Our Love Story...

Well, as most of you know, Patrick and I are ENGAGED!! I can’t even begin to explain just how happy and thankful I am!! He has been such a blessing in my life and it feels great to know that we are finally engaged!! :) Before I get to the story of how he proposed, I would like to take some time to share with you about our Love Story. 

For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to find my future husband…marry him… start our life together…and have children. I really feel like this is what I was created to do. So, for such a long time—I dreamed and prayed about my future husband—even though I didn’t know what he looked like…or what his name was…I knew God did and so all I had to do was pray for him.  I especially felt like I needed to pray for him when I was a junior in high school. I can specifically remember this one time where I felt like God was just placing it on my heart to pray for my future husband—more than ever before, so I followed His leading and I prayed.

When I graduated from high school I went to college and I remember hoping so bad that I would just meet “him” right away! I felt like I would of course meet him right away because this is all I wanted…I wanted to stop wondering and hoping and I just wanted to know what he looked like and who he was.  It was Christmas break of my freshman year in college and one of my best friends from high school was home on her Christmas break as well.  I hadn’t met him yet—and although I was told often by my friends that I was too picky, I never really felt that way. I just knew that God had someone special in mind for me—so why would I settle for less than His best? …I met up with my friend, Miranda, and she had told me how she met this guy a few months ago and that he was going to be home over Christmas break as well.  I never really thought too much of it…but these were her exact words, “Shanna, I met this guy. He introduced himself to me and said that he liked my cross necklace. When I met him, you suddenly popped into my mind—like he would be perfect for you! You just have to meet him. His name is Patrick.”  I laughed because I thought that this would never actually work—that this guy she was talking about would actually be my future husband, but since I was still single and didn’t really have anything else to do, I decided I would let her introduce me to him. 

We decided to meet up in Marshall one night with a group of friends. I met him and thought he was super cute—but we really didn’t have that much time to talk. A group of us ended up meeting a few days later to go to the movies…I still didn’t think anything of it because I honestly felt like he wasn’t interested in me. I think it was the next day and I had received an inbox message on Facebook—it was just small talk, nothing too special, but I started to wonder if he really was interested? …I decided to meet up with him and some of his friends to go play bingo until Miranda was done with work. When I arrived he came to meet me outside and as we walked in he opened the door for me and he told me I looked really pretty…I remember thinking, what a gentleman and that this was the type of guy I was interested in…someone who was kind, respectful and who was a gentleman.

Before we knew it…it was our last weekend of Christmas break together. Miranda was heading back to Miami for school and I had to leave for Mankato…And Patrick was headed back to Germany. I remember feeling so sad at this point because the group of us had so much fun together…it was so great to be back spending time with my BFF and plus, I really felt like Patrick would be a great guy for me—and not just a great guy, but I remember thinking how he would be PERFECT for me. 

That last night, I had to say good-bye to Patrick and before I knew it…he kissed me! And the crazy thing is…I looked at him and in my mind I thought, “I’m going to marry him someday…” You might think that sounds a little crazy—I know!!:) But for so many years I had been going to visit with my Great Grandma Hazel and so many times I asked her about life and about love—and how in the world do you know WHICH guy is the guy God has created for you. I’ll never forget what she said. She replied back and said, “Oh Shanna, you will know. Growing up I had kissed a few guys just to kiss them. I would kiss them good-bye just because, but I never really felt anything for them—I would just kiss them. But oh dear, when I kissed your grandfather for the first time, I could feel it in my whole body…from my head to my toes. It was different and from that moment on, I knew he was the one.”  …Well, I always talk about my Great Granny and how she knows EVERYTHING and how she seriously is the smartest lady in the world—and she proved to me once again that she really knows everything :)  …because when Patrick kissed me that very first time…I could feel it in my whole body…from my head to my toes.

Patrick had to leave and as he left, I was sad but I also was so excited—because THIS was the guy—HE was the guy! He was the guy God had been preparing for me all my life and I had finally met him!!!

