Meet the Parents..Part 2

Okay...so when I last left you, these crazy kids hadnt gotten together yet :)

As I said, my parents had both been
living their lives caring for other people and had not taken time for themselves at all. After my grandma died, my mom had a grieving period and then her sisters really began trying to get her to date, to finally do something for herself, (this part of the story is kinda scary, because its so much like my life :)). My mom is an amazing woman and she is, by the way, beautiful as well! If I had my scanner, Id show you a picture, but it belongs to a family who needed it more than I, so just trust me, she is gorgeous! She was unsure, she had a low self esteem and did not see in herself what everyone else saw when they looked at her, she could not see just how wonderful she was and what a catch she would be. FINALLY, her sisters convinced her to try a Christian dating service. NOT Eharmony, come on people. this was over 30 years ago...it was a letter writing service.
My dad was also on this service, they "met" through their letter and began writing and then calling one another. I LOVE this story, because Bryan and I still get to see the letters. They are great, not like this beautiful poetry, but 2 people, finally giving themselves a chance to be happy. And also, one point to remember, my mother, VERY Christian woman, never swore, never even wore shorts!! My father, a catholic. The best part of the letters, is that in some of them, my dad swears a little bit. Bryan and I have rarely seen our dad swear, but I am getting ahead of myself.
They finally decided to meet in person, my dad says that the minute he opened her apartment door to take her out on their first date, it was love at first sight, and he knew she was the one. My mom needed a little bit longer. But not much. They went on some dates, got engaged a few months later and were married in May, after having met in October. God had ordained their meeting and had brought them together. Now you have to know, that as I said, they had put their lives on hold for quite some time before meeting. My mom was 36 years old at this time and my dad was 40. They were happy just being together and children were never in their plan, but they WERE in Gods plan for them :)
As I said, my parents were married in May of 1981 and I was born in January of 1982, they have called me their "honeymoon" baby from the time I was born. Now see, if you are like me, you are doing the math right now, and you are saying, "Becky, thats only 8 months, I think something may have happened BEFORE the wedding." You would be WRONG! You see, their wedding was on May 1st and I literally was conceived that same night. Talk about surprises!! But if you know me at all, you know that I dont like to do things in a plain jane way :)
So there it is, the love story of my parents, but its not over, I still have to tell you how they have changed ME. Are you ready??? I know its been a whirlwind of a story so far!!!


Now the Entrance of Rebecca Dawn Canny, on January 24, 1982. I believe that God made my birthday in the winter for one very simple reason, Winter is a very depressing time, but when you have Christmas AND a Birthday to look forward to, it makes all the difference in the world. From the day I was born, although the joke was "honeymoon" baby, my parents have made sure I knew I was their miracle. You see, when I was born, the doctors thought I was a healthy baby, but soon found out, I was not. They began to do a lot of testing, as I was not breathing right and there was something terribly wrong, they discovered I had hypoglycemia, and to be honest, they were preparing my parents for the worst, they were sure I would even make it. I was born on a Sunday, and my parents immedietly called all their friends, their church family and they began praying. Within a week, I was happy and healthy and on my way home. In my baby photos, I have a mohawk, because they had to shave both sides of my head for the IVS to go in, I was born with a full head of red curly hair, miracle number 2, as both of my parents hair was jet black, it has now turned gray and my daddy is bald :) This was a gift from my grandmother, whom I never got to meet, but apparently look exactly like, right down to the red curly hair! My brother thinks the mohawk is cool, I, however, am just thankful the hair grew back :) and NO, I will not be posting a pic of that here. sorry friends!!!

But back to the story at hand. I have known from the day I was born that I was a miracle, my parents told me all of my growing up years that God had special plans for me because he had so amazingly spared my life.

