today...

first "real" snow.
only around an inch... but enough to play in for a bit.

 

 

just before church this morning...

 

Water for Christmas Fundraiser

What: Water for Christmas fundraiser
When: December 14, 2008 from 4:00-7:00 pm
Where: Geneva Country Club
3100 Bidwell Rd
Muscatine, Iowa 52761
Why: Read the following and you’ll understand why…

“The lack of clean water is the leading cause of death in underdeveloped countries...killing more people than even war and violence.
4500 children die every day from water related illnesses.
And almost within the reach of these children, just below the surface, is the solution—fresh water waiting to be tapped into by the relatively inexpensive and permanent solution of a well.
A well costs just $5000 and will provide clean water to a whole village.
Americans spend 450 billion dollars each year at Christmas. At the same time, experts believe it would cost one third of that to drill enough wells to give the whole world almost immediate access to clean water.”

So join us for appetizers, warm drinks and great music provided by Andrew Landers Project as we band together to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate.

There will be a silent auction and other opportunities to donate to this amazing cause.
100% of all donations go directly to drilling fresh water wells in Africa…yes 100%!
Check out http://www.water4christmas.com/ for more information.
RSVP to Cassie Burback at burback@machlink.com or leave me a comment here! (we want to make sure there is enough food to go around!)

photo shoot with micah and silas

 

 

 

 

last ones.

my favorite shot of brody in a long time.

 

proof that emily and jody were there... they seem to avoid the camera when i get it out.

 

a couple more...

i didn't really have any time to take any good photos...
oh well.

 

 

 

 

hotel photos...

 

 

 

 

on being thankful

as i sit alone in a hotel room,
that minutes ago was full of 11 kids and 6 adults,
my heart swells.
i could not imagine
my life being any different,
my friends any more spectacular,
my family any more wonderful.
thankful does not begin
to describe
the love i have for these people,
for where i am,
for where i've been,
and for where i'm going.
i am honored to share my life
with these.
i am humbled to call them my own.
i am thankful.
yes.
i am thankful.

so. cool.

These adorable coasters were made by Tara Bitterman of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She is a stay at home Mom to two young girls... and she had caught the water bug.
She designed these for Water for Christmas.

 

Just like the bracelets, ornaments, and necklaces, you can order them over on Etsy (in the side bar), and just like everything else, all the money goes back to water4christmas.

 

ordinary people,
acting.
it's incredible.

10,000

As of this afternoon,
we, collectively, have raised
$10,000.
That funds two wells.
It looks like last $10 friday
brought in around $2,000.
I say,
because this friday is black friday,
that we should double it.
No more playing around.
Fight consumerism with compassion.
Give.
Donate.
Save a life.
Water for Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Water for Christmas *NEW* Limited Edition Necklace

Give thanks.
In honor of the holiday, we are listing 12 limited edition Water for Christmas necklaces.

 

They feature a stained glass water drop, on a silver plated (not nickel) 24 inch chain.
Stunning.
You can find them on Etsy in the sidebar for $35.
Once they're gone, they're gone.

 

Serious cuteness

 

Water for Christmas t-shirts! Seriously.
Go, buy one, or three.

Well.

As in, water hit.
Last Tuesday, we had raised enough money for one well.
That is a village.
Families.
Generations, who will have life.
Water is life.

And now we need to keep drilling.
Keep donating.
Continue to give life.
Water for Christmas.
It's so simple.

feelings...

i'm feeling blessed by my burdens
and burdened by my blessings
complicated and confused,
twisted and undone
i'm feeling rejected and adored
in love and ignored,
whole and broken,
all at the same time.

Guess who stayed home from school sick?

 

Because it's $10 Friday...

Isaiah came upstairs tonight, at 10pm. He said he had finished his poem, that wasn't really a poem, about a place.
He was supposed to draw a picture, and then talk about the place, or thing, or whatever, so people would know what or where or who it was.
Below is the picture...

