I am extending the giveaway until next Friday, for the Scentsy Warmer. I will post the winner on the blog. If you are signed up you will receive notification of the drawing.
Remember you can enter more that once if you become a fan on facebook, or twitter.
We are have a few short weeks left in our quest to raise the last $700 dollars for Tanner. I have been trying to think of new and inventive ideas for Easter basket gifts. Here is a fun and creative gift for helping kids learn all the things they need to for Primary, Personal Progress, and Duty to God. Started creating these for my own kids and decided they were just too great to share.Each Deck of cards has filled with 4 sets of flashcards in one deck. These are great to help your kids memorize the Articles of Faith, Gospel Standards, Latter-Day Prophets, and The Family-a Proclamation to the world. The cards have pictures on one side for visual reminder, and quotes, or facts on the other to help with memorization. The decks will be professionally printed at artscom, and come in a plastic case to keep them all together.
There isn’t a huge mark up on these, just enough to cover printing, shipping and a small amount ($3) will go to Tanner’s Tourette’s Syndrome Youth Ambassador fund. They will be available for a limited time only and specifically for our fundraiser only. I will not be posting them on our website for purchase.
You can take a PREVIEW entire the deck of cards by clicking here at Artscow. There are a couple of cards that are out of order, but it won’t affect how the deck works. I just had to go back and use some extra space to get everything to fit on there.
Please pay it forward for Tanner- Pass the word on and send out this announcements for others to check out this cool deck of learning fun.
If you would like to order a set- please email me at cari@faobaskets.com and let me know how many you would like, and don’t forget I can accept PAYPAL, orders@faobaskets.com
I have some products that were donated to us, for Tanner’s Youth Ambassador Fund- So to kick off our plug to help Tanner out, and see if we can continue our fundraising efforts to reach our second $700 amount we are trying to raise in the next month, we decided to do a
results will be posted on Sunday March 7th after, Tanner picks our winner.
Martha Newberry an independent Scentsy Consultant donated several items for us to use and help out with basket orders. Thanks so much Martha!
Here is the Scentsy Warmer we have to kick off our giveaway-
I absolutely LOVE Scentsy products. I use them all the time in my baskets, and others love them as gifts. I get compliments all the time about how wonderful they were or how much they loved the warmers. I love I can just switch a light on instead of have a burning candle. (I have boys who love to mess around in fire) Besides the fact that my husband thought he needed to blow the candles out everytime he saw one burning. Now I can just reassure him it is a 25 watt light bulb, he doesn’t need to turn it off.
I also love that I can change the scents when I want and don’t have to wait for it to burn out. I have 2 warmers and 1 plugin. I have the warmer down in the family room, and it is sure to sweeten up the room full of teenage boys. I have the plug-in in my laundry room, LOVE IT! I have ”Clean Linen” scent in there to freshen up the laundry, so I am not always “whoofted” with the smell of stinky laundry. I have my main warmer up on the main floor, so it freshens up the upstairs. It is awesome! Did I mention that I love my scentsy? You will love it too. This giveaway is a $35.00 value. Yes it is JUST the warmer, but don’t forget to go to Martha’s website and purchase some scents of your choice. Find the online party for FAO Baskets and you will be elligible for another entry to win the Plymouth Scentsy Warmer. I know this warmer is a fall design, however you can order a new top to make a wonderful transition to any season. A new top to match is very inexpensive, and Martha would be happy to help you pick that out from her website.
Don’t worry about SPAM, I will not sell or give my list of followers away. You are secure and safe. All you need to do is sign up at the end of this post. This will qualify you for 1 entry for the warmer.
Facebook- click to friend me on facebook-
Twitter- click to tweet me on twitter
Linked-In- click to link networks with me on linked in
Last but not least, make a purchase on Martha’s Scentsy Website the scent bars are only $5.00- and a different lid to exchange the leaf top to is only $10
Find the online party for FAO Baskets and make a purchase under that party- this will qualify you for another entry for the warmer. It has to be under the FAO baskets party in order for us to know you are entering for the FAO Baskets Giveaway. Online party will be available- Feb 28-.
If you follow me on any of these links or make a purchase then it will qualify for another entry for the Give Away.
I will be posting a weekly giveaway every week this month. You will want to be in the loop and see what cool things are coming your way. How can you go wrong? Free stuff! PSST- don’t forget to pass it on.
