I got a shirt in the mail from Candace's site yesterday and there was a sticker on the tissue. The sticker simple said http://www.candacecameronbure.net/. CCB.net as we affectionately call it. A place that was my number one visited site for over five years!
In March 1996, I got married at nineteen. Nobody I knew was getting married, everyone I knew was off at college, the trend in marriage at the time was more people in their thirties getting married versus younger marriages. One day, I was heading into my job at Disneyland and stopped at the store, I saw People magazine in the rack and it had a picture of Candace Cameron in a wedding dress on the front. I knew we were the same age and so I bought the magazine to read the article.
Buying that People magazine changed my life and I didn't even know it! I read the article and saw, she had gotten married just a few months after I did, she was twenty by a few months and had been engaged at the same age as I got engaged. I felt a kinship with her, someone my age that was married young. It was all rather strange.
I watched Full House with my family but I wasn't what I would consider a ''fan''. I didn't look up to the characters on the show, in my eyes they were/are peers. Since I had been introduced to another cast member via mutual friend back when the show was on the air, I knew they were just regular girls like me, who happened to have a interesting job.
Fast forward to 1997, I was home on maternity leave with Conner. We had our first computer and I decided to see if I could find out how Candace was doing being married. I remember finding a website that she shared on and that she was expecting a baby herself. I started following along on that site until its demise.
In 2002, I decided to see if I could see how things were going for Candace. I found a site online that was created by a girl our age in Australia by the name of Gemma. She was a fan of Candace's who had created a site for Candace to share on. It was really cool and Candace would send in pictures to share and her fans could talk to each other and her in a forum setting.
I would go check it, though I thought it was really weird to go online and read a celebrity site. So I never told anyone!
One day, I noticed a prayer section. The readers of the site could share their prayer requests with each other to pray. I thought to myself, ''But who actually prays for these people?" so I made it my mission to pray for each request put on the site. I met a girl named Stacy on the site who was doing the same thing and we bonded together to minister to the other readers of the site.
After about a year, we went to Candace and Gemma, we asked if it would be okay for us to lead bible studies on the site for the readers. I remember confiding in my dear friend and prayer partner Olga about my involvement in the site. She was the first person aside from Marty that I ever told. She started praying for me and my work on the site. Eventually I went from contributor to co-site administrator along with Gemma and Stacy.
One day, I realized that God had used an article in People years before to bring me to this place. Through the site, I met amazing women from around the world and was able to help them through many things. I made friends with some amazing people. It helped me end up reconnecting with another friend, through this common bond a friendship was born.
I met a young girl named Kayla, she was only 16 at the time and I watched over her and taught her online safety. I met C, a young military wife expecting a baby. I met Scott and Jodi, two people with cerebral palsy who were big fans of Full House. I made a life long friend with Gemma and Stacy through our administration of the site.
It opened many doors for me, it really was the beginning of my online work. I wasn't even a blogger during that time. It helped me see that wonderful things could come from being online and meeting people even in the oddest of ways. I've always been grateful to Candace for allowing me to use her platform to help others and reach them with love and kindness.
It was a wonderful time in my life that eventually came to a close. It was a stepping stone that helped me learn a world that would eventually play a role in another friendship and in life in general. It gave me a peek into a side of celebrity that many never see. For me, I view fans and celebrity very different than most normal people. It's a time in my life that I am proud to share with you and think back on fondly. It has brought many wonderful people into my life and opened many doors I never thought possible.
There you have it, the Full story of my weird Full House connections. I am proud to be in the circle of women who are connected to Full House in one way or another. They are amazing ladies and I am thankful for them. God has used it to bless my life in more ways than one. During our time on the site, we became a family of sorts and still are to this day. For a long time, I tried to run from this family but now have fully embraced them and accepted this weird part of my life.
Gem,Mel,Roxie, April, Kayla, C, Scott, Jodi, Susan, Stacy, Steph and many others, I am glad for our connection through this site and the blessings you have been to my family through the years.
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| Back in the CCB.net days. My first time hearing Candace speak. |
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| I guess in a way, DJ is my favorite. If you want this cute shirt, click on the picture and it will take you to Candace's store where you can buy one for yourself. |
