My Little Classical Conversationalists!

This school year, I've decided to try something new with the two little B's. On Monday mornings, the three of us will join several other Christian, classically-minded homeschoolers in Classical Conversations (CC). I am AMAZED at the volume of things that will be presented for them to learn this year. It'll be interesting to see just how much they digest and truly commit to memory. For those of you familiar with Veritas Press History Cards...they/we will be (attempting) to memorize all FIVE sets...a total of 180 snippets of chronological history! Along with this, we'll be studying science and math facts, English and Latin grammar, art and music appreciation, and geography. We have had two weeks of CC already, and I am in awe at how these little, fresh brains can absorb facts.

Brielle outlining the continent of Africa...

Science Experiment...

Brock in his class...

(sucking on a piece of candy he got for answering a question)

Listening to his tutor...

We have been learning about Ancient Egypt in CC, and the kids LOVE it (all except the scented cones of fat worn on their heads at feasts...Brock proclaimed that to be "disgusting"). So, we decided to take a "field trip" to a local museum that has a small Ancient Egypt section...including a mummy (another "disgusting" facet of Ancient Egypt)!

Random fun at the museum...

My 4 very precious B's :o)

Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established;

By knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

Proverbs 24:3 and 4

( If you haven't read my last post, please check it out below...)

Praying that we'd be moved to action...

Please take the time to read the latest entry on Katie's blog.

Katie's updates from Uganda always stir in me a desire to DO MORE. I stand in complete agreement with her when she states: "I DO NOT BELIEVE that the God of the universe created too many children in His image and not enough love or food or care to go around. In fact I believe that He created the Body of Christ for just that, to help these little ones, the least of these."

Praying for Katie and the precious ones she cares for; praying for myself and all who profess to be Christians...that we would begin a reckless pursuit of being Jesus' hands and feet here on earth.

Praying, Praising!, Planning, Playing, Partying!

Just what have I been doing this summer???...

PRAYING:

My summer has turned out to be a season of prayer as I have had so many things swirling around my head, so many decisions that need to be made, so many opportunities to weed through, and many situations outside of my control.

Our summer started out by prayerfully saying goodbye to Brittany as she embarked on a lifelong desire to try her hand in missions. She was gone for three weeks, with minimal contact for much of that time, yet God gave all of us complete peace. You can read more about her amazing trip to Guatemala on her blog.

Once Brittany left, it was time to prayerfully consider curriculum and extra-curricular choices for next school year. Since homeschooling has become a mass-marketing niche, there are SOOOOO many things from which to choose. At times, I am paralyzed by all of these "good" choices. I am finally learning that if I am still-fully (not a word, I know) praying, God, who always knows what is "best" for each of my kids, will begin to close the doors to "good" and "better", leaving what is "best" wide open for us.

PRAISING!:

So, this summer, I am praising God for closed doors! God has graciously eliminated many options in our schedule -- homeschool tutorials, classes at the community college, etc. -- while gently confirming what is best for our family. I am still seeking Him regarding upcoming service opportunities, and I trust that He'll lead us to and through the best door.

I also want to "publicly" give God praise for leading us to a new place of worship and teaching! We had visited many, many churches when we first moved here, and being unable to find teaching like we had left behind in WI, we eventually settled into a very large, convenient church. However, I never lost the desire to find a church with meaty expositional Bible teaching and had asked a few friends and family members to pray for us to find such a church home. I am so excited to say that God has answered that prayer!!! We have found a relatively small, friendly, Evangelical Free church, where God's Word is taught without compromise. It feels like home :o).

PLANNING:


I've spent countless summer hours in my study, sifting through the oodles of books, maps, activity pages, etc. comprising Tapestry of Grace's Redesigned Year 3. In hopes of freeing up my time during the school year, I set a goal to have each of the 36 weeks of Tapestry ALL planned, printed, and ready to go before summer's end. Actually, after many late night planning sessions, all 36 weeks are already planned and in files, ready to be pulled out and implemented week after week :o) :o) :o)!! I am still working on planning math, science, language arts, etc., but these are quick and easy in comparison to Tapestry planning.

