Who I am today

Sunset in Wilmington, NC

I am starting this blog as an assignment in a class that I am taking.  Part of that assignment is to tell a little bit about myself.

This year, 2010, I turned 50 years old.  Sounds WAY old, but I truly don't feel that way!  My mind's image of myself is still about 18 or 20!  Maybe that's the way my Spirit looks, & my brain knows what the "real" me truly looks like!

Paul at the Bonneville Salt Flats

I am married to the best husband in the world!  I'm sorry for all the other women in the world, because no matter how good their husbands are, mine is better.  (Of course, I secretly hope that every woman has the same opinion that I do about their own husbands.)  Paul is in the Army, which makes me an Army Wife ("I'm an Army Wife - what's YOUR super power?"), & we have lived across the US & in Germany for the last 28 years.  Because we've lived away from the rest of our families, we have grown much closer together than I think we would have if we had lived close to our parents & could rely on them for support.  One of the things that has made our marriage unique is that we have never had an argument!  NEVER.  We have had different opinions occasionally, but we have never had a fight.  We just decided way early that we wouldn't, then always offered the option of "overs" in our conversations.  Doing that has helped us try to be aware of how the other person is hearing what we are saying.  Anyway, I love Paul with all my heart!

Michael, Brad, & Jessica

We have three wonderful children - Brad, Jessica, & Michael - whom we HomeSchooled with for more than 18 years.  What a fun way to spend each day with our children!  Because of the kids & our HomeSchool, "World Education", my opportunity to learn about a wide variety of things has greatly increased.  Not so much because of more opportunity, but because we took advantage of the various opportunities we have had.  I'm not so sure how much learning I would have done if we had not been HomeSchooling.  Because we were always learning together, I didn't always have to have all the answers, but by knowing where to look, we could learn answers together.  Our kids are all grown up & creating lives of their own.  In 2010, we are in the process of changing from everyone being at home to an empty nest:  The kids are moving into a new phase in their lives!

Margaret & Jessica in SLC

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - I am a "Mormon"!  I love being an active member of our church.  I love knowing the things I've learned about the Gospel is true.  I love reading my scriptures & the inspiration and insights that come to me because of them.  I love listening to General Conference - hearing modern-day prophets and church leaders teach us how to draw closer to our Heavenly Father - and knowing that I don't have to take their word for it, but have my own inspiration and whisperings from the Holy Ghost to testify of truths to me.  I love knowing the Gospel of Jesus Christ - and that the fullness of that Gospel is actually quite simple to understand!   And I love knowing that Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father know ME - They know my name, They know my strengths and weaknesses, They know my joys and sorrows, yet They still love me!


I am a student, a teacher, a learner, a talker, and a listener.  I love music and art, science and math, movies and comedy.  I love discovering what amazing things other people know about, & thoroughly enjoy the process of learning from them.  I love the opportunity to teach things that I have learned about, and love to open the channels of discovery in other people!

And I love people!  I love little babies that I can hold in church while their mothers teach a class. I love toddlers that I can chase around the yard & point to clouds in the sky to wonder about.  I love preschoolers that I can teach to sing the ABC's backwards.  I love school-age kids in their own age of discovery, & love to learn about what they are learning about - in school, in church, at home, with their friends, and in their own thoughts.  I love teenagers and love to see how they are growing through the changes from children to adults.  I love young adults that are anxious for independence and responsibilities.  I love young parents and the joys they share about their own children.  I love older adults who have spent years learning and succeeding in their chosen fields, yet are still learning, expanding, and discovering.  I love the elderly who have lived wonderful, long lives and have stories to tell about long ago and far away.

I wonder what I can learn from you?!