Embrace the Camera (Sept 30)

A couple of weeks ago when it was just starting to cool off enough to actually walk outside without melting, Justin and Silas decided to wash the Element. I took a ridiculous amount of pictures that day because it was just so cute and of course by the end Silas was naked and Mogley walking all over the driveway and yard. :) Here's a very small sampling of the hundreds of pictures:

Learning how to fill up the bucket

Getting a drink (despite this face, he actually does love this)

Ahh - so refreshing. :)

Learning how to clean the tires
(I find it very weird that you can't see Justin's tattoo on his back in this picture.)

Kissing his reflection :)

Here's some randomness for ya:

When we were in LA we got to visit with my best friend from college and her little girl that is 2 weeks younger than Silas. We had not met each others babies yet so this was a great day!

Me, Silas, Katy, and Jubilee

We have totally slacked the past week or so with Embracing the Camera. :( I'm gonna do better next week!

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.

It's A Girl Thing!

Here's the deal:

Girls and women in Africa and countries all over the world do not have access to sanitary products.

Think about that for a moment...

So what do they do during that oh-so-fun time of the month?

They wait.

They stay home from school and work endangering their education and further hindering already impoverished familes.

They squat.

They use a single scrap of old fabric every day and wash it out at night and even though it is still wet they use it again because at least then it is a little bit clean.

They roll up newspaper and use it as make-shift tampons.

They often get infections from using the dirty rags and newspaper and these infections need to be treated with medicine that is not available.

The infections are often mistaken for sexually transmitted diseases and often leads to the women being abused or abandoned by their husbands or family.

Here's a fact: The dropout rate for school-aged girls is 40% when they do not have sanitary supplies. BUT - that rate rises to just 8% when they do have access to them.

All of this could be remedied if they just had access to clean products.

So...

I am teaming up with women all over the country to help provide washable menstrual pads for girls and women in Ethiopia and Zambia, Africa.

Disposable pads and tampons are expensive and pre-made washable overnight pads run about $10 each. We are trying to provide AT LEAST 300 girls/women with 10 washable pads each so if we bought them that would be about $30,000! WOWZA.

Here's where I need you:

No, I don't need you to help me come up with $30,000.

We will not be purchasing pre-made pads.

We'll be sewing them! :)

This Saturday I'm hosting an It's A Girl Thing! party at my church and we will be cutting, assembling, and sewing as many pads as we can. I have a very simple pattern that we'll be using and I am hoping to spend the whole morning cranking out these pads with some dear friends (and hopefully some new friends too!). We will also be praying for the women who will be receiving them.

I need YOU to:

1) PRAY for this gathering - that there will be many hearts and hands that come willing to work and help and that I will be able to have it organized in a way that is efficient (NOT by strong-suit). Also pray that we will have all of the supplies that we need.

2) COME if you are in the metro-Atlanta area and can sew, use a pair of scissors, basically if you can walk and chew gum at the same time there is something that you can do to help! :) We are meeting THIS SATURDAY, Sept. 25 at 9am at Christ Community Church in Conyers. Please bring with you any supplies you would like to donate or let us borrow (sewing machines, scissors, fabric, etc).

3) DONATE toward the purchase of supplies. We will also be providing each girl with 2 pairs of new panties so we will need to purchase those. We need supplies for the actual pads and while a lot of it is being donated by the women that are sewing them, we will still need to purchase additional supplies. In the event that we have money left over after all of the needs have been met the extra will go directly to the ministries that are distributing the pads to women. Those two ministries are Wiphan (located in Atlanta) and Project 61 (Tennessee). If you feel led we would greatly appreciate any donation you would like to make toward this project. You can do so by clicking on the DONATE button on my side bar ------>. Please note that it is for sanitary supplies in the Special Instruction box when you donate.

If you have a chance, please check out both of the ministries with whom we are partnering.

