About Me

You already know I'm a Christian and that I homeschool my 5 kids.  I could also tell you that I love exercise, reading, and Bible study, though not necessarily in that order.  Since I never know how to explain myself to people who don't know me (Bible-believing, baby-loving, gun-toting, SUV-driving ultra-conservative?), I'll share a story from my youth that pretty much sums me up.

My parents became Christians as adults and knew what it was to be turning to Christ from something else, namely their previous life of darkness.  I grew up in church, on the other hand, and expressed interest in being baptized early on.  Despite my simple understanding and articulation of the gospel, my parents wanted me to wait before making this life-altering decision.  Each time I brought up being baptized my parents would say they were glad I had put my faith in Christ, but that they thought I should wait before making a public profession of my faith.  One week a big crusade came to our town and our local church was encouraged to show their support.  My parents and I attended each night along with others from our church and half the town (it filled a football stadium).  On the closing night of the crusade the evangelist issued the mother-of-all altar calls.  (Did I mention we were Baptist?  Oh, you guessed?)  Before my parents knew what was happening I was on my feet.  With hands on hips I turned to face them and defiantly yelled, "I'm going down there and YOU... CAN'T... STOP... ME!!!"  My Sunday School-teaching parents were quite embarassed by my little scene as all those who witnessed it glared at them with a mixture of shock and horror.  (That poor child!)  Needless to say, they didn't stop me so I made my profession that night at the age of 9 and was baptized shortly thereafter.

All this by way of explaining that I can be a bit outspoken at times, especially when it comes to my faith.  I love God's Word and am surrounded by Bible teachers.  My husband of 12 years has been an expository preacher for 11 of them.  My parents have taught the Bible for the last 30 years- initially trained as Precept leaders, then as BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) teaching leaders, and now as CBS (Community Bible Study) teaching directors.  I've never taught the Bible, I just study it.  But if you find me slipping into theological mode, now you know why.  I'm not sure what most people talk about at the supper table, but growing up in my house there was a lot of talk about guns and theology.

I think I'm around 11 in this picture.

I started blogging when I found myself staying home full-time with my children for the first time in over seven years.  When my two oldest children were 3 and 1, I went back to school to get my PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences.  And no, this does not mean that I'm a pharmacist.  Pharm sci is a discipline in the biomedical sciences that has to do with studying the pathogenesis of diseases and how to cure them.  Sub-disciplines of pharm sci can be at the most basic end of the spectrum like studying proteins or the most applied end of the spectrum as in designing drug formulations.  I was somewhere in the middle in the realm of cancer biology.   Anyway, after earning my doctorate I switched gears and took a position teaching in the Exercise Science department of a local university (I had an undergraduate degree in exercise science and also some graduate training).  I taught full-time for a few years before switching gears again and going to part-time teaching in the graduate nursing division.  When I realized that even part-time teaching was too much if I was going to homeschool my children (I had just had my 5th by this time), I quit work entirely and entered the ranks of SAHHMs (stay-at-home, homeschooling moms).  And I'm so glad I did! 

Our last family pic taken in 2008 when Baby Lu's about a month old

I've been extrememly blessed by the time I've enjoyed with my children over the last couple of years.  I can truly say they've been the best of my life.  And imagine my surprise when I started blogging to record a few vacation memories, and ended up finding this great network of Christian homeschooling moms willing to offer their wisdom, encouragement, and even friendship.  I love the connections I've made in the blog world and hope you'll be my next one!