Sharing Our Time, Treasures and Talents

We have been given an awesome opportunity to help with a local transition community. About 10 minutes from here is a community of 48 trailers filled with local families that use to be homeless.

At Thanksgiving we put together a basket filled with all the fixings to a complete meal. A local church donated all the turkeys. We included activities for the kids, a candle and some pretty napkins, along with home grown sweet potatoes.

Then about a week and a half ago, a friend of mine organized a Christmas ornament making and cooking decorating party for their after school program. About 5 families met out there and spent the afternoon making pinecone decorations and decorating cookies. When that was done all the kids, ours included, went and played on the playground.

The lady who coordinated the Thanksgiving baskets is also coordinating some type of Christmas for all of the 48 families. We, along with our Sunday School class, have been able to provide a Christmas tree and presents for the kids and a gift card for the mom to the same family that we did a Thanksgiving basket for. And, as it turns out, 2 of the 4 kids are in the afterschool program so we were actally able to meet them!

This afternoon is a Christmas party at the community and the kids and I are going to go. Little Mama made a friend and wants to bring her a Christmas gift.

One of my goals as a parent, is to help my kids understand that one of the main reasons we are on this Earth is to serve others. Especially those who have needs. I also want them to understand how truly blessed we are as a family. And we ought not take it for granted. To wake up each day and thank God for all the provisions He has given us. And to share those provisions as He calls us to.

Helping out the transition community is just one way we can do that. And we are definitely enjoying it in the process . . .

Field Trip

We have been crazy busy with really great things to do. One of them was a trip to our Governor's Mansion last week. The following are pictures and just a couple of high light.

The front of the Governor's Mansion. This is the second one built on the same spot. The left side is the private residence. The right side is open to the public for tours.

The foyer is filled with many, many antiques. Some dating back to the 1700s. The clock still works!

Silver service commissioned for the Navy. Art on loan from a museum in our state.

The wallpaper in the main dining room was water damaged a few years back. It originally came from France a long, long time ago. When a call was made to see if it could be replaced, it could. The wallpaper is hand stamped! It was beautiful.

My favorite room, the library. It was originally a sun room.


A room where meetings are held etc.

On the table is a locked box. Back in the day it held tea under lock and key.

The gang. They did great! Great group of kids . . .

December Book Club

This is what our book club looked like for our December get together! We had reports on Lewis and Clark and ate lunch outside. And then after the moms got done talking (well not really done talking because we never really get done talking) but when we decided to make a break in all the good play time, we had ourselves a little cookie decorating party.

Have I mentioned I love the holidays in the South? Where else can you decorate Christmas cookies outside in December . . .

Pine Cones and Pretty Smells

Nature Girl and I hard at work making scented pine cone bags. Little Mama was the picture taker. Much fun that weekend. . . .

I Love My Kids This Much

One of the greatest joys I have in being Nature Girl's mom, is watching her do ballet. She is beautiful and lovely and graceful and so, well, just perfect. It has brought tears to my eyes since the very first time I saw her dance when she was just three years old. Oh so many years ago. I still get that same feeling. It truly is a gift to me.

One of the greatest joys I have in being Little Mama's mama, is that I get to watch her, day in and day out, express her concern and love and caring for others. Everyone from the homeless, who she made food bags for yesterday, to her very favorite baby sister. She will truly make someone a wonderful wife and mother.

One of the greatest joys I have in being Boop's mom, is watching him gladly serve others. He is always ready to help with a humble heart. He got his hair cut today and he looks SO DARN ADORABLE!

One of the greatest joys I have in being EG's mom, is, well, just being her mom. She is the spunkiest, happiest, stubbornest, silliest, smartest baby girl I have ever seen. So, so thankful she is ours . . .

EG's Thoughts on Life

EG: Will monsters get us?

Me: No, we have daddy.

EG: Will bad guys get us?

Me: No, we have daddy.

EG: Will ghosts get us?

Me: No, we have daddy.

EG: And daddy has a gun.

Me: Yes, EG daddy has a gun.

Last night, in tears, just wailing.

EG: I want a baby!!!!!

Me: EG, you just got a new baby doll for your birthday.

EG: Noooooo, I want a real one!!!!

Me: Well, you are going to have to talk to daddy about that . . . .

Market Days

We have had a very busy weekend. For the second year in a row, the girls participated in our local crafts fair. It actually is a big thing in our area. Vendors from all over the United States come to our town the first weekend in December and it is a great fundraising event for our local nature museum.

This year the girls did their crafts all by themselves. With a little start up help from mom and dad. Little Mama decorated Terra cotta pots with paint and buttons and ribbon and sea shells she collected from the beach. Except for some of the spray painting, she did all the decorating herself. Using a glue gun and everything! The pots were adorable and she had them displayed with pens in them, to show other uses for them.

Nature Girl made scented pine cone bags. About a month before the fair, we all went and collected pine cones and then about a week before, she sprayed down every single pine cone with a cinnamon spice essence oil. She then tied them up in a bag and let them soak in the fragrance. On Friday she packaged them all up in pretty mesh bags and tied pretty Christmas ribbons on them. The smelled and looked wonderful.

They had success on Saturday and Sunday. Each girl selling something. It is such a great experience for them to have an idea, figure out how it is going to work, put it all together and then reap the many benefits from a job well done.

I am very proud of both of them. For their ideas and their determination to get it all done. And it is kind of a neat way to get into the holiday spirit. Hopefully I will have pictures for Silent Sunday . . .