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| Getting set up for the statewide Baby Shower! Me & My husband, Cornelius! |
Whew! We’ve been super busy around here preparing for our 1st annual Pinky Promise statewide baby shower!! And, it finally happened on September 12, 2015!! I’ve been planning this thing in my head for a year and I started actually putting the Pinky Promise Dream Team in place and taking the steps towards the shower about a year ago.
It all started when I was pregnant with Logan in 2013. I had a pretty rough pregnancy with a 27 hour labor that ended in a C-section. Then, after being stuck in the bed for 2 weeks with a colicky, screaming child, non-stop diapers, nursing, post partum depression and just about everything else attacking me, I stopped and through, HOW do SINGLE WOMEN DO THIS!??! So, from that point forward, I was determined to host a statewide baby shower for low income mamas or mamas that simply need a little extra help or that want to attend a workshop that will help prepare them in taking care of their babies! So, if you’re a single mama, I seriously SALUTE you and I’m praying that God gives you the grace to accomplish what He’s called you to do.
I honestly was nervous when the Lord told me to start planning. I’m like, how am I going to help over 100 women.. pay for everything & do everything by myself? Then, He started to give me wisdom on what to do. So, I did both and the “Body of Christ” REALLY came together. People came out of the woodwork to be vendors, to help, to sponsor. I knew that I was going to need a lot of help, so I reached out to my Pinky Promise sisters via www.pinkypromisemovement.com. I told them that if God places it on their heart to donate anything from diapers, to clothes, baby clothes or even finances, to please donate. I encouraged the women at the Pinky Promise Conference to bring gently used clothes and items and the ladies SHOWED out! They brought tons and tons of baby clothes, items and diapers. Women from ALL over the world started to ship items to our PO box! Pinky Promise Groups got together and sent huge boxes filled with product! People started to reach out to us and share with us that they have a cupcake business or contacts and they want to be a part of the event!
The schedule included 3 people sharing their story. My story, Melonie- who is in her 3rd year of law school as a single parent with a 3 year old and Nadra Cohens who was a single mother for 7 years before getting married. We served a light breakfast while the ladies spoke. Then, after the speakers and giveaways- the ladies went to different workshops. While at the workshops, they learned about dental healthcare, how to do CPR, breastfeeding and couponing! After each “session” they attended, they received raffle tickets in which they could use at the “mommy & baby boutique.” If you want to hold one in your city, DO IT! Even if you’re starting out small. Believe God that He will supply and HE WILL! I’m a living witness. Check out a few photos & my thoughts after the shower!
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| My hubby greeting the babies that got there early! 🙂 |
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| Aaron helping us set up! |
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| Time to set up! |
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| Discussing the setup of the “Baby Boutique” with Pinky Promise Dream Team member, Wynter Deans. |
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| This volunteer strapped her baby on & went to WORK! Thank you for your service!! |
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| The Pinky Promise children’s ministry! These ladies are AMAZING! |
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| A new mama herself, Jennifer Spears helped set up the “Mommy Boutique!” She’s also on Pinky Promise’s dream team! |
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| Mama Clover! (Cornelius’s Mother) |
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| A couple dream team & volunteer members! We are so thankful for you! |
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| Meeting some of the beautiful attendees & their babies! |
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| Thankful for these ladies! Dream Team Members: Anitra, Lori, April & Monica! |
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| This AMAZING lady did our couponing session! |
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| I’m thankful for this guy’s help! 🙂 |
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| One of our vendors that assisted with insurance and helping the ladies find doctors! |
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| Another awesome vendor! |
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| Bethany Christian Services was an AMAZING vendor! I love that they are there for not ONLY adoption, but ladies can sign up & get “mentor families.” So, if they need a few weeks to get on their feet, their baby can live with one of these safe host families and you can still see your family everyday. This is great for mothers that don’t live in a stable environment or are transitioning from one place to another. Or, just mamas that have NO help and need a few days break. |
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| The baby boutique is getting organized! |
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| We didn’t want to get too many items that were hard for the ladies to take home. So, we purchased a few “big ticket items” like pack and play and car seats. We did a raffle for the big items and the other items in the shop were “free game.!” 🙂 |
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| This AMAZING lady donated balloons as decor! |
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| We are so thankful for Fleur de Lis Sweets in Atlanta (www.fleurdelissweets.com) for their donations! You guys are AWESOME! |
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| Part of the baby Boutique! |
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| The president of Pinky Promise, Lori! 🙂 |
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| So beautiful! |
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| The doors have opened! |
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| Blood cord donation vendor!! |
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| More beautiful families! |
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| There was over 140 ladies there! |
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| The “kids” corner! |
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| More beautiful mamas! |
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| Meeting some amazing mommys! |
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| Pretty much family! 🙂 |
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| Awesome volunteers! |
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| Sharing my story! |
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| Melonie sharing her story! |
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| Pinky Promise Dream Team! |
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| Our AMAZING speakers! Nadra Cohens & Melonie Wright |
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| We thank God for Chick Fil A who catered the event! |
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I went home after the shower and I just sat there and cried. So many of the ladies shared their stories with me and my heart just broke hearing about their conditions. I knew that a few temporary things wouldn’t be enough for them. So, I encouraged them to visit our church or to find a church home and I’m inviting them to the Pinky Promise Conference.
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