“If life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” goes the saying. We are all aware that this is easier said than done, but if we set our minds to something and work hard to make it happen, nothing is really impossible.

Cara Brookins’s marriage turned out to be violent. Being a mother of five, she knew she had to shield her children from the poisonous environment they were raised in, so she left her husband, took her children with her, and moved to a new home. How did she manage to do it? by making her own building plans and watching YouTube videos that showed off different building techniques, like establishing a foundation, installing plumbing, running a gas line, and building walls. Doesn’t it sound fantastic?
Now that she’s given it some thought, she admits that it has always been impossible.
When Cara, a computer programmer analyst, began building her family’s new home in 2007, she couldn’t afford a house large enough for all of her kids, so she decided to start from scratch.
“If anyone were in our situation, they would do this,” Cara said of the feeling. “I realize it sounds crazy now, but nobody else witnessed it in this manner.”
She purchased $20,000 for an acre of land and borrowed roughly $150,000 for development.
At the age of two and seventeen, respectively, her children assisted with the construction of their 3,500-square-foot home.
Jada, her 11-year-old daughter, had to transport water from the neighbor’s pond using buckets because there was no running water on the property. She worked on the plans with the help of her son, Drew. She then mixed it with eighty-pound bags of concrete to make the foundation mortar.
Every day after school, the kids would come to the location and help. For the most challenging jobs, this determined mother hired a part-time firefighter with building experience at $25 per hour. She remembered that he was “a step ahead of us in terms of knowledge.”
On March 31, 2009, the family eventually moved into Inkwell Manor, which was named after Cara’s dream of becoming a writer.
“We were embarrassed that we had no choice but to build our own shelter,” Cara said. “It was the best thing I could have done for myself, even though we weren’t very proud of it.”
She said, “If I, a 110-pound computer programmer, can build an entire house, then anything is possible for you.”
“Choose one objective and follow it,” she added. Take the others who also need to recuperate alongside you, start small, and choose a large project you’ve always wanted to complete. That is incredibly powerful.
Isn’t this one of the most incredible stories you’ve heard lately?

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