ABOUT ME– I was born in Germany and was raised in the United States by my German immigrant parents. My father taught in the Business Administration School at the University of Portland (Oregon) and my mom taught at Marylhurst University and in high schools before giving up everything to stay home with her children. I loved being a part of the university environment where my father was a well-loved professor.
Growing up as an immigrant, I seemed to struggle with my identity at times and hid the fact that I was bilingual. My parents were proud of the fact that they raised their children to speak two languages. In our house, if you wanted to eat, you said it in German. Today, I am grateful!
After graduating from Cleveland High school in Portland Oregon (and being able to take classes at Reed College as a Talented and Gifted student) I attended the University of Portland where I earned my English degree and met my husband Christopher Seigneur through Campus Crusade for Christ.
After our 1986 marriage, I continued in school for a high school teaching certificate while my husband and I led the youth group in the church where we were married — Concord Christian Church in Milwaukie Oregon.
Having become a believer in high school, I felt a calling to inspire youth to live a passionate life for Christ. I also had a heart for missions and instilling in youth a love for God and reaching out to others.
After earning my English degree Concord offered me the paid staff position as Youth Ministries Director there, overseeing the junior high and high school youth groups. I love encouraging students in their walk with Christ.  In addition, I was a substitute teacher in local high schools. I also had a stint teaching German at Mt. Hood Community College, which gave me my first taste of being a part of higher education staff. It was refreshing being around college age students who wanted to be in school.
God blessed us with our first child Rachel in 1990 when I began staying home, always keeping a foot in the door of teaching. After Ryan came along and when they started school, I started evaluating what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I had earned my Master’s of Arts in German hoping to teach on the university level, but I also wanted to write for the newspaper. And, when the twins came along writing was a great way to work from home.
God has provided opportunities to write for publication since then and writing about faith and  family has  became my specialties. I grew up reading the newspaper in our home so writing for The Oregonian has been a dream come true. I penned a WriterMom column (On the Home Front) for the West Linn Tidings for seven years before The Oregonian offered me the opportunity to write a family column, which I titled Real-Life Mom. With five children, there was much to write about.
I have also been published in Travel Oregon and Parents magazine as well at the University of Portland’s Portland Magazine, among other publications and websites.
With my background in English literature as my major, I have also been a freelance editor. From 2003 to 2008, I was the editor of a weekly magazine, overseeing the assignment of stories, the photographers, the writers, the production staff. I also worked with the advertising staff and the advertisers. 
I love to inspire others in their pursuit of writing for publication. I taught at Portland State University’s Center for Excellence in Writing and a semester at George Fox University in Newberg Oregon. I enjoy speaking at writers’ conferences, schools, churches and other venues, sharing my love for life, God, family, parenting, adventure and writing.
Recently, I felt a new calling on my life, to focus on my spiritual writing and speaking to the church, which I am pursuing.
I have several book ideas that I am working on and my first book, Images of America: WEST LINN, was released by Arcadia Publishing in January of 2009.
Personal hobbies include power walking and running with a hobble due to a past knee injury – I have completed 5 marathons within the past 9 years, including one with my daughter Rachel in 2008 in Newport Oregon. I love to travel, go on adventures with my children, read poetry, listen to music, camp, bicycle ride, go on road trips and visit with my extended family. As a photographer, I am always looking for the perfect picture. I volunteer in my children’s public schools and am active at Rolling Hills Community Church, where I started a Writing & Culture Connection group/ministry and I feel a calling to reach out to Sudan refugees. I also enjoy Imago Dei with its arts focus.