I am nominating Jackee Austerman, a mom with true courage and perseverance for the Chicago Confidence Workshop scholarship. Jackee is an incredible mom to a very special one year old boy, Isaiah. Isaiah was diagnosed with Phenylketonuria (PKU) a few days after he was born. PKU is a genetic disorder, in which an enzyme necessary to metabolize a specific amino acid does not work. If this condition is not carefully treated it can affect brain development, specifically, it can lead to mental retardation. Jackee, and her husband Shane, have been amazing since Isaiah was diagnosed with this condition. Everyday Jackee cooks specific phe-free foods, measures, and calculates the amount of phe in each and every single morsel that touches Isaiah’s lips. Isaiah is basically restricted to fruits and some vegetables, and his special formula, since he is not able to eat foods that contain protein. Although Jackee has acted like a rock star in dealing with all of the extra stress and work that Isaiah’s condition has caused during the past year, I know that she is currently running on empty. She spends hours each day preparing Isaiah’s food and worrying about what insurance will cover and won’t cover for her son’s condition. Not once have I heard Jackee complain or wish that she didn’t have to deal with this rare condition.

Jackee recently bought a Sony a330 DSLR and has soaking up all that she can about the features of the camera and photography in general. I know that if she were to be selected for this workshop she would be able to soak up SO much more by learning hands on with Me Ra and Brian, than she is currently able to by reading online. I also know that Jackee would be ridiculously grateful and humble if selected. She is truly one of those people that is always thinking of others, and never does anything for herself. I know Jackee would use this opportunity to her fullest capabilities. Please consider Jackee for the Chicago workshop, I know that she would never nominate herself for this workshop, but there are so many of us that know she deserves it.

I would like to nominate Veronica Bernal again for either spots for the “Running on Empty” contest. Veronica is an amazing person. She is the mother of two, stepmom to one, and school mom to 16-20 boys and girls. I first met Veronica, when we were interviewing for a second grade teacher. It was obvious from the moment I met her, that she was a very confident and caring young woman. She had a 4 month old baby boy and was willing to start a brand new career as a bilingual second grade teacher. All new jobs require a lot of energy, but for Veronica to start a new career this also meant she had to enroll in “I Teach Texas” program. This involved on line classes, supervisor visits, and hours of lesson preparation, all with a 4 month old. There were days I would pass her in the hall and she looked like a young woman running on empty. A few months into the school year, she thought she had the flu. To her surprise, she did not have the flu but was pregnant. She had a beautiful baby girl just nine months after her little boy was born. Her little girl had several health issues at first. Veronica would come to school to care for her other 20 children, with little or no sleep the night before. She is a wonderful stepmom. She leaves school on Friday afternoons to drive 6 hours to pick up her stepdaughter for the weekend and return her on Sunday. She gives thanks to God everyday of her life. She is constantly telling all those around her that God will provide for her. Veronica has a passion for photography. This workshop would enable her to have a break in such a busy life. Please help her to pursue her passion for photography. Veronica is a mom running on empty.

Veronica is such an incredible woman who is more than worthy of any award a woman can earn. Although she has had many heartaches and has been stretched through tough situations, she lives her life as an overcomer. She has never let her past define who she is. Veronica finds her identity in Christ and lives victoriously each day. Having two small children, her heart’s desire is to quit teaching and work from home where she can spend quality time as a mother and housewife. Her passion for photography has grown and blossomed into a desire to touch and change people’s lives with a single snap of the shutter. The education she will get from your workshop will help propel her into her new career as a photographer. I hate to say that she is “running on empty” because she is so full of the joy of the Lord, but as a working mom short on money, I know she grows weary. Please consider her for your award not because of her struggles, but because of her perseverance.

