Monday, October 31, 2011

Trick or Treat!



Today, on Moms of Faith :


http://momsoffaith.com/2011/10/trick-or-treat/

Monday, October 24, 2011

Fright Aid

Dear rite aid.jpgRite Aid:


Please don't include this mom among the one in seven Americans purchasing Halloween merchandise at your establishment this season!  Sure, I understand that marketing your $7 billion in items from gory costumes to sugary treats generates business; but "Excuse me, can I tell you something?"  With me, "it's personal!"  Here's what happened to this All American average family when we entered "Fright Aid" this year.  Check it out!

http://momsoffaith.com/2011/10/fright-aid/

Sincerely,
Hott Mama

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

The Last First

 
 
"The Last First" is a story that published today on my column, Hott Flashes, over on Moms of Faith.
My limited computer skills seem to get me in trouble.  I can't seem to figure out how to rotate these pictures for you. Therefore, for those of you dear friends that occasionally check out my blog, I am including the actual photo of Levi's note to the tooth fairy!  Check it out!  Sorry it is sideways - but I do like the little white speck in the center.  What  you see is Levi's real tooth!  That little sucker was loose for days!
 
Yes, there it is!  This mommy's "last first" tooth episode!  Please click the link above to see more (I promise you will enjoy it) and share with your friends.  Tell me about your "Last First" -- we're all in this together!
 
Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice!
Proverbs 23:25



Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Hott Flashes Goes Weekly!

http://momsoffaith.com/about/columnists/

Check.It.Out!  Hott Flashes Goes Weekley starting THIS week!  (Guess that's better than a nightly "hott flash", right?)

Moms of Faith offered me a weekly columnist postion on their writers staff!  Can you believe it?????  Until now, I have been submitting stories to the editor and they have been publishing them.  Wellllll.... she sent me an email Sunday and said that they "adore" my column.  A columnist position became available, and I was the first writer she thought of!  Get this:  Moms of Faith will pay me to write!  I didn't even have to ask!  Okay.... could someone please pinch me?

It's not like it will make us rich or anything; but it is a little bit of unexpected income.  In fact, I have talked to Dan about donating it all to Parkinson's research.  We have decided to contribute it to our church for local mission projects and youth programs that will directly benefit the youth of Berkeley Springs (that was Dan's idea!  I like it!)  After all, my column "Hott Flashes" as well as my blog "Excuse me, can I tell you something?" are an extension of God's blessings through some crazy life situations.  God is providing our needs already; just like Dan's faith said He would when we got the crazy news that Dan had PD.

"Seek the Kingdomof God above all else, and live righteously,
and he will give you everything you need."  Matthew 6:33

To see my new bio, click this link.  I am directly under the editor.  Cool, hugh!?
http://momsoffaith.com/about/columnists/

As for the nightly hott flash thing....  that's a long way off for me.  I hope.  No time for that.  I've got writing to do!

Monday, October 3, 2011

Empty Bowls in Berkeley Springs!

Not for long!  Thanks to a group of mission-minded youths, visual artist Lynn Lavin, and a generous donation from the Seely Foundation in collaboration with the Morgan Arts Council, First UMC, and the WV Commission on the Arts!  "Empty" bowls will soon be "filled" with not only soup for the hungry but seasoned with a little thanksgiving and a lot of  hope on the top!

While a substitute teacher in Morgan County, I came across a number of students locally that need our help.  Did you know that several kids actually go home without a meal until they return to school the next day -- even over the weekend!!!  MAC's Ice House School of the Arts offers a class in hand built pottery where students will create bowls to be a part of Starting Points "Empty Bowls" project, a fundraiser which helps to feed our community -- and your neighbors! 
(See http://www.emptybowls.com/ for more information.)

Recently, I joined the Arts Council part time as the Art School Coordinator.  My busy "mom schedule" finds me all over town, including the soccer field.  It was here when soccer coach and Family Ministry Coordinator, Jenny Ellis, asked if Dan and I would be a part of her team to plan events that bring families together.  Nothing brings a family together more than dinner time over a hot meal, right?  So, from soccer balls to "Empty Bowls," students taking Hand Built Pottery this semester are learning the skills and craft of pottery creation while generating awareness of hunger issues both locally and worldwide as Ms. Ellis' includes "Empty Bowls" as part of a larger program to raise awareness across the globe!

As Thanksgiving season approaches, "Empty Bowls" will conclude with a final event scheduled in Berkeley Springs on November 18th.  We have asked the congregation at First UMC to "bless the bowls" prior to the event.  Pictured here is artist Lynn Lavin (of http://www.icehouseartistsco-op.com/lavin.htm) student Abby Wood:

With clay under finger nails and smiles on faces, students of "Empty Bowls" hope to warm the hearts -- and bellies -- of a fellow child in need.  Serving over 160 children in the rural community of Berkeley Springs, the Youth Art After School program continues to provide classes in visual arts, art and technology, performing, and dance.  Okay, so here's my plug:  Help send a kid to an art class!  Or, stop by and learn pottery - YOU can make a difference and make bowls too!  Sponsors for students as well as entire programs are needed! 


It's "art with a mission!" Here is my little girl Violet learning to make pinch pots, early instruction leading to bowls!   For more information, leave me a comment or call me at the Morgan Arts Council at 304-258-2300!

"For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.'
Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? And the King will tell them, 'I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'" --Matthew 25:31-40 NLT