Homegrown Hospitality

Defining Purpose

It is what some call "the season of giving" and just like many, I am blessed beyond measure.  With that comfort, my heart is constantly feeling empathy & compassion for those who are hurting, lost and dealing with difficulties. I get these tsunami strong feelings of "WHAT CAN I DO???" and my mind is constantly wanting, wondering, thinking and ready to do something to help.

As you know, this past year, I have been "moved" to react and respond to others through sharing my faith, supporting The Jessie Rees Foundation & HER cause that has become part of my heart and communicating, sharing and teaching others through my art.  I knew there was more...I just was not sure what it was and on Wednesday of this week, I heard the phrase/question "Care or Cure?"

It was the question Jessie's Mommy & Daddy asked her as they created the very first jars of joy.. 

Part of the purpose of The Jessie Rees Foundation is to provide CARE.  Jessie's wish was to care for the children that were battleing cancer and the question/concept & thought "Care or Cure" made me realize another part of my purpose, made me realize why I am so drawn to her foundation and why I feel so proud to be part of the NEGU team. While I can not cure the hurts, illness, and difficulties of others, I can support others with care...

Through Prayer

Through Reminders

Through Example

Through Connection

Through Art

Through Love

Through Support

and so can you!

We all need to practice the "Season of Giving" each day...not just in November & December and I am learning more and more about myself, about the purpose of my life and how to help others..all through the very short life of a sweet girl named Jessie.
So what can you do to help?

Donate to the Jessie Rees Foundation to provide JOY to little love bugs..

Promote the cause on Facebook by LIKING the page

Tune in THIS SUNDAY to CNN to watch..

 

Whirling Dervish Surge

It always happens.  About 48 hours before any type of class or boutique I get this surge of " I MUST MAKE MORE THINGS"

Tomorrow is the 1st Annual Athlete's Choice Holiday Boutique where 10% (+10 more%) of all of the proceeds will go the the Jessie Rees Foundation.  I have told you about it on FB and here on the blog and I have been making things here and there along the way and then...

BAM

I got that "whirling dervish surge" and just started making things left and right, wasting what I thought was a TON of time, sewing, stopping...cutting & stitching and then stopping again, then painting and stopping and then more stitching...and stopping.  I finally made myself dizzy from the sporadic back and forth, I stacked it all up and put it away. (which is just 1 of 100 reasons why the Shead-Teau looks the way it does.)

I am not sure if it was the canvas, the hearts, the stitching or what, but something clicked and I drug it all back out, started completely over and created the 2012 version of my raviolis.  (In the past, the raviolis have been in felt, this year, canvas) and I kinda love them.

The nice thing, is they can be a gift tag, an ornament for the tree, a bottle hanger but best of all, just a cute little reminder of the important things...

Joy

Hope...
Peace and of course, LOVE, duh. so what I thought was wasted time was well spent time, because had I not taken all of the steps I had taken, I would not have these.

If you are in the area, be sure to come by Athlete's Choice tomorrow night from 7:00-9:00 pm.

23252 Arroyo Vista, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688

A Tiny Reminder

A scrabble tile, ink, stamps, paint, paper and little torn letters spelling out NEGU

that stand for NEVER EVER GIVE UP...

no

matter

what.

Do Something

Did you watch Stand up For Cancer last night?

Me, too.

Did you cry?

I almost did..and along with the heartache that I felt, I felt strength.

I felt that NEGU feeling.

Like I could do something as long as I Never Ever Give Up...

So can you.

But what? 

Follow The Jessie Rees Foundation on FB https://www.facebook.com/JessieReesFoundation and simply JOY MOB a child that is fighting Cancer.

PRAY.

Visit the Jessie Rees NEGU website site to read about 10 great ways to help.

PRAY

Volunteer to stuff JOY JARS this month..there are 22,000 (seriously!) that need to be stuffed and delivered for Christmas!

PRAY

Show your support with Team Negu Wear

PRAY.

Truth.

Whirling Dervish.

That is the only way I can describe the past few days.

I did not know what to blog, did not post to FB, did not want to read, did not know what to create...still had to do laundry (so I knew I was okay!) decided I looked like Dorothy Hamill with my hair cut and kept thinking of the "Gee your hair smells terrific" commercial...

and then, it dawned on me, 

It is the last week before school starts and up until now, it has been smooth sailing...literally..and for the first time since my kids have been in school, I am not ready for them to go back and am not ready for summer to be over...