I am super excited about this opportunity to bless women on the other side of the world. It is such a simple thing - a pad - yet it will change their lives.

If you have any questions at all please please please email me or leave me a comment with a way to contact you. Also, if you are planning on coming to the party and/or bringing supplies to donate, please let me know asap so that I know how much more I need to purchase.

Thank you in advance for your prayers and donations. We are blessed TO BE a blessing. Will you be a blessing today?

The latest.

I've been a block making fool the last few days! This order is going to Sarah in Louisiana. She wanted some artwork for her home and new office. Sarah and I graduated from high school together.

This "faith" is my favorite. :)

And just for kicks...

MOONED YA!! :)

We are headed out to LA on Wednesday (flying again) for a week. Today and tomorrow will be busy busy busy! I'll be working on orders, tonight is our first YOUNGLIFE club of the year, and of course I'll be packing and trying my hardest to be organized for the flight. :)

Adoption Fundraiser with Moonpie Designs

Many of you know that adoption is something that has always been on my heart, but even more so in the last few months. I now spend a great deal of my time reading blogs about adoption (especially Africa adoptions) and gleaning wisdom from the sweet families that are willing to share their journeys.

A few months ago I stumbled upon Erica's blog and we quickly became bloggy/email friends. :) The Shubin's (David and Erica) are in the process of bringing home their daughter from Ethiopia (!!!!). This is their second Ethiopian adoption - their son, SILAS (5), came home in 2008 and they have Nichol (12), Skyler (11), Olivia (8).

Right now they are doing a fundraiser for their Referral Fee so that they can say "YES!!" as soon as they are given a referral and see their daughter's sweet face.

This fundraiser is A Family Affair and it literally has something in it for everyone...seriously, there is TONS of great stuff in this Family Pack! Lots of t-shirts (you know I love me some Africa shirts!), hats, jewelry, children's clothes, bags, and just all kinds of goodies. Go check it out to see what all is in there! There is a Moonpie Designs goody in there too (any goody you want!). :) You can find out all about how the fundraiser will work at their blog (and how to score extra chances to win!), but I'll give you a little briefing here too:

This is a "drawing" style fundraiser so the more tickets you purchase, the better your chances of winning. Tickets are in the form of puzzle pieces - they are putting together an African puzzle to frame in double sided glass and hang in their daughter's room. Every puzzle piece will have the name of the donor written on the back of it so that it will always be a precious reminder of all the people that helped to bring her home. Each puzzle piece is $10 and for the Family Pack only (the puzzle fundraiser is on-going until every piece is purchased) you can get 3 pieces for $25. PLEASE please please go meet this precious family and help them bring their daughter home!

Go! Tell them I sent you! Buy some puzzle pieces and be a part of making a Forever Family!

Embrace the Camera (Sept. 9)

This week's Embrace the Camera is brought to you by MY BIRTHDAY! ;)

Being stingy with his kisses
(I just had to google how to spell stingy because when I typed it the first time I was convinced that was wrong. The English language is screwed up.)

Monday evening we had a little party for me here with the Mays, Cardoza's (who were so sweet to show up despite some devastating circumstances), and my friend Kiley.

After everyone sang and it was time to blow out the candle (which was Silas's "1" from his cake), I was gonna let Silas help me blow it and Justin accidentally blew it out before we could. You would have had to been there, but it was hilarious. :)

And yes, that is bundt cake on an upside down pasta serving bowl. It's all I could find!!

Micah and Bella decided to semi-cooperate for a picture for once. :) Love these kiddos! Micah was the first little baby that I ever kept and then Bella was not far behind him.:)

Get your Embrace the Camera on!!

It's my BIRTHDAY!

Today is my 27th birthday and to celebrate I am giving everyone who follows my blog 20% off any Moonpie Designs order placed by midnight tonight.

Yep. It's true!

You can order through my etsy shop (in my side bar) or you can email me for something you have seen on my blog but isn't listed in the shop (checkbook covers, fabric flower pins, etc).

