"Black" Bat Girl

Funny story.

Grace is super excited about Halloween.  She has spent a lot of time scouring the costume magazines that we have gotten in the mail.  

Grace decided that she really wants to be Bat Girl this year. (I have to say that I am pretty proud of myself for agreeing to let her be a caped super hero type of character...I would typically be very into a beautiful hand-made princess costume or something of that sort).

So, anyway, people have been asking Grace what she is going to be for Halloween.

I can't help but giggle to myself when she tells them.

She will proudly say, "I am going to be black Bat Girl."

 Grace is just referring to the fact that she is not going to be the pink Bat Girl that she saw in the catalog.. I don't think most people know about the pink version, so they usually look at me and smile.  Perhaps they think I am just really encouraging Grace to be proud of her AA identity (which I am), but it makes me smile every time she proclaims that she is "Black Bat Girl!"

Buy A Shirt, Sponsor A Girl in Ethiopia for a Month!!!

Check out these adorable shirts...

Head over to The Sparkle Project blog to learn more about how you can buy a shirt and sponsor a girl in Ethiopia in the process.

The shirts make great gifts, and come packaged with a card that includes a photo of the girl that you helped to sponsor.  

One of the main goals of The Sparkle Project is to support girls and women in Ethiopia.  We have some exciting news... We have partnered with a wonderful organization called  Eyes That See to sponsor girls in Ethiopia. We were fortunate enough to visit the site of ETS while we were in Ethiopia.  We have also met the founders of ETS in person, and know first-hand about the incredible work they are doing in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.   Eyes That See provides school tuition, uniforms, healthy meals, and emotional support for the children they serve.   It costs $25 a month to sponsor a girl in Ethiopia. 

Here is how you can make a positive change:  by purchasing a $25 Sparkle shirt, you help sponsor a child for a month!!!!  It's like spending $25 to sponsor a child (a great gift in itself), and getting a cool t-shirt along with your donation!

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE Check out our new blog!!!

 This beautiful girl:

has been working on an AWESOME project that I can't wait to share with you!

Alyssa and I were inspired by this little cutie: (the one with the curly hair)

 to do more in this world.  We came up with a project that we are super excited about.  

It is called 

The Sparkle Project.

We believe that if we all shine our lights, others will sparkle.  Simple, right?

We have some awesome things planned and we are thrilled to be able to help support girls and women around the world by creating and supporting service projects that we hope will inspire and motivate.

We hope you will join us and let your lights shine too!  

PLEASE check out our new blog:

www.thesparkleproject516.blogspot.com

We have some exciting projects that we want to share with you,  a few really cool giveaways, and Sparkle merchandise that we are launching this week!!!

****Shirts are on sale now...check them out, leave us a comment today or tomorrow, and we will enter you for a chance to win a free shirt!!!!   

Grace's First (paid) Modeling Gig...

A few months ago, Grace and I were approached while we shopped at Sam's Club. A very nice lady told me how beautiful Grace was, and mentioned that her modeling agency is always looking for children to be photographed for print and television ads.  Hmmm...my skeptical self sort of thought...creepy.  Well, after talking with the lady for a few minutes, she asked me if Grace was from Ethiopia.  She explained that one of her best friends also adopted from Ethiopia.  Turns out I knew the person she was referring to.  The whole "modeling agency" thing started to seem more ligit and I took her card.  I knew why we were approached.  Grace is adorable, but she is also diverse for the area we live.  It got me thinking...we should see diversity in magazines, advertisements, etc.  I thought about it for a couple of weeks (i.e. forgot about it), and then came across the business card that we had been given.  I called the agency, had an appointment with the owner.  She met Grace and said she would love to have her as a "client."  We hadn't heard from the agency for awhile, and then we got a call to see if Grace was available to model for a Christmas toy catalog.  Mill's Fleet Farm (a store where you can buy anything for fishing, hunting, home improvement, housewares, etc.) has a huge toy department for the holidays.  They call it Toyland, and they send out catalogs with all sorts of Christmas toys featured.  The stores are located in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and North Dakota.  

Well, to make a long story short, Grace was given an opportunity to model for the toy catalog.  She did a great job.  I couldn't watch (I'm sure they don't want crazy stage moms around), so I had no idea what she looked like or how she posed.  Turned out, she was a natural.  The whole thing took a matter of minutes.   I think we spent more money on gas to drive to the job than she was paid, but she is proud.  Our catalog came in the mail last weekend (I still had no idea when it would be published, etc.).  Grace was fine with it.  No big deal. At school on Monday morning, a few people told Grace they saw her in the catalog and she thought that was pretty neat.  One person asked for her autograph.  So...with that, Grace has had her official "15 minutes of fame."

Grace For President...Wordless Wednesday...

***A great book featuring an African American girl who wonders why there haven't been any women presidents...the book does a great job of explaining the election process.  Check it out here.