It Gets Easier

If by easier you mean you've cried so much, your tears are no longer visible? Then yes, it gets easier. If you mean your body aches so much you're numb, then yes it gets easier. When easier means you hold on to some one's embrace while your body shakes with emotion and you just hope that if you squeeze them tight enough she'll appear for one last talk then yes, by all means it gets easier.

The reality is, it's harder. The week after her death, I actually did okay. We were all still actively including Casee in conversations as things were sorted out. I didn't talk to Casee, but it was kind of like we were on a long vacation and didn't have a chance to text or chat.

Then another week or two went by, and we started to find "normal" again....one night I sent a text to Matthew, Colton and Caleb asking if they wished we could send texts to Heaven....they're pretty strong those three and I'm thankful for close cousins. I know we all talked to her about life happenings and in July we all had big things going on... if we could have had one more text, one more chat at night things would have felt more complete, more finished after sharing with her.

And I think the farther away we get from her death, the more real it becomes. Her photo is tacked by our wall calendar. I see it everyday. She watches the boys play on the floor and listens to dinner conversations. I caught her face tonight, at dinner and it took sooo much strength to not fall to pieces.

Because the first week or two it's okay to have break downs, but crying uncontrollable in the parking lot of Meijer's - to people passing by might seem slightly odd. To call her phone just to hear her voice, may be a little out there, but thankfully I can do that in private (because if she answered the phone I'd probably not want to be in public at that moment - I need a laugh here :)!)..... Answering "doing awesome" with a smile when someone asks how's life, knowing full well it's a lie  And driving by her old home in Winn, with no toys scattered, no boys playing ball and no gold trailblazer outside leaves my heart empty - I want to bop in there, sit down on her couch and just be in her presence....just be with her....it would make everything easier.

I believe in God. I understand we die, it's part of life. And if death doesn't at least make you look into what God has going on, then I'm not sure what will - because without Him I think this would be even harder. Yet, I'm still a very broken human - like everyone else and I still ask why. Why did you do this to us? Why did it have to be her? What are we suppose to do now? And how the hell do we find a new normal? What if I don't want to accept this new normal?  Did you not think of us God? What are we suppose to do?? What were you trying to teach us? I pray for all kinds of great things, good things, wonderful things and this.... this is what you decide? You take my aunt away? Because of some stupid disease that for some reason we can't figure out how to cure? WTH God...WTH....if Heaven could receive texts that's what I'd send....ironic, sarcastic....but a darn good question.
.......

I've sat here for a half an hour...staring at the screen - re-reading the post... it's now midnight and I should be sleeping, but I haven't been able to sleep....thoughts keep running through my mind and as much as I try to think of something else, I find myself back to so many questions.....and now I have no idea how to settle my brain and wrap this post up.....because I guess at this time I have no answers, I have no fool proof plan to take the hurt away....and the reality is I probably never will....so this post ends unfinished, just like so many things left unsaid, undone, untied after we lose someone we love so much.

One of my favorite photos...I miss her smile.

One Hundred Grand!

$100,000....One hundred grand....wouldn't it be nice to go out to your mail box and open an envelope with a check for $100,000 (with no disclaimers of having to sit through a presentation on a time share or bring in a key to see if you're the lucky winner!)

Yesterday, I posted the question on my Eisenberger Insurance Agency Facebook page, "What would you do if I gave you $100,000?" LOVED the answers...pay off the mortgage, take a vacation, donate to a worthy cause, support your child's education, take another vacation...you can do so much with $100,000.

Danielle Cole - You're the winner of the $25 Meijer Gift Card!!!

Yet, what if I gave that money to your family after you passed away? Stick with me here.....death isn't fun, but it's real and always better to be prepared than not....so would you change your answers?  Some of you may not change anything - the hundred grand could pay off debt so the family doesn't have to worry about it, or be put towards college educations for children. Others may say, well that's not enough if they don't have my income as well.

 
Whatever your answer, the point is.....if you were told today you have a terminal illness would your family be prepared? If you stopped at the same stop sign you've stopped at everyday since you started driving, but didn't see the car coming when you pulled out, would your family be prepared?

