Molly's Miracle "Fun"draiser!!!

Hello all! I am very excited to be a guest blogger today on my sister Kim’s blog. To give you a quick intro…my name is Beth, and I am Kim’s older sister, although for much of our lives people thought Kim was older than me, as she has ALWAYS been more mature. Not to say that I am immature…just more wild and crazy. I managed to channel all of this craziness into a very cool profession where you need to be pretty crazy, which is event planning. When I found out that my precious niece Molly had a brain tumor and was going to need surgery, I just knew I was going to have to do something to help. After chatting with my mom, aunts and cousins, I just knew that I had to put my God-given talent to plan events to good use! And so, Molly’s Miracle “Fun”draiser was born.

Why am I writing about this and not Kim? Well, I think we all know that it’s a little weird to actually ASK for help. Who likes doing that? Not me. It took a little convincing to even get the event going, so I told Kimmy that I wanted to hijack her blog for a day and do the asking. Because that’s what sisters do.

And so…you ALL need to SAVE THE DATE for Molly’s Miracle “Fun”draiser event on Friday, September 17 from 6 – 9 pm at the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum. More information can be found HERE, but basically, it’s going to be the perfect family night out. Besides all of the fun, regular exhibits at the Museum, they are also featuring the Curious George exhibit through September. Plus, we’ll have all kinds of additional fun, like face painting, snacks, a penny carnival, a silent auction, and so much more. Even if you don’t have kids to bring…there will be lots of fun to be had, or you can contact me to volunteer. We really do need so much help to make this happen.

The event cost is $5 per person, with a maximum of $20 per family. Seriously…this is an incredible deal. It usually costs $6.50 per person just to get in to the Children’s Museum, including adults! Not to mention they aren’t normally open at night, so this is a great opportunity for parents who work to take their kids out and PLAY! Please spread the word to all of your friends with kids…even if they don’t know Molly, they can come and play and have fun, all for a GREAT cause.

Can’t make it to the event but still want to help? GOOD NEWS! We have a credit card donation button up and running right here on this blog. Look to the left, at the top…see it? This will connect you to a PayPal account that will put the money right into a fund just for Molly’s medical expenses. Nice and safe and secure. Pass it on.

We also have some really awesome fliers that were designed for us by a professional who just wanted to help, and they really look GREAT. If you would like to distribute fliers and/or post them in your place of business or church, please contact me at btimmer_99@yahoo.com so I can send you a PDF of the flier. I am also looking for silent auction donations, a DJ to help at the event, volunteers for the carnival games and face painting, and a few other things. So let me know if you’re interested.

Thank you all so much for all of the love and support you have shown Kim, Randal, Molly and Nora, and really…to all of us. It’s a crazy world out there, and you just never know what is going to happen next. But we DO know that we have all of you out there to lean on when we need it. It’s been amazing. See you all at the event!

Menu Monday!

This not as crazy hot weather has me getting really excited for fall recipes, but since it is still summer weather... here are the meals we are planning this week.

Monday- Out to dinner for Grandpa's birthday!
Tuesday- Taco Sloppy Joes
Wednesday- Sandwiches
Thursday- Layered Bruschetta Salad
Friday- Pizza on the Grill

For more great menu planning ideas visit orgjunkie.com

Garage Sale For Mollers!!!

We have been working hard this week, having a GIGANTIC garage sale at my parents house to raise money to help with Molly's medical bills. I am totally in AWE of all the amazing people out there. I still can hardly believe how well the garage sale went!

First, so many of my family and friends donated so much to sell at the sale, and big ticket items! Second, my sister, mom, dad, brother, grandparents, aunts, cousins and friends helped set up and run the garage sale! Even on a 90+ degree day! (my 8 month pregnant friend even worked with me in the heat today!) They are THE BEST! And third, SO many people were so generous and donated more than they spent. We even had someone donate a huge bin of stuff to put at the sale. People are so nice and I truly hope I will be able to pay it forward. I don't even know how to begin to thank everyone, but I truly appreciate everything. :)

Home From Camping!

We just got home from a long weekend of camping!

We did a lot of relaxing, playing and enjoying (and not sleeping...)

We came home with a lot of dirt, laundry, and a new tooth for Nora!

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to catch up on everything!

On a totally unrelated note,
I came home and found out I won a Silhouette!!!!
I entered a giveaway at The Idea Room, and I am SO excited, and can't believe I actually won! I was jumping up and down, and can't stop dreaming of all the crafting possibilities!

Pudding Pops!

We were inspired to make some Rainbow Pudding Pops that we saw at Random Thoughts of a Super Mom. Yumm-O, they are such a fun summer snack. Ours didn't turn out very rainbow however... Molly love to "bake" and she insisted on choosing, three colors, all different shades of, you guessed it, PINK!

Molly LOVED them, I even had one. :) It tasted like frozen pudding, I didn't know what I was expecting it to taste like, but I was surprised. :) ENJOY!

Office Chair Makeover!

So I had this super cute fabric, and knew I had to make something awesome out of it, so I decided to makeover my sewing chair.

The chair used to me my husbands company work chair from like 10 years ago at his old job. He got to take it home when they bought new ones, so it was this "gorgeous" green pattern.


I've never upholstered anything, so I really didn't know what I was doing. I just pulled off the top and bottom section of the chair, spray adhesived my cloth to it, and then got out the staple gun and went to work stapling the cloth onto the back. Then I just reattached the two sections to the chair!

I totally love it! I think it was a much needed improvement! What do you think?

Thoughts and A Bit of Nora Cuteness!

I don't normally write posts like this, but since I've been missing in blog world for a week or so, I thought I should let you know what I've been thinking, who knows, it might me therapeutic. Basically I've been having a really hard time emotionally lately, and after last weeks MRI I think everything is just catching up to me and hitting me all at once. It was a crazy 3 months and we just went day by day and got through them, but now that life is getting back to normal, I have time to let it all sick in.

I try not to complain about things (except to my sister and best friend, they have to love me and not judge, lol). I think that everyone is having some sort of struggle or issue of there own, and I don't want to complain about mine, I believe we just need to make the most of what we've been given, and be happy. With that being said, it is way easier to believe that than actually live it. I am worried all the time about, as bad as this sounds, my kids dying. After Molly's brain tumor, and how bad she got, the reality that there was a chance she wouldn't make it really hit hard. And now that she is doing better and we are home, anytime her or Nora do something adorable or sleep or play or... it hits again how much I can't live without them, and then I worry some more. It is a vicious cycle.

Anyways, last week, I just sort of hibernated in the house with my girls. We didn't go very many places, and didn't clean, just played and laughed and enjoyed. Then on Friday, my friend Stacy took me and the girls to the zoo, and at night my sister took me to a girls night at my best friend from middle schools house. It was very fun, and just what I needed to get back into the swing of things.

I know I shouldn't worry, but I am having a hard time with it this week. I also feel guilty that I'm not always the strong mom I should be in this situation. Sometimes I am very strong and have it under control, and sometimes I'm a mess. Either way, I have an amazing support system, a wonderful husband, great family and friends, and the most amazing daughters in the world! And I feel very lucky for how well things worked out for us, and how great Molly is doing!

Nora laughing cheered me up a lot this week. :)