ART FEST

Today was the much anticipated art festival at our church's coffee shop. It was from 10:30-10:30 on 10/30. It was an explosion of every kind of art presented and celebrated by the community. There were two stages of ongoing live music indoor and outdoor. There were photographs like these,


which are couple examples of what I submitted. Along with drawings, paintings (several created live on the spot) and some sculpture, like this ceramic penguin I bought from my friend's sister.

There was also poetry, jewelry, and an art corner for the kids. Z spent most of his time painting and I know I am his mom but I was actually really impressed with his creativity. maybe he'll take after some of my family in their artistic abilities.


Jeremy and I were both wearing shirts that he designed for the promotion of the event.

Z and SJ also had on guitar shirts so we all matched.


I wanted a family photo, but we were never all "available" at the same time, so this was the best I could do.

It was an exhausting day, but a really fun one. Not only did I make some new friends, but I left with quite a bit of inspiration.

SJ at 7 Months

I am a little behind at keeping track of all of my baby girl's milestones because she has been changing so rapidly!

Let's see, last month I reported how she has her first tooth. Now she has two. I also talked about her sitting up and now she can go from crawling to sitting upright and back to crawling again. I also said how I have to watch what she can grab a hold of when it is within reach and now I have to watch what she can grab a hold of in general! The other day she pulled a decorative pot off of her grandmas coffee table. The things we think she could never reach or climb on she proves us wrong.

Compared to my son, who took his sweet time to entertain me with his crawling, climbing, and other achievements, this girl is blowing my mind. She is crawling on her hands and knees now. Last months blog update described her as "pretty much stationary". Not anymore. Not like she can move as fast as her 3 year old brother, but she can hold her own in the baby department.

The biggest change of all has been her climbing. That's right, CLIMBING! She loves to be standing (while holding onto something). She can pull herself up to a standing position with almost anything now, including a flat surface like a door. I wanted to wait to do this post when I had some pictures of her standing/climbing, but I have a shortage of pictures this month and if I wait much longer she will be 8 months and I will miss her 7 month update altogether. I will get more photos soon enough, but for now here are some of her happy chunky 7 month old self.

SJ with her Pepe (french for grandpa)

Visiting with our neighbor and sporting the leg warmers.

Big brown eyes

LAME

Just checking in to say sorry I am such a lame blogger. I've been so busy that I haven't had a single moment to myself here lately. Even now I am at my in laws watching the Cowboys (currently being beat by the Giants), but I thought I would at least jot a line or two and post another photo. Hopefully I can catch up soon.

SJ and I after her baby dedication. She is such a Mama's girl!

Rings and Things

I have 2 weeks until my 10 year anniversary and I really do feel like I am planning for a real wedding except without all the pressure of having to pull off a huge, once in a life time event for hundreds of people. As I mentioned yesterday we got our new wedding rings in. They came on the same day even though they were order separately. It's as if they wanted to be together (I know I'm cheesy, I can't help myself). We both were at home when they arrived and so we opened the tiny packages together, with the anticipation of children on Christmas morning. They are each really unique. J's is silver and black.

Mine is silver with a white topaz stone.

It was my first time shopping on Etsy, but not my last. It's been a great experience.

Other than that yesterday pastor called to see what we wanted to do for our vows. Good question! I am not sure what we are going to do yet since it is a vow renewal ceremony and not traditional vows. Let me know if you have any ideas. Today I got confirmation on the violinist that is going to play during the ceremony. The invitations are sent, the cake topper is in, and things are really falling into place.

I am so grateful for all the friends and family that are helping to make this dream come true (again!) and I can't wait to see how it all comes together.

Record Breaking

It's been 10 days since my last blog post. This is by far the longest messy mom hiatus I have ever taken and I apologize for not giving advanced notice. Last week was just REALLY busy, and this week I was having computer problems and so J has been reformatting my macbook for me. Hopefully we're all set now. Yesterday I was going to participate in Oh Amanda's top ten Tuesday by sharing 10 reasons I was too distracted to blog, but since I didn't have a computer yesterday I will share it with you now.

