Halloween Fun!

My family had a ton of fun on Halloween. We were concerned about the weather but it held out while we went trick or treating. It was mild temps and a little light drizzle. Not bad! My husband and I took the kids out for a little while and then my youngest and I came home to pass out treats.

 Here are some fun pictures that we took of the kids. Some of the pictures are from Benjamin's costume party and parade at his preschool. They had so much fun and were so cute:) You can also see how my husband loves to decorate for Halloween. He puts up all of these scary motion detecting decorations that the kids love and little ones are afraid of. No tears this year so that was a good thing!

Did you have a fun Halloween? What did your kids dress up as this year?

Thanks for stopping in! Have a great day!

~Rebecca~

My Promotion!!!

Hello Friends! I am back to blogging! I am super excited because my new computer arrived today and although I am posting from my old one, I will soon be up and running on something so much more reliable so I know that I will not lose an entire post in the middle of working on it. So frustrating when that happens!

I also want to say THANK YOU to all of my prayer warriors and supporters out there. All of the kind words, thoughts, personal stories of loss that you shared, emails, calls and cards were so appreciated. We are doing better now. Still sad but trusting in God's plan for our family.

On a happier note -

Today I am excited to share that....

I Was Promoted to 

SHAKLEE FastTrack Director!!!

Many of you know that I grew up with Shaklee. My parents found Shaklee in 1975, before I was born, after my mom had some health issues and her doctor told her she would need a hysterectomy. My mom started taking Shaklee supplements and turned her health around, which is pretty lucky for me otherwise I wouldn't be here today to write this! :) And Shaklee helped me turn my own health around in August of 2010 when my youngest son was born premature and was very sick. The nutritional products helped me to get through that stressful time and also helped me to get to a healthy weight again and maintain it!

You can read more about my Shaklee story that I wrote last year HERE. 

When I first started as a Shaklee distributor in June of 2010, I treated it as a hobby and really wasn't looking to do more then casually share products I love with other mom friends while I stayed home with my son. My first check after the first month was $6! I was pretty happy with that considering I didn't feel like I did much to earn that. I earned a bonus check every month since and every month it started to grow. 

A year ago I got more focused on sharing Shaklee because I saw how good Shaklee is and how it really can help people gain better health and also wealth! My parents, who are my upline in Shaklee, also got serious about their business in their retirement and were promoted to Director a year ago. And this month they were promoted to Shaklee Senior Director!!! They took an awesome all expense paid trip last May to the company headquarters in Northern California for the New Directors Conference. You can read about that HERE.  And You can read about their first promotion and what that entails HERE.

Last year my business started to grow more as I became more focused. And recently I was promoted to Director!!! 

I went from a $6 check when I first started to my most recent bonus check of over $900!!! 

And am in qualification to earn 2 Free Tickets to Shaklee's next Global Conference in Long Beach, CA in August, which is around a $500 value!

AND...
I am a new Power Up Director so I just earned my first $100 additional BONUS for that!! woo - hoo!! Just got that email so wanted to add that. I will get another $100 bonus for each additional month I maintain my position for the next 4 consecutive months! Love it! :)

A few facts about this company:

Shaklee is pioneer in the largest growth industries that are projected to grow by nearly $1 Trillion over the next 10 years!

-Shaklee is the #1 Natural Nutrition Company in the US.

-It has been around for a very long time - since 1956!

-Shaklee has lead the nutritional industry and the environmental industry with new and innovative products.

-Oprah, Dr. Oz, Rachael Ray and the WHITE HOUSE use Shaklee cleaners!

-Dr. Shaklee made the first multivitamin in 1915

-Shaklee was the first company to make the first environmentally safe cleaning product in 1960 - Basic H

-Shaklee is the first and only company to be Climate Neutral, leaving a zero impact on the environment

-We have over 100 published articles in scientific peer-reviewed journals

-Shaklee products are used by NASA and many world class explorers!

-Many US Olympians trust and use Shaklee Nutrition

-Shaklee was granted many patents on several of our products

-Shaklee's earnings and benefits plan is outstanding and exciting with the opportunity to earn a part time or very nice full time income as well as cars, trips and any dream you can imagine!

Shaklee products are not luxuries but rather things that people use every day. By redirecting my family's spending, I am able to buy products we already were using through  my business! Love that!

My team is GROWING!!! It is exciting and really rewarding. And there is room for you! I am looking for more motivated business partners to join my team. If you are looking for a part time or full time income, let's talk soon to see if Shaklee is a good fit for you!! I will give you the training and the tools you need to succeed at reaching your goals! Join Me!

