Beads

My sister Allison and her kiddies are in town for a few weeks. We've been busy going to the pool, throwing a surprise baby shower for our sister Emily who is pregnant with a boy after having three girls, going shopping, having slumber parties, and helping Alli with one of her latest projects. For the last several years she's volunteered with an organization called Mothers Without Borders. She goes to Africa to work with orphaned youth, organizes fundraisers in her hometown, and recently was the brainchild of a genius idea to help the youth she works with raise money for themselves. Through a lot of trial and error, she figured out a way for the youth to make beads that is similar to the way they make bricks for their buildings (a couple of years ago she made bricks with them that were used to build a school.) 

Just before her visit to Utah she was in Zambia where she taught the kids how to make the beads. Then she brought them here to have my mom (a seasoned jewelry maker) help her figure out how to make beautiful jewelry out of them. The jewelry will then be sold to raise money for the kids. Each set (necklace and earrings) sold will pay for half of one year of their education. Each child made enough beads to make two sets, so when both sell, they've earned enough money to pay for their own education. The idea is to empower the kids and give them hope for their future. 

Each child who made beads had their own bag to store them in. We had to make sure not to mix any of them up because each necklace will come with the story of the child who made the beads. As we worked on them, Alli told us their stories--stories of tragedy, brutality, healing and hope.  These kids are my heroes.

Before we could string the beads onto necklaces and earrings we had to open up some of the bead holes that were too small (thank you Sam for giving us free reign of your tools and helping us figure out how to do this) and apply a glaze:

Who thought you'd need a power drill to make jewelry?  (btw, this power drill was a wedding present I gave to Sam--we sure have gotten a lot of use out of it!) 

glazing the beads--being very careful not to plug up the holes again

The finished product. I can't wait to see what they'll look like as part of a necklace.

Alli also told us about a couple of really cool things that happened while we were there. First, a mission for our church opened up in the area, and second, she found out laws have made it "easier" for Americans to adopt orphaned youth from Zambia. It's still kind of complicated, but it is possible. However, Alli has mixed feelings about it. She sees how well the children she's worked with have thrived in their new Mother's Without Borders home, and how they've formed strong bonds to the other children there. Alli has developed a great love for those kids, and a very strong bonds with several of them, but she doesn't want to take them away from their "family" in Zambia. It's a very complicated situation.

I'm grateful I was able to help out a little with this project. I'd really like to meet the kids who made the beads someday. Time to start saving my pennies!

While we worked on the beads, Cohen was hard at work on his cousins giant jaw breaker. Thanks for sharing, Ethan!

TWO!

Time flies when you're having fun!  Most who don't know Cohen think he's at least three because he's so tall. But I can't believe he's already two! By the time you're my age, not much changes between birthdays. But Cohen has learned a lot since last year: he can walk (and run!), count to 10+, pedal his tricycle, shoot a basket, name ALL of his cousins, aunts, uncles grandparents and friends, dance, sing, and he can finish the sentences and lines to his favorite books and songs.

To celebrate we had a casual dinner party at our house yesterday. I debated whether or not to have a family party AND a friend party, but opted for "just" a family party. Most of his closest friends are cousins anyway, so we'll save the friend thing for later. We had a houseful and yardful with just family anyway.

Dinner included Cohen's favorite foods: hot dogs & sausages, french fries, veggies & ranch dip, and ice cream. Of course we had cake, too. Last year's cake was an aesthetic disaster, but all the kids loved it. So this year I used the same idea with a few changes and it turned out much prettier.

Cohen was ecstatic about the "balls" on his cake.

I wonder what he wished for??

Only the birthday boy could get away with this.

Great grandmas, grandparents, great uncle, aunts, uncles, cousins and Katrina's family. A pretty big crowd for a two year old! The more the merrier, I say!!

When buying Cohen b-day presents, Sam and I need to remember other people will get him gifts, too. He got a lot of stuff: stuffed animals, books, cars, clothes, puzzles, chocolate milk, candy, balls, a power drill, and his favorite, a lawnmower that blows bubbles. I think it's time get rid of some of his "old" toys. They are starting to take over the house! 

Happy Birthday Bub-o. We love you!

Happy B-Day America!

We spent the 4th of July weekend at Sam's sister's. They live on about 10 acres just outside of a small town. Their property includes a seasonal stream, swimming pond and several out buildings like a gazebo, outdoor kitchen and a small cabin. They also have these little flower, vegetable and sculpture gardens, and sitting areas peppered throughout the property. It's seriously a work of art.

We attended the town parade which began with a 5k fun run that Sam and our nephew ran in. We also went to the firework show that was pretty darn amazing for such a small town. We had such a great time we've decided to make it a tradition. 

Cohen on the bounce-a-line (he gave it this name--why isn't it called that already?)

Cohen can ride this thing for real when I'm dead--ha, ha.

Cohen and Grandpa

the swimming hole

Cohen hangin' with the guys

Playing with glow sticks while waiting for the fireworks to begin:

Homemaker

Here's something I never thought I'd see:

Homemade bread and jam ... made by me. 

Until the last little while, the thought of making homemade bread was about as appealing as drywalling. Sure, I like the finished product, but who would ever WANT to spend the time and effort on it? I've always enjoyed cooking, but baking has never interested me. For some reason I've changed. Maybe it's because I like having control over the ingredients in my family's food, maybe it's maturing hormones, maybe its a miracle--ha, ha. 

On a totally unrelated note, Cohen LOVES shoes. By the end of the day shoes are scattered all over the house. He'll try on everything from my high hills to Sam's flip flops. Today he ventured outside in a pair of Sam's shoes.