It's Adoption Day!

Today is the day.
Today he wakes up with one name, and will go to bed with a new one.
Today, the law catches up with what's been done in our hearts for a long time.
Today is the day that we celebrate Treston, and what God has done in his life!
There has never been a party or gathering to celebrate Treston's birth.
Well, it starts today.
We might just celebrate for a few months straight.
Today almost feels like the day I give birth, as weird as that sounds.
Just like the day a baby is born from your body is the day that baby is born into your family forever...this is that day for us!
We want you to rejoice with us...we need you to rejoice with us!
I want a stinkin' "It's a Boy" sign in the yard!
Treston has belonged to us for a long time, but there was always that possibility that someone could take him from us...that he would not stay...that we would have to become fugitives and run to Mexico and live under the assumed names of Lance and Katherine-Zeta. (Those are the assumed names we chose.)
But those nagging possibilites end today. There is no other possibility, no other scenario, no other option, except Treston living as our son forever.
This feels so good. It's like, we can finally breathe deep. We can stop hoping, and revel in God's fulfillment of something wonderful.
What God has done, in Treston's life, and in our family, is more than I can articulate. I could never convey to you the thankfulness in our hearts to God for what He's done...to rescue Treston...to fill a hole in our family that we weren't even aware of a year ago...to faithfully be the Planner of our family in ways we didn't imagine...for taking us on a wild roller coaster ride of faith-building and clinging to Him, knuckles white, not sure what's around the next corner.
Today, we get to throw our hands up and scream! We get to bask in God's goodness to us. We get to share with ANYONE who will listen that God is faithful, He cares for the needy, He wants to fulfill our needs and desires! We could never have concocted this whole chain of events before this. But God does things we can't imagine to get us where He wants us.
My words are so inadequate so I will share a Psalm that has been a faithful companion to me. I have been meditating on it for months. Don't skim it! It's so good!

I will praise you, my God and King,and bless your name forever and ever. 2 I will bless you every day,and I will praise you forever. 3 Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise!His greatness is beyond discovery!
4 Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts. 5 I will meditate
on your majestic, glorious splendor and your wonderful miracles. 6 Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue;I will proclaim your greatness. 7 Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness;they will sing with joy of your righteousness.
8 The LORD is kind and merciful,slow to get angry, full of unfailing love. 9 The LORD is good to everyone.He showers compassion on all his creation. 10 All of your works will thank you, LORD,and your faithful followers will bless you. 11 They will talk together about the glory of your kingdom;they will celebrate examples of your power. 12 They will tell about your mighty deeds and about the majesty and glory of your reign. 13 For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.You rule generation after generation.
The LORD is faithful in all he says;he is gracious in all he does. 14 The LORD helps the fallen and lifts up those bent beneath their loads. 15 All eyes look to you for help;you give them their food as they need it. 16 When you open your hand,you satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.
17 The LORD is righteous in everything he does;he is filled with kindness. 18 The LORD is close to all who call on him,yes, to all who call on him sincerely. 19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;he hears their cries for help and rescues them. 20 The LORD protects all those who love him,but he destroys the wicked.
21 I will praise the LORD,and everyone on earth will bless his holy name forever and forever.

This is who God is. This is the God who deserves everything we've got. He near. He's a Provider. He satisfies us at just the right time with what we need.
He's been good to us, and we celebrate Him today!
We will stand before the judge, as a family, at 1:30. Treston will get a new name with a new birth certificate today.
Today he becomes TRESTON JEREMIAH BACAK.

Jeremiah 1:5 "I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world."

God knew Treston before he was born. He knew he would be Treston Jeremiah Bacak. We believe He has set him apart for great things.
Thank you God!
And thank you, friends, for praying for him and sharing this journey with us.
Let the celebration begin!
It's Adoption Day!!!!