 

And this is what it says, again, completely unedited, just the straight talk of a ten year old boy...

I am a continent.
People give to people who live here.
You can too.
You can make a difference, because distance does not decide who's your brother and who is not.
You can give five dollars and that would be enough to give one person fresh water for five years.
So can't you see?
You can make a difference!
Every 90 seconds someone dies of something dumb like not having enough food or water.
So, if you give, you can save millions of lives.
I want you to think about how many seconds are in a day, and just see how many people die in ME every day.
Isn't that a lot?
And think of an average kid in ME, what they eat and drink in a day, and how much you eat and drink, can you see the difference?
I am not asking you to give one hundred dollars in a donation.
I'm asking if you could give just one dollar for a donation, because one dollar is enough fresh water for one person in ME, for one year.
So once again, you can make a difference.
So, give, give, give to ME....
AFRICA.

Tonight...

When I got home from picking Isaiah up from basketball practice, this is what I found.

 

 

Crazy hair day

Not really much to say about crazy hair day...

 

Except maybe that Hannah looks like a Who from Who-ville.

 

Or that Isaiah's face looks crazy long when he doesn't have hair.

 

Or that Micah's eyes look good no matter what his hair looks like.

 

Auction!

This beautiful painting was created by local art teacher, while she was dancing for water, over on the dancing blog!
I love how these two art forms are coming together.
You can go bid on the painting, it will be open for bids until Friday evening.
Find it here.

 

AND, if you want to watch how the painting was created, make sure you go to the WFC site, and donate first!
Bidding starts at $50.

SOLD OUT!

Well, the ornaments have been a huge hit! We sold out completely, and are currently out of glass! My Mom has to order more glass, from out of state, and it won't be here until after Thanksgiving! However, we will have more then. Please keep checking back!

Ornament PreOrder on Etsy

Because you guys are so awesome, we are taking a preorder for 80 more ornaments!
You can purchase them on etsy, and we will ship them out when they are complete... it may be after Thanksgiving. :)

New WFC Ornaments!

**The first round of 40 ornaments is completely SOLD OUT! Keep checking back, we will have more up as they are made! Good job people!**

My Mom has been working hard!
She designed these beautiful stained glass Christmas ornaments for Water for Christmas!

 

Just like the bracelets, and special edition pieces, 100% of the proceeds goes directly into Water For Christmas.

 

They are available over on the ETSY site, you can get there from the sidebar. :)
Happy shopping.

 

First snow

 

 

 

it's not much,
but it convinced Brody that it's Christmas time.

confused much?

Brody:
Mom, when the big kids get home, we need to go to the big pool. The pool at the hotel, but after the Easter baskets come.
Me:
Are you talking about Thanksgiving?
Brody:
Yes.
Me:
That's next week.
Brody:
No. It is after the big kids get home. We will go to bed and pray that the Tooth Fairy will bring us new chocolate milk. Soy milk. After the Easter baskets Mom, after.

Okay, What?

A walk in the park...

The kids had no school today.
It was cold.
So we decided to go freeze at the park.
You can tell everyone was thrilled.

 

 

 

 

1,000 Strong!

The Water for Christmas facebook group now has 1,000 members!
What does that mean?
It means that if tomorrow, everyone donates $10, we could build 2 wells!
Tomorrow.
Just like that.
Easy right?
Donate tomorrow!
Water for Christmas.
How easy.

We have reached 200 sales!

This morning we reached 200 sales on our WFC bracelets! That is $1,000 raised! Huge.
So I thought we needed to celebrate.
We are offering 5 Limited Edition WFC necklaces over on the ETSY shop.
A perfect accompaniment to your WFC bracelet.

 

I am so excited about water, and wells, and just with the bracelet sales, we are one fifth of the way to a well, in just over a week!

 

So, from time to time, we will be offering one of a kind, or limited edition pieces... for now, necklaces!
Go, donate, build wells, and look good!

