It's A Girl Thing - WE DID IT!

My heart is full up. Not just full, FULL UP! :)

Fourteen people showed up to the It's A Girl Thing party yesterday.

We spent the day (9am-4:30pm) cutting and pinning and sewing and talking and laughing. I was so very encouraged by their sweet words and their hearts as they worked HARD to bless the socks off of some women and girls they have never met (and probably never will this side of heaven) on the other side of the world. Really - my heart just bubbled over all day as I looked around at what was taking place. If you want to love on me, help something that I am passionate about (and hopefully you will fall in love with it too). Jump on board with one of my "projects." That speaks love to me in a way I can't even explain. This was not at all about me, but I'm so thankful that in the process of doing all of this for the sweet girls in Africa that I was encouraged and uplifted too. You see, sometimes I feel alone. Sometimes I am afraid that if I try a new project that I will be the only one to show up to do anything. Sometimes I feel like I am the only one that cares. I know deep down that none of that is true (and who am I kidding, in the grand scheme of things I soooooo don't really "get it" - I just "get" a very small part of it but I do try), but even still I sometimes doubt that I'll have any support when I put myself out there with some new project. Just bein' honest here. Maybe you feel the same way. Let me just tell you that yesterday I spent the day with some ladies that "get" it. It wasn't about them or what they were doing to help, it was just about helping. I'm always trying to make people think about things they maybe don't normally think about - I think maybe that's because I like it when people make ME think so I try to do that for others too. I'm glad that this project has made people think - about the plight of women that did not have the privilege to be born in America, about how something as simple as a pad can change their life and create opportunities for the gospel to be shared, and about how WE are blessed TO BE a blessing - not just so we can enjoy all of the things we have and store up treasures that will rot away. I could go on and on, but I won't because I might already be rambling.

sigh.

FULL UP I tell ya. :)

Getting things ready to cut

Cameron and Savannah were champs! They cut and pinned all day long. :)

Mama Mandie sewing away

There were lots of blisters on hands and thumbs after all of the cutting yesterday! I'm telling ya, they worked HARD!

Here's Magda in a moment when she was getting along with her machine ;) Notice the one bare foot - girl after my own heart! I do the same thing.

Savannah learned a valuable life skill - IRONING! She had never ironed anything in her whole life. :) We laughed for a while over this.

More sewing

At the end of the day we had 65 pad holders and I don't even know how many inserts done. I didn't really know how many to expect to get completed because I didn't know how many people were coming, but I am sooooo happy about that number! I also have about 10 more ready to be sewn that I will finish before I drop them off. Aren't they pretty all stacked up?

Here's a small group picture. Of course I didn't think about taking one while everyone was still there but at least I got something! L to R: Alicia, Magda, Laurie, Dana, Mary and Baby Gabby, and me.

Thank you ladies for a wonderful day and for sharing your hearts with me. Love you ALL.