Our Final Event

*Fundraiser Proceeds Presentation at Florence Crittenton 9-24-08*

And here we are yall! Look how we have all come so far together! In the photo above you will see me speaking to the Staff of Florence Crittenton, the Board members of Florence Crittenton, girls from the group, and also to all the people that participated in this Summers Give that were able to make it to the event! Even Elizabeth's new boss that she is apprenticing at Jordan Elementary Libby and her husband were able to attend.....Martha from the Kierland Coldstone Creamery, Scott from Lund Cadillac, and so many more!!!

What a beautiful evening! They had it catered and even had a cake decorated with such a beautiful message...

We were able to formally recognize all the people that participated in this Summers Give to Elizabeth...it couldn't have been as fabulous as it was without their love and support!

I was able to share our story of how we found Liz and fell in love with her, and was also able to speak of all the accomplishments of the Summer and how grateful we were that she let us in and found trust in us. I was able to verbalize the importance of the evening and the fact that we wouldn't have been there without Liz and without Florence Crittenton as the starting point. Liz is such a survivor and pillar of strength..she choose this organization as the group to fundraise for and it was absolutely amazing to see her personally present the monies raised to them!

What an empowering evening for her and how great to see that unfold. Like I have said a million times before, we have had an amazing journey through this Summers experience....

~Dreamboards & Bagels Social~

Our Last Social of the Summer with Liz!

What an amazing JOURNEY we have had as friends and with Elizabeth this Summer!

We spent so much timing dreaming up ways to make dreams happen for Elizabeth that we wanted to make sure that we keep dreaming after this Summer ends! We all got together for a Saturday morning of Dreamboards & bagels at Marisa's house in North Scottsdale. Bagels and Sprinkles cupcakes it turned out to be!!

We visited and recapped a bit then popped a squat on the living room floor with what seemed to be hundreds of magazines, tons of glue sticks, and armed with scissors...we cut away for over an hour and all made our individual dreamboards! It was so fun to dream together and share our dreams with one another...it was also so lovely to see how Liz's dreams have grown since she wrote her book in April to the dreams that are now on her board! It was a terrific way to close the Summer with one another!

Good Morning Arizona!!!

Tara & Liz live on Good Morning Arizona 8-19-08! Liz is famous : ) Check her out!!

Thanks to our celebrity mixer Tara Hitchcock, Elizabeth was invited to share her story and appreciation for Florence Critenton on 3TV's morning show!

Tara also spent some time in the previous hour telling her co-anchor about how much fun she had volunteering at the Cold Stone Creamery fundraiser.

Check out the clips here -- and thanks again to all the people and businesses that supported the event!

What a Hit!!!

Fundraiser Fun!!!!

We had such an amazing turn out! We all had guests and friends that came out...young and old...people were there to see Elizabeth and support her, people were there to support all the gals of the Summer 2008 Big Give, all the people from Florence Crittenton came out, people came out to support Tara supporting us! It was so much fun!

There was a constant crowd and it was a consistent busy!

Elizabeth and Tara had real heavy hands when it came to the servings, so everyone got their money's worth!

It was so fun to see everyones families and friends come together for such a great cause! The community really got involved and everyone stayed around chatting and visiting and visiting! It was really powerful to see Elizabeth in such a leadership role and she shared with me on more than one occasion how great it was to see the people in her past and present come together to support her in this fundraiser.

Everyone commented on how happy Elizabeth looked and on how much fun it looked like she was having.






Kierland Cold Stone Creamery owner Martha was so sweet and fun to work with and her crew was awesome! Thank you to everyone who came out and to everyone whose efforts went towards making this fundraiser so fun and such a success!

Spending time in our community....

Learning about the homeless community in Arizona & how we can help?

Back when we were planning for our big fundraiser day we decided that we would try and make it an entire day of giving...we decided that we would head to the homeless community in downtown Phoenix and educate ourselves on what there is to offer for the homeless and how we could give our assistance...

