We met April 8,1977. We were dating in less then a month and crazy in love. We got married May 19, 1979. What a beautiful start. We had our son April 16, 1980. He was a surprise but oh so welcome!

Being overweight all of my life I decided to undergo stomach stapling to loose weight. Oct of 1980 I had the surgery and that changed my life. It totally destroyed my digestive system. I lived on liquids only, for 3 months. Then I couldn't eat solid food with out getting sick. I was so hungry all the time. The hunger pains were awful. I lost over 100 lbs in less then 8 months. No counseling or training. I was confused and starving. A friend invited me to a new disco.  So I went. I loved to dance and now I was a size 10. I started with a virgin bloody mary because I knew I could drink tomato juice. The second drink had the vodka in it and like magic my hunger pains were gone. It was like my own miracle. Wow, no pain. That was the beginning of my Alcoholism. It didn't take long and I was drinking everyday to kill the hunger pains. Well drinking also causes lack of judgment. Unfortunately I thought that my new party life was more important then my marriage and I kicked Bill out. We fought a lot. From 1981 -1984. Our son was 1 - 4 years old and I was working as a waitress. Bill and I would get back together periodically but I'd get really drunk again and kick him out again. This went off and on.

   Bill had Separation papers drawn up. They were the kind that if after a year, If you wanted the divorce then it was final. We signed them but occasionally got back together, for one reason or another. My drinking didn't stop and I was a confused drunken mess. So I'd get angry and kick Bill out again. About 60 days before the divorce would have been final I found out I was Pregnant for our daughter Josie. Bill knew before I did. He had morning sickness. I had kicked him out on Feb 18 after one of our Drunken fights. Within 2 weeks he was sick everyday between 9 - noon. He called me and told me that the guys at work said I had to be pregnant because he was having morning sickness. I told him that if I was pregnant I would get an abortion because I wasn't getting fat again for anybody. I told him I hoped he got over his flu.

I went to a St Patrick’s day party with friends and drank ever green drink known to man and became very drunk. Unfortunately I fell getting out of the car when I was dropped off at my place. I was knocked out and unconscious. Fortunately my friend that took me to the hospital was a fireman/paramedic. He knew exactly what to do. In my drunken state I told him I might loose the baby. He had no clue what I was talking about but advised the ER that I might be pregnant. I was very confused and just kept sleeping. The hospital kept me over night and sent me home in the morning. I had a concussion and the Dr advised me to see my Dr ASAP. Two days went by and I was really in pain and wanted to know why they didn't take any xrays at the hospital. I had a friend in my OBGYN's office so I called her and asked her to call the hospital and see what test they had taken. She called me back and informed me that I was in fact pregnant. They didn't take other test because they took the pregnancy test first.

My Sweet BJ was at the house with me and I was crying. He asked me why I was crying and I said.”Mommy has a baby in her tummy”. He got so excited and wanted to know about that baby. (He was 4) . Right then there was a knock at the door. I opened the door to Bill standing there. Bj Is jumping up and down grabbing at Bill's shirt tale and chanting “Mommy's got a baby in her tummy”. I asked Bill why he was at my place and he said he was sick again and they sent him home from work so he decided to check on me because he'd heard I'd gotten hurt and had been at the hospital. I asked him to come in and he asked me if what Bj said was true. Bj was still dancing around chanting “Mommy's got a baby in her tummy”. I said yes. We talked about our situation and decided to make it work.. We got back together that day. March 20, 1984. I promised God if he'd help me that I would do my very best to not drink and to work out my marriage.

I never even had a hangover or withdrawal symptom. I also never had one day of morning sickness. Bill had it for a month. Poor guy. I had literally been drunk for 3 ½ years. I'd become a functional alcoholic. I drank daily all day. It became a way of life for me. I was Anorexic. Alcohol had become my food. I quit drinking that day. We've had a lot of things happen since then but that was the beginning of our new life together.. We moved to Colorado for a job that Bill had been offered. Josie was born November 15, 1984. Our life was full of challenges. One thing led to another but we were determined to make our marriage work.

We now had two children. Bill's schooling took us to Florida in 1985. I did fall off the non drinking wagon a few times but never developed that nasty habit again. Determined not to be like I was before., so I quit permanently again. Bill got a DUI in 1986 and that changed our life. He was sentenced to community service hours and he lost his license. So he ended up volunteering at a church boys program (Royal Rangers) Bj loved it.

One thing led to another and Bill decided he was going to turn his life over to God completely. So at a revival meeting in Bushnell Florida (May 6,1986) Bill gave his life to Jesus an I renewed a commitment I'd made as a child . We decided to give this Christian life a Real try. Jesus truly changed our hearts and we have never looked back. I wish we could say that it's been all hearts and roses but it hasn't , However we've had peace through it all. God never promised it would be an easy life but he did promise that he'd never leave us nor forsake us. Accepting Jesus and making him Lord of our life was the best decision ever. We've been married 43 years now and renewed our vows several times. We're more in love now then we've ever been.

We've learned: Love is a Choice, Not a Feeling! Remember your Spouse is NOT a Mind Reader. Tell Them How you Feel and What You Need.