All you have to do is become a Follower of my blog (also on my sidebar - scroll down til you find it...and I WILL check to make sure you are a follower! :P) and then either put the code BIRTHDAY in a convo to me on Etsy or add it in your email. That's it! Easy as pie (or cake)!!

Now go getcha some goodies!

Feel free to facebook, blog, or tweet about this discount! ;)

pumpkins!

Pumpkins for sale!

They need a home!

Bedroom Makeover and The Latest Craftiness

I have had this project in my head for probably a year and a half and last night I finally sat down and starting working on it. I started at 8:30pm and finished at 11. I absolutely LOVE it and distressing stuff might be my new favorite thing. :) The blocks are 2x4s - Justin was going to throw some scraps away and I rescued them. I Mod-Podged the scrapbook paper and then cut out the letters and glued them on. You can't really tell in the pictures, but the letters have a little metallic gold on the edges and one of the papers does too. I don't know why that makes me so happy.;) I distressed the wood and the paper with scrapbooking ink stuff....I seriously might be addicted now.

They are now at home in our bedroom (which was in desperate need of some cuteness).


It's gonna be a long time before I can look at it and not smile.:)

What do you think? Like it? Want one? I'll do any word you want! I'm thinking this is gonna be great for Christmas decorating (and Fall - I've got a little pumpkin project in the works with some scrap landscaping timber). And how cute would it be to have your family name and the year you were married - like Moon est. 2004? Oh I have so many ideas! I can't wait to hear what y'all come up with!
____________________________________________________

The lighting is kinda wonky in these pictures (I haven't mastered this whole natural light thing), but here's our newly decorated and CLEAN bedroom...

We got a king sized mattress last year and started to make a headboard several different times, but we ended up just putting up these shelves and I kinda love it. It's simple. Also, you can't see it, but our bed skirt is brown.

This little "nook" area has a built it with shelving on the bottom and it is fabulous, but I have never liked the the drawers are open on the top so you can see the clothes in them. Even when everything was folded nice and neat it bothered me so I decided this weekend to add a curtain. I used a linen tablecloth that I already had and basically folded it nearly in half and then sewed two pockets at the top - one to make the ruffle and one for the curtain rod. It took a little creative thinking to figure out how to make this whole thing work. I got steel conduit at Ace Hardware for $2.59 (and it was well over the 90 inches that I needed) for the rod and some tiny little eyelet screws and two keyrings. I attached the eyelets right under the top edge and the threaded the keyring onto it to hold the conduit. Does that make sense? Oh - and those windows on the wall - I totally got those out of someone's garbage one day like 2 years ago.:)
And yes, that light is not at all centered and it was there when we bought the house and it drives me crazy every.single.day.

I covered an old canvas painting in the same fabric that I did our bathroom curtain in - love it when I can upcycle something I already have!

So that's our bedroom! Thoughts?? Suggestions?? Please share! And don't forget to tell me what word you would put on your blocks if you could!

Happy Labor Day (night)!

6 years

We met in the fall.

Actually, we met in September in Louisiana so I guess you can't really call that the fall.

BUT- we fell in love in the fall.

We met at our College/Career Sunday School teacher's house. A friend of mine from high school had met Justin at the gym on post (Army base) and had invited him to come hang out with us during a pick-up game of basketball. He did.He remembers what I was wearing that night.

I remember getting there late because I got off work late and walking in and seeing this gorgeous guy and determining right then and there that we were going to be friends. At LEAST friends. We didn't get to talk that night except to basically introduce ourselves, and then we didn't see each other again for about a month because he could really only come to church on Wednesdays because he was a Chaplain's Assistant and often had to be at chapel on post on Sundays, and I taught a 3 year old Mission Friend's class on Wednesday nights so I couldn't go to our Single's group. I was quite frustrated over this because I had not forgotten about him and was keeping up with him through the others in our group.

