TOMS: One For One Campaign

I'm sure you've most likely heard of Toms. If not, let me enlighten you. Kali and I are currently in Orlando, enjoying festivities leading up to her high school graduation tomorrow. Last night, we went to Downtown Disney to walk around (and buy jelly bellies for me and yellow bananas for Mark.) At the surf shop, we noticed a rack of Toms shoes and went over to check them out. 

There was this really nice lady named Sasha hand-painting designs on some Toms at a side table. Kali found a pair of jade Toms that she wanted. They had a denim pair that I wanted but the only pair they had was a size 5. I don't remember ever wearing a size 5 shoe, although I probably did when I was like ten or something. Anyway, I started talking with Sasha, she complimented the feather shirt I was wearing, one thing led to another, and a short while later I left with the peacock feathered shoes on the right. 

I posted this same picture on my facebook page and left this comment with the question, which pair do you believe belong to the teenager. Got some great comments on that post! Such fun! I'm wearing my new shoes now, and they are sooooooo comfortable.

For those of you who don't know what Toms are, they are a company that donate one pair of shoes to a needy child for every pair you buy. They match it - one for one. I've been wanting a pair of Toms for a long time, so glad that I finally have a pair. A really cool pair! And the best part? Sasha sold another pair because a customer saw mine and loved them! You can check out Toms and sign up for their newsletter at www. toms.com.

In His Wakes Ministries

In His Wakes is a unique, exciting and impacting non-profit ministry that uses water sports to share the love of Christ in a most powerful and interactive way. In His Wakes is fueled by three passions ... people, water sports and Jesus Christ. If you share any of these passions, you are sure to be blessed by this ministry! (Copied from the In His Wakes website.)

The mission of In His Wakes is to introduce people to the life changing power of Jesus Christ through the avenue of water sports. A Day to Remember provides an opportunity of a lifetime for predominately at-risk youth by giving them an unforgettable day on the water. This is just one small way In His Wakes reaches out to impact today's youth.

Their motto? Victory comes when you get off the dock! Get off the dock to experience His victory, His hope, and His purpose.

I was invited to attend In His Wakes' annual fundraiser/banquet/auction a couple days ago. They were having a silent auction, a live auction, a banquet, and some inspirational speakers.

The tables were decorated to represent various locations around the world. Each table was unique and lovely.



A lot of thought and work went into these tables. They were beautiful!


As people arrived, they were able to peruse the silent auction items and begin placing bids.

Items were donated by locals businesses, and individuals wanting to do something to help raise money for the IHW Ministries.

Many, many items were donated. Gift baskets, dremel tools, ski equipment, photography packages, Disney World and Sea World tickets, restaurant packages, vacation deals, and much, much more.

In His Wakes was founded by Slalom World Record Holder Kristi Overton Johnson, who holds over 80 professional water ski titles.



Special memories in the making.

Founder Kristi Overton Johnson welcomed everyone and . . .

. . . her husband Tim prayed a blessing over the banquet.

The meal was catered by Blue Water Bay, and it was excellent!

This is a shot of Kristi's dad. (Her mom was in the picture just above - the first lady in the serving line with the dark jacket on.)


After we ate, the Day to Remember Coordinator Nate Miller opened the program by telling us a bit about his duties and the Day to Remember program.

We were blessed to have four participants of the program attend the banquet. They were each given an opportunity to tell us what their time in the program meant to them.

If you visit the website, you will see this young man having the time of his life in the water!

Then we moved on to the live auction. Cookies, pie, birdhouses, squirrel feeders, Disney tickets, an awesome painting, and a Myrtle Beach vacation were auctioned.

It was a great night for everyone there! Great food, great fellowship, a good time of learning, and being able to actually do something to help further the ministry. Thanks for asking me to come along and document the night! I really enjoyed the silent auction where I bought an Italian Cream Cake (delicious doesn't even begin to describe it!), a day with a local photographer, and two annual passes to Sea World!

If you would like more information about In His Wakes Ministries, please visit them at www.inhiswakes.com. If you would like to know how you can support their ministry, please visit their Partners page on the site for more information.

Local Art Show - Part 2

This is a sampling of the some of the incredible pieces of art on display this weekend. Mannekin hands, fluffy feathers, and pvc pipe not taken into account.

This lady made beautiful glass catchers. She had many where she used a glass ashtray in the center of the piece. I didn't get photos of those because she looked like she was going to ask me to leave . . . so I did.

These were fantastic! Did your kids (or you) ever have any of the scratch art sets? Black paper you would scratch on with a sharp stick and it would remove the black and show you fantastic color underneath? You would literally scratch pictures onto the black paper. That is basically what this is and it was called Scratch Art. The jellyfish on the right is the piece of art the association chose to put on front of their commemorative black t-shirts for the event. I included the octopus in my collage at the front of this post.

This lady used little bits of pottery, stones, glass, shells, leaves, and beads to make these collages. A bright, lovely booth! I enjoyed it a lot!

The artist at this table was Larry Schorfhaar, a 79-year-old award winning wood-worker from Ocala, Florida. He hand-crafted all the instruments at this table. He sat in his chair, playing a dulcimer as I took several photos of his crafts. Mr. Schorfhaar had a kind, gentle smile for me as he played. (He didn't glare at me like some of the others, which I greatly appreciated :). This also allowed me to get some decent photos - which I also appreciated.)



I was most impressed with this workmanship. Not that I know anything at all. No expert here, obviously, I had to google to make sure I spelled dulcimer right. His instruments were beautiful works of art and I was greatly impressed with the love that was apparent in every piece. I enjoyed my hour at the art show. I may have to go back again next year!

Local Art Show - Part 1

This weekend, a nearby city is having a serious art show. Not your typical arts and crafts show like we have here in our smaller community, but a full-fledged honest-to-goodness art show. So, what did I see there? Well, these two photos are of my favorite find at the art show :).

So sweet! Just walking around talking to people, and believe me - a lot of people wanted to talk to this lady!

Now, no offense to the artist, but this was by far and away the ugliest thing I've seen lately. At the art show - or anywhere else. I don't get the point. At all. If there is one.

Mannekin hands, feathers, and pvc pipes. Art? I think not. It's almost an insult to the serious artists that were there. More pictures to come in Part 2. Pictures of some serious artistry.