background check

i wanted to do a quick post and really introduce my family and me to y'all. and give you a little history on us.

i met my now husband the summer i graduated high school. it was july of 1993. we dated (nothing serious) for a few months and then didn't see each other until way later the following year. it was january of 1995 when we actually got very serious. and then on november 20, 1995 he asked me to marry him. the plan was to wait at least a couple years before we married. you know, get jobs, save money to buy a house and be able to live. neither of us had graduated college yet. i was set to graduated radiology school in july of 1996 and he was on track to graduate from UGA the same month.

 needless to say, we couldn't wait. we wanted to get married as soon as we could. so soon after the engagement, a wedding was being planned. and we married on august 10, 1996 (probably the hottest day in georgia in 100 years!). i had just turned 21 and he was 23.

we got married on saturday and kevin started his preplanning for teaching math and being an asst boys basketball coach at stephens county high school on the following tuesday. and i started an xray job at stephens county hospital that same week. with that said, no honeymoon...or at least not the long wonderful vacation we'd hoped for. we spent that weekend in buckhead at the ritz carlton. but it was wonderful.

we moved into a small house in toccoa, ga. and lived there for the first 5 years we were married.

 only 2 years shy of our wedding anniversary, we welcomed our first born son, ethan into the world. now this is a post in itself, which i'll do later on because he arrived well before his due date at 29 weeks and weighing a whopping 3lbs 7.5oz and 16in long!

only 2 1/2 short years later we welcomed our 2nd born son, eli. not to be out done by his older brother, he tried to come into the world at 26 weeks which meant i was on bedrest at northside hospital in atlanta (90 mins from home in toccoa)  for the last 7 weeks of my pregnancy. and yes, 2 days after they said i was safe to go home, he arrived at 33 weeks weighing in at 5lbs even 18 1/2 in long!

just one year shy of eli's first birthday, kevin received a job offer from a new high school in winder, georgia. he would be a high school math teacher and become the head boys basketball coach. this was his career goal so we prayed and moved.

i happened to get a job at barrow community hospital, where i worked for the next few years.

i will say life working at a hospital is tough. with holidays and weekends, it's no fun when you're wanting nothing more than to spend that quality time with family. so i decided to get my real estate license. i worked on and off at the hospital and then finally had enough stability in real estate that i ended up quitting the hospital all together to pursue real estate full time. and let me tell you, i loved it!

we moved 4 more times after first moving to winder. i worked in quite a few new construction subdivisions so i became very familiar with the building process. and then in 2008 we decided to build our own dream home.

 i was acting as general contractor and contracted out all of the work myself. i pulled permits, lined up subs, called in for inspections, etc. you name it, i did it. we moved in april of 2008 and then around october that same year everything stopped. nothing was being bought or sold and the only income we had was what kevin was making teaching and coaching and what he was getting paid on the side for painting (which he does some in the summer for extra income).

praise the Lord. the opportunity came up for me to become a full time xray tech again at an orthopedic office this time. no weekends. no holidays. thank you God! and i've been there ever since.

we've been married now for 15 years. our boys, ethan 13 and eli 11, are the picture of perfect health,  despite how they came into this world. we have had our ups and downs for sure but i wouldn't change it for anything. it's brought me to where i am today.

there's so much i've learned in just a few short years. after you've faced certain struggles and hardships, you really learn what's most important in life. God has worked through these times to really open my eyes to certain aspects of my life and who He wants me to become. He has blessed my family and me tremendously, even while teaching us life lessons. some lessons i'm still learning but i'm getting there. and i'll share more on that in later posts.

i'm sure you've not even made it to the end of this post because about 8 hours ago when you started reading, i said this was gonna be quick...oh well, i tried. anyway, if you made it to the end, thanks for reading a little about my family and me. hope to get to know each of you as well!

amanda