Congrats to Cousin Billy!

I just had to share how excited I am for my cousin, Bill Petty, who won Male Vocalist of the Year at the Momentum Awards last night! Bill has a beautiful voice and an amazing musical talent...we are just so proud of him! Glory to God that he gave this great man such an amazing gift to share with others!

Happy Easter

From our crew to yours...

Now what...

The sale is almost over and most of you are probably thinking now what for me...

well, I'll tell you...

I am going to sleep...and since the kids will be on spring break next week I am going to play with them like I, too, am 8 years old in the backyard. We are going to go to the park. We are going to go downtown and explore. We are going to have fun. And most of all? I am going to sleep.

Longaberger, Furniture, Clothing OH MY!

As I have mentioned before, I love to go junking. I love finding that diamond in the rough deal for something I really wanted for the house. That's why I am UBER (yes, I just said UBER) excited about Encores and More North Adult Clothing and Home Decor Sale that is coming up this week. Not only does my friend Angie run it, but she gets in amazing stuff at great prices. Longaberger baskets, scrapbooking supplies, furniture, AWESOME deals on clothing for us big kids, home decor (my favorite part), Southern Living, rugs, ok I could seriously go ON AND ON. The bad part? I spend too much money. But, hey, it's WAY cheaper than retail.

Come check it out...starts Wednesday at 10am. For all the details, click on the kids sale website link to the right and then click on the adult sale tab on the left!

Frustrating

This is just a small rant and something I am sure that I myself have done and will continue to do...but I am hoping that posting this will not only help me be more accountable, but maybe make others think as well.

It is beginning to drive me nuts when people say things like...

"I don't mean to be a bother, but..."

OR

"I don't want to seem like I am gossiping, but...."

OR

"I don't want to be a tattle tale, but..."

Because ultimately what you saying is that you REALLY do want to do those things and still look good. It cracks me up to hear people talking about someone else like a dog and then acting like NO ONE SHOULD TELL THEM! Or better yet, lets come tattle about someone like we are three years old and then act like that was perfectly fine and I should be thankful they tattled. I know some of you men reading this are going to think, "well that's what you get when you put a bunch of women together" but guess what boys, men are just as bad.

So the next time I use the word BUT in a sentence, I hope someone stops me right there and reminds me that I am getting ready to totally contradict myself.

I'll get off my soapbox now.

P.S. The consignment sale was amazing and my hats are off to all the workers, consignors and shoppers that made this sale a huge success!

I found this interesting (another autism post)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) Mar 07 - Federal health officials said on Thursday the government has not conceded that vaccines cause autism even after a Georgia girl won federal compensation in a case arguing a vaccine led to her autistic condition. Hannah Poling, 9, had a rare mitochondrial disorder and a federal court ruling said regular childhood vaccinations may have contributed to some of her autism-like symptoms. She was awarded compensation under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program in a case that became public this week. Some activists who argue vaccines can trigger autism jumped on the case as vindication of their cause, but Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), denied this. "Let me be very clear that (the) government has made absolutely no statement about indicating that vaccines are a cause of autism," Dr. Gerberding told reporters in a telephone briefing. "That is a complete mischaracterization of the findings of the case, and a complete mischaracterization of any of the science that we have at our disposal today. So I think we need to set the record straight on that." The vaccine injury program is a no-fault system that has a $2.5 billion fund built up from a 75-cent-per-dose tax on vaccines. It was set up to ensure companies would not be afraid to make vaccines, and to provide injured children an easier way to seek compensation. Thousands of lawsuits have been filed by parents who argue their children have autism caused by vaccines. The Institute of Medicine, an independent organization set up to inform U.S. policy, has found there is no evidence that vaccines can cause autism. Many recent studies have come to the same conclusion. Some autism advocacy groups argue that the mercury-containing thimerosal preservative in vaccines can cause autism. Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain entered the debate last week, saying there is "strong evidence" linking autism to a thimerosal. Dr. Edwin Trevathan, director of the CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, said the Poling case did not demonstrate any link between vaccines and autism. "I think it's also worth noting that most children with autism do not seem to have a mitochondrial problem," he told the briefing. "So this association between mitochondrial disorders and autism is actually probably relatively rare. But the association between mitochondrial disorders and severe brain damage and dysfunction is one that is not as rare and is actually quite important." Dr. Trevathan said it is not clear whether a fever caused by a vaccine might further stress a child with such a condition, causing autism-like symptoms. The CDC estimates that about one in every 150 children has autism or a related disorder such as Asperger's syndrome -- 560,000 people up to age 21 in the United States. "Our message to parents is that immunization is life-saving. There's absolutely nothing changed in the adamant recommendations that we are making to get children vaccinated," Dr. Gerberding said.

