Well, hello, y'all!

   

     Hello!  My name is April and I am a born and raised southern girl. I am a single mom to three great kiddos and the best things in life are God, family, and a cold glass of sweet tea. The next thing on this list is time with my "sisters."  I have one younger sister and sister-in-law.  (I don't consider my sister's husband or my brother's wife "in-laws.")
     I am blessed with a 23 year old daughter and three nieces.  My oldest niece is 13 and she is my namesake.  My other two nieces are 7.  They are two weeks apart and best friends as well as cousins. My sister and my brother's wife had miscarriages before getting pregnant with these two and sharing being pregnant together and having them so close together was just such a sweet thing and made them even closer than they already were. I have an amazing mom and grandmother. Those are my "sisters." They are the girls I love being with and now we can't forget the sweet guys. I have to mention my two sons who are 18 and 21, my eight nephews, my wonderful dad, brother, brother-in-law, and grandfather.
     Life is hard. Women today have families, jobs, and it would have been nice to have had more hours added into the day as we have had more and more responsibilities placed on us.  Men are expected to help out much more than in older generations, but when the house is a mess, as well as the kids, everyone still looks at the wife. That hasn't changed.
     We live in a world where women can be so hard on each other and we need to stand together now more than ever. Thankfully, with social media, we are able to share information and find many resources that weren't there just a few years ago when my kids were little.

     You newer moms amaze me. I was a stay at home mom for years.  I see women with full time careers, young kids, and you keep everything going and balanced.  I have to admit, I am not the best housekeeper.  It is clean.  I am a germaphobe, but I am not one of those who can't go to sleep with dishes in the sink! As Scarlet O'Hara said, "Tomorrow is another day" and I can lysol the sink in the a.m.!
     I went through a divorce 9 1/2  years ago. It was hard, but the marriage was harder. That's for another post, but it was one of those situations where I didn't have a choice. I wasn't being a good mom keeping my kids in the environment we were in. I raised my kids and was responsible for them in every way without their dad at all, but I had my family, friends, and a list of people God put in our lives who have been there for them and a positive influence when the one person who was supposed to be there no matter what wasn't.
     I wish I would have had social media and the many ways to communicate with other women when my kids were little. Women aren't always good to each other, but with social media, I see women reaching out, encouraging, and helping each other everyday.
     It's not a perfect world so we shouldn't expect to be perfect people. We just need to be good to ourselves and each other. And a big 'ol glass of sweet tea always helps! ( Or vino! ;) )

I love making jewelry.  I made it locally over the past few years, but now that my kids are older, I am able to devote more time to my projects. Click on the roses icon to go to my Etsy shop.