Sincerely, Amy

I sit here wondering where each of these women draw the strength to go on. Women are amazing creatures, who are so versatile. It is hard not to acknowledge that every single one of them is worthy of this seat. My life is so much more blessed and enriched by their stories.
So, I humbly ask that you take the time to read my story even though I know my struggles do not compare to theirs.
When I was two we were visiting my grandmother in Mexico. I got cholera. I was immediately flown to the States. After spending two weeks in ICU, I flat-lined.8 minutes had passed and doctors had done all they could do to save me. I was gone. They apologized to my parents and asked them to leave. In that moment, my father’s journey of faith began. He says he knelt outside of my room and asked God to give me back to him. He promised to serve God all the days of his life. The heart monitor began again. Doctors promised my parents that too much time had passed. If I lived I would live with too many physical problems. My dad didn’t accept that diagnosis. I was released a few days later.
Needless to say, I grew up experiencing a childhood as normal as any other healthy kid. I was the first to graduate out of my family. Our parents always pushed us to educate ourselves and further ourselves any way possible. I went on to community college and was in my second year when I met someone. We had a lot in common. However, we had a lot of differences that made us incompatible regardless of what I felt. I placed distance between us and transferred to a university 5 hours from home. There I made new friends and was a semester away from graduating. My path crossed his and he again began seeking me out. You see as normal as my home life was, my perception of myself was nothing. I had only been told once all my life I was beautiful. My self-image and self-esteem were nothing. My dad’s way of loving us was as a provider to our home. I do not doubt his love for me. He just never expressed it. I walked away from my only dream “to finish school”. We married without my family’s blessing. I entered in with expectations that were never met. After a few years of trying to start a family, I was told I would never bare children. That statement added on to the lack of self-esteem. ”How could I be a woman of any worth with no children?” All the while I was told my husband was having an affair. I refused to believe it and stood by his side.
I came home to help my family through a crisis with my sister. While I was home, my mother-inlaw met me. She told me what she did and did not think of me. I took it all in silence. She ended her conversation by telling me her son wanted a divorce. I was in disbelief. I called and he confirmed her statement. I in my own pain, obeyed. Destroyed and lost I ended up home, broken and with absolutely nothing…looking for a job. Of all places I got a job in his hometown 30 miles away. If you know small towns, everyone knows your business even sometimes before you do. (lol) God began a new work in my life. I picked up the pieces and began the journey of truly searching for my identity. My husband filed for a divorce shortly after and did not show up. Out of money and broken hearted, I still felt bound to him. A year and half later, I filed. I stood in the courtroom alone. Months later, I received a phone call with a desperate voice asking me to forgive him. He begged me to listen. I didn’t want to, but I did. He had had a daughter with that woman. She had left him. He took me through all the events. When he was done, I asked if I could pray for him. He thought I was crazy. I did pray for him and then cried myself to sleep. God all this time had been preparing me for that very moment. I honestly believe that at times that is why God answers our questions with bits and pieces. We may not be ready for the whole truth. In that moment, I knew that God had begun to heal me from the inside out. I needed to know the truth. I went on to finish school in 2007. He again crossed my path. I was ecstatic thinking—“wow. He and his family realize all that I am.” Wrong! I was the perfect candidate to help fight for custody of his daughter. I was stable, held a profession, had a home, and was willing to help financially. After about a year of enduring an “off and on cycle”, unfaithfulness, completely broke, very drained emotionally, and being subject to countless situations that destroyed myself worth. I was done. I could do no more. I had no more to give.
I was home bound again left to pick up the pieces of what was left of my life. A mess. I was totally blessed with an amazing boss who loves God and believed in me. I was blessed with women who have arrived and others who were on their own journeys. They embraced me, believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself. They have taught me so much. They continue to this to this day to wrap their arms around me and push me through. God began to help me love and accept myself in my own skin.
I crossed paths with a man who was on his own journey but at the right point in his journey….I got PREGANT!!!!! Yes, this infertile woman had a beautiful baby boy! We married and I wish I could say it was love….it was out of obedience to God. Stress and daily grind as it does for many, takes its toll. However, God is faithful! I soon was pregnant AGAIN! Now birthing a healthy baby girl. I have been so blessed with so much! My students are my teachers. I learn from them every day. I have learned to love my step-daughter in a way I never thought possible. I’m still a work in progress. You see that man that joined me in marriage was my ex-husband. True forgiveness for him and for myself invaded my heart. I am falling in love with him more and more as I see him strive to be a better man, father, and husband. Our life is still hard and very trying at times. However, I take time to glance back and see how far God has brought us. I have not arrived, YET! But I am excited to see what lies ahead!
Me Ra, I read your book in my dark season of my life, searching for strength. It moved me to see you draw strength and rise up. I had never really followed the site after reading your book. A couple of months ago, I came across your site in my quest to refine what I love to do. I started reading your blogs and ordered your book. I long to capture every moment. My babies are changing so fast. However, that “higher calling on my life” it is tugging at me now. I pray that God will use my hands, eyes, and desires of my heart to help women and pregnant women(physically or by paper and heart) love themselves and embrace ALL that they are. I want to capture the essence of that amazing, unending love. I want them to know how beautiful they are in those moments and how blessed we are to be a woman. A woman chosen by God to host a baby. A miracle He can create. I want my work to tell THEIR story, not just be a good picture. I was blessed with a dslr camera a few weeks ago. I already have my first assignment. It is an incredible story of an AMAZING woman!
However, I need your help. I need your workshop to help me perfect what I feel drawn to do. To empower these women all around me who are broken, empty, lost, hurting—-to show them their beauty. I would love to meet you and have the experience of learning side by side with you. It is my turn! It is my dream! The time is now!