Since Patrick was in the Army we had a long distance relationship right from the start—I’ve had so many people tell me how they would hate to do that and they just couldn’t do it…I would always just smile and think to myself, “I wouldn’t have it any other way!”  Patrick and I built our relationship on trust, love and communication. All we could do was talk on the phone so we got to know each other so well and really became best friends. I never took him for granted and I always made time for him, just as he did for me. I will admit that having him in the Army was difficult, we hardly ever got to see each other the first 2 years of our relationship, but I also believe that our relationship was so much stronger because of that.

It was when he was deployed to Afghanistan for 13 months that really strengthened our relationship. He was able to come home for two weeks and visit me while I was in Mankato…and I’ll never forget the morning when he had to leave and that not to long after he would be heading to Afghanistan. It was really early in the morning and so it was still dark outside…He was in his uniform and as I hugged him at the doorway, the thought—“What if this is the last time I see him” flooded my mind…and just as soon as it came to my mind I made it leave…because I knew that no matter what happened or what the next 13 months held…it is God that holds our lives in His strong and steady hands—He would surely be with us no matter what happened. From that day on I made it a point to always praise and thank God for all that He has blessed me with…for His great plans and for His ways…after all, I was dating the man of my dreams and I wasn’t about to get all down and sad by the “what if” thoughts that could consume my mind. I knew every day was (is) a gift from God and I would have a thankful heart—always.

I mentioned earlier about when I was in high school I felt God tugging on my heart to pray fro my future husband…when I met Patrick we had a very serious talk and he shared with me his last experience in Afghanistan. He told me it was on June 8th, 2005 that his life changed forever. He was on a mission and a rocket had exploded and killed two of his soldiers. He explained to me that he was standing in the middle of them—and that both of them—on each side of him were killed. He reminded me of how close he was, and that he could just reach out his hand and touch them…but he didn’t understand it—because they both died but he was in the middle and didn’t? It didn’t make sense…we both reminded each other of how difficult times in life don’t always make sense and sometimes we can’t understand what God is doing…and we agreed that God was certainly watching over him that day and that it was indeed a miracle that Patrick survived and that he only suffered minor injuries (although he still deals with them on a daily basis now) compared to the deaths of his two soldiers. As we talked about this I was reminded of how I would have just finished my junior year in high school when Patrick experienced a day that changed him forever. I still get chills thinking about it…because I know without a doubt that God told me to pray for Patrick and that somewhere my future husband needed prayer…I just didn’t know who he was…what his name was…or why I needed to pray, but as we finished this conversation I was reminded…I was reminded of how real and true God is…I was reminded that God heard my prayers and He protected Patrick on that very sad day because He knew that one day, he would be my husband.

Finally Patrick was officially out of the Army and I was so excited to have him here in America! The past few years have just flown by as we both have been working hard at finishing our college degrees and have been preparing ourselves for the future. And actually, as of yesterday, Patrick has now officially completed his Master’s Degree in Sports Management! He is officially done with school!!:) I am so proud of his hard work and his dedication to our future—He is the type of man that wants to provide and help as many children that we can—he knows I have big dreams and he does too, and he always had said how he wishes he could of just married me yesterday—but he also doesn’t want to rush anything…He reminded me often that he would propose when he felt like God told him to. He has been such a faithful prayer in our relationship and every time he prays with me I am reminded of the Godly man God has blessed me with. I am so thankful for his strong faith and the very smart and dedicated man he is!!

It’s sort of crazy to think that Patrick and I have been together for over 5 years!! I always thought that as soon as I found my future husband we would get married a few months after—after all, once you know, you just know! What’s the use in waiting? But I know God has used our time of dating to strengthen our relationship as well as prepare us for marriage…and for that I am truly, truly grateful!!

