Veterans Day

After a long hiatus I am finding myself with tons of extra time to start posting our missions again : )  The kids actually asked me to make videos of them and I said lets start with pictures!  So they inspired me to start taking pictures and documenting our missions again.  They have been on a much smaller scale lately, but they make a big impact on those we serve and in our hearts.  So I begin again with Veterans Day!  The truth about Veterans Day is that I didn't remember it was Veterans Day until after lunch.  Once I remembered I knew it had to be something simple, but I knew it was necessary for both mine and the children's sake that we recognize and honor the men and women that have and currently do serve.  So we have a neighbor and a married couple we know that is near by that are veterans.  We pulled out our butcher paper and markers and made extra large thank you cards for them.  Super simple but it made a huge impact.  The kids came up with everything you see on the sign.  The pictures of them walking to our neighbors they were marching in a line pretending they were soldiers delivering the card.  Unfortunately our neighbor was not home and we had to go back later and I forgot the camera :)  BUT we still have the initial attempt to deliver captured!  The sign is hanging up in their house now.  It meant so much to Mr. G!  He took Branden and the kids up to a room where he had his medals displayed and explained how each one was earned.  He was so excited to share!  The visit ended with hugs and thank you's to Mr. G for serving our country.  We then drove to the next house where both the husband and wife served.  We presented them with a sign (I forgot the camera again).  They were so thankful!  They had the kids help them tape the sign on a wall in their garage.  I am sure it will be there for a long time!  It was a spur of the moment mission, but it turned out so amazingly well! 

These pictures were funny to me after looking at them on the computer because I noticed the drastic clothing difference between the kids.  So who was wearing the appropriate clothing?  I actually don't remember the weather that day, but I do know Annaliese and Finnian are both immuned to cold weather.  Shorts, t-shirts and bare feet.  They are quite content that way! 

Women and Children's Shelter: Day of Pampering and Fun

 This was a wonderful mission!  Twelve families came together to serve the impoverished women and children of Nashville. 
Upon arriving to the mission Branden dropped me off to get all the details worked out and find out where we were going to set up before bringing in our whole slew of children.  Walking in threw the metal detector and waiting on the doors to be unlocked I got the initial impression of how these women and children are living.   I got shuffled around until finally they decided we would be on one of the dormitory levels.  Branden and I got off the elevator first to see the area we had to work with .  We had a hallway and a dormitory room filled with cots and bunk beds.  We both looked at each other and silently thought the same thing...how are we going to make this happen in this space and make it special!  Well as you all probably know God has all the details worked out.  As all the volunteers arrived the space slowly transformed.  The women's pampering area turned into a beautiful oasis of rest and relaxation that smelled incredible!  The kids area transformed with some colorful balloons, table cloths, snacks, games and crafts! 
The goal was to pamper the women while entertaining the children.  We had two professional massage therapists volunteer their time, talent and products to serve these women.  In the pampering room we also had volunteers to do nails and tend to all the ladies needs!  The women from the shelter had a wonderful day!  Several of them as you will see in the video said they were made to feel like a million bucks and they didn't want to leave! 
The rest of the families spent their time with the children! We had a professional face painter, several games with prizes, crafts, snacks and a pinata.  All the families pitched in to fill all the needs from babysitting, to finding more chairs, to running the games and handing out prizes! 
It was an amazing day filled with lots of smiles!

Check out the video below...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6zdpjWV2I0&feature=youtu.be