Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Mother's Day is only 12 days away, and I have started shopping for my sweet mom and precious mother in law. The typical gifts are flowers, cards, candy, etc. But I want to give them something meaningful and special.

I thought I would share with you this really cool idea...

World Vision has many ways you can honor your mother this Mother's Day as well as impact the lives of women all over the world.

Jewelry made by women in Thailand
Coffee from Ethiopia

You can help new moms in countries around the world by giving them the supplies they need to care for their newborns during the first critical weeks of life. The kit includes a bassinet, diapers, a blanket, a container for clean water, and soap. Your gift will also provide infant care training for mothers-to-be.

Or you can donate to the Orphans and Widows fund. Reach out to orphans and other children whose lives have been devastated by the AIDS epidemic — along with the elderly grandmothers who often bear the burden of care. Your gift will help meet urgent needs such as food, shelter, education, counseling, care for the sick, and job training. This is a wonderful way to give tangible hope to hurting people.

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." James 1:27

Congrats Rob & Bethany!

Today my dear friend and her new husband (yay!) fly back from their honeymoon, and I cannot wait to see her! The wedding last weekend was beautiful, and all of the festivities made for such a special time. Bethany was the most beautiful bride, and all the details of the wedding were so perfectly planned. What an honor to be apart of this day! Congrats Mrs. Rob Jerkins & welcome home! :)

At the yummy and beautiful bridal luncheon at Old Venice.

The gorgeous bride on her big day!!!

Post-Easter Surprise!

We woke up the Monday after Easter and found a surprise in our front yard...

Although I was on my way out the door for work, I got so excited about the eggs and grabbed my basket and started "hunting." We did find out later who the culprits were, and I just have to say "kudos" to you two for your creativity!

My First Award!

Thanks so much to Ashley for giving me the Sunshine Award! This is my very first blog award & I was so excited! I love Ashley's blog!

The rules for accepting the sunshine award:
1. put the logo in my post and within my blog
2. pass the award to 12 fellow bloggers
3. link the nominees within this post
4. let the nominees know they have received this award by leaving a comment on their blog
5. share the love and link to the person who gave you the award

Check out the blogs below as I spread the "sunshine."

1. Bless Our Nest

2. Sun Drop and Chocolate

3. The Jerkins

4. From Our Land to Yours

5. The Bynums

6. Pretties and Posies

7. The Kendalls

8. The Kublers

9. The Mommy Diaries

10. Life Eccentric

(The rules say 12, but 'tis time for bed, and I only have 10!)

April's 1st 2 Weeks

I just can't believe what all has happened and we are only 2 weeks into this wonderful month! Easter, wedding showers, weddings, Disciple-Now...and there is so much more to come. Here are a few highlights from my past two weeks:


(We went to the sunrise 6:30am service at Bellevue, and the 9:30 and 11:11 services, and the sunrise was my favorite! What a special time! Then we had Easter lunch at my mom's.)

(My brother, sweet Nephew Bryce, and sister in law. He is looking too sharp in his argyle sweater vest!)(The beautiful table decor!)


(My sweet friend Bethany's Memphis shower. This is the only pic I got with her that day - don't know what I am doing here. I guess I really liked what Dorie was saying. And Bethany is getting married April 17th! Yay!)

(Lindsey, Melissa - the bride, and me.)

(She gave us Vera Bradley aprons as part of our Bridesmaids gift. I love cute aprons!)

(Melissa's wedding: April 10th!)

(We ate dinner and dessert with some very dear friends, and I had to document Will's very first trip to Muddy's!)

We also had Disciple-Now this past weekend, and it was one of my favorites (probably because my favorite band, Glory Revealed, was there!) The Lord changed students' lives and challenged many of us through His Word. He blessed us with an amazing time of worship, and I was also grateful for the incredible leaders, co-leaders, and host homes that made the weekend possible. More details on the Girls Ministry Blog. Below is one of my fav pics from the weekend:

Can't wait for the next two weeks! :)

"Home"

What is home? What defines where it is, whom it is, or what it involves?

Sitting in the cool Autumn air while carving pumpkins (something I had not done since high school, but had so much fun) a group of girl friends and I tried to answer this question. Such sweet answers and each of them very different.

Today as I watched "Julie and Julia" the husband of Julia Child told Julia they were going back home. Having lived all over the world, Julia asked "What is home?" To which he answered, "Wherever we are."

I would have to agree with Mr. Child, and home is not necessarily a geographic location, but it is about the people we love. Home can also be expressed or felt in other ways. What is home to you?

To me, home is...

Being accepted just as you are.
Memories, good and difficult.
Family, by blood or grafted in. :)

A warm embrace.
A place of refuge.

Will.

Pretties & Posies: A Beautiful Giveaway!

Melanie at Pretties and Posies is a delightful blogger and extremely talented artist also! She is giving away for the first time one of her gorgeous paintings. "Hop" on over here to check out her blog and leave a comment before April 10th for a chance to win. Here is a pic of her work: