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Top 5 Ways to Use Big Love Bus

Top 5 Ways to Use Big Love Bus in our latest newsletter.  Have you subscribed??? If not, email nashville@biglovebus.com to do it right now!

Sometimes it is quiet ones that get you.

Even superheros take the bus!

Last Saturday, Big Love Bus staff was busy doing what they get a huge kick out of...spreading the love and giving back to their community. What started out to be a fun project ended up filling my heart up!

I was approached a few weeks ago by Tanna Clark, founder of Grace & Glory, to help them deliver some really cool handmade superhero capes and tutus to children living at Safe Haven Family Shelter in Nashville.  

Grace & Glory has an interesting story.  You see, I actually had met Tanna before.  A few years ago when we were trying to sell our old house, I was making at least biweekly trips to Goodwill to get rid of some of the stuff we had accumulated over the eight years we lived there.  Unbeknownst to me, each time I made a donation to Goodwill, I was entered into a contest to win a day with a personal organizer.  Well, you can probably see where this is going.  I got a call saying I won the contest.  Lucky me! At that point we had two small children, a smallish house, and a ton of STUFF.  I got two days with Tanna, of Complete Organizing Solutions.  She managed to get my husband's closet in shape - we could even shut the door without forcing it - and my closet looked like a boutique.  It was great.  Well, fast forward a few years and Tanna got interested in the non-profit Soles 4 Souls.  She wanted to see where all their shoes were going, so she took a trip to Haiti, where, according to Tanna, she was "wrecked."  I really got the impression that this experience changed her so profoundly that she was searching and yearning for some way to make her own change in the world.  Grace & Glory came out of that experience.  She now uses Grace & Glory to Fight Hunger, Encourage Play and Give Hope to Children in Need of a Brighter Tomorrow by delivering capes and tutus to children in need, both domestically and in Haiti.  She now also offers Bags of Hope, sweet drawstring bags that contain basic necessities like shampoo, soap, and toothpaste.  In fact, she is even building a school in Haiti! You can donate to Grace & Glory here.

When she contacted me, she didn't initially remember our connection. I initially told her we were committed to helping another non-proft. However, plans changed and we had some free time with the bus.  I think this was yet another way of someone and something being placed in my life for a reason.  I called Tanna and we made quick plans for a delivery using the Big Love Bus!!!

Glenn trying to find his color!

Glenn Remick, our driver, was SO on board with this endeavor that he even donated his time.  Actually, he was roped into one of these "cold water challenges" and named Grace & Glory as the benefactor before being sprayed by a FIRE HOSE! We met on Saturday morning, loaded tutus and capes onto the bus, accompanied by Tanna's sweet but shy son Samuel.  

When we arrived at Safe Haven, I'll be honest that I was somewhat disappointed that there were only a handful of kids around that were going to ride the bus.  I had absolutely no idea how big of an impact this would have on the kids though.  

Beautiful Sisters

There were two beautiful sisters, "K" and "J", who squealed with delight when they saw the bus and the tutus; gregarious little fella named "LJ", who quickly picked out a cape and told me that his birthday was the day before and he was now 5; and a sweet little guy named "G" with beautiful long blond hair who had no doubts about what cape he wanted to don and quickly flipped around and held up his hair so that I could put it around his neck before he hopped right on the bus.  Then there was "D."  So quiet.  So seemingly forlorn.  I wanted so badly to hug him tight and make him smile but I knew that it was probably going to take the entire bus ride to even attempt to get this guy out of his shell.

LJ

We all got on our gear, even Glenn wore a Superman shirt, and took off on the bus for a quick ride around town.  I tried to point out sights the kids may not have seen or noticed before while we listened to Kids Movie Clasic Songs on Pandora.  The kids knew most of the songs and sang along.  Glenn treated them to the sounds of the rooster, frog, dog, and horse from the horn as we stopped at most street lights.  The kids loved looking at the expressions of the people passing by the bus.  

Shy "D"

All along, D remained quiet. I tried repeatedly to engage him in conversation, or catch him with the lens of the camera I brought along to snap pictures.  Each time, he would look away.  Samuel, Tanna's son, even tried to get D to open up, and was a little succesful.  About three-quarters of the way through the trip, I knew a ton of stuff about the other kids - where they had spent their summer, what their favorite color was, how many siblings they had, where they went to school, etc - but I still knew nothing about D...until I mentioned a snake.

Glenn tellin' the kids how it gets DONE!

Don't try this at home!

He opened up a little then, talking about different animals but it wasn't until we got back to Safe Haven and he started asking questions about the bus.  "Hey mister, mister, mister...could you tell me how the bus goes and where the engine is and if the wings on the bus make it fly and how the wipers work and where the gas goes....?" Glenn, so patient and animated, proceeded to give the kids all a tour of Lovely Rita's interior workings. I think they would have stayed there all day listening to Glenn talk about windsheild wipers and rear diesel pusher engines and generators! 

