Introduction.

A few days ago my friend Katie over at Loves of Life did a little introduction post.  Even though she's been blogging forever, and I have been reading her for a few years, it was still really nice to read that post.  I started thinking about it, and I don't think I've done anything like that.  So, since imitation is the most sincere form of flattery and all, I hope she doesn't mind.  Head over and check her out though, she's real, hilarious, and adorable.  Not to mention her gorgeous little chica is just a few months younger than mine.

Okay, back to my introduction.  So yes, my name is Erica, and I obviously live in the Midwest.  I was born and raised here, and am very happy about that.  I left for college, to go to one of our state's large universities, and when I graduated (with an elementary education degree) there was a job opening in a town about thirty miles from my hometown.  I applied, interviewed a few days later, was offered the job, and started teaching there the next fall.  I taught in a dual-language (Spanish) kindergarten room for the first three years, and the past two years I've taught Title 1, which is basically reading and math help for children who are behind or ahead and need a challenge.  

My husband (Peter) and I started dating our senior year of high school.  We had the time of our lives that year.  I honestly loved high school and my best friends are all people I've known since childhood.  Unfortunately Peter and I are the only ones out of our close friends who moved back "home", but we're counting on some of them to start moving back any day now.  We've met some new great friends too, at college and throughout the last several years.  Okay, back to the story.  So yes, we started dating in high school, graduated, and moved onto college in different cities.  

I stayed and graduated in four years.  Peter went to a few different colleges, and then decided to join the United States Army.  This was a tough decision, I wasn't all for it (obviously we were at war), but I supported him 100%.  I am very proud of him, but it wasn't easy by any means.  I am very thankful we're not at that point in our lives anymore.  I do thank God every night for having him not only out of war, but laying right next to me in our own home.  After serving in the Army for three and a half years (including a fifteen month deployment to Iraq that postponed our wedding twice), Peter was honorably discharged and moved back to our hometown a few months before we got married, which was in June of 2008.  Shortly before the wedding George (our first American Bulldog) came into our lives.  He is truly a blessing, I love him more than I ever imagined I'd love an animal.  We got Ava (our girly girl American Bulldog) the winter after our wedding.  

After we got married we enjoyed a few months of wedded bliss before finding out we were pregnant with our daughter Kirsten!  Pregnancy was no treat, I was super sick, and labor wasn't any better.  We contemplated if we'd ever have any more children, even though we'd always thought we wanted three our four kids.  When Kirsten turned about eight months old we changed our minds, we thought, let's just do it, try and get pregnant and get through it.  We were used to being up at night (Kirsten was not a good sleeper), used to diapers, used to being on a schedule that is at the control of a nursing baby, etc.  We were blessed to get pregnant then, and a few months later Simon came along.  They are eighteen months apart and we're in the thick of raising two babies (okay, one baby and one toddler) at the moment. 

Life is so busy, but so wonderful.  It overwhelms me several times each day, the emotion and amazement I have at being the mother of these two precious children, and a wife to someone who I truly admire and love.  While it's definitely not all rainbows and butterflies, I do feel extremely blessed and am thankful for that everyday.  

I love to write and be inspired, and the blogging community fits that nitch perfectly for me, so I blog.  I am also on Twitter, and Pinterest, and all of those wonderful other internet things.  If I'm not following you on those, leave me a comment or request to follow me and I'll add you.

Now that you all know way more about me than you need to, tell me something, who are you?  Have you been reading long?  Are you on Twitter?  Do I know you in real life?  My statistics tell me there are local people reading this little old blog and I'd love to know who you are, I honestly didn't know anyone (other than my sister) that I know in real life read this.  So, if you'd be so kind to take a minute and leave a comment telling me a little about yourself (whoever you are and wherever you're from), I'd appreciate it.  Don't be shy, introduce yourself! 

And, it's very nice to meet you all.