Brave Heart, Brave Soul. She who is brave is free.

“The body remembers. Stuffed until an event, a sound, a sight, a touch, a word or a person awaken them.” ~ Unknown   The tale I'm about to tell you is dark, suppressed underneath the depths of one little girl's soul for decades....an account almost too disturbing to tell. At first the darkness gave me no choice. The truth screamed to be heard but today I hold the pen in my own hand as her cries for help no longer fall on deaf ears. The truth inside me has surfaced, forming into words. See, she no longer begs, she demands her story to be told. And after all this time, what I know to be true is this...sometimes we have to take the first step, say the words out loud and let them fall where they will. And so, with courage and bravery today, I’ll not only confront but pen an open letter to the thief who stole her young stainless heart so long ago.    There’s no question my story is dark. The tale I have to tell you is one of betrayal and brutality. It’s dastar...

“Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision.” ~ Winston S. Churchill Life is full of ‘wait a minute vines’ as my daddy has always said. All you have to do is walk outside to learn this lesson. Just take a stroll down the street or around the corner and something or someone is bound to snag, grab or trip you up one way or another. Just making the choice to open your front door every morning is a chance. If my daddy has taught me anything in my near 45 years it’s this: inhale courage and exhale fear. My daddy was a lifetime soldier. He jumped out of planes with the 82nd Airborne. As a child I thought he had no fear. I watched him wear his uniform with pride. I was in aww of his wings. I loved when he walked out the door with his Green Beret on. In my eyes he's always been a man's man. My boys would tell you their Paw Paw is a bad ----. And though those aren't the words I'd chose, they are right..He really is. But he's also funny, kind, humble, loving and gracio...

“And one day she discovered she was fierce, and strong, and full of fire and that not even she could hold herself back because her passion burned brighter than her fears.” ~ Mark Anthony Not everything makes sense. But not everything should I suppose. I for one can make my husband's head spin. The truth is we’re not the couple anyone expects. We’re as different and as wonderfully mismatched as they come. I’m a typical nerdy, book readin', comic book talkin', Star Wars lovin', Disney quotin', tea sippin’ Gospel singin', Jesus saved, southern cookin’, Texas raised gal. Johnny was the high school linebacker. His Friday nights were spent out under the lights of a Texas high school football stadium. Mine were spent inside books, with a Disney movie playing in the background. When Johnny and I met we were about as different as oil is from water. I was quiet and he was a fun loving flirtatious jock. Thinking about it we were as likely to end up together a...