Three years ago today, I woke up full of anticipation of the hours to come -- the hours where I expected to meet my newborn daughter. Instead, I would be heartbroken just a few hours later in a way that I could never adequately explain. I'd never wish that pain on any single person or couple.
I now have the benefit of time and distance, but even then - I never had anything but love for the birth mother in that situation, and certainly nothing but love for the baby. On the anniversary of that day, I always wonder what she is like.
Is she as happy, loved, and healthy as my boys? Does she have everything she needs to thrive? I can only wonder because their family situation then was dire, and I just hope that her parents have gotten their schooling completed and are able to provide for their 3 (possibly more now) children.
I know that it wasn't in God's plan for me to raise that sweet baby girl, but I still care that she is doing alright. Maybe someday in Heaven, I'll get to meet her and know that all was well with her life. It would be great to know that she had a happy childhood, and was able to go on and accomplish all of her dreams.
It would only be between today and April 9th that we waited and wondered when our baby would come, but even then - as we waited for James to be born almost 3 years ago -- I waited while holding my breath to see if his birth mother would change her mind at the last minute too. I was jaded, but in the end was pleasantly surprised.
I know that these boys are meant to be ours, and God knows that I love them more than life itself. I just think about that day on it's anniversary every year and just can't help but think of "what if" -- not that it would be better than reality -- just how would it be different type of reflection. How would our family dynamic be different? How would she and Tyler's dynamic be? Just those types of reflective thoughts -- and the hope & prayer that she is out there reaching all of her potential and being loved in the way that every child deserves!
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Happy Valentines Day!
From our family to yours... Happy Valentines Day!! We are having a great day, and are all sugared out from having two parties at school -- and today is school picture day as well -- so I'm sure that we will all breathe a sigh of relief when the day is done and we can put our heads on a pillow.
John and I made these cookies for the boys to take to school for their parties on Monday. They are my Grandmother's Sugar Cookies they are a staple at our Christmas celebration, but I took them and brought them into the new year and will make them often.
These were the Valentines that the boys gave out on Monday -- Tyler's were the basketball ones and James' were the soccer.
These are the cards they are giving out today -- Tyler's are the baseball ones and James' are the football. These follow their interests pretty well, and I thought turned out really cute. I came up with the words I wanted to use, but found these printable images on Etsy.
I took some of the boys' drawings and made them into Valentines Day cards that we mailed off to the grandparents... even though they will be a bit late.
Here are the boys this morning ready to leave for school... they look so stinkin' adorable!! I may be biased, but I am supposed to be.
I got their school's director to take a picture of me with the boys before I took them in to get their pictures done and then head off for a shopping trip to Hobby Lobby.
I then met John for lunch at Tejas de Brazil... it was excellent, and we have dessert saved from a coupon to enjoy tonight! YAY!
It doesn't get much better -- but I'm off again to go pick up the boys to come home for their gifts, to play blocks, and whatever else they get into.
John and I made these cookies for the boys to take to school for their parties on Monday. They are my Grandmother's Sugar Cookies they are a staple at our Christmas celebration, but I took them and brought them into the new year and will make them often.
These were the Valentines that the boys gave out on Monday -- Tyler's were the basketball ones and James' were the soccer.
These are the cards they are giving out today -- Tyler's are the baseball ones and James' are the football. These follow their interests pretty well, and I thought turned out really cute. I came up with the words I wanted to use, but found these printable images on Etsy.
I took some of the boys' drawings and made them into Valentines Day cards that we mailed off to the grandparents... even though they will be a bit late.
Here are the boys this morning ready to leave for school... they look so stinkin' adorable!! I may be biased, but I am supposed to be.
I got their school's director to take a picture of me with the boys before I took them in to get their pictures done and then head off for a shopping trip to Hobby Lobby.
I then met John for lunch at Tejas de Brazil... it was excellent, and we have dessert saved from a coupon to enjoy tonight! YAY!
It doesn't get much better -- but I'm off again to go pick up the boys to come home for their gifts, to play blocks, and whatever else they get into.
Friday, February 1, 2013
My Why
Anyone in a direct selling business is asked this question. Sometimes we are asked for goal setting purposes, other times we're asked because someone is interested in selling, other times people are just curious about why we even try to accomplish what we do while we are in the middle of so many other things.
I sell Scentsy and Velata -- and am dabbling in the possibility of selling Grace Adele as well. Scentsy is a line of home fragrance products, bath products, laundry products, and even products for the car! Velata is by the same parent company, and is a line of chocolate fondue products and serving pieces. Grace Adele is yet a third line by the Scentsy Family Companies, and is a line of customizable purses and bags as well as jewelry and scarves.
