Personal Childhood Web

 I grew up as a military brat. From birth to age ten my family and I had lived in three complete different countries. I did not grow up around my extend family, I only had my father, mother, and brother. Due to living in different countries, my personal childhood web is very small. Here are the people who nurtured and took care of me during my childhood. 


My mother

Who is my mother?
My mother was and still is an Early Childhood Educator. When we lived overseas, she was the Teacher of the Year for all of Europe. She also has several different specializations in the field of Early Childhood Education. When I was diagnosed with dyslexia, she then went and received a specialization in Special Education to help me be able to get through school. 

How did she influence my life?
As a child my mother had a great influence on my life. Her role in my family was that of nurturing.When we were sick, sad, upset, or angry she would always try to come up with a solution that would help us. My mother is one of the main reasons why I have become so successful with my education. She never allowed me to make excuses for giving anything but my best. Her love for her children is unconditional and she is willing to sacrifice everything for our well-being and happiness.


How did she make me feel special?
My mother had a way to make us feel special. She would spend hours to help me to understand concepts that were being taught in the classroom. I would remember the night before spelling test, she would stay up with me and give me fun creative ways to remember each and every one of my spelling words. She was my rock through some of the most discouraging times of my life, elementary school. Not only did she sacrifice her time to help me with school, but she also taught me the skills that I would need to become a godly wife that loves God first and then my husband second. She taught me this lesson by example. Her life was a great illustration of the women that is described in Proverbs 31. Her living a life of obedience to God, made me feel special because of my mother's example I have a personal relationship with my Heavenly Father.


How does she continue to influence my life?
My mother is one of the biggest inspirations in my life to become an educator. Her love for her classroom and desire to become a Master teacher showed me the importance of a good education. She was willing to be loving and patient with me, when teachers were not. This influences me to have this same attitude in my classroom. She is my mother, mentor, and best friend. I am so thankful that I have such an amazing mother. 


 What is my favorite memory?
My favorite memory is cooking with my mother. This memory has changed and developed throughout time. As a child I would help her by getting the pots and pans out and make a huge mess. When I was in middle school, I would help my mother by setting on the counter and talking to her about issues in life. Then in high school I would help her cooking by actually cooking. As I progressed into college I would help my mother cooking by learning her recipes, because we knew that the day was coming that I would be out and on my own. Then as a women I helped my mother in the kitchen to make the dinner for my guest at my wedding. It was such a precious memory and a stress reliever (believe it or not). Cooking in the kitchen is defiantly one of my most favorite memories with my mother.


My Father

Who is my father?
My father is a man that is dedicated to his country. He respects America and the American flag. His house is covered in images of the American flag and the American Bold Eagle. He has pride for his country. He is a hard worker, but would never allow work to come before God and his family. It is evident to all who come in contact with my father that he cherishes my family.


How did he influence my life?
He taught me to have patriotism for my country. He also taught me to not be discriminating towards those who are not just like us. Due to my father being in the military, we had lived in several different countries. The experiences that I had gained as a child living in more then one type of culture are ones that I will always remember. My father was and is a man of faith. His strong faith in God has left an lasting impact on my life. Seeing my father studying his Bible and spending time in mediation had influenced me to want a relationship with God also.


How did he make me feel special?
My father always knew how to make me feel special, because I was a daddy's girl. He would always put me first. I knew that there were times that his job would be stressful, but he would do his best to leave his stress at the workplace. When I was in middle school through high school I became very involved in sports. My father only missed one of my sport games from middle school through high school, which was due to him being in the hospital. I remember there being times that my father would get off of work to come to my sports game, eat dinner with me, then leave to go back to work. He would work late into the night, just because he wanted to make time to support when I was playing sports. My father would always make time for me and that made me feel special as a child. 


How does he continue to influence my life?
He continues to influence my life by still taking time to come see me. I currently live 12 hours away from my family, but anytime that my father can get off of work for a couple of days, he is at my house with my mother. I am still a daddy's girl. I know that if something happens or if I need anything my father is just a phone call away.


What is my favorite memory?
My favorite memory of my father is when he would take time off of work to be with me. He would take a week off for family vacation, or a day off for a day around the town. The time that my father would take off of work showed me how important I was to him. One of my favorite memories is when my family took a road trip to Niagara Falls. My family had made so many funny and precious memories on this road trip. 


My Brother

Who is my brother?
My brother is five years older then me. Growing up we had our times of love and our times of hate. As a girl I adored my brother and wanted to be just like him. My brother's role was to watch over me. It was my brother's job to babysit his little sister when mom and dad where not home. He is currently a middle school and high school teacher. 

How did he influence my life?
My brother would watch over me. I knew that if my mom and dad where not home, my brother would take good care of me. He would make sure that my needs were provided for while my parents were not available. As a little girl I would remember going and watching my brother play soccer. This had influenced me to play soccer in middle school, high school, and college. My brother also influenced me by being my personal tutor. Math was a  difficult subject for me. My brother would take hours to sit down and help me to understand my math concepts. Due to my brother I was able to pass all of my math classes from elementary school all the way through high school. 

How did he make me feel special?
My brother would make me feel special by allowing me to spend the night in his bedroom. My brother had buck-beds and I would always want to stay on his top buck-bed. There would be several times that he would allow me to stay with him. He also made me feel special by playing army men with me. We would spend hours playing army men on the floor in his bedroom. For some reason I would always lose the war, but I did not care because I was spending time with him. Another way that my brother would make me feel special was when he would allow me to play the Nintendo with him. Whenever he would play games with me it would let me know that he loved and cared for me. 


How does he continue to influence my life?
My brother continues to influence my life by being a close friend. My brother has helped me to become more acquainted with technology. I live 12 hours away from my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew. The distance is hard, but due to technology it does not feel so far. After my nephew was born, I was on Facetime talking to my nephew and my brother.  He is not just my brother, he is my friend. 


What is my favorite memory?
My favorite memory with my brother is when I would spend time with him. I loved being able to spend time with my brother by playing games and sleeping on his top buck-bed. Even as time went by, I loved staying up late with my brother watching movies.  When he moved out into his own house, I would go over and spend time playing card games and board games with him and my sister-in-law. Time is important to me, so time that I would spend with my brother is my favorite memory.




My mother, father, and brother all had a big impact on who I am today. Since I grew up moving from one country to another my immediate family was all that I had. I am so thankful for my family, because it is the relationships that I have developed with my family that has helped develop who I am today. The only people who have been consistently in my life since I was a child are my mother, father, and brother. This is my Personal Childhood Web.