D really got to me for some reason.  I guess it made me realize how much it can mean to another person, whether its a kid or a grown up, to just listen to what they have to say and to be patient.  I think I made the comment on the bus that somtimes, its the people that are the most quiet that have the most important things to say.  Something to ponder at least.  

At the end of the trip, the kids were thrilled with their tutus and capes and the Bags of Hope they received from Grace & Glory, but I'd like to think they had a blast on the bus too.  They were all so appreciative - giving us high fives and hugs as we dropped them back off at the place they call home...a shelter.  Not one during the trip did the kids comment on their station in life, complain about how little they had, or wish for something more.  J told me "I'm so glad you came today."  What I told her in return was, "No.  Thank you, thank you for sharing your day with me!" Thanks to Grace & Glory for getting the Big Love Bus on board for this one!

 

 

Jessica, Tanna, K, and J

To Infinity and BEYOND!!!

Tomorrow, June 21, 2014, Big Love Bus is partnering with local non-profit Grace and Glory to deliver tutus and superhero capes to children at Safe Haven shelter in Nashville, Tennessee.

Stay tuned for pictures from this amazing opportunity! We are thrilled and excited to spread the love to some well-deserving kids in Nashville tomorrow!

Spread the...dirt?

I LOVE vegetables.  I really do.  I love the crunch of a cucumber and celery and carrots and peppers.  There is nothing more delicious than a ripe tomato still warm from the vine.  The feeling of dirt under your nails and between your toes while sweat trickles down your head to the base of your skull always takes me back to being about eight years old, sitting on the porch with my grandmother stringing green beans.  

We always had a garden.  I felt like it was gigantic.  We would work in the garden for what seemed hours on end during the summer, carrying water in watering cans.  Then, as produce came in for the season, we would help my mom can beans, peppers, and tomatoes, and make jellies and jams.

When we moved into our house five years ago, I was thrilled to learn that our next door neighbor also loved to have a garden. So, after talking briefly about it, we/he tilled up a fairly largish spot in the back kind of in between our houses.  Looked pretty out of sorts in our subdivision cul-de-sac, but we didn't really care.  That first year, I felt like the garden was pretty big.  In reality it was probably about 15 feet by 15 feet.  I planted mostly tomatoes and peppers.  A salsa garden, really. 

In the years since, our garden has grown a little bit at a time, we've added blueberry bushes (I think we have 5 now), and we've tried some new things.  We usually just divide it down the middle but share produce as it is ready to pick. 

This spring, I wasn't so sure I'd even get a garden in the ground. The tiller we borrowed wasn't working, I couldn't load it up into our truck without possibly getting a hernia or cutting off a limb, and I just didn't see how I was going to have the time.  Between keeping up with and trying to market the bus, working my "real" job, being a wife and mom (read taxi and housekeeper), I was lucky to get in a workout, much less weed a garden.  So, I didn't start any plants inside from seed, and had pretty much relegated myself to the farmer's market.

Well, low and behold, we came home from church one day to find my neighbor rented a tiller and had a fine start on some ground plowed and ready to go.  After expanding the size of the garden about four feet on each side, he was worn out.  My hubby was kind enough to help out.  As an aside, working a tiller in the Tennessee mud is akin to running a jackhammer on three foot thick pavement.  I think hubby's arms were sore for 2 days but I had a garden!!!

Not having a plan, I did what any computer dependent person would do...I googled "garden plan."  I looked at about 5 websites, and quickly located one that looked like it would suit my needs.  I took our youngest veggie lover to the local hardware store and we bought some seeds and plants to get 'er started.  

Of course, I can't follow a recipe so why would I follow all the garden plot suggestions.  I always need to make it a little bit my own.  I omitted the cabbage and chard, planting a little more lettuce.  Not sure if it'll even grow with as hot as it has already been this year.  Also left out the broccoli.  I've just never had that much success with it.  Instead, we planted cucumbers.  My girls LOVE cucumbers.  

After a few quick hours of work, here's the finished...bare looking product! Hopefully I'll be able to update with a post of a really healthy lookin' garden in a month!  In the meantime, I'll be out weedin', diggin', waterin' and spreadi'g the dirt in all my spare time.  You might even catch me with tomato juice dripping down my chin at some point.  At least I hope so!

Popsicles, Fresh Vegetables, and Electric Bicycles

All in a day's drive for the Big Love Bus!  Last Saturday, Glenn wowed me with his personality AND driving skills as he took me on a trek through Cheatham County. 