Why do I sell? At the most fundamental -- my reasons are these:
By having this business, I am able to provide things that our single income might not be able to provide on it's own. I've been able to help pick up the costs of medical care when our FSA and copays don't cover it all. I've been able to buy memberships to the zoo and the Children's Museum with my additional income. I have paid for party supplies for my kids and for other showers I have been a part of hosting. Christmas gift purchases were supplemented with my additional income. In the months to come, I am planning to also start supplementing our mission to get out of debt - Dave Ramsey style!
That isn't all it has given me, it just barely scratches the surface of the bigger picture. It is part of the American dream! I am my own boss, working my own chosen hours, and loving these products while sharing them with others.
I could do 10 parties a month or just 1 -- and it is more fun than this painfully shy person has had in a LONG time. I am NOT a sales person by a long shot, and I am not one of those direct sales people that plans silly games to make parties successful. I let the products speak for themselves. I set up a display, and let the scents or chocolate sell itself. It always has, and the quality is so fantastic that it always will. Basically my work at parties consists of setting up, answering questions, making some suggestions, and clean up -- it takes about 2-3 hours of your time, and it is fun to do!
Additionally, we are able to allow hostesses great benefits for allowing you to talk to their friends & family... and they don't always have to be traditional parties. We also have catalog parties, online parties, and basket parties. Basket parties are simple and easy for people to take to their office or wherever they choose to collect orders -- and frees them from having to clean their house or set up any snacks. These parties are perfect for those who aren't the traditional hostess type.
From there, you can build a team of other sales people who want to embark on this journey with you. It isn't required that you build a team, but you can enhance your experience by doing so. Yes, there are some financial benefits of building a team. However, in my case - I get much more joy from coaching others to reach their goals. I am almost at my 1 year anniversary, and I couldn't be more thrilled to share my results -- it speaks for itself for someone that is in a relatively new city where I only know stay-at-home moms.
In my first year:
Sales: $11,439.81
Commission: $3,300
Team: 3 people
Team Sales: $14,559.88
I'm proud of these numbers because my new team members only came on board toward the end of this past year, so I can't imagine the potential of what we can do in the years to come.
Often businesses like these are met with negativity, but I'm here to tell you that I am being completely honest when I tell you that I am the anti-sales person. If I can do this with this level of success -- anyone can. I take "no" at it's word, and am not pushy... I don't appreciate those tactics in sales people myself -- so I don't use them. So don't let someone steal your thunder. At it's core, it is an opportunity for you to invest in yourself. You get great products with all of these lines that are well worth the cost of the kits -- actually worth more than the cost of the kits. I've done some of these businesses before and was not successful with them -- mainly because I chose product lines that were great, but weren't lines that were functional for my life... basically things that I didn't use regularly. If you love the products, or even don't know about the products -- but love home/personal fragrances, chocolate, or accessories... you owe it to yourself to explore this option.
If you've ever considered joining the Scentsy Family Companies -- now is the time! It is deluxe kit month right now so for your $99 you get all of the traditional fall/winter kit with the added bonus of getting the new spring/summer testers and catalogs for the new lines coming out in March. That is why I chose to sign up last year at this time, and I made use of the outgoing catalogs by handing them out in my neighborhood to get the word out about my launch. Or if you sign up today -- you could get your launch party going immediately and as we finish out this month, your customers would get 10% off of just about everything in the fall/winter line! It is a GREAT time to sign up for Scentsy.
If home fragrances aren't where your passion is -- you could sign up for Velata and share your love of all things dipped in chocolate. You can eat the chocolate warm or use it for making cake pops, candies, gifts and more! This kit is also $99 to sign up for Velata and comes with everything you need to get started.
If neither of these is where your passion is, and maybe you are interested in accessories and purses -- you can sign up for Grace Adele by following this same link. You will be asked which line of products you'd like to sell during your sign up on any of these links. The Grace Adele kit is $199, it is a little more because of the quality of the products. The bag you will get alone is worth the price - but you will also get color swatches, jewlery, and catalogs... and all of the start up information you need to make you successful. Additionally, as a special bonus -- I will sign up for this with you and we'll get started together.
Like I said, you get me as your coach with each of these you have me as a coach... and an incredible upline with my friend, Laurie, who is a Director and her sponsor who is a Super Star Director. We have a phenomenal consultant support center with countless training videos and a fantastic Facebook support system as well with a special group dedicated to our group for sharing ideas and best practices.
I would be happy to send you these catalogs over email for you to take a look at the full product lines for each of these three companies, and let you know of my personal incentives for joining my team. So consider all of the ways you could enrich your lives by getting involved.
I sell Scentsy and Velata -- and am dabbling in the possibility of selling Grace Adele as well. Scentsy is a line of home fragrance products, bath products, laundry products, and even products for the car! Velata is by the same parent company, and is a line of chocolate fondue products and serving pieces. Grace Adele is yet a third line by the Scentsy Family Companies, and is a line of customizable purses and bags as well as jewelry and scarves.