We spent the day with a lovely girl named Laura who is part of the Americorp program and currently employed by Lodestar in downtown Phoenix. Lodestar is one of many organizations that have systems in place to help the homeless. She gave us a tour of the facilities and educated us on how their systems and levels work for the men and women that utilize the programs in place. It was a real eye opening experience, even if you have seen it before, it is still shocking.

It was really special to see the cafe that Laura and my friend Ronnie started from scratch, and it was great to have my youngest brother Max with us....Elizabeth asked tons of questions and was very inquisitive regarding the ins and outs of the services that were offered.

I feel like we were all inspired to remember that there are people out there that could use our help and we were definitely reassured of our blessings. It was great to give our time without receiving anything in return.

Pictured from left to right: Elizabeth, Max & Laura

The last meeting : (

Wrapping Up!

Tonight was our last formal meeting! : (

I can't believe it...Because we only have an hour at our meetings, I had an agenda and stuck to it!

We touched on the last social with Liz that is coming up on September 6th...Dream boards & Bagels. We discussed where we were with our pre-fundraiser duties, spoke about the upcoming event we are looking forward to with Florence Crittenton where Liz will have a platform to share the proceeds from the fundraiser, then recapped the weekly updates...Dentist appt with Liz, Dr appt with Liz, Liz's Colorado trip, visit to Lund Cadillac, Liz's volunteer plans with Ms. Berkley, the beautiful moment I had sharing the blog with Liz yesterday, and discussing how we are going to continue to stay connected with Liz after the summer has gone!

It was very special to say the least! At the end of the meeting we discussed how the personal challenges that we took on weekly affected us and made us aware...we discussed what we have personally gained out of this give...and shared our thoughts and feelings with one another in closure...it was a very sweet time together that will be with us always!

Thank You Florence Crittenton

Florence Crittenton is excited and they are getting the word out too!!!

This was just one of many emails in the inbox today showing the support and promotion of our upcoming event! It is so great to see the excitement!

Fundraiser for the Florence Crittenton Center!!!

Good Morning Arizona's anchor Tara Hitchcock is our Celebrity Scooper for the Florence Crittenton Fundraiser!!! Thanks Tara for supporting

such a great cause!

We are going to do a fundraiser with Elizabeth for the Florence Crittenton Center!!!!


As a final arrangement for our Summer's Big Give we wanted to support Elizabeth in Giving back to an organization of her choice and she chose the Florence Crittenton Center!


JOIN US MONDAY AUGUST 18 from 4-7pm at the Cold Stone Creamery in the Kierland Shopping Center! 40% of all the proceeds purchased will be donated to the Florence Crittenton Center! Come out and support Elizabeth and the Summer 2008 Big Give!

OMG OMG OMG!!!

~How can it get any better?~

~Rollin along!!~

This was great! After Liz's very intense & amazing journey to Colorado, me, Gabi & Jordan picked her up from the airport and headed straight to Lund Cadillac to pick up her truck....but guess what...it wasn't ready so they put her in a brand new Cadillac Escalade with Gold bling!!! Yes, no kidding! What a treat....a true dream builder!! This special luxury cake from Lund just got icing!!

Liz was stoked and so excited...she will head to pick up her truck from them tomorrow but in the meantime she has all the patience waiting!!

Thank you again Scott Brown, and ALL the people at Lund Cadillac! Thank you for your care and generosity and efforts in rearranging Liz's world!!!!

Colorado Time!

~Have fun and we'll see you when you get back!!!~


Elizabeth and I dropped off her truck at Lund Cadillac, headed to Einstein bagels for a quick bite, then went to the airport to begin the process of checking in!

It was really cool to show her the ropes of checking in and where to go, security lines this and gates that.

Jimmy, Dede, Marisa and I visited with her for about a half hour and showered her with words of strength and little reminders and well wishes. She was very strong and we are so excited for her!


We took a couple of pictures with her when we were headed to the gate....

