Here is the second set of the questions. :)
Katie asked, "Do you see yourself as a working mother or a SAHM?"
A stay-at-home mom definitely. That has always been my dream. My mom stayed home with us until I was in first grade, and I loved having her home with us.
"Are you saving your first kiss for at the alter?"
Hmm, I don't know. Probably not. I've never been kissed as of yet, but that's mostly because I have never had a boyfriend. I definitely don't want to kiss too much, but I doubt that I'll actually save my first kiss for the alter. I guess it depends on my future husband's thoughts on the matter.
"What is your favorite book (other than the Bible, that is a given)?"
Oooh, another good question. I have so many! Really any of my Christian romance books. :) I'll just go with the one I just finished reading for the second time, Every Storm by Lori Wick.
"If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?"
To be able to snap my fingers and have my homework done.
Okay, so that would only be for this time in my life. I don't know what I would want for the rest of my life. Christa and I thought of a really good one the other day, but now neither one of us can think of it.
Oh, I know, to be able to never get headaches. Can you tell what I have right now?!
Sally asked, "Have you never had a boyfriend because you didn't want one/weren't ready for one, or have you been asked but just never cared enough for the guy?"
Or option three- have you never been asked.
That would be the right answer. Actually, there was one guy hinting around and was definitely leading up to asking me, but I could see where the discussion was going and made it clear that I wasn't interested. He was going about it in all the wrong ways. After the fact, I realized how he had been leading up to that the whole conversation. I still don't know if he actually liked me or was just desperate for a girlfriend. He asked out quite a few girls before finally having one accept him. Lol.
"When did you know you wanted to be a teacher?"
I just had to answer this question in my interview last week. I think I first started thinking about it when my mom went back to teaching when I was in first grade. Plus, I had a really awesome teacher that year that probably influenced me, too. Growing up I spent so much time in my mom's classroom, helping her out and seeing how she did things. It is incredible how many kids come up to her, saying what a difference she made in their lives or that she is still their favorite teacher. I love the passion my mom has for teaching. I want to be able to make that kind of difference in kids' lives. I really started doubting teaching, though, in later middle school/high school. I prayed about it a LOT. Then I did my cadet teaching my senior year, and that confirmed things for me. I knew then and there that I was supposed to be a teacher!
"Have you always loved kids?"
Yeppers. Even as a baby, I had baby dolls that I loved to carry around/hold/play with. We have sooooo many pictures of me as a little girl with all of my babies. Jen and I played house/Barbies/Polly Pockets all.the.time. We took our dolls everywhere with us: to grandma's, shopping, on vacation, church, everywhere! I have always loved babies and kids. I'd rather spend time with them than adults half the time. Haha. I started baby-sitting in 4th grade (with my sister along- we tag-teamed), and I've been baby-sitting ever since! I didn't start baby-sitting on my own until middle school sometime.
Melissa asked, "Who do you most admire?"
Ooh, tough question. There are so many people that I admire! I'll go with only people that I personally know. My mom, my grandma, Teresa (mentor and youth pastor's wife), and many others.
"I think you've posted this before, but what are the top five things you want in your future husband?"
Actually, I haven't posted that before. I've been asked to, but I've never gotten around to it. As I mentioned in another answer, I will be posting the complete list in the next few days. Weeeeell, I was going to post five things, but upon looking at my list, I don't know which five to pick. Haha. So I'll just post the whole list in the next day or two. I'll tag you in it, so you can see it.
"If you could trade lives with anyone for a day, who would it be?"
Ahh, another one that makes me think! Hmmm, I suppose someone who lives in a big city, just to experience life there for a day. I'm definitely a small-town kinda girl, but I'd like to know what just one day living in a bigger city would be like. I don't ever want to truly move to a big city, but it'd be interesting to see the difference! I don't really want to trade lives with a celebrity because I wouldn't like the popularity and everyone poking into your business.
"What do you think is your biggest weakness/strength?"
Biggest weakness: procrastination or shyness. It's a toss-up. Biggest strength: kindness??? I don't know.
"Favorite physical feature on yourself?"
Definitely not my nose or my toes. Haha. I'll just go with my overall thin-ness because I know I won't stay like this forever.
"What do you think is the most important thing your parents did to help shape you into the wonderful person that you are today?"
Awww, thanks for that compliment. That's a tough question. They did so many awesome things that I would like to repeat with my own children some day. There are two things that really stand out to me, though. Obviously a huge factor is raising us in the church and "making" us go when we were younger. I noticed a huge shift in our family life when we switched churches for the who-knows-what-th time to the church where we still are today. That's when we really started living out more of our faith at home. The other is stressing how important family is. We have always made it a huge point to support each other in whatever we do. My mom has always placed a huge emphasis on spending time together. Dinner every night was a family affair. We didn't grab our own thing and go separate ways. We have always eaten together. We do family game nights as much as we possibly can. We make sure to get away at least once a year, even if it's just a few days, as a family for vacation. It doesn't have to be anywhere spectacular, as long as we are spending the time together. We also pray together as much as possible, read together, even watch TV together. Anything that will bring us closer as a family.
Lisa asked, "Would you ever move away from home? (Like if your husband wasn't from the same state? - I did!
)
Yes, I would if my husband was from a different state. There wouldn't be many other reasons that I would leave this area for, but that would be one that I would. I think it's slightly odd when husbands and wives stay married but live in different states because of jobs. I always thought that the spouses should follow each other wherever the other was going. Isn't that the way it should be? *Just to clarify: I know that Lisa didn't mean that last part by her question; I was just going off on my own little tangent since that other point came to mind.
*
Becky asked, "Did you have braces when you were younger?"
Yep, two sets! I got the first set when I was in third grade because I had a cross bite. We had never noticed it until the orthodontist mentioned it, but looking back at pictures now, we wonder how we could have possibly missed that my jaws were not lined up! I had that set for a year just to correct the cross bite at the same time that Jen had braces. Then once all of my teeth were in for good, I got a second set in middle school. Mom and I got our braces put on at the same time the same day. I only had that set for a year, too. I still have a permanent bottom retainer, and I wear my top retainer at night. I know most people don't anymore, but I think it's ridiculous not to after spending thousands of dollars to get these puppies straight. I'll probably be sitting in a nursing home someday, still wearing my hot pink retainer at night. Haha!
I left the picture at home that I was going to use for my first set of braces, but you can kind of see them here.
And here is my second set of braces.
"When did you become a believer?"
I was raised in the church, so I pretty much always assumed that I was a Christian growing up. I don't remember if I ever actually prayed that prayer when I was little. Then when I was in 7th grade on September 22, I officially rededicated my life to God or dedicated it for the first time if I hadn't already.
"Who is your favorite feminine role model and why?"
I'm going to have to go with Mary, Jesus's mother. I can't imagine having a faith like her's. The movie The Nativity Story really shows just what kind of faith she had. It's incredible.