Operation Christmas Child, Part 4: Getting Serious

I mentioned in my last post about OCC that my sister and I were going to a Countdown event and I am so glad we did!  We got lots of ideas and supplies plus I was able to get a little inspiration to make our event a success!

I am so excited, first, that my sister & Blake are working alongside me in this.  It means so much that their hearts are with me on this and that they feel passionate about these sweet kiddos!  Before the event Amy went to Michaels and got 162 activity pads and I think like 12 sticky hands for $14!! The deals are out there if you look for them!

Those of you who know me well know I am not crafty at all (sorry, mom, but really its OK I know I'm not!); therefore my donation box was well a cardboard box that I got Erica to write donation on because my handwriting is too messy!

I asked a friend, Daye, to come up with some ideas so that our cause would get more attention.  We moved our donation table from the foyer, where it was often by-passed by it was croweded, to the sanctuary.  She had lots of great ideas and I think it looks FANTASTIC!  My heart was so happy when the video about OCC played during church and many people visited our table for more information after the service! Many thanks to Erica also for making the cute poster board in the background too!

See what happens when the body of Christ uses their talents in conjunction with others - a cardboard box can become this!

To the right in the picture I packed two sample boxes for a boy & a girl to give an idea of what the finished product looks like. I've copied the list of contents from Word to show you that was able to pack a whole box with GOOD stuff, about 20 items, for less than $14/box.  That is someone's whole Christmas and for my kids, and probably yours, that is less than what is spent on their stocking stuffers!

BOY BOX
• 2 pc. Pajamas $3.00
• Long sleeved flannel shirt $1.00
• Truck sun-catcher $0.68
• Bowl $0.25
• Mittens $0.25
• Frog $0.84
• Slinky $0.19
• Bouncy ball $0.19
• 3 dinosaurs $0.14
• Dry erase board $1.50
• Scissors $0.74
• Puzzle $1.00
• Beach ball $0.50
• Sticker book $1.00
• Wooden boy $0.68
• Dinosaur pencil $0.12
• Toy car $0.68
• Stencil $0.08
• Chapstick $0.75
Total cost of Christmas gift $13.59

GIRL BOX
• SHOES $3.00
• DOLL $1.00
• BEACH BALL $0.50
• Scissors $0.74
• Puzzle $1.00
• Wooden GIRL $0.68
• Stencil $0.08
• Chapstick $0.75
• Toy BUTTERFLY car $0.68
• Slinky $0.19
• 2 BRACELETS $0.12
• RING $0.19
• ACTIVITY BOOK $0.09
• STUFFED ANIMAL KEY CHAIN $0.20
• DISNEY PRINCESS PEN $0.33
• CROSS SUN CATCHER $0.68
• CALCULATOR $1.00
• TENNIS BALL $0.50
• NECKLACE KIT $0.20
• HAIR BANDS $0.30
TOTAL COST OF CHRISTMAS GIFT $12.23

Softball Season Party

We celebrated the closing of another successful Warriors softball season this past weekend! I actually only played in one game this year.  Slacker I know!

But our vacation was in the beginning of the season and then Mason started school and I hated to keep him out so late.  I made it to the first and last game, but the first game I just held Faith! She's so sweet!!

We went swimming & grilled burgers at my parent's house and had a great time! I took lots of pictures but this is my favorite!

My little loves!

Muffins with Mom

Friday morning was the annual PTA Muffins with Mom at the boys' school.  We were very excited to go and have breakfast together at school! 

I almost thought we'd miss it because parking at our school is terrible!! I hate everything about the parking lot and this morning was no exception! Finally after almost ten minutes of circling the parking lot and almost running over lots of cars we were able to stalk a lady back to her car and grab her spot!

I think every mom at the school was there - it was chaos, but fun all the while to eat in the cafeteria with my babies! They loved it to because they got to be late to class!

Here is Conner sipping on some OJ!

Mason and his reflective back pack straps!

My babies! Conner would not look at Lisa no matter what approach we tried!

They had a fun day at school and I enjoyed some free time to do some grocery shopping and other errands!

Rain, Rain, Stay & Play All Day!

Conner has been dying to go outside and play but with this terrible heat it's been impossible! Finally - praise the Lord - RAIN!!

Conner and I had a great morning on Thursday playing in the puddles . . . driving his tractor . . . picking horse apples . . . and fun in the sandbox! 

So thankful for the rain and cooler temperatures!

Absolutely Nothin'

That's what I've been thinking that I had to blog about - absolutely nothing!! But then I got to thinking that is certainly not true!

I got to have a wonderful night out with my fabulous friend, Kelly, when we went to see The Help.  Seriously it is a must read and must see!

