Fairy Friends

Piper had her fairy friends come over to play last week to celebrate her birthday. She turned 7 last month, but it was so hectic with the end of school that we postponed her party. That and the tutus we needed to order for her fairy friends were on back order. She had decided that she wanted to have a fairy themed party so we ordered tutus, wings and halo streamers from the wholesale company I get some of my supplies from for my craft shows. Everything is priced perfectly and we ended up spending about $4 per guest and they each got to take home their dress-up ensemble.



We needed to do her party on the cheap and it was just as perfect as could be. We made a homemade cake and cupcakes, hid some $1 store shiny star stones around the yard (fairy stones) for the girls to seek and find, and offered markers and gems to decorate the wings. I also glued some foam hearts to skewers with a bit of $1 store bag filler tinsel to make wands for each fairy to decorate.


They played in the backyard and danced to music.


To take a break from the heat we strung beads inside and made bracelets.


It was so much fun! I've already had three moms call to tell me that their fairies have loved their tutus and not wanted to take them off.

It's "live"

I've officially announced that my fundraising blog is up and running. I do still have about ten more fabric fobs photographed that I need to edit and get up on the site, but I have a busy next few days and not sure when I can get free hours so I figured the 75 options I already have up were a good start!

I have posted about it on my yahoo groups and my co-op ribbon buying group. I know I have very limited readership here and thank you all for your offers to post my button. I'm trusting God to do great things!

Making progress

I have put in about six hours of photo editing and copy writing and blogger uploading today and have made tremendous progress on my fundraising website. I have about ten more pictures to edit and add to the site and then I'll be ready to begin my advertising. I just want to get the final fobs up so I can relax and spread the word. Wish I could just punt I another hour and be done, but I have to go get ready. I have an outing tonight. It's the first meeting of my Summer Sisters women's group from church. I don' know most of the women in my group and I'd make an awful first impression in my present state of attire.

Thanks to Valerie and Tara for their extra pairs of eyes and fine tuning suggestions!!

It's been a lot of work to get this going and I'm hopeful that I'll sell a few. I know I can't live without mine.


Click the picture below to visit and let me know what you think!

Tomorrow's it

The last day of school, that is.

I've had this week off work, so a few days to be at home without kids. I'd like to think that I made the most of my valuable 'free' time. Can't really say that I did though. I was up at the school 5 times in two days for various end of year activities. Visited the doctor twice for my physical and back again the next morning for my fasting blood draw. Filled 6 bow orders and got completely caught up. I worked on building my fundraising blog site this morning and it's looking good (if I do say so myself). Not nearly enough time. Today was early release, so they got home at noon.

Tomorrow I'll be picking the girlies up from school. There is a tradition I thankfully learned about just in the nick of time last year where our neighborhood parents attack the kids as they get off the bus with water hoses, water balloons, water guns (you get the idea). Not such a fun thing for my girlies. I intercepted Piper last year as I knew she'd freak out, and oh my... when she witnessed the ambush from the safety of our car let's just say it was a good thing I ran and got her from school. A few weeks ago she stared asking if I was going to be able to come get her this year. The all out ring leader parents aren't there this year, so it might be more tame, but I'll still be driving them home to be on the safe side.
Then both girlies are off to a birthday party at a kids salon where they'll get all glammed up. Lookin' pretty in their up do's, glitter hairspray, sparkle nail polish and the like, we'll head out to our Sunday school class picnic and red neck theater.
Quite the day. I'm tired already just thinking about it.

Isn't summer supposed to be relaxing?

Whew, that's hot!

Heat index of 110 degrees.

Yeah, I think that counts for HOT!

We ventured down to Williamsburg for the weekend. The girlies and I have had season passes for Busch G@rdens for several years thanks to my folks. Back in March they sent us a post card advertising the Christian music artists who'd be playing in the summer at Glory at the G@rdens. We were thrilled to see Steven Curtis Ch@pman listed. The concerts are free with park admission. So we marked it on our calendar, got Daddy a pass too and headed off to the gardens.





Saturday was nice. We did a few hours in the late afternoon. It was hot, but we had the water park in Elmo land and an hour of a/c at the Irish dancing show. Spent the night at Nana and Grandpa's house and headed back Sunday afternoon.

Sunday was a completely different story. By 4pm it was 97 degrees with a heat index of 110. And that's good old Virginia humidity heat!

The music venues is out in a field. An open field. Man, was it hot!!



We first saw Francesca Batiste!li and then Bui!ding 429. About 10 minutes before SCC was to take the stage they tracked a fast moving thunderstorm headed right our way. So the entire field of thousands of people had to be cleared. We took refuge in the FestHause in Germany and got dinner while we waited. Then back out with the masses to the soggy field for an amazing concert.

The girlies had a great time at their first concert. They were excited to recognize a lot of the songs and the highlight of their evening was hearing Cinderella live. So cool!!

The concert ended about an hour later than anticipated due to the storm delay. That had us leaving the park right before 9 and after a pit stop home just before midnight. Gave the girlies a quick bath 'cause oh my, were they stinky! Amazed that they got up and out the door for school by 8 this morning.

Learning

We have just gotten started, and already the lessons have begun. In the past two years of waiting and praying for the open door to begin the adoption process, I have been grown like a plant- watered and weeded. I have learned to give up so much of my desires to be in control. I so very clearly understand that the only one in control is God, and His plans and time frame are perfect. So much better than my own. That has been hard to learn. The waiting to wait more has been hard. But oh the growth! I wouldn't have it any other way. And I know I'll be able to say that in reflection after all the struggles we are bound to go through on this adoption journey.

I had done all the research. I had a binder full of information and had contacted references, collected agency information, prayed over each decision we'd have to make... I knew exactly what steps we needed to take to begin. Just waiting to hear GO.

Two days before our yard sale I became anxious. What if I had heard God wrong and this wasn't His timing? It was asking a lot to raise $500 from the odds and ends we had to sell. Maybe this wasn't possible after all. But my loving Father reassured me, speaking to my heart that through Him all things were possible. I needn't fear. So for what will assuredly be the first of many times I laid this adoption down at His feet and said, "God, you are in control. Not me. May your will be done."

Two days later we had $500 in hand. This was His timing. So I gathered the initial paperwork we needed. Emailed the agency coordinator our family info sheet. Opened a new bank account. Sent off for some official documents. And froze.

The next step would cost $2100. I could wrap my brain around $500. But $2100 when I was just about to have my last day of work for the summer, and last paycheck? If I didn't send the agency the next set of papers I still had something to do other than wait and wonder how we would be able to do the home study. We needed a family picture, something we hadn't taken since Christmas. I found silly reasons to keep putting it off. I was afraid to move forward because it was the last step I had complete control over. Silly. I was doubting God and His ability to provide what we need for the next step. How could I have forgotten His provision just a week prior? I was placing God's ability in a box. Thankfully He found little ways of opening my eyes and setting me straight. I love how He does that!

So with renewed awareness that every aspect of this journey is completely in His more than capable hands, I once again laid it all down at His feet. The time frame that He reveals to provide the next chunk-o-change will be perfect. It might not be when I would like for it to be, but His timing will be perfect. It's my job to be ready and move forward with faith. So we posed for our picture. Gathered the last of the paperwork and tucked it nicely into a priority mail envelope and sent it off yesterday. I have a few minor things I can do at this point to move the ball forward, but for the most part we're seeking His will, beginning fundraising, and praying for $2100.



Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21