Your Video Recorder with Legs

This morning I was listening to Angela Chrysler on a conference call. She commented on a quote by Joel Osteen that had impacted her: "Your kids are like a video recorder with legs."

Take a minute to let that sink in. Your kids pick up on your moods, your emotions, your motivations. You can't tell them to do one thing or be one way when you don't live that way yourself. Do you complain about little things? Don't expect them not to complain. Do you treat others without respect? Don't expect them to be respectful. Do you use ugly language? Don't expect them not to.

Your kids are like a video recorder with legs

However, the converse is also true. Do you model respect? They will, too. Do you use loving words? You will hear those same words coming out of their little mouths. Do you pray about your life's circumstances? They will surprise you with the depth and innocence of their faith-filled prayers.

Just a couple of hours after hearing Angela's call this morning, a precious mom came into the store. A couple of months ago we sat in the back of my store praying for her unborn baby whom the doctors had told her to abort because of his chromosomal defect. They had told her he wouldn't live. But they had underestimated the power of God in her life. They had underestimated how fervently she, her husband and her children would pray for her unborn baby.

Trials are best handled with prayer

You see her little video recorders with legs have grown up knowing that trials are best handled with prayer. They have grown up seeing mom and dad trust God in difficult situations. And that is exactly how they have approached the situation with their little brother. He did survive! Although he does have some challenges that will be with him for life, his siblings thank the Lord daily for their baby brother. He will need open heart surgery when he is a little bigger; for now his big sister prays that God will "hold his broken heart together" until he has the surgery.

What  are your little video recorders with legs taking in as they watch you every day?

Life Is Good and the Terrific Twos!

One of the women I most admire!

by Glenni Lorick, IBCLC

This morning I had the privilege of listening to a woman whom I have come to deeply admire, Angela Loehr Chrysler. She mentioned that one of her favorite product lines is Life Is Good because she is drawn to the optimistic attitudes of the founders, Bert and John Jacobs. They started from scratch and have built a brand out of optimism!

Now if you know me very well, you know that I am a "Glass is half-full" kind of gal. Even when things are cloudy, I'm out there looking for the silver lining that I KNOW has to be there! So even though I've seen the adorable Life Is Good line of products, I really paid attention when Angela mentioned them this morning.

She went on to talk about the importance of optimism in every area of our lives. She mentioned as an example her parenting experience. Instead of thinking of her daughter (who is now 9) as having gone through the "terrible twos," she thought of them as the "terrific twos"! Now that's my kind of parenting philosophy!

I don't know how much of the Attachment philosophy Angela embraces, and honestly, it doesn't really matter where you fall on the attachment spectrum when it comes to embracing each parenting moment. So how do the "terrific twos" differ from the "terrible twos"?  Let's look at some specific examples:

• Your two year old is whiny and demanding that you hold her.  A terrible two mom might think she's being spoiled and get frustrated or perhaps discipline her. A terrific two mom, on the other hand, will take a moment to ask herself a couple of questions: "Is my child tired? hungry? not feeling well? Have I been too busy to focus on her?" Usually there is a legitimate reason behind the whiny behavior. When you take a moment to really listen to your child's heart, you will figure it out. Rather than creating a spoiled, demanding child, you will create a child who knows she can communicate with you. In fact, you can begin to gently teach her non-whiny methods of communicating. 

• Your two year old bites, kicks or hits another child in play. A terrible two mom may be quick to spank or perhaps even "bite" her child back. However, a terrific two mom will be quick to remove her child from the situation and assess what is going on with him. Obviously he is frustrated about something. He must learn that biting, kicking and hitting are not acceptable behaviors. When he has behaviors like that, he will not be allowed to play anymore. She will focus on figuring out what lies behind his behavior and changing that situation.

• Your two year old throws a temper tantrum in the middle of the grocery store because she wants
  
  you to buy her something. A terrible two mom may do one of two things: give in and buy it to get the kid to shut up, or discipline her harshly to make her stop. A terrific two mom might just stop right there and hold her tightly until she settles down. The solution may even involve leaving the store because Mom recognizes that her child is hungry, tired or not feeling well.

• Your two year old refuses to eat and actually throws the food you made on the ground. A terrible two mom might get angry and yell. Or she might just give in and give her something that she will eat. A terrific two mom, however, will understand that toddlers sometimes don't want to eat. Nevertheless, instead of going on to dessert, she will patiently and lovingly explain that little girls who don't eat their meals don't get dessert. That same food she threw down earlier will still be available when she's hungry.

So how do you view your toddler? How do you view life? Is Life Good? Is your glass half full? If so, you've probably got a TERRIFIC TWO year old!!

Now, I'm off to do some Christmas shopping at the Life Is Good online store!!

A Long-Term Vision

If you've been around A Nurturing Moment very much, you know that I often say I have the best job in the world. I love getting to help mothers breastfeed their babies. I love holding sweet newborns on a daily basis! I love encouraging moms and seeing their excitement when baby latches on and nurses well!

You may have also noticed the cross with Jeremiah 29:11 sitting in front of the desktop computer on  our counter. It is there as a constant reminder to me that A Nurturing Moment doesn't belong to me. It belongs to my Lord.  Therefore, as I make plans for the future of this business, I want to make sure that I am simply following His leading. I want to reflect Him in my interactions with customers, vendors, creditors, my landlord...everyone I meet. I know I don't always do as good a job of that as I should...I'm definitely still a work in progress!! But I AM in progress...He is guiding my steps daily! In fact, He often uses you, the mothers I work with, to help me gain wisdom and direction.

A Corner Of Our Own 
I don't remember the exact day when I first felt drawn to consider the piece of property at the corner of Airport Rd. and Memorial Parkway. But I do remember getting chills of confirmation the first time I pulled in the parking lot and actually drove around it. I believe that is supposed to be the ultimate location for A Nurturing Moment! I've told a lot of you that in person, but this is the first time I have actually written it down for the whole world to see! It's one thing to talk about a vision for the future, but quite another to step out in faith and record it for all posterity. After all, what if it doesn't happen?  I guess that's just a risk I will have to take.

So here is the vision that I believe God has placed in my heart for A Nurturing Moment - I will bullet the various parts of it to make it easier to read (and digest!)

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• Purchase the piece of property on the northwest corner of Airport Rd. and Memorial Parkway.
• Tear down the abandoned and dilapidated restaurant that currently occupies that corner, and build a two story building there.
• The first floor will house A Nurturing Moment. Our actual storefront doesn't really need to be much bigger than what we have now. However, we will have a MUCH larger classroom area that will also serve as a Mom Internet Cafe and hangout spot. I also want a small separate classroom for prenatal yoga and infant massage. There will be a couple of offices for lactation consultation and a place for doulas to meet with their clients. The Mom Foundation office will be there as well.
• The second floor will be home to a Birthing Center owned and operated by an Ob/Gyn who employs midwives! It will offer a homelike environment with the security of knowing you are just minutes from the hospital in case of an emergency. Although they are very common in other parts of the country, there is not a single birthing center in Alabama. About 17 years ago, Crestwood actually did open a birthing center with a Certified Nurse Midwife as the administrator. It was phenomenal, as any mother who delivered there will tell you. It was, however, also very short lived. It just wasn't the right time! I also hope to have a chiropracter who specializes in working with mothers and babies in the office space there. 

Getting From Here to There

A dream is a wonderful thing to have. All too often, however, we look at our dreams and think they are impossible to attain, so we just give up. If I didn't feel so certain that this is the direction the Lord wants us to go, I certainly wouldn't think there is any way we can ever get there. But I am absolutely convinced that this IS the path we're supposed to be on. So I am taking the necessary steps to move in that direction.

We are in a 5 year lease that began last October. So we have 4 years to purchase our corner and build A Nurturing Moment there. The asking price for that corner was somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.6 million dollars the last time I checked. Then we have to demolish the building that is there and rebuild. And I really don't think that I am supposed to incur any more debt. In fact, the more I learn about business, the more I really hate debt.

That sounds like a pretty impossible order. Actually from a purely human standpoint it sounds just plain foolish. So how in the world are we going to get there? 

As I pray about it, several action steps stand out in my mind:

1. Be the very best at what we do. We provide education, information, support and encouragement for hopeful, expectant and new parents. We need to be the #1 resource in North Alabama for new parents. We need to make every mother who walks through our door know how special she is and how glad we are that she came to see us. If we don't have what she needs, we need to figure out who does and help her get it as quickly as possible.
2. Seek partners for The Mom Foundation. We are the only non-profit that I know of in North Alabama dedicated to providing professional breastfeeding support to low-income and teen moms. We have attempted to write several grant proposals, but don't really know what we're doing. We need someone experienced in non-profit fundraising to come alongside us and guide us as we grow the non-profit arm of A Nurturing Moment. On average we provide about $250 worth of lactation services a month right now to mothers who would not otherwise be able to get the help. We also give out numerous nursing bras each month to moms in the WIC progam.
3. Publish The Creator's Guide to Infant Feeding. Although many outstanding books have been written about breastfeeding, not a single one that I've ever read approaches it from a Christian perspective. So several years ago, I wrote this book. I have looked at several publishing options and even had a literary agent working with me for a while. Unfortunately the one deal we were able to get with a major publisher fell through. However, with renewed interest in breastfeeding in this country, I think it is time to publish.
4. Talk openly about our vision any time I have the opportunity. It is amazing how God puts the right people in your path at the right time. I have no idea who all will be involved in the project, but I do know that I certainly won't achieve it by myself! I've already met an amazing commercial interior architectural designer who I know will be instrumental in the design of our new facility.
5. Build a team of families who will become an integral part of this vision. We are already doing this
   
   through Team National, an innovative purchasing co-op concept that allows members to save money on the things they buy every day for their families. It also allows them to create a Plan B income that they can use as a college fund, retirement plan or to pay off debt. Many families actually find that the income will allow them to gain more time freedom to actually spend quality time with their children. I am convinced that without Team National, this dream would be nothing more than a pipe dream for me. However, Team National is giving me a way to earn the capitol I will need to make this vision a reality by October of 2017!

Get Involved 

The one thing of which I'm certain is that it will be impossible to achieve this dream by myself. Our Nurturing Moment family will accomplish this together! I need your input. I need to know what we're doing right and where we need to improve. As we get closer, I will put together a focus group of moms to help us design the ideal space. Your suggestions are our lifeblood!

As you read through the action steps, maybe one of them struck you. Maybe you have a specific talent that you would like to offer. It has been so exciting to see various ANM moms take leadership in different local outreaches to other moms that have come out of our store. Maybe you have professional abilities or a relationship with a foundation or corporation that would align well with our goals. Maybe you just like the idea of saving money or making money.

 Perhaps you don't feel like you have much to offer aside from your prayers; that is definitely our greatest need! Please pray for wisdom for me and for clear direction. Pray for God's provision, and pray that we would be a tremendous blessing to moms all over North Alabama.

I have really bared my heart  tonight. But I believe that this is the right time to do so. I'm excited about what the future holds for us and can't wait to see it unfold! Thanks for coming along for the ride!!

A TRULY Happy Birthday!

I finally caught up with Herbie!

I'm 53 today! I don't feel 53, but the calendar says I am. And I guess calendars don't lie! I am so richly blessed, and I just wanted to take a moment to share with you all why I feel so blessed!

• I have an amazing Savior whose sacrifice has made it possible for me to know without a doubt where I will spend eternity.
• I have been married to a wonderful man for 28 1/2 years!
• My 4 children are all doing well and fill my heart with such joy!
• My mother is still in good health and lives less than a mile from me. It's great when your mom is one of your very best friends!!
• I have the most precious church family I could ever imagine. We have been privileged to be at our church for 8 years now and love our little congregation so much.
• Every day I get to come to the best job imaginable - working with moms and babies.

All I can say is "Thank you, Lord, for being so good to me!"

There are just three things I am wishing for this birthday. Maybe you can help or know someone who can.

Funding for Military Moms Project

We are trying to provide hospital grade breast pumps and free lactation consultation to all military moms. If their babies are in the NICU or there is a medical condition, Tricare will cover it, no questions asked. However, if they don't have that situation, we have to raise the money to cover it. 

• Do you have any connections with people or companies that might be willing to help with a grant?
• Would you like to make an end-of-the-year tax deductible donation to our non-profit, the MOM Foundation?
• Could you please vote for us to receive an Intuit grant and share with your network of contacts?

Gently Used Nursing Bras

It sounds silly to say I want used bras for my birthday, but I do! All sizes!!! We provide the bras to mothers in the WIC food program, and it breaks my heart when we don't have the size a mom needs. We call it our Bosom Buddy program, and YOU are the key to it's success. If we don't have a steady stream of bras coming in from our customers, we start to run really low. 

I'm  not getting any younger, so I better
make this year count!!

My birthday challenge to our readers is to see if we can get 53 gently used nursing bras in honor of my 53rd birthday. We received 9 today, so only 44 to go! I'll keep you updated on the progress!!

A Growing Team National Network of Moms

We are part of the most amazing co-op/purchasing group that I've ever seen. It's sort of like Costco, Direct Buy and Sam's Club on steroids! We have our Nurturing Moment team that includes some pretty amazing people, and is continuing to grow. Members save money on everything from automobiles to furniture to ink cartridges and q-tips. The best part of all, though, is that they pay you for word of mouth advertising. It's a vehicle that is blessing families around the country by allowing  moms  to stay home with their children. 

However, it is also blessing A Nurturing Moment because in this tough economy, it is helping us keep the doors open. If you're looking for a way to save money or make an extra income (no get-rich quick here...you do have to work at it), then give me a call. We promise that there's no product to sell, no pressure whatsoever, and no pushiness!

Thank YOU

In closing, I want to say thank you to each one of you who enrich my life in so many ways. Our ANM family truly is a family. You bless us in so many ways. I just hope that the long-term vision I have for ANM (that's for another blog another day) will continue to bless moms all over North Alabama!

Hugs to you all!!

Herbie says Thanks, too!