Fundraiser Preparation!!!

We have lots to do!

An insert from my follow up email below:

"*** We spent time planning for Liz's send off this Friday at the airport and her welcome back on Sunday! If you are able to join for the send off at Terminal 4 at the airport this Friday at 11am, please email me before 7pm tonight...Also if you are able to join in for her welcome back at the airport, Terminal 4, 9:30am Sunday, please email me here before 7pm Friday night! :)

I will be responding to both groups separately with the details of where to meet etc...

*** Next we set some plans of action in place for the fundraiser & fundraiser preparation! Holy mother do we have things to do!

Outside of coming out and supporting the actual fundraiser itself by coming with your family and friends to buy an ice cream on Monday August 18th from 6-8pm, and outside of emailing your entire social network and entire professional network the fancy flyer invitation for the event, which I know all of you are going to do, if you are willing to give your time and efforts in pre-fundraiser responsibilities, please email me here and let me know...we would definitely appreciate the assistance."

And just when you thought the planning could end, there was more!!!!

"We will be sending all of you the email flyer's to share in your social and professional networks with in the next few days, and we will keep the girls that are actively involved in the pre-fundraiser efforts up to date and in the loop on a regular basis!

*** This next month is going to be great! Aside from the fundraiser on the 18th, Liz has 3 major appointments coming up in the next few weeks... one to shadow and volunteer with Ms. Berkley at the elementary school in Arcadia, her first major dental appointment, and her first appointment with Alissa on Monday the 11th.

*** We are also planning on our final "social" with Liz....it will be Saturday September the 6th, bagels and dream boards...we pushed it out to accommodate everyone...we wanted to give all the girls that wanted to be present enough time to plan it into their schedule! I will send an Evite for this one : )"

It's nuts how far we have come and how close to the summer's end we are already! It's gonna fly by!!!

It's amazing how things happen

LUND CADILLAC

Liz will be getting the final repairs on her car while she is in Colorado! Thank you Scott Brown, Chris Wisely, Vern Foutz, and both the sales and service departments at Lund Cadillac!

"Shauna-
I'm sending this from home because I'm not sure if you received my response from work earlier today.

I spoke with our service manager and explained what our sales department was going to be doing for your friend. He told me to pick a day that would be convenient for her to drop off the truck and that the best approach would be for our technicians to diagnose it and make sure we are addressing the correct and only issues at hand.

He also told me that he would take care of whatever he could over and above the sales commitment for work needed on her truck if it is more than anticipated. So we should be set to fix whatever the problem(s) might be and I will try to line up a car for her to drive while hers is in the shop... just in case it takes a little time to find out what the situation is. Please let me know what day works for her schedule and/or yours and I will make an appointment for her and put the rest together. I received your email at work but I'm not sure if you can receive mine, so feel free to send me the information to either address, home or work.

Please let me know if there is anything else I can do.

Sincerely,
Scott Brown LUND CADILAC"

~The Gift of Giving!!!~

H.O.U.S.E.

The H.O.U.S.E. (Habilitative Opportunities Utilizing Social Experiences) staff was elated to have Liz Savage join us for the day. We believe strongly in the services that we provide to special needs children and it is always exciting to share that passion with a new face. Liz was amazing. She immediately jumped in and got involved with the project of the day, “Homemade Ice Cream.” I believe at one point she even wore the “Homemade Ice Cream,” she took it like a pro. Liz made connections with the children immediately and they loved having the extra attention. She also had the opportunity to learn about assistive animal therapy. At H.O.U.S.E we work with two assistive dogs named Lopez and Bentley. Liz was able to meet Lopez and watch the amazing connection that the children have with him. We hope that we were able to be a positive influence on Liz’s career choice. She is always welcome at H.O.U.S.E. and we are grateful for the wonderful experience.
Sincerely,
Kara and H.O.U.S.E Staff

Thank You Kara and everone at H.O.U.S.E! You are all amazing!!