PLAYING:

In case you were starting to doubt, I have photographic evidence that we have managed to squeeze in some summer fun! Our favorite place to hang out this summer has been at our zoo's "riverbank". My littles love to play in the sand and splash in the water of this little manmade river/beach.

I've been told that this July was S.A.'s hottest on record! Our pool has been such a blessing this year, and the kids just L.O.V.E to swim! Brock is totally swimming...he is even jumping off the back of the pool (the deep end) and swimming all the way to the shallow end....YAY!!! Brielle is making progress, as she just recently started jumping off the little ledges, putting her face in the water as she "swims" forward. They are SOOO cute!

PARTYING!:

Our summers have become FULL of birthday fun, with my birthday in June, Brock and Brielle's three days apart in July, and Max's in August!

Brielle still pretends to be our little kitty, meowing and crawling around the house for much of the day. So, we were not surprised when she announced that she wanted a Hello Kitty cake for her birthday!

A Birthday Morning Tea Party

A gift from China...Brielle was born in the Year of the Rooster!

A gift from Guatemala - A traditional Mayan blouse

Our Little Kitty is FOUR!!!

Thanks for the cards, everyone!!

Just when we finished off the last piece of Brielle's cake, it was time to dive in to Brock's birthday cake. He picked this particular one out from among all of the cakes in Target's cake book!?! I think he liked the fact that the tank transformed in to a robotic-like man :o).

A gift from China for our son born in the Year of the Dragon!

A gift from Guatemala...

Brock is NINE years old!

Brock loves, loves, loves Legos!

He had the entire garage set put together SO fast!

Hoping that your summer has also been full of praise,

prayerful plans for the future, carefree play,

and even a little partying :o)!

"Beauty for Ashes..."

MBHOH Grand Opening from Show Hope on Vimeo.

"To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified."

—Isaiah 61:3.

Revisionist History

I'm cleaning my kitchen sink, laughing, as I listen to Brock and Brielle play, "George Washington taking 'Jon' Edwards to jail" (Brocks idea and Brock's words...comical, isn't it?).

It seems he's been listening to at least some of what the big kids are learning in school :o)!

It's been one YEAR...

...since we met this "confident, brave, happy, perceptive, organized, independent, fun, smart, observant, adorable little guy" (you can read all about our "gotcha day" 2008 here).




I wrote those words on the very first day we met Brock Ji Hao, and after getting to know him for a whole year, they were right on! By the way...I can NOT believe it has been one year...seems utterly impossible.

Brock was so excited for his "Happy Adoption Day!". He had just experienced Brielle's special day in May, so he knew what this whole thing was about. Yesterday, he kept asking if I was going to decorate, make a cake, etc. Today, he repeatedly asked, "What are we going to do on Happy Adoption Day?", and when Max walked through the door after work, the first thing Brock said was, "Happy Adoption Day, Brock!" He certainly did not want any of us to miss or in any way slight his day.

Brock picked out lemon cake with lemon frosting - yummy!

A gift from China...

We know that God has great things in store for you, Brock Ji Hao,

and we are so blessed to be a part of your life's story!

On a Mission!

Guatemala, here I come...

Waiting at the airport...

Brittany is already half-way into her 20 day GET Global mission's trip! Thank you sooooo much for your prayers...she is doing wonderfully, and so are we here at home :o).

For the first five days of her trip, Brittany participated in Wycliffe's TOTAL It Up! translation program. Because she was in Orlando, she was able to call home every night. It was so comforting to hear how excited she was each time we talked to her. She has so many stories and has already learned so many things! She said she is writing in her journal every night (thank, Aunt Michele!), so I'm sure she'll be updating her blog with all of the details once she returns.