 

Thank you so much for partnering with us.
It seriously makes my heart swell.

We are gonna have to shoot a little higher

This is copy and pasted directly from Jody's blog....


So we need to adjust some of our statistics.

We heard about and watched a video put out by another water organization that seemed to clearly imply that 10 billion dollars would solve the water crisis.

I don’t see a need to direct you there because it’s not about that. But if you want to know, I can send it to you.

They are partners of charity: water and felt confident in their reliability.

But apparently 10 billion might be a bit short. It is estimated to be more like 144 billion to solve the water crisis completely.



We are going to adjust based on this info. The organization where we found the statistic is going to be asked to clarify as well.

And then we will all move forward in bringing clean water to the world.

We certainly never intended to mislead people. And I’m quite certain our source for it did not either. But somewhere along the way it got conveyed inaccurately.

I felt a lot of personal responsibility when I heard. I felt very deeply like I had failed.

But there is no sense in wallowing. There is water to be found. Money to be raised. People waiting for their chance at clean water.

So for now, 10 billion is just our goal.

It doesn’t change the cause.

It doesn’t change the fact that it is still perfectly within the reach of this generation.

It doesn’t change the fact that we need to be disturbed and moved to action by the lack of clean water around the world.

Children are still dying.

And we can change that.

“Americans still spend 450 billion dollars at Christmas. It would take a third of that to give the whole world clean water.”

We are going to change it to the above on all our resources. We ask that you do the same if you can.

I sincerely apologize for the confusion. Statistics are so hard because there are so many sources out there. I was not the only one who found the 10 billion dollar statistic.

But we’re pushing on for here.

And perhaps we will have to do Water For Christmas next year. I probably won’t be alive then. But you guys should totally do it….



Onward. Water for Christmas.

Brody and me.

 

This morning I got up, and sat down to do some work on my computer, Brody came in and asked if I was tired.
I said that I was, and decided to go climb back in bed with him, instead of doing my work.
I climbed into my bed, settled down in the flannel sheets, and felt Brody's little hand on my cheek.
I looked over, and he said, in the most sincere voice, "Mom, you can snuggle with me ALL day."
Oh Brody, what I wouldn't give to snuggle all day....

The official WFC water bottle!

Isn't it beautiful!

 

It looks a bit different then the original picture, because, the sports top, on the first one was not BPA free.
This bottle is aluminum AND BPA free. AND it supports a fantastic cause. WFC.

Now is the time to order them!
Even if you pre-orderd, please go here to make it official.
If you didn't pre-order, you can still go purchase one here.
The site also has links to our other Water for Christmas products, just in case you were in the Christmas shopping mood!
It doesn't really get much better.
Water bottles to support clean water.
So easy.
Water for Christmas.
It's all I want.

foggy and tired

i have been struggling the last couple of days.
trying to decide if talking about my daily life, here on the blog, will take away from Water for Christmas. i want so badly for WFC to do well. To drill wells. i don't want anything i say to take away from the incredible work that my friends are putting into this.

but if i don't talk about what i always talk about, then, there is a chance i will have to pay someone for the therapy.

so if you are here, on my blog, because you want to learn more about Water for Christmas then please disregard the personal posts.... just go donate. Please donate.

if you are here to read about all my shortcomings, and failures as a mom, wife, and woman, then grab a cup of coffee, snuggle in, and give yourself some time, because, my friends, the list is long.

if you are here for both... even better. donate, and then come back to read about how screwed up i am. :)

i am feeling tired.
really tired.
the kind of tired that pulls at your eyes when they shift from side to side in their socket.
the kind of tired that throbs deep within your bones,
and aches down in your soul.

i wasn't prepared for this kind of tired. i am not even doing very much to promote, and help WFC, there is so much more i feel like i could be doing. and yet, it hit me. this tired. it's borderline overwhelming really.

water.
it is so freaking simple.
it pulls and tugs at my insides like an ebbing tide.
and there are moments when i feel as if i am being drug out to sea.

i guess it's passion.
i guess it's love.
i know it's real.

but for now, i am just tired.

