Day 7 of RFYLH

Question #7

How did your Father spend his time supporting his family?

My father did a great job from what I can remember always keeping our family in good standings when it came to support. When I was really young he did a few odd and end jobs but the first real job I remember him having was working in the Prison in Tehachapi, Ca. Later he moved on to work as a police officer for several years. Then moved to Mississippi and did a few different jobs there finally landing as a medic for the ambulance company and now a Paramedic for the off shore oil rigs. He is what you would call a Jack of all trades. I couldn't be more proud of the way he took care of our family. He was not only a financial provider for our family but he was a great emotional leader also. He was always there when I needed a shoulder to cry on or some just to talk about my day with. True he was not always around due to his job but when it really counted he was there for us. As far a spiritual leader I believe he did the best he knew how at the time. I'm sure he has a few things he would have changed but all in I think he did a great job.

Blog at you later

Day 6 of RFYLH

Question #6

Describe the most serious illness or accident that you have had?

Well as a kid the worst thing that happen to me was I broke my arm in an S shape falling off my best friends shoulders practicing for a dance competition. As a Teen the worst thing that happened to me was my boyfriend got really mad at me one day and decided to beat me up with a lead pipe while his best friend held my best friend back. Plus the couple of car accidents I had that were not my fault. As an adult I have had a couple of illnesses that put me in the hospital and then of course the birth of my children but the biggest and worst thing that happen to me was when I first move here to Tennessee, it was the day before my birthday and I needed to go to Nashville to pick up my brother from work. I was not comfortable driving alone that far yet so I made my best friend go with me. Since we both had small children and neither of us had anyone to watch them we took them with us. On our way back my SUV steering wheel got really loose and I thought it was due to the fact that I was behind a semi. So I slowed down from 80 mph to 70 mph and right after I did that my driver side back tire exploded. My brother jumped over the seat to lye on top of my son who was laying down in the very back of my SUV. I lost control of the SUV and blacked out just as I hit the guard rail. When I came to I was the only person in my SUV and there were cops, fire men and paramedics all around me. I was pinned in my SUV by the steering wheel and could not feel my legs. I was frantic trying to figure out what happen to everyone in the SUV but no one would tell me. Finally a paramedic told me everyone but my best friend was fine. I calmed down and let them do what they needed to do. I was later medi-vaced to Vanderbilt with my best friend who I later found out flew out of my SUV when it rolled twice. I was in the hospital for about 24 hours and then went home. My best friend came home about 8 hours later with a broken cheek bone and a dislocated shoulder. We both survived it but it took me a very long time to get back into a car without a panic attack and even longer for me to drive a car again.

Blog at you later.

Day 5 of RFYLH

Question #5

Did you have a bicycle as a kid? What was it like?

I did have a bicycle as a kid. Several of them accually. I can't remember what they looked like but I remember having them. I would go and ride them up and down the street with my brothers and do tricks with them. I was more of a tom boy than a girl most of the time. I guess that is why i got along better with boys than girls. My brothers loved it because I never wanted to date their friends only hang out with them.

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Day 4 of RFYLH

Question #4

Tell about your pre-teen social life, your friends,outings,chruch functions, ect.

I can't really remember much about my childhood other than the bad things that happened in my life. I moved a lot as a child so I never really had that many friends and once I got a couple of good ones I ended up moving so I never kept any for a long period of time. I spent most of my time hanging out with my siblings and taking care of them until my father remarried. I was in and out of church until I was a teenager and then stopped going all together. I didn't go back until I had my son then went back to church full time.

Well that's all for today. Blog at you later.

Day 3 of RFYLH

Question #3

What did you do that got you into the most trouble when you were a kid?

How did your parents handle it?

Well being the oldest I always got into trouble for things I didn't do but didn't stop my siblings from doing either. But I would have to say the one thing that got me into the most trouble was picking on my siblings. I know every kid does it but I was at it all the time. Constantly nagging them about everything. Mostly because I was bored and grounded and really had nothing better to do. Now that I think back on it I could have been a little less grounded if I would have just left them alone but what are big Sisters for if not to mess with the younger kids right. My parents usually just spanked me unless it was really bad then they grounded me or took away privileges that I really enjoyed like watching tv or getting desert after dinner. It was a different time back then and I use to think they were the strictest and meanest parents ever but now that I have kids I can see why they could have been a lot meaner and stricter.