Last Saturday, the team flew to Guatemala, where communication will be much less frequent. As a matter of fact, she called us early Saturday morning during their layover in Atlanta, and then I did not hear anything from her until today (Tuesday). Surprisingly, I have been completely at peace the entire time she has been gone. Just hearing the enthusiasm in her voice about the things she is learning and experiencing sets my heart in complete trust that this is exactly where she is supposed to be right now. I am so thankful for this experience for Brittany, and I thank each of you who helped her get here, and who are praying for her everyday.

Today she called from her team leader's cell phone and had ten minutes to talk. She was in the middle of a five hour bus trip from Guatemala City to Huehuetenango. The team had been in Guatemala City since arriving in Guatemala on Saturday. During their stay, they visited a National Anthropology Museum, where they saw numerous Mayan artifacts and learned more about the Mayans in general as well as about the minority group to which they'll be visiting. They also had sessions with Wycliffe language translators who are in Guatemala working with several other Mayan minority groups. She said Guatemala is beautiful and mountainous, and that they'd seen several volcanoes -- one of which had smoke coming from its top! Again, she sounded enthusiastic and bursting with things to tell us!

The rest of their schedule is as follows (click here to get to a map of Guatemala which can be blown-up):

June 16: Culture learning in Huehuetenango
June 17: Culture learning in San Miguel Acatan
June 18-20: Village stay (this is when they actually stay with a Mayan family)
June 21: Attend church in San Miguel Acatan
June 22: Travel back to Huehuetenango
June 23: Day at Lake Atitlan
June 24: Day in Antigua
June 25: Travel back to Guatemala City
June 26: Travel back to the U.S.
June 27: Home!

Your continued prayers are priceless!

Missions....before missions!

The day before Brittany left for her mission's trip was deemed "Family Day", with Brittany choosing the day's activities. Even though we have seen them oodles of times, Brittany chose to once again visit the local Missions. None of us complained....we all love the Missions!

Mission San Jose

It was a beautiful afternoon spent with our little family. My heart is the most content when all six of us are spending time together in the quietude of nature or the beauty of an old, historic setting such as the Missions. Brittany further delighted my heart when, as we were strolling the quaint grounds of Mission San Francisco de la Espada, she grabbed my hand and said, "Thank you for homeschooling us, Mom, and for giving us a love of history and cultures." Ahhhhhhh! In that moment, all of the late night planning, late afternoon Chemistry correcting, all of the not-so-fun homeschooling moments -- they all disappeared. This journey is not always easy, but it can, and often does, yield precious rewards and memories.

Mission San Francisco de la Espada

Another sweet moment of our Family Day was when we were taking pictures at Mission San Jose. Something clicked in Brock's head, and he got all excited. He said, "Now Brock is in the picture!" He was remembering this picture we had sent to him while he was still in China...

Yes, Brock, now YOU are in the Goodrich Family Picture!!

One year ago today, sweet little Maria Sue Chapman went home to be with Jesus. I'm sure some of you have been following the Chapman's journey of grief and healing. For those who haven't, you'll be inspired, humbled, and moved to tears by the courage, faith, and honesty shown on Mary Beth's blog.

I am so encouraged by these words written today by Steven's manager, Jim Houser:

And in Steven and Mary Beth's words, now that they as a family have stood at the door of eternity... they are more sure than ever that the Gospel is true. That when you go to the darkest, deepest, ugliest place... to the Very Bottom. God is there. He is still there with you. That it's all true. All the things that Steven has written and sung about all these years, it's true.

As someone who has been honored to walk alongside an extended family and circle of the Chapman's friends I have watched them closely. The words I've just typed aren't things they just say for interviews or for people at concerts or at church. They also say them when no one else is around... on planes to California with no one in the seat next to us, in their living room to each other, and on buses alone in the back lounge in the dark of night. They believe it, they are living it. Their new normal.

