Just call me Mom

Russ and I never follow a crowd, unless that crowd is awesome! :)  We have and probably always will do things differently then most.  I think that is what I love most about us.  We are both shy by nature, but together we fight to get a word in edgewise.  I know it is hard to believe, isn't it? :)  When we started dating we used to talk for hours on the phone, almost nightly.  I am still not sure how I got any homework done?  I was only 16 when we met, but marriage was brought up fairly quickly.  I don't think any of us had one doubt that we met the person we were going to be with forever.  That is very rare and not the norm.  From the beginning we didn't follow the status quo.  We got engaged when I was 18, we got married at 21 and 23, had kids young and still manage to shock people.  We never rush into anything and we always think things through (sometimes we over think) and make the decision that is best for us.  Shortly after we were married I quit my job to prepare for life as a homemaker and mother.  It wasn't perceived as the best decision I ever made.  In fact I don't think I heard one positive remark about my decision, but I can tell you it was one of the BEST decisions I ever made.  If Russ and I got use to living on  2 incomes, the children we were blessed with would have destroyed us financially.  We probably would have gone in to a mortgage that we wouldn't have been able to pay and who knows where we would have ended up?  We got use to living on 1 income and even though we have added 4 kids to the family, we are still doing good financially.  I didn't have to chose a career over kids, I didn't have to worry about daycare (which with 4 kids would have bankrupted us).  I went against the grain and have never looked back.    I am happy, I love my kids, they love having me around and whether I send them to school or not my job as a mom is not over.  My calling is to be a wife and mother and that is exactly what I am doing.  We have been blessed beyond comprehension and I thank the Lord for every day our family has together.