Celebrated my sweet friend, Nicki's, graduation from college with lunch at Tokyo! I've never been there before and normally steer clear of places that serve anything oriental/asian but my shrimp were surprisingly delicious! Thinking I may take the boys there on fall break so they can see what fun it is!

Met up with my BF since I was 4 years old, Elise, to check up on our dear friend Holly who FINALLY had Baby Max last Saturday!  I'm sure pictures of the cute little thing will soon appear here and here!

Had a fun Sunday afternoon after church with the other young adults swimming and eating shish-ka-bobs!

Tyler, Larry, Ethan, Conner, Ryan, & Mason getting serious about some volleyball

So glad I have such great friends & family!!

A CELEBRATION you won't want to miss!! Invite your friends, family, & neighbors!


Games for ALL ages! Dunking Booth, Bounce House, Inflatible Slip N Slide, Snow Cones, Cotton Candy, Food, & Music!!

There will also be a Life Share Blood Bus there for an opportunity to give blood and save a life!!

FELLOWSHIP COMMUNITY CHURCH
135 MEADOW DRIVE
GLOSTER, LA  71030

	Saturday, September 3 · 11:00am - 3:00pm

Operation Christmas Child, Part 3: More Than Toys

Yesterday I was able to speak with the Northwest Louisiana Operation Christmas Child Coordinator and she had lots of information for me about OCC and its impact around the world and in our community.  While I know that OCC is about more than shoeboxes filled with goodies I wanted to make sure you know!  She had a great term for the shoeboxes - G.O. Boxes, where GO means Gospel Opportunity.  All the children who are given boxes are also given Christian literature in their own language and invited to take part in classes to learn more about the love of Jesus.  Meeting their short-term need for a gift is opening up the door for long-term salvation!

She told me the story of Lejla Allison from war-torn Bosnia and how she had to wear her brother's too-big shoes that her dad wired the toe together because they were falling apart and how her mother put plastic bags over them to ward off the melting snow from her feet.  Lejla had given up hope but one morning she went to school and recieved an OCC shoebox and when she opened it - she found shoes! Brand new shoes that didn't need plastic bags or wire!  God's love for her became tangible and He had arranged just the box for her.  You can find her story on their website under Graphic Resources.

So today my mission was shoes! And I found them!  I found 4 pair of shoes for $3/pair!! I got 4 pair of shoes for $12!!  Then I found flannel shirts for $1/each!  So a shirt and shoes for one child only cost $4! Below you can see what $15 will buy - 3 shirts, 4 pair of shoes!

My next steal was an 8-pack of activity pads for $0.75 - do the math - I got three packages so 24 activity pads for $0.75/each - $2.25 total or appx. $0.09 per book! Index cards $0.64; scissors $0.74; magnetic dry erase circles $1.50; 2-pack mittens $0.50/pack or $0.25/pair; hairbands $3.00; 4-pack bouncy balls, 4-pack rings, 4-pack heart shaped braclets, and 4-pack slinky $0.75/pack, and a 12-pack of stencils $0.75/pack.

I'm excited to be going with my sister this weekend to the OCC Countdown Event at First Baptist Bossier, Saturday at 1:30 - everyone should come! 

I'm finding all the deals and I know now how easy it is to fill a box for under $10/box; therefore there really aren't any good excuses for not helping out! Some child somewhere needs love and basic essentials and we can provide!

Back to School Pool Party

This weekend we hosted a back to school swim party at my parent's house!  Josh & I have been pestering them for about a year to put in an in-ground pool and it just got finished recently! I was excited to host a party there!

We invited three families to come swim and eat burgers and ice cream with us and I think everyone had a great time!  We all commented that the kids should sleep good that night because they played hard!

I think the highlight of the night is when my mom jumped in the pool fully clothes to tackle my dad for shooting her with a water gun! GOOD TIMES!



Conner floating along!
He hates his floaties but did great by keeping them on the whole time!



The girls!

Thanks Mom & Dad for letting us party at your place!

Mason & Natalie
I'm digging the tractor in the background!

Dad & the Foster's

Luckily the slide got put together that morning
and the kids had a blast on it!

Kelly soaking up the rays

Ryan & Mason

Conner's First Day of PreK-3

My sweet Davy Crockett aka Conner started PreK3 on Wednesday! He went for 2.5 months last year and he'll be going again this year on Wednesday & Friday.  I am excited for him to grow and play with others because I know he misses his big brother so but it breaks my heart because he is getting big and when I wake him up in the morning he looks at me at says "my stay my mama!"

I managed to snap a few pictures although he was insistent that I not take his picture.  I had to do quite a bit a coaxing to get him to leave his hat & horse at home but eventually he complied (complied means I bribed him with candy at 7:20 in the morning).

Here is my sweet angel!

I LOVE YOU CONNER!