PLEASE continue to pray for the Chapman family as they navigate through the often uncertain and dark waters of "their new normal".

May 9th, 2006...

Without a doubt, one of the most amazing moments of my life.

Being handed for the very first time the sweet child you've prayed for, L O N G E D for, ached for, shed countless tears for...there are no words for that moment.

It has been THREE years since my hands first held that which my heart had already held for SO long. Unbelievable! What a priceless gift we have been given.

May 9th, 2009...Look at her NOW!!...

Little Miss Brielle ~ You are the gift that keeps us smiling, brings us unspeakable joy, and allows us to relive life one more time through the eyes of a sweet child. I thank God everyday for giving us YOU!

Forever Family Day Swim!

Time to celebrate!

A gift from China for our gift from China!

Happy Birthday, Brant!!

On May 1st, we celebrated Brant's *14th* birthday! Unfortunately, due to a couple local cases of the Swine Flu (am I allowed to call it that???? hopefully PETA doesn't frequent my blog) and the resulting hysteria, some of our planned festivities needed to be postponed. Brant did, however, have a great night (all night) of his favorite pizza, Monster, Coldstone cake, airsoft, swimming, video games, and movies with three of his closest friends. Teenage boys are so much fun! I love listening to their nonsense talk, movie quotes, and incessant witty comments.

We are so very proud of the young man Brant has grown up to be. He is:

*disciplined

*hardworking

*energetic

*witty

*full of interesting facts

*affectionate

*an entertaining and loving big brother

*a fun and entertaining "little" brother

*a meticulous pool boy

*a tireless landscaper

*competent and efficient at any given task

*a great running partner

*organized

*helpful

*analytical

*responsible

Happy 14th Birthday, Brant! We love you so very much!!

"Two Grandmas and a Grandpa"

wow...not sure what's up with Brock's face...maybe he sees that white, shadowy figure in the corner (inside joke for two grandmas and a grandpa :o) )

In case the title has you wondering...???...

Recently, Max's Mom and Dad, along with my Mom all flew together from TN to see Brittany's drama production (see next post) and to visit with us. In anticipation of their coming, Brock excitedly asked a LOT of questions. For some reason, he was having a hard time grasping that not ALL of our relatives from TN were coming just because some were. He kept asking about cousins, Aunt Cindy, Uncle Pat, etc. Likely, it was because when we went to TN for Thanksgiving, we saw ALL our TN relatives. Finally, I told him that just "two Grandmas and a Grandpa" were coming from TN -- a total of three people. For some reason, this clicked, and so it was repeated again and again before their arrival.

We had a great time, as always, with our extended family. What a blessing it is to share the simple things in life with loved ones. Simple our time together was. In between drama rehearsals and productions, we simply fixed meals together, ate together, talked (a lot), took nature walks, learned the names of some TX wildflowers, etc. Simple and relaxing.

Oh...I almost forgot to mention our greatest accomplishment together...


As tradition requires, we put together this beautiful 1,000 piece puzzle...in just 3 days!!! Okay, I admit...they were three VERY LONG days...days with not nearly enough sleep, but with so much good late-night conversation ;o) .

Thank you so much for coming, Two Grandmas and a Grandpa!!

Come back soon...next time with Grandpa #2!

Lights!...Camera!...Murder??

This school year, Brittany had been involved in a Drama Troupe which met three hours each week. Their final production was a Murder Mystery entitled, "A Party to a Murder". Brittany played the part of a mystery writer (a perfect fit for her) who eventually figured out who-dunnit. Everyone in the cast did a magnificent, believable job!

Brittany and some of her cast-mates...

GET Global!

As most of you might already know, my sweet sixteen year old daughter will be off to Guatemala this summer with Wycliffe Bible Translator's GET (Go Experience Translation) Global program. What an amazing opportunity this is for one who has felt called to missions ever since she was a little girl. I am praising God for this open door and asking Him to continue to reveal His perfect will as Brittany walks through it.