As I sorted through photos of my Aunt Casee to help make her slide show, I smiled when I saw photos of her at age 10 with big orange curly hair, "stylish" sunglasses and her huge smile as she posed for the camera. She didn't know then at a week shy of her 41st birthday, she'd leave behind two boys and a husband. I remember one photo she looked miserable...she was pregnant at Wyatt's birthday and just ready to have what I thought was a watermelon, later it would become Rayce....but she was at the point where she didn't care how it happened, she just wanted him out. (Mommas will understand what I mean here :)!) I still smile though, because what an awesome time in her life....the new little person that would be brought into this world for her to love. She didn't know she'd never see him graduate or marry. 

Now, I don't know if Casee had life insurance or how much, though I'm sure she was prepared with all the means possible to give her two boys the most amazing life, even if she couldn't be there to watch them herself. And wouldn't you? If you couldn't walk your daughter down the aisle to marry the man of her dreams, wouldn't you want her to buy the most beautiful dress possible. If you couldn't be there to watch your son graduate, wouldn't you want to have left behind enough so he could go to college without stressing about how he was going to pay?

Maybe you're not married or don't have kids....but are you healthy? Isn't that something worth insuring too?
I read somewhere how good health provides you with freedoms you take for granted until your good health has turned poor. When you're healthy and young, getting sick and preparing for death is the absolute last thing on your mind. You'd rather spend time and money on fun things to do with the people you love. You're also busy just keeping up with day to day decisions and tasks....but once you're told you have a terminal illness, it's too late. Which is ironic, because we all know we're going to die - it's a fact of life....so the question isn't are you going to die? It's...when and will you be prepared?

I'm working on a series of blog posts to help us all work through life insurance and be prepared no matter what happens tomorrow. My husband and I have various life insurance policies (you can read about how we decided on what coverage to have here). We are also in the process of finishing up our wills, my friend has shared with me her "If I Die" document - all that important information someone needs to know,  and I've started thinking about what I want my funeral to look like.

Death is too real to me at the moment. When your world is rocked and you realize you're not immortal (pretty close to perfect, but not immortal LOL!), you start looking at what's important - showing and sharing love to your family, providing them safety and necessities, setting them up for the best possible future no matter what happens along their journey.....

I hope you follow the posts, comment, start discussion, add your thoughts and insights - it's how we learn, how we grow and how we heal....thank you for letting me use this blog to heal....




Post production note :) --- I was having a hard time Monday night, everything kinda just came down on my heart...it was the first time I could actually just let go and grieve.... I sent my cousins a text, "Anyone else wish you could text up to heaven?" My cousin Matthew responded saying she motivates him to keep studying for his HUGE dentist exam. He then sent me a text later saying, "You know as soon as I sent you the text "My Wish" came on the radio (the song played with her slide show at the funeral) and then as soon as I got out of the car I saw Dylan at the library (one of our other cousins). She's for sure looking out for us." I responded "If a margarita machine shows up at my front door I'm gonna freak :)!)"  Margarita machines welcome :)

What A Beautiful Day

Several years ago, my dad and I were driving through Shepherd on a dark, dreary day. There was a funeral in progress, I turned to my dad and said "Crappy day for a funeral." Without missing a beat he said...."well not too sure there is ever a good day for a funeral." Point taken :)....

Yet, on Sunday, July 8th it was a beautiful day....a tealish, blue sky was filled with white comfy clouds...the sun was bright but at times hidden and a slight breeze made the summer heat warm but bearable. It was the best day I would ever hope for to celebrate my amazing Aunt Casee...the day she passed away.

I said in my last post, that on Sundays the entire family would come over and have dinner at Grandpa and Grandma's...it was just what we did. My grandparents would get up early and fix amazing food....and if you didn't eat Grandpa would ask you if you were sick because there was just something wrong about not eating two helpings of his homemade noodles, baked beans and freezer corn. And thankfully, we weren't to the point of running the roads to practices or games, because our bellies were so full we wouldn't have been very productive. Sunday's were days to just be with each other, reconnect and focus for the week ahead.

