Sunday, March 29, 2009

i heart faces week 12

wow this has been a fun 12 weeks! playing along again with i heart faces. this weeks theme is kids ~ pouting; and pets ~ anything goes.


































i love this pic of my bug, even when she is mad she is beautiful!! she was mid tantrum on the floor :)















this is one of my previous babies, who now lives with a great friend. she looks so fierce here, but really, she is a sweetheart!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

PICNIK!!

thanks to my good friend KF, i finally dabbled in PICNIK. HOLY COW! i should have jumped on LONG ago when i saw all the mom blogs who use it. anyway, here are some pic of my bug when she was a peanut. with picnik, ANYONE can take good pictures. maybe one day i will show you the befores :) but i once heard a photographer NEVER shows you the SOOC (straight out of camera) shot :) ENJOY this yumminess :)





































































Tuesday, March 24, 2009

turning 2

yes my baby turned 2 on march 13th. no i have not posted yet. we were too busy partying. here are a few pics. i have a video as well but i am trying to edit it
































this is her first thing in the morning when she woke up on her actual birthday


















ice cream at lunch


















cupcakes she helped mommy make for her cupcake party at school


















loving mommy

Monday, March 23, 2009

angel face

why do we love to look at our babies when they are asleep? i think it is bc it gives a tiny glimpse into heaven :)

no dog no

here are some pics for family and friends who want more and are tired of the once a week post :)






this is bug at the park telling a dog, no dog no, and you go over there :) cute huh??

first taste of cake batter!

i am playing again over at i heart faces. this weeks theme is NO FLASH. well this is for sure no flash bc it is with my iphone again. i do have a real camera but just have not had it handy lately.

cant you see the pure joy in her face??!! she was so confused when i handed it to her. she said yucky wash it. i said no lick it. she did and was taken away to that place that only raw cake batter can take you :)























Monday, March 16, 2009

get 7x's return on your investment and save a life!










A WORTHY PROJECT THAT DESERVES OUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION

CALL+RESPONSE has been working with the Not For Sale Campaign to fund an inspirational front-line activist in Thailand named Kru Nam. She is an unstoppable force who is rescuing children from sex slavery and raising them....herself. At any one time she has over 150 kids in her clinic. She is the real deal!




















As members of the 21st Century Abolitionist Movement, we have a critical opportunity to seriously help her. $1.8 Million in medical supplies are ready to be shipped to care for the 174 children currently in her clinic. This shipment is full of desperately needed medicines (SEE HERE) and equipment which will be sent on March 26th, IF WE CAN RAISE $26,000 IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS. That's a $70 return for every dollar invested.
{100% of all donations goes to the shipment.}

To learn more about the project go HERE. {the story is posted below}

Please respond now to get nearly $2M in medical supplies to children rescued from slavery.

$10 donation = $700 return for those children. The math is undeniable. Take 3 minutes to GIVE.

With our gratitude for your partnership,

The Call+Response Team




Story from the link above:

Enable Not For Sale to build a Health Clinic Stocked with $500,000 in Medicines and Supplies to Provide Care for Hundreds of Children.

Amount Needed: $57,500

Purpose: To construct, equip, and staff a clinic in northern Thailand at the Buddies Along the Roadside Project (10 miles from the border with Myanmar and Thailand.) This clinic will not only serve the needs of all 125 children at the Center, but healthcare will also be extended to all the students that attend local public schools. The primary purpose of this is to create the maximum positive health impact for the community, but also has the benefit of addressing negative stigma that may be attached to Buddies children. Since they have all been rescued from child and sexual slavery, the children have been viewed by teachers and peers as "dirty" and bringing in sickness to other children.

Based on bids already provided, construction of the clinic will cost $30,000.

$500,000 in medical equipment, supplies and medicines will be shipped to the clinic shortly thereafter by the organization Giving Children Hope, with the only cost incurred amounting to $27,000 (a $20:1 return on investment.)

About the Village and abolitionist Kru Nam:

Kru Nam had learned of kids of her city of Chang Mai, who had been put into the karaoke clubs and the brothels of Thailand, in order to serve the pleasures of men, who came from all over the world to take advantage of these young kids sexually. Kru Nam was incensed when she learned how they were being exploited. She began running into the clubs, and rescuing them.

Today, Kru Nam has rescued 120 kids from child slavery. Not For Sale built a village for these children. The village includes one dorm, with four more in construction. There is a large kitchen for the entire village, a place where they can go to school, and an art center for the kids. The children who live there take active roles in caring for the home, including planting shrubbery around the new dorms and working to provide food for the village. For instance, they grew 250 kilograms of rice in the recent harvest, though all of that was gone in one week. 120 is a lot of mouths to feed.

David Batstone, Myanmar/Thai Border… June 2008

I am in a van with two children fast asleep on the seat, the kids sandwiched between myself and the Thai abolitionist Kru Nam. We are driving back from the border town of Mae Sai where a narrow river and a simple bridge are all that segregates Thailand from Myanmar. One boy, one girl, both Burmese, have just escaped hell. I feel privileged to be a part of the experience. The girl, Pim, is eight years old. Her Burmese mother forces her to go to the border bridge every day to beg for money.

The mom is addicted to opium which grows widely in the Golden Triangle region. The mother tells Pim not to come home unless she comes back with 300 baht (roughly $10). With local events in Myanmar already depressing the low tourist season, finding willing donors is tough business. Kru Nam hears through the street grapevine that the mother is looking to sell Pim.

