To Africa with Love

so one day my friend Jenn posted on her wall that a group from her church was going to Africa and the Lord laid it on her heart to sew little dresses for the girls there.  She asked anyone who would be willing to help to come over.    I jumped at the chance to do this!  First off I love Jennifer and I love her heart!  So I figured why not, she would teach me how to do this right?  I have a beautiful sewing machine that hubby bought me three years ago, it's about time that I used it for fabric instead of paper!  Another story.......

These dresses will be going to Nairobe, Kenya into a very poor area, Marantha which is a slum.  One million people live in a one square mile area.  Can you imagine?  The missions team will be leaving in October so the goal is to pump these out!!

Heather was our cutter

isn't she cute?

Jenn, Chelsea and I

the dresses that we whipped up!

So cute huh?

I cannot wait to see pictures of the little girls in their dresses!

Jenn has plans to make shorts also for the boys.

Fringe Benefits is what's she's calling it!

Gotta go, I have to sew!!!

moving forward

I'm done beating myself up daily! I am moving forward with the Lord's help!!

No more whipping myself for getting out of the Navy.

No more feeling inadequate about myself

NO MORE PITY PARTY!!

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”::
Revelation 21:5
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17

random things about me

1.    I am an ealry bird

2.    my maiden name was Green, married name Green.  No we are not blood related

3.    love big, bountiful, colorful, fresh salads

4.    guilty of falling asleep while praying

5.    love to craft almost anything

6.    have to be organized, but never think that I am enough :/

7.    love produce but hate shopping for it, unless I am at a farmer's market

8.    list maker (mental, sticky notes in my pocket, purse, counter and on the fridge)

9.    love to read.  Not text books though!

10.  lots of fears (I'm working on with God's help).

11.  love dogs but do not want anymore. Go figure right?

12.  bird lover - always have love them.

13.  love cows. This is a recent thing. I do not want to collect them either. 

14.  vacuum my house at least once a day. I know I have a problem......

15.  i'm going back to school!  YIKES!!!!

16.  I love the Lord with all of my soul!!  Yes I do!!!!

17.  i love art!!  God is an artist, did you know that?  Just look at creation!  OMG it is gorgeous!! 

18.  I change my favorite color at least monthly.... sometimes more often

19.  I'm reading several books at once.  Not a good idea for me! 

20.  I have a big bucket list.  I will reveal in another post!

GNO and Human Trafficking

This is what I became aware of last night at Girls Night Out for FTGI (For the Girls International)

  It is so sad but so true that people right here in our own country are being bought, sold, used and abused in our modern day country.  They are trapped in a life of misery often beaten, starved, forced to prostitute.  Even migrant workers at times are forced into grueling jobs, held against their will, and paid in pennies. 

These are the girls that head FTGI up and are amazing!  Even more amazing is what is on their hearts for Jesus Christ.  A woman last night told a bit about herself and the lifestyle that she once led.  It really started when she was just 4 yo from a life of sexual abuse.  It progressed into a lifestyle that was cruel to her.  By the grace of God she was set free! 

Some of the girls that attended

more girls!

We need to be aware of what is happening around us!

Holy Cow!

Look at this cow!
I want one
I really do!

a painting or drawing will do!

Look at this!

this is from MMS blog. Someone painted it for her.
You can view the artist and her gallery here and her blog here, Cindy's Fractured Fairy Tale.
She is amazing and I want a cow!
and a lamb......and after seeing this I may never eat beef again!
Happy Monday!

scalloping

today we went scalloping at Homosassa

it's the season, see all the boats?

we had to drive about 30 min to get to the great scalloping grounds.

right away Little E got the first one

Hubby got the second

Chick 1 and hubby enjoying the day

how many can you schuck?

we saw starfish, turtles, stingray, dolphins, angel fish and lots of boats!

checking things out

it's the season, you can get 2 gallons per person.  we didn't get that many.

I thought this was a cool shot.

bummer that this is a little blurry but so cute

my favorite, four babies

 that's it, our day of scalloping!  we really got more than this but not too much more. the important thing is that we got to spend quality time together. 

 

makeover

This is what I have been working on the past few days.

Now hubby was not to pleased that I wanted to "ruin" a perfectly lovely piece of furniture. After much pleading and begging he helped me a bit, okay a lot.  Even though he was prepping for his "test," you know the one that happens when you turn 50!? Yeah, that one.  Poor guy!  I can hardly wait for mine.  Hubby got her years ago from a customer who no longer wanted her, so he took her and she sat and sat in a room.  I knew I wanted to do something with her but never really had the time or the know how.  Since I have been blog hopping I have learned a few tricks thanks to some amazing blogs, like the ones listed below.

sanded just to take the sticky old varnish off

she even has dove tail drawers!

materials I used

I first sanded her down a bit to take off that top layer of varnish, you know the sticky stuff! I did sand the entire top piece cause I knew I wanted to restain that.  Her body got a nice coat of primer, a tad bit more sanding, and a coat of Creamy by Sherwin Williams the Duration kind.

I let that dry good then proceeded to sand only in areas that would of probably gotten worn through the ages.  She then got a bit of toner that I had left over from a previous project.  This was to antique her a bit. It is from a company called Caromal Colours.  Last step on her body was a good waxing.  I used Johnson's paste wax.  For her top she got stained with Minwax and a top coat of poly. We do have the original key hole plates for her but only two.  We are in the process of looking now to obtain two more.  Wait til hubby hears that she needs new hardware! new knobs! I think if she had glass knobs she would be a total knock out.

That's it!

I love her!!

I'm calling her Stella for Stella Got Her Groove Back!

linking up to

more hand made deliciousness

please forgive the unmade beds, I was so excited to take the photo.

Bunkbeds made by my SIL last year out of trees found around their property!

How cool is that?  This took a lot of work.  Finding the trees, stripping them, letting them dry properly, assembling them, a little color and a protective finish.

GENIUS!

The chest of drawers that we bought at the little antique shop look perfect next to the bunks.

hubby checking it out making sure all is well

They are into surfing, so this shelf was a perfect addition to the boys' room filled with their favorite books. How cool huh?

The boys need this little stool to take care of business in the bathroom and kitchen!

an end table for the living area to hold their blankets as they watch Tom and Jerry.

bathroom shelf to hold necessaties as well as M&M's for I when he uses the potty

the toothbrush holder!

this cool frame that holds the three of them before the other two bundles arrived.

gotta get another one of these with the 5 of them

reindeer that were made at Christmas but look too darn cute to put away

wooden planters that run along the side of the house that hold herbs and various plants

and the coolest tortilla press ever! Little I helping mommy make homemade tortillas. She plops a dough ball on there and he steps on it to flatten. So darn cute!

I told you it was handmade, homemade and homegrown!