513: Idea

It is 8:13pm.

Today has been kind of a lazy day.

I folded the mountain of laundry that had taken over my living room and went on a walk, but other than that I read travel articles, and articles with tips on being a travel blogger.

I have been thinking about this some time now, and while I have been searching for a new direction of Love Elijah, I think I came up with a great idea.

I was thinking that my travel blogging would start to tell the story of us spreading love across the world for Elijah, but that for the actual Love Elijah organization we could give out travel grants to families who have either never been able to travel because of poverty, or families who are experiencing hardship, or experiencing grief.

These families could either be nominated by another family, or they could send in a letter themselves.

We would have to set some guidelines and a process to apply and be accepted. And I am also assuming until I am rolling in money, that we will only be able to give out so many of these grants a year.

But basically when we turn 501c3 (hopefully soon), then we can reach out to hotels and airlines and amusement parks to help us gift these families with vacations. And we could do fundraisers for things like gas cards and visa gift cards for eating and gifts! Or people could even send them in as donations!

The first steps will be to get that 501c3 so I can get donations, and then get someone to help me with a website and policies.

But I am really excited, and feel like this could be how we change the world! By literally helping people to see more of it <3 Who knows?!? Maybe while they are out there traveling, they will help us spread some love for Elijah too <3

(And don't worry I have not forgotten about my 365 day grief companion book. I am still working on that too!)

What do you guys think?

I hope you like it!

Alright, time to go get some kids in bed.

Hope you all have a beautiful evening! Sending you all love and peaceful dreams.

Please keep praying for our world. Pray for our country. Pray for my family. Pray for me. Pray for you! And always always pray for my sweet Elijah.

Thank you.

You can just see the love in this picture,

in all of your faces.

We were all so happy to meet you 

and are still so proud that you are part of this family.

I love and miss you so much.

Always.

<3 

507: The Giant Mailbox Adventure

It is 12:26pm.

It is an early blogging kind of day.

We just got back from granny's, and I turned on my computer that my son accidentally spilled water on last week--and it works! I was so excited, that I had to blog lol.

I love typing on my computer.

My fingers just seem to dance all over the keyboard as they tell my story. It is sometimes a sweet dance. It is sometimes a sad dance. But it is my dance, and I am okay with sharing it with the world.

Sooooo. Yesterday I got to keep my New Year's resolution and I went someplace I had never been before! And would you guess that I visited a GIANT MAILBOX????

(Lol. Of course you did, since that is kind of the picture featured on my blog now and you are oh so smart....or you follow me on Instagram or Facebook).

Here are some glorious photos of my and the kids having fun.

The giant mailbox is located in Newelton, Louisiana. In the last US Census count, the town recorded a population of 1,111. What a fun number!

The mailbox stands 14 feet high, 8 feet deep, and 4 feet wide and has been standing since 1956.

It is the only attraction like this anywhere near by. Newelton, Louisiana is a very rural small town with mostly fields and farmers.

I don't have a story behind this mysteriously interesting piece of postal art work, but it sure doesn't keep me from enjoying it's uniqueness.

But what really amazed me is how much my kids made this sighting of this lone statue into an adventure.

There is a huge ditch located next to this huge mailbox. And after I rallied them for a picture, they were soon turning that ditch into The Grand Canyon (which hopefully we will be seeing in March). Then they were jumping across the ditch and climbing on culverts and loving every minute of it.

Sometimes I think we as parents, feel like we have to plan these grand adventures for our kids, but this was the most simple outing we have been on in a while and my kids still found a way to make it into a huge adventure.

Moral of the story: Don't let being broke and far from an exotic oasis stop you from finding the simple joys all around you. Be a traveler in your back yard, or hometown, or state. Go visit your family. Go see the stuff that makes you smile. Get out there and live your life! And while your at it, spread some kindness for my Elijah.

After all, the goal is not just to see the word, but to make it a better place!

Alright guys, it is time for my cleaning gig. Hope you all have a beautiful day and enjoy this beautiful sunshine.

My challenge for you is tomorrow morning smile in the mirror for 30 seconds. I promise you won't regret it, no matter how awkward and weird it may feel lol.

Please continue to pray for our world. Pray for our country. Pray for my family. Pray for me. Pray for you! And always always pray for my sweet Elijah.

Thank you.

Hi sweet boy.

Hi my sunflower.

You inspire me so much.

You are my reason for everything.

I love and miss you so much.

Always.

<3