You can read more about Brittany's upcoming mission's trip, as well as her other thoughts about "God's Call" on her own blog (scroll down to "God's Call", "Guatemala", and "SOOO Excited for this Summer").

Your prayers in behalf of Brittany and her team (as well as of those of us left here at home :o/ ) are hugely appreciated!

"Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!"

Luke 24:5b-6a

We had a wonderful Easter weekend...probably one of my favorite weekends in a long time. How fitting. This was Brock's first Easter and likely the first Easter that Brielle can understand and will remember. Leading up to Good Friday and Easter, I read the Easter story to Brock and Brielle over and over again, using a variety of books and children's Bibles. I'm not sure just how deep their understanding goes, but they both can tell you why we celebrate Easter...another little seed planted. I am sooooo blessed to be able to pass on these Truths to two more precious ones.

Coloring Eggs...

Making tomb cookies as Brittany and Brant read the Easter story...


Searching for eggs and baskets...

A gorgeous Easter afternoon ... just perfect for a hike!

2 Wheelin'

Last week, we finally got around to taking Brock out to learn to ride his bike without training wheels. Anticipating a long evening, we loaded up the van and headed to the neighborhood school's parking lot. Once unloaded, Max helped Brock get steady on his two wheels and started to walk along side him...but, Brock had already balanced himself and was OFF! Much to our surprise and delight, he immediately got it! He rode round and round the lot, with only a few mishaps (because he learned to ride so quickly, we didn't have time to teach him the whole brake thing right away...he learned that the hard way...but he DID learn :0/ ).

Just because I want to remember the cute things she says...

For some reason, Miss Brielle has recently been waking up with a new burning question on her mind.

First it was, "Mom, who's Pharoah?" I, having had in only one cup of coffee that morning, wasn't prepared for hearing her ask about "Pharaoh", so I didn't understand what she was saying. Finally, in frustration, she said, "You know, the one in Egypt!"

Another day, she asked, "What's a meteor?", and when I asked her where she had heard about a "meteor", she ran and got a book I had read to them a while back. So, much to her curious delight, I reread her the part about a meteor.

Then came the early morning question, "What is Uranus?", to which I gladly grabbed a book about the planets, and then cuddled on the couch with my little inquisitor where we both learned more about this obscure planet.

This morning, she came downstairs and asked as clear as day, "Mom, what is echolocation?" So, I proceeded to describe echolocation using a bat and a mosquito as examples. She, of course, wanted to pretend to be a bat hunting for a mosquito, so at 7:00 a.m. , we were "flying" around our house looking for prey using our echolocation.

This little girl is a homeschool Mom's delight!

Spring Ball

Our homeschool group's Spring Ball was the weekend after Brittany's birthday, so her visiting friends were able to attend the Ball with her. They were excited about this because, before moving, they were members of this same homeschool group. Attending the Ball, and all of the pre- and post-Ball activities, gave them the opportunity to hang out with a lot of old friends.

Brittany's TEN day Sweet SIXTEEN Celebration!

On March 15th, 2009, our first-born turned SIXTEEN years old!

How can that be??

I find parenting quite strange and somewhat scary when I, as the parent, vividly remember being the age of my children (it was only yesterday, afterall). I'm delighted that Brittany is so much different than I was at sixteen. NOT that I was a horrible sixteen year old, but I certainly wasn't as quiet and gentle spirited as she is (nor am I today...ugh...the quiet and gentle thing just isn't in my genetic code).

Some other things I love about my sweet, sixteen year old daughter:

She is selfless,

patient,

kind-hearted,

imaginative,

nonconforming,

responsible,

always truthful,

self-assured,

optimistic,

easy to please,

content,

humble,

a great big sister,

a parent's delight :o)!

