Cara Brookins was left emotionally broken when her second abusive marriage ended. She got well by building her own house, which she did after seeing YouTube videos on how to do it.
The mother of four started looking for a new house in 2007 after being forced to sell the Bryant, Arkansas, home she and her soon-to-be ex shared. At the moment, though, anything the computer programmer analyst could afford was too tiny. Brookins too felt obliged to take action to bring her family back together. She admits, “But I had no idea what that should be.”
Brookins, therefore, came up with the idea to build her own house from the ground up. According to Brookins, 45, “If anyone was in our situation, they wouldn’t do this.” “No one else viewed it this way, and now that I think about it, I understand it sounds crazy.”
One acre of property cost Brookins $20,000, and she obtained a building credit for about $150,000. She then started watching YouTube tutorials to learn how to do things like run a gas line, build a wall, lay a foundation, and install plumbing.
Her children, ages 2 to 17, helped her throughout the nine-month construction of the 3,500-square-foot home. At the time, Drew, who was 15 years old, helped Brookins make the preparations. Jada, who was 11 at the time, transported water from a neighbor’s pond using buckets because there was no running water on the property. She then combined the water with 80-pound sacks of concrete to create the mortar for the foundation.
It felt impossible the entire time, according to Brookins, who worked when the kids were in school. After school, Brookins drove her family to the five-mile-away construction site where she worked late into the night on the new house.
YouTube videos previously were vague and provided numerous solutions to a task. Brookins employed a part-time firefighter with building experience for $25 per hour to help with some of the more challenging tasks. She remembers, “He was a step ahead of us in knowledge.”
On March 31, 2009, Brookins and her kids moved into the five-bedroom home. She gave it the name Inkwell Manor in recognition of her desire to become a writer.
In the years afterwards, Brookins has written numerous middle grade and young adult books. She has also written a biography titled Rise: How a House Built a Family, which will be released on January 24.
Building the house helped Brookins emerge from her depression. We were ashamed that our best option was to construct our own shelter, Brookins adds. “We weren’t really proud of it,” In the end, it proved to be the best thing I could have done for myself.
She says, “You can do anything you set your mind to if I, a 110 pound computer programmer, can build a complete house.” Choose one goal and stay with it. Find the big thing you want to do, move slowly in that direction, and take those who also need healing with you. That has a lot of influence.
Blake Lively’s Daughters Make Rare Public Appearance — People Are Noticing the Same Thing
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ daughters stole the show at a concert. Fans couldn’t stop talking about a detail they noticed about the girls, who rarely appear in public with their mom.
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ daughters made a rare public appearance, joining their mother at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour show in Madrid on May 29. Videos shared on social media captured the family enjoying the concert from the VIP section, where fans couldn’t help but notice the girls’ striking resemblance to their famous mother.
Lively went for a laid-back but trendy vibe during the outing, sporting a neat white button-up shirt paired with denim shorts and stylish gold hoop earrings. Her blonde hair was styled in a loose, pretty down-do, adorned with clips that added a touch of flair with a side part.
The mother and daughters appeared to be thoroughly enjoying the performance, engaging in socializing and exchanging bracelets. Videos capturing their outing have been widely circulated on social media platforms.
However, fans were quick to notice the strong resemblance between Lively and her daughters, flooding social media with comments. Admirers gushed over the girls, saying things like, “They have their momma’s face. So cute,” “Blake with her minis,” or “Blake’s babies look like their mama, and I’m sure they’re kind too!!” someone else wrote.
On the contrary, another fan noticed a resemblance to her husband, writing, “They look so much like Ryan.”
Now, people are buzzing with speculation about whether Swift has revealed the name of Lively and Reynolds’ fourth child in her latest album. This is because Swift often includes their kids’ names in her songs.
Reynolds humorously addressed the speculation, saying, “We always wait for Taylor to tell us what the child’s name will be.”
Blake Lively’s public outings and interactions offer a peek into their family life.
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