Miss Martha’s All God’s Children blog

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 :: No Comments »

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 »

Last fall I was so in awe of the fabulous sunsets that I started taking photos of them. When it was almost time for the sun to go down, Frank and I would jump in the car and head for a good vantage point to see God’s handiwork. This photo was taken near my daughter Lisa’s home. The vibrant colors of the setting sun are absolutely beautiful and make a perfect backdrop for the cotton, the old battered red truck, and the small weather beaten shed. Just looking at this photo gives me such a peaceful feeling since it reminds me of simpler times and the security of being with my grandma on the farm. I plan on enlarging the photo and using it on cards or whatever fits my mood at the time. I have decided to call it “Cotton field at Sunset.” Not very creative, but it fits. Hope you enjoy my photographic endeavors.

I will introduce you to our two new All God’s Children family members next week.

AGC :: Nov.01.2007 :: From the desk of Miss Martha :: 1 Comment »

The cotton is white in the fields near my Alabama home. It has usually been picked and baled by now, but the record setting temperatures and the drought have slowed its growth. It’s hard to believe we are more that two feet behind on rainfall for the year! (Annie Mae used her wash water to water her tomato patch or those home grown tomatoes would have withered on the vine.)

This time of year brings back memories of when I was in elementary school and we got out for two weeks in the fall for cotton picking time. It was customary for school to close so the whole family could help with cotton picking. Although the big mechanical cotton pickers now zoom through fields plucking the snowy white cotton, I remember when my mom, my brother, and I picked cotton by hand, dragging our homemade pick sacks behind us. I can still recall the smell of the big piles of freshly picked cotton stored in the corner of my grandma’s porch. My brother Tommy and I enjoyed countless hours jumping into the large mound of cotton and burying ourselves up to our necks. It is this pleasure of life lived simply and honestly I have tried to represent in pieces like Emma and Abe.

I can still see vividly in my minds eye the cleanly swept yard and gray weathered boards of grandma’s four room farm house, with its rusty tin roof. Yes, seeing the cotton in the fields does bring back sweet memories!

Tressie has agreed to let her picture be taken again since she has been given such lovely hair. She is very pleased with the wind blown look since none of the other AGC have this hairstyle. She has already lost her hat to the wind once so she is holding on tightly so it won’t happen again.

AGC :: Oct.22.2007 :: From the desk of Miss Martha :: 4 Comments »

It seems as though I blinked my eyes and the month of September is gone. I have been very busy working on new sculpts. Besides the two new sculpts for the School Days Series, Ruby Dee and Essie, we have three new sculpts being prepared for production. Tressie agreed to let me take her picture as she was being sculpted, but she insisted on a modesty panel.

This is Tressie lying on a bed of fiberfill just before she goes into the tanning bed (oven). We dare not mention that it is an oven. She does not have her arms yet, but she is cheerful just the same.

This is Tressie trying on her new hat before she goes back into the tanning bed. You can tell by the smile on her face that she is well pleased.

This is Tressie after I forgot she was getting a tan and went to bed. Thankfully I remembered in time before she got third degree burns. She was so upset that she didn’t care about the modesty panel any more. To make her feel better, I agreed to give her pretty black yarn hair to make her look extra pretty. That’s the least I could do after such an incident. She would not agree to more photos until she was completely dressed. Can’t blame her, poor little thing.

After this incident/accident, our other two new children refused to be photographed. I will try to convince them so check back later to see I have been able to get them to cooperate.

AGC :: Oct.10.2007 :: From the desk of Miss Martha :: 3 Comments »

I have let Miss Martha and the staff know that we had a group meeting and we think we should have more stuff about our history. Why, you should hear about the adventures of Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman! Miss Sojourner Truth told me about the time she stood up in a meeting where Mr. Douglass was speakin’. His speech was distressful cause he did not seem to be trusting God like he ought to. So Miss Sojourner stood up right there in front of everybody and said, “Frederick, is God dead?” That sure changed the tone of that meeting. Anyway, Miss Martha has agreed to add more black history to the allgodschildren.biz website. Sometimes she just does not get things done as fast as we want her to. Must be that she’s gettin’ a little slow in her old age.
p.s. Don’t tell her I said that.

We are going to have a fall festival party and dress up and have games and prizes for the best costume. I went undercover and caught Ruthie trying on her new costume and trying to count the gum balls so she can win a prize.

AGC :: Oct.10.2007 :: Selina Jane presents :: No Comments »

This is where All God’s Children collectors go to find the latest news; where your questions are answered, and thoughts, ideas, and comments of all AGC collectors are encouraged and welcomed! Just remember, keep it clean and keep it fun!

• From the desk of Miss Martha:

To those who are new to All God’s Children land, WELCOME! My name is Martha Holcombe Root and I am the creator / sculptor of the All God’s Children line of collectible figurines. My home has been in Alabama since I was born so much of my art has the feel of the rural south. I am a self taught artist and known as a southern memory folk artist.

• SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

The winner of our “Name this Child” contest is Daphane Riley. Our little school girl will be named Ruby Dee. Thanks to all of you who participated in our online contest. Daphane Riley will be receiving a free figurine of Ruby Dee.

“Essie” was among the finalists for the contest and was selected to name our second school girl. Unfortunately, the contest entry cannot be found among the others. Only one individual submitted this name with this spelling. If you submitted “Essie” please notify us at customerservice@allgodschildren.biz.

Both of our girls insisted on old fashioned names since they represent children from 1945-1955.

• NEWS FROM THE HOOD (NEIGHBORHOOD) BY SELINA JANE

There are rumors that Miss Martha will be adding two new historical figurines before the end of this year. There is a lot of speculation among the crowd about who will be moving in with us. Bessie Coleman hopes it will be a pilot so she will have someone to talk about flying with. Bessie Smith wants a handsome inventor and Augustus Walley said he hopes it’s a western gal who likes soldiers. I plan to do some snooping around Miss Martha’s desk to find whose photos she is researching. Ooops!! Here she come, got to go!

Your NFTH reporter,
Selina Jane

• AUNT SARAH’S RECIPES - CHICKEN CASSEROLE
  

1 whole chicken
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of celery soup
1 carton sour cream (8 oz.)
1 cup egg noodles
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 stack Ritz crackers, crumbled
1/2 stick butter

Boil chicken; let cool. Pull off meat and place in casserole dish. Add noodles. Combine soups, sour cream, and broth; mix and pour in dish. Add 1 cup of cheese and mix all ingredients. Place remainder of cheese on top. Melt margarine and mix with cracker crumbs. Top casserole with cracker mixture. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

AGC :: Sep.19.2007 :: From the desk of Miss Martha :: 5 Comments »