We have t-shirts!

This is so exciting! There was an amazing girl, Christa who stepped up and volunteered to make these adorable t-shirts! She is doing it all herself, and $10 of each shirt goes directly to WFC. She is amazing.
So go, buy a shirt, keep spreading the word, and keep donating to WFC.

And one more thing, Tesi is having such a great response over on her blog, that she decided to start a blog specifically for dancing for water. You can find it by linking here. Just make sure you DONATE to Water for Christmas before you watch the great videos!

Today.

"How wonderful it is
that nobody need wait a single moment
before starting to improve the world."
-Anne Frank

Table at the Redstone Room

 

So thankful for everyone who donated last night.

ripples

I knew that Water for Christmas was going to be big.
I knew that once people heard, and understood, how little it would take, that they would get on board.

But my head never did let my heart completely in on it, until tonight.
Jody's husband, Andy, and his band were playing in Davenport, at The Redstone Room. Andy knew that The Redstone Room would probably let us set up a Water for Christmas table, while they played, and they did.

We were so excited to be there.
And excited to see if people would partner with us to bring fresh water wells to Liberia.


As I was setting up the table, a nice looking young man took his post at the door. He works there on the weekends, to make a little money. He smiled our direction, on more then one occasion, and finally came over. He asked what we were doing. I was so excited to tell him about WFC, that I probably said too much, bubbled out too many facts, made his head spin.

But that's not what happened at all.

He looked at me, and said, "That is so cool! This is huge, and totally doable! It makes me sick how much money we spend on dumb things. I will totally donate, as soon as I get some money tonight."

I said thank you, surprised, a bit, by his enthusiasm, but skeptical of his intentions. There was no way that this kid was going to give up his hard earned money for water. No way.

A very short time later he walked back by, and said, "You know what? I'm just going to do it now. This is so great. I can't wait!"

He put $20 in the bowl.

$20.

A life.

I was a bit overwhelmed by his graciousness, and spent the rest of the evening telling friends about his sacrifice. After all, he is just a kid, who has a job on the weekends, to make a few bucks.

Pretty soon, close to midnight, I believe, I was getting ready to pack up the table, when the very same kid walked up the stairs.
He said, "Here's some more money." and left another $20 in the bowl.

A kid.
Working for a few extra bucks,
gave.

And because of him,
people will live.

Ripples.

My heart is overflowing with thankfulness.
People gave,
and more people will have fresh, clean water.

But you know what?
It's not enough.

We can do more. Lots more.

As my friend says,
give out of your poverty, not your wealth.

Make the sacrifice.

It is worth it. People are worth it.

(Thanks Shawn, for opening your heart, and your wallet, may you be richly blessed indeed.)

human pretzel

 

More from Water for Christmas!

These beautiful water bottles are available by pre-order over on Jody's blog!
We have some very talented people working to help bring fresh water to Liberia.
The bottles are $15.

 

One more way to help.
One more way to get involved.
One more way to promote the cause.
Water for Christmas
Fresh water to the world.
We can totally do this.

Bracelets, bracelets, everywhere!

We got together last night, and finished up about 130 bracelets.
They look great!

 

Ready to go....
And you can help too, just go to the ETSY shop link in my sidebar, and help bring fresh water to Liberia.

 

Water for Christmas

That's my girl...

Tonight, Emily asked me if I wanted to read the speech she is giving in her speech and debate class tomorrow. I said I would love to.
Here it is, unedited. Pure Emily. The joy of my heart....
Preach it girl!
*****

Pet Peeve:

$20 gives one person fresh water for 20 years.
Americans, on average, spend 450 billion dollars on Christmas gifts, decorations, and food each year. It only takes 10 billion dollars to give fresh water to everyone on earth. Every 90 seconds a child dies of malnutrition.

