Birthday Wishes

I have a little 7 year old that moved into my house in the end of April. Her mother was deemed unfit and parental rights were terminated.

This little girl is so small, quiet, and any loud sounds startled her. She didn't even speak the first week and half she was here. 

I had asked her to think of a small birthday list. I was shocked when she asked in her most timid voice, "Are we allowed to ask for an electronic?" All the girls in the house have some kind of phone or tablet. She was the only one who didn't have one.

I explained to her we didn't have that much money to buy a tablet but that I would pray and I asked her to start praying too. For 3 weeks I was trying to figure out how or where I was going to get an "electronic" for her. I looked for my old phones, my kids old Gameboys... but I couldn't find anything (nothing that didn't look like it had been in a war).

I went to the office to ask for a gift card for the little girl's birthday cake. While talking with the volunteer coordinator about the little girl's request and the hard time I was having finding something appropriate. 

The volunteer coordinator went into her office and pulled out a small tablet. 

She told me she had this sitting there since Christmas but never gave it to anyone. I was so happy I had to give this lady a hug. 

I am so grateful for people who donate because this little girl who just wanted to be like the other girls got her birthday wish.

Ministry is in the Mundane

Last month I wrote about the practical ways to prevent child abuse and help at risk youth. Read here.

And someone I met in the human Trafficking class accepted the call and came to my house and hung out with the girls last Friday night.
It was a good night. We made cookies, ate raw cookie dough, danced to music videos (the girls did), watched Pitch Perfect 2, and sang along to all the songs.

Most times the difference you make in someone else's life is in the regular mundane everyday things. 

There wasn't kicking down doors and rescuing girls from abusers or what ever people think it takes to make a difference. Sometimes watching a movie with someone is enough. 

Helping being part of making a positive memory will go a long way.

Letter to absent mom

 April is Child Abuse Awareness Month

9 year old's letter to her absent mother.

One day on our way to church while getting out of the van, I found his on the ground. 

It fell out of the notebook of a nine year girl who lives in a group home. 

When I read this, it broke my heart. This little girl doesn't cry or complain, you actually would think everything is ok with her on the outside, but after reading this I saw into her heart.

I share this because April is Child Abuse Awareness month.

Child Abuse comes in many different forms:

• Emotional
• Physical
• Sexual
• Neglect

There are ways you can help prevent child abuse. Below are some suggestions from 

Prevent Child Abuse America.

1. Be a nurturing parent.
   Children need to know that they are special, loved and capable of following their dreams.
2. Help a friend, neighbor or relative.
   Being a parent isn’t easy. Offer a helping hand take care of the children, so the parent(s) can rest or spend time together. (offer to help with cleaning or errands)
3. Help yourself.
   When the big and little problems of your everyday life pile up to the point you feel overwhelmed and out of control – take time out. Don’t take it out on your kid.
4. If your baby cries…
   It can be frustrating to hear your baby cry. Learn what to do if your baby won’t stop crying. Never shake a baby – shaking a child may result in severe injury or death.
5. Get involved.
   Ask your community leaders, clergy, library and schools to develop services to meet the needs of healthy children and families.
6. Help to develop parenting resources at your local library. 
   Find out whether your local library has parenting resources, and if it does not, offer to help obtain some.
7. Promote programs in school. 
   Teaching children, parents and teachers prevention strategies can help to keep children safe.
8. Monitor your child’s television, video, and internet viewing/usage. 
   Excessively watching violent films, TV programs, and videos can harm young children.
9. Volunteer at a local child abuse prevention program.
   For information about volunteer opportunities, call 1.800.CHILDREN or contact your local Prevent Child Abuse America chapter.
10. Report suspected abuse or neglect.
    If you have reason to believe a child has been or may be harmed, call your local department of children and family services or your local police department. Emergency contacts can be found at the top of the page.
11. Encourage a child : When you have an opportunity, let a child know that they are smart and beautiful no matter what anyone tells them. "It is easier to build up a child, than to repair an adult."
12. Mentoring: Volunteer once a month to share a talent with a child.
13. Become a Guardian Ad litem: is a person the court appoints to investigate what solutions would be in the “best interests of a child.” 
14. Volunteer: At a Boys & Girls Club, Pre school, Children's Program.

Gift Bag Joy

      

I was SO excited to have had the opportunity (with your help) to give the girls at Hope House gift bags for Valentines Day! Each gift bag contained an 8 by 10  encouraging art print, a 5 by 7 Cinderella print, a journal, nail polish, and lip balm, and a copy of my book "Life is a Circus." 
One of the girls said that she felt the art was created specifically for her. She loved it so much. 
                      One of my joys is making gift bags. 

