Hello, my name is Mel

Hi Everyone, I am Mel and you can find me over at The Larson Lingo!
(My real name is Melissa, but my friends call me Mel)
I am wife to Kevin & mommy to 2 little girls, Kate & Claire.
They are my everything!
I am a middle school math teacher & etsy shop owner.
I am so thankful for my life. I am truly blessed.

I can't tell you how excited I am to be a part of Project 320.

When Julie first mentioned this idea to me, it gave me the chills & brought tears to my eyes.
God was working in my heart. I knew I had to be a part of it.

Build a well? Raise $5,000?
Can we do that?
No we can't, but GOD can.
And He will.

We have a big God who will do big things if we allow Him to use us for His glory!

Being a part of this project has caused me to do a lot of reflecting on my life.
I have a very, very blessed life.
A wonderful husband and 2 healthy & amazing girls.

The past few months I have felt like life is busy, chaotic & overbooked.

I complain that I don't have enough time in the day to get stuff done that *I* want to do.
You know, things I had time to do before I had kids....sleep in, go to Target by myself, read a book, travel, go out to eat.

How selfish do I sound? Yikes.

Did you know that each day 4500 moms just like me are worrying whether their children will live or die because of contaminated water. They have to walk miles and miles to get water for their children.

And, here I am complaining about wanting to sleep in or go shopping by myself when other mothers are burying their children because of the lack of clean water.
Wow. I take my life for granted.

If that doesn't put things into perspective, I don't know what does.

Let's celebrate this Christmas the way it was intended to be celebrated....
By Giving to others, giving the gift of water, giving life.

Sure, there are many things I WANT for Christmas.
But there is nothing I NEED.
I have everything I have ever needed.
A loving husband, healthy children, a wonderful family, a home, a job, food and water.
God has been SO good to me.
I must give back.
Give more. Do More. Be More.
To the Glory of God.

We are just 6 ordinary women who want to make a difference in the world.
But we need YOUR help!
Will you join us?

I'm Heather G.

Hey!  I'm Heather G.  You can usually find me over at Angel Face Designs.    I have a sweet little girl, Leila - almost three, another little girl on the way - Gianna, due March 1 and the most amazing husband in the world.  I am blessed in every sense of the word.

I am so lucky to have met five truly amazing women through the crazy and wonderful blogosphere, and am excited beyond belief to get to hang out with all of them in person in just a few weeks!  My husband likes to make fun of the fact that I'm driving seven hours, and spending an entire weekend with my "blog friends" but what he doesn't seem to understand is what an amazing impact they have all had on my life and how they've touched my heart.

Right before Thanksgiving I was asked for a Christmas list by some family members and wrote down a handful of things that I've been wanting (definitely not needing) and handed it over.  Nowhere on my list was water.  We have it.  It's delivered every other Thursday by the nice Alhambra man.  It's running through our pipes for dishes and laundry and long, hot showers.  It's something we don't even think about and take for granted.  I am so grateful that my biggest worries lately have been which store to get to first on Black Friday, or which Christmas tree farm to stop at.  I don't even think about the fact that everyday I have clean, fresh water to give to my family.

So many mothers don't have that luxury.  4500 children die each and every day from contaminated water.  4500?  To me it's unimaginable, but unfortunately it's a fact.  I was thrilled when Julie threw around the idea of doing something big to somehow help.  To build a well?   Sure, it's ambitious but it can and will be done.

Please join us this Christmas season!  Do what you can to help mothers who have to think about the unthinkable.

Let's celebrate Christmas,

support handmade,

and give LIFE.

Who is Marta?

Hello all!

Thank you for stopping by the Project 320 Blog!

My name is Marta, and I am the only Midwestern girl, in our group of six that will finally be meeting, face to face, in California in just a few weeks. I am truly puzzled as to how I was fortunate enough to cross paths with these five amazing, inspirational and caring women.

I did not start my blog, Haus of Girls (where I am having a blast documenting the CRAZY Life of a Mom to Three Girls) until this past March and it amazes me the friends I have made since then. And thanks to five of them, I am able to be a part of something so wonderful and meaningful.

Since Julie contacted me to be a part of her AMAZING idea, I have been thinking a lot. Now, I don't know about you, but I can honestly say that I may be found having the occasional pity party for myself.

It takes such hard work and dedication to raise three little girls, five and under.

I may or may not have been know to occasionally complain about the dishes piling up, laundry to do, floors to sweep, diapers to change, food to cook, carpets to vacuum, dust to, well, dust, bills to pay, dogs to feed.... you get the point.

And on top of taking care of my three girls,
I watch four other children in my home during the day.

Two under the age of one.
Two that are almost 18 months.
A two year old.
And a three year old.

So yes, I may have my days of pity parties.
It is extremely hard work.
100 times more difficult than when I worked outside the home!

But after reading the fact that today 4500 moms just like me are worrying whether their children will live or die because of contaminated water, it has put so many things in perspective.

I have everything I need in my life.
I do not NEED anything.
That is the only thing I've ever known.
I have never NEEDED anything in my life, ever.

I may not have the fanciest cars, designer clothes or handbags.
I may not travel the world. (My upcoming trip to Cali is the first time on a plane in YEARS!)
But I could care less about all that stuff.

