30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 4

Today’s Topic = Parents

I may be partial, but I think I have a pretty great set of parents.  I was an only child for almost 15 years, before my brothers were adopted (but that’s a topic I’ll save for tomorrow!)  Anyway, my parents always went above and beyond the call of duty in making sure that I was surrounded by friends and family and didn’t have a lot of opportunity to get lonely. 

They made sacrifices – I’m sure – to send me to a private Christian school.  And I never wanted for anything – but had more than enough to meet my needs (and wants). 

I wanted to find some really recent pictures of my parents to share in this post.  Here’s one of Ashley with my Dad (taken on the 4th of July) ===>

My Dad is a Vice President at the company that he works for, but he’s recently cut back to working just 3 days a week.  He’s a quiet man with a caring spirit and he’d do just about anything for us.  One of his favorite hobbies is going to the dirt-track races (which Brian is happy to accompany him to!)  In his spare time, he enjoys working in his yard and on his computer, and building models of sprint cars.

This picture of my Mom and Gracie was taken on Labor Day.

My mom is an LPN and has served in that capacity in various nursing homes and doctors’ offices throughout the years.  Most recently, she was doing a more office-style nursing-related job, but she retired this summer.  She’s now volunteering at a local thrift store a few days a month and helping out a family friend in her floral shop.  In her spare time, she loves to read (you’ll see her reviews here on my blog, listed as “Roxie’s Review”), crochet, and spend time with her grandchildren.

We are blessed to have my parents live right up the street from us (we can literally see their driveway from our front porch).  We see them quite a bit throughout the week and attend the same church. We have a very close relationship with them, and do a lot with them.  We have vacationed together many times – including annual trips to Ocean City, New Jersey and a trip to Disney World several years ago.  My mom went to Vietnam with me in 2006 to get Ian and bring him home (because of that, they share a special bond), and she recently  travelled with the kids and me to Williamsburg, VA.  My dad and Brian have been taking annual trips to Iowa for sprint car racing. 

Tomorrow I’ll introduce you to my siblings.