Name: Angela Belford
Children’s’ names and ages: Sami (Samantha), almost 15; Josh, almost 12; Lexi, 9
Where were you raised? I lived in Sandusky, OH for 5 years which was a huge impact on who I am; besides that all over central Arkansas; graduated high school from Quitman, AR
How long have you lived in NWA and what led you to this area? I came to the UA 18 years ago….when I was 18. Wow.
Were your kids ready to head back to school? Yes, we work from home which sounds great but it means a lot of time with siblings in the summer time.
What’s your favorite thing about Fall? I love the routine, even though it becomes chaotic I get to see other people more and love the flow. Plus the leaves are pretty great here.
How long have you been married? 15 years, and ironically, I still like him.
What’s it like to work with your husband every day? We’ve owned The Belford Group (www.TheBelfordGroup.com) for 10 years now. I’ve worked with Barry for all but about 3 years when I was being a mommy (first a new mom then the mom of a middle school-er, I was scared so I took a couple of years off to focus on the kiddos). Most days I like my husband so it’s fun to work together and see a project or a website come to fruition with both of our skills and our team’s skills. Some days I want to just strangle him because we are both very passionate and we want it our way. I think our clients have a huge advantage because we will fight it out to get the best result for the client (despite our employees discomfort with us yelling at each other). He appreciates my abilities and it’s easy for me to sell his amazing programming skills, so it’s a very good thing. When money is tight we only have each other so that’s good and bad.
What’s your favorite part about being a mom? When I was growing up, adults didn’t seem to ever get joy from children. I felt like a burden mostly. So I’ve been really surprised at how much joy my kids bring me. My oldest daughter is so affirming and so funny. She has the best sense of humor and yet knows when to hold it back so she’s not a smart aleck. My son has different nick names for me like “Chicka” and “My precious” and he fights his dad to be “my man.” I love that. Then my sweet youngest is very organized and is my snuggler. She helps me remember which food we are out of when I grocery shop. I’ve been so surprised that these are truly my 3 favorite people to hang out with.
What’s your sure-fire way to relax? Travel. I love it. I get really cranky if I don’t get to get out of town. We’ve been to Hawaii, Colorado, Florida, Canada, Ohio… absolutely love adventure. If I can’t leave then I like to go for a walk, talk to a friend or read a book.
Name three things you always have with you: Cell phone, my faith and my watch.
What’s your favorite place to hang out with your kids in NWA? We love movies, and now that they are older we are having fun exploring outdoors, like floating the Buffalo, swimming in the White River and biking on the trails around Fayetteville.
What are your hobbies? Reading, public speaking (I love Toastmasters) and going to the movies with my girlfriends.
What’s stressing you out the most right now? Money, getting all the back to school stuff, and making payroll and soccer sign-ups and dentist and orthodontist and and and… Life is beautiful and life is hard, but this is life. Don’t be afraid.
Your favorite memory (so far) of each child: Sami and I were on the way to Tulsa to drop her off to go to Disney with school in 9th grade with GT. She explained to me that when we went to Ohio when she was 9 she was so afraid that she asked to get off a roller coaster. She said she regretted it so much that she decided she would never again let fear stop her from doing anything. I realized how valuable the time we spent traveling was and realizing that most adults haven’t learned this lesson has been a favorite memory for me.
Josh has been in soccer since just before his 4th birthday so it’s hard to think of a memory of him that he wasn’t carrying around a soccer ball. Recently his traveling team won the state championship for their division. It was such a contrast to how upset he gets when they lose, that it’s sweet to see him have a positive high point for his passion.
Lexi is very organized and thinks everyone else should be also. So my favorite memories of her are when she asked things like, “Mom, do you think Mrs. Broyles would let me stay after school to help her organize her desk.” That was kindergarten. I think around that time she also said, “You know, mom, the floor is really dirty. You could mop it while we are at school.” But my all time favorite is when I was on the phone and she said, “Mom, you said you were going to hang up so you could run the mop water so I can mop the floor.” Now if only this applied to her room, c’est la vie.
One word to sum me up: Determination