How fitting for our family - a Sunday - of all days....a Sunday where the entire family was at Grandpa and Grandmas with no place to run off to, but to just be with each other, reconnect and focus for the week ahead. This Sunday though, not much was said, not much needed to be....

And as we watched the food start filling the refrigerator and counter area, our family started to see how many other people also share their love through food. :) ... At one point, my Uncle Tim and I laughed because we were asked about five or six times if we had ate anything for lunch - at about the eighth time, I looked at him and told him - "please just eat a damn sandwich" :)...but so many took time out of their busy lives to pick up food, water, paper products, munchies and then did it again for the funeral dinner...

And on Wednesday, July 11th it was a beautiful day....a tealish, blue sky was filled with white comfy clouds...the sun was bright but at times hidden and a slight breeze made the summer heat warm but bearable. It was the best day I would ever hope for to celebrate my amazing Aunt Casee...the day we said our final good byes.

A week ago, I wrote a blog after we found out she had two weeks to a month to live....it was a blog from my heart, a blog many would read....one I would read at her funeral, one I'll carry with me to read over and over again....I honestly don't know if Casee ever read it or had it read to her - I couldn't do it myself, but I know she knows how I feel about her.

And now I know how so many others feel about her. I still haven't been able to make it through all her friends' Facebook posts on her wall because I just start crying. Listening to the stories bounce off the walls at the funeral home and while sorting photos for her slide show - oh so much laughter, so many memories to write down and have forever.

Yet, I feel like the funeral was the easy part - we were able to laugh and cry and be together with so many for four days straight...but what about now? When we go back to work, head to the grocery store, sit at a baseball game, celebrate her birthday this Sunday, the list goes on....I feel like there are a lot of dark and dreary days ahead....

But then my five year old Gunner gives me a fresh perspective...After trying to figure out how to tell him what was happening, I told him the truth, that Aunt Casee had died and she was going to meet God....his eyes got so big and he had a huge smile come across his face. Without missing a beat he said "That is so cool Mom."....... It took all I had at that moment to hold back tears and just give him a big hug while saying... "Yeah, buddy it is."  Point taken.



I'm going to miss you so much - Sending you my love.
A balloon send off on a beautiful day.

My Aunt...

One of my favorite photos :)

My aunt has two weeks to live….at best a month…If my Aunt Casee was 89 and had watched her third grader and seventh grader develop into successful, loving men with lives a mother could be proud of then it makes the next month a little easier. Yet, Casee is only ten years older than me and at 40 it seems to be cut way too short.

She has battled cancer….not just battled but kicked it’s ass time and time again….she’s done it because of her will power and some would say her stubbornness….but cancer seems to never back down….it’s hid for a while, making life manageable and at times close to normal, but the last six months it’s come back to a point that draws her earthly presence to a close.

Ms. Josie and her momma...a fine companion.

As the favorite niece (she would chime in here…”Honey, for 29 years you were the only niece so I didn’t have many options.”) and not being that much older than me….Aunt Casee serves as the go-between …..She is the adult, young and cool enough, whom I needed to help explain my mother’s good intentions. I think I speak for my cousins and brother on this…you can always call her, text her, instant message her, email her, or stop in and just chat with her for a good conversation and discussion about important life decisions without feeling parented, but accepted and loved just as much as our parents do. You have no idea how much I'm going to miss that. 

The annual Christmas family photos
will never look the same.

She also was the aunt at every baseball game. Rain or shine, sick or healthy, hundreds of miles away or out the backdoor of Grandpa Bums she had her lawn chair, pop and respective school shirt on. She knew every kid on every team, she cheered them on, laughed with parents, high fived coaches and joked with umps. She was the smile you needed after a bad play or the loudest cheer you heard after one of the boys struck someone out. Talk about having a number one fan…she was it and then some. And no matter what happens within our family regarding baseball whether there will be a major league game in our future or while her boys play catch outside Grandpa Bum’s backyard  – I know she’ll have the best seat in the house.



