finally.

What are the *8 Things I Know for Sure about yourself? What truths help you hold your core?

1. I’m changing. I’ve got opinions. Very strong opinions. About lots of things. But I’ve noticed that as I read more, talk to people more, listen more that my opinions are changing, evolving. All for the better.

2. I’m well loved. By my husband. By my kids. By my friends. By my family.

3. I’m can hold my own. I’m not afraid to stand up for what I believe in. And I’m not about to let someone bully me into thinking I need to change just to please them.

4. I love to teach. And I think I’m pretty good at it.

*8 Things we take on vacation or How to survive a 12-hour drive with kids:
1. Portable DVD player
2. Bag packed with:
3. Snacks
4. Movies
5. Books
6. Crayons
7. Pinky the Bear
8. Books on CD for the driver.

This week’s *8 Things is all about coming home. What 8 things make you feel like you have come back to that place where you grew up or the place you call home?

I grew up in Green Bay. Actually, I grew up in Allouez which is the village (yep, it’s called a village) right next to Green Bay.

1. The doors to my parents house are unlocked. I don’t ever remember needing a key to get into our house.
2. The neighbors come over to say “hi” when we are in town. And if the food in my parents’ fridge is not good enough, we can raid the fridge across the street.
3. It’s loud. Really loud. People in my family talk. A lot. And it starts when the first two people wake up in the morning and ends when the last two go to bed.
4. Board games. There was always pictionary or trivial pursuit or scategories.
5. Generic, fudge sandwich chocolate cookies. There are always one or two packages in the cupboard and I can’t get the same generic brand here.
6. English muffins. I never seem to remember to buy them for myself but there are always some at my parents’ house.
7. The really hard bed. Nobody likes this bed except me. I slept in that bed as a kid, Lexi had it for a while and now it’s back at my parents’ house.
8. Some type of gathering. I can’t remember the last time I went home that there wasn’t a party for some occasion. There were always parties when I was growing up as well. Graduation, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Labor Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Easter, Birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or Just Because People Were Bored. Usually, it involved grilling something, board games and loud, loud story telling.