A Fresh Start

Welcome to my new blog! After going on a long hiatus from my old blog, I decided to start over new here. For many reasons, my life was in limbo for a few months. I was “stuck”, literally and emotionally and even spiritually.

Recently though, I’ve broken free of some unhealthy things in my life. My family and I have moved to a better place and the fog has lifted over that part of my brain that just could not write anymore. I’m ready to blog again and to share more of my life, but I strongly felt I needed to do that in a fresh, new place.

My mom is the cheerleader in my life who is always encouraging me to write. She thinks I’m a great writer, but I don’t. Honestly, I do not blog because I feel like I’m a Writer. I blog because I want to capture memories and because I hope to share a bit more with people I love than just the quick tidbits and snapshots I post on Facebook.

Facebook has made me quite lazy, as has the new phone I have that allows me to take a photo and post it instantly. It’s fun, but has caused me to neglect even cracking open my laptop for weeks on end. My digital camera sits here next to it, collecting dust as well. It’s appalling. As much as I appreciate fast technology, I’m committing to getting back to enjoying the process of taking photo shoots, editing pictures and compiling a story.

I hope you will enjoy what you read here. There are thousands of blogs out there on motherhood and homemaking. I doubt much of what I share will be that new or exciting.

I do have a few things that set me a apart from many other blogging mamas:

I have a disability called Arthrogryposis. I was born with this birth defect and it certainly has shaped my entire life. My feet, ankles, knees, hips and left arm and hand are all affected. I’m in chronic pain every day and have to do most normal tasks my own way. It makes life challenging. If you are a mother with any type of chronic condition, I hope some of my stories will encourage you. It’s not easy being a mother and it’s even harder being a mother when you have physical challenges to overcome.

I have twins! I haven’t met anyone else who is disabled and has twins. Maybe you’re out there and you’ll find my little blog somehow. I hope so! Mothering twins is a whole different ballgame. Twins, and even triplets and quads, are more common these days. However, we moms of multiples still face a different set of challenges and need lots of encouragement.

So, there it is in a nutshell. If you are a disabled mom of twins and you find my blog, I hope you’ll leave a comment so we can become friends.

I LOVE my online friends and really enjoy the relationships I’ve made over the years. I’m a Christian, a mom of 3 little ones, and the Lord and my family and friends keep me sane. 🙂

I also love to cook, love to do fun projects with my kiddos, enjoy photography (as a total amateur!), and being outdoors. When I have the time, I try to garden and take on DIY projects. I like making my own concoctions like house cleaner, lotions, and other nifty stuff using natural products. I ADORE my Young Living essential oils. I spend a good amount of time each day chasing and tickling my kids.

I love to read and luckily, my husband does too. We’re passing that love along to our kids and most evenings we get cozy with a good book and a cup of tea. I enjoy being boring when I can, after the hectic days we have with 3 energetic kids.

Last but not least, one thing everyone notices about our family is that we all have red hair. My husband and I joke that we had to get married because we have an obligation to keep the redheaded population going. 🙂 Any other gingers out there will fully understand that being a redhead is a way of life. It’s the #1 thing people notice and remember about you.

Because all 5 of us are gingers, we get a lot of attention when we go out in public. Thankfully my kids are all social butterflies and love the attention.

My beautiful friend Rhonda suggested the name Ginger Snaps for this blog because of our red hair and all the photos I take of my sweet kids. I hope you’ll enjoy the stories and pictures here.

God bless!

~Tara