Make 4 Jake.

Hello peeps. I have a new project going. Surprised?! ( I get bored easily!) And I am sewing now, you know! Or do you know? Did I mention that on Facebook or on my blog? I am drowning in social media!

Well, I always want to contribute to fundraising for Shake 4 jake, and always try to come up with something I can do to contribute to teh efforts.

As you know, the Jake Owen Raborn Foundation provides financial assistance to families who are impacted by pediatric cancer. And I wish I had some stats, (I know where I can get them!!), to support how many families were assisted last year and how much money was given out last year.

The JOR Foundation has one major fundraising event of the year which basically supports all their efforts annualy.

So, anyway. This is what I am doing. I am sewing fabric cuffs with all types of designs on them.

The majority of these have been purchased. By the way, I am selling them for $15.

They are fairly labor instensive! At least for a newbie like me! But for sho... a labor of love.

Angela, at my office, couldn't resist this one.

I love that big red button.

And I am making some cuffs for little ones too!

Poor photo quality. Sorry. This one is made of an old pair of pajamas. I was so proud of my upcycling.

Some have one button, some multiple buttons, some snaps, and just all different. I actually think they'd make really awesome gifts for birthdays, office buddies, mother's day, etc.... since they are one of a kind and going for a great cause!

I have since learned to stamp on the cuffs, so now I have some "believe", "Blessed", "Lucky", and appropriately "jor".

Remember when Jake was sick, and Staci and I painted ceramic crosses and sold them to raise money for, well, for them, since the financial burden was pretty huge? Well, I think that went the way this one should. I think it may be easier to just send a cuff out with any donation to JOR.

I think to cover the shipping, I'd need to charge $2.00. So, $17.00. OR...

Just make it an even $20 and I'll give the extra money to the JOR Foundation for helping those kidsand families who need it so badly.

I will also post up a thank you on my blog! I appreciate you.

MO

(send me a message in these comments or send it to my email... mojoy@att.net... WITH your address so I can go ahead and get it out to you asap!) And as soon as I receive payment,

MOJOY

P.O. Box 1377

West Monroe, LA 71291

I will send it to you!

Having fun with breakfast!

I may have mentioned that I am not a morning person. With that, I am not a breakfast preparer either. Sorry about that, girls!

So usually, I take them to the pantry and start pointing out all the options....

Fruit Loops? No. Lucky Charms? No. Chocolate donettes? No. Graham Crackers and Milk? YES!

This breakfast so reminds me of my childhood!

If you are a graham cracker dipper, then you know that there is the perfect amount of time that must be used to get the graham cracker soggy, but not too soggy! If it falls apart when you are taking it out of your glass of milk, then you've left it in about 3 seconds too long!

Something I don't think I ever did before today is make letters with the crackers.

Ellie's daycare teacher has been doing a good job of getting her ready for kindergarten! She recognizes most of her letters.

And for the most part can tell you something that starts with every one of them! Naturally, this is her favorite one!

She totally thought using our graham crackers to make letters was the bomb.com!

It's fun having a kid who thinks all your ideas are good ones!

Gabbi is not all that into my games yet. She will be though. She's such a different kid than Ellie was at this age. I guess that's a silly statement, since all kids are "different kids" than not only their siblings, but EVERY other kid. Duh. Am I rambling?!

Gabbi is definitely my breakfast eater. She is the one who wants to browse in the pantry! Ellie usually would rather skip breakfast! NOT Gabbi. She WANTS her breakfast!!

And ta da... we have a "G"!!

And finally, have I mentioned that we have a beautiful view to look at every morning?!

We're so thankful for that! MO

P.S. SK, on the cuffs, I just ripped the fabric and hot glued the rosettes on. I made them long enough to tie them around the wrists. THat way, I didn't have to do any kind of fastener. The cuffs I am sewing now, I am using a piece of elastic on one end and a button on the other. Much more labor intensive, but still not hard! Hope that helped. MO

Thanks, Tracie.

So, we got this package in the mail! And Miss Ellie Sue has learned that "M" is for Melanie, "E" is for Ellie, and "G" is for Gabbi. For that reason, she has a new interest in packages which arrive at our house!

