Let's Celebrate Lists

Lists...... I love lists!

I love the way they look. I love marking off a to-do list. I like planning parties and making lists for the entire event. Lists are simply a way to be super human and make everything you're doing seem real.

Okay...... so, what about a prayer list? Ever made one? Ever tried to write down all the people you pray for, or things you pray about?

Long, long ago, in a land far far away lived a young single woman full of enthusiasm and joy. She got up at 5 am to start her day with and hour's worth of exercise, she got completely ready for work, she sat down with her Bible and studied, and then she prayed. Going through her list of family and friends. Praying. And then......

LIFE.
No more prayer list. There were good intentions.
Prayer lists became sticky notes in the front of my Bible. I pray... of course I pray. I'm a single mom of four. I pray.

A friend of mine sent a message asking to put her family on my prayer list. List... hmm... where is that list? Oh, that's right, I don't write an actual prayer list anymore. Why not?

So, pen in hand, I think I'll go make that list. I'll be happy to add anyone along the way. Life's about being on this journey together. Journey on.

Let's Celebrate Traffic Sources

I always enjoy seeing how people are directed to my blog. Here are some of the latest 
results of web traffic that land some happy seeker in Sand Castles and Snow Forts. 


june 2011 calendar

lord of the rings movie 

pull off can lid

"vitameatavegamin" sign

aretha franklin art respect

art

I'm cuckoo for cocoa puffs

chocolate-glazed fudge cake

I love lucy quotes

jumanji book

kilimanjaro desktop photos

I love you battles

mr. big

frog and toad are friends

narnia book

sneetches

Want to know my biggest pull from google searches? 

Sneetches! 

(click HERE to see how The Sneetches got included.)

That's right, the search for Seuss brings them here. Fun though. You never know who 
you might come in contact with in this big old blogosphere, so happy googling 
everyone! If you happen upon a blog, post a comment, become a follower, or simply
say hello from a google search. Life's all about the journey and no one walks alone. 
Journey on!

Let's Celebrate My Honeymoon

I do believe I have found the perfect place for my honeymoon!

What a dreamy place. Am I right? 

It's going to be a spectacular honeymoon. Just look at the food!

When's the honeymoon, you ask? Well, the date for the wedding hasn't been officially set. To tell the truth, he hasn't popped the question. Well... if I'm going with honesty here, I haven't quite met him yet. Now, complete and total honesty...... I'm not dating at all. :)

If I could, I would take all you lovely readers to this beautiful island, and we would feast in celebration of my happily ever after. Hey, it could happen. I do believe my toes were made for sand like this......

Let's Celebrate Cars

In my 100 things to celebrate, this sounds a bit materialistic, I know, but it isn't. See, when I was younger I wasn't the normal "I have a crush on everyone" kind of teenager. I grew up hanging out at the gas station, and at the store with my daddy. I would sit in the corner of the store in the afternoons, curled up in a comfortable chair by the heater and read. I'd listen to story after story being told by anyone who would stop by for a visit. I also stayed at the gas station with my daddy... sometimes. I loved being around the cars there. I loved watching the guys fix them. I can close my eyes and still smell that place. In turn, I grew to love the beauty of old cars. While most girls my age had TEEN magazine, I got Classic Cars magazine. I hung pictures on my door with the wish that I would do something so spectacular in this world that I could own a few hot rods. I wasn't crazy. I did have at least a couple of guys that made the poster wall. Mr. John Stamos in his General Hospital Days of course. Didn't we all have that poster?

But then I had pictures like this....

and this.....

and there was always room for something new.

When the time came to actually start thinking about the car I would drive, I got an auto trader and found exactly what I wanted. 

Except the one I found had mag wheels, a 454 engine, and a wheelie bar. My sweet daddy laughed and said, "Do you know that's not street legal? That's for racing." My thought was... it could be fixed right? Wrong. My dream car remained a dream. Then I realized the car I wanted was EXACTLY like the ZZ Top car. See...... how cool am I?

I still want an old car. A classic car. Big red convertible, whitewall tires, fuzzy dice hanging from the review mirror. Someday. 

I know I must talk about those classics a great deal because when we passed a '57 Chevy my kids all said what a beautiful car it was. Seems like they've got it straight. 

Let's Celebrate the Stars

Yesterday I celebrated my 100th blog post. Today, let's keep going. I told the fabulous four I wanted to count down until my birthday by celebrating 100 things on my blog. Their suggestion were absolutely fantastic. So today, my friends, let's celebrate........ the stars.

Have you ever been star gazing? Not the walk outside I'm looking up at the sky star gazing. I'm talking about getting a blanket, going outside, spray the kids with bug spray, laying on your back and everyone whispering.... watching the brilliance of the night sky kind of star gazing.

It happens to be one of those night. Tonight... you can go out there and enjoy the beauty of the heavens. Check out NASA's page on tonight.This year's Perseids meteor shower peeks tonight! Stay up all night.... or just up really late.

If nothing else, it's a great way to simply be. The only thing more beautiful than a sunset to me is a blanket of stars stretching across the sky.

Enjoy!

100th Blog Post

Today I celebrate my 100th blog post. Sand Castles and Snow Forts came to life when I began my journey publishing Friday Lunch. I never considered the fun or the friends that would develop through this blog. So thank you to my followers, my visitors, my friends, my family who continue to encourage me. Stick around, it only gets better from here. I think in honor of the 100th post we should celebrate 100 things. Come visit with me again and let's keep celebrating.

I waited to make the 100th post to have a little fun my friends, your friends, their friends, and their friends. You get the picture. Today it is 100 days until my 42nd birthday. So, I've decided to host THE BIGGEST FACEBOOK PARTY EVER! We have 100 days to see how many people will attend this event. If you didn't click the blue words... click HERE. Once you arrive at the facebook events page, click "attend" and share the page. If facebook has 750 million people on there, we only have 100 days to invite them all. Pass the word, share this post everywhere and let's see how many people show up for the party! 

Drama Camp.... it was time to shine.

Have you ever been a part of something, and when it's over you know those involved went away changed... better... ready for something bigger? That's the feeling drama camp gave my fabulous four. The awesome foursome were involved in drama camp this week at The Whole Backstage Children's Theatre in Guntersville, AL.

Our mornings began at 8:30 and we drove 45 minutes to get there. Worth it? Absolutely. The morning camp was filled with amazing classes: vocals, acting, musical theatre, script writing, costumes, active theatre, crafts, technical theatre, and set design. Every aspect of the theatre came to life, and after 3 1/2 hours a day for 5 days straight, the campers put on a great show Friday afternoon. But, the fun didn't stop there. In the afternoons after Camp Red Carpet, an additional camp was offered. Musical Theatre Show-Offs from 1:00-5:30 pm, and it also ran Monday-Friday. This group gave quite a performance Friday evening in their production of COOL SUIT.

An amazing group of talented young people stood on that stage and gave all the parents watching a reason to appreciate the beauty of the arts. Something was different with this show. Every child on that stage believed in this production, because they were given the joy of having someone believe in them.

A special thanks to Kelleybrooke Brown, the director of The Whole Backstage Children's Theatre,  and her commitment to making our lives more exciting!

Give a child a chance to shine, they might take it. Give a child confidence, and they'll ask to shine.