Four Things That Make Me Happy.

Things that make me happy.

Breakfast from Chick-fil-a.  I love that chicken, and they put it on a bagel with egg and cheese.  Shut the front door.

When Sean says, "You know that minion cake on the counter?" (That I made for someone else).
"Yeah..."
"That actually looks pretty cool so could I have that for my birthday cake instead of an ice cream cake?"
Because for that boy to give up ice cream cake in order to have a minion cake instead, is a compliment of the biggest kind.

This video made me happy but in a serene way.  Like, try not to cry at work but man alive did it give me new perspective.



And helping people makes me happy.

I got this email from my friend and I believe in this so much that I'm going to share it with you.

" I am working with Janet to help the African Young Women  go to school this year. I know that they have worked really hard to make these cards and are very proud of their accomplishments. It is very important to get these girls educated and to keep them in school as prostitution is a likely outcome for many young girls there.  Their stake president says that we are literally saving lives with this effort.

If you can spare the money I hope that you will pitch in and help us to make this thing work."

The following was taken from the website made to support this project (here):

These cards were handmade by us (the girls pictured above) in Sierra Leone, a country on the western edge of the Africa West Area in the capitol city of Freetown. Freetown is on mountainous peninsula projecting out into the Atlantic Ocean. We, the young women making the cards, live in single parent families. The unemployment rate here is more than 80% without any means of income. We are obligated to pay for our own schooling, which is about $165 per year and includes a uniform. Many of us have missed a year or two of school, and really hope to be able to complete High School. 

We decided as a group to make gift cards out of free scraps of material that we could find from local seamstresses. The paper was supplied as a donation. Each of us has made one hundred cards, which we hope will give us the amount needed to start school in the fall. The money is deposited directly into the school account of our choice.

We feel that you will be truly blessed for your help in our education. Thank you so much.

Love, the Freetown girls

Christiana Kai Tarawallie, Kadiatu Abdulali, Fatmata Balley, Marian H. Conteh, Joyce N. James, Marian Kalilu

So here's my first initial thought on the matter:  these girls aren't asking for a free hand out, though if you ask me, they certainly could.  The thing that strikes me with these girls is that they have a situation they want to get through and they thought of a plan on how to get through it.  They want to finish high school, something I took for granted.  They need tuition.  So they've sat down, put in the effort and work on a plan on how they can earn the money to go to high school.  They're out to change and better their life.  And I have so much respect and awe for that.

A box of cards costs $16.50 for a box of ten, each card was hand made and is unique.  They come packaged in cellophane and raffia with a picture of the girls and a note included.  These cards could be kept and used by you or you could use them as gifts.

If each girl is able to sell 10 boxes of cards they've earned their tuition for a year of high school.

I can support that.

If you feel you can too, please go to the website HERE to read more about the cards and how to purchase them.

Yeah, that  makes me pretty happy.