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Since the beginning of the school year, we have implemented "Fun Fridays". We pack in as much fun before bedtime as we can to celebrate the end of a week-well-spent working hard at school. Ice cream, no homework, video games, home made pizzas, a rented movie, and
stove-popped popcorn with butter, salt, and a bag of M&M's sprinkled on top.
Happy Fun Friday to ya!
We want to show off your homemade costume and dress up ideas!
I made these pillow covers last week to cover up some brown tapestry floor pillows that have been around our house for most of our marriage. Donnie loves to use them while watching movies with the kids, but I kept finding myself stashing them in corners when they weren't in use, because they were just so ugly.
See for yourself:
The old covers were dark, worn, and icky. So I pulled out some supplies and got to work. If you want to make some for yourself, here's what you'll need:
For the base fabric, I used the same canvas drop cloth that I used for the custom storage bins in the the kids' room. I still have lots of it left. I wonder how many projects I'll get out of it. The painter's tape was left over from the dining room paint job, the fusible web was from Emma's teacher gift last year, and the linen fabric is either from other projects, or thrifted clothing items I bought for the purpose of reusing the linen. The linen probably cost around $2, the craft paint $2, and the textile medium was $2. If you are buying fusible web for this project, make sure you buy the kind you can sew into, the thinner the better. I used heat n bond for this project.
To make the stripes for the back of the pillows, draw pencil lines 1 1/2 inches apart (or the width of your tape) with your clear ruler as a guide. Carefully place your tape along every other line. Mix your paint with the textile medium, at a 2:1 ratio. I eyeballed two globs of paint to one squirt of medium. Worked fine. The medium is sticky and helps the paint adhere to fabric permanently. I think it also improves the texture.
As the paint starts to dry, remove the tape to reveal your stripes!
If you are feeling kinda cheap, save the tape from your first pillow back, and use it to paint your second one. It sticks enough for both and saves you, I dunno, $.25?
After your stripes have dried overnight, iron them with a cover cloth to set the paint. Then throw in the washer and dryer so the paint softens up a bit.
Next, applique the first pillow front.
1. Make a pattern by printing out your letters in a font you like. Cut it out. Fuse the adhesive-backed paper webbing to the fabric with an iron. Place the letter face down on the paper and trace around the pattern. Cut it out. 2. To make perfect guidelines on your canvas, fold it in half and press along the fold with a warm iron. Then fold it the other way, so you have four equal squares. Line your appliques along these guides. Peel the backing off of the fabric applique. 3. Making sure the letters are exactly where you want them, fuse them to the canvas with the iron, following the instructions on the package. 4. Sew a straight stitch in black thread around each letter. I like to outline them twice, not being too careful, so it makes a slightly scribbley outline. What's the point in hand-making something if it looks like a machine made it?
For the second pillow front, I made a pattern for a equilateral triangle, and cut several out of each color linen, backed with iron-on adhesive. I had a few more scraps with backing left, so I made a couple half-triangles, too. Then I ironed everything in place.
And stitched close to the edges of the appliques.
I took the zippers off of the original pillows and used them to close the covers, but you could easily make an envelope back or just sew the pillow closed with a slip stitch.
Now instead of hiding these pillows, I'm moving them all over the house to see where I like them the best.
The 1 1/2 inch stripes turned out to be the perfect proportion for these 22-inch pillows. The paint, after being washed, still has a little bit of a stiff texture to it--kind of like indoor/outdoor fabric. But it does not feel like paint.
Just like with every creative project, instead of running out of ideas, it has inspired several more. Like, what else can I do with this canvas drop cloth? And, what other home-fabrics could use a painted design?
So while I think about what's next, I'll let you go and make yourself a set of your own.
Here's the other project I made from the same canvas drop cloth:
Good morning! As you know, I was deeply moved by the story of Katie Davis, author of Kisses from Katie.
To give you a brief outline of her life, Katie went to Uganda on a short term missions trip over Christmas break when she was 17, and she fell in love with the country and its people. Over the next few years she reoriented her entire life to her mission in Uganda, started a non-profit, began sponsoring children to go to school in her village, and regularly feeds thousands of indigenous people. And she is still not even 25 years old.
Today my friends and I are going to share our thoughts on the book, and how it affected us.
