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!!

North Carolina Families are Suffering due to the Canceling of Tax-Free Weekend!

Information received from MomsRising.org

Let lawmakers know how you feel about how tax reform short-changed working families.

Send a note today asking them to repeal the changes next session!

The time has come.... Back to School shopping can't be ignored any longer

North Carolina Parents throughout the state, most likely are use to having the first weekend of August brightly labeled on their calendars due to the very much loved Tax Free Weekend - which is when a majority of back to school supplies is normally purchased...

But not this year.

For the first time in 12 years, parents are having to do all of their back-to-school shopping without the help of the tax-free holiday, thanks to the tax reform package which was passed last year by the General Assembly. With parents being use to the opportunity of saving between 6.75 and 7.5 percent on items they purchase for the school year during the tax free holiday, families are really starting to suffer this year.

In the past, families with school-aged children have used this weekend to save on school essentials, and 77% of those families report that the tough economy impacts their spending plans. Families in our state have saved an estimated $14.7 million during previous tax holiday weekends. But it all came crashing down!

Tax Free Weekend was canceled this year as part of a tax reform package passed by the General Assembly last year. As parents - Us Moms and dads are in extreme need for tax-free weekend because school supply budgets have sadly been cut which leaves us as parents being asked to make up the difference..... That may be possible!

Family-friendly tax policies are needed across the board in NC. The tax reform package also included the elimination of the state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which benefited 900,000 workers and nearly 1.2 million NC children, helping lift them out of poverty and allowing their families to meet basic needs such as shelter, food, utilities, transportation, and childcare.

Instead, the tax package gave the wealthiest North Carolina residents and corporations a tax break and shifted the tax burden onto the remaining 80% of families, including canceling this much-needed tax-free weekend for shopping for back to school supplies.

An estimated $680 million in revenue has been lost because of the tax plan that was passed, and NC will lose $5.3 billion over the next five years in the funds that pay for education, healthcare, and more. [6] North Carolina spends less today on K-12 education than it did just 5 years ago, even though there are more students and even more needs that are going unmet.

And parents aren’t the only ones upset about the loss of the tax-free holiday. Businesses are also concerned. Previously, this weekend has been good for businesses as well, driving business into local malls, outlets, and other retailers. It has increased employment and payroll taxes as more employees are hired to help meet the popularity of this weekend.

South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia are having their tax-free holidays this weekend. Families in those states will have the option to save money on items they need, while families in North Carolina had their tax-free holiday taken away last legislative session to support tax cuts for the rich.

Everyone knows that many families have to stretch every dollar and struggle on a limited budget. Our lawmakers needs to be reminded of this, too.

Together we are a powerful voice for North Carolina families!

- Melea, Beth, Tracy, Ruth, and the whole NC MomsRising team -

Share your experience with how not having the tax-free weekend hurts your family, or how recent cuts have hurt your school.

Using the link below, Send your lawmaker a letter letting them know just how much of the loss of the tax-free weekend hurts your family. They need to know the impact these changes have on our NC families and that they must repeal them next session. 

http://action.momsrising.org/letter/taxfreeweekend/?t=4&akid=5683.2093371.zT7qHK

Disclaimer: This blog accepts compensation in the form of products and/or monetary for selected posts which will be labeled as sponsored. No matter the compensation, I only write about items and/or services that I have personal experience with and believe my readers will enjoy and/or benefit from. All opinions are my own and may differ from those of others.

View Full Disclosure for further details.

#WednesdayWisdom - Today's Choices

#WednesdayWisdom

"The choices you make today mold more than just your tomorrow..."

Coming to the realization that you are the person you are today because of the choices than you made many years ago is quite mindboggling. It's not often that we think so far ahead that we know how one simple decision made today is going to change the person that we become 5 years from now. Believe it or not, but that's how our life works. Choosing to either walk away from a relationship or hold on tight can both open and close future doors of opportunity as well as choosing to take the path of kindness and honesty oppose to a path of secrets and lies. It's not often that we have the time or the strength to fully break each decision than crosses our path and many are made due to current feelings as well as current situations. Not having a clue in the world how our decisions will effect the future for years to come. My only thoughts about keep ahold of even the smallest amount of control is that we make sure the choices we make are the right ones for that moment. If your second guessing yourself then it's possible that the path taken may have curved a bit to the left without you realizing that such a small and overlooked task has changed you as person - even if the change is so small that no one notices but yourself...

