My Return to Blogging After a Struggle with Life....

•❣ Have you missed me?! ❣•

•❣ Because I've surely missed all of y'all!!! ❣•

Hiya there y'all! Long time no see! I'm sure you've all noticed that I haven't really been around too much these past 2-3 years. First off, I wanna apologize for my extremely long absence. I never intended on for this to happen. I owe you all an explanation... My only issue is, where do I begin?

I suppose I should begin from where things first started going downhill: Near the end if 2013, my family lost our home due to financial difficulties. We wound up staying with friends and family for a little over a year before be made the HUGE decision to move from my hometown of Asheville (NC) to my fiance's hometown, near Lenoir NC. We needed a change of scenery. A couple months after the move, we got our own place again and things were going great. That was until the big snow storm came in January of 2015 and the power went out. As you know, I have 2 daughters and they couldn't stay in a house without power during a snow storm. This led to my fiance's and I having to make another huge decision... This one required us to send our girls to stay with their Maw-Maw until Alan, my fiance, and myself got things situated once again. But luck hasn't been on our side. After having a disagreement with our landlord after my fiance unexpectedly lost his job, we found ourselves in a very similar situation as before... After months of searching for decent jobs, Alan and I were running out of options. We were literally living in our car and things weren't looking good for our family. One of our friends informed Alan of a job opportunity back in Asheville where he'd be making good money, so we took a chance. We came back to Asheville in hopes of quickly being able to get back on our feet. Since it was in the middle of the school year and we couldn't guarantee a stable home at first, we left our daughters in Lenoir with their grandmother. Turns out that the job was great but didn't last long due to the company running out of work and many employees practically left with no job. Skip ahead a few months and we get to the present... My fiance finally has a decent job, him and I have recently been staying with my dad until we can get enough cash saved up for another home. Unfortunately, the living conditions aren't exactly up to par for us to move our girls back home with us. They're currently still living just over an hour away, with my fiance's mom. Being away from my daughters is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. It's extremely stressful and I often find myself in a state of depression. Alan and I are both witnessing, first hand, the stress and difficulties of Long-distance Parenting! It's a challenge but we love our girls more then anything and only want the very best for them. Of course we visit them and they've came up to visit us as well... But it's just not the same.

On the bright side, my favorite cousin lives right across the road for us with his wife and 3 year old son. We'd actually lost contact throughout the years and I had yet to meet my little cousin 'Harley' until this past July! He's adorable and full of energy, which helps keep my spirits up about not having my own daughters around like I'm use too. Family is always important during stressful times like these.

Soooo..... There you have it! My mess of a life that's shook up every last crumb of my 'once-normal ' life. Things are different and continue to change but I'm keeping my head held high. Which is why I've decided to, once again, grab ahold of the blogging reigns! Not only as a distraction but as a way to give myself purpose during one of the most stressful and difficult times of my life. Just the thought of me telling our story to the world and possibly touching other families who may be struggling with long-distance parenting or something similar, is worth the effort.

You may start to notice a few changes here and there, but nothing to drastic, promise! I hope y'all continue to follow my blog though the struggles and new beginning! Don't give up on me, Please!!!

I love you all and look forward to reconnecting with y'all once again!!