Being a junker...

I am a junker. I love going to thrift stores, garage sales, etc. to find a great deal. Another great place to find DEALS is at auctions. Although I don't get to go as often as I would like, I have picked up MAJOR deals at auctions in the past. A great place to find info on upcoming auctions is the Sunday Tennessean. Another new place (a new personal favorite) is http://www.sumnerauctions.com/. Check it out!

More Autism Talk

God woke me up at 4:00 am this morning. If you have read my blog before, you know I am not a morning person but if God chooses to speak to me at 4 am, I am listening and getting up. I laid in bed for a while and just listened.


Yesterday, a worker from the consignment sale came in to shop. As she came to the counter, we began talking when she shared with me that her son is autistic. She also told me how much it drives her nuts when people stare at him. This morning at 4am, I prayed for Brandi. I prayed that her heart will be given peace and understanding. That the Lord will give her patience and wisdom.


I asked her what she thought caused her son to have autism (in her opinion) and again, I heard vaccines.


After I spent time in prayer, I whipped out the laptop and decided to spend some time online doing some research. Here are a few things I found. Again, this is just food for thought:


In 1983, the CDC recommended that children receive 10 vaccines (at this point, the rate for autism was 1 in 10,000). In 2008, the CDC recommends that children between the ages of 0-6 receive 36 vaccines and the rate of autism is 1 in 150.

I completely agree with Shai who posted that children that displayed symptoms of autism in 1983 were probably labeled as eccentric, etc. but as I really put thought into this, I know of NO ONE that would have had those labels in my group of 13 friends that graduated together. None of their siblings, etc.

As I sit here now, I can think of 10 people off the top of my head that have children that have been diagnosed with autism.

I am NOT BLAMING vaccines because I don't know anything for sure, but SOMETHING IS GOING ON and I'll be honest, I am scared not only for my children, but for children everywhere.

Answering a few questions...

I had a few people email me some questions from my previous posts and I thought I would just answer them here:

1. The Disney Pot Head did have some accessories. It did sell, on worker night as a matter of fact. I am pretty sure that the person that bought actually got it for her kids, but we made sure she knew what she was buying. Yes, I am praying that the person that put it in the sale will not think I am making fun of them because I'm not. It was just too funny not to post. Also, it is something I would have totally done since I am so freaking sleep deprived. I tried to put the juice from the fridge in the cabinet with the cups the other day. Trust me, I am NOT making fun of the consignor who put in the pot head.

2. Yes, people really did consign those maternity dresses. Again, I am not making fun of the consignor that put them in, we just wanted to try them on to help out Leslie. Yes, I am pretty sure they are still for sale.

3. On the autism post, I have had many emails about why I think the vaccines could be causing the autism. I agree with whoever posted about the metals in the vaccines, but this is just a guess. I think it speaks volumes that the Amish don't have autism in their culture and they don't get vaccines (Thanks Jen B. for posting that, I can't wait to read more info)

4. Yes, I do still plan to vaccinate Mary Elizabeth but to just space out the vaccines a little bit. Instead of getting 4 shots at one visit, maybe doing one shot every few months. This can't be any worse for her than the threat of her having autism.

5. Ultimately my main reason for posting about autism is that many women I love dearly have children that are autistic. I did it to raise awareness and to let those women know that I love and support them. I put it out there to get people to question why.

I love blogging for this very reason...I get to put my thoughts on a forum that allows me to learn. I love to read your comments and your emails so please keep them coming.

More Fun Pics

Even the threat of snow and being 9+ months pregnant couldn't keep Shawn from shopping at presale Friday night:


What every kid wants: a Disney pot head:

Some of the smocked dresses were so big, I felt certain they would fit me. Again, I was wrong:

Funny Pics From The Sale

These were too good not to post. These were all taken by Angie V.

