Blog Bash: The Crystal Behind Crystalized Reflections

Part of blogging, I have discovered is community. In fact it's a HUGE part! So I am putting in my effort to be seen and heard!! I am attending a Blog Bash hosted by Not Your Average Teen.

Growing up, I myself was 'not your average teen'. I was the oldest of 4 girls raised by a single mother. I was the responsible one. And if my mom had let me, I would've been the boss! I had a job early in life, but also made church and God a priority. I grew to have a love of writing as well from an early age, and one of my first bits of poetry was something I wrote about God and His love and mercy, then I read it in front of my small 'country' church. (I am not sure my old friends would consider it a country church, but after the churches I have now seen, I know that's exactly what it is!)
I graduated high school in 2003 having very little idea about what I wanted to do in life. The only things I did know were that I wanted to help people, I felt God had gifted me with compassion and I wanted to share that with the world. And I also was sure I wanted to be a wife and mother. Since I was at a loss as for what to do in college, I decided to start with what I did know I wanted: a husband. And God had brought me just that.



I met Jon in March of 2003 during my senior year when a friend from his boat invited him to our church. I asked him to take me to my prom in May, and in July he asked me to be his wife (with a little prompting- I am not very patient!). By December we were married- again VERY impatient- and we had a year left before we would face our first military move. During most of that year I was very anxious to get pregnant, and after 10 months I saw those 2 pink lines confirming my hopes, finally! Sadly though, just after our move to the East coast, after Christmas and our 1st anniversary, I had a miscarriage. But I didn't let it keep me down long!
By Mother's Day I was again pregnant with my now 4 year old daughter. Natalie is an interesting child, a drama queen like her mommy, and a silly goose like her daddy. She is also very smart if you ask me, and I am not sure who exactly that came from. Each day with her is a completely new adventure as I never know what will come out of her mouth next- sometimes for the better, others for the worse!



As we approached our next move, an even bigger move, overseas to Guam, we had planned to wait on a 2nd baby after another miscarriage shortly before the move. But God thought otherwise when He blessed us with a surprise baby, that we discovered just a month before we made our long trip to our new home. Zachary joined our family just a month and half after Natalie's 3rd birthday. He is fun and tender hearted. I take much joy in hearing his giggles each day, and comforting him when he falls (which he currently does a lot of as he begins to learn to walk). He still surprises me often with how smart he is for his age and how perceptive also.



I am hoping in another year to go back to school to get a degree in psychology. I am now interested in the field of social work or possibly a school counselor. That may change though as I am also longing for a third child, though we are currently planning to wait until we are back in the states and closer to family. We have 1 more year officially left on our little island of Guam, as we await approval of an extension for an additional year. Though I am not in love with the climate, I do love the people here!
Well that's me in a nutshell!

I am also supposed to answer 5 questions about myself as a blogger:

1. Why do you blog? I blog because I enjoy writing. When I was 12 years old one of my half brothers got in contact with me, he sent me some of his poetry. I wanted to be able to write as well as he did. In junior high and through high school I wrote my own poetry. I found inspiration everywhere I looked and the words just flowed through me. Until recently though, I have been in a sort of writer's block. I was so busy being a wife and mother, I let myself slip through the cracks and rarely got around to one of my first loves. Then I began reading a blog belonging to a friend of mine. She wrote about motherhood, and I again longed to have the words flow through me again. So I started my own blog! I want to be able to use the trials and the triumphs God has placed in my life to help other women. What better way then through a blog! I am also beginning to really get into it and enjoy the community in it. I am a stay at home mom and I don't have a car to get out much, so the social aspect keeps me in touch with the rest of the world when I sometimes feel out of touch!

2. What do you blog about? Everything and anything! I blog about what has happened to me in the past, good and bad. I blog about my faith. I blog about being a stay at home mother. About being a Navy wife. I enjoy occasionally sharing a bit of poetry or creative writing. Someday I may also blog about cake decorating, it is a more recent hobby I am endeavoring at. I blog about life!

3. What do you find you get the biggest reward from blogging? My biggest reward is the comments I get. I am encouraged to know others are reading and enjoying what I share. Even when someone doesn't leave a comment, the thought that somehow what I wrote might help to encourage or lift up someone else, is in itself encouraging to me. I may not ever know how God will use some of the things I write, but I don't doubt He will use them and I long to serve Him.

4. How long have you been blogging? Only a short time. I began a blog under a different title last year, but I somehow felt like I was held back. I didn't quite know how or where to start with my blogging. Then last month the same friend whose blog encouraged me to write again, started a series about recording our youth. I started writing for her series and just haven't stopped since! I feel much more confident in it now then I did originally.

5. Let's hear the story behind your blog title. Well I wanted something clever and witty, but it seemed all the good ones were already taken! I also wanted something not to specific, I didn't want to limit myself to only writing about baking or poetry or motherhood (not that that seems to have stopped any other blogging mommies I have run across- good for them!). So I started playing with my name. And it just sort of came to me from there as I browsed through a thesaurus. Crystalized I derived from a play on my name, reflections was a synonym for thoughts. My husband loved it and so did I, so it just stuck! Then I got my little subtitle: Seeing Life through a Crystal, obviously from the meaning of my name- a clear (and brilliant) rock. I just love playing with words like that!