Well that's it for today. Blog at you later.

Day 2 of RFYLH

Question #2

Tell about your Mother. Her personality, characteristics, stature, coloring, talents, temperament, family stories about her, her role in your home, ect.

Well in my life I have had a couple of moms but only one of those is the woman who gave birth to me. She and my father were married until I was 8 years old and then divorced. I lived with my father for a few years getting to see my mom on weekends and such. Then when I was about 10 or 11 I chose to go and live with her and my step-dad Patrick. I stayed with them until I was 15 then went to live with my paternal grandmother for a year and then back to my father at 17. Where I stayed until I met my husband and was married.

Her full name is Loria Christine Shields (Dorman)

she is a short woman by most means. But I like it cause I am taller than her so when I am feeling short I just have to say at least I'm taller than mom. Lol. If you look at me you are looking right at my mother. We are identical or at least that is what everyone keeps telling me. My youngest sister has the same face as us also. You can see a little bit of our fathers in our faces but mostly you see our mother. She is 1 of 6 children in her family. 3 girls and 3 boys. One of those boys is her twin brother. They land right in the middle of the pack. Her mother is still living and doing great while her father past away when I was very young. I really don't remember him at all.

I get my creativity from her side of the family. My mother and a couple of her brothers are all artists in one form or another. My mother is very talented and can do just about anything she puts her mind to. She has a temperament to meet most men's. Meaning she can hold her own. That probably comes from having grown up with such tough brothers all her life. While she is getting older in life I don't see her slowing down anytime soon. True that may be because she still has a couple of teenagers living at home but mostly I think it is in her genes. I don't know many stories about her mostly because I have not spent a lot of my adult life really talking to her and getting to know her. This is a something I plan to fix in the near future. Her role in my home currently is just to be a supporter. She is there when I need someone to talk to but living 8 hours away that's pretty much all she can do at this point. She is having to start her life over and be on her own for the first time in her life since the death of my step-dad a little over a year and a half ago. It has been a rough road to say the least but I think she is finally getting her grip on things. I have no doubt that if she really puts her mind to it she can do anything she wants. She has/is raising 9 children that she gave birth to. But I have a total of 14 siblings including myself. 5 of those are step brothers and sisters but growing up didn't make me think any less of them so I still say I am the oldest of 14. My mother may not have given birth to them but none the less they are my siblings. between the 14 of us my mother has a total of 12 grandchildren. Most of which are boys. Only four are girls. I love my mom with all my heart and I know that she is there for me if I need her emotionally. I hope to one day know more about her and be able to add to this post with great stories.

Well that's all I have on my mother at this time. I hope you enjoyed getting another small glimpse into my life.

Blog at you later.

Receipt For Your Life History

OK so anyone who really knows me knows that I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ( better know as the Mormons) and being a part of this church they encourage us to journal our life so that we not only remember it but future generations will know what we went through and how we dealt with it and how we were feeling during that point in our lives. Also as a way to really get to know me when I can't be there to tell them myself. Well I have NOT done a very good job of this lately so in an effort to not only do better but get my kids to do well also I have decided to participate in a fun thing my daughter brought home from her Activity Day Girls class tonight. It is called "Receipt for my Life History." Basically it is a jar filled with all kinds of questions and you write down your answers, every night picking a new question. At the end you will have a small book and be in the habit of writing everything down (well a habit I will again get into). So tonight will be question One and we will get through them all I hope without any forgotten days. Join along and see how much fun you remember by doing this. Well without further delays here we go.

Question #1

If You could be any animal what would it be and Why?

Well tonight's question is an easy one. If you know anything at all about me you know I'm going to pick the giraffe. I pick this animal not only because it is a true miracle that the thing can even move much less stay upright with its body type but because my mom (Kathleen) got me hooked on these beautiful animals when I was pregnant with my now 13 year old son. As a gift one day she gave me a beautiful metal set of Giraffes one being the mother with its head bent down toward the ground and the other being the child with its head reaching up toward the sky. When put together they almost kiss. It was the most beautiful gift I ever got. To this day I am still in love with these wonderful animals and I don't think time will ever change that.

Well there is my answer for tonight. I hope you learned a little something about me. Lets see what you come up with. If you choose to play along send me a comment and I will go and check out your answer. Have fun and enjoy the process.

Blog at you later.