Junk Posse Jewelry

O.K. I am trying to win a contest--$50 gift certificate to Junk Posse. Tracy (owner/designer) creates these really cool necklaces. The best part is that the profits go to help orphans and other great causes. This is the same "company" that sponsored the necklace I posted about several posts ago for Children's Hopechest/Adoptive Dads.

I have already mentioned how I love buying items that "pay it forward", so this is just another great opportunity to do it. So, if you have a need for some really cool jewelry, check this out. Some day, I am going to buy a piece of this. For now, I hope to win! :)

Garden Project

For the past week, we have been busy getting our garden ready. First, we built a garden box for a raised bed. Our garden spot was a bit low last year, so our plants were flooded. Hopefully, this will help produce more veggies!Then, we had dirt delivered! This was almost 17 tons! Yes, this was way too much, but we were able to fill up all of our flower beds with good topsoil as well as share with our neighbors.

This is only about 1/2 our pile.
You can see the outline where the dirt had been!

Then, it was time to plan the veggies! First, we planted tomatoes. . .
. . . followed by cucumbers, carrots, peppers, zucchini and squash.
No, it didn't all fit in the box, so we spread it around the box. We'll see how it does!

Children's Hopechest

One Orphan from Children's HopeChest on Vimeo.

Please watch this! I would LOVE for my community to get involved in some way with this organization. I am continually challenged by what I hear as I consider my role. Is anyone else?

p.s. This is the last week for the necklace fundraiser. See previous post!

New Hair Cut!

Sydney has been itching to cut her hair short!
Before. . .

During. . .

. . .After!

First Bubble!

Raegan has been working on blowing a bubble.

Here was one of her firsts!

Spring Colors

Spring colors were in full bloom this last week. I just loved driving up to our house and seeing the pink flowers on this tree. So pretty!

Adoptive Dads

I just found this blog (AdoptionFathers.com) for dads who are interested in adopting. They are promoting a cool Mother's Day gift: a necklace that supports Children's Hopechest in fighting against sexual trafficking in Moldova. You can read more about it here at Adoption Fathers and here at Tom Davis' Blog.

Ten Months Waiting for a Referral

Has it already been another month?! Poo. Yet another week slides by on our calendar. Ten months sounds so long, so I am going to focus more on our new countdown. We've been at #1 for 2 1/2 weeks (or at least that is how long we've known). So, we will continue to pray that next week brings good news! Please continue to pray with us. We need it!

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day. We celebrated after church at Mom's house. We even got to go to a near by park to hunt Easter eggs. The kids had a fabulous time!

Sun Run for the Fatherless

Today was the annual Sun Run for Youth Horizons. This is a great organization that pairs mentors with the fatherless. The Sun Run is a race put on by our church to benefit them, and it is a fun event each year! Chris and I ran the 10 K; Sydney, Jackson, Chris, Dad and Jeanne ran the 2 mile; and Raegan, Mom and I walked the 2 mile.
Here are Sydney and Dad rounding out the first mile.
Here is Jackson finishing strong at around 18 minutes!
One of the best parts of the race is the food afterward! Here, Craig, Jeanne and Raegan are eating hamburgers and cookies!
Chris ran a personal best (even though he was injured and hadn't run all week!), around 41 minutes (I'll have to get the update from him). I also ran my personal best of 48:13 (or so) and even placed third in my age! Fun!

Overall, it was a great morning of getting together to pitch in for the fatherless in our community. Love it!!!

Celebrating with Color

Well, I was so hoping to have good news, making Easter even easier to celebrate! Each time a holiday arrives, I am hopeful. Back around Thanksgiving, I thought it would just be perfect to get a referral. What sweet news for which to be thankful! Then, Christmas crept up. Again, I believed this must be God's perfect time. But, it passed. Presidents Day, Valentines Day, Groundhog Day, St. Patrick's Day, and now Easter will all pass without a referral. These are a lot of holidays! But, especially as Easter arrives, I'm learning that I need to be willing to celebrate what God has done despite my disappointments/circumstances. Yes, it would have been sweet to celebrate our little boy this Sunday; however, my heart will be more free to completely celebrate Jesus and His saving grace. And, I am so thankful for what Jesus has done for me. So, this weekend, we will all celebrate! I wish all of you many blessings as you celebrate what Jesus did for you.
On another sweet note. . . Here is Raegan posing by some of the hyacinths that are blooming. She and I planted them last fall. It has been so sweet to watch them grow this spring and provide our somewhat barren landscaping with some color!