Operation Christmas Child: Shoeboxes!

Since last year, I have been saving up little things for our shoeboxes.  An extra toy from the Chick-Fil-A kids meal, a free toothbrush given out at a festival, some donated fabric to create a tote or pillowcase dress... Washcloths on clearance, boxes of crayons that were only a quarter each in August, soap, & toothbrushes.  My mother & friend had donated NIP beanie babies that went, yep, you guessed it... in my shoebox tub!  It sat in the closet all year long slowly getting filled.

Our church was able to surpass our goal of 1000 boxes, so this year our goal is 1500!  I'm not sure that we will make it, but we are certainly trying to do as much as we can to help get there!

Since I was feeling overwhelmed anyways trying to figure out how to complete our boxes, it was perfect that a good friend in the small group mentioned getting together with the idea of packing together.  Amazing how God puts those people in your life, right?!  So, with Melissa's help & encouragement, we started planning.

Our small group met up several weeks ago for our own packing party.  It was kind of a last minute thing with only a week for people to sign up for items to bring.  We used a website that allows the administrator to create a list of items needs & then allows others to sign up.  It sends a reminder email & worked wonderfully.  I input different things I could think of, then added what we had already purchased throughout the year, then others in the small group added their ideas & what they had already purchased!  We even asked others outside of our small group to donate or help pack or both!

The kids were welcome at the packing party, we had taco chicken chili & peanut butter bars out for the taking, & tons of stuff all over the place.  The items were organized into "like" piles, then the guys started folding up the boxes...

At a minimum, each box contained:

** Toothbrush & Toothpaste

** Soap & Washcloth

** Crayons & Notebook or Coloring Books

** Soft Toy Animal

** Lots of Other Toys

** Pencil, Pencil Sharpener, & Extra Eraser

** Candy

** Water Bottle

For the different age groups, we also added deodorant (ages 10-14), sewing kits (girls ages 5-9, 10-14), & matchbox cars (every boy box).

We ended up packing over 50 boxes!  53 to be exact!  I am so proud of our small group in donated time & money to bless kids overseas.  It is amazing what we take for granted & how over-indulged our own children can be when a toothbrush is a prized gift to another little boy or girl.  How often do we take our resources for granted?  How difficult is it for us to take $10 out of our pocket to fill a shoebox for a child?  If you don't have the time to fill a shoebox, you can donate money to apply to shipping these shoeboxes ($7/shoebox ships it around the world) OR pack-a-box on their website...

Visit Operation Christmas Child: Pack a Shoebox for more information.  Like them on Facebook to get even more creative ideas.  But, most importantly, open your heart for ways to serve others outside of our own circle, then pray specifically & expectantly for the child that receives each of those shoeboxes.

I have also created a Pinterest board to bookmark ideas & blog posts throughout the year, if you'd like to check that out:  Operation Christmas Child 2012 Board

Looking forward to sharing more ideas soon!  Next week, I plan to post some ideas to planning a shoebox party... We definitely did a great job, but I have thought of several things to make sure we do next year when our goal will be at least 120 packed shoeboxes for our small group!

Be Blessed!

Been a While, Ehh?

Well, obviously it's been a while since I updated. I could describe all of the reasons/excuses why I haven't been updating, but I will just catch ya up on what's been going on.

Firstly, we are in a different stage of "expecting"! This week, our homestudy will be sent to the State for licensure to become foster parents. I'm sure our situation will change over time, but as of right now we are requesting a child under the age of 3. More specifically & initially, an infant under 12mths. We aren't sure exactly where this will lead, but we can no longer deny the calling for us to open our home, our hearts, to a foster child. I could go on & on about how this has developed, but I imagine I will do that later. And I'm sure God will intricately weave an even more beautiful journey than I can imagine.

