Who Am I? I am ME!

Who Am I?

To define me is harder then I thought it would be. It's not that I'm such a complicated person it's that I have so much that makes me who I am.

My name is Cassandra (Cassy for short). I was born in South Dakota. I don't remember much about SD because I was raised in Colorado.

I've had one MAJOR surgery in my life. A huge life altering surgery. I had open heart surgery when I was only 4 years old. I of course came through it just fine and I don't have any issues with my heart today thanks to the dr's so long ago. I love my scar that goes from basically my collar bone to my belly button and I don't mind it showing when I wear tank tops, dresses, etc. I like telling my story about it even though I don't remember much. To a 4 year old the only thing that matters is the little red wagon and the ice cream eating all day long!

My early teen years were difficult to get through. I didn't have it easy by no means but living on a farm and getting to work with the animals was an incredible experiance. One that I miss every day. If I could move back to a farm and have lots and lots of animals like we did growing up I would do it in a heart beat! That would be something I would love my kids to be able to do as well.

I've gone to college. Got an Associates of Applied Science in Computer Science in Colorado. That was one of the major feats in life for me. Getting through college at the top of my class and I learned so much about life along the way. Granted to this day I don't use my degree I got in school but I made different decisions in life instead of following a career.

I have a HUGE family. I've only got one full blood sister but I have 3 half siblings that I love more then anything and you'd never think we were from different dads. I have a ton of step siblings, some I have never met before and several I don't even know the names of. Just on my side of the family I have 11 nephews and nieces. The picture to the right is me with my niece Tennley. She was the youngest before I started having my kids.

My most memorable trip before I got married was going to NYC and seeing the Statue of Liberty and the Twin Towers. The picture was taken in July of 2001. I'm glad I got to see the Towers. They were magnificant. I haven't been back to NY since then and I'm not sure I could look at the skyline without them there. I will definately cherish those memories forever!

I got married in 2004 to my wonderful husband. We have been going strong for almost 8 years and I am very thankful he came back into my life when he did. Our story - we knew each other in high school, we lost touch for a while, he came back into my life out of the blue one day and we are now inseparable! Kind of wierd how it worked out but I knew the moment I saw him again that I wasn't going to let him leave me, ever! And after almost 8 years, here we are, 3 kids, more moves then I can count, and happier then ever!

I tried joining the military right out of college but they wouldn't take me because of the open heart surgery. So I did the next best thing, I married into the military as my husband is in the Army. We had moved from North Carolina to Colorado to California to Italy and back to North Carolina in the 8 years we have been together. How do I do it? How do I uproot myself and my family every time he gets a new assignment? Easy, I would follow him to the ends of the Earth if that is where he needed to go.

I have hadso many new experiences since I started my life with my husband. We have had three kids, two girls and a boy that I love with all my heart. My oldest is my cookie cutter baby (looks and acts more like me then daddy). The middle girl is my husbands cookie cutter baby (looks and acts more like daddy then me). The boy, our youngest, is a combination of the both of us. He looks and acts like we both did/do so I would say we got a great range of kids.

I have gotten to see so much of the world that not everyone gets a chance to see. I was able to visit Germany and Paris while he was stationed in Germany. I have seen the Grand Canyon and the great Sequoia trees (huge red woods) of California. I've been able to spend a weekend in Las Vegas at a wonderful hotel on the strip. While we lived in Italy for the last 3 years I got to see all of Italy, Germany, Austria, Croatia, and Greece.

For work in Italy I was able to start my own at home business that I loved. I was able to stay home with my kids and had a blast with all the other kids I had in my house. I was an FCC provider. Family Child Care. I had up to 6 kids every day. I even did nights and weekends when the husband was on deployments. Being able to do this job gave me a new perspective on life. On how to make and save my own money. It taught me that every kid learns different and how to make sure all the kids were getting enough attention. It was one of the best jobs I have ever done in my life so far. And my kids loved it. They got to have friends over every day, the tv was never on during the day and we played outside every chance we got. To this day they would all rather be outside playing instead of in front of the tv! YAY for me and my good parenting!

My all time favorite hobby is photography. I don't only like taking the pictures but I love editing them as well. I take pictures of everything from grass and flowers to kids and families. I wish my brain had it's own camera because I can't always capture what I see but I'm working on getting the best images I can.

My favorite thing to take pictures of so far is lightning! I can't believe I figured out how to do it all on my own. I have only been able to catch lightning shots one night but that's only because I haven't seen any other lightning since that one night! I can't wait to shoot more shots. I will get more shots!

My husbands Grandma thinks I would be great taking professional photos. That I should start my own little "studio" at my house. Mainly the old timey photos. You know the ones with old clothes, guns, background setting, etc. The sepia colored or black and white ones. I think this would be an Excellent opportunity for me and it might be worth looking into. Just gotta get it started and get my name out there. We'll see how that goes in the future.

So there you have it. Who am I. I am a very family oriented down to earth person. I love life and don't regret anything. The past is the past and I can't change it at all so in my opinion there is no point in living there. I move on with my life when something doesn't go right. I don't dwell on the negatives of a day but relish in the parts that made me smile. If I have issues, I handle those and move on. I love to stay busy wether it is working or crafting. I am a scrapbooker and love to capture every moment of my family that I can. I enjoy reading and writing. I LOVE MY LIFE! Who am I? I am ME!