Officially Part of the "Big Table" and Bread Baking Class

Our littlest little recently became an official member of the "big table!" She is so excited and I am too, even though all of these milestones mean she's inching her way to being grown up.....
Here she is at her first "big table" night with her sister:

Our dd also taught our 2 ds a bread baking class. It was fun for them to make a mess and fun for all of us to eat!

YUMMY!  YUMMY!!



Praise God for Letters From Faraway

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!??

    We got a long awaited letter from Mehameden last week! We have been anxiously looking for one from him so we'd know how he was doing. He's old enough to write his own letters now. Then they get translated by a Compassion worker into English for us. This time, he told us some really exciting news. He got to go to Adis Ababa (the capital) and get some training with 3 other students from his center. He "exchanged experiences with children from other projects." I can't help wondering how much fun he had with all of the other kids. He asked how we were doing. He asked if we were safe. He says he and his mom are fine. Attached to the letter is his school report for the year. He is 3rd in his class of 41. He's being promoted to the next grade. He has been asking for prayer for his studies. His must be working hard and it's paying off. They just celebrated their New Year in September, and he asks for prayer for his mom and "lessons of spiritual life."
He wishes us Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
These letters are so precious to us. We are so thankful that we can be a small part of his life.

Stewardship...

    Our bible verses this week in KONOS are : Matthew 6:19-21 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where theives break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where theives do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
    Key concepts for the week include earning money and talking about different people and their careers. We went to see our dentist last week and she answered all of their questions nicely and tolerated all of the, "Can I see that model, too?" and "Why is that tooth a different color?" and "Can I please touch that?"

I am a little lot anxious to go to the bank and see what happens when they tell us about their jobs...  Well, I'm sure it will be an adventure! 

  

    We need to be faithful to write thank-yous to all of the nice people that set aside time to talk to us about their jobs.

Art Resource

Today, one of the moms in my homeschooling loop shared an art resource that looks really good.
It's See the Light Shine. There are 3 free videos currently and the curriculum is reasonably priced
for video instruction. I am a visual learner, so these are right up my alley. There are also some interesting themed lessons on DVD that have bible stories woven in with the art instruction.

Compassion International's Cards for Unsponsored Kids

Because Compassion International allows sponsors to send up to 25 Christmas cards to unsponsored children, we went out and got some and put a simple message in them that said something like this: Greetings in the name of Jesus. We are praying for you to know the love of God this Christmas. Jesus said "Let the little children come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." You are so special.
God loves you! God bless you."

You can do this too by sending them to
Compassion International,
 Attn: Suzanne Hall
 (Christmas Cards for Unsponsored Children)
 Colorado Springs, Co. 80997

Circus, Circus!

Last week, we went to the circus! Well, actually the circus came to our house!! We are doing the Stewardship unit in KONOS and so the children and I worked out routines for Rocko the Dog Trainer and Rocky the Dog:

Next we had Zolor the Lion Tamer and Rex the Lion:

Then we had Lenny the Tightropian defying gravity.

Phillip the Strong and his 2 ton weight bar:

And all the kids in the grand finale clown act, fishing on the pond!

We had their muscle men hanging on the wall. These were reproduced from the Wearable Body and 5 Senses book.

They had also completed a nutrtion target that was on posterboard and divided into how much of each group we should consume.

Also on display was a food calorie bar graph with some surprising info on calories in certain foods. Eye opening!!!

Know Penn and Teller? Who are you telling?

If you believe in Jesus Christ as your savior, what are we doing to proclaim the Gospel? Here is a youtube video that will prompt you, possibly:

Faraway Thinking....

I was daydreaming a little,lot, :)  I was thinking about Deborah and Mehamenden, our Compassion kids, and I started thinking about the letter that we had received from Deborah. She likes to play the game Ampe (Ahm-pay). So I couldn't resist looking it up. I found several videos on youtube, here is one of them:

I know you may be thinking I am crazy, but I love watching these children playing and imagining that Deborah is playing a game just like that in her little village in Ghana. It just makes her feel a little closer, I suppose. I am so thankful that God helps us remember that our corner of the world is not all there is...that we should look outside to those in need and help them if we can. It's neat to be able to explore the world through the computer and get an idea of what our kids in Africa might get to do for fun, and what they eat, and a peek at what their lives really could be like. It helps us pray more accurately for them. 

Glimpse of Mercy

Today, I was watching my youngest two children playing together. The baby was laughing at her 3 yo brother as he hugged her up close and made faces at her. I was captivated as I stood watching because I wanted this moment to last. I want to stop more often and catch the kids loving each other. I pray that they feel that loved by me. And, I pray that I remember this moment was a glimpse of the way God loves us. He loves me. That is so awesome. Not that he is making funny faces, but he loves purely. I am so grateful.

We got our first letter!!

On Saturday, we got our first letter from Deborah, our Compassion International child. (We are sponsoring her primarily because God allowed me to come across a blog called Blogging From the Boonies. Michelle has a huge heart for Compassion International. She showed us how much better we could make our relationship with Mehameden. And her passion is contagious! So we sponsored Deborah, too!)

We were so excited we could hardly stand it!!! She is 8 years old and a real cutie! She tells us that her mother is her only caregiver. She has 2 sisters and a brother. She says she likes to play Ampe and sing gospel music. Her favorite food is Jollof Rice. It sounds really yummy and we are hoping to make it soon. Her favorite color is red and she likes to draw.

The neatest thing about this letter is that she colored on it. She ACTUALLY held this little letter in her hands and colored on it!! That just blesses us so much!
She says "God bless you for choosing to sponsor her, she is very grateful and happy. Do you have a child?"
"God bless the work of your hands." She wants God to give her peace and long life.
God bless you, too our little Deborah!
Our kids here at home are loving getting to know both of the kids we have the privilege to sponsor.

Reflections of Mercy

Almost a month ago, today, one of our children was saved. I will never forget his expression as he came to me and said,"I need to be saved right now." His soul was saved, praise be to God!!
Over the past weeks, it has been so good to reflect on how I was saved by grace myself. How I need to keep fresh on my own mind God's mercy in my life many times over. There is some difficult territory that we are in as a family right now, but His mercy is there, waiting to be gathered every morning. I am so thankful.
Ephesians 2:8,9

Faithfulness and Mercies

Lamentations 3:22-24

King James Version (KJV)

 ²²It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
 ²³They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
 ²⁴The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.