Okay—so the story of the proposal!! :)  This past weekend I headed to the cities to have Shelby’s Bachelorette Party. We went to Still Water (SO BEAUTIFUL!!) and had a really fun time! And as most of you probably know, I would much rather go to church than go out and party. I know that probably sounds really cheesy—but it’s true, I just would! I’m over the whole bar/party scene and I feel like I’m 34—not 24! Haha! I guess I just know what’s important in my life and I don’t want to waste time doing or participating in things that don’t bring glory to God. So, anyways, we were out for Shelby’s Bachelorette Party…

...I really did have so much fun hanging out with all the girls and spending time together, but I was also secretly hoping everybody would wake up early the next morning so I could make it back to Eden Prairie for church. Patrick and I attend Grace Church in Eden Prairie as often as we can or whenever we are around the area. I absolutely LOVE this church and seriously get so excited when I know I can make a service at Grace. So I told Patrick that I would keep him posted Sunday morning and that hopefully I would be back in time to make church with him. The next morning, we actually didn’t sleep in—there were 6 of us in a room and slowly we all started waking up fairly early and I was able to make it back for church. I called Patrick to let him know and before we knew it, we were in his car headed to church.

I guess now that I look back on the morning, he did seem a little different—maybe a little nervous, but I really didn’t think too much of it. We arrived to church early and found seats toward the back of the church on the first level. If you’ve ever been to Grace Church, this church is HUGE! So although we were really early, there were people walking around and spread out waiting for the service to start as well. We’re always early so I was used to this and it was completely normal. I sat there drinking my French Vanilla Coffee and looked at the bulletin.

The actual church service started at 11:00am and it was probably around 10:55am when all of a sudden Patrick got up out of his seat and went down on one knee. I looked at him totally confused and wondered what he was doing—I had NO clue! I asked him what he was doing…Then I saw he was holding the ring in his hand and I said, “Patrick, is this for real?” I was so shocked!!!  I thought, “Hmmm obviously this is real if he has the ring!!” He then looked at me…totally nervous and a little teary-eyed and said, “Shanna Michelle, God has blessed me by placing you in my life. You’re the one I want to spend forever with. I’ve prayed about this for such a long time and I couldn’t imagine proposing anywhere else but in God’s house since He has always been at the center of our relationship. Will you marry me?”  Ahhhh!!!! I honestly was still SO shocked!! I couldn’t get over it—it was almost like we were in a dream or something! Of course I said YES! And then before we knew it, the music started playing and we stood up and started to sing. I couldn’t even jump or scream or get all excited because we were in church—haha so we stood there like two little kids and kept looking at each other and laughing, “Like did this really happen? Are we ENGAGED!!!?”  He held my hand and told me that he felt like I just needed to be engaged before I left for Africa…So that I could go find our children. I smiled and said okay!:) He continued with, “I don’t know what the future holds…or where we’ll be…maybe we’ll be in America or maybe we’ll be in Africa…no matter what—it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that we’ll be together because we’re meant to be together and we’ll figure out the rest—Okay? I love you.”  …My heart melted and I was reminded of how true…right…great and faithful God is. We don’t have all the answers, but we live for the One that does—He’ll take care of us…He’ll guide and lead us. Whatever happens in the future, we’ll get through it because we have Him and we have each other. 

I was so surprised and shocked when he proposed that I never actually cried—I certainly could have, but I was trying to hold all of my emotions together. I was doing pretty well and then all of a sudden, a new song started playing and as I stood there and looked at my beautiful ring and as I held Patrick’s hand…I lost it completely.  I had heard this song before, but for some reason I felt like the song was being sung directly to me alone. The lyrics in the song are so beautiful and fit perfectly with how I was feeling.

Higher than the mountains that I face…

Stronger than the power of the grave…

Constant through the trial and the change…

One thing Remains…

This one thing remains…

Your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me…

Your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me…

Your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me…

Those are the first few lyrics of the song…and as I stood there, I realized just how TRUE that is. God is HIGHER than the mountains both Patrick and I have faced—and the ones we’ll face together. Jesus is STRONGER than the power of the grave! God is constant through everything—trial and change…He is ALWAYS the same and of COURSE He blesses those who live and devote their lives to Him. I wondered so many times when my time would come…when I would meet my future husband…when would it be our turn to have a “normal” relationship and not a long distance one…when would it be our turn to get engaged, married, etc. I would wonder these things every now and then, but no matter how much I wondered, I knew—God KNEW. I didn’t have to worry or wonder—I just had to pray for our relationship and trust God because HIS LOVE NEVER FAILS. He is TRUE to HIS WORD—He LOVES us and WANTS to BLESS our lives…we just have to open our hearts and commit our plans to HIM.

