Michele Washam

Name:	Michele "Shell" Washam
Age:	Um...29 (ok, ok, I'm 39)
Christian:	Yes! Read my testimony
Location:	East Tennessee in the beautiful foothills of the Smoky Mountains.
Occupation:	Author, speaker, web developer
Hobbies:	Writing, cooking, making my house a home.
Contact Me:	{ E-mail Me }

Where were you born and raised?	I was born in Buffalo, NY but left there when I was 12 to live in South Florida.
What do you remember most from your childhood?	I remember learning to cook with my grandma and then my mother and some of my favorite memories are of our BIG, Italian family gatherings at the holidays.
Do you have any cherished mementos from your childhood?	Yes! Traditions and values! I think they are the greatest gifts my parents and family could have given me & I share them with my own children too!
What are some other childhood favorites?	Animals! I LOVE animals! Always have. I used to bring all kinds of stray dogs and cats home and beg my mom to let me keep them. Once I even brought home a neighbors pet!! (she looked stray)
If you could bring any one thing with you from your childhood, what would it be?	My grandmother and her traditions. She died in 1997 and I miss her so much. I didn't get the chance to tell her how very much all those things meant to me.

How long have you been married?

Six-years in January, but we've been together seven and a half.

Do you have children?

Yes, three. Two girls (18 and 15) and a boy (13)

Any advice for other parents?

Eat dinner together ever night or as often as possible! It's more than just sharing a meal...it's an adventure!

Favorite Movie:	Steele Magnolias, My Fair Lady, S.W.A.T. (Don't laugh)
Favorite T.V. Show:	Cops (not because I'm married to one!) anything on Court TV.
What's your best personality trait?	I would say my sense of humor. I love to laugh and I love to have fun. I do believe that laughter is the best medicine. My husband used to be super series, after 28 years of government training what can you expect? I've rubbed off on him quite a bit and so have the kids as they are all the same way, they try to find humor in everything and they all have a pretty unique sense of humor.
What are your goals?	My goal is to write more books, maybe a column in a magazine or newspaper and I love to do lectures and seminars of the Course In Heartbreak and am really looking forward to the lectures I'll do with my new book Protecting Those You Love In An X-Rated World. I think the family unit is disintegrating at at alarming rate and I hope my efforts will help slow things up a little bit. Family is the greatest gift. Cherish yours!!

I can honestly say that I am content with everything I have and DON'T have in life. Every day I look around and feel so incredibly blessed to have the things I have and be able to love the people God has blessed me with.

Our home is on the top of English Mountain, which is in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. We have a 360 degree view of nothing but breathtaking mountain views, trees, and every form of nature you can imagine. It's a lot of work to maintain our property but as with everything else we make it a family affair. On the days we have to mow the whole three acres Mike gets on one lawn mower and I get on another and we do it together. The kids help landscape and Mike really does a good job getting them into it. Well, as much as you can get three teenagers into landscaping!

One of my dreams was to marry my husband and live in a small town in a charming country home with lots of land. God has blessed me above and beyond that. We have grapevines and a cherry tree and for the first time in our lives we really and truly believe that this is where we belong. We've found a wonderful church where Mike is the youth director and I am the New Media Director as well as leader of Family ministries, our entire family is actively involved in church activities and we've made the most incredible friends on earth here in Tennessee.

My husband is a police officer in a city fifty miles away and he does a lot of driving so I like to really make things special when he gets home. I love cooking special dinners for him and the kids and we eat dinner together every night, the kids and I eat together when Mike is working and it's the one time of the day when everyone comes together. it's our most sacred and special time.

My husband has indulged my love for animals and when we first moved here he bought me 12 chickens!! We've since had to give them away as they were making a mess of our flower beds but they have a good home. Instead we have a Saint Bernard, a Border Collie, two Yorkies, A Samoyah, four Cats, three love birds and a cockatiel. We give new meaning to Wild kingdom!

The Lord blessed me with a husband who could love my children as his own and truly share my dream of family and marriage. To be honest, our life reminds me a lot of the movie Steele Magnolias and I think that's why I like it so much!

I am thankful for my kids who are really GOOD kids. They go to church and sincerely believe what they are learning and try to reflect it in their every day lives. I am thankful for my husband who hasn't let the law enforcement job interfere with our family as so many other police families have. We've never believe that Mike is just a cop... we believe we're a law enforcement family and the only way to make it succeed and thrive is by getting through the ups and downs that come with his choice of career as a family. He still brings me flowers and little gifts and we still make time for "date night" once a month.

Maintaining a successful marriage and family is hard work but rewarding and worth all of the tough times we endure. I can honestly say that what I have here in our home...the people, the pets, the love and devotion we have to each other is what is most important to me and what I love most about my life.