The Margarita Ball

This year I had the privilege of attending the Margarita Ball. It is a black tie charity event where the cost of attending is a generous toy donation. The directors of the Margarita Society take the donated toys and divide them between a few agencies, with my favorite agency; The Children's Advocacy Center, being one of the receivers. I took my friend, Trena, as my date because my husband had to stay home with our children. When we saw the gigantic pile of donated toys we were aw struck and covered in cold chills! It was amazing! Trena had her camera and took a few pictures, which I am going to post so everybody can see what an amazing event this was. The pictures are a little dim due to the low lighting, but you can get the idea. Proof once again that great things can happen when people work together.

Pictures of the GOODS!!

The Goods!!

I am so excited to post these pictures!

The tally shows we have rounded up:
13 packs of markers
10 boxes of crayons
10 packs of colored pencils5 packs of colored construction paper
3 packs of white drwing paper
8 pair scissors
4 large paint brushes
1 pack of 30 small paint brushes
6 bottles of glue
1 pack of glue sticks
3 (8) packs of glitter
3 (5) packs of glitter glue
1 pack of water colors
1 (10) pack of paint
10 large bottles of paint
2 packs of pipe cleaners
1 (5000) pack of beads
1 HUGE box of misc craft supplies
2 packs of foam picture frames
17 3-ring binders
8 boxes of "shared" bandaides (meaning my kids took a few from each box)
4 packs of stickers
**AND Robin brought me in a huge supply of scrapbooking stickers that I forgot at work today**

And I almost forgot to mention a check for $80 and a check for $50

The Children's Advocacy Center

Anybody who knows me personally knows that I am a volunteer on the fundraising committee for the Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) of Volusia & Flagler Counties. The CAC helps & protects abused children in Volusia and Flagler counties.

Anybody interested in checking out the agency can follow this link http://www.childrensadvocacy.org/Welcome.html .

A few weeks ago the CAC let out a cry for help. They are $400,000 below budget and their counselors are in desperate need of art supplies for the art therapy program that they do with the children. I told Diane I would see what I could do to help round up some art supplies. I sent out a mass email asking everybody to pitch in and buy a few things. I figured if everybody could pitch in a little we would end up with a lot. I also asked my friends at work to pitch in. The response has been amazing! I have collected so much stuff, I can"t even believe it. Tuesday I asked one of my co-workers if she would take a lunch break with me this Friday to help me deliver all the stuff! I even recieved stuff from NY (thanks Peggy)!

Today Diane sent me an email with a "Christmas wish list" from FACTTS. When she sent the list I had to ask her who FACTTS was. Then she told me it is the "family and child trauma treatment services". In other words, the counselors that I have been gathering art supplies for. Anyways, the list included things like: picture frames, picture matting, art supplies, lockable journals, 1 inch 3 ring binders, scrapbook pages, stickers, postage stamps, and character bandaides. I told her I definitely had the art supplies covered and I would see what I could do about the rest of the stuff. You know how "they" say things happen for a reason, or "when you need something it will come to you"? Well, tonight instead of going to the gym, I met my husband at Walmart and decide to go check out their clearance isle. Wouldn't you know it, they had 1 inch 3 ring binders on clearance. They were regularly $3.50 on sale for $1.00!!! I filled the cart. I was so excited. I actually drew a crowd and a few ladies came over and said "Ooh, good idea, lets stock up". I just chuckled and told them they were not for me. The one lady said "Are they for your kid's school?" I said "No, they are only 3 and 1 yrs old. It will be a while before they need binders." Then I rounded up my husband and kids and we headed to the pharmacy to find bandaides. Xavier & Madison both love bandaides, especially the character bandaides. When we got to the isle Xavier saw me pick up a few boxes and he got excited. He wanted Diego and Spiderman and then Transformers. I had to stop him and explain to him that these bandaides were to share and he could help me pick them out, but we had to share them. It was so funny, as soon as we got home he wanted to "share" his bandaides. So I let him take a couple out of each box to keep and the rest he is sharing.

I am so excited to bring these donations into the agency. This just proves that we don't have to be millionaires to do great things. There is strength in numbers and when people band together there is no telling how far they can go. When I asked for help, I seriously thought that each of you would buy 1 item on the list and I would have a grocery bag full of stuff to donate. I seriously could fill the back of my SUV with all the stuff I have received. And that does not include the check donations I have received from a few of you.

YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!! And I want you to know how much I appreciate all your help. I know it always seems like I am getting myself into "something" and asking for a donation, but it is for a great cause. These children are the future. They need to be looked after and properly cared for. Damaged children grow up to be damaged adults unless they are properly cared for and that is why abuse is such a vicious cycle. The CAC is such a great agency. I am so thankful that my friend Jill led to them. The CAC is so wonderful that they even work with a state program to protect the unborn babies with "high risk" mothers. They are amazing.

Once again, I want to tell all my friends {{{THANK YOU}}} for all your help!! I am going to try to take pictures tomorrow of all the stuff I have gathered so you can all see the end results of your efforts.

I Found My MAILBOX

So, I finally made a decision on which box I wanted to use as my "Mailbox to GOD". The World Market had such a great selection that it was hard to decide. My finally decision was the wooden elephant box. I have always loved elephants. They live in a tight matriarchal society where all the females in the "family" work together to raise the young. I adore them for there strong sense of family loyalty. They live by my favorite African proverb "It takes a village to raise a child". And besides, they are so cute!

I used my mailbox today. I was feeling unusually stressed out and agitated. I just couldn't shake the feeling. So, I decided to write a letter to "God" asking for some direction. I started the letter with "Dear God, I need your help" and went on to "complain" about what was bothering me....which was actually the lack of knowing what was agitating me. By the end of the letter I had already received the answers I was looking for. It was uncanny and kind of amazing. Now I feel like writing a "THANK YOU" letter and sticking it in there.

I don't want anybody to get turned off by my use of the word "GOD". I choose to use this word because to me it signifies strength and omniscience, an all knowing power. You can substitute the words "Universe", "Higher Power", "All Knowing Self", "Infinite Intelligence", or any other word of your choice. It really does not matter, the important thing is that when you need help or guidance you just ask. The answers will come quickly.

Mailbox to GOD

Most of you know that I attend a couple of teleseminar classes every month with 2 of my favorite mentors. One of last month's discussions led to the topic of having a "Mailbox to GOD". Since the teleseminar session ended I have been thinking that I want to write a post about it. Time slipped away from me and I never did sit down and take the time to write.

Then, 2 weeks ago our beloved Roxy passed. Roxy was our 5 1/2 yr old Rottweiler. I got her when she was only 10 weeks old and soon found out that she had a very serious heart condition, so serious that the Vet could not guarantee me that she would live 4 months. We were all very thankful that Roxy was able to be with us for as long as she was, but my heart literally felt like it was broken. It was a pain that I had never felt before in my 32 years of life. Every time I thought about her I would cry. This went on for 3 days straight. On the 3rd day I made the decision to pull myself together. I couldn't keep crying in front of my children. My 3yr old son would say "Mommy are you whining about Roxy again?". I took some time to figure out what would make me and my heart feel better. Then I remembered the post I was wanting to write about the "Mailbox to GOD". I figured the idea sounded great when it was presented to me, so I should put the theory to the test.

I sat down with a notebook and pen and wrote Roxy & God a letter that explained how much I loved her. I talked about how I picked her out of all the others. I had went to several breeders. I told her how I knew I was meant to be her "owner" because I would love her and give her a good life regardless of her heart condition. I told her how I loved the way she looked after all the kids in the neighborhood and how she was the perfect family dog. And how much Xavier & Madison loved and missed her. The letter ended up being 4 pages front and back. When I was done writing I pulled the pages out of my notebook and folded it envelope style. Then, I addressed it "To: Roxy/God" "Love: Mommy xoxo". I left it on the corner of the coffee table and walked away.

My husband asked if he could read it and I told him "yes and then make it disappear". After writing my letter I instantly felt better, I was smiling again. The next day I could talk about her with people at work and the neighbors without crying. I could actually feel happy when I talked about her and feel the gratitude that I knew I should feel for being able to have her for the 5 1/2 years of life she was given.

The simple act of writing that letter took me from being an emotional wreck back to the "cup is half full" perspective.

In our original discussion, we were told to use an actual box to put the letter in to signify the "mailbox". It could be a decorated shoe box or it could be an elaborate hand carved wooden box, or anything in between. I have found a few very nice wood carved boxes at World Market for less than $20. I have not made my final decision and made a purchase yet, but I am narrowing down my choices. I have had some other ideas; like labeling the outside of the letters as "private" or "public" to indicate if anybody else should read them or not. When we get our "mailbox" it will be my job to make the letters that Rod writes disappear and it will be his job to make the letters that I write disappear. These are just technicalities and really it's the actual act of writing that releases, almost instantly, the emotions that are causing the problems.

I hope that everybody that reads this can benefit from this simple technique. It really works and it works so fast, it is amazing.

"Use the light that dwells within you to regain your natural clarity of sight."
~ Lao-Tzu~