This past weekend, Noah and I, and 200 or so other people got together to support St. Jude, at Crop for a Cure.  If you remember from last post, I told you about Noah's goal of raising $3000 for St. Jude!  If he raised $3000 he got to dye his hair green, once he passed $3000 he aimed for $4000, and if he hit that, Mommy would get some pink in her hair.

I don't know if I can quite find the words to say what this past weekend meant to me.  I got to watch my son in action...although quiet action, he did it.  He wheeled his snack cart around, quietly offering beverages and snacks to over 200 ladies...and maybe a gentleman or two.

 He made it through half a gym, all by himself before his emotions got the best of him, and I couldn't help but gladly step in and help him with the rest of the gym.  I witnessed all these women, especially the Tri Deltas just open their arms to Noah, just like they have to me.

I can't leave out the guys who were right there with Noah, supporting him. 

Both these sweet men, went green with Noah...of course for a price!  The day of the crop, Noah pulled in over $600 with his snack cart, people just handing him money and selling more of his magnets!  In the end, Noah's total money raised for St. Jude was approximately $5000!

I also had the pleasure of sharing our story with this crowd.  Speaking for me, while nerve wracking is so therapeutic in a way. Luckily, right before I spoke, someone donated a massage to me, so I had 15 minutes to myself, to breathe and just relax!  Two years in a row now, I've been allowed to speak about Ellie, St. Jude and most importantly God. This year Noah inspired me to speak about being courageous...and in true courageous Noahman fashion, when I began to tear up while speaking, he put his arm around me.  This child's heart is so big. You can read the speech here. 

Let your light shine before men, so they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matt 5:16

All these fundraisers are not about me.  And for a minute this time around, my vision got a little blurry about what these are all about.  I got in a little wrapped up in thinking this was about Ellie, and if people weren't donating it must mean Ellie isn't important to them. That's when God had a little "talking to" with me, through a normal chat with my mom.  I was sharing frustrations, and for the first time I really heard what I was saying.  It's not about me or Ellie.  It's not about her memory. It's about representing the Lord through my words and actions.  It's about helping others and expecting nothing in return.  The joy I get from talking about Ellie is just a nice side gift that God gives to me. The funny part is (or should we say the God part) that once I let go of my "stinking thinking" and got my brain on straight donations starting going up and up. And I'm proud to say that the Crop for a Cure's soft total raised for this 10th annual event was $57,726.42!  That's God bringing a ton of people together from all over to raise money for His children!

Thank you all so much for helping Noah go green, for giving Mommy a reality check and for allowing us to shine in your lives!  We love you all!

Prayers, Praise and Pink

~Carly

Hurry Up and Slow Down

I'm staring at a mess of a house, listening to pretty much quiet, watching Noah finish up things for Crop for a Cure, thinking about the things I need to finish before Monday, almost ready to cry because my summer is two days away from being over.  I remember back in June, desperately waiting for summer vacation to get here, and now its done.  I look back over the past 6 weeks, and think what did we do (besides make the mess I'm staring at)?  I know we went on vacation, I know I took the kids swimming, I know Richard worked a ton, and oh yeah welcomed my new nephew! (He loves me so much, I can tell already!)

Life is still moving faster than the speed of light or sound, or something like that...it's just going too fast!  Lulah has finally mastered crawling, after a month of dragging herself backwards all over the place.

She is still very mild mannered (hope I didn't jinx that) with the sweetest toothy smile.  I sure am going to miss her when I head back on Monday!  Her crawling just really got me thinking about how much we want things to hurry up and happen.  Her pushing herself backwards all over was getting really frustrating to her, she kept getting stuck in places and could not get out.  I found myself having to go rescue her often, thinking "I wish you'd just go forward".  Now she does, she's reached another milestone, and now I find myself wishing for those moments where I knew she couldn't get into anything.  We wish, we want, we get, we wish for something else, we get, we are happy, we want something else.  I'm sure all parents go through this, but today its just on my heart that I may not be taking the time to truly appreciate what my children are doing, I may be spending too much time wishing their behaviors away instead of trying to enjoy the time I have with them. And now that time is over with school starting back!

Ahhhhh....I feel like I'm getting a little too deep!  Need to laugh!

 Speaking of deep...look who took to swimming like a pro!  SG is still SG, over the summer she has grown, along with her attitude...to the point that sometimes I wonder if this is really what 2 year old little girls are like!?!?!  Ellie was two, but I guess I just didn't realize how mature she had become.  SG likes to test boundaries and her vocal chords.  She can also be with sweetest snuggler you've ever met.  She uses some of the same phrases as Ellie, and you just know that that is gift from God, because there is no way she would have known that.  She has also named some of Ellie's old stuffed animals "Ellie". She puts Ellie in time out, tells her no, dances with her and sleeps with her some times.  It makes me giggle to think that this may have been similar to their real life relationship.

And let's not leave out Noah! I think he's growing vertically! We've had to get rid of some more clothes, much to his dismay!  And the boy who cried at the end of first grade because he didn't want it to end, is now pretty excited for second grade to start!

School supplies have been bought, struggles over new backpacks and pencils pouches have been had, and now he gets a week with Mrs. Kelly and the girls before he heads down the hall to second grade.  He told me "I'm not nervous at all!"  This summer he's gotten pretty excited about his St. Jude Fundraising!  Noah Goes Green has really taken off!  He's sold crafts at a Crop for a Cure craft sale, sold old toys at a yard sale and has continued to make thank yous for donors and post pictures of he and Ellie.  He met his $3000 goal last week, and his first words to me were, "What do you think I can do when I raise $4000?"  I love that he gets excited about these things, that he cares, and its just not me motivating him to do things. So Richard suggested that he would get a green mohawk if Noah did at $4000...that had Noah in tears...his "by the rules" self couldn't handle the thought of a mohawk!  So I told Noah I'd love to get in on the action and get some pink in my hair.  He thought that was pretty awesome, and now we are a little over $400 away from $4000! So now I've hijacked his facebook page and I'm writing the thank yous and posting the pics! It's been fun, and as much as I wish it would hurry up and get here, I'm really trying to enjoy the time spent together!

"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom" Psalm 90:12

What should we take out of each day? The temper tantrums? The bills? The dirty house? The fact you have to go back to work in two days? Or the snuggles, the smiles, the conversations, the silly selfies, the little milestones that you will never get back!  What do I want my children to remember about these days?  What do I want to teach them in the short days we have here on this earth?  I want to teach them how precious life is, a gift from God and we can't waste it, cleaning (oh darn), we are meant to use this life to love others and do good for others, just like Jesus did for us! So easy to type, a struggle to live out some days!  

My favorite goldfish munchers are requesting a movie...and I'm going to say yes...and I may just make myself sit here with them and watch!

Prayers, Praise and Pink

~Carly

Our online auction for CureSearch is in full swing, ends tomorrow night (8/2)!  Some super nice items to check out! http://www.32auctions.com/princessstrong