I was born and raised in Muncie, IN to Darrell Balfour & Mary Flake.  I have a beautiful "Bonus Mom", Annette Balfour.  I'm very grateful for my three parents and my five siblings.

 

I am a Senior Data Analyst at Indiana University Ball Memorial Hospital.  In May, I celebrated 26 years of service.  

 

This year I celebrated 15 years of marriage to my wonderful husband, Wilhelm Whitley; we have three children. 

 

I have been a foster parent for 17 years with DCS.  I am an active member of Renovation Life Church, Pastor Terrell & Pastor Camille Jones. 

 

I believe in my heart that the Lord gifted me with the idea of "Nino's Notes".  I was watching a Christian video on YouTube and scrolled down and saw a lady creating a notebook from scratch.  It sparked so much joy and curiosity in my heart.  I clicked on the video and immediately fell in love with the idea of creating my own custom notebooks.  I already had a love for notebooks and paper.  I've never been able to find the perfect notebook so the thought of creating my own was simply amazing.  I spent endless hours watching videos and teaching myself the craft.  It is a very time-consuming craft that leaves little room for error, but I love it.  The love of paper runs in my family, my mother, sisters and I all love paper and jotting down notes.  After I got the hang of it, I created a notebook then posted it on Facebook.  Krista Garrett saw it and suggested a few names.  Nino's Notes stuck out to me!  My eldest niece gave me the name "Nino", 34 years ago.  I have since expanded from notebooks, journals to paper purses, lip balm holders and more.  I even offer digital services to those who may not prefer paper.  I am a Microsoft Specialist and love creating spreadsheets of all kinds.  I named my small business, "Nino's Notes Custom Journals, Notebooks & More" because there is so much MORE to be birthed out of my business.  Rather paper or digital I am here to serve.