I have been married to my husband, Daniel, for 18 years and we have 2 daughters; Destiny, who is 10 and Delanie, age 4. Five years ago my sister, Stephanie, who was 12 at the time, came to live with us after my mother passed away.
Cancer has played a huge role in our life experience. The year Daniel and I were married, Daniel's mom died of cancer at age 54. When I was just six weeks pregnant with our first daughter, we found out that Daniel had cancer and while his prognosis was decent for survival, we were told that we would be unable to have any other children, thus we named our daughter "Destiny". He did survive, by the grace of God. My precious mother was not so fortunate and within 2 years of her breast cancer diagnosis, she lost her battle with the disease at the age of 54. One year later I thought I had a terrible stomach ulcer, but it turned out God blessed us with our 2nd daughter, Delanie!
My husband, Daniel, and I have been so unbelievably blessed with the opportunity to travel with his job as an engineer. We have lived in China and the Ukraine where we had some awesome experiences. I must say that one of my most life-changing experiences was when I traveled to India with Operation Blessing for a 3 week mission trip. After traveling the world, I truly came to appreciate what a blessing it is to be an American.
I now reside in a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee where my husband and I are raising our two daughters as well as my 17 year old sister. We own a dance studio called ELITE DANCE which we started with just 60 students, three years ago. We now have more than 300 students. We offer instruction in proper dance technique and terminology with an emphasis on age appropriate music and costuming for ages 2 through adult.
Sideline Q & A
What would I wish to have from my year as a cheerleader?
Cheri: Well, I'd like to say my uniform, only that would just be a sad reminder that I may never be in that good of shape or have the luxury of feeling that bad about myself as a size 2! So, with that in mind, and in light of my experience, I would like that pair of (antiquated) 10 pound pom poms. The veterans in my group even took great pride in sending me home with them TWICE before they were considered to be "fluffed" appropriately, which nearly got me booted before the first game!
My most embarrassing moment as a DCC
Cheri: I was performing in Winnipeg, Canada at a Variety Club telethon, (I was involved in a car accident just two days prior where my car was totaled and I suffered a concussion, and a severe laceration on my cheek and eye.) I was singing a song called "Miracles" to a group of handicapped children and was instructed to "interact" with them�.so I unwittingly picked up the prosthetic hand of an adorable 9 year old boy and nearly died at the thought that I had embarrassed him. He was a great sport, however I have never gotten over that initial look he gave me (while singing to him on live TV) of "Hey, what are you doing??" In the end, it traumatized me far more than him and I learned another great lesson in humility and grace. Kids are the best teachers!
Best memory of Texas Stadium
Cheri: Not sure if it was the "best" memory, however it was memorable....I forgot my pom poms for the game and just as I was standing in the infamous tunnel for the pre-game performance, a friend of mine showed up in time to drop the bag of poms to me, (not before Suzanne caught sight.) As I ran back to the dressing room to switch with my friend, Dari Partain (that brave soul sister), I had a meeting with Ms. Mitchell which I will never forget! The "lesson" imparted by Suzanne: a slight compliment for my quick witted response in a CYB moment, with a sharp reprimand for my regrettable stupidity in forgetting my poms. After all, as she reminded me, there were thousands waiting to take my place who COULD remember to bring pom poms to a Dallas Cowboys game if given the chance!
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