
1. I graduated in top five in my high school class.
2. I received an appointment to West Point, an appointment to the Coast Guard Academy, a four year Air Force ROTC scholarship for astronautical engineering and a four year Army ROTC scholarship.
3. I chose West Point, but when I gave my life to Christ, I gave up my scholarship to marry my husband, because I believed that I should be a wife first and foremost.
4. I have lived in 8 states and on both coasts.
5. I have travelled to: Germany, England Ireland, France, Luxemburg, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Hungary, Czech Republic, Austria, Italy and Saudi Arabia with children.
6. I have lived in Germany and Switzerland in addition to the US.
7. I have had babies in the US, Germany and Switzerland.
8. I have home schooled all of my children at various points in their education and four are currently independent adults:
One attended Catholic college on scholarship and graduated at the top of her class. She is now working for a Catholic publishing company.
One is a brother in a religious order pursuing the priesthood where he is also a seminary professor (at age 21).
One is attending another Catholic college as a sophomore on scholarship, currently near the top of his class.
One is in a year of preparatory school before attending West Point, class of 2014, (hopefully to graduate exactly thirty years after his father).
9. I have been married to the same man for 25 years.
10. I have had 13 healthy babies, all normal deliveries, and I nursed all of them through the first year.
11. My husband left a successful Army career and we sold all of our household goods (twice!) to follow Christ into seminary and then into ministry.
12. We left seminary, and all of our friends, family traditions, and job security to become Catholic.
13. I have been asked to speak on courage for Pure Fashion programs twice.
14. I am currently paid to write for an online blog for moms for the local newspaper.
15. I have a spectrum of knowledge and experience in nursing babies, whole foods nutrition for families, and the benefits of herbs for health.
16. I walked the Avon three-day sixty mile walk for breast cancer in 2002, while I was pregnant.
17. I have taught Faith Formation for two years.
18. I am a good cook and I have good taste in home decor.
19. I can change a flat tire alone if I have to.
20. I persevere even when I would prefer to quit, in most things essential.
( Why the heck can't I get my house clean?)
Ok, well, that was harder than I thought it would be. You know the whole time I was thinking about all the "...yeah, but..." parts of each of those things. Sometimes our accomplishments should stand alone, like the stones of a memorial by which we testify to the good God has accomplished through us.
Today it is ok to go over in your mind the many wonderful things you have accomplished because of Christ in your life! Go ahead and record or link them here as comments- as many as you want- if you are short on time then give us your top three, five, or ten!
(We used to say at the Academy-"... pop it up, big bites, good boodle, white trou!" when someone was entitled to bask in the glory of their success. Maybe I will explain all of that later with photographic evidence that I really was a West Point cadet, even if only for two years and three summers. Hard to imagine, I know...)