Thankful

I am thankful for so much....I don't think I can begin to make my list right now, but I am going to do it this week. The list is long and each one of you who read my blog and pray for us and String of Pearls is a part of that list too. Thank you so much.

I wanted to follow up on my post about Mck Mama and her plan to have businesses donate a portion of their proceeds to String of Pearls on her baby Stellan's behalf. Here they are!



Heidi at Candles For Causes sells Mia Bella Gourmet Natural Wax Candles and other fine products and will donate a minimum of 50% of profits from now until ?.

Pamper yourself with fabulous Mary Kay skin-care products from Melissa, an independent beauty consultant. Visit www.marykay.com/mbernardino today and 30% of net sales will be donated!

Jessica at Jekuthiel Gifts does websites, calendars, labels, bumper stickers, knitted potholders & baby items. For every $5 spent on her website through Dec 20th, $1 will be donated to String of Pearls.

Katy, an independent Tastefully Simple Consult, sells easy to prepare gourmet foods and will donate 10% of proceeds from sales beginning NOW until January 1, 2009! (Please email her at kdortenzo@gmail.com after you order so that she knows that 10% of that order goes to String of Pearls.)

Christine sells Tastefully Simple and will donate 20% of all sales from now through December 31, 2008. www.tastefullysimple.com/web/cengman



Robyn at Brace Yourself Designs makes keepsake jewelry, mommybracelets and more, and will donate 10% of all proceeds, anytime you mention this endeavor (through Christmas and beyond!!)



Darla, Independent Consultant with Arbonne International which offers pure, safe, and beneficial botancial baby care products, will donate 35% of proceeds from sales of the Arbonne Baby Care line through December 2009 and can be reached at creecherdk@yahoo.com.



Emily at Apple of My Eye Gifts makes unique children's clothing and baby items, and she will be donating 15% of her proceeds through the month of December.



Conquer eczema, wrinkles, fatigue and weight-gain with Julie. Arbonne’s premium skin-care and wellness products are vegan, with no parabens, no mineral oil, no chemical dyes or fragrances. Ask how you can save 35% and String of Pearls can get 14%.



Shawna at Firefly Photo Jewelry handcrafts custom soldered photo jewelry as well as handstamped jewels and would be honored to donate 10% of all proceeds from sales from now until New Years Eve.



Abigail with Missy Prissy Bow Boutique, which sells Prissy Bows for Your Little Princess's Crown, will donate 10% of every Stellan's String of Pearls order, from January 1, 2009 - January 15, 2009.



Lisa and Aleacia at Memorystones create customized lifebooks for foster and adopted children, and scrapbook scripture frames. They will be donating 20% of all profits to String of Pearls from now until February 15, 2009. Please email them at jer17v7@yahoo.com for more information!



Melissa at Little Peanut Designs sells fun and trendy products for kids and mommies and will donate 10% of the proceeds from sales between now and Christmas. (Upon ordering, please e-mail melissa@littlepeanutdesigns and mention Stellan Supports String of Pearls, so they can be assured String of Pearls receives their donations.)


The girls at Tamz have a product to tame those flyaways & unruly brows! At $8.95 a bottle, this is a great stocking stuffer and for purchases made throughout the holiday season, 10% of their proceeds will be donated!



Kerry at Shiloh Photography will donate 15% of any shoot booked in 2008 to String of Pearls. Mention String of Pearls or the MckFamily when you contact them.



Elizabeth Engelhardt Creations sells handmade cards...invitations, announcements, thank yous, Christmas cards, and more. Please stop by to place your order and to see what all she has to offer.



Leslee of http://www.kikiandlele.com/ will be donating 20% of all proceeds starting December 1st through December 10th and we will throw in FREE shipping! Kiki & Lele specialize in "hand-stamped personalized sterling silver jewelry" and also make hair clips.



Melissa at http://www.colormehappy-designs.blogspot.com/ sells personalized and custom photo cards and scrappy blog designs and will donate 10% of proceeds from any orders placed before the end of 2008.



Nikki at http://www.wrappedinlove.net/ custom makes ring slings so that you can keep your baby close to your heart while having your hands free. Now through December 31st, $5 from each purchase over $20 will be donated to String of Pearls.



Jennifer at http://www.mommynecklace.blogspot.com/makes custom mommy necklaces and will donate 25% of proceeds from sales to String of Pearls. This will be an ongoing donation; however, all purchases needed for Christmas will need to be made by December 10th in order to guarantee delivery by the 25th.



A sweet gal who wished to remain anonymous let me know of her intention to donate some of the profits of her custom invitation business to String of Pearls!



