Such a sweet surprise came to my door recently.

No note,

no name...but I had a couple guesses on who it was.

A sweet friend who has brought me flowers on more than one occassion. 

I think she loves flowers as much as I do and they made me smile.

Aren't they cute and colorful?

 Isn't the wrapping just too cute?

And of course they came from her garden.

"A flower's appeal is in its contradictions - so delicate in form yet strong in fragrance, so small in size yet big in beauty, so short in life yet long on effect."

  -Terri Guillemets

HAPPY FRIDAY FRIENDS.

I love how she's not all the way in the picture. 

You can still tell or convey the story without your object being in the center on your photograph

& and I think it works better with certain pictures.

I loved this day. It was just me and her on a little fun spree after I had spent some time away.

I felt refreshed & I'm pretty sure she did too.

If she didn't I'm sure she felt refreshed after getting soaked in her clothes.

I found myself wanting to yell, " hey..don't get wet over there!"

And then I asked myself why? 

What's the big deal?

Who cares if you have to drive her home sopping wet. 

I want to be that Mom. 

The Mom that lets her kids enjoy the fun things in life and doesn't fret about what really isn't important.

I probably should've jumped in too...but I didn't. I figured I'd stay cool while sipping on some 

ice tea in the shade. :)

But who knows..maybe next time I'll take the plunge!

She did it! She had her first lemonade stand and it was a success. Thank you to all who came out and supported her efforts and such a great cause. It really meant a lot to us and especially to Sunshine.

So how much did she raise? 

$86.00!

Can you believe that?

And that's not counting donations that we're receiving from family in the mail. Eighty six dollars in three hours, that's not bad! I'm so proud of her and we loved being part of this new venture with her. 

She even has inspired a couple others (including her Minga) to have a stand as well. So, who knows what the final total is going to be. 

We made shirts, signs & sent a few emails out which ended up leading to a good time catching up with some friends and talking with neighbors outside about our cause. So fun.

Don't you just love those little lemons on the back?

Couldn't believe how well the t-shirts turned out. And honesty they were super easy to make..just a little time consuming doing four of them, but totally worth it.

Getting ready to go put up signs.

By 1:00 it was so hot...so we had to whip out the umbrellas for some shade :)

Again, thanks so much for coming out and I'll still post some necklaces up here this week if you'd like to make a donation to go towards BloodWaterMission as well.

Cheers & have a great week!!

I'm so excited to sit down and blog for today.

 God is doing something in Sunshine's heart & I have to say it is the coolest thing as a parent to watch it all come to fruition. I feel like I'm along for the ride.

So where do I begin with this one? Hmmm...

Months ago we were talking at the table one night about being thankful for things we take for granted. We then went on to explain to the girls that not everyone has things that seem so simple to us. When Sunshine realized that people in this country and in others don't have access to clean water she couldn't believe it. She was shocked. "But why?" she asked. "We should pray for those people" she said. And for days upon days she prayed for people that don't have fresh water. 

This led to us talking about how we can make a difference....a dent in someone else's life. It's totally great praying for these people but we're called to really get up and do it. Wow. This was a big one with her. We started brainstorming ways to raise money to send off to an organization to help with the drilling of a well or somehow aiding in the access of villages getting water. 

So, we've been making necklaces & bracelets. Yep, she's already started going to neighbors asking for a donation if they'd like to have one. 

(I'll be posting some up here soon if you'd like to purchase and make a donation, more details to come soon)

The plan was to get word out...to tell others and to ask people to help us out with a really good cause. She so wants to make a difference and I want her to witness that others want to help too.

 So yesterday she looks at me and says, " Mom..I want to do a Lemonade stand and I want to give all the money towards the fresh water thing we're doing." "Really?!" I asked.

"Yep, can we do it today?"

I laughed since we didn't have signs or lemonade to do it right then but I then went on to explain to her that  we could plan and get everything we needed for a date coming up.

As she went upstairs I stood in the kitchen as my sweet guy and I debated about what organization we should give to and then

Bloodwater Mission

came to mind.

I typed their website in and ...oh..my..gosh look at what I saw. 

They're doing a whole campaign on Lemon-Aid stands!!! 

AHHHHHHHH...I freaked. I still well up with tears. 

This isn't a coincidence, this is God moving in the heart of Sunshine and she had no clue this was going on in their organization.

All she knows is she wants to sell some lemonade & cupcakes to help others. 

Sooo this SATURDAY we're having a LEMON-AID stand with cupcakes and we'd love for you to stop by.

It's more than what you'll be getting in your cup or what type of cupcake you'll eat;

you'll be making a difference in the lives of others.

Hope to see you sometime on SATURDAY in our front yard

10:00-1:00.

How was your 4th? Did you eat great food? Did you celebrate our independence over ribs and tea? Ours was great. We celebrated with our dear friends and ended up having a huge firework blast off in the street with other neighbors. So much fun! (pictures to come soon)

My awesome and crazy guy who makes me laugh!

The fireworks were fun and all but Sweet Pea was almost uncontrollably excited. I don't think you've ever heard a kid scream so much over and over and want to run out in the street to help her Daddy set them off. So no..I didn't sit down to enjoy them because I was so scared she'd run out or away if I glanced the other direction. Wheww...no rest for Mama! 

Which somehow leads me to talk about those kid leashes. You know the ones with the little animals as a backpack?  I use to think, can those parents not get control of their kids? how pathetic!  But now I've changed my mind. Sorry to all those parents that use those or use to, I truly didn't understand but I do now because I have a little one that's always on the run.

This little Sweet Pea has no fear. None. And she'll run like crazy!! I mean run, jump, climb and fall over anything without thinking twice. 

So, I don't have one of the leashes/ropes yet but I'm starting to think it might be a good idea. If you don't have a child like with this type of personality then I'm sure you'll laugh and roll your eyes but don't judge. I'm trying to gain some sanity and peace (haha).

Hmm..if I decide to go that route I'll let you know which one I end up choosing. Too bad they don't have a Tinkerbell one. :)

 Just a little clip of Sweet Pea later in the night once she started getting tired with her light up shoes. 

He'll be so proud of this year.

We really have a lot of things growing and we can't wait to dig into our first watermelon.

Herbs & vegetables right outside our window...

hmmm

how I love digging in the dirt and watching it all come to fruition over time.

Isn't that beautiful?

I think I got it from him.

Isn't it funny how we watch our parents through life and next thing we know we're imitating certain things we saw & experienced first hand?

He taught me to enjoy the beauty in things that grow; wether it's a flower, a tree or something that tastes yummy from the garden.

He taught me to enjoy being outside no matter what you're doing.

I love that.

I hope I can pass that on to my girls. 

What's growing outside in your garden today?

I love this face.

It's what I needed to see today.

Look at those big eyes....

These girls remind me of what's truly important in life and how precious it is.

My sweet friend captured this one because of Sweet Pea's love for watermelon

&

I'm so glad she did.

We're thinking of Pops..or Peeps, as some of the little ones like to call him, quite a bit today.

Praying that God keeps him safe

& talking 

on the phone

to my dear family a lot.

Pick up the phone or write a little note to the ones you love.

Try not to take them for granted.

Let them know they're 

loved

&

important

to you.

Life is precious.

I have an artist in this house

 and she's got an eye that's for sure. 

She loves to look at pictures and then draw them onto a blank piece of paper...now that I'm thinking I need to get this girl some canvas.

I can't keep up with her because we go through pad after pad of paper..it's awesome!!

So for today I'll display her work because ..it's just cool

and

I'm sure you won't have any problem guessing what it is. 

Now go grab some crayons and paper and create your own masterpiece with your little one!

Pretty right?

I guess you could look at it and say, "it's just lettuce" but the color, texture and where it came from make it more than just lettuce. 

Wanna guess where it's from? 

I will tell you...it's not from the store. 

I love the green that is captured in this shot.

 Isn't it pretty?

Recently I've noticed that the colors in fruits and vegetables are so awesome. I guess in the busyiness of this world we sometimes miss the beauty in the small things.

As I was putting this in the fridge I had to capture a little of it's beauty

to share with 

YOU.

From a high thrill win to a disappointing loss. 

This house has been side by side the American team. Screaming "Go USA..Go USA!" and yes..Sweet Pea has been yelling right along side her Daddy.

I've had a man shake with excitement because of an incredible win and then a sad face only days later that I had to cheer up.

Why?

Because of this

He'll be so proud that I picked this picture from the weekend. 

Yes, we watch a lot of the games in South Africa right now and if you're wondering,

 "how can they watch with those...those..vazuzulas blowing?" 

Honestly we've watched so many games it doesn't even bother me anymore,

and hey I remind myself that it's part of their culture and just try to drown it out.

So no more games for the US

...but man..

we're so proud of all those guys!