…And so I stood there…overwhelmed by God’s grace…His faithfulness and His love…and I was reminded again of just how in love with Him I am…as well as how in love I am with the man whose hand I was holding. I wanted to jump up and down with joy and I wanted to scream and shout…but all I could do was stand there and give thanks to my God and to my Savior Jesus Christ for the many blessings He has poured into our lives…

…And all I could do was thank Him for blessing me with the greatest gift—His Love…and the Love of my future husband. 

You might be wondering WHEN and WHERE we are getting married, but we aren't exactly sure at this time. We have always known for a long time now that we would love to have a Destination Wedding, so this is what we're looking into. We're checking on a few locations and hope to get the best deal possible, so once we have the location we'll pick the date and we'll be on with the WEDDING PLANNING!!!!! :) I am SO excited to MARRY MY PRINCE CHARMING!!!!! God is GREAT and I am BLESSED!!!!


Below is the song that played at Grace Church that morning. I know I shared a few of the lyrics, but please pause to listen to it. It spoke so clearly to me and I pray it speaks directly into your heart—just as it did to mine.

God's Ways Are Beautiful...

As many of you know, I am a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant. I signed my agreement to start my own Mary Kay business last April 14^th and have been a Beauty Consultant for little over a year.  Now that I have been doing Mary Kay for a full year, I am able to look back on my life and know with all my heart that this is what God has planned for me…And so now, I want to take some time to share about my heart…about this journey…and how God is working in my day to day life.

When I was a freshman in college, I went to Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato. I transferred in over winter break and decided to attend this college because 1: it was a Christian college and 2: I wanted to play college basketball.  While I was there I spent a lot of time with the ladies on the basketball team and made a few other friends here and there….but always felt like it was sort of hard to jump right into making friends during the middle of the school year since everybody seemed to already have their group of friends. 

I was taking a general education class that spring and now when I look back on this I just have to laugh.  Everyday this girl would come walking in and I didn’t have any idea of who she was—but I remember thinking to myself that I felt like we would be great friends.  She always had sweatpants and a basketball t-shirt on—and so did I…She also always had her hair up on top of her head full of messy curls…and So did I. 

One of the spring afternoons there was a BLC baseball game and a few of us were hanging out together watching the game.  Here this girl came up and sat down next to us and began talking.  She knew some of the girls that I was talking with…but she and I had never actually been introduced before.  As soon as she sat down we began to talk and got along instantly and I felt like I had known her my whole life!!  The conversation led to plans and ideas for the summer…and both she and I didn’t really have anything planned.  She brought up the fact that she would love to go work at a camp for the summer—and I agreed with her about how much fun that would be.  She explained a little bit about the organization she had come across and we agreed to fill out the information.  It was SO crazy! We had just met…and then all of a sudden we were agreeing to work at a camp and live together for the whole summer!  It really just makes me laugh because we had no idea what we were doing or what we were getting ourselves into!:)  We hadn’t really thought it through—or knew if this was actually legit…We just totally went with it and before we knew it…we found out that we were going to be lifeguards for an Armenian camp in Massachusetts! 

Here we are...taking our first step towards Massachusetts! 

 On the plane...a little sad to leave Minnesota but excited for what God had in store for us!

We spent the WHOLE summer together…and when I mean whole summer…I mean, we seriously were attached by the hip!!  Everywhere Jess went…I went…and everywhere I went…she went….There was never a time that the two of us weren’t seen without each other. It was SO much fun and although some days at camp got a little long—it was the BEST experience just because we were together. 

Exploring on our day off in Boston!

  In front of our Cabin

Bowling in Franklin, MA.

Jess--Shanna--Kayla...Down by the beach where we spent most of our days.

