I got the last little bit to be able to surprise another mom!! YAY! thanks to ALL who have donated thus far! How fun and I really appreciate it!! So…keep an eye out for the next surprise! I will most likely happen this week!

Charity’s story:
Thank you so much for pulling us out of the crowd, and delighting us with unexpected cash and clothes. I am so excited to have stylish pants that fit; instead of my jeans and sweats. More than that, though, thanks for being such a blessing for Nicole. She is filled with amazing strength and love – and she has given up so much for her husband and kids. I’m also grateful that my mother-in-law allowed us to hijack her shopping day. She watched all of the kids while we shopped. We couldn’t have found so many great clothes if our little ones were underfoot in the dressing rooms. It was lots of fun, and a wonderful day.

I wanted to share the story of how I became a stay-at-home mom:

I had a career. Maybe my pathway to professionalism was inadvertent – but I was undeniably professional. My job was 2-3 times more prestigious and lucrative than my husband’s is, even now. It never even occurred to me that I might want to stop working after our baby was born. We needed the money for rent, lifestyle, and savings. Plus, I was very good at what I was doing. Pregnant and focused, I was trying to put everything in order for my return after a few weeks of leave. In a sense, my sweet family was working against it. Not actively, of course, they were just moving things into place so that I would have the option of staying home.

My grandmother-in-law’s house was vacant. We were welcome to move in there for a while. Any improvements we made could be counted as rent. (see pictures) So, my family worked tirelessly, night and day, to make the house into a livable, welcoming spot where the baby could live and our new little family could grow.

And my decision to stay home? That happened while I was sleep-deprived, with my hormones so far out of whack that I wasn’t even thinking or acting like myself. (If any of you struggle with hormone issues check out www.allforwomenhealth.com ) My newborn daughter was losing weight due to inexplicable self-imposed hunger strikes. One evening, my boss and her daughter stopped by to see the baby. Without any forethought, I declared that I wouldn’t be coming back to work. They could start looking for someone else.

My boss, Brenda, was not surprised. I think a lot of the wonderful strong women/mothers in my life anticipated that my whole heart would be caught up in my children; that all my intelligence, education, and resourcefulness could be redirected to family. I have not regretted it for a moment.

Of course, every mom feels their personal identity dissolve as their life transforms into a mommy-life. That feeling is definitely compounded if you leave work – the change is even more drastic. Every daily activity that you focused on, and cared about, vanishes. All your co-workers – who really did evolve into your closest friends – fade out of your everyday life. One of my dearest friends at work was really struggling with infertility when my daughter was born. I really haven’t even talked to her for two years. I didn’t want my sweet baby to be painful reminder of things that she aches for and doesn’t yet have. So, yes, there are sacrifices, even current ones, but nothing can compare to the everyday joy of being Biella’s full-time Mom.

Thank you, Project SAHM, for validating the choice that I consider one of my top priorities. Keep up the good work. I hope to read about a lot more moms that bravely step past their suspicion and embrace the wonderful gift that you are giving them.

Nicole’s story:
What a great surprise.

That day I was feeling very yucky. My sister-in-law Charity called and wanted to see me. She wanted to meet at the mall. Usually I don’t like the mall because I can never buy anything. However I wanted to see her and thought it would brighten my mood. I got the kids ready Zoë seven and Archer is three. I just threw on some clothes. I didn’t even brush my hair. I’m glad I brushed my teeth I didn’t know I would have my picture taken.

When I went out to the car it was covered in snow. My heater only works if the car is moving. I back up my car into the sun and it took a half an hour before I could clean my car off enough to see.

I was kind of having a bad day but happy to be out of the house and to see one of my best friends. The kids went on the merry go round and we ordered lunch. That’s when we were approached. If Charity wasn’t there asking questions I wouldn’t have done it. I was too stunned and it blew my mind. I was thinking how unusual it was. Charity agreed and I knew it was for real when I say the money. Really cool that is.

We didn’t even know what stores were in the mall or where to begin. One shouldn’t be as stunned as I was at the kindness from strangers or someone not even knowing me wanting to do something nice for me. We should all be that kind all the time.

Being a stay at home mom is not without rewards, but it is challenging. I do sacrifice much without expecting recognition. It was nice to know there are other women out there like me. Especially to know someone like Melissa who is willing to bless others with such kindness and generosity. I was truly grateful for the two moms that stayed in the mall and waited while we shopped.

