Ho-Ho-Holidays! 5 reasons to shop direct sales and 5 Ideas for Holiday Shopping

I am switching up the purpose of this blog… It's not just to talk about my personal life.. I'm switching gears because I've made an amazing discovery as a entrepreneur and new business woman. I have joined ARBONNE, and it has been one of the best decisions of my life. I'm not going too into depth on this post but definitely will soon.
Here's what this is about

Why I'm COMMITTING to shop DIRECT sales for ALL my Holiday shopping this year and why I think you should consider it also.

I am a daughter of God first, then a wife to a wonderful husband and Mommy to 3 amazing boys, lastly I am a entrepreneur working to make extra income. I have found a business that does not take away from any of my time with any of my top life priorities but pays MORE than a job that takes my time away from them. I have thoughtfully made a commitment to tie myself to a wonderful company, and every other person who participates in network marketing companies has done the same.

1. When you support direct sales you support local entrepreneurs who BELIEVE in what they are selling,  not paying a celebrity to market some product that they may not ever use.

2. Get all your shopping done before the holidays hit, have it shipped directly to your home and AVOID Holiday mall crowds

3. Gain friendships through men and women who love what they do.

4.  There is something for EVERYONE, I am including a list of a few of my favorites.

5. Join a team of people working towards living out their passions and dreams and make some extra holiday cash!

My favorite companies

1.  ARBONNE- I obviously favor this one because I JOINED it!  I LOVE Arbonne because of its PURE, SAFE and BENEFICIAL products. They have been around for 34 years of Swiss Heritage which is great because it means they aren't going anywhere and they adhere to european standards of products, if you aren't aware of why this is the best research it or ask me, it's a beautiful thing. They are VEGAN certified, and CRUELTY free (NEVER tested on animals and uses NO animal byproducts), they are BOTANICALLY based with no added chemicals, fragrances or toxins and are all paraben free and created with the latest cutting edge science. Their nutrition line has changed my life as has their RE9 Anti-aging skincare line. Our skin is the largest organ in our body and whatever we put on it is absorbed into our bloodstream in 26 seconds, PLEASE be aware of what you are putting on your skin. I have SO much love for this company so contact me if you want more info @ LAFerguson987@gmail.com



2. Chloe and Isabel -
Chloe and Isabel is all about empowering women and giving them a chance to start their own business and to fly as high as you want to go!  Chloe and Isabel have a philosophy, the friendship philosophy.  It's all about the idea of two friends (Chloe and Isabel) and how although they might have two completely different styles there are still those classic pieces which both girls can wear and love.  There is literally something for everyone which is so great.   Our pieces are both trendy and fun as well as classic and beautiful.   If you are looking for timeless jewelry then Chloe and Isabel is the place to look.  All our jewelry is lifetime guarantee as well as nickel-free and hypoallergenic.  Whether it is a little something for yourself or for a friend or family member, I am confident you will fall in love with our one of a kind jewelry!
Please contact my friend Tracy and visit her website to support her business!
www.chloeandisabel.com/boutique/tracybeagen



3. Essential Oils
Essential oils come from the seeds, bark, stems, roots, 
flowers, and other parts of plants. These oils can help us in many ways, from 
making over our medicine cabinets, to giving us an at home spa experience. DoTERRA essential oils are certified pure therapeutic grade (CPTG) oils with many benefits. Please contact Brittany Daigle at her website is www.mydoterra.com/brittanydaigle and or mrs.daigle@gmail.com.



4. Jamberry
Imagine having cute stylish patterned nails that last more than just a couple of 
days. It's possible! Jamberry Nail wraps provide just that. There are over 300
non toxic, vegan vinyl nail wraps to choose from.
Come visit me, I would love to help you find your own personal style!
~Michelle Ferguson

Jamberry Independent Consultant #551036
Http://sunshinefingerbling.jamberrynails.net


5. Origami Owl
What's your story? With Origami Owl you can tell it through  beautiful and uniquely designed jewelry. There are endless possibilities that suit any of your holiday shopping needs. You get to personally designed living lockets for the special lady on your list! http://catierippy.origamiowl.com


I believe in all of these products and am confident that you will love them as much as I do! Please contact me if you have any questions! 

Thank you, much love and happy holiday shopping! 

Laura 

Makes all things new..

