My Decal Family Update

Re-post from Nov. 2010 - after I added the cat.

It was time to replace the decals on my van (Poor Russell had lost his head) and I thought about this original post.  Guess who I did NOT have to replace - AGAIN????!!!!  It has now been almost 6 years and everyone else has been replaced six times.......

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I thought I would share with you the latest addition to our Disney Decal Family.  And I figured you would enjoy having another good laugh at my expense! 

You know it's official when I put the cat in Mickey ears on the van!!!  How cute is that?  It just makes me giggle!

A fun story to go with my decals - I am NOT a sticker person when it comes to cars.  I even make the dealers take their advertisement stickers off whenever I purchase a new (to us) vehicle.  I like my cars to be clean and tidy.  Then 4 years ago at Christmas, my brother Marc gives me these 4 little Disney people to put on my van.  He knows how I am - but he also knew they were wearing Mickey Ears!  How could I resist?  I screamed with delight, giggled hysterically and they have been on my van ever since.  This is actually my fourth or fifth set - I've lost count.  After several months, they begin to peel off and I replace them with new ones.  All except the Princess one (Anne) - she's original!  They don't even make her any more!  She, for some strange reason, has never peeled, never cracked.  I take the other three off, replace them, and she stays the same.  I guess it's just because it's Anne.  Ha!  Although I will admit (and I can't believe I am doing so) that it is something I have prayed about.  I like the Princess sticker so much, and knowing they don't make this one anymore - I don't want to replace her with the little girl.  So I am guilty of asking the Lord to keep her in tact.  I know, I know - it sounds ridiculous.  But I have found that even the ridiculously small things that are important to us - are important to the Lord as well.  Not because they are important - but because I am important.  So - I have learned to pray about the little ridiculous things as well as the big things that are important to Him.

So - it's funny when I say that I am NOT a sticker person when it comes to cars.  Seems I say a lot of things about myself like that and then God changes my heart and mind in some way. "I'm not an animal person, I'm not a sticker person." Ugh!  Have you seen the side of my van lately?  Maybe I'm out of control.......

A Camping We Will Go

Each May, Jarod's Scout Troop ends their year with a Family Camp Out.  Jarod camps with his troop each month, but this is the time when all of us get to join him.  Anne is always quite excited about it.  Me, well - May is a crazy busy month normally.  Add to it all the Apparent Project stuff I've been doing and let's just say that going camping was a bit overwhelming.  Whereas it is a lot of fun - it's also a lot of work.  I left out of here last Friday with a bit of an attitude.

But you know what?  My men are professional campers!  Other than packing myself and Anne - I really didn't have to do much. 

Jarod setting up his tent for the night.

Love this picture of Russ - how cute is he?

Relaxing a bit once camp was set up.

Jarod got a fire going and we roasted some marshmallows for smores.  By this time, I was totally relaxed and decided we could stay for a week!  Why was I all stressed out?  

There is just something about a camp fire......

 The next morning - Jarod cooked breakfast!  Bacon and eggs - I didn't have to do anything!  Now that's my kind of camping!

We headed out after breakfast to do a little exploring.  We were staying at Anastasia Park in St. Augustine.  I loved the ramble through the woods - the look of "old Florida" is so beautiful!

 

 And the St. Augustine lighthouse in the background was perfect!!!

 

Checking out the beach - we'll come back and play after lunch.

LOVE!!!!!

What a walk!!!!

Love this picture of Jarod - although he looks so BIG!!!!!

Russ actually fell asleep on the beach!  The weather was beautiful!  Very windy and even cold when the sun went behind the clouds.  Awesome day to just sit and relax!

One of the events for the Family Camp Out is the final Court of Honor for the year.  Jarod is receiving one of three different Merritt Badges he has earned.

Russ was recognized for his support of Troop 650 this year.  He was quite honored.

Part of Jarod's Troop

This was a wonderful weekend.  Why do I fight things like this?  I get so practical - get wrapped up in all that I think I need to do - when really it's time to stop.  Take time with the family.  Relax.  Regroup.  So I can come back and take on the world!!!!!

My blog friend, Heather Hendrick, wrote this recently about how nature has a way of healing us.  I think she's on to something.........

Until next time.....