Operation Christmas Child, Part 2

I've decided to do a weekly installment for Operation Christmas Child so here is where I found the deals this week (remember, last week was Mansfield WalMart!).  If you are doing some shopping leave a comment on where you are finding some great stuff!

Hobby Lobby was the place to be on Wednesday - all of their summer stuff is on clearance!  I got inflatable beach balls (these are great because you can send a ball but it won't take up much space in the shoebox) @ $0.68, wooden dolls with markers @ $0.68, foam vehicles that you construct @ $0.68, wind-up cars & butterflies @ $0.68, suncatchers with paint @ $0.50!  So please don't tell me that you can't afford to send a shoebox!

Next I went to Target.  I thought the Phinneas & Ferb activity packs for $1 was a deal because they have 50 pages of activities, markers, and a sheet of stickers.  Plus I found these soft, squishy frogs for $0.84!  I even got the opportunity to talk to the cashier about what I was doing and why and that made me happy!

Since I was in the area I also went to the Dollar Tree - I am spoiled now that I have found all of these good deals because I think $1 is a little much!  However I did like the puzzles in the tin cases.  They had 2 puzzles in paper boxes for $1 which is a better deal for the money but I like that the boy or girl will have a special shiny case for their puzzle or other valuables.  I also got a package of flashcards and dinosaurs, chapstick, one doll, and five sets of stickers - all for $1 each.

Overall it was great shopping day for the "least of these!"

Beautiful

If you don't already read "the journey" you need to start today!

Operation Christmas Child

I am organizing an Operation Christmas Child drive for my church this year and I am SO EXCITED about it!  We just finished our initial push "Christmas in July" and I can't wait to see what August brings!

Conner & I made a much needed trip to Wal-Mart this morning and the Mansfield location always has great deals and sales on toys.  I was able to get 5 sticky hands, 5 sets of jacks, 4 finger bowling sets, and 5 24-count boxes of crayons for $7.95!!  The crayons were only $0.19 a box and the rest was $0.50 a piece - dirt cheap!

Please consider while you are out doing your back to school shopping or regular shopping to pick up one or two items per trip to send to child in need at Christmas time.  Drop off for the boxes is late October so by starting early you could pack a shoebox each month!!  I included a link in the first sentence but here is one more - click here - for the official website.  They have lots of great ideas of what to pack in the shoeboxes and some things not to pack (liquids, war related toys, etc.).

Other ways to help would be donating standard sized shoeboxes (any excuse for new shoes, right?), wrapping supplies, and/or $7 for shipping.  My very BIG goal is 100 boxes and that would be $700 in shipping costs - good thing my God is very BIG!!

I will be happy to pick up any donations you may have and add them to our donation box or if you would like to do this yourself I would love for you to come to our packing party in mid-October - food, fun, games, and packing & wrapping!

My family sent a shoebox last year and I felt like it was a great opportunity to talk to my children about those who have less and to try to make them a little less "me" centered.  You can even track your shoebox if you pay for shipping online!

Can't wait to pack these goodies up for some children somewhere! I've also took all the complimentary soaps from our condo to send too!  Other free/cheap ideas - save your unwrapped Kids Meals toys or party favor bags to donate.  You know your kids only play with them for 5 minutes anyway!!

This was only $7.95!! Get to shopping!!

FIRST GRADE . . . HOW DID THIS HAPPEN??

Somehow, unbeknownst to me, I have a little boy who is 6 and who started FIRST GRADE yesterday! 

Sunday we were able to go to an Open House and check out his two classrooms - he switches classes this year! He really liked them both and was excited . . . maybe not excited but not dreading it . . . to go yesterday morning.  Our morning went relatively smoothly.  He knows a few kids in his class from PreK and there is one friend from Kindergarten & Church.  His BFF is in another class so we were sad about that.

When we arrived he found a friend to sit with and all was well & calm! What a big boy!

Small town story - my Mom ran into his teacher at the gift shop in town and it turns out we are cousins! Her grandmother and my grandmother are sisters - so our mom's are first cousins! My mom knew her but never connected the name together! We are so excited! She is fabulous - she called me last night to let me know how he did and I appreciated that so much!

We ended our first day with our annual first day of school tradition - drinks and snacks from Gregg's! Then we went to my parent's house to hang out with Baby Faith, ReRe & Blake, and Mimee & Papa and to go swimming! It was a great day!

My first grader

backpack on and ready to go!

Conner was NOT happy to be up at 7:00 a.m. but he posed with his big brother anyway!

They have had such fun together this summer and I know they will miss each other!

Here he is on his first day of Kindergarten and PreK! I LOVE YOU MASON!

Back to Reality!

I've been on a all to brief hiatus due to vacation! We had a blast and like most vacations it didn't last long enough!

Davy Crockett refused to take off his hat for most of the vacation so of course it had to make an appearance in our pictures!