Who am I? Part 1

It occurred to me a while ago that there are at least a few people passing by my blog that don't actually know me. I've thought several times now that I should tell you a little bit about myself, my history, and what I believe. So, for those of you who I have never met, allow me to introduce myself, and for those of you I do know, maybe you will learn a little something interesting you never knew...

The Facts...
My name (at least on here) is "C.C.", and I am currently (since April, 2008) 32 years old. I have been happily married to my husband "DoubleT" for more than 11 years... Wow, time flies!!! I grew up in the great state of Pennsylvania, and have only ever lived there or here in Virginia. I have two sisters, one brother, 2 nieces and 4 nephews. I grew up with cats for pets (still like cats), but now, we have 2 dogs ~ Goldie Marie and Benjamin Henry. Yes, I like to give my pets middle names. D.T. likes to call our dogs by every possible nickname he can come up with! :-)

I have been blessed with two parents who love God and saw fit to send me to a Christian school from the time I started kindergarten until the day I graduated. Little tidbit ~ my graduating class in high school had a whopping 2 people, myself included!

In my lifetime, I have been employed as a financial secretary, an administrative assistant, an admissions counselor, an executive assistant, and now, a project manager. Another little tidbit ~ when I was in high school, I wanted nothing more than to attend Duke University to be a lawyer! Now, it is the last thing I would ever want to do!! I do still like a good debate from time to time, though... LoL! :-) I have a Bachelor's degree in Psychology, and I am slowing pursuing a Masters degree in Professional Counseling.

Other random, interesting things about me that don't really have anything to do with anything...
I have a problem with "texture" - I might like the flavor of some foods, but if I can't stand their texture, I don't eat them. Like beans - I think they taste like sand. I can't stand the feeling of newspaper on my fingers, I don't like to shop (I know, weird...), and I have absolutely no sense of adventure. Germs don't really bother me. I have spent time in two countries other than the U.S. ~ Israel in 1996 and Romania more times than I can count ~ I think 7 or 8. I have passed through the airports of many other countries on my way to Romania ~ England, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany (stayed one night due to a schedule change), and Italy. I think that's it. I took dance lessons growing up, I've played the piano since I was 5 (although I haven't touched a piano in probably 2 years), and D.T. and I used to sing in a group called "Voices of Praise"at our former church. He can really sing... I'm just the amateur. :-) It actually took me several years before I was even willing to sing in front of him. Now, I miss singing. Those years were some of the best of my life. My greatest strengths are that I am organized (yet somehow manage to be very cluttered!), loyal, determined, and compassionate. My greatest weaknesses are that I like to control things, and I am a HUGE procrastinator. I invented the word. I am by nature an introvert. D.T. and I lived with my Gram for 6 years. I miss her and wish she was still with us.

My story - call it a testimony, if you like...

As I said before, I am privileged to come from a Christian family and to have attended a Christian school. Those advantages gave me the foundation I needed to learn who God is, to realize that I needed Him, and to later develop a more personal relationship with Him.

I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior at the early age of 5 during a chapel service at school. It was certainly not difficult in the environment surrounding me to come to that decision. I grew up enjoying going to church and doing the right thing. My mother would tell you I was a very compliant child until I became a teenager and started to think for myself... LoL! Even then, though, I liked being the "good girl" and pleasing others. Sometimes, I think I still have a problem with caring too much what others think about me. While I was not perfect and there are things that I wish I could erase from my past, the typical "before salvation" part of a testimony did not really exist for me. I mean, how bad could a 5 year old be?

In the fall of 1994, I went to college at Liberty University, and in the spring of 1995, I met my future husband, D.T. It was only my second semester, and we met each other because my roommate and his roommate knew each other. You know, it is interesting that God brought us together here at Liberty, because I didn't even apply to come here until a few weeks before school started. I even already had a class schedule and a housing assignment at another college. All I can say is that "God knew." I am eternally grateful for the providence of God in my life, the vision of Dr. Jerry Falwell to establish this place, and the tenacity of the recruiting department to bring every last student they could! What greater way to bring together a young woman from the east coast and a man from the other side of the world! I could have never imagined!! But once again, "God knew."

I did not initially realize the possibilities that might exist between me and D.T., but over the course of a few months, we became friends. We had a dreaded history class together, and many times, D.T. was "nice enough" to give me a ride. Call me naive, but I was just grateful to not have to walk from the other side of campus. We even went to the movies a bunch of times, and I still didn't catch on to the "signals" being sent when he paid. Eventually, though, we went on a "real" date, and the rest is history... we dated officially for a little more than 2 months, were engaged for a year, and got married in December of 1996. I was a few months shy of my 21st birthday, and D.T. was just a few months past his 29th. More than 8 years between us. Some might say this was too large an age difference.

But once again, "God knew." He knew who we were and who we would become. He knew where we came from, He knew what was right around the corner, and He knows what is yet to come.

In November of 1997, not even a year into our new life together, all our plans came tumbling down around us. Note to self ~ don't make plans. It was a few weeks before finals. I still had about a year of college to finish. I was taking 18 credit hours and working 2 part-time jobs. I guess things started to catch up with me because I was really tired. Then, one day...

To Be Continued...