I was born in Buffalo, NY. When I was 5 my family moved to Indiana due to my dad's job. Leaving NY was hard, even at my young age. I had a huge family and once we arrived in Indiana, it was just us. I really missed out on a lot regarding my family growing up here vs in Buffalo. Aside from a brief time in San Diego I pretty much am a Midwestern Girl.

I have a most amazing 9 year old son who is by far my greatest accomplishment in life. I seriously could go on and on about Jake for hours, but the simple truth is that he completes my world. My main goal in life right now is raising him to be the happiest and kindest adult. I feel like Jake is really going to be an amazing adult and I cannot wait to see all he accomplishes in his lifetime.

I have two brothers, one step dad and two step sisters. Not to mention amazing friends, cousins, nieces and nephews.

Below is a picture of my Son, Jake with my much missed mom - Lena. This was taken about a year before her death.

My absolute hero will forever be my MOM

Sadly my mother passed away on October 24, 2008 after a 2 1/2 year battle with cancer. Its not easy to talk about and we are slowly coming to terms with this loss.

I dont think I could ever say enough good things about her ~ She had been my rock for most of my adult life and my best friend . I miss her so much and not a day goes by that I do not feel the impact of losing her. It gets a little better as time goes on, but I will never be the same again.

My mom helped me through the MS diagnosis without fail ~ she was there for Jake and myself and I give her so much credit for many of his accomplishments as it was her that watched him while we were at work and she put her heart and soul into teaching him as well as loving him.

Sadly, my father passed away unexpectedly in 1997.

Here is a pic of us a long time ago. Dont worry I gave up drinking! LOL

I worked full time since college & LOVED IT. So the end result of this next part pretty much sucks.

After college I worked as an Orthodontic Assistant for 7 years. There came a point where I wanted to do more, I just was not sure what that "more" was. I was fortunate, because soon after making that decision, an opportunity presented itself, & in 1990 I began to work for The City of Portage as a 911 Police/EMS/Fire Dispatcher. I loved loved loved it! I eventually became a Certified Training Officer. Dispatching was a job I was born to do.

This is myself (upfront) working in Dispatch along my friend Chris, in 1997.

I really loved my job & leaving was a difficult decision. However the need to have a life was far greater than my desire to be a dispatcher. I loved working shift work but it was taking its toll on me. Little did I know then that the issues I was having were a precursor to the onset of MS.

In May of 1997 I left dispatch and began working for the Porter County Clerk's Office in Portage. I really did not like it. A week after starting that job, my father unexpectedly died. He was in a coma and my brother's and I had the horrible task of deciding whether or not to remove him from life support. After finding out there was no brain activity we decided that our father would not want to live out the rest of life like that, so we let him go. An emotionally draining choice, but one that had to be made.

Once again, fate, destiny or just plain LUCK came my way and soon starting my new job, I was offered a different job within the Court. I then transferred to the staff of the Honorable Judge Julia Jent of Porter Superior Court III.

I was Court Secretary as well as Judge Jent's personal secretary. Eventually I was promoted to Bailiff. (Not the kind with a gun) I scheduled court dates, performed computer work, filled in as a Court Reporter and was in charge of the Jury during a trial. I absolutely LOVED working for Judge Jent. She is an amazing Judge, boss, person and friend.

I enjoyed my job so much because it was the end result of what I was doing at the police department. It was very cool to see how it all tied together.

My job was beyond amazing. It defined me in so many ways and if not for the impacts of the MS, I would have worked there forever. June 1st, 2004 was my last day of work. I finally accepted that my time had come regarding taking a step back and considering disability. The first 6 months of 2004 had been a slow descent downhill for me regarding my health, as well as a huge wake up call.

I had greatly underestimated the power and effect Multiple Sclerosis had on my body. It was a fun ride while it lasted, but after almost 22 years of working, it was time to take care of me and unfortunately the only way was to stop working. I could not begin to be a good mom if I did not start putting my health first and sadly, that was the the only way.

My son's father John and I met in 1992. I was working as a 911 Dispatcher and he was a newly hired Police Officer. We were buddies for a year, then began to date and in 1996 we were married. Jake was born in 2001 and despite our best efforts ~ (John's shift work, my battling post partumn depression and the depression over leaving my job ~ as well as some personal issues John and I had, it all took its toll on our marriage.)

We are currently divorced and co parents to our son Jake. We actually get along much better now and seem to have a better respect for the other now than we did before. Jake is very fortunate ~ he has many people that love him so much and thankfully he is well aware of what an amazing life he does have. John and I have both moved on and are happily in new relationships, however there is an importance that Jake realizes he came from loving parents who were a family for many years. Even though we were not meant to be, Jake was - and I always want Jake to know and feel that.

I am the proud "mommy" of 5 very SPOILED meows

*Kelsey, Shadow, Zero, Bootsy and Charger* Prior to having Jake I was a parent to fur babies only (hamsters included!!) Nothing like the sweet sound of a kitty purring you to sleep! In addition to the kitties, we have a budgie named Pistachio and a crab named Mr. Krabs. If we had a bigger house and were millionaires, we would have many more pets. I beleive in adopting homeless pets and giving them a happy life.

Favorite Things: Spending time with Jake,drawing, blogging, photography, gardening/landscaping my yard, Crickets & Frogs chirping at night, Cats, The smell of fall, Looking at the clouds, The sounds of trains, that first kiss and life in general!!