A Self-Interview (Texas Women Bloggers Link Party)

So, I’m now part of the Texas Women Bloggers community, which is pretty awesome if I do say so myself.

The first order of business?

I have to do a self-interview and link-up with other members so we can learn about each other. I figured, why not, this would probably be fun for my regular readers, too!

So, here goes…

1. What part of the state do you call home?
I live in Cypress, a suburb of Houston. I’ve lived in these parts since my family moved here from St. Louis, Missouri when I was 5 years old. So, more than a quarter of a century ago. Man, I feel old.

2. How long have you been blogging?
This is tricky to answer… I’ve been blogging since 2008 in some form of fashion. Then, in 2011, when I got pregnant with my triplets and we had our high-risk pregnancy/bed rest/NICU stay/loss of triplet A/home & adjusting stage, I kind of fell off the radar. I quit everything, for obvious reasons. I just recently came back into the game.

3. Why did you start blogging?
Originally (pre-babies) it was to share about crafting/design and other things I loved and was from a business stand-point. Now, it’s mostly to share our story with others in hopes of helping those who go after us.

4. What do you hope to get out of the Texas Women Bloggers community?
I love meeting other bloggers, especially ones who live close by. I would love to attend conferences together, commit to visiting each other’s blogs and commenting, RTing, etc., and generally just supporting each other.

5. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In 5 years? I’ll have a few eBooks out (first one is coming soon, you can subscribe using the link in the top header bar if you’d like to be notified when it comes out), hopefully have my print book I’m working on of our story of faith during tragedy picked up, published, etc., and I’d like to think I could handle going back to work once the kids get out of the post-preemie therapy stages. I’ll have built up my platform and be successful in spreading my message of hope.

6. If you could choose an actress to play you in your life, who would you choose and why?
Hmm… I have always been a Sandra Bullock fan. In fact, funny as it may seem, in high school, I had a book that friends put together that had magazine clippings and such next to pictures of me, all her movies, etc. because everyone compared me to her. So, it’d probably have to be her. That, and she’s just plain awesome.

7. Name 5 things on your Bucket List that you hope you’ll check off before you die?
I’ve actually done quite a few things on my bucket list already, like sky diving, visiting almost all the states in the U.S., singing on stage with a famous person (it’s on YouTube), etc. 5 more? Hmm… let’s see. Getting published, Traveling to Europe, Being on a national TV show to spread awareness about loss, meet all my favorite authors (getting there!), Witness the Houston Texans go to the Superbowl (that one’s for my hubby).

8. If you could be known for one thing, what would it be and why?
Ultimately, the most important role to me is ‘mom’. So, if I could only be remembered for one thing, it’d be that I was a good mom; a great mom. I want my kids to know I fought for them every day from trying to get pregnant to keeping them cooking to their time in the NICU to every day after that. That I love them more than anything. Outside of that, I want to be known for helping others overcome the loss of a child. My husband and I both feel led to help others in this area.

9. Describe one “wow” moment in your life.
Okay, so this may not seem like a wow moment, but it’s the moment I realized the power of life and death, and it was “wow” for me. It was when my son Carter (triplet A) passed away after 49 days of fighting to live (he was born at 28 weeks). I had never held him before the day he died, and I held him for the first and last time in the last two hours of his life. He literally died in my arms. It was a very powerful, moving moment. I don’t ever want to experience it again, but I’m glad I was able to see him out of this world and that I was the last person he felt touch him.

10. If you could “be” anything (no consequences, no fear), what would you “be”?
An actress. Cliche I’m sure, but that’s what I’ve always wanted to be and just never had the guts to pursue.