Mom to Mom Magazine October 2024 Issue

October 2024 | Volume 13 | Issue 10

STEP INTO STEP INTO MOTHERHOOD MOTHERHOOD WITH THE BEST WITH THE BEST

When the family is about to grow by two feet, you’ve got a whole team ready to help you find your Health’s labor andyou’ve delivery specialists take all the to steps toyou When thefooting. family isFranciscan about to grow by two feet, got a whole team ready help motherhood with Franciscan you – fromHealth’s prenatallabor to postnatal, and every step take in between, including find your footing. and delivery specialists all the steps to advanced carewith for high-risk pregnancies breastfeeding support motherhood you – from prenatal toand postnatal, and every step services. in between, including advanced care for high-risk pregnancies and breastfeeding support services.

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Crown Point • Dyer • Michigan City Crown Point • Dyer • Michigan City

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by Send Media Company, LLC

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Photo credit: Amelia Kowalisyn Photography Makeup credit: Michelle Higgins Artistry

Kinder Dance • Sugar Babes Ballet • Tap • Jazz • Lyrical Pointe • Contemporary Hip Hop • Acro Leaps & Turns • Rockettes Musical Theatre and More!

219.728.1490 436 Sand Creek Drive • Chesterton, IN 46304

Member SIPC

Life is full of moments that matter.

We can help you get ready for that next moment.

MICHELLE HIGGINS

artistry

Michelle is a local mom & licensed cosmetologist of 10 years who loves enhancing women’s beautiful features for life’s special moments, while also teaching easy, everyday makeup application so even the busiest moms can look and feel their very best!

Gina Ribota

Financial Advisor 11426 Broadway Crown Point, IN 46307 219-663-4329

+219-287-0928 @MichelleHigginsArtistry https://msha.ke/michellehiggins

MKT-5894O-A AECSPAD

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> edwardjones.com

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Jaclyn Rodriguez

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Jaclyn Rodriguez’s story

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“Don’t underestimate him; he will do amazing things with his life.”

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FinancialFocus Saving for college or retirement?

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“...both goals are worthy — after all, retirement can last a long time and college is expensive. ” 14

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You know what’s scary?

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Hype

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shop online:

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WITH KELLI BERGGREN Name: Kelli Berggren Age: 33 Job title / company: Broker/owner at Homes & Specialty, designer at Specialty Property Solutions and staging at Enhanced Staging Town / city you’re from: Omaha, Neb. Town / city you live in now: Sheridan Beach, Ind. Describe your family. Significant other? Children? My Husband Justin Berggren is my very best friend and business partner. He is a real estate attorney and an experienced broker owner. I have an 8-year-old daughter Swayzee, named after Patrick Swayze and identical twin daughters, Bradley Penelope and Blakely Piper. While they are identical, they look like two different children to me. They have completely different personalities. They will be a year old in October. We almost lost them to Stage 3 twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome and had to have an emergency three hour surgery on my placenta at 18 weeks. My pregnancy was not an easy one. I was very high risk and required multiple trips weekly to South Bend and Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, but we made it through.

Do you have a license or degree? If so, in what, from where? I have a real estate license in Indiana.

Describe your professional background / history? I am actively working on getting my managing broker’s license to open a Coldwell Banker franchise in Lake County.

We are still waiting on approval, but everything has been set in motion for this wonderful opportunity. We also own a real estate school in Mokena, Ill. We love teaching and have a really great Instructor Tim Hardy who is also our managing broker in Illinois. A little over a year ago I started a staging business. It is thriving. I currently have ten homes worth of staging. I love to be creative and this was the perfect creative outlet for me. We also flip around half a dozen homes at a time all over Northwest Indiana and surrounding areas from Illinois to South Bend and everywhere in between. I general contract them and order all of the materials as well as take careful thought into each design.