All summer long, I have been on task creatively, spiritually, physically, mentally..stayed semi-structured and going with the summer flow and now, with one week to go before it is back-to-school/work, I have become a whirling dervish full of unnecessary anxiety, not knowing what to do, when to do it, what to make, where to make it, etc...so much that in the past two days, I shut down and note to self, I do not work well being a whirling dervish and shut down.

What a selfish baby I am was.

Today, I woke up, prayed for direction, centered myself, kicked my own self in the butt and slapped myself across the face a few times (not really) but pretty much shook myself and yelled "get it together girl"

and now, I am better.

whew.

Here is my point...and although I am writing, well typing this from me, you might need this too....

PICK YOURSELF UP AND DO SOMETHING.

SHAKE IT OFF.

GET OVER IT AND GET TO WORK.

No matter what is going on, or off, how bad things seem, how confused you might feel, really....NO MATTER WHAT, as long as you stay spiritually centered, everything...and I really mean, everything..will be okay...just NEGU...

and just so ya know, at about 3pm yesterday, as the UPS delivered a box and drove away from our house, within 20 minutes, Stella (well, Stephanie) got her groove back and created this..

Tutorial next week....

Thank you Lord.

Do Something - July 2012

Dang July went fast....pretty sure that I was reminding you that once 4th of July passes..it is all down hill till Christmas...

see, I was not making that up.

It happens every year.

Anyways, if I were a scrap booker, maybe an active participant of Project-Life 2012 (I do have all of the stuff..) or had Insta-Gram (which Jack referred to last night as the "world's greatest invention") then this would you might have seen:

starting at the top and moving left to right:

• Working out at Athlete's Choice several days a week..more than I ever have in my life (both working out and sweating..thanks Maria!) http://www.athleteschoicersm.com/
• Still displaying the biggest American Flag (probably designed for a building) that you can on a little house
• Enjoying the renewed relationship with being creative everyday, thanks Tim! http://timholtz.com/
• Documenting big things in the smallest ways
• Children being water ambushed by big mean neighbors...(just kidding, they are small..and bald..the neighbors..not the kids. Was that nice of me to say?)
• Finding heart rocks
• Rollerblading (kids, NOT me!) running, walking and riding around the lake
• Baking for a cause http://www.cookiesforkidscancer.org/
• Chicken fights & bbqing chicken..alot
• Blazing trails with Regina & Amy...and Ben, too!http://www.ocparks.com/whitingranch/
• Sailing the Maui sea and tanning feet at the same time http://www.teralani.net/
• Spreading the word http://www.jessie.org/
• Joining forces with the wives http://www.racerxonline.com/2012/07/27/racer-x-films-surfercross-day-1
• Selling cookies for the cause....http://www.cookiesforkidscancer.org/
• Watching Plumerias bloom in the backyard, wishing we were back on vacation
• Watering and wondering if the pam tree is going to get attacked by the giant zucchini plant
• Loving him and wishing he would stop playing car salesman..no, I mean car buyer.
• Finding more heart rocks
• Trying to convince boys not to throw signs in EVERY picture
• Riding bikes
• Sailing the high seas of Lake Mission Viejo
• Reading & studying http://www.onlyyoucanbeyou.com/
• Buying socks for the cause http://www.jessie.org/joyjars/
• Becoming more civilized campers...bye bye tent
• Sticking to a schedule

Today...or maybe tomorrow, bake some and share some...Click HERE for the recipe.

here is the recipe for these.

Up to Something & On the Road....

I have NOT been a good blogger this summer and I apologize, but while I have been working, living and doing new things, our garden is going crazy...

I have been working like one of Santa's elf's getting boxes packed and off to Chicago for CHA with things like this:

and this

and this...

but I will not be in Chicago because in just a few hours, along with this stuff

we will officially be on vacation, so that means that the blog is going to be quiet for a week....

While I am gone, please consider checking this stuff out:

• Courtney's new book is coming out in just a few weeks...and if you have not read the first one, A Sweethaven's Summer, um, you should...and it is only $.99 to download...
• There are NEW Brave Girl Camp dates up for this year and I am almost brave enough to decide on a date...yikes! oh, and Soul Restoration registration is open and class starts in a few week...and it is oh so good....
• My new doodle class is open and ready for you to get your doodle on.  You can read more about the class here and you can go over here to sign up and doodle!
• Speaking of doodles, here is a doodle that I just posted on Facebook and want to share here, because I know you go to Target...and Michael's...and there are LOTS of little toes that need warmth...and for a $1.00...shoot....

• To learn more about Joy Jars, go here
• To Learn more about The Jessie Rees Foundation, go here
• Become a FB Fan of the Jessie Rees Foundation 

okay my friends...This is farewell for a week

Aloha.