People who don't care about anyone but themselves is something that is more than just a pet peeve of mine, it is something we could change, but choose not to because of the inconvenience to us.

Well guess what? It will never be convenient to your life here on earth, because this was never meant to be your life.

People are suffering and we just look the other way, pretending that we can't see them. We tell ourselves that they are of no importance to us, just because we are not the ones doing the suffering. Can you imagine being the one who has to be a Mother, and Father to your siblings because your parents have died? Not having enough food or water and you can see the people you love dying all around you, and you know that there are people that could help, but are too engrossed in their own lives to do anything about it.

We are those people.

We're so concentrated on the stupid things of this life to do anything about it. All we seem to care about is getting a new phone or who's dating whom... but in reality, none of this is going to ever be of any importance to anyone but you and your selfish self.

We all have those times when we want more and more, but then you have to stop and think about how much you already have compared to most people on this earth. We have way more then necessary, yet we still keep wanting and wanting for things that will never matter.

There are things we can do though.
We need to give.
We need to put our heads together.
We all need to do a little something, that will add up to one big something.
If all of us work together, we can do something big.

Yes We Can...

bring fresh water to the whole world!
Water for Christmas.

you guys are amazing.
great things are happening.
we are coming together as ONE
and doing great things!

don't forget to donate!
and get your bracelet over on ETSY,
they are going like hotcakes,
you don't want to be the only ONE without one!

sorry for the shameless plug...
i just really think this water thing
is attainable.
like now.

no matter which side you are on....

I read this today, and no matter who you voted for, which political party you affiliate with, this, this is truth.

History will record this as the night the souls of black folk, living and dead, wept – and laughed, screamed and danced – releasing 400 years of pent up emotion.

They were the souls of those whose bodies littered the bottom of the Atlantic, whose families were torn asunder, whose names were erased.

They were those who knew the terror of being set upon by men with clubs, of being trapped in a torched house, of dangling at the end of a rough rope.

They were the souls of those who knew the humiliation of another person’s spit trailing down their faces, of being treated like children well into their twilight years, of being derided and despised for the beauty God gave them.

They were also the tears of those for whom “Yes We Can, ” Obama’s campaign slogan, took on a broader, more profound meaning.

“Yes We Can” escape the prison of lowered expectations and the cycles of poor choices. “Yes We Can” rise above history and beyond hatred. “Yes We Can” ascend to Martin Luther King’s mountain top and see the promised land where dreams are fulfilled, where the best man wins and where justice prevails.

During this election African-Americans, their hearts weary from disappointment, dared to hope and dream again. Tonight their dream has been realized.

Whether or not you agree with Barack Obama’s politics, there is no denying that his election represents a seminal moment in the African-American narrative and a giant leap forward on the road to America’s racial reconciliation.

In fact everyone, regardless of race, should feel free to shed a tear and be proud of how far our country has come.

--Charles Blow, New York Times

deep

such beauty.

 

and the deeper you go, the harder you look, the more beautiful it becomes.

 

we need to enter in, to deep.
with people.
deep.
because while it appears scary, the reality of actually knowing some one, is so much more beautiful.

 

(deep, like wells, in Liberia.... Water for Christmas... sorry, that's on my mind too!)

How to make it happen

(Read "Water for Christmas" post, just below this one first!)

Okay,
so if you want to help, here are some things you can be doing...

First of all, the organization that we are partnering with, is called charity:water. They are an incredible organization that do amazing work. You can check them out through their website, and we happen to have a webpage set up through them.
the web address is: http://www.water4christmas.com

You can also go directly there, by clicking on our very cool blog button in my sidebar.
Even better, you can add this button to your own blog, facebook, myspace, or wherever you spend your computer time! You just click on the word "share" and it will take you where you need to go.

