Wormies Reviews from Moms!
…Read More“When it comes to finding that special little something to give to a precious newborn baby [& older!], Wormies are your best bet! I’ve ordered several of these original and custom wormies as gifts for baby showers, young birthday parties and even Christmas. Jana does such an amazing job coordinating with you to best customize each individual Wormy. She focuses on the small details from color and pattern themes, to the style or personality of the young one, and especially each Wormies’ hand embroidered face and child’s name on the bottom. Each of these details help create a unique wormy to perfectly represent the child you are gifting! I recently contacted Jana to create two more Wormies for some special baby boys in Kona, and I can’t wait to see the first time they play with their very own Wormies! The best feeling is when the mother sends you a picture of their child at older ages, still clinging tight to their playful and cuddly Wormy.” (Kayla Jones)
“I have purchased many Wormies from Jana over the past years. They are the perfect gift to give at a baby shower or even a first birthday. Wormies are soft and the perfect size for a baby to hold and cuddle! Jana always puts together the perfect colors and patterns, and she even embroiders the child’s name onto the Wormy’s tail piece. They are one of a kind gifts for sure! If you know anyone with young children, get them a Wormy!” (Jillian Albert)
“Ellie’s wormie was her favorite tummy time toy. It was so soft and easy to grab. She loved to look at the little face, and I never had to worry about her putting it in her mouth because the face was sewn on and everything was very
Passion Perspective Interview — Jana McAdams
Jana has a deep abiding faith in Jesus Christ. Her faith permeates every aspect of her life. For her Passion Perspective Interview we asked her how her faith has played a part of the journey of developing her Wormy business?
“In the summer of 2011, I was going to Egypt and Israel for Sports Ministry through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), running sports camps for youth, majority of who were Muslim. Our job was to provide coaching and encouragement to these youth, sharing Christ’s love without being able to mention Christ at all. As I was planning, I tried to think of more creative ways to generate financial support. After some thinking and bouncing ideas off of a few good friends, I decided to jump in head first and begin selling Wormies. I had been thinking about how much that I loved to make Wormies, but honestly really nervous about trying to sell them. I was ultimately scared of people’s responses and thought that I might actually fail. The funny thing is that the exact opposite happened, I suddenly had way more orders than I ever would have imagined, and I was making Wormies like crazy that summer before I left. Because I got such a great response, I decided to continue selling Wormies even after I got back, and have been going ever since.”
Jana at FCA Camp at UCLA as a Huddle Leader
We asked what challenges, expected and unexpected, she faced while developing her business. Jana has been extremely busy with school and coaching over the past few years, so she replied, “I knew at one point that I would have too many orders or too much to do than I had time for at one point. I did not expect that I would be taking …
Read MoreJana’s Journey of her Wormy Business
A favorite part of our Passion Perspective week is to find out how our guest turned a dream into a reality by taking something she loved and turning it into a business. Before we begin Jana’s story, you must see one of her Wormies so you will understand how easy it would be for children of ALL ages to fall in love with these adorable toys.
We asked Jana about her original passion and how and when this passion began.
Jana shared with us how she originally began sewing after her mom taught her when she was in elementary school and she remembers her mom telling her of the Wormies that she made for all of her friends who were having babies. Jana said, “When I was in college, I asked my mom if we could make Wormies for a cousin of ours who was having twins, and it was then that she fully taught me how to make Wormies so I could start making them without her help. After more people around me began having babies and I received such praise for the Wormies that I was gifting, I went out on a whim and decided to first start selling them to raise money for a mission trip that I was going on. When I received such favorable support and encouragement for Wormy orders, I decided to continue to sell them and absolutely loved finding the perfect patterns and colors to match each order and bring excitement and enjoyment to those receiving the Wormies.” Jana officially started her Wormy business in april 2011.
We asked Jana what steps she had to take to make her dream a reality and she said,
“When I first had the idea, I bounced it off of a few people to see whether or …
Getting to know Jana and her Wormies
This week Growing Weisser has the awesome privilege of introducing you, our followers, to the extremely talented Jana McAdams.
