20 Things About Little Ole Me

Disclaimer:  This is longer than I planned. I started writing and it just kind of grew. LOL. IF you get to the end God bless you. LOL

1. I am an identical twin and love everything about being a twin. Growing up with a best friend is one of the greatest blessings of my life. I am so thankful that God gave me a best friend from the womb. We call ourselves "Wombmates".  
2. I lived in LaPaz, Bolivia when I was 5 years old because my Daddy was stationed there in the army. I have so many memories from there, even though I was so young.  It had a deep impact on me. I remember how hungry the people were and that they were "poor". We were considered rich over there even though in America we were nowhere near rich. I remember little children with no shoes and no coats and begging for food.  I truly think that is where my love for others began. I remember worrying about the little children not having food or a warm bed. I remember llamas being herded by old men and little children down a cobblestone street. I remember babies on their Mama's backs like a papoose.  My parents were required by the US government to employ a maid and a gardener.  It was how they helped the people over there and let them keep their dignity. One day our maid Maxima was trying to light our gas heater. It blew up in her face burning off her eyebrows and singing her face. Thankfully she wasn't seriously injured by some miracle. That day my fear of all things gas was born. To this day, I will not have gas heat or gas stove.
3. I used to be addicted to Dr. Pepper. My Mama gave me the love of Dr. Pepper. There is a picture of her from 1943, before her Daddy died, sitting on a porch in a little rocking chair drinking Dr. Pepper.  He is looking out the screen door and she was holding her bottle of Dr. Pepper smiling at the camera.  I wish I had a copy of that picture. It is incredible.  A  year and a half ago, I gave up Dr. Pepper. I only have them on occasion now and don't enjoy them as much. It helped me lose some weight...even if I have lbs to go before I am where I want to be.
4. My children and I were diagnosed with a little-known syndrome when Jennifer was 4. It is called Noonan's syndrome. Basically, for us, it makes us smaller than the average bear. My kids come in fun size. I do too, well height wise....I just happen to have a little extra fluff than I used to. LOL. My kids are way smaller than their peers but it does not keep them from anything.  It apparently runs on my Mama's side of the family. My great grandfather was only five feet tall. I say often, we may be tiny but we are mighty. 
5. I wanted to be a Mommy since childhood. I had all sorts of things I wanted to be when growing up, but my constant was being a Mommy. The day my son was born, I felt like all my dreams came true.  Being a Mommy is my passion, my calling and while it isn't always easy and at times down right hard, I LOVE BEING A MOM. 
6. Thinking of 20 thinks is more difficult than I thought. This is probably cheating but sometimes thinking is hard to do when your teenage son and your dog are being goofy.  Oh, and on a side note, being a dog "parent" is like having a constant toddler with fur and teeth. LOL
7. I have run in 3 different 5Ks and plan on running another in August. I am about to begin a "training" program of my own design. I have googled and read and well, I can't afford a personal trainer so I will just do the best I can.  I am hoping to have lost a lot more weight by June as my 30th high school reunion is coming up.........wait............30 years...I have been out of high school for 30 years, how did that happen. 
8. I grew up in a small, rural town with one red light. I went to a school that had 800 students total in Kindergarten through 12th grade. I loved growing up in small town America. Chattanooga, where I live now, is nice but sometimes I wish my kids could grow up that way. It was an awesome place to live....well most of the time, unless my Mama found out the mischief I had gotten into at school BEFORE I got home because everyone knew everyone and Mama always found out.
9. Speaking of mischief...I was the mischievous twin. I kid you not, my sister was the "good" twin. She rarely got into trouble. I didn't mean to cause mischief but I was full of energy, vim, vigor, and personality. I guess today I would have been diagnosed with ADHD, but back then my mischief was solved the old fashioned, way, a good spanking. I turned out pretty good despite that fact. 
10. At this very moment, my dog is sitting in his crate staring at me as if I am keeping him from sleeping. It is my fault, always my fault if something doesn't go his way. When he was neutered, yep, my fault. IF it rains and he is stuck indoors, yep, my fault. Silly dog. And DADDY.....he is the king and the sun and the moon to our dog Sammy. Daddy is his favorite person, forever and always. Mommy will do, especially if she bribes Sammy with cheese. Ahhh, the power of CHEESE.
11. Sometimes I come down on myself too hard and focus on my faults. I am trying to be better about that. I am a human being and I make mistakes but I allow for that in other people and not myself. I want my kids to see in my that being positive about yourself and others is important. I am a work in progress.
12. I just had the most awesome talk with my teenage son. He is a great kid and has great ideas and lots of compassion. He is learning and growing in ways that are amazing.
13. Jennifer has serious tummy migraines and it concerns me as a mother, greatly. I haven't figured out the trigger and I have to fight anxiety where that is concerned. Seeing her in pain hurts deeply. I have tracked what she eats and does but haven't found the trigger yet. As a mother, when our kids hurt, it hurts us. Before I had kids, I heard people say that but didn't understand it. Now, I get it. I just keep on praying for the answers.
14. I am double jointed in my hands and toes. I can write with my toes, legibly. Now that I am almost 50, though, my hips will not allow me to be as creative with that as I could be. LOL
15. Hannah is my mini-me in so many ways, but in others ways not so much. She is so girly and I, well, I am a tomboy. Always have been. The whole make up scene is almost a complete mystery to me. I have a huge learning curve and need to learn fast because before long, baby girl is going to be wearing makeup
16. I am slightly addicted to Facebook. I love sharing the lives of others and for the most part, can let the drama and political mumbo jumbo roll off my back. I am also very good at hiding posts I do not wish to discuss. I would rather just stay out of the political fray. It's not worth the drama. 
17. I am a woman of faith, this is probably the most important thing about me. I would not be who I am without my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is my anchor in the storm. He is my rock and my foundation.  I try to live my faith, not just speak it. I make mistakes. I am far from perfect but my faith keeps me going. I do not know how I could have faced some of the many things that were hard in my life, without my faith. He, my Lord is the air I breath and the song in my heart. I can't stress enough how important He is to me. I love Him and thank God He has always been there for me. It doesn't mean life was easy or perfect, it just means I felt His love help me get through it.
18. I am less than a year away from 50 and it blows my mind. I feel so young and immature at times. Then other times I feel as old as the hills. I look back on my life and I see good things, bad things and lots of in between things. I have to say, despite the hardships, life has been good to me, not easy, but yeah, I did okay and am still taking it, one day at a time.
19. My favorite flowers are daisies, wildflowers, and sunflowers. They just scream HAPPY HAPPY  HAPPY to me. I just ordered free wildflower seeds from Cheerios and can't wait until they arrive. I plan to fill my front flower beds with wildflowers.  
20. I didn't forget my husband...lol. We have been married almost 18 years. We met in an AOL chatroom. Life has been a roller coaster but for now, we can say we are still on the same track, going up, down and around life's curves. I might change a few things, but I would still do it all over again.  LOL