Why do I sell? At the most fundamental -- my reasons are these:
By having this business, I am able to provide things that our single income might not be able to provide on it's own. I've been able to help pick up the costs of medical care when our FSA and copays don't cover it all. I've been able to buy memberships to the zoo and the Children's Museum with my additional income. I have paid for party supplies for my kids and for other showers I have been a part of hosting. Christmas gift purchases were supplemented with my additional income. In the months to come, I am planning to also start supplementing our mission to get out of debt - Dave Ramsey style!
That isn't all it has given me, it just barely scratches the surface of the bigger picture. It is part of the American dream! I am my own boss, working my own chosen hours, and loving these products while sharing them with others.
I could do 10 parties a month or just 1 -- and it is more fun than this painfully shy person has had in a LONG time. I am NOT a sales person by a long shot, and I am not one of those direct sales people that plans silly games to make parties successful. I let the products speak for themselves. I set up a display, and let the scents or chocolate sell itself. It always has, and the quality is so fantastic that it always will. Basically my work at parties consists of setting up, answering questions, making some suggestions, and clean up -- it takes about 2-3 hours of your time, and it is fun to do!
Additionally, we are able to allow hostesses great benefits for allowing you to talk to their friends & family... and they don't always have to be traditional parties. We also have catalog parties, online parties, and basket parties. Basket parties are simple and easy for people to take to their office or wherever they choose to collect orders -- and frees them from having to clean their house or set up any snacks. These parties are perfect for those who aren't the traditional hostess type.
From there, you can build a team of other sales people who want to embark on this journey with you. It isn't required that you build a team, but you can enhance your experience by doing so. Yes, there are some financial benefits of building a team. However, in my case - I get much more joy from coaching others to reach their goals. I am almost at my 1 year anniversary, and I couldn't be more thrilled to share my results -- it speaks for itself for someone that is in a relatively new city where I only know stay-at-home moms.
In my first year:
Sales: $11,439.81
Commission: $3,300
Team: 3 people
Team Sales: $14,559.88
I'm proud of these numbers because my new team members only came on board toward the end of this past year, so I can't imagine the potential of what we can do in the years to come.
Often businesses like these are met with negativity, but I'm here to tell you that I am being completely honest when I tell you that I am the anti-sales person. If I can do this with this level of success -- anyone can. I take "no" at it's word, and am not pushy... I don't appreciate those tactics in sales people myself -- so I don't use them. So don't let someone steal your thunder. At it's core, it is an opportunity for you to invest in yourself. You get great products with all of these lines that are well worth the cost of the kits -- actually worth more than the cost of the kits. I've done some of these businesses before and was not successful with them -- mainly because I chose product lines that were great, but weren't lines that were functional for my life... basically things that I didn't use regularly. If you love the products, or even don't know about the products -- but love home/personal fragrances, chocolate, or accessories... you owe it to yourself to explore this option.
If you've ever considered joining the Scentsy Family Companies -- now is the time! It is deluxe kit month right now so for your $99 you get all of the traditional fall/winter kit with the added bonus of getting the new spring/summer testers and catalogs for the new lines coming out in March. That is why I chose to sign up last year at this time, and I made use of the outgoing catalogs by handing them out in my neighborhood to get the word out about my launch. Or if you sign up today -- you could get your launch party going immediately and as we finish out this month, your customers would get 10% off of just about everything in the fall/winter line! It is a GREAT time to sign up for Scentsy.
If home fragrances aren't where your passion is -- you could sign up for Velata and share your love of all things dipped in chocolate. You can eat the chocolate warm or use it for making cake pops, candies, gifts and more! This kit is also $99 to sign up for Velata and comes with everything you need to get started.
If neither of these is where your passion is, and maybe you are interested in accessories and purses -- you can sign up for Grace Adele by following this same link. You will be asked which line of products you'd like to sell during your sign up on any of these links. The Grace Adele kit is $199, it is a little more because of the quality of the products. The bag you will get alone is worth the price - but you will also get color swatches, jewlery, and catalogs... and all of the start up information you need to make you successful. Additionally, as a special bonus -- I will sign up for this with you and we'll get started together.
Like I said, you get me as your coach with each of these you have me as a coach... and an incredible upline with my friend, Laurie, who is a Director and her sponsor who is a Super Star Director. We have a phenomenal consultant support center with countless training videos and a fantastic Facebook support system as well with a special group dedicated to our group for sharing ideas and best practices.
I would be happy to send you these catalogs over email for you to take a look at the full product lines for each of these three companies, and let you know of my personal incentives for joining my team. So consider all of the ways you could enrich your lives by getting involved.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)