birthday & water

Today is my little man's THIRD birthday. Seems like I just was writing about his second birthday not so long ago.

sarah wineland photography. august 2011.

I was reflecting this morning on what I was doing three years ago today, on a very tired Sunday morning, after 48 HOURS of labor {for real}; I can't help but think how very ironic it is that Cam was the quietest of my three kids at birth.  He was so quiet when he was born that I actually thought something was wrong with him, but he really was fully alert, completely healthy, and just extra peaceful.





The irony is in the fact that Cam is, hands down, the loudest member of our household {& if you know my husband, you know that's really saying something. ;) }

sarah wineland photography. August 2011

We are forever telling him to use his inside voice, to no avail. He is just full of life, and has to let it out! I can't tell you what a blessing this child is to me, with his giggly self, his snuggles, his dino-raurs, his tender heart, & his squeeze-your-guts-out neck hugs.

The other night as I was tucking him in to bed, he said {with no prompting whatsoever from me, I swear!}, "Mommy, you're the cutest girl in the whole world." HAHA!!! I laughed so hard. And I could have cried! He got such a howl out of me that he has said it several times since, also in the form of, "Mommy, you're so cute." and "Mommy, you're the cutest girl ever." Seriously, can you get any cuter?

One of the things I really love about my little man is his very tender heart. Over the past few weeks, we've been talking a lot in our house about clean water. I can't remember exactly how it first came up, but I think it was about one of the kids mentioning that everyone has water to drink; and we took the opportunity to explain the reality that, in fact, one BILLION people in our world do not have access to clean drinking water.


Let's Do Something 15 Second Spot from Living Water International on Vimeo.

Apparently last week at school, in response some kind of not-nice comment from another child, Cam said, "Yeah, well some kids don't have clean water to drink."

And he has continued to bring this up on a number of occasions.

SO, in honor of my little man's THIRD birthday, would you take a moment to read more about the clean water crisis in our world today?

via LivingWaterInternational

Would you also consider giving a little gift towards clean water, in honor of my little guy's big day?

image via CauseLife.org

There are several amazing organizations out there, dedicated to making sure that no child, no person is without access to clean water.  The crisis is far from over, but YOU can make a difference. I recommend Living Water International, which states their goal as to"substantially ease the global water crisis while addressing root causes such as injustice, oppression, and abject poverty".

Click this link to make a donation towards clean water well projects through LWI.

I know it would bring a big smile to Cam's face, & true joy to the lives of many!

Happy Birthday big guy!!! xo Mommy

p.s.
Speaking of gifts, if you're one of those folks who is already thinking about Christmas, then I'd also encourage you to take a look at this video

[AC] Promo 2011 from Advent Conspiracy on Vimeo.
{more on this soon}