Tanner 1 year old
We are continuing our fundraising drive until March 30th. If you would like to make a cash donation, we would be happy to accept those through your pay pal account. You can open them up for free. Just use the option to “SEND” money to orders@faobaskets.com We would be happy to send you a receipt for your donation.
We have reached the 1/2 way mark on our goal of $1400. We are currently at $700. Thank you to all the businesses and friends who have donated to help us on our journey. Tanner has been working hard selling our slider candy bars at school also. He is really looking forward to making a difference in this cause.
Be Thou an Example of Believers
I was very touched when I saw this video on You Tube, mostly because I always hope for people to “GET IT” when it comes to understanding other’s with disabilities. This video was a great example of how the youth can have a very powerful voice in a word of competition, and sports. It is wonderful to see good deeds, and compassion come in to play in an important moment in a girls life.
This video is and example of what I have tried to focus on in my business and also in my life as a mother and advocate for those with disabilities. Tanner and I have spoken many times of the moments that are given to people to make a choice, to be compassionate and understanding about a person’s disability, or make the choice to turn away or make fun of someone because of their disability. Everyone has a choice on how they will react. I wonder how many of us have thought through the complete experience of “What will I do if this situation every presented itself?”
Although I am focusing on the aspect of a person with a disability, this principle of extending empathy and compassion to another human being doesn’t just apply to those with a disability. It can apply in a normal life circumstance to any other person we come into contact with; whether that is an elderly person, child, or another adult. You need to ask your self, what should I do?
Tanner and I have spent many hours role playing and talking about how to handle different situations. Tanner was very aware that once it was public about his Tourette’s Syndrome, and his tics, he would have situations he would need to address with other people. He had a choice at that moment as well. He could choose to be angry and defensive about their comments, or he could choose to make the situation benefit him and create an opportunity for someone else to understand what he had to deal with on a daily basis. Tanner chose the road of humor, joking about his tics, to lighten moments, and fend off the teasing. He chose to not be offended, by those who didn’t understand. It didn’t always work the way we have practiced, and sometimes there were those kids who just didn’t know when to quit, and feelings got hurt. However, I think the triumph of knowing he can be a winner, and make a difference always come to play out in the end.
Tanner and I would role play situations that came up often, usually on the bus, or often in the hallways, when the pressure was on the most. Isn’t that when bullies seem to want to get their attention is in front of a large crowd? The benefit of practicing the response is that you are prepared when the attack comes. Tanner had one particular kid who bugged him constantly in 6th grade about his head twitching tic. It was a tic that was most annoying to Tanner, because by the end of the day, his neck would ache and his muscles hurt, and he just wanted to stop and hold his head still for relief. This particular boy, would come up in the hall, and mimic Tanner’s tic, and call out Tanner’s name. Tanner came up with the response, to walk up to the kid, and say, “Hey, if you are wanting to be cool like me, you need to twitch your head like this, got it? and then add this little jerk into it, and then do that for the next 8 hours, and see how your neck feels. Remember you can’t stop it, because it’s a tic. It has to be constantly. Try it out! Let’s see if you have what it take to have Tourette’s Syndrome!” and Tanner walked away. The kids in the hall looked at the bully and gave him a bad time, and Tanner didn’t have an issue with that particular boy again.
There have been talks about boundaries and limits, and events where I know a principal was smart enough to pull another bully in his office, and tell him that he crossed the line, with his teasing there were certain things that were okay, and teasing about something someone had no control over was off limits. I think this applies in many situations whether it is teasing an overweight girl or boy, or making fun of someone on your team that isn’t as good as you. I would hope that parents and mentors everywhere would want their children to be kind and gracious like the kids were to Brittany at Syracuse High School, being kind in word thought and deed. Truly in the end, isn’t is all about wanting to feel loved and needed in our life, and making a difference for good.
The next time you are standing in a line or out in public, take a look around you and see what kind of a difference for good you can make in a person’s life. It doesn’t have to be a life changing event, just maybe try to hold the door open for someone coming through, say an extra please or thank you so much for your help. You could even try to smile or look someone in the eye when you speak, send an email to someone you haven’t spoken to for a while, or make a phone call, stop yourself before you make a sarcastic comment about some one’s idiosyncrasy.
