1. I LOVE the color red!
Not only has it been my favorite color since I was little, I think if I had to pick a word to describe me... it would have to be "red" as well... I mean, is there another color? Passionate, bold, dramatic... yeah, definitely red.

2. I never planned on having kids...
(pause for hysterical laughter...) Seriously, I was never going to have kids... didn't want 'em. I had too many things I was going to do (so, I was a LITTLE selfish... there's a bonus thing about me... count that as number 2.5). My husband and I never even talked about it. He had a boy and that was already more than I'd planned on, so it never even came up... still not completely convinced of how it keeps happening, but I think it's the water. Someone told me it was sex once, but my hubby reassured me that it wasn't, so now I just don't drink water. :)

3. When I grew up I wanted to be a famous singer...
Yeah... famous singer... homeschool mom of eight children and church planter's wife... yeah... I can see the correlation... sheesh!

4. I have "C.A.P" (critical anal perfectionism)...
I can't help it... I've had it for as long as I can remember and I've come to terms that I can't get rid of it. Oh, I've tried... (and so has my husband... tee hee...) but I've come to embrace it. :) It's not easy to live with (just ask my husband) but because of it, things I have a part in usually turn out pretty great cause I won't settle for anything less. That's not arrogant... it's just something I strive for. Because of this, however, I also am critical of myself which leads me to constant self-assessment and evaluation... trying to use the gifts God's given me to be who He created me to be.

5. I wear fake nails so I don't chew my fingers...
My husband affectionately calls them "hambuger hands". I guess it's a nervous or stressful habit, but it's really ugly. When I have "fakies" on, I don't bite or pick and so I try to keep nails on (in my spare time). I do my own nails though (of course) because of the fact I'm a perfectionist (see #4).

6. I wear "abnormal" colors on my toe nails but not on my finger nails...
Orange, green, turquoise, purple, black, etc... are great for the toes, but for my fingers I prefer browns (and not "frosty" colors either).

7. I wear flip-flops all year round...
Even though I live in Minnesota, I have yet to find a more comfortable shoe... let's not forget the fact that if I wore socks, you couldn't see my toe nails (see #6).

8. I have an incredibly distinct and loud laugh...
I don't realize it, but it's what everyone tells me. I guess once you've heard it, you know it. What I like about it most is that it has a tendency to make others smile... and smiling is good. :) (See?)

9. If you stop over and I'm not wearing make-up... you should leave!
I wear make-up... always have and if I'm not wearing make-up, I've probably not had a shower, and if I haven't had a shower, then the morning didn't go as planned, and if the morning has went as planned, I'm probably crabby... so do yourself a favor, and go back home. :) Seriously... wearing make up is like wearing clothes, so if I don't have make-up on, I might as well be in my pajamas still. :)

10. I don't wear pants...
Okay... THAT needs some explaining... :) What I mean is, I only wear skirts or dresses. It's not a "religious" or modest thing... it's just a comfort thing. I dress to be comfortable and that's comfortable to me. I wear skirts to mow the lawn, weed the flower bed, or go to church... doesn't matter the "occassion" or the weather temp... that's what I wear. I have some sweats my hubby bought me for camp this year, and I wear them as "grubbies", but if I'm wearin' make up (see #9)... I'm wearing a skirt. :)

11. I'm a planner...
Ever since I had a few children, I lost my "spontaneous" side (I'm not sure if I ever really had one, but either way, it's gone now). It's not easy getting 7 children to change a direction, so I try to plan out as much "life" as I possibly can... I mean... like ALL of it... (see #4)

12. I believe life is too short to have "normal" colored hair...
Seriously... I would have someone do it different every month if I could afford it... blue streaks, purple... I would LOVE that, but since that's not in the budget, my sweet Beloved lets me pick out colors and he dyes it for me. Of course, if I could do it myself, I would (see #4), but he does a great job and the price is right. :)

13. I have a "thing" for colors...
If you were to go into the Bath & Body Works shop, you could find me by the candles... staring... looking at what color combinations would go well together. I even do it when I color with the kids. On a page I have to make sure there is (what I perceive to be) a "color balance". I really love colors and take note of it when others don't.

(I can't believe that I'm only at #14... I 'spose I could have just written one sentence answers... but you see... because of #4 again, I find myself unable to do so...)

15. I LOVE fonts...
I believe there is a font for every occasion. :) I have more than 10,000 fonts on my computer and I wouldn't have it any other way. No "Ariel" for this girl!

16. I gotta be "me"... no matter how hard it is...
I've never "melted" into the crowd... There was a time when I tried to "fit in" and be like everyone told me I should... what they said a Christian mother should look like... and since then I've found that it doesn't matter what others think, but what God thinks... and so I try to be "me" no matter what others may say.

17. I want others to like me... a lot...
I never want to be misunderstood and it kills me when someone doesn't like me. I think, "If they just knew my heart they would see it differently..." I've learned that not everyone will like me, and while it still hurts my feelings, I won't change "me" to be someone else...

18. I am a wife to a divorced man who managed a fast food restaurant when I met him, then was a pawn broker, then did decorative concrete, and now is going to plant a church... how's that for variety?...
All the same man... and he just keeps getting better each year.

19. I wish I had a different story to share about how I met my husband...
I would love to have some romantic love story of how we were "destined" to be together and how we "saved" ourselves for one another, but nothing could be further from the truth... I can wish it all I want, but that's not the way it happened. Instead I say, "I always knew we'd create beautiful music together... but only God could have orchestrated this symphony we now live." We've been through a lot, but it's a testimony to how God can take a mess, restore it... and use it again.

20. I strive to be "real"... no matter how hard it is...
I can't stand phony people... seriously, don't even bother.

21. I like writing...
I have a blog ("DANDELION SEEDS"... you can google it) and I've written a devotional and some organizers as well. I've written many stories, and a few children's stories too that I hope to have published some day if the time is right...

22. I am completely and utterly humbled by how God has used me to touch others' lives...
It's not easy being "out there" for everyone to see all the time... being vulnerable can hurt pretty bad when others start judging... but every time I think of "throwing in the towel", someone sends me an email thanking me... sharing their story of despair... how I've given them hope in some way... and I know that I have to go on... sharing... being real... and exposing myself (faults and all) so others will know that they're not alone...

23. I strive to keep my priorities straight...
God, husband, children, and THEN everything else (including ministry)... While we're going to plant a church, the Lord has given me my husband and children first... and they will ALWAYS come before any kind of ministry I have... and I know God would have it no other way.

24. I love to encourage and inspire others...
It's just another part of who I am... I can't help myself. :)

25. I have blue eyes...
(I just wanted to show you I could actually give a short, unexplained answer... well, kind of...)