So watch out for a forks in the road because the path not taken could of created a whole new you.

Diary of a Blogger w/out internet ...

(2/1/2014 •°• 1:53pm)

Times are tough.
2013 ended with a boom and I'm still cleaning up the debris. Living with friends can be stressful but we're doing pretty good. Everyone has their own struggles and worries and have been dealing with them as best as they can. My main struggle is personal space and finding time for myself. I've always been a quite type of girl and enjoy my privacy. When you have 4 adults & 3 kids living in one home, it can get hectic. There have been many days where frustration has gotten the best of me and I've ended up getting a little ill at moments. Stealing a few minutes, sitting alone in the car while Alan and the girls are inside, is the only way I'm surviving my personal space issues. It's not perfect and would be better with internet, but it's better than nothing. Now if I could only find a way to enjoy some better "together time" then we'd be in business.

Alan works all the time and if it's not the kids who "hover" it's the roommates. A night, it's sleeping or silence. Something's gotta give...

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS - Survivor’s Guilt: A Ripple Effect of Domestic Violence

Survivor’s Guilt: A Ripple Effect of Domestic Violence

Why me?

This question normally fits into a context of… why did X bad thing happen to me? For me, it’s different. More of why was I spared from what could have been a very bad childhood environment when many others are not? It is a question I have wrestled with for years now, and one to which I cannot find an answer that resolves the question in my mind 100%.

It’s called survivor’s guilt, I’ve been told by a Psychologist friend. It’s ripple number one in my life and personal experience with domestic violence.

Hi, there.

My name is Anne and I normally write about food and share recipes on a food blog with my husband, professionally trained in Culinary Arts by Johnson and Wales University. We would love for you to stop by and peek at some of our recipes. Most are simple but with amazing flavor!

I’m excited to share with you today, though, some of my personal story in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. As someone whose whole life was impacted directly by the effects of domestic violence, I deeply appreciate Autumn shining the spotlight on this problem.

And it is a huge problem, with one out of three women having been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime, most often, by a member of her own family.

Consider a few more statistics from DomesticViolenceStatistics.org:

• Every 9 seconds in the US a woman is assaulted or beaten.
• Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women—more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined.
• Every 9 seconds in the US a woman is assaulted or beaten.

It’s kind of ironic to me that Domestic Violence Awareness Month falls in the month of October because on October 1, I was born into a family that I would later learn was torn apart from the ripple effects of domestic violence. That would be ripple number two.

I was adopted as a 2-year-old. For as long as I can remember, I have always known I was adopted. My mom loves to tell stories about what a verbal, talkative 2-year-old I was. She tried to change my “go-by” name to the first name she gave me, but that didn’t work out. Every time she would call to me by that name, I would not respond. As soon as she called to me by the name I knew, Anne, spelled A-n-n pre-adoption, I answered right away.

I also always wanted to know more about my biological roots and the first two years of my life, at least from the time that I began to mature emotionally enough to grasp deeper meaning in it all. I was able to begin a search during my senior year of college, and over the course of a number of years, I learned lots of details and answers to questions I had always had.

About two years after my initial search and reunion with several birth family members, my foster parents and some friends of theirs that had considered adopting me and who had also prayed for me when my birth family tried to regain custody, I was devastated to learn about the years of abuse my birth-mother had experienced from her father. As difficult as that was for me, it has helped make sense out of some of the other experiences I have had during my lifetime.

The best example of this is there were two men I knew during my adolescent years around whom I always felt uncomfortable or uneasy, especially if I thought I might be alone in a room with them. At one point after discovering the history of abuse in my birth family, I sought counsel from the pastor of my church at the time, who had extensive family counseling experience. I was going through a lot of emotion in processing what I had learned.