You can learn more about Shaklee and the earnings plan HERE. And also learn more on this quick video. If you can't see the video then you can view it HERE.

Thanks for reading! Watch for more posts to come.  I would love for you to join me on Facebook soon!

Have a great day:)

~Rebecca~

My Family's Story of Loss...

Today was a tough one...some of you know but several of you don't know that my husband and I were expecting....TWINS in April!!! And today we said good-bye to them, too soon. Here's our story and my hope is that in sharing, it may give peace and hope to other people going through this type of loss.

I think you probably know that we have been blessed with two amazing and wonderful little boys - Andrew and Benjamin.

 They light up our world and we cannot imagine our lives without  them in it. Having children has been the most amazing and wonderful experience for both my husband and I. We were not sure however if we would have more children or not.

In February of 2013 tragedy hit my friend's family as they lost their little six year old boy suddenly to a virus. This hit me really hard and at that point, God put it very strongly on my heart to have another child. Life is simply too short. We prayed about it, talked about it and wondered if this strong feeling would continue. We were never closed to having more kids but life was happening around us and we were not putting it as a priority and were getting older. The strong feeling continued however and although we were not trying to have another child at this point, God intervened and we were so excited to learn that we were expecting again! We found this out two days before my friend's son's 7th birthday and we were thrilled. We knew it was God's will.

Because I am very high risk due to a blood clotting disorder, I am monitored very closely during pregnancy. I also had my second child 6 weeks early so we were planning to take precautions to prevent pre-term labor again. And my age of 37 puts me in another risk category...

I went for several blood tests. My levels were initially going up nicely. But then after a few weeks they did not go up as they should although my doctor was not concerned at this point since they were still rising. My progesterone was very low so I started suppositories. I was concerned and waited through Labor Day weekend for my 7 week ultrasound on the following Tuesday. I asked my husband to come with me in case we heard bad news. We prayed. And God answered our prayers. Not only did we hear one heart beat, but we heard and saw TWO!!! They were measuring about a week earlier then my calculations and were a few days apart from each other. We were shocked about the twins but also so very excited! we had faith in God that things would go according to His will. The ultrasound tech said there was a bit of blood behind the placenta that would probably come out and although that could be sign of miscarriage, she thought it looked ok. My doctor was not concerned but told me to take it easy and we went ahead and started my lovenox shots and I also started baby aspirin.

I continued to have more blood tests looking at progesterone but not HCG at this point because the doctor didn't feel it was necessary. I doubled my progesterone suppository dose when we learned we had two babies. Levels were good.

Two weeks passed. I was now in my 9th week but still not feeling pregnant. No nausea. A bit of a belly but not too much. My cravings (for watermelon of all things that I actually can't stand) started to go away. I had my first baby appointment with the nurse practitioner. She measured my uterus to make sure it was growing appropriately for twins. After she checked she did not say anything. I asked about it and she vaguely said, yes it looks ok. It's small but you are still early. My mind tried not to read between her words. She did not have the equipment to hear heart beats that early although she tried. But assured me it was fine that we did not hear them here. 

The following week, Sept 17 on my oldests 5th birthday, I went for another ultrasound. This time alone. I told my husband not to worry and I would go by myself so he didn't have to take more time from work. As I was driving, I was listening to KLove and one of the singers was telling his story of why he wrote one of his songs. He said he had been going through loss - loss of a parent and his wife just miscarried twins. I prayed this wasn't a sign to prepare me.

As I waited in the waiting room, I noticed a sign on the door that I didn't notice there two weeks ago. It said "as you prepare for your ultrasound, please be sure to bring a support person with you". Again I prayed this wasn't God's way of preparing me for bad news. 

I was called back to the room where two weeks ago we got the best news. On this day however, it was very different. They started the scan and the tech was very quiet. She asked me how many weeks I was again? I knew this wasn't a good question. I told her I was 9 but they had measured a little small the last time. She said, they are still small - 6 weeks 4 days and 6 weeks 1 day. She said she was trying hard but just could not find a heart beat. At that moment my heart broke. I heard the news I was trying so hard to suppress in my own heart. She would not say the words however and wanted a doctor to look at the scan to confirm.

My doctor was out of town so I met with his colleague. She was so matter of fact. Clinical. Cold. Making  uncomfortable jokes. Talking fast. I was in shock. She referred to my babies as material. She told me my options. I was numb. I wanted to shout at her that they are not material!!! They are my babies! They are life!!! They had hearts that beat just two weeks ago! Heart beats that I heard. Heart beats that I saw. They had life in them!!!! We were excited for them to join our family. We were preparing for sleepless nights. For continuous feedings....none of that would happen now and I was crushed.

