100 Things You Always Wanted to Know About Me

100 Things

1. My mother was 3 months pregnant with me when she married my father in 1978.
2. She did drink some alcohol at her wedding.
3. I like to tease her that I would be a genius if she hadn’t consumed alcohol. (Because I am close to genius level, really, ask anyone who knows me.)
4. I grew up on an Indian Reservation in Washington.
5. I am just over half Native American.
6. My family descends from the chiefs of my tribe.
7. One of my grandfathers, six generations before me, signed our treaty – the Point Elliot Treaty.
8. I was very close to my grandparents when I was a child. I stayed with them quite a lot, literally almost every weekend.
9. I have one sibling, a sister, who is 5 years younger than me.
10. When I was about 8 my parents quit drinking alcohol and began going to church on a nearby reservation.
11. This is when my family became Seventh-day Adventist Christians, which I am today.
12. In second grade, I scratched my eyeball and had to wear a patch to school to keep it covered. It was quite embarrassing. (My husband teases me about it still.)
13. Around that same time my grandparents’ house burned down to the ground.
14. They lived four houses down.
15. My parents would not let me go down the street to watch it, which upsets me even now.
16. In fact, I grew up on a reservation with not only my grandparents nearby but my whole family – aunts, uncles, cousins, extended family – all around me within in one mile.
17. In fourth grade I moved to a new school – a private Christian school. I didn’t know anyone.
18. I was very scared, but made some great friends.
19. I have friends who I have known since I was born. There are literally pictures of us playing as babies. That is how close people are on the reservation.
20. Unfortunately I started losing friends on the reservation since I no longer went to school with them.
21. For at least 10 years my mom’s aunt lived with us and I shared a room with her.
22. After my bedtime we would leave the television quietly on so we could watch A&E’s Agatha Christie’s Mysteries.
23. I have been to at least 50, probably more, funerals in my life. 98% of those funerals were for other Native Americans – people I knew.
24. Because of the large number of prayer services that I have been to, I can easily recite the rosary.
25. And I am not even Catholic.
26. I had my first “boyfriend” in 7th grade. We didn’t talk or even hold hands.
27. We wrote letters to communicate.
28. I was the chosen speaker for our 8th grade graduation.
29. My talk was less than 5 minutes, and I was nervous.
30. I was often picked last in PE for sports, which was humiliating.
31. My family would get on my case when I got anything less than an A in school.
32. I was a lawyer in a play in 8th grade, and for a little while I wanted to be a lawyer.
33. Then I changed my mind and wanted to be a marine biologist.
34. In 9th grade I joined our gymnastics team. I was never very good even though I stayed in it for 4 years. I think I did a back handspring only a couple times.
35. In 11th grade I changed schools; luckily 3 other friends came too. So I wasn’t alone.
36. I went to school in Canada.
37. I got a student visa and drove across the border every day; it took 1 hour to drive.
38. I know the Canadian national anthem “Oh, Canada”.
39. I started getting wild, and got caught sneaking out and smoking cigarettes.
40. My punishment was 3 weeks of being grounded and I had to take a “Stop Smoking” class.
41. I still remember seeing an old man smoking through a hole in this throat. Sad!
42. My parents wanted to get me a new car if I would go to a Christian college.
43. I refused, and moved out at 17, and went to a local community college.
44. I went on a Mission Trip to Mexico when I was 18.
45. We helped build an orphanage.
46. I was on the masonry team.
47. “Freedom” is not what it is all cracked up to be. It gets old after awhile.
48. I wasted time for about 2 years of my life.
49. When I was 20 I got engaged to my husband, who was in the US Navy.
50. We were friends for 1 year before we started dating.
51. We moved into together before we were married.
52. We realized that God needed to be a part of our life, so we decided living together was a sin the Bible spoke clearly about.
53. We got married within 6 months. I was two months shy of 21.
54. My husband was raised Four Square, I was Seventh-day Adventist, we were married in a Catholic church (we rented), by his uncle, a Four Square minister, and my SIL was the best man!
55. Over 200 hundred people attended. It was a crazy good day.
56. If I could do it again I would have just flown to Hawaii.
57. While I was in my second year of college, I decided I wanted to be a social worker and work for my tribe.
58. I finished my two-year degree with an emphasis in Sociology.
59. That next year my husband joined the Seventh-day Adventist church, got out of the Navy, and decided to go to Bible school.
60. I worked as a Histology Technician in Sacramento while he went to school.
61. After my husband graduated, he worked with churches giving community Bible studies, and training church members how to reach others for Christ.
62. In 2003, he was asked by Amazing Facts, a Christian ministry, to travel around the country giving seminars on the Bible.
63. With no children and one dog we jumped at the chance to share Christ and see our great country.
64. Highlights of travels on the road included Gettysburg, Washington D.C. and New York City.
65. While on the road both my husband and I finished our Bachelors degrees.
66. I got mine in Sociology. I still would like to get my Masters in Social Work (someday).
67. In 2006, a position opened up for my husband to teach at the same 4 month program he had graduated from.
68. We packed up our stuff and moved to California from storage in Washington state.
69. Our first home in three years was in Weimar at the Weimar Center of Health and Education.
70. I worked as the assistant to the Dean of Weimar College so we could live in the beauty of the foothills.
71. In March of 2007 I found out I was pregnant, we had planned the pregnancy.
72. I cried. Even though the pregnancy was planned, I was terrified.
73. Instead of an OB-GYN, we chose a certified nurse midwife.
74. I worked full time until 3 days before my Princess came into the world.
75. At the Birth Center, I labored and gave birth without any drugs.
76. Natural childbirth was the way to go for our family. I am so happy I did it.
77. We went home that same night and slept in our own bed. All of us.
78. We practice attachment parenting – Co-sleeping, breastfeeding, baby wearing, and lots of love!
79. We got the travel bug and decided to go back out on the road sharing about Christ.
80. We bought our first home in Washington state.
81. We live only 1.5 miles away from the home I grew up in.
82. We planned a second child in September 2011.
83. I gave birth to Nathanael, naturally, with a CNM in June 2012.
84. We have decided to postpone vaccinations.
85. We may not get them at all unless we travel internationally on a mission trip.
86. I love blogging.
87. I love social media.
88. I love Kindle Freebies.
89. I am homeschooling my Princess in PreK and she loves it. {She is so smart!}
90. We eat mainly vegetarian and organic in our home.
91. My sister and I love Weight Watchers. It works!
92. I love Netflix.
93. My favorite shows include Bones and Downton Abbey.
94. I am hooked on Pinterest and Instagram {who isn’t, right}
95. I love Christian music of many genres.
96.  I check SlickDeals at least once a day, it is an addiction I think.
97. Life with two kids is busy. I miss shopping.
98. I shop a lot on Amazon now.
99. I am happily married, happily mommy,
100. and I love Jesus and what he has done for our life. We are blessed!

Wow, I can’t believe I finished. If you have actually made it through this entire post you must leave a comment. Tell me how we are alike or different. I want to hear from you!