Embarking on the path of motherhood came as a surprise for Heather. She did not feel ready for the commitment, but with a little one growing inside of her, she accepted the challenge and faced the curve of life. She always knew she wanted to be a mother “someday” and even envisioned a large family (like Cheaper By the Dozen, you know?), yet she wasn’t prepared for the unexpected timing of beginning the journey. 

Heather wrestled with growing a “Mother’s Heart.” She was raised by a narcissistic and dangerously religious (using religion as a weapon and control mechanism) mother, which led to many fears about her ability to be a “good” mother. She desperately wanted to not repeat the methods her own mother had used, but had little support or guidance to learn new and healthier patterns of parenting. 

Less than two years into her mothering journey, Heather’s husband was killed tragically in a mid-air collision between two small aircraft, leaving Heather with a toddler and infant. The following year, she struggled through depression and learned to discern the difference between the “voices” in her heart: her own questioning voice, the loud and repetitive voice of the adversary, and the still, small voice of the spirit. She experienced a transformational “bottom of the barrel” moment in which she asked Heavenly Father to covenant with her to never let her go and she dedicated the remainder of her life into his loving care.

Soon, Heather relocated, remarried, and began a new life journey. At first, life with her second husband was grand, better than anything she had experienced before! With him, she bore 5 more children. She had a passion for pregnancy and birth advocacy, birthed all 7 of her children at home, and made homeschooling and homemaking a full time career. Heather occasionally attended births as a labor doula, studied midwifery, developed her “Mother Heart,” and invested time and money into gaining skills to run her own business, all the while blind to the narcissistic abuse of her husband. 

After 16 years of suffering physical and emotional abuse, Heather’s 2 oldest children worked together to report their family to the Department of Children and Families. In a dramatic and scary move, DCF came late one night and removed the 5 remaining minor children into custody. When Heather discovered the depth and nature of the abuse, and began to realize that she had been mentally manipulated and controlled, she realized she needed to fight for her children and worked diligently with DCF and a therapist to learn about domestic abuse. She was able to obtain permanent sole custody of her children after a remarkably short 4 months, and continues to maintain healthy relationships with the foster parents who cared for her children while she learned and healed. She studied and continues to study good, safe parenting methods, and together the family is healing and growing.

Suddenly a single parent after being a stay-at-home and homeschooling mom for 18 years, Heather applied for a position as a cashier at a local retail store. She magnified her skills, highlighting areas of marketability, such as team leadership, the art of motivation, and sales experience through self employment and business training, and was hired on the spot with her first interview. In less than one year, Heather was able to move into lower level management, and is currently on an individualized development plan to continue to move up in her company. 

Additionally, Heather is now using the skills learned through several trial-and-error attempts at business to expand her fledgling company as a second stream of income and support for her family. 

Heather loves to teach and, having overcome many challenges, also has a passion for assisting mothers through childbearing as well as navigating the transition from stay-at-home mom to employment. She believes that when a mother applies herself to personal growth and development, those skills can be honed and marketed to the workplace environment successfully.