FOR ALL THE LOVE'S OF JANA: February 2009

My 25 Random Things about me was also posted on FACEBOOK!

But wanted to post it here...

so it will be done twice.

1. The first and most important thing about me is that I absolutely love my FAMILY! I believe my husband came into my life at the BEST time and saved me from an anguish that to this day still has many wounds left to heal. I never believed in a "soul mate" until I met him. I am thankful to God everyday that this man came into my life. I absolutely have NO regrets.

2. My children have been the BEST thing I have ever truly done...bringing them into this world gave me the feeling "I AM woman, hear me roar!" If you ever thought God was not a part of this existence, then you have never experienced giving life to these wonderful creatures. I have recently found that my greatest strength has been the courage to fight for the best needs of my children.

3. I have always been able to make friends easily. My parents told me I took after my grandmother who had the gift of gab! I do love to TALK, even though I didn't start talking until after my 3rd birthday! I am a great conversationalist and can talk about nothing for hours!

4. On this same subject, I'm actually shy by nature and do not like being in large groups. This will be one time where you will not hear me talk. I'm actually very insecure in these situations. I always worry I won't have something "funny" to say, or won't be interesting enough.

5. I've always wished I could redo High School. I went through the "puberty" stage late and had a crazy awkward stage. I look back in pictures and don't even see that person. Not only do I look different but I would have NEVER let the word popular be a part of my vocabulary. I don't believe in "popularity" in schools-it messes with our self-esteems. I'm a much stronger person than that now!

6. When I was in High School I was part of our school newspaper. I found out President George Bush, Sr. was going to be in our area and asked my teacher if I could do an article on his visit. She was able to get us "press" passes and I traveled with the President all day visiting local schools. A memory I will never forget!

7. During my senior year in High School, I left in January for college. I finished my High school year at BYU. It is still something to this day that I have incredibly fond memories of. I loved every minute of my college experience. (Just wished I had graduated-my parents too! :)

8. I LOVE sports. I am a huge football fan. I think my husband is the luckiest man alive because I can sit for hours with him on a Saturday or Sunday watching football!

9. I have 6 brothers (which explains the comment above) who I think are the best brothers a sister could have. Not only are they incredibly kind to me but they are the BEST uncles I have ever seen to my kids. I am grateful that my children have such great examples to look up to. I'm proud of the fact that all 6 of my brothers are EAGLE scouts and have served missions for our church.

10. My sister who lives in Utah, is my BEST friend. My only regret is that we don't live closer and that my children don't live by any of there cousins. Even though they only see each other once or twice a year, they become instant best friends.

11. My parents are my greatest inspiration. I hope to be half as good of a parent as these two are!

12. My husband tells me every night before bed, "Sweet Dreams" and has never missed a night. I love that he sang our song "God Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flats at our wedding in front of everyone just like he promised me he would.

13. I am absolutely terrified of dogs. My biggest pet peeve is when a dog comes up and licks me or smells me. It makes me incredibly nervous--it is an irrational fear, but one I've had to endure my whole life. Unfortunatley by youngest daughter Katie inherited this from me. We both hate it but no matter how much someone tells us there dog is a good dog, we are still afraid.

14. I have 4 stepchildren, 1 step-grandbaby with 2 more on the way. I love being Grandma Jana more than I ever thought I would. My stepchildren despite what they've had to endure have been good to me.

15. My least favorite subject in school was MATH. I hated Math and it was usually this grade that would stop me from getting all A's in school. (Science sometimes had something to do with it as well!) So I find it funny now that my profession is Accounting/Bookkeeping. I love balancing a checkbook and will find every penny. My 6th grader no longer asks me for help on his math-it is past my abilities to compute!

16. I have a weather tolerance of 20 degrees. I only like temperature between the range of 65 to 85 degrees. I love SUNSHINE which is why 6 months out of the year I love living in Arizona! I told my husband he had to find me a place to retire that had this "weather" requirement and a place with "little to no traffic!" I am tired of TRAFFIC!!!

17. So I promised my husband who moved here from Montana, that I would move back there when my youngest graduated from High School. I'm now extremely worried about that promise! I HATE cold! It does mean my requirement of no traffic! Give and take I guess! :)

18. A pefect day for me? Spending it with my kids and hubby out on the lake. My kids fishing with Ron while I kick back and work on my tan and read!

19. I love to READ! I never get to anymore and it is something I miss. When I was in 1st grade we had a reading chart to see who could read the most books for the year. Chad Clay and I were always trying to be number one, sometimes I would pass him and other times he would pass me. But in the end he ended up reading one book more than me and I never forgot that!

20. Which leads me to this--I'm extremely competitive. It has to do with being raised with 6 brothers and a dad who never took any mercy on anyone if they were playing a game! I remember one time in college my mom told me that once in awhile I had to let the boys' win if I was going to find someone! I never thought that way-I always wanted to win, no matter what!

21. I love that my son Jacob always wants to give me a "huggie". I love that Katie is always obedient and does what she is told. I love that Rachel is creative and that I can always ask her if what I'm wearing "works" or not. I love that Christopher is sensitive and caring.

22. I miss my stepson Cameron who is serving a mission for our church in the Ukraine. He is like a BIG burst of energy, always ready to brighten your day and make the day more fun. It took awhile to feel like our family could be FUN again without him. We still talk about how much we miss him everyday!

23. My friends used to tease me in high school that I never cried! If they could only see me now! I'm a cry baby mess!

24. I have many things I like to do-decorate, budget, photography, sing, and dance. Unfortunately I'm not good at any of them. I often say, "I'm jack of all trades, master of none!" To this day, I've always wondered what I was good at!

25. Despite incredibly tough challenges I have faced in recent years, I have felt the most JOY at this time in my life than I have at any other time. I contribute this to a knowledge that God loves me and will lift all of us in our trials. I am thankful for these trials because it makes me who I am today-and I'm liking that person!