I was born in December of 1980, 3 weeks after Lennon was killed. My parents, who are still happily married today, were a young new couple...and my husband and I are pretty much following their footsteps in the sand of life. My father (who you will get to know as Dadio) worked his butt off to support us (I have a sister and two brothers). Back in the 80's it was me (the oldest), my brother and sister. I remember our childhood being so great! I remember when Dadio would walk in the door we'd yell, "Daddy's home!" and then use him as a human jungle gym. He worked so hard so that my mother, and now my best friend, could stay home to raise us and teach us to be responsible, dependable, strong Catholic adults. They both rock and I am so thankful for both of them! We didn't have many "things" but we were always happy. My parents taught us to value life because God gave us a great gift! My little brother was a late arrival and came into our world when I was 13. It was then I knew I wanted to someday become a mother.
I went to Catholic grade school, 1st-8th grade. Then public high school. High school are what I consider my "dark ages". I hung out with the wrong crowd. I started experimenting with drugs and alcohol. I was in a couple of abusive relationships. Not my finest 4 years (and even after school...I should say not my finest 7 years), but we all go through things that change us either for better or worse. I cannot regret anything that has happened in my life because it all led me to where I am today.
In 2002 I met my soulmate. We realized we had so much in common and created such a great friendship, the added bonus to our friendship was that we were both attracted to each other! ;)
He proposed to me in 2004, almost exactly 2 years after we started dating. We had a year and a half courtship. During our engagement we started going back to church...because we had to in order to marry in the Catholic church! (I should note, from high school until this point, my view of the Catholic church was that I was done...time served for good behavior. I was an alter server, I trained kids to alter serve, I went to mass every Sunday and every Friday due to going to Catholic grade school). Boy I am so glad the church makes young engaged couples attend the Engaged Encounter and take the FOCCUS!!
The night we showed up for our Engaged Encounter weekend retreat, we sat in his truck. We contemplated not going, but decided we had to get married in the church (my parents and grandparents would not have been happy if we didn't!!). It started off slow and boring. We'd lived together for 4 years before coming to this thing! Then the last night in the chapel changed our united life forever. It was only candlelit, shadows were cast along the alter. Most pews were empty aside from other couples being forced to be there. We were told to hold hands and pray together. Pray together?! We hadn't done that! So we did. It was so intimate, words cannot express this kind of intimacy. We were both filled with the Holy Spirit! We were engulfed in our Heavenly Father's unconditional love, for us as individuals but also for us as one. This was the point in my life that changed the whole outlook on my faith...but I was still a "baby".
We married in 2006, it was wonderful and I will never forget it! We drove out to the east coast for our honeymoon and stayed in the Poconos as well as visited Salem to see the witch country and also stayed the night at the Lizzy Borden House (you will get to know me...I am a huge fan of ghost hunting!!). When we got back, I noticed I couldn't handle my alcohol like I did before (and I could handle my alcohol, lemme tell ya lol!). I took a test on July 21, 2006 and sure enough, we were pregnant!! I quit smoking that day and have never turned back to it! So not only were we on the road to spiritual wellness, but our physical health was getting better too!
Our first son was born in March 2007. This was both our turning point for the Catholic faith. The miracle that is birth is something that changed me forever. In time, I will explain my views of pregnancy, labor and birth. ;)
After his birth, we started going to mass every Sunday. We were slowly enriching our faith in Christ!
Our second son was born in January 2009, again another miracle!! We, at this time, were even more devout than we were with our first.
And last but certainly not least, our newest addition was just born July 2011.
We are now volunteering for our church. We are a FOCCUS couple and help engaged people dive into their relationship and search their souls for providing a wholesome, Christian marriage. We have so much fun doing it! We get to meet young couples and it reminds us of where we were in our spiritual life back then and to be where we are now is just such a blessing!
I am also an Elizabeth Minister. You will also get to know more about this ministry! I love this ministry as it helps pregnant women, or those who desire to be.
So this is just a brief summary of my life. Three decades and I feel I have a lot to show for it. In future posts, I will explain to you my weaknesses, my strengths, my sorrows, and of course my happiness. I hope you enjoy reading my diary!
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