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All of us at The Lifestylist Brands would like to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. May it be filled with family, friends, love and great food!

My sister and her family live in Edmond, Oklahoma and are one of the lucky families that have a storm shelter. Tornadoes touched down near them last weekend but what happened to them was nothing like what happened to the residents of Moore, Oklahoma.

Last Summer they had an unbelievable experience - they packed up trunks and suitcases full of shoes, clothes, blankets, and other needed items and headed to Maisha International Orphanage - an amazing labor of love in Kisumu, Kenya. The stories and images they brought back are life changing, and it's a great reminder of how a small donation or offering can be life changing to these kids.

The beautiful souls at Maisha wanted to do something for their friends in Oklahoma City and Moore, and made this video as a way of showing their love and support. What a great reminder this Memorial Day weekend how precious life is and we all need to live ours to the fullest.

It's heartbreaking to watch the news today and see the devastation in Moore, Oklahoma. My sister and her family live in Edmond, OK and I have clients that have land lease communities very close to where the tornado touched down. Sam - my nephew and favorite Jr Lifestylist spent the afternoon in their storm shelter a few days ago having a picnic with his pets -I'm so glad that he made sure they were safe as well as his family.
People always think that "trailer parks" or "mobile home parks" are the worst places to be during a disaster like this, but that just isn't true. I was glad to hear that the Yes! Communities in this area only sustained hail and wind damage and no one was hurt. Their on-site managers made sure that everyone got to where they needed to be and are now busy helping them get emergency supplies and repairs. That's one of the advantages of living in a well run land lease community - there's always someone there to help.
If you would like to help the people of Moore that were affected by the storm, I encourage you to donate to the Salvation Army. They truly do the most good with every dollar that is donated.

The Lifestylist® Brands are a woman owned and operated business, and we were honored this month to be featured on the cover of the inaugural issue of Woman Owned Business Club Magazine. This is a great networking group for women and gives us a way to network with our peers and learn best practices for our businesses.

The magazine will be a place for us to share our business successes and to give tips to readers on lifestyle, beauty, and family as well. Lifestylist Suzanne Felber will be a contributing writer and looks forward to sharing lots of Lifestylist ideas and inspirations.

Land Lease Communities are such a misunderstood and undervalued type of community. As in every form of housing there are the good and the bad, but after touring some of the yes! communities in Oklahoma and Texas there is no doubt in my mind that this will be the housing of the future.
SE Homes of Texas has recognized for years how important it is to offer the right home for community living and I've really enjoyed working with them on this. Getting to see the finished homes and the people who live in them is such a delight - it's rewarding beyond belief to this Lifestylist® to know you can help these families live in the home of their dreams. With SE Homes of TX being a part of the Clayton Homes family - the largest housing builder in the country- they have the resources to build and design homes that no other company can match.
What is a land lease community? This is where instead of having the burden of owning and taking care of the land your home sits on you lease it from the community owner who then is also responsible for keeping up the streets, common areas, paying the property taxes and making sure that the community is well maintained.  Communities can have a little or a lot of community areas, and most offer on-site management so there is someone there every day making sure the community is run properly. Many of them are in prime locations and can offer swimming pools, sports courts, walking paths, community gardens, and clubhouses. Leasing instead of owning the land your home is on it can save you thousands in property taxes and insurance which you can then invest into your home. You are responsible for your home, but the community owner pays  for everything else.
The advantage of this type of housing over apartments is that you can own your own home, plus you aren't sharing walls or hallways with your neighbors. Each home is on it's own lot giving you room to garden or enjoy outdoor living.
I have been visiting communities from coast to coast because I've become so interested in this, and the quality of living that the yes! communities provided was above and beyond the others in their areas. Every detail from how the landscaping was maintained to the signage into and around the community is taken into consideration, and even though it is still winter up here everything was spotless! Not a blowing piece of paper or unpainted fence to be found.
What really set the yes! communities apart though was the people behind the name and the residents that live in these communities. Saying (and meaning) yes is the approach this company and it's people take and the difference this makes is seen throughout. Residents and staff are happy and are excited to be there because yes! has provided a wonderful quality of live for everyone involved.
What's in a name? Everything when you are talking about a YES! community.