Baby Bobo has a special place in my heart. That’s partly because Lydia’s Baby Bobo Loves Blanket has a special place in her heart.

Light pink on one side and giraffe print on the other = something very nice to snuggle with.

Ashley surprised me with it as a gift right before we traveled, remembering that my grandmother collected giraffe things and that seeing giraffes always reminded me of her. And, it has her initials on it–which made me cry when I opened that package up and saw her initials on that blanket and knew that she’d be snuggling it soon.

Ah, sweet memories.

Ashley started Baby Bobo after her first daughter was born. She made a blanket for her out of this incredibly soft fabric–seriously soft, like you’ve-never-felt-something-so-soft kind of soft. When her baby fell in love with it, Ashley started giving them as gifts. With encouragement from her friends and family, she decided to start selling them as a way to help them save for their adoption. She began to pray about how Baby Bobo could be used to help their family as well as others, and another dream was born. She would use Baby Bobo to help with the expense of adopting their daughter from China and, once their adoption was complete, she would help others with their adoptions and help organizations that work with orphans. That is now the mission of Baby Bobo. Can I just say how thrilling it is to hear about how people are serving God and answering His call in James 1:27 right where they are, using their gifts and talents?

Baby Bobo, the softest, custom, unique baby items, is now available in 4 local stores. Each item is created specifically for the person who ordered it. Each is handmade. Each is prayed over. And, each helps another family adopt a child who needs a home. Doesn’t get any better than that.

The May fundraising drive for The Sparrow Fund was Ashley idea. She dreams big. And, I’m so glad she does. So, head on over to her shop and think about who in your life needs a new soft whooby. And, go over to her blog or her facebook page and thank her for serving on the board of The Sparrow Fund, for dreaming big, and for supporting adoptive families in all the ways she does. Oh, and tell her to give Mickey a kiss for me. She’s in Disney World this week. Lucky girl.

For over 50 years, generations of families have counted on Shaklee to do what no other company can do quite like them—make products that are naturally safe AND proven effective. Every product that goes into every Shaklee bottle is designed to improve health, work without compromise, and be gentle on the planet.

Word.

Kim Kane was one of those kids whose family raised her using Shaklee. And, now she’s raising her family–of 5 boys (Happy Mother’s Day to her!)–on it as well. And, she totally stands by it and couldn’t feel better about it from the perspectives of health, finances, and simple well-being. One of the things she considers most important is stewardship of what falls to her–her 5 boys, her husband, her health, her home, and her community. All these things, she believes, are served by her involvement in Shaklee. And, she loves being able to help others do the same as she helps them work towards better health for themselves and their families.

Kim contacted me with such enthusiasm and excitement to be involved with The Sparrow Fund. She told me:

My heart grows all the time for the least and the neediest and the most unloved. That is often the most beautiful love, to love those the world casts away and for these littles, literally.

Whether you want to live “greener” or need nutritional support, are looking for skin care products free from scary ingredients or want to lose a few pounds, Kim can help you. And, this month she’s giving 10% of all her sales to The Sparrow Fund. AND, if you are a new customer and note The Sparrow Fund in the “contact me” field of your order, she will give 20% of your order to The Sparrow Fund.

Awesome. Buy great products for your family; help a family bring their child home. Win, Win.

Please go see all the shops supporting The Sparrow Fund this month by clicking on the button below

Blogging. I’m into it. Remember this post?

And, if you are into it–or just want to be into it–you gotta have a cool blog. It represents you after all. And, well, we bloggers are all cool.

And, I’ve got just the person to help you with that. Diana Hansen, creative and crafty mother of 3 including Dori who was adopted from China in 2006, established Custom Blog Designs in 2008. Diana specializes in custom makeovers for Blogger blogs, although she offers other graphic services such as blog adjustments and maintenance, digital scrapbooking, and custom photo cards.

Here is what Diana had to say about her business:

After we adopted our third child, I discovered digital scrapbooking. I got the hang of it right away and started designing and selling digital templates. After I had been doing that for about 6 months, I got contacted by a friend from our July 05 LID adoption group. She knew of my design skills from being webmaster our adoption support group and from seeing my digital scrapbooking creations and asked me design her blog. Through much research and trial and error, I learned out how to customize a Blogger blog and Custom Blog Designs was born.

Designing blogs gives Diana the opportunity to use her gifts and talents and be creative while still being a mama–don’t we all long to do that? At Custom Blog Designs, she will create a unique and personalized blog design or graphic to your liking, so it really represents you. She has created nearly 500 designs in the 3+ years (um, yeah, she’s super productive and should give us all lessons on time management!), and each is unique.

Take a look at some of these – you might recognize a few! –

If you’ve been considering a blog makeover, contact Diana. And, if you haven’t been, ask some of your bloggy friends if you should (kidding…sort of). And, visit her facebook page too and personally thank her for what she’s doing to support adoptive families through giving 10% of all her business this month to The Sparrow Fund.

Please go see all the shops supporting The Sparrow Fund this month by clicking on the button below

Don’t we all just love those stories of the corporate business woman turned stay-at-home mom turned small business owner following her passion? I do.

Sherri was a CPA in the corporate finance world who became a stay-at-home mama to two adorable kiddos–Noah and Lilah. When she was pregnant with her girly, she decided she wanted to learn to sew. As a jeans and t-shirt kind of gal, the pink, frilly, fussy dresses she found in stores just weren’t cutting it. So, going for the simple, understated look with modern fabrics, she took a sewing class which led to a new found love of sewing kids’ clothes. 3 months later, she opened up her etsy store and found herself sewing like crazy while the kids are sleeping to make simple, understated pieces for children all over the place–including two of mine. (I just ordered 2 skirts for my girls.)

Sherri knew she wanted to use her shop to be able to give back and looks for ways to do so on a regular basis. She is a member of the Etsy Team Team Etsy Project Embrace, whose main purpose is to create awareness and support for people who have been diagnosed with cancer. And, she has generously given to places such as Craft Hope, Help for Haiti, the American Cancer Society, the American Red Cross, and NOW The Sparrow Fund.

Go check out her stuff. The fabrics are beautiful and turn a simple skirt into a total outfit-maker. And, with her prices so reasonable, you can afford to buy a couple. Visit her facebook page too and give her some love for supporting adoption and adoptive families through giving 10% of all May sales to The Sparrow Fund.