BigHouse presents....

Kids for Kids Lemonade Stands

What is Kids for Kids? It’s a program created by BigHouse that promotes the kids (and adults) of Lee County working together to raise money for foster kids in their community. This particular project will be devoted to spreading the word about BigHouse and raising funds through lemonade stands.

When is it? Saturday, June 5^th throughout the day

How can you get involved? Register by email to host a lemonade stand in your yard or at your local business. You will receive fliers to hand out about BigHouse and a Kids for Kids Lemonade Stand Poster to display at your stand. Then afterward you simply donate your proceeds to BigHouse.

To register send this information to kidsforkidslemonade@yahoo.com by May 24^th:

• your name and the names of the kids that will be running your stand
• mailing address
• phone number
• email address
• and the location of your Kids for Kids Lemonade Stand

baby love

Today I got to visit this precious little man, baby Lane. He belongs to my sweet friend Hope. He's three weeks old and as cute and cuddly as they come!!

Aren't these feet the cutest things you've ever seen!!

totally relaxed

Easter Weekend

Saturday my parents started off the Easter festivities by hosting Trinity UMC's annual egg hunt. We hid about 800 candy filled eggs!! There were kids everywhere, it was great! :) After the hunt everyone hung around and played in the yard for several hours. The weather couldn't have been any better for the occasion.

Chandler was so sweet to pull Bennett and Allister all around the yard in the wagon.


Sunday morning when I got off work at 7am I headed home to get ready for church, I was amazed at the beautiful dogwood trees blooming in front of my house. They were breathtaking!! I had not ever heard the symbolism of the dogwood and Christ's crucifixion until Sunday afternoon, but I was impressed when I my aunt told me about it. If you've never heard what I'm talking about go here to read more. It amazed me how detailed my Savior is, even down to the design of the bloom on this spring tree!!



I worshiped Sunday morning with my family at Trinity and then we all went out to eat at Olive Garden (my fav!!) It was such a great meal and good company!

Bennett is loving salt and pepper these days. He wants to be just like Rooster (my daddy) and that's where he picked up this little habit :)


I tried to get a picture of the sweet Young fam but as usual I got the back of the boys' heads, ugh!! Maybe once they're older they will learn to love Aunt Tat's camera?!


Me and Katie Caroline in the annual "Easter Photo Shoot"


Easter afternoon was a perfect day for playing in the yard. A bunch of the family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, Jason's parents, and good family friends) came over and we had cupcakes and ice cream as an afternoon treat.


Mrs. Connie, Mr. Bill, Daddy, Grandmother, and Granddaddy

PawPaw and Uncle Steve

Bennett spent the afternoon cooking on his new grill :)


and Jason spent the afternoon fishing

VOTE VOTE VOTE

Recently I've had the honor of getting involved with a local non-profit called BigHouse Foundation. BigHouse is being established to aide the foster families of Lee County by helping provide resources to them like clothing, free babysitting, new bathing suits and towels this summer, and in the future they will be offering after school activities, tutoring, and much more!!

BigHouse really needs your help this month! They are in the running for a $25,000 Pepsi Refresh Grant, and YOU need to vote for them to get it!!! They need to be in the top 10 by April 30th at midnight, so everyone needs to vote everyday now through the end of the month.

To vote, go to www.refresheverything.com/bighouse and sign in with an email address. You can then vote once a day per idea, and up to 10 ideas a day. Winning a $25,000 grant will enable BigHouse to start their after school programs this fall and provide the foster children in Lee County amazing opportunities.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE VOTE! And please vote daily!

Spread the word!

Here are Bennett and I supporting BigHouse at a ChickFilA Spirit night. I'll keep you posted on upcoming BigHouse events! :)

In Christ Alone

NEW BLOG :)

I've become quite a little baker these days so I've decided to start a blog named "have your cake... and eat it too." It will be totally devoted to my cakes and cupcakes...a blog where there will be much fewer words and lots more pictures. For now I've just added pictures of cakes that I've already posted here but in the future I'm going to keep posting cakes as I make them. I thought this would be a good thing for people who want to see my cakes but don't want to shuffle through the boring details of my everyday life :) I also eventually thought I would post some prices on there just in case someone is in need of a sugary delight. This is so much fun for me, and I want to keep it that way, so I don't really want to start a business but an occasional cake here and there has really kept me busy these last few months plus it has helped increase my decorating skills!! I am planning at some point this summer to take a cake decorating class at Hobby Lobby, I'll keep y'all posted.

www.NatalieBsCakes.blogspot.com

The Refiners Touch

I received this story via email last week. It touch my heart and spoke volumes to me as I sometimes feel that my "fire" might get the best of me, what hope I have when I am reminded that He has His eye on me the whole time and He is refining me to reflect His image.
Read, enjoy, and let me know how it speaks to your heart....

There was a group of women in a Bible study on the book of Malachi. As they were studying chapter three they came across verse three which says, "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out about the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible study. That week the woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest in silver beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that, in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest so as to burn away all the impurities.


The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot - then she thought again about the verse, that He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver. She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. For if the silver was left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's the easy part -- when I see my image reflected in it."

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep His hand on you and watch over you until He sees His image in you.