~School Social # 2~

Put together and polished!

If Elizabeth isn't school/work ready, then there is no such thing as chocolate!

• Resume DONE
• Job Change DONE
• Volunteer Work DONE
• ASU ready DONE
• Business Savvy...just test her, she will knock your socks off from attire to consistency!! DONE!!

Tonight we got together and went over the final necessities in the preparation for Elizabeth to be school/work ready. Starting Monday August 4th, Elizabeth will be volunteering at a local elementary school once a month apprenticing/assisting Ms. Allyson Berkley, and also the special Education teachers on campus.

Her resume was updated then edited and is ready to go! Job change to her career is in process, and she has all the skills and tools necessary to pave her way into success!

Way to go Liz, we are so excited about your future!!

How great is this Email!!

It's really amazing when people reach out of their hearts! Thank you for caring!

Imagine how amazing it was to find this email in the inbox!! We have since followed up with the Brown's and they are making arrangements to assist us in the final repairs for Elizabeth's truck! THANK YOU from the Summer 2008 Big Give Gals!!

~Fundraiser Social # 1~

Makin it Happen!!

We had a two in one last night! That's kinda like a double play! Bah dump bum bum!! :)

Anyhow...we had our brief meeting of planning for the second part of the school social, the things that we think should be in place by next week etc...

Directly after Liz joined up for the first part of the fundraiser social...we had a little pizza...thanks again Christina D. for ordering it up and having it ready at the right price!

MASSIVE planning for the fundraiser! We will be doing this with Liz for the Florence Crittenton Center at the Coldstone Creamery in Kierland...with a celebrity scooper! We are all very excited! We are also going to give our time to the homeless community the morning of.

Last night was such a "business" meeting! It was way cool! Lots to come, and lots to get done!

An insert from my follow up email below:

"Liz shared some trivia and knowledge about Flo Crit with the gals and why she is fond of the center, and then we all organized details and put a plan of action together for promoting, marketing, inviting, and fundraising responsibilities that will need to be done. It was a very productive social!!

Outside of the "business" part of us getting together....Liz shared her experience at ASU with Mari on Monday and her experience yesterday with Kara at House in Scottsdale where she shadowed and assisted special needs children. As it turns out she is very likely to have a job opportunity there. NICE!!

Next weeks buzz is that Liz will be headed back to Q Dental for the 1st of her 3 major appointments, and we will also be meeting for the 2nd part of the school social! Good news, as of today Liz officially has insurance again!

Also, for those that missed the meeting I was able to share a letter from a total stranger that I had received last Thursday who wants to help finish Liz's truck repairs! She found our blog on the Internet! So cool!!!! It'll be posted to the blog!"

~ASU!! Here she comes!~

ASU TOUR!

Yesterday, Elizabeth and I had a 3:00pm appointment with a transfer recruiter at the College of Education at ASU.

We met at 2:30pm in the visitor parking lot by Chili’s and walked to the College of Education building. Her smile stretched from ear to ear and her eyes lit up as she took in her surroundings and imagined herself walking the campus as a student. I confirmed for her that attending a university is such an adventurous and exciting time in life. As we waited in the office for Katie, the recruiter, to arrive, we talked about different opportunities that are available to students in particular studying abroad. She was very intrigued by that and wanted more information.

The recruiter confirmed that Elizabeth is on the right track to transfer to ASU. She explained to us that ASU and the Maricopa Community Colleges have an alliance that all transfer students who receive their Associates Degree in Elementary Education and have a minimum 2.5 GPA will automatically transfer with all their credits into education program. We also learned that Elizabeth could receive a bachelor degree in elementary education and a bachelor degree in special education by only taking 6 additional credits. The recruiter said the two degrees would make her extremely marketable for a wide variety of jobs. Elizabeth decided that she definitely wants to graduate with both majors and is ready for the challenge.

