I have been Tagged!

Guess what?! blog readers? I've been tagged! Thanks so much Ria for tagging me! So here's what this means: since Ria tagged me, I have to share 7 things that you may not already know about me... then I'll tag 7 of my blogging friends and they'll have to do the same! What a fun way to get to know each other better! But now I have to wrack my brain to think of 7 fun, creative, obscure things about myself!

1) I was homeschooled my entire life. Now, people who knew me back in my school days obviously know this one already. But alot of my Minnesota friends probably didn't know this one. There's always an element of surprise when I tell people about my "dark past" (giggles). Maybe it's because people think that to have been a life long homeschooler, I should be sporting a long matronly skirt and some clogs. But yes, I was homeschooled and no I was not sheltered! I was in tons of lessons and activities where I met a ton of friends. I've never been at a loss for a social life as is the common misconception about poor, sheltered homeschoolers! But although I cringe at the stereotypes and attempt to defy them, I must admit... I can still spot another homeschooler out in a crowd from a mile away! Some things, you just can't escape ;)

2) God has performed many miracles in my life. I can't deny the power of my God! From even before my birth, God has had his hand on my life! When my mom was pregnant with me, she had a miscarriage. (stay with me). The doctor confirmed she had miscarried her baby. But there was still a heartbeat! My mom had miscarried my twin, and I was still alive in her womb. (Sidenote: I can't wait to meet my twin one day! You'll see us together in heaven, hanging out and redeeming the years we lost!) I was born with congential heart disease. I went in for routine check-ups. My last check-up was at age 16. I had to be cautious about using knives because an infection in my bloodstream could be fatal. I also had to avoid getting sick with bronchitis or pneumonia, because both could also be fatal. When I was 19 (and pregnant with Peyton) I had to go back in for another EKG to monitor how my "defected" heart was handling the increased blood flow of pregnancy. Three doctors examined me for a full hour and another more experienced doctor came in to offer a FOURTH perspective. They found NO TRACE of a heart defect. The man looked at me and said, "You are as healthy as any other normal human being. I see no evidence of this heart disease. I don't think you ever had it!" (We know that I had it because I've had it my whole life... but God's healing power COMPLETELY erased it!) When I was 17 I got in a car accident with my best friend. We were driving her car at 1 in the morning in a back country road in Vermont. We decided (stupidly) to see how fast her car could go. The last time I looked at the speedometer we were quickly passing 120 mph. We crashed at full speed into a rock face. The car spun around and around until finally resting, split in half over 100 yards from where we first made contact. I blacked out during the accident, and when I came to, the car was smoking and there was debris everywhere. We were both in pain and my friend was bleeding from her head. Amazingly enough, we both walked away with barely any scratches aside from severe whiplash. The cops who came to the scene were shocked to find us alive, let alone walking away from the crash scene! Less than a year later, God completely healed my neck injury. God has done many more miraculous things in my life! Those are just a few.

3) I'm African-American. Okay, this one has a double meaning. It doesn't mean what you think it does. My mom is fully South African (she immigrated to the states when she was 27), and my dad is American. Therefore, I'm African-American... in the true sense of the term. Sometimes I put it down as my ethnicity just for kicks.

4) I was a competitive swimmer for 7 years. Swimming used to be a HUGE part of my life. I learned to swim when I was just 3 or 4 and then I swam competitively from age 7 to age 14. I loved swimming and my dream was to go to the Olympics. I swam in two New York State Championships and both times my team won. However, as I grew older I developed other interests and moved states. I still love watching swimming in the Olympics though, and I always wonder what it would be like if I had kept up with it. (I would definitely be fitter than I am, lol!)

5)  Bryan was my first (and only!) boyfriend! When I was 12 years old I  made a commitment to the Lord that I would save myself for my future husband in every way possible. I began writing letters to him in a journal (and filled it by the time we married when I was 18!) I met Bryan at Bethany College of Missions and we fell in love! He asked me out and 11 months later, we were standing at the altar exchanging vows! We've been ridiculously in love ever since! We were both each other's only boyfriend/girlfriend! It's kind of our special little thing ;)

6) I spent a summer reading ridiculously long books... I decided it would be cool to master an intimidating reading list. I spent a summer reading Anna Karenina (838 pages) and Les Miserables (1200 pages). I'm not sure what I thought I would accomplish other than wasting a perfectly good summer... but hey, at least I can say I've done it, right?

7) I'm a young mom. Okay, so this one you already know... but to be perfectly honest I couldn't think of a seventh thing! I got married to Bryan when I was 18. I got pregnant with Peyton when I was 19 and I had her just a couple months after my 20th birthday. Kind of a fun random fact! 


So here's who I'm tagging!!
1. Leigh @ Looking for Things Unseen
2. Carrie @ Carrie & Hannah's Blog (Ben, too!)
3. Rachele @ Life...Come and take a glimpse
4. Amy @ Journeying into Whole-heartedness
5. Katelyn @ That I May Gain Christ
6. Katie @ The KC3
7. Andy @ We are Moving Forward


Here are the rules if I tagged you!

1. Copy the "award" picture into a blog post.
2. Thank the person who gave you the award.
3. Tell seven things about yourself that your readers didn't know.
4. Declare seven bloggers as the new recipients.
5. Notify the winners with comments on their blogs.