LoraAnn with LoraAnnphotography.com will donate 50% from every $100. Family/Holiday Portrait Session booked between NOW and 1/31/2009.(mention String of Pearls)Also, any wedding booked EVER (when mentioning String of Pearls) , String of Pearls will receive $50 upon 100% payment.



Please visit Kay at website at http://www.engravedeuniques.com and mention String of Pearls in the comment section when an order is placed for one of her fabulous engraved tiles.



Alicia at Lavender's Blue sells custom baby gifts and will send 25% of the proceeds for the next 3 months to Stellan Supports String of Pearls.





This is a great way to get some Christmas shopping done without getting out of your bathrobe. I know I am planning on shopping this way!

This money is so needed right now...I have several meetings set up with the individual Perinatologist offices in the next several weeks and the referrals for more clients continue to come in. This is much bigger than I am and I am so honored God has allowed us to use our time with Pearl in a way to help other families. The families I have spoken with are all such amazing people who love their babies with an amazing passion. I am looking forward to the day our babies will introduce us to each other after we have fallen at the feet of Jesus.

My sweet friend Corie, Larson's mama, is having a party this week to help me put together baskets to send to the families we are working with. This time together will be such a gift to so many people...I am so thankful for Corie and her willingness to lighten the workload for me! I will have 20 baskets in my basement ready to be given to these families. This is another example of what I have to be thankful for.

Josie's mama, a family we have helped through String Of Pearls, just started a blog. I asked her permission to post her blog here and she agreed! She has an amazing story and just said goodbye to her sweet baby 1 month ago. You can ready her story at http://holdingheaven-josie.blogspot.com/ Josie is a beautiful baby and I know she is so missed.

I'm missing Pearl too....but so thankful she came.

MCK Mama

MCK Mama is at it again! She has another idea up her sleeve to raise some money for String of Pearls. She is a treasure and has an amazing story about here sweet baby Stellan. I am so thankful she is not a part of this "club" and also so thankful she has not forgotten about those of us who still a part of the "club".

She is also in a contest for the Divine Caroline blogger award....she has said she will donate all of her winnings to String of Pearls. Go here, down on the left side of the blog and click on the link to the Divine Caroline Button to vote for her blog! The contest ends November 30th.

I have more to blog about, first I better go be sure there are no open bottles of nail polish and no wrestling going on!

Our day

Thanks so much for praying! O's surgery went well....waking up from anesthesia was very difficult and so hard to watch my sweet boy scream for an hour. None of my mommy tricks worked so I just sat there and rubbed his curls. Not much sleep for us last night...I was so worried he was going to rub his nose and undo the surgeons hard work. Would it be mean if I had him in a hockey goalie helmet 24 hours a day for the nest 6 weeks?

Today was a bit crazy...a 7 year old who had surgery yesterday, a 4 year old who needed some serious attention and an adventurous 17 month old with a bottle of OPI "Tiptoe through the tulips" nail polish and a travertine tile floor! Hmmm quite a mess..I wonder if my husband will notice the pink hue to the tile?

Tomorrow is another day and hopefully tonight will be filled with a bit more sleep.

My curly haired boy!

Doesn't this face make you smile? Makes me smile too! At 8 am tomorrow he will be having surgery to repair his deviated septum and have his adenoids removed....for the 2nd time in 2 years!!! All of us are nervous and I just want the day to be over with. This sweet boy has never been able to fully breathe out of his nose, has sleep apnea, and snores louder than most grown men! Will you pray for skilled hands for the surgeon, a smooth surgery and a peaceful recovery? Someday I will tell you about the recovery last time...let's just say it was not one of my best mommy moments one afternoon when I couldn't get him to drink liquids or take his pain medication! Pray that we will have peace and fear will not invade our hearts and minds. We are putting our faith in God and not faith in faith! Thank you so much for praying...I know He hears us.

I'm still here!

The last 4 weeks have gone by way to fast! A great trip to Disney, the beach, sick kids, sick mom and dad, sick kids, 3rd grade science projects, String of Pearls meetings and trying to sleep, eat, play, give kisses and do laundry!

The last month several of the families I have been working with for String of Pearls have had their babies and Pearl has a few new friends in heaven. Please pray for Josie's mom and dad, Savannah's mom and dad and Isaac's mom and dad. The grief is so raw for these families....takes me back to the raw times for us and then I remember it doesn't take much for me to go back to that place. I am thankful for time and thankful for the reminders of my sweet baby. She is making a difference to so many families...I am proud to be her mama!

So many thoughts swirling around in my head now...the words won't come out though! I know the words will come eventually!

PS- L was not so happy with all the big furry characters at Disney! R was a good protector!