CHICAGO!! Getting Comfortable being Uncomfortable!

I had to head out to Chicago for a few days to do some training with my team! 

On the way out of town, I stopped by and saw an old friend from grade school that reached out to me about THESE CRAZY WRAPS and our Hair Skin and Nails!! I told her I would be close to Kansas City the next day and would stop by so she could wrap!!! We LAUGHED AND LAUGHED!! It was SO FUN to get caught up and share the products with her!!! We had SO MUCH FUN, I almost missed my flight!

I landed in Chicago at 6:30pm Thursday and my WONDERFUL sister picked me up!

For those of you who don't know, we were separated at birth. I was adopted out to a wonderful family after spending several months as a newborn in foster care. My Mom and Dad ended up getting married RIGHT after I was born and got pregnant right away with my sister. After my sister they had my brother. When I was 25, My brother found me and I was shocked not only to find out I had full sister, brother and also 2 half-sisters but the most surprising part is I AM HALF MEXICAN.. AND THEN THE SHOCKER.... My Birthmom and My Real Mom have THE SAME FIRST NAME!!! 

My sister and I are SUPER CLOSE!! She is also in my business with me so that means we get to see each other EVEN MORE!!!!! We stayed up late talking and ate some Chicago Pizza! YUM!

We started the next day with a wrap party in downtown Chicago!! We met and wrapped some WONDERFUL LADIES during their lunch break!!

We signed TWO new team members and 3 new customers!!

We rushed back to her house and had training with some other team mates and went out for dinner and stayed up late chatting again :)

The next morning was a BIG TRAINING with 300 of our closest It Works Family Members.

When you get to a certain level in the company, You start holding your own training events a few times a year!!!!! This was TOTALLY AND 100% OUT of my comfort zone.

Here is the ENTIRE GROUP after the Training!

WE have SO.Much.FUN!

Never in a ZILLION years would I have believed 2 years ago that I would be speaking on stage in front of hundreds of people training them on things like leadership and how to build businesses and be MOMPRENEURS.

Isn't God just AMAZING?? He brings us to things we think we will never do and gives us a passion to get through them. I wasn't nervous AT ALL once I got up there!!! I am SO PASSIONATE about this business and have seen SO MANY LIVES CHANGE both physically and financially that It brings tears to my eyes.

So, If you are out there and you are at a standstill with something in your life, think about STEPPING OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE to push through it!! If you do something you thought you would never do, something will happen that you thought would never happen!! Pray for got to lead you to it and HE will lead you through it!! YOU are made for BIG THINGS!!

My Birthmother...Lots on my mind....PART 1

I have wanted to write this post for YEARS now...It's just very difficult to write and get my emotions into words...

As my 41st birthday approaches..I think back to the date of my birth and what my birthmother was thinking then...

I also wonder what she thinks now..

We know each other but are NOT CLOSE...

I feel most of the times she doesn't love me, let alone like me..

AND IT HURTS..

I never really cared to meet her for I was raised by my own doting infertile parents who already adopted 2 boys and longed for a baby girl...They were/are WONDERFUL, Christian, Loving parents.

As an adopted child, the only thing I really wanted growing up was to see a picture of my birthmother..I NEVER longed to meet her. Once we did meet though, things changed..

I was born almost 41 years ago...To a BEAUTIFUL young Mexican girl whose mother (from what I understand) told her it would be much better to give me up for adoption than try to keep me at such a young age....She was sent to live in a Catholic home for unwed mothers until I was born.  I am SO THANKFUL she chose to give me LIFE!

On June 26, 1970, I was blessed to enter this world. I was fondly named "Cheryl Ann" after my BM's best friend and immediately placed into state foster care without my birthmother being offered even a glimpse of me.  SO SAD, for her.. to have me wiggling in her belly all that time and not even get to see my face...not get to hold me...I feel for her.

I lived in the same foster home for the 4 months prior to my parents picking me up and adopting me and changing my name to Jennifer Bea. Of course I don't remember any of this but it does affect me today.  I am IN AWE at God's plan for my life and beyond impressed that his plan included this commonality that I share with my adopted children.  Because I can tell them "MOMMY IS JUST LIKE YOU." "I WAS IN FOSTER CARE." "I know how it feels to miss your mommy and be sad that you can't be with her." "To wonder what she is like, what she is doing, where she is living." AND SO ON.... God's wisdom is SO FAR beyond what I can fathom to have set up this awesomeness. Don't you agree?

My parents were told VERY LITTLE about me. They didn't even know I was 1/2 Mexican. Isn't that WILD? OH HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED! Oh how I am thankful for the openness we share with our childrens birth families.

I lived a wonderful middle class life growing up with 2 school teachers for parents & 2 ornery older brothers. I was a spoiled yet well-rounded girl. I was afforded all the opportunities I was ever remotely interested in. Sports, Girlscouts, church, baton twirling, acrobats, dance, music etc. We LOVED traveling and camping as a family also.

When I was 20, my life changed when I had "the oldest". I was a single mom who worked a couple jobs to try to give her as close to the great life I was raised in. My parents helped A LOT when she was little. She was a precious little girl.

I was just mulling along with life. Struggling to make ends meet and take care of my sweet 5 year old girl when.....I went to the mailbox one day during the 25th year of my life and...

MY LIFE WAS PERMANENTLY ALTERED..

Stay tuned for PART 2!

OH, AND GO VOTE WOULD YA?
I need several HUNDRED more votes to make it in the top 25 which I REALLY WOULD LOVE TO DO. It only takes a second. THANK YOU!

