tea party

The kids and I spent the day baking cookies for a cookie exchange, and as a special treat, we had a tea party when we finished. The tea set was a gift to us from my aunt, who received it on her 9th birthday, and we hadn't yet taken it out for the kids to see. They loved it! The tiny cups made them giggle ("it's my size!"), and they felt very grown-up and important using them. They took turns playing the polite host ("would you care for more tea, madam?" and "allow me to offer you another cookie"), and told Andrew that they had tea with Mrs. Potts and Chip from Beauty and the Beast.

Tea set from Aunt Shirley, tea towel from Grandmom

christmas shopping win

A few years ago, we stumbled across a really neat Christmas gift idea: goats.

Goats!

I'm not talking about the best white elephant gift ever*, I'm talking about real-deal, world's greatest Christmas presents. The kind that you are so excited about buying that you just can't handle it - you have to tell everyone you know because it's driving you crazy that you can't tell the recipient until Christmas day. The kind of present that makes you so excited to give that you hope you don't get anything in return because all you want to do is watch them open it and jump up and down with them as they realize what it is.

YES. Goats are that present. And so are ducks, chickens, cows, rabbits, bulls, and donkeys.

Check it out at World Vision.




*The best white elephant gift is actually a live water-frog...they're super gross (they have long scratchy toenails), they cost only $.25, and you can let it go in the creek with a clean conscience. We know this because a) we took a live water-frog to a party once, b) the gift exchange rules were amended for the next year to include, "no live objects", and c) even with the amended rules, we have never ever had a white elephant gift exchange since (which some people consider a good thing - you're welcome).

some kids

Recently I attended a church event for moms, and as part of their program, a different member shares each month about a missions organization that they support. The woman who shared did an excellent job as she shared about an organization that is close to her heart - and ours as well - Living Water International.

Living Water works to provide clean drinking water for those places in the world where it's simply not available. They drill and repair water wells, and they teach the people who use those wells about basic sanitation to prevent illness and how to maintain the wells into the future. We love this organization and have been on partner trips with them to Africa.

The speaker gave a passionate presentation on their work, and part of her presentation was a slideshow of pictures of the children who are impacted by the organization's work. "Some kids," she said, "have to spend their days going for water instead of going to school...some kids have to walk 6 miles for water that isn't even clean...some kids have to carry 40 pounds of water every day...some kids..."

And as she spoke, it made me think.

Those kids she was talking about? Those were my kids.

My kids went to get water from the wells. My kids took a long walk with their friends to pump water into bright yellow jerry cans. My kids, just this week, were just showing me how they carried those heavy water cans through muddy streets, in rain and shine. "Like this Mommy," they said. "Boy, it was sure heavy! And don't spill it because then you have to go back and do it again and you'll be in trouble. Whew." And then they sat down to show me how they took a rest after bringing it home. My kids, just yesterday, dug as deeply as they could in the sandbox at the park - knowing that water comes from the ground and wanting to see whether America water is deeper than Uganda water.

Some kids....

I'd never considered that when we partnered with this organization, we were doing more than serving some kids. We were serving somebody's kids. Somebody who aches to see their babies sick and dehydrated - again - from the water. Somebody who knows that it's the water that is making their children sick, but who can't do anything about it. Somebody who is really grateful to see them enjoy clean, clear water for the first time ever.

I'd also never considered how it will sound to my kids when they hear about some kids...it's odd to me, so I wonder how it will sound to their little ears as they grow up. There will probably be a mix of emotions as they hear about some kids and connect that to themselves and where they are now. I hope that we will all be able to share graciously and with humor. (Still, note to self: I need to follow up with them whenever we hear these kinds of presentations.)

The speaker ended with an invitation to tour the Living Water office so that our kids can see what some kids have to do, as a way to encourage them toward missions and compassion. "They can even see the dirty water and try carrying one of those heavy cans like some kids do in other places," she told us.

"How fun! Are you guys going to go?" someone asked at my table.

"I think they already know about it," I told them, "so we'll have to see." Some kids may prefer to play on a tire swing that day.

:)

let's adopt them up!

Ibra asked a few weeks ago if we could adopt another kid.

"We'd like to," I told him, "would you be ok with everything that goes with it?"
"Like you and me - we'd have to get a lot of shots before we go over there?" he asked.
"Yes, we'd have to do that," I told him as he shrugged off the idea of more shots. "But it would also mean that we could have some hard weeks in store. What if the kid was scared and threw fits and cried and needed me to be with them all the time? I would still get to play with you, but maybe not very much for awhile."
He thought for a minute and gave me a firm, "that's ok."

Then he said, "Mommy. There are a lot of kids who need a mommy and a daddy - we need to adopt them up! And besides, I've never adopted a kid before, so can we please adopt another kid? Just one? A girl for Suma and a boy for me."