The Ultimate Owl Fundraiser!

 2 Weeks ago my 3 nature loving kiddos hosted an owl benefit to try to raise money to "adopt" an owl at the Willowbrook Wildlife Center, an animal rehabilitation center which we frequently visit, partly due to the many owls that live there.

You may remember that almost 2 years ago now they hosted a benefit for their Compassion International child in Tanzania, Africa in which my favorite little mister created origami upon request & I baked blueberry muffins & Sam made his famous rice krispie treats.

 Of course, Sunshine Girl had to man the cash register.

 My favorite little mister & his best owl friend "Bubo"

{part of the Latin name for Great Horned Owl}

He is the one who has started this owl obsession 

in our home after reading the Guardians of Gahoole.
{Bubo was even in our Christmas photo this year!}

 Pumpkin Poos & her snowy owl "Cutie Pie"

What a name for a snowy owl, right?

Who can resist?!
{remember this winter we actually saw
chicago's snowy owls?!}

 Daddy's famous rice krispie treats were back!

{He only made 6 batches & at first 

cut them the size of a child's head}

yummy!

 We had a coloring table where all of the kids could draw their own owls.

 My favorite little mister & sunshine girl gave a concert 

on their keyboard.

So fun!

 {click on the image to see these larger}

And, they each created original works of art which I scanned into my computer to make prints to giveaway or sell! The above are my favorite little mister's. Now, I must say, I love how their personalities come out in their artwork... His being more methodical & scientific.

 These are sunshine girl's drawings {above} and are more girly & designed.

 These are pumpkin poo's drawing & painting. I just love the simple line work she creates & yet how it so magically captures an owl figure.

And, these are some coloring pages I created for the kids to color at the art tables.

We had a GREAT time creating all of this & are so thankful for our extremely generous family, friends, and neighbors who supported our cause. It was so nice to see several of the kids' teachers stop by and show their love.

And, because of all of your generous support, today we were able to adopt not only ONE but TWO owls!!!! {we had some disagreement as to which owls would be chosen: the older 2 kids wanted the Barred Owl & pumpkin & I wanted the Barn Owl... so we got both!}

Thank you & my favorite little mister wants you all to know 3 ways YOU can help the owls at your home:
1. Reduce
2. Reuse
3. Recycle!

Grace & Peace,
Julie

Fundraiser Participation for Adoptive Parents!

Hello! We are so excited to be partnering with the nonprofit The Sparrow Fund this month, supporting their work in helping adoptive families around the world. We are donating 10% of all our sales this month to The Sparrow Fund along with 58 other businesses.

Over the next 2 days, we have a very special challenge in front of us that I want to share with you. An adoptive mom wanted to do something creative to support this nonprofit and their efforts this month to Build the Nest. And, she posted a blog entry today with that challenge -- for everyone who comments there with their first name, the store name where they shopped, and the total amount spent -- Leah will MATCH dollar for dollar in a donation directly to The Sparrow Fund up to $1,000! So, if you make a purchase in the next 2 days, not only will 10% of your purchase go to The Sparrow Fund, you can make that 110% simply by commenting on her blog! 

Consider being a part of this challenge! Come on over to Life Verse Design and make a purchase. Then, simply go make sure Leah knows you did by commenting on her blog post (CLICK HERE) with your first name, our store name, and the total amount of your purchase with us. We want to make sure that at least $1,000 worth of sales named in those comments so we can get The Sparrow Fund this donation. And, we only have 2 days to do it! 

Grace & Peace,
Julie