 {Just to hit some high notes... Yes, I'm anxious about having to give the child back up when family reunification occurs. I have to trust that God is bigger than my fears. I have to trust that there is some sort of purpose for the pain my heart has felt from a 7 year struggle with infertility; I feel that God is using the pain & unending heart-ache for His purpose & He will use this in me as a foster mother. For now, that is all!}

Since I was snapping a picture anyways, I thought I'd take a quick couple of the craft room. I was totally thrilled to be able to purchase this craft table from a friend & it is the center of attention in the craft room! :) There is still plenty I plan to add to this room, but it will be a slow moving process. Which is great, cuz it's always fun to add stuff while you find it!

Here's a corner in the craft room... Filled with Operation Christmas Child shoebox goodies! I've been saving some stuff up all year & our small group will be having a packing party this weekend, so I will update with more about that after it! I'm looking forward to filling them all up & getting them to the church.

We are anticipating to be licensed as early as the middle of November! That is a bit earlier than I expected, so I will be packing a last-minute diaper bag with bottles, a bit of formula, & some gender-neutral outfits in various sizes to accommodate any child we may get called to take in.

We definitely would appreciate your prayers & support as we begin this foster parenting journey!

A Quick Craft

It took me 2.5 years and several scoops of Spark to discover the joy of naptime.

I mean, naptime was also nice when I was sleeping with Little Bit, but this having an hour or two to myself AND feeling good enough to do something during it?

Pretty sweet!

I didn't have any pre-set plans to accomplish during naptime. Except to go through a hamper of stuff I am purging... pulling out the "save for the consignment sale", "throw away", or "give back to someone" piles.

Then, just as the snoring began, it hit me!

A new wreath! Several years ago, I scored some wreath door hangers on clearance & this past winter, I actually hung a wreath. Which I crafted & loved. But, I was ready for something new & was hoping to sort through some stuff in my (messy) craft corner.

I had already worked on the felt flowers, so I plugged the hot glue gun in & went to town.

Here's our before wreath:

{Please ignore the slant! Yikes. And, yes, thank-you-for-asking, I HAVE lost some weight! FIFTEEN pounds to be exact, WOoHoo!}

And our after wreath:

For much less than $5 [Probably less than $3 if I break the calculator out & really figure it out], I have a brand new door wreath! I am trying to not let things like the width of the wreath not being perfectly symmetric or the bumps of the vines or flower I had to move three times bother me, because I am pretty happy I got a little crafting done today!

Now if I could only convince my husband to let me paint the door the color I want!! ;)

I still have nearly an hour of naptime left; think I will tackle that hamper now!

Recap of January

I thought I'd do some recaps of each month to share how we are prepaing, primarily, for Christmas next year! I figure doing something slowly throughout the year will avoid that stress at the end of the year! :)

Swagbucks earned me $10 in Amazon giftcards.

Participation in a Hugg.ies mommy community earned me $15 in Amazon giftcards.

A rebate from using our Mastercard during Christmas time earned me a $20 giftcard.

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD:
** Purchased 6 bars of Ivory soap (money spent $1.28)
** Purchased 18 mittens, on clearance at Target (money spent $4.50)
** Various kids meal toys collected from buying Little Bit food (free! Was going to buy the meals anyways & I just save up the books or toys every other meal!)

This month, February, I hope to make some pillowcase dresses to add to the shoeboxes & possibly some Valentine clearance items (pencils, erasers, possibly?)

This is also a reminder to be on the look-out for item to add to your shoeboxes. We can provide more gifts for those sweet children if we shop ahead, buy the deals, & plan! Just like in all of the areas of our spending! :)

Painting at Library

Our local library (although still a 30 minute drive from our house) has weekly storytime meeting for the little ones. I am attempting getting out of the house more often & these meetings are perfect opportunities for me to let Elias get messy (with crafts & toys) without me having to clean it all up! :)

Unless he has painted at his Puggles/Awanas classes, this is the first time my little guy has painted. I thought he did a pretty good job & we enjoyed the outing.

He Is the Light of My Life

We were at one of E's friend's pool party (in Janaury! His mama rocked it!) & this was just too cute to not show off.

Now, how could you look at that & not smile! :)