Lemonade Stand

In school, Isaac has been learning about the moon and how we are "the light of the world."  Last unit we learned about the sun and how "Jesus is the light of the world."  So just like the moon reflects the light of the sun, we reflect the light of Jesus.  And Isaac has been thinking about how he can show his light to others.  

For quite some time, he's wanted a lemonade stand, and the idea got brought up again yesterday.  So I asked him, "If you have a lemonade stand, what are you going to use the money for?"  After he thought about it for a few seconds, he said "I know!  I can give the money to the San Francisco mission trip!  Because they need lots of money because they're flying there."

And that was that!  Our church is sending 10 people to San Francisco in a few weeks and we had a fundraiser in the works.  We went right to work making plans.  Isaac named his "restaurant" the "Lemonade Cafe" and we decided it would be best to set up the lemonade stand in the church parking lot which sits on a busy corner in town.  Then we made all the preparations...bought the lemonade and cups, posted on facebook, and used Daddy's PVC pipe green screen holder to hold the humongous lemonade sign.  

I am so proud of our little guy.  He has such a compassionate spirit and loves to serve people.  And I love the glimpses I get to see of his heart.  During a slow point in sales, we did a preliminary count and he had earned just over $40.00.  And in the sweetest little voice, he turned to me and asked, "Is that enough to send someone on the trip?"  Melt. My. Heart.  

It is such a tremendous blessing to see his little heart transform into a heart that wants to show the love of Christ to others.  His understanding of God is continually increasing and my prayer continues to be that our children will have hearts that are eagerly driven to serve Him above all other desires of this world.  

Isaac, along with the awesome help of his little sister, raised $59.65 for the mission trip and I have no doubt God will use that lemonade money to further His kingdom.  As my husband said, "Drink lemonade to the glory of God!"  Thank you to everyone who did just that by supporting the efforts of a 5-year old boy and his 3-year old sister.

Aren't they the cutest little lemonade makers ever?

Gracie and Mommy Day

Matt and I have decided that our kids are at an age where they need special time to spend with us individually.  And poor Gracie, she's the middle child.  Isaac is the oldest, and since we homeschool, he gets individual time with me everyday while the girls are napping.  Hannah is the baby, so by default, she gets a lot of time with me.  And Gracie, sweet girl, just kind of goes with the flow.  But we've started to notice she seems to really need some extra attention lately.

So today (Friday), she and I had our first "Gracie and Mommy" day.

We grabbed our purses... 

...and headed to get our nails done.  

I am so blessed to have a little girly girl.  She is all princess and tiaras, twirly skirts and makeup.  And loves the colors pink and purple.  So what color did she tell her Daddy she would get before we even left the house?  Dark blue.  Not light blue.  Dark blue.  Mine was the pink.  

She had the choice of getting our nails done first or eating lunch.  She chose the nails.  So we munched on some goldfish crackers and complimentary sprite while we waited to get our nails done.

 She was so cute I could barely stand it!

She did so good!  She's hit the same "shy stage" her brother went through at her age, so I was a little worried that she wouldn't let them work on her nails.  But what was I worried about with a professional princess like her?

Pretty blue nails with a single white polka dot on each nail.

Next was lunch, just us girls.  At first she wanted Cracker Barrel before we left, which made her 5 year old brother extremely jealous.  Of all restaurants, he loves Cracker Barrel.  After we left the house, she wanted Chili's.  And after our nails were finished, it was McAlister's Deli.  I think the idea of getting an entire, giant cookie just for herself was the deciding factor.

Headed home for a nap together snuggled in my "big bed" on a rainy afternoon.

Love, love, LOVE this sweet girl.  I am so blessed beyond measure to be her Mommy.  I'm convinced I need these times with her just as much as she does.   

One month ago...

January 30, 2013