Now, most people know how close our family is…to a point a little scary J…but growing up, we’d spend Sunday afternoons having dinner at Grandpa Bum’s house. Casee still lived at home when I was little. She’d come downstairs, just rolling out of bed at noon to have lunch and be teased by the uncles about the previous night’s festivities. I also remember going with my mom to take pictures of her at her senior prom, watching her in the band, talking about boyfriends and even once bringing a boy to Christmas…poor guy never stood a chance J See it takes something special to make it in our family – you either need to be able to give it right back when crap is given to you or loud enough so people will hear you. You stand the best chance if you’re both– it seems we all have pretty loud voices and are a tad sarcastic with an odd humor. But together, we get each other. Our family calendar this year has the slogan. “We may not have it all together, but together we have it all”

We often tease each other about having friends that aren’t family…”You what? You’re going shopping with someone you’re not related to? Are you okay??” – see a tad sarcastic and oddly humorous J Yet, thanks to Facebook – we, as a family, can see how blessed Casee’s life and journey has been with the many hundreds of Facebook messages and posts and how much impact she’s had on so many friends inside and outside our family.



Casee with Uncle Trent and Wyatt
during the Cancer Survivor Walk



And as we celebrate Casee, please continue to pray for her that the next two weeks or however long she has is peaceful and filled with love. Pray for her two boys Wyatt and Rayce who will need reminders throughout their life that God never makes life fair, He just makes it worth it so I pray they always find peace, love and kindness and that they show others how to do the same just as their Mommy did. And pray for my Uncle Tim as he moves forward to be the mom and dad of these two little guys. Give him the strength and patience of two people and show him the love he needs through this all. Also say prayers for my family – my Grandparents, my aunts and uncles, my mom and dad and all my cousins and my brother…. this is the first loss we’ve had within our immediate Loomis family and just thinking about not having someone there seems so foreign….I’ll miss her Hamburger Helper dish to pass and not being able to draw her name for Christmas gifts or sharing the latest gossip… I’m just gonna miss her so much.

At times like this I hear people say, "don’t let this test your faith or this really makes one question their relationship with God"….well that’s far from the truth. The reality is we all die, death does not test faith – it just provides us with another reason to grow and trust in God. The crappy part about being human though, is that God doesn’t usually tell us when our time to join Him is coming.  And there could be discussion on if you’d really want God to tell you or not.

For some, like Casee, He’s shown a little peak of His timeline and we all know it’s close….and what an amazing opportunity for so many to celebrate the awesome aunt, mom, sister, daughter, cousin, wife, friend that she is, while she’s still here and can read Facebook posts and texts, while she can see you at the lake and hold your hand, while she can watch her sons run around and smile knowing they will be surrounded not only by God’s hands, but by a whole community who will see to it that as she looks down, sitting next to God’s side, she can watch them grow and develop into successful, loving men with lives a mother will always be proud of.



A family photo to cherish forever.



Career Closet

The cool thing about my job is that I get to work with amazing organizations and businesses providing a one-of-a-kind, needed service to the community.

Over the last couple of weeks, I have had the opportunity to work with the Women's Resource Center of Mid Michigan - a group of women who strive to change women's lives....pretty powerful statement. A statement I know they live up to through a project called the Career Closet.

The Career Closet provides professional clothing for women returning to the workforce or advancing in their careers. Women are able to select gently used business clothes at no cost. Items include suits, dresses, slacks, blouses, skirts, shoes, purses, etc.



Open for Donations and Clothing Selection\

Tuesdays from 5:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. &

Thursdays from 12:00 p.m. until 1:00 p.m. 



I stepped into the Career Closet, housed at Drs. Wassenaar, Frutiger, Wassenaar,and Moeggenborg, directly across the street from the post office in Alma, and was overwhelmed by the amount of suits and scrubs available for this community. And let me talk about the shoe ROOM - ROOM...and entire room of SHOES...I could have stayed in that room forever. 