This one shows the 4" of snow on the ground as we headed to the sale Saturday morning:

Leslie (middle) found out Thursday that she is having a boy, so we decided to help her pick out some maternity clothes. We laughed so hard we almost peed on ourselves:

I'm really not sure what Holley is doing in this pic:

Pam cheesing it up for the camera:

I always wanted a pony as a little girl:

Autism Everywhere

This is something that has been heavy on my heart the last few weeks and I thought it was time to put it out there as some food for thought and to get suggestions.

In the last couple of years, I hear about autism everywhere. SEVERAL of my friends children are autistic and to be honest, I don't know much about it. It's not that I don't want to know, but sometimes I just feel weird asking these moms questions about autism when I know that they probably are so sick of talking about it.

It really began to make my heart heavy when I watched some special on TV about living with autism. Not only did it amaze me, but it made me think about what challenges my friends are facing in a world that is not autistic friendly.

Then I watched the first episode of Eli Stone a few weeks ago and the episode was about a woman whose little boy was autistic and she felt that a vaccination had caused the autism. Honestly, that was the first I had heard of the possibility of a vaccination causing autism. Now I know that Eli Stone is a fictional tv show, but was their truth at the heart of the theme for this show. I asked my friend Bethany and she said there was!

To be honest, it got me thinking....could a medicine be causing autism? I don't know and I want to know. I can tell you this...I am going to be doing some research the next few weeks and at this point, I plan to slow down Mary Elizabeth's vaccinations. That might sound radical, but 4 shots for a 6 month old who should only technically be 3 1/2 months old is a lot.

I want to hear some feedback and I want the people to read this blog to seach out a parent of an autistic child and pray for them. Pray for patience, understanding, rest, and wisdom. PRAY!

Again, I say GOD IS GOOD!

I will admit that on Thursday night when all the people started telling me that the official forecast was for at least 4" of snow on Friday/Saturday, I freaked out. Not only because Friday and Saturday are two of our biggest days business wise, but snow on March 7th!?!?! It wasn't enough that it was 105 degrees for our fall/winter sale in 2007 that we now had to have 4" of snow for the Spring/Summer 2008 sale. Was God trying to tell me something? I worried and worried all the while knowing that all those crazy thoughts did no good whatsoever. I began to earnestly pray that I would get out of God's way. People couldn't see the light of Jesus in me if I was too busy covering it up with useless worry. So I prayed. AND PRAYED. I asked others to pray. We all prayed and as I typed this morning, the attendance last night was GREAT!

As I typed the blog this morning, I honestly thought that based on the weather outside, we would be lucky to have 10 shoppers today but I was honestly in a great mood. God had answered our prayer for last night and I wasn't about to ask for another great day when we could have had a dud last night. When I got to the store this morning, not only was I shocked that I actually had workers show up, but soon after we started getting ready, we had people wanting to come in and shop even though we didn't open until 10am. It is now 8:24pm and although I am EXHAUSTED, I had to post that we had our second highest Saturday EVER! I could not believe the number of people that came through today.

The one thing that impacted me the most today was that when a worker left this afternoon, she came over to me and said, "I don't know why, but I just feel the need to hug you. You are the hands and feet of Jesus, you know that right?" It didn't hit me at first what she had really just said, but the more I sat there and thought about it, the more it impacted me. Had she really seen Christ in me?

I know in a few years, I might not remember the craziness of the last 24 hours as freshly as I do now, but I doubt I will ever forget Sherry leaning down and hugging me and saying that.

THANK YOU LORD for allowing me to not only have a business I used to dream about, but allowing me to be able to share my faith in doing that business. I hope to continue to somehow be your hands and feet.

Having Faith

Many people would say we got lucky or that the weathermen are never really right. I say that God is in control. The presale went great last night although we had 100 less people than normal. With 4" of snow here today we are so excited about going to the sale...with the sled in tow. Yes, we plan to have a good time today and yes, I will post pictures!

My first phone call this morning was at 6:40 am. A sweet lady driving from Hopkinsville, KY today to shop. She was just making sure that we would be open. I can't wait!

GOD IS GOOD!

My Prayer Today

Lord, keep my feet from feeling like they are a seperate part of my body (they already REALLY hurt). Keep the general drop off nice and calm although it usually is wild and chaotic. Protect our building from sickness and keep everyone that is working at Encores North healthy and in great spirits. Keep our mouths clean from unholy gossip, talk, or mean comments about stinky clothes. I am so greatful for all you give me and the fact that you have chosen me to do this sale. In your name I pray, AMEN!