While we were at camp, there were many mornings and nights that we would go for a walk or a run together…and these were the moments that I absolutely loved.  Jess and I have SO much in common…The way we look at life…the way we dream and have high hopes about our futures…the way our faith and family are important to us…the way we have always been passionate about sports and about helping others…We seriously are just SO much a like!!  Something that cracked us up ALL summer long is that we always got asked by all of the kids at camp if we were SISTERS! ….And then there was so many times that not only did the kids ask if we were sisters….but they would ask if we were TWINS.  We would always look at each other and just LAUGH because we got this ALL the time and it just blew our minds!!  Right away when we first got the question it was like, “What?? Sisters? Twins?? Us??”  ….And then after we got asked this for the whole summer it was just a laughing joke—we couldn’t get over it!  I have dark curly hair and at the time she had long red—blonde curly hair, so we felt like we didn’t really look alike, but I guess we always wore the same style of clothes and always had our hair the same. :)

 

During our walks we would share our hearts with one another…we would talk about what we got excited about in life…and how we both wanted to CHANGE the WORLD.  We imagined ourselves going on family vacations together…we imagined ourselves having kids at the same age so they could be the BESTEST of friends…we also talked about how we wanted to help people…We both never really saw ourselves working a 8:00—5:00 type of job…just because we felt like God had something MORE…something BIGGER planned for us. We really had no idea what it looked like…or what we would do…we just knew that we wanted to change the world….we wanted to make a difference…and we wanted to enjoy our “job” whatever it was that God had in store for us.  We talked many, many different times about how awesome it would be to start our own non-profit organization…something to do with sports…or helping children in need….or reaching out to moms or women that were in difficult situations…whatever it was…we didn’t know…but we were confident that God would someday show us…and that He would someday use our hearts to help others who were in need. 

Here we are...waiting in the airport for our flight back to Minnesota.

After our summer at camp we still stayed very close…she lived a long ways away from me…and we didn’t get to see each other that often…but what we shared that summer was so touching and it truly was a one of a kind type of friendship—the friendship that only God could have arranged and planned to better glorify His kingdom.  

Last March, Jess came to visit me and she was so excited—I remember looking at her and laughing…thinking what in the world is this lady thinking?!:)  She just signed-up to be a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant and she needed a few faces to practice on. When she told me how much she loved it and she wanted to do this for the rest of her life…I seriously was so confused?  She was a sporty type of girl…a girl that would always wear sweatpants and hardly NO makeup…the last thing I could see her doing was selling Mary Kay…But I will admit…when we met together and she did a facial for me…I remember thinking how this would actually be sort of fun.  She was SO excited about it…and although I had never really heard anything about Mary Kay and didn’t even know what it was all about…If she enjoyed it…I certainly would enjoy it too—right? 

Here we are...Jess was pregnant with Macoy...And all she wanted to do was stay at home with him once he was born--and NOW she can! Because of MARY KAY she is at home with her BABY!!!! :)

Jess called me a few days later after we met and just told me how she thinks I would absolutely LOVE Mary Kay and that she would LOVE for me to join her team.  I seriously didn’t think twice about it—She loved it and was SO HAPPY with it…that I knew I would feel the SAME way.  I hung up the phone and decided to sign-up right away!  We really had no idea what God was doing or what His plans were…but we felt great about this and decided to JUMP right in!! 

Here I am at Seminar last year in Texas--With my DREAM CAR!:)

I would just like to tell you that Mary Kay has truly been a BREATH of FRESH AIR in my life.  I had heard SO many great and wonderful things about the company…and I remember thinking, “How in the world can this company be THAT good? …How can it be THAT successful?  Is there some type of a catch?”  After I had heard about some of the great things about this company, I found out that this company was a Christian-based company…AND THEN, the light bulb went on! Mary Kay Ash always believed that when she had these priorities in order: God first, family second and career third…that everything in her life went well and she was blessed—and if she ever lived her life out of this order, it didn’t work and she was downright unhappy.  