I am continuously amazed at the God that I follow. I am now a busy Mom os 3 amazing little boys, and at the doctor today I was talking to a fellow Mommy about how becoming a Mom makes you feel like a different person. I have to admit it lead me through this thought process of who Christ is and what he has done for us.
It's been so long since I've written and there is a reason. It's because God has been AT WORK.. let me tell you, he's been doing some pretty AMAZING things that only he can do. I cannot claim to be in charge of or even have the ideas of the things that he's done. God has fulfilled a promise to me that he promises to everyone. As most of you know my situation my eldest son and split custody. At first people cringe when I tell them that and I probably would have as well not a long time ago. But Christ has made things new. Like the bible teaches us in 2 Corinthians 5:17. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come; The old has gone, and the new is here!" God has made things new. He has reconciled relationships that were seemingly so far broken that they were beyond repair. He has broken down walls of hurt on both sides and infiltrated them with grace and forgiveness. He has brought light to a dark situation, and that light is so bright it's hard to even remember the darkness. That is the God that we worship. That is the God that I live my life for. One who makes us new. He promised that he would, he called to me and said "Laura, give this to me.. I will carry you… Give me your burdens and I will make things new"… let me tell you that as soon as I surrendered pride, bitterness, anger, all these feelings were very real and sometimes they were justified, sometimes they were not. But both sides of this custody scenario (I will no longer call it a battle) have had the same emotions and dealt with the same feelings and God has redeemed us all. for ALL have fallen short of the glory of God. Every single day every one of us does something that disappoints God, we make choices every second for the good of God or not. We all fail, that's what makes the cross so sweet. That Jesus died so that we may be reconciled back to God. That is exactly what he has done in our lives and it is so beautiful. It's so powerful it moves me because I cannot take credit, I can only give credit where credit it due. I am amazed.
I bet you are wondering how God has reconciled the relationships between Jacobs biological Dad and myself? It has been through conversations… slowly asking how ones day is, showing care, laying down pride, admitting wrong doings, asking for forgiveness… giving forgiveness. PRAYER, loving Jacob more than being bitter at the other person, seeking God in all things and trusting in God's plan, taking joy when there is a joyous occasion, showing gratitude, celebrating victories instead of competing for attention. It is all straight from God, and I am thankful that he has used me to create a ministry to others in my same scenario.
I am a new creation. I am not who I was and my past has no right to define my future. I want it to be known that I am going to take down all my old blog posts.. not because my feelings weren't real, because they absolutely were and writing was my way of expressing how I felt, but it is not constructive to keep them up here. I know my story and most importantly it's become God's story to be used for His kingdom, but I want to focus on the positive.
This blog will be dedicated to my life journey as a Mom of 3 boys and as a wife of a hard working man who dedicates his life to taking care of this family. I want to write about my perspective as a Mom and how because I've gotten a bit older and forgot my glasses downstairs I can hardly see the letters on this screen because they are all blurred together. Life is real, and I'm a person who is real and honest. This blog will be about my thoughts. It's not for anyone but me and I want to be able to look back on this and see my journey as a Mommy. I love what Christ has done for me in my life and I want this to be a ministry. I believe God can do amazing things and I hope whoever reads this can see Christ at work.
I am thankful for a God of reconciliation and who makes all things new, because I sure needed it.

