Sweet Annie

Our sweet Annie is 14 1/2 years old.



The Mister and I got her free from an ad in the paper when she was 12 weeks old. We had been married about 4 months. Her full name is Miss Annie Marie, although she is by NO means pure bred or registered. She's half Border Collie and half Blue Heeler. A true cow dog. And sweeter than any other dog you will ever meet.



Miss Annie is smart as a whip! When we first got her and were training her, we would show her something once or twice, and she had it down! Easy peasy to house train. So eager to please. The one thing we worked and worked and worked on - and thought she would never learn - was how to fetch. I could not for the life of me figure out why she was having such a hard time with it when she had learned everything else so quickly! We would throw the ball, and she would run to it, then run in circles around the ball, nipping at it. We had the hardest time getting to her pick the ball up and bring it back! What in the world?

It took us forever to figure it out....she was herding that ball (you know, like herding cattle). Cute girl. It truly is just in her genes. :) Once we realized what she was doing, we bought her one of those big plastic balls like you can buy at the grocery store - like a kick ball, only not as hard? - and we called it her "cow". She would chase and circle and nip and herd that thing endlessly. It was adorable. (She did eventually learn to fetch, and it became one of her all time favorite things. She still loves to play ball so much.)



The day we went to get Annie (from the newspaper ad), I didn't really think much about the fact that she ran to hide under the car and had to be coaxed out with a hot dog. I didn't really think it was strange that she seemed scared when we took her home. I thought it curious, but not overly unusual, that she seemed to cling to me while shying away from The Mister. But as time went on and she didn't really seem to warm up to him, we began to notice that she was also deathly afraid of strangers - especially men.

We began to put two and two together and wonder if she had been abused by her former owners. The vet confirmed that that probably was the case. He said that a puppy's personality is generally cemented by the time they are 8-12 weeks old, and that if we had gotten her earlier she would have grown out of her fear. But since she was 12 weeks old when we got her, she would likely never overcome it. He was right, she never did. To this day she will cower from strangers or even from us if we slightly raise our voice at her. She is petrified of getting in the car, going to the vet, or anywhere she hasn't been at least a dozen times.

And we love her so.

When The Mister and I were first married, we lived in an apartment. It did have a small backyard so I'm not sure why, but rather than leaving Annie out there when we went to work, we made the mistake of leaving her locked up in the bathroom. One time when we had only had her for a few days - or it may have even been the very first day, I don't remember for sure - we came home to find our bathroom destroyed! We had a glass vase sitting on the counter filled with glass marbles. The vase was shattered and marbles were all over the bathroom. Things that had been on a shelf were strewn around the bathroom, and the shelf had been used as a chew toy. She had even chewed or dug a hole in the wall!! What a mess.

Not long after the bathroom episode, Annie came down with parvo and had to be in the hospital over the weekend. We went to visit her on Saturday, and it was so sad. We sat in the little waiting room with other families visiting their hospitalized pets, and then they wheeled Annie out on a little cart. She had an IV connected to her leg, and her foot was all swollen from it. She was So.Scared. and practically threw herself into my arms. When it was time for us to go she fought as hard as she could to get away from the hospital person (I don't know what you call them at a pet hospital?) and just cried and cried. And when The Mister and I walked outside, I cried and cried. It broke my heart. But Annie made a full recovery from parvo and has been the picture of health ever since.

Another time, when Kloe was about to turn 2, we had been sticking birthday candles in a biscuit to let her practice blowing them out. Our back door is just a few steps from kitchen sink, so after "candle practice" I left the back door open and let Kloe play out on the back porch. Suddenly she was screaming and crying hysterically. I went running out to the porch asking, "What happened? What's wrong?"

She sobbed, "Annie ate my birthday biscuit!" :)



And then this little mister came along. He loves Annie more than almost anything else in the world. In fact, she often outscores me on the list of the top 3 loves in his life. :) [#1 being his lovie, Nonnie]



And let me tell you, the feeling is definitely mutual. They are inseparable. Jacob is the one exception to Annie's fear of the male gender. She sticks by his side like glue anytime he is outside. During our Arctic Tundra episode a few weeks ago, we kept Annie in our laundry room most of the time. Jacob would go out there and just lay by her. Just lay there. She was the first thing he asked for every morning and the last hug he gave every night before bed. Oh how he loves that dog.