When I shared with him about the uneasy feelings I had gotten around the two men earlier in my life, wondering if there could be any connection to my past, he explained to me about how the human brain stores memories, even those memories of events that happen before we are old enough to be able to recall specific, vivid memories. But when we get older, a sight, smell, sound, etc. may trigger the memory in a different way, such as through emotion we feel depending on what type of memory it was. He said this was likely what I was experiencing, that something about these men, perhaps a facial feature or a scent, reminded me of someone from a past experience.

Years after learning this, I was going through some photographs and found a picture of one of those men. I could not believe when I looked at that picture how much he looked like my maternal grandfather! It was a stark resemblance. I mean, I thought to myself… they could be related! Not that I thought that in a literal sense, but that is how much they looked alike to me.

This is another ripple effect, number three, of the domestic violence that occurred in my birth family, reaching into a third generation. There are numerous others.

But the biggest message that I want to communicate in sharing these very personal experiences is that domestic violence affects people beyond the victim.

Further evidence of this lies in what we know about the cycle of abuse. I also learned that my maternal biological grandfather himself had left home as a teenager and had been abused. So the ripple effects in my life actually stemmed from some source prior to the abuse in my biological family, and the more I thought about this, the more I realized that I probably would never know the answer to where the abuse actually started.

I was incredibly sad. I felt some sense of anger, but it was difficult to have one person to feel that anger towards. I know and strongly believe that people have to be responsible for their own actions and abuse can never be rationalized in any way. It is wrong no matter how you look at it.

But I also have some level of compassion for the abuser who was also victimized at some point in his life.

What if someone had found out he had been abused and got him “help”? Would the cycle have ended there?

The recent news of the three girls in Ohio who were held for ten years and abused by Ariel Castro was horrifying.

Cycle of Violence - (Photo Source)

Absolutely horrifying!

My heart goes out to those ladies. It is unimaginable what they went through.

I know that many people have strong feelings of judgment and anger against abusers, and rightly so. They take so much from their victims and what they do to them has a lifelong impact.

Yet, when Ariel Castro pled guilty, I was quite relieved that in doing so, he did spare the women from having to go through a trial. He spared society from all of the costs associated with it.

I’m sure he knew they had so much evidence against him, he did not stand a chance in a trial. But that does not stop most of the alleged perpetrators who put us through the expense and media circus resulting from those trials. I felt some appreciation that he chose not to go that route. It’s almost like the others want the “glory” of a trial, seeing their faces and names in the news.

When Ariel Castro made the statement that he was not a monster, but rather, sick, a part of me was thinking, Yeah, right. Anyone who abuses someone else is a monster, especially the way he did year after year to not one, but three girls. But then as I read more about his experiences as a victim earlier in life and his addiction to pornography, I had to agree with his statement that he was sick.

And again, I had to wonder… what if?

This is where I think Domestic Violence Awareness is so critical. I am not knowledgeable enough on the front of what to look for as signs of a child being abused, aside from the obvious signs of physical abuse, to address those in this article, but I beg those reading this who are working with children or teens to become knowledgeable and to be observant with the children/teens under your influence.

You never know when you might have an opportunity to help someone, to stop the cycle and to minimize the ripple effects of abuse in someone’s life. Or possibly saving someone’s life.

Visit Anne at The Saturday Evening Pot

SURVIVOR CONFESSION: Little Girl Lost

Little Girl Lost

A Domestic Violence Story

Written By Victoria

Part One: The early years.

The earliest memories of what I have now come to know as Domestic Violence was at about 3 years old. I remember looking at my parents arguing so loud I would hide. I would cover my ears and I would actually see the dishes as they have gone flying across the house. Sometimes, mommy would be so sad she would just up and leave. And I would hide under my bed. My sister and I shared a room. Back in those days, our beds were pretty big. So, it was good because we could hide and cry together. We both were scared little girls lost.

