Interview time!!

A little change from birds and flowers . . . :) Tammy was kind enough to give me 5 interview questions to answer on my blog! If any of you would like to participate, you can see the "rules of the game" at the bottom of this post. For those of you who don't have blogs, if you would like to ask me any other interview type questions, list them in the comments! Thanks for the questions, Tammy--I had fun doing this!!

1. I see you link to NGJ on your sidebar; tell me a few of the things you've learned from them that have helped you the most!

First, a little disclaimer: I do have some concerns/differences with some of NGJ’s theology. However, with that said, there are also a lot of things I like about their ministry, and I have been very much blessed, encouraged, and challenged by their materials. My hands-down favorite NGJ book is Created to be His Help Meet, which I mentioned a long time ago somewhere on the blog. This book was such a rebuke and encouragement to me when I was going through a difficult time of not trusting and submitting to my husband’s leadership. Even though I wouldn’t agree completely with everything in the book, I highly recommend it for all wives! I have also been blessed by some of NGJ’s child training materials, though again, I don’t agree 100% with all of their viewpoints. I do receive their free magazine and I very much enjoy that! One of my favorite parts of the magazine is the herbal/natural remedies and tips that are usually shared by Debi, Rebekah or Shoshanna. I’d like to learn a lot more about herbs and natural healing, and these articles have “whetted my appetite!” NGJ is also where I found out about the WellTellMe forum, which has been hugely useful to me in learning more about natural remedies for things like ear infections, UTIs, etc.

2. How old are your children? When you take walks with them, do they all walk, or does someone ride in a stroller? :)

Sam is 6, Julia is 4, and Josiah is 2. They were all born in the spring and are each almost exactly 2 years apart. (Yes, it was nice to be able to wear the same maternity clothes each time I was pregnant. :)) When we go for walks, Sam and Julia usually walk and Josiah usually rides in the stroller. However, we do have one little complainer (Julia). Walks aren’t as much fun when she is complaining about how tired she is! So the last time we went, she got to ride in the stroller for about a mile while Josiah walked, then when we turned around, they switched places. But that was when Jim was with us--probably if it was just me and the kids walking, I’d always make her walk, because Josiah has a hard time keeping up and I wouldn’t have an extra grownup to lag behind with him. :)

{our three little munchkins "reading" in the shower--the one we rarely use :)}

3. What is your favorite thing to sew?

Oh boy, that’s a tough one!! Right now my favorite thing is aprons. :) But overall, I would say I really enjoy sewing clothes for Julia. Making clothes for myself is fun, too, but there’s always the possibility that I won’t like the way they turn out. When I’m making stuff for Julia, I’m almost always pleased with the results! Plus, sewing little girls’ clothes is nice because they are small and go together quickly! :)

{Julia in her Easter dress and sweet little bloomers that I made}

4. How do you usually wear your hair? (It looks so CUTE in the pictures you've shared on your blog!)

Oh, my hair . . . now that is a work in progress. ;) Thanks for saying it looks cute--it doesn’t always, I can assure you! :) Well, this is the story of My Hair. Up until March, it was LONG. Like down-to-my-waist long. My hubby loves my hair long and so I usually keep it that way for him. :) It is a hassle sometimes, though. But he had layered it for me back last fall, which made it a little more fun and interesting. Then in March, I asked him if he could trim about 3” off for me, as it was getting kinda straggly. Next thing I knew, he had chopped off about 8”!!! (Maybe more.) It was barely shoulder length!! (No, it wasn’t a mistake--he thought I would like it nice and short for summer . . . which was fine, but just kind of a shock!) Anyway, once I got used to the idea, I liked the length, but I didn’t like the fact that it wasn’t layered anymore. I let it grow for about a month because I was too scared to layer it right away and possibly have it too short to fix--and then he layered it again. (Yes, I do let hubby touch my hair with the scissors . . . I’ve never actually been to a salon. I’m too cheap! Sometime I would love to get my hair cut by someone who actually knows what they’re doing. :) But thankfully it’s always come out OK. Jim has a good eye for cutting things straight, most of the time--it helps being a carpenter, I think. ) Anyway, back to how I wear my hair . . . :) Now that it’s so short, it’s pretty easy. I have naturally wavy/curly hair, so I usually just wash it every morning, spray in some gel, and scrunch. Then I usually pull it back in a scrunchie, or put half of it back in a barrette. Sometimes I put it up in a kind of twist. Sometimes I french braid it in one braid or two. Pretty much whatever gets it out of my way! :) I do usually take the time to blow dry and straighten it a bit for church. When it was long, I used to put it up in a bun nearly all the time. Sometimes I miss being able to do that . . . but I’m really loving the short ‘do. :) And that is the really LONG version of how I wear my hair. Sorry for the novel! :)

{Me with my short new haircut--near the end of April}

5. What are your favorite and least favorite things about your house? (Did you guys build it yourselves??) :)

{our house from the front}

What a fun question! (Actually, I’ve enjoyed all of them!) First of all, yes, we built it (actually, we’re still in the process!). About 8 years ago, we were able to purchase a little over 3 acres of land from my grandparents. We have 80+ acres around us that my Grampa still owns, so our house feels very private. Our nearest neighbors on either side are about a 1/4 mile or more away. We love, love, love having our “space.” Although we could certainly survive just fine in a more crowded area, having our own land has been great. Jim grew up on a large farm in eastern Ohio, so it’s been especially nice for him to have some “room to roam!” Anyway, I guess living “out in the boonies” is one of my favorite things about where we live. As far as the house itself goes, it’s hard to pick just one favorite thing, so I’ll have to list several. Near the top would have to be our master bedroom and bathroom. I have always dreamed of having a large bedroom with an attached bathroom, so that was one thing that was important to us as we planned our house. Our bedroom is very large (which is especially important now that we have an enormous four-poster log bed!) and having the bathroom just a few steps away is so convenient (and was really wonderful for having my two homebirths!).

{our bed}

I also really love our new living room floor, our gorgeous pine ceilings, and my new kitchen cabinet doors. :) And our deck!! As for my least favorite thing . . . well, I wish we would have made the house bigger! We’re going to eventually need another bedroom for Julia . . . I can also see now that a bigger kitchen would have been nice . . . and in hindsight, I would definitely put in a separate dining room rather than having the table sort of between the kitchen and living room. It works, but it isn’t a perfect set-up. But in spite of these things, I am very thankful for our cozy home! It’s been such a blessing to us (and it’s exciting to see it getting closer and closer to finally being finished!).

Whew! I got long-winded, didn't I? I really had fun doing this, though. Feel free to add questions of your own or let me know if you want me to interview you!

If you want to play along:
1 - Leave a comment with your blog URL, saying you want to be interviewed.

2 - I will respond; I'll ask you five questions.

3 - You'll update your blog with my five questions, and your five answers.

4 - You'll include this explanation.

5 - You'll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed.