Rhea Lana's - Make some $$$!

I don't know if you've heard of it yet, but if you haven't, you MUST check this out!

Rhea Lana's is basically a large consignment sale that travels to different cities. It allows local moms and moms-to-be to sell and buy used baby, children, and maternity items, including clothes, toys, strollers, furniture, and other small- and big-ticket items galore!

I just discovered Rhea Lana's this year. My friend, Mindi, invited me to go with her to the Spring event in Springdale. I was extremely impressed with the selection and quality of the items; in other words, it was awesome! I got mainly maternity clothes at the time, because I was pretty early on in my pregnancy. And I got some great deals! My friend, Mindi, bought a bunch of baby stuff for cheap too. And guess what? It's coming again! As we entered, they gave out little gift bags with coupons and mine happened to have a $20 gift certificate to spend at Rhea Lana's, so that helped out even more! I especially liked the 1/2-price day sale.

Rhea Lana's Children's Consignment Event is going to be from October 16-22, 2011 at Ozark Center Point Place in Springdale. Someday, I totally plan to sell my maternity/baby stuff (when I know that I'm done with it). Until then, I'll just have to be a buyer. But, if you think about it, what a great way to get stuff you no longer use in front of a lot of moms and moms-to-be who will use it (and make money, of course)! How do you consign? I'm glad you asked. Simply:

* Sign up

* Take prepared items to the event location during Drop-Off Days; and

* Collect your consignor check and unsold items at end of week on 'Pick Up Day'

A bonus: If you choose to leave unsold items, Rhea Lana's will donate them to foster families and Potter's House ministry in Northwest Arkansas; so they go to great causes!

Even better, as a consignor, you get to shop before the sale is open to the general public at a Private Pre-Sale Event!

If you're interested in learning more about consigning at Rhea Lana's, go here.

Blessed

Have you heard that song? Blessed (and loved) is definitely how I have felt lately, for a variety of reasons.

Just to update you on what's happened since my last post, the biggest events were my two baby showers. I had one shower up here in Fayetteville on the 10th and one in Little Rock on the 17th. Overwhelmed is really the best word to describe how I felt after these showers. I was overwhelmed at the tremendous outpouring of love for me and Graham. It makes me teary to think of all the love and support from such amazing people that he has waiting for him once he arrives.

Here are some pictures from the Fayetteville shower:

Me with a blanket Grandma-to-be Calufetti made Graham


Love my friends; they're the best! (Left to right: Holly, Nicole, me, Laura, Erin, and Mandy)

My awesome and beautiful sisters, Lori and Christa!

Another group pic with friends and family. : )

I don't have pictures of the decorations yet, but trust me, they were very cute! I am so so thankful to Lori (my sis), Kristin, and Mindi for hosting this shower. They did a wonderful job; it was perfect in every way and I couldn't have asked for anything more.

Here are some pictures from the Little Rock shower:


It was so great to see friends that I haven't seen in a while! (Left to right: Traci, Lydia, me, Cherry, Jessica and Ashley)


I love any occasion to get together with family too!


A picture of me opening a gift (they all look similar to this one, so I won't bore you with more).



It was a game day, so how awesome are these little blue Razorbacks on the cupcakes? Very fitting, I think!


Cute cookies and cupcakes made by my talented baking friend, Jessica.



The cutest sign ever made by Jessica too; she's so crafty!


The gift table; note the adorable diaper cake with Cookie Monster on top, made by my great friend, Lydia. Also, there are baby pictures of Dustin and me on the table too; very cute!


More decorations. The boxes below had letters on them spelling out "Baby Shower"; it was used for a cute game.

I want to thank Jessica and Lydia for hosting this shower for me. It was awesome! I had such a great time seeing people I hadn't seen in a while (some a long time)! They are so crafty and had the cutest decorations! They are amazing friends and I am so grateful to have them in my life.

On another note, I am slowly but surely making progress on Graham's room. I've washed some clothes and his blankets, receiving blankets, burp rags, bibs, etc. I've washed his bedding and got it put on the crib. We still have a lot of organizing/decorating to do, but we're getting there (don't worry, I'll post a pic when we're done). Until next time...

My Encouraging Weekend

Among other things, my good friend, Mindi, and her husband, Jonathan, had their first child this morning! She did so good and motherhood certainly suits her. Their daughter, Emma Grace, is healthy and cute as can be. Here's a picture of her I took with my phone:


Isn't she just precious?! Her parents are so in love and I don't blame them.

In the past several weeks, I'd been calling and checking in on Mindi almost every day to see how she was feeling. So when she called me last night to say they were in labor and heading to the hospital, I was so excited! In fact, probably too excited. Dustin had to calm me down a little bit. What can I say? My friend, whose due date is only a couple of months ahead of mine, is having her baby!

