This week's WAG Feature Wednesday is with a woman who I found as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside: Melody Carr. Melody is the very awesome, Christ-centered, super mom of four and super wife to one handsome QB of a Husband, retired NFL Vet David Carr. Melody is the mother of three children with juvenile diabetes and a committed champion to helping to provide the healthiest lifestyle possible for her family while shedding light and love into a platform that she may not have prayed for but, God knew she was prepared for. PS: Don't believe in her superpowers? Check out her video below! Name: Melody Carr
Player/Team(s): David Carr/Houston Texans (#1 overall pick in 02'), Panthers, Niners and Giants
Kanye or Carrie Underwood? Carrie
Ice Cream or Potato Chips? Chips
Yoga or Spin? Spin
Manicure or Massage? Manicure
Interesting Fact: I am the nurse in my house. 3 out of 4 of my children are diabetic and David was just diagnosed as well so I am a Full-Time nurse. That’s all I’ve got for now!
Where are you originally from and how did you get to where are now?
I am from Bakersfield, CA and was born and raised here, David was too. We ended up back in Bakersfield because both of our families are here so when he retired; we wanted to come back home.
How did you meet your Husband?
We met in high school at a church “winter camp” and we started dating right away (like as in the next weekend when we got back home). Our first date was technically, Valentine's Day. How sweet is that? After high school, David went to Fresno State and I went to a community college nearby. We got married right away and six months later, we got pregnant so before you know it, I was working FT and being a mommy. Financial Aid doesn’t go but so far, you know?...!
Tell me about your day to day?
Having four kids and especially having three diabetic children there is always something randomly happening during my day. Today for instance, I had a Parent Teacher conference with my high school-er. My husband now owns two gyms here in Bakersfield and that is kinda his thing. He trains QBs out here so I am also at the gym a lot. I definitely spend my days “on call.”
What are your fondest WAGS memories?
Oh, my goodness. We were lucky to have been a part of several teams with some really good ladies. The NY Giants ladies were the sweetest! Every time the boys would go away to games, we made an effort to invite everyone to go out to dinner and it was the best experience for me. Anyone was welcome and everyone was welcome (girlfriends, fiancées, wives-all of us.) No one really understands what we are going through no matter how we share it with our family so their friendship during that time was very special to me.
What is the hardest part about being a NFL Wife?
Having kids is really difficult. I was taking them out of schools, finding a new house, finding an area that has good schools, locating new doctors, new sitters and new friends. This doesn’t even include talking about the friendships that you lose (while moving)! I learned about that right away during our first few years in Houston in training camp. I really enjoyed meeting all the new girls and was heartbroken a few weeks later when those same ones were gone. Luckily, the NFL is so small that you switch teams and run into old friends again so even though you are leaving it's always one big family. This was one of the primary reasons why we moved back to Bakersfield because we wanted to be near our family and our roots are here. So during the offseason we don’t have to move the children around as much. It ended up being such a blessing because “this” is home. When we lived other places during season the children treated it almost like a big vacation, which was pretty cool too.
What are you passionate about?
I always wanted to work with kids somehow and my original plan was to be a teacher but God had other plans. We were married young and got pregnant right away so my kids have been my primary focus. David and I are both very active in two youth groups where we live and it’s been the biggest blessing to me. We get to go on trips with the kids and it is such a great experience to be able to minister and just be there for them. Growing up, my youth pastor was my rock and I enjoy being able to be a friend and a mentor to our youth as my Pastor was for me growing up.
What do you admire most about your Husband?
You know, I admire that he’s always the same person. He’s a Godly, Christian man and that doesn’t change or waver so you are either on board with that or not but you know what you are going to get. I’m so thankful that my kids have such a Christian father in their lives. I hear stories from the parents of the kids we are working with in youth group about the impact he is having on their lives. David's brother Darren is the head coach for a local high school in Bakersfield (our hometown) so when Darren became head coach last football season, David jumped at the opportunity to help. David is the OC and what's great is our oldest son gets to play football for his dad and uncle. Coaching HS football takes a lot of patience but David is enjoying being able to mentor these young boys! As for me and the rest of my family, we are loving cheering for my son, David and their team under the big Friday night lights.
Being a Mom, so rewarding but filled with lots of surprises. Tell us about your motherhood journey?
Trying first to raise my now teenage boys correctly and by God’s word is already a struggle enough. With social media there are so many challenges now that we didn’t have to think about so I often ask myself, “do I allow my son to be on snap chat or do I read his texts?” But, each child is different and each accepts discipline differently so having learned that was helpful. Having diabetic children on top of everything else adds a whole new dynamic. Mr. & Mrs. McNair, (the owners of Houston Texans) helped us by funding a research for us (Editors Note: While David was in Houston, the Texans Foundation planned to donate $25,000 a year over the next three years for juvenile diabetes). This was so helpful in helping me to discover our platform. We can’t help but think that we are in this position to help others. We all know social media is one of those places that helps you to connect with people you wouldn’t otherwise meet. There are days where I’m not at all trying to be inspirational about having had to stay up all night with one of our children who was not feeling well but the next day I will get messages from parents whose children are also diabetic.
What word describes how this makes you feel?
Grateful. Grateful is a good word to describe how I feel. One thing I noticed when David was at the Giants after we won the Super Bowl and out of all the people that were talking to us is that while everything was great, it actually wasn’t until David was released that people were vocal about their journey. They had been watching how we handled those (limelight) moments. These specifically, were the times that I felt most grateful to be in our very unique and special position where we can share our experience and bless people in our own way.
Well, now for something less rigorous; a fun question for you. Show us the answer to “I am the only one in my home who can ___!” Lights, Camera, Action:
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