alaska, and Hawaii. If anyone has any great ideas of things to do in North Dakota or any other missing state let me know. I’m always planning trips and sometimes I actually take them!