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\u201cMy son and I started attending\u00a0the parent\u00a0classes in March, not long before COVID closed everything. I\u00a0was so thankful to have found a\u00a0new center for classes after the\u00a0one closest to us discontinued their classes at the start of the year. New Life Pregnancy Center has been a huge blessing to us since March. Having the opportunity to continue taking the BrightCourse lessons at home while everything is closed has been a huge help in my parenting. My husband, son and I are the\u00a0only ones out here and all of our family is back home in Louisiana. During such a stressful time like now, this makes being a stay-at-home parent much harder than normal for me.<\/p>\n
I am a nine-year traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivor and was told I wouldn’t be able to have children and if I did conceive that I wouldn’t carry past the first trimester. My husband and I had decided that once I finished school and we both had stable careers we would adopt. Little did we know God had a different plan and we found out we were expecting when I was about 18 weeks along. Being out here 2000 miles away from my family, I was completely clueless on anything and everything motherhood related. I have found multiple centers that offer parent classes and help me during this difficult journey. All of the other centers discontinued classes after the age of one or two. Times like these trigger my\u00a0PTSD and send me into an\u00a0anxious or depressed state over what can seem like something small to other parents. The courses are teaching\u00a0me how to\u00a0handle different circumstances in the best possible way for my\u00a0three-year-old son. The BrightCourse lessons cover various aspects of parenthood and life skills that are bettering me all around instead of just as a mother. I have learned so much from these classes and look forward to starting a similar program in Louisiana when we move back in a couple of years.<\/p>\n
New Life Pregnancy Center has provided us diapers and clothes when we attend classes, which is a bonus blessing. My son is allergic to diapers that have chlorine, which means he can only have the more expensive brands and limited availability. This would be a strain on our family’s budget if we didn’t have places like New Life Pregnancy Center to provide us diapers when we are in need. NLPC providing diapers and wipes during the supply shortage that COVID has brought to many stores relieved the stress of not knowing if we would have enough diapers. The clothes are also really helpful because of how expensive toddler clothes are and how fast they grow out of them. Because of my not being able to work as a result of my TBI, we are a single-income family and money gets tight at times. This means we are on a stricter budget and try to save money anywhere possible. The material assistance is my extra blessing for attending classes that better me.<\/p>\n
My son and I recently visited the Tempe center director, Debbie, for diapers and clothes. He received a \u2018birthday bag\u2019 from a donor. He was so excited to receive a toy, outfit and books on our day out. We also received extra diapers from the donor, which was a huge blessing because we are now stocked for a while and don’t have to journey out on public transit in this heat when we unexpectedly run out. Being at the center on that day was exactly the pick-me-up that I needed after such an emotionally draining anniversary of my TBI\/accident on the prior Friday. Debbie asked how I was doing and when I hesitantly told her that I was emotionally drained she sat and talked with me. After receiving our donations, Debbie gathered everyone and said a prayer over me and my son. That moment seemed to just lift a huge weight off of my chest reassuring me that I’m not alone. The prayers we’ve received from the staff and anytime we’re in class or at the center provide an extra sense of comfort [knowing] that I do have local people who have our back and are supporting us on my parenting journey. I don’t know how I’d be making it if I didn’t have New Life Pregnancy Center backing me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"