CHANGE YOUR MIND, CHANGE YOUR WORLD!

October 2013

Christine

Welch

www.coffeecakeconnection.com

Inside:

17 Year Old Clothing Designer:

Kyle Sarnecke, LIVE FAST

Models of the Month

Fashion: Mix & Match for Fall 2013, by: Bflyfashion

Tips for getting your house ready for winter

by: Brian McNally, McNally Heating & A/C

Www.shootingstar-studios.com

https://www.facebook.com/ShootingStarStudios

A FUNDRAISER BENEFITTING VICTIMS

OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

SAVE THE DATE: JANUARY 18, 2014

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

http://www.victorpacini.com/a-night-for-renee/

Primary Election: March 18, 2014 For yard signs or to volunteer:

www.kramerforsheriff.org Email:

citizensforkramer@yahoo.com Phone: (630) 525-1609

Gourmet Food Gift Company—Creating

deeper connections with gourmet coffee

cakes—Gluten Free now available!

Christine

Welch

“In 2010, I

didn't like

anything

about my life.

I felt

miserable”

Www.coffeecakeconnection.com

Christine Welch

Mission Statement

The Coffeecake Connection

Company’s focus and purpose is

to provide a positive, lasting

experience that deepens our

client’s most important

connections—personal or

professional. We continuously

strive to provide our clients with

the highest quality products and

services that exceed and delight

our customers’ expectations.

n the year of 2010, I didn't like anything about my

life, I felt I was a terrible wife, my kids were grown and

we were always fighting, I felt miserable. No matter

what I did, it was wrong. My job was extremely

stressful, I didn't like me, I didn't like how I was

responding and I kept thinking I need to change. There's

a book I read, “Change your story Change your life". I

thought “OK”, I need to change my story, because if I

keep telling people how miserable I am, then I am going

to stay miserable.

I had been baking this particular coffee cake for 8

years . My clients positively loved it, so, consequently,

it became to the point where they would only schedule

me in the mornings. It would insure them of having one

of my delicious cakes. As I moved into management, I

would bake these coffee cakes and send them to clients

as a "THANK YOU". If your group or your team did

something for me, I would send a coffee cake. Then the

next thing I knew everywhere I went, everyone was

asking “can I get one of your coffee cakes”?, and they

would say “you should really make these and sell

them”. I was in technology, and our core product was

payroll services. I managed a team. The payroll

industry is not a lot of fun at the end of the year because

of what need to be done. So let's just say I would

fantasized about baking my coffee cakes. 2011, brought

many changes, my husband and I separated in

February. I lost my job in March. A life I had know was

no longer there after ten years.. I thought “WOW, OK,

what now?”

To stay in Corporate America would have been ideal.,

but not my dream. A client who had my cakes called

me up and said “why don't you bake and sell to our

employees”?. So I said “OK”, I had my Food Safety

License; because this was always something I

WANTED to do, I just didn't know HOW to do it.

Constantly fantasying about baking my cakes, could it

be a reality now? Questions and more questions, where

do I start, what do I do?

I felt like I had hit this EJECT BUTTON and BLEW UP my LIFE. So

I went out and got liability insurance, and I called back the CFO and I

told her I was good to go, she said, “I'm ok, HR is ok, Legal is fine, but

the chef will not let you in the kitchen”. Why not? Now what? So I

went onto LINKEDIN and I signed up for some groups and sent out a

message that I was looking for a place to bake and a complete stranger

replied; “do you want to bake or do you want someone to bake for

you?” This was so cool and interesting, I said “Tell me more!”

I never wanted to be the Dunkin Donuts Guy, I didn't want to get up at

the crack of dawn and bake. That was not where I wanted to be. So he

gave me this connection to Chicago Pastry which is in Bloomindale.

They are cousins of the Turano Bread Family. They do for us what

they do for others, they bake your recipe to your specification and

package it and then you resell it. And they have a bakery shop. They

are a professional bakery, they are called a Co-packer.

November 2011, I pushed the button on Constant Contact and sent out

1300 emails to friends and family who had either had my cake, or

knew my story. Before I knew it, I had tons of orders. Now I had

Then in November after

many serious of

meetings, I decided this

is definitely what I want

to do.

I had hired a marketing

company that would help

with a business plan,

marketing, logo, etc. I

signed a contract and

paid them, and

then... they went out of

business.

I had to start all over in

late November, 2011. I

thought this is terrible, if

I miss this holiday

season, I'm dead, I lose,

because no one is going

to buy in January.

Christine Welch

another problem, when you use a co-packer you have to give them 10 days

notice. So I told the baker, I don't know how many cakes I need to have you

bake, so he said let's start with 25 of each, well we had 4 flavors, so we would

start with our signature ones; Chocolate Chip, and Pumpkin.

I told him you don't understand, there are so many people that have had my

cake for free for years and I think that they are going to support me in my

endeavor. I think I am going to start with 100 each. Within two weeks, I called

him up and said if I just give you money will you just bake as many as you

can. I had orders flooding in, we moved 1,100 coffee cakes in 2 weeks. I had

no freezer, I was filling orders out of my house. I would get the order online,

drive out to him, get the cakes, run home, dress them up and box them and ship

out these coffee cakes. There were times that we would have coffee cakes 15

high, three deep just waiting by the door for the UPS guy. It was CRAZY,

CRAZY GOOD!

In January, I sat down with the bakery and he asked if I would like to sell for

them, she said laughing. I said “no”. Shortly

after that, everything came to a screeching

halt. I was new to this business I had never

networked, I no idea what I was doing, I had no

idea where I belonged and so for 6 months I was

like a dog with a long tail and everyday it got

shorter. Where do I go now? I was trying all of

these things and nothing was working. Then we

were blessed with an opportunity, through a

connection with Toast Masters.

Through joining Toast Masters, I was put in

connection with Oberweis, who picked us up for

just the holidays. There was no contract, we

started talking in June and in September we were

on their menu from September to middle

November, we moved 9,000 coffee cakes to their

customers, which was really a blessing. Then

that was over and we were into the holiday season, so the first half of the year

up until May or June, I knew everyone who ordered and I thought OMG this is

not good. We started getting out there and building our clients. We then

moved into our building last October. I met my landlord at an event and I told

him I needed space it all worked out. Last year we moved the week before

Christmas and moved 5 pallets, there are 3000 cakes to a pallet. We moved

1500 Cakes and in December we moved 3,000 cakes. We are getting ready for

this holiday this season. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

We now have GLUTEN FREE CAKES, which will take us to a different group

of individuals that are really missing a great sweet treat without wheat. There

is not a lot that you can send as a gift. You might find them in a local bakery,

but if you want to send it out of state, we offer that on a gifting basis, we are

designed to send our cakes through the mail. We do not use preservative, we

do not use nuts. We do not have a long shelve life

that is why we do not go after retail

aggressively. When we do go into retail we want

to go into a more boutique retailer to help them

expand and grow and keep their clients happy.

With a quality product that they could bake, we

have the raw batter that they could have on demand

and bake at home.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? I would like

to create more jobs and send out good mojo. Every

time an order is placed you are sending a strong

positive emotion, which food is such a huge

emotional connection between people. Some of your most treasured

relationships’ are centered around food, whether it's holiday's, family, dating,

or marriage. For example, look at a wedding, it's a huge food event, even

funerals are surrounded by food. It's more than just comforting, it creates

I had 4 goals in 2011:

1. Fix my marriage, it was fixed in a negative way

2. Find a New job or start my company

3. Do volunteer work. I felt I needed to give back to the world, so I started doing volun-teer work for Peoples Re-search Center in Wheaton

4. Joining Toast Masters, this was just to get me out there.

The Coffee Cake Connection Company

GLUTEN FREE

CAKES

When someone receives my brown box they know they got something really good! We are starting to see this from the feedback.

This perfect stranger came into our office for a meeting and said “I know

that brown box, I know that company”, I was so excited, it's

happening. Branding, just branding can do it.

In a business, it's so easy to make it more complex than what it needs to

be. Keeping it simple, pure and honest, when you’re creating a delightful

cake We have introduced 13 different flavors, 4 sizes, Gluten Free and

the Regular. That is a lot of complexity and then we have the wholesale

arm, so it's easy to create complexity and hard to stay simple. I think as an

entrepreneur the biggest struggle is to stay focused. You want to grow and

get bigger and bigger. There are times where people give you these great

ideas, so you try it and you start to see traction, where you’re not seeing

traction in other areas, so you get excited and off to another path of bright

shinny things.

Wisdom, discernment, trust - there are going to be times that you make

mistakes, but you will learn from them.

Try not to keep your thoughts negative, keep positive! You’re going to

make mistakes, sadly we always have the negative voice that is louder

than our positive voice. You have to try and push the negative off your

shoulder. I am not going to listen to you today, be gone!

I start my day off and say “Today someone is going to buy a coffee cake,

they don’t know why, but they just all of a sudden

have a craving.” Strange enough, it just

happens! By putting positive vibes out there,

positive vibes attract more positive vibes!

Law of attraction, mind over matter. I follow

Mike Dooley in the Secret, he has a website called

Tuck.com. Notes from the universe, of which I

subscribed to years ago, he sends messages every day from the universe, in essence telling you how wonderful you are. He has a

strong belief in God and that the universe is God. God wants to give you whatever you are asking for. And his whole process is…

Thoughts become things, so think the good ones, It’s interesting because you get to put the three things that

you want in life and he will occasionally put them in there so the message is personal.