RVing IT! First BIG TRIP!

The Captain started out our first big journey with a prayer with all of us holding hands, praying that we would have a safe journey..LOVE HIM!

I packed the RV while he was away at work and we literally left about 3 hours after he got home after being gone a week. I KNOW he was exhausted.

We got about a mile down the road and WyWy had to potty.

Next thing we know, he's yelling

"THERE'S WATER EVERYWHERE!!!!"

I run back to the bathroom to find out HE WAS RIGHT!

There was a "flowing leak" coming out of the line running into the toilet.

The Captain navigated BACKWARDS the ENTIRE MILE to our house,

ran in, got some tools and temporarily stopped the leak.

9 PEOPLE AND A BROKEN TOILEY-NOT EXACTLY IDEAL RIGHT?

We were on our way AGAIN!

Baby Bakers was cranky so I was laying back in the bedroom when ???? The RV stopped again????

We were AGAIN back in our driveway...

The Captain forgot to shut the garage door-POOR GUY!

Needless to say, we arrived at my parents about 11pm and all kids were asleep!

DAY 1-Tuesday

The next morning The Captain had his flight physical in Kansas City.

An intense "physical" he must endure every 6 months to "keep on flying".

We enjoyed breakfast in the RV and lots of love and conversations from Grandma and Papa! AND THANKFUL we could use their toilet!!

The big kids did their school work in the driveway (LOVE IT)!

While the little ones enjoyed some LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE!

We even baked cookies ready for The Captain when he got back!

When he returned, we found a place to fix the RV, we left my parents & headed out & GUESS WHAT? they did NOT have the part needed to fix it!!

SO...They rigged the toilet so we could use it until the next day when the part came in.

We headed on to The Captains sisters house in Missouri where she graciously had KC BBQ waiting for us!

The kids and I had studied about Missouri and this is one thing KC is famous for so I thought it was an awesome idea to give the kids some LEGIT BBQ!

YUMMY!!!

We ate our BBQ, played with Aunt B's dogs and settled in the RV for the night.

DAY 2-Wednesday

We said goodbye to Aunt B as she went off to work.

We showered the kids in the RV while waiting for word on the part to come in for the potty. Finally got the call and got it fixed in about 15 minutes and we were OFF AGAIN!!

NEXT STOP, SAINT LOUIE!!!

We made it to my friend Jen's house BEHIND SCHEDULE because of the potty problem. Twas QUITE fun getting the BIG RIG in her driveway. I think The Captain literally had 6 inches on the left side to spare.

We were ALL so happy to reunite! We hadn't seen each other since August!

Jen had a FABULOUS dinner prepared for us!

All 14 kids ran around and played until LATE!

DAY 3-Thursday

Jen made chocolate chip pancakes for the whole crew the next morning.

We enjoyed coffee talk and hanging out until late morning.

Then it was time to say good bye!

Jen and I had to STOP TRAFFIC (in our jammies) on her busy road to get the BIG RIG out of her driveway-FUN MEMORIES were made this trip!

It was God & our embryo adoptions that brought us together & our families will remain life long friends!

It will be so good for these 3 to have each other to talk to about their unique birth stories as they grow up.

3 sweet girls, once frozen in time, now living, breathing angels!!

The kids thought it was AWESOME to see the Arch!

We eventually got dressed ate lunch and were on our way to my sisters in INDY! I even took a SHOWER GOING DOWN I-70! Have I mentioned that this RV makes things SO CONVENIENT???

My birth sister who I have grown to LOVE SO MUCH after knowing her 15 years. It seems like a LIFETIME. We were SO EXCITED for our kids to FINALLY meet each other!

She had a WONDERFUL dinner prepared for the whole tribe!

I LOVE seeing all our kids together!

Days 4-6 Friday-Sunday

Friday morning we went out for a spin in the RV :)

Her kids really enjoyed it. She showed us around her town and then we ended up at a BOUNCE HOUSE!

The kids bounced for a couple hours and had a blast!

We got back to her house and my other sister and sister-in-law arrived from Chicago with their kiddos and my soon to be Brother in law.

Here is The Capatain with my soon to be BIL who let me just say, CAN COOK FOR ME ANYTIME!

The dinner was TO.DIE.FOR.

Me, My 2 birth sisters and my SIL with my neice! 

I feel BEYOND BLESSED to have my sisters in my life.

I love them so much.

I am so thankful that my birth mom always told them the truth about me.

So that one day we would be reunited!

Thank you Lord for these relationships I never knew I would have. 

Sisters...so surreal..so wonderful.

13 of my birthmothers 15 grandkids!

FINALLY TOGETHER!

We had meals together, dance parties and just enjoyed each other.

It was a Bittersweet and TEARFUL goodbye for me..

SO HAPPY we will see each other again in June and September!

I missed them before we pulled out of the drive.

Let me just say that THIS RV IS THE BEST INVESTMENT WE COULD HAVE EVER MADE!! OH the memories we have made already and will continue to make with our children-TOILET AND ALL!!

NEXT STOP..

THE BEACH..

DESTIN FLORIDA!

FINGERPRINT FRIDAY!

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of God When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God And I know its true
You're a masterpiece That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them? CLICK HERE to JOIN Bekis Blog in celebrating Fingerprint Friday...We got this "MASTERPIECE" in the mail today-a Valentine from My My and Bit Buts birth sister in Kindergarten-I see God's fingerprints all over this sweetness. Thank you Lord for allowing them to all be in each others lives-what a blessing!