Yes, I am a small town Kansas girl wearing lots of hats. What could I possibly say to impact this world?! Well.. I was up at 1am thinking about what I wanted to write today. The things that came to me the most were 1) I do believe in myself .. we all should~ no matter where we are from! 2) I love encouraging others.. why shouldn’t we cheer each other on?! 3) I am able to face adversity while seeking happiness and staying positive!

Believing in myself hasn’t always came easy! I think I’ve always had an inner voice telling me I could do anything! I also am an empath (someone who feels emotions more than a lot of people) .. which has me sometimes feeling depleted and it’s necessary to regroup. I used to be so insulted when my family would describe me as really sensitive. At this stage, I am embracing it and seeing it as a gift! I am relatable. I want to help others believe in themselves! I have some experiences wearing lots of different hats! I am a mom, wife, sister, daughter, entrepreneur, hairdresser, business owner, up and coming writer😉 and small town Kansas girl to name a few!

My husband and I had our first child before we graduated high school. Our family grew quickly and it definitely wasn’t in my plans for it to happen that way. I do believe it was the good Lord’s plan.

We conceived our first child at seventeen and married a month out of high school and unbeknownst to us we were expecting our second son (that crazily) we had planned. We were “young dumb”, as it is said.. we thought we would have a son and hopefully a daughter AND THAT WOULD BE IT. We would live the American dream. A majority of our wedding was paid by a bank loan we took out ourselves, including a cruise to Jamaica!👀 I feel scared for the young version of myself as I type these words!

Let’s just say, this was just the beginning of our journey. As I was graduating cosmetology I found out we were expecting our third child. I cried. I had been working with the Small Business Administration and had things underway to open a salon in our home town. How was I going to manage all this with a new baby? Somehow we did!

Prior to becoming a teen parent I had experienced quite a bit of hardship, being born to teen parents myself. My dad had been in an explosion in an oil rig accident and spent a year in a burn unit, when my three siblings and I were ranging in age from ten years old to five. I would describe my parents twenty three year marriage as hard and tumultuous! When I was sixteen I was in a life threatening car accident and spent a semester of high school recovering! Fast forward twenty-ish years and here I am!

I am only going to elaborate on the beginning and current part of my journey, as I want to impact you in a way that is encouraging while staying on track with delivering my message!

Whatever chapter of our journey we are in, we must believe in ourselves and keep pressing forward. Trust me when I say, I have fell hard and thought- 💭what the fuck am I doing?.. many of times! I know I will do that many more times. I assure you the hard parts are when I have learned the most!

We went on to have our third son, adopt our daughter and foster two teen girls. So when I say, the good Lord had a plan.. I believe it! It has been hard, challenging and most of all~ rewarding!!

I am here to encourage you to do what speaks to your heart! Follow your heart and press forward. It all starts with a dream, believe in yourself and put it into action! We are all meant to be here! We all serve a purpose! We all are in this together! We can do whatever we put our minds to.

It is important to believe the best is yet to come and know what’s meant to be- WILL! Yes, I believe in hard work and consistency. I also believe it living life to the fullest! Live each day like it’s your last. Appreciate both large and small things. Celebrate each step!

Staying humble.. cheering others on.. ESPECIALLY THOSE READING THIS MESSAGE! .. is my life’s purpose! I am not only a mom, wife, career minded woman. I am much more! I am me! I am finding my sense of self! I am working towards following my dreams and you can too!!

The current chapter of my life has been presenting some real challenges! I had a phone chat with my dear older and wiser friend, miss Mary B. yesterday and she said, Amber you don’t deserve all of this! My response was, I have a good life! She proceeded to tell me I am a real gem! I am lucky to have her in my life! She has endured losing a teenaged child, health struggles and yet remains so kind, encouraging, relatable and lives life the best way she can! I met Mary when she moseyed in looking to get a haircut.❤️

This week I learned that our son, Landon who just graduated barber school and joined us to work at our shop a few months ago, has signed a lease in Lawrence and plans to move July 1st. He’s twenty years old and I can’t ..nor would I want to hold him back. I remember how ready I was to get out of my home town. I also know now.. that I have a great appreciation for where a came from. I also have a new appreciation for Salina, Ks where we have raised our kiddos! This has definitely been a good place to be during a pandemic and rioting!

On April 3rd of this year, I learned about a chain of events that took place five years ago to one of our kids. I am still processing it! It is one of the hardest things to go through as a parent! It is sickening to feel like you didn’t protect your child! I don’t have permission to elaborate at this time. What I do know is I want to help others through what I have and am experiencing! I am 100% positive that the only way to change the world is through communication! Change lies within ourselves!! We have to take responsibility for our part in it! The ones crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do!!

I shied away from certain uncomfortable topics while raising our kids. I am pretty modest. I am not blaming myself for the hard things we’ve gone through. I am just working through it all and want to be a voice for others that may be facing adversity of any kind! I must say, talk therapy and writing is helping me get through it all!

As we are approaching our fourth and youngest child graduating high school this coming year, I have found myself doing a lot of soul searching. I know that my life (thus far) seems to be one of pure determination!

I currently am determined to take a turn and go for some big dreams! I want to own an event center for weddings and celebrations, along with an Airbnb of sorts, travel more, while still having a studio to offer hair services! The first step is dreaming it up, the next step is believing and then putting it into action!

We are good-busy at our salon and yet still looking for the right fit to accommodate and take care of some of our steady and established clientele! We love our people and want them to be taken care of!! If you or someone you know may be a fit.. please let me know!!

I am here to root and cheer for you all too! I promise, with some concentrated effort you can be happy.. even when life is presenting challenges!

Stay Rosy, Amber

#HalfwayToAnywhereYouPutYourMindTo #Halfwaythere