moore, ok: how you can help

The handmade community has come together again to help raise money for relief efforts.

The tragedy that unfolded this week was heartbreaking, and sometimes it's hard to know how to help. 

I am so thankful for the relief workers coming from all over the country to help those devastated by the tornados on Monday. 

And I am grateful to be part of an online community that uses their gift of creativity to reach out and do what they can.

There are so many lovely things you can buy to benefit the families and victims in Moore, OK.

I created this printable for $10. 100% of the money raised will go to Catholic Charities in Moore, 

who are providing direct assistance - both immediate and long term - to families in need.

Food and water, shelter, counseling and rebuilding. 

Every penny donated goes directly to victims.

Lesley from Recipe for Crazy also has a print, and all proceeds go to Red Cross.

Hannah has this cute arrow necklace, and she is donating $8 from each sale to Convoy of Hope. 

Jules from JoysHope made this lovely Scripture print, donating all proceeds to the Red Cross.

My thoughts and prayers continue to be with those in Moore and all over Oklahoma.

My hope is that this will make even a small difference in the lives of the many affected. 

If you know of other shops who are sending help, please let me know and I will include their links as well.

(the thankful link up will be back next week!)

three hours

I felt guilty at first, those first weeks I had a babysitter come stay with the kids while I took three hours to myself every Friday morning. I wasn't sure what to do with all my time. But before long, those three hours started to fly by and my guilt went away. I mean, $25 a week is cheaper than therapy, and this was good for my soul.

And truth be told, most often I am dashing to the post office, Target, grocery shopping - all things that need to be done and are a million times easier on my own or with just Frances in tow. 

But today. On this sweet, rainy morning, I don't have an agenda. I had a boy in hysterics for no other reason than the fact that he woke up at 4:45 am and can't handle life on eight hours of sleep (thank you, daylight savings time). I myself was kind of in hysterics over the lego explosion in the basement that nobody seemed to care about but me. That was a sure sign that these three hours couldn't come soon enough. 

ring: c/o florero cuff: farmgirl paints

My errands have been run, except for a quick trip for a few essentials at the store. So, here I sit, in my favorite local coffee place with my double tall hazelnut latte and my organic locally sourced breakfast sandwich (it's Seattle, what can I say?).  Frances is starting to snooze at my side, and I actually have time to blog. To return emails, and catch up on things that I've been meaning to get to for weeks.

Thank you, Friday morning, for rescuing me right when I needed it. 

And while I've got you here, I want you to meet some sweet ladies. 
They hang out over there on my sidebar, but I also count them as friends.
Take a look, go say hello, and maybe treat yourself to something lovely. 

Kayma Boutique

15% off your entire order with the code WHIMSY

lovely lovely things, people. for real.

HopeHomemade

Mary and her sweet daughter make the most beautiful things. 

I've already gotten one of her necklaces and feel like I probably need 42 more.

Really.

you can also find mary here.

Florero Creations

wreaths, clutches, scarves, jewelry - these are multi-talented ladies.

I am in love with my ring (pictured above).

get 25% off with the code LOVELYLITTLEWHIMSY

esther blogs here.

Have a beautiful weekend, friends!

thankful for what I have

source

My retreat last weekend was like balm for my soul.
Last year when I left for my first ever silent retreat, I was burnt out. I was desperate for time away to recharge, aching for peace that I hadn't felt in so long. And I got it, big time.
I was kind of expecting that this time. Truth be told, every night by 5pm I am counting the minutes until my husband walks through the door. I'm done with the crazies. 

Last Friday, as I drove through the winding roads to my destination along the water, to rest and recharge, to learn and grow, I was at peace. It wasn't like last year in my desperation to get a break. I was looking forward to what the weekend held, but my heart was at home. With the crazies, if you can believe it.

The retreat was encouraging, I felt more drawn into a closeness with God, I learned new things. I had lovely, copious amounts of quiet. But oh how I longed for my family as the weekend came to a close. To revel in the chaos, to squeeze my boys, to gaze on Frances' dimples, to kiss my husband. 

So I'm grateful for both. For the peace and joy and contentment that's in my heart that definitely wasn't their a year ago. For a chance to bask in the quiet beauty of God's goodness. For the crazy, chaotic, lively life I got to come home to.
I'm thankful for all of it; it's more than enough.

