To the girl with the low confidence.

Girl with the entirely low confidence,

You woke up this morning and walked in to the bathroom to brush your teeth and comb your hair. You looked in the mirror and the bags under your eyes were noticeable. They were dark and you thought to yourself "I hope my concealer covers this up." Your teeth aren't as white as the models in the magazines. Your skin doesn't glow like their skin either. Your hair? Split Ends. Roots. Frizz. Maybe a new color and cut will make it better...but probably not. You're a little bloated and thats just embarrassing, especially because none of your clothes are baggy enough to hide it and lets be honest, you don't even like your clothes. Your nail polish is chipping and there is a pimple forming on your chin. Lips? Chapped and you can't find the chapstick. Go figure. Your eyebrows need plucking too, because thats only slightly painful. Your confidence is out the window and you get that feeling in your stomach like you might vomit or cry, whichever comes first.

Lets be honest though, no one is perfect and your hair is fine. Chapped lips? It happens to everyone. Pimples? Oh, please find one person who has NEVER had a pimple and if someone gives you a hard time about it then their insecurities are far bigger than yours, trust me. Maybe you want to lose a few pounds and thats okay but God gave you that body and it is your job to love it - no matter what shape or size it is. You do not need to be a size 2 or even a size 10 to be considered "pretty". Size is just a number and does not define beauty. Really. Your teeth will never be as white as those models and your skin will never glow like their skin. Why? Because it isn't even real. Photoshop does wonders for a person...unrealistic wonders. You can try every lotion, spray tan, or teeth-whitening product out there and it won't ever be the same. It might be close but it won't be the same. Find something that you are content and comfortable with and stick to it. Make you happy. Forget the nail polish and the eyebrows. It is so much work and no one can paint the other hand perfectly. No one. Those circles under your eyes can be covered up with make-up but who really cares? You're tired and you have been living your life instead of sleeping it away. I mean you live this life once so dark, baggy, circles under your eyes are completely acceptable. Once again, it happens to everybody.

We, as people, have created this image of the "perfect person" and while some of us have strayed from that, several of us have not. Throw the magazines out if you are going to compare yourself. Forget the polished girls on television if you don't see your own beauty. You are beautiful just as you are. I promise. Do not fall in to this hype of the perfect girl - do not. Looks do not define beauty. Makeup does not necessarily make a person beautiful. Does it help your self confidence? It might and thats okay but do not feel like you are not worthy without it. Do not feel disgusted without it. Do not feel like hiding indoors without it. The only person who looks like you...is you. Share that with the world and own it because you are beautiful.

Sincerely,
the girl who use to have the entirely low confidence

Legacy of love.

Two weeks a go my family suffered an awful loss. My sweet great grandmother, Martha Mae Palmer, went to be with Jesus and so many others that we have lost. She went home. My life has been turned upside down and I find myself missing her more and more as the days pass, but I find comfort in knowing that she is no longer hurting and has made it home, because in the end we all will have our day.

Among this heartache I experienced something so beautiful and Jesus filled. Something that had been right in front of my face for far too long, yet I had never seen its beauty before the pain came rushing in. I remember getting the call the night it happened. I remember my body going limp in the kitchen and just crying. I remember Toby telling me to just get ready and we would leave, we would go be with her in her final moments. Moments, I never wanted to have, because the thought of losing her was something I never wanted to endure. None of us wanted to ever believe it was true. 

My Grandma Mae played a large role in raising me and I am more than thankful for that. She always made me drink my milk before bad and read to her every day after school. She laid my clothes out on the old grey recliner that was retired years ago and always made me something special for breakfast. After school there was always an apple on the table waiting for me. As I got older and had my own children things changed. Instead of apples she was baking Lemon-Apricot Cake and always telling Papa to save me a piece or two because it was my absolute favorite. When things were hard she would pray with me, over the phone or in person. She was so filled with Jesus and it always showed.  She loved my babies just as much as she loved me and I am so thankful they had the chance to know her, to even be in her presence. 

Most importantly my Grandma Mae and my Papa Doc loved each other in ways I have never seen love. Not many people meet on a Greyhound bus and experience love at first sight. Several months a go, my husband and I asked them to tell us how they met, because T had never heard the story before.   Through out the story at some point Grandma said "Well, I was sitting down on the bus ready to go to college and he walked on the bus with a cigarette behind his ear and tattoos. I just knew my Mama would tell me no, but I just fell in love with him and I guess she did too because we lived happily ever after." We just laughed and then Papa went on to talk about how ornery he use to be. The best part about it all was just how happy they were. It's like they had just fallen in love all over again, for the very first time. In that moment I knew that love existed with so much more force than I had ever imagined. My grandparents were married for 68 wonderful years and love never left or subsided, it only grew. I've always wondered if people grow old and just become "comfortable" and if love dwindles, but that day I found out it doesn't have to. I am still young and my love for T grows more and more every day in life's twists and turns. I can only hope that one day we share a love like they did. A legacy of love. That's what we will call it. How lucky I was to see such beauty in such pain in these last few weeks. I have been reminded of that day they shared their story with us, that love, and of all the moments that I now hold on to.

Love is so worth it y'all. I am so lucky to have been loved by her.

Don't hate your Monday: Join Plexus!

If you follow me on Facebook then you know I am overly excited all the time from the things that Plexus continues to do for me, my family, and thousands of other people. You know I have a passion for my job and you know that I am not one of those people who dreads Monday! Why not?

1. I work from home and make my own hours. So - if they boys want to go to the library, sleep in late, or go see family for lunch, we can do that! We don't have anything stopping us and better yet...I actually get to enjoy summer with them, every single day.
2. Monday just means I don't have to visit Wal-Mart to grab groceries for 6 more days! Woo ;)
3. Monday doesn't define its self as a day of dread, it is just another day in our books - until school starts. Then it is just another busy day in our books filled with school activities.

With Plexus lots of things are possible. I mean we have one of the best compensation plans around and I get to spend tons of time with my babies. There is nothing more perfect in this world than knowing I don't have to drop them off at daycare to go sit behind a desk and make someone else's dream come true. So, I don't dread Mondays because of the path I chose. Network marketing might be scary to some of you or even all of you but it doesn't have to be. It is a better way. 

So, don't dread your Mondays and give Plexus a go!

Don't know what Plexus is? I attached a few videos below of our products and our compensation plan. Maybe, tomorrow we will do a little Plexus 101! Send in your questions. 

Happy Monday!

Product Overview:

Compensation Plan: