Mission Trip To Haiti

I am so excited that God has given me another opportunity  to take a trip back to Haiti this April. I was there last July and it was heart warming, heart breaking and life changing.

We're going back to help a church that has set up a child sponsor feeding program, much like we did last time. Many children there are starving, and their parent's cannot afford to send them to school. This program provides a meal a day for these kids, a chicken or goat a month for the family, and pays for their school. This makes a huge impact on a child's life.We also have a whole bunch of shoes to take over, most of the kids there are bare foot and the grounds are covered in trash, broken glass, and a million other things that you would not want to be bare foot in. We're also taking over clothes, toys, and whatever else we can pack up. Our main goal is to love on these kids and get them sponsored!.

While there on my last trip I met these two little girls, their names are Jolica and Angie. I was able to sponsor Jolica and my mom is sponsoring her younger sister Angie. Jolica loved playing with my hair and hand clap games with me. Angie never once smiled and her clothes were worn and torn. My heart broke for them, hanging out in the church yard just waiting to be sponsored.

Here they are eating a sponsored meal for the first time.

This is Emmanuel. This charming little boy touched my heart so deeply that I can't stop my eyes from whaling up with tears as I type about him. I was there for a week and I saw him wear the same clothes every single day. He could not speak English and I could not speak Creole, but I was able to understand him tell me that he was hungry. This was my first day there, I had met my first starving child. I broke down and cried. He was soon sponsored by another girl. He ate his meal and it was the most joyful thing I had ever seen. He finished his meal and then finished the leftovers of others. I have heard it be said that you can't save them all and though this may be true, I saw one girl helped this one boy, a boy who wasn't able to before but is now able to eat everyday.

I hope to run into Emmanuel when I get back, along with Jolica, Angie and many others who have touched my heart. I want to be able to get others fired up about sponsoring these amazing children, in desperate need of love, food, and an education.

If you would like to make a one time donation to this trip, please click on the donate button below. Or you can send a check to my church, LifeSong Church. Just make it out to LifeSong Church with an attached note saying it is to me, Candice Brevard.

12481 Greenville HWY/ PO Box 159
Lyman SC 29365

All donations are tax detectable and are greatly appreciated!

If you are interested in sponsoring a child please visit RestoreHaiti.com 

Below is a video I created from the pictures that were taken on my last trip.

Thank you everyone for all of your prayers and support! 

Weekly Schedule

Yesterday I shared with you my Daily Routine and today I am going to share with you my Weekly Schedule. Pairing these two together has proven to work for me in away that allows me to have more time for my family while at the same time keeping a clean house. Seems impossible, but its not! 


As I mentioned yesterday every family is different and so each schedule should be customized to fit your own family's needs. I use Flylady as a tool to help make my schedule and keep my home in order. I just love her system so much that I want to be able to share it with other women in hopes to bless their families as well. So please allow this to bless your family, don't get caught in perfection, just do your best and don't forget to schedule time with your kids and with your husband in your Daily Schedule.


My Weekly Schedule changes from week to week, moving from the Kitchen, to the Living room, to the Dinning room, to the Bathroom, to the Bedroom, to the Entrance way, etc.  This week is actually a multi-zone week. What you see in purple stays the same from week to week, and what you see in black is what changes.


Also what FlyLady recommends, and what I recommend as well is to not spend more than 15 minutes on a task. This may seem crazy, but you'll be amazed at what you can accomplish in 15 minutes. Just set a timer and get started. Don't fret over the things that don't get perfectly cleaned, your precious time with your family is more important!


Sunday:   Menu Plan,   Clip coupons


Monday:   Take out all trash,   sweep & mop all rooms,   dust,   Vacuum all rooms,   water plant,   Polish mirrors and doors,   clean sheets, Grocery shop


Tuesday:   Dinning room Hotspots (clean up cluttered piles),   Livingroom Hotspots


Wednesday:    Work Meeting,   Clean up yard,   Clean up front porch


Thursday:   Clean up shoe/coat closet,  clean up front door entrance


Friday:   Finish laundry,   Clean out car,   Clean playroom


Saturday:   Clean out fridge 


Of course there will be times that I am not able to do all these things in order, and thats ok. Also there will be times where I may need to to a task twice, especially the task of mopping. Scheduling has made life a little bit easier for me, and I hope that it makes life a little easier for you too.




Titus 2:3-5 


"Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children,to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."

Daily Schedule

Are you feeling overwhelmed at home? Overextended? Frustrated with your kids? Embarrassed to have company over? All because you don't have time to clean?


Who doesn't have these days right? I know I do, and we all know that a messy house can create stress and unrest, even in our children. So what I have found that works best for me and my family is scheduling, even though I'm not a natural "scheduler".
This has actually helped me find more time for my family while at the same time keeping my house cleaner that its ever been before.


Thankfully 5 years ago I was introduced to a website called FlyLady, please click on the link to check her out. I have been able to use her website as a tool to create a schedule that eliminates Spring Cleaning. Ironically her website can seem a little cluttered to visitors lol, but her advice is effective and amazing.


There is no one schedule that is going to fit every family, so if you think scheduling will work for you, customize it to fit your own family's unique needs. A schedule should bless your family and help turn your home into a haven, so don't get so obsessed with getting a perfectly clean house that you push your kids away, or just give up all together (I've been there, done that on both sides). Put perfection aside, maybe even let your kids help if you have the patience ;) . Take breaks when you need them, love on your family, and so what if ( fill in the blank) isn't spotless when you crawl into bed at night, be satisfied with what you have accomplished.   


Below is my Daily Routine, tomorrow I will show you my Weekly Schedule. And with life being life, things don't always happen as planned, so sometimes I'm not able to get to a few things on my list or I do them out of order, and thats ok :)


 "Housework done incorrectly still blesses your family" ~Flylady

Morning Routine

Shower then straighten bathroom

Get kids ready

Breakfast

make school lunches

Get kids off to school

Quiet time/ Good Morning Girls

feed dog

laundry 

dishes

make beds

Check Calendar

Make a to do list

(hello 9am)

Start Work ( I work from home)

read a book or facebook/blog

Reboot laundry

Pick up kids

After School Routine

Homework!

defrost dinner

Start on chores (from my weekly schedule)

Put away laundry

Play with babies

Children story time

finish to do list

If finished and kids are busy playing - fb/blog or read a book

Start on dinner

After Dinner Routine

Sweep floors

Clean up kitchen
Straighten up living room

Baby bath time

tidy up baby bathroom
Baby bed time
Me time (brush teeth, hair, pjs, stuff like that)
(hello 8pm)

Snuggle Mitch

Please come back tomorrow to see my Weekly Schedule, which involves a more detailed cleaning :)