A Trip to Ghana: It's definately worth it.

"While the rest of the world has been improving technology, Ghana has been improving the quality of man's 

humanity to man."  

~Maya Angelou 

It is a difficult place to travel to... 

an uncomfortable place to visit... 

and hard place to leave.  

The trip requires...

immunizations and malaria medicine 

and a looonnnng plane ride.  

The food you eat is risky and not very tasty.

The water supply will make you sick.

The bathrooms are, well... not exactly like home.

Oh, and did I mention that it's hot.  And humid.  

And there is no air conditioning?
So, why would anybody want to go?

I thought I'd share a little video that will help you understand.  

Forgive the quality, we were singing in the dark.

At that moment in time, 
I knew it was worth the trip.
As a point of reference, remember that these children were all slaves to the fisherman on Lake Volta.  Now their battle cry is...
"Sock it to the Devil~ Huh!"
{Pure JOY and Great FAITH}

Visit touchalifekids.org to find out more.

Printable Love: For things around the house.

Today I'm sending you over to Lime Lane for some fun little printables to use around the house...

if you like what you see in the picture below, find the key to the links HERE.

Enjoy!

Summer Reading~ Beautiful On-Line Magazines

Squeeze a glass of fresh lemonade, 

get the ceiling fan swirling to cool off and sit down to enjoy these beautiful magazines... 

such eye candy! 
Make sure to "bless your neighbor" by sending the link to these beauties on to friends who would enjoy them! 

Find it HERE.

Find it Here.

Paris in Review~ The Beauty of it all!

"Il n’y a que deux endroits au monde où l’on puisse vivre heureux:  

chez soi et à Paris."

(There are only two places in the world where we can live happy:  at home and in Paris.)

~Earnest Hemingway

It was rich a experience~ beauty everywhere.

  Sights that entice the eyes

{geranium filled window boxes, street musicians, brass door knobs, twinkly lights, ornate architecture, markets full of fresh-off-the-farm produce}

Sounds that melt your heart

{warm, sweet words in french that roll off the tongue like a song} 

Intoxicating scents 

 {alternating flower shops and bakeries lined the streets and beaconed us inside...}

But if home is where the heart is, my heart was drawn to the people~ all of whom were warm and helpful, always assisting us when we lost our way, greeting us with a melodious "Bonjour" as we entered every shop, serving us with grace.

Here are a few of our new friends!

Paris is a beautiful place...

But the people make it come to life!

And what about the people in your life?  Are there some college buddies you need to call?

  If its been years since you've seen them,  I promise you will pick up right where you left off.   

That's what happened with our little group... even after so much of life had gone by:  

careers and kids and marriages and life.  

We were SO VERY GRATEFUL to reconnect.  Even calling ourselves the "Aggie Sisterhood."

Embracing each other like family.

A trip to Paris is lavish and expensive and takes a lot of energy...

the return on the investment of all that time and money is a 

full, rich, life of love and relationships.

But you don't have to go all the way to Paris to make it happen.  

Simply learn to make crepes, invite some friends over for a glass of wine 

and head out to see "Midnight in Paris."  

You'll get a taste of the beauty of Paris and it will be a reason to reach out and 

connect with a friend.

Read about it HERE on the Hip Paris Blog.

If you're thinking of going to Paris, or just want lessons in doing life like the French, then you must subscribe to the Hip Paris Blog~ it will give you goose bumps~ ooh la la!

Off to Meet Jake: A Journey to Africa!

Just a quick note to say I'm off to Ghana, West Africa.

Remember a few posts back when I told you about the 

Touch a Life organization?

Well, Blake, Emily and I are on our way to assist a medical team to give health assessments to 400 children at the Village of Hope.

And I told you about Jake, who we sponsor through the organization...

Well, we will get to meet him on Tuesday!!  Can't wait to hug his precious neck~ we feel like he's ours!

When you look into the eyes of this sweet boy, please pray for all the children who are still left in slavery.  May we diligently pursue every one of them and bring them to safety!

Thanks to those of you who helped me get the play dough for the trip... can you imagine the delight of the children when they experience Play Doh for the first time?!