Okay, first things first, two of my biggest childhood crushes have been on “Facts of Life”: Mackenzie Astin and George Clooney. Only one of them has gone on to become an adult full on love interest for me (hello, Dr. Doug Ross), and I need to know: Were you or any of the cast members equally as enamored by them when they were on the show?
Mackenzie Astin was younger than all of us. He was definitely adorable but he was, you know “just a kid” and we were all so mature (she laughs). With George though, I don’t think any of us felt anything romantic towards him because he was so much fun and mischievous. But we definitely liked having the testosterone set. We didn’t think he’d go on to be as famous… He was cute, but he did have a whole mullet thing going on then . He’s a much better actor than he was back then. George has gotten better with age in all ways!
How did you meet your husband Steve? Is there anything glamorous or “Hollywood” about being a Pastor’s wife that people may not know about?
I met Steve at our church. We had a small prayer group and I was very shy and he made me feel very comfortable, which I really appreciated. We became friends and then thought “hey this may actually be something,” and it just progressed from there. Is there anything “Glamorous?” about being a pastor’s wife? Hmm. Yes and no. My husband isn’t the kind of pastor that stands up and preaches, but he’s been around (the church for many years) and when we are in the “church circle” and he is kind of a little celebrity.
Okay, 10 months after you got married you were pregnant with your first child and went on to have 3 children- 3 years in a row. Were your pregnancies and labor/ delivery experiences easy?
My pregnancies were pretty easy, but all three of the deliveries were not routine. My oldest, (now 19 years old), was breech and I had a c-section. My second 2nd child (now 18), was an emergency c-section and she contracted Group B strep and almost died. And with my 3rd child, my c-section scar opened during my third trimester and she stopped breathing after she was born. Definitely pretty challenging deliveries. As far as having other children, after that, my OB recommended that I did not have more children; I never did anything different as far as birth control but I never got pregnant.
When did you start to feel like you got the “knack” for parenting? What inspired you to share your “tools” with others?
I don’t thing I ever got the knack for parenting. I think if I could do it over again- now that they’re grown, I would love a second a chance. Inspired: I identified moms that I was friends- we all felt like failures and we did everything book said to do and nothing was working. By nature I’m creative and I literally cried out to god to help me raise this kids and through that went outside the box as parenting. So my friends noticed and encouraged me to write a book and get my thoughts down. Raising my son Tucker, who has ASDHD, was the hardest job I ever think I dealt with. I figured out though that by lowering my expectation and celebrating who he was, helped me to cope. I just had to trust that he was going to be fine and turn out who he was going to be made a different and that he wasn’t going to fit into a mold that everyone else expected. That really made a huge difference.
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