I just want to share a little bit about the company of Mary Kay so that you can really see the HEART of this company.  Mary Kay Ash was such a hard worker and 1963 she quit her job because she was working SO hard but wasn’t getting paid for it…Men would come in whom she would train and they would just pass her up…they would get promoted and they would get an increase in their income.  Mary Kay didn’t think that was fair and asked her boss what the problem was…He responded with, “Mary Kay you’re in the wrong body.”  She couldn’t believe how rude that was and decided to quit that day. She went home and found herself frustrated and upset with how men were treated with so much more respect and had so many more opportunities than women did.  She thought to herself, “Someone needs to create a job or a company where women can be successful and achieve all that they want.”  After she thought that thought, she decided that SHE would be the one to CREATE and DESIGN this wonderful opportunity for women.  She had $5,000 in her savings and invested all of her money into her DREAM JOB…she also had 9 of her coffee drinking buddies that supported her.  As she began this process and this dream, she had many—many people tell her that “Mary Kay, that is impossible.  A company like that would NEVER succeed….Mary Kay, you are dreaming.”  But she had her faith and she had her heart—She knew that if she truly believed in herself and this company—that she could and WOULD SUCCEED.  

I am so happy and honored to be a part of this company and to share that Mary Kay Company is coming up on their 50^th Anniversary!!  There is truly SO many wonderful things about this company but I just would like to share a few things—otherwise this blog post could go on and on and on! 

♥ The Company was also built on the Golden Rule, which is to treat others and you would want to be treated. 

♥ The Company is international and is in 38 different countries! 

♥ The Company is passionate about GIVING BACK—Our Company gives millions of dollars away every year to help women and children who have been affected by cancer and also women who are affected by domestic violence. We also give to SO many different organizations and areas ALL around the WORLD. 

♥ We are a multi-billion dollar company!

♥ Harvard University teaches our Marketing Plan. 

♥ We have been listed in every printing of the book, Top 100 Companies to Work For. 

♥ Wall Street Journal has published articles written about us. 

♥ Mary Kay was chosen by Baylor University as the greatest female entrepreneur of all times. 

♥ Our product is the #1 selling product in the Nation and has been for the past 18 years!

Now I would like to share our TOP 12 BLESSINGS we receive when we start our own Mary Kay Business.

 

       Money--In Mary Kay you can make a little bit of money…and you can make a lot of money! It is totally up to you! If you want to make some extra cash to pay off debt—save up for a wedding—go on a family vacation, etc.  You can use your Mary Kay for any of these reasons! Otherwise, you can work Mary Kay full-time which is about 20 hours a week.    

      

        Purchase at Whole Sale—Anything products that you wear from your head to your toe, you can get 50% off!

     

        Tax Breaks—Things that you are doing and paying for anyway, now become a tax break because you are running a home-based business!

4.   

              Job Security—You are your OWN BOSS!  It is YOUR Company and you don’t ever have to worry about getting fired or losing your job.

5.     

        Company Cars—Mary Kay gives every person the opportunity to earn a FREE CAR! You also get a new one every 2 years!! We have 10’s of thousands of women who have been driving FREE in Mary Kay! Mary Kay pays for license, tabs & 85% of car insurance!!

6    

              Advancement at Your Own Pace—YOU get to decide how much you would like to advance! It is up to YOU! If you want to earn a free car—the decision is ALL up to you and how much you want to work!

7.     

        Prizes & Recognition—We are constantly cheering each other on and giving prizes for your hard work!! You can win SO many great prizes from small things to big things! The nice thing is, you don’t compete with anyone else but yourself!! If you work for it and earn it—you WILL get it! We work together and encourage each other to reach our dreams!!

8.     

        Personal Growth—You learn so many things in Mary Kay, such as business management, time management, personal skills, etc.  You are constantly growing and moving in a forward movement! When you grow personally you can pass that on to your family!

9.     

        Friends & Fun—We meet so many inspiring and motivating ladies! You also get to select who you would like to work with—so we are always positive and encouraging each other! We ALWAYS have so much fun together!

1      Flexibility—If you do Mary Kay as a hobby you get to select your hours and income. But what is really great when you do Mary Kay full-time. You can pick exactly when you can work and you can fit your life around your Mary Kay. 

