{52 blog prompts: week 1}

write an "about me" about yourself.  here goes nothing. :)

i'm a 35 year old follower of jesus, wife, mother, daughter, friend, and teacher.  i grew up in nappanee and moved away for about five years total.  four of those years were spent in anderson (summers in claypool) and one year in granger.  john and i dated, broke up, dated again and then tied the knot in 2005.  we moved back to nappanee, built a house on our family's farm, and three years after getting married we had our first child in 2008.  three years later in 2011, we had our second child, and three years later in 2014, we had our third and fourth.  apparently we like the number 3.

i love being a mom.  my kids are so much fun and a lot of work.  i always said i wanted to be a stay at home mom but it just hasn't turned out that way.  sometimes that longing is still there and other times i think i'd go crazy.  so for now, i choose to work.

i work at an amazing elementary school.  i have taught first, second, third, and fifth grades. i always find that comical because i student taught in fourth and kindergarten.  i guess i'm pretty well rounded. i have the best team of teachers to work with and am blessed to be in the school i am. of course there are some things i could live without, but i don't think there's a perfect school out there.  just like there isn't a perfect family or church.  i'm doing my thing the best i know how.

i like things in order and thrive from lists and organization.  although, the more kids i have, the more i seem to let things slide that i never would have before.  i guess kids change you in that way.  i'm stubborn and don't like to be told what to do (john reminds me of this almost daily...and he's right).  i hate baking and cooking.  i love crafting and taking pictures.  i'm an introvert and like having my time.  i like serving and am on the leadership team at church.  my thing is missions and outreach.  i love traveling-it excites me like not much else. i don't have a lot of favorites.  i'm not picky...at least i don't think so.  i would love to become a minimalist. i'm slowly starting to purge.  clutter makes me unsettled.

i want to hear well done great and faithful servant on the day that i die.  it's rough out there and i don't know how people live without jesus.  loving god and loving others is all that really matters and i hope my life is a reflection of that.  of course, there's always room to grow.  loving others is scary because you often get hurt in the process.

oh, and i love my coffee.  that's important to know. i don't think i could survive with out it! ;)