I tend to rave pretty regularly here (and even more over at The Food Adventuress) as well as in person about my friend Lyndi, aka nwaFoodie. If you’re not reading her blog, you need to get over to nwaFoodie.com right away and subscribe. Over the past several years, Lyndi has become one of my closest friends and one of my favorite people. She is uncannily intuitive and always knows the perfect thing to do or say. So, when she randomly said that she wanted me to meet someone she was certain I would love about a year ago, I didn’t miss a beat.
That someone was Jenny Marrs, who has since become another of my very favorite people and a friend who I adore completely. Lyndi, Jenny and I each had our own takes on that ridiculously fun afternoon we spent together:
Jenny: I’m Not A Cooker But I Can Take Your Picture
Lyndi: Food Styling is Really Just Playing with Your Food
Moi: Food Styling, Photography & Inspiration
I share all this because I think everyone needs lighthearted friends like these, and friendships that are full of adventure and fun. I have had so many completely fun adventures with these two girls!
Honestly, I’m pretty sure Jenny is only just becoming convinced that I am not stalking her, because I’m so smitten with her, her adorable boys (who are jointly going to marry my Ainsley, since it will probably take two men to keep up with her), her house (which I once asked her to move out of so that I could move in… and I was completely serious) and even her bookshelves. Fortunately, she has been fairly responsive to my stalking and occasionally invites me over for closely supervised play dates. I’ve noticed she always invites other people to come along as chaperones… or witnesses.
Jenny, her husband Dave (who I’m also fond of, but I try not to scare him away) and their twin almost three year old boys Nate and Ben are some of the most fun, genuine and interesting people I’ve met. Jenny is an extraordinary photographer and blogger (BlessingsAndRaindrops.com), turns piles of junk in her garage into adorable shabby chic goodies for her Bayt Boutique and is one of the best community builders around – she just naturally brings people together. Dave builds and renovates houses in downtown Bentonville, and he does incredible work. Every one of his projects has special touches, interesting features and feels like an old historic home, but without the challenges. I’m determined to move into one of their houses – but probably not with them still in it. Their boys are full of life, vigor and so much humor. I just have a huge crush on this family.
So, you can imagine my excitement when I learned that their family will be expanding, and a special little girl halfway around the world is going to join their sweet little family! Jenny is one of those people with a heart for the world, and she and Dave felt really pulled to adopt from Africa.
I have been following all the excitement and heartache of my friend’s journey over the last year, and found myself really wanting to help in some way. So, I would inundate poor Jenny and her already overloaded closets (more on that here) with all sorts of little girl clothes as Ainsley outgrew them. While she was gracious, I’m sure she has started to dread my visits knowing that I keep unloading baskets of clothes on her.
Finally, though, she told me about a way that I can actually do something helpful and appreciated for them on their adoption journey. And, I’m hoping you are as smitten with this sweet family as I am and would like to support them too!
This week, the Marrs family is featured on the site Give1Save1, which helps adoptive families fundraise to offset the tremendous expense of adoption. You can see a short, sweet video (grab a tissue and prepare for chills) of Dave, Jenny, Nate and Ben which tells the story of their adoption journey, and support them by giving one (dollar) to save one (orphan).
GO HERE TO SEE THE MARRS FAMILY VIDEO AND TO GIVE1SAVE1:
https://give1save1africa.blogspot.com/
Another neat thing that is happening this week is that the Marrs family has partnered with the phenomenal local force for change Pure Charity as they launch a brand new Adoption Fundraiser platform. This is a fantastic website – please explore and join Pure Charity to learn about all the tools for letting your everyday life have positive impact on the charities you care about most.
GO HERE TO SEE MARRS FAMILY PAGE & the PURE CHARITY ADOPTION PLATFORM:
https://www.purecharity.com/marrsfamilyadoption
I heart this family and know you’ll love them as much as I do – thanks for letting me share their story. If you’d like to place their fundraising widget on your site or learn more, please feel free to contact me or hop over to Jenny’s blog Blessings And Raindrops to connect with her directly. I hope you’ll keep up with their journey and join me in supporting and cheering them on as they move to bring their little girl home!
The title quote is by one of my favorite authors, Isabel Allende.
P.S. I swiped all of these adorable Marrs family photos from their various websites.
Well, now I am blushing and crying. 🙂 You are TOO kind to me and I have been the blessed one by our friendship. I am just so, so lucky to call you a friend.
And, let me just set the record straight — just because I lost your thank you note in a stack of mail for a month does not mean that I did not LOVE every single piece of girly-girl clothing you brought to fill our S’s closet! What an awesome gift these adorable little outfits are. They bring smiles to my face every time I look through them and hold them up and imagine our girl wearing them. You have no idea. You’re awesome.
Thank you so much for sharing our fundraiser and for supporting us in so many ways. You are an important piece of our daughter’s story and we cannot wait for her to be on this side of the globe to meet you!! XO!!