Im very much a daddys girl. Part of this I think goes back to dads growing up in the catholic school. He NEVER spanked me or (my brother), whom in this senario is not born yet, you will meet him tomorrow :) But my dad did not like to use any discipline, because he had been so scared by it himself. I dont know that this was necessarily the best thing, but I enjoyed it at the time :) I knew that all I had to do was put on my pouty face or give him a smile and I would be getting what it was that I wanted.
Dad played with us alot. He would take me every day to get "red candy" (licorice), it was my favorite. I remember a day when Bryan and I were little and we cooked up this scheme that we were both going to pretend we were sick, mom would buy it because we were inseperable, so it would make sense that if one of us was sick, the other would be too. My dad worked in a factory when we were growing up, and he got laid off a couple of times, Bryan and I were too young to understand that this was bad and we LOVED lay off times, wed pray for them sometimes, because it meant daddy was home for us to play with. So, mom bought it, she went and got us soup, 7 up, crackers, the whole 9 and left dad to care for us for the day. He quickly realized what we were up to, but just went right on playing with us anyway :) We read books, made forts, and did or favorite thing, we made "shows" on our cassette player. Dad would pretend that he was Mister Rogers and Bryan and I would make up places we were visiting. We went to a music place, a bakery, you name it, we went there. It is one of my favorite memories ever. My dad is just a kid at heart himself. He loved to take us fishing,to play baseball, he even went sledding with us a few times. He was always ready to have fun with us. Now, as we are adults, dad is still that guy who loves to tease us and make us laugh and he HATES to see us hurt. and to be honest, I can still give him that look and he is wrapped around my little finger, once a daddys girl, always a daddys girl.
My mom is one of the sweetest ladies you will ever meet. I have no problem saying this, because I KNOW with 100% accuracy that I am right. My mom has always been a great mom. She has always been thoughtful, loving, and caring. When we were growing up, I remember ALWAYS taking treats to school. and not only that, but when we did, EVERYONE in our class had their own special cookie, she would write their name on it in frosting, just for them. She came and helped in our classrooms whenever she could, she was friends with our teachers, and to this day, she still is.
In my last blog I shared about some of our traditions at Christmas. It was one of her favorite holidays. Thanksgiving being her all time favorite and she was always mad because people overlooked it! Mom decorated EVERYTHING. Our house, the bulletin boards at church, her office at work, everywhere that she could, she decorated it, and she was very gifted at it as well.
My mom is also the most AMAZING cook, EVER!! She makes these delicious rolls, these mints that are unlike any you have ever tasted in your life, pretty much anything that she makes, you can guarantee it will be delicious!
My mom is also one of the kindest women ever, and she HATES to see other people hurting. Let me just be honest and tell you that there is a "black period" of our lives. The Middle School years...cue the music here, dun dun dun. I was a TERROR during these years. I HATED middle school, and since I was too shy to take it out on anyone there, I came home and took it out on my mom. We had some intense yelling matches. It was ugly! Until 9th grade, I lost 50 pounds, I was voted best singer in my class and all the sudden, people liked me, but 7th-8th grade, well its a good thing parents have unconditional love. But although she is kind, you would not have wanted to be those kids who made fun of me, because had she ever come face to face with them, OH MY!!
As many of you know, because we had to share it a few years back, my mom also had her fair share of troubles. She went through times of depression in her life. Now, unless you know someone who has been through it, its not really an illness that is easy to understand,and even when you do, it is still CRAPPY! My mother is honestly the most amazing woman I know and the strongest too.
You see, after the bouts she had with this illness, her life has been spared several times, she has gone through hell. and yet, she still has a firm belief and foundation in Christ, NEVER ONCE in all of the things she went through did I ever see her turn from God or even get angry with him. She just knew that he had a plan and he was going to see her through.
This woman has had to go through more crap than anyone, even my worst enemy should have to go through. Deaths of her family members that are unexplainable, her mothers cancer, my fathers cancer, and now cancer in her own body. I love this woman more than anyone else in the World! She means everything to me.
After all she has gone through, many people have come up and shared how amazing she is. How she has impacted their lives in one way or another. Friends from college, who met her and knew her, because she had meals for them every Sunday at our home, people she worked with, because she was not only an amazing worker, but she genuinely cared for all those around her, my former teachers, who are still some of her closest friends, and many more people. This woman has lived a life that has touched all of those around her. She is still alive and I truly believe God still has alot left to do in her life, but she is already living quite the Legacy.
I only hope that someday, when I am old and even when I pass on, that people are saying half the things about me that they say about her. "She loved God with all of her heart", "She cared about others much more than she cared about herself", "she lived a life to be proud of".

So that is my parents. Plain and simple, 2 of the most caring, supportive, and loving people I know. My father is a Christian today because of my mother. When they met, he saw what she had, and he wanted that too. From that day on, he has been an example for us to look up to. My father is in Gods word for at least 2 hours a day! He is always praying for other people and helping them as much as he can. Yes, my parents, they truly are some of the most amazing people in the World! And it because of them, that you get to know Rebecca "Becky" Canny, the good, the bad, and sometimes the ugly, but all of it, a journey in Christ, whom my parents so graciously introduced me to, simply through the lives they chose to live!

Tomorrow you will get to meet the one, the only, Bryan Edward Canny.

Thank you friends for reading this all the way through, I know its long, but every part is essential to who I am today.