Posted in About Me

Before I continue with the story of who I am, I have exciting news to share!  My son, Nathan (14), just took first place in the sitting position at the International BB Gun Competition in Bowling Green, KY!  In BB shooting, there are four positions: off-hand (standing), prone (lying on the stomach), sitting, and kneeling.  He took first place in the state competition in the kneeling position, and now he's got an international first place in sitting!  Is he thrilled?  No!  One of his 4-H teammates, a young lady, beat him by two points in shooting (which is what happened at the state competition).  But since he got a perfect score on the written test, his overall score beat her by two points.  Since this is Nathan’s first year of competitive shooting, we are more than thrilled!

Now, for a bit about me, the mother of the gunslinger...

I grew up in Curwensville, PA, a small town of 3,000 or so in Western/Central PA.  I loved school and did well in it.  I was also involved in all sorts of clubs and things: band, ski club, yearbook, newspaper, flag (silks) team, drama, and so on.  I graduated in 1987 and headed to Penn State where I thought I'd major in Chemistry.  After a disastrous first semester (1.67 GPA anyone?), I switched to English and the Dean's list! 

I really loved college and taking classes, so much so that I took a lot of them and wound up graduating in three years in 1990. That August, I married James, the cute mathematics graduate student who caught my eye at the Campus Bible Fellowship (CBF) meetings.  That November, I found out that we were expecting, and on July 25, our 9 pound 15 ounce Nathan "shot" into the world. (har har)

James (whom I call "The Good Doctor"  or "TGD" in blog posts) got his Ph.D. and a job in August of 1992 and moved his son, pregnant wife, and the contents of our basement apartment to Xenia, OH. For the next nine years, he taught at  Cedarville College (now Cedarville University).  David was born in 1992, Elizabeth in 1994, Michael in 1996, and Rachel in 1999. Paulie the parakeet came to live with us in 1998, and as he hasn't died yet--although he should have for a used bird acquired eight years ago--I'll list him as part of the family.

While in Ohio, I began homeschooling, was director of AWANA Cubbies (a preschool Bible club), and served as the meetings Vice-President of PEACH (Parents Educating at Christian Homes), a 200+ family homeschool support group in the area. I enjoyed speaking at a number of PEACH meetings.  I also taught Freshman writing at Cedarville College a few semesters.

In 2001, James got a job at Penn State, his and my alma mater, as director of the undergraduate math department. We moved back to State College, PA, back to the church we attended in college and in which we were married, back to good friends and family. 

In 2002, I began teaching AP Language and Composition online for PA Homeschoolers.  I really enjoyed the students and helping them to improve their writing and to succeed on the AP Language exam, but four years of teaching in addition to homeschooling has left me a little burnt-out. So, next year is my "sabbatical" from teaching AP.

I've continued to speak at a number of local meetings and state-wide conferences. If you're really keen to see/read my talks, you can check out my resume and the text of talks at www.marysellers.org.

I feel that I've just been dull again, and very little is still revealed about who I am.  But, I'll save that for the next entry.