Welcome to my little corner of the web! We are a homeschooling Army chaplain’s family currently serving at Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois. Well, actually, we are in transition from Ft. Jackson, South Carolina to Rock Island. My two youngest, Aricka and Seth, and I are already at our new home on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River while my husband out processes in South Carolina. Thankfully, he joins us in about a week after a month of being separated (distance only). For a military family, being apart for only a month is no sweat 🙂
We have five amazing children, ranging in age from 29 to 16, two awesome sons-in-law, and five incredibly adorable grandchildren. I am the General Manager of Marketing for The Old Schoolhouse®, a certified birth and bereavement doula/chaplain, previous child welfare worker, and former owner and CEO of Army Wife Network.
The name I chose for this blog is Tying Heartstrings which stems from my belief that parenting is more about discipleship than discipline. When we work to build strong, loving, grace-filled relationships with our children, and disciple our children in the Word of God, and in living our faith out in daily life, discipline becomes something that is necessary once-in-awhile, but not every-single-day as they grow beyond their toddler and preschool years.
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” -Proverbs 22:6 KJV
Some bullet points about me/our family that I will expand upon and share more about (Lord willing) in the days, weeks, and months ahead on this blog:
- I am a Christ-follower first and foremost. He is my Rock, my Redeemer, and my Everything. Without Jesus, I am completely lost but with Jesus hope and peace overflows.
- My “life verse” is Jeremiah 29:11 and the Lord will bring that verse to my attention in some of the most amazing ways at the times I need it the most.
- I love to talk in bullet points because that’s how I think.
- Adoption has touched my family in a very special way.
- My oldest daughter experienced 3 stillbirths, which is what lead me into becoming a credentialed birth and bereavement doula and chaplain. I also used to be a photographer for Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep.
- My father passed away when I was 6.
- I love to share quotes.
- I have comma issues and tend to either over-use them or under-use them . . . there’s no in-between.
- I have met and mingled with many famous/ high-profile people over the years, but prefer everyday people…like me 🙂
- As I result of the previous bullet point, I don’t get “star struck.” I say this because people often ask me, “Were you nervous” or “were you excited to meet” so and so. My answer is yes and no. I get nervous meeting anyone new and during my days on Army Wife Talk Radio, I was always excited for every interview I conducted because I loved talking to people and learning about them. Whether they were well-known or little known, I took great joy in giving them a platform to share their story 🙂
- Despite my often extroverted exterior, I am actually very introverted and so are my husband and all but one of our children.
- I love coffee and coffee memes. I even have a Facebook page dedicated to it.
I could go on and on but will end it there for now. I have three grandbabies whom I hear playing downstairs, waiting on me to take them to the zoo on this beautiful sunny day.
Be blessed!