liberia.

the reality of our efforts.
of your efforts.
change,
hope,
joy,
and life.

Liberia, 2009. from Water for Christmas on Vimeo.

scott harrison.

and this man.
incredible.

told his story eleven times this weekend.
i was present at eight of those,
and i can tell you, that every single time,
it brought tears to my eyes.

he is passionate about water.
and knows how to motivate, to spur on to action,
without guilting people into it.

loved having him in iowa,
and showing him what an amazing group of thirty volunteers who love water can do.
he was so proud,
and wants to come back next year.

davenport one

scott's final speaking engagement
was up in bettendorf,
and another two thousand dollars was raised.

and more people heard about life saving water,
and the easy solution.

and more ripples to come...

central middle school

perhaps my favorite school event,
because these kids had not heard about water,
not been touched by the story,
the power.

well, except these kids. :)








there were lots of oohs, and ahhs, at all the photos,
and silence when scott was sharing.

i received a phone call the next morning
from a woman who was calling to tell me that her son
came home
and was changed.

he told her he was going to give up his 13th birthday
and raise money for water.
he said, "mom, if he can do it, i can too."

she told me he went on to say,
"it's just water mom, and it kills them... it's just not fair."

no, peter, it isn't.
and you, my friend, are going to change that.

muscatine high school

a student,
drake wichers,
fought to get scott harrison heard in the high school.

and he was heard.

by tuesday afternoon,
fifty students had formed a club, already planning events, and fundraisers,
and innovative ways to bring fresh water to the people of africa.

never underestimate the power of one,
especially a child.

west middle school

monday morning brought a tour of both middle schools and the high school
beginning with west middle school,
which last year raised six thousand dollars for wells in liberia.

more pictures from geneva

geneva.

again this year,
larry and candi sponsored our amazing event at geneva.
cassie and candi worked for months.
and this year,
we had so many extra hands to help...
the day of the event seemed like a dream.
everything,
and i mean everything,
went off without a hitch.

it was perfect.









great music,
great friends,
a powerful speaker,
and just like that..
seventeen thousand dollars is headed to Liberia.

phenomenal.

business luncheon

i have to admit,
that this was the event i was least excited about,
tons of time and prep work went into planning for it,
brenda worked so tirelessly to make sure things went off without a hitch
and after it was over,
i remember thinking.. well, they just didn't get it.

but i was wrong.

companies deciding to make water their fight.
entire companies.

steve said that monday at work,
everyone was buzzing about water.
about how they could turn their company around,
to give water.
for everything.

and they weren't the only company on monday
saying the same thing.

supplier gifts,
staff gifts,
whatever and everything.

incredible.

wine to water saturday night

the only photo i have of the incredible event on saturday night up in davenport.
i can't say enough about all the people who helped to pull this one off.
so many hands involved.

set up began the WEEK before.

we auctioned off painted, and crafted on africas...
they were a huge success, bringing in over three thousand dollars.

the night in total, brought eleven thousand dollars of life saving water for the people of Liberia.

and scott harrison himself stated that in rivaled events put on in NYC.

amazing.

sitting.

it is wednesday,
and i still haven't blogged.

i have no idea how to put into words
what happened over the weekend.

no words to describe
the impact that water has had
on this community.
over 32 thousand dollars in 24 hours.

i was in the grocery store last night,
and was stopped by five different people,
telling me their water stories.

ripples.

i didn't take very many pictures,
because quite literally,
i didn't leave the merchandise table much,
but i got a few good ones,
mostly of prep work.

but you can see more great pictures on cassie's blog, and jody's, and tesi's as well.

HERE WE GO

it's here.
water weekend.
can't wait.
can't believe it.
so excited.
let the water flow.
join us.
we will be here.

africa auction

okay, so super cool opportunity...

this saturday night,
at the wine to water event,
in davenport,
at the redstone building,

we are having an art auction.

many, many artists created beautiful work,
on wooden africas, cut out, by our own tom randleman.

and even if you can't be there,
you can still bid.



