Our time in Pittsburgh (though brief) has been wonderful. We were welcomed to the city by the simply breathtaking view of the skyline and the river after coming thru a long tunnel on our way to the hotel. 

I had no idea this city was so beautiful. 

We settled into the Omni hotel last night (very, very late) and ordered room service for dinner. I caught up on some writing and work while Brian caught up on some TV time. 

After dinner, we hit the sack and planned to sleep in until we woke up, and we did. We awoke to a rainy day in Pittsburgh. 

We took our time getting dressed and ready for the day and then headed out to find some food. On the road, we found this mural on a wall featuring Brian's great uncles, the Waner brothers (Paul and Lloyd) who played on the Pirates World Series team from 1927-1942. 

We ended up a little bakery called Food Glorious Food where we indulged in quiche, coffee, and macaroons. It was delightful. 

And then it was time to head to the Launch Party! Ondrea and Leslie had a great turnout! There was great food and great people and several people who are now starting their own Scentsy businesses. It was fantastic. Ondrea even created a Powerpoint presentation to tell the story of how we met at Atlantis on the Leap of Faith slide. I'm so excited for her and Leslie as they start their businesses and build their teams. 

Ondrea treated us with Pirates tickets, so shortly after the party, we headed out to grab a bit to eat and watch the game. We had our first experience with Pierogis (delicious dumplings of some sort), and we had to order fish and chips. 

The Pirates stadium is stunning (if it's even possible for a baseball stadium to be glorious). It overlooks the river, and the cheap seats have the best view in the house, so we trekked all the way to the top to see it for ourselves. 

We had a great time at the game, but had to head back to the hotel to watch as much of the OU game as possible. I'm writing while watching the game and trying to keep Brian awake (it's been a long week). 

I have to admit that I'm anxious to close my eyes so that I can see my babies tomorrow. It's glorious to travel and have time to ourselves, but the best part about it is missing our babies and our life and everything that goes along with it.....the crazy, the mess, the noise, the love. I want all that back, and I can't wait for tomorrow. 

We're Headed to Pittsburgh and our Home Study Was Approved!

I am literally writing (and posting) from over 10,000 feet aboard a Southwest airplane headed from Boise, Idaho to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 

It was been a very long and amazing week in Boise, and now we're making our way to Pittsburgh to do a business launch party for a few new girls joining our Scentsy family. We are so excited to have them, and we're really excited to be heading their way to help them get started. 

I told Brian that we should pretend this is a little weekend getaway, so we're sipping vodka tonics on the plane while I catch up on writing and he watches free TV on his phone. It's a happy place for both of us. 

Yesterday's post was so long that I didn't get to tell you about my favorite night of SuperStar Director Summit. Our free nights are always my favorite. We take over the hotel lobby and do nothing but catch-up, share, and laugh a lot. 

Last night was no different. We didn't have as many free nights this year, so we had to do our best to make up for that by making our last night together truly epic. 

If I had to narrow last night down to one emotion, it would be joy. We enjoy each other so very much. We come from all walks of life, numerous religions, and from all across the U.S. and Canada, and when we're together, we're simply family. 

I love these people so much! Have you gathered that yet? I think I've said it a million times over. 

On another note.....an exciting one.....our home study was approved today. Which means, we could get a foster baby any day now. 

For about two seconds, I was overwhelmed, but I'm not anymore. Traveling today has reminded me that this year was (and is) about trust and being brave. I trust the Lord's timing. I know He has a child picked out for us. And it has not escaped my mind that our foster care processes happened in the middle of our BRCA diagnosis. I don't know what that means, and I am not assuming at all. But I trust that the Lord has a baby that will fit into our lifestyle and mesh with who we are. We will work towards reunification as long as that is the goal, but we also won't be close minded about other possibilities. 

At this point, we're simply trusting. Trusting the Lord's timing and understanding. I can't wait to see where this adventure takes us. 

One adventure down. Another one to come. 

A Scentsy Superstar Director Summit Re-Cap

This week was both magical and exhausting. Childlike wonder surrounded us, and we were inspired and renewed.

If you haven't been following along, we've been in Boise, Idaho for a week now. We spent 2 days at Velata's 1st convention, a couple days hanging out with our friends in the camper, and 3 full days with Scentsy's top leaders at this year's SuperStar Director Summit.

You can read about our 1st day here. 

Wednesday (day 2) was a fun filled day that included traveling all over the Scentsy campus. We had the opportunity to pour our own bricks in the manufacturing building, make welcome calls at consultant support, pack and ship orders in shipping, shop in the Scentsy Success store, and have a field day competition with our peers. 

