About Me

My youngest son Jonas

    In my last post I said I would write a more personal post about myself, so everyone could get to know me a bit.  So the basics first; I am 32 years old, although I often joke that I decided to stop aging at 22.  (my youngest son actually thinks I'm 22, we all think it's too cute to correct.)  I've been married to my husband Shaun for almost 11 years and we have three boys.  Royal is the oldest, he is 12, Gage is my middle guy, he is 9, and Jonas, or Jo Jo as everyone calls him is 4.  We live in a small mountain town in California, the town that Shaun and I met in at 16 when I moved here from Washington.

Gage and Me 

 
 I was raised as a Navy kid so I have lived in a few different places; California, Massachusetts, Virginia, Washington and Arizona.  I love that I was raised in the military, I was always very proud of my Dad, and I loved the new adventures we would undertake as a family every two to three years when we would move again.  Don't get me wrong I wasn't happy once I grew older...I thought my parents were simply trying to ruin my life, but when I was really young I liked it and now I wouldn't change a thing about my childhood.

My husband Shaun and my eldest son Royal

My doggy-Miss HoneyBee

    I am a big believer in learning from your past and using it to grow as a person and help others.  For this reason I am very forward with others about my past.  I am a recovering drug addict.  I have been clean since 1999 and thank God that he had a plan for my life and that with his help I have been able to move beyond my past and stay clean for such a significant amount of time.

Gage and Jonas in our front yard

    I am also Bipolar, which is something that I will always have to deal with but have found that if I am making good, healthy choices in my life and am keeping the lines of communication open with God then I'm generally pretty good.  I still get manic at times and depressed at times but I have grown to know my body and am aware when I am too far in one direction.  Simply being aware of the issue really makes a huge difference for me personally.  I get panic attacks quite often but I have found that if I stop, slow my breathing and pray, they go away quickly.

    It took me a long time to get to this point.  In my early 20's I couldn't drive on the freeway, eat in a restaurant, go to the movies, grocery shop, etc.  I had a big problem with feel trapped and needing to escape.  I slowly forced myself to take small steps to feel comfortable in those situations and now I am fine in almost every situation.  When I start to feel panic creeping in, I remind myself that the situation isn't really dangerous and that I am strong, with God on my side and then I make myself stay in the situation.

Shaun and I at Nelder Grove

Me and Shaun in Glamis

   
    Maybe hearing a bit of my story will help someone who is going through an issue I have already been through.  If this is the case fell free to contact me, if you'd like.  Often times talking with someone who understands where you are, or just knowing they've been through it and are now happy and healthy, helps you to simply feel normal.  Which let's face it, we all just want to feel "normal".  If you have anything to add or would like to share a bit of your story please comment!

Daily Inspiration:"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."                                                                                Leo Buscaglia

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