First stop? The NEW Kingston Springs Farmers and Artisan Market.  The market is located on property across from the middle school and high school.  In 2010, there were three homes on the property.  The weekend of the great flood of 2010, all three homes were lost.   Apparently, the city eventually purchased the property and it is now the new home of what promises to be a really cool market.  It was still a little early in the growing season, but I was surprised to find about 15 vendors selling squash, herbs, and lots of plants for the garden as well as some really cool art, natural cleaning products, handmade furniture, and more.  Of course, Glenn literally knew EVERYONE at the market.  Seriously.  He. Knew. Everyone.  Quite a few people ventured onboard to see what the Big Love Bus was all about and sign up for our mailing list.  Haven't done that yet? Shoot us an email at nashville@biglovebus.com.

Second stop? Glenn's house.  Really! We drove the bus right up to the curb and picked up his wife, two sons, a friend who stayed the night, and a neighbor before we took off to L.L.Burns Park to catch the last soccer game of the season.  His kids looked thrilled to be catching a ride on the Big Love Bus.  

This park is a gem.  Don't know if I really want to tell you about it.  It's THAT pretty.  Kingston Springs should be proud.  Huge soccer field, playground, walking trail, lots of green space located right on the Harpeth River.  Canoes paddling by as we watched the kiddos run and play.  There were even stocked ponds for fishing! 

 I happened to take along about 150 popsicles and passed 'em out to the kids as they came off the soccer field with their season trophies. These parents are doing a great job.  I was impressed by how polite these kiddos were - most of them insisted on waiting to eat their popsicles until they got off the bus and nearly every child thanked me for bringing a cold treat.  One spunky little gal even exclaimed, "It's not a school bus, its a LOVE bus!" Again, Glenn knew nearly everyone that came by the bus.  

At that point, it was about noon.  I'm going to guess that about 350 people had been in and out of the bus.  Glenn and his sweet family dropped me off at my car to head out on the last adventure of the day.  The bus took off for The Farm School, part of The Farm, a unique commune in Summertown, Tennessee.  It was the day of their annual family celebration! Looked and sounded like fun...I even heard that there was an electric bicycle in attendance?  Maybe next year I'll go with them!
 
 

Surprise Party on the Big Love Bus!!!

Its not every day that you turn...38??? Every birthday should be celebrated. At our house, we tend toward birthday week and sometimes even birthday month. Why not do it up Big Love Bus style?  

I was contacted by the best friend of a Nashville gal to set up a surprise 38th birthday party. She had he inside track on the Big Love Bus because she happens to be the fantastically beautiful and smart Renee Sprouse, the driving force behind Big Love Bus Knoxville. Obviously I wanted to help her out and make this surprise party great. Anyway, her friend's husband wanted a hand in putting together something special for his gal, and I was glad to oblige. I was able to put together a list of suggestions for stops and after a few emails back and forth a plan was formulated. 

Renee and her super sweet familly.

The plan was fairly simple. Gather a bunch of friends at someone's house for birthday snacks and drinks under the guise of a fairly simple party, then BAM...hit em with the Big Love Bus pulling up to the curb- music blaring, lights flashing, beads swinging, and load everyone on board for a night of fun. Surprise party awesomeness!!!

The bus was set to arrive at the house at 8:00 p.m.  When it arrived we built in time for the obligatory photo session and loading of all the party goodies and drinks on to the bus.  I'm pretty sure there were shots involved as I found quite a few leftover tiny plastic cups when I cleaned the bus.  If that isn't the case, then this group of folks really had some fresh breath and spent most of their time on the bus swishing mouthwash.  

From the pickup location, the bus travelled up to Love Circle for cupcakes and a view of the city.Side note from Glenn, the bus will not travel to Love Circle again any time soon...at least at dark...seems that the road is a bit, well, tight, for the bus...ahem.). The view of our Nashville, however, is stunning.

After slowly and somewhat painfully manuevering down from Love Circle, the bus meandered through the city streets of Nashville, taking in some of the sights before making several pit stops (read bushes) and eventually hitting up Rumours East.  

The carefully crafted itinerary went out the window from there as the party goers made some changes.  All in the name of fun, of course. After cruising around some more, visiting Sambuca, The 404, making a few more bathroom stops, the party goers were having a blast. In fact, the bus actually loved Rumours so much, they went twice! Can't say I blame them, it is really a neat spot and is beautiful this time of year when the trees are getting their new pretty, green leaves.


At that point, I think everyone at the party had enjoyed a few special drinks from small plastic cups like the ones pictured.  There was also a pink boa involved.  A month later, we might still be findin' pink boa feathers on the bus. Luckily, with a safe driver in charge, everyone was delivered home safely, happy from a night of celebrating a good friend on a cool bus.  Great memories!  Happy birthday Ree!