When she tracks the mom down, Kru Nam makes an offer. I’ll give you 500 baht if you let Pim come live with me at our children's village. The mother agrees, and Pim now sleeps peacefully, cradled into Kru Nam’s arm in our van.

The boy next to me, Kho, is 11. Two years ago he was trafficked into Thailand for child labor. He escaped and found refuge at Buddies Along the Roadside, Kru Nam’s village. You can watch a video of the history of the village. His Burmese family made contact and demanded that Kho come back home, and Kru Nam happily complied with their request to reunite Kho with his family. Two months have passed, and we ran into Kho in the streets of Mae Sai today. He begged Kru Nam to return to Buddies. His family is forcing him to sell drugs ­ primarily ice and amphetamines ­ on each side of the border. When kids are caught selling drugs, the police treat them lightly. Adults, on the other hand, will be sentenced to long prison terms. So many adults use kids as their drug peddlers. Kho has spent two years in school and living with a community of hope. He is now on his way back home.

Two children tell the story of children for sale more powerfully than any set of statistics I could offer. Once again, my heart is broken.

About Not For Sale:

Not For Sale is a campaign of students, entrepreneurs, artists, people of faith, athletes, law enforcement officers, social workers, skilled professionals, and all justice seekers, united to fight the global slave trade.

It is a grassroots, non-profit organization originated from University of San Francisco professor Dr. David Batstone’s book, Not For Sale, and has expanded into one of the leading forces mobilizing a contemporary abolitionist movement. Inside the United States, the campaign identifies trafficking rings and collaborates with local law enforcement and community groups to shut them down and provide support for the victims. Internationally, the campaign partners with poorly resourced abolitionist groups to enhance their capacity and develop programs.

Examples include its safe house in Ghana for kids rescued from slavery in the fishing industry on Lake Volta and another safe house for exploited children in Peru.

Friday, March 13, 2009

fix it friday

so it seems all i am doing lately is playing along over at i heart faces. but its fun.

here is a new thing you can do: fix it friday. they post a pic and you "fix it".

heres mine:



















heres the before:
























Tuesday, March 10, 2009

cropping pictures!

i am playing again over at i heart faces. this weeks theme is creative crop.


here is my sweet bug on the swing. look how happy she is! the before is below. i love cropping! I don't have photoshop but not too bad for iphoto :) ~ oh and taken with my iphone :)







Saturday, March 7, 2009

basement makeover pics

here are some teaser pics of the basement. there will be a full post later after i paint a cabinet and organize the hubs area.

until then enjoy what a little paint can do :)



Wednesday, March 4, 2009

watch this and see if it doesn't change you

i interrupt your regular programming of a sweet innocent baby girl to show you this:



God has gotten a hold of me these past few months and has educated me to the pain that is going on in our back yards. You may already be aware of the Human Trafficking Global Issues we are facing but you may not know that Atlanta is the top city in the US for these sick people to operate.

There are a few events over the next month that I would like to make you aware of should you feel that you would like to be a part of this.

There is a meeting THIS THURSDAY at "street GRACE":

Street GRACE (Galvanizing Resources Against Child Exploitation) is a non-denominational alliance of churches dedicated to supporting, enlarging, and allying with those individuals and organizations working toward eliminating the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). Street GRACE mobilizes the resources of churches – financial, human and material – toward those organizations and individuals who have demonstrated effectiveness in battling CSEC in the areas of advocacy, aftercare and mentoring. Our ultimate goal is the elimination of this problem in the city of Atlanta and duplication of these efforts in other cities across the United States.

To learn more about the Street GRACE ministry, please contact them at info@streetgrace.org or (678) 990-9513.

http://streetgrace.org/
Street GRACE (Galvanizing Resources Against Child Exploitation)
Thursday, March 5, 2009
2:00pm - 3:00pm
North Avenue Presbyterian Church
607 Peachtree St. NE
Atlanta, GA


There are also two events THIS MONTH! at Church of the Reedemer in Atl, through the Freedom Cry Atlanta organization.


March 7th: Sex Trafficking in ATL Exposed

On March 7, Freedom Cry Atlanta will host Dirty Little Secret: Sex Trafficking in Atlanta Exposed. During this evening, we’ll be hearing about the scope of child sex slavery in Atlanta from several perspectives: government, survivor, and activist. You’ll hear from a member of Church of the Redeemer who has started to respond and you’ll be challenged to consider the areas in which you might participate—without quitting your day job.

Over the intervening two weeks, we hope you’ll connect with people in your area of expertise and passion to brainstorm responses, next steps and areas to explore.

The event will begin at 7pm at Church of the Redeemer (5185 Peachtree-Dunwoody Road, Atlanta, GA 30342) and is open to anyone who’s interested. Come join us in something much larger than we are!

The next event is March 21st to talk through what you can do in your area of expertise.

I hope you will consider attending one or more of these events.

Questions? Just ask me!!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

snow in march

thats atlanta for you. so here are some fun pics from this past sunday, when it decided to snow buckets...those big spots on her sweater are how big the flakes were, those spots are all ONE flake each.
















































Monday, March 2, 2009

my baby loves black beans!

if you have been following this blog for a while you know my bugs fav food is black beans, green beans are a close second but the black still rules! i am playing again over at i heart faces and todays theme is messy!!

enjoy!!


















(this is mags when she was about a yr, she is 2 now, feel free to visit the rest of my blog to see her cutness now!)