Last week our Sweet Annie developed an infection in her right eye. When we took her to the vet, she (the vet) discovered that Annie has a prolapsed iris. The iris in her eye has literally slid over to the side of her eyeball. Have you ever heard of such a thing? We weren't able to see it ourselves because her eyes are so dark to begin with, plus she has really bad cataracts which obstruct the view of it. But worse than that, the vet also found a mass growing in Annie's eye. At first she wasn't sure if the mass was a tumor or a mass of infection, but after antibiotic eye drops didn't affect the size of the growth, she decided that we need to have Annie's eye removed.

*sigh*

Poor sweet girl.

The vet says that Annie is already blind in that eye (which we never knew) and so living with only one eye won't really be that big of an adjustment for her. My biggest concern, though, is that she's 14 1/2 years old. I'm worried about how she will handle anesthesia and surgery and recovery. I'm worried about trying to take care of her when she comes home, since she would be home by herself all day. And, I'm worried about Jacob. I think all of this has really shaken him up, realizing just how old she really is and that she won't be with us forever.

*bigger sigh*

Ohhh, this is so hard. I hate it. I keep avoiding calling the vet back to schedule the surgery. Logically I know that putting it off won't make it go away, but making that call is just so hard, you know?

I hate it.

We love you, Miss Annie Marie. Please stay with us a while longer, k?

A little behind...

...but even so, I just had to post these pictures of the kids' Valentines because I think they're the cutest things EVER! I can say that because I didn't invent them myself. I wish I could take credit for them, but really, all my good ideas come from someone else. :) I got this idea from Holly, who got it from Stie, who got it from Alissa. Don'tcha just love bloggy land?

These are so easy, and SO cute!

First, you take a picture of your child holding their fist out, like this:





Then, if you want, you can add some cool effects (we used the one called Boost) and a Valentine greeting with PhotoShop, or for free (the way I like) on Picnik. (Have you tried Picnik yet? You should, it's awesome.) Cut a slit at the top and bottom of their hand (in the photo, not in real life) and insert a lollipop. Easy peasy! (I seem to be in love with parentheses today.)



(They looked much better in real life - these photos aren't great.) I obviously didn't plan too well for where the lollipops would go - since they ended up covering the words - but oh well, you know those lollies didn't stay in there long anyway.

I totally plan on making these again next year. LOVE them. For Jacob anyway. I'm a little bit scared that we may have just had our last year of friend-Valentines for Kloe, since she's off to middle school next year. *big. sad. sigh*

Oh Happy Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, bloggy friends!

I love that when we woke up this morning, Kloe asked me, "Are we going to have a treasure hunt today?" :-) And I love that when I got to work, I said, "Happy Valentine's Day" to one of my co-workers, and she said, "Happy Valentine's Day - - it's your favorite day!" :-)

My family is actually celebrating tomorrow, since my life has been out of control the past couple of weeks. I figure we celebrate Christmas on all different days, and birthdays on all different days, so why not Valentine's?

"And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." (Romans 5:5) {I love the King James version, that says "God's love has been shed abroad in our hearts..." I picture Him casting out His love like seeds into a field.}

Hoping you have a wonderful, happy, Valentine-y day with those you love!

Six for Sunday

1. Have I mentioned that I love Valentine's Day? Oh, I have? I do. I love it. It's my absolute fay-vuh-rit.
   
   
   
   I was browsing the aisles at Hobby Lobby this week oohing and ahhing and drooling and coveting all their adorable Valentine's stuff. I would buy way too much of it if I let myself get started. But alas, I cannot. And I would love to make something cute. Maybe something to go on my front door? But alas again, we all know I cannot. Guess I'll stick with my Walmart paper-hearts-on-a-string that hang from the ceiling. They're cheap, but they make me smile. :)


2. I'm breaking up with E-mealz. I'm sorry E-mealz, it's over. It's not you, it's me. You're a great website, and we can still be friends, but we just don't see eye to eye about some things. You have expectations of me that I just can't live up to. Namely, that I will remember to log on to your website every week and download your menu. It's just not happening. I've been a member for almost two years, and I can probably count on less than two hands the number of times I've actually done that. And don't try to talk me into staying. I've found someone new. Michelle at Make 5 Dinners in One Hour knows me oh-so-well. Not only does she show me how to make 5 meals in one one-hour prep session, but she emails her menus and grocery lists to me. Along with a few extra menus every month. Be still my heart.


