The storm was here to destroy me it was here to rebuild me
Our story of Transformation......
A story of faith, fire, and fierce determination — how one woman rebuilt her life from the ground up and turned her pain into purpose.
🌪️ Rising From the Storm
“In the blink of an eye, everything I knew was gone. But what I didn’t realize then was that the storm wasn’t here to destroy me — it was here to rebuild me.”
July 28, 2019.
A phone call that will forever echo in my memory.
My daughter’s voice — panicked, terrified —
“MOM, THE WINDOWS ARE COMING IN! MOM, HELP!”
My heart stopped. Our home was being hit by a tornado. My children were inside — and I was thirty minutes away, powerless to reach them.
I sped down country roads at over a hundred miles an hour, 911 on the line, tears blurring my vision, praying out loud the entire way.
When I arrived, our farm was unrecognizable. Barns flattened. The silo gone. Pieces of our life scattered across acres of land.
A firefighter stopped me from running into live wires and led me to my kids — trembling, crying, but alive.
I wrapped them in my arms, shaking with relief.
That moment changed everything.
It was the day our old life ended — and a new one began.
Rebuilding, One Miracle at a Time
A local church offered temporary housing for the next year, but my heart was set on getting us home. Spring of 2020, a trailer house came up for sale just a few miles away. With the help of friends and a tractor, we moved it onto our land and began our journey home but the hurdles still came.
Days before my daughter’s graduation, our new well sand-locked. I walked outside that night, exhausted and ready to give up, and prayed for a sign.
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window into my face and the one tree that had survived the storm — the same tree that protected my children — had a message, a glowing cross was beaming through.
That was my sign, let go and let god.
That day, water began to flow again. Friends showed up. Family brought food. And my daughter had the beautiful graduation party she’d dreamed of.
💔 From Ruins to Resilience
We went from surviving a tornado in 2019 to facing a global shutdown in 2020. One day we were laughing on a beach; the next, we were told to stay indoors, uncertain if life would ever feel normal again.
I was still fighting insurance battles of trying to rebuild our home, when tragedy struck again.
October 31, 2020. A knock on the door at 4 a.m.
My ex-husband was gone.
My girls collapsed to the floor, crying uncontrollably. I fell beside them, holding them as my own tears fell. “God, why us?” I whispered.
But even then, I knew I couldn’t break. I had to rise yet again, my children needed me to show them we will not give up.
By late 2021, a team of Amish builders brought our new home to life. There were countless setbacks — three plumbers, two finish carpenters, unfinished rooms everywhere — but on Christmas Eve, we moved in anyway.
No countertops. No running water. Just mattresses, a Christmas tree, and laughter filling the house.
It was the most imperfect, perfect Christmas imaginable.
From Survival to Purpose
The next few years were spent rebuilding — the farm, the business, the family. But the years of stress caught up to me.
I battled Lyme disease, exhaustion, and a misdiagnosis of lupus.
Once again, I turned to prayer. Once again, God opened a door. And a dream began to unfold.
In 2024, I was offered a chance to return to St. Croix Falls — back to where it all began. By March, I was remodeling a building, and by New Year’s Eve, I signed the papers and made it mine.
2025 became my year of clarity.
I made the decision to step away from my contracted VA medical massage focus and step fully into my purpose:
helping others heal, transform, and live their best lives.
I’ve lost nearly 40 pounds, created a home fitness space, and started coaching others — including some of my Marines — to rediscover their strength, health, and happiness. Seeing their transformations reminded me what true healing looks like: not just surviving, but thriving.
Now, I’m rebuilding again — not just a home or a business, but a mission.
Above & Beyond Bodywork & Wellness is evolving into a full-circle wellness and transformation center, with a dream team of providers launching in 2026.
✨ What the Storm Taught Me
We all face storms — sometimes literal, sometimes emotional — but they all ask the same question:
Will you stay stuck, or will you rise?
You can live in fear, exhaustion, and self-doubt…
Or you can face the unknown, the place that’s scary and raw, and find your power.
That’s where healing happens.
That’s where faith takes over.
That’s where we transform pain into purpose.
“Trauma doesn’t have to define you — it can refine you.”
I’m living proof that no matter how broken life feels, you can rebuild.
You can heal.
You can thrive.
And you can DREAM BIG.
💛 A Message From My Heart
If you’ve walked through fire — if you’ve lost, struggled, or questioned everything — know this: you are not broken. You’re being rebuilt.
The same fire that nearly destroyed you can also forge your strength.
You just have to be willing to step into it and trust the process.
Let’s rise together.
Let’s heal together.
Let’s rebuild something beautiful.
Welcome to Above & Beyond Bodywork & Wellness — where transformation begins.
YOUR BREAKTHROUGH BEGINS THE MOMENT YOU BELIEVE IT'S POSSIBLE