The Distribution of Justus

Each of the kids has a money jar.
They earn a few dollars allowance each week. They get birthday money, and they save it in their jar. (We started this because it was just getting too easy to steal their money when it was given them.) Now they save for things themselves. Like yesterday, we went to the Rennaissance Festival for School Days, and they each brought $10 out of their jar. They picked what they wanted to do with it, and when it was gone, it was gone.
But this picture shows how Justus has been viewing the distribution of the money jar. Emma had a birthday in Sept. and her jar was full. Justus' jar only had change. But suddenly one day, Emma's jar was completely empty, and his jar was full! Amazing! Usually, when Justus does something sneaky like this, like stealing the other kids' french fries or something, he leaves a little so it's not so obvious. He's brilliant! But this time, he just took it all! We had to have a little talk about this. Look at his face on the jar!? He even looks sneaky there! But this little guy keeps us entertained! When God harnasses his talents for good and not evil, he's going to do something AMAZING for the Lord!!!
I haven't updated everyone on his speech lately, but he's doing awesome! He is speaking so much and more clearly than ever! He still needs sign, but we are proud of how he is changing and even becoming more obedient. He is a joy to us! He is the comedian in the house, and says some of the funniest things! Everyday he tells me "When I wake up, I be a firefighter." Cute thing. Life is just too boring without a three-year-old in the house, you know?

Favorite items at HEB

Butternut Squash:
How I love it! It's by far my favorite vegetable, and it definitely does not get enough press! Many people who come to eat at my house say they've never had one! This is a travesty! It must stop! They are in season, and should be readily available at HEB. If you've eaten at my house, you've probably gotten my commercial for butternut squash, because I love it so!
Just a few tips: they can be expensive, just so you know. They are EXTREMELY dense, sort of like a sweet potato, and I am a wimp, so Rusty cuts them for me, or at least gets them started, a lot of the time. (He's the bomb.) I use them many different ways. I cut them up into pieces and put them in my steamer with some broccoli. Serve that with some grated cheddar cheese on top! So good! I also but it in my Chicken Pot Pie. It totally makes it! I just recently put it in my Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup. So you can do lots of things with it. If you use it in something like that, make sure you cook it a long time, or saute it a little before-hand because it takes them a while to get soft, because they're so dense. I have a recipe, if you're interested, for a Butternut Squash and Sausage soup where you puree the squash. That might sound weird...but it's really awesome!
Go get yourself a butternut squash. But leave some for me.


Bread Machine Ready-made mixes:
These are brilliant. Seriously. You can simply pour the contents of the box and some water into your bread machine, turn it on, and voila! Your house is filled with the smell of bread for hours, and that is worth it all to me. I feel so domestic when I bake bread, and all I did was pour the box in!!! I love fresh bread. I buy the Hawaiian bread mix often. It's so good.


Canned Chicken (in water, NOT oil!):
This might sound kind of gross...I was scared of it for years...but it's become a dear friend to me. Erin and I like to whip up chicken salad using this just about every Friday. All you do is mix the chicken with 1-2 T of mayo, and add some sliced almonds, grapes cut in half, and a little sugar. This is so good! Erin likes it on toasted bread, and I like it with Ritz Chips (kind of like crackers, but less crumbly.) This is so easy, and so good! I make it for lunch company (Shannan Feldman!) and when we go to the pool.
Believe it or not, I actually experimented and put the canned chicken in my Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup to see what would happen. It was great! I totally skipped the time consuming step of boiling and cutting up chicken, and just put it in the crock pot, and it was so easy!!! Again, this probably sounds gross, but it's just so easy and good I have to pass it along.
These are some of my favorite items on the Bacak family grocery list. I would really like to know some of y'alls!

Fall Family Fun Day 2007!

Last Saturday was our long-awaited, most festive, Fall Family Fun Day! This has to be one of my favorite Bacak traditions. This was the fourth annual FFFD, and yes, it's known as FFFD!
We start with a trip to the pumpkin patch. There are no better pictures than pumpkin patch pics. The color + cute kids = precious.
Every Bacak child gets to pick their favorite pumpkin to take home.
They look at them, touch them, sit on them, talk to them...this is serious! You only get to pick one!
Then we take them home and we carve them. Yes, the kitchen is covered in pumpkin guts, and it's pretty gross, but the result is spectacular. Rusty is the designated super-carver, because he's gifted, and because it's against my religion to touch pumpkin innards.
Then...my favorite part...because it involves food...CARAMEL APPLES!!!
By the fourth year, we have just about perfected this. It's super yummy, but it's also glue-like. We brush the children's teeth three times that night. We budget more for dental bills each year because of this one day.
But it's so fun!
This year we even had a FFFD pumpkin parade, put on by Jax and Emma. They are too cute. We think every special day deserves a parade around here. They made banners, homemade instruments, and chanted F-F-F-D!
There were so many cute pictures I made my first slideshow. I feel almost as cool as Lynsey Kramer, who has super cool slideshows on her blog all the time.
I hope you enjoy it!
Long Live FFFD!!!!!