3. I'm starting to have a hankerin' for San Antonio again. Hankerin': [hang-ker-in] noun. a longing, craving, desire, need, yearning, hunger. May also be used as a verb: to have a restless or incessant longing (often followed by after, or for.) Getting to go twice last year spoiled me. And we never did get to eat at Casa Rio, you know. Oh how I wish we could go this year, but with Uganda coming up in June I'm afraid San Antonio is mostly likely going to have to wait until next year. sigh.
   
   


4. Have you guys been keeping up with Joanne over at The Simple Wife? She's doing so great. Thank you so much for your prayers for her. God is definitely answering! She is fully awake now and is communicating through an app on an iPad that was provided to them through donations. She is participating in occupational, speech, and physical therapy. I have been so blessed and amazed seeing what God has done in her life.


5. A few days ago Kloe asked me, "Mom, can we get out our tea cups and dress fancy and send Daddy and Jacob out, and you and I have tea and cakes?" Sweet girl. I had to make a very conscious effort to specifically say yes and mean it. Because with all that's been going on the past couple of weeks, I could feel myself sort of saying yes out of habit and not really paying attention to what I was actually telling her. I was so glad when, tonight after dinner, she just started getting out the tea cups. (We don't have a real tea set or anything. Kloe just has a cup and saucer that we used for party favors when she had a tea party for her fourth birthday, and I have a cup and saucer that were my grandmother's.)
   
   For one second I started to say, "Oh, let's rest for just a few minutes, and we'll do it later, ok?" But instead - for once - I actually listened to that still, small whisper. "No, don't put her off. Do it now." We didn't dress fancy - just our jeans and sweaters - and we didn't send the boys out - they were 10 feet away watching TV in the living room - but for 10 minutes we drank milk (we're fresh out of tea) from tea cups, and talked with silly accents, and stuck our pinkies out, and ate pink, heart-shaped Little Debbie snack cakes. And 10 minutes made my sweet baby feel loved, and feel special, and feel noticed. Ten minutes made her smile and hug me and say, "Thank you, Mama." Thank You, Jesus, that for once I listened to You.
   
   
   


6. Ok, I don't really have six for today. I wanted to have Six for Sunday to keep the whole alliteration thing going, because Five for Sunday just doesn't have the same ring to it, but I got nothin'. Hope you guys have a very restful Sunday and a great week!

And then everything went crazy.

Man, what a week. What a couple of weeks. Life around here has been crazy with a capital C. It all started almost two weeks ago when the arctic tundra moved into town. Oh my goodness. I realize many places have had it much worse than we have - and even endure frigid temps on a regular basis - but we Texans just aren't built for such nonsense. Over on Beth Moore's blog, Texans were getting a pretty good razzing for our cold-weather aversion (from commenters, not from Beth). But, hello, there's a reason we live here.

Anyhow, school was canceled on Tuesday (week before last), then delayed on Wednesday and Thursday. Fun for the kids, but it totally wreaked havoc on my work schedule. On Thursday night I had a 5th grade graduation committee meeting. On Friday, I worked to make up some of the hours I'd lost during the week, then hurried up to school to attend the PTA fundraiser kickoff assemblies (since, you know, fundraising is my job and all).

On Saturday, I skipped Jacob's basketball game to take Kloe to her UIL spelling meet, then waited TWO HOURS to get the results. Seriously, how long can it take to grade spelling tests for seven kids? (Kloe got 6th place, yay!) As soon as the results were announced, we zoomed to the house so Kloe could throw on her basketball uniform, and then we zoomed to her game. Then we spent our evening making the rounds to pick up more donations for our upcoming Uganda garage sale.

On Sunday we woke up to this beautiful sight. Huge, beautiful, fluffy snowflakes. The kids threw their coats on right over their pj's and ran out to play.





Look what I spied as Kloe was posing for this picture. Crackin' me up. :)



Yep, he got her. And then the fight was on.



Reloading...



Wow, look at that whopper Kloe made!



Can you see that gigantic snowball whizzing right by Jacob's head? She just barely missed!



The snow didn't last long, but they made sure to enjoy every minute of if they could.