Before we get into the book, here are some introductions:
My name is Anna C, I'm 32 years old, and the mother of 3. My husband is a youth pastor, and we are making our life together in Dallas, TX. I've been writing this blog, Lasso the Moon since right after Ethan was born, about 5 1/2 years. I'm so glad you're here!
My name is Amanda W. I am a stay at home mom of two beautiful kiddos, a
wife to a police officer, and a graphic designer. I enjoy reading,
writing and helping others.
(Amanda also has a blog, This, That and the Other, where she writes about what's on her mind and heart. Check it out!)
Abby is my baby sister, but more recently one of my closest friends. She has two adorable little girls and a husband, lives less than 10 minutes from my house, and is my sounding board for all kinds of crazy ideas. She doesn't have a blog (yet!) but later this month will start contributing here at Lasso the Moon!
***
1. What did you think about the book? Did you like it?
This is one of those books that will wreck your life. But I mean that in the best possible way!
Absolutely.
I loved the book. It was a good lesson for me to learn that what one
person does with her life really does make a difference. I am also
amazed at her courage. I would have been terrified for my own safety but
she has complete trust that the Lord will keep her safe.
I haven't yet finished the book. I've read a third of it and I think
it's a great book. It's a very captivating story and I certainly plan to
finish it. Right away I started writing posts on my blog that were
inspired by this book!
2. What was your favorite story? Why?
I liked how she talked about the excitement of the children when they
had what was probably their first ever baths. It just resonated with me,
it's something I take so much for granted and dread doing with my own
children! Yet, it's such a blessing to have that opportunity.
Here is it, only question #2 and I'm already crying over Amanda's answer. To have a first ever bath! This is a reality that I just don't understand, being American born and raised. There are times when my family has been considered below the poverty level, yet we are filthy rich compared to so many in this world. I loved this story, too. I also love that, until they got a bigger facility, all the children in the sponsorship program would come over for Saturday worship, stay all day, eat filling meals, and end up sleeping on the floor of Katie's house, body-to-body. And when they leave, they walk home with big bags of food supplies for the rest of the week.
One
of my favorite stories is from one of her journal entries. In it she
talks about trying to teach her girls not to play with trash. She
realizes that their joy in things she views as trash is similar to how
God views us and our “treasures.” He loves us anyway. Our perfect
Heavenly Father loves us even though we are dirty & broken. He wants
for us to think and dwell on the Heavenly things of value but He
doesn’t withhold His love when we forget and focus on earthly ‘trash’
because that is our human nature. He comes to us where we are.
...her impact on kids?
Makes me want to adopt my own.
No kidding! I love the emotions that Katie talks about every time God presents her with another little girl to add to her family. She's not a super hero. She does not portray herself as ultra-godly or even selfless. But what God has asked her to do, she believes He will equip her to do it. Do I have faith like that?
It
is amazing that she has had done so much to change the lives of so many
children. Not only the 13 girls she’s made her own but hundreds of
children in the villages around her. She is incredibly selfless; yet
even she struggles with feelings of selfishness and pride.
Abby, I love how Katie, over and over, uses her journal and blog to confess her pride and selfishness! That blows me away. My own selfishness manifests in inaction. Hers might too I guess, but on a much smaller level!
...Jane's story?
For those of you who have not gotten this far in the book, I'll fill you in. While Katie's adoptions are legal, they cannot be finalized until she is 25. And since Jane's adoption wasn't final, her birth mother was able to change her mind and come back to claim her as her own. This part of the story is heart breaking, and I honestly don't understand why God does some of the things He does, but you will love Katie's response to it. She mourns, she's angry, but she trusts that God is sovereign.
My
heart breaks for Katie and for Jane. When she lets Jane and her mother
stay in her house after Jane has been away for so long she is confronted
with feelings of jealousy and what could have been. It was incredibly
sad to know that had Jane stayed with her instead of being returned to
her birth-mother she would have been a completely different little girl.
...the impact that one person's life can make?
I
think that a lot of the time I feel that what I do on a daily basis
doesn’t matter because I’m only one person. But I learned that it does
matter – even if it only matters to my family.
I think God takes our small amount of faith and effort and puts in so
much more. He's the only one who can make that big of an impact, we are
just cooperating with Him to make it happen.
