who i am, part 1

i've been wanting to do a series of posts for awhile.
for a couple reasons...
1. so that my children know who i was as a PERSON one day...not just their mom.
2. so that those of you that have "met" me through this blog will understand more of who i am (i've often wondered things about you...like how long you've been married, or how many siblings you have, etc...and would LOVE others to do this same thing...hint, hint)
so, here we go...who i am, part 1

i'm going to cover the first half of my life pretty quickly.
the years won't always go this fast :-)
and i'm not sure when part 2 will come...but it will...

i was born to Alden and Dorian on April 10, 1977.
Easter morning.
my dad grew up "in the South" - in North Carolina.
he is the oldest of 3 boys.
he grew up driving tractors and growing crops and talking SSSLLLOWWW with all his relatives a stone's throw away.
my mom grew up all over - the daughter of a Colonel in the Air Force.
she was the youngest of 4 girls.
she grew up moving a lot and being in very "polished" circles of people high up in the military life...

my parents met in college.
and both really gave their lives to Christ in college.
(i just heard my dad's testimony for the first time the other week...not sure how i went 32 years without hearing it word for word from him...but it was amazing...listening to how God calls people to Himself never gets old!)

they got married young.
right after my dad graduated.
and my mom didn't graduate - she needed to be with this man that was headed into the Air Force! :-)

they moved 3 (i think?) times before i came along in Germany.
my mom was so beautiful.
i can't find any pictures...she has them all i guess.
but she had this long, beautiful dark hair.
and my dad. just looked so YOUNG!
(i'm sure no one says that about us :-))

my brother, Phillip, was born when i was 2 years old.
this is me around 3.
i had NO hair til i was around 2 years old.
it was finally growing in by now...

we moved from Germany to South Carolina (Steve was born there...3 years after Phillip) to Ohio to Colorado (Hannah was born there...4 years after Steve) to Alabama (Hannah was 3 weeks old when we moved! i remember that drive across the country well...) to Virginia.

my childhood was great.
lots of love, stability, support.
so many blessings.
i remember hard times - my grandparents dying, a stillborn sister, an uncle leaving this life way too early - but i grew up with parents that were always leaning on the only One that could get them through times like that. they always loved their Lord and each other. so no matter how sad circumstances were around us, i felt a peace amidst it all.

my dad ended up retiring from the Air Force while we lived in Virginia.
my parents always thought that when he retired, that we would move back "home" - to North Carolina - where my dad was from.
and my dad retired shortly after my uncle (his brother) passed away suddenly - which left the family business needing some extra help.
so...the summer before my senior year in high school, we moved to North Carolina.
i was sad (that's an understatement....left behind a boyfriend i was certain i would marry...)
**side note - this is the "Smith Family kid car" - my parents got it when i turned 16...and it lasted through me and both of my brothers! hysterical, huh?

so, back to my sadness of moving.
i was so sad (and causing everyone else such misery) that they sent me back to Virginia!
i lived with friends of my parents for that year so that i could graduate up there.
and the rest of my family actually ended up moving back to Virginia after that year.

as a person in those days, i was quiet.
very involved in Youth Group at church.
my Youth Pastor's wife spent a lot of time with me...for years we would get together once a week. i got to see her live her life...be a wife and mom and "grown-up". i had my own mom as a model also...but you know how you think of your mom...she's, well, your MOM :-) it was such a blessing to have this other Godly woman to also observe and learn from. she was such a REAL example of how to live life well and for His glory.
i got decent grades.
i wasn't amazing at anything.
but fine at everything.
just liked to blend into the crowd.

graduated high school.
headed off to college.
James Madison University...