May 2012 if you can believe it...

Dear friends and family,

We have had such a great April and are looking forward to May.  Bubba has a show in Springville, Alabama this weekend at Homestead Hollow.  He is keeping his new jewelry pieces a secret from me so I won't sell them beforehand.  We just sent his work to South Carolina for an art gallery there named Creative Soul.  Twenty minutes ago a lady from Arab, Alabama who has a store wanted to have Bubba put his jewelry in his store.  WOW!  We are so blessed and Lucky Buck Jewelry is on top.  After receiving the award for People's Choice at Art on the Lake, Lucky Buck Jewelry has just boomed even more.  I am so proud of Bubba and the beautiful jewelry he makes. This is a photo of the guitar string earrings he makes.  He can't make them fast enough.  The top picture is Brody riding a horse that he requested to do in sign language.  So cool!
Blessings,
Wendy

IEP

Dear friends and family,
We had a successful weekend this Easter. We had lots of "firsts". On Saturday night we went to cowboy church's friends and family, the kids rode a horse and we had an awesome dinner cooked over an open fire. On Sunday morning we went back for sunrise service and breakfast. Scrumptious it was and then onto Mountain Top flea market. It was so nice and we loved being with so many Hispanic families. Our children just beamed with pride and loved the event. They saw baby ducks, chicks, rabbits as well as got to try some foods that were traditional.
We found fishing tackle at a great price and found some movies for the children. We had caricatures for the kids done by an amazing artist. We were elated at the results and price. The artist had tears in his eyes after he drew Brody. Sweet.........
On our way home we went to our camper and fished only to have better luck the next day with crickets. Atlee and Ian both baited and caught their first fish. Woo Hoo! It was 2 inches long but it was a fish. They had such a great time and we did too. On Sunday afternoon we went canoeing and Ian was amazing. He did such a good job and Atlee tried her hand at it too. Brody wanted OUT of the boat. He watched from the dock and we were pleased that he respected the water/dock by crawling on his knees with a life jacket on. Precious.....
We were elated to learn that we were awarded a scholarship to Miami, Florida this summer to go to the International Fragile X Conference. We won the tuition and now all we have to pay is our room and food and "getting there". It will be amazing, the last one was two years ago and we were just establishing our roots in Alabama and could not go.
Please keep us in your prayers. We had Brody's IEP this morning and it went well. We are ever moving forward with his progress and delighted with his results. He is using the restroom almost every morning now.
Bubba and Lucky Buck Jewelry has been invited to an art gallery in South Carolina and we are anticipating great results.
Blessings in a Backpack is serving over 700 children now in our Guntersville program. We are having over 60 volunteers come every week to help. Please meet us on Thursday nights at 5:45 at Guntersville Church of Christ if you can help.
Have a great weekend,
Wendy

Blessings in a Backpack

Dear friends,
Last night was another successful night at Blessings in a Backpack. We had over $540 donated and over 60 volunteers packing 722 backpacks. Praise the Lord for all we have and is yet to be.
Talk to you soon.
Wendy

Whew! Life is an adventure with the Griffins....

Dear friends and family,

Bubba and I are enjoying working together at Curls and Pearls. We are closed on Sunday and Monday and work Tuesday through Saturday mostly from 8:00-5:30. We don't have posted hours. If we need to get Brody from school or plan an event around Ian and Atlee we can. I work by appointment and Bubba is making jewelry all day. We have Lucky Buck Jewelry in two other store fronts than our own now. He is an amazing artist and I am always glad to get the prototypes. Right now he is using a lot of copper and also making bracelets with old flatware. Really cool....

Ian is making good grades in school and had the first and only fortune cookie last week. He said, "I hope there is a girlfriend inside!". He also wished for one for Valentine's Day. He is a sweet child and will someday make a wonderful husband. He is a lover and a fighter. That should be interesting....

Atlee is making good grades in school as well. They are in the same classroom and so the only competition is who finishes their homework first. It has worked out beautifully for us. She is finished with all of her extracurricular activities and Ian only has one more week. Atlee is independent and growing up fast. She loves her friends and has many. They both love to read and we are very happy about that. She enjoys riding her bike and singing. She wants to write and sing her own music someday and Ian wants to make "legos". Maybe they will make a fortune on both.....

Bubba has a show tomorrow at the elementary school and we are very excited! This will kick off our show season and also buy me some tires on my van. Woo Hoo! I need them badly. The next show will be Art on the Lake here in Guntersville in April. In May, we go to Homestead Hollow in Springville, AL. Make plans to come see us. I am so proud to call Bubba an artist. You should see his stuff.. AMAZING.

Me, well I am loving life and all that goes with it. The only thing I would change is my 12-15 loads of laundry a week. God has been amazing to all of us and held our hand along the way of our new adventures. Happiness is wanting what you already have......

We are very involved with Blessings in a Backpack each week and will do that during the school year. We are still in need of a babysitter each Thursday night for us to go and volunteer. We also need volunteers each week at 5:45 at the Guntersville Church of Christ. We are packing over 700 backpacks a week.

Thanks for letting me share my family with you.

Blessings,

Wendy

Brody's School Play....

Dear friends,
It was one of those Fragile X days where you are so proud that Brody is your son for just clapping his hands at the right time. He was precious and everyone complimented us on his behavior. What an event the GES had! We enjoyed watching Brody react so happy to everyone singing and clapping.
We are enjoying our new business and loving working together. Life is good....at Curls and Pearls. Lucky Buck Jewelry is really successful and it is such a blessing.
Atlee, Brody and Ian are doing awesome and we are raising three great kids. Today was electronic day at school in the afternoon program and that was a little hectic. It may not be "electronic" day for the Griffins.
My friend Susan is coming for the weekend and I couldn't be more excited. She is an excellent designer and I want her to see Curls and Pearls and give me her opinion. Come see us at the shop.
We had over $1380.00 raised last night at Blessings in a Backpack. It is really a wonderful event and you should come join us on Thursday nights at Church of Christ in Guntersville at 6:00. Don't be late or you will miss the fun. In fact, most everyone comes early.
Blessings,
Wendy

We are so blessed to have Ian, Brody and Atlee. They are so funny and everyday there is a new adventure. Atlee has decided that she wants her ears pierced!

Curls & Pearls

Dear friends and family,

We are so excited about the first two days of our adventure with Curls & Pearls, our new business. We had such a good time working together. Bubba is in the back making jewelry and I am up front doing hair. The space is just perfect and "we are better together"! We were blessed with four green plants that make our new home comfortable. Come by anytime and get a cup of coffee with us and check out our new inventory of Lucky Buck Jewelry.

We will be packing 700 backpacks for Blessings in a Backpack tonight. We will be moving our efforts to Church of Christ around back on the second floor. They have created a space for us and we are ever so grateful. We are adding to GES, Cherokee, Asbury and Claysville. We are expecting new volunteers tonight and I need for CALG to make a good showing.

God bless,

Wendy and Bubba

Is your heart overbooked? Or does it have room for Jesus?

Curls and Pearls....

Dear friends,
As we leave to go paint at the new shop, I am reminded about how blessed we are. My last day at Darlene's Salon and Day Spa is Thursday of next week. It has been a wonderful journey there and I am grateful to Darlene for the opportunity to build my business while there. Our building is for sale and she hopes to work part-time and spend more time with her grandson.
Bubba and I will begin Curls and Pearls on January 3rd with the Chris Todd family as they make their final preparations to minister to the people from Beirut, Lebanon. They will leave the following day and be gone for three years. Our prayers go with them.
We begin yet another Griffin Adventure.......Merry Christmas and God Bless You.
Bubba and Wendy

Wow, it's December already!

Dear friends and family,
I am so sorry to have skipped November. Whew, the time flies. We are well on our way to opening Curls & Pearls in January. Tomorrow is painting day. We are making several ideas come to life and I hope you like them as well as we do. Bubba just finished his shows for the season and he has a home show next week. His jewelry goes to a new store tomorrow and we are excited about that. That will make Lucky Buck Jewelry available in three places; Baker's on Main, Brindley Family Pharmacy and Darlene's Salon and Day Spa (until December 22nd). My last day there is the 22nd and then we will open Curls and Pearls on January 3rd.
Pray for us as we make these life changing decisions and go on another adventure.
Love,
Wendy