Free Tidbits in Honor of the Sleet Day Off

Let me first say that working a five day week this semester is going to feel like quite the shock-- if ever it happens. :) We have our second Friday in a row off today due to ice and sleet. (Wait-- isn't sleet ice? So was that redundant?) Whatever the case, we have loved it and it has been an unexpected blessing. I truly love every moment of my job (as much this semester as ever!), but days I can spend nestled in my house, listening to the girls play with their dolls while I organize and work, snuggled on the couch with them as we read, watching tv in bed... These days just add so much fuel to my tank. (Which reminds me that I came home last night with my gas light on... I hope I remember as soon as I leave the house to stop at a gas station. Kraig asked me once if I was aware of the fact that you can put gas in the car without the light being on. I am. I just choose not to.)

(Do you think there is some sort of rehab for parenthetical comment use? Because I really need it. Sometimes I try to break myself of it but then I just overuse ellipses in order to get off of parentheses. I'm afraid of what grammatical addiction I might develop in trying to get off of ellipses!)

Anyway, since I am still avoiding the serious blog post I need to write about the ways God is pushing me this year, let me just mention a few cool things that might be of interest to the two of you who might be reading.

If either of my extensive readership are runners/walkers/creepers/crawlers, let me tell you about two awesome 5K's that are coming up in April. My preference would be that you participated in both. Just let one serve as a warmup for the other. Because you know what? BOTH go for an incredible cause. The first is Run for Cover, which is a 5K hosted by a group from my Holocaust Lit class. Their memorial project is to coordinate this 5K to raise money for an incredible local organization (with global effect!), People for Care and Learning, and their Build a City project. I am just so taken with PCL and this project and I think the best thing you can do is go to both links (and especially watch the Build a City video). I am so proud of my kids for wanting to take on a project this large (the CHS Sports Marketing class will be working with us) and it would mean so much to me and them to have an incredible turnout at this event. I want them to see that 18 year old kids in little Cleveland, TN, can change the lives of people who literally live halfway around the world. (I know this is true because I checked the globe a minute ago. Since I am planning to travel to Cambodia this summer, I was a little ashamed that I wasn't completely certain of its whereabouts. So now I know.) You can register on active.com for this event. Or contact me if you want to be a corporate sponsor. The event takes place on April 6 at the former Rolling Hills golf course (Westmore COG property).
The second 5K is in its third year (this boggles my mind when I remember that first year and how terrified I was that it was going to completely fail!) and includes a 1 mile FunRun as well. It will take place on April 20 at the CHS track/Greenway. This event raises funds for Royal Family Ministries, SCCOG's ministry to children in the foster care program. It helps fund our summer camp for elementary kids, our weekend retreat for middle schoolers, and our mentoring/club program. I have a previous post about Royal Family and will soon do an entire post about it. This ministry is absolutely the dearest to my heart and has changed and shaped every aspect of my life. Here is a link to a video of some shots from the past four years. (Many children cannot have their faces shown which is why many of the pictures are from the back or in shadow.) The RF5KC has grown each year and we are expecting this year to be the biggest and best ever! Be sure and register on active.com for this special event! This is a link to Royal Family, Inc, if you want to learn more about the national parent organization.

Aside from these two events that you need to register for, I also wanted to mention a really cool app that my girls have worn out on these past two ice days. It's called Stop Motion and it creates a stop animation film out of photo projects. It's very user friendly to create and if I can figure out how, I'll link two of the ones Emma and Kelsey have done here. It has kept them very busy.

If you decorate for Valentine's Day, this is a cute (and very simple!) little garland you might want to make. All you need is a ribbon or twine and some cards. I advise buying the cards for $1 at Dollar Tree or Dollar General instead of $2.89 at Target like I did. I tied fabric scraps in between the cards on this one but I did not do that on the one I used Valentine ribbon with that I made for a friend. The canvas with book pages heart is something I did last year, also very easy.

So there ya go! Free information for you, from how to participate in changing the world to a cool app to some cute crafts. You're welcome. ;)