Mother's Day

Wow - once again I sit here looking at all the photos and the catching up I have to do.  I use this blog to share all that God is doing in my life - to explore my "Aha" moments, but also to document our family.  I have it printed out in book form at the end of each year and the kids love to look through the different volumes that adorn our coffee table.  I guess it's my simple way to scrapbook in this busy life of mine so I hate when I get behind on stuff.

Bear with me today as we do some documenting.......

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is always a bit interesting to me.  Once I became a mom myself, I still had a hard time realizing that it was "my day" around here.  I guess I just got into the the habit of celebrating my own mother and I was fortunate enough to be able to do that for 31 years of my life.  My mother will have been with our Lord for 10 years this December. 

Wow - where does time go?  I am very thankful for the wonderful, Godly example that my mom was.  She helped make me the person - the mom - that I am today.  Both in her life and in her death.  There are days, like Mother's Day, that I miss her of course, but here I sit 10 years later and I am thankful for all the lessons I have learned because of her death.  I know at first that sounds harsh - but I know that I would not be the mom, the wife, the friend, the person I am today without God bringing me to that place of saying goodbye and then getting me through the last 10 years without her.  It's been an amazing journey.  One that I am incredibly thankful for.  God is so faithful.  In both the good times and the difficult ones.  And because of those difficult ones, I am able to better celebrate my own children.

Anne worked hard this year to help make my Mother's Day very special.  I was invited to a special breakfast where Anne served my food, sang me some songs (along with her classmates) and read me a story.  It was a sweet day.  She was very excited to help honor me in her own way. 

The morning was complete with a portrait of me - complete with my Apparent Project jewelry!

LOVE it!!!

We spent Mother's Day with Russell's mom.  I could not ask for a better Mother in Law.  She is such a treasure to me!

 

Three generations

 Russ and his dad - talking church. 

We spent a lovely afternoon together.  Jarod made me a wonderful breakfast on Sunday morning and I even received a special card from Meggie - 

My kids are so funny!!!!

The Bigger Picture

If you follow my blog regularly, you will notice that I have not been writing as often as usual.  It's not because I don't have anything to say, it's because I haven't had the time.  Between being mom, my Calligraphy business and the ever growing popularity of ApParent Project in my church and community, there has hardly been time to document things.  But believe me - it's a wonderful problem to have.  I'm not complaining one bit!

Since this post things have only become even more exciting!  The cereal boxes continue to pour in and the jewelry continues to be purchased.  I have been to different schools to speak about it and I have sold it at our church picnic, an Open House and a private party that a friend put together.  Tomorrow, I will send another $2500 to the artisans.  What really blows my mind is that since I returned from Haiti in February, I have sold over $7000 in jewelry!  In less than three months time!  That, my friends, can only be explained as a GOD thing!

And - we are not finished yet.  The ladies in my church, along with a few in our youth group, have poured themselves into selling the Fund Raiser Bracelets.  

I believe this is one of the most creative and amazing things Shelley has come up with yet.

One week ago today several women from my church took anywhere between 10 and 20 bracelets with them to sell to their co-workers, neighbors and friends.  The bracelets sell for $8.  Four goes to the Women's Ministry at our church (we are going to the Women of Faith Conference in Orlando in Oct. and the money raised will help ladies who can't afford to go) and the other $4 goes back to ApParent Project.

We started with 250 bracelets.  The ladies cannot keep enough of them!  By Wednesday they came back asking for more because they had sold all of theirs and had lists of women waiting for them.  Today, I gave out the last ones and I have already ordered another 250 as the youth group wants to get involved as well.

Now here is the fun part!  Because these women are taking the bracelets to work, etc., it continues to create a HUGE buzz about AP.  More and more people are asking to see necklaces, etc.  So I am constantly receiving phone calls/emails from people wanting to have their own parties so they can see the rest of what AP has to offer.  Just when I think things might slow down a bit, it continues to pick up.

The most exciting part about this is that the ladies in my church are catching the ApParent Project bug!  The more they talk about it, the more excited they get!

I received this message from a teacher friend this week:

"It is no coincidence that you came to Hickory Grove and my coworkers kids are collecting boxes for Haiti. You are doing a wonderful work and it is opening doors to talk to people about church and faith."

I was floored!  How could I have missed the bigger picture?  I sit here in tears as I realize that it's not only about the artisans in Haiti, it's about His Kingdom!  It's soooooo much bigger than just Haiti.

