Life Lately

Paul and I have decided to sponsor a child through World Vision. There are two ways of getting matched with a child. You can either read through the small bios about their age and where they live, or you can submit your picture, and a child can choose you as their sponsor. I really really wanted a girl, so I thought I would choose. But after reading through the bios and realizing I could never choose only one of them, I decided to let a child choose us. :) We got an email that our picture was being sent to Bangladesh for a Choosing Day in a city called Hazaribugh. And then a few days later we got an email introducing us to Fahima, a 4-year-old girl who had chosen us to be her sponsors.

Isn't she adorable?!?! I love that she's the same age as Damon. We were able to watch a couple videos, one from Fahima, and one from her mom. They speak Bengali, so we couldn't understand anything except Fahima's name and "Bye!" But it was still so fun to see her. There was another video showing some of the reasons World Vision has chosen to help their community. They are working to protect children from malnutrition, disease, and violence. They are also working to help all children receive an education. I truly hope our monthly donation can help Fahima and all the children in Hazaribugh to be healthy and safe. 

When I was telling the kids about our decision to sponsor a child and showing them where Bangladesh is, we were talking about the second great commandment to love our neighbors. We were talking about how Heavenly Father loves everyone on the whole earth, and Damon said, "Ya Mom. It's like the song, We're all God's children, holding hands around the world." I was so impressed that Damon listens in primary :), and that he applied the words that he's learned in an appropriate conversation. I'm so grateful that my children have been born into a loving family, where they are safe, healthy, educated, and happy. We are so very blessed, and I'm grateful that we have more than we need and that there are Christian organizations like World Vision working to take care of all of God's children around the world.

Here is another picture of Fahima from earlier this year. :)

EJ graduated from Army Basic Combat Training at Fort Sill on Friday. His family were able to drive out there for it, and Mel sent us this picture of him. They got seats straight across the aisle from EJ! The graduation was live streamed, so we were able to watch it too. It was a beautiful ceremony. He is now Private First Class Earl Reives III. We are all so proud of him!!

Damon and I went to his field trip at Hee Haw Farms. He loved seeing animals, the big slides, and the tractor ride.

I helped in Tessa's class for their 50's Day, celebrating the 50th day of school. It was the day after Halloween, so not many kids dressed up this year. I was in charge of the limbo station, which was entertaining to watch. :) Tessa and Damon both loved getting root beer floats.

Paul and I went to Phantom at Hale Center Theatre Friday afternoon. We were so impressed with the staging there! The talent was amazing. It was a really fun date for us.

We met Marissa and Matt at Red Lobster after the show. We have a tradition of going for Endless Shrimp every fall with them. It was so fun to meet Asher and get to snuggle him. He is adorable!!

Rockwell and Flynn have created a comic called King Plum Bum. They come up with ideas together at school, and then Rockwell has written them down in 3 different stories. Flynn came over last weekend and they drew all their different characters that have or will appear in their comics. He is really into this, and is so proud of himself after he finishes each story. It's adorable.

 

Rockwell has drawn pictures all over this box this weekend. He joined the art club at school and is absolutely loving it. I feel like he's learning a lot there. I was really impressed with his pictures.