All About Hillary ~ Part Two

Don't y'all just love being able to ask slightly nosy questions and getting answers! Seriously it's my favorite thing and I ADORE reading other blogs that do the same. I relate it to driving through your neighborhood and find that your neighbor has the lights on and left the curtains pulled back. It's that fun invited peak into someone's life!

My fourth question comes from Shannon! (did I mention to y'all that she quilted place mats, napkins, and a table runner for me to give to my MIL for a Christmas gift?? She did AMAZING work!!) Shannon wanted to know Where I was born and raised and where some of my family originally came from. 

I LOVE this question! I'm a history junkie just like Shannon (with a $30,000 school loan and a BA in History to prove it...). I was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. I lived there until I went off to college and upon completion moved to College Station (WHOOP!) to be with Bobby. I have yet to move back (and probably will never).



Both my parents were born and raised in Texas as well. Incidentally both of them were raised in fairly small towns along the coastline. I could probably go on forever mentioning this person and that person as I continued through my list of ancestors but for your sake and mine :) here is a very concise list of places :). On my mothers side we go back from Texas, then to Kansas and then still further back in time Indiana, Tennessee, Virginia, and Connecticut. My dad's side is much easier to trace :). My dad's dad was born in Michigan and my great grandparents were from Michigan (great-grandfather) and England (great-grandmother). My dad's mom was born in Louisiana but was from French decent after that.

My Daddy and his father.

The next question comes from The Momma. She is one amazing lady! (God also just sold her house for her :). Go and check her out!) The Momma had some great questions! She wanted to know how Bobby and I met, what the hardest thing about parenting is, and how to stop constant arguing. 

Bobby and I met through one of my oldest besties, Deborah. We were suit-mates together in college. She eventually transferred to Texas A&M University. It was there that she began dating Bobby's room mate. Something told her that Bobby and I would be perfect for each other. Boy was she right!! Six weeks later we were engaged and we're still going strong twelve years now!

My girl Deborah!

I find the hardest thing that I find about parenting to be all the worry that comes with it. I worry about almost everything that I say and do. I know how my actions effect them now and will certainly in the future. I want them to grow up happy, healthy, and well adjusted. I sometimes tend to micro-manage them because of this. I am a total HELICOPTER mom. I know my kids are far from perfect now (as am I) and will most certainly not be perfect when they are older. I just want to be able to look back on them when they are grown adults and know that I tried my very best every.single.day.

I had to just bust out laughing about the constant arguing question. It is at an all time high at our house right now!! My older two boys are just at certain ages where this will happen. I know it will not last forever and that they will both outgrow this stage. (God willing!) At one point the arguing just got so bad that I ended up seeking outside help. My oldest son Graham has ADHD and so has a psychiatric that does the prescribing. He is more doctor-ly and less "come sit on my couch and lets talk about our feelings". Because of this I choose to go in and speak to one of his partners about how best for me to handle my older boys. He gave me some great ideas on how to keep things a little more tame around here :).  I now hover more than ever. If I can jump into one of their conversations the MOMENT that a tense word or phrase comes out I can defuse the situation. It has really helped the boys get out of the habit of talking ugly to each other. When I hear them speaking nicely to each other I immediately compliment them for speaking/acting nice. It gets a little silly when I realize that I'm saying the same "Good job on saying that nicely..." a thousand times a day but it brings the little polite things to their attention to and form new "habits". Can you tell the bulk of our arguing was just based around bad habits? It's an easy enough fix it just takes lots of time! :) I gave up A LOT of my Momma ego to go and seek outside help for this situation. I'm am soo thankful that I did! If anyone else is ever challenged with this type of familial situation (or any other) I strongly urge you not be afraid to seek out help!

My girl Kacey from the other side of the world (Australia!) wanted to know if I could take Bobby and the boys anywhere in the world where would we go?

I have many places on my list of MUST DO before I die!

Australia!

Scotland

Ireland

Cornwall, England

Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia

Can ya'll tell that I'm a total romantic??  Maybe these places would be best served if just Bobby and I got to go alone together. :)

Stay tuned for part 3 and maybe even part 4!