I understand what now child abuse is because I remember the time I tried to pour water in a bathroom as I hated roaches. To this day, they scare the hell out of me. And I had a ruler cracked across my head. My mother was a nurse in Allentown, Pennsylvania back then. So, of course, she was not happy to see me come with blood dripping everywhere. Then there was the time I had drank out of a pop bottle. I was about six. And I got beaten into a wall. I woke up crying to my mom that my shoulder hurt. She asked what happened. I lied. I told her that I fell down our huge flight of carpeted stairs. Needless to say, I had a broken clavicle. To this day, I don’t forget as I still get pains if I move the wrong way or run to long.

I spent my days helping change diapers and playing with my brother and sister. And we all grew to stick up for each other. I never realized how much that meant to me until I grew up.

One day, the cops came and took us away.

Amongst, all the beatings and cheating with my parents, I was sexually assaulted as a child my sister as well. I can still remember the day, I heard her crying. And she came to me and said, “Did it hurt you too?”  We hugged each other so, tight. We were afraid to be bad. We thought we were always bad. And we tried so hard to be good girls.

So, you see, as a child, we didn’t know what child abuse was. We only knew what hurt and what seems scary and the nightmares, they went on for years and years.

So, the police were at our door in the middle of the night. Our door had those big dead bolts. The asked me to open it but, I couldn’t reach. They actually had to call my mom because we were home alone while she was at work. She had to open the door. They took us to the hospital to be evaluated and then sent us to my grandma’s house.

I felt safe at grandma’s house. Thus, I will care for her til her last breath as she did so much for me growing up. But, there was a day; we had a visit with our dad. And well, he told us all to get in to the car. So, we did. My poor grandma looking back as an adult I can only imagine what she was feeling.

My father took us to my birthplace. We hid at my aunt’s house. She was a nice aunt. But, I remember how my uncle would beat me with these horrible plastic stick things. It always felt like I was a bad girl no matter where I was. And I remember being hurt by another family member. But, I really don’t want to touch that subject. It never quite left me. As I still have bad memories of running through my aunt’s house and crying because there was nowhere to hide. And she wasn’t home to protect me all the time.

Then he had me call my mom and I only remember him buying pink stuff. I remember he convinced her to get into the car. Then she drank the pink stuff. And it hit me, now all grown up. She was scared for us. She was scared to leave. As I remember watching her handcuffed to the car. And then I wondered what would happen. I saw a gun on the floor of the driver’s side. And I just hugged my brother and sister. She said she had to go to the bathroom. So, dad went with her up a hill by the high way. And she tried to run. She failed of course. She was back in the car with the handcuffs back on. Somehow, trying to cross into what I now know as Canada, the cops pulled us over. My father was arrested. They took the scary gun.

My mother was all alone crying and driving with three kids. She took us back to grandma’s house.  We stayed there a long time. We had to go to bed early but, I didn’t mind. We went to church everyday. And we had ice cream before bed. My grandma made the best soup and spaghetti. I even made student of the month.  We use to visit my mom. Sadly, she didn’t seem to care much for being with us. She partied a lot and I mean, I know she loved us. But, as with many people, she was out on her own in an apartment. She didn’t want to be tied to three kids at that time. After all, she had me at 17 years old.

I use to be quite mad at her most of my life. But, I do get it now. And now, I just don’t know how she did it.

Now, I am about nine. I remember a big thing in the news over a man named Tony Toto. He had been shot. The papers said that he cheated on his wife and that he was shot by my father. My mother was very upset about this. She didn’t really talk to me about it. I only knew him as the Pizza man. My dad use to work for him.

To this day, I don’t know if my dad did or didn’t try to shoot him. I do know that he and my mom had a fling and every time I see that stupid movie ”I love you to death", I cry. That story was made into a horrible comedy of a really scary time in my life. At least I can say that guy never hurt me personally. So eventually, grandma couldn’t care for us anymore.

I guess I can understand as she had to be in like her 60’s. Well, we ended up in what is now known as foster care.

I may as well keep going as this is still part of the early years. So, we had to go to about six foster homes before we ended up in Quakertown. I know a weird name. I think it was an Amish town. I remember lots of fields.

I had a foster mom named Vicky. The dad was William. I guess they were okay to me for a little while. They made us do chores and eat healthy. But, there was those made days. My foster Father made me rub his feet as if he were some king on a thrown. I wet my bed a lot so, I was forced to wash my sheets in a bucket.

