Poland {Part Two}

In 1996, I went on a mission trip with my church to Poland.

You can read Poland {Part One} here to learn more about our work there.

We road trains across the countryside of Poland (and Germany, if my memory serves me correctly). 

 I'd never been on a train that had sleeper cars and passenger cars.

Here we are in the sleeper car.

I'm on the left.  My friend, Brandi, is in the middle and our pastor's daughter, Lori, is on the right.

I believe this photo of the horse pulling the cart was taken near the children's camp.  I think we were near Swietajno, Poland.  It's in northern Poland.

We worked at a children's camp. 

You can see that the buildings weren't very modern.

Here's Mark (our former pastor) at the camp and a couple of men working on a building in the background.

Let me explain...

This is a hot water heater.

This hot water heater does not heat water by using electricity or natural gas.

It heats water by using coal. 

Anyone wanting to take a shower, which was to the right of this, had to shovel coal into the bottom.  This was my first and last experience shoveling coal.  I still have such a vivid memory of this.  It seemed so primitive compared to all of the modern conveniences we are accustomed to in the United States.  At that time, I had really long hair and it took a lot of water to wash it.  The coal hot water heater didn't make a great amount of hot water so by the end of the shower the water was extremely cold!  That experience has taught me to never take for granted simple things like a hot shower.  To this day, there are times I stand in my nice warm shower and think about washing my hair in the cold water.  I'm thankful for simple things like hot water that don't require me shoveling coal.

Next week I'll share Part Three and tell you about Mark and Susie's ministry.

Part Four will consist of what we did after we left Poland and before we came home to the U.S., and I'll show you my sentimental souvenirs from Poland. 

I'll be linking up again to Cha Cha at Sit Relax and Read.

Visit her and others who share what they are feeling sentimental about.

Happiness Is...

Happiness is a trip to IKEA.

Yesterday we finally made a trip to IKEA.  I've been planning a trip for a while, and it just never seems like we find time to go.  We needed to buy the boys some summer shoes so we headed to the mall that's closest to IKEA.  Remember, I live in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, but we are fairly close to civilization.  The nearest IKEA is in Frisco, Texas.  It's about 45 minutes away.  Well, closer to an hour with traffic. 

I had two things in mind since I knew we were going to IKEA.

#1.  Eat lunch at the restaurant/cafeteria.  Yes, that's right.  I wanted to eat there.  I love their Swedish meatballs with lingonberry jam.  I usually buy a bag of frozen ones to take home, but I couldn't today because we weren't going straight home.  We also treated ourselves to a delicious dessert.

#2.  Purchase the Leksvik coat rack with hooks.  It's going in our laundry room, which is what we pass through when we enter and leave the house from the garage.  I plan to hang the boys' coats on it, but now that it's getting to be warmer weather, there's not really a need for coats.  Oh, well.  It'll be useful for other items, too.

I accomplished both goals!  #1. Check!  #2. Check!

We were pleasantly surprised when we learned that if you purchased over $100 they would deduct the cost of your meal from your overall purchase. 

Did you know it's really easy to spend $100 in IKEA? 

So easy!

I purchased some linen curtains and two pillows for our living room. 

A new basket for magazines or children's books.  I can't decide which one I will use it for. 

A silicon heart ice tray because it was in the bin by the checkout line and I'm a sucker like that. 

And last, but not least, I indulged in a dark chocolate bar.

All in all, I felt like it was reasonable, and the deduction of the cost of our meal made me even happier about my purchases.

We didn't end up finding any shoes for the boys at the mall, but, for now, I have my fix of the Swedish home goods megastore. 

The Lucky Mommy with Spring Outfits for the Little Boys....and Mommies too!!

Hey! I'm Emily from And, I'm The Lucky Mommy and I'm thrilled to be filling in here today for Michele at Imperfectly Wonderful World.  I just LOVE her blog and she's the sweetest for sure!
I write a blog about my sometimes chaotic but always fancy little life which includes fashion, food, an awesome Hubby and a Sweet Baby Boy.
My post today is going to give y'all a little shopping inspiration as we roll on into Spring.  I am sharing some fabulous outfits for the little boys….and of course some cutesies for the mommies too!
I simply LOVE shopping for my Sweet Baby Boy,  even more than I love shopping for myself {and that's major!}  Now that Sweet Baby is a BIG BOY {7 months old} he has his own style!  He's not into the frilly and frou frou….AT ALL.  He's a rambunctious little baby boy… …you know…always gettin' into somethin'!

My favorite productive procrastination is creating adorable outfits for my my Little Guy….

So, today I am here sharing some adorable outfits with you:

I just LOVE Toms for the little bitties!  And, I just couldn't leave out this
 A-A-DORABLE fire truck….every baby boy needs his own fire truck.

What about these Chuck Taylors!  And, don't even get me started on Ugly Dolls….they are so presh :)

This is one of my FAVORITE little vacation outfits!

Next up……..

Sweet Baby Boy can't wait to start soccer {3 years old}! So, I thought I would throw this in there for the itty bitty soccer stars and soccer stars to be!

