I'm blogging here tonight... come see me!

With the Cupcake Kids season drawing to a close, our family is headed to the beach for some R & R -- thanks to the generous gift of a dear friend.

But check back with me next Sunday night. I (finally) have a major announcement from the Owens family...

It's here! This is the week of The 2012 {Inter}National Cupcake Kids sale!

Last week I posted on facebook that I've been simply overwhelmed by watching all of The Cupcake Kids activity that's taking place from coast-to-coast and even internationally. It's hard to believe that it all started with the idea of one little girl...

That's my Madeline on her first day of Kindergarten 2008. The same year she conceived the idea for The Cupcake Kids.

Since that time, Madeline and I have witnessed dozens of Cupcake Kids stands, both in person and through pictures, spring up all over the world. We've seen Cupcake Kids sales that have done well. We've seen sales that have done really, really well. And we've seen sales that have absolutely knocked our socks off.

So for those of you preparing for your own Cupcake Kids stand this weekend, the following is a list of our best practices and favorite tips of the trade...

1. Pray with Your Children Beforehand: In the days and weeks leading up to your Cupcake Kids stand, pray together as a family. Pray for good weather, pray for a great turn-out and pray especially that the Lord would use your family to bring hope and restoration to imprisoned children in Africa.

2. Dress for Success: If possible, purchase Cupcake Kids t-shirts from the SixtyFeet store for your entire team, including the adults.



3. Be Prepared to Share about SixtyFeet: Spend time on the SixtyFeet site and get familiar with our work and mission. Help your children understand what they're doing and specifically, what they're raising money for. The more passionate they are about the cause, the more funds and awareness they'll raise. Also, be prepared to educate others on the ministry of SixtyFeet and send your customers to our website for more information or to make online donations.




4. Let Your Kids Take Charge: After all, it's The Cupcake Kids. Not The Cupcake Moms. Put them to work in the kitchen -- baking and decorating the cupcakes and cleaning up afterwards. On the day of your sale, let them do the selling.



5. Don't Price Your Cupcakes: The stands that offer their cupcakes for "free with any donation to SixtyFeet" fare much better than those who put a specific price on their items.

6. Offer Curbside Service: Seriously... people love it.


7. Sell Virtual Cupcakes Before AND After Your Sale: Everyone who signs up to host a Cupcake Kids stand is given a personal fundraising page. You can send your link, for your specific Cupcake stand, out to friends, family and anyone who cannot physically attend your sale and give them the opportunity to purchase a "virtual cupcake" from you. You can promote the link to your stand both before and after your sale date -- using blogs, facebook or email. This is a GREAT way to increase your total sales and to spread the word about SixtyFeet. Check out my family's personal site for an example.

8. Dress Up Your Table: Cupcakes make any table look fancy, but adding some height and variety to your table adds interest.



9. Hang Bright, Cheerful Signage: Making signs is another great way to put your kids to work!



10. Delight in the Work You're Doing! Rejoice in knowing that, through your efforts, you and your children are making a real and lasting difference for imprisoned children in Africa. Cupcakes are no small matter to SixtyFeet. The Cupcake Kids is the fundraising arm of our ministry and every penny of the money raised through these stands immediately goes to work on the ground in Uganda. We are thankful for you!!

Thanks, Griffin Gibson, for family pictures as beautiful as last year's.


It's true what they say... the days are long but the years are short. And another year has passed in the blink of an eye.

As much as I love the work Dan and I do in Uganda and in the inner city of Atlanta and with our little church plant, the work I do at home is the most important of all.

I am blessed.

We spent ours helping with a 3-day Cupcake Kids sale:



We celebrated this little dude's birthday:



We sent our Daddy off to Africa:


And we had a house showing for a prospective buyer.

So... not much going on around here.

I need to ask y'all to please pray for Dan and his time in Africa this week. More and more, we're learning that the mission field is also a battlefield. It's rough out there. And for us, the last several months have been marked by trials, testing and persecution like we've never experienced before.

Ministry work can be deflating and discouraging. It can be depressing and it can be downright ugly. And sometimes I can't help but wonder why? Why must it all be so hard? If Dan and I are walking in the Lord's will for our lives and faithfully serving Him with all our hearts... shouldn't He be blessing us?

Not necessarily. In fact, the opposite is usually true.

This weekend, Dan and I watched a powerful sermon by Ligon Duncan, a pastor in Jackson, MS. It's a full length sermon so plan to watch it when you have a spare 58 minutes. But it's worth every second.

Duncan's message is for anyone who is faithfully serving God while simultaneously experiencing hardship, discouragement and disappointment. The two are not mutually exclusive -- they often go hand in hand. And with a walk through 1 Kings 19, Duncan beautifully explains why.

I honestly think this is one of the most impactful messages I've ever heard and I cannot recommend it highly enough.


Have a great week, friends. If you watch the sermon, please come back and tell me what you think.

Today is the 6th birthday of a very, very special girl...

Thank you, Griffin Gibson, for the beautiful pic!

Many, many months ago, Hannah declared that she wanted a rainbow party for her 6th birthday. Remembering that my dear friend Andrea hosted a little-girl rainbow party last year, I went and reviewed her old post on that topic.

I read Andrea's post and checked out all of her beautiful, crafty ideas. And, immediately, this thought came to mind: "Oh crap."

Y'all, I'm not crafty. I'm just not. I was born without a creativity gene. I am also slightly unorganized, rather impatient and completely non-detail oriented... all qualities that do not lend themselves well to craftiness.

And yet, my daughter wanted a rainbow party.

We celebrated Hannah and Joseph's birthdays last April with a huge party. The event was great fun and also doubled as their homecoming party...



But honestly, I'm not sure that either child completely grasped what was going on. At the time, neither of them were speaking much English and they'd never celebrated a birthday before. Also, while all the party attendees were family and dear friends, Hannah and Joseph didn't know any of them very well. It honestly makes me a little sad looking back on it.

But this year, they know what's up. This was Hannah's first real birthday celebration -- and I was determined that it would be all she wanted it to be.

So here's what this non-crafty momma came up with...

This is dry white rice, dyed with food coloring. It's so super easy that even Baby Charlotte was able to help. Simply dump a few cups of dry rice into a gallon sized ziplock bag. Stir a couple tablespoons of water mixed with food coloring and pour into the bag. Zip up the bag (make sure it's zipped WELL -- I learned that the hard way) and hand to a child to squish around until the color is evenly distributed. Pour into a container or onto a paper towel to dry.



Purchase some inexpensive glass containers and voilà! You have a fun rainbow craft which also doubles as a take-home/keepsake piece... thus freeing you from the obligation of goodie bags. Which I hate.




We also did this stuff...

Rainbow M & M's, by Madeline and Davis.

Rainbow shaped fruit tray by Yours Truly.

Rainbow colored egg hunt. What's that? You're wondering if I only did the egg hunt to rid my home of left-over Easter candy? I can't believe you'd suggest such a thing. I'd never pawn off unwanted items to unsuspecting guests. Not unless it was for a really good cause.

My crowning crafty achievement was for each girl to create a tutu, using strips of tule and soft headbands from Target.


I cut the strips of tule ahead of time and the girls simply tied the pieces onto the headband. This activity took up a good 20-30 minutes and when complete, they were a huge HIT!

So there you have it -- my one crafty post of the year. I knew from the beginning that adoption would call me out of my comfort zone... but I had no idea that it would require CRAFTINESS. Geesh. The things we do for our kids...

Happy Birthday, precious Hannah. You are loved and treasured.