I think sometimes we see faith as believing that God can do "x", even though it seems impossible. What I see about the faith demonstrated in this book, is that Katie didn't put a label on "x". And I think that true faith is just taking that willing next step, not even caring about how far this could take you. This is a big fault of mine, as a daydreamer. I want to see a possible end result, and have faith in that. But usually my dreams are puny compared to the power of Mighty God! Instead of keeping my eyes on the earthly prize, I just need to keep my eyes on Him.
...the idea of total surrender to God?
It intimidates me and makes me nervous when I think of it on the
scale of moving across the world or doing something huge like that, or
even in some small ways. However, I realized through this book how God
leads us to do things sometimes. It's not like God said to Katie "Hey
pack up your bags, move to Uganda and never come back". He led her a
step at a time through the short term mission trip, the one year trip,
etc. He planted desires and motivation in her heart along the way to
lead her there. I found this to be encouraging. I'm glad God doesn't
show us the big picture, I'm not sure I would be as willing of a
participant.
I totally agree, Amanda. But hasn't He ever asked you to take that tiny next step, and even that seemed like too much? I know of actual instances when I saw God leading me to do something small--even starting a conversation with a stranger--and I've brushed it aside. I don't want to live like that. If we want to live in total surrender, we have to trust that God is good and loves us, first of all, and then we just have to step out--one little step at a time.
I
am inspired to live more in-tune with God’s will. I know that I don’t
have the same level of faith and trust that she has but I want to have
it.
Abby, me too!
..her life compared to yours?
Well, obviously it's very different. However, I saw many parallels in
the fact that she is a mom as well. She also pointed out that there are
many things she does that are just ordinary and simple. Things no one
else would call spectacular, just the every day stuff God has called her
to. That's where I am at right now. I can change the world through MY
children. I pray that I have her passion to care THAT much about
pleasing God and doing exactly what He wants me to do. Other emotions
that arise are feelings of guilt for having so much. Feelings of
confusion, what am I supposed to do with the fact that I have so much
and others have so little.
I
may not be changing the lives of 14 girls in Africa (plus hundreds
more) but I can change the lives of my own girls everyday if I learn to
live intentionally. I can also pour into the lives of others in my life –
mainly girls in the youth group. I can build relationships and change
lives if I let God use me the way He has planned.
I tried so hard not to compare my life to Katie's, but I found it impossible. I felt sluggish, lazy, indulgent, and selfish--to name just a few emotions! The guilt was keeping me up at night until I realized that guilt is never from the Lord. That was the Enemy trying to keep me distracted from what I was really supposed to learn here. And the truth is, the life God has asked of me is wildly different from the life Katie is leading. I have a husband and have to follow his lead for our life's direction. He has a vibrant ministry here, that I'm obviously supposed to be part of and support. On the other hand, where might God have led me if I'd freely and trustingly said yes to all the little tasks He's already asked of me? I don't know! Maybe Uganda! And that makes me not want to miss out on anymore opportunities and little "missions" He puts in front of me. Her life is a beautiful example of what God might do with a person who merely answers "Yes, Lord."
4. What did you feel the Lord was trying to teach you about this book?
I
learned that I need to be intentional with my time. I am the first
example of Christ to my children and I want to draw them to Him. Also, I
want more than ever to foster or adopt. I don’t think that is in my
family’s immediate future but I believe the Lord will lead us down that
road in His time.
Multiple times I see this book reiterating that your calling may not be
to pack up and minister in another country. While there is much worse
poverty in Uganda there is also great poverty
here and many ways to help people. I don't have to move across the world
to be spreading God's word. I think I have sold myself short in the
impact I can have in the life of my children by just taking care of the
calling that God has given me as a mom and as a part time worker in
graphic design. I often feel guilty that I'm not doing more, but I don't
think that I should. Also, I think that I'm seeing how quick people are
to blame God for poverty, yet we aren't willing to help those people
ourselves.
It's funny how God can take the same book and teach three stay-at-home moms very different lessons! I felt like He was telling me to do more! Not in huge life-altering ways, but in tiny little ways that still require great amounts of trust in Him. Befriend the teachers at my kids' school, find out who and where the needy are in my community, expose my children to poverty, and train them to not be afraid of it. Get off the computer, out of books, out of my head, and into the world to do some good. This book got my spirit buzzing about what I could be doing--while still being an attentive mom and wife--and to stop being so scared of new people and situations.