How does this apply to FAO Baskets, we have seen some very thoughtful people. This week I have send and delivered several items for clients, as a get well from a neighborhood of friends to another, who just went through surgery. Another sent an apology for messing up an appointment that was scheduled, and most touching was a candy bouquet, shipped to a friend who was going through a rough time. All are examples of unselfish people trying to make a difference in another’s life. Thank you for allowing FAO Basket Co the opportunity to assist in those thoughtful moments.
I haven’t had much of an opportunity to attend school this past 10 days, not that I am complaining or anything. It started out last Monday with a trip up North to Columbus to visit a middle school and speak to the Faculty there; 2 snow days with 8 inches of snow, and then 1 day of school, long weekendvacation for President’s Day on Friday and Monday, and we just got word that school is closed tomorrow, 10 inches of snow today and a level 2 snow emergency. My dad even got to come home from work early it was snowing so hard.
Don’t worry, I have been filling my time in a worthy manner, carrying my snowshovel around the neighborhood to earn money for my TSA Youth Ambassador fund, but shoveling driveways. Not a bad job for a kid you know, it beats sitting around the house with as many snow days as we have stacked up.
My friend Bruce, my Mom and I took a trip up to Columbus for an inservice we held at a local Middle school there. It was an interesting experience for me since I was suppose to talk to the teachers, and help them understand things a bit better for how to help a boy there. I did get to speak some, but when you only have 1/2 hour to talk, and most of the teachers come in late, and leave early it puts a damper on what you can say and how effective you are. I was surprised to see that only some of the teachers seemed to care about being there. They took notes and asked questions. That is what I would be expected to do as a student for a guest speaker. There were 3 teachers in particular that came late, and left early, that I could tell already had their minds made up for what they thought about being at the inservice. This really shocked me as I wasn’t really prepared to watch a teacher act in a way that we students get in trouble for. It was a good learning experience for me. My mom and I shared our thoughts on helpful accomodations for the classroom, and how to address tics and what helps. I have to think even if there were 3 people being rude in there, there were more that were there that cared, and actually got something out of the inservice. If not for anything, I got to meet a really cool kid with Tourette’s Syndrome, who had never met another kids with Tourette’s Syndrome, and I hope that helps for him to see, he is not alone in this big, big world.
We are so fortunate to have great friends. My friend Karena is just that a wonderful example and a great friend. She has a blog called a Pleasant Sunday. She is so talented with her artistic ability and her knack for design. She has creative some wonderful LDS church games. We have combined them in a specially designed canvas tote for a darling package deal. She has generously donated her Apostle matching game, and ABC gospel book, and a $15 gift certificate to a totally cool website for LDS Graphics, called Green Jello with Carrots. We are offering this package deal on her blog here, for auction until February 28th. You can place a bid for this package deal emailing to Karena. She will post the highest bid daily. She is also selling her items individually, and a portion of the sells will be donated towards our goal of earningn $200 towards, Tanner’s TSA Youth Ambassador fund.
Thanks so much Karena for your generosity and giving of your talents to us. Thank you Green Jello with Carrots, for your awesome addition as well. I wish I could use the gift certificate, but I will be on there buying stuff soon for Primary.
There are only a few more days to make your choices for gifts for your Valentine. If you need to ship the gift, the last day to ship to get it there on time would be Thursday. We ship 2-3 day priority mail, and the average shipping cost is $15 per package, depending on the size.
I thought it would be fun to come up with some Guy Valentine gift ideas. It is fitting since I do have 4 sons, out of my brood of 5 kids. I think it is just as important to show the men in your life how much you love them instead of expecting that Valentines Day is the day for them to express to you their love. I actually like to think of Valentines day as the Day that my husband will Profess his undying love for me. LOL. After 17 years of marriage, I do appreciate ANY attention he may give me. We laugh that you know it is true love that he still loves me when I am fat, and I still love to rub his bald head. There’s nothing better!
So when I found this paper this year, I had to make something fun out of it and profess my love for my man that is turning 40 this year. Here is an example of a Paint Can gift, made out of “Old Guys Rule” paper. Done in classic cars, and with fun classic comments about how “Old Guys rule” Old School, and Being a classic. What a great Compliment I think! (We seem to be okay getting old, and growing old together.) The empty paint can, ready for you to fill is $25. If you would like to have gourmet cookies added to fill it, $35. This theme can also be used in a Candy bouquets, Small $30, Medium $35, Large $40. It will be embellished with the classic car brads, of a odometer, stick shift and other classic guy stuff.
