About

This photo of us is before it all started. Before the mold exposure changed our last two years.

It was July of 2021, Lonnie and I were at a destination wedding in Los Angeles. I was in the restroom of our hotel and had started bleeding, I thought I was miscarrying. I couldn’t process what was going on or why I would be bleeding. My mind went down a dark rabbit hole and then it stopped, two weeks later my lady time started and then the rest of the symptoms slowly came and this was just the start.

Anxiety so bad I couldn’t leave the house, I couldn’t sleep, my emotions went up and down so quickly it gave Lonnie whiplash. Our communication was the rockiest it had been. We were locked in a cold room with our backs to each other both feeling distant, alone, misunderstood and feeling honestly…crazy. I had just lost 60lbs and suddenly started gaining for no reason while Lonnie was having constant migraines.

A giant storm happened in Yuba City and while editing one day I realized the carpet between the bathroom wall and my desk was soaked! I thought we had a leak in the wall. We did some digging and came to find that the shower plug was not sealed anymore and water began leaking at a slope towards our bedroom.

At a closer look we found mold had began to grow for about 6-8 months before we removed it. Black mold, an inch thick and waist high had taken over the shiplap wall in the tiny home. We fixed it all and decided to move out hoping that would give us a fresh start but symptoms were progressing.

January 2022 we moved into Marysville and as excited as we were to have our own home again we couldn’t figure out why were we feeling so bad. We would be sick 20 days out of the month. Lonnie would be in bed with a headache the next day would be me, or both of us at 3pm would climb in bed while poor Scarlett played next into us or watched her iPad. We would try to feel better so we would get out of the house by going out on drives through Marysville, back into Yuba City, through the Buttes all hours of the day just trying to wake up. This went on for months until we were told about mold poisoning and introduced to a function medicine doctor in Roseville. I wrote a desperate email and they were able to get us past a 6 month waitlist with the main doctor to someone who specializes in mold. We were grateful for any direction. The doctor took 13 viles of blood from each of us, so 26 total and we were issued a 9 page report. Our whole life history in one packet. All the labs were ran to show all of the upfront issues that the mold had caused. Both of our hormones JACKED, so much so that we couldn’t have gotten pregnant if we wanted to. Lonnie has Hashimoto’s, my body was living in a constant state of stress, rapid unexplained weight gain,  both dangerously chronically inflamed and even though it should have felt hopeless it was some answers after a hell of a year. The drive home always felt daunting.

We started treatment in July. We proceeded to 1. Clean the liver. This was a kit that did help, this took the edge off and gave us some breathing room, 2. Heal Hormones this helped me as I started taking a hormone suppliment that I had needed for the last 15 years. It’s gave me my chill, it has calmed my heart rate and allowed me to handle stress better than before but nothing was helping Lonnie.

So now that all the underlying issues it could have been weren’t treated we had the ultimate blood work done that confirmed MOLD poisoning. Lonnies number were triple the normal and mine were double.

Meaning that we couldn’t heal if we wanted to because the mold is triggering our body in ways that will only continue to make us sicker.

In August we had the pleasure of doing a photoshoot in Maui, HI. We brought my parents and Scarlett along on this one. As soon as we landed I felt a shift in my body. As the week went on my nervous system was calm, I was able to laugh, sleep, have fun, relax even. On the last night in Maui (I remember it like it was last night) Lonnie and I sat on the back patio 12 stories up listening to the water hit the beach. I was drinking a diet dr. pepper & a canned red wine (trashhhhh, but sounded good at the time) and eating reduced fat cheezits. We both cried because we had finally felt peace for the first time in over a year, we were trying to figure out how to move to Maui. That night I told Lonnie I felt like God was telling me to clean out our storage unit, we could save $100 a month and start a purge of all of our stuff. God had told us a move was coming and maybe Maui was it. Lonnie agreed and we went home to prepare for the move. Whenever God was going to do that.

When we got back home we had two weeks of pure energy. We cleaned out our garage, our storage unit, we took the Relaxed Pine out for a quick trip to get a couple marketing photos and learn more about our trailer. We did things we haven’t done in months and God was walking right with us even when reality hit and the Maui energy faded and mold started to all come back.

We pushed through, did all we could to get through our busy season. In October we had 7 weddings, 28 Mini Sessions, a bunch of family sessions and Lonnie stumbled upon a house in Yuba City that had decreased it’s rent price. It gave us a backyard which is something we longed for after being in Maui - being outdoors - it had a giant living room and was only 4 minutes away from my parents. He called, we walked through it and I cried, it felt like home and we haven’t felt at home in years and as good as Maui felt…it wasn’t home. It’s on the same street I grew up on and for me I was in desperate need of comfort, somehow that helped me. We were moved in two weeks later. This was the move God was preparing us for. A home, a place of healing, a place of protection and peace. Representing the new stage of our lives.

That brings us to January 2023. We dropped off Scarlett to my parents on the way to our doctors appointment, we had a letter in the mail. In that letter had a government issued card with a “refund” on it. We called to see what amount we received on the way to the appointment. We planned on Lonnie starting the mold detox to bring those numbers down. Lonnie is starting it first because it’s expensive, this whole process has been wildly expensive but more so wildly emotionally draining. The price of the detox is around $1000, the card amount had $1050 on it. Thank you Jesus, Thank you.

We were able to start Lonnie and my portion be covered when we are through with the first round for him.

When you make your vows for sickness and in health it’s legit you guys but that vows aren’t just to each other they are also to God. A commitment that our union will be to honor Him. We have been brought to the bottom of ourselves, cried out to God countless times, been prayed over and still we are sick BUT still GOD IS GOOD.  He hasn’t left us, He continues to show Himself and bring our family closer.

This is what Lonnie takes: 1 injection: 1 prescription (twice daily), all those supplements, the shake with two additional powders in it, one pouch mixed with water to drink & 1 liquid. He takes them all every day for a month. Then we will go back for round 2 if he isn’t better. Mold is something that will continue to damage your cells, your mind, your body unless it is treated.

I’m emotional writing this because as personal as this is I know God is not done. I know we are coming to the end of one of the biggest battles we have faced yet and spiritual warfare is real. I know that God brought us through all we have been through for a reason that is so much bigger than this. My heart is tired, my body is tired, I am emotionally exhausted but God continued to work. He pushed through for us and 2022 alone is a testimony to God carrying us through it, He has allowed us to

• Photograph/ Film 29 Weddings

• 61 Lifestyle Shoots

• 52 Mini Sessions

• Started a new business, the Relaxed Pine

• Helped 4 business start, rebrand and/or strategize. One of those being a full on active church.

All while functioning at 25%.

So as we go deeper into treatment I ask for prayers. Prayers for consistency, for patience and unity. The devil is a liar. God’s promise for our life isn’t even close to being done. May He rain down blessings this year, may He bring financial increase, healing, renewing of hearts and minds this year! I believe for it, I believe more than ever that God is who He says He is and I believe in Him promises.