What I DO have is WATER.
Water to cook and clean with, give my girls baths in my huge giant Jacuzzi tub, shower for an hour if I want to and, wash my clothes, water my grass and, most importantly, I have WATER to give to my girls whenever they are thirsty.

As a mom, to imagine what my life would be like,
if I could NOT do this for my daughters is heartbreaking.
Unthinkable.

So this Christmas, thanks to Julie and four other amazing women, I am doing exactly what I would pray for another mom to do for me if I was in the same situation.
I am making a difference!
And I am spreading the word that YOU can also make a difference and save lives.
Something I was very uninformed about until I met these five women.

So please join us in any way that you can!

And like Heather said it so perfectly,

Let's celebrate Christmas
support handmade,
and give LIFE

Hi, I'm Heather M.

You can find me at Cookie Mondays, attempting to put a positive spin on finding balance in that crazy thing called motherhood.

Being a stay-at-home mom, surviving on one income is stressful!
Throw Christmas in the mix, and some days I'm paralyzed with anxiety.
Make ends meet AND have Christmas AND not go insane?

What? I'm not alone?

This year, I needed some perspective.
Needed to join hearts with five good friends.
To trade consumerism for compassion,
to make a huge impact.

Today I...

Took a shower.
Brushed my teeth.
Filled the coffee pot.
Filled the Christmas tree stand.
Ran the dishwasher.
Ran the washing machine.
Used the toilet.
Washed my hands.
Did some more dishes.
And lots more laundry.
Rinsed salad greens.
Ran baths.
Topped off my iron.
Fed my kids glasses of fresh, clean water.

Water, water, water...

Is it fair that today I whine & worry over trees & toys,
when today 4500 moms just like me are worrying whether their
children will live or die?

Over contaminated water?

When I think about how healthy and safe my family is, I have no worries.
I need nothing.
I am so blessed.

But those other moms need us.
Together, we can relieve some worry.

When the six of us decided to get together for a crazy crafty weekend, I was thrilled!
When Julie started throwing ideas around about a building a well, I jumped for joy!
My favorite part of this season is the giving.

God knew exactly what He would do with the
creative energy of six compulsive crafters.

Won't you join hearts along with us?

Let's celebrate Christmas,

support handmade,

and give LIFE.

Who is Erin?

Hola! 

My name is Erin and I ramble on over at Bringing Up Burns. I too, like Julie, often think about my charmed life.

Sure. I've got a list of wants.

I want...

a new cell phone,

a plane ticket to Chicago,

a Kindle,

some Jo Malone (Orange Blossom, please)

to shake his hand,

the laundry to fold itself,

Miley to come back to Twitter...

But when I really stop to think about it, my list seems pretty silly. There is literally NOTHING that I need. Because I already have it all. This man I've been blessed with. These kidlets I've been gifted. Where ever we are, it's all right here. 

So what do I do with it all? I'm not the kinda girl who can just sit back and enjoy the ride. I need to actively participate. I want to make, create, and BE in this life as best I can. What I have come to know in my heart, is that for me to feel remotely deserving of all I have been gifted, I must work to be the best woman, wife, mother, sister, and friend I can be.

Not recognizing my blessings. Not using my talents for something bigger and better than me...that would be sad. So wasteful!  That is why I did virtual backflips when Julie asked me to join her and Project 320.

Is it really possible that 4500 mothers bury their children due to contaminated water...every day? That one in six people on the planet does not have access to clean water? That just $10 will provide one person in Africa clean water for 10 YEARS?!

YES.

It is really possible.

Is it really possible that 6 crafty, blogger, Twitter friends think they can come together and change the world...just a little bit? That these women need your help to build a collection of 100 handmade, heartfelt treasures?That just $10 will provide you with a chance to win these treasures (and make you feel AWESOME for changing the world too?!)

YES.

It is really possible.

Let's do this people. It's all right here!

What is Project 320?

Greetings,

I'm Julie.

I ramble on over at Joy's Hope and when I am sewing or not sleeping I sit and think.

Sometimes I think about how hard it is to quit Diet Pepsi.

Other times I think about my life.

My beautiful, charmed life.

The life that I often foolishly complain about.

When I step outside myself, my life, my stupid problems, I realize how blessed and selfish I am.

I want to sell my house because I just don't understand why I have so much and so many have so little.

I want to stop wanting.

I don't deserve the gifts that I have been given.

But I am deeply, immensely thankful and because of them realize that I have a huge responsibility to do more.

Give more.

Be more.

So here you will meet some of my friends.

Friends that I would have never met outside of this strange land of blogs.

Friends that share the same heart.

Friends who want to give more.

Be more.

Do more.

That is what we are going to do here.

Work together.

Friends with one thing in common.

Wanting this life to matter.

To change lives.

While we ourselves are changed.

I invite you to be one such friend.

To use your life, your talents, your dreams to do more.

To matter.

320 comes from this verse.

Now glory be to God!

By his mighty power at work within us,

He is able to accomplish infinitely more

than we would ever dare to ask or hope.

Ephesians 3:20

My favorite verse.

The verse that I have seen God work mightily through in my life.

The verse that this blog is built upon.

Because together we will do infinitely more than we have ever dared to ask or hope.

I am daring.

I am asking.

I am hoping.

Let's go.