I was witness to my baby brother who had to be about 3 forced to lick poop off the walls. The memories of foster care are mostly horrendous. I remember dropping an ear plug in the tub and it was only because I told my foster mother the truth that I got to get my Raspberry Puff doll back. She took all my favorite toys. She even caught on to us hiding toys in our jackets to visit our mom. I was a sick kid. I had a lot of tubes in my ears. And I was sad when I wasn’t allowed to have my mommy with me. I use to be told never to talk to the social worker about what went on in the house. And I took my anger and sadness and I would draw and read for hours.

There were days that I wasn’t allowed to talk to anyone as punishment. My sister and I shared a bunk bed. I remember her making the sign language “I love you” to me. I loved my sister. We really did go through so much together growing up. But, I have since talked to my foster mother and we made peace with it. However, it is still part of my story. My sister was dubbed the favorite, the good one. My brother the bad one and I was the ugly one. Sound familiar? The good, the bad and the ugly was a television show. We had foster siblings. I love my foster sis to this day. We actually found each other after all these years and can at least joke about times at the creek, Indian paint and my braiding her hair. She is an angel.

But, there are still the bad memories of child labor and hauling dirt, lifting heavy rocks, scrubbing walls. We had basically built my foster mother a creek from scratch. There was even a point where my brother was forced to eat a worm. As punishment for myself personally, my foster mother would force me to do 500 pushups at a time. After a while, it didn’t bother me. I got better than my gym teacher.

I had lots of nightmares growing up. I wet my bed til I was about 11. It was after a therapy appointment my foster mother finally understood me I think. The therapist asked me to draw pictures of something good and something bad. I told my foster mother as she got ready to drive away that I had this bad memory and I don’t know how to draw it. So, she asked me what it was. I went on to describe my sexual abuse. Of course, at that time I had no idea what the heck sexual abuse even was. But, my foster mom started crying. That was the first deep moment I think we ever shared. Of course, there was a trial and all that goes with it. But, I don’t care to get into that as it was at the same time as the Tony Toto trial. But, the memories never leave. Eventually, we did get to go home to my mommy. And it was the same day we moved out of state. She wanted a complete fresh start and she got it.

I was 11 years old.

To be continued.....

Save Our Children!! They don't deserve to be abused!

Manic Monday

I am very sad to say that my internet is messed up so I may not be able to keep up with my daily posts that I just started, for a week or so, It always seems to go this way and I'm very sorry. I hope to get the problem fixed soon. In the mean time I will be writing posts on my computer and posting them when I have a random chance to get online. I hope that when I return full time that I have LOTS of info to share and I hope everyone will still be here waiting on my return. I shouldn't be MIA for very long but sometimes you just can't be too sure!

But my time is running low at the moment so I have to go.

I have things scheduled so it won't be 100% quiet so hang in there, I'll return for good VERY SOON!!

#ChallengeToWrite -- What does your family mean to you…

#ChallengeToWrite

What does your family mean to you…

I believe I was the only one ready for this photo! lol

To me, Family means many different things. My friends have become a big part of my family and for some part... taken the place of a few family members.

The most important people in my life are my daughters, they are my true family and I wouldn't trade them in for the world. Those girls and my fiance are my family!

When it comes to everyone else..... It can get touch sometimes.
I don't talk to anyone in my family. I just happen to be the outcast on my dad's side of the family and "someone who doesn't come around often" to my mom's side.

My parents have been divorced for as long as I can remember and I do know that after my mama and daddy divorced... It was never the same when it came to my grandparents... On both sides.

Child Support, Fighting, Accusing, It all pushed me away from my father's side of the family.

My mama's side of the family LOVED my daddy and they talk to him WAY more than I do. He seems to call my mamaw and daddy-paw often.... I haven't talked to him in months.

I was super close to my mom's side of the family until we all started having kids.
I got pregnant..... 1 month later my mamas sister did too.... A couple months later, my other aunt got pregnant also.
3 Pregnant girls, in the same family, all having girls.
That would bring a family together right?
No.
We were all doing great until the babies came and I ended up having another daughter just 11 months after my first. I guess I had to many kids to hang out with and now that they are 5 and 6... We are the outcasts once again.