There are times in your life that people are brought into your life that will say something that you needed to hear, there will be

something that you will read that is like solving and or speaking directly to you. It must be fate! I truly believe that it is messages

from little angles saying that it’s ok and you’re on track. Now it depends on what you do with that information that makes the

difference. Once in a while; I still feel like that dog with a long tail that keeps getting shorter or that I just lost four days, that I am

never going to get back, perhaps because I was “stinkin thinkin or chasing something that I should not have been”, but it’s all about

the journey and learning. You don’t know unless you try it.

In 30 years of my career, I went into the world of training and then went back into selling software – I had never been a baker, I was a

sales person and I sold software. I was very processed oriented which was helpful, but much of my business has been self-taught. I

have had a learning curve with learning to trust and let go, because as you grow, you need to put certain things in others hands to

continue to grow and trust that they will handle it. It’s very hard, especially as an entrepreneur, that you feel that you have to know

what is going on at all times and you have to have your hands in the pot at all times. I have found that it is so difficult to let go. I

have to trust that I hired you, that I was smart when I hired you and that you are going to do what I hired you to do, and we might

have bumps along the way.

We enter the world alone, we die alone, but in the meantime we are surrounded by a million

people. It’s the law of attraction and making sure that you are attracting the right people. I feel

that there are more people that are good than bad. I am putting good mojo out in the world every

day!

KUDDOS TO CHRIS for a sincere determination and the ability not to give up when she was

thrown wrenches in her career.

~ Karla A. Sitko

Editor

5 0 5 W. M a i n S t r e e t S t . C h a r l e s , I L 6 0174

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o achieve a great look you must be willing to take some risks in your wardrobe. This fall season the runways have been taking risks as many designers have been displaying an unconventional use of pattern mixing. Pattern mixing allows you to have fun with your garments and provides a way to use certain pieces with different outfits. The trend of mixing will literally expand your closet in new ways! It might be scary to try it out but you can start out subtle. First take a look at your closet and see what prints you have. Prints that can be easily mixed are

stripes, floral, polka dots, chevron, and animal prints. Once you’ve selected your prints patterns

make sure that prints complement each other. Pairing two bold prints like plaid and chevron will clash but if you pair one garment with a larger print and one with a smaller print it will give your look a nice contrast. Another good rule of thumb when mixing patterns is to make sure your prints are in the same color family this will help pull the outfit together and will prevent the pieces from

looking too busy. This fall be fearless with fabric; don’t be afraid to mix it up!

Looking for professional models and/or talent?

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When you hire a

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Let’s face it, time is money! Don’t

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You found them right here, we are based locally in St. Charles, IL

About a month ago, I had an

opportunity to meet Kyle Sarnecke at

a fashion show rehearsal. Kyle was

announced as a “Designer” and he

was only 17 years old. I had to

introduce myself to him, I knew his

story needed to be told, that there

was so much more to this young

man! Kyle was a little shocked at

first and extremely grateful that I

wanted to write a story about his

journey. Kyle and I messaged a few

times before actually meeting. He is

an extremely professional and

responsible young man. I had the

honor of meeting these three best

friends, that have a bond that is

unbreakable! I will introduce each of

them to you, Kyle Sarnecke, the man

behind the brand “Live Fast Clothing”,

which was a burning desire 2 years in

the making.

Danny Rossi, 17 year old Artist who draws each design

by hand before Kyle converts it digitally and Nicolette

Montes de Oca aka Nikki, 17, who models the Live Fast

Clothing Line and spends much of her free time sewing

making sure each label is made to perfection for the

branding. These three teens truly understand what being

an entrepreneur is really like, from working long hours,

staying up all night, reinvesting money into the branding,

marketing and manufacturing of the product, not taking a

single penny for themselves at this point. Kyle and

Danny are the designers and artists, they always bounce

the ideas off each other and come to an agreement on

each and every design, not straying away from the idea

behind the meaning. They always come up with a name

of each design, this is where it can get a little sticky,

because a design may mean one thing to Danny, but

completely different to Kyle, and in the end they want it

to interpret themselves and fit their personalities for who

they are. Most of the designs are designed around them,

for instance, Kyle really likes foxes, he said “they are just

cool”. One design that Danny came up with was about

his girlfriend.

Kyle said “I remember being so stressed once, I was up

late sending the files over for print and meeting a

deadline, which I did. And then I was in school and got

an email that the file was the wrong size, there was

nothing I could do right then, I was stressed all day!”

