And so it begins...

I like to think I'm a writer. Not just an almost-stay-at-home-mom with a *few* minutes each night to throw some thoughts out on the computer so family and friends can keep up with the goings on of our family, but a REAL writer. A writer with the ability to captivate her audience with an astonishing command of the English language, whose words pour forth with such grace and beauty...

Yeah, not so much. As with so many arenas in my life, formal writing has waaaaaaaaaay too many rules. I could never have completed an English degree. I hardly made it through the basic required English courses in college. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of writing experience under my belt. Papers upon papers to complete an undergraduate degree in International Relations. More papers as I worked toward my M.S. in Educational Psychology, topped off with a thesis. It's not that I can't follow the rules of basic English. It's just that, in general, I don't care :-p

So, here we are. My blog -- a space where I can pretend to be the writer I've always fancied. And you, my captivated audience (or at least my friends and family who will pretend to be). 

I'm new to the blogging world, and so far as I can tell every blog needs a theme. As there is NEVER a dull moment in the Drennan household, that theme was a no brainer. I'll have an endless well of topics to choose from...how could I not in a family where the NICU nurse tells us that our 1-day-old sure has a lot of *personality*. Lady, if you only knew.

Shall I introduce you to the main characters in the Drennan Family Saga?

First we have Ian...as we wouldn't be the Drennan Family without him. Awesome hubby, doting daddy. Software Consultant during the week, skydiver/swooper/coach/competitor on the weekends...and sometimes more. Gotta love a second 'job' that involves jumping out of planes, flying a parachute down mountains, and drinking beer (okay, there's way more to it than that but you get the general idea).

Then there's me, Annie. Best wife ever? :-p *Almost* stay-at-home mom. Small business owner. Gotta love a job that involves dancing and playing with preschoolers a few hours a week. How did I get so lucky to find a way to help pay the bills, have fun doing it, and still manage to spend the vast majority of my time raising our daughter? Well, it all goes back to not caring about the rules...but that's a story for another day and time.

Finally we have Kaiya Page...our sweet baby girl who is more girl than baby as I write this. Who would have thought that 18 months could pass in the blink of an eye?! There was no mistaking her entry to this world, and she has spent the last year and a half making her mark. She was named for her 'Uncle' Danny Page, and we should have known he would be laughing down on us...it appears she will be as much of a handful as her namesake. We can only hope she will grow to have as kind and giving a soul as he, and touch as many lives.

So there you have it -- the Drennan Family in a nutshell. Follow along as we enjoy this ride known as life. You're sure to get a chuckle or two out of it.