On Wednesday of this week (7/6) a warehouse in Tacoma holding about 25,000 toys and sundries for Toys for Tots burnt down and all was destroyed. One thing you may not know is Toys for Tots is not just for the holiday season, it’s doesn’t provide just toys, and it’s not just for little kids.

http://tacoma.komonews.com/photo-gallery/911/late-night-fire-hits-old-heidelberg-brewery/651589

Band of Brothers NW, EastlakeCC, and Myself & my husband are trying to help Toys for Tots great group and need. I want to share our idea and hope to accomplish replacing that are needed all year long. One thing you may not know is Toys for Tots is not just for the holiday season, it’s doesn’t provide just toys, and it’s not just for little kids.

So far what we especially need are toys for the older girls and boys, in the 13 to 17 year old range, always seem to end up short. For the girls, Cosmetics in Kits, no single items, curling irons, hair dryers. For the boys, body soaps and after shave in kits, again, no single items. Electric razors, both girls and boys, nail clipper sets in kits. Basically the things that get eliminated when a family's budget is stressed. And the other concern is Infants, like the Fisher Price toys 1 to 5 years old. Again, thank you for your support and feel free to spread the word and help us help Toys for Tots!

We will have a collection point ON SUNDAY, JULY 10 at:

3301 Monte Villa Pkwy Bothell, Washington 98021 @ EastlakeCC

Or contact chris@bobnw.org @ www.bobnw.com

So now that it is summer time and my son is out of school I am finally getting my husband to start to think about a vacation.  Yeah I tried to get this started way before but well he just doesn't work that way.  So well I am trying to plan a good vacation that will be fun, that we can get the most out of, that we can save some money, and can plan at the last minute like this.  But he wants to plan it like we did this months ago and try and spend less money and do it quick and get all the bang out of it now.  So I wanted to take the kids on this nice trip down the coast and stop at beaches, play in the sand, follow food trucks, and the dinners-drive-ins-and dives, skate board places by the beach, and other great places for the kids all along the coast from Washington to California. 

But now I am having to change my plans and re-think vacation.  My husband has a business trip to go to in Montana by the end of July.  The kids want to go to Montana.  I want to go too because I have a good friend that lives close by.  Then we want to do this trip.  But he wants to pack up and fly down and then rent a car and drive up.  So now I have to re-think all of this.  And well this is going to be hard.  Why couldn't we just pack up and hit the road and go and have some fun?  Nope he wants to spend a ton of extra money to try and fly us down there and then go back up.  I don't get it. I am trying to save us some money and not fly and to fly a family of 4 almost last minute is going to cost. 

So I don't know what to do.  I just want to have a fun time.  And wanted to do things like when I was a kid.  But well I just don't want to fight about this and to stress out.  But I am almost ready to just throw in the towel and tell the kids hey your dad can't make this easy so we aren't going right now we will take a trip later this year.  I just don't know what to do.  Why does this have to be so hard?

In Mary Kay it is what you make it. So many people stress about making the $100 decision,  Do you stress that much when you go shopping?  How easy is it for you to spend a $100 at Wal-Mart or Target or whatever store you like?   Do you use Mary Kay?  If so would you like getting $323 in full size products for only $100 be worth it to give it a try? People stress less over buying a car then giving MK a try.

I know women who have more products they have tried spent money on and it sits under their sinks.  It is worth hundres. They don't return it to the mall, to the drug store, or have a beauty consultant to call and pick it up and swap out the stuff for them hassle free.  I know women that don't have the time to go to the mall or shop for their make-up when they run out and have to make special trips, miss things for the family or kids, or re-arrange their day just so they can get their make up.  But if they could just order it online, text their consultant, call and have it sitting at their door waiting at home hassle free wouldn't that be nice. 

Wouldn't it be nice to just be able to get more for your dollar anyway.  You get 50% off just for taking this decision.  And well I know that all of us look for the sale signs and clearance signs when we are shopping so this is a huge sign that is always there for you. 

I also loved saving time for teachers gifts, birthdays for friends, something special for a baby shower for mom, christmas shopping, the list goes on and on.  But you can now shop for all of these occations from your home and have all of these gifts at 50% off too.  No running around town looking for the perfect gift or something special or at the mall.  You will have it and other can also order it from you too. 

