Day 1: The Whole Famn Damily
31 days… The beginning.
I still feel a little worried that this will be boring, but hopefully I can try to keep it a little interesting. Today I wanted to tell you a little bit about my family (and I mean the family I grew up in, not my own family). Okay so where I came from….
Here are my parents on their wedding day. My mom made her own dress- she is an amazing and fearless seamstress. It is fun to see this picture because I have my grandmother’s blue dress (she made for the wedding) and I wore it to a dance when I was dating my husband. I like that memory!
I have three sisters and three brothers (in that order) and I am number 7 of 7. Yes that makes me the baby, to some that means I am spoiled, and I won’t deny that I was kinda spoiled. But I don’t think I was a snotty child.
And in the youngest child’s defense, I never got away with anything. My parents knew all the tricks by the time I was born, and they didn’t let me get out of discipline. Also, I have 8 “parents” telling me what to do, how to do it and what I am doing wrong ALL. THE. TIME. Technically, only 2 that have the right to tell me what to do and 6 that think they do. I had hoped when I turned 30 that magically I could actually be considered an adult, but I am 31… so yeah, I guess it never stops. But really, I LOVE my family. I know that I am lucky to have 6 extra people who have my back.
I grew up in Northern California. My parents bought a cheap acreage on the fringes of town and built the house all by themselves (I guess I get my “can do/ DIY” attitude from my parents). I can honestly say that I grew up in heaven. We lived at the top of a hill with 2 creeks on either side that met in the back. We walked to school everyday – literally over the river and through the woods.
I pretty much lived outdoors for the first 11 years of my life. I pretended I was either I pioneer or a native American. I honestly believed I had been born in the wrong century, I felt like I should have grown up with Laura Ingles Wilder and that my name should have been Alice (after my grandmother). Instead, I ran around after my older brother Josh and drove him nuts. Ah… good times.
My dad was a news anchorman, for most of my sibling’s life. But by the time I was born, he had changed his career and was an artist. A really cool artist, a chainsaw wood sculptor. I am proud of that. My childhood was that much more exciting, and I’ve never been scared of chainsaw murderers at haunted houses.
Just a few carvings:
The carving I remember wanting and was so sad when he sold it was this Carousel rocking horse.
My mother stayed home with us, so I feel really lucky about that. She taught us all how to sew, cook and sing. She is a very lively singer in Sweet Adalines, and LOVES to perform.
My siblings are all very creative, fashion design, poetry, 2 chefs, a world traveler, a clock designer, and a sculptor. When I was 11 we moved to Utah to be closer to our grandparents so that we could help them out. I will tell you a little more about my teenage years tomorrow… but for today let me wrap up with our current family picture, 7 kids multiply fast! There are an additional 6 in-laws(one is missing in the picture), a foster brother and almost 25 grandchildren.
Okay see ya tomorrow for some more of the 31 days!
Cassity Kmetzsch started Remodelaholic after graduating from Utah State University with a degree in Interior Design. Remodelaholic is the place to share her love for knocking out walls, and building everything back up again to not only add function but beauty to her home. Together with her husband Justin, they have remodeled 6 homes and are working on a seventh. She is a mother of four amazing girls. Making a house a home is her favorite hobby.
Don’t worry about possessives and using your apostrophes correctly, just write from your heart like you did today. That will magnify your “lovely, original, expressive voice” quite well enough.
Thanks Cindy! Time is short, so sometimes grammar suffers.
I can definitely see Lydia in your baby pic.
Your dad was a handsome man and the pic of “the girls” is really a great photo. They are all very pretty.
Yay! Ya know I always hear that my girls look like their daddy, so i love it when I get to hear that there is some part of me in them. Thanks about my dad I think he is handsome too!