Page 4 - TR What Women Want Aug 2017

4SS • What Women Want • An Advertising Supplement to the Three Rivers Edition • Sunday, August 13, 2017
MALLORY MORRIS/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Kayla Harris of Searcy chose an uncommon path when she decided to work from home through a network marketing company, and she said that decision allows her to be
present for her two children, help out on her family’s farm and open her home to children who need a place to stay.
Road less
TRAVELED
Stay-at-home mom forges path to supporting family, sharing the love
BY SARAH DECLERK SPECIAL SECTIONS WRITER
Adelicate silver heart pendant hangs around Kayla Harris’ neck. The heart’s bottom half is angled away from its top half, creating an open shape. This symbol represents a philosophy that guides Harris’ unique path to supporting her family, de-
veloping her career and extending a welcome to those in need. “Keep an open heart,” she said, “so that love can always
find its way in.”
The oldest of five children, Kayla learned the importance of
caring for others while growing up on her parents’ cattle farm, Cannon F Ranch in Searcy. At a young age, Kayla learned to bale hay, build fences and tend to the herd. Although her father has another job off the ranch, her mother stayed home with the children.
“That was a special thing that has played a big role in the mom I am today, what I want to do and how I want to be a stay-at- home mom,” she said. “The heart I have for kids came from that.”
After college, Kayla worked at a law office in Searcy and
became active in CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of White County. While serving as a voice for children in court, she said, she realized the need to help kids in her community.
“It just goes back to that saying, ‘If you’ve been blessed, be a blessing,’” she added. “The children are our future. They are what we need to pour into for the next generation, but I’d say the biggest thing that’s given me the heart for [helping children] is coming from a large family.”
While she was working at the law office, she and her hus- band, Ben, found out that she was pregnant with their daugh- ter, AJ. That’s when Kayla said she realized she wanted a career that would allow her to be present for her children.
She began looking for ways to work from home. After trying several options, she landed on a network marketing company that sells products geared toward health and well- ness. Within one year of joining the company, she said, she was able to quit her day job and stay home with AJ, now 6, and Kayla’s 4-year-old son, Wesson.
ROOM TO GROW
In 2015, the family moved from a small house in town to a larger home near her parents’ farm. Kayla discovered that the home was big enough to accommodate more than her four family members, so she and Ben began looking for ways to use the extra space to help children who needed a place to live.
The couple considered ventures such as adoption or fos- tering, but then a friend contacted Kayla about a foreign- exchange program for high school students organized by a company called CCI Greenheart.
Although she and Ben were in their 20s and had two small children, they decided to try out the program. After looking through hundreds of applications, one teen stuck out to them — Noor Leenders, a 16-year-old from the Netherlands.
“There was really no second thinking. We were just like, ‘This is our girl. We need to do this,’” Kayla said. “When we went to pick her up from the airport, there were a lot of emo- tions. It was a really special time for our family.”