Today I thought I would tell the short version of who I am.

My name is Jodie and I was born in 1971 in a small town in New York, far from the city! I am a wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, friend, ordained minister, hooker (not the type your thinking!), certified healer, volunteer worker and an animal lover.

I am not one to ask for help but am the one who usually gives it to others. I like it that way. Being on the other end of it is humbling to say the least. Even talking about myself is not something I enjoy doing, I would rather hear about you and what your up too. But I figured seeing how I have asked for help in reaching my goal to see my youngest daughter graduate from basic training I owed those who have helped me something.

I've been with my husband for 25 years now. I met him when I was 17 and ended up pregnant very quickly. Our second daughter, the one in the army, was born 4 years later. In between the two I had several miscarriages and had given up on having a second child. So to say the least she is my baby. They both are of course but knowing this child will be the last child I bring into this world was special. I also raised my step daughter fully from the age of 9, she was 3 when I started dating her dad.

I worked hard to make sure my girls had what they needed and while they were young both their father and I attend and graduated college. I didn't want to have to depend on a system any more than I needed too. We were young and even though our area doesn't have much to offer, we wanted more for our family.

After graduation we moved to North Carolina, where to much of our surprise there were tons of jobs and they paid well! So I became a stay at home mom. I loved each and every minute of it....ok maybe not each and every minute but being able to stay home with them was truly a blessing. My house was where all the kids came to hang out, eat and have a good time. I loved it because I knew where my kids where and who they were with. Still till this day I have daughters who I call my daughters of another mother! LOL It was truly a blessing.

The kids grew up, moved out and on to better things. My health was getting worse and at one point my own mother was afraid that I was going to die. No doctors could really help. I've been sickly my whole life and my body has built such an immunity to antibiotics that nothing ever seems to help. I am allergic to all pain meds so when I was in such pain all I could do is lay there and cry myself to sleep. It was a horrible time in my life, as well as our families life. My husband was at a loss and even hated going to work because I would have such dizziness and fainting spells he thought for sure he would come home to find me dead.

Then an opportunity came up to move back home, something I swore no matter what, would I ever do. We spoke with the girls, youngest still at home and my oldest and step daughter who were on their own by now. We decided we should do it. My youngest said she didn't care where we lived and just wanted me to be well. She was the one I was the most concerned about because she was still in school. Of course the older ones being on their own presented a upsetting scenario because what if they didn't want to move back to our home town. What would we do. Would we, should we still move if they didn't want to? Luckily my oldest wanted to move back with us!! I was in heaven!! Of course my step daughter decided she didn't and I could understand that but was still heartbroken.

Since moving home I have not only become healthier but I have found so much to do!!! After years of doing nothing but gain weight, I could now go outside!! It was like being released from prison after so many years. It was a whole new life. Shortly after moving home we found out my oldest daughter was pregnant!! What a huge surprise that was for us and her too im sure!!! I was also able to pursue something that I have always wanted to do, study at Lily Dale. For those who are not familiar with Lily Dale its one of the largest spiritual communities in the world. It was there that I was able to become an ordained minister in the Sanctuary of the Beloved and a certified healer. I connected with an old friend who purchased an abandoned church and we have turned it into a non profit art studio for the area. The artist is 19 years old and does amazing work and we are able to help the area children keep art in their lives. We hold events for local charities and even raised over two thousand dollars at one fund raiser! Super job for our little area!!

So that's me in a nutshell! I hope that helps a bit to get to know me better and as to why its so hard for me to ask for help but this means the world to me and my family. So please help me reach my goal to get to see our youngest daughter graduate from basic training. Click on the donate button and even a dollar gets me a dollar close to South Carolina!!!