Introductions

Okay, so...  I'm Amanda.  I'm a Christian.  I'm married.  I'm a mom.  I'm 40 and I love being 40!  I enjoy photography, cooking, music...  I hate cleaning, but I like being in a clean place - in the coming year, I hope to blog about all of those things, including how I overcome my distaste for cleaning!  I anticipate a great year ahead!

I've been a Christian for as long as I can remember, really.  As a child, I was raised in a Lutheran church and, when we moved, my family began attending a Baptist church.  Once on my own, I went the "non-denominational" route and now I attend a Pentecostal church.  I remember asking Jesus to come into my heart and be my savior when I was about... 9 or 10 years old.  I even planned to be a missionary, when I was a Senior in High School.  But, not long after I graduated, I got "wooed by the world" and I sought other means of satisfaction in my life.  I walked away from my God when I was 18 and did the whole Prodigal Child routine on and off for the better part of 10 years.  Now, looking back on those years, I see that God had his hand on me and was looking after me the whole while I was looking away from Him...  I'm glad He never gave up on me!

I've been married for almost 16 years to John/Mick - family name John, nickname Mickey.  Mostly I call him Mick.  He's a wonderful husband and a great father.  He's a strong provider; he is SO SMART; he is kind, and generous and loving.  He can make me laugh and he can make me furious.  He's a computer/techno/net geek.  He is dashing, has a wonderful laugh, a great smile and even greater eyes...  What more can I say?

Mick and I have 2 daughters.  Taylor is 26 and married.  Gabe is 11, still at home & unmarried (although, we have considered marrying her off...).  More on our beautiful girls another time.  They deserve their very own Blog entries!

We also have a cat, KUF (Kitten Under Foot).  KUF is more than 17 years old and the proof that she's going senile is that she actually allows strangers to pet her.  Then there's Q (short for Quizzo), our loyal Husky-mix-rescued dog.  He's 4 - I think?  I can't recall...  And, last but not least, our younger daughter, Gabe, has a bird - a Rosey Bourke, to be precise - named Currituck (or Tuck, for short).  He's 2.  It's a menagerie, for sure.

{SHEW}

We live in Apex, North Carolina and we love to travel and laugh...  We watch entirely too much television, but that has already begun to change.   I think we'll whittle it down even further in the coming months.  We fancy ourselves "Foodies", so eating out is a lot of fun (especially for someone who hates to clean), but eating at home can be a lot of fun too, when we've got a new recipe or a favorite meal to prepare!  I think this year, we'll start having people over more frequently, so that we can try out new recipes on other people.

So, that's about it.  Soon, I'll start blogging what I hope will be interesting thoughts and stories and I hope that you will drop me a note from time to time and let me know what you think!  I hope that what I share will bring smiles and laughter to your faces, encouragement to your hearts, and blessings to your lives.

You are loved.  Be blessed!