SIMPLY GIVE: OPERATION GWENS HOUSE

i bet your basements and closets are packed full of holiday decor!  i know mine are! it's time to give some of that stuff away that you never even put out! just think, by giving away your gently used Christmas decorations, it will leave more space for new ones this year! (wink)

a friend of mine recently took on an amazing task. she partnered with TRY ministries and opened GWENS house. it is a safe, christian, three bedroom home where women coming out of addictions and or prison can transition into a new life in Christ. GWENS house focuses on teaching these women employment skills, life skills and applying the Bible to their everyday life. Jill sees these ladies so valuable and she is grateful for the opportunity to help them rebuild their lives.

GWENS house is financially supported by 

TRULY REACHING YOU (TRY)  ministries,

 a non profit 501c3 in Akron OHIO.

www.trulyreachingyou.com

why is this sweet friend of mine so passionate about helping these women? well, in 2001, while in prison, God completely restored her life, she received Christ through the prison ministry at faith family church. then in 2008 she decided to go back into the prisons to testify about what JESUS can do when you surrender your life to him. along with prison ministry , jill partnered with TRY and opened GWENS house.

Jill Sullivan

so, what can you do? you can donate your gently used Christmas decor to make sure these gals feel nice and cozy in a winter wonderland! we are in need of a Christmas tree, lights, ornaments, a wreath for the front door, wreath hanger, stockings, stocking hangers, and any other cute decor that could spread the Christmas cheer!

there are currently 3 ladies staying there, so along with stockings, it would be awesome if a few people would take on getting stocking stuffers for each of the ladies! some ideas for items that would be greatly appreciated are: shampoo, conditioner, nail polish, body lotions and sprays, slippers, cozy socks, make-up bag, chap stick, and pretty much anything girly!

if you can help in anyway, please e-mail me at ajlaps84@hotmail.com with subject line GWENS house, or contact me on facebook! 

thanks for being such a blessing and for helping make these ladies feel extra special this holiday season!

SIMPLY GIVE: OPERATION ST.NICHOLAS

it's that time of year again when we hear about giving,giving, giving. i love it. people who may not give all year round, start doing it by donating $1 here or there, or buying toys for tots, and you may even get your coffee paid for one morning by a complete stranger!

well, i know thanksgiving is right around the corner, which is an awesome time to reflect on all we have to be grateful for. family .friends. health .a warm cozy house, and in no way do i want people to think i am skipping over that but we all know the Christmas music will be starting, and the sale ads will be out. 

i remember when i was a little girl, Christmas time would come around and at times it was a bit {ok,  a lot} stressful for my parents buying for 8 kids. one year in particular i can remember , my dad lost his job. my parents started to freak out, but knew God would provide. it was a cozy snowy night when all of us kids were sitting around and our door bell rang. my mom went to the door and saw a beautiful wrapped box sitting on the porch and someone running down the street. she brought the box in and all of us kids were gathered around waiting to see what was in it....she pulled out $100, then another, then another, until there were five $100 bills in her hand. it was amazing!!!!!

to me, looking back that was one of the most memorable Christmas to me. that someone who still to this day we do not know who it was, would give us $500. i want to be a giver like that. it brings me to this.... i know that our kids are all about Santa! which is so super fun, but each year at Christmas i tell the kids why there is a santa. 

the true story of Santa began with a man name saint nicholas. he was raised in a very wealthy family, and was taught to give to people in need. he also had a great love for children. he actually spent his whole inheritance from his parents assisting people in need, sick or suffering. after he died, a fiction character was made up named santa, representing him and a man who loved to give. i think its so important to tell kids that story. make it age appropriate and maybe leave out "santa clause died" lol! :-) but just tell your kids that "santa" likes to give to them and they should want to give to others too! encourage them to be like st nicholas and start teaching them to give in their own way (which will be a post coming up)

ok, with this all being said....i would like anyone who feels led to help me complete 

OPERATION ST. NICHOLAS

i have a friend who's husband has epilepsy. he missed a lot of work at the beginning of last year, which made them behind on their bills. she got a great job but as soon as they started to catch up, she got laid off along with a lot of other people at her job. they have 4 children Alyssa age 11,Ethan age 8, Emily age 4 and Aubrey just turned one. i knew a little bit of her situation  and contacted her to see if she would allow me to post this. presently her kids need new warm clothes for winter.  even though someone could be behind on so many bills, i know how much you want your kids to have a great Christmas  i had her ask the kids what they wanted and also got their sizes in clothes. i'll post the list below, if you feel like you want to help in any way, you can contact me through a facebook message or comment below. if you would like to send them money, i can send you their address so you can mail it directly to them or if you wish to remain anonymous, you can give it to me to give to them. if you make handmade things and want to donate, if you have a business and can get people to chip in, if you offer any services and want to be  a blessing, that would be awesome!

