Tell us how you and your spouse met and how long you have been married.
Blair and I met at Murray State University in biology class. I asked him to do a class presentation with me but he already had a partner for the project. He had another friend that needed a project partner so I finished the project with Blair’s friend just to get a little closer to Blair. He was also my lab TA for a different class so I would hang out after class and he would drive me home. We started dating at the end of the semester after classes were over.
Tell us about where each of you grew up and how you landed in Paducah.
Blair grew up in Paducah and I grew up near Columbia, Missouri on a farm. We wanted to come back to Paducah because Blair’s parents offered to help us with child care and we were having twins with our first pregnancy. Also, the kids would have cousins, aunts, uncles, and other extended family to grow up with. My family eventually all landed in Nashville which is close enough to Paducah that we can visit often.
What is your favorite holiday?
Blair’s favorite is Easter and my favorite is Christmas
How do you spend your summer breaks?
We usually spend our summer breaks in Paducah. The kids all have 1-2 camps to attend and numerous neighborhood friends to hang out with. Sometimes we will take a week to go out of town and reconnect with each other.
How do you manage work and family time?
It is extremely difficult to find a good work/life balance. The kids are the priority in the morning and they are at school by the time I start my work day. I stop working to pick them up from school on most days so that I can hear about their day. Now that our oldest 2 are driving it is hard to chase them down and spend time with them! Blair and I spend time talking most evenings but we both work in the evening as well. Getting out of town is really the best way for us to reconnect as a family. It pulls us out of our regular work routines and allows us to interact with each other without being distracted by work.
Do you have any family traditions? If so, what are they?
Our kids favorite tradition is to open one Christmas present on Christmas eve but I’m sure that is not too unusual. We have a random and crazy tradition that comes from my Dad. When someone wins a game they shout, “I’m the beatest!” and dances around the room in victory. Any dance will do and it usually is a really bad dance. Eva, my 9 year old, is famous for her enthusiasm in this tradition.
What brings you the greatest joy as a parent?
Watching them grow and change is so fascinating. Each age brings the thought that, “Wow, this age is great! It can’t get any better!” But somehow each year with the kids is better and better. We love hearing their thoughts , wishes, dreams, and hopes.
Tell us something interesting about your family that we may not know.
We have struggled to find hobbies that suit us. Blair and I work a lot and tend to not let ourselves spend the kind of time we should finding joy in hobbies. We are both trying to focus more on our artistic side spending time on art projects like picture frames for me and bedazzling shoes for Blair. The twins have been studying jiu jitsu for 12 years and counting. Max is still searching for his favorite hobby besides playing video games and Eva likes gymnastics.
Questions for the kids: What’s your favorite thing to do as a family?
Noah: Getting together for special events when all 6 of us are together and going on roads trips when we get to the destination (NOT the car ride when we are stuck in the car together and arguing.)
Colin: Going out of town on vacations because that is when we spend the most bonding time together.
Max: Going out to dinner together
Eva: Going on vacation.