______________________

How about you? What turned your heart toward thankfulness this week?
Big or small, I'd love to hear about it.
Please link back to this post so others can join us, and because it's the nice thing to do.
Thanks for being here!

love for uganda

You guys, I'm pretty excited to introduce you to my friend Jami. 
Her church is going to Uganda this summer, and I am so excited to do whatever I can 
to help make that happen. Read on for your chance to win 
some amazing stuff from some amazingly talented ladies
and help send some folks to serve the poor in Uganda.

today is the day! the day you get to see all the goodies up for grabs.
aaaand, i'm nervous. there i said it. i feel better already.

if you read my post from last week you know that hubby is part of a mission team going to uganda this summer.

we are thrilled to be able to participate and can not wait to see what the Lord does.

the team will be traveling with children of the nations spending time teaching and loving on children in group homes. they will also be visiting refugee camps, building a laundry facility and planting fruit trees.

the children they will be spending time with have been displaced by AIDS and war.

just the thought of it is heartbreaking to me. so many children with no parents and without a home. i long to look into their little faces. to tell them Jesus loves them. to tell them i love them.

for the time being, however,  i feel called to send my hubby off with as much support and prayer as possible.

will you pray for him and the entire team? pray that everyone they come in contact with will see and feel the love they have come to bring.

we are also in need of financial support. some wonderful friends have rallied behind me to make this fun giveaway possible. i am beyond grateful for and humbled by their support.

please give what you can. a little. a lot. every dollar is appreciated.

here are all the entry details:

*all of these items were donated by the shops and persons listed. this giveaway is open to US residents only. anyone of course, is free to give, however the gift sets will be shipped to US winners only. everyone can enter this giveaway once by leaving a comment with your name here and telling me that you shared this giveaway via twitter/facebook/instagram.

after that? $10 per comment/entry. click the "donate" button at the bottom of this post to donate through paypal. donate $20 leave 2 comments. donate $100 leave 10 comments. easy peasy right?

**please leave your email address with at least one of your donation comments so i can contact you if you win. the winners will be chosen using random.org and announced on monday, may 20th.

ok! let's get to the good good stuff.

there are 2 sets of prizes. so 2 winners! holla!

set #1

set #1 includes:
- color pop necklace, feather necklace & aqua vintage inspired earrings from happy days
- gray and white polka dot infinity scarf form lovelylittlewhimsy
- 1 necklace from heathers happys, winner's choice
- 2 prints from blossom&vine, winner's choice
- 10" teal wreath with fabric flowers from small town joy
- $20 target gift card


set #2

set #2 includes:

-2 necklaces & 1 needlepoint from hope homemade, winner's choice 

- 1 print from blossom&vine, winner's choice

-1 7" twig & flower wreath from florero

-1 necklace from heathers happys, winner's choice

-1 print from katygirl designs, winner's choice
- key necklace from salvage517

-$20 target gift card

bonus set
ok, a little bonus for you. because we are so grateful for everyone's support there will also be a winner of these fabulous items!

-a custom designed blog header from danielle burkleo worth $35.


  - a custom made clutch from jenni carlisle{@ragamuffinbeauties on instagram}

one more thing...

my dear friend carina has come up with another way you can support us.
for every arrow necklace purchased from her shop she will donate $10 to our uganda fund.
you can't really beat that.

well there you have it!

please visit all of these shops. these are some truly wonderful women.

and will you spread the word? tweet, facebook, instagram, blog about it? we would be super grateful.

thanks friends!

head on over to Call Me Blessed to enter!

{thankful} books, babies and time away

I'm grateful for a lot of little things this week.

Like the roof over our head. Literally.
We couldn't ignore the need to have our roof replaced any longer, as shingles had started littering our yard. That's a bad sign, right? It hurt to make the decision, since we'll be paying it off for, like, ever. But now we have peace of mind, and a 50 year warranty. Really, really grateful for that.

I'm thankful for this book. For the conversations it's already started, for how inspired I am by it. If you love food and people and God, this is just the book for you. It's me to a tee, and I love that so many of my friends have already read it or have it on their list. It bonds us.

I'm grateful for a healthy baby in my belly. I had my 20 week ultrasound today. And no, we don't know what it is. We didn't find out with Lute, which was so fun for us. And by kid number five, you've got to add in some element of surprise. The baby didn't show its stuff, either, so nobody in the whole wide world knows what we're having, and I Iove that. Little #5 was also face down with its hands over its ears. I think that's good prep for the reality they're entering into around here. 

For redeeming moments with Eddie this week. It's still been rough, as I navigate through the best way to parent; what works and what doesn't. But we had some sweet times - one on one slurpee dates and monster truck races across the living room floor, and lego tower building experiments. We snuggled and laughed and were silly. We also went to war over whose will would win out, the fact that seat belts aren't optional, and his lingering disdain for the toilet. But the fun, sweet moments far outweighed the not amazing ones.

I loved sitting with my husband last night, flipping the tv off for a change and laughing and crying and sharing stories about this life we signed up for together. I could not be more grateful for that man.

And I am really anticipating how thankful I am going to be Friday evening when I go on my silent retreat for most of the weekend. Two days in a gorgeous setting, soaking in silence, growing deeper in my faith... and sleeping? Uh, yes please and thank you.

How about you? I want to hear what you're thankful for this week! Please grab a button or link back so others can join in the fun with us!

<center> <a href="http://carinalee.com" target="_blank"><img alt="a punk, a pumpkin and a peanut" src="http://i1277.photobucket.com/albums/y499/lovelylittlewhimsy/buttontri_zps698d79dc.jpg"/></a></center>
(my thankful button is being wonky. if you can grab it from the sidebar, go for it!)