I sat in my car after and cried. I called my husband and cried. I couldn't even get the words out. We sobbed together. 

I thought of what was going to happen. Would I have them naturally? When and where would it happen? Would I need a D and C? What happens after? Do they just get discarded like they didn't matter? All of these thoughts were so unbearable to me...

I spoke to a few friends who have been through this before. One of my friends here had to have a D and C last year at the Catholic hospital. I also called my priest, who was nothing but supportive. Both my friend and our priest shared options. David also found a helpful website about miscarriage. We now had options. Options we had no idea were even available. The sisters at the hospital do a communal burial for babies lost before 20 weeks. How wonderful I thought but that wasn't our hospital. So I called the chaplains at the two hospitals and learned that this was possible for us too! Relief.

Our priest also shared how we can have a prayer service for our babies and even a private burial. They mattered. They lived. And now we could honor their lives. I felt so peaceful with this thought. He also sent us a holy card letting us know he was holding a prayer hour for our family. He has continually been praying for us as have many of you. We are grateful for that and feel lifted up by your prayers.

On Sept 21 my babies left my body and today, Sept 27 we were able to have a private prayer service with our priest at our church followed by a private burial at one of the Catholic cemeteries here, the same cemetery where our friend's son is. It was the perfect option for a difficult situation. Father Jeff was so supportive and caring to our situation. We are grateful for him and also for the chance to say good bye in this way today. The funeral director, who is also a parishioner at our church, was also quite helpful and compassionate to what we are going through. We are thankful for them.

Father Jeff suggested we name the babies to help with closure. We chose Catherine Mary and Gabriel Alexander. We prayed about this for awhile and were lead to these names. I felt in my heart that we had a boy and a girl. We chose Catherine after the patron saint of preventing miscarriage and abortion. And Mary after my grandmother who's birthday was Mar 25, a date close to my due date. We chose Gabriel after the archangel who told Mary that she was carrying baby Jesus. Alexander is a name that was on our baby name list from the start of our family. It was also my friend's son's middle name and a family name of theirs. I felt a connection with their family throughout this pregnancy, especially since their son was a twin who was lost to miscarriage, and thought that if we had a boy we would name him that. So I asked my friend if we could name the baby after her son and she was thrilled at the idea. 

I am sharing the details of our story because I know so many people suffer this type of loss and don't feel like they have options or even have the right to mourn. I have several friends  who have been through  this and I have always been sad for them and prayed for them when it happened; however, I never fully understood the depth of the loss until it happened to us. We were so excited to become parents again and absolutely thrilled that God entrusted us to not just one but TWO babies!!! Our boys were excited to welcome new babies to the family.We are still their parents. They still lived. And we will not forget them and how they touched our lives, even if their life was so short. Someday we will meet them in heaven...until then we entrust Jesus to take good care of their souls.

God bless every one of you who has suffered this type of loss or are going through this now or in the future. May God give you peace and strength and guidance through this difficult process. If you have gone through this and not realized your options at the time, please know that God is with you and your baby or babies. They are taken care of as Jesus said, "Let the Children Come to Me".

Here is a song that has been comforting to me and I hope it will be for you too. "Worn"

~Rebecca~

My Trip to the Shaklee Global Conference in Nashville!

My family and I recently drove down to Nashville for the Shaklee Global Conference and vacation. (We also drove to Mississippi and Kentucky but I will post pictures from those stops later) We had an awesome time in Nashville! Here are a few of the highlights from conference...

The Gaylord Opryland Hotel was BEAUTIFUL!!!! So many gardens, flowers, rivers, great food, awesome people...we could not complain at all. I did need a compass to get around however. That place is huge!

Here is a picture of the Shaklee banner at the registration area. Some of the conference was here and the main sessions were at the Bridgestone Arena downtown. There were just too many of us to fit at the Gaylord! :)

We celebrated my son's 3rd Birthday while we were in Nashville. He loved it because it seemed like we were celebrating for a week with different friends and family members. :)

My parents were also at the conference and became new FastTrack Directors in Shaklee last September. You can read about their Free trip out to California HERE. Here we are out to eat with them celebrating Benjamin's Birthday!

Hanging out watching my family swim in one of the Gaylord pools. The weather was perfect!

The theme throughout this Conference was The Shaklee Effect, which is how each person can make a positive effect in other people's lives. This is true for every day life. If you think that you are just one person and you can't possibly do great things, you are wrong. We all have it in us to do good and to impact another person's life in a positive way. Love that!!!

A fun thing for me at this conference was being able to celebrate my parents success there. They have been using Shaklee products for 38 years now! It wasn't until retirement a few years ago however, that my mom got serious about the Shaklee business and they are doing great. They crossed the Shaklee stage being recognized twice at conference and were VIPs in the Star Achiever Lounge. Awesome!