Christmas list:

Alyssa- Age 11

Tablet

Craft sets

Eiffel Tower Decorations

MP3 Player

Giftcards

Size 10-12 in Shirts

Size 7-8 in Pants

Size 4 in shoes

Ethan- Age 8

Tablet

Skylanders

Xbox Skylanders swap

Matchbox cars and Track sets

Giftcards

Size 7 in Shirts and Pants

Size 1 in Shoes

Emily- Age 5 (in a few weeks)

Tablet

Barbies

Playdough

Dress up stuff

American Dolls (the knock off ones...or real, wink)

Craft things

Giftcards

Size 6x in Shirts and Pants

Size 11 in shoes

Aubrey-

Typical Baby Toys :)

i know this is super early to talk about Christmas but i figure the sooner this stuff is bought, the more stress-free this sweet family can be. i would like to request that gifts are not wrapped. part of the fun at Christmas is wrapping your kids gifts.

thank you all so much!

talk.date.relax

i recently had the privilege of being my best friend's matron of honor at her wedding this weekend! i was so happy to be a part of her special day. you could literally see how much she and her new hubby loved each other.

seeing them so happy and on top of the world got me thinking about other marriages and how that feeling of being "on top of the world" seems to fade in most marriages over time. the good news is, you can have that feeling back again. you just need to do what you did in the beginning of your  relationship. here are three things that Shawn and i strive to do in our each marriage everyday....not just some days, but everyday. be the type of person you would want to be married to.

talk.

its that simple. there are so many couples that don't even talk to each other anymore. i found myself busy with the kids and being mad or frustrated with shawn for things that weren't his fault. i would nag him, which pretty much is the worst thing ever to have a nagging wife (so i hear, haha), or i would shut down and be thinking to myself... "is it really that hard for him to take out the trash when he walks past it and it's over flowing? cant he see that i'm burned out?" then it hit me one day..... ask the man to do it! men have so much on their mind and really don't think about things we think they should. i decided to sit down with him  after the kids went to bed and it went something like this.

"babe, i am so wore out. i want to be everything and do everything but i can't keep the house clean, food on the table (it may be burnt half the time but hey, im trying) and take care of the kids without some extra help. i really appreciate you working hard for us, but i need your help."

 what does he say? "ok, what do you want help with?" 

so i gave him three things that would be a huge help. 1- if you see the trash is overflowing, take it out AND put a liner in it (still working on that liner part, lol) 2- if you see a heaping pile of laundry in our room, take it down and throw a load in, 3-bathe the kids. 

that was it. it only took a little normal conversation. there is a constructive way to approach almost any issue you are dealing with. when you come at each other with the intent to attack instead of make a resolution, nothing will get accomplished. just talk.

date.

by this i mean, yes, go on dates. but be "date-like". act like you did when you were dating. open doors, actually be on time and ready for a date when you say you will be (i'm still working on this), kiss, send texts, make an extra phone call in your busy day just to say i love you, buy flowers. skip out on a guys night when it's been awhile since you took your wife out, or skip that mani pedi to get home to your man,  go back to the "good ole' days" and bring those back into your marriage. be sweet to each other. i once heard a girl say, we don't have the money to do sweet things for each other. no one said that when you buy flowers they have to be $50 long stem red roses. one single rose is so romantic. it just lets your wife know "i was  thinking about you."  if your not even a flower type of person, go back to your spouses favorite type of gum or candy bar when you were dating and put it on their pillow, or driver's seat in the car with note for the next morning! there is a super cute gum called "lover boy" (by orbit i think) that i found at the store, so i put it on shawn's desk the other day just for a tiny surprise. it's the small things you did, like when you were dating that will spice up your marriage.

this was our one year dating anniversary. do you still celebrate your dating anniversary like you used to? ;)

relax.

so many people are so uptight. they get offended so easy by their spouse. or so over whelmed by everyday life. take a few minutes to breathe and relax. one saturday morning,  if the house is a mess, the kids are running wild, things need to be done, just take time to realize whats important. your spouse, your family and your time together. there have been lots of times that our house is a pure disaster but shawn and i will take 20 minutes to sit in the kitchen to relax and "catch up " with each other before we start our crazy day. 

i never want people to look at our marriage or my posts and think that our marriage is perfect, but i can say that we are very happily married and actually like each other :) the reality is if your not "watering" your marriage, i'm sure someone else will "water" it for you, yikes! every marriage has the ability to be amazing but it takes work!

don't forget to go to bed tonight without kissing your spouse.

happy kissing! :)