(this one, created by THIS amazing artist all the way in colorado)

go check them all out
here.

they are all amazing.
and every one, saving lives.

proof that i am still alive.

this morning:
micah was chasing the cat around with a large coat, when asked what he was doing he replied:
"i am going to make him disappear... and reappear in canada."

me, to brody:
"i wish we could just spend all day snuggling in bed, and watching t.v. and eating chocolate."
brody:
"AND kissing."

i love my little boys.
now, back to water.

wow.

friday.
first gift.
you gave.

amazing.

over 10,000 dollars was raised.

and the people of Liberia
will forever be changed.

thank you.
thank you so much.

first gift

today is the day.
make it count.
no ten dollar fridays this year,
we are focusing all our efforts on this one day.

today.

let the first gift you buy this season be life.
go.
donate.
give the gift of life this season.

you can donate here

funny stuff here.

last night the next door neighbors gave us their old chandelier,
it had these really cool crystal water drop looking things attached to it,
and they thought we could use them for a water event.
and yes, yes we can.

so i took them all off,
all 138 of them, polished them, and set them aside.

but the main body of the chandelier was still sitting in a box in the living room.

micah spotted it this morning on his way out the door,
and exclaimed...

"wow.... that is shiny...
hey mom, have you heard of this place called,
cash for gold?"

hysterical.

love him.
love my generous neighbors.
love water.
the end.

thank you.

heard a story today, here is my attempt to recreate it:

as the students filed into the classroom, they were shocked to find no desks, no chairs... they questioned their teacher, and she replied,

when you can tell me what you have done to deserve these chairs, a place to sit in my classroom, then i will bring the chairs back in. until then, you may sit on the floor.

now the students were all confused, and talked on the playground at every recess about what they could say to their teacher to get their chairs back.

but every time they would re-enter the classroom, the teacher would ask the question again, and no one would answer, so they continued sitting on the floor.

about ten minutes before class was to be let out for the day, there was a knock at the classroom door, the teacher opened the door, and in walked 27 soldiers, some old, some young, some men, some women, some still serving, some long done.

each soldier was carrying a chair.

and each one walked up to one of the 27 students sitting on the floor, and placed the chair down in front of them, and went and stood along the wall.

the teacher looked at the class, and said,

students, you see, nothing you have done, has earned you the right to sit in these chairs... it is because of these men and women, standing here before you, that you may do so. it is because they have sacrificed, and fought, and protected our country that you can even walk through these doors of this school.
so thank them.
and take your seat.


--- i imagined my cousin, zach, who is currently serving in Okinawa, carrying that chair for one of my children. it is because of him that my kids have a seat.

oh micah.

once you go up,
aren't you supposed to know how to go down?

hike.

water.

nature.

glorious weekend

isaiah had a basketball game on sat. morning,
like he does every sat. morning, in bettendorf.
they won, and played well together.
so fun to watch them improve.



the 35 minute drive is usually quite annoying.
cold.
wet.
windy.
but this weekend,
it was glorious.

we drove along the mississipi river with the top down, music playing,
and let the sun warm our faces.



and this morning,
i woke up to this...



it was warm at six am.
it made me giddy.
it was 77 degrees this afternoon.
amazing.
and i have a feeling that this will be the last weekend like this for a long, long time.

i am an artist.

one of the most difficult, but freeing things i have ever had to say.
admitting the idea that i need to create to live, to function,
to be a contributing member in this thing called life,
to admit that,
is in a sense giving myself over to the art,
over to the idea that the art controls me,
rather than me controlling the art.



but in doing so,
it also frees me to be fully present. fully alive IN the creation,
fully believing in the art, for the sake of art.

i have yet to determine if this discovery is a blessing or a curse.
maybe it is both.

if it is true, and it is, that life imitates art,
then, is being an artist really living?
and is really living where we really want to be?

because being fully alive,
fully awake to the idea,
it scares the hell out of me.

admitting this,
it reminds me of sticking your toe in a cold lake
to test the water before you jump in.
the moment your toe hits the water, it sends a shiver all the way up your spine,
and your skin tingles with anticipation,
waiting for more...
for the next step.
for the plunge.

and you jump.
knowing that when you hit the water,
the shock is going to take your breath away,
but to not jump would be, in a way,
cheating yourself out of something bigger than you.

the part that gets me?

as you come up, gasping for air,
so cold you can barely swim,
why is it that you always have a smile on your face?

is it possible,
that this experience, this plunge, this discomfort,
is what really living is all about?

my favorites of the day