After a brief intermission for the snow and the Super Bowl, the insanity resumed in force. Monday night (of this past week) both kids had basketball practice. Then Tuesday morning I was awakened at 5-something a.m. by a sound. That sound. You know the one. Jacob in the bathroom. How he made it out of the top bunk and to the bathroom in time I have no idea. I'm just thankful he did. I confess I wasn't the good mommy who went to help him in his misery. Shamefully, since I heard him flush about the time I woke up, I was the bad mommy who turned over and closed my eyes....only to feel him crawling under the covers next to me about 30 seconds later. Our thermometer is broken but he felt hot, so I waited until a respectable hour and then called my mom. She came over and stayed with him so I didn't have to miss another day of work. So thankful mom lives close now!

Tuesday night was Family Reading Night at school - and also the arrival of Arctic Tundra Round 2. I had to go to Sam's to buy food for concessions, and when I came out the wind was blowing so hard it literally ripped the lid right off my cookie tray! I had forgotten my gloves, and I was trying to push the giant flat-bed cart with one hand while holding the cookies on the tray with the other hand, all in four hundred forty mile per hour winds. PRAISE GOD for the angel of an older man who literally drove his pickup over to where I was parked and got out to help me load everything in my car. I showed up at the school 10 minutes before the event was supposed to start and had to have the school janitors come help me unload my car because it was SO STINKIN' FRIGID outside and the wind was insane and the trunk of my car won't stay open by itself. Sheesh.

About half way through the night my mom (who was still at my house with Jacob) called. I didn't answer in time, so I called her right back and she didn't answer. I called her again and again and again, and when I couldn't get ahold of her I started to panic just a little bit. I went in search of Kloe and was right in the middle of telling her that I was leaving to run home and check on Grammy and Jacob, when my phone rang. It was Jacob. He was literally sobbing so hard that I couldn't understand what he was saying. Turns out he was devastated at missing Family Reading Night, and Would.I.At.Least.Buy.Him.A.Book?

By the time I got home, Jacob was fine, and he woke up Wednesday morning fine. No fever. No sickness. No nothing. So of course I sent him to school. By the time I picked him up from school he was miserable,burning up with fever, writhing in pain, and moaning, "My heeeaaad huuuurts." Fever and headache - nothing else. I took him home and put him to bed. Only by God's hand, The Mister came home early Wednesday night (meaning 6:00), so Kloe and I went to church while the boys stayed home. Thursday morning I took Jacob to the doctor, and guess what? Flu. Yay.

"Hello, Mom?"

She came again and stayed with Jacob Thursday while I went to work, then stayed with him while I went to school to assemble Valentine grams for 350 students (actually, it turned out I was the resident babysitter while the rest of the PTA ladies put the grams together), and then stayed with him while I went to the party store to buy more stuffed animals and suckers for Valentine grams because we ran out. And then she came and stayed with him on Friday so I could go to work AGAIN to make up for missed hours, and stayed with him while I went to school for Kloe's Valentines party and to pick up Jacob's Valentines from the party he was missing. sigh.

AND THEN...by the time Kloe and I got home from school yesterday afternoon, SHE was coughing and running fever. She ended up having to miss her good friend's birthday party last night, and she was so very sad. I had The Mister stop on his way home from work and pick her up some Tamiflu so we could avoid a repeat of last week, but then she woke up this morning feeling FINE. Good grief. I feel like I might need some medication of my own, if you know what I mean. I texted the basketball coach just in case, and told him we wouldn't be at either game today, and we all stayed in our pajamas, laying around on the couch ALL DAY.

That is until Mr. He Went to Jared called and left the CUTEST little message on my phone asking if he and his mom could take Kloe and her mom (that would be me) to the movies. How cute is that? I wish I could figure out a way to put his message on my blog. It was adorable. And so the four of us went on a double date to see Gnomeo and Juli*t. Precious. I highly recommend it (the movie, not double dating with your kids. Although that was pretty cute, too.)

Kloe let me take this picture on the condition that I wouldn't put it on my blog. I told her I couldn't make any promises.



And the craziness continues the next few weeks with Jacob's birthday party, planning a baby shower for a friend, processing the PTA fundraiser (which is ridiculous - have you ever done this?), basketball practices and games, gymnastics, a doctor's appointment (well check for Jacob), dentist appointments, the garage sale, and my first Uganda team conference call. If I make it to spring break with my sanity I'll be doing a happy dance. While lying on the couch.

