millie g. is five now

Millie g. is five. She told me she likes being five. Order of the day...

Wake up and eat vanilla donuts while wearing a crown.

Make cupcakes with pink icing and pineapple flowers.

Head to the beach, order a large snow cone, swim for hours.

Family birthday dinner!

Happy Birthday Millie g.! You are so precious and I love you more than I could ever explain with words. You are smart and clever and you have great hair. Shine on!

keep it together

Hello! This happened on Saturday...

Millie g.'s very first dance recital. I cried... but not like "I'm sad because my little girl is so big" crying. It was more like, "I'm so completely happy to be a mom, this is my dream come true" kind of crying.  And maybe a little of, "my child is the prettiest person in this room" kind of thing. Either way, I was a mess.

It was a sweet and precious day. Looking forward to many many more dance recitals!

day two at the shack

Today was a rainy Saturday on St. Simons Island. We did sell more snow cones than we expected on a stormy day. And we had lots of hilarious moments.

Hope your weekend is well and you are taking time to cook soup or write notes with a Gelly Roll pen.

grand opening

Eleven o' clock p.m  last night seemed like a nice time for Charlie and I to express all our anxious thoughts about opening a snow cone business. We've been talking about this for almost six months and we've been dreaming of opening a business for years. Our grand opening was scheduled for 10am. At 9:52 a few people were outside the window so we opened 8 minutes early... yes, we put the first dollar on the wall. At 3pm Charlie informed me that I need to make more pineapple, lemonade, and georgia peach syrup. We used up almost 2 gallons of each!

Selling snow cones is fun. Thanks again for all the kind words and "likes" on the Kickstarter page. More syrup making for me! Happy weekend.

our house smells like a pineapple

So we got permission to move our grand opening up one week. That means we will be opening THIS FRIDAY (like 41 hours from now). I have been slaving away (well, not really slaving... just dancing around to music with the kids and stirring every now and then) making syrups. Charlie was in the concession stand this morning getting things ready and someone bought two snow cones! They took one bite and informed Charlie that "we may be on to something here."

Thanks to everyone for "liking" our kickstarter page. Please give a dollar, not just a hollar! Our friends are wonderful and we love all the kind words we've received through email and facebook. Happy lime snow cones!

kickstarter

Good morning friends! We have exciting news!!! The Snow Shack is now on Kickstarter! Please click here to visit our page. You can donate as little as one dollar if you want. I'll be answering many of your Snow Shack questions over the next few months... starting now. One thing we are frequently asked is WHY we are going into the snow cone business at this point in our lives. Here's the simplest version of the answer...

My husband, Charlie, is a Minister. This line of work has moved us many places over the past few years (we've lived in five states during our eight years of marriage). With each move, we have become more and more passionate about using our God-given gifts to spread the love in smaller, "more needy" communities. This past January, Charlie gave up a comfortable position at his parent's church and we joined a small church in Downtown Brunswick, Georgia. We live in the same town, but we are loving on a completely different group of people. Since our new church is small, they are unable to pay Charlie any dollars. He is volunteering his time teaching and starting a college ministry with our local community college. We have never... i repeat, NEVER... been happier or more content. HOWEVER, we need some income... enter, Snow Shack. We are praying that our Snow Cone business will support us financially over the next few years so we can give lots of happiness back to this town.

So please donate a dollar or two if you can! And tell all of your friends! Your donation will do more than help us make yummy Snow Cones, it could possibly change the world.

and now a poem

My mother, my mother, she is like no other.
She raised me and praised me, until I almost smother(ed).

I call my mom "Mama" my kids call her "Mimmee."
If you say "MeeMee" she says, "NO. It rhymes with Jimmy."

My mother is funny and she has nice dance moves.
She love wearing jackets and she used to have lots of red shoes.

She brought me to church and taught me to sing.
I used to ask her to braid my hair just so I could hold her big ring.

Her heart is more gorgeous than anything else on Earth.
She cries every time she watches a childbirth.

My mother is wonderful and amazing and swell.
Maybe next time I'll go earlier to put her card in the mail.

I wish I could give her a Mother's Day hug.
But she's visiting soon. Better vacuum the rug!

I love you Mama! Happy Mother's Day!!!

spoon straws and mop buckets

As of 10:00 this morning, we are the proud owners of six thousand spoon straws in assorted neon colors. Sometimes we laugh thinking about what the UPS driver must think about us. He's been to our house every day for the past five days delivering heavy boxes of cups, straws, machines... you know, usual things that people order in large quantities. We are so excited about this business adventure!