One thing that I love about Conference is connecting with people. Here I am with my wonderful upline and mentor in Shaklee, Joyce Hoffmann. She and her husband Chuck have been with Shaklee for 43 years now and have earned a six figure income with  Shaklee for the last 36 years. Joyce is a retired registered nurse and Chuck a former high  school teacher and coach. 

Joyce and Chuck were also part of the Million Dollar earners parade. I was so amazed at how many people have achieved that in Shaklee!

I also ran into the top distributors of the year for the last two years, Shawn and Carmen Gray! They have built a very successful business in China and are such nice people.

Here are my parents crossing the stage with their Tiffany Box that they earned:) They are the ones in dark clothing waving.

And my mom shaking CEO Roger Barnett's hand...

I went to the Shaklee Future Leader party that they have for people under 40 one night of the conference. It is so much fun and is so great to see Shaklee CEO Roger Barnett there socializing with all of us. I was happy to catch a picture with him and he is so gracious to take as many as people ask. He really is a nice and terrific guy!

Roger spent millions of dollars researching a company to invest his time and money into almost 10 years ago now. He is very sincere and has such a great vision for our company - to have Shaklee in 50  countries (currently in 8) and for Shaklee to win a Nobel Peace Prize. We have already planted over a million trees! 

Here is Roger giving a great talk at the Future Leaders party

One thing I personally love about Roger is that he is a musician (and a talented one!) He and his family traditionally play and sing for us at the end of conference. His family is so talented too. Such a fun night!

Thousands of people came to the conference. It is such a fun time!

The speakers are always so fantastic and inspiring. Here are some US Olympic Athletes with Roger and Sloan's three kids. Among the speakers were pentathletes Eli Bremer and Margaux Isaksen and brother divers Justin, Troy and Dwight Dumais.

The athletes spoke about how much they use and trust Shaklee nutrition to fuel their body. Olympians are subjected to random drug testing at any point. There have been other athletes who were taking other companies supplements and unknowingly ended up testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. Shaklee's sports nutrition products are wonderful. I use them and love them too:)

Celebrity trainer, Harley Pasternak also spoke and gave us a kick butt workout at the conference. Here we are in plank position. I felt like I was about to die! lol. There were 500 of us who signed up for this and even more signed up onsight that day. It was so fun! I was a few feet away from Jacqui McCoy, from the show Extreme Weight loss. CEO Roger Barnett was also there sweating with us. :)
Harley uses and recommends Shaklee 180 products too!

Jacqui McCoy was also a speaker and had such an inspiring weight loss story! After her reality TV show appearance she started using Shaklee 180 and now loves sharing her success with people. She looks amazing!

We heard so many awesome Shaklee 180 success stories. 
Dan and Janeen were one of the 180 contest winners and were so inspiring and so much fun!

Shaklee 180 is the program that helped me to drop the baby weight 3 years ago after having my kids and helped me to keep it off! I love this program so much and love the new Vanilla Chai smoothee and Toffee Chocolate crunch snack bar that they launched at conference!

We had a great session on Shaklee 180 on Saturday morning and the room was packed!

One of the fun things about Shaklee conference is all of the trips and incentive announcements! Who wants to join me in Carmen de Playa?.....or maybe Bali?!

Another really cool thing about conference is seeing how many people come from places other then the US! Shaklee is currently in 8 countries! Canada was well represented there. And China is really booming with  Shaklee right now too! The reality show Biggest Loser China will feature the Shaklee 180 program this fall! Love that! If you know people outside of the US who may be looking for products or the awesome Shaklee opportunity, please message me. Would love to talk with them and help them with what they are looking for. :)

There were some wonderful product displays. This is Shaklee's Vitalizer, which I take daily. It even makes an awesome prenatal for expecting mothers. Shaklee has 12 patents alone on the smart release system where each vitamin gets to the right place in your body for optimal health benefits before breaking down. The 2007 landmark study at Berkley College showed how long term users of Shaklee supplements had overall improved health then people who were taking another multivitamin or no vitamins. I love the energy I get when I take this and everyone who orders a box gets a Free Shaklee membership! Love that!

One of my favorite things about conference is all of the friends I meet there, new and old. Here is a picture of  some of the wonderful group on Sharing Shaklee facebook. It was so fun to meet up in person!

Thanks for taking a look! I hope you enjoyed the pictures and information. If you would like more information on anything I posted please contact me! Or you can visit me on my Facebook Page for health and wellness tips and information.

Have a great day!!!

Rebecca