kylie's prayer

last sunday evening we went to serve the homeless with kylie's prayer, every sunday before christmas a huge group always goes out with all sorts of supplies (sleeping bags, blankets, clothes, toiletries, prepackaged food) to give the homeless so they have their own kind of merry christmas.  kylie's prayer is a christian ministry dedicated to sharing the love of Jesus Christ with the homeless of downtown houston that was started with a 5 yr old's (kylie) prayer to help the homeless. now a few yrs later, the last saturday of the month a group of people meet together to help serve kylie's mission to spread the Word and Love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to the homeless, through distribution of supplies, food, love, and prayer. the last time i went a few months ago there was only 3 carloads of people, this time there were over 50 carloads, everyone wanted to make sure that the homeless knew they were not forgotten this season... it was AMAZING!

all of us lined up, ready to do what we can

mommy & livi were too sick to go (they were so sad) with us, but my nonie & helpa were visting & they wanted to go out with daddy & i. my nonie even made gift bags that had socks, tissues & fudge crackers... it was so sweet & thoughtful of her! so we left the house with bags of clothes, scarves, gift bags & a special lil christmas sweet treat, then when we got to the meeting place they asked if we would also pass out sleeping bags... of course. i was so so so  happy to finally pass out all the scarves i had been making & with each one i gave out a lil candy cane (the sweet treat) too.  everyone loved the scarves, but all the purple ones were the first to go, so i know for next year to get tons & tons of purple fabric!!! my favorite part of the evening was being able to put smiles on their faces & letting them know how much i really do care for them. the hard part was seeing so many children out there this time, this was the first time i has seen so many, but the amazing part was they were so happy with they had. there was one little girl who was my age & when i put a scarf around her neck i really wanted to give her a hug too, (we were asked not to) but instead i gave her a huge smile while wishing her a very merry christmas & she said thank you. there was another lil boy who was so stinkin' cute & charming, we all wanted to take him home. most of the kids were sick & had horrible runny noses, so i was super thankful that my nonie had brought so many tissue packets!!!  all the homeless people we met were so thankful & happy to see us, i'm so glad i was able to be a part of this. hearing their stories & having them ask us to pray for them really makes me want to do this as often as i can. these people really take care of each other & they know what each other needs. to see something this small make such a huge difference was so wonderful, it brought a smile to all of our faces. my mission for the evening was to make sure that i smiled at each person so they know that someone cares for them & i loved all the smiles/thank yous/God bless yous i got back. there are just so many ways to help & if you'd like to find out more about kylie's prayer or how you can serve please click here

loading up the truck

excited we were asked to pass out sleeping bags too

nonie, helpa & i waiting to head out

this is the girl i was telling you about

he really liked the bright green scarf

these are some friends of ours from church who went also

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me…” Matthew 25: 35-36

cranberry orange w/ BACON muffins

if you know anything about our family you know we LOVE anything with BACON & we have all different kinds of it in our house at all times  !!! we'll make any recipe once with bacon added to it, because bacon makes everything better!!! yesterday mommy had a craving for some zesty cranberry orange muffins & since we had all the ingredients she whipped up a batch. she was about to fry up some bacon to have on the side when we said "STOP, why don't you just put it in the muffins!" she did & viola we had... cranberry orange with bacon muffins.  mommy thinks she  still needs to play with the recipe a lil bit, but i thought they were the most delicious things i've ever had... i couldn't stop eating them. mmm, mmm, good! here's the recipe if you'd like to be adventurous & try them too:

CRANBERRY-ORANGE with BACON MUFFINS:
1 1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. oil
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. grated orange zest
1 c. orange juice
1 1/2 c. chopped cranberries
1 real bacon pieces
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin pan, or use paper liners.
Sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
Beat oil and sugar together until light. Add egg and beat until smooth. Add orange juice and grated zest.
Add flour mixture and stir just until mixed. Fold in cranberries.
Fill greased muffin pans 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 20-25 minutes.

DELICIOUS

  

sweet lil kithaka

Santa pays a visit to the orphanage!!! Look how excited my lil Kithaka was when Santa Claus came for a special visit, he couldn't believe it really was him!

then the david sheldrick wildlife trust wrote a special story about my lil kithaka so more people could learn about him...

We often call Kithaka 'our little Bonsai' elephant as he is unusually small! But just like humans we all come in different shapes and sizes and what Kithaka lacks in physical size he more than makes up for in personality. He has a great sense of humour and is always up for a game! He loves to play chasing games, but never pushes anyone very hard, showing his softer side!
When Kithaka first arrived he was a tiny calf of only one week old. We had a real struggle with him when he underwent teething and consulted many specialists. Finally we discovered his problem of enzyme production and thanks to supplements brought to Kenya by many of our donors he is now thriving and much loved by all who meet him. He is especially loved by the older females like Turkwel and Mutara.To learn more about Kithaka and watch the film of his rescue visit:http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/asp/orphan_profile.asp?N=263#rescueclip


Our little bonsai Kithaka sucking one of Turkwel's ears at mudbath time!

snowflakes for sandy hook

"Imagine walking into school after Winter break and instead of seeing florescent lighting streaming down from the ceiling, your kids saw millions of paper snowflakes hanging there. Imagine how much more impactful that Winter wonderland would be if your student had attended Sandy Hook Elementary School and was now reentering school for the first time since the shooting.

