It’s not clear to Scott Crowley which came first, his wife Hannah’s love for calendars or the family’s ongoing state of loving chaos, which cries out for someone to keep the family together and on schedule.
Hannah and Scott have three children who are six or younger in Kynzleigh (6), Gabriel (4) and Asher (3). They also have Hannah’s mother and father living in the home while Hannah home-schools the kids and takes responsibility for getting everyone to their events, activities and appointments.
Put simply, the schedule is hefty, and Hannah runs the show.
“She loves calendars,” Scott said. “Everything is written down, every time for every person. It needs to be organized or things get out of control. She’s got it covered. I don’t give her enough credit for what she does around here. All I do is go to work and sit on my butt.”
Hannah doesn’t have that luxury.
Take just the laundry, for example, and it’s pretty much a full-time job in its own right. But then, she goes above and beyond in so many other areas. Hannah has taken all of her skills and education — she has a degree in international business and is a certified dog trainer — and unleashes it on behalf of the people she loves.
That’s an area where Scott and the kids feel so fortunate to have her in their lives. With her work ethic and breathtaking multi-tasking ability, Hannah could have done anything she wanted in life, and she chose to be the best wife and mother she could possibly be.
Hannah has taken on that role and thrived in every sense, and she has done it by truly putting her family first without any exceptions.
“She is an amazing woman,” Scott said. “She’s extremely caring and loving, and she’s really selfless. She always puts herself behind everybody else’s needs. Hannah really is the glue that keeps our family together.”
One of Hannah’s best qualities is she doesn’t reserve her positivity or helpful spirit for only her family. She shares it with her friends, and even when she’s out and a smile or a few nice words can lift a stranger up. Certainly, it’s something Scott and the kids have come to appreciate about her over the years, but the same quality has also made Hannah a terrific, longtime friend to Jim Drago.
To him, Hannah makes an impact wherever he goes. Her character also shines through their friendship because they can go weeks or months without seeing each other and always pick up right where they left off.
“She’s awesome,” Jim said. “She’s always positive, always bubbly, and always has a really good outlook on things. She lifts people up even when she might be down. Hannah is always trying to look for the good and pulling other people up.
“She is one of a kind. She’s always going to be there for me, and I’ll always be there for her. I’m honored to have her as a friend.”
Scott saw that in Hannah right away when they first met through some mutual friends. Talking to her for the first time to him was a “when you know, you know” kind of moment, and she has been full of pleasant surprises ever since.
That began when they faced a critical juncture early in their dating life. Scott’s Army contract was up in Fort Drum, N.Y., where they met, and he was moving to St. Louis. Hannah didn’t let the distance linger for long, and she was ready to be bold.
“She visited like twice and was like, ‘Do you just want me to move here?’” Scott recalls. “I was like, ‘Sure, why not?’ She took it on a whim and moved down here.”
It wasn’t long before they were having kids and getting married, and Scott started to see qualities that made him love and respect Hannah more than ever. That all starts with her as a mother and wife who moves nonstop in service of her family, even to the point where her idea of “relaxation” is cleaning with her headphones in.
Without Hannah, everything stops. Life falls apart, and the happy chaos of screaming kids in the house wouldn’t quite be the same. Scott, Kynzleigh, Gabriel and Asher are all grateful for not only the many critical roles she plays in their family, but the fact she runs the home with such positivity and joy.
“Thanks for everything you do,” Scott said. “She’s the oil that keeps this engine running. She keeps the family together. She means everything to me and this whole family, from the kids to her parents and everyone involved in her life. She’s pretty amazing.”