Katie advised Elizabeth to apply to ASU at the very beginning of her last semester (August/September of fall 2009) at Mesa Community College in order to meet all the necessary deadlines to attend spring semester 2010. Katie then informed us of a program offered through the college of education for students to earn their student teaching hours in Costa Rica . We saw pictures of the students who were in Costa Rica this summer.

Elizabeth asked Katie if she knew anything about teaching opportunities at American army bases throughout the world and coincidentally Katie taught at a base in Germany while her husband was stationed there. Katie shared her experiences teaching on the base and Elizabeth was so fascinated.

Our appointed lasted 45 minutes and went by so fast. It was very informative and exciting for Elizabeth and she felt comfortable that she moving in the right direction to some day soon be a student at ASU!!! Being on campus made me miss those good old days!

Written by Marisa Stockwood

POWERFUL!

DID I SAY POWERFUL!?!

It just keeps getting better!!

An insert from my follow up email below:

"Ladies!!!

AMACING!!!

As I mentioned at the meeting...just to reinforce our efforts of using reusable grocery bags, I have attached the link below that some of the gals forwarded me regarding plastic bags!

Please take the time to read.
http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080506/MULTIMEDIA02/80505016

NEXT:

Are we on it, or are we on it!?!?! My mind has been blown and our goal has been accomplished if we ended it all here! But that would be too easy, or should I say to hard!!

Last night we shared personal experiences of how we see the difference we are making and the impact it has created. We also planned the outline for next weeks fundraiser social # 1. As the blog mentioned this last weeks school social # 1 and Elizabeth's 1st dentist appointment were huge successes! Also, Marisa and Liz will be doing the ASU tour this coming Monday at 4pm! Like I said, are we on it, or are we on it!

We already decided that the fundraiser social # 1 will be next Wednesday evening from 7pm-8:30pm at Aviano Clubhouse! The meeting will be shortened from 6:30pm-7pm, so please be on time, and committed to starting right away!!! Also, please reply to me here if you are going to be able to participate. I will picking up pizzas for dinner 50% off, thank you Christina DeCarlo, that will make it dirt cheap and we will less guilty about being heffers! You can shout out pizza requests in the reply you send me...

Next week will be great!

The 1hr computer commitment and no TV for one night kinda slipped by and we didn't do so well at that one : ( This weeks personal challenge, and we are on it (right ladies ? ) is to cut out an article or picture this week of someone it reminds you of and share it with that person and let them know why! This should be neat!

Have a great week girlies, I will send the reminder Monday!

TTFN_Shauna"


A little sappy, but at the end of the meeting, I literally had to take a moment and connect eyes with every girl in the room and tell them that I was so fortunate to call them friends, and to say I knew them and to have them as friends was such a blessing! I had to let them know that I truly admired each of them in one way or another and that it is so powerful that we have each other in one another's lives! Everyone agreed, so it's not just me! : ) If anyone in the world could have that, then they have a ton in all that is positive, powerful and true!

~Say CHEESE!!!~

THE FIRST DENTIST APPOINTMENT WITH Q DENTAL!

Today Elizabeth and I meet at Dr.Santosh Saini and it was WONDERFUL :)

It was so much fun and Elizabeth was so happy and excited.
The appointment lasted about an hour and half and the doctor did a full consultation on her.

I have never seen anything like it.
First she got X -Rays of all her teeth, and then she had a tooth by tooth consultation.
The doctor used this really amazing camera that allow Elizabeth and I to watch what she was doing on the screen.

The doctor took molds of her teeth so that she could come up with an action plan on how to get her teeth to a perfect smile.

It was so much fun.

The doctor has asked her to come back for a cleaning and she is going to re-fill a few old cavities.

She also wants to seal the other teeth that are still very healthy.
The doctor was very happy with how healthy Elizabeth's teeth and gums looked.

All in all today was so much fun, the doctor and her staff where so friendly and very nice to chat with.
The doctor sent her home with a goodie bag full of fun things.