Not only did I get a new look, but a boost of confidence and energy. It was such a refreshing feeling perfect for the New Year. I started this year off right thanks to them. Hopefully, someday I will be able to bless someone else as you have me.

Thanks!

Holly Cox. This is my sister in law who has come with me the past two times I have surprised the moms! She is one of my best friends and I think it’s so fun that we have gotten the chance to do this together. Here is her story…

I always remember wanting to be a mom. My sister and I would play “house” for hours on end, we would even pretend to be pregnant! I married my high school sweetheart right out of high school, I was still 17, he was 19. Not many people believed we would make it past the first year, but nearly 12 years and 5 kids later, here I am! Our first 2 kids we struggled with infertility, and the last 3 came without trouble conceiving, but their struggle came after birth as they were all preemie. Nothing is more stressful then wondering if your child will live… My days are never boring, I give you that! I struggle with trying to be more than “mom”, or perhaps feeling like I have an identity other that mom, referee, chauffeur, doctor, maid, chef.. All of you mom’s know it goes on and on with the list of duties that you have. Nobody tells you how hard motherhood will be on your body, mind, spirit, and some times quite honestly your marriage. I wouldn’t change being a mom, or having five kids (could you really choose which child you should have left out of your family?!). But I confess that I often feel neglected and unappreciated, but then there is that one moment. It may only happen once a week, or even once a month, when you see in your child’s eyes everything you have ever wished for them coming true. When my two year old wraps her arms around my neck and says “loves ya mom” just because, I know that maybe being “just a mom” is not only okay, but so worth all I may have given up. Between the big world that is out there, and the insanity of my home, I’ll take my chances with my monkeys!!
I love to be able to be apart of such a wonderful cause that Melissa has dreamt up, I cried for a good 20 minutes after I read about her idea, the money is great, but it’s the idea that some stranger also struggles and understands you, theres something incredible about that. It’s so much more than money, and more about saying to that mom that she is worth more than her title. I respect all moms, but I am so glad to be a stay at home mom!

Today my sil, Holly and I went and surprised a pair of friends! It was so funny. We went up to where they have a marry-go-round and spotted two women and just KNEW those were the ones! Because I had $300 (thank you so much for all of your donations everyone!), I wanted to try and find two friends to surprise together!

So…we stopped and watched these ladies to see if they were in fact…together. They got on the ride and we went to sit down and watch to see if they road together….which they did. So we waited while the kids (we had 5 kids with us!) watched the thing go around.

When they got off, they walked over to another lady and we said “oh shoot, we can’t surprise them if there are three moms”. SO….we walk by them and stop to see who this other women was. We guessed it was a mom or mother in law of one of the girls.

Off they went and we fallowed. They stopped to get a drink and then stopped yet again to get some lunch. By this time, we had asked the other lady if she was a grandma of the little kids and sure enough she was….so we continued to ask if the ladies she was with were stay at home moms…And they WERE! YAY! After 20 minutes of stalking these ladies, we were ready to approach them! LOL.

I let Holly do the surprise because I thought she’d have fun doing it. The girls just looked at us both like we were crazy, but agreed to go along with us anyways! We joked about how we spent some time stalking them and how they didn’t notice. Kind of a good reminder to keep your eye out for stalkers he he he….

So off we went and waited for them to be done with their shopping. We fed our kids lunch that we had brought from home and they all played and played and played! Pictures and stories to come!

I’m excited to say that I got enough donations to do TWO surprises! Thank you to those who donated after watching the story on KSL news! I’ll be doing those surprises this week, so watch for those!

My great husband nominated me to be on the KSL channel 5 segment called High 5! He is so fun and spent the past few days giving me some “hints”. His first was “Coco” and since I’m very much a sleep at 5:45 on normal days, I would have never figured that one out!. He then told me that I’d have to be ready by 5:45 on Monday morning, and then last night he and I clean up the apartment. (You know, so people would think that I actually clean LOL!)

You can see a small segment HERE, or catch the news at 4:00 later on today! It was pretty embarrassing as I really hate to be the “center of attention” so to say. I’m pretty sure I looked goofy, but it was fun! I’m really excited and hope this helps to move things along with this project!