1. New wedding rings arrived!
2. Saw Zebras and Camels out in the country
3. Was interviewed for an article in a local magazine
4. Was escorted home in a police truck because I locked my keys in my car
5. Met my niece for the first time
6. Walked a mile and a half to a coffee shop that was no longer there
7. Had the SWAT team invade my neighborhood
8. Taught about fear at the woman's breakfast at our church
9. Had a fabulous meal "on the house" at a snazzy new restaurant
10. SJ was dedicated and I learned more than I never knew about her namesake

That's just part of the reason I was too busy to blog last week. Obviously there are more details, and I am all about details so I will elaborate later, but for now here is a snapshot of SJ and my niece. More to come!

Justice

This week I blogged about the Invisible Children, Bound 4 Life, and SPCA, which are three of the causes that I feel are worth promoting.

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
-Ephesians 2:10

There are other charitable causes that I have worked with or donated to, but there are also some things that came to my attention this week that I have never been involved in, but would like to consider.

I got an email the other day from some of my BFFs Ben & Jerry and it was about October being fair trade month. So of course I went out to down a bunch of ice cream since it was for a good cause.


This also got me thinking about one of my other best friends (for real this time) who manages our church coffee shop and is passionate about fair trade coffee. She recommends the documentary Black Gold which is available for viewing on line by the way.

One coffee company I recently came across that buys fair trade is Zoe coffee and all the proceeds go toward fighting human trafficking.


I haven't tried the coffee yet, but by the looks of what I have read on their website I LOVE what they are doing.

Lastly, I want to read a book called Where Am I Wearing? A Global Tour to the Countries, Factories, and People That Make Our Clothes.


I hear it's a good read. Lucky for me I have an obsession with buying things used which not only supports charitable causes (most of the time), but it's earth friendly too.

In the end I just want to have my eyes opened to some of the injustices around me and around the world. I can't change everything, but maybe I can make a difference. I know my blogger friends are also very vocal about making a difference. Originally I wanted to make a long list of links to posts you have written, but there was no way for me to track them all down from memory so feel free to share or link up with a comment about something or several things you support and want to raise awareness about.

His Kingdom come His will be done.

SPCA

I don't have any pets, but I am a supporter of the SPCA of Texas. The Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty to Animals and the American Humane Association are wonderful organization that helps aid in rescuing and protecting sick, abused, or abandoned animals.

This week I am highlighting some of my favorite non profit programs, and it may come as a surprise to some that the SPCA would be one of them, but it is. Unlike the old cartoon film I saw as a kid I do not believe that "All Dogs Go To Heaven", and I am not a vegan or even vegetarian, but I do believe we have a responsibility and stewardship over God's creation and it sickens me to think of the millions of animals that are euthanized annually when we could at least reduce that number drastically by some simple practices.

1. Spay and neuter your pets!
I don't see chastity courses being affective in the animal kingdom anytime soon, but we can do something to prevent the over population of our beloved pets in suburban and inner city communities.

2. Adopt an animal IN NEED.
If you are looking into adopting an animal I urge you to consider rescuing one from your local shelter. You may think you have to have some high dollar pure bred to be your loyal companion, but I can tell you dozens of heart warming stories (including a few of my own) that prove quite the contrary. There are actually many benefits to owning a mixed bread dog and even some purebreds need rescuing.

3. Tag your pets.
One way to prevent animal cruelty (or unnecessary euthanasia) is by holding on to the ones you've got and keeping them safe. There are lots of options to license and tag your pets. We even had our dog micro chipped, it was really quick, painless (I'm assuming by his reaction), and inexpensive.

Those are just three easy things you can do to help. Beyond that I would recommend volunteering or donating to your local SPCA.

I was dressed as a farm girl and Crew was a cow . We did the SPCA run together.

I plan on attending my local SPCA "howloween" fundraiser again this year although I will be sans dog. It's still always a lot of fun.

Do you have a beloved furry friend in your life? Are they "fixed"? What about tags? Spread the word and take action now.

Bound 4 Life

I have been moved to take things a little deeper this week and talk about some of my favorite causes. Yesterday was the Invisible Children and today I would like to focus on Bound 4 Life. If I had to pick one "political issue" that I was most passionate about it would be the right to life.

Bound 4 Life is a movement that began back in 2004 when a group of people stood in front of the United States Supreme Court with red tape over their mouths with the word LIFE written on it in bold black letters. For 31 days they prayed silently. The 31 days represented the 31 years of legalized abortion in America. Since then this act has spread and become a powerful force that has gotten tons of media coverage and prompted people to begin their own chapter of these silent prayers all over the nation (and world).

