Ok… before you meet my new friend Leroy and read Brett's newest letter, I wanted to share a few lash and brow transformations that have brought a huge smile to my face lately 💛

One thing I've learned over the last year is that joy can show up in the most unexpected places.

Sometimes it's in a conversation with a friend.

Sometimes it's in a handwritten letter from Brett.

Sometimes it's watching one of my clients look in the mirror and smile after seeing their results for the very first time.

And sometimes...

it's finding a little bit of beauty in the middle of a really hard season.

If you've been following our family's journey, then you know this season hasn't been easy.

There have been plenty of tears, plenty of uncertainty, and plenty of moments where I've had to lean on God's faithfulness one day at a time.

But this little lash and brow business has become one of His sweetest gifts.

Every appointment, every referral, every recommendation, and every encouraging message helps me provide for Cambria, Willow, Lula, and Zion while Brett serves his sentence.

I'm working incredibly hard to continue building my clientele and create stability for our family after a very long season of stretching and growth.

So if you (or someone you love) has been thinking about a Korean Lash Lift, Lash Tint, Brow Lamination, or Brow Tint, I would absolutely LOVE to serve you. 🤍

And the best part?

I come to you 😉

📱 Text me at 714-210-9014 for pricing, availability, or questions.

And if you're walking through a difficult season right now, I hope you'll remember something my new friend Leroy reminds everyone around him every single day:

No matter what you're facing...

there is still beauty worth noticing.

There is still joy worth celebrating.

And there is still love worth sharing.

Alright... enough about lashes and brows 💛

Go meet Leroy.

I have a feeling his simple words and joyful spirit are going to stay with you long after you finish reading this one.

"What a day..."

"What a day..." 🥹💛

---

What A Day... What A Day

Leroy: "What a day..." "What a day..."

Me: "Hey there Leroy, good to see you. Do you need me to push you back up to your room?"

Leroy: "There you go..." "There you go..."

Leroy is a dear friend and fellow felon who has become one of the most familiar and welcomed faces inside our prison hospital hallways.

Several years ago, Leroy suffered a severe stroke that dramatically changed his life forever.

Since that devastating day, his body has been bound to a rusty government-issued wheelchair and his speech has been reduced to two simple sayings:

Leroy's Simple Saying #1

"What a day..." "What a day..."

Which can mean:

TODAY IS A GLORIOUS DAY!!!

Or...

I COULD REALLY USE SOME HELP RIGHT NOW PLEASE.

Leroy's Simple Saying #2

"There you go..." "There you go..."

Which can mean:

YES.

Or...

YOU'RE GETTING WARM BUDDY, ASK A FEW MORE QUESTIONS.

Since I spend roughly forty hours a week repairing wheelchairs as a biomedical repair technician, Leroy and I get to spend a ton of time together.

And honestly...

I cherish every second of it.

At this point our communication has become almost intuitive.

Leroy starts most conversations with his signature:

"What a day..." "What a day..."

And then I begin the game of figuring out exactly what he's trying to tell me.

Leroy: "What a day..." "What a day..."

Me: "Today is a glorious day?"

Leroy: "There you go..." "There you go..."

Leroy: "What a day..." "What a day..."

Me: "Do you want me to change the channel on the TV?"

Leroy: "There you go..." "There you go..."

Leroy: "What a day..." "What a day..."

Me: "Do your wheelchair brakes need tightening again?"

Leroy: "There you go..." "There you go..."

I swear...

if all of you could spend five minutes with Leroy, you'd instantly fall in love with him.

His smile is contagious.

His spirit is infectious.

And despite the fact his body is slowly and painfully failing him, he somehow continues to radiate joy everywhere he goes.

You can hear Leroy before you ever see him.

His joyful voice echoes through our prison hospital hallways as he rolls from room to room announcing:

"What a day..." "What a day..."

And every single time he says it, a giant grin stretches across his face.

The kind of grin that melts your heart.

The kind of grin that reminds you life is still worth celebrating.