Next, donate.
You can make donations directly through the website, and all donations generate a tax deductible receipt.
Or, if you are uncomfortable donating online, you can send a check, and a receipt will be mailed to you.
Checks can be made out to: Charity Global Inc., with "Water for Christmas" in the memo line.
Charity Global Inc.
150 Varick St. 5th floor
New York, NY 10013

And, we know that not all of you have blogs....
so we have these adorable little cards that say, "I want water for Christmas" and "I gave water for Christmas" for you to use as a tool. Hand them out to everyone you know, leave them on the table in a restaurant, whatever. Just spread the word!
We also have poster size available, if you would like to set up a donation table of your own!
If you are interested in ANY of these things, just e-mail jody, at jodylanders at gmail dot com, and she will be happy to send you the PDF files of any or all of these tools. You can then print them out yourself, or send them directly to your local printer to have them done for you.
Easy?
yep.

 

We have found that this time of year, businesses are very willing to help. This said, our local grocery store has allowed us to set up a table, like this one, outside. We have the hand outs available, and info on the site.
Here is an example of what you could do.
In your town.
In your community.
In your business.

 

We also have bracelets for sale. They are only FIVE dollars, and come with the card that says, I gave water for Christmas. It really is another way to get the word out. Remember those yellow Lance Armstrong bracelets? That is what I am talking about.
You can get the bracelets over at my ETSY shop, just click on the link in my sidebar, and it will take you straight there.

 

Next, my girl Tesi will be hosting "Dancing for Water" over on her blog.
She will be getting various people to dance on camera and posting it on YouTube! It is really going to be hysterical. We are asking for a $3. donation per view. Trust me people, this is worth it. You can donate directly to water4christmas. This is obviously the honor system, so please donate before you view!
So fun.
So easy.

Finally,
feel free to copy and link whatever you want from all of our blogs! We have all become so passionate about this, and are so excited to see the water flow.
check out my girls:
Jody
Cassie
Tesi

We can do this people.
It is so simple.
Water for Christmas.
That's all I want.

Water for Christmas.

I am so excited to share with you what our little ministry group is doing this month!
I can't wait another minute....

It is simple, really.
a gift that we don't even realize we have.

water.
fresh, clean, water.

Unsafe water, and lack of basic sanitation,
cause 80% of all sickness and disease,
and kill more people every year than all forms of violence,
including war.

all forms of violence.

that is not okay with me.

so we are trying to do a small thing, that will bring about great things.
we are trying to build fresh water wells in Liberia, West Africa.

and why Christmas time?
Americans, on average, spend 450 billion dollars a year on Christmas.
from gifts, to decorations, to food, and parties. 450 billion.

it would take one third of that to bring fresh water to every single person in the world. one third.

that makes me sick.
we could easily, with little effort, eradicate the very cause of 80% of the world's sickness and disease.

in the blink of an eye.

so, here is one of the things my family is doing: we have decided to give up a gift that we would normally exchange. sounds so easy.
because it is.
20 dollars gives fresh water to one person for 20 years.

if everyone, just in my immediate family, gives ONLY 20 dollars, that is 7 people who will have fresh water for 20 years. a family.
an entire family can be saved, by not exchanging one toy.

this is so easy.
and we can do it.

i don't know what it will look like for your family, it could be as simple as leaving off one item from your Christmas dinner.
a pecan pie, from Sam's Club, 20 dollars.
that is 1 person who will live because they have fresh water to drink.


it is so hard for me to express how much this means to me.
it is the cry of my heart.

please partner with me in bringing fresh water to Liberia.
i want water for Christmas.
that's all i want.
what about you?

details about how you can help, and how you can partner with us coming up!
Water For Christmas.
how simple.

now go read jody's post, cassie's post, and tesi's post.

Halloween night...

Lots of candy, warm weather, and friends. Could not have been more beautiful.

 

 

from left to right: isaiah-skeleton, hannah-e.t., emily-pirate, emma-vampire, sara-hershey bar, micah-knight in shining armour, brody-bat.