Bound 4 Life feels that "When LIFE tape is placed over our mouths, we are identifying with the silent screams of the unborn and of those who have no voice. Our stand is not a protest, but a silent prayer meeting"
I just recently got my own Bound 4 Life bracelet and wear it daily as a reminder to pray for this injustice.

I remember the day I told my husband he was going to be a daddy. We sat at a table against the wall at the Macaroni Grill when I spelled it out in crayon on the white paper table cloth. We celebrated together. Sometime later when my son was probably a year old we ended up sitting at that same table.
A flood of joyous emotions came over me as I looked at my family and remembered that moment. This precious little boy was probably smaller than a grain of rice the last time we sat at that table. Then it hit me how many people terminate their pregnancy at that stage. My stomach sank at the thought of my little boy or other boys or girls being "terminated".

I know it's a touchy subject AS IT SHOULD BE! I know a handful of women who have experienced the loss of a child through abortion and there is restoration and healing for you if you have been their yourself. I also know some happy stories of friends who have adopted as a result of the birth mother going to a women's center that encouraged life and adoption! I could write all day long about statistics, links, resources, counseling and more if you are interested my email is themessymom@gmail.com. Feel free to contact me. Life IS Beautiful!

Invisible Children

The mission of this movement is "to use film, creativity, and social action to end the use of child soldiers in Joseph Kony's rebel war and restore Northern Uganda to peace and prosperity"

Some of the Invisible Children representatives came out to our church Sunday night along with some of the top students from the Legacy scholarship program. They showed some videos and answered questions about the latest progress in the fight against the LRA in Africa and how we can help.

When I first saw Francis Ojok (it was actually outside of Starbuck's before the presentation). He intimidated me a little. He was so tall and serious wearing all black. His eyes were like night and it was almost like you could peer into them and see the pain of his past. I couldn't imagine the horrors those eyes must have seen. Francis was one of only 3 people to survive the war in his community, leaving him an orphan. When I talked to him all the intimidation was shattered. Him and his friend were so friendly and lighthearted. They got a kick out Z and had me take some photos on their camera of the three of them. After hearing Francis's story and meeting him it became apparent to me that this young man was not just a survivor he was a hero.

If you are unfamiliar with the war or this campaign and what it is all about I would encourage you to check out their website, watch the Invisible Children documentary for all the details. A lot has been done already thanks to the increasing number of people getting involved and raising awareness, but there is still so much more that needs to be done in order to stop the killing and also to rebuild Uganda and the surrounding areas.

BREAKING YAHOO NEWS!

Okay, so just when I thought my week of yahoo news was over I catch this headline on the bottom of my screen,

"Kardashian sisters caught in the same dress!"

OMG you guys. Can you believe it? I can understand that this could happen to complete strangers, but sisters!? What is this world coming to? Khloe was seen in the dress September 21 at the Axe music concert series and Kim was seen wearing it just 3 days later on the street of L.A.

So naturally when this kind of catastrophe occurs the only thing left to do is place photos of them side by side to critique and analyze the physical attributes of these important public figures and ask the hard the hitting question of "who wore it best".

Obviously one of them is going to look better than the other right? In this case the writer of the article says that "Kim seriously fills the dress out in all the right places" (that's one way of saying she thinks the enormous breast implants are a nice touch). So Kim was the winner on this occasion.

Anyway, sorry for the last minute post, but I thought you guys would want to know about this one, in case you hadn't already heard the news for yourself. Whew, I am glad I got that off my chest. Hopefully we won't have anything like this happen again anytime soon.

Speaking of Gaga

This week I was going to write about news flashes from my Yahoo homepage. I managed to write two. It turns out it's easier to just read the articles than blog about them. I thought about writing about Heidi Klum retiring her role as Victoria's Secret angel, or how George Lopez and his wife, who gave him kidney and was married to him for 17 years, are getting a divorce (this made me sad). I also could have written about the woman with 5 boys who delivered a healthy baby girl. This isn't exactly monumental, but when you deliver the baby yourself as a passenger ON THE WAY to the hospital it's pretty newsworthy. And finally, to segway from my last post I saw a video of some flight attendants that do the instructional demonstration while dancing to Lady Gaga's. "Just Dance" which was pretty fun, so I will leave you with that.