Getting to know YOU!

These posts are so much fun! I love getting to know y'all! Today we are getting to know Courtney from Courtney Kirkland blog.

How long have you been married?

My husband and I have been married about 2 1/2 years.

How many children do you have? ages?

We have one son, Noah, who will be 2 in October.

What is the one thing that if nothing else "sticks" you want your children to learn from you?

That success isn't success isn't measured by accomplishment. It's doing what you love, loving what you do, staying true to yourself and keeping the most important things-faith and family-first in life. That's the mantra my husband and I live by, and I hope beyond hope that our son grows up with the same mentality and values.

Are you a stay at home mom or a work at home mom?

I am fortunate enough right now to be a full time stay-at-home and working on becoming a part-time professional photographer at the same time.

Do you have any hobbies?

I love Writing...journals, blogs, poetry, short stories. You name it and I write it. Love to read. Nicholas Sparks & Jane Austen are literary idols. When I have time, I love going to movies. I've recently gotten into working out...don't ask why. Temporary insanity, maybe? I adore photography. My absolute favorite thing to do is head to the Bookstore, grab a Starbucks, settle in a corner with my iPod, Laptop and few photography books and read. And read. And read.

What is the best memory you have of your family?One of my favorite memories is of my dad's mother-Maw. Her and my Grandfather lived right around the corner from my Elementary School growing up. She used to meet me every afternoon when school got out at the corner and we would walk to her house. We always had Vanilla Milkshakes and Homemade Peanut Butter Cookies every afternoon. I also remember my mom's mother-Granny-baking up a storm on Holidays. Especially Christmas. She pulled out all of the stops and we had a neverending array of Christmas goodies to eat.

What is your favorite family vacation?

We never did the Giant vacations like Disney World and whatnot growing up. My best vacation memories are of going on "adventures." We'd pack a cooler with sandwiches and drinks, and just get in the car and drive. We've been all over the place, and it was always fun to try to guess where we might stop next.

What are some ways you practice frugality?

I coupon. Like a mad-woman. I haven't done it much lately because of our current living situation, but when we were living in Florida, I had gotten really good at saving money using coupons. I also cook a lot, if that counts, so we don't eat out very often. My husband and I took the Dave Ramsey Financial Peach Class and we practice the envelope system pretty strictly, which saves us a lot of money.

What is your most embarrassing moment?

Hmmm...I pulled that whole, "Wow when are you due?" thing with a woman in Walmart one time who most definitely was NOT pregnant. I'm pretty positive her eyes burned a whole straight through me. I didn't know how to recover from that one, so I just laughed nervously and walked away.

What surprised you the most about marriage?

How much harder it was than some people let on. I didn't realize going into marriage [and neither did my husband] that there was so much more to a marriage than just romance and communication. There is compromise and adjustment. My husband and I both brought unrealistic expectations and bad habits to our marriage that we spent a good part of our first year together working through. We haven't got marriage nailed down to perfection yet, but we have rules we live by and we both know that we belong together. {Our rules include never, ever, ever even joke about divorce or infidelity. And that no matter what happens, we CAN and WILL work through it.}

What surprised you the most about being a mom?

How "full time" and around the clock it is. Movies don't play up the real roles of motherhood very well. I had no idea when I was getting ready to have our son that my entire life would be readjusted and acclimented to his schedule and his lifestyle. I put a lot of things in my personal life on hold to make sure that our son was took care of and had everything we needed. And it's been worth every single second of it.  :)

What is the hardest part about being a mom for you?

I think figuring out how to balance being a mom, being a wife, and still maintaining my individuality. Sometimes it's hard to find the time to just be me...without my husband and without my son. Trying to find time to do things for myself and by myself. I also had to drop out of college when our son was born because we didn't have family or finances to have anyone help take care of him, so for a while I felt that I had lost a lot of my purpose. What I realize now is that my purpose was so much bigger than a college classroom. I'm a mom. To an amazing little boy. And God chose me to teach him, guide him, and love him.

What is the most rewarding part?

My reward comes when I see Little Man do something new. I was able to see every single milestone...crawling, walking, talking...all of the little things that he does, all of the changes, all of the developements, I've been there to witness. And when that sweet little boy kisses me goodnight or wraps his arms around me to give me a hug, or comes running to me when he's sick or scared, that is all of the reward that I need.

What is your dream job? If you could do absolutely anything...

Anything?! I would be a successful Photographer and Novelist. I would send Noah off to school and the husband off to work and spend my days writing or editing and then leave it all behind when school was over to be a mom. I'd be a novelist like Nicholas Sparks whose movies have been adapted to film. It's always been a dream of mine to write something and see it come to life on the big screen. And I'd spend a few hours a weekend shooting portraits or weddings. I'd have it all together and balanced. [Hey this is a dream, right?!]

Share with us 3 interesting facts about yourself that others may not know about.

1) I am absolutely, deathly afraid of bugs. They creep me out. I will literarlly jump over furniture if I see one crawling toward me. 2)
If my husband isn't home to sleep in the bed with me, I have to sleep with the TV on. My imagination runs wild and I will swear I hear things. I'm kind of a wimp like that. 3) I was published in Chicken Soup for the Pre-Teen Soul when I was 12. I made a whopping $20.00.

How long have you been blogging?

I started blogging seriously in August of 2008 right before little man was born. I kept a myspace blog in college back when it was the "cool thing" to do. Like I said, I've always enjoyed writing and that was my outlet. When I discovered the mommy blog world in 2008, I knew that I wanted to be a part of it.

What is your reason for blogging?

Initially it was a way to keep our family in touch with what was going on with Noah. When I started to realize that they rarely, if ever, read it, I began using it as a creative outlet, a way to vent...a way to keep some of my sanity by connecting with other moms who were going through the same things I was as a young stay at home military wife and mother. Since then, I've seen my blog grow, learned how to 'network', and made some wonderful friends that I know I could count on...even if we've only ever met online.

Can you leave us a link of your  favorite post from your blog?

Hmm...a favorite post. This is one of my favorites....

http://www.courtneykirkland.com/2010/01/ill-take-my-blessings-with-side-of.html

I was having a terrible day and God used Joyce Meyer to smack me in the head and remind me who is in control. He always get to me that way.

If you want to be apart of getting to know just send me an email!