Members

Hi there!
I'm Annette. I am 50 and the youngest of 12 children. I have 2 beautiful daughters from my first marriage; Brittany and Emily. Brittany also blessed me with 2 very handsome grandsons Landon and Chase.

My life journey so far has taught me many things I hope I can share with others. To give you an idea of what I've been through here's a list:

• An abusive 13 year marriage: physical, mental & emotional
• Being a single parent
• Blending 2 families together through a second marriage
• Going through the teen years with girls (I never thought I would survive)
• Drug and alcohol use by close family members
• Losing my job in 2009 at 46 years of age and taking 10 months to find another one
• Financial struggles
• On-going weight issues
• Menopause

I believe that all of us go through hard times in order to help others when it's their turn. I am not a professional therapist nor do I have all the answers, but I am willing to listen and tell you what worked for me. I'm still going through some of the things I've listed above, so I hope to learn from you too.

Above all, I love to have fun. I hope our JUG's group is successful at getting that message across to all of you. In spite of everything, you've got to have fun and LAUGH!

Hi girlies :)


My name is Brittany. I am 29 years old and I have two children, Landon & Chase (ages 11 & 9). My mom is Annette and I have a younger sister, Emily. I am married to a pretty amazing man and I also work full time. Our JUGs group has literally been a Godsend. I have been through a lot in my life and the support of my girls has helped me so much. Here are just some of my experiences that I think I can really shed some light on:

• Teen pregnancy
• Single parenting and/or being a young parent
• Drug and alcohol abusing family/friends
• Custody/child support drama
• Bad boyfriends
• Balancing work and family
• Relationship
• Being a newlywed

Through all the bad I was lucky enough to have my JUGs girls to have my back. With their love and support....and advice, I was able to come out alive after all the horrible things. And then when the good things happened, we all celebrated together. I am here to spread the word of what a wonderful treasure these girls have been and hopefully inspire more groups like ours! Oh and have some fun, laughs, even a few tears along the way.

Hello -

I am Julie. I am 52 and Annette's sister. I am the 11th  of 12 children. I have 4 great kids and 5 wonderful grandchildren. I have a ton of life experiences that have molded me into who I am today. Let me just say that some of those molds were kind of weird and odd so don't be surprised by my personality. LOL Below is some of my experiences:

• Married at just 16
• Very young parent
• Divorce (multiple times)
• Loss of my dad at 12 years old
• Caring for my mom with Alzhiemer's
• Dealing with a spouse that hasn't had children
• Son-in-laws and Daughter-in-laws
• Children going through divorce
• Loss of siblings and parents
• Family drama

I think that is enough for now. I have some wonderful memories and stories of my life that go along with the sad and bad ones but that is what makes us who we are. It isn't the events really but how we handled them. I am definitely still on my journey and learning and relearning everyday. I hope I can help someone out there get through one of their events a little easier. Stay tuned for some great stories, silly pictures, tons of laughs and some tears as we travel together. 

I am Kay, the fourth of those twelve children, the oldest (61) of this wonderful group of girls. I have been married for nearly 42 years to Harry. I have two children; Janet, my daughter and my son, Harry, Jr. And my fifteen year old granddaughter, Cassidy, who is the light of my life. (Oh, and those in-laws, too. LOL!)  I  work full time at a public library so my main interest is reading when I am not involved with family happenings which something is going on most of the time with someone. Some of the things I have dealt with over the years include:

• getting pregnant before marriage (with my current and only husband)

• husband in the air force for 8 years (being away from family and moving around)

• helping with the care of a dying father-in-law (being with him when he died)

• daughter leaving home (for multiple reasons) just before she graduated,

• son with a heart murmur

• dealing with in-laws

• getting through online classes for associate degree

• dealing with family squabbles (incest, adultery, homosexuality, misunderstandings, etc.)

• helping care for my mother with Alzheimer's (being with her when she died)

• losing my twin suddenly in death

• dealing with a variety of co-workers for nearly 16 years

• living with Harry for 41 years 

• Daughter going through divorce

 I hope that I would be able to provide some insight and encouragement to others. We can all give advice and suggestions but it boils down to making your own decision for what will work best for you individually and being able to live with it. It is in the times of making those hard choices that we need to have friends who we can 'vent' our troubles with and this is one such group of girls!!!! 

HELLO THERE!!

My name is Leah. I am 30 years old. God has blessed us with two beautiful children Gracie and Carlie. Gracie is my calm, big hearted child and Carlie is my wild child. I have one sister that is 7 years OLDER (haha), Heather, who is part of our girls night crew and who I love and adore! I talk to her almost every single day. I have two brothers, Wes and Roger. Wes is 6 years older than me and Roger is one year younger than me. They are a hoot and a blast to be around. My mom is Julia, she is also a JUGS member! lol 
 I have definitely had some hard times in my life which I will get to later but I have also had some of the most wonderful things happen to me. I have a dead beat dad but God gave me David ( Heather and Wes's dad) who cared for me and Roger when he didn't have to. He took us to church every week, helped pay for our first vehicles, he took us shopping for school clothes every year, and loved us with all of his heart which was more than we ever could have asked for. Here are a few of the bad things that have happened to me over the years;

• A father who showed no love or concern for his children.
• Went through several divorces as a child.
• Finally, as a teenager calling it quits and cutting off my relationship with my father.
• David's, the man who cared and loved us, death.
• My mother-in-law's death.
• My husband and I having to turn in my father-in-law for molesting our niece.
• Becoming foster parents for our 15 year niece, 6 year old niece, and 4 year old nephew WHILE having an 8 month old of our own.
• A miscarriage.
• Helping my husband cope with having no support other than me and dealing with the loss of practically all of his family.
• Weight problems which i am working really hard at and have already lost 55 pounds!!!!
• Struggling with the decision of furthering my career and go to school in the evenings or staying home and taking care of my family.
• Divorce

Like I said a lot has happened but it's made me who I am today. I truly believe God can turn any bad situation into something good and he has done it over and over for me. I hope you find joy and inspiration on our site. This group of ladies has made my life easier and so fun! I have the best time when I'm with this group! It's the one time a month we can act silly, complain, fart, snort, WHATEVER and not worry about what someone will think!!!! It's the best!