Scriptural Rebuke from Emma

My seven-year-old rebuked me with scripture yesterday.
It was awesome.
We were searching for the lost remote. This is a constant problem in our house. Why are remotes so fascinating to babies and toddlers?
We just got a new satellite system (saving us a lot of money each month versus the cable thing) and if you lose the remote, you cannot operate the satellite. So when I couldn't find it, I was kind of annoyed. I was muttering worried exclamations about not finding it, and searching everywhere.
Emma stopped me and said "Remember the verse, Mom? Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything?" (Phil. 4:6)
I love this girl! She was not afraid to stop me in my tracks with scripture! I was getting worried, and thus sinning. I told her she was absolutely right, and I was absolutely wrong, thanking her for the reminder.
So of course, I did pray, and of course, we not only found the remote shortly after (in a random desk drawer ???), but also found a lost library book I had been stressing over. So I went back in to the kids and "thanked Him for all he had done." (the rest of Phil. 4:6) We praised God for listening to our every prayer and taking care of our needs.
God is good, and hearing truth come out of my little girl's mouth, is SO beautiful!

"The Line"

I want to continue the discussion about sexual purity and dating. It's been so good and thought provoking!
I want to discuss this idea of being physically involved while dating.
I said in a previous post that I want to throw up when I think about the fact that I kissed or held hands with any other boy besides Rusty. I truly mean that. I had no right to be that close to someone else's husband, nor did anyone have the right to my husband.
Where did we get this idea that we can try people out physically for a while?
From the Bible...hold on let me get my Bible...NO!
In fact, everything I can possibly find in the Bible pertaining this subject says RUN, FLEE, HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH sexual temptation. Don't flirt with it, don't see how close you can get to sex, get yourself going like a freight train and then try to slam on the brakes. (How's that for an analogy?)

2 Timothy 2:22 says "Run from anything that stimulates youthful lust."

1 Cor. 6:18 says "Run away from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does."

We can not be running away, and flirting with it at the same time. Girls, I think all married women can testify for you that we now understand that the process of sexual stimulation was not meant to be stopped. (I told you that we were going to have to get specific and embarrassing if we were going to talk about this!)
And a valid point was brought up, that we don't want to instill in our kids the idea that sex and sexual feelings are bad. They are not! They are meant for something so beautiful, sweet, and holy! But when we allow dating relationships where physical involvement occurs, they will soon learn that everytime they engage physically, they get into trouble, they sin, in thought and in actions, and they feel they are slaves to those feelings. They toe "the line" and that line starts moving, inch by inch, and the failure rate is through the roof! THEN, those sexual feelings are bad, and they are the enemy. That is NOT what I want my kids to understand about sexuality. I want them to know that all of it, ALL OF IT, is meant for their joy and intimacy in marriage, and it is a gift from our Creator. I feel like so much of the struggles with sex in the early years of marriage that I am counseling girls through is trying to de-program their minds from this mentality.
This idea that there is a "line" that we must tip-toe up to, try desperately not to cross, so often in vain, is not of God. He never said we ought to toe the line. He said RUN. Remember? He said FLEE! Right?
So where did we get this idea?
From the world.
It's SO from the world, and we have been trying to stuff the world's ideas about dating into the Bible and make it fit, and it doesn't.
If you are in college, and you are physically involved with someone, I beg you to stop. Nothing, and I seriously mean nothing, good will come from it. If you have children and you are letting them have boyfriends/ girlfriends and they spend alone time together, I beg you to stop them!
I am not referring to sex. I'm referring to all of it. I know you might think this is crazy, but I am pretty sure it's just crazy by the world's standards, not by God's standards.
Whose standards are we going to live by?
Who is ever going to meet their mate, tell them that they've never made out with anyone, and they won't make out with them, come to their wedding day and night with 0 experience and feel bad about it? If by God's grace, that could happen with my children, PRAISE THE LORD! I can't imagine how joyful that day would be! And if that doesn't happen, Rusty and I better know for certain that we did everything we were supposed to do to guide them in God's perfect way for them. We know it's up to them to follow.
On the other hand, to play with fire and be physically intimate with people who in no way belong to you, so many negative things can come from it, I can make you a list as long as my arm and give you specific names, numbers, and e-mail contacts to prove it.
It's not just my own experience. It's not just my opinion. The longer I work with college girls and engaged couples, the stronger and stronger I feel about this.
Here is a blog with some great discussion on this topic for you to check out if you're interested.
www.notbeneficialforanything.blogspot.com
Thoughts anyone?