Awaiting
Veronica
Psalm 90:17

Back in August 2009, I was at my desk at work and I realized my cell phone had been sitting in my purse dead for most of the day. When I plugged it in and retrieved my messages, I discovered I’d missed several calls from my mother, which seemed rather odd. You see, my mom’s generally not a phone “stalker;” instead, she’ll leave a single message and just wait for you to return her call.

When I called Mom to find out what was so pressing, the news she had sent me into a state of utter shock and panic. My sister Shannon, who only a few days earlier had given birth to beautiful, healthy twin boys and was supposed to have been released from the hospital earlier that morning, had been rushed to the ICU in congestive heart failure and was fighting for her life.

I promptly collected my things, informed my boss that I’d be out of the office for a few days, and rushed home to pack for an overnight 12-hour drive to be there with Shannon and the rest of my family. I prayed every minute of my drive that God would keep my beautiful safe so she could raise her three boys, Isaiah (4 at the time) and newborns Liam and Elijah.

After a few days in the ICU, Shannon’s heart began to heal and within a week or so, she was able to go home to her family with an excellent prognosis of a full recovery. Nobody has been able to pinpoint exactly why her heart decided to give out on her so unexpectedly, but now a year and a half later, Shannon is healthy and we’re all so thankful to have her here with us.

In the days following her release from the hospital, Shannon experienced exhaustion like none of us can probably imagine. Her heart wasn’t functioning at full capacity, which in and of itself will wear someone out in no time flat. Add to that the demands of newborn twins who can’t seem to sync up their schedules and have day and night confused, a rambunctious four year-old who’s having a difficult time adjusting to life as a big brother, and a husband who recently started a new job and is working his tail off to prove himself. She was the definition of “running on empty.” Later that August, she had to find the strength to add back into her schedule her part-time job AND school, as she was just over halfway through her coursework for a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Disorders.

Shannon amazed us all at how she pushed herself through those first few months of being a new mom (again), a wife, and a full-time student. She amazed us…and made us worry. Every time we would see her, she looked gray, her eyes were lackluster, and you could just feel the fatigue oozing out of her. Somehow, though, she found the strength to push through, and this semester, she’ll earn her Bachelor’s Degree.

This is an AMAZING story, complete with a pretty darn happy ending, right? So you may be wondering why on God’s green earth would I be nominating Shannon to receive the “Running on Empty” spot in the Chicago CONFIDENCE workshop. Well, a few weeks ago, Shannon received news that she was not accepted into the Speech Pathology graduate program that she had so diligently planned to begin in the Fall. Even though she’s doing her best to maintain a positive attitude, those of us who know her well know what a devastating blow this has been to her. She’s going through all of those emotions that we experience when our best-laid life plans start to fall apart before our eyes – disbelief, helplessness, grief, panic. And one thought I know that plagues her is WHY? Why did she push herself to the brink of exhaustion, when in the end it wasn’t even going to matter? And NOW WHAT? Now what is she supposed to do with her life, since it will no longer be consumed by classes, papers, and case studies?

After some time passes and she gains perspective, all of this will begin to make sense to her as God’s plan for her unfolds. (Doesn’t it always?) In the meantime, though, I KNOW Shannon would RELISH being afforded the opportunity to attend Me Ra’s workshop and spend some time pursuing an interest of hers that’s been back-burnered for so long.

