I married my high school sweetheart, Jay. We have been married 19 years. We have two daughters, one is sixteen years old and one that is thirtenn years old. We are a homeschool family. I would say a non-traditional homeschool family. We began homeschooling both working. I was working full-time when we began our homeschool journey, then worked two twelve hour shifts a week for a couple of years. Once we decided to begin travel nursing we sold some extra stuff at home, my husband quit his job and we hit the road. Now my husband has completely taken over the homeschool teaching responsibilities. I never planned or expected to be a homeschool family, but here we are. I have never regretted the decision to homeschool our children.
I am a critical care nurse. I graduated nursing school in 2002 and have worked in critical care for sixtenn years now. I enjoy my work as a nurse, but there have been times since having children my heart has longed to be home. I am very thankful to have a flexible schedule that allows me to be home most of the time. As a travel nurse, I am able to travel the country with my family and experience things other careers would not allow me. I also have the privilege to serve people in a way that would not be possible if I were not a nurse.
Nursing has also provided me the opportunity to work towards becoming debt free. My dream is to own day own some land in the woods, on a mountain, in Western NC. I want to homestead- grow my own food, garden, raise goats, chickens, pigs and bunnies. I want a simple life. I want to be surrounded by my family and contribute to community. These are my dreams.
I am a follower of Jesus. I strive towards being more like him. My faith in Jesus affects every aspect of my life. If I do anything in this life I hope I show the love of Jesus to those I come in contact with. He heals the broken hearted. My heart was once broken, I was lost, but now I am found. Maybe I will talk about that one day.
My husband and I have referred to our home and children as the zoo for a number of years. It’s a joke between us- sometimes it’s hard to hear of the noise and chaos that happens with children and everyday life. And sometimes are children act more like animals than humans. I may complain from time to time, but I love it here at our zoo. I know one day it will be quiet and this season will be gone but I am trying to cherish this moment.
So, what I will talk about here will be about our everyday lives and travels- this life journey and what we are doing at the zoo.
Thank you so much for sharing in the journey of this crazy, great life we’ve been given.