Fulfillment of Helping Others—You can power and change women’s lives as working as a Mary Kay Beauty Consultant.  If mothers want more time to stay at home with their children or to leave a crabby job, we can offer them that with this Mary Kay Opportunity! Mary Kay really is the vehicle to help reach out to women and to change their life for the better. And of course, I want to use my own Mary Kay money so that I can help children in need.

1      The Ability to Dream—As a little girl you grow up wishing and dreaming of big things…Or when you find your sweetheart that you’re going to live forever with, you think about all of these wonderful things that you would like to do together. But something always seems to happen when we commit to working a full-time 8:00-5:00 job. We aren’t in charge of our schedules and we can’t decide when we would like to work and when we would like time off.  Other people tend to be in charge of  our schedules which then ends up being that they are in charge of our lives.  In Mary Kay, you have the opportunity to DREAM BIG. You have the opportunity to make extra money and you have the flexibility to take vacations—to explore and try new things.  I am SUCH a BIG DREAMER—most of you probably know that!:)  So with Mary Kay this truly is such a blessing that I will be grateful for!

Now, I am HAPPY and EXCITED to announce my GOOD NEWS with Mary Kay to YOU!! The Month of May I was “Praying for a Miracle” and I was able to move up into my Red Jacket and go ON-TARGET for my WHITE CHEVY MALIBU!!! I am SO excited because God was in control of every little detail and has blessed me with such a wonderful team and group of customers! I really am o truly grateful for each and every one of you!!! I want you to know that I really do appreciate all of your support and love!

I’ve explained this to a few people before, but I would like to share with you in case you don’t know where my heart is at.  I always thought growing up that I would become a teacher simply because I have such a HUGE heart for children—so it was simple, right? I would be a teacher.  But the more and more that I have thought about it…the more and more I have realized in my heart that God has created me to be a wife and a mother.  I have always felt so strongly about this and I am certain that this is what God has in store for me. I’ve also felt very strongly about staying at home with my children once Patrick and I have a family—After all, they are OUR children…why would I send them to Day Care to have somebody else raise them?  It just doesn’t make sense to me. So, I have pretty much come to the conclusion that I will just finish my Early Childhood Education Degree so that I have the degree and can always fall back on it if need be.  BUT—My main focus and excitement is Mary Kay.  I picture myself being a Beauty Consultant for the rest of my life!  This company is truly a CINDERELLA COMPANY and has SO much to offer for every single girl! I strongly believe that!  So my goal is to work my Mary Kay business right now as much as I can so that once I am married and have children, I will be able to afford to stay at home with them. 

I also want to share—that all of you pretty much already know about—but I have a HUGE HEART for going on mission trips and for reaching out to children in need.  I went to Africa for 2 weeks last summer…I went to Ecuador for 1 week in the fall…and I am getting ready to go BACK to AFRICA this summer for 3 weeks.  I absolutely LOVE going on mission trips and I love sharing my love with the many children that God places in my path.  And although I love being able to do this, I realized that if I do work a 8—5 job, I won’t have the flexibility to just get up and leave for a few weeks if I want to. I also realize that it would be so hard to keep a job when I am constantly wanting to travel and take these trips throughout the year. So, when the Mary Kay opportunity was presented to me, not only did I realize that I would be able to stay at home with my children because I would be able to make enough money to do so…I also realized just how FLEXIBLE this job would be for me—which is exactly what I need.  Another thing is that I have always said I would adopt and so I prayed for God to bless me with a man that would also be inspired to love on orphans and to adopt—and God surely did that.  Patrick and I have been together for over 5 years and it is only a matter of time before we will be getting engaged…planning our wedding…and praying about our future children. So, adoption is spendy—there is no way around it…it’s just expensive. BUT, I have always said that I don’t want to let money stop me or slow me down from fulfilling the CALL that GOD has placed on my heart—to go on mission trips and to adopt.  Both of these two things are very expensive.  My mission trips cost around $4,000 and adoption is around $40,000. This is a lot of money—isn’t it?  It is to me…but I have found that this is where my heart is…my heart is for these children…so I won’t think another thing about it—I will simple DO IT...I would also like to say and that though God has continued to BLESS me...I mean ABSOLUTELY BLESS me with people that have such a GIVING heart and are willing to donate for my trips...it is still hard to ask others for money. So I would love to be able to get to the point where I can afford all of these trips on my own. 