Drive equals WANT for Kyle, he said “I just wanted to

do it!, I was into games, I

was a gamer bum, wasn’t

into sports. I had this

idea and just made it

happen.” He went on to

say that “I am a good

saver, so the money was

never an issue to get

started.”

Live Fast does not mean

what you think it would

mean, as Kyle explained

“We are pushing a new

idea behind the meaning,

understand that you have

to live every day!”

A big part of the inspiration for the Live Fast Clothing is Bands, these three are into

heavy metal

The new Winter line which is set to come out late October is better quality, better

designs and more professional. It is also a little “darker line” per Kyle.

“We are doing what we love”

Danny said his mom “loves it!”, while Nikki’s mom is heavily

involved, “She is the Swiss Army Knife” said Nikki, she helps

“said Nikki

With the prices, hand sewing, making sure

they stop to eat and she is the one who

continues to push Kyle 100%!

Above: Kyle, with a sneak peak of

the new Winter Collection

“Hope for the best, but

expect the worst” is

how Kyle continues to

move forward. Kyle is

a big saver, it took 8-9

months to plan the

designs for what he

wanted to do. Early in

2012 it became more

vivid for him.

While getting the

“Live Fast Clothing”

line going, Kyle lost

all of his elementary

friends except for those sitting right by his side, Danny

and Nikki. Kyle was experiencing bulling by his so

called peers. Luckily for him, he has 2 amazing friends

by his side and a life long bond between them! It took

him about 6 months to get back into the game. Fast

forward to November 2012 Kyle was “kicking it back

up”. And in January 2013, their first shirt “Anchor was

available (pictured in the upper left hand corner), they

named it “Amor Mare”, which means “Love of the

ocean” per Kyle. This shirt is a very artistic design with

real creative drawings on the back full of lots of little

things, buy one and take a closer look!

One of Kyle’s favorite names of a shirt is “Shima” he

likes the way it sounds and it creates a deeper double

meaning.

Drop Dead is Kyle’s number one inspiration.

There was a men’s sweater that was

designed by Klye, which he called

“Love is Dead”. The design was an

upside down heart and one of his first

designs. He designed it, it was his idea

first and prior to being released Drop

Dead came out with a very similar

design.

“Make A Moment Last, Live Fast” ~ Kyle

www.letslivefast.com

“Make A Moment Last, Live Fast” ~ Kyle

www.letslivefast.com

KYLE

NIKKI

The future is looking very bright for

the se three artists. They have

overcome many obstacles and

continue to keep a very positive

attitude, while working hard every

day!

October 12, 2013 they were designers

and had models walk the runway, I mean rock the

runway for the first time. The Fashion Show was a

fund raiser for Suicide Prevention which took place in

Elburn, IL.

Currently they are working on a Comic Book. A

release date has not been set yet, as they are raising

funds through Kick Starter, the goal is $2,500. The

Comic Book will be based on personal experiences,

like who they are and what people can relate to.

5 years from now, Kyle sees things going 2 ways, 1.

they will be doing really well or 2. failing. He

explained “We are working for the best, but preparing

for failing, it’s just good to be prepared and have a back

up plan.” Kyle is currently in a band, which plays

heavy metal, he would like to go further with his music

as he continues with his dream come true of the LIVE

FAST

CLOTHING line

and the up and

coming Comic

Books.

Question for you,

our readers:

What were you

doing when you

were 17?

Thank you for the

inspiration Kyle,

Danny & Nikki!

322 West Main Street *

Downtown St. Charles, IL

60174

(630) 457-1821

Downtown

St.

Charles

322 West Main Street *

Downtown St. Charles, IL

60174

(630) 457-1821

Eat... Downtown

St.

Charles

Play

322 West Main Street *

Downtown St. Charles, IL

60174

(630) 457-1821

Eat Play

LEARN...

Downtown

St.

Charles

STAY…

Hotel Baker offers the epitome in all things luxurious -- elegant guest rooms and suites, state of the art amenities, exceptional dining and lounge venues, and a scenic riverside setting that's second to none. Anywhere.

If you're planning a wedding, party, banquet, conference or other event, we invite you to talk with our sales and catering professionals who are available to assist you. Our incomparable meeting and banquet facilities can accommodate groups from 10-300 in an atmosphere of sophisticated elegance and grace. And in season, Hotel Baker's charming rose garden and outdoor patio dining create a lovely, memorable

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For reservations or catering information, call 630-584-2100 or 800-284-0110. A tradition of excellence awaits you at historic Hotel Baker in downtown St. Charles.

322 West Main Street *

Downtown St. Charles, IL

60174

(630) 457-1821

Life is not always

easy or fair, but it

is with a Positive

Mental Attitude

that will change the

end result -

hard work and

passion too!