If the cans are a bit out of your price range, you take a look at our Gourmet Cookie Take out Boxes for $15.00- they are filled with 6 gourmet chocolate chip cookies. Pictured is a brocade design, however, remember we can customize to be any style you like, fancy or simple.
Still looking for something more budget conscience, we have our Individually wrapped slider Candy bars, for $4.00 each. Pictured is a sports theme for Milford High School, however, we have made these individually for every holiday so far this year. We will stick a secret message
inside the slider, for you, they slide the bar open and Voila’ ~ “Happy Valentines Day!
I think we have covered all of our bases in budget limits. There is something for everyone. Don’t forget we Deliver also. If you place your order now, we will offer you free delivery for Valentines, up until Saturday, February 13. We will not be making deliveries on Sunday.
Don’t forget that all of the profits, from your Valentine orders will go directly to Tanner’s TSA Youth Ambassador fund. We are 1/2 way to our goal. We need to raise about $700 more.
And just for Posterity’s sake, here is my Valentine, then and now!
Singing and music are 2 of my favorite outlets for my Tourette’s Syndrome. I don’t know if there is really thing that it has to do with my Tourette’s, but I have found it is a good way to calm down, and relax. My mom teases me that when I was a baby, they would turn on “Enya” to make me go to sleep. I could be screaming my head off, and as soon as they would turn on”Enya” I would stop, BAM! I would go to sleep, if they could wrap be up in a blanket tight enough too. It was one of only a couple of CD’s they owned at the time. I can say I have a good variety of music I love. Especially Classic Rock, or stuff like that but I also like to listen to Classical music too, just for the break and relaxation, and just for the record Enya isn’t my favorite anymore.
I felt really honored last year in 8th grade to be apart of the Honors Choir at Milford Junior High School, with Mrs. Carpenter. This year when I tried out for Honor’s choir I was certain I wasn’t going to make it since I was a lowly Freshman, but I did, and the fact that my voice is still a tenor was to my advantage, everyone else is Bass this year. (HA) I made it as part of the District 14 Honors choir. It was great to work with Mrs. Blake, and also to spend a very long and productive day, with the rest of the district practicing amazingly difficult songs, and working with incredibly talented conductors, and accompanist. (And it is just because I decided to write about this that I can’t find my CD, or remember the names of them. I will have to add that later.)
One of the reasons that I love music is because I don’t tic as much when I am singing. I tic before, and I tic afterwards, an maybe a little one in the middle but it is like I switch to a different mode and it doesn’t bug me, and I don’t notice my tics when I sing. It is great! I am currently singing at Milford High School Choir, but I also sing in the Youth Choir for my stake at church. It is wonderful to be a part of a group, that can take control of a room just by the power of their voices.
Speaking of the power of one voice, I saw a cool story about a guy named, David Pittman. He is a contestant on Americal Idol. You can see David Pittmann Audition by clicking on his name. I can totally relate to his story. He is 27 years old and from Mountain Home Arkanas. He has Tourette’s Syndrome. He talks about it in his video about before the audition. The great thing to look forward to is that most kids like me will out grow most of their tics as they get older. The tics don’t go away completely but they certainly aren’t as bad as they are when you are in the heat of adolescences. David handled things so well, in his audition when, Neil Patrick Harris, one of the judges, noticed the symptoms right away, and addressed it. It will be really interesting to watch how things unfold. I think I will keep up on what happens, and I have never been and American Idol fan before. But this guy, David Pittman really does have a good voice. And he is right!
It feels good to go in the ZONE! Music to my soul for sure!
On a closing note, Orders are coming in for baskets, and I am excited that we have almost reach 1/2 way for my goal to raise $1000 towards my familys travel expenses to go with me to Virginia for a week. I really appreciate everyone’s generosity. I know there are a few who want to remain nameless and anonomious so I will do that. Thank you so much for helping me “Pay it forward” and continue to work towards making my dream come true and talking about Tourettes Syndrome. Thanks y’all! You can order still from the website here, for your Valentines sweetheart. FAO Baskets is donating 100% of their profits to help me go to Virginia. Any order helps.
