about me

I was born in September of 1981, the youngest of 10 kids in a Mennonite family near Grande Prairie, Alberta.  As a kid I loved playing by myself; my favorite pastimes were playing 'teacher' with all my teddy bears and dolls as the 'students' and playing 'house' in an old homemade pickup box topper-turned-playhouse. I had a huge imagination, due partly to the fact that I was the youngest child, with 3 years separating me and my next brother. Three years that I stayed at home after he started school. My siblings will all tell you I'm spoiled; I say how can I be spoiled when I had 11 parents?! I have good memories of growing up; although we weren't wealthy, it didn't seem to stand in our way of making up fun stuff to do!  

When I was 11, we moved to Saskatchewan, just 30 minutes north of Saskatoon. It was a cold, cold day... the thermometers showed near -50 degrees... and the heater quit on the moving truck. A feeling I will not quickly forget! My mom homeschooled me and my brother the remainder of that school term, then we settled into a small private school nearby. I made friends quickly and easily, never missing my old friends too badly. One of the biggest highlights of every summer was the one week of Vacation Bible School, held in a large red hip-roof barn. With close to 80 kids that I'd never met, but at the end of the week we were fast friends!

At age 13, I gave my life to God, even though I didn't understand a lot at the time. He has stuck with me through thick and thin, although at times I'm quite sure I didn't deserve it. After all, salvation isn't about what we deserve, it's about mercy and grace. It's about being humble enough to give it all up, and then receiving far more than you ever had before...

Meanwhile our family continued to grow.  By the time I was a year old I already was an auntie, and with my siblings rapidly getting married, the numbers rose quickly.  At age 12, I had 8 nieces and nephews and by age 18, there were 14. 

Also at age 18, my life changed forever. October 1999 I went on a road trip with 3 girlfriends to my cousin's wedding back in Alberta. There I met a tall, blonde-haired, grey-eyed boy... Tech Guy... all of 20 years old. And I lost a little part of my heart. Life had a lot of ups and downs for both of us at that time, but God so clearly showed us his will and we were married 9 months later, on a hot July day. Our 6-day honeymoon was spent in Banff and Jasper, and I was so excited to set up my little house and decorate it, make it 'us'.

July 2003 brought another change... a little boy joined our family. He was due right on our anniversary, but thankfully high blood pressure intervened and he arrived 6 days early, induced, and then, in distress, Caesarean. He is our little Buster, our sensitive, perfectionist, electronics whiz. Blonde hair and hazel eyes, he is a mini Tech Guy.

Noodle arrived in September of 2005, by scheduled Caesarean. He had red-blonde hair and a temper to match, and we quickly caught on to the meaning of 'colic'. 7 months of it! The screaming and pacing, the endless rocking and Mommy's tears that wanted to spill... Our Noodle, who's still a strawberry blonde with a hair-trigger temper and wild nature; who loves to tinker with tools and 'fix' things, and snuggle endlessly. Our Snuggle-Bug...

Even though I felt 'done' after Noodle, I knew I would never be content with only 2 kids. Summer 2009 we decided to take the plunge again and I became pregnant with our 3rd boy! It was a crazy pregnancy from the beginning, and we were so excited to welcome Sawyer into our family on April 10, 2010. You can read about his birth here. We are still learning to know his personality but he is just the happiest kid and the light of our lives!

I started blogging in April 2007, using the title "Pitters and Patters of Not-So-Little Feet". My original idea was to keep in touch with friends and family who didn't live nearby, but in the course of the journey, I found new friends... and found it was a great place to go for creative outlet and a place to store my recipes so I could access them anywhere. As well as tracking my kids' wonderful and terrifying accomplishments.

I am somewhat of a girly girl, I like dressing up and I hate getting dirty. I love getting gifts and good surprises and shopping. I hate having my routine interrupted. I love coffee and home decor and organizing... I like being around people, whether it's meeting new people or hanging out with friends, but I definitely need alone time. Big time. I would love to travel and see the world... Italy would be at the top of the list, followed quickly by Greece, New Zealand and Australia. I would love to be one of those women who effortlessly has 6+ kids and is still sane, but I've come to realize that probably will never be me. I think it's more important to be a great mom to a few, than a frazzled mom of many.

That is the story of me.