I have always been about Positive Mental Attitude, and with that, ANYONE can OVERCOME

ANYTHING! Your MIND is a POWERFUL TOOL! I feel that we as a team need to inspire

the next generation of success stories waiting to happen by sharing our own! With hard work, passion

and the right attitude, anything is possible! It's easy to give up and hard to push forward. When

anything went wrong in my life, my mom would say you have 5 minutes to feel sorry for yourself

and then move on, only you can make the changes you want to see in life. This seemed really harsh,

but as I grew, I understood it more and more and now find myself saying the same thing to my

daughter.

So I ask that you share your story about your personal success. How you started and one of your fondest

memories, one of your most heart-felt memories and if you would be willing to share - the moment when you

were ready to give up, and what made you push forward, what was that inspiration? We all have these

stories, but it is not shared enough, which is why I am publishing this magazine. If you are viewing this

publication online, you can click on any website or Facebook link and you will be directed to that page.

Welcome to our journey…

Karla

“LIKE” us on Facebook and submit your story

https://www.facebook.com/IDIDITMAGAZINE

We are a fundraising pageant that raises money for Shriners Hospital for Children.

Miss Summer Shine USA was inspired by a young girl who was diagnosed with scoliosis and has

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Our pageant is a family friendly pageant that is all about helping out and having fun while helping

our contestants build confidence and self esteem.

We are a natural pageant that allows age appropriate makeup and no swimwear competition. No

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For more information visit us at our website www.summershineusa.com, e-mail us at

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e are a family owned business serving the general public since 1987. We pride ourselves with the quality of our merchandise priced at a competitive level. We carefully select the craftsmanship and gems of our products to fit our store’s image. Over the years, our sales and servicing departments earned us a wide and loyal customer base which we greatly value. We invite you to visit our store and

experience our distinctive collection .

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For more information visit us at:

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Namaste - The Divine

In me Honors

The Divine In you

Mood Rings Fads come and go. Every generation has had its turn with something new that fascinates to distraction

even if it doesn’t make any sense. As so many

people have, I've lived through a few fads that came and went. They popped up for a time and people went out to purchase that brand new item just for fun or just to have it. Then poof! It disappeared just as quickly as it appeared never to be seen again. Some of the fads however, are more durable and longer lasting than others. As is the mood ring. They are fascinating objects that have remained interesting for years. As a kid, I was intrigued by the look of mood rings and I just had to have one of my own. I do remember my first mood ring. Even though they

were thought of as “far-out,” I thought it was fun and

felt mystical just wearing one. Just the setting of the ring made it seem like there was a supernatural aura about it. My first ring looked huge on my finger and practically fell off. As was the common thing back then, I wrapped yarn around the shank to make it fit snugly. The ring was quickly gaining popularity and I soon noticed several of my friends wearing one too. We enjoyed putting the mood rings on our fingers and watching them change colors. It was awesome when before our eyes the color deepened to a blue/purple color. It looked like you could take a person's temperature. My mood really didn't change as I thought it would. Some of us liked trading the rings with each other to see if the colors would match our personalities and take on a different color. It didn't. Guess we later found that the heat of our body temperature changed the colors, not our personalities. After doing some research, I found out that mood rings are made from thermo chronic liquid crystal. According to an article from Spectrum Wellbeing, thermo chronic liquid crystals have color changing properties depending on heat. The liquid crystal moves as it comes into contact with heat, thereby absorbing different wavelengths of light. This allows you to see the different colors in the mood ring. The first man who used thermo chronic liquid crystals in designing jewelry was Marvin Wernick, according to Spectrum Wellbeing. Wernick apparently saw a doctor using the thermo chronic liquid crystal in strips of plastic to take children's' temperatures. He then decided to put liquid crystal in glass domes and mount them in silver and gold ring settings. However, since Wernick had not patented his idea, another man named Joshua Reynolds created and sold the famous trendy mood rings that were worn in the 1970s.