5. How are you going to implement what you learned?
By praying to God in the mornings to ask how I can help Him that day. By
being open to simple things that can make a big impact on other people.
Also, I am considering many of the excess items I have in my home and
am planning to find the time to sort through some things that I can give
to the local Teen MOPS program. It's not fair that I have so much while
others have so little. I have felt this way for quite some time, but
this opportunity recently came up and it's something I can help with.
I love that! "Being open to simple things." I think I could say, "Being open!" I'm trying to listen to the voice of the Lord when I sense Him guiding me to do those simple things. I know He does this every day, and that a lot of times I just tune Him out. But on the occasions that I have actually followed this lead, I have been overwhelmed and astonished with where they have taken me. Where He has taken me. And I want more of that.
By
not wasting time. I need to take care of my own family first and then
give my time to those around me. My personality wants to go and save
people and change their lives but I have to be content in the role that
God has given me. He may use me to change people or he may just use me
to plant seeds and to be someone’s friend. I have to learn to be okay
with that.
Love it!
***
Thanks so much to Abby and Amanda for talking some of this out with me. I love a book that gets under your skin, and this is one of them! If you are just joining us, and would like to get in on this conversation, please do so in the comments below. I'd love to hear what you have to say.
If you want to read more about how Amanda is living out what God's teaching her, check out This, That and the Other.
Order your own copy of Kisses from Katie here
Today is the day I need your answers to the questions about this life-changing book. I want to know how one book can speak differently into the lives of several different women. The final book review will be posted on Monday, Sept 17th.
You can find the list of questions here. And email them, with your answers, to me at lassothemoonshop (at) gmail (dot) com. Thanks so much to those of you participating. I hope it will inspire others to read it, too!
Day Four!
Gen 1:16-19 "God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day."
This was my favorite day yet in our neighborhood art class. We started with the moon, because it is the messiest, and it takes the longest to dry.
I gathered shaving cream (the old fashioned kind), elmer's glue, and black poster board. Whatever background paper you use, make sure it's sturdy.
I found the recipe for homemade puff paint on this blog post. (What a great blog!) 1/2 cup glue to 1 1/2 cups shaving cream. I made three batches for my big group, and we used almost all of it.
Really, this is one of the coolest art supplies I've ever used. It's a bit sticky when it's wet, but after it dries, it is tall and puffy and soft. I cannot wait to explore other uses for it.
I handed each kid a 1/2 piece of black poster board and had them draw a large circle with a pencil. Then they filled in the circle with the puffy paint, using their hands or a sponge brush. After it was all filled in, they made craters with various objects. By far the best craters were made with the tp rolls. Stamp down, and shift slightly to make a perfect crater.
Place your moon paintings someplace out of the way, because they take about 12-24 hours to fully dry. But they are worth it!!
For the next project, we took inspiration from one of the greats - Kandinsky. On a sheet of sturdy drawing paper, the children made their sun paintings using different colors of oil pastels.
Oil pastels are very easy to find--even Walmart sells a pack for about $5. They are creamy and make very rich colors on the page.
Start at the center with a dot, and then draw different color concentric circles all the way to the edge of the paper, if you can!
Don't you love how they turned out! This is very good practice at fine motor skills. Even the littlest artists (ours were 3 yrs old) had fun with this one, picking which color would come next. None of them stuck to oranges and yellows. I love that!
This picture is so funny to me! They are all so proud of their sunshine paintings!
Find the rest of our Craft Wednesday Creation series here:
Have fun making your own!
One of the mini-resolutions I've made for myself since I took the challenge to "do something small", is spend more time in the kitchen. I haven't put any specific parameters on that, so it could mean cooking a new recipe every night, or it could mean making sure the dishes are done before I go to bed. (I'm more likely to keep a flexible resolution, aren't you?)
This week it meant baking a cake at the beginning of the week.
The recipe is from The Cake Mix Doctor. All of her recipes are worth the extra few minutes they take, compared to baking straight out of a box. Believe me--you will never want to eat a plain mix cake again. The difference is huge! I adapted the recipe from cupcakes to one big 3-layer cake, but I can't remember the final time difference, so I'm going to list it here as written in the book.