After lunch, we spent time roaming thru some creation stations where we were able to see the way other people made certain things for their business like samples and possibility packets and newsletters. 

After a full day of activities, we headed back to the hotel to rest and eat dinner before heading back to the Scentsy campus for Grace Adele shopping and a Movie night. We finished out day 2 with our annual Heart to Heart silent auction where we raised over $7,500 for 7 families in need. 

Thursday morning sure did come quickly! At this point, we had done very little sleeping, but lots and lots of networking and catching up. 

Thursday's activities consisted of a morning full of dreaming. We were honored to see a sneak peek into the future of Scentsy. All I can say is that it's bright and beautiful and exciting. We had a working closed-door lunch with Orville and Heidi (the owner's of Scentsy) where we were able to ask questions, discuss concerns, and offer suggestions for the future. 

By Thursday afternoon, we were all feeling the effects of 3 full days of meetings, but we were excited about our last evening out at the lake. 

When we arrived at the lake, we were greeted with a whimsical sight. A 4,000 square foot tent filled with lights and tables decorated to perfection. 

Rolled up blankets sat near the fire overlooking a crystal clear lake. It was truly magical. 

After a delicious dinner of roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, asparagus, and salad, Orville and Heidi auctioned off one of the centerpieces from the tables. {It went for over $1,000!} 

We were each given a sweet reminder of our time together......a reminder to be a light to our teams and the world. 

And after an emotional round of fireside "Ah-Ha moments," there was one more surprise. 

We each took a paper lantern down to the beach, lit it, and watched it rise into the air. 

Watching those lights float up into the sky was a beautiful reminder of how we all need to be held up for a little while sometimes (we had to hold up the lanterns after they were lit until the inside filled with hot air). 

It was a beautiful reminder that not everyone flies. (Some of our lanterns caught on fire before they made it into the sky...oppps.) 

And while some people will choose to soar, others may simply float along, but it takes all types of lanterns to make a night sky look like this. 

Photo credit: Lyndsee Bates

Oh how I love these people and this place and this family. They truly are my family. 

The Stars are Shining Bright in Boise Tonight

We tackled the 1st Velata convention, our 1st camping trip, and a fun adventure in Boise with our sweet friends, and now we're gearing up for an amazing 4 days with Scentsy's top leaders.

Tonight we were thrilled to see a huge group of SuperStar directors at the Welcome Reception. 

We spent the night decorating our tees, hugging necks, and catching up with old friends. It was perfect. Even this introvert loved it because introverts love their family the most, and that is exactly who these people are....family. 

Thanks to Staci Pace and Ashely Knight, our shirts were appropriately iron with our names and blinged out. 

You can't exactly tell in this photo, but Brian has a lovely tramp stamp on the hiney of his shirt. (And he's being a good sport about it.) 

After decorating our shirts, we headed outside for Velata dippers and friends around the table. 

Of course, we ended up around the table with those closest to us. We can't help it. It feels natural. These are my people, and I love them so much. 

The stars are truly shining bright tonight in Boise. This group of people are a group of committed, passionate, and purposeful people who have a genuine love for each other and their teams, and I'm thrilled to spend the next 4 days learning from them. 

Shine bright stars. 

Coming Soon.....

Thursday we hosted a wonderfully successful Last Chance/First Glance Open House. It was a great day with tons of excitement over our new Scentsy and Velata catalogs. 

We've welcomed 3 new team members to our Scentsy Family this month, and we're flying to Pittsburg next month to launch 3 new team members (1 of whom we met in the Bahamas!). I love the excitement around being a part of this amazing business and working for yourself. My favorite part of this "job" is getting the opportunity to show women that they can run their own business and be their own boss. 

I'm also crazy excited about these new catalogs, so I thought I'd take a minute to showcase some of my favorites coming on Monday.....

Ribbons of Hope 

Our Fall Charitable Cause Warmer

Our Harvest Collection

Our September warmer of the month 

 Stella the unicorn and Scout the dragon

Amber and Seafoam Fluted Lampshade Warmers

Oh I can't wait! 

A Night in the ER

I have friends who regularly spend time in the ER. I hate that they are familiar with the ER scene, but I love that they are my friends. They have changed me so much.....made me look at the world in a totally different way.....made me love the Lord in a way I didn't know I could. 

And tonight, I got a tiny, itty bitty glimpse of what they deal with. 

None of our kids have ever been to the ER. We took one of our foster babies for stitches in the ER once, but our kids have never been....until tonight. 

Around 5:00 pm tonight, Luke started complaining of a tummy ache. I am the mom who used to over react every time someone said their tummy hurt. But now I'm the mom who assumes that a tummy ache is nothing at all. 