When I wore mood rings, I believed there was some magic happening when wearing them. It was fun for both children and adults to play along with the mood rings like they were some kind of mysterious fortune teller. It was always exciting to see what mood someone was in and we would look at the rings and talk endlessly about what it was saying. I remember the colors representing the following moods: Purple- Happy/Romantic; Blue- Calm/Peaceful; Green- Stable/Relaxed; Amber- Excited/Anxious; Gray- Nervous; Black- Upset/Stressed Out. Mood rings are still available today, but there have since been more serious uses for thermo chronic liquid crystal. It is used for controlling the temperature in fish tanks, in some refrigerators, and for medicinal uses. Some people suffering from mood disorders use devices with the thermo chronic liquid crystal to predict and prevent a panic attack. There have been many other not-so-famous uses for thermo chronic liquid crystal, including mood collars for dogs and cats. This mood collar had small mood stones which would tell the owner if the animal was tense for some reason. There have also been thermo chronic toilet seats developed for the germ phobics. These were designed to tell you if the public toilet seat had recently been sat on and used. The toilet seat glowed orange if someone had just sat upon it, and was yellow if the seat hadn't been used recently. I also heard about "Melanoma Bracelets." When a person is exposed to harmful Ultra Violet rays, the bracelet turns from white to purple. This is to raise awareness about melanoma prevention, according to Spafinder.com, a website that sells these bracelets. While my mystical mood ring lost popularity and eventually ended up in my junk drawer, I loved owning one and being part of the craze. Even though you can still buy them these days, they will always be considered a '70s fad. It seems that fads just make the world a more interesting place, just like those Magic 8 balls, Ouija Boards, Mad Libs, Pet Rocks, Lava Lamps, Bell Bottoms, Shag Rugs...etc. I wonder what the latest one will be.

~ Rachel

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It was the summer of 1944, and Clarissa and

Marc escaped to the south of Holland

hoping to avoid being captured by the

Nazis. The train engineers in Holland had

gone on strike and no trains were going

anywhere. It took Clarissa and Marc many

weeks to complete their journey to his

hometown of Brabant, a city in the south of

Holland. The town had already been

liberated from Nazi occupation nine months

prior to when the Northern part of Holland

was liberated. Marc and Clarissa were

married there and settled in Marc's family

home where she became pregnant and was

due in June. Life was a lot easier in Brabant

then it had been in Amsterdam. Marc and

his family were able to get food and other

necessities from the Americans. When

Clarissa's little brother Robbie was just two

years old, her parents made the decision to

let the underground take him and locate a

safe house in which he could stay. The

family knew it was the only way that little

Robbie would have a chance to survive the

war.

After Clarissa had settled in Brabant, she

started thinking about her little brother

more and more every day. Something deep

inside her kept telling her that Robbie was

somewhere nearby, and knowing in her

heart that he was not that far away, became

determined to find him. Finally, in the

middle of April the urge to find Robbie

became so strong, she knew she had to

follow her instincts and start searching for

him. She went to a nearby office that had

been set up to help refugees find their

family members. Hoping that they might

help her, Clarissa went inside the office and

explained to the person in charge that she

had been trying to find her little brother

who would be almost five years old now.

The person took down all of the

information and told Clarissa that they

would check into her story. They promised

they would be in touch with her if they

heard anything.

Clarissa returned home feeling sad and

waited, because that was all she could do

now. Several days passed, but with no news

of Robbie she became depressed knowing

that her little brother was out there

Robbie Comes Home

boy about Robbie’s age and wanted to

show them to her. Excited, Clarissa ran

outside and, as fast as she could, made

her way home. She wanted to be there to

see the pictures when the man arrived. It

was a tough run because of the extra

weight of the baby she carried. She

moved as if her life depended on it. She

made it home just minutes before the

man got there and instantly heard the

sound of a clank, clank outside. It was the

sound of a bicycle with wooden wheels

that made so much noise.

Impatient now, Clarissa waited for the

man to get to the door, and out of breath

asked him to come inside. She was so

excited she could barely speak. The man

took the pictures out of an envelope and

handed them to her. There were three

small pictures. Slowly Clarissa stared at

each picture and disappointment crept

across her face. The little boy in the

picture had black hair and her little

brother had golden blond hair. This was

not Robbie. With a sigh, Clarissa handed

the pictures back to the man but he

insisted that she keep them. She

responded immediately, noting that this

was not her brother in the pictures so

there was no need for her to keep them.

The man understood her frustration but

said that he could do nothing with the

pictures and that that she should just

keep them anyway. He then turned

around and left while Clarissa was left

staring sadly at the pictures in her hands.

She sat down near a small table feeling

very tired. Again her eyes glanced over

the three pictures. She put the pictures

side by side and stared at them.

Suddenly, she screamed, "It's him, it's

him!" Then she thought about how she

had wanted to give the pictures back to

the man and he had refused taking them.

Had the man taken back the pictures she

would have never realized that the images

in her hands were in fact Robbie. She was

overcome with emotion and didn't know if

she should laugh or cry. She did both and

couldn't stop talking and crying and

laughing because it was all so

About Robbie being in hiding. When he

and Clarissa first met, Robbie had already

been sent to the underground. Clarissa

and Marc went immediately back to the

office and asked to speak to the person in

charge. Clarissa explained through her

tears that the pictures she was given

earlier were indeed that of her brother

Robbie and she wanted to see him. She

was informed that her brother was living

in a nearby village and that she would

have to make arrangements for a visit.

