We have four children, ages 20, 13, 5, and 3. Boy, girl, boy, girl. We have lived in Central PA for nearly eight years now, and have a hobby farm where we raise beef cattle and dairy goats. Our children are homeschooled, with the oldest, now graduated, working as an electrician's apprentice to Dad, who is a Master Electrician.

A few years ago, I was hit with a series of vague illnesses which sent me to seemingly endless doctors' visits for treatments and tests. The illnesses became increasingly frequent and more debilitating, making me unable to spend any effective time afield, or pursue my other hobbies such as gardening and tending our farm animals. A series of sinus infections and fevers led the doctors to finally diagnose me, in January of 2000, as having multiple severe allergies.

Treatment was ineffective for the first year, and I went on to develop asthma,as well as continuing to endure sinus infections and fatigue. Not only was hunting extremely challenging, but I was also unable to care for my youngest children. My older two often filled in for me. It was hard to maintain my self-worth as I lost the ability to function as a wife, mother, and hunter.

Fortunately, with the help of my new allergist, who understands my importance as a mother and my love for the outdoors, I am gradually gaining strength and wellness. In October, I was able to take my daughter out during the PA youth hunt for her first deer, and she returned the favor recently by helping me harvest my first deer in three years. She called a little doe into a clearing, and helped calm my nerves enough for me to make a good shot.

I am looking forward to sharing with other women about the challenges I have faced, and the rewards that hunting has brought to our family life. For me, no other pastime can do more to nourish both body and soul. Whatever your lifestyle, and whatever your personal challenges may be, being a woman hunter has somehow changed your life. It is my hope that we can encourage one another as women, and as hunters, to be the best that we can be, and work to pass on our love of the outdoors to our friends and loved ones.

Let us also become tireless in our protection of the wonderful freedom we have to hunt and to own firearms. Many fought and died, and continue to fight and die, so that we have these precious freedoms. Let us do our part to maintain them.