The Gift of $5

$5 is practically nothing these days. It's one fast food meal out. 2 drinks at Starbucks. The cost of a movie rental. A gallon of milk. A few months ago it was almost the cost of 1 gallon of gas. $5 doesn't go as far as it used to, but for some people, $5 could make all the difference in the world. $5 could buy 2 pairs of shoes for people who don't have any.

Soles4Souls is having a campaign to raise 50,000 pairs of shoes in 50 days to be given to people all over the world who don't have something as simple as a pair of shoes. They are given to people who are victims of disaster, or are simply not able to afford shoes. Children. Adults. Anyone who needs a pair of shoes. I headed up a shoe drive in our church this past April and we got together 627 pairs of shoes to donate to this amazing organization, so I fully support this worthwhile organization.

I don't know about you, but I can waste $5 on tons of stuff that isn't nearly as tangible as a pair of shoes for someone that doesn't have any. I made a simple decision that I can skip a few fast food meals in order to give someone something as important as shoes. I would be ashamed if I didn't.

It's only $5. What are you waiting for? Go make someone's day!

My little pirate

Hey ya'll. It has been a super busy week so I haven't had a chance to post much. Here are some new pictures that I took of Jackson playing in our backyard. Isn't he cute!

Jackson crying when Macy ran by him too fast and scared him.

Look at how cute he is!

Such a big boy!

I love his sweet smile!

My little pirate

Soles4Souls Update!!!

The shoes are gone, and I am so glad for that. We collected 627 pairs, and filled up 25 bags with all the shoes. Here are some pictures in case you ever wondered what 627 pictures would look like in the back of a church van. I will post a picture of our shoe mountain later.

They were literally stuffed 3 deep, including the floor of the church van. Crazy.

These were the crates we filled up.

Have a great afternoon! Bye Ya'll!!!

Oh Yeah!

So here are the details on the new car. We had been in the market for a *gasp* Minivan for about a month now. Let me be clear. I was very opposed to a minivan. Jeremy was very much in favor of a minivan. He figured that since we know we want 1 more child, then we have to have more room. Well hmmmpphh. There was no stinking way that I was going to be one those soccer Mom's driving a small tank. Then I test drove one. A 2007 Uplander LT. Hmm. Not so bad. Very roomy, spacious, quite (especially compared to my little Taurus), and the DVD player, duel impact side airbags, automatic sliding door, built in carseat, and OnStar did absolutely nothing to sway my opinions. Nothing at all. Yeah right...

So I got my new car, and not a moment too soon. Let me be clear, my little Taurus has been a great car, and very reliable, but driving the Taurus around town with no air conditioning was getting so delightful here in the south. Anyways, I LOVE the new car, and we got a good deal, which always makes it hurt a little less.

In other news, Jeremy and I are driving our church van tomorrow to Roanoke, AL to deliver our shoes for Soles4Souls. We were able to collect an overwhelming 627 pairs of shoes!! I am so excited about that, especially considering they all go to help people all around the world. Pretty amazing. I hope everyone has a great weekend, and I'll see ya'll next week. Bye!

Happy Valentines Day and Half B'day for Little Man

Happy Valentines Day!! I hope your day is going wonderful. Mine has been good so far, busy at work, but good.

Today is Jackson's Half Birthday!! Our little monkey is 18 months old. I can't believe it. We go to the doctor on Monday for his checkup and shots, but until then, I thought I would share a few new things about our little man.

• He loves chips and salsa. We went out for Mexican last night before church, and he kept insisting on dipping his little chip pieces into the salsa. At first I didn't want to let him, because I thought it would burn his tongue, but he kept insisting, so I figured, who not? He tried it, and then literally sucked the salsa off the chip. He LOVED it!!! He definitely inherited that trait from his Nana, who we joke with by telling her that she has literally burned the taste buds off of her tongue. Nothing phases her.
• His favorite veggie is green beans. He loves them!
• He can identify most body parts: Eyes, ears, nose, mouth, chin, hair, toes, fingers, legs, arms, and his favorite, the belly button. He is so funny.
• His new words are: shark, hush, fish, and tons of babbling that I can't quite figure out.
• His favorite word is still truck. He LOVES trucks and points them out all the time. So cute!

In other news, our Soles4Souls drive is going great We have collected 349 pairs of shoes so far, and my girls are so excited! Our goal is 500 pairs, so if you have any shoes taking up space in your closet, get in touch with me and I will gladly take them off your hands. I hope you have a wonderful Valentines Day, and have a great Thursday!

TGIF!!!

Hey ya'll!! I hope that you are doing great. I have just a few things to share.

1. My favorite sister in the whole world got a job and a super cute haircut. She will be working with a home health agency and she is really excited. She also got 9 inches cut off of her hair, and it is now a little longer than shoulder length and has the cutest layers. It makes her look so much older (which for both of us, has always been a struggle).

2. We are heading to Hattiesburg to go visit Jeremy 's family and also for me to get measured for my bridesmaid dress for Amy's wedding. We have 5 dresses to choose from, and so far, I have only eliminated 1 of them. So sometime between now and tomorrow, I have to figure it out. They are all gorgeous, and it is going to be so hard to choose...

3. My bp is doing better, but is still not great. I just took it again, and it was 136/92. Fair, but still not great. At least I feel better. I have a slight headache, but nothing intolerable.

4. The 6th grade girls mission class that I teach on Wednesday night is doing a mission project where we are going to be collecting new and gently used shoes of all sizes and styles to donate to a wonderful organization called Soles4Souls. They give these shoes to people who have been in disasters such as the tsunami's in Asia, Katrina, and other various disasters around the world. Their motto is, "Changing the world, one pair at a time." So far, they have contributed over 3 million pairs of shoes to over 40 countries in 5 continents. I know that I have at least 10 pairs of shoes at home that I no longer need and will be donating. We will be collecting for at least a month, and if you would like to donate some shoes, please email me at auflag@yahoo.com to see how you can get involved. We expect that the cost of shipping will be about 1 dollar per pair in case you just wanted to help with that. My girls are so excited, and our goal is 500 pairs of shoes! Can you help us??

Have a great weekend, and let me know if you can help our shoe drive. See ya later!