Good morning my scrappy friends all over the place!
Yesterday baseball began in the Hobbs home...and what a night it was!
Fun for the whole family and it is so interesting and exciting to watch
these boys grow into young men who make me so proud.
Today I have a personal layout to share with you,

as always my life is pretty much no holds barred because I genuinely believe
if I share my story and life with others, then maybe it will help someone
who has been abused or maybe just give courage to one person to speak out.

This is that kind of layout for me. It is about 8 years ago, I was pregnant
with my first son and I knew my life must change, I was a wreck.
Insomnia, anxiety, hated myself, and in pain daily.
I needed to change in order to be a good mother.

I knew why I was a mess, I just did not know how to fix it, so this is what I did.
I started writing, and I wrote..and I wrote...and I cried...and I cried
some more...and I wrote and wrote and wrote. I forced myself to sit down
and write it all out. Everything from the abuse, to how it made me feel
...I even wrote how I wanted to die as a child because
of the unbearable pain of the abuse.

I took it all and I put it in the form of a small biography and my husband helped
me to make 100 copies and I gave it to every person I knew.
I decided that I was done with being ashamed, done with hiding abuse,
done with feeling like a victim. I was DONE with the lies.

Yes it was extreme but it FREED me. Not a little bit, no it FREED ME!
It freed me from the hold that the abusers had over me and the shame I felt.
It was the scariest thing I have ever done in my life, I lost some friends
but I gained respect, respect from my friends and respect for myself.
Here I sit almost 9 years later and not one regret.
I have had maybe 150 to 200 woman in these 8 years come
to me and tell me that they appreciated me being so open an it
does help them to feel like they are not alone anymore.
That is why I am to this day so impassioned about being open
about real life and abuse because it is real. It's horrible and it's hard to
talk about and hear about but it happens every day.
This is why I scrap everything, even the hard stuff. Because it is me
I am not perfect, I am a survivor and I am proud to be alive today. :)
Ok on to fun stuff right?? hehe
Winner of the SPRING FLOWERS!!!

Cool giveaway and glad your boys are doing better. :)
Susie
susies@twcny.rr.com
And drum roll....
Winner of the NEW D-Stress TOOL!!!!

I just love your style and your journaling is always so real!! I LOVE that!! I just became a follower of your blog and I'm so excited to see what new things you have up your sleeves to show us!!
Ladies please email me your address so I can mail these out.
I love my friends from all over the world and
I thank YOU all for stopping by.
You all make my life a better place. I sit down at night
and I read all the amazing comments and I laugh, giggle and
even cry it is amazing and I have you to thank for it!
♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