Meet Vanessa LeRow
Hi Moms! I’m Vanessa LeRow and according to my bio, I’m a wife, mom, writer, and speaker. That sounds really nice on paper; however, I think a more accurate description is I’m just a girl, standing in front of the internet, asking for solidarity as I try my best at this marriage, mom, and life thing while praying for God’s grace to cover my insufficiencies and inadequacies.
(Please tell me you get that Notting Hill reference?!).
I’m married to Stefan (pronounced just like Stephanie without the “ie”). He is thoughtful and reserved and a man of few words which works out well for me since no one has ever accused me of being succinct. We met at church camp when we were 13, but went the long way around to marriage. Our story is full of brokenness and redemption.
I have 4 kids (boy, girl, boy, boy). They all have names that start with “K” because we like to confuse ourselves. I’ve never been able to maintain a chore chart system, but my kids are fluent in my native tongue: sarcasm. I just haven’t found the bumper sticker to display my pride in that accomplishment, yet.
When I was 18, I wasn’t sure I wanted any kids. You can hear God laughing, too, right? I had an unplanned pregnancy as an unmarried, 19 year old. I married the father (not Stefan), divorced a year later, moved back in with my parents, utilized the welfare system, and started back to college all by the age of 21. Stefan and I reconnected years later and I finally convinced him to marry me when we were 24 and my oldest was 4. We quickly added 3 more kids to mix and looked at each other and said, “What have we gotten ourselves into?”
Our kids are now 22, 17, 15, and 12…which makes me a little older than most of the contributors. Please don’t read that as wiser. I’m quick to share what has worked in our parenting and what has failed miserably. Currently, we are walking with our kids through an upcoming college graduation and wedding (WHAT!?), college applications, relationships, friendships, healthy social media engagement, and what it looks like to love people–the way Jesus does.
However, the days of runny noses, temper tantrums, and reminding my kids to brush their teeth feel like yesterday (well, actually, I literally had to remind my kid to brush his teeth yesterday). I think that’s why I have a passion for encouraging, celebrating, and cheering for moms of all stages and ages…and hopefully laughing quite a bit on our journey. This motherhood works best when it’s a sisterhood.
If you’re still reading, bless you. I’m excited about Waco Moms Blogs and hope it serves to be a source of encouragement and community for all of us, with a heaping side dish of laughter.
You can also find me at www.theRealV.com.