Several women are having this same things happen.  It's giving everyone an opportunity to share about Christ - it is opening doors for spiritual conversations with friends, neighbors, co-workers.  I knew this was happening for me - but I never thought about the impact it could create on a bigger scale.

This is just another confirmation for me that I am exactly where God wants me to be - part of the kingdom work that Shelley and Corrigan are doing in Haiti.  God shows me over and over that He has His hand on ApParent Project.  I am so thankful to be a part of it.  So thankful to help the artisans in Haiti, but also thankful to be a part in allowing people in my church an opportunity to talk about Christ!

ApParent Project is HUGE!  God has great plans for it!  He is already blessing it beyond anything we could possibly imagine and I have a feeling that it's only going to get better!  You know why?  Because that's how God works through people who are obedient to His calling.

Shelley and Corrigan surrendered to that calling. They have sacrificed more than we could ever understand.  Their time, their money, their relationships, their comfort, their safety, modern luxuries that we take for granted.  All to be obedient and REALLY help the poor.  Not by just giving them a handout and walking away - but by giving up their own lives, moving into the community and REALLY demonstrating God's love.  REALLY getting to know the Haitians and their needs.  This is exactly why AP has grown by leaps and bounds in such a short amount of time.  And this is why it will continue to grow and blow our minds.

The ApParent Project goes beyond the artisans and their jewelry, it even goes beyond Haiti.  It is about uniting Christians in different countries, economic statuses and races.  I feel The ApParent Project is a representation of the Kingdom of God in that it seeks to bring hope, dignity, healing and wholeness to the lives of EVERYONE it touches.

Beauty for Ashes.
(Isaiah 61:3)

I Can See!!!!

When Anne was four, I took her in to have her eyes checked.  She was fine then but the Dr. told us that because both Russ and I are nearsighted that both children would be too.  Genetics are amazing.

I've been watching and waiting for the signs and sure enough she began complaining that her eyes hurt and she was having a hard time seeing the board at school. 

Two weeks ago I took her in to get her eyes examined.  20/60 in both eyes.  She could see up close but not far away.  She's been bugging me every day since we ordered he glasses, wondering if they had come in yet.  Yesterday was the day so I took her this morning before school.  She was so excited she could hardly sit still. 

I was more excited to see her expression when she put them on for the first time and could actually see.  It's amazing how our eyes adjust.  They change gradually enough that you really don't know there is a problem.  Trees are just big green blobs, buildings have shape but no real definition.  And you just get used to it.

When she put them on today, her eyes got big and she was so excited!  She said, "I can see WAY better now!"  All the way to school she was talking about the leaves in the trees and the bricks in the buildings.  It was like she was seeing the world for the first time.  I couldn't help but smile and remember when I first got glasses.  I was reliving that moment through Anne today.

I also began thinking about the last year and a half of my life.  I was plugging away at things that were close to me - things that were familiar.  Everything else in the world was too far away for me to really see.

Or so I thought.

Then God gave me some spiritual glasses and my eyes were opened to the larger world around me.  I began to see people in detail.  I began to see poverty, hunger, mothers having to give up their children.  I began to see Haiti. 

Funny thing about glasses.  You have to wear them in order for them to work.  Anne went to school today very excited, but as she walked to class, I worried about how her classmates would respond.  Would she be teased?  Would she have headaches?  Maybe by the time she gets home today, she won't be so excited anymore.  Will these obstacles, and others, be enough for her to fight me on wearing them?

How many obstacles do we allow to keep us from seeing things God wants us to see?  How often are we willing to just focus on the things that are closest to us and settle for that point of view. We get so wrapped up them that we never see the details of the bigger picture.  Our eyes adjust and we get used to it. 

God wants us to see - REALLY see - the big picture.  He wants us to be able to focus on things up close AND far away.  We need to see the details.  This means maintaining the desire to wear the glasses - no matter how hard or uncomfortable it becomes. 

If you have ever had to wear glasses - that moment of putting them on for the first time is a memory that is burned into your mind forever.  It's an amazing thing.  So is that moment when God opens our spiritual eyes to things around us. 

My prayer is that we never get over that moment.  That our desire to see clearly ALL the things of God is greater than settling for just the things that are up close. 

Until next time......