All About Me
Amber Shaw & family
All About Us
My name is Amber Shaw and I am a 39 year old mother of 4, a student, a government employee, and a USAF disabled veteran. My husband is in the army as a combat engineer and works a K-9 mine detection team as well. We both have two tours under our belts, his to Afghanistan and mine to Saudi Arabia. I guess it was fate for us to meet a partner who knows so well the lives we have led and the sacrifices we are willing to make. For this and so many other reasons we make a very good team.
Married The Best Man Around!
Fatefully (and fortunately) met my husband 9 years ago through a plutonic ad in Craigslist. I had moved back to my hometown with my then 6 year old daughter and didn't know anything about the amenities offered for kids (best schools, athletic programs, parenting groups, etc). I wanted to focus on parenting, was not interested in dating, and frankly was a bit jaded after my divorce 2 years prior. My (now) husband is one of the people who responded to my ad, and the rest is history!
Our Older Children Now
Kyle
Almost 22 now, an AMAZING musician with an ability to just pick up new instruments and teach himself to play them in less than two weeks. Mostly though, he's a drummer to the core. Kyle is working towards getting a degree in something to do with sound engineering.
McKenzie
16 now and looks so much like her father. She loves FFA and 4H and learning to do new crafts. McKenzie wants to be a vet.
Madisyn
16, almost 17 now, but going on 30 mentally lol. She is very artistic and independent; does not follow the leader, she usually is the leader. Madisyn wants to be a National Geographic photographer.
Where We Are Now
Our New Addition!
After much talking with our children and getting positive feedback, we attempted to conceive a baby but didn't have much luck. We decided to try one round of IVF and were recently able to welcome to our family a baby boy who we named Sentry. Sentry was a fitting name for many reasons; our military affiliation in sentry positions, and a sentry is a protector and guardian. Our older children absolutely adore him and we have had so much fun in this new experience for our family. Life is good.
Three Weeks Old
We wanted to represent our family's service. He did wonderfully and our photographer was amazing with him.
Those first few weeks were crazy but so great!
Six Weeks Old
I have never seen a baby smile as much as he does. When he was born, the nurses were commenting on how extremely alert he was and how strong he was. At 10 days early, he was holding his head up without difficulty and looking around at everything.
Two Months Old
This go around I am so much older than before with my daughter and the co-parenting situation is so much better. I feel more present this time around, more aware of everything, whereas before it often times just came and went so fast and I felt like I was just surviving it all.
It has been an absolute joy to watch his milestones, which I count as everyday events, not just the roll over, walk, etc. I see his brain working and the connections being made each day as he works his hand again and again, watches the fan twirl, takes note of our pets, acknowledges us with his smile, and on and on. He's figuring it all out and we are helping him :-)
Battle Buddies
No matter what comes at our family, I'm glad to be able to have my husband next to me to help us through it. We have great kids who are successful at being confidently themselves, we have a cohesive family that works together most of the time but when it hits a bump, we are all able to be pliable and receptive to working it out, and we all respect one another. What more can we ask for?
On to the next chapters!