And just as a side note, I had a really good hair day today and now I'm sad to go to bed and mess it up, because good hair days almost never happen around here.

Super.

.
Traitor.


The vest he's wearing belonged to The Mister when he was about Jacob's age. Earlier today he told Jacob, "I've been a Pittsburg Steelers fan since I was in elementary school." Jacob said, "Me too!" Too bad for him his team lost. He has been a fan since elementary school, you know. I told him he shoulda gone for Green Bay.

On a different note, ohhh, how we love Texas Caviar around our house. Have you tried it? A yummy, easy, and healthy snack for your Super Bowling pleasure:

Texas Caviar
2 medium tomatoes, diced
4 green onions, diced
1 can black-eyed peas (with juice)
1 cup frozen corn
1-4 oz can diced green chili
1/2 C. diced purple onion
1/4 - 1/3 C. diced cilantro
1-16 oz. jar Pace picante
2 cloves garlic, minced

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Allow to sit overnight in fridge. Drain liquid, serve with crispy crackers or tortilla chips (obviously, only the caviar is the healthy part - ha). So good!

And for your not-so-healthy-but-equally-delicious Super Bowling dessert:

Rolo Cookies
1 boxed devil's food cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
approx. 3 rolls Rolo candy

Mix first 3 ingredients until stiff dough forms. Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls. Press one Rolo into the middle of each ball and roll to close dough around the candy. Place 2" apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350* for 9-10 minutes. Eat 'em while they're warm! Mmmm. Yummy, gooey goodness.



What was your favorite treat of the day?

Ten. Below.

9 degrees outside + 30 mph wind = wind chill of 10 below zero



Surely if I put on a hooded sweatshirt, TWO coats (with hoods), a toboggan, an ear wrap, FOUR pairs of socks, and gloves....mom will let me go outside.

I did. For two whole minutes.

P.S. I just learned that calling a hat a toboggan is a "southern America" (as opposed to South America) thing. Really? You guys don't call them that in the rest of America? Just the sled, huh? Hm. Learn somethin' new every day.

More beads!

I'm back with more beads! Oh, these necklaces are all so beautiful. With every one that I measured and photographed, I would say, "Oh, I love this one! I will miss this one." The Mister said, "You can't let yourself get too attached." :) Cute.

We're planning to have a garage sale in March to help raise funds for my trip. A week or two ago I sent out an email to several friends asking if there might be anything they would be willing to donate to our sale. Oh my word! We have been flooded with donations! It is so amazing! I've had people I don't even know emailing me offering to donate things. We are busting at the seams - our garage is completely full - and at this very moment we literally have a (donated) queen size bed sitting in the middle of our living room floor because there's nowhere else to put it in our little home! :) Just today we had to take an entire pickup load of stuff to my mom's because we don't have anywhere to put things. I'm thinking we're going to have to have a sale in (early) February to make room for the (at least) 4 more donations we have coming for the sale in March. God is so cool! I am so in awe that He has just poured all this our laps. So. Cool.

And on that note - here are the rest of the Ugandan necklaces I have for sale. I would love to have you share in my adventure and have one of these beautiful necklaces for your very own!

All necklaces are $20 regardless of length, plus $2 shipping. Of that amount, $8 goes to Visiting Orphans (the organization I'm traveling with), $4 goes back to the precious women in Uganda who made them, and $8 goes to me for my trip! Woohoo!

Get 'em while they're hot! I have four of these beautiful red and black necklaces. The beads are red with little strips of black, separated by black, iridescent seed beads. So pretty!
#23 - Has a clasp and is 20 inches long.
#24 - Has a clasp and is 18 1/2 inches long. SOLD! Thank you so much, Jeanne!
#25 - Has a clasp and is 19 inches long.
#26 - Does not have a clasp, and is 20 inches long. SOLD! Thank you so much, Cindy!



#27 and #28 - I have two of these. They could be worn with red, but the color is actually closer to a lovely dark pink. Red seed beads. Both have a clasp, BUT #27 is 16 inches long and #28 is 18 1/2 inches long, so please be sure to order the correct number for the length you want.



#29 - This fun little necklace makes me feel happy. Maybe it's the smaller beads, or the light blue seed beads, I don't know, but it's really cute. No clasp, 21 inches long.



#30 - A rich, cocoa color, this necklace looks just a bit darker in person. It is 18 inches long and does have a clasp.



