We’ve felt so blessed over the past few months.  Everything in Chris’ job is going great, and we have everything we could ever want or need, it seems.  But one of the biggest mistakes we could make in our lives is to not share the blessings with others.  We don’t deserve all that we have been given, and it’s not our place to hoard what really belongs to God anyways!  Several weeks ago we decided to sign up to be World Vision sponsors.  We picked a little boy, Timothy, from Zambia who is three. We hope to keep up with him and support him throughout his education.  We committed to pray for him, love him and send him finiancial support as if he were our own child.  We hoped having a child around Gracie’s age will help her to feel more connected to him, that they will be exchanging drawings and eventually letters when they’re old enough.  It will be neat to see in a few years what kind of progress he is making and what kind of young man he turns out to be.  Hopefully with our prayers and support, he will have a head start in his life.

Just living in America makes me more blessed than most of the world–I take for granted our clean water and indoor plumbing, and the chance to eat three meals a day, the freedom to go to a school and get an education, and the availability of medical care when we need it.  I realized if I gave up just a few trips to Starbucks every month, our family could help Timothy learn to read, go to school, have clean water, and stay healthy. (So I bought Starbucks beans from the grocery store and started making my own lattes!)   

World Vision is an organization that we have worked with for many years as youth pastors and we know they are honest and good.  They have a new program, called HopeChild, for children who have AIDS or living in communities severely affected by AIDS.  It’s a different kind of sponsorship that costs only $5 more a month than a normal sponsorship and will educate the child and his family about AIDS and prevention. Timothy is a HopeChild. 

If you’re interested in being a child’s sponsor–for a year or for 18 years–  go to www.worldvision.org and at least get some information. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know that your investment of around $30 a month altered the course of someone’s life forever? 

*EDIT* You didn’t think I could post without some pictures did you?  Tonight we went out to eat and then to the park to feed the ducks and play.  There’s a new park over by us that is amazing.  I have a feeling it will be the one we visit quite frequently as the girls grow up. 

Trinity doing what she does best.  Just hanging out.

Gracie put her own shoes on today and apparently she wanted them this way. Swinging is her favorite, but we did a lot of sliding too. 

Gracie takes a break with her shaved ice while Trinity naps by the duck pond.  The ducks liked our bread, but so did the geese.  In fact, one goose was so mad when Gracie ran out of bread, he bit her on the butt!  Scared her but she’s fine!

New pictures for everyone here:

Gracie went and picked out her own outfit and even put it on by herself! Complete with the Snow White heels, of course. Nothing says “I’m three” like running errands in plastic heels. We went to the library, out to eat at the tea room, shopping at Mardel…she wore them the whole time. Sigh. She’s better in heels than I am… 

But as sweet as they are..some days Mommies just need a break. Last night I was at my breaking point,  and luckily Chris noticed and told me to go out alone.  The library was nice and quiet for awhile and then I went by MYSELF for sushi and to the mall for some shopping therapy. I felt much better and came home to both girls asleep.  Nice. 

Sunday after church, Matthew came over for burgers and just to hang out.  Gracie refused to put her pants back on for the picture, but it’s still cute.  (She’ll hate me for this picture when she’s 13) The girls love their uncle Matthew.

Then today, Matthew got to come up and see Gracie at gymnastics.  Then we went with him and Aunt Brooke to Incredible Pizza for some fun rides and games.  Gracie had a blast.  Trinity was a bit–um–overstimulated.  Her eyes were huge the entire time and she kept looking at me like, “You can’t be serious?”  Haha.  Poor kid, just gets dragged along with whatever we have planned.  I would have never taken Gracie to a place so loud and bright.  Boy do things change when you have two kids…LOL

I’ll have you all know, she’s smiling at ME…(sigh) Isn’t she precious???

Look how stressed out Gracie gets when Trinity cries, LOL…

Friday was so fun!  Gracie was at school, so Meagan and I took full advantage of our afternoon to do wedding things.  I had mainly guy friends in college and my young, single adult life (and my bestest friend in the whole wide world is loving being single in Italy, dating Italian boys…) so I have NEVER been a bridesmaid.  I’m as excited to be her bridesmaid as she is to be the bride.  Hehe.  We’re looking at dresses and flowers and planning parties…this is gonna be soooo fun! I didn’t get a bachelorette party so with Miss Meagan–oh, we’re doing it up right.  

Dick and Janie took Matthew, Chris and me to Jamil’s steakhouse and Remington Park on Friday night.  It was extraordinary.  Excellent food, gambling (Chris won $40) and nice conversation–you know the kind of conversation that is uninterrupted by a dropped pacifier, a crying infant, a thrown sippy cup, a stinky poop diaper, cracker crumbs all over the floor, some sticky green goo on the highchair, and a three year old screaming, “I have to go potty NOW!” Oh–and Jamil’s doesn’t have a PlayPlace, that’s a different dining experience for me these days…

Well, there’s laundry to do, so I’d better go.  We haven’t heard anything on what I’ve asked some of you to pray for, they said it will be a couple of weeks before everything is announced.  But they did put Chris on another special task team for the next two weeks, so that makes me optimistic.  He’s done so well there and they are definitely taking notice.  I’m so proud of him. 

*EDIT* I can’t help it…one more…

Gracie wants three kids, she says.  She’s already picked out their names: Trinity, Paprika and Coconut.  Huh. 

She’s starting to get excited about school.  So am I.  I’m having that “we need to go buy school supplies” mommy feeling, but this year, she doesn’t need anything.  It’s all included in the tuition, so that leaves me with this strange hollow feeling every time we pass the crayon aisle at Target.  Sigh. (Maybe that’s an excuse to buy her a back-to-school wardrobe?  Baby Gap is callin’ my name…)

And speaking of Target, we had to get the oil changed at the dealership today, which is right down the street from SuperTarget in Edmond…they had clearanced out a TON of stuff so I went hunting.  I bought shoes for the entire family for under $40 and that was TWO pairs for me!  Gracie got these cute little punk-style brown and pink tennis shoes and I got Trinity some little pink kicks that are sooo adorable.  I can’t wait till she’s old enough to wear them.  They’re a size 2–so TINY! But they’ll be perfect for Fall/Winter.

Pray for Chris tomorrow, if you think about it. Not anything bad, something VERY VERY good.  Can’t say just yet though.  (I love you with all my heart, kikiriki!)

We got to pick up Matthew from the airport on Tuesday.  Wow, that was a trip.  He’s been gone so long and he’d never met Trinity.  It is so great to have him back, even if it’s just for a few short days, then it’s back to Iraq for a few months longer.  It was a relief to hear that he was treated so well on the plane and in the airports.  I don’t know, so many people oppose the war that I expected some people wouldn’t be kind. But Matthew flew first class compliments of the airline and got a goody bag of travel stuff they hand out to soldiers, and the airline even let us go to the terminal to see him get off the plane (which they don’t do since 9/11)  It’s shameful what people did to the vietnam soldiers when they came home and I’m so grateful that people are at least civil when it comes to our soldiers nowdays.  I felt very proud walking through the airport with Matthew.  He had to fly in his desert uniform so it was obvious he is a soldier.  It was a moment I won’t forget.  We are all so proud of him.      

Okay, enough of that.  Tonight is date night and the girls need to get ready to go to Ma and Da’s.  I will leave you with this:

It’s from my camera phone so it’s not very clear.  But it’s still sweet.