Is it Safe to Come Out?

It should probably really be a crime for me to take a year+ hiatus from my blog and then think I can come back and just start right up again. But, as far as I know it's not. So, that's what I'm going to attempt to do. You all ready? Is anyone actually still here?

I'm gonna try to do the Reader's Diges.. (can I use that here?) Version of what's been going on in my life and once that's behind me I hope to get back to blogging on a more regular basis.

BIG SIGH

Here we go:

Sometime near the end of August 2011 my children and I left our home and my husband. I'm not going to go into the why's of it. I'll just say, if you had lived with him you probably wold have left too, and sooner than I did.

Because I left my husband and "broke covenant" most of my friends from our church stopped talking to me. Well, that's once they had told me that I was "placing my children above my husband" and how wrong that was.

It took a while to get to a place where I felt like I knew who I was again and to feel safe sharing my life with others. But, I am in that place now and I am looking forward to getting back into the community of bloggers that I left behind. I hope I'll be welcomed back.

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I hope you'll come back for tomorrow's post. I'm gonna share where I'm hoping to go now that I'm free to be me! (haha, is that cliche'? I'm not sure I care!)

Tag, I'm it!

Tami tagged me the other day and I was so excited because I have wanted to be tagged for this post. Of course, ever since then my mind has been blank. That's the way it goes in my world.

But, I am going to just get it out here. My kids will tell you, I'm a little different. I like me that way, though.
So, here goes.



1. I was technically a single mom for about 8 years. I stood by a man who was in and out of jail and treated me like crap. It wasn't until I realized that I didn't want my kids to grow up to be like him that I finally left. One of the smartest moves I've ever made.

2.I have always loved to sing and there are so many songs that are truly like a soundtrack to my life. I actually had a chance to join a local country band at 18 and declined because I wanted to move back home to Georgia. What might've been....? Nah, I think about what might not have been and that's enough to know I made the right choice. And, I'm still young, right? Maybe my big break is right around the corner....um, yeah-break my leg maybe :)

3.As E was saying the other day, I frequently burst into song. All it takes is one word. Any word, really. And there I go. My kids think it's a sure sign that I'm nuts............ "I'm a nut. In a hut. Stole an apple off the tree. So what?!" And there I go.......

4.As a little girl I used to say I wanted to have LOTS of kids, bio and adopted. My family told me that would change as I grew up. I guess some things never do change :) I also used to keep every one of my baby dolls in my bed at night. I didn't want any of them to feel left out. Yes, even my mother thought I was strange!

5.I am terrified of camel crickets* and used to call them "demon bugs". I swear they try to attack me every time they see me and a couple have even crawled up my pants legs! EWWWW!! (see pic below)Oh yeah, and chased me screaming out of my own bathroom. TWICE!

6.I was a foster child in the state of Florida about 30 years ago. I always wonder who my foster parents were and how they may have shaped my life and I just don't realize it. My brother and I were eventually returned home to our mom.

7.I have been to Jamaica twice, but don't think I could go back for a vacation. I went both times on missions trips and loved the island and the people. If I go back it would have to be to be among the real people of Jamaica, not in a resort. It just wouldn't be the same.

Now to tag back:

1.Faith
2.Lauren
3.Melissa
4.Wendy
5.Minnie
6.Whitney
7.Melissa B-Love her, but she's private for now :)
*I found this pic online, but the ones I find in my house look just like this. Maybe bigger.....especially when they're trying to jump on my face, they look much bigger....just sayin'.

You tell me yours, I'll tell you mine

I love names. I like learning new ones, hearing of ones I haven't heard in a while or maybe never heard. I mostly like original names, the ones that not a lot of other people have and ones that have cool meanings. Although, I generally don't go way
"out there"( Hubby would disagree there). I also like hearing the stories behind names, the reasons that your parents named you what they did.

One of the names that I really liked for my boys was Solon. It's pronounced:Soe-lun. I usually can't find it on any name websites but I know that it was the name of a famous lawmaker in Athens. I wasn't able to name either of my boys that name because, unfortunately, men do NOT like it. Oh well, I like the names that they ended up with. Austin Reuben and Noah Benjamin. I just wish everyone hadn't decided to name their kids those names at the same time :)

Now, for my daughter, I really want to name her: Raegen Francesca. Raegen because it's a name I really like and it's Celtic in origin which is my heritage. Francesca because my grandmother's name was Frances and Francesca was her favorite nickname. Hubby is on board with Raegen but he is just not in love with Francesca. Since we are adopting from Vietnam and she will have a Vietnamese name, a name that she could possibly be given by her birthparents, we will most likely keep some part of it as either her middle name or an extra middle name.

I'll tell the story behind my name just because I hope that anyone who may be reading might share theirs with me. My parents named me Melissa Michele because my mom liked both names and couldn't decide between Melissa Lee/Michele Lynn. So, I got both of them. My favorite part of the story is that my bio dad is and always has been a beekeeper. He's pretty good at it from what I've been told. The cool thing is that Melissa means "honeybee" and neither one of them knew that when they agreed on that for my name. I read it in a baby name book when I was about 13 and when I old my mom I could tell by the look on her face that she had no idea when she named me that. It was kind of funny.

Alright, bring on the stories or name suggestions. Or maybe the name that you would use if you could change your name or give your child any name you chose. Oh yeah, if I ever have another boy I want to name him Asa.