Let's see...
I was raised in a church (denomination to be unnamed to not speak badly of it). My mom is a strong Christian, as is my grandparents and most of our family. We went to church every Sunday and attended different events, helped out etc. My parents were divorced when I was 7 and my mom remarried when I was 10. Unknown to her, he was a child molester and I was abused for 5 years. I never said anything because I thought my mom was finally happy and had met the man of her dreams. A friend of the family's daughter finally came forward and said that she had been molested, and then the ball started to roll. I was a sophomore in high school when we started dealing with police and courts and all of that fun stuff. I became very very depressed and was on and off a various number of anti-depressants. My mom and I were shunned to a degree from the community we lived in as this man was a "highly respected member of the community" and why couldn't we just keep our mouths shut...
I made a lot of wrong choices in high school and a few years after, took the wrong path many many times. I was engaged to a guy who was in the Navy and had actually packed up to move there and get married. My mom followed and just suggested that we wait and that I fly back to the states get some $ saved then go from there. She would even buy my ticket home, although she wouldn't send me home, I would go to Colorado to live with my great grandma. Well, I did that and less than a month later we broke up.
I met Greg around that same time and we were really good friends for a while. We finally state dating in January 2005. I knew he had a very strong faith, and I had always thought I was a Christian even if I had wandered. I cleaned up my life to be better for Greg. We became engaged that next winter, and were married August 5, 2006.
It was around the time of the Amish school shooting and VT shooting that I was so terrified to bring a baby into this world. I was so scared for my little baby! Well, Greg talked to me about how I just have to give my baby to God and trust Him to take care of everything. I realized then that I needed to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Not just go to church, read the bible, etc. That I needed to open my heart and let Him in! Through Jesus I was able to forgive the man who had taken so much of my innocence away. And I was even given the opportunity to have a letter read (that I wrote to him) at a hearing for his parole or something. Child molestation is something that most people don't talk about and just sho under the rug. I lost a dear friend who was molested. He ended up killing his girlfriend and then himself. It is such a tragic loss, and now his offender is free to do pretty much as he pleases. My friends mother read my letter in court and I am so thankful for her and all she has done for me and my family! I love you Suzzi! [I recently was reunited with the head detective in our case~ he leads the worship at our new church! AMAZING how God works!]
{Jacob Nathaniel} was born March 31, 2007 and is such a blessing to us. We were looking for a house to buy while we were expecting, since we lived in a tiny 1 room house. We found the one we wanted, put an offer in and it was rejected. Two months later we put another offer in on it, about $20,000 lower than our original offer and it was accepted within 30 minutes! We ended up signing the papers for the house in the hospital, right after my epidural the night before Jacob was born! Talk about God's timing!!!Greg's job required that he travel full time. Well, I stayed at home in CO for a month and half alone with a 3 month old and was tired of being a single stay at home mom, so I packed our car (full to the brim, dog and all!) and took off for Wisconsin. We traveled with Greg as a family living in hotels for about a year. We bought a truck and 5th wheel camper while down in El Paso, TX. Our camper was 32 ft long, two bedrooms, two toilets, couch and table with little kitchen. But it was so much better than the hotels! It was home, Jacob had his own room and I could bring a lot more stuff! :) We lived in that for about 1 year until Oct 2009 when Greg got laid off. We were no where near ready for that! We moved into my grandparents house in Wyoming and stayed there for 3 months while looking for a new job. It was very good for Greg to have some down time, he was working 70+ hrs a week and never really took vacations. He got an offer to move to New Hampshire and be home every night, and work more in the office part of the steel industry. When people ask what took us to the east coast, the only thing I can think of is God. It was an amazing move for our family, although the $ side of it all was horrible, as a family and especially as a couple we really flourished! We were challenged by our church, Dover Baptist Church, to really grow and depend on God.
Well we had {Chloe Del} on August 14, 2010 in Portland, ME. She is our princess!!!! She is growing into herself and is ALL girl! Chloe loves anything pink, sparkly, and girly. We are so blessed because of her and love watching her grow.Greg was fired in July of 2011. We had been praying about what God wanted us to do next and we really felt like we needed to make a change, however when God calls and you don't move, sometimes He makes you move! And so we moved to Washington where I grew up {literally in my mom's house~she moved out to the cottage next door and we moved in!}
We welcomed our little prince, {Isaac Richard} into our family on December 5, 2011. He is perfect! Loved by his big brother and sister, he is really an amazement to us!
We are establishing our little farm here, with chickens, goats, pigs and cows along with a huge garden, fruit trees and berries, and lots of work! During this time we are also growing in our knowledge of who God is and what His plans are for us. We are trying to follow the mandate of spreading the gospel to those around us.
With that we have found a new church home, Sunrise Baptist, and are really loving our new family! God has so blessed us with great church families to push us and encourage us.
Thank you for reading my testimony and life story! I will really work on keeping it updated as our life changes!
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