So, that's what I did tonight. I assumed he was tired or hungry or needed to poop. I mean, what else could it be? 

But within minutes he was really complaining, and it wasn't like tummy ache complaining, it was something else. Addy and Brian were headed out the door for church, and I told them to go ahead. I was thinking that maybe he caught a bug at school. No biggie. 

Not 15 minutes after they left, he couldn't stop crying, and my momma gut told me that something else was going on, so I loaded both boys up in the truck, and headed to Urgent Care. 

{On a total side note. We have the most amazing Urgent Care center in Edmond called Edmond Urgent Care. The staff there is incredible. We never have to wait, and I trust them completely. If you live anywhere near 178th and Western in Edmond, this place is amazing and open 8-8 7 days a week.} 

When we walked in the door, I was carrying Luke and holding Wyatt's hand because Luke said he couldn't walk. They asked what was going on, and I explained that Luke was having acute pain in his lower left abdominal. They didn't even check me in or ask our name. They just said, "let's just put you in a room and have Dr. Tommie look at you....you may be in the wrong place." 

And that's what they did. They put us in a room, and Dr. Tommie was in the room within minutes. He checked Luke out, and told me that we should really go to the ER. 

So I drove right down the street to church where Brian and Addy were. We decided it would be best not to take Wyatt to the ER. Luke wanted his daddy to take him, so we switched cars, and I took Wyatt home. On the way home, Brian called to say that Luke had thrown up in the car and could we bring everyone some clean clothes. So we got home and packed up clean clothes, and headed to the ER. 

Wyatt and I stayed for a bit. Luke was already in triage. They were talking about a CT scan and labs and all the mess that comes with an ER visit. 

They really wanted to rule out appendicitis even though his pain was on the opposite side, they were still looking at it as a real possibility.  

We decided that I should take Wyatt home and get him to sleep. My brother-in-law and sister-in-law came over to sit with Wyatt and pick Addy up from church so I could go back up to the ER to be with Luke and Brian. 

By the time I got back, Luke had had 3 x-rays, had thrown up again, had started an IV with fluids and been given zofran. And right before I made it back to the room, Brian sent me this picture with the words "he just passed out." 

Excuse me? 

He immediately sent another text that read "sleeping."

Oh good. 

That's better than passing out. 

As I walked into the triage room, the assisting physician had an x-ray on her phone of a very giant piece of poop stuck inside my kid. 

Poor guy. 

We had originally ruled out constipation because he pooped just last night. The kid is the most regular pooper I've ever seen. Turns out, that mess can get stuck on the side wall of your intestines and the other poop can go around it for as long as it can, until eventually it gets so compact, that nothing can pass by. 

Who knew? 

So the poor guy was just severely impacted. That may be too much info for a blog post, but I'm writing it anyways. It's real life people. 

But before it turned out to be a not too huge deal, it was scary. My mind goes to the worse case scenario. They made it sound like appendicitis was a real possibility, or worse than that, it could have been something with his pancreas or colon.  

I am so grateful that our 1st ER visit turned out to be relatively uneventful. Now we just pray for poop. 

{AND....our Last Chance/1st Glance Open House is still on for tomorrow from 1-3 or 7-9. Stop by for the best goodie bags I have ever made!} I'm just saying : ) 

Scentsy and Velata Goodies

Oh good gracious....it's been busy around here. And I think I like it that way...mostly. I have to be careful not to overbook myself and most importantly, make sure that I'm spending time with my hot hubby and taking quiet time for myself. 

There's a chance I overbooked myself this week. We are making lunch tomorrow for the 15 employees at our foster care center and hosting our Last Chance/First Glance open house on Thursday. We're pretty excited, and I may have gone overboard on the free goodies I'm taking them. I really, really like to spoil people. 

Here are the 15 bags I've been working on for the past couple days.....{there is a very chance that these bags will be very similar to the freebies my Last Chance/First Glance attendees will receive for stopping by.} 

Each gift bag has a catalog sack on the inside with free samples from both Scentsy and Velata, and a personal letter inside each one. 

I made Landry Liquid and Washer Whiff samples tonight, and they turned out so cute! I found plastic test tubes on amazon that I used for the laundry liquid. 

I also included a new Fall and Winter catalog, a Harvest collection flyer, a September monthly flyer, and a couple wax samples. 

For Velata goodies, I added one of our Artisian Rub samples, a recipe card (to match the rub), and a dark chocolate sample along with a current catalog. 

I'm thinking those are some pretty amazing freebies, but our case worker (and all her friends) definitely deserve it. 

I thought you might like to see what I've been up to. I'll let you know how lunch goes tomorrow. It should be lots of fun.