Finally after about a month of not being in the same place at the same time we ended up at a friend's house (Jaimi - the same girl that invited him that first night) for a bonfire/game night. I was already smitten and my brain was working overtime trying to figure out how we could hang out again (yes, I was very good at letting God take care of the details...can't you tell?! sarcasm..lots of sarcasm.).

On Wednesday night of that same week I rode to church with my parents and when church was over they LEFT ME THERE because they forgot that I rode with them. Ahem.So I walked over to the Single's Building (which is always across the parking lot no matter what church you go to) to bum a ride from someone.

**Let me interject here that I was dressed in full Arab woman attire from head to toe because in my 3 year old class we were learning about Iraq for that month and I always dressed up for my kids.**

I walked in and said someone needed to take me home since my parents were negligent (I thanked them for that later btw) and Justin immediately volunteered. It turns out that he was moving 45 seconds from my parents house and needed to take a load of stuff by his new place anyway. His little Volvo was full of stuff and he cleared out a seat for me in the front and then made Nathan (another soldier that rode with him from post and still had to get back there) ride on top of everything in the back seat.:) When we got to my parent's house we discovered that we had both been at Passion's OneDay earlier that year and we were pretty much forever connected after that. :)

I dreamed about him that night. That was Wednesday.

Thursday morning I woke up determined to see him (again with the patience). My parent's were going to be at an away ballgame with my brother that night, so I decided to cook dinner and invite my soldier friends over to share it with me. I set the table up all fancy and called everyone and then got Justin's number so I could call him. He just happened to be at his new place moving stuff in and said yes he'd come almost before I even finished inviting him. It was me and the four guys that night and after dinner everyone scattered about the house and property to do their own thing except for Justin...who cleared the table and WASHED THE DISHES. Swoon.

That was Thursday.

Friday was Halloween (by this time it really was fall) and our Single's Group was serving refreshments at our church's Fall Festival that night (don't get me started on church's and their Fall Festivals). I spent ALL DAY coming up with a costume and I decided to be Lara Croft:Tomb Raider. Yes. I did. After the festival some people came back to my parent's house to watch a movie (Silence of the Lambs) and of course Justin was one of them. I remember when it was time for everyone to leave that I wanted to hug him but I also didn't want to scare him off (I could go out of my way to manipulate circumstances but didn't want to scare him with a hug??? Gees I was silly.) so I didn't. I knew I was see him the next day.

That was Friday. Halloween (just one more reason for me to love that oh-so-controversial day).

Saturday our church was having a HUGE Block Party in the Wal-Mart parking lot and our band (Single's again) was playing for it. Justin came to hang out and after wards I offered to help him move the rest of his stuff from the barracks to his trailer. Some of the other guys came too and when we got to the trailer I started cleaning it (because wow did it need it) and that's when the guys started picking on us. That night we went bowling and this time it was Justin's turn to manipulate the circumstances and he made it where it was just me and him driving out to the bowling alley (which was quite a task seeing as two of the other guys didn't have vehicles of their own). On the way there we talked about our faith and I remember being relieved that he didn't use all of the cliche terms that people use when it's not real and they just want to impress you(been there, soooooo over that). He was for real.


We bowled and shared a drink and then Justin showed off his pool skills (ask him - he'll tell you he was showing off for me). :)

He took me home he and Momma go to talking about golf (he played his whole life) and she invited him to lunch after church the next day. I love you forever for that Momma. ;)

That was Saturday.

Sunday he was able to come to church and after wards he came over for Gumbo. I remember wanting to not let any of the guys know that he was coming because they would want to come over too and I just wanted to be with him. They actually did find out and showed up later that afternoon when we were out in the lake canoeing and they were yelling at us from the shore asking if we were engaged yet and yada yada yada thinking they were oh so very funny. While we were out there we started talking about movies and Justin asked me if I had ever seen Romeo and Juliet (yes) and what I thought about people that just met and then basically ran off and got married (totally for it). I can't remember exactly what I said because at the time I didn't really read anything into what he was asking but a year or so later he brought that canoe trip up and asked if I remembered him asking me that (of course) and he said it was because he already wanted to marry me.

