Sunny Saturday: Antique Shopping

Taylor has class Saturday mornings now so I have to find things to keep myself busy.  This weekend my Mom and I headed to Warrenton, Texas to a huge Antique market that they hold twice a year.  I packed the camera to take a few picture but when I turned it on the memory card was full and the battery was dead... :/  Here are a few that I snapped with my phone.  

I went looking for one thing and I found it!  But I will share it some other time... 

Hope you had a Sunny Saturday too!  

Pretty Chita

We have been away for a few weeks and it is with sadness that we write this post. As some of you may know, each year around this time we start gearing up to raise awareness and funds for our Tia Chita and the ALS Association through an annual benefit and a 5K walk. Well, this year we did the same but the tone was very different.

Early Saturday morning, September 3rd, our Tia Chita passed away after battling ALS for 6 and 1/2 years. She was at home with her husband and her mom, but the house was soon filled with family and friends for hours, days, and even weeks. She was a deeply loved women who inspired so many people with her life and her love for Christ and others. And per her last wishes we tried to show her just how much we loved her by giving her a "funeral to die for".

I guess to understand her request you must know a little about our Tia Chita. She loved having fun, being around family and friends, and dancing. She loved dressing up and going to parties. Even after her diagnosis she would love it when we would gather at her house for meals and celebrating birthdays. On her last night she had her family and her ACTS brothers and sisters gathered with her at the house singing and dancing and worshiping together. We weren't there but from what we heard she had a blast, tapping her foot and having our cousin raising her arm higher and higher into the air. What a great last night she was blessed with! After that night, she had told Juan, like she had said a few times before, that she was ready to go home (when the time came).  It's never easy to lose the ones you love, but knowing this gave us a little more peace.

After she passed she told our family, via a letter left to us, that she wanted us to make sure she was the talk of the town for a few days! Well, we didn't really have to try hard to make that happen. Like I said, she was an inspiration to a lot of people. We had family come in from a lot of different places and friends from all over town. Along with the services that we were planning, our 5th annual benefit for Chita was set to happen the day after the funeral. And the day after she passed the Jerry Louis Telethon was airing on TV and we found out they were going to air an interview that they did with her the year before due to it's success last year. So like I said we didn't have to do much to get people talking!

That week was hard but we made it through as a family and we all cried till we buried her - just as she had asked in her letter. But there was still a lot of work to do in order to pull the benefit together, which was changed a bit in order to be more of a celebration of her life.  People quickly gathered tons of smiling, family pictures and a beautiful slideshow was put together with some of Chita's favorite songs to honor her that night.

As our part of the benefit we had said that we would print the shirts for the family. At the time we were only talking about 75 shirts or so, but with all the extra family that was now coming in we ended up printing close to 200 shirts! A blessing in disguise because there would have been no way we could have ordered those extra shirts from a printer to have ready over the next few days.

Everyone did their part and we pulled off a very successful event! We met our goal plus a little extra, all in memory of Chita.

Now it has been two weeks and life is starting to get back to some kind of normal for us. She will always be missed in our hearts but we know we will see her again, and that she is looking down on us when she's not too busy dancing. ;)

We are still raising money to find a cure for ALS because there are still people that need our help and that is why Chita wanted to start having the benefit in the first place.  The money that we have raised for research has proven to be really helpful as they have recently found a common cause of the three types of ALS and now know what to look for when testing medication.

If you would like to be a part of finding a cure, please visit Taylor's Walk to Defeat ALS page or any "Chita Angels" member page. All funds go to the the South Texas Chapter of the ALS Association.   

Juan, Frankie, Chita, and Taylor at the CHF Banquet 2010

Thanks you all for the support that you have given us through texts, emails, and cards. It has meant a lot to us.

We love you Chita, Always!

2 Years!

Two years ago today we posted this...

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Eating Beneath Our Means

A new blog and a new project! We thought that a new blog would be a great place for us to share some of the exciting things going on in our newlywed life together! To kick it off, we are sharing our experience with you as we live for a week, eating out of a box. No, it's not pizza, or a happy meal, but a Children's Hunger Fund Food Pak.

