Miss Martha’s All God’s Children blog

I have been lazy since the Family Reunion but it is now time to get back into the normal work routine.

We’ve certainly been having typical August weather here in Alabama. High temperatures and high humidity make me wonder if I’ve stepped into a sauna rather than out the front door. Last week, however, we had one of those rare days when the heat and humidity waned. The morning was actually cool, the day pleasant, and the sky a bright clear blue.

A day like that in August when the kids are all going back to school and the summer flowers are fading remind me that Fall is just around the corner.

Fall is one of my favorite seasons. There is something exhilarating about it! Everything about fall speaks of change. From the leaves losing their green color to reveal their gorgeous yellows, oranges and reds, to the chilly evenings that say, enjoy this because winter is coming.

I think that is it. Everything about fall reminds me to enjoy the day, seize the moment! It reminds me that life itself is one of seasons, and with every season there is something to be treasured.

Sometimes we fall into the rut of thinking when I get this thing done, or when I have that thing, when my children are a little older, when I am retired, then I will enjoy each day of my life. Fall reminds me that there is something to be enjoyed in every season. Fall also reminds me that this season of my life, whatever it may be, will pass. If I fail to enjoy it, to find the lessons to learn, the people to enjoy, the blessings to share, then I miss out because seasons always change.

Whatever season you are in find the lessons to learn, the colorful leaves and gentle breezes along the path to enjoy, the blessings to share with friends and know that this season will pass and bring another with its unique wonders.

AGC :: Aug.14.2008 :: From the desk of Miss Martha :: No Comments »

School will soon be out for the summer so we wanted you to meet Pearl, our newest member of the All God’s Children “School Days Series.” She won’t be ready to visit your home for several weeks, but she was just too excited to wait any longer. Pearl is such a sweet little girl and I’m sure you will enjoy her company as much as I do.

• The Family Reunion is just around the corner: June 20-21, 2008. There is much work to be done in AGC land to get ready for the most awesome collectors in the world. We are looking forward to seeing each of you once again.

• The following tree photos were take in April. I like to take photos of unusual things to share with you. Notice the “NO TRESPASSING” sign being eaten by the tree. Like many of us, the sign failed to heed its own advice.
  The old oak tree with the huge bulge around the bottom was found at a cemetery several miles from my home. There are a number of very old sandstone grave markers in the cemetery. It appears that the tree may have gobbled up one of these markers to create the deformity. The close up shows the tree in the process of taking a bite out of a large piece of sandstone, possibly another grave marker. The four handsome boys are my grandsons.

AGC :: May.12.2008 :: From the desk of Miss Martha :: No Comments »

He is not here, he is risen! Imagine the joy in Mary’s heart when she actually realized that Christ had risen from the dead. I imagine it is the same feeling of joy that we have when we ask Jesus to come into our heart and be our savior.

• I hope your Easter weekend was a pleasant one. I enjoyed spending time with my children and grandchildren. They are growing up too fast. My oldest grandson, Garrett, is now fifteen going on twenty one. Alex is turning into a beautiful young lady and the rest are all a tangle of arms and legs as they wrestle, play tag, and fight over an empty bullet case found in the back yard. Oh, the joys of childhood.

• I would like to introduce Kenneth, a little charmer (except for the frog). He has caught the biggest bullfrog you ever did see and plans on entering him in the frog jumping contest at the county fair next week. Cause Froggy is such a good fly catcher, he hopes Mama won’t mind Froggy staying in his room until the contest is over.

• There was a foul odor outside our house so when I went to check it out, this is what I found on the other side of our back yard fence. My camera was quickly loaded and out I went to get a photo of the bovine beauties. While I was looking at the pictures on the computer, I noticed what appeared to be a glistening pond. “How neat,” I thought, “I did not know there was a pond there.” Well, THERE IS NOT A POND THERE!! Farmer Jones decided to clean out the dairy barn and apparently he thought the best place for the poopy pond was next to our back yard. He is a nice man so I will just wear a clothes pin on my nose until the glistening pond quits glistening. Life is good!

AGC :: Mar.27.2008 :: From the desk of Miss Martha :: 1 Comment »

At last, Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange is ready to go online and ready for shipment. As the other All God’s Children black history heroes before her, she is handcrafted with pride in the USA.

Despite being a black woman in a slave state before the Emancipation Proclamation, Elizabeth Clarissa Lange, a Caribbean native, used her own money and home to educate children of color. In 1829, Lange professed her vows and took the religious name of Mary. At a time when African American Catholics could not aspire to religious life, Mary Elizabeth Lange became the first superior general of the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first black Roman Catholic order. She and her sisters would educate and evangelize African Americans. Their ministry also provided a home for orphans and the elderly and nursed the terminally ill.

We are pleased to announce that the “How It’s Made” show featuring All God’s Children (resin figurines) is scheduled to air on the regular Discovery Channel on Thursday, February 28, 2008 at 8:30 pm EST.

I know we still have active local clubs out there so let us know what you are doing. We want to hear from you.

ATTENTION COLLECTORS: Send a photo to share your display ideas with other collectors. We will put them online for others to see and get new ideas.

AGC :: Feb.25.2008 :: From the desk of Miss Martha :: 2 Comments »

I mentioned last week that I would have the photo of our new sculpt Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange online by the end of the week. Well….. the sculpt was finished and painted and the prototypes were completed. Everything was ready to go into production until I compared my sculpt to the original photo. After a close inspection, I took the original sculpt back into the operating room (placed it in the oven to get warm enough so I could cut into the hardened clay), removed her head, and did an extreme makeover. This is not an unusual occurrence since I am my own worst critic. You will be happy to know, she is in the recovery room and doing well. It will be another week before she is ready to be photographed, but I will have her photo online ASAP. She and I both thank you for your patience.

