December Board Member of the Month
Thank you so much for your nomination as Board Member of the month! I was excited to take on the role of Field Trips coordinator for 2018-2019 in order to create and lead fun events that bring our families together in the community! It is so rewarding seeing all of the kids eyes light up when they’re enjoying a field trip! From swimming, to apple-picking, to the Wildlife Rescue field trip, the last few months have been memorable and I look forward to meeting all of you in the future at one of our exciting trips!
I have 2 boys and a baby girl: Riley (5), Henry (4), and Charlotte (10 months). Our family stays busy and our children are actively involved in our non-stop adventures. We are the “Adams Family” – not the famous ones from the movie – although our friends and family actually conspired at our wedding and had the church organist play the Adams Family theme song as we walked out of the church, while everyone snapped their fingers with the music ;)
What was it like for you to transition into motherhood?
We had our first child 7 years after we got married. Initially, I don’t think we quite latched onto the reality that parenthood should or would slow us down -just a bit - from our regular busy lives! One of the wildest things that my husband and I did when we realized that we were going to have our first child (and have time off of work) was buy a fixer-upper house. We already had experience doing tons of home remodeling, but for some odd reason we were thinking that we would need something OTHER THAN THE NEW BABY to occupy our time. Our first child, Riley, spent his first several months helping us do a complete renovation on a 1918 Bungalow – my husband did most of the carpentry and heavy lifting and I’ve always loved doing the design, paint, and tile work. Riley spent many hours in his baby lounger chair with me while I was doing tilework in the bathroom and kitchen of the home. Jokingly, Riley took far too many lunch breaks - We’d get an hour or two of work done and then he’d be ready for a 30-minute milk break, lol! We restored the house with original style and detail - the house turned out amazing, like many of our prior projects. We’ve continued to involve the kids in renovations, with the belief that one of the most important things that you can teach your children is the value and reward of hard work!
Did life change when you had your second and third child?
As an already busy, working-mom, I would say that we didn’t change our lives much with child 2 & 3, we just included them in our adventures when they arrived. Having more kids extended the number of years we would depend on diapers and bottles ;) – but otherwise, we’re very happy with our decision. I have to wake everyone up a bit earlier during the week so that the 2 younger kids are ready to be out the door with plenty of time to get my 5-year old, Riley, to Kindergarten on time! I would say the third child is almost easier than the second because Charlotte has 2 older brothers who absolutely adore her and are at an age where they are fairly self-sufficient when it comes to getting their own snacks and making their way around the house… while also helping out quite a bit with their lil sis! That wasn’t the
case at all when the 2 boys (20 months apart) were both in diapers and 100% dependent on mom and dad at such close ages. Having almost 3.5 years between the second and third child was well worth the wait!
What is an odd fact that people don’t know about you?
While I was going to college at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, I also worked almost full-time at a few different auto shops over my 5 years there. I went to the local Junior college simultaneously to expand my automotive repair skills. My husband and I met while working together at one of the auto shops. I still have my 2 hobby Volkswagen bugs (1958 vintage & 1965 baja bug) that I enjoy working on and cruising around town!
What project or challenge are you currently undertaking?
Oh my goodness – MOVING - just when I said we wouldn’t be moving again for a while - we have moved twice in the past 9 months (with 3 children). The good news is - we are fairly certain that as of this last move in November, we are in our ‘forever home.’ [But for anyone who knows us well and the fact that we’ve lived in 8 homes over the past decade, you might question this statement] We just bought our dream home on nearly 4 acres. When this dream property came up for sale on the street that we had long called our “dream street”, we had not quite finished remodeling a 5 bedroom/3 bath, 1897 Victorian on 7th Street in downtown Petaluma. We had done a complete gut of the Victorian and had only been living in it since March of 2018, moving in when Charlotte was just 32 days old. We thought we would settle in the Victorian for a bit, but then THE dream property - on THE dream street - WITH acreage came up. We figured we would kick ourselves forever if we didn’t figure out how to make it work – the rest is history! We’ve only been living in the home just over a month, but we’ve already added a herd of alpacas, sheep, and goats to our existing flock of 14 chickens & 2 dogs!
Outside of raising 3 children, what keeps you busy?
With personal experience in real estate rehab and professional work experience in construction and engineering, I’ve been actively building my real estate business since 2006. My husband and I have built a property management company which we have been running for 12+ years now. I am also a licensed Broker (REALTOR ®), working under Keller Williams Realty. I truly enjoy real estate because I’m able to help other families and friends find their dream homes, while providing a lot of strategic assistance based on my background. I have extensive hands-on experience which allows me to help clients at a whole different level. I can share my experiences in addition to putting clients in contact with an amazing support team of contractors, inspectors, lenders, legal advisors, accountants, and other professionals that I have built relationships with over the years. I was recently invited by my brokerage to serve on the Keller Williams Agent Leadership Council, an amazing opportunity which I am proud of because it is offered to only a few of the top-performing agents in the brokerage. I also enjoy teaching others… and I have an odd hobby of story-telling and public speaking. To combine my interests, I am working on setting up a 2019 seminar series about home buying strategy as well as investing (let me know if have any interest I can keep you informed – Christine.Adams@kw.com). I have built my real estate business on the idea of giving back, both to my clients and community charities, which makes me feel great about what I do!
Again, thank you for the honor of Board Member of the Month and for letting me introduce my family to you! I hope to meet you all in the future! ~ Christine Adams, PMC 2018-2019 Field Trips Coordinator