But what really impressed me was that everything was donated - from the clothing to the clothing racks and from the office supplies to the actual room itself. What was a dream a couple years ago, is now a full service, one stop shop for woman returning or advancing in their careers - for free - right here in our community!

And then I find out that every person "working" the Career Closet is a volunteer - giving of their time to organize, sort through, coordinate outfits, rotate seasons, help women find an outfit that boosts their confidence and self esteem....How awesome is that!?!? Just an amazing service.

If you have been spring cleaning and find yourself with a pile of nice business clothes to donate somewhere, please consider bringing them to the Career Closet. You can feel good knowing that a local woman is benefiting from your generosity.

A Letter You Should Read

One piece of mail you'll want to open....

To Whom It May Concern;

You and I have a common Purpose in this world.  It is your job to provide food, clothing, shelter, schooling, medicine and various other necessities for your loved ones.  You are busy doing all of these things while I lie in your safe or file cabinet.

I must have faith and trust in you, for out of your earnings will come the cost of MY upkeep.  At times I may appear to be somewhat worthless and unnecessary to you, but some day (God only knows when), you and I will forever change places.

When you are laid to rest, I will come alive and do YOUR job.  I will provide the food, clothing, shelter, schooling, medicine and the necessities your family will continue to need, just as your provided them today.  When your work and toil are done, rest assured, mine will begin.   Through me your hands I will carry on.

Whenever you feel the price you are paying for my upkeep is burdensome, remember, I will do more for you and your family than you can ever do for me.

If you'll do your part, I guarantee that I will do mine.

Sincerely,

Your Life Policy

 

Concerned because you do not have life insurance? I'd love to help you through the process.

I Like to Move It, Moooove It

Six hundred elementary students + a nice sunny day + moving and groovin tunes....throw in a love of nutrition and exercise and you'll find yourself smack dab in the middle of A.C.E.S. - All Children Exercising Simultaneously. 

Presenting the check to P.E. Teacher Mrs. Hammond
and two representatives from each classroom.

Over the last two days, I've had the AWESOME experience of leading elementary students from Carrie Knause and Nikkari (St. Louis Public Schools) Elementary Schools in various exercises while joining an estimated 400,000 participants from 1,000 schools in Michigan.  

ACES in Michigan is coordinated by the Michigan Fitness Foundation and sponsored by Farm Bureau Insurance. This is the 14^th year of support from Farm Bureau Insurance which allows the Michigan Fitness Foundation to provide free materials to plan the event and to distribute stickers and educational newsletters. In addition, when a Farm Bureau agent sponsors a school a $250 check is provided to purchase health and wellness items for the students. 

Did you know Chocolate Milk is an
AWESOME Post-Work Out Drink!

Growing up in the St. Louis school system I didn't just want to donate the money, I wanted to be apart of it - I mean who doesn't love to exercise with energetic youth....talk about motivating you!!! So I enlisted my mom to contact Dairy Farmers of America and have 20 gallons of chocolate milk donated for Nikkari Elementary. Then she called United Dairy Industry of Michigan and they donated 300 gotMILK? pencils  for Carrie Knause. Finally, we had two local FFA students - Hunter Hrabal and Jessica Sherwood suit up in the UDIM dairy cow costume and exercise with the groups!!

These boys are movin' it with their punching bag techniques!

What was great to see was all the teachers serving as amazing physical fitness role models as they danced like snakes, punched with power and ran in place with style. Their support, along with their amazing P.E. teacher Mrs. Hammond's commitment to educating the students about healthy lifestyles is monumental for their future. I hope they all pursue health lifestyles and continue to move it, moooove it for years to come!!!

Life Insurance As My Child's Savings Account??



Mr. Gauger - Our super polite, fun loving,
life rocks little guy.



My husband, Jesse, and I started putting money into a bank account about a year ago for each of the boys. We would put birthday money and money from our paychecks. It averaged out to about $50 a month for each boy. Once they finished college or a trade school, they would then be given the money to help with student loans, a down payment on a home, a wedding....whatever they wanted (approval by mom and dad required though :)!).

