Give a little, Get a lot

This is all for you, Ella Bella!

Well, today, was the bake sale.

The 6:30 a.m. wake up call came way too soon for me.

I've always been one to hear the alarm clock and wake right up,

bright eyed and bushy tailed.
That hasn't been the case as of late.

Who knew that turning thirty-five would leave me feeling this old!

I s-l-o-w-l-y crawled, literally, out of bed.

Thirty minutes later, my body finally decided

that it could tolerate standing erect

instead of being hunched over like an 80 year old woman...

with osteoparosis,

and then we were off.

The kids were excited, and for just reason, they were doing a thing today.

The crew consisted of Alexandra, Blake, Kara, & Zoe for the most part.




Alexandra giving a little lesson about autism.
I must say that she has learned almost as much about it
as I have in the last several months.


Throughout the day, we had a couple of extra helpers like Josee, Cullen, Kodi, & Conner.



Josee keeping it "real"!!



Josee and Zoe wanted to help out by making some signs to decorate the tables with.
I love those two!




After a late night with the gals,
Kodi stopped by to help us out for a while.



While he was there, Conner did more eating than anything else,
but he was there none the less!



Angie and Zoe,
a mommy and a sister
helping to make a difference

Many of us moms felt like we could go back home and crawl in the bed,

tired from a week of running, and a couple of days of baking.

When I am in the midst of it all,

I sometimes tend to focus on the work instead of the rewards.

I think of how much I am giving or doing and I am many times left overwhelmed.

At the end of the day though, especially one like today,

the old saying rings in my ears over and over.

"GIVE A LITTLE, GET A LOT!"

As Alex, Blake, Kara, and I raced to get to the store to set up,

I prayed with the kids and asked that the Lord bless their efforts today

and that He would be glorified.

I told myself regardless of the amount raised

that I would be happy with it and thankful for it.

That didn't mean at times, I didn't worry about it.

Many people had taken the time to bake desserts for us,

I didn't want all of that to be in vain.

At the end of the day the old phrase

"GIVE A LITTLE, GET A LOT"

rang true yet again.

The kids wound up raising $615.00 for the Walking for Ella team.

The kids were thrilled.




They spent most of their time throughout the day

counting the money every few minutes,

amazed at the money they were raising.

To see them witness how people give from their hearts was wonderful.

The fundraising continued even after the bake sale,

upon returning home Kara and sister Abbie

decided to make a visit to their neighbors and ask for donations.

Upon returning home, their mom, Wendy,

called to let me know that they had raised another $30.00.




Which brought our total raised today to.......
$645.00!!!!

All I can say is.......



Thank you Lord.

&

To everyone who was involved in helping with the baked goods,
even those with the tinyest of hands,



Thank you , Thank you, Thank you and May God Bless You!