New Project: New Fundraiser

My good friend Mary cleaned out her crafts supplies in the Fall.  I got some goodies out of her purging.  Namely, a baggie chocked full of embroidery floss.  Did I know what I was going to do with it?  Nope.  Maybe, 1,000 friendship bracelet for my BFFs...
I always like to be prepared.  [a.k.a. I can be a craft supply hoarder...]

We finished our adoption classes at the end of last month.  Nine three hour sessions.  That's a whole lotta time to get to know people.  Especially nice to be walking this road with super sweet, open people.  Our teacher was great!  Spunky, fun, party nail rock'n social worker.  I wanted to give her something special as a token of my appreciation.  Enter embroidery floss...

I decided to make some string art to spell out a word that encompassed our experience in the class. 

1. Found a piece of wood in the garage. 
2. Printed out the word: HOPE.
3. Nailed around the perimeter.

4. Ripped out the paper.
5. Went crazy with string.  Ombre if you please...

She liked it.
Do you?  Because I'm adding these signs to my LittleAcornProduct Etsy site.  ALL proceeds go to our adoption fund!!!  I can do any word in any color.  Think: names, your last name, a word or short phrases [always & forever, sweet dreams, home, love, imagine].  Any suggestions?

I'm going to try to crank out a few more tonight...I'll post pictures.
Thanks for looking.

Clothes Swap

We are trying to adopt a baby.  It's taken a lot for us to get to this point.  Now, we are joyful taking steps toward adoption.  Several hurdles yet remain--namely money.  Adoption is expensive.  We are working with Bethany Christian Services to facilitate this process.  There is a TON of paper work to manage, which equals a lot of time for them [$].  But, more than that, and something that has become a huge priority: before and after care for expectant parents and expectant adoptive parents.  This takes time, energy and resources we don't have [$$$].  This is part of the reason adoption is so expensive.  We feel very confident that our milestone payments are going to creating a healthy environment for our children.  It's worth it.

However, we don't have this money.  We are believing that God will provide it.  In His perfect timing for a purpose that is honoring to Him, entrusting us to raise children to know Him.  So... we've started fund raising.

 CLOTHES SWAP SPRING 2013

Throughout the month of February I collect women's clothes.  The final total was 35 dresses, 23 skirts, 10 jackets, 117 shirts, 37 pants, 22 pairs of shoes and boots, 27 workout items, 20 purses, 20 scarves, 4 wallets, and a belt.  WOW!  I seriously have the best friends EVER.

In case you were wondering, this is what a mountain of clothes looks like.  I'll call it Mt. Generosity.

This is how a Clothes Swap works:
Step 1: Collect donations.
Step 2: Organize.  I organized everything but type [shirts, pants, dresses, etc.]  And then by size.
Step 3: Neatly set up clothes in a big space.  Room to try items on is a big bonus!  
Step 4: Pray for folks to come a shop!

$20 for any 10 items.  $10 if you donated.  $1 for each additional item.

We held our event from 2-5pm.  Friends brought sweet treats to share.  We had coffee and tea [thanks Jess!] We helped each other pick out clothes and maybe forced a few friends into putting on a little fashion show.  We all left with some nice "new" clothes.  Great time.  PLUS we raised money to put in our adoption fund! Win-win-win.

We're already planning another Clothes Swap for the Fall!

We are now accepting donations for a kids consignment sale AND a yard sale.  ANYTHING you need to get rid of--send our way!!!  OR if you would be willing to help out at a yard sale [April 20 or May 4]  that would be a GIANT help too.

Thanks for everything.

Kristen

Annual Financial Report Day

We don't celebrate Valentine's Day in the traditional way.  Not that I don't like flowers and chocolates... I do!  My sweet husband began, many moons ago, showing me his love and affection in his own way.  He calls it Annual Financial Report Day.  He has this gift with numbers.  He makes me graphs and pie charts of all the money we've spent over the last year.  I do LOVE a good pie chart!  It means so much to me... A.F.R.D [a little close to AFRAID] ... I'm not scared.  Alas, it is a very busy season.  There will be no pie charts today.  Soon, not today.

BUT--we did have a party!  I had a blast planning our morning.  I got to be girlie.  Hearts galore!  The boy and I both got to see our friends.  That's a pretty great combination.

We started our day with some banana bread muffins.  I tried to to make them heart shaped by adding a marble to the muffin tin.  It sorta worked... They tasted good.

Around 10am our friends arrived.  We had a cereal/pretzel necklace making table.  Tied them over until lunch time... each "tiny friend" [as my sister would say] got to decorate a valentine holder.  Everyone brought cards to share.  It was pretty adorable.

I planned a special lunch.  It was hearty--see what I did there?  Heart-y.  It's been a long, FUN day.

I saw these heart shaped carrots on Pinterest.  They were the impetus for this Annual Financial Report Day's party.  

Chicken tortellini soup.  [Just regular old chicken soup with tortellini instead of egg noodles]  

Grilled Cheese

These rolls!

Another not-so-successful heart shaping attempt.  But, as one friend said,"Oh, they're heart shaped?  I didn't notice.  I ate it too quickly."  That's a high compliment and I'll take it!

Salad and tomato soup.  Tomato soup that I forgot to warm up... easily remedied.