A few whitening trays, a new tooth brush other dental goodies!!!

It was truly fun and Elizabeth was smiling all the way home!



Written by Alissa Oakes

~School Social # 1~

Sunday Let's Get Stuff Done Day!!

Elizabeth went to church with Jordan and then met up with Britony and Marisa at Paradise Bakery for lunch! It was a great way to start off the day that became very productive!! Six of us met up with Elizabeth at the Aviano clubhouse to discuss her future school and career goals.

Elizabeth is currently attending community college and has completed 33 credit hours. She needs 44 more credits to receive her associates degree and will then transfer to ASU.

She wants to graduate with a degree in Special Education, then work for a couple of years and then return to school for a masters in Social Work to get into counseling.

Elizabeth is very clear on what she wants to do and based on her life experiences she knows she can make an impact on children.

We talked to her about the importance of building her resume over the next few years and getting a job and doing community service in the education field.

All of us brainstormed together possible job and community service opportunities. Ally invited Elizabeth to volunteer in her classroom as often as she would like and Jami offered to take a look at Elizabeth's resume. Elizabeth is definitely taking them up on their offers.

Elizabeth told us of a friend she ran into that shared with her a job opportunity that fit perfectly what she is looking for and would allow her to quit her In N Out job.

Marisa offered to attend an advisory appointment with Elizabeth at ASU and to go to the "Transfer Thursdays" event for all students that desire to transfer into AUS.

Elizabeth is extremely excited to attend about both events and to get a tour of ASU.

Written by Marisa Stockwood

We've come so far!

Everyone is involved!!

There is so much happening and its all happening at once! It is really amazing to see how far we have come as a group and in working together as a team and how fast we are getting things accomplished! We have made some amazing connections and friendships coming together and working so passionately about something we really believe in! We are truly passionate about changing Liz's life and adding to her world! We tell Liz all the time that she is a blessing to us, and she just giggles. She tells us that she is blessed by us, but we are really also blessed by her!

An insert from my follow up email below:


Hi Gals!

Last nights meeting was super productive!!

Liz's first dentist appt is this coming Tuesday the 15th, Alissa will be taking her! Thanks Alissa. As it turned out Dede is a rock star in getting stuff done in the system, and Liz's insurance should be up and running in seconds1 Thanks Dede!

We spent most of last nights meeting making the outline for this Sundays School Social...brainstormed and knocked around ideas...it was great we are ready to rock and roll! We are also going to plan to have a send off crew for Liz when she leaves for Denver August 8th and a welcome home crew when she returns August 10th. So that is in the making. The travel plans for that have been finalized & I will be emailing the itinerary to Liz's Grandparents and bother by the end of this week!

We also shared some personal experiences we have had with Liz and it is heart warming to hear the positive impact we are making in her world!

This weeks personal goal is to limit your computer use to one hour a night and turn off the TV for an entire evening and do something else!

We are Rollin!
This is great, we have an amazing group!
TTFN-Shauna

Also, if you are able to come out this Friday night to Devils Martini South and help us support our girl Gabi Kepes support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Arizona we would love to see you there! It is their annual Bachelor/Bachelorette Auction, Happy Hour is at 6pm, and the Auction starts at 7pm! Hope to see you there!

July 2nd 2008

So much happened in one DAY!

Yes, I love recapping the meetings on this blog, but today I am recapping yesterday all together!!

The story goes...I was able to contact Elizabeth's older sister Elisha, who emailed Elizabeth's oldest brother Michael, and gave him my number! He called me twice in one day until he was able to reach me and the rest is history!!

An insert from my follow up email below:

"Also, we were able to get a hold of her brother Michael in Castle Rock Colorado! Liz is definitely on her way to visit now...He is so excited to meet his sister, it is his dream as well....turns out he just had a baby and Liz is an aunt, and her grandparents whom she has never met either will be the ones picking her up from the airport...Oh, and this will be her first time on a plane! AMAZING!!! This is so amazing! August 8-10 will be the weekend and we will all be headed to the airport to see her off and to pick her up! What a amazing moment to share this news with her...super emotional and so beautiful! She just can't believe it! She cried so much from joy, and so did we, and so did everyone we told!"