Summer Weekly Recap No. 2

I guess I have dropped the weekly recap ball a bit but we are enjoying summer and trying our best to stay on some type of schedule while embracing the opportunities to try new things...like paddle boarding...and, duh..wouldn't you take a handheld little waterproof camera with you the first time you learned to paddle-board and try to film and paddle at the same time???

 

and here is a little glance at the other things we have been doing this past week or two...

1. cutting flowers from the yard  2. Finding NEGU blue 3. Going for bike rides 4. Making the most creative mess I have EVER created 5. Trying to stay on task and adding more to the list. 6. Loving all of the blankets around the lake like a huge quilt in anticipation of the 4th of July 7. Hanging out with my boys 8. Buying and displaying the HUGEST American flag ever 9. Bike rides & rollerblading to the donut store..they have AWESOME ice!

I hope that you are enjoying the little things that summer brings...

P.S..I DID NOT fall off of the paddleboard!

Do Something

I came home with from Pennsylvania with this and never showed you...Shame on me.

Ahh yes, wool felt, a big brand new giant stack and typically, I would have ripped into this stack and started stitching away, but I have been looking at it now for 7 days.  Amongst the greens, reds and golds, the colors I normally migrate to, the colors I call my "Life Colors"...

I see Blue...and I feel blue.

My heart is still so full of emotion from the weekend,so much that it makes me a little weepy, no, really weepy.  I am going to show you a picture that will tug on your heartstrings, maybe harder than ever. This is Erik Rees.  Pastor at my church, daddy to Jessie. A photo that was taken a few month ago:

After witnessing our small community rally around Jessie through the 10 months of her fight, the love and tears shown during the days and weeks after her death, the immense desire to keep her hope of Spreading Joy to children fighting cancer and events like this past Saturday, I feel more empowered than ever before to help...as do my boys...In fact, when Ben got out of the car this morning, he mentioned he was wearing NEGU Blue (not knowing that I was typing this)

Our family is fighting, working, walking, praying and helping to Spread Joy in memory of Jessie, for the cause, for the families

for the reason, for this dad that smiles brightly in the midst of his pain. 

I look at that stack of felt and see blue...I see NEGU colors and I now know what my first project is going to be

because this family...needs a basket of happy & joy...in honor of their girl and the amazing work they are doing in honor of her.

We all have a God Given purpose and it is our responsibility to

so again, I challenge you to Do Something.  Whether it is for the Jessie Rees Foundation or something else, please get up and do something...because as Jessie's daddy reminded me, "We Are Better Together"

and hey... show your Team NEGU pride wearing shirts like these to spread the word...

and to remind others to NEVER EVER GIVE UP!

Insert: Purpose

Yesterday on my way to the post office, a new sign caught my eye. I drove by the building that is the new home to the "Joy Factory", the Jessie Rees Foundation. I can NOT imagine being a mom that would be putting up a sign on a building in honor of my child, but that is exactly what a family in our community, a family in our church is faced with and is doing..and has vowed to keep their precious Jessie's dream alive.

INSERT Purpose.

I am on team NEGU..

NEGUstands for Never Ever Give Up and is something we have really started living by in our little home sweet home.  It was what Jessie did in the 10 month she fought...and ultimately lost.  It is her story, the will of a 12 year old girl that taught us to NEVER EVER GIVE UP and will continue to be a force in our house.

KEY WORD: House

So what in the world can I possibly do to help besides pray? 

I can paint and I can run.

(NOT a the same time, duh!)

What can YOU do?

1. You can Join Team Negu and help spread the word
2. You could simply "like" Jessie's FB page (they are trying to get to 200,000 likes by April 8th, which would have been Jessie's 13th birthday)
3. You could sponsor me and Team NEGU for the 1/2 Marathon by clicking that little red scrolling box up there in the right corner because I am training and will run that race for her and for all of those little love bugs that are fighting with that DAMN cancer (excuse my language).
4. You could go to Ebay and bid on this new 12x12 canvas that I just finished last night:
   

I am auctioning this handpainted 12x12 Mixed Media canvas that reads "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" Joshua 24:15.  All proceeds from this auction will be donated to the Jessie Rees Foundation.

GOD gave me the skills and abilities to paint, doodle...and run so that is what I'm doing...in between laundry, carpool and painting base boards...you know, stuff like that.

So..what are you waiting for???? I just listed the canvas on EBAY...as an auction..for 5 days and I sure hope that I did it right...

Happy Friday!