Life's Motto

....according to a 4 yr old

Work Hard

Play Hard

Be Cute

Take the 2 Blanket Challenge and bring some warmth to Africa this winter!

We are more than half-way with our Blanket Drive and have 10 days left to reach our goal of 1000 blankets by June 1.

Why?
The weather has turned COLD! A couple mornings this week we woke to temperatures in the 30’s.

What?
Blankets to bring some warmth to those with very little!

One blanket costs approx. $6.00.

Where?
Our target audience lives in shacks made of corrugated metal, scraps of tin and pieces of wood, with little to no means of heat. Hundreds die each year due to the cold and being ill equipped to deal with it.

Who?
YOU, YOUR friends and YOUR Family, can help us by purchasing blankets.

Parents this is a very tangible way to get your children involved in helping those in need by doing extra chores..etc. I’ve received 3 reports of kids that are raising money to purchase blankets.


When?
We want to begin passing out blankets in the squatter camp communities June 1!
This gives us 10 more days to raise funds for the 440 remaining blankets needed.


How?
You can give via Paypal or check*…click here for details.


Take the 2 Blanket Challenge

Give $12 to purchase TWO blankets and help us bring some warmth to the African people this winter!

Click here for more information and daily updates on our progress!

*Please mark donations with code "blankets".

Does Anyone Feel My Pain

My 7 year old son has hordes of amazing attributes however cleanliness is not one of them. I guess listening (to his mother) doesn’t rank up there either.

A daily conversation with Blake might go something like this….

Me: “Bay, would you please take your uniform out of your school bag, fold it nicely and put it in your drawer.”

Blake: (even looking at me eye-to-eye) “Yes, Mom.”

Later when walking by Blake’s room this is what I find….

Does anyone feel my pain?

Wordless Wednesday

Rambling yet Making a Whole Lot of Sense

I will admit over the years I’ve increasingly become an American Idol fan. I like the show…am amazed at the undiscovered talent however I’m not much into the music beyond the show (sometimes even on the show).

I’m not sure how it is in America but lately I’ve noticed whether you are a Kelly Clarkson fan or not if you are in any establishment with music playing technology for more than 30 seconds you will hear her latest song.

I forgot my ipod when going to the gym recently and I promise you her song played at least 3 times in the hour I was there.

The interesting thing to me or the explicit depravity of taste is quite apparent to me when hearing Kelly's song. The tune…good…definitely sticks with you the rest of the day…I find myself humming the tune and I don’t even know the words. The lyrics…ridiculous! I mean the main line in the song is "My life would suck without you.” Really…the top grossing AI and that is the best you can do. Sorry, by the way, for using the ya know word. This is a G-rated blog and it is not a typical word in my vocabulary unless talking about a lollipop however there is a means to my rambling…umm point.

So when pondering the horrific means of articulating oneself and the popularity of this song, I decided, hey she just might have a point. Now when I hear the song and/or it gets stuck in my head I sing it to the Lord. After all, doesn’t life suck without Him? Mine would!
(Actually those are the only 6 words I know so it works in my little musical world....the one with me singing, in tune, on stage with a rhinestone studded microphone…although in my MW rest assured I’d be more articulate…oh sorry I’m rambling again)…

I guess there is an upside to everything even ridiculous lyrics. When put in the right context they just might make a whole lot of sense!

Franzenfam Good Times

Tis another holiday/day off from school today. Funny thing is it is “Worker’s Day” however everything is open and everyone is working. Somehow I think they missed the point of a day off.

With Rich gone and a 3 day weekend I decided it would be best to plan some activities to do with the kids.

Originally Friday morning we were supposed to hook up with some friends and all go bowling but when that fell through Skyler decided to enlist everyone in trying to convince mom we should go ice-skating instead.

I’ve taken Skyler and Blake ice-skating but a 4 year old. This just did not seem like a good idea.

Skyler being my persuasive child won out and we bundled up and headed to the rink.

Typically our ice-skating escapades entail Skyler and Blake hugging the rail and scooting around the rink while I sit bundled, as if expecting snow, and “guard” the hot chocolate. Hey it is a very important job and I take it very seriously. However with a 4 year old in tow (and she was literally in tow) I would have to lace up my skates and pull her around the rink.

I must admit it was a lot of fun probably the best part was just seeing them so excited when they mastered some amazing feat (like skating to the middle). And after 10 times of being dragged around the rink and 3 cups of hot chocolate, Tori got up the nerve and actually “skated” with just her hand held.

To sum it up… I got my exercise in for the day, had some fun with the greatest kids in the world and got a nap to boot….benefit of an energy releasing activity is a tired 4 year old (and a tired mama).

Definitely good Franzenfam times!