Sour Cream Chocolate Cupcakes with Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting
Makes 18 to 20 cupcakes
1 package plain devil's food frosting
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting (below)
1. Preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake pans with liners. Set pans aside.
2. Place cake mix, cocoa powder, sour cream, oil, water, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low for 1 min. Stop machine and scrap down sides. Increase speed to medium and beat 2 min more. Pour batter into the cupcake pans, filling about 3/4 full. Place in preheated oven.
3. Bake cupcakes until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger. 28 to 38 minutes. Cool pan on a rack for 5 minutes. Then remove the cupcakes and place them on the rack for 15 minutes, until completely cool.
4. Spread the tops with the frosting. (below) Place the cupcakes on a tray in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set the frosting.
Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting
Makes 2 1/2 cups
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
3 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons hot water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1. Place butter and chocolate in a small saucepan and melt over low heat, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Let cool slightly, then stir in the sour cream.
2. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. With mixer on low speed, add half the powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon hot water, beating to incorporate. Then add the remaining sugar and water and continue beating until spreadable and without lumps. Stop the machine and add the vanilla. Blend well, 30 seconds.
3. Use at once on the cake or cupcakes.
Notes about the recipe:
Make sure you have enough sour cream--it takes a lot. Take the extra time to set the frosting in the fridge, because it's a little runny otherwise. Eat a small dinner, or just skip dinner altogether and have cake instead. It is that good. I added sugar crystals to the top for a little crunch.
When you make this cake, you are going to want the whole book. Get it here!
p.s. Happy Birthday, Dad!
linked to: 36thave ,
Just a reminder that the Kisses from Katie questionnaires are due this Friday! So grab your book, sharpen your pencils, and share your heart and thoughts with the rest of us! In case you missed it, the questions and instructions are here: Kisses From Katie Discussion Questions Can't wait to hear what you have to say!
It wasn't like I couldn't put a finger on what was bothering me. The problem was, there were too many things, and I had run out of fingers. So I started writing them down.
I filled 17 pages of my journal with everything I could think of in my life that was bothering me. Everything I was sad about, everything that embarrassed me, everything I needed to confess to the Lord. I laid it all out before Him---frustrations and heartaches, but also goals and dreams for the future.
I finally realized why I was in such turmoil. I had read books and blogs about people who were doing huge things for the kingdom of God. They were traveling huge distances, changing lives, saving children, risking their own safety. They were on the front lines of spiritual battles, and I wanted to be there too.
But here I was, caught in the never-ending cycle of dishes and laundry, struggling to manage simple tasks like putting dinner on the table every day and organizing dresser drawers. And for a moment, I threw up my hands to the Lord, and asked, "Why did you put me here? I have no talent for this stuff. I can do a host of other things you've made me good at, but here I am drowning in this mess, feeling buried by the everyday. Why did you put me here? I am inadequate."
Now, dear reader. I don't want you to think that I was packing the car planning to run away or anything. I love my life, I love my children, and I adore my husband. I had just felt such a stirring in my soul to do something more. I felt God calling me to do more. And at the same time, I felt like my hands were tied by the life He'd already asked me to lead.
"Lord, I want to travel the world, be on the front lines of spiritual warfare, risk my life for Jesus, feed the hungry, save the orphans, house the homeless! I want to do huge things for you, if you will just let me. I want to do huge things for you!"
And I heard the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit speaking into my heart. "I know you want to do huge things for me. I know you want to save the world. But I don't need you to do that. I will save them. But do you love me enough to do something small for me? Something tiny? Something that maybe no one else will ever see or know about? Do you love me enough to do something small?"
The idea of this cut into me painfully as I realized I did not.
Here I was, begging the Lord to let me do for Him, anything Lord, I would die for you Lord! But the dishes were piled up, the children were a mess, and I had no idea what would be on the table for dinner. Do I love You enough to wash the dishes? The practical answer, as seen in my actions, was "no". So many of the small things He'd asked me to do were right there, undone.
God doesn't need me to save the world. He is going to do that. God doesn't need me to die for Him. He died for me. I am not the Savior. Jesus is.
Let me tell you, the idea of "do something small" is not in my nature. This is a long road ahead. But I trust Him. When King David asked to build the Lord a magnificent temple, God said no. Even though David's idea was a great one! The Lord said, "I will build you a house." God had something even better in mind than anything David could dream up. I trust that the same is true here.