After church that night (gees louise we spent a lot of time at the church!) we went back to my parent's house and went and sat out on the dock. Basically we made it official that we were gonna be together and head towards marriage (after all of 3 days). It was time for him to go home and as we were walking back up to the house he grabbed my hand.

It was in that same place where he grabbed my hand 5 months later that he proposed. Four months after that we were married in our church on a very hot August evening.

That was 6 years ago. It has been an amazing 6 years and I wouldn't trade ANY of it - not even our time of separation because of the Army. He is my best friend (gag if you want, but it's true) and knows me better than anyone else. I love him because he loves the Lord and looks to him for everything and leads our family well. I love him because when he goes to the store to get things and doesn't know exactly what brand to get, he makes the decision by seeing which one has the coolest glass bottle because he knows that I will appreciate it and save it and use it to decorate with later (he gets it!). :) I love him because he is the best daddy and pours everything he has into his relationship with Silas.

I love you Justin. Thank you for loving me and putting up with all of my quirks. ;)

Sneak Peek - 6 years

This past Saturday was our 6 year anniversary. We went to the beach for the weekend. I'll have more on that, but just wanted to share this pic today. I think it is my favorite from the weekend. :)

Embrace the Camera (Aug 19)

So I had these grand plans of having a picture of all three of us for EtC this week. We were planning to go biking at Stone Mountain this morning and I wanted to take a picture there of all of us on our bikes...but that was a great big FAIL. We loaded up the bikes (even added air to the tires) and the kiddo and ourselves and drove all the way there only to realize when we got there and unloaded the bikes that my bike somehow had a flat tire AND we forgot to bring the WeeRide seat that Silas rides in (I hate you dangling preposition). Basically it was a disaster and after several minutes of complete anger and frustration, we just went for a walk and then came home. Oh well - we'll do better next time.

All of that to say that we still don't have a picture of the 3 of us (hopefully Zach will fix that soon), but here are some cute ones I snapped of Justin and Silas.

waiting for a kiss

Be.still.my.heart.

Oh yes! And this is The Little Climber Part 2...

And I just had to share this one. He went swimming in his little pool yesterday and when we came in to cook dinner I put a diaper on him and turned on VeggieTales Jonah so I could whip up the spaghetti. I checked on him a few minutes later and he had removed his diaper and was quite contentedly (is that a word?) enjoying the movie. :)

How did you Embrace the Camera this week?

the latest - burpies, wallets, and a camera strap

Moonpie Designs has been hoppin' the last couple of weeks and it has been soooo fun! I forgot to take pictures of most of the orders before I shipped them off (of course) but here's a few that I did:

Burpies - the "sam" fabric might be my new favorite, and I love the monogram idea for the second one. Thanks for that Mary. ;)

This mini-wallet is going to Hawaii for my friend Kristi.

I whipped this up for myself today because I was tired of having a naked camera strap. Don't look too closely - things I make for myself are rarely perfect and I totally threw this together in about 30 minutes start to finish - no tutorial. I really like it!

I only have one mini-wallet to finish and then I'm done with all of my orders. I need more! Want something? Need a gift? Let me make you something fabulous!

James 4:17

Today (and this whole week and probably tomorrow and next week) I am meditating on this:

"Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and does not do it, sins."
James 4:17

Heck, I might spend months on that verse.

I'd love to know what you are thinking/praying/meditating on these days. Will you please share a comment?

Embrace the Camera (August 12)

I took my own EtC picture this week...which is saying something since I have a D40 and small hands. :) I'm just thrilled I didn't drop it in the sink.

Bathtime snuggles!

Go check out some more Embrace the Camera!