This package was from the Rabb Family. And what a seriously nice surprise! We even got a little note from Tracie describing how and where she first met us and when she started reading about Jake's Journey. (I passed her a Believe card of Jake's at the mall in Memphis, which asked people to visit his site and pray for him. You know, I'm shy like that!)

They were pretty psyched, to say the least.

It was a whirlwind of excitement as I let em rip it all open.

Tracie, you know the way to my kids' hearts!

And then came the "big guns".... twirling ballerinas that spin in the water and shoot water out of their crowns. DUDE!

Can you tell Ellie Sue is mesmerized!?

I made Gabbi put some clothes on, so now I have a few close ups to share of her too!

And I got THIS! I love it! Ellie took this photo. I had to maneuver myself to get in the frame.

Possibly the thing that made me the proudest was when we were all done opening the gifts, Ellie said, "MOm, we should send her a thank you note." I've never been prouder!

And, Tracie, just let me tell you... it is so fun to get a package in the mail around here! We ALL THREE get excited! So, thanks for the big surprise! we appreciate you!

Mo

P.S. Please, please, please forgive me when I tell the person who knitted the three of us the cutest hats in awesomely fun colors that I lost the info to send you a thank you too! Please reveal yourself to me again! I am embarassed. We have photos of the hats too! And appreciate your thoughtfulness.

MMPT Ruston Easter Egg Hunt 2011

As promised a week full of Easter pics. I mean this kid is AWESOME!

Ok, so this is what we saw when we entered the clinic in Ruston last Wednesday.

Jessi and her crafty team in Ruston had it going on for all the Easter egg hunters.

This is Michelle. She is a COTA and works with my Gabbi Girl when she gets a chance.

They are working on fine motor skills here.

Gabbi's made a ton of progress in this area, but now I think speech therapy is becoming a bit mandatory.

We have a few college kids who work part time in the clinic and with them, we always have the best activities, face painting included.

This cutie patootie has grown up in our clinic. Her sister has come to therapy, I think, since Miss J was born. So I am not sure she has ever missed an Easter egg hunt!

We had painting activities.

And of course, face painting.

And hey, look! It's KK! SHe also works part time in the Ruston clinic.

Even the grandmothers got involved in the action. That's what's cool about our clinics. It's very homey there! This grandmother belongs to another kid who is probably hanging out with a totally different mama! And this grandmother helped these kids! Definitely a family environment.

Sidney is another Louisiana Tech chick who works part time for us. She is so much fun.

Here's Miss J again!

And now breaking for a snack.

Jessi did this rocket ship. ( Looks a little phallic. Sorry, Jess. Just sayin'. Anyone watch Saturday Night Live? The ambiguously gay duo rocketship!?) But E LOVED it, so I suppose it was totally awesome!

Three brothers. You think this mama has her hands full?!

This is about how hard the eggs were hidden! Seriously!

As usual, they all gathered for the word to go. And Jessi prepared to let the dawgs run!

And in a matter of minutes, they were OFF!
Even a mom or two in the mix.

And who is that super cute little girl in the big brown bow?!

She is such a big girl hunting those eggs all by herself! If only her mama had brought her Easter basket! BAD mama!OH. There's KK!

And there were helpers to the kids and students who do their internships with us!

A few of the eggs were hidden a bit more strategically!

If only my mama had packed my Easter basket!M didn't have his eitehr, so Michelle had to wad up her shirt and BE his basket!I think for the most part all the young uns had a good time!

G checked out his stash!

The big kids racked up!

A friend, Lori, and her son stopped by to participate in our fun day.

More cute face painting.

Ok, this is funny. These are porcelain eggs for painting on. Jessi told the kids to get going with them as sidewalk chalk, thus the holes in the porcelain from trying to drag them along the concrete. Ha.

M outran all the little kids and I think, had the most eggs.

Am I the only one who absolutley loves little craft kits with all the pieces included!?

These are more craft kits we used at our party.

And check these out. They are little tie on cuffs that we use for marketing purposes. Instead of the humdrum, we send really cute holiday prizes out to our doctors and their staff. We walk in carrying this giant pencil and let them choose their favorite!

You should know by now that we do NOT like to be like everyone else!

Aren't these cute? We made them specifically for Easter.

Check out my page on FB to see the cuffs I am making now for Make 4 Jake. I am starting my fundraising early for the Shake. Let me know if you see one you can't live without!

Next up the WM Easter egg hunt!

MO