Okay friends…I know this post is getting long…but this is such a long journey and experience to try and explain in a few short paragraphs!  SO…here is something else that is BIG and EXCITING.  As I mentioned I am ON-TARGET for my WHITE MALIBU.  First, I want to explain to you that the car that I am currently driving is slowly falling apart. Ever since I came home from Africa I have had the hardest time purchasing nice things for myself…If I see a t-shirt and it cost $30…I think to myself, no way, this is way too selfish—this $30 cold provide food for a FULL month for 1 child in Africa, etc. So I have had such a torn heart when it comes to spending money—I’m praying for God to show me the difference between NEED and WANTS.  So anyways, I am in need of a new car---it really is a matter of time before this car doesn’t work anymore!  So, Patrick and I have talked about what the smart thing to do is and I just had the hardest time thinking about having to spend all that money on a car—when all of a sudden, it CLICKED. I can EARN my Mary Kay car—which will help me in the LONG RUN by building my business and by working full-time…and I can SAVE the money that I would have had to spend on purchasing a new car for things that are MORE IMPORTANT. 

It is JUNE…and I am making this month a “JUST JUNE IT” kind of month. I leave for Africa in 5 weeks!! So I have A LOT of work to get accomplished before I leave…AND…I need YOUR HELP!!! I need to meet with 30 ladies in the month of JUNE!  This is my goal that my director gave me and I am SO excited to work hard and to achieve this goal.  So, I need a minimum of 30 ladies that would let me borrow their face and to do a facial with them…but I actually have a goal to meet with 45 LADIES!!

Is there anyone that would be willing to help me out?  It’s already JUNE 4^th and I need to get to work.  I am FREE and willing to COME to you if you’d like me to!  It could be you and 2-3 friends and that would be AWESOME…because if you invite any of your family or friends…that will help me get closer to those 30 faces!! We’ll be able to meet and play with makeup! I’ll also be giving you some great skincare tips!!:)  It’s SUPER FUN…It’s FREE….and if you would be able to help me out I would give you an extra little bonus!!  I am IN NEED of your HELP and would be BLESSED if you would let me give you a facial—besides, who doesn’t enjoy getting pampered and having a little girl time?

As I mentioned I can come to you--or you are welcomed to come to me. If you come to me here is my Mary Kay room where will do our facials! :) 

If you would like to get together and get pampered--please let me know! I would absolutely love to make this month a POWERFUL month so that I am one more step closer to growing my business and to earning my White Malibu!  Contact me as soon as you know of a day/night that would work to get together!:) I would be every so GRATEFUL for your help!! 

P.S. If you read this blog and you found yourself wondering about Mary Kay and wanting to learn and find out more about this company...please let me know. The beauty of this company is that we are able to PASS IT ON to other women who are looking and wanting more in their life...so if there was anything that got you excited--or if you are interested in any of the 12 Mary Kay Blessings...just let me know...I would be more than honored to share more information with you. Also, can I just tell you something--It only cost $100 (a Wal-Mart decision) to start your very own business...and you really have NOTHING to lose!  This business could certainly...and most likely WILL change your LIFE! ...Just like it has changed mine!  I would be blessed to pass this business along to you because I think to myself, "If Jess wouldn't have passed this Cinderella opportunity along to me, just think of what I would have missed out on!"  ...And now, the two of us are changing the world...with one facial at a time...we are inspiring ladies and helping them feel better about themselves....because when a girl feels pretty on the outside...she is truly more beautiful on the inside...and with that positive attitude and with a giving heart...she can make the world a more beautiful place. ♥

This opportunity has changed my life...and I would absolutely LOVE for it to change yours!! What are your hopes and dreams? What would make you happier? Share with me...I'd love to listen & help you get closer to  your dreams!!! :)