Clarissa and Marc where given the name

of the village but not the name of the

family, and there was no address where

the people lived. She would have to get in

touch through the office that helped

locate him and they in turn would have to

get in touch with the family who was

taking care of Robbie.

The office informed Clarissa that they

would set up the time for a visitation and

let her know the day and time.

“Would he still remember her,” she

wondered?

Clarissa felt the need to see where her

brother had been living for the last three

years, and being that he was so close by,

she needed to go and feel his presence.

She and Marc decided to go and visit the

village where Robbie was living and

wander around. They took a train to the

small village and when they arrived and

exited the train, Clarissa felt an

overwhelming excitement and

anticipation. For her it was an

unbelievable turn of events. Through pure

instinct she found her brother even

though she had given up hope of ever

seeing him again. Now she was here in

the village where Robbie had been for the

last two and a half years and she now

knew that Robbie was safe. To think that

she had been living in the next village not

knowing Robbie was so close by. Clarissa

and Marc walked up and down the streets,

and discovered the people were very

friendly greeting them with smiles and

saying hello. Children where playing and

running up and down the sidewalks.

There was activity everywhere and the

sounds they were hearing were like a

beautiful symphony when compared with

the empty streets of Amsterdam for so

many years. Suddenly, down the street a

little boy was running and just at that

moment Marc caught a glimpse of the

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they could see the boy. The young woman hesitated, informing them that she was a neighbor but would let him and his wife

come in and take a look. The children were innocently playing, and had no idea of the drama unfolding around them. They

seemed oblivious to everything except the joy of playing with one another. Clarissa spotted Robbie and recognized him

immediately because of the little sweater he was wearing that his mother had knitted for him to take along before he left. She

stared at him in disbelief. It was almost impossible for her to comprehend that she had found him here. Clarissa ran up to

Robbie and scooped him up into her arms. She was kissing him and telling him that she was his sister. The tears wouldn't stop

and Robbie never tried to get away from her. In fact, he allowed this woman, who claimed to be his sister, hold him with his tiny

arms wrapped around her neck as he snuggled into her arms.

The young woman who had been watching the incredible scene unfold before her said she would have to take Robbie with her,

speak to his Mommy, and inform her that his sister was here. When Clarissa met with the lady, called Mommy Van Doorn, she

could see the love this woman had for her little brother. She was obviously a wonderful person who had given Robbie both her

love and a safe home. They began sharing information, and when Mommy Van Doorn left the room, she returned with all of

Robbie's clothes that had been sent with him all those years ago. Robbie was now nearly five years old and had outgrown most

of the clothes that came with him because he was two years old when he left his original family. Gently, Mommy Van Doorn

folded and placed each outfit into a small bag. Clarissa stood there watching while a rush of memories flooded her head. Images

of her mother sitting in the corner by the window knitting, sewing and crocheting several small articles of clothing for Robbie

flashed through her mind. It overwhelmed her and she started crying softly as she lovingly touched each piece of clothing.

Clarissa then thought about her escape from Amsterdam almost a year earlier and had no idea whether her mother, father and

brother were still alive. She felt so happy and so sad all at the same time. Would her mother and father still be there and would

they still have hope of Robbie’s return? She heard that it was only a matter of weeks until all of Holland would be liberated.

What had happened to her family? Mommy Van Doorn told Clarissa when the neighbor first brought Robbie home and informed

her that a woman claiming to be Robbie's sister had come and was kissing him, she was amazed because Robbie would never

have allowed anyone to hug or kiss him since his arrival. He had allowed Clarissa to hold him and kiss him and that was

phenomenal. Robbie sat on Clarissa's lap the whole time they were talking. He just kept staring at her with his beautiful blue-

green eyes. It was as if he was willing himself to remember her. Mommy Van Doorn told Clarissa that she had secretly hoped no

one would come and claim Robbie because she loved him so much and wanted to raise him as her very own. She also declared

that she believed Clarissa was his true sister and she would let her take Robbie home. .

Again, Clarissa was overcome with the sheer

magnitude of events. So many miracles in such a

brief period of time were both welcome and

overwhelming. Clarissa promised Mommy Van

Doorn that she would always stay in touch with her

and she would make sure that Robbie visited.

Mommy Van Doorn packed the rest of his small

bag. This little boy who had been taken from his

real family never shed a tear as he entwined his

tiny hand in Clarissa's and said good-bye to his

surrogate mother. It was as if he had been waiting

all along for his sister to come and pick him up.

Robbie and Clarissa chatted all the way to the train

station and he never once let go of her hand.

