Susan has a passion for parenting and she has definitely answered her calling. She grew up mainly in the South and now lives in TX with her husband and 7 children, ages 6 to 19 years old. Lucky for her 1 boy that he is the oldest of the kids!
She was raised by parents that just celebrated their 51st anniversary, which in this society is pretty amazing, and it’s something she strives to emulate. In being intentional with her family, she was not only following her parents’ example, but answering her own calling. She knew from a very early time that the most important work of her own life was being a mother to her children. She has lived every day with a purpose directed toward who she needed to be and become in order to raise children in this busy, noisy, highly distracted world.
She’s always had the entrepreneurial spirit. When she was just 5 years old, she took a newspaper delivery ‘subcontracting’ job with her older siblings and she’s never lost that drive. So, when she met her husband, it was a perfect match, because he has the heart for entrepreneurship too.
Her husband did work corporate for a while, but retired 11 years ago and now they have a family business. Two of her teenagers are entrepreneurs, too. Her 15 year old daughter is a photographer and her 17 year old daughter is a graphic design artist. Talking about clients, leads, ad business are just part of their day and it fits in well with the homeschooling lifestyle of her family.
Today, Susan’s celebrating her 21st anniversary and she has a book, ‘Intentional Parenting’, being published in 2016. It’s a little terrifying but very exciting and it’s opened up a world of opportunities for her to spread her message and talk to moms everywhere about living a life of purpose with your family.
Most Influential Mentor:
- For some time, she took a bible passage literally and looked for that one woman who would be her ‘teacher’ in life. In time, she realized it wasn’t about just finding that one person; it would be several women that related to different aspects of her life.
- Of course, one of her mentors, especially in marriage, is her mom.
- But, there were also authors, radio shows, bloggers, conferences, workshops, and church peers, who would say something to her in passing that was bigger than just that moment. That’s when she discovered she had mentors all along her path.
Intentional Parenting:
- Susan and her husband made a decision very early on that she would be a stay-at-home full-time mom so they designed their entire life around that lifestyle from day one, including living way below their means and having a rental asset.
- From those early choices, everything else flowed. Each decision started with the question of “how do we continue to ensure that we are creating the culture and the dynamic in our family that we want?”
- Essentially, they created core values and used those values to determine every decision.
A Day in the Life:
- She was treating parenting as a sprint instead of a marathon. She was wearing herself and everyone else out!
- She’s gotten to a point today where she’s learned to pace herself. They now only pursue the activities that are truly special and keep them connected to being intentional as a family.
- Her whole family is entrepreneurial, including 2 of her teenagers. Homeschooling allows the family to have flexibility for education and enrichment as well as pursuing their individual and family businesses.
‘Mom on a Mission’:
- Susan’s mission is having a message that encourages parents that it’s not so much about what we ‘do’ (our approach) but more about living a life of purpose and who we need to be to ensure our children are getting positive messages in our very crazy-busy world.
- From writing the book, she’s had more doors of opportunity open up and she loves doing her workshops and one-on-one client sessions, where she works with moms on everyday issues as well as handling the big life transitions.
- Her mission is to create a non-judgmental atmosphere where moms can go to get the advice and tools they need to deal with the challenges they face.
Advice on Being ‘All-In’:
- Accepting your calling is a journey in itself. As you open the door and step into your role, the opportunities will continue to become bigger.
- You always have room to grow as a person as long as you are committed to your endeavors.
- Get clear on where you need clarity and the direction that you want to go. Then, seek the wisdom to help you bridge the gap from you are to where you want to be.
Favorite Quote:
- “Time with your children is short. Be intentional with every moment.”
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