about the author

I was an Air Force brat growing up…which means I never lived in a single place more than a few years – and I loved it. Seriously. New house, new friends, new school – a major do-over several times during those difficult teen years without the angst or embarrassment! I’ve settled down now and put out some deep roots here in north central Texas. My own kids have lived in the same house their entire lives. We’ve had the same neighbors for more than 28 years. Life is sweet.

I am a jack of all trades, and a master of several. I knit like a fiend, can sew more than a straight seam, and can create fun out of thin air. I love to cook, and yes, I’m good at it. I know how to make pickles, and I bake my own bread. I know how to use tools properly, including the powered sort, and I can fix broken toilets when necessary. Once upon a time I knew how to drive a bull dozer. I can still handle a tractor, and I know how to drive a stick shift. In my life outside my home, I’m a professional engineer, the civil variety. That means I know how to design pavement, storm drain systems and other municipal infrastructure. I’m also an expert in airport design…runways, taxiways and aprons all over the country have my seal on them.

My husband Mr. Pea and I have four kids.  Cherry Ames, our oldest, is a trauma ICU nurse in Dallas.  She and Fireman Dan will be getting married in 2016.   Princess Pea, our second daughter, is studying at A&M.  Our older son, The Architect, is a freshman at that other Texas university, and DirtBike, our youngest son is a Junior in high school.

I love chocolate, the dark kind. I’ve been known to actually hide it in the breakfront in the dining room, refusing to share with my family. They wouldn’t appreciate it anyway.

I try to please God in all that I do, but I always come up short. That’s because I’m human and I’m pretty sure God gets that. I keep trying, though, because I’m called these sacraments of marriage and family. I don’t fall into the “shove it in your face” sort of evangelization; rather, I witness to the eternal Joy of the Lord, share the blessings that our lives truly are, and revel in the beauty of the love of God. As so succinctly stated by Fr. Luke, “We are the only gospel that most people will ever read.”