As we first noted yesterday, the National PTA and Connecticut PTSA are asking kids and adults alike to make the most creative snowflakes they can and send them to be used in decorating the kids' new school. A great activity for even the youngest tots over their Winter break (you don't even have to explain why they are being sent there if your tots are too young to understand), snowflake creations can be sent to: Connecticut PTSA, 60 Connolly Parkway, Building 12, Suite 103, Hamden, CT 06514."

hard at work

livi & i spent hours making snowflakes today & had the best time doing it. we loved seeing what surprise was in store for us every time we opened one because as you know no tow snowflakes are alike. we are so happy to be doing what we can for sandy hook, i know how much joy this brought us today & i can't even imagine how amazing it is going to be seeing thousands & thousands of snowflakes all throughout their school. i think we all forget how something so little can bring so much happiness & beauty, so i invite you just to make even one snowflake or 20 & send it to:  Connecticut PTSA
60 Connolly Parkway, Building 12, Suite 103,
Hamden, CT 06514.

these are just a few that we've made

our christmas

happy birthday jesus cookies with milk for santa & carrots with lettuce for the reindeer

look like they enjoyed their snack

merry christmas

from santa

sadie's corner

 

we miss kris already

first of all we want to wish everyone a very merry christmas! it’s been such a joy having kris our elf on the shelf around this year.  last night on christmas eve kris listened for santa's bell & when he heard them it was time for him to fly back to the north pole until next december 1st. we have had so so so much fun with kris & can't wait to see him next year. boy, do we miss him, it's not going to be the same without looking for him every morning. here is some more of crazy mischievous things he he did while he was with us...

day 16: kris crepe papered our doors so we couldn't get out! mommy thought this was the best one ever & loved it! livi & i weren't so amused... especially because it made having to go the bathroom 1st thing, not very easy!

day 17: either kris decided to help with the laundry or he was teaching us that if we didn't put our stuff away it's up for display. so right after school, we put all the laundry away just to be on the safe side!

day 18: whoa: look at kris ! who knew he was so shredded?! his biceps are almost as big as daddys'...
almost!

day 19: awe, kris made us the cutest breakfast. it's chocolate donuts turned into rodolph's... we looooooved it!

day 20: with the cold front coming in kris decided a camp out & roasting marshmallows was a good idea. apparently he wasn't expecting the marshmallow to catch fire so fast because he almost went up in flames as well as the kitchen... live shot!

day 21: i'm not sure who was more excited about us being out of school, kris or us?! we still haven't cleaned the mirror, we love it so much!

day 22: kris finally got up the courage to ask sugar plum fairy to go swinging on the candy cane swings above gingerbread village & she said YES!!!

day 23: kris decided to take advantage of a fresh clean toilet & go fishin'. looks like he's caught enough for dinner!

day 24: looks like kris is getting ready to go back to his old doodies at the north pole & working on his shoveling reindeer poop techniques. bye bye mischievous life.

day 25: we'll miss you too kris!!! thank you for all the fun & excitement you brought us every morning!

easy peasy no sew fleece scarves

almost every year mommy knits scarves for the homeless to keep warm in the winter, this year i really wanted to find a way to help her. after determining that it may be a few years before i can master those mean knitting needles, it was time to turn to the internet for some help. we found these awesome cozy no sew fleece scarves that looked so easy peasy to make, i knew i could do it! after i made the 1st one i was hooked because as it turned out they were super easy to make. for my birthday i asked my friends & family for more fleece so i could make as many as i could before it got cold out. i made over 60 of them & i can't wait for this sunday to go pass them out!!! if you'd like to try to make some to pass out to the homeless, or your family or even your best friends, here's how...
first off, gather your materials.  you will need:
fleece - you will ultimately need a piece that is 7" wide by 64" long.  here, i used a yard length to start.  this is just regular fleece i picked up... it's rainbow so i had to have it!
scissors
self-healing mat
rotary cutter

cutting your material: lay out your fleece on your cutting mat. 

with your rotary cutter, cut off 7" of fleece, creating a long strip.  i didn't unfold my fleece to cut through it.  be sure to have an adult do this part because the rotary cutter is very sharp & very sharper.

mine is 7", but you can make your scarf whatever width you would like.  this is the finished width.

making the fringe: unfold your fleece and line it up on the cutting mat.  using your scissors, cut strips along the edge of your fleece every inch.

my cuts are 3" long.  you can choose to make yours longer or shorter depending on how "fringe-y" you are feeling!

next, fold the strips up and cut a small slit in the center of each of the pieces.

once each of the strips is cut it will look like this.

next, pull the edge of the strip through the slit.  pull it all the way through.  repeat this for each of the seven pieces.

the finished fringe will look like this.  now, flip over the fleece and repeat the process to the other side of the scarf.

YAY, the finished scarf! Now give your handmade scarf to someone special.