#31 - Love this one! The beads are a beautiful, rich yellow with black seed beads. Gorgeous! It does have a clasp, and is 19 inches long.



#32 - This color is hard to describe. It looks like mostly brown tones in the picture, but has a tinge more sage green in real life. It really is pretty. The beads are a bit larger and have a more solid feel than some (since they are made out of paper, after all!). It is 18 inches long, and does have a clasp.



#33 - Lots of orange and green, with yellow seed beads. Very long at 27 inches; does not have a clasp.



#34 - I love the periwinkle-colored beads in this one, and the long, seafoam green ones as well. This one does have a clasp, yellow/gold seed beads, and is 26 1/2 inches long.



#36 - Beautiful, bright colors with blue seed beads. Long enough to double at 27 inches. Does not have a clasp.



#37 - This is the one The Mister told me not to get too attached to! I love it, but I could have my arm twisted to send it to a new home. :) I like it doubled or tied in a knot. It has beautiful, smaller beads separated by red seed beads, is 24 inches long, and does not have a clasp.


Please feel free to forward this link to anyone who you think might be interested in one of these beautiful, hand-made necklaces. Thank you so much for looking!

A big conversation with a little boy.

Tuesday night I had a PTA meeting, and the Mister was working late so the kids went with me. The meeting ran late, which always throws me into a tizzy trying to get home and get the kids in bed because, poor things, they are up late way too often.

When we got home I sent them straight to their rooms to get ready for bed. Jacob was being poky, and I was scurrying around trying to hurry him along as usual. "Come on, buddy, it's time for bed. Hurry up. Come on. Get your jammies on."

I turned to hurry to Kloe's room to make sure she was getting her pj's on too, and as I headed out the door of Jacob's room he stopped me with a question.

Jacob: "Mom?"
Me: *sigh* (turning back into his room) "What?"
J: "Does God have plans for my future?"

??!??!

Me: "Yes, He does have plans for you, buddy. The Bible says God has GOOD plans for you. Plans for your future."
J: Well, if God has plans for me, then why do I keep getting in trouble so much?"
M: "You've been getting in trouble a lot?"
J: "Yeah, I keep getting 5 minutes." {5 minutes sitting out during recess}
M: "For what?"
J: "I keep forgetting my library book."
M: "Well, you get consequences so that it will help you remember to do what you're supposed to."
J: "But if God has plans for me, why doesn't He make me remember?"
M: "Because you have a choice. He doesn't MAKE you do anything. He lets you choose whether or not you'll do what you're supposed to."
J: "But He's in control of me."
Me: -- silence -- "Umm...." (Inside my brain, a thousand thoughts are tumbling over each other. Don't we always teach our kids that God is in control? Yes, definitely....God is in control. Um, but He's not in control of you? Wait, no. He IS in control of you. Sort of. Wow. I always thought I had this figured out. Just exactly how much is God in control? Yes, He's in control of everything. But not us. No, wait. He IS in control of us. But not really. We get to choose. Man this is hard....)

Me: "He does have plans for you, but He doesn't MAKE you do those plans. He gives you a choice. You get to choose whether or not to do what He plans. But things always work out better for us if we choose His way." Whew. "Now put your pajamas on."

I have no idea what all that was about, and at the time I really didn't think all that much about it. Until today, when I got one of those chain email thingies with Jeremiah 29:11 on it - from two different friends. And then I read this post from Amy over at Building the Blocks, about lukewarm Christians, and choosing the parts of the Bible that are "safe and convenient". About being brainwashed by the world into believing that money and comfort are what life is all about - even for a Christian. About choosing God 100%, all the way, at any cost, no matter what anyone thinks.

Amy wrote, "We have been brain washed that we can ‘control’ our lives and our futures if we make the right plans."

Yes, God has good plans for us, but He won't MAKE us choose them. It's up to us to choose. To choose the easy, convenient, comfortable way, or to choose God regardless of what that looks like. Sometimes God's good plans for us don't look all that good to us in the beginning. Can't God's way be easy? Maybe. Convenient? Sometimes. Comfortable? Hardly ever. Because (I know you've heard it dozens of times just like I have) God is far more concerned with our character than our comfort.

