Nearly 15 years after I first walked into my husband’s life, it is hard to fathom that my stepdaughter is now a mother of her own after giving birth to a beautiful baby girl this week. There are both perks and downfalls to being a stepmom. Over the years, I have tried to not over... Continue Reading →
Family: A Group of People Related by Common Ancestry or Common Characteristics
Growing up, I was always used to having a small family with just my parents, my brother, my mom’s father and my mom’s aunt. Holidays were always small, but that’s what I became accustomed to as a child. When I met Tim and started getting to know more about his family, what intrigued me was... Continue Reading →
The Smallest Things can rekindle the Fondest Memories
The smell of my mom’s chili filled our entire house a few nights ago. And for a second, I felt like I was a little girl again with pigtails, sitting around the dinner table with my mom, pop and brother, eating chili mac, corn muffins and salad – a staple in our house in the fall.... Continue Reading →
Being Adopted: It’s just another part of who I am.
Remember those little evil things you say to your siblings when you were young just to get them where it hurt like, "Well, you know what, you're adopted!" Well, can you imagine my surprise when I was about 6 or 7 when my brother said that to me and I went running to my mother crying? And... Continue Reading →
Those Damn Life Events that Automatically Play on Repeat When We Least Expect Them
It was a beautiful Saturday evening in June, and Tim and I had decided to get out of the house for a little while. I remember that we were walking down Main Street in Collinsville when my phone rang. Tim was carrying Sweet Pea's pumpkin seat in one hand, holding my hand with the other... Continue Reading →
Be the ‘Do as I Do’ for them, not just the ‘Do as I Say’
So I know I’ve been in a mother-figure role for the last 14 years, but since I had my boys I have come to realize how impressionable the young minds of children really are from the moment they are born. Now at the ages of 5 and 2, nothing gets past these two. And I mean NOTHING! Any... Continue Reading →
The Difference A Year Makes
Throughout my life, I have continuously heard the saying that "the grass is not always greener on the other side." And as I've gotten older, I have had to learn this the hard way too many times than not. A year ago this week, I was about to begin a new career with new opportunities,... Continue Reading →
The Dead Parents to Cancer (DPC) Club… A club no one wants to join, but far too many of us have
When I was 25, I unwillingly said good-bye to my father after watching him suffer a horrible six-month battle with cancer that ended up riddling his entire body before he passed. It was then that I became a member of the Dead Parents to Cancer (DPC) Club. On July 6, 2001, my oldest niece was... Continue Reading →
Don’t miss the journey rushing to the destination
When I was younger, I was like most girls who had dreams of finding the man of my dreams, getting married, having children, living in a house with a white picket fence and having this carefree fabulous life without stress and worry. Dream on, hooker! Dream on!!! But I also always thought when I met... Continue Reading →
Comfortable in My Own Life Vs. My Own Skin
Since I was young, I have always been a bigger girl. But even worse throughout my life, I've been called numerous things by ignorant people such as fat girl, the nice one, the one with the great personality or even the tag-a-long. While some of those aren't that bad, I know full well what they meant... Continue Reading →