No Dating- Are You Crazy???

I started to leave the world's longest comment in response to the excellent discussion and questions raised on my last post here about "True Love Waits", and then remembered...this is my blog. I could just start a new post!
I know I've opened a door here with the no-dating thing...Obviously, I don't have all the answers to this question! If I did, I wouldn't have posted the question on my blog!!! But here are our thoughts.
It's not a topic I think is easily tackled. It's one that we have been thinking about for a couple of years, and really examining in the scriptures and in my own life. I've also heard some amazingly wise things from people at my church who have been thinking about this longer than me. It's hard to summarize here, but here's a few questions.
Really and truly, honestly, are you glad that you dated anyone besides your husband? That you gave your heart to them? Kissed them? Were intimate with them in any way (emotionally or physically)?
Obviously, as many have shared, those who were sexually intimate, even with their own husbands before marriage, have shared that they wish they hadn't been.

Why do we allow high schoolers to date? What's the purpose? To find a mate? Well, we wouldn't allow them to get married in high school, so that's silly. To learn how to form relationships?

I fully believe they can develop those skills within the context of good friendships, like we had in our youth group.
My husband never had a serious girlfriend before me. He was in no way ill-equipped to be a husband. He had never given his heart to any other girl, and his dating experience was very casual. He came to our relationship with almost 0 baggage.
I, on the other hand, had bounced from one serious relationship to another. I had a super-serious relationship in college that was incredibly damaging to me emotionally. I came to our marriage with TONS of that baggage. My sexual purity was intact, but I had been way too close to the many boyfriends, and that produced consequences for me emtotionally, and also for Rusty.
I WISH I HAD NEVER HAD A BOYFRIEND BEFORE RUSTY!!!
Even though when I first started thinking about this, I wanted to quickly run to bat for this idea of American, Christian dating, when I stopped to examine my reasons, they were faulty. I truly do regret all of it. I think having friendships with guys before marriage would have equipped me fine to relate to my husband when I met him.
Also, every time I had a boyfriend, and then later a break-up, it was ALL a distraction from my relationship with the Lord. It did NOT draw me closer to the Lord, it pulled me away every time. EVERY TIME.
And the time I wasted!!! I should have been focusing on God wholeheartedly, and spending all my free time with my girlfriends, like you Laurie, going to Taco Bell and the $2 movies in Tomball!!! (ha!) I regret that I wasted time on boys in high school and college that were distracting, temptations to sin, and that's it.
I didn't learn anything valuable from those relationships, because I continued to make the same mistakes over and over. I was not lost. I was saved, and I truly, truly had a passion for the Lord. But I was not wise. I did not make wise decisions. And I regret how hurt I was, how I hurt others, and when I think of holding hands or kissing a boy that wasn't my husband, I want to throw-up! I shouldn't have done that! Seriously, it turns my stomach. Where in scripture do we get the idea that trying other people on first is okay? It's so totally acceptable to the world, and we clean it up a bit for the Christian version, but I think the results are often tragic. Again and again, I hear stories like these lovely ladies have shared about being a Christian couple, who fully intended to wait for marriage, had the ring and everything, but were given the freedom to date, and they were sucked in by the powerful tornado that is sexual sin.
As for me, I just felt like I had been beated down my tornado winds by the emotional damage and various forms of sin dating produced in my life.
We could allow our high schoolers to date within certain confines, but why? If dating is to find a mate, they can't do that in high school, and I don't think they need the practice.
I want them to develop real friendships with guys and girls alike, go out in groups and have fun, and be free when they are a little older to find their mate without the baggage.
Should we trust high school guys and girls to be alone together?
No. I think everyone knows that is probably a temptation too great for them, whether we like that truth or not.
I don't want to communicate distrust to my wonderful kids, but I want them to know that dating was altogether unwise and we are going to protect them the best way we know how.
We counsel couple after couple in Countdown who are struggling physically, and the bottom line is they just can't be alone together, and they can't kiss without it progressing.
So Rusty and I HAVE TO listen to this, and look at the scripture about running, fleeing, having nothing to do with sexual immorality (1 Cor. 6, 2 Tim. 2), and practically applying that for our kids, as well as guarding their hearts (Proverbs 4:23), and not arousing love before it so desires. (SOS) High School is not the right time. It's arousing love before the appropriate time. I truly believe all physical intimacy should be kept for marriage, and that is part of keeping the marriage bed pure. (1 Cor. 6)
Emotionally I want to protect my sons and daughter from giving their hearts away to anyone before God brings them their mate.
Of course, I know that if my kids are not on board with this, they could rebel, they could hide relationships from us, they could be sneaky. We don't want that. But I'm encouraged by the fact that I see families like our pastor's family who has teenagers who have just known all along there would be no high school or casual dating. I can't attest to their every feeling about it, but they seemed to have accepted that fine and those kids are serving the Lord and the church wholeheartedly, making great friends, and waiting for the right time in their lives.
My sister has survived her high school years without any boyfriends, and I'm SO GLAD@