These small boxes cost about $25 to fill and provide nutrition and hope for families in need. They are designed to supply meals for a family of four for about a week. We did make a few adjustments to ours (we aren't quite a family of four...although sometimes we eat like we could be) but none the less, we are challenging ourselves to eat beneath our means. Not only will this give us a chance to experience a small taste of what these families go through, but it will also free up some of our budget so that we can help provide some of these Food Paks through CHF.

It's going to be different, that's for sure. And it may be bland. But hopefully it will help us put in to perspective the amount of money we should be spending on food and simplify our eating habits.

Here are the rules:

1. We only eat food from the Food Pak- breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, fourth meals, etc.
2. No eating out.
3. We only drink water.
4. We pray daily thanking God that He provides for us in abundance and for the families who live on less than what we are currently eating.
5. We don't grumble and complain...even if we are hungry when we go to bed!

Here is the CHF Food Pak grocery list and the items we purchased:

• two canned meat products 12 oz: tuna and chicken
• 1 bag or box of rice 16oz: enriched, long grain, white rice
• 1 bag of pinto beans 160z: Goya's frijoles pintos
• 1 bag or box of pasta 16oz: twirls!
• 2 small cans of tomato paste or sauce: 1 sm can paste, 1 can cream of broccoli soup
• 2 canned green vegetables 14oz: green beans and mixed veggies
• 2 canned fruits: mandarin oranges and peaches
• 1 bag of salted nuts 6oz: raw Spanish peanuts
• 1 small box of crackers: saltines
• 1 box of granola or nutritional bars: crunchy granola bars variety pack
  
  
• Possible additions: peanut butter (check!), soup 12oz can (broccoli cheddar), trail mix, refried beans, cooking oil, dried fruit (apples and cranberries). We also added oatmeal.


• And...we added tortillas...this is Texas, ya'll!

So, stay posted! Frankie is coming up with the recipes and tomorrow we start cookin! :D

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Can someone really live on something like this?

That is a question that we asked two years ago and it started the craziest and most fun two years of our lives!

It took us to the question,

How can we change the way we are living so that we can help others?

and now,

What else can we do with our lives and careers that will have a huge impact for the people that are suffering in this world?

Two years wasn't very long ago, but it was a totally different path we were headed down...we were just settling in to a nice apartment, a great job, a fancy new school...and after two years, we're back in San Antonio where we feel called to love and serve, called to community, and to continue living our lives to love others. No job, different school, bumming off parents as we try to make our savings last...not complaining here, it's just different.

So, what is next?!

Two years of trying to change the lives of the people that we see as suffering has completely changed our own. I am not sure where we would be if we would have continued with our lives without taking the time to think about our first question. This blog and the things we do through it have connected us in ways that we didn't know existed. We both have learned the passion that we have to serve daily and how much we can accomplish when we work together. Our hearts have grown in so many ways and we are so blessed to have all of the opportunities that God has given us as we seek more of Him. We are so grateful for all of the memories and great friends that we have made along the way. Thank you for your continuous support of our projects and our blog! We press on because He is worth it and we hope to inspire you with how God is working in our world and how he wants all of us to be a part of it. :)

Wordless Wednesday: CHF Ugly Christmas Sweater Party/ Volunteer day

Memorial Box Monday ~ Camp Eagle

Linny at A Place Called Simplicity started Memorial Box Mondays.

"In Joshua 4 Almighty God tells the Isrealites to collect stones and set them as a Memorial to remind them of God's power and provision. He then tells theIsrealites to use those stones as a memorial; that every time they see them to tell their children and their children's children the stories over and over again, continually reminding them of God's faithfulness."

To read the full idea and an introduction to Memorial Box Mondays go here and read Linny's "How about Memorial Box Mondays? aka We will remember..." post.

We have been blessed this summer to be able to spend time together volunteering and joining our church in the activities that they have been doing. One of the things we got to join in on was Camp Eagle with the middle school students.

Not familiar with Camp Eagle? The website says "...it is a unique and fast-paced week of summer camp for groups, jam-packed full of outdoor adventure activities." And they are not kidding! The best part was the journey that the students took to recognize and tell their stories and to have the chance to align them with God's plan. With the students, the leaders were also along for the ride. We didn't know what the plan was, we didn't have a schedule, we were out of the loop the whole week and it was sweet!

