Hi.

My name is Beth. The Bessie Viola moniker this blog carries is a reference to my grandpa, who passed away in 2005. Bessie Viola van Hooten Strauten was his nickname for me, and to this day I couldn’t tell you why. It’s one of the first things I’ll ask when I see him again someday. My parents still use the name on ocassion; each time they do it makes me smile, just as I do when I see it on my header. It’s my hope that he sees each of those smiles.

I’m 25 and live in Michigan with my endlessly entertaining family, which is large enough to require color-coding in family portraits, as well as a minimum of 11×14 framing size to view faces clearly. They all live within 20 miles of my home. In my own newly-purchased household you’ll find my husband of four years, Jim, and our daughter Madeline, born in February 2008.

I have 3 sisters, each of whom is gorgeous and amazing in her own right; we’ve reached a point in our lives where the bickering has (mostly) ended and we are discovering what great friends sisters make. My parents live just two miles away, and maintain a fabulous and huge garden full of good things in our front yard, as well as my sanity and hope for decency in the world. I don’t know what I’d do without them.

We recently became a military family when my baby sister, Laura, left for the U.S. Air Force in August 2008 (although now that she’s an Airman I should probably stop referring to her as “baby”).

This blog attempts to keep track of Maddie’s early days, along with providing a place to ponder the joys and infuriating frustrations of new motherhood. Occasionally, I manage to piece together coherent thoughts about topics Not Involving Madeline. So, basically it’s your average navel gazing. With stretchmarks.

100 things you never knew you wanted to know…