The kind of grin that makes you stop complaining about your own problems.

What amazes me most about Leroy isn't the wheelchair.

It isn't his physical limitations.

It's the choice he makes every single day.

Because let's be honest...

bitterness would be easier.

Anger would be easier.

Self-pity would be easier.

Most people would understand if Leroy spent his remaining years frustrated by everything he lost.

BUT...

My barbwire brother chose a different road.

When his health began to fail...

he chose LOVE.

When his independence was taken away...

he chose LOVE.

When prison became the backdrop of his final chapters...

he chose LOVE.

And now that love pours out of his aching bones and spills into every hallway he rolls through.

Leroy and I both understand a difficult reality.

There is a very good chance my friend will take his final human breath while living behind an electrified fence.

That's a painful truth neither of us ignore.

BUT...

I also know something else.

When that day eventually comes...

I have a feeling Leroy won't be focused on what prison took from him.

He'll be focused on what God gave him.

The friendships.

The laughter.

The purpose.

The love.

And I have a strong feeling that on his final day of spreading joy throughout this prison hospital, a giant smile will once again stretch across his face.

He'll look around.

He'll see the people he loves.

And he'll whisper one final time:

"What a day..."

"What a day..."

Leroy my dear friend...

I am honored to be part of your God story.

Thank you for reminding all of us that our circumstances do not get the final word.

Thank you for proving that joy is still possible.

Thank you for being a living, breathing testimony that:

LOVE... ALWAYS... WINS.

"There you go..."

"There you go..."

Sincerely,

Brett
(A federal inmate who can feel God's tender love flowing through the hallways of our prison hospital.)

---

A Note From Noél

Despite the constraints of incarceration, Brett continues to bring his barbed wire brothers and their complicated life stories directly into our hearts and minds.

With every letter he writes, my husband is doing his very best to remind all of us that there is always more to a person than the worst decisions they have ever made.

More than their mistakes.

More than their failures.

More than the chapters of their story they wish they could rewrite.

YES...

prison is an all-consuming pit that tried to swallow the man I LOVE whole.

BUT THEN GOD...

met Brett behind a barbed wire fence and opened his eyes to what grace, mercy, forgiveness, and unconditional love actually look like when we surrender our pain to Him.

And now, through these letters, Brett is helping the rest of us see it too.

His newest barbed wire brother, Leroy, is a man with a serious past.

And because of the decisions he made years ago, there is a very real possibility he will take his final human breath while armed guards stand outside a prison hospital room.

The consequences of his choices are real.

The losses are real.

The regrets are real.

And the pain that accompanies those realities is deeper than most of us could ever fully comprehend.

HOWEVER...

God never abandoned His cherished son.

Not in his darkest moments.

Not after his stroke.

Not in a wheelchair.

Not behind prison walls.

And certainly not now.

Instead, God continues to use Leroy to sprinkle joy throughout those hospital hallways.

Every smile.

Every laugh.

Every enthusiastic "What a day... What a day..."

is a reminder that circumstances do not get the final word.

Joy does.

Hope does.

Love does.

And one day...

when Leroy is finally set free from his aching body and welcomed home into eternity, I can only imagine him sprinting into the warm embrace of his Heavenly Father.

No more wheelchairs.

No more limitations.

No more suffering.

No more pain.

Just perfect peace.

And as all of Heaven celebrates the arrival of one of God's beloved sons, I can't help but imagine Leroy looking around with that familiar grin on his face and joyfully proclaiming:

"What a day..."

"What a day..."

Leroy...

we don't pretend to fully understand what your body, mind, and soul are carrying right now.

But please know this:

We are cheering you forward.

We are praying for you.

And we are grateful for the joy, hope, and love you continue to share with everyone around you.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being a LIVING, BREATHING TESTIMONY that:

LOVE... ALWAYS... WINS!!!

"There you go..."

"There you go..."

With so much love,

Noél
(A wife who is HONORED to share these one-of-a-kind stories with the world.)