Where do you get your creativity?
Definitely my mom! Back before the days of Pinterest or even the Internet for that matter, she had the best ideas for all creative things. For example, Leslie and I each had a Little Mermaid birthday party and she made a life-size board game and we were the pieces! We never had a store-bought Halloween costume and we always won the science fair project because of her support. However, I do a lot of my crafting on the computer since I digital scrapbook, so I’ve got to give some credit to my dad. He works with computers (not sure what he does even though he’s tried on several occasions to explain it to me). I know you may not think working with computers is creative, but it is. Especially when you ask, “Whatcha doin, dad?” and he says, “Oh, just some recreational programming.” Leslie and I are blessed to have such talented parents who passed their gifts on to us.

What do you do besides make crafts and cook?
Is there anything else? Not really. I asked my husband what my hobbies were and he said, “Anything crafty.” I said, “No, other than that.” He said, “You don’t do anything other than that.” Told you so. So here’s what I came up with.

Besides being crafty and experimental in the kitchen I…

put my husband through anesthesia school. What? That’s not a hobby? Well that’s what consumes most of our lives right now, so I can’t leave it out. You can frequently find me calling out flash cards, proofreading papers, volunteering to be a dummy for assessment, or listening to hospital/grad school drama. It’s going to be worth it though, and I can’t really complain either. SAHM, here I come! (Ok. Fine… in 2+ years).

Biking For Christmas two years ago, my husband and I bought ourselves mountain bikes. No, we don’t go mountain biking, but as a new biker I felt a whole lot safer on the mountain bikes than road bikes. (I felt like I was going to blow away with the wind! They were so fast!) At first I couldn’t ride in a straight line and hit every tree in a 10 foot radius from me, but I’m getting a lot better! I’m not saying I just learned how to ride, I used to ride as a kid. But gravel driveways and cow pastures are a lot different from bike trails. Anyway, when the weather is nice, we like to go on at least one ride a week either on trails or around the neighborhood.

Yard Saling I like to look at other people’s junk, ok? And sometimes I like to buy it and turn it into something nice. And sometimes it just collects dust! Luckily my husband doesn’t mind going with me (well… when he’s not working on research projects for school). He actually enjoys finding all of them. For him, it’s like an easter egg hunt for a grown up.

Reading I LOVE to read. Some of my favorite books include Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, Abram’s Daughters by Beverly Lewis, Suzzane’s Diary for Nicholas, and anything by Shannon Hale. Oh yeah, and of course I enjoyed the Twilight saga and the Hunger Games trilogy. I’m currently working through the books on our 25 Series to Read if you LOVE the Hunger Games.

Why did you become a teacher?
Well.. Let’s see. In kindergarten we made a class book and we each wrote down what we wanted to be when we grew up. Everyone said things like lawyer, doctor, veterinarian, banker, and athlete. I said, “a mommy.” And at home I always played house and mommy (ok, and the occasional native american). I couldn’t major in “mommy,” so I decided to major in what I thought was the closest thing: Early Childhood Education. I love preparing to be a mom everyday by mothering 20-something 7 and 8 year olds and passing on my passion for learning and reading.

How and when did you meet your husband?
I was a freshman at Harding University where he was a junior in nursing school. It was the first weekend back at school after Christmas break. We had a mutual friend and he invited us, along with about 20 others, to go ice skating in Little Rock. We all met behind the student center. Josh had just gotten a new camera for Christmas and was snapping pictures like crazy. He snapped one of me and thought, “Ooo.. I’ve got to have another picture of her.” Since LR was about an hour away, everyone was carpooling. Our mutual friend divvied us out, and I ended up in the back seat of Josh’s car. We had a great conversation on the way there and I thought to myself, “Wow, I think I could be best friends with this guy.” After skating we went to Ihop, then drove the hour drive home. By the time we got home I was thinking, “Wow! I think I could marry this guy!” So when I got back to my dorm room I jumped on my bed saying, “I met the man I’m going to marry!” And I had.

When will you start a family?
Well.. my due date is December 14th 2013. Ok, fine. I guess people don’t tell their due dates 20 months in advance. It’s just that that’s the day Joshua graduates from anesthesia school and I can’t wait any longer! We’ll see what God’s timing is!