Hello, my name is Carla and I am a human.
1. First and foremost, I am a Christ follower, but often, I feel as if I do not follow the normal "Christian" life. I have tattoos and piercings. I grew up in a rough family and married a man who had a childhood more difficult than my own. I tend to think outside the box on many issues, including some common topics of faith. I don't like judgmental or hypocritical people, Christians or not, and base my life on Love.
2. I am a mother of two freakin' amazing kids. I often get told that I got the perfect setup, one boy and one girl, but they forgot to integrate the ornery and lively nature of my two children (which often leads to our insanity). We also decided to add a third fur-child, a boxer bulldog mix, to the family, just in case there wasn't enough going on.
3. I married the man of my dreams. We began dating when I was only 16 years old and were married when I was 20. My daughter, Isa, was born the same year we were married and our son, Teo, came four years later. We have had an interesting and tough relationship, but I love him more now than ever.
4. My husband cheated on me. In 2009. And the other chick ended up pregnant and having my husbands child. We began a journey that was much more difficult than I ever imagined, but has blessed us beyond belief. Our marriage is honest and beautiful now, and I am thankful for the affair, because it saved us.
6. I also love artsy stuff: painting, sewing, knitting, scrapbooking, writing, drawing, photography, etc. but struggle to find the time nowadays. I also really enjoy the beauty that comes from being frugal and self-sufficient, which often seems to require creativity. I love to spend time in our veggie garden, although I'm not very good at growing things yet.
7. We own a house, an old house, which is under constant renovation. I feel like I should be featured on a 20-year-long episode of some home makeover show. Often, we are learning new things as we are attempting to better our home without destroying it. We have gutted bathrooms, rebuilt stairs, added two decks, dealt with a flooded basement, replaced windows and doors, and fully repainted the exterior. And we're not even close to being done with our to-do list.
8. In December of 2012, my son (who was three at the time) was diagnosed with Nephrotic Syndrome and Minimal Change Disease after we took him to see the doctor because of a bloated stomach, which was due to water retention. His abdomen, lower left lung, and extremities were full of fluid. This is a rare disease that doesn't have much research or knowledge surrounding it. Basically, his kidneys don't function the way that they should. We live day by day, testing protein in his urine and praying for healthy outcomes, but we have seen that life tends to be cycles of relapses, steroids, remission, and waiting.
9. We are normal. We have grown up with difficult pasts, endured difficult situations, and have difficult relationships. We aren't perfect, nor do we pretend to be. We are flawed, but working on it. That's all that life is about. I strongly adhere to the philosophy that each day, I am called to be better than the day before. God wants me to grow, and so that is what I try to do. I do that through learning about others, loving them, being compassionate for them. I do that by reading, thinking, analyzing, and studying. I do that by praying and having conversations with God and strong people in my life. And the days that I screw up are endless, but looking back, I can see growth and that's all I ask for.
10. I am over-ambitious, but trying to learn to live a healthy and balanced life. God has been working in me to be intentional and authentic, opening up my heart and life to serve His purpose, not mine. We are learning not to worry about the future or fret about the past, but to take each day as it comes. Living for God oftentimes is coupled with chaos and mess, the stuff that comes with being in the world, and that is how our insanity exists. So, this is just a small serving of insanity...our daily insanity. Welcome!