They rode the train back to the place where

Clarissa and Marc had been staying. When they got

off the train they walked home, but Robbie was still

holding on to Clarissa's hand as if he was never

going to let go of it. When Clarissa tucked Robbie

into bed that night she sang him a song that she

had sung to him from the time he was an infant.

Robbie remembered and had memorized the

songs so now that he was old enough to talk, he

joined in by singing along with her. Clarissa's heart

was filled with joy because it had been a surreal

Marc found a courier and sent the message to Amsterdam.

Marc

and Robbie came to the hospital every day to cheer Clarissa

up. It seemed as if Robbie had never been away from her.

About three days later, after Marc had sent the message home,

he and Robbie were visiting Clarissa. As they were leaving she

dozed off but heard Robbie’s voice as he was talking to

someone. She thought that she was dreaming, but opened her

eyes and there in the doorway stood Robbie holding onto his

mother's hand. The miracle of it all was that her mother asked

Robbie "How do you know I am your mother?" Robbie looked

at her and put his little hand over his heart and said, "I feel it

right here." Clarissa looked at her mother and couldn't believe

that she was here in her hospital room. She saw so much

suffering in her mother's eyes. Her dress was threadbare and

hanging on her thin tiny frame like a rag and her beautiful hair,

once a deep rich brown had turned gray. Her eyes, that once

sparkled, were sunken deep into her hollowed cheeks and she

was missing a front tooth. On her feet were shoes full of holes

and socks too small that looked frayed from too much wear.

She rushed toward Clarissa's bedside where the women

embraced and both sobbed. Robbie continued holding onto

his mother's hand and watched the two as his tiny tears ran

freely down his little cheeks. Mother and daughter had so

much to catch up on.

she immediately took it and went to the Americans

telling them her story. Being kind and understanding

people, the Americans made arrangements for her to

get on a transport truck and ride along to Brabant.

Clarissa knew her mother well. She would have come if

she would have had to walk the entire distance. Her

mother stayed with Clarissa until the nurse told her she

must leave, but the next day she and Robbie returned

as soon as visitors were allowed. Clarissa started telling

the doctors that she wanted to go home and have her

baby.

Her doctor advised her that going home would be too

dangerous for her and the baby because she could lose

him or her. They found out that there was a transport

truck leaving for Amsterdam the very next day. Her

mother would have to ride in the back of the truck with

the troops. They decided then that her mother should

go along and that Clarissa, Marc and Robbie would

come home later when she was allowed to leave the

hospital.

After her mother left, Clarissa told the Doctor she still

wanted to have the baby in Amsterdam. She explained

that she wanted to go home, and finally, the doctor

relented and released her. Clarissa went to the headquarters of

the allied forces and shared her story. They told her that there was

a convoy leaving in two hours and if she could be ready, she was

welcome to go along for the ride to Amsterdam. Clarissa hurried

home and packed her belongings. She also packed up Robbie's

clothes that Mommy Van Doorn had given her and explained to

Robbie that they were going home to Amsterdam. Marc joined

them and the convoy was ready to leave. Clarissa and Robbie

were allowed to sit in the front on one of the trucks with the

driver, while Marc rode in the back. It was the ninth of June and

they were finally going home. They arrived home late in the

afternoon, ahead of Clarissa's mother, who would not be home

until the next day. Only her father Noni was home when they

arrived. When he opened the door and saw them standing there,

he looked as if he had seen a ghost. Clarissa had never seen her

father cry but the tears were rolling down his cheeks. He grabbed

his son and held him close whispering, "My little Robbie, you're

home. You're home at last. I have waited so long for this

moment. Thank you God." Noni's tears continued, unabated. He

sat down still holding Robbie to his chest and Robbie leaned in

closer to his father. Robbie's head had always been rather flat on

top and his father rubbed his son's head. "Robbie,” he said, “Your

head is still flat." “Pull down your socks,” Noni then demanded. “I

want to see your foot." Robbie obeyed and bending down,

lowered his sock. There on his small foot was the birthmark that

he had since birth. Noni just sat and held Robbie close to him.

Robbie Comes Home

(continued)

Dearest Moeder:

I have missed you all so much and hope you're all safe and well. It has been so

long and I can't wait to come home. I have such wonderful news. I have found

our Robbie and he will be coming home with me. Can you believe it?

Since you last saw me, Marc and I have married. I am expecting our first child

in the middle of June. As of now, I am in the hospital with premature labor

pains.

Transportation is very poor but I want to have my baby in Amsterdam. Hope-

fully, I will be well enough to travel and come home before the baby is born. I

want you to be with me when your first grandchild is born. It will be a new

beginning.

Love,

Clarissa, Robbie and Marc

28 Richards Street Geneva, IL 60134 LA 818-786-7633 Geneva 630-457-5255

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