We had these awesome plans to have Jami Clark share this give with Liz at Coldstone Creamery, but because of a small series of events, plans had to change and me and Michelle Johnson had to do a B line to meet up with Elizabeth and share the news with her before she read her brother's Michael's message to her on myspace : )! I can not put this experience in words that will do the justice, but what a powerful moment to be able to share this news with her! Beautifully POWERFUL!

Needless to say the meeting last night rocked....we were able to talk about all that has unfolded and continue on the plans of making all this very special....

Social # 1 of the 2 school socials has been planned and will be held at the Aviano Clubhouse from 1pm to 2:30pm July 13th after Liz heads to church with Jordan! Will will be having lunch at the Paradise Bakery in Desert Ridge from 11:30am to 12:30pm before....

It was sooo cool last night to see how all of the ladies are on point with their communication with Liz, about Liz, surrounding Liz, and planning for Liz....this group is in Sync!

~Part One of Car Day~

Diagnose it and what to repair!


We headed to Aram's yesterday and they were so helpful in assisting Liz with her truck! She really loves her truck, she bought it cash for herself, and she was so happy that Aram's was able to take a look, let us know what was wrong and assist how they were able. It was a huge treat, because we were able to spend time while waiting...Breakfast down the street at Alexi's Diner, then to Marisa's house for some R and R, and then to Britony's house to visit with her and the tots.

Yay! What a day! I am so happy that we had that time together, and that we are on our way to a safe and useful truck!

Let's map it out-time for a CALENDAR!

CALENDAR TIME!!!!

We have so much planned and so much in the making that it was time for a calendar! Tonight's meeting was very special...we have made some really big commitments and have a lot of follow through in the making! It was awesome to see the group working together to make sure the things that we have set to get done are getting done and that we are assisting one another while doing so!

We tentatively mapped out the rest of the summer's socials and appointments...details to come, but the vision is on paper....and it is SO EXCITING!!

It was neat to see how we are growing to know Elizabeth as well...who communicates with her, why, and how...not only are we are learning about Liz, but also about ourselves...double sided blessing!

This group of women is amazing...or as one of my friend's would say, AMACING...we set out to get inspired, to be challenged, and to grow.....this is what is happening, and it is AMACING!

An insert from my follow up email below:

"This weeks personal challenge is not to lie to yourself, or OTHERS....Easy right!! We all signed up for this one....Good luck, we can do this!
I will be headed to Aram's Auto Body this Monday with Elizabeth, she has the day off and is very excited!"

"NEW SMILE, NEW CONFIDENCE!!!"

Holy Mother the STARS are lining UP!!!!

What an amazing community we live in! We had the blessings of meeting Mr. Mike Saini! He and his wife, Dr. Santosh Saini, who own Q Dental Care in Phoenix are going to donate their time and resources to making sure that Elizabeth's smile is shining bright for years to come!!

They will begin working with her this summer to make sure that she is aware of all that goes into having her "smile from with in" big and confident! Our dream for her is to never see this smile fade! :)

Thank you Q Dental Care for your care and generosity! This is such a gift-thank you for making this possible!! Elizabeth will have all her pearly cleaning and repairs from the best in the Valley, and even have the option of Orthodontics if she so chooses!!! BONUS.....

Like I said, the STARS are lining up!!!!

Please Make Note:

This Sunday June 22nd, there are 2 important EVENTS that are being hosted by a few of the gals of this Summer 2008's Big Give Group!