Most days, I'm okay with it. My daughters are all I need to keep me happy. My friends have helped out alot by filling in the holes of not having a close family can leave but I still have my days where it bothers me when I see everyone else hanging out and I wasn't invited. It's not so much that I wasn't invited.... My daughters wasn't invited. 

No I don't drive so I can't go visit people like I wish I could but that doesn't mean that I don't want to see my family. I love my family, no matter how dysfunctional we are. We have many problems and there is alot of stuff that I don't know about, but Life goes on.

My little family at home is doing great and though if I was able... I may of changed a few things about my past but then I wouldn't be the woman I am today.

Life may be hard but with the family I do have with me.... We got this!

Our New Car

Saturday morning, my family woke up at 7am and took a trip to Hudson, NC. My fiance is from the Hudson, Hickory, Lenior area. (I know that’s 3 towns but it‘ll about the same area to me) Alan had to work last night so we had to start out trip early… My girls were not real happy. I can’t say that I was either, I’ve never been a morning person.

Why did we drive to Hudson from Asheville if we couldn't stay all day?

To get a new car!!

Last Summer, Alan wrecked our car on his way to work and we haven’t been able to get it fixed since it happened. It got banged up pretty bad but it was still driveable. He hit a truck that was carrying Oxygen Tanks and if Alan’s car would of hit just a few inches further back then where he hit, the driver said that the truck would of tipped over and they would of blown up! It’s scary to think about! I’m extremely happy that Alan made it back home safe and the only that that was broken was the car.

- Back to the story -

We haven’t been able to find the parts to get our broken car fixed and inspection is creeping up on us. Since the car original belonged to Alan’s grandfather, he decided to get us a new car. Not because he wanted to help Alan and I out but because he wanted to help our daughters out. He said that the girls are little and they need to be drove around in a safe and legal car. Alan’s family may not of liked me too much when we first got together (that‘s a whole different story on it‘s own) but after 9 years, they like me now and I have to say that Alan has a pretty great family!

When Alan’s grandfather took him to get the car, we wasn't sure what kind of car it was. All Alan’s step-dad would tell us was that it was a rice burner lol All we could take from that was that our new car was going to be an import (Not made in America).

The girls and I stayed at Grannies when Alan left to go get his new car. He returned back about an hour later in a burgundy Honda Civic! It’s awesome! Good on gas, Small, and looks nice! We are VERY happy with our new car! Alan has wanted a Honda for years and he finally has one! Yay! Our girls are even happy about the new car. Loran kissed the old one Good-Bye and told it that she would miss it… She about cried, it was so sweet!

The only thing is that the Honda didn't have a lot of horsepower going up Black Mountain but it rides very smoothly and IT HAS A SUN ROOF!!!!!

BIG BONUS!

Have you bought a new car lately or planning on buying one soon?

The Beautiful Story of Why My Dear Friend Joined Thirty-One!

Photo From The Bethany Buckner Coy Hodgkin's Lymphoma Benefit Page

One of my close friends from High-school, Bethany Buckner Coy, has had a tough past couple years and has stayed strong through it all! She is an inspiration to me and I'm blessed to have such a wonderful friend in my life.

After high school, I lost contact with most of my friends. I ran back into them little by little and we would hang out for a few months and then go back to not seeing each other often again but we always stay intouch. Year after year, I run into more and more of my high school friends and each time I get a warm feeling in my heart. When we all lost contact after school, we also lost phone numbers and all contact information. This was all before Facebook came along. I've found lots of old friends on facebook but seeing them in person makes you feel alot better.

Ever since I ran back into Bethany, my life has been alittle bit brighter! We've only hung out a couple times  in the past year but we've talked many times and I know she knows that I care.

She sales Thirty-One and has a BEAUTIFUL story on how she came about being a Thirty-One Rep.

Knowing how special of a woman Bethany is, I wanted to share her story with you. She happily agreed and wrote up alittle bit of how she found Thirty-One!