Not only am I super excited for them, but it also makes my situation that much more real for me... and me that much more ready for him to come. Like I said, Dustin did have to remind me that we do have a little while until Graham makes his arrival. And it's a good thing we do, I suppose, because we are not at all prepared for him to be here in terms of his nursery, having necessities, etc. Not to mention, I have wonderful people throwing me two baby showers and taking my maternity photos in the coming weeks. That being said, I'm trying to enjoy each day on its own and enjoy the time that Dustin, Sam and I have together before we add another to our household. This is an easier task some days than others.

One more positive I'd like to point out from this past week. After researching the topic and taking child birth classes, I've decided that I want to have a natural (unmedicated) child birth if the medicine/a c-section is not medically necessary for my health or Graham's. As those of you who've been pregnant before probably know, you come across a lot more negative feedback in regards to natural childbirth than you do positive (even down to hearing negative birth experiences/after-effects). In the past week, however, three people have spoken to me who have either done it themselves or their wives have done it. They were all encouraging, telling me that I could do it! How heavenly it has been to hear that; and for the most part they came to me and told me that. I didn't even have to seek it out. I only hope that I can be that encouragement to another pregnant woman someday.

I want to make a point, or goal, this week to be encouraging in general to people without them having to seek it out. I think we all need that encouragement sometimes!

The C.A.L.L. - The children need your suitcases!

As I said on my first blog post, I am involved with The C.A.L.L. (it stands for Children of Arkansas Loved for a Lifetime). Its mission is "[t]o educate, equip and encourage the Christian community to provide a future and a hope for the children in foster care." The Bible says that "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress..." - James 1:27 (NIV). I think that many in the Christian community (including myself) fall down on our job as it relates to these areas.

For some, it may be because you don't know how exactly you can help orphans and widows. If this is you, The C.A.L.L. is a great organization that you can get involved in that has many ways you can help/support. Here are some ways you can get involved:

(1) Foster/Foster-to-Adopt - There are ALWAYS more foster homes needed to love on and care for these children who did absolutely nothing to get in the situation they're in and really need that love, in addition to just the physical needs of shelter, food, etc. You can sign up to foster for emergency, short-term situations, long-term situations, or even foster to adopt. The C.A.L.L. helps train foster parents and expedite the process (in terms of home studies, etc.), as well as providing support for these families once they begin fostering.

(2) Be a church rep - If The C.A.L.L. hasn't already come to your church and you would be willing to be the church rep at your church, let them know! The C.A.L.L. can come to your church on any Sunday and tell your church congregation about its mission and how they can help support it.

(3) Babysit - These parents who put their hearts, souls and resources into fostering these children could use a date night every now and again to maintain their own relationship. Or they may have other reasons they just need a night off. You can sign up to babysit a foster child/children and that can be your loving support to these families.

*** (4) Resources - You can give of your resources, whether that is money or any other needs The C.A.L.L. has for these foster children. Many times, foster children are coming from situations where they do not have much in terms of material possessions. For example, many foster children in this area do not have a suitcase. When they have to go from one temporary foster home to another, they have to take the few belongings they do have with them in a garbage bag. This is heartbreaking to me! Could you imagine how it must feel to be in these kids' situation? As I'm insinuating, one of the largest needs of foster children in this area (and probably elsewhere too) is suitcases for these children. In fact, during the month of September, the Women's Ministry of Cross Church Fayetteville is doing a service project to help with this problem. We are accepting new and gently used suitcases for these children. Suitcases can include duffel bags or backpacks (anything is better than a trash bag, right?). If you have any that you can part with, I hope that you consider doing so. If you do not attend Cross Church Fayetteville, I can be a go-between (meet you and take the suitcases to them myself). ***

To learn more about The C.A.L.L. and how you can get involved/support it, go here.

Jasmere (Special Offer for My Shopping Friends!)

My friend, Jessica, recently told me about a website called Jasmere. Jasmere features a new special product once every 24 hours. When you make an order, you are guaranteed what they list as the "current price," but they don't charge your credit card until the offer ends. The more people that purchase the product, the lower the price goes for you! Once the offer ends, they charge your credit card at that final, low price.

Sometimes, instead of a specific product, Jasmere sells vouchers, which allow you to choose anything you like at the featured site of the day. The same current price--> low price deal I described above happens with the vouchers. Pretty neat!

Also, instead of having to go back and check the website every day, you can sign up on their e-mail list and get a new e-mail every day that tells you what their deal of the day is.

Now, for the fun part, I have a special treat for my shopping, blog-reading friends. I have a new Jasmere coupon code. It is for 20% off once per person and it is good until September 17th. All you have to do is go via this link, find what you'd like to purchase, and enter the code while you're checking out. Here is the code: SF209B22977A

Happy Shopping, friends!