Introduction

This blog has been on my "to do" list for over a year.  I kept putting it off for every reason I could think of, but mostly because I am a very private person and I know this blog has to be personal in order for it to accomplish its very purpose of documenting our family history.  Opening the doors of my home and heart to people isn't exactly something I've ever been comfortable with.  I am ridiculously protective of our family unit, which is the most important and most valuable thing in my life.

Have you ever had an event have such an impact on your life that you know you NEED to write it down somewhere?  Do you have older children and wish that you would have documented things more often?  Regarding our three older children, I find myself asking my husband "which one of the kids used to say (fill in the odd word or phrase here)?".  I don't want to have those same fuzzy memories with the younger kids.  And there are some moments that the older kids will wish I didn't document, but I will anyhow. 

When I was younger, I used to keep a diary.  I wrote everything located in that deep and dark corner of my soul into each page.  Secrets, desires, plans for the future, stupid things I had done, boys I liked.  Typical teenage things that I never wanted anyone to read.  Writing healed my soul and allowed me to dream.   I went through some dark years and was at a point in my life when journaling started encompassing only bad events or sad things, and I stopped.  It wasn't making me feel any better and I felt like those journals were the proverbial albatross around my neck. 

But here I am, on the other side of that darkness that at the time seemed to consume my younger years.  I feel the need to capture some of my memories of that journey on paper for my children and their children to read.  I want them to understand me, my struggles and joys, and to know how our family got "here". 

I have been blessed with the most caring, wonderful, handsome, protective and perfect-for-me husband.  He has been my knight in shining armor for 16 years, and he is the light that led me out of the aforementioned darkness.  He and our five children and one grandson are my world, and they do some really funny stuff.  We are a house blessed with laughter and love, and want to capture these priceless and funny moments as they happen.

My grammar won't be perfect, I love a run on sentence, and vow to misuse punctuation regularly.  I'm not perfect, and neither are my children.  I hope to capture the joy and occasional trauma they bring me with their antics as they grow and venture out on their own.  Hopefully this blog will inspire them to continue to journal as they have families of their own. 

To my children and husband:  I love you all more than you could possibly imagine.  Everything I do, I do for you.  You have inspired me to do this, and I thank you for being my love and light.