Follow-up to Priceless

Check out this post from Children's HopeChest - it's about 10 minutes of video, but please watch!

Priceless

Have you heard of Tom Davis? He's the founder of Children's HopeChest and he's written a few books, including one I read a few months ago, Scared. His new book, Priceless, came out on June 1st and I couldn't wait to read it. Both books are about a photojournalist, Stuart Daniels, and things he experiences while on assignment. The first book, Scared, is about a young girl in Swaziland who is the head of the household, but Priceless is about the sex-trafficking industry in Russia.



Several years ago, I sponsored a girl, Masha, from Russia through a small NGO called Orphan Sponsorship International. Masha was 15 and I only sponsored her for a year because she started leaving the orphanage and hanging out with some rougher older kids in the area. Her sponsorship ended not too long after that.

Reading Priceless, I couldn't help but think of Masha and other girls in her orphanage. Tom Davis is an amazing author. He has a way with words that pulls you into the story and after reading Priceless, I was immediately ready to do something. Children's HopeChest has sponsorship opportunities for individuals interested and able to donate and make a connection with a child in need.

Parts of Priceless were ugly, sick and completely and utterly disgusting - but that is the truth for SO many young girls around the world - not just in Russia. I was sent this book by Tom Davis and his publishing company in exchange for an honest book review on my blog. If you read this book, I imagine that you too, will feel compelled to do something - even if it's only to learn more. Anne Jackson, a popular Christian blogger, traveled to Russia and Moldova with Tom Davis earlier this year. I encourage you to check out her posts from the trip. As the only female in the group, she writes a candid and sometimes creepy account of their experiences.

I'm going to find out if I can do a giveaway of this book, it was an option with the letter I received. If you're interested in that or just reading it, would you comment and let me know so that I can let them know if it's something my friends would like? Thanks!

In the meantime, if you're at the bookstore or happen to be shopping Amazon - BUY this book! I read it in just a few hours last Friday and couldn't put it down. It's an amazing story with so much truth woven into each page. You can read chapter one right here.

Also, be sure to check out the book's webite, She is Priceless and if you do NOTHING else, READ THIS POST.

Place...pillow?

I couldn't find pillows that I liked for the couch. Nor could I find a slipcover. We finally found a slipcover at Target, it's a creamy white and I don't love it that much. I never did find pillows. I did however, find the perfect color place mats at Pier1. So... I decided to get creative.

I ripped the seam, stuffed them full, and voila - perfect new pillows!

(Disregard what appears to be fluff on the couch, someone (not naming names) sniffed the camera and the lens has a smudge.)

What's the verdict? I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out. $8 for place mats, $4 for stuffing = $12 total spent. Not too bad, and I think they look great - I tried to get a picture of the rug to show the colors but I was using my old camera. Oh yes, I said old... can't wait to share more news! ;)

Rawr!

We checked out the local zoo on Friday - it is smaller than the one I'm used to in NC, but fun nonetheless. Giraffes are by far my most favorite animal (next to Nola of course!). They had a great giraffe exhibit.


It was SO weird how close the zoo was to a neighborhood! This is the elephant enclosure and you can clearly see houses just behind it! I cannot imagine the stink those poor people smell. That's also pretty intimidating too actually - there are two GIANT elephants who live in this... they were getting a bath when we were there so we only got to see them from inside glass and it was difficult because they were enjoying the water so much and stayed towards the side where the glass stopped.

Is that not the cutest little baby giraffe you've ever seen?!

This little guy's enclosure was so close to the public that I'm pretty sure if I wanted to try and touch him, and I was fast enough, I probably could have. I felt bad for him though because so many people were trying to wake him up and his sign clearly stated that he was nocturnal.

Overall, I wasn't too impressed by the zoo. A few of the animals, especially the Red Panda, seemed very agitated and generally unhappy. The enclosures were small and not well separated from visitors. I typically enjoy zoos, but after visiting this one, I really appreciate how awesome our zoo is back home in NC.

Treasure at the dump

Before our curb side garbage can was delivered, we still took our trash to the dumpster at the apartment complex where Chandler used to live. While dropping it off a couple weeks ago, I found two little end tables stacked beside the dumpster and couldn't resist bringing them home.


We didn't necessarily need more furniture but these little tables had so much potential that I knew a coat of paint would make them really cute pieces to play with for a while.

Meet my $9 tables!
I decided to go with haystack yellow so we could use one upstairs in the guest room and one downstairs in the living room. I love that I only spent $9 in paint and if I decide I don't care for them anymore, I'll just pass them along to the local thrift store and let someone else enjoy them for a while. Until then, I'm enjoying the spunky color! Anyone else found fun things at the dumpster?

Bloom!

A few weeks ago, Chandler's mom came down to help us make a flower bed... today, I planted pink petunias to accomany the purple ones since my little rose bushes don't seem to enjoy themselves.
We also planted two peony bulbs, but only one has made a debut so far:

Finally, we've decided in the last week that we HAVE to start eating better. It's a requirement. So...

We bought LOTS of fruit! AND - when I was outside planting earlier today, I saw that we had TWO little tomatoes growing!!! I hope this means we'll have a great summer with lots of fresh tomatoes!

Busy, busy!

Chandler's dad came to visit this weekend and brought the boat. We have deep water access in our neighborhood so we were super excited to get out on the water. Nola had to be prepared too so I ordered a life jacket for her.

Heidi came to visit too! She LOVES to boat and can swim better than Belle so she doesn't need a jacket - lucky girl! It is SO hot here this weekend!

I finally finished a project that had been on my list from day one!

BEFORE:

AFTER:
I really want a new table but we have some other things on the list first so until then, I had to spruce up the current Ikea table from WAY back when! It works for now and the colors go with the rest of the house so I'm content for now. If only we can get some pictures on the wall.... :)