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I am mainly English, Irish, and German. I have had the opportunity to visit England and Ireland and it was so incredible to be where my ancestors came from.  I visited the street that my Grandmother's father lived on in England.  I saw a replica of a boat my Grandfather's Grandfather came over in from Ireland during the potato famine.  The conditions described on that boat were horrid.  I cannot imagine what my ancestors went through to give the future generations a better life, but I am so thankful they did.

*Below - The street my Great-Grandfather grew up on in Ireland.

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Perseverance, it will make you stronger

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After religion, education was the second most important thing in my childhood home. My mother pushed us to excel in school. She went back to school after four children to obtain her Bachelor's degree and finished her Master's degree after her fifth child. She always told us if she could  study 3X5 cards while ironing the laundry, we could surely earn A's with no responsibilities. If we needed something for school the next day, she made sure we had it. Nothing was too much when it came to our education.  My parents sacrificed and saved to put all five children through college.

*Below - My siblings all attended my college graduation.

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My family celebrates all the major holidays and had a tradition for almost every one when I was growing up. I always loved traditions. Some of the ones I still practice include watching the ball drop and drinking sparkling cider on New Year's Eve (although I have added an ice cream cake!). On New Year's Day I still eat pork chops and sauerkraut. My father's German roots who settled in Pennsylvania Dutch area, believed if you ate that on New Year's, you would be able to pay your bills all year (fortunately it has always worked so far). At Thanksgiving we used to scour the ads after dinner to create our Christmas lists. Now we scour the ads to make our shopping lists for black Friday. Many of our traditions have changed over the past few years as my grandparents have passed away and a new generation has been born. Now each sibling is creating new traditions with their new families and children. I love traditions and am so excited to share these old traditions, and create new ones, with my daughter.

*Below - One family tradition since my parents got married over forty years ago, was to cut down our Christmas tree at a farm in the town our dad grew up in. Until a few years ago we would all travel there and buy up to five trees - one for every person's house.

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My family was very competitive growing up. I am the youngest of five children - three boys and two girls. We were always encouraged to participate in sports, but my brothers made competitions out of who could finish dinner first, who had the most friends, who was the strongest, etc. I never really liked it, probably because I hardly ever won, but it became a part of me. In sports I always preferred individual sports: cross-country, swimming, and badminton.

*Below - A photo of our bowling scores. My dad records our scores and keeps a yearly spreadsheet so we all know who was the best that year.

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I was raised in a Christian home where Jesus was the center of our lives. We went to church on Sundays and Wednesdays, and then to youth group on Friday nights. I have volunteered in the church since I was nine. My faith is a huge part of who I am: my values, my beliefs, and how I treat others.

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I am so lucky to have such wonderful parents. My mother was very strict and taught us to be polite, respectful, and appreciative, but I was very spoiled as the baby in the family. My mom always wanted to give her children what she never had and to help us be well-rounded. Now I find myself doing the same for my daughter. She's only two, but I have her in swim and Spanish classes, and am planning on adding dance and sports in the Fall. I want to give her everything I had in life and then some. I feel so blessed to be a parent and I treasure every little moment with her.

*Below - My husband, my daughter, and I.

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My mother believed that playing an instrument would increase our intelligence, so each child had to play the violin and sing in the choir through eighth grade. I loved music and began learning the guitar when I was eight, and the piano when I was twelve. Music was highly valued and encouraged in my home.