BETHANY WRITES…..”Jana has been a blessing in mine and my family’s lives ever since meeting her in 2009. I was on staff with Fellowship of Christian Athletes in the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California. Every summer FCA does a big Sports Camp where hundreds of high school athletes come have an amazing experience of sports and Jesus. It was my first year on staff, and I was excited, but also a little nervous for my first camp experience. Big camp, new people, UCLA campus (big deal) and anticipation of pouring in to my group of college athletes (I was their counselor/mentor to be there for them as they lead their group of kids through the camp). Little did I know I was about to meet some of my life long friends at this camp. Jana was one of my huddle leaders as we called them (college-aged leaders for the kids). We instantly clicked, but as I got to know her I saw such an amazing woman of God, a sincere heart, and a genuine desire to serve the Lord. A lot of college aged guys or gals are just living it up in their own world and their own experience. But Jana was already on the path to grow deep and closer with the Lord. That’s the way Jana is, she knows who she is, who the Lord created her to be, and she is able to be right where the Lord has her. I had an amazing time getting to know her that week, but it has been cool to see the Lord continue to show up in and through our lives and our friendship. I continued to spend …
Read MoreSpring Survival-Long Days as a Mom
Before I became a mom, I had a very romantic view of parenthood. I imagined my husband and I having so much fun as a family, going on lots of outings, and just feeling happy all the time. This is definitely a part of parenthood, but so are long days, hard work, and loneliness. Being a mom can be very isolating. However, the more moms I talk to, the more I realize we are all in this together!
Many of my friends have husbands who commute and work long hours or are in the military. Regardless of your situation, there are going to be long days when you need some ideas in your pocket to make it to bedtime.
I asked some friends to share their favorite ways to survive long days.
Here is a list of our tips and suggestions:
– Easy Dinner – make sandwiches or pancakes.
– Utilize free events and story times at your local library. I used to do this all the time with Ellie.
– Host a play date. Then you can still have company without leaving your house!
– Join a Mommy Group. This is definitely what saves me most days. You can join shared interest groups, find groups on Facebook or Meetup, or a become a part of a church group like MOPS. I have many virtual friends that support me through our talks and sharing on Facebook.
– Utilize technology: text, FaceTime, Skype. Kids love to see family. Ellie and Hanna love to FaceTime with their Aunts and Uncles.
– Do a house project to pass the time and stay focused on a task.
– Plan something for yourself at the end of a long day: a Mom’s Night, wine and a good book, a prerecorded favorite show, or a nice …
Read MoreSpeaking Encouragement-Be Balcony People
Bethany and I had the awesome opportunity to speak to a group of young moms yesterday at a group called Mother’s Together. There were so many things we wanted to share with the gals to encourage them in their marriages, their parenting, their friendships. We will write more about the event in the weeks to come, but we thought it would be advantageous to repost a piece I wrote on being Balcony People. I trust this will challenge you and bring you hope in all your relationships.
It may be just a WORD spoken to you or an hour of TIME that a friend or family member gives to you, but both are forms of ENCOURAGEMENT, a much needed gift; to give and to receive. Encouragement does not always come from the person we need it to come from or at the exact time we need it or in the form we expect, but it will come. I am a natural encourager. I love to look for the “good” in people, finding ways to build them up and help them see their potential. I love to come along side young people who are dreaming of their future and discovering their passions. 
Being an encourager involves developing a relationship of trust. Even if you do not have a temperament that naturally encourages people, you can learn to support and inspire others. You have to take the time to really get to know the person you want to encourage. Be an active listener. Learn what they like, what drives them, their goals and their dreams. Find ways to instill hope and boost confidence. When you have earned the right to speak life and encouragement into another person, you have joined their team and become someone who cheers in their balcony.
It is …
Read MoreSpring Cleaning-revisiting a New Year’s Post
It is now SPRING 2014-most of us have had aspirations (New Year’s resolutions) we have been hoping to accomplish since January. We may even have goals written down, but we just have not been able to find the time to make the changes. Who’s got time? It seems we are always looking for more time. If we just had one more hour, one free morning, or one less obligation… Usually all it takes is being a little more productive with the time we do have. Change your perspective. Have a plan. And go for it. This spring is a good time to reevaluate, start small. Make little goals that you can actually accomplish. Do one at a time. Check them off your list. Start in one room of your house, one corner of your mind, one day on your busy schedule, and get organized.