The theme for the week was STORY and at the beginning of the camp we were all asked to find a rock that represented us and our story so far. We were told to hold on to that rock and to take it everywhere we went. Throughout the week we got to tell our stories, decide who the hero was, ponder why we tell our story, and learn how we can tell a better story. At the end of the week we were asked to consider putting our story (rock) down and giving it to God.

When the time came to lay our rocks down I didn't want to give mine up. Not figuratively, because daily I want to lay my life down for God's plan to prevail, but my rock was really cool and I liked how it told my story. But as we ventured out to pray with our groups one last time before giving up our rocks, we sat down in a circle and right there in front of me was another rock. (When we chose our rocks their were literally thousands of rocks around us. There were rocks all over Camp Eagle. Rocks and dirt. But as we found a spot to sit in the grass there were very few rocks around.) This rock was different, too. It was shaped like an arrow! And in the middle of our circle where it was pointing sat a brightly shining lantern. This little rock reminded me why I was letting go of my story- to point to the Light. To live a life that glorifies the God who made me so that others don't have to walk in darkness. Don't tell Camp Eagle, but I picked up the rock! I knew it was for me. I put it in our Memorial Box the day we got back home to remind us daily to lay down the things of this life and to live lives that point to the Light.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

Matthew 5:16

Check out our adventure at Camp Eagle!

Back to School 2011 with CHF and Chick-fil-A

It's that time of year again! Time to fill backspacks for Children's Hunger Fund! As an added bonus this year, they teamed up with Chick-fil-A to offer you free food when you donate $10 or 10 items! Wowza!

Just take the 10 items or $10 to any of these participating locations and enjoy a free Chick-fil-A sandwhich!

1. FM78 Chick-fil-A
7010 Fm 78
San Antonio, TX 78244

2. Pavilions Chick-fil-A

27 Ne Loop 410

San Antonio, TX 78216

3. Stone Oak Chick-fil-A
1555 North FM 1604
East San Antonio, TX 78232

Yum! :D

Love Shop and Giveaways!

Wooooohooooo!!

A new adventure begins today! Today we are launching the official Adventures of Taylor and Frankie Shop! And LOVEwater shirts are up for sale! Don't know what a LOVEwater shirt is? LOVEwater shirts are something we designed when we were fundraising for clean water last year. The "O" is in the shape of a water drop to represent the monies donated from every shirt purchased.

Why do we continue to make LOVE shirts? (Other than they're totally awesome?!) Because even in the middle of uncertainty, we know that God created us to help others so that's what we will do! Every shirt brings us closer to solving the world water crisis and with the help of Living Water International we know that the people we are saving physically are also hearing the gospel and learning about the chance to be saved spirituality!

A lot of work went into getting this shop put together but we are so excited and hope that with your purchases, it can help bring clean water to many people in need!

How do you find our shop? Three ways...

1. Click on the tab under our header that says "Shop".
2. Type "taylorfrankieshop.blogspot.com" into your browser.
3. Find a TaylorFrankie Shop button and click on it!

Want to win a LOVE shirt?!

There are currently two ways to win a LOVE shirt... The first is through our blog. :) We are giving one away for our Grand Opening! Here is how you enter:

1. You can "like" us on Facebook.

2. You can link the shop in an update to share with your friends on Facebook or Twitter.

3. You can share a shop button on your blog. (working on this one)

You get an entry for each thing that you do! (Just let us know in a comment on this post.)

The second way to win a shirt is through One Blessed Nest. Just visit Tina's blog and check out the greatness going on over there! (In short, you can buy a beautiful, hand-made bracelet to support a family bringing home a beautiful 7 year old boy from China who is dying of a heart defect.) By purchasing a bracelet or checking out this family's blog, you will be entered into her own drawing for a custom LOVEwater shirt and the bracelet below.

Also, we are clearing out our current inventory and you can pick out your pre-made LOVE shirt for just $7!

After it comes in make sure to send us a photo of you in your new digs so we can share it in our LOVE gallery! :)

Thanks for always supporting us in everything we do.

Love cares more for others than for self. 1 Corinthians 13:4 MSG