Mommyof5 wrote: ↑Sat May 13, 2023 10:32 am
Good Morning!
Nice meeting everyone!!
I guess I can't really consider myself a NEWBIE here, even though I have few posts. I joined in 2020 with NSD.
And. like many of you, I was quite active in the industry way back when it was popular.
However, I began scrapbooking in 1997 when I had my first child. I started out with Creative Memories and I loved it so much that I became a consultant. I had quite a large client base, I taught classes, held regular crops, annual retreats, etc. That eventually evolved into my designing for kit clubs, then smaller Manufacturers, then the big ones. By 2012, I had built quite a following, had designed or guest designed for all of the popular ones, as well as many others, and I was living the live of a scrapbooking-stay at home Mom. I did this for almost 2 decades, raising 5 kids, owning my own Specialty cake shop (yes, like Duff) and I was happy. Then, in 2012 my husband (at the time) was laid off from work and we struggled a bit. I started working part time at a Tax service, then in June 2013, I was offered a position with my county. The day after I accepted the job, my husband left the house for work (it was a Friday) and called me within 20 minutes,,,still driving in to work. He said he was he was glad that I had gotten that Job, because he was leaving me and I needed to get a few thing in order and put into my name. It was a blow, but I was able to get through it.That weekend was his birthday, and he left. I literally became a Single Mom raising 5 kids OVER NIGHT. I was determined to shield my kids from that impact as much as I could, so I maintained as much normalcy in the house as possible...including my scrapbooking and design teams. June of 2014 our divorce was final.
July of 2015, i was laid off from the job I had, and I was terrified... I was still a single Mom raising 5 kids, with very little help from their Dad. I was not scrapbooking as much, but still did on occasion...when we went to the park on a picnic etc. I was determined not to let the kids to feel the impact of my struggles.
On January 9th, 2016, my whole world shattered. My oldest son was killed in a hit and run accident on his way to work. Five days later, on January 14th, I buried him on what should have been his 19th birthday. I was devastated and a complete mess. I was down on my knees begging God to stop throwing these boulders at me...as I literally could not take it anymore. He had taken EVERYTHING from me, and my life as I knew it no longer existed.
All I had left were my 4 kids, and I had to figure out how to get us through this. I was a single Mom, raising 4 kids who had just lost their family in a divorce, then their brother himself shortly after. I was literally ALONE, and I needed to figure out what life was going to look like for us going forward. At some point that year, my scrapbook supplies went up into the attic and were forgotten. We lived in a hazy fog for many many months. As if loosing their brother wasn't enough, their Dad bailed, too. He moved in with his girlfriend and didn't have anything to do with our kids until November of 2019. God had put me in a place that there was no way but up. I was down on my knees, begging Him for mercy, praying for guidance, and HOPING TO GOD that the choices I was making were good. I was all my kids had left, and EVERYTHING was on my shoulders. Literally. I did not go out with friends, I did not go "party" like many "free and single Moms" would do. If I wasn't at work, I was spending every moment focusing on my kids and their well being. My youngest daughter once told me that they didn't just loose their brother, they lost their dad too. And my heart broke for my kids. I was determined to absorb as much of the pain and impact of these life changes for them as I could. I shielded them as much as possible and maintained as much normalcy as I could. We continued having dinner at the table, we did everything together, and every moment of my life revolved around my kids.
Despite all of the boulders that God threw at me, I did not turn to drugs or alcohol, and I did not give up on myself or my kids. I also did nothing at all for myself...it was truly all for them. I guess I did something right, because all 5 of my kids graduated in the top 15% of their classes...my youngest graduates in 2 weeks.
Not one of my kids dropped out, not one turned to drugs, alcohol, or any other means of suppressing the pain. We all healed together. The 5 of us...I was Mom, I was Dad, I was the money maker and bill payer, I was grief Counselor and teacher, I was the rule maker and enforcer, I was the friend and confidant, I was the the villian, and, somehow, I was also the Hero.
In 2019, we had all finally found some peace, two of my kids had graduated and 2 left to go...and I was able to finally relax and start doing something for myself. I met an amazing man that asked me to be his wife, and in August of 2021 , I did just that. In 2020, I took my scrapbooking supplies out of my attic, and I joined this site, and participated in NSD for the first time in 7 years. I struggled at first, as EVERY single layout took forever for me to complete, because I cried and cried and cried ...and I was trying to work...but I couldn't see through the tears. I pushed through and didn't give up. I finised maybe 5 projects that year?? i can't remember. But THIS SITE, and THESE LADIES, and THESE challenges are what brought back my mojo and love for scrapbooking. They helped when they didn't even know they were helping. I didn't comment much, but I read. I read a lot and learned alot obout all the beautiful people here. I joined in occasionally when I could, but I ALWAYS snuck in and read, and did the challenges, even if I didn't put them into the gallery. that first year was a struggle...but this site helped me. Then, in 2022, I spent the week of my son's death at a beach house...doing nothing but scrapbooking. That is when I let the healing process really work, and that is when I got back into the industry...that is when I decided I had found this part of my life again. THIS SITE helped me more than any one of these ladies will ever know.
VERY long winded hello...
But Hello, My name is Misty and I am addicted to scrapbooking. (AGAIN)
I really appreciate it! 
