All-around amazing mom, Kristin Rodgers, goes for what she wants and usually gets it. “If I don’t give up, eventually it happens,” Kristin said. “If I keep
that faith in myself, God helps me.” Her husband, Bobby, also believes in her.
“Every wild idea I have, Bobby just stands back and says, ‘Okay!’ He’s supportive and knows this is who I am and so he stands by me in it.”
This 28-year-old mother of two (4 -year-old Tyler and 9-month-old Hunter) ran a marathon right before conceiving Hunter. Four years before that, Kristin wrote a romance novel while her hubby fought in Iraq. After seven years of polishing and promoting, that book, One Day at a Time, has just been published by Devine Destinies. The children’s book she wrote this summer is called While Bear Was Away, and she’s working to get it published, too. Meanwhile, she and Bobby perform their own balancing act in which they enjoy a healthy family life in
Joshua, where he grew up.
Wisconsin-born and -reared, Kristin is glad to have family so close. “One thing we were worried about while we were both in the Air Force was that our children would not have a relationship with anyone except for us. Here, they have their grandparents on Bobby’s side,” said Kristin, who has seen a lot of good come from their three years in Joshua.
“I ran The Big D marathon in April, after moving here in September the year before. It was a very cool experience to be able to do that,” said Kristin, who had not run at all before she started training. “It was neat to be able to train my body to do that, and then to run the whole thing.”
Kristin plans to start running again once the boys are older. “My husband and I want to do it together, as a family activity.” Since his birth in March, the Rodgers
were contacted by a talent agent and Hunter was photographed by JCPenney.
“He’ll be in a couple ads. That was kind of neat,” Kristin said. “I like to have my kids try new things and do new things.”
Recently, Kristin left her job at Burleson Independent School District (BISD) to stay home with her children.
“I sit with Tyler and like to practice the alphabet and try to get him ready for kindergarten,” said Kristin, who believes her boys have brought the kid out in her again. “We jump in the leaves, go on pony rides, go see Santa, go to bounce houses. You can be yourself and be goofy with your kids. It’s just a really fun time.”
In her private time, Kristin enjoys writing children’s stories. She hopes to publish While Bear Was Away, and has another one nearly finished. “I don’t have a name for it yet,” said Kristin, of the book inspired by a tale her grandmother and mother passed on to Kristin about thunderstorms. “I adapted that to tell a rhyming story of Jesus in heaven playing baseball with his angels, explaining the wind and thunder and lightning. I always thought that would let my son see the storm in a different way and ease his fears.”
Inspiring her children also motivated her to write While Bear Was Away. “It’s
a rhyming story, kind of taken from my travels,” said Kristin, who has been to Denmark, Venezuala, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, England, Italy, France,
Belgium, Amsterdam, Germany, Mexico, Monoco, Norway, Austria, Czech Republic, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, St. Martin, and a dozen or so American states.
“Fox tells bear, ‘Why don’t you go see the world?’ Bear is off doing all kinds of exciting crazy things. Fox takes over his cave, and when Bear returns his cave is a mess. But they end up being friends.”
Kristin is still waiting to hear whether any publishers will accept her manuscript. The publishing industry is known to be hard to break into. “But you try and try, and it just takes one publisher to break,” Kristin said. “It’s not always nice
to get rejection letters. But when you get the one good letter, saying, ‘This is good
stuff,’ it restores all the confidence you lost during the rejections,” said Kristin, who has always liked writing. “Despite the walls in the publishing world, which
tends to break you down, I’m persistent and motivated and believe in myself enough to be able to accomplish.” Kristin has seen that throughout
her life, and points to a high school experience as her best example of how it pays to not give up. “I started applying in 10th grade to be an exchange student the
next year. I’d gotten a letter in the mail saying I wasn’t a fit for the program,” Kristin said. “Then I met another woman who had been accepted for a year in Denmark. But she didn’t want to go.
“I saw an opening. I called a random guy in the Rotary club and said I wanted
to take her spot. A couple days later, my mom said the guy called and the girl had called and said she didn’t want to go, and he offered me her spot.” Normally a very shy, reserved person, Kristin credits her trip to Denmark with taking away her fear. “It helped me learn to throw myself into new situations, especially to go for what I want. Even if they tell you, ‘No,’ you can still do it.”
Patience and organization are two talents Kristin applies every day to help her achieve her goals while giving her family what they need. “I do a lot of reaching within me, and even if I’m just really tired, I know it needs to be done,” Kristin said. “Still, some things need to wait. Like training for the marathon or
scrubbing the house,” said Kristin, who gratefully takes advantage of times when Bobby or his parents want to take care of the boys or when the boys are in bed. Then, she can do the heavy cleaning of her home or take care of her personal
goals, like writing.
“My children know I have other things I have to get done; still, I think it’s
important to shut everything else out and just let it be us because one of the main things children want is positive attention, like doing puzzles together or coloring
or just listening,” Kristin said. “One day when the time is right, I’ll go get another
job, and that’ll be my career.” Now, Kristin balances her creative compulsions with her strongest desire: “I want to be there for my kids, enjoy my family while
they’re here and have no regrets.”
Written by Melissa Rawlins