We have had several individuals, and businesses make generous contributions to Tanner’s Tourette’s Association ambassadorship fund. We would like to extend our recognition and heartfelt gratitude to these friends and colleagues. I know they would be embarassed if they were standing here as we announced this, and prefer to in just take a back seat to their generosity. We feel that we owe them at least a thank you and expression of our gratituded, as well as our kind words in return to let you know how wonderful they are as people and as businesses here in Cincinnati area.
Krueger Insurance Agency- 621 Wooster Pike, Terrace Park, Ohio 45174- 513-831-7770
I have worked with Krueger Insurance agency for the past year. They have purchased many baskets from me during this time, for their clients, and family. They have been so sweet to encourage Tanner in his endeavors, and making a difference in the community. Krueger Insurance Agency is a family owned business for the last 30+ years. I have heard and seen so many wonderful stories of how they take care of their clients. I have seen how hard they work, including their home phone number on their business cards, so their clients can have access to them in all situations. (Seriously, they truly look after their clients) I have heard them on the phone, comparing quotes, and explaining policies, and coverage to make sure their clients are getting the best bang for their buck. This is real customer service in my book. You can’t find insurance agents who take that kind of interest in their clients anymore. It is no wonder their clients are long time customers and friends. These are some of the major things I look for when working with businesses personally and professionally. Thank you so much, Krueger “Family” for Paying it forward in many ways.
Next is a new product that has just recently come to the Cincinnati area. I have to say, ONE OF MY FAVORITES. If you love scented Candles, you will LOVE, a Scentsy Wickless Candle warmer. The warmer runs off a 25 watt light bulb, and you can leave it on all day with no worries, unlike candles that are burning. You put scented wax in the warmer dish and (SNIFF) Awww! your favorite scent melts away, and your home or office smells wonderful. I can say I absolutely love the plug in for my laundry room. I turn on the fresh linen scent in there, and dream of piles of laundry being washed away.(At least it smells good though). Martha Newberry, an Independent Scentsy Consultant donated 2 warmers, and 6 scent bars that are going to be included in our silent auction coming up next week. Martha does an incredible job with her home parties. You couldn’t ask for someone with more enthusiasm and passion for her products. They sell themselves honestly, once you look at the products and see how it works you will be converted from candles forever. You can look at Scentsy products here, coolwicklesscandles, or you can email her for information at www.coolwicklesscandles@rocketmail.com. We have made several baskets for clients using Scentsy products, here is a look at a few of them. Martha is a wonderful colleague and friend. We appreciate her encouragement and commitment to Paying it Forward for Tanner. You can look for our Silent Auction information next week. 
Thank you so much to our friends, DeNiel and Kevin Husted, Gina Prickel and MaryAnn Weber who have all made contributions by purchasing products and baskets/or from us, or making private donations. 100% of their donations have been placed in the savings fund for Tanner’s Ambassadorship. We are currently, at $315.00 towards our goal of raising $1000 for Tanner’s Family’s traveling expenses. Anything we raise above our $1,000.00 goal will be donated directly to TSA of Ohio, for other families who have children with Tourette’s Syndrome who may need additional assistance in the future.
“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” We truly believe we have learned a sense of our past, we are trying to create peace for today, and Tanner is creating a vision for tomorrow, with his committment to bring awareness to others about Tourette’s Syndrome. We feel increditably grateful to those who have opened their hearts to Tanner with their generosity. We know and understand of the difficulty in the current economic times, and it is not always easy. We apprecite so much the love and encouragement that has come Tanner’s way. Today I had a realization of a quote, I never quite believed in, it says, “It takes a village to raise a boy!’ I understand now how that can work, and how it is making a difference. Everyone’s contributions, have helped a family who wouldn’t be able to afford this opportunity for their son with out their generosity. The encouragement, and positive feedback, that Tanner has received from the Miami Township Community, and Cincinnati area, have been a huge confidence builder for his self esteem. You are making a difference in a boys life who needs that positive re-enforcement, and confidence to make a difference. You have also helped others “Believe” in forgotten traditions of long ago. Thank you so very much for joining with us in “Paying it Forward!”
If you would like to participate in our Silent Online Auction for Valentines Day by donating products, from your company, please send and email to Cari@faobaskets.com. We would love to see as many items as we can to share with others the opportunity to purchase affordable Valentines Gifts for their loved ones. It could be any items such as gift cards to your store, or items that could be used to assemble into Valentine’s baskets. Contact Cari at 513-569-2982 or via email cari@faobaskets.com.
Thank you for Paying it Forward with us!
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