What does the right time look like?
Now granted, again, if I had all the answers to these questions, I wouldn't have posted the question on my blog. So these are just the thoughts of Rusty and I, what we've observed among some wise families and college students we know, and how we are applying the Word to the idea of courtship.
But dating for the purpose of finding a mate, when you are of the right age and stage in life, is intentional. It is incredibly purposeful. There should be a lot of observing and getting to know one another before a guy even pursues a girl for the purpose of marriage. I see college students at our church hang out together, serve the church together, go to movies, go to dinner, watch the Office together, WHATEVER, in groups and really get to know one another before a relationship is pursued. (Instead of starting a dating relationship and THEN getting to know the person.) And then they are purposeful, and wise about not spending alone time together, watching movies in their apartments with the lights out and no roommates home. STUPID!!! They are careful not to treat the relationship like a mini-marriage, which is how I treated just about every relationship I had, so that if they determine they are not right for one another, they don't have to go through a mini-divorce. I've actually seen this! When they decide not to date anymore, despite the disappointment, I've seen them remain friends, and still be able to stay in the same church and circle of friends, because they haven't been physically entangled, and they haven't named their kids together, and put down a deposit on the church.
I don't know all the answers to this.
What if you meet and live in different cities? I don't know.
What if, what if, what if? I don't know.
I just know there is great wisdom being exhibited by these young people that I desperately wish I'd had an ounce of when I was their age.
It's so encouraging! And I want that for my kids! There's no reason for them to make the same mistakes we made. That would be foolish.
I do think that training their minds about dating, marriage, and the wonderful gift of sex, needs to start super early, so I want to hear from more women who have thoughts on this now.
Thanks everyone, for engaging in this discussion! Let's keep it going!!!

True Love Waits- But How?

We went to an adoption training at New Life over a week ago. It takes days upon days to process all the information you get, and sift through the emotions, even though this was our fourth training. (It's a spectacular training! I wish every adoptive family could experience it!)
One question keeps hovering in my mind and it won't go away. There was a beautiful, Godly woman there who spoke to us as a birth-grandmother. Her teenage daughter had become pregnant, and she shared the anguish she felt, as a Christian family, having had prayed for her daughter's purity all of her life. Her description of her brokenness and heartbreak was so moving! She shared about their process of choosing adoption, and the beautiful thing God morphed this heartbreak into. But there was one question I really wanted to ask her, even though it was not the appropriate place or time. My question would have been:

"What would you have done differently to shepherd your daughter's heart towards God's perfect plan for her life concerning sexual purity, and how would you have protected her differently?"

Does any other mother of young children want to know this? I'm not just curious. I'm desperate to know. Of course, #1 will be for our children to know and love the Lord with their whole hearts! I know this! But there are plenty of good, Christian young people who are falling into the deep slippery slope of sexual sin. None of us are above it! So as a parent, what can we do, starting now, to wisely guide and protect our children. Not in fear, but in true, Godly wisdom.
I want to hear from Moms. I told my Mom today she has incredible wisdom to share on this. She promised to write about it soon on her blog for us all to read. My Mom is not only a mother of 5 grown children, but she has been working with New Life for almost 20 years, and has helped countless (I wish we could count) women through crisis pregnancies, from all different spiritual backgrounds. She really gets to know them and their families, so she sits in an incredibly unique position. Of course, add to that 30+ years in the ministry alongside my Dad. Wow! So she will speak to us soon about this, but I want to hear from anyone who has Godly wisdom to share on this topic!
Speak up! What are you doing, or have done, or have done all wrong, that we need to know! Young women, what do you wish your parents had done differently? We need to know! Please don't bash your parents, or shift blame, but will you help us learn what would have been beneficial to you concerning dating and sexual purity? I have four precious little people in my house that God has entrusted to me. I have been clinging to God's Word on this topic, and have begun to draw some conclusions about what we think this should look like, emulating God's Word and not the world. But I want to hear from others. I want older women to speak into our lives! If you know an older woman, send her this link so she can share with us. If you have a spectacular Mom like mine, e-mail her this link. Thanks!