When I worked at Safe House domestic violence shelter, I loved the job of creating the welcome bags for the women and children who were coming in.  So when a client was going to arrive, my job was to create a welcome bag that contained shampoo, conditioner, 
toothpaste, tooth brush, soap, a welcome packet, hairbrush...if I found more donations in our closet, I would add a quilt, water bottle, journal, hand cream, body spray, and a stuffed animal (if the woman had a child/children). Also the second part was to prepare the room with fresh linens and towels. I know it was very traumatic for these women to go to a strange place, with people they don't know - so making the room and bed as comfortable as possible was important, especially to me because I knew first hand the importance of needing a toothbrush and slipping into a clean, fresh bed after a day of traveling, thinking, crying, not knowing what was happening. At nine years old my mother mustered up her courage to make an exit plan and leave her abuser, my dad.

Even though I was young and didn't know what was happening, I knew that I knew, that what my mom did took courage.  

Even this very moment, I can feel the cool, clean sheets I slipped into that first night at the domestic violence shelter. 

What may seem mundane, like washing sheets or giving someone tooth paste can be so helpful and comforting to another person. 

I am sure that the staff at the shelter didn't think their job of washing the sheets or creating a welcome bag was saving lives, but to me, it saved my sanity - I have good, positive memories from my first night at the shelter instead negative ones. 

My mission is to give out gift bags like these to at-risk, exploited women and youth. 

I try to give every girl who leaves our care a gift bag with my book, a journal, encouraging art print, nail polish, and lip balm. I want every one of the youth to take home something that will help them remember what they have learned while they were with us and also items that will bring encouragement. My future plans are to include necessities like toiletries and a new blanket in each gift bag.

Presently, my husband and I are able to do this on a small scale from a percentage from my art sales. My goal is to be able to create these gift bags to give away to at-risk youth, exploited children, and survivors of human trafficking.

A percentage of every sale provides something that may seem insignificant to us but huge to an at risk youth.

Every sale that I make at Margie's Art Studio, a percentage goes to help me get these bags together. It also helps me and my husband do little things for the 6 girls that live with; their favorite snacks on their beds as a surprise, sketch books, art books, pizza night party, etc..

Here is a link to my website if you are interested in donating to help me with this cause.
You can also sign up to receive a FREE monthly printable/digital artwork and updates to what we are up to - Newsletter Sign Up

Monthly Story

One of the services a domestic violence shelter provides is the Domestic Violence Group meeting. This is an outreach service which is very important in the healing process for our survivors.

While doing childcare during the domestic violence group, I had the chance to watch 3 toddlers. They all had very different personalities and working together was not on their agenda. I had to figure out a way to keep order and have fun.  I gathered all the same sized Lego blocks and I started to create a tower. 

I had forgotten the joy that toddlers get when they build something and knock it down.

All three joined me to gather all the same Lego shapes and build the tower and knock it down over and over.

After the group was over and the mothers were coming out to pick up their children, the toddlers didn’t want to leave. The tower building was too much fun for them.

Safe house provided a service that was safe and fun for these mothers’ children, while at the same time providing a place for healing for these survivors.

Monthly Story

The other day while on the Crisis line, I had a caller who was trying to find shelter from her abusive husband and a safe place for her and her children. The night before, her husband had verbally abused her in front of the children and then tried to pull the child from her arms, in the process the child’s head snapped back and hit the car door. The boy was left with a big bruise on his fore head. The father continued to yell at the mother. The mother did end up going to her grandmother’s house for safety.  The victim and I talked about her goals, plans, support if she came into shelter, and I provided her with a lot of emotional support. I wrote down her information and let her know I would be returning her call soon.  

While I was staffing the call, the husband came to the home and began to bang on the door. She called law enforcement and then called the Crisis line again. She stated,

“I had to call you back, I didn’t know what to do. My grandmother and my kids are afraid. He’s banging on the door and windows.” 

I stayed on the line with her and explained to her how important it was for her to wait until the police arrived.

TI cannot emphasize the importance of a 24 hour Crisis line for victims to call and receive support and resources. This situation could have turned out much differently if she didn’t have the support from an advocate and the ability to reach someone at any time on the Crisis line.

June Monthly Story

art by MargiesArtStudio.com

One day when it was my turn to cook dinner, which is part of the Child nutrition program at Safehouse, I was making spaghetti. The kids were very excited about the spaghetti. Almost everyone was served and a little boy asked me, "Ms. Margie, can I please get some more?"
I told him that I had to serve every single child first to make sure all the kids get a plate and he looked so sad. So, I let him know that at the end if I had any leftovers that I would give him a second serving.

 He said ok and sat the counter waiting patiently and

the hopeful look in his eyes almost broke my heart. 

After serving all the children, I asked him if he still wanted another plate of spaghetti and he said, "Yes, and can I get the red stuff too (sauce)?" He handed me the plate and I served him his spaghetti. As I turned around to grab a napkin, 

I hear this giggle of joy that I thought came from a video game or toy.

 I asked the little boy, "Did you make that sound?" and he answered, "Yeah." He giggled again and ate that plate of spaghetti and red stuff with such joy. When he was done he said thank you to me and had the biggest smile on his face.

Art by MargiesArtStudio.com