We are sharing 10 things about Hailey and I that you may not know about us! Click to read more!
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LEITH TOP | FLYING MONKEY DENIM | KENDRA SCOTT NECKLACE | LOREN HOPE CUFFS | DAVID YURMAN BANGLE | KATE SPADE WATCH | TORY BURCH TOTE & WALLET | STEVE MADDEN HEELS | RAYBAN SUNGLASSES
Hi, loves! Spring Break is finally here, can I get an AMEN?! I’m so excited for sunny weather that’s heading in to the gulf as we have endured torrential downpour in Houston. Okay, I’m being dramatic but when you’re busy and have places to be rain becomes a HUGE damper on your plans!
Before the partying in my bikini and drinking pina coladas with my girls (cough*and missing Lukas*cough) commences, I wanted to share 10 things about Hailey and I that you may or might not know! We keep things pretty private around here because, lets face it, we like to pretend that our world is made up of glitter and unicorns but that’s just not the case most of the time! But we’ve came to the conclusion that we’re at a point that sharing personal things about ourselves could quite possibly help someone who’s in a similar situation. It’s important to empower one another and tell all the boss ladies that sometimes you just need a pep talk like “hello you are the prettiest princess don’t be sad you’re doing great love you”– because we need those pep talks all the time. So here goes nothing!
“But people are oceans, she shrugged.
You cannot know them by their surface.”
– Beau Taplin // Surfaces
1. We were adopted when we were 13.
When our mom remarried, our step-dad was in a motorcycle accident three months after they said “I Do.” About a year and a half goes by after a traumatic brain injury, paralyzation, and months upon months of physical therapy, he was well enough that we were adopted and had our last name legally changed to his. I would like to say that this is where it all started– not knowing what our true identity was. Hailey Rae Bunton and Kailey Jo Bunton became Hailey Rae Nouis and Kailey Beth Nouis in a matter of a signature. Which is a pretty serious thing for two 13 year old girls. I guess from having our biological dad sign his rights over to our then step-dad has always made us feel somewhat…unwanted. And that feeling has trickled over into our adult lives. About two years ago, him and my mom divorced and we haven’t heard a word from him since. So that’s that.
By no means am I where I used to be mentally and emotionally, but pretty recently I have decided that the bad things that happened within my childhood wasn’t going to define me any longer. It never has and I’m making an effort to move past that mindset! This is VERY emotional for Hailey and I to share with all of you, but our point in this is to stress that you are in control of your destiny, it is what you make it! Sometimes circumstances suck, like really suck, but that doesn’t mean that everything in your life has to be that way as well.
2. We went to three elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and one high school.
We moved A LOT. I know that a ton of kids do, but it was really hard for us to make genuine friends. In a sense, we always felt a little bullied. We just never truly experienced what a best friend was supposed to be like until probably our last few years of high school. We strongly believe that it is not about the quantity of people you have in your tribe, but the quality of people you surround yourself with. We are now very blessed to have the friends we do in our life.
3. We have experienced grief in the deepest of forms.
Like many others, we have experienced death and grieving that has come along with it. We grieved the loss of our lives as the “Bunton Twins,” and we built a life knowing that our biological father was in every sense nonexistent in our life. It was as if he had died, but he was only building another life with another family about an hour or so away from our house in Sugar Land. We also grieved the loss of our ex-stepdad’s normalcy. After his accident, a whole new person was reborn, and it wasn’t whom we had agreed to have as our father. For ten years, we watched our mom rehab him from a 38-year-old toddler to a barely emotionally and physically functioning 48-year-old. To say that our life was (and still is) was complicated is an understatement.
Most recently, Hailey’s boyfriend, Jacob, suffered the loss of his best friend, Luke Arnold, in January 2015. There’s nothing like watching the one you love go through such pain when losing a man that was practically considered his brother. We are so thankful that the Arnold family and Hannah have continued to embrace Jacob in love, and there is truly no better blessing. They are our earthly angels. Jacob and Luke embarked on a weekend full of hunting, shenanigans (bc lets face it, boys will be boys), and reminiscing on their years of friendship. In the early hours of the Sunday that they were supposed to come home, Luke was tragically killed in an ATV accident while they were rabbit hunting. Luke left behind a beautiful wife, Hannah, and one-year-old son, Brady. This year has brought so much pain, sorrow, and unanswered question, but if one thing is for certain it is to live life with the fullest of hearts and thankfulness for our Lord Jesus Christ. Grief has become a burden, but it has taught us that Earth is not our forever home. More than anything, Hannah has taught us all to lean on Our Father, and to give thanks in every one of life’s circumstances. If you or someone that you know is experiencing loss and immeasurable grief, please take a look at Hannah’s blog, Unveiling Faith. Her eloquent, gorgeous soul will have you feeling like the arms of Jesus are comforting you in every moment. Truthfully, you don’t have to be experiencing loss to be overjoyed with worship for our Lord by Hannah’s writing. So. Full. Of. Faith. Like Hailey, she is a new (officially on Easter!) Catholic and teacher, and her journey is truly one of a kind, so very inspirational, and full of hope. We look up to her more than words can ever do justice.
