Won't You Be Our Neighbor?

We love being a small, local business and try hard to be a "neighborhood shop." We make sure that we contribute something to our community and we also love getting to know our customers! We have some customers who come in quite frequently and we have gotten to know some of them very well. All of us here at Grow With Me really enjoy hearing the latest news about what new trick the baby can do or the dance recital or the new baby on the way. And because we are all moms, we definitely can empathize over the sleepless nights or tantrums. We are always happy to lend a helping hand with picking out merchandise or holding a baby and we are also happy to lend an ear. If we don't ask you, please ask us!

So I thought that I would tell you a little about all of us here at the store. Here goes:

My name is Marni and I am one of the owners of Grow With Me. I have two children, a 6year old boy and 11 year old girl. I also am an instructor at the Lamaze Family Center, where I facilitate Mother's Groups. Before opening the store, I taught a variety of classes there including Childbirth Classes and Toddler Groups. In my previous life before children, I was working on a Ph.D. in Chinese History and lived in Taiwan and Japan. And I often get teased at the store for wearing a lot of purple. It's my favorite color!

Brown is Elyssa's favorite color and if you come in and someone's wearing brown, it's probably her! Elyssa is co-owner of Grow With Me. She has two children, similar in ages to my own, who are also a boy and a girl. Her son, Gabe, is autistic and he is the inspiration behind all the work that Elyssa has done with the autism organizations here in town. Elyssa previously worked as a consultant in the auto industry. She is a dedicated runner and a vegetarian.

Gina has been working at Grow With Me for more than a year now. She has an adorable 3year old son. Gina enjoys gardening, but is not a farmer (she is not a vegetable gardener). She is a chocoholic, according to her (you could never tell that by looking at her)! And Gina loves to read and to blog. She has kept years and years of journals and now does it online.

Debby is a native of our neighbors to the north. She has two daughters, who are both amazing gymnists! But Debby herself comes from a huge family. B.C. (before children), Debby was a geologist and went to lots of cool places to dig up rocks. She likes spending time outdoors and enjoys camping, hiking, and canoeing with her family. And to my amazement, Debby can seemingly put together or fix almost anything (at least at the store)!

Tracy just had her 1 year anniversary of working at the store. She has four (yes, 4) children--three boys, and finally a girl! The three boys are also autistic and so working at the shop has personal meaning for her. Tracy is a super serious scrapbooker! She also is working on writing a book. How she finds the time is beyond me!

Ashley is our newest employee. She has a two year old son, who is hopefully now recovering from the flu. Ashley is originally from Ohio. Like Tracy, she enjoys writing and would love to be a playwrite or screenwriter. She is also exceptionally good at doing hair and make-up. But she in no way is a girly girl. One of her favorite things to do is to go dirt-biking!

So now that you know a little about us, I hope it will inspire you to come, shop, and share a little something about yourself!