Birthday wish

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Hello Lovely Readers,

My birthday is not for another couple of months. But I already know what I want. Every Christmas my church does what we call Advent Conspiracy where we readjust our out look on Christmas from buying lots of gifts to keeping Christmas simple and sacred. My church give a special offering every year to organizations like Living Water International and local organizations.

Advent Conspiracy Video

While we give money every Christmas, this year we have wanted to raise more awareness of the water crisis around the world, we also want to build a team up to go on a missions trip to help dig a well, teach the people about clean hygiene and spread the story of the true living water, Jesus (John 7:38). 

Personally, I was really touched when I saw that 1.8 million kids die every year because they lack clean water. If you hang out with me long enough you will know I have a heart for kids. So this statistic really pulled at my heart strings. During advent I gave up buying drinks in order to save up money to give to living water. Also for Christmas I bought my parents gift cards to living water, this allowed them to chose what country they wanted to give money too. But I immediately had it on my heart to go to a country and dig a well. (Something I have never done). I am still praying to God that if this is something He wants me to do that he will keep the doors open. But I am hoping to go to Honduras in August with Living Water International and invest in a community down there. I would love any support and prayer on this. 

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For my birthday I want people to give to Living Water International click here for the Donation page and if you want to learn more about Living Water click here. If you want to support me and my trip to Honduras please contact me, but as I am not 100% certain I will go I would like it more if you guys would directly give money to Living Water International.  

Videos from Living Water...

The Birth of Living Water

A trip from Honduras 

The Story of the Thirsty

Thank you very much. 

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Bits of Splendor

I had a wonderful relaxing weekend, which is a nice way to start off Spring Break but my Bits of Splendor come from moments with some kids. I work in the church nursery so having little tender moments with kids is not unusual but this week these two moments caught me off guard as I was not in the nursery for either one of them.

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The first one happened on Saturday. I was at a leadership meeting for my church and after catching up with some people I ran to the bathroom, when I cam out I realized I was one of the last ones there. I came down the stairs to leave and little boy "M", who is six years old, and I have taught in Sunday school and baby sat for was at the bottom of the stairs. He had his jacket on with the hood hanging over his head like a cape. I said "goodbye M." He looked up at me and said "goodbye Miss Blaire" and when I got to the bottom of the stairs he said "you are always willing to help, thank you," and gave my leg a little hug. I said "of course I love to help" and I think I patted his head. It was a very sweet moment. "M" and I have an up and down history, as his Sunday school teacher some times I have stop him from running and being a typical six year old boy and I am sure he doesn't like it at all. But when I am his baby sitter he gets very cuddly and likes to sit on my lap. So I was very touched that he hugged me and recognized my willingness to help. 

There is this little girl "E" who every time I see her for a the first few minutes looks at me as if I am a stranger but then after a bit she is very chatty. I have grown accustom to this so on Sunday when I said hello to her I was happily surprised she waived at me. Then later after church I ran into her and her dad and she just started talking away about her purple dress and how she got to wear a pink one Saturday and she really wanted me to see it. Her dad wanted to get her brother from the nursery but "E" didn't want to go so her dad asked if she would like to stay with me, she said yes. Then to talk to her better I knelt down on my knees so I could be eye to eye with her. But then she too knelt down. It was very cute. 

Sorry I do not have any pictures of "M" and "E" they are really cute kids.

Exploring the World of Makeup

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On Saturday I delved deep into the world of make-up by exploring the magical store of Sephora. Not being a make up girl myself I usually find this store scary but my friend Kendra at Random Acts Babble held my hand as I explored the world of makeup.

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This exploration started with my Journey into Makeup post. But then I read the March issue of  Elle Magazine. In the article The Cover-Up by Claire Gutierrez (sorry couldn't find link to article). She wrote that her face had always been the same and she didn't know how to change it; she had never really learned... me too. Minus other people have doing my makeup I had never changed my face, maybe more or less mascara. For the most part I really connected with this author. But the piece that got to me was when she quoted a psychology study at Harvard University, where they studied people's immediate reactions to women barefaced and varying levels of makeup were more likely to perceived as amiable, trustworthy, and competent. "Even women who opted for glamorous looks were perceived as more competent than those who, like me, favor a natural look."

my younger sister and I

close up

As I have already admitted I am not a big makeup person. Since I was a teenager people have always thought I was younger than I was. People always thought my younger sister, who discovered the world of makeup before me, was the older one. And no matter how many times my mom says I will like looking young when I am 40, it didn't help when I was 16 and it doesn't really help now. I don't want to look older than I am but I do want to want to look my age. I also want to look competent and trustworthy. So if this means makeup than I am willing to explore this world.

I don't know if I begged, or casually brought up my desperation for make up to my friend Kendra but we made a date for yesterday to go shopping. I got a little make over which was lots of fun. I asked for a natural look that and I could easily repeat at home. I also knew that brown eye shadows  brought out blue eyes but I love pink or I wanted a good combo. The woman who did my make over found a great palate for my eyes (Lorac unzipped).

Some of the make up

Half way through the make over...
my lovely makeup artist in the background

Close up of my eyes...sorry for the weird expression

After she had finished my eyes she worked on my lips (Laura Mercier) then she took me around the store and showed me a nice foundation that was a little darker than my skin to give me a little glow. Sephora made a pretty penny off of me but it was fun to invest in myself a little bit. 

my eyelids somewhat shut.
at the Gap

my eyes and my lips

Now it is my turn to play around with all of it as I explore this world of makeup and of growing up. 

Be Calm

I know a few of my friends are going through a mid-term crunch as we anxiously await Spring Break. So this song "Be Calm" by Fun is for you guys. Soon it will be over.