Still Waiting, Still Fighting, and Trying to Keep Our Family Afloat

Many of you followed our previous GiveSendGo and have prayed for, encouraged, and supported our family through what has already been an incredibly long season.

Unfortunately, our previous fundraiser has repeatedly been shut off, so I am starting this new one while also trying to give a clearer picture of where things stand now.

We truly believed that by this point we would have much more clarity about Cliff’s situation and the possibility of a pardon. Instead, that process has taken far longer than we ever expected. With everything happening politically, the uncertainty surrounding the midterms, and the delays that have come with it, Cliff’s pardon effort is essentially on hold for now.

We are still hopeful. We are still praying. We are still pursuing every avenue we can.

But real life has not stopped while we wait.

In the meantime, our business that supported our family went under. That left me dealing with more expenses and obligations than I ever expected to be carrying alone, including outstanding business bills and money still owed to people who previously worked for us.

At the same time, I am now trying to financially and emotionally support myself, our three children, and Cliff.

It is a lot.

I also want to be very clear that I am doing everything I can on my end.

I haven't worked a traditional remote job that wasn't somehow connected to one of our businesses since I became pregnant with Eliana in 2017. I am actively trying to re-enter the traditional workforce now and applying for steady remote work that will allow me to support our family from home. 

I have already had a job interview. The position isn't quite ideal for our circumstances but it might be an answer to prayer and no offer has been made, but I am continuing to apply and interview while looking for something that can provide consistent income--God know's what He is doing!

In the meantime, I am not just waiting for the right job to appear.

I have been DoorDashing, delivering with Uber Eats, and doing Instacart whenever work is available. Gig work is unpredictable, and keeping an electric car charged enough to continue delivering has created its own challenges--as well as GPS and cell service in the mountains--but I am doing it because every bit of income helps (and Ashley Grovesnor so graciously Google Maps me back to cell service when I get lost).

I am going to local food pantries to supplement our groceries and stretch the money we do have as far as possible.

I have sold what I can around the house that we no longer use.

I am cutting expenses wherever possible (yay for kids who only watch YouTube anyway!).

I am working through the bills and obligations left behind when our business closed.

I am applying. I am interviewing. I am delivering groceries and meals. My mom has been in town for a long time from out of state helping. My in-laws are coming more often to help. I am using food pantries. I am selling things we no longer need. I am trying to find new ways to bring money in. And every day I am figuring out how to keep three children cared for, our household running, and Cliff supported from more than a thousand miles away.

I am not asking people to carry our family while I sit back and wait for Cliff’s situation to change.

I am doing everything I know to do to get us through this season.

Right now, it simply isn't enough to cover everything that has hit our family at once. And some days the hits feel like they keep coming. But I know God is still in control. 

Then there are the expenses most people never see when someone they love is incarcerated.

Even communicating with his family costs money. Cliff pays to use the phone and computer to call and email with us. It may only be a few cents at a time ($.05 a minute), but those minutes add up when you are trying to maintain any sense of a marriage and a relationship with three children from more than a thousand miles away.

And communication is only a small piece of it.

Cliff has to pay for virtually every additional thing he uses inside.

Because he is lactose intolerant, there are meals he cannot fully eat. He has to purchase additional food to supplement what is provided, and even then it can be difficult to get enough food and calories.

He has lost more than 50 pounds since being incarcerated.

Things as basic as packets of tuna, bbq sauces, and other food items to help supplement meals all cost money--and they are not cheap, unfortunately.

He also has to purchase his own basic supplies, including deodorant, soap, socks, underwear, sweat clothes, shoes, and personal-care items.

In July, his clothing was stolen through the laundry and he had to purchase replacements.

He also goes through shoes unusually quickly because of the way he walks following injuries from a serious accident he survived in 2004. Sneakers inside cost around $100 a pair, and he is already on his third pair since November 2025.

Even the dry-eye drops he needs because he previously had LASIK surgery cost around $18.

None of those expenses sounds enormous on its own.

But $18 here, $20 there, $100 for another pair of shoes, extra food, toiletries, clothes, phone calls, emails, and everything else adds up incredibly quickly.

And that is just what it takes to help support Cliff.

It doesn't include groceries for our household, utilities, car expenses, charging costs, the children's needs, everyday bills, or the countless unexpected expenses that come with raising three kids while suddenly trying to handle everything on my own.

I am trying very hard to keep all of those plates spinning.

I am trying to make sure our kids still have stability.

I am trying to help Cliff have the basic things he needs.

I am trying to rebuild my own career and create sustainable income again.

I am trying to deal responsibly with what was left behind when our business failed.

And I am trying to keep our family emotionally connected while we wait for something we genuinely believed would have happened by now.

I don't love asking for help.

But right now, we need some.

Donations from this fundraiser will help with our family's basic living expenses, groceries and household needs, transportation and charging costs while I work, expenses for the kids, obligations left behind by the business closure, and the ongoing cost of supporting Cliff while he is incarcerated.

This isn't about replacing my own efforts.

It is about helping us bridge the gap while I continue working, applying, interviewing, selling what I can, using the resources available to us, and trying to rebuild enough stability to carry our family forward.

If you aren't able to donate, prayers and sharing this fundraiser mean more than you know.

We still believe this chapter has an ending--it has to.

It is simply taking much longer to get there than any of us expected.

Thank you for continuing to stand beside our family while we wait, work, pray, and keep moving forward.

<3 the Powells