In January I wrote down twelve ideas for the New Year to help get you organized. But now it is almost May and you might still feel overwhelmed? Not sure where to start? Pick one area per month. Then by next year you will have 6 or 7 areas of your life more in check and a little more organized. But have a plan of action. Map out your weeks or months so you can tackle one thing at a time.
1. Schedule: Keep a planner/calendar. You can use a written hard copy calendar or your computer or phone. Write down important dates, things you want to accomplish, and items on your agenda. If needed, set reminders on your phone. It is a great way to keep things organized. We all have a lot going on, and some of us need that friendly buzz to help us remember.
2. Digital Clean up: Clean up your computer, …
Read MorePasta in a Pot
We have a family tradition of letting each person in our family at specific times pick the celebration dinner meal, whether it be a birthday dinner, a significant guest coming for a visit or other special occasions to honor someone we love! One month ago we had the awesome privilege of hosting missionaries from Rwanda. Pasta in a Pot was their special request for their first night meal. Pasta is a Pot is a favorite of all my girls and I consider this missionary couple family because the wife is one of my “girls”. She lived with us for most of the year before she began her missionary career with YWAM and she has now transitioned to running her own missionary organization called “Do Something”. So here is our favorite pasta dish that was used all throughout our girls high school sports careers.
Ingredients
1 package (16 oz) large shell macaroni
8 oz provolone cheese grated
8 oz mozzarella cheese grated
2 cups Greek yogurt
1-2 lbs ground turkey
3 cloves garlic smashed
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil or 2 Tablespoons fresh basil chopped fine
2 quarts spaghetti sauce homemade or your favorite store brand
Brown the ground turkey in a large pan with the garlic and spices. When brown, add spaghetti sauce and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the shell noodles as directed. Drain and mix in a bowl with the greek yogurt. Grate the cheeses. In a large casserole, layer the creamy shell noodles, the sauce and the cheese, repeat. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Serve with a big green salad and crusty french bread.
What is one of your favorite family meals-one that has become a traditional special request dish?
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Not Your Typical Date
As a parent of young ones, it can be really easy to get in a dating rut. Recently, we’ve even had a few nights where we were so eager to get out we found ourselves out, kidless, with no idea what to do. We once just wandered Target and grocery shopped. Yes, the time away together was still great. However, sometimes dates need some spice to spark conversation and fun that can be hard to find time for while raising a family.
I am very blessed to have local in-laws who are always willing and ready to help out with the girls during the day when I need help and in the evening so we can go on a date. This past weekend, they even watched the girls for the whole day – over 12 hours!!! Don’t worry, we took full advantage of the day.
What did we do with all those hours? Why, we had a wonderful day at Wondercon in Anaheim!
Every moment was just so great. We loved being together, we loved the event, but even more than that it was so nice to just take care of each other – the two of us – for a whole day. We splurged on yummy food and took time to see all the things that looked interesting. We stood in a line for autographs, saw famous people, and went to a panel about one of our favorite cartoons.
Although there were many great parts of the day, one of my favorites was posing with the people in costume. We took a few pictures of character we liked, and then I sent one of me with a princess to Ellie. She liked it and asked for more, so I proceeded to track down every princess I could find. Sometimes …
Read MoreRemembering Memories
One Line A Day. Can I carve out a few minutes of my night before I go to bed to write down a line about my day? I received this really awesome present from a friend for Christmas. Now some of you may look at this and think it is crazy, but for me, I love it! A way to track my memories within my crazy life and my spaghetti brain. (Yes, I have a spaghetti brain that everything runs together and connects together like a big bowl of spaghetti… I will have to post more about this disease later). Anyways, it has been a really cool way for me to reflect just a little bit each day. And I love looking back on what has already happened on this year. So just imagine what it will be like when I look back on a few years.
Here is what it looks like on the inside.
Everyone can use something like this. Whether you are a mom, a student, a businesswoman, a blogger, or anyone for that matter, this can be a cool tool to keep your memories and daily thoughts all in one place, over a time span of 5 years! So you don’t like to journal and you barely have time to sit down and eat a meal, you might want to give this a try. Find a way to incorporate the reflection into your day and the impact could be irreplaceable.
You can buy them here:
Urban outfitters
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Real Simple even promotes this journal! Real Simple Article
How do you track your memories?
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