My “Give back” sessions are “GIVE BACKS” and aren’t limited to one specific thing. I have recieved so many requests and nominations. I am trying to respond to everyone and give all the nominations a chance for a FREE session. I am passionate about Giving to others and also highlighting Joy in the mist of the Storms or Joy after the Storms. In life we all have struggles some we bring upon ourselves and some we choose but most of them we don’t have a choice. It’s in those life changing situations where we can make a choice to embrace it raw emotions and all and find joy in life regaurdless the outcome. So I will continue to highlight peoples life stories to help others see that Joy is possible and life is beautiful even in the moments that are almost unbearable.
I met Stephanie last week for the first time and all I can say is “Strong Woman.” She has been though so much! I see that she puts her kids first and that she works so hard to provide a stable and fun life for her kids. It is so cool to see this new young family come together. The kids are hilarious and wild! They love to tease each other and also tease their mom and dad! I hope I captured your family just right so that years later you can look back and remember this time in your life. I wish you many years of happiness!
Stephanie’s Story:
I met the father of my three children in high school. By November of my senior year we found out we were going to be teenaged parents. Though we were unsure of everything, we knew we were keeping the baby. Our son, Joey was born in mid-August, just after high school graduation. Just nine days after I turned 18, I was a new mother and a newly married woman. In all my wildest dreams growing up I never thought I would skip college or that I would become a statistic. No, I was going to study and work hard to make a difference in the world! Instead, my husband and I began working to provide for our new family. We moved into our first apartment and I started working in the Dementia care industry after three long months of working nights and going to school during the day; while trying to keep up with my very active toddler, I completed my course load and became a CNA and started working for a local registry. A majority of my work kept me away from the house for 16 hours at a time. It was a really stressful period in my life, but with the wonderful support from my friends and family, we were able to get through it. By early 2001, I became pregnant with my second child, Emily. After she was born we decided to relocate to Washington in January 2003 to be close to his family. Shortly after we moved we discovered we were expecting our third. Joe was going to school for pharmacy technician and I was working as much as possible to keep us a float. After Bianca was born it only took a few months to realize we needed to be in California. At this point I was working all the time to make enough money for us to barely survive. In 2005, we had decided to make a really big move. One that we thought would better our lives. We packed up the kids and drove to begin our new adventure in Montana. Far from everything and everyone that we knew and loved. We found a new house to rent in a small town in Park City Montana. I was working at an Assisted Living facility as their Memory Care manager. After giving it a full year in Montana, we realized how much we missed our families. So, we left and came back to California. At this point it was pretty clear California is our home. After returning home I got a job as a Manager in a Memory Care, I was very involved in assisting families with coping with their loss. Not just the physical loss but, the loss of the person they’ve known and loved. Supporting families through their time of need became very validating. I started conducting a monthly support group for caregivers of dementia patients and volunteering with the Alzheimer’s association.
In February 2009, I got a call that changed our lives forever. I had just finished work when I got the call. The voice on the other end said “there’s been an accident. Joe wasn’t breathing”. The driver that caused the accident was under the influence. After 3 days in the hospital, he was gone. Trying to be strong for our three kids and to have the right answers to their questions was challenging. As the weeks carried on, the kids and I moved to a house closer to their school. Within a few weeks it seemed that everyone stopped calling and checking on us and things got as normal as they could. It seemed we had court every month. Making it difficult to move on. After court was finally done and the sentencing over we were ready to rebuild our lives.
By 2010 I had met someone new. Someone that also had three kids (one boy followed by two girls!). He only lived a mile away. As we got to know each better, we realized that there were plenty of other similarities. Our boys were enrolled in the same second grade class together! And, as it turned out we both had a daughter named Emily. After dating for quite some time we decided to introduce the kids to each other and from that moment on, our lives changed. In November 2010, we moved in together. The kids and I moved into Eric’s house with him and his three kids Cameron, Autumn and Emilee. Amazingly enough all of the kids got along and it seemed everything was going to be ok. Our lives and families blended quite well. In September 2012 Eric finally popped the question. We are planning to get married in April 2014. Now, managing a household with six kids was not “easy” (If one more person brings up the Brady Bunch comparison, they need to provide us with an Alice!), but our love for each other has really helped us to find a way to make this work. In Eric I found everything I wanted. I found not just a partner, but a best friend. Someone to share the responsibilities of the household, the children and the finances, but also makes me laugh and remembers to hold my hand. I had been doing it for so long alone that I didn’t know what it was like to have help. I feel incredibly blessed to be a part of this energetic and loving household. Yes, we are the modern day Brady bunch (minus Alice, of course). The kids are all happy and well-adjusted and I have never been happier.
