We Are On YouTube! (November 27, 2017)

Well, due to the general busyness of our everyday lives here in our household, we have now taken the step to putting ourselves on YouTube.
Yeah, I know...Putting our lives in real-time video is going to be interesting to say the least!

Some of the videos may be a tad boring, or not your 'speed', but I thought that this would also be a way for my brothers and sister to be able to catch a glimpse of our lives.
So, to Michael, Mark, Matt, Jon, Nathan, Jeremy, and Julia; it's ok if you feel uncomfortable emailing/contacting me, this is now a way for you guys to be able to see your nieces and nephew as well as myself and my man James.

And not to worry, I will still try and blog every now and again but doing a Vlog is proving to be much simpler and quick. Because as I'm sure you all have already guessed, I tend to write LONG blog posts which takes up a large part of my day.

Thank you all for your continued prayers for our family, we have experienced some pretty big changes in our living situation but we know that God is still in control and He has ALWAYS kept us in His hands.

So here's to our YouTube Vlogging endeavor, boring or not, here we come!

* Friend Family * is our YouTube Channel

Check out the link to the left of my page

Have a beautiful November day!

January 22, 2017

The GoFundMe page that we put together has been a total disappointment.

We bare our hearts and our total financial issues for all the world to see, but I was still called a 'fraud', 'liar', and pretty much anything else you can think of.

I've even had friends verbally attacked for simply sharing the GoFundMe on social media! One person who I used to consider a friend, warned others publicly (in writing which I have copy of) to be careful when they are “only getting one half of the story.” And yet, this woman herself has NEVER spoken to me regarding our situation.

I'm sorry, but there are certain details as to why we were in such crisis that I am unable to legally write on a public site. If anyone were to need to know said details, I could and would be willing to share them privately. And no, not one person has come to me to ask.

But enough of that, now the GOOD NEWS!!

I want to thank all of our friends and family for their thoughts and prayers during the last 14 months, they are working!

God has answered many of our prayers in the form of a complete stranger. We have now been able to purchase a little 1997 car for me to drive the kids to and from school in town those 4 days a week, we've parked the van and once James is able to fix the issues it has we will be selling it and replacing James' car as well.

We have also been able to pay off a huge amount of debt thanks to God's miracle worker.

On top of his already busy full time job, James has been able to obtain a second full time source of employment. This has actually worked out quite well for us as he is able to sleep at the drop of a hat(unlike me who needs hours just to wind down) and is always guaranteed to have time to sleep versus myself who has to be available for the kids when sick, no school, and whenever Dexter doesn't nap! (which tends to happen every once in a while)

Due to all of the above, I will be removing the GoFundMe page.

Thank you again to all those that have and continue to keep us in your prayers, your prayers have helped us beyond what we could have ever imagined. It has given us the extra boost and encouragement that we so desperately needed.

Our battle is far from over but we are now able to place more of our focus on the children without the added financial burden.

Thank you to God's Angel, may He bless you for all that you've done for our family.

Asking For Your Help

Dear Friends,

Again it has been a long while since I last wrote in my blog. The last 12 months have been stressful beyond words for our family.

I know as a Christian that God will provide all our needs, but I also know that God gives us the education and wisdom to be able to ask for help from those around us if we need it.

I am one who believes that everything happens for a reason,
I believe that there are always consequences to our actions be they good or bad.
I also believe that we are often chosen to suffer the consequences of someone else's decisions.

When I have my daily devotions, I've frequently thought about writing to you all on here, but then I think to myself, " But my blog is called 'My Life Unchained'....My life sure doesn't feel 'unchained' 100% of the time."

But that's the thing...Being unchained doesn't mean your life is going to be perfect! YES!! I needed to tell myself that! LOL

Someone I know once said, "This is heaven for those who are unsaved, but this is going to be as close to hell as a Christian will ever get."

As a Christian mom, I needed to take a step back and come to grips with the fact that I have never been promised an easy or even good life, that I will no longer be able to protect my children the way I used to.
When my daughters are away from me, I need to fully trust God to take care of them and release myself of the fear and anxieties that can creep in during those times.

Something else I am being forced to come to grips with, is the fact that during the last 12 months our finances have taken a few massive hits and unless we ask for help we will not be able to dig out.

I'm not used to not being able to pinch pennies here, eat less there, drive less during the week, and so on. What has happened is beyond our control and now that I have my 1 year old son to also care for, that makes fewer corners that we are able to cut.

James and I are working when we can but are not able to cover any extra expenses beyond the necessary.
We are choosing to expose our financial debt list to show that we aren't just asking for money to play around, things are at a serious level and need to be dealt with.
James and I have opened a GoFundMe account and in it we tell you exactly how much money we owe and what it is.
We are not asking for constant support, simply help to get caught up so that we can maintain our family.

I am including a link to our GoFundMe account below...I'm also going to try and see if I can put a button on the blog as well.

And please, don't think that you have to give. We still need prayer as our vehicles are falling apart but still running and getting us from point A to point B and we are extremely thankful for that. Also, other than the odd sniffle and tummy bug, we are all healthy. We still have food on our table and are still employed!

I'm going to try (again) to get back into writing on here...It may only be a recipe that I've tried that my family loves or simply what has all happened that particular day, but I'll do my best.

Thank you all again for putting up with me, you are awesome!


https://www.gofundme.com/friendfamilyhelp





**Comments have been deactivated on my blog and will continue that way as some that are being sent in are quite vulgar and have no place here.**