Tonight in the video at Bible study (Jesus the One and Only, by Beth) she talked about John preparing the way for Jesus. That his primary purpose in life was to make straight paths for the coming Messiah. The Greek word for "path" in Luke 3:4 means "a beaten pathway." Then Beth asked, "Are you preparing for a powerful work of God in your life? Have you prepared a pathway for Him by going to Him over and over and over and over, so that He can pour His power into your life? What debris is in the way? God wants to do a new thing in your life - but it will require you to go places you've never been before. You must let go and move on."

His plans.
He has good plans for us. For me.
But I must choose. I must choose Him.
I must prepare the way.
Prepare the way for the Lord. Make straight paths for Him.
Remove the debris. Go to Him over and over and over.
Let go and move on - to places I've never been before.

"Consecrate yourselves {choose, prepare, straighten, remove, let go - my words}, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you." Josh. 3:5

Beads, Glorious Beads!

**Updated: Finished this post. :) I added a few more necklaces, and will post the rest - along with a few other pieces of jewelry I have - in a second post. Thanks so much for looking, and thank you so much to those who have already purchased necklaces! I'm so excited to already be on my way to funding my trip. Please come back and check out the others later this week!

~ * I HAVE NECKLACES! * ~

"Picture a group of women sitting under an acacia tree in Africa, diligently rolling thin strips of recycled paper into individual beads that will soon become a beautiful one-of-a-kind necklace. These women are widows and single moms in Uganda. Now picture over 100 orphans laughing and singing as their little hands roll each bead on this necklace. This fashionable jewelry gives widows and orphans a source of income and brings them life, as well as providing orphan care around the world." ~ from Visiting Orphans

So, I guess this kinda lets the cat out of the bag that I AM ACTUALLY GOING to Uganda! I think last time we talked about it - right before I left for the cruise - I left you hanging, knowing that I had been put on the waiting list, right? Yeah, I sort of never got back to you on that.

Well, as it turns out, when I got back from the cruise I had waiting in my inbox an email from Kari Gibson saying that someone had withdrawn from the trip, and I'M IN!! YAY! ...and... EEK!! I'm back to walking around talking to myself at the oddest times, mindlessly repeating, "Uganda. I'm going to Uganda. UGANDA! Yooogaaaahnndaaaa." I don't think I'll get over the shock until long after I've returned.

And so.

And so now the fundraising begins. Yeeee-haawww! Last week I sent an email to a few friends asking for donations for a garage sale I'll be having in March....and Oh. My. Goodness. One of my friends who is a teacher forwarded my email to her whole school! Donations are pouring in! Lots of furniture. I am so surprised! And overwhelmed! And blessed! I honestly don't know where we're going to store everything until the sale. A good problem to have, I know, but I may have to camp out in the front yard to guard it all, as there's no way it's going to fit in our garage! :)

"God can do anything, you know — far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!" Eph. 3:20-21 (the message)

And for my far-away friends who can't make it to the garage sale ;) I'm selling Ugandan paper bead necklaces. The beads are made by rolling very thin strips of paper into beads, and then covering them with a glossy coat. I could not wait to get these in the mail! On the day the postman rang the doorbell, I jumped up and ran to the door with all the excitement of my children on Christmas morning. I dug into the box with unrestrained glee....then paused in awe and reverence for the hands of the Ugandan women, living in poverty, who carefully crafted each and every bead, striving to make a better life - to make any life at all - for their children and themselves. I would buy 100 of them myself if I could, just because of what they represent....and not to mention that they're beautiful. :)

So here's the scoop. The necklaces are provided through Visiting Orphans, the organization I'll be traveling to Uganda with. They are various lengths (see photos), but each one sells for $20 (plus $3 s/h) regardless of length. The really long ones are a continuous strand, but the shorter lengths have a clasp so that they can open. You can wear them long, wrap them for a shorter double strand, or even wrap around your wrist for a bracelet! Of the selling price, $4 goes to the beautiful ladies in Uganda who make them, $8 goes to Visiting Orphans for overhead costs as well as other orphan ministry, and $8 goes to me for my trip! Wahoo!

{I will tell you that when you first take the necklaces out of their package, they will seem to be a bit tightly strung and may not lay quite straight, but I've worn 3 or 4 different ones, and they do straighten out and hang straight pretty quickly.}

I have 40 of these lovely necklaces for sale, and I would love for you to have one or five....all the way from Africa!

