Hello!

I am a deaf momma, wife, and clay artisan. I've been married for 4 years to an incredible husband, James and we have an amazing 2 year old daughter, Arabella. I'm based in Lafayette, Louisiana and was raised here my whole life! I was born deaf. I'm completely deaf in my right ear and had severe to profound hearing loss/deafness in my left ear. There was very little hearing left and I couldn't hear anything without a hearing aid.

However, a few months ago in May of 2023, I lost the rest of my hearing completely and became fully deaf. At 25 years old.  A mom to a toddler with a hearing husband and family that doesn't sign. It was a huge change. I spent many hard weeks praying and adjusting to everything from family to business and friends. I was reborn again a Christian after leaning into Christ more than ever during this process. I always called myself a Christian but after a particular experience, I knew that I needed to ask Jesus into my heart again. I was baptized a few months later. A few weeks after with fully deaf ears, I heard God whisper strongly and clearly;  "Ana Denae."

I asked God, "Is that you? Are you calling me by my name?" 

Again.
"Ana Denae."

When He spoke, I was swaying to His voice, my body full of goosebumps and I was praying/sobbing loudly at 12:30am. I hadn't heard anything in so long and to know that the Lord called on me despite having deaf ears? Y'all. It changed me. I have a lot of testimonies under my belt but this just might be one of my favorites.

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The reason why I started Eden + Clay is because I'm a stay-at-home mom and I wanted to help contribute to our home during these terrible years of inflation. Because of my deafness, it's very hard for me to find a work-from-home job that doesn't require being able to talk on the phone. Which isn't possible for me. I spent a long time thinking about things I could learn to do. I tried to sew and crochet but they were both very time-consuming just to create one piece. My work hours are limited to my daughter's nap-times and bedtime so I needed to find another option. 3 years ago, I came across polymer clay jewelry on Instagram and always loved it and enjoyed seeing it on my social feed from time to time. One day, I was scrolling through Instagram and found a beautiful feed of clay earrings and admired their work for probably close to an hour! Then I had a thought,

"hmm, this is something I can do!"

As soon as I acknowledged that, the designs and ideas started flooding my brain. I knew it was something I should follow up on. I spent months after that researching everything I could and praying a LOT on whether this was something I should pursue. God gave me a lot of little signs that affirmed that this was the next step. One thing led to another and then Eden + Clay was born!

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On March 7th, 2003, at 4.5 year old, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. (ALL)

In the course of a week, I became extremely pale and almost yellow. I was extremely tired and would fall asleep easily anywhere. I would wake up from my naps with pain in my sides (my spleen was extremely swollen). My parents knew something was wrong so they took me to the pediatrician. As soon as the nurse saw me, she knew I was extremely sick. The doctor took 5 minutes to examine me and immediately ordered a rush blood test. My parents were informed that night that it was leukemia. They had 24 hours to make a decision on where they wanted to send me because my condition was time-sensitive. Before they could fly me out anywhere, I had to have 2 blood transfusions that night or I wouldn't survive the flight. We flew out to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital the next day and they were ready to try and save my life. 98% of my cells were leukemic; the cancer was consuming my body fast. I also had pneumonia and contracted an infection from a spinal tap that caused my lower back to turn black. I wasn't expected to survive after a week. The doctors couldn't treat the cancer without progressing the pneumonia, and they couldn't treat the pneumonia without progressing the cancer. Either medicine could kill me. So a team of doctors came up with a plan to give me a little bit of medicine for both and different antibiotics for the infection. We needed a miracle. I was so sick that I fell asleep for 3 days and didn't wake up. They didn't think I would. I had thousands of prayer warriors praying for me. My school, church, youth groups, friends, families, complete strangers that heard about my story was praying. My parents prayed so hard and even told God that if it was His will, they will trust in Him. A little while after that, I woke up to my parents at the end of my bed & said,

"I hungry"

They were so happy!

"What do you want??"

"I want chicken & rice (my favorite combo at the time) and I want to watch Cinderella."

It was already in the VCR and ready to be played, so they got it started. The cafeteria was closed so my dad called every place he could to try and find somewhere that would deliver chicken & rice, and he did.

The next morning I had 8 or 9 doctors come in my room and they all stood around me, shocked and

amazed. I was eating breakfast and coloring; feeling a lot better.

One doctor had tears streaming down his face and said,

"This is a miracle."

My cancer story is the reason why I'm a strong believer in God and my faith. Without Him, I would

not be here. And because He brought me back, I KNOW I have a purpose in my life & will always

live to serve Him. Everything I do is for God and His glory!

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St. Jude's also saved my life and I am forever grateful to the amazing staff that God blessed us with. I am a forever supporter of St. Jude's which is why $1 from every single purchase goes towards St. Jude Children's Research. 

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Thank you for reading my story and supporting my small business! Eden + Clay would not be possible without God or your support. Jesus loves you!!