(Grab a tissue... You may need it! I know I did!)

"Why" I joined thirty-one!

Written By Beth Buckner Coy

"I tell everybody that thirty one found me at a time when I needed it the most. I am a ten month employee (I work at a school) and I was looking for a part time job for the summer that would give me the extra money to do some fun stuff with my three year old daughter, stuff we normally wouldn't get to do.

I went to a thirty one party about a year before and I fell in love with their products and prints. I knew I wanted to have a party but we just moved into a house and I wanted to get it "company ready" before I hosted a party. When the time came I was more than excited but the day before I was set to have my party I had a miscarriage. As heartbroken as I was and still am I decided to still have my party. My way of dealing was to act like it didn't happen. The day of my party I had a great turn out tons of family and friends came. I was over joyed by that I had to excuse myself at one point to go cry. My consultant, who is now my director, was so sweet and talked to me about her experience in losing a child. There, that night I told my husband I received a blessing. So we prayed about me joining thirty one. A week later we were at church and the pastor was talking about proverbs 31. (which is where thirty one got its name) I turned to my husband and said I guess this is what I needed to be doing.
So the next day I signed up.

The first 4 months were great! I was top in sales, I was meeting alot of great women and I was getting to spend the summer with my daughter making memories.

Then again my world changed. I had 2 back to back surgeries, a month apart from each other, where in both... I almost died.

Then I found out I had cancer.

Photo From
The Bethany Buckner Coy Hodgkin's Lymphoma Benefit Page

Here I was 27, only been married for 5 years, I had a 3 year old! So I had to stay true to my "why" my family!

I put everything on hold and stop doing thirty one, to focus on them and my treatments. One thing that has given me great comfort is that if anything happened to me, my daughter had one great summer with me.

Thanks to thirty one!

It's been 6 months and I am finishing up with my treatments and I think I'm ready!

Ready to start my life back and share my story in hopes it might be a blessing to someone else.

I am excited to see what's in store."

Find me at www.mythirtyone.com/bethanycoy

As you can tell from the story above, Bethany Buckner Coy is one special lady! I have been here with Bethany through her struggle with Cancer and I am so amazed at how well she has taken everything and how strong she has been able to be. Of course she has her bad days and the best are the good days, But everyone has those! The support system that has been formed for Bethany Buckner Coy is more than anyone could of imagined!
The Love is shown in many ways and it makes me smile to know that my dear friend is near the end of her battle and is going to be STRONGER THAN EVER!

Cancer has always scared me, as my regular followers will know from my Daddy-Paw post, But Bethany has helped me so much just by staying strong and positive through her entire battle with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. She has inspired me to be  stronger woman myself and to spend more time with my family because you never know when something can happen.

I hope you enjoyed reading my friends story and I hope she inspires you to do something awesome with your life and to FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS!

If you would like to check out her website and look around Click HERE

Thirty-One only ships to the US and Military APO/FPO addresses that are out of the US.

I am willing to get things shipped to my house and ship them myself to you if you  live in an area that Thirty-One will not ship to but YOU will need to pay all the shipping including the shipping it will take me to ship it to you.

I don't know shipping prices (I'll have to look into it) It won't be very cheap :(

Bethany is in the process of making a Facebook Page for her Thirty-One Business and when she gets it get up I will link this post to it aswell as any other post I have up about Bethany or Thirty-One. But she will gladly answer any questions you may have for her. You can leave your questions under this post as a comment or you can find her personal page (Bethany Buckner Coy) on Facebook and send her a Direct Message. Know that if you send her a message on Facebook, it may be a few days before she responds due to it going to her Other Folder and not Alerting her of a new message.


I was not paid in any way for this post, I wrote this on my own other than the story from my close friend, Bethany Buckner Coy. I did not write this for the reason of everyone buying Thirty-One from Bethany, I wanted to tell everybody about how I have an awesome friend who is such a strong woman. I want her to KNOW that she is Important and Special.
If you would like to order from Bethany then that would be wonderful but that's not the whole point of this post.
(I just want everyone to know what my intentions were when I wrote this post)

This blog may contain affiliate links.