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How did you discover your passion? I discovered my passion for real estate with the push from my late father Sean Graham. My dad was my very best friend and confidant. He was incredibly supportive, and always believed in me. He sparked the idea of getting my real estate license during casual conversation in 2014. He said I had the perfect personality for this profession and boy was he right. I was a single, young mom in 2015 so I had to put my dreams and aspirations on the back burner until Swayzee was old enough to start school. I got my real estate license during the COVID lockdown when I unexpectedly lost my fine-dining serving job. I knew it was the perfect time to pursue my dreams. When I passed my test, I hit the ground running. I sold over $1 Million my first year in real estate on a top team and shortly got offered to be the marketing director of one of the largest brokerages in the area. I accepted that position and continued to sell real estate full-time.

What mark do you hope to leave on your industry? I live, eat and breathe real estate. A few years ago, my husband and I started a non for profit “Help a Homeowner Program" where we donate appliances, air conditioning units and furnaces for home owners in dire need. It's been so rewarding.

How do you find balance in your life? I’m not going to lie, I do not have any balance in my life; far from it. I have such a passion for my career, they all go hand-in-hand and I absolutely love being a mom. I wake up at 6 am and work from home while taking care of my children. I have never been busier, but I feel as if this was the path God has always had for me. I am exhausted but I can't imagine my life being any different. Each day's a new experience and each day is filled with passion and love for every day I get to experience life in the real estate industry and as a mom of three. I don't take a moment for granted.

What are you most proud of in your life personally and/or professionally? I am most proud of the successes I've achieved with a tenth grade education, a GED, and running three businesses all while being a twin mom. Two babies are a whole other ball game. It is so challenging, but incredibly rewarding.

What advice would you give your younger self? Another woman on the path to finding her calling?

I would tell my younger self to go for every dream you have and don't ever hold back. You can do anything you put your mind to as long as you're doing it for the right reasons and you work hard.

Outside of work, what do you enjoy doing? I enjoy learning, I read everything. I love reading my bible and growing my relationship with God. I also love to go out to eat and try new foods. I don't have much time for any hobbies, but when I do get down time, my plans will be to learn how to do more hands-on designs like installing wallpaper, refinishing furniture and painting canvas for my staging projects.

“You can do anything you put your mind to as long as you're doing it for the right reasons and you work hard.”

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you should know

with Lexi, age 16

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Jasmine Jafferali, MPH, holds a BS in Exercise Physiology and a Master's in Public Health. As a Functional Nutritionist and Holistic Lifestyle and Wellness expert, she is a seasoned wellness and fitness professional with over two decades of experience. Her goal is to offer her clients evidence-based holistic and conventional medicine. She aims to empower, motivate, and educate individuals to achieve optimal health through sustainable lifestyle changes. She is passionate about helping people solve health challenges with herbs and food. Her passion for health and wellness extends beyond her professional work. She is also an accomplished public relations professional, working with various media outlets, including Chicago NBC5, ABC Chicago, the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago CBS, The Healthy Living Chicago Show, and WGN Chicago. When she is not busy with her kids, you can find her enjoying the sunsets of Lake Michigan, hiking the Indiana Dunes, and exploring the coast of Lake Michigan.

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PEDIATRIC PEDIATRIC PEDIATRIC EXCELLENCE EXCELLENCE EXCELLENCE inNWI NWI in Availablethrough throughreferral referralfrom from Available Available through referral from any Franciscan ER or ExpressCare any anyFranciscan FranciscanER ERor orExpressCare ExpressCare FranciscanHealth Health Crown Point brings specialized Franciscan Crown Point brings specialized Franciscan Health Crown Point brings specialized inpatientnewborn newborn and pediatric experts from inpatient inpatient newbornand andpediatric pediatric experts experts from from Ann&&Robert Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital to Ann Ann & RobertH. H.Lurie LurieChildren’s Children’s Hospital Hospital to to theRegion, Region,keeping keeping families closer and stronger! the families closer and stronger! the Region, keeping families closer and stronger!

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