The Best Salad Dressing Ever!!!!

Here is a recipe worth trying! I haven't made it yet, but I had it at our Seay Family Christmas last year, and my sister-in-law, Lisa, made it. (Married to Chris.) We all stopped and worshiped Jesus when we ate this. This is what Christmas family gatherings should consist of! Anyway, I immediately wanted the recipe, but didn't get it until today. This dressing has been on my mind all year. I'm not kidding. I know I have problems, but it's just so stinkin' good! So here's the recipe. It's super healthy, from the Vegan side of the family.
Just so you know, it's green, and that makes it even more fun. I wish I had a visual aid of it to show.
Try it, and thank me later you guys! I can't wait to make it myself.

Creamy Italian Dressing
3/4 c. olive oil
1/4 c. raw apple cider vinegar
2 or 3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 t. sea salt
1/2 c. fresh basil
1/4 c. fresh oregano
1/3 c. pure water
1/3 c. pine nuts
In a high speed blender, combine all of the
ingredients and blend until smooth. Remove any foam
that rises to the top. For a lighter version, omit
the water and pine nuts.
Lisa said you can give it a Mexican flair if you want to substitute the basil for cilantro and lime juice for lemon juice. That sounds good too!

Fellow Bloggers! Lend me your ears, lend me your tupperware!

God is doing a work in our hearts about missions.
Our church is being challenged like never before to look beyond ourselves here in America, where we are overfed physically and spiritually, and ask ourselves what role we play in sending the gospel out to the nations.
I have been wanting to involve my kids in our support of mission work. We have done that by making them very globally aware (learning about all of the continents, and the places around the world where people live in poverty and where people don't know Jesus), and by praying for missionaries and occasionally sending them care packages, put together by them.
But I have wanted us to do something more as a family that requires more than sending checks and sending our Daddy on mission trips. I want my kids to put thought and action into something...
This is the perfect way to do that!
My brother is involved with this organization, Living Water.
He goes on these mission trips where they dig wells and bring clean water to a community that has none, and then they bring the gospel message to them.
This is awesome, to see they meet their physical need for clean water, and then bring them the water that Jesus said will cause you to never thirst again!
I can imagine, after you do something like that for a community, you have their attention.
Chris' kids have done some fund-raising on their own for Living Water, and I thought that would be great for my kids too!
Our pastor just returned from India, and he said it only takes $1,000 to dig a well for a community that needs it there.
This is something I want our family to be apart of!
I watched this video from the website. I actually didn't know that the music was my brother's song, and my brother Chris is in it, when I clicked on it, so that is pretty cool. (Chris is the one with the scruffy goatee.)
It's short, so take a moment to see the people in Nicaragua revel in clean water.
Then I will tell you our game plan, and how I need your help!

Okay, so our plan is to make homemade salsa, and sell it to neighbors, etc.
We have had kids in our neighborhood hitting us up for whatever they're selling for years. And being the sucker I am for the cuties, I almost always buy something. Year after year, we buy wrapping paper, popcorn tins, and raffle tickets for stuff we desperately do NOT need so that the PTA flourishes, they get new band uniforms, and soccer teams can offer scholarships. That is all fine and good, but it's my kids' turn to hit up the neighborhood, and I want it to be for something eternally valuable!
So door-to-door we will go, selling salsa, and our goal is $1,000. If we sell them for $10, this means we need to sell 100 of them. This is going to take time for me to make that much salsa, obviously, but we hope to make it!
What would cut our costs cosiderably is this...if you could donate to me little storage containers, then I wouldn't have to buy jars to put it in. I plan on using the little Glad containers that we get when we buy deli turkey. Do y'all have those around your house? If so, and you live near me, would you mind collecting some for me and sending them my way? That would help the kids and I a ton!
Also, if you'd like to buy some salsa, that would help too!
We are excited about this opportunity. My dream is for the kids and I to someday to go on one of these trips. I know my brother goes frequently. How amazing would that be? I pray that this will cultivate a heart for missions and for those in need in my children as well. I pray God will move in them as He is moving in us.
Who will be able to resist my four adorable, little ones, pulling their wagon of salsa to their door? Hopefully, no one!