Voting Results as of 10:20 AM on 1/25/11

575 Total Votes as of 10:20 AM on 1/25/11! WOW!

The number at the end of each line is the number of votes that charity has received.

Thank you for voting!

If you'd like to vote, here is the link: http://www.kwiksurveys.com/?s=IKJJOJ_defad854

A Wider Circle - Well Mother Well Baby http://awidercircle.org/well_mother.html   2 

Autism Speaks http://www.autismspeaks.org/   43

Best for Babes http://www.bestforbabes.org/   7 

Beta Center http://www.betacenter.org/   2 

Children's Alopecia Project http://www.childrensalopeciaproject.org/   7 

Children's Tumor Foundation http://www.ctf.org/   17 

CJ's Thumbs up Foundation http://www.cjstuf.org/   55 

Commonwealth Parenting http://commonwealthparenting.org/   0 

Connors Heroes http://www.connorsheroes.org/   2 

Cookies for Kids Cancer http://www.cookiesforkidscancer.org/   24 

Crickett's Answer for Cancer http://crickettsanswerforcancer.com/   5 

Give Kids the World http://www.givekidstheworld.org/   8 

Hawaii Mother's Milk Inc http://www.hawaiimothersmilk.com/   1 

Heartstrings Infant and Pregnancy Loss Support http://www.heartstringssupport.org/   17 

Help Us Adopt http://www.helpusadopt.org   17 

International Caeserian Awareness Network http://www.ican-online.org/   7 

KEEN USA http://www.keenusa.org/   4 

Kids with Food Allergies http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/   16 

KinderMourn http://www.kindermourn.org/   20 

La Leche League of North Carolina http://www.lllofnc.org/   19 

March of Dimes http://www.marchofdimes.com/   40 

Missing Grace Foundation http://www.missinggrace.org/   1 

Mom's Closet http://www.momsclosetinc.com/   4 

Muscular Dystrophy Association http://www.mdausa.org/   4 

National Inclusion Project http://www.inclusionproject.org/   2 

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep http://www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org/   31 

Operation HomeFront http://www.operationhomefront.net/   13 

Pregnancy Resource Center of SLC UT http://www.pregnancyresource.net/   5 

Progeria Research Foundation http://www.progeriaresearch.org/   1 

Project Ladybug http://www.projectladybug.org/   2 

Rape Abuse Incest National Network http://www.rainn.org/   22 

St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital http://www.stjudes.org/   102 

Stella B Foundation http://www.stellabfoundation.org/   5 

Susan G Komen For the Cure http://ww5.komen.org/   27 

Sweet Cheeks Diaper Kits http://www.facebook.com/sweetcheeksdiaperkits   4 

The Children's Playhouse http://www.goplayhouse.org/   12 

The Liz Logelin Foundation http://thelizlogelinfoundation.org/   2 

The Needs Network http://theneedsnetwork.com/   1 

Victory Junction Gang Camp http://www.victoryjunction.org/   24 

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Purity Is Like A Box of Chocolates

Okay, I admit it. Reality TV is my guilty pleasure. I can’t get enough; maybe because it allows me to actually break from reality. Whatever the reason…

Like many other mornings, I jumped on the treadmill with my trusty remote, and flipped channels trying to find something to entertain myself, and distract me from the brutality of the activity of working out. To my delight, an old episode of Trading Spouses was on. Jackpot! I love this show!

Today’s episode paired up a perky Christian family with a quirky Jewish family. The usual antics ensued like every other episode. What else would you expect when you pair up two families with two totally different lifestyles?

Still, as a Christian myself, I felt drawn to the Christian wife’s warmth and joy, albeit she was a bit hyper. So when she approached her “husband” for the week and suggested he use a box of chocolates to illustrate the importance of purity until marriage to his teenage daughters, I was intrigued.

To most, this lesson in purity probably brought on the usual chuckles rivaled only by other infamous reality TV moments, like the time William Hung belted out She Bangs during American Idol’s auditions or the time Pumpkin spit on New York on Flavor of Love. But to me, this exercise was actually spot on in illustrating the importance of purity.

Someday, hopefully later rather than sooner, I may have to pull this activity out of my repertoire of mom tools and share it with my own boys. And since I thought some of you other parents and youth leaders would find this illustration useful, I thought I’d pass this TV wife’s wisdom on to you. After all, she was so very disappointed that she wasn’t able to bless her Trading Spouses family. So maybe through this recount she can bless one of you.

All you need is an open box of chocolates. Pass the box of chocolates around the group (whether this is your family or a small group), all the while explaining that sex before marriage is just like these delicious chocolates. Then, choose one of the chocolates and pass it around, hand to hand. The Trading Spouses wife suggests sneezing some nice mucous onto it when it’s your turn.

As the chocolate goes from person to person, describe how “icky” (her words not mine) the chocolate gets as it is passed from person to person. And it will get icky. We all know that M&M’s really do melt in your hands, and a Sees chocolate is no different. Then explain to your captive audience that their bodies are just like these chocolates – perfect and pleasing to God as it sits in the box waiting for his/her future spouse so to speak. But once passed around from partner to partner, we can become emotionally and physically damaged. And so on…

And hey, if I’m wrong and this exercise turns out to be totally ridiculous, (which could be, since I was huffing and puffing and sweating on my treadmill at the time I thought this was a great idea), at least you have a yummy box of chocolates for dessert!

Julie Pirkle is a freelance writer and a member of the Fresno Mommies community. Her sons are now 6 and 9-years-old. Read more by Julie at http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/jmpirkle or follow her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/WriteUpYourAlley

Nominate your favorite charity!

The Mommies Network is hosting our 2nd Annual National Auction online in late Summer 2011. We are planning to donate 25% of proceeds to a mom-centered charity. However, we need to determine which charity will receive our support this year! If you have a 501c3 charity that is close to your heart, and you would like to nominate it to be the recipient of 25% of the TMN National Auction funds, please email the name of the charity and any other pertinent information to nominate@themommiesnetwork.org no later than January 23, 2011 at 10pm EST. 

All charities that are nominated will then be compiled into an online poll that will be open for voting between January 24-January 30. The charities with the most votes will be evaluated by the Executive Board for their non-profit status and to ensure they benefit mothers in some way. The top 3 charities will then be part of a second vote, running February 2-5, 2011 to determine which charity will receive the funds from The Mommies Network. 

Get your nominations in ASAP so your charity has the chance to receive these funds in 2011!