Shannon LOVES being behind the lens. At family gatherings, we can always count on her to document the kids playing, the womenfolk cooking, the menfolk watching the game, or any other happenings. She’s a natural storyteller, and she has an amazing knack for anticipating situations and capturing the moment. She’s so creative, and I remember back when she was a new mommy of one, before her life got crazy with school and twins, she was constantly setting up photo shoots with Isaiah and delighting us with the utter cuteness she was able to capture. I know she would LOVE to learn more about the technical aspect of photography, taking her work to the next level of being able to consistently convert her photographic vision into reality. And I’m certain that by attending the Chicago CONFIDENCE workshop, she’d get a healthy dose of that thing called, ummm…oh yeah, CONFINDENCE, helping her answer that question she’s constantly worrying about of “What next?”

(Oh, and did I mention, I’m already signed up to attend the CONFIDENCE workshop, so selfishly I’d relish the opportunity to spend a little “Sister Time” with this amazing woman, sans children, nurturing our creativity and becoming better photographers?)

Thanks so much for your consideration!

I am writing to support Bailey’s nomination of Jackee Austerman for the Chicago Confidence Workshop Scholarship. Jackee is one of my dearest friends, she is one of only a handful of people in my life that I know loves and supports me with the most genuine heart; I am blessed to have her in my life. Not only is she a great friend, it has been an honor witnessing her becoming a mother. It is an honor because not only is she a great friend but she has become a great role model for what it means to be a mother.

I am not a mother yet but I have learned a lot from Jackee as I’ve watched her become a mother. As Bailey, Anne and Shane have mentioned, Isaiah was born with rare condition called PKU. During this last year, I’ve seen her become the strongest I’ve ever seen her become. She has stepped right up to the challenge of all the extra protocols that must be made for Isaiah to live a normal, happy life. And she does this with joy in her heart and has not become bitter for all the extra time it takes to measure and prepare special foods and medication that is necessary. She has been given many challenges and struggles over the past year and has been faithful, optimistic and has overcome these hurdles. I’m amazed by all Isaiah has had to deal with but yet is the happiest baby I have ever met. Isaiah is very blessed to have a mother like Jackee because of everything she has sacrificed to make sure he gets all the proper care he needs.

Jackee has taught me what it means to give everything you have to your family. Many of times I have a hard time even comprehending what all it takes for her to care for Isaiah and I have on numerous occasions thought to myself how does she do it all? And how does she do it with so much strength and joy? She gets up throughout the night with Isaiah, wakes up early to measure out all the food he needs, goes thru breathing treatments with him that take up so much extra time in the morning, in addition to all the care and needs for a child of this age while working a full time job and still making time at the end of the day when Isaiah is in bed to make sure she gets her daily exercise in so she can be a healthy example for her family.

I am in absolute awe of Jackee. Jackee is someone whom is very deserving of this trip. Jackee would never nominate herself for this trip, she would probably think another mother deserves it more than her but I don’t know any other mother who deserves this more than she does. She would be very honored to be part of this trip and I know she would soak up all the information and knowledge this trip would give her. As you enter Jackee’s house, it is filled with captured memories in frames, smiling Isaiah is everywhere you look. I know Jackee would greatly benefit from this workshop and the knowledge she would gain from this trip would only enhance those future captured memories of her family. Thank you for taking the time to consider Jackee for this trip, what a great opportunity this is!

We would like to add our support for Bailey’s nomination of Jackee to go to the Chicago workshop.

As Jackee’s parents, we will not pretend to be unbiased, but this is a message about moms, and no one expects a mom to be unbiased about her kids. Our Jackee is no exception, but we definitely feel that our pride and appreciation for our daughter are completely justified.

Jackee has always been exceptionally sensitive to the needs of those around her, and a champion for those with unfair barriers to deal with. Refusing to accept that the world is sometimes unfair, Jackee has always gone a step further to see what she could do to make things right. Perhaps that is why God has given her son Isaiah the health challenges, because Jackee and her husband Shane have the courage and tenacity to work to make things better for familys dealing with PKU or other health issues needing special attention.

This opportunity is also special for Jackee because of her long interest in photography. Jackee has always been interested in photography, making her first interests known with a fascination with her Dad’s camera’s when she was little, growing through 4-H photography projects and blue ribbons at county fairs, to recent renewed interest in creating pictures for her family’s memories. The opportunites from this workshop could give her the knowledge and confidence to take her interest further, for posible career opportunities or even her own business. Please help to make that opportunity possible for Jackee.

Thank You – Becky and Jim Willey