My Parents

I have had a wonderful life. It hasn't been a life full of money and expensive things but a life built on a foundation of love by my parents. There are a lot of great parents out there, and I am proud to say that my parents are some of the best.

My parents, Donna and Dave, met on a blind date in 1980. In a mere six months they were married and ready to start a family. After years of being told that she wouldn't be able to have children, my mom became pregnant right away. Whoops! and Yeah!! all at the same time.

From day one, my parents have shown me unconditional love.

My Daddy
Top Five


1)Gave me my love for history and an attempt at science
From the time I can remember, my dad was telling me stories about Columbus, Washington, Franklin, and Newton. He also taught me about the planets. The history stuck.


2) Use to sing this horrible song to my brother and me to wake us up in the morning. A song no doubt that I will sing to my children one day.
It's time to get up, it's time to get up in the morning.
Oh, how I hate to get up in the morning.
But, the worst of it all is to hear the bugle call.
I gotta get up. I gotta get up in the morning.

3)Taught me the value of hard work and to aim high. My dad never let me perform below expectations. I use to be annoyed by this fact, especially during high school. Now I embrace it and am thankful for my dad's push. I truly began to understand this on the day of my wedding when he read me a letter he wrote to me. I often find myself quoting my dad when speaking to my students. "Aim high miss high."

4) Taught me to love travel. We never had a lot of money when I was growing up. But, when ever the opportunity to show my brother and I a new part of the world he did it. I still remember the 3-day road trip to Utah and the numerous trips to Cincy to watch the Reds.

5) Taught me that Sex is a scared act between a husband and a wife. I never told my dad this but his talks highly influenced me on the importance of sex. During middle school, anytime my brother and I were alone in the car with him we go the sex talk. I hated these trips. Nothing is more uncomfortable to a 12 year old than hearing her dad talk to her about not having sex until she is married. Once I entered high school, he never mentioned it again. Well, it worked. One of the greatest gifts from parents is the influence to wait until I was married to have sex.

Sorry if that last story was too personal.

My Mommy Top 5

1) Number one influence on my faith My mother had one goal - to raise a Christian family. Because of her I am the Christian I am today. There couldn't be a greater gift.

2) Took care of me when I was sick (emotionally and physically). I truly feel that when I was in pain my mother was in pain. She wanted nothing more in the world to get rid of that pain. If it took staying up all night with me or holding my hair back for me when I got sick she did it. To this day whenever I get sick, all I want is my mom.

3) Taught me to be a good wife. My mom was and is a wonderful wife. At times when I was little/adolescent, I use to get upset by the things my mom would let my dad do (like have control of the TV). I was so petty then. Now, while I can't put it into words, I understand.

4) Taught me to be thankful There have often been times in my life when I wanted something or thought I needed something. But, the times in my life that I remember to be the happiest as a child is when we had nothing. When I was in kindergarten, we didn't even have enough money for gas so we walked everywhere. I didn't know we were poor mainly because of my mom. Because of her love, I had no idea. She taught me to be thankful to God for everything in life because it can be taken away at any time.

5) Never a day goes by that she doesn't think about me My mom thinks about me each day. She worries about me and wonders if I am doing okay. Usually she calls me each day at 5:00 on her way home to see how my day went. There is something special about knowing that someone loves you that much.