A Toast for the Cure in honor of our friend Kindra that is fighting a rare form of cervical cancer will be held at the home of Amy Wallace's in Scottsdale from 2pm to 5pm! CLICK ON LINK BELOW FOR DETAILS:

http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?inviteId=SEYZFIIRIXTDYSICMEON&li=iq&src=email&trk=aei6

The other is an Ice Cream Social Fundraiser from 6pm to 8pm at Sweet Republic, 9160 E Shea Blvd, Scottsdale, AZ - (480) 248-6979! We will be supporting our friend Gabi Kepes who was honored as one of AZ's Finest to Raise Money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Arizona!

Elizabeth and I will be attending both of these Events together and we hope to see you there!

~Fashion/Apparel Social~

We had a BLAST!

Fashion fabulous, and Happy Birthday to Liz! This was such a fun social! SO MANY CLOTHES! Holy Moly.... THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to all the gals that found fabulousness and passed it on to Liz...yall picked perfectly! This girl can fit into anything and everything fits her! She looked darling in everything!!! It was amazing! We filled our girl Kelly's house with clothes, bags, jewelry & shoes....Liz went home with a whole new wardrobe, and tons of tips! Imagine being with your mother, sister, and every friend you ever had...we gave her an earful! She is not missing a beat a in the girlie stuff category!

Everything was cleaned, steamed and laid out perfectly...and we went through from top to bottom.


It was such a good time and we had to take a break in the middle to celebrate Elizabeth's Birthday! She turns 19 on Saturday June 21st and we wanted to bring her Birthday week in with a bang! Delicious cake, and her favorite, butter pecan ice cream! Yeah, we all gained a ton :)

Thank you to our friend Alissa for donating the items that didn't work out for Elizabeth to the people in Cedar Rapids!

~Home Buying Social~

Elizabeth is on her way...


Today's Home Buying Social was very productive! Elizabeth had an appointment with Kim Sullivan from New Horizon Mortgage in North Scottsdale! What a class act Kim is, the best in the business! I use her for all my clients, and made her acquaintance, now friendship through my friend and associate Marisa Stockwood. Elizabeth did everything from watch the market change to locking loans in place. She learned from the best on how important credit is and how to get it lined up in her favor. Kim did financing 101 with her so when Elizabeth is good and ready to buy a home she will have taken the proper steps to be able to move forward in doing so. I actually think I learned just as much, man did I need a recap....


Elizabeth now has fabulous contact #2 on speed dial...she will be in contact with Kim through the summer as she gets all the steps in place that they discussed! Thank you to Kim and the time she dedicated to Elizabeth and our Give! It really couldn't have gone better!


After we left New Horizon Mortgage, we headed to Marisa Stockwood's home office and visited with her over lunch about our appointment with Kim and discussed all that we had gathered. We soon got to talking about Real Estate and the importance of investments. Marisa shared the story of her career journey in Real Estate and was able discuss her personal Real Estate Investments with Elizabeth. Marisa and I discussed the process and fulfillment of working with our clients in their home buying experience. It was really a sweet and lovely ladies lunch!!!


Elizabeth had a great time and agreed with me that both Kim and Marisa are very amazing and very special women! We are fortunate to know them and have their support! :)

We're "TRUCKIN" along!!

The truck is getting tuned up!!

Can you believe it! We are just knockin these arrangements out! Thank you to Aram's Auto body Service for their care and generosity! This is so cool! This will make such a difference, and it is such a gift!

We are so lucky to have made this connection, crazy how life works in mysterious ways! It is going to be so exciting to share this news with Elizabeth!

Last night's meeting was so productive! We've practically mapped out the rest of the summer plans/socials, and we are going to be very very busy. July will be full of fundraising and school plans! It was so cool to just discuss all the goals and accomplishments thus far & to come! The group is so candid, emotionally and logically tuned into this give, and so caring towards Elizabeth's feelings surrounding the summer... it is awesome!

Also, our girl Gabi who works for YELP, and is also one of "Arizona's Finest", brought reusable grocery bags for all the gals to the meeting to support this weeks personal goal of using them when grocery shopping! We are constantly changin for the better... Thanks YELP