Love, L

Perseverance

Baby Jeffrey is 6 weeks old today. It has been the most incredible transition having him here and it's taken me a while to write on here. There is so much to update, like how amazed I am at how great our family is with Jeffrey here, how well Jacob has transitioned, how wonderful Jason is as a father of 2, my next visions for this stage in my life, how I absolutely love being a mommy of 2 and so much more. There are constantly a million thoughts going through my head but for now I am writing because I don't find myself in the best place. I am finding that Satan is attacking the exact meaning of who God created me to be; being a Mom. I keep hearing these thoughts of "do more", "What's next", "where is your purpose", "You are worthless" " You have no value", and I find that I am hearing these thoughts and battling them daily because satan wants me to believe I'm worthless and have no value, satan wants my husband to become distant and disconnected when I need him to be especially sensitive, satan wants me to believe the lies that this custody battle with Jacob are constantly feeding me. I am not writing now from a place of finding the answers to this, I'm writing this because I'm in the middle of it and am battling and the only outlet I find is to write. In this moment I am reassured that I am not the only woman that has ever struggled with this, I am remembering the reassurance that God tells us there is nothing that he hasn't already dealt with and doesn't already know the answer to.
I am remembering my mornings in Africa in 2008, when I felt closest to the Lord due to the amount of time that I spent each morning in quiet time. I think back to the vision that God gave to me of who he wants me to be. I knew I wasn't at the place in my life to believe that God would provide all this to me, all that I have now... I know that God created me to be a wife and Mom. Despite what I thought about traveling the world and doing missions in far off lands, I know that God designed me to be doing exactly what I'm doing right now at least for right now, who knows about later in life... so of course the enemy is going to attack that. Of course he doesn't want me to believe I have value in being a wife and Mom that I am even any good at it. I am battling myself in so many areas and I'm in need of a change in my heart because I can feel my mind starting to listen more to the lies than the truth and it's leaving me believing that I need human's approval.. whether it is from my husband or my children or even other people via social media. I am not doing my work for man, but for the Lord and I need to live every moment as if I'm serving Jesus and not man. But honestly people, how easy is it to go off what others think of us? How easy is it to find our value based on how our husbands or wives treat us, or how many "likes" and "comments" we can get on our pictures, on how many people text or call us throughout the day, on how many pictures we post on instagram or how many people "retweet" our posts? We live in a society where approval for others is seemingly vital to our daily lives. Social media has made us believe we need others approval to feel valuable in society.
I am no different... and it's left me feeling extremely susceptible to feeling like I'm not good enough.
I am not saying that social media is bad at all, I am saying that it has the ability to make us believe a lie if we are not strong enough to believe the truth that God loves us because we are his, and he created us.
At this point, I choose to lay down my pride and persevere because I no longer choose to believe a lie that I've believed for a few weeks now. I am who God created me to be and the second that I start believing that in my heart I will live it out in my actions. Here's to perseverance and the ability for God to make all things new <3 nbsp="" p="">

Thankful

I mentioned in the last post how every time we are thankful for something it doesn't allow Satan into that area of our lives.
I've truly loved seeing everyone's Facebook updates with November being a month of thankfulness. It brings me joy when people focus on the positive in their lives and not the negative.
I am thankful for an area that I also struggle in. How much my husband works.
I am incredibly thankful for his hard working heart and the weight of responsibility he has taken on to take care of this family. How much he works so that I am able to stay home with the kids. I am thankful  so his spirit of providing.
It has been hard though with his job and how he works during the holidays because obviously he makes more money, it's hard because he is missing time with Jacob and I and he is going to miss time with us as a family in general because of how much he works. I am realizing though that the holiday does not have to be celebrated on that specific day, that any time with family and friends is what God calls us to celebrate. He calls us to celebrate relationships and community, friendship and family. Any time that I am able to do that with Jason than I must be thankful for that, not being bitter about the times that we didn't get together.. but in a spirit of thankfulness to appreciate the moments that we do have with him and to watch the joy that flows from Jacob every time Jason is around. I am thankful for the moments when we are all together, I am thankful for laughter and joy because I have felt it so much today. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving as well :)

Moved into our new house!

I know, it's been a while since I've written but it doesn't mean I haven't been praying or haven't been thinking a lot about everything going on.
Let me start by saying I am beyond words in gratitude for this amazing house that God has provided. Jason and I had a rough couple of days moving, it honestly brings out the worst in people. It is a real life tangible example of how in marriage two people with two different ways of doing things come together to make things work. It's been great working through things with Jason and finding joy in working together.
Our house is still completely in boxes and there isn't one room that is fully done except the kitchen and the bathrooms because my amazing Mom and sister came down from orange county to help me out! They worked so hard all day and had a huge helping hand in making this place feel like home.
Today is the first day that I've actually sat down and not worked for over 15 hours straight moving and unpacking boxes. My body is hurting so bad, I know Jason is exhausted too. We are working hard to get the house ready for when we get Jacob back on Wednesday. I'm so ready to show him his new room and the play areas we have set up for him! This place is really starting to feel like home. But I don't feel like an adult to be honest, I don't feel like we own a house... I sometimes still feel like that free spirit I was in college, doing whatever I wanted to do and not having any real responsibilities. But what a beautiful place to come from and to now be. I am so thankful that God has provided a beyond amazing husband, a beautiful 1 year old and a growing baby on the way. I am thankful for this house and how comfortable I already am in it and I am also thankful for our doggies who have done so well in the transition! Here's to home making... :)