And then there was DESSERT:  Raspberry cupcakes, cream filled doughnuts, chocolate cake, fruit salad, cake batter cookies, and smore bars... oh my, my, my.  Heart sprinkles, pink everywhere!  Yum! Thank you to my friends for bringing these WONDERFUL treats.  It felt like having a party in a bakery.  It's not everyday you get to offer your little one such a plethora of dessert choices.  That was fun!

Sweet.

I made these Valentine crayons using a heart shaped silicone ice cube tray.  We have a lot of crayons.  I chopped them up, melted them down and popped'm in the freezer.

Our valentines.

Happy Valentines/Annual Financial Report Day everyone.  I hope you feel cherished however you chose to celebrate this day.  I know I'm looking forward to the slice of the pie chart for the A.F.R.D. rain check.  Get it?  Dessert...pie chart...money?  hehe.  It was a good day. 

Happy New Year!

Kung Hei Fat Choi.

The Year of the snake.

Dessert for our New Year's feast!

 

Ooey-gooey cookie brownie peanut butter morsels

There's something so special about baking.  Left and right brain working together.  It is pretty thrilling to make something new.  Yesterday, I whipped up these brownie-cookie-peanut butter cup bites for the Super Bowl.  Also, mostly because I wanted to treat my sweet husband.  The combination of three of his favorite things seemed like just the ticket!  I was inspired by this recipe: Brownie bites on steroids I thought I'd try my hand at a picture tutorial.  So, here goes nothing!

Several years ago, I bought this handy dandy silicone pan on super sale at a craft store.  Honestly, I haven't used it very often.  But, it seemed like just the right thing for this recipe.  I wanted these treats to be bite sized.  A mini muffin pan would work fine too.

I gathered what I needed [minus the eggs and oil]:

Not even a little bit from scratch...

Grease your pan!  Generously.

Now, to figure out proportions.  I accidentally bought mini chocolate chip cookie dough.  It turned out to be a great mistake.  I cut each piece in half--just right!  Squish it in.

Next, I decided to warm the dough in a preheated 350 degree oven.  Just enough to soften the dough, about 5 minutes.
While the cookie dough is in the oven, whip up your brownie batter according to the package directions and cut your peanut butter cups in half:

Thanks for the Vermont cutting board Mom!

The softened dough is perfect for squishing those peanut butter cups down into:

 Spoon brownie batter on top, filling about 3/4 full.  Most recipes say this and I usually fill things pretty full.  Use your best judgement.

Bake for about 12 minutes.  I figured if these little morsels were a tad bit under done it would ruin the football game...

Fresh from the oven.  I popped them in the refrigerator for a bit.  

TOUCHDOWN!!!

 Sorry this picture is not better... I am new at this.  I made 4 dozen of these ooey-gooey cookie brownie peanut butter cup morsels. They were good. 

And we were pretty stoked the the Ravens won the big game!!!
I'd love to know if you try this recipe!  Happy baking!

Worry

We have a lot on our plates right now.  Thanksgiving-full plates.  I just have to remember the "Giving thanks" part.  My pastor from childhood faithfully sends messages each Monday and Friday.  I've been receiving them since college.  Too many times to count, Pastor Diggins' e-mail encouragement has lined up perfectly with the happenings of my life.  God does that.

This was his message today:

“And do not seek what you shall eat, and what you shall drink, and do not keep worrying” 

                                                                   Luke 12:29

    There are numerous synonyms for worry two of which are doubt and unbelief.  When we unnecessarily worry we often find ourselves robbed of assurance and peace that is ours in abundance when our faith is strong.  As an example consider the story in Mark 9 of a man who was at wits end worrying about his little boy who suffered greatly at the hands of an unclean spirit.  When he brought the boy to Jesus he said, “But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!”  Jesus replied, “If You can!  All things are possible to him who believes!”  In response to Jesus’ call to faith the father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”  (Read Mark 9:14-27)

  When doubts arise because of unbelief and worry begins to take a toll on us we should be quick to cry out as this father did, “Lord, I do believe; help my unbelief”.  Worry is lethal to our peace.  It quickly extinguishes hope and effectively kills our joy.  When we worry we become vulnerable to being driven by winds of uncertainty that cause us to make rash decisions that only make matters worse.  Caught up in such a whirlwind we sink deeper into despair which increases doubts that add to our worries and multiplies unbelief.

  It is not easy to overcome worry but it’s not impossible either.  Trusting in the Lord implicitly, prayer and holding onto the promises of God is, without comparison, the best remedy for worry.  If we feel our anchor slipping or sense we’re losing our grip on the lifeline that extends to heaven, be quick to cry out, “Lord, I do believe; help my unbelief.”

As we continue this adoption journey, it is hard not to worry.  Our hearts are open-- but right now the biggest hurdle is financial.  It seems impossible.  But, I am reminded and encouraged that with God all things are possible.  So, as I tuck my napkin into my collar and look down upon my heaping plate full of responsibility, and I will pray: "Lord, I give thanks!  I DO believe!  Help me not to worry.  God, help my unbelief. Amen."

Sweet Stranger

We went to the library to make up for our ill-fated attempt earlier this week.
A dear kind women at there sought me out to tell me that I was doing a good job.  As a mother.  She thought I was a good mom...  She was having a hard day; but she made a point to bring joy to mine.  She made my day.  Honestly, she made my week.  I really appreciated her thoughtfulness.  She drew from many years and told me,  "The days are long; but the years are short."  I won't soon forget your wisdom kind stranger.  Thank you.