4. Up until our freshman year of college, we were on the path to becoming professional dancers.
We competitively danced for years upon years upon years. That was our entire focus, and we spent more time at the studio than we did at school (which is ironic considering that we were both the head captain of our high school drill team). We were nationally ranked dancers (contemporary and modern), and we were so blessed to be able to experience all of those highs together. Once we got into college, we quickly realized that the professional dancing world wasn’t for us. It became very evident that we needed to invest in a degree that would be concrete enough to make us self-sustaining, and we were well aware that was a pretty risky chance to take. We definitely miss dancing our little hearts out, but we couldn’t be more content with the career paths we have chosen.
5. Our grandparents are our rock.
As many of you know, the popular celebrities, Nana and Poppa, are two of our biggest blessings. When life was too much to handle and on the brink of being what was considered normal, they were there to help us through. My mom and us are so blessed to have them in our lives. They have truly devoted themselves to all three of us, we couldn’t be more thankful to be their girls.
6. Contrary to popular belief, not all bloggers are “rich.”
When people hear our story, the most common reaction we get is, “WHAT?! We just thought y’all had rich parents that give y’all stuff.” Word to the wise, PLEASE DON’T SAY THAT (lol). Really, though. We work our buns off. Nothing has ever been handed to us, and our extras in life are brought about by hard work and fulfilling wants and needs in our lives on our own. Although we are so blessed and thankful that we have a support system that has enabled us to never go without, we support ourselves in our daily endeavors. There’s nothing cooler than being a girl boss, and we show all of our gratitude to the women out their who don’t take any bull and work for everything they have (while wearing Loubs).
7. We have weird twin-telepathy. Yes, it’s a real thing.
Since we have chosen different career paths, we have been forced to get really comfortable with being a normal human being and go about about our daily business without a backup brain with you at all times. We deeply feel for one another, and we are truly each other’s biggest fans. When one twin is having a bad day, a text is not necessary. We can feel it in our hearts when the other is in pain, upset, having a bad hair day, WHATEVER. Throughout the years we have truly had to rely on one another for hope, support, and comfort, and it goes without saying that we are soulmates. It’s not a surprise that we subconsciously send vibes to one another.
8. We both suffer from anxiety.
This one is especially difficult to write about. We truly feel that you have control of what you put out to the world, and we have always chosen to put out positivity. Through the anxiety attacks and shingles (I’ve had them more times than any 22-year-old should have to say), we have tried our best to keep our anxiety struggle under control. This is because of so many reasons. One: everyone has their struggles. Two: it’s how you cope with those struggles that truly matter. It’s easy to stay in bed because leaving your bed might send you into tears, but let’s face it…there’s a world out there that will continue to go on even if you feel like you can’t. So wash your hair, praise Jesus, and prove that it’s not Satan’s day (nor will it ever be).
9. We kinda, sorta hate the stigma that can come along with blogging.
We have been faced with the ugly truth that some people will think what you are publishing on your blog is S-T-U-P-I-D. It’s easy to think that bloggers are only in it for the Instagram followers/likes, free stuff, and popularity. Speaking personally, this could be the furthest thing from our reason to start the blog. We started on this journey because even though we went took different career paths, we both have a passion for photography, style, beauty, and journaling. Not only that, but we feel an intense responsibility to put positivity out into the world since we have experienced so much negativity in our lives. We strongly urge blog readers to think about a bloggers drive before you start being Judgey McJudgerson. However, if you’re wanting a blogger to just gain what was stated above, you’re going into the wrong business.
10. We have lost friends because of the blog.
Like stated above, we’ve experienced some ugliness in the past (and sometimes still surfaces) regarding our little blog. It’s common to face people in your life that aren’t supportive of your intentions, and there’s not much you can do about it. It’s hard to remind yourself of your intentions and why you started out on this journey, but it’s doable. Surround yourself with positive people and the rest will fall into place.
We all hope you have a great week and thank you for reading a little more into our lives! Till next time!
X, H & K
4 comments
Chelsea Hatfield
March 14, 2016 at 1:18 amI am so proud of both of you and I'm so glad y'all are both doing what y'all love.
Miss and love y'all so much.
XOXO 🙂
HaileyKailey Nouis
March 14, 2016 at 5:28 amWe love you! Definitely need to get together and catch up! 🙂
Eloisa Leal
March 15, 2016 at 1:35 amYou guys are amazing! I love following y'all and can see why your mom is so very proud of you two. It's wonderful that you opened up to the world like this because sometimes they have no idea that These two gorgeous twins are human too. We all go through ups and downs but its all about how you deal with it. Continue to be positive and Trust on the Lord for he will give you the desires of your heart.
HaileyKailey Nouis
March 19, 2016 at 5:01 amThank you so much for your sweet words!