A wagon ride and a mommy-son dinner date to Chick fil a

Crisp fall air circles around our neighborhood, snuggled and warm on this beautiful afternoon my sweet son wakes up from his nap and I strap him into his new wagon that Grandma got us for his birthday and we are on our way. He is holding onto the sides and observing every house along the way. Laughing here and there an pointing up at the autumn trees and clouds rolling by. We walk around the block I don't notice any noises besides his occasional giggling and the sounds of the wagon wheels rolling on the sidewalk. It was a series of incredibly peaceful moments with Jacob, and I am thankful we were able to go for the walk today.
After the walk we put our shoes on and headed out on a date to chick fil-a. Just sat there together and laughed as he tried to stick his food in my mouth and I tried to get him to eat chicken. He watched every little boy and girl run by on the way to the play area and I could tell that all he wanted was to get down and run with them. He's not walking yet, so it may be a little while before that happens but it was great to see his playful personality be so attracted to other children.
I thought about what life is going to look like with two boys soon. I thought about how much food is going to get dropped (or thrown) on the floor during meal times, the amount of dirt that is tracked in the house, the amount of rough housing and possible trips to the emergency room. I thought about the special bond that brothers share and especially two boys that are going to be this close in age. They will be each other's best friend and constant companion. I am enthusiastic about these boys and a little tired already thinking about it, but I know God has given me these boys because I can handle them. I am inspired by the thoughts of future adventures, play times, pretending we are all pirates, setting up a nerf gun fight for dad when he gets home from work. I envision so much laughter and noise in my future and I couldn't be more thankful for that.
Today was a good day with my little guy, we had a lot of fun together... and we are so excited for baby brother to join our fun soon.

Jacob's 1st birthday weekend

I am astounded at how blessed I am. God has brought such a joy into our lives through Jacob. This weekend was such a ray of light and a glimpse of what our family has been established in through Christ.
We celebrated Jacob turning 1 on Saturday (his birthday was on Friday) we did a Thomas the Train themed party at the Old Poway park down the street from us that has old trains that we could all ride. It was simple, subway sandwiches and chips with a fun cake but it was so nice to just celebrate Jacob with our family.
I have to shout out a huge thanks to my family who has been amazingly supportive of us and has really helped Jason and I out in so many ways, I will forever be thankful for my Mom who is so willing to serve and her generosity is a true inspiration to me. My Dad and step Mom, Lisa has been huge factors in our ability to have custody of Jacob because they are helping us out with attorney costs. They are so generous and kind that Jason and I are taken back by how much they've done for us. I am so thankful for my sister, brother in law, brother,  sister in law and cousin who are such lights in our lives and have been such a source of joy.
The truth is how important family is here, and I have to say how blessed I am so have Jason in my life. The man is one incredible hunk of amazing to me and I constantly wonder how God blessed me with such a man that every day I would be taken back by the man that he is. God did good when he made Jason, and a huge part of that is Jason's family. His Mom and Dad did such a great job raising this young man to follow Christ and love others. They are a huge spiritual support system for Jason and I. Jason's sister and brother, and our sister and brother in law's are huge inspirations to family life in how they are raising their families. The biggest humbling experience I have had in this is how Jason's family has embraced Jacob as one of their own and they are loving them as Christ wants Jacob to be loved.
I am inspired
I am thankful
I am filled with joy
and I am recognizing that it is all because of Christ.

I think the best moments of this weekend were Jacob smashing his hands into his little cake and not eating any of it but just laughing with joy as he played with the fun colored frosting and watching him interact with our family and friends with such a playful personality. But my truly favorite moment was after the party was over and Jason and I were getting Jacob ready for bed, we all participated in Jacob's bath and watched him play with his new bath toys, we got him all snuggled up and then we opened a few of his toys to play with. There was a very specific moment when I remember just watching Jason play with Jacob and his new police car toy, Jacob looked at Jason with such heroism. Jason is Jacob's magnet, he is drawn to him and they play so incredibly well together. We all laughed and played around far past Jacob's bed time but we were all having so much fun it didn't matter. It was a moment of pure unadulterated joy. and it amazes me that God has provided this family for Jacob and baby J on the way. I am amazed at where we've come from a year ago and how many huge ways God has revealed himself to us and has blessed us abundantly.
I am feeling so thankful for such a great weekend.