 Must have!!  {including the puppy}

This outfit is from one of my favorite places online for the little boys......UpAndRiding
How could you NOT freak out over this little baby boy Vans?!?!


Okay, Okay….I had to include some stuff for the mommies:

You know Old Navy has some extremely cute and budget friendly looks for Spring!

And a little bit more fancy…. I am sooooo loving coral for Spring!

I'm so glad to be here today!  Y'all have a great end of the week!

What I Wore Wednesday Wk 27

What I Wore Wednesday Wk 27

Most of the blog friends I've made so far have been through the WIWW linkup at the Pleated Poppy.

Two of my favorite WIWW friends are Kathleen and Sara.
If you haven't ever checked out their blogs, you should today.
They inspire me with their creativity and they are both super nice.

Here's what I have for you this week :)

Wednesday: School
Black pants and black skinny belt: Gap
Black and White cardi: J Crew outlet
Green top: Banana Republic outlet
Black cami and black flats: Ann Taylor Loft

Bracelet: Premire Designs
Diamond stud earrings: You can't see them, but they are from my brother when I graduated from college.

Wednesday evening: church/Bible study

Jeans, navy top: Gap

Gray cardi and white layer tank: Old Navy

Shoes: Puma from TJ Maxx

Thursday: School

Denim Trousers: Gap outlet

Ruffle top: Old Navy

Beige drapey cardi: Forever 21

Bracelets: H&M on vacation to Chicago this summer

(You can read about our trip here and here.)

Earrings: Charlotte Russe

Gold wave ring: Sundance

Earrings

Bracelets

Friday: School--No photo

Friday: after school, running errands

Jeans: Gap

Stripe top: J Crew outlet

same gray cardi and shoes as Wednesday evening

Saturday: No photo

Sunday: church

Black capris: Old Navy (really old)

Teal top: Banana Republic

Black cardi: Gap outlet

Black bead necklace: Gap outlet

Shoes: from my mother-in-law because they hurt her feet, from Target

Black bead necklace

I really like these shoes, especially since they were free :)

Monday & Tuesday: No photo

I took a little break since it was the start of Spring Break.

We plan to be out and about the rest of the week so I'll have more photos next week.

I'll be linking up to the Pleated Poppy and Jewelscapes.

Happy Wednesday!



In A Month...

We'll be seeing The Avett Brothers in Dallas at the Palladium Ballroom.

Image from the Avett Bros facebook page

I'm super excited! 

It's been years since I've been to a concert.  I love a good show and good music. 

 I know the Avett Brothers make good music and I hear they are stellar live.

I'll be back in a month to tell you how awesome it was!

Monday of Spring Break

Today was a good day.

I'm thankful for good days that are full of simple things.

#1

We took my grandpa who lives in assisted living to visit my grandma who lives in the nursing home.  It was a good visit and we enjoyed spending time together.

#2

We ate at my favorite Tex-Mex restaurant.  It's a local place called TaMolly's.

#3

I bought some zinnia and marigold seeds at Wal-Mart.  I'm going to plant them and see what I come up with.  Hopefully I'll have some pretty flowers to show you in about a month or two.

#4

I picked weeds in the yard.

The weeds are kind of pretty.

The yellow flowers are dandelions and the purple are grape hyacinths.

#5
Will played in the yard while Ben took a nap.

#6

Will got a splinter in his hand, and I almost passed out while removing it.
By the way, it was the biggest splinter I've ever seen and Will was so brave while I was removing it.  He was much braver than Mark or I would have been.
The evidence.

#7
I'm linking up to lowercase letters. 
To share my miscellaneous thoughts this Monday.

Poland {Part One}

When I was 18, I went on a mission trip to Poland with my church.  It was 1996 and I had just graduated from high school.  Looking back I'm not sure how everything fell into place for me to be able to go to on that mission trip, but I'm forever grateful for the amazing life experience at such a young age.  I can't help but believe that experience has helped me be a better person today.

Our church had a special connection to Poland because our former pastor and his wife, Mark and Susie, were serving there as missionaries.  I've recently emailed back and forth with her about the details of their mission work.  It's such a neat story about such a special couple.  I'm planning to share more of their story in the next couple of posts about Poland.

Today, I wanted to share some photos of our mission trip.

Warsaw

We held a Vacation Bible School at a local orphanage.

I can still play Duck Duck Goose and sing "Jesus Loves Me" in Polish.

Even though I didn't speak Polish, I still could play chase.

We didn't have a felt board so we improvised and our pastor, James, served as the bulletin board.

The orphanage.

I'd never been to an orphanage before and it was truly a humbling experience.  The children were welcoming and loving, but leaving them was so sad.

The men worked on a building project at Mark and Susie's home.

The group before church services on Sunday.

There's so much I want to share, but I'm having a hard time knowing where to begin.  I also have several things from Poland that I want to photograph and share with you.  The memories of our work there are the most precious keepsakes, but I have some sentimental souvenirs that I brought home.  The beautiful wooden nesting dolls are my favorite.  I also have a set of beautiful crystal glasses, wooden boxes, pottery and hand painted wooden eggs.

I'll be sharing my sentimental story with Cha Cha at Sit Relax and Read.