Then I started looking into whole life policies. Whole life is permanent insurance. (Find out lots more here!)As long as you pay the premium, you have insurance until you're 100. In addition, whole life builds cash value which you can take loans and withdrawals from. The death benefit also increases overtime - they're really a cool way to own your life insurance. I also saw them as a way to generate more for our sons' education/life than by just putting money in the bank.

Gunner and Gauge both have $100,000 whole life policies. Gunner's started when he was four and we pay $566 for the entire year, so roughly $47/month. For Gauge, since we started his when he was two, we pay $540/year which equates to $45/month. Together, we're paying less than $100 a month and we've given our children some amazing options.

Option One: Cash out the life insurance policy at age 25 (I'm guesstimating this will be when they have either finished college or a trade school and join the real world of adulthood). Gunner would have approx. $15,000 built up in cash value and Gauge would have $17,000. They could surrender the policy, giving up their death benefit and take the cash to use for whatever they choose (with mom and dad's guidance).



Gunner - Our perceptive, analytical
five year old.



Option Two: Continue having life insurance without ever paying a premium again. After a certain point in a life insurance policy, the dividend you're accumulating is actually more than your premium you're paying. So you can take the dividend and use it to pay the premium, and never pay again. Gunner could stop paying on his policy at the age of 28 and Gauge at 25, they would continue to have life insurance and their cash value would grow - not as rapidly, but it would still be there to provide my grandchildren a wonderful future if something were to happen.

Option Three: Become the owner of the policy and take over payments. Now this is where I want to be like.....why didn't anyone do this for me?!?!?! Talk about securing a future. If both boys continue to pay the $45-47/month payment when they reach age 70 Gunner would have $228,000 built up in cash value and his death benefit would have grown to $381,000!! Gauge would have $242,000 in cash value and have a death benefit of $400,000. No matter what their health is at 70, they continue to pay the premiums they received at age two and four....now that's one heck of a savings account.

The reality is this is a life insurance policy. It's meant to financially take care of loved one's left behind. Most people don't want to fathom putting life insurance on their own children.... I understand, I get it. Yet, if something did happen wouldn't you want to celebrate your child's life without putting canisters at the gas station or holding dinners to raise money? Wouldn't you want to take some time off work to grieve and start putting the pieces in a new formation in order to move through life with out worrying about losing your job too? And wouldn't it be awesome if you never, ever use this and help your son or daughter put a down payment on a home or provide for your grandchildren long after you're gone.

...That's creating a legacy....

FREE GAS CARDS -- WHAT!??!?

I've always listened to older, wiser family members says....."I remember when there was penny candy." "I remember throwing five kids in the back of the car with no seat belts, and we're all still alive." "I remember when........" Well my remember when is when gas was $1.20 and we all flipped out! If you had told my 16 year old self I'd now be paying $4 a gallon I would have laughed in your face.....who is laughing now??

Well in hopes of helping a little bit with the "historic" gas prices, I'll give you a $10 gas card for each referral you send my way who becomes one of my clients. You'll also receive another $10 gas card for each life insurance policy your referral(s) invest in. There's no limit to the number of referrals you send me - so you could possibly fill up your vehicle on referrals alone for 2012! Who is laughing NOW :)

Feel free to print off this pdf or email me with contact information. Haven't had an insurance review yet? Refer yourself :)! Then you can say... "Remember when we first joined Farm Bureau, gas was $4 a gallon back then!"

My Coverages

Continuing to simplify my life by combining all my blogs into one....here's another post from my old insurance blog :)!




My husband and my boys' role model.



Early on, one of my bosses told me to put my own house in order as far as family protection. He asked, "How can you really sell something you don't own and believe in yourself?" The day I wrote the check to pay for my first month's premium made me choke up a bit. Not because of the premium or it was money I really would never see the benefit of....but because I knew if I left the office that night and didn't make it home, Gunner and Gauge (my four and two year old boys) and my husband Jesse, would financially be okay. It made me realize what legacy I would leave for my family.