Several weeks ago, I took this photo of a beautiful sunset and wanted to share it with you. God is such an awesome artist. The clouds in the foreground are black and overshadowing the brilliantly colored clouds behind them. Sometimes we see only darkness in our circumstances and fail to see God’s light waiting to break through the darkness.

We await the airing of the show “How It’s Made” with great anticipation. We feel it is an honor to have been chosen and feel that this is a gift from God. It is my understanding that it will be on the Discovery Science Channel first, but will also be on the regular Discovery Channel at a later date.

AGC :: Jan.23.2008 :: From the desk of Miss Martha :: 1 Comment »

My latest sculpt represents a very special lady that hopefully will be available before Black History month is over. She is Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange, founder of the first Roman Catholic sisterhood in the world established by women of African descent. We will post a photo of the sculpt within the week.

SCIENCE CHANNEL TO SHOWCASE ALL GOD’S CHILDREN

The making of our very own Bass Reeves will be broadcast to a national television audience on the Discovery Network’s Science Channel on January 25, 2008 at 9:00 pm (EST). The episode details are as follows:

How It’s Made - 4
Episode 20 - Find out how Stainless Steel, Football Helmets, Resin Figurines and Laboratory Glassware are made.

It was specifically the All God’s Children Historical Series that caught the attention of the producers of the show. Although the focus of this segment is the manufacturing of resin figurines, we are honored that our product will give international attention to African American heroes.

AGC :: Jan.15.2008 :: From the desk of Miss Martha :: 1 Comment »

Merry
Christmas
from all of
us at
Miss Martha
Originals.

The offices and factory will close Thursday (12/20/07) at 11:00 am CST and will reopen January 7, 2008 at 7:00 am.

If you need to contact us during the holiday, just use our Contacts page.

It was such great fun seeing those of you who attended the Christmas Open House. Check out the Events page to see who was caught on our candid camera.

As we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, may we be reminded of his love, mercy and grace. Many thanks to each of you who have supported and prayed for us throughout this year. It means so much.

I have shared the following message with you in the past, but it is still my favorite so I want to share it one more time.

THANK YOU

AGC :: Dec.19.2007 :: From the desk of Miss Martha :: No Comments »

This year our Christian Church Disciples of Christ decided to display 100 nativities. I have taken our display of All God’s Children Nativity. I have printed each individual story with the All God’s Children / Miss Martha sign to be used. It has taken us several years and searching and shopping to get the set. I just know it will be a hit! It is a gift to the community from church. Christmas Angel Lights Festival is here in Ponca City, OK during the Christmas season with many angels all over town. The church has several open house plans for the community to see them. We will let you know how it goes. I am sure we will have several new members to the All God’s Children Family after they see these sweet children!

Peace, Love and Joy!
Boyd & Vicki Braden

AGC :: Dec.19.2007 :: All God's Children® mailbox :: 1 Comment »

Our new family members were getting impatient about making their debut, but I have been in Nashville helping my son and daughter-in-law get their house ready to sell. What I thought would be a three week job turned into ten individual week long trips that started in June. Thankfully, we are finished and I can get back to a more normal lifestyle. I apologize for this blog being slow in development, but it’s hard to blog when you are sanding and painting sheetrock.

• We need to hear from you! We would like to hear news from our individual collectors’ clubs. Do you have a service project planned for Christmas? Do you have something planned for Black History Month? Several of you have scholarship programs. Send us your news and we will share it with everyone. Your ideas may inspire someone else to do the same in their area. Do any of your club members have special recipes they would like to share? We need your help to make our web site fun and interesting.

• We hope to see you at the Christmas open house Dec. 1 at the Miss Martha Originals, Inc. factory located at 200 Burns Park Road, East Gadsden, Alabama (located one block off Highway 431 behind Eastside Plaza Shopping Center).

• The TV show “How It’s Made” has told us they will let us know 30 days before the show airs. We have not been given the release date yet. The producer said it will rerun many times on the Discovery Channel.

I feel a tap on my shoulder so our new little family members are anxious to get their picture placed online to greet you. Tressie said to remind you that she is shown in the Oct. 22nd blog and she is the third in the School Days Series.

Jack is the fourth member of the School Days Series. He has such a precious little face that you just can’t help but love him. Jack volunteered to stay after school to rake leaves from the playground. Pup came to school to meet Jack and decided to help with the leaves also. With Pup jumping in and out of the pile of leaves, it’s going to take a very long time to get the job finished.

Although Essie’s photo was in our email newsletter, she asked if she could be shown on the blog since she is the second member of the School Days Series. I think Essie is so sweet, you just want to hug her. Now…. if she would just stop sticking her bubble gum to the bed post.

Just in time for Christmas, we have a beautiful new angel named Gelya, which means “heavenly messenger.” Gelya reminds us to give thanks and praise to the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, Jesus Christ. A message Gelya delivers often is 1 John 5:21b “And God has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

AGC :: Nov.20.2007 :: From the desk of Miss Martha :: No Comments »

My name is Myrna and today is my sixty first birthday. I received your Reunion Special Edition “Myrna & Joyce” today from my husband. I’ve been a long time collector of your figurines and love every one of them, but this one will hold a special place in my heart. You see, I had a younger sister who passed away in 2001. She wasn’t just a younger sister, she was my best friend. I miss her dearly, but when I opened my gift of “Myrna & Joyce” there we were, and that brought such a smile to my face and joy to my heart. Thank you!

Response: My younger sister Denise went home to be with the Lord in 2001 also. She took a large piece of my heart with her so I understand how you feel. I see her smiling face and joyous spirit in many of the figurines.

AGC :: Nov.20.2007 :: All God's Children® mailbox :: No Comments »