I've seen a little interviewing between bloggers going on around the net. So when Teresa's sister-in-law offered to interview anyone, I thought "why not?" I'm always happy to blab about myself.
5 questions arrived in my in-box last week and now I'm to answer them here for you all to enjoy.
1. How did you and your husband meet?
The summer of 2001 I signed up to be a camp counselor at Warm Beach Camp. I had loved my summers as a camper and always dreamed of going back someday as a counselor.
Darin was there. He was "kinda" my boss in that he was a head counselor, offering support and answering the questions of us rookies. Technically, there was also a female head counselor who really was my boss.
I noticed him right away and we enjoyed some friendly flirting as we peppered the volleyball and hung out during staff training. But it wasn't until the first week of camp that I really noticed Darin. One sunny morning he walked up the hill from his cabin towards the area my campers and I were waiting. He had just had his braces removed and he was wearing a sleeveless shirt and sunglasses. I was smitten.
We really hit the flirting hard after that and around week four of camp I asked Darin to go for a walk with me. Along the trail I asked him the question I had rehearsed for days: "What do you think of all the flirting we've been doing?" and I got him to admit he had feelings for me.
We went on our first date the next week where we shared our first kiss. And the rest is romantic history...
Like I wrote in my camp scrapbook above, I tell everyone that camp is a great dating service. The staff share the same basic beliefs, are committed to service, are pre-screened, and you've got atleast a few things in common already.
2. Your little girl is beautiful! How did you feel when you found out you were pregnant with her?
Well, that question could be two-parted.
It was a Saturday morning when I peed on the stick. Darin was still in bed and I snuck out to do it quietly. We had been trying for a while and had seen several dissapointing results, so you could say that I was beyond thrilled when I saw the little "plus" sign come up right away.
I got the camera out and spent several minutes trying to figure out how to take a picture of the darn thing. I guess Darin had heard me get out of bed after all and, worried that I was upset over another negative test, came to find me. Turns out he found me sitting on the floor of the bathroom trying to photograph a darn pee-covered stick! What a way to share the good news.
It was a thrill, to say the least. We shared the news with a few close family and friends. But it wasn't until our first ultrasound that it became a reality.
Finding out we were having a girl is a whole different story.
One day in January, as we neared our second ultrasound appointment, Darin was picking me up from work and we were visiting with some people in the office. Peggy, Steve (father of three girls) and Ken (father of two girls) were asking me what I wanted the gender to be.
I told them I was telling myself it was a boy, because what I really wanted was a little girl and I didn't want to be disspointed. Steve and Ken both shook their heads and told us it was going to be a little girl. "It takes a special kind of man to be a dad to a little girl," they said. "Darin's a girl's dad."
Darin had a huge grin on his face the rest of the day. From those two men whom he really respected, he took that comment as a huge compliment.
Turns out they were right and on January 24th we found out our little one was a girl after all.
Needless to say, I was very very happy and drug Darin with me to the consignment store to pick out a cute little (okay, two) outfit. And pulling these sweet numbers out of my bag was how I told my coworkers that our little bumb was officially "Daisy Lee".
3. Do you love where you live? If so, what do you love about it? If not, what don't you like about it?
I feel like one of the luckiest people in the world because I get to live at summer camp.
There are some amazing perks to living here:
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Our rent is cheap and our house is bigger than the one we had before. We also don't pay for any utilitities, so this winter turning up our heat has been met with much less worry.
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Darin can come home for lunch most days and can be home just 5 minutes after he gets off work.
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We have an amazing back yard: woods, animals, barns, fields. Tons of activities and places to play and explore.
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There is a lake for swimming just down the hill. As staff we can swim whenever we like.
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Whenever they cook meals in the dining hall, we are welcome to eat there for free.
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Every summer the place is flooded with awesome college students who love on my kid.
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I live closer to my sisters and have seen a lot more of them (and my neices and nephew) since moving down here.
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We live rural and it is quiet and beautiful here.
- We are living and working together here, finally living out the call on our lives.
But there are some things that I'm definitely still not used to.
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We live half-way between Port Orchard and Gig Harbor and while I tend to spend more time in the Harbor (library, target, etc.) this is no Bellingham. I miss the flavor of Bellingham. The shops (like the amazing scrapbook store) and the people and the places. I miss the parks and my favorite restaurants. I miss my church and I really miss my friends.
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I am so thankful for my home but there are some things that drive me crazy. Like the kitchen. Oh, man, I hate my kitchen. And I hate my stained toilets that never look clean. And I hate how dark it is inside on dreary days.
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I'm still getting used to my new job here as a full-time Mama. I often miss my old job, but I think a lot of that is because there was recognition and I knew I was good at it. This, I'm still not so sure that I'm good at.
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Mostly, though, I still really miss Bellingham.
4. How does Daisy feel about her new sibling?
Honestly, I'm not sure how much she understands about the whole thing. She knows that there is a baby growing in Mama's tummy, but I'm not sure how much more she understands. I love that when we ask where the baby is, she'll point to my belly. And she loves to pull up my shirt, put her cheek on my belly and say "hello" in the most adorable way.
But I know she is going to be a great big sister. She is really great with little ones, and has started to take a real interest in mothering her own baby dolls. And starting next month we'll be looking after a baby during the day so I'm hoping that will get her used to the idea of sharing her Mama (which she isn't usually so thrilled about).
Next month we'll be taking her with us to our big ultrasound, so I'm really curious to see how much she'll understand there. And then I'm off to do some research on the whole "bringing home a sibling topic" so if anyone has any advice...let me know :)!
5. I noticed you have my sister-in-law Teresa in your blogroll. Do you know her in real life? If so, how did you meet her?
My husband was one of those boys that always had more "girl friends" than "guy friends" and Teresa was one of those. I belive they met in their church's college group.
I think the first time I met Teresa was at a concert at a four-square church in Stanwood.
We were excited when she went off to school at capenwray, and thrilled for her romance with Mr Nich.
We had a blast attending their wedding in Victoria and felt blessed to be a part of their special day.
We celebrated the unexpected blessing of baby Eva.
It was so fun to have these friends of ours just over the border for the years we were in Bellingham.
I'm hoping this spring they'll come for a visit! (Hey, you guys keep talking about needing some time in the country!)
That was fun, thanks for joining me!
So! If you would like to join in on the interviewing party, follow these directions:
1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me”.
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions. (And you don't have to include pictures.)
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