My boys could continue sleeping in the comfort of their own beds, they would have enough to at least pay off the mortgage, take care of my funeral expenses....well let me just stop there.  Why don't I just share with you the family protection I have and the reasoning behind it.

First let me say, each family has a different need, a different budget and a different scenario. So my protection plan may not fit your family's needs, but if you're a bit like me, I still like to know people's reasoning so I can better formulate my own.

Tonight, I'll start with my husband Jesse's coverage. He has a $500,000 10 year term policy. He uses tobacco, so his premium is a bit higher than mine. His premium is $79.17/month.

So why did we go with this policy?

He's young with two little boys and a super fun wife (I added that in there, but he would hopefully agree :)!). If he didn't come home tonight and Farm Bureau delivered me a check for $500,000 - we decided I would pay his funeral expenses $12,000 for a decent funeral, pay off the mortgage $132,000, pay off my car loan $15,000, pay off my college debt $20,000, set some aside for the boys' college educations $40,000 and that would leave me with about $280,000 to cover his contributing income for four and a half years.

Term is great because it provides maximum coverage at a fraction of the cost of whole life. Now term is like renting. We only have this policy for ten years. Once the ten years finish, he has no more coverage. It also does not generate cash. So we have small premiums, receive maximum coverage and walk away with nothing after the term.

The catch is within those ten years, we'll slowly convert portions of the policy into whole life insurance. Whole life is with you until you're 100 and generates cash you can use while you're alive - say for retirement. Next year, we could convert $50,000 into whole life and continue to have $450,000 in term. The plan would be by the time the ten years are done we converted a good portion, if not all into whole life.

Basically, Jesse and I made the choice to have a lot of coverage while our children are young in order for him to feel that his family would be taken care of, would have time to grieve and would be able to continue living the life he works so hard to provide for us. Why? Because he loves us.

Has this scenario put your brain into over drive? Curious to learn more - I would LOVE to sit down and discuss the perfect plan for your family. Tomorrow and Wednesday we'll cover my coverages and Thursday we'll discuss Gunner and Gauge's life insurance policies.

Thanks for reading! And make sure you're not just insured, you're covered!

kte

Simplify

I have a sign above a door in my home that says Live Simple....one would think if I focused on the saying a little more I would have found time to post at least once on here since LAST August - but none the less I'm going to try hard and simply focus on making sure something gets up on this blog at least a couple times a week - from insurance to sharing insight into my family to posting a couple recent photo shoots - you're going to see a little of everything. For the next couple days I'll be reposting from the insurance blog so I can merge it onto this main blog and then see what happens from there - I hope you follow me and share your comments and questions.I hope you enjoy and find a way today to do one thing a little more simple.

A Blog on Insurance?

Yeah..... I know it's probably not the first words you type when looking for an inspirational blog to follow.....but stick with me here...

If you know me, you know I love social media....and this blog has been in the back of my mind since August 1, 2011 - the day I started my new career as an insurance agent with Farm Bureau Insurance. I have been trying to figure out how I could connect a blog with what I do (aka put my journalism degree from MSU to good use!)  So why not kick off the new year with another way to connect with people.

You don't have to be my client, you don't even have to ask for an insurance review (though I'm always willing to give free reviews!!). My intent is really to just share what I do - since insurance can be "scary, intimidating, the elephant in the room, ignored, worthless, confusing, piling up on my counter or just thrown in a folder in hopes I never have to see it again" - all descriptions I've personally heard.

For most people, insurance is something you don't want to deal with nor see the value in it until you need it. Others can't seem to get enough protection based on a life experience. Everyone sees insurance differently. This blog will show you how I see it, as I sit next to people like you trying to sort through it all.

I hope you follow me, if nothing else to feel like you're not alone when you don't understand something. I hope you ask questions and add experiences. I hope you feel different about insurance every time you read it. I hope you just read it. :)

Happy New Year!

kte



I promise I'll have way more fun looking photos too :)!
Katie Eisenberger, Multi-Lines Agent. Office: (989) 681-6000 Cell: (989) 400-2434 Email: keisenberger@fbinsmi.com