So why not take the leap and just try your $100 with MaryKay and see what it can do for you!! Contact me today and I would be happy to tell you more.  www.marykay.com/michelegrant

Sometimes I haven't known how to know how I feel about things in life.  But I have found that a word broken is a good way to sometimes describe how I feel.  There are events in my life in my past and in my present that have made me feel this way.  It is a hard feeling to have and ways very heavy somedays. 

I have thought that having a family stand by me.  Having a strong family full of traditions is what I have needed to make this feeling better.  I have thought at times that trying hard to make people happy and comfortable is what I need to do.  Among many other things I am but well none of these things are what makes a person happy or un-broken. 

The only think I know that these days that has been making me confortable is the comfort in serving and ministry.  I love going to church.  But sometimes finding the right one that fits is hard.  I have attened a church for most of my life with my family.  There were only a couple of times that I didn't.  One was when my parents left with some other families to start a church plant.  And another time was when I was in high school and I attended another church that I liked.  Well since then I stayed and did for my family.  After my dad died I really dove into children's ministry and well that is what I loved. 

Well after having my own kids and deciding that the drive and needing to find something a little closer so that they could be in programs and that I could be involved with other women I decided to tell my mom I wanted to look for other churches.  Plus my daughter didn't like going to her class alone and wanted me to stay with her every week.  I hadn't been to a service in 8-9 years.  So well I needed something in my life.  So we started looking.  We started trying out a few churches. 

Well we thought we started to find one but after finding out more about the church we found that they didn't believe quite what we did and were looking for.  So we kept looking...until one day we found a church.  It was different and challenged everything normal.  But we fell in love.  And so did our kids.  Of course I love and miss the little ones so I signed up and serve with the little ones every other week and love it.  But some times I wonder what more I could do.

Well now our church is starting 4 new campus sites this fall.  At first I wasn't so excited and well the only reason why and I hope that my pastors will get me sometime.  I am not the norm on this.  But I just really like the relationship a pastor has with his church, the ones that attend, the ones that serve, I like to see them and to know them.  I know that churches can be big and small.  But so can all things in the world.  I just want to be given the chance to get to know them more because I think so far from the short time of attending and serving that they are great and wonderful guys.  Ones that maybe our family would like to know more.  That is all.  God never set limits on his friends and I don't either and hope they don't either.  I just want to be given a chance. 

I need to have guidence and to know that I have a safe place with good people who will honestly love and care for someone that is scared and broken.

This week I got to meet in person a friend I was in touch with since I was young.  She is a real special woman now in my life and I am just so blessed to know her.  We have for a while now caught up with each other on facebook and other places.  We love keeping up with each other and have just a wonderful relationship.  It is so cool because we have both been through so much in our lives and well we just are there for each other no matter that we are states away.  She has helped me with things I have tried to do to help others.  And I have tried to keep getting the word out to it seems everyone about her gluten free company.  My husband said that when I saw her that it was like we didn't miss a beat and he hadn't seen me so happy in a while. 

I just treasure my friends so much.  And I am so blessed to have her in my life and to have spend some time with her.  I can't wait to see her again but until then I know we will continue to keep in touch. 

This morning I started my day and checked in on FaceBook.  Well I happened to run into one of the first Skateboarding events of the season.  I was excited to see one and I just had to sign my son up.  When he got home from school I surprised him by telling him what I found and what I have done.  He was surprised.  He told me he wasn't ready and needed to practice.  I told him it was a good thing he had 2 weeks before the event and that finally the weather is starting to look better in Washington these days. 

So we will see now how many days and how much time I spend at skate parks to help him get ready for this event but he will do good.  And well if not it is the first event of the season and he will have fun.  I am excited.  I love doing fun things like this.

It is really fun to watch your little one interact with other kids.  But when they find ones they really like it makes life really interesting.  My little princess has a couple really close friends.  One is a little girl that we call them both oil and water.  They both get so excited to see each other and miss each other when they are apart.  But they just fight like cats & dogs when they are together.  You would think they hate each other at times because they hit and sit one one another but they get mad when you don't allow them to play.  It is crazy.  Now of course not all days are bad.  Somedays they actually will get along.  Those days we treasure.

Princess has another friend who is a little boy.  He is so cute.  He loves to play with her Barbie's.  I love that he will let me put him in dress-up clothes.  He told his mom that he likes my daughter best with her hair down and not in pony tails.  They usually play so well together it is so cute. Princess likes to hold his hand and lead him around and take care of him.  She love to feed him too. 

I just think that little ones are so cute to watch and to see how the care for one another and to get along.