Over the last several months, God has been teaching me to love him enough to do something small. Every time I have an idea, He asks me to go smaller.
I want to turn around my town! No, think smaller. My neighborhood? Smaller. Show kindness to just the people on my street? Yes.
I want to go to Haiti and take pictures of all the orphans and rally all the rich Christian Americans to adopt them! No, smaller Go to Haiti and take pictures? Smaller. Stay home with my children and send some baby dolls to them? Yes.
I want to make friends with all the moms at my kids' school and get them to join Moms in Touch, and cover our school in prayer every week. No, smaller. Gather all the moms on my street? Not small enough. Pray with one mom? Yes.
I'm going to pour myself into my role as a housewife and start a blog called "The Domestication of Anna" and renovate my whole house, and learn to cook, and start a cooking club with my friends, and inspire hundreds of women to do the same. (These are all real examples. I told you small doesn't come naturally!) But God said smaller. Renovate my whole house and learn to cook? Smaller. Clean up and put food on the table? Yes
I ask Him, how is this good? How is this better? How is less more? He doesn't answer me. And I realize, there is a lot of me in those big things. There is a lot of me in the use of my natural talents, even if I give God the glory. And I realize, there is a lot more Him in those little things. If I choose to commit my life to something that does not come naturally to me, because He asked me to, and I succeed--that is only Jesus.
Through this, God is showing me how to worship. I don't know where this is going, but I will keep you in the loop, at least with some of it. I have some big ideas for next year, but already I hear His voice saying, "Smaller." So I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it turns out.
***
Is there something small He wants from you? Do something small.
You've asked for them, and they are finally here.
Pictures from our youth group's trip to Haiti.
Our team did 3 days of Vacation Bible School for over 100 children from Cap Haitian and the surrounding area.
They broke up into three groups: teaching, games, and crafts.
Emma saw this and asked, "Are those kids in Haiti?"
"Yep, " I said.
"They don't look hopeless."
"No they look just like you. They are like you."
"But why are they so happy? Is it because Daddy is there?"
"Maybe, but I think it's mostly because God put something inside of all our hearts that lets us be glad, just because we're alive."
My husband elicits expressions like these from girls everywhere. He's very cute.
See what I mean!
As Donnie was showing me these pictures, he pointed some of them out, "She's an orphan. He's an orphan." I said, "Stop pointing them out unless you are willing to go back and bring them home to me." But truly, I wanted him to point them out. Orphans should have real faces to us, so that we can continually be praying that they'd find loving homes, families, and salvation through Jesus. I need to see their faces, even though it hurts.
****************
So, do you want to see how the dollies went over?
Initially, we thought the dolls would have to be distributed anonymously--to an outside church or orphanage. But since you helped make more than 150 dolls(!!!!!) there were enough for everyone, and then some left over! So on the last day of VBS, the team laid out all the dollies on two long benches.
And a few at a time, the children came in and picked out their own. To keep.
Certainly these little ones have never had the chance to pick from such an amazing assortment of anything. Let alone a special lovey to take home and keep.
They chose very carefully.
Look at the way the little girl in pink is admiring her new baby doll. Holding her on her hip, just like a good mommy:
The boys liked them, too...in their own way!
These two were made for each other!
This little girl was so excited, the team took three pictures of her, not one in focus. She was running, jumping, beaming.
Look at how many children got to take home their own dolls! Dolls made with love, just for them. Dolls covered in prayer for the children who would hold them. I don't have words to express how happy and grateful this makes me to all who participated.
Their sign says, "Merci Anna" but I can't take credit. The Lord laid this idea on my heart, and the Lord made it successful. He's the one who made you aware of it, too. So to me it says "Merci to all of you." Thank you so much for joining me in making these little ones so happy! I never dreamed that I'd be able to see these baby dolls in the arms of actual children. It wouldn't have happened without your help--we wouldn't have had enough to go around! And to those of you who weren't able to contribute this time, look at those faces!! I can't help but do this again. You'll have another chance to join us.
Here are a couple posts you might have missed about the baby doll drive:
Tips for Finishing Your Dollies
XO, Anna
Questions? Contact Me!