Without further ado (oh my word, there I go again. sorry - I'm too tired to be more creative right now.) here are my Ugandan beauties! Descriptions will be above their corresponding picture. Because they are handmade, the bead colors and sizes may vary slightly. That's what makes them so beautiful!

And....I'm a dork. I don't know how to properly measure necklaces. If you say a chain is 24", is it 24" when the necklace is doubled? Or 24" measuring all the way around? Let me apologize ahead of time if I confuse you. I'm going to measure from tip to tip when pulling the loop taught - not all the way around. Leave me a comment if you have questions.

#1 - This is a very long strand - 27 inches (it would be 54 inches if measuring all the way around). It hangs below my waist. Gorgeous when doubled! No clasp.



#2 - Beautiful light yellow-beige beads with red, yellow, and black flecks. Separated by yellow glass seed beads. This strand is approx. 20" long and has a clasp.



#3 - 23 inches long, no clasp. Separated with beautiful red seed beads.



#4 - Ooo, I love this one! Smaller, natural looking beads, separated by black irridescent seed beads. 22" long, no clasp. SOLD! Thank you so much, Cindy!



#5 - Beautiful turquoise, pink, burgundy, multi-colored beads. Approx. 26" long, hangs about to my waist. Does have a clasp. A few of these beads look like you can see parts of the print from the magazine they were made from....so cool! SOLD! Thank you so much, Jenni!



#6 - Same design as above, with brighter colors: orange, bright blue, lime green, yellow. Clear and yellow seed beads. Very long - about 28". No clasp.



#7 - The next two are very similar, with the main difference being the placement of the green. #7 has the green mostly in the middle of each bead, while #8 has the green mostly on the edges, with white in the middle of each bead. Both have bluish/black seed beads, both are approx. 20" long, and both have clasps.



#8 - see description of #7.



LOVE! GREEN! I have 3 strands of these:
#9 - (this is the one in the photo) Approx. 17 1/2" long. Green/black beads with white seed beads. A little bit larger bead on this one gives it a more sturdy feel. Has a clasp. SOLD! Thank you so much, Anna!
#10 - Beads are a bit smaller than the one in the photo. Same color green, but with green seed beads. Approx. 19 1/2" long. Has a clasp.
#11 - Same bead size as #10, but a little bit lighter green. Not quite lime, but close. Approx. 18 1/2" long. Has a clasp.



#12 - I wore this one to work today as a bracelet. :) Beautiful dark red beads with red seed beads. Approx. 15" long. Has a clasp. SOLD! Thank you so much, Cora!



#13 - This photo is actually from the Visiting Orphans website. The beads are red with flecks of black, but mine has red seed beads, not black. Approx. 19" long, has a clasp.



#14, #15, #16 - Photo also from VO website. I have three of these strands. Lighter red beads with small flecks of white, red seed beads. Each is approx. 18 1/2" long, and each has a clasp.



#17 - Long, long, long! This necklace is 36 1/2 inches long! I can wrap it four times and it makes a cute short necklace, or obviously you can wrap it various numbers of times for various looks. Such pretty, happy beading - teal, yellow, orange, burgandy, and green, with yellow seed beads. No clasp.



#18 - One of the shorter strands, only 16 1/2" long. This necklace is a lovely turquoise color, with matching seed beads. Has a clasp.



#19 - Beautiful marine blue beads (notice how I think they're all beautiful?) with light blue seed beads. Approx. 18 1/2 inches long and has a clasp.



#20 - The color of this strand is somewhere between #'s 18 and 19. A darker turquoise, maybe? Has a bit more blue in it than #18. Black seed beads, and has a clasp. Approx. 17" long.



#21 and #22 - I have two of these that are exactly the same. A medium "dusty" blue (back in my high school days, we used to call this Colonial Blue) with light blue seed beads. Each one is 18" long and each has a clasp. #21 is sold! Thank you so much, Jeanne!


If you would love to have one of these beautiful hand-made necklaces for your very own, just leave me a comment letting me know which # you would like! I don't know why, but when you leave a comment, sometimes it shows me your email address and sometimes it doesn't, so please include your email in your comment so I have a way to contact you!!

I am going to put the rest of the necklaces, and a few other pieces of jewelry I have, in another post. Be sure to come back and see those too!

Thank you so much, friends, for being part of my great adventure with God and Uganda!