I so badly wanted to do something special for Brittany on her 16th bday, and I thought and thought about what would thrill her the most. Unfortunately, Joe Jonas had other plans on Brittany's bday, so I came up with something I thought she might enjoy almost as much -- a visit from her best friends who moved to New Jersey last May...a TEN day visit!! She was SO very, very excited to find out that they'd share her special day/week with her! Another best friend who lives here was able to stay almost the entire ten days at our house, too. It blessed my heart to hear them giggling late into the night, making memories that they won't soon forget.

The Jonas Brothers did show up after all!

Happy Sweet Sixteen, Miss Brittany!

Just Another Day at the Goodrich House?!?!?

Yesterday afternoon, I was out with Brittany and her friends when I got a call from Brant.

His words were, "Mom, the weirdest thing just happened. I am upstairs reading, and I just heard a big crash. I looked out the window, and there is a blue car stuck in our garage."

My response, "What do you mean there is a car 'stuck in our garage'?"

He proceeded to describe to me the following scene....

Brant said he hadn't seen anyone exit the car, and he voiced concern that someone might be hurt inside. He was home alone, so I really didn't want him going out to check (by the way...the last time I left him home alone, he and his friend locked themselves out of the house...do you see why I'm not fond of leaving my kids home alone????). I was about 25 minutes away, so I called two friends who live nearby, and they both agreed to come over to assess the situation. However, someone must have called 9-1-1, so the fire department and first responders showed up at our door first. Poor Brant! He handled it very maturely, and it wasn't long before my first friend showed up.

I, of course, was speeding home, getting updates from Brant and my friend along the way. The first update was that "someone was hurt and they couldn't find him/her". Oh great. Thankfully, they soon figured out that this was not the case. Instead, a car parked on the road a few houses up the street must not have been in gear, and it rolled downhill...right into our garage! For those of you who've been here and know the layout of our house/garage, it is actually a blessing that this car hit our garage instead of continuing to roll down the ever-steeper hill, gaining speed and causing much more damage to whatever finally stopped its descent.

Here are some more pictures of the scene...

Hmmmm...."roll for damage"...

Hoping to Win a Book and Hoping You'll Get One, Too!

Since going through the paperchase to bring Brock home, I've followed the blog, "Owlhaven", where I've been inspired, challenged, and received a lot of ideas/advice about raising and homeschooling children.

The author of Owlhaven has TEN kids - from three different countries - and she has homeschooled them all! A true hero in my book! You can imagine how excited I am to find out that the author of this inspirational blog has authored a new book titled, A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family.

Because I WANT and NEED a copy of her book :o) and because I think you do, too :o), I've linked to her blog (click on Owlhaven or her book title) where she's outlined "rules" for a Book Giveaway. Check it out!

**Please see the "I hear you!" post below if you haven't already...exciting times at our house!**

"I hear you!"

This afternoon, Brock FINALLY got his Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA) on a softband!!! I will spare you from all of the frustrating details of why we are just now getting the BAHA (grrrrrr......I never dreamed that working with medical professionals and insurance companies could be sooooo impossible).

This is what a "softband" looks like:

You'll note that Brock's BAHA came with a "sky blue"softband. I can't imagine me ordering that, but that is what we have. I'm looking into getting him a different color.

Here is a picture of the different colors that the sound processor comes in. Brock has a black processor, to "match" his dark hair.

The sound processor snaps into the softband, and the softband is then placed on the head like a headband, with the processor resting against the head. The sound processor changes sound waves into vibrations which are transmitted through the skull to the inner ear.

It has been so much fun seeing Brock's reaction as a whole new world opens up to him. In the doctor's office, he looked a little overwhelmed with all the new input and strange noises. But once we were out in the car, he kept saying, "I hear you!" with a big smile over every new sound. It is amazing to find out which everyday, ordinary things he had never heard before.

Some of the things he heard for the first time:

- music in the lobby of the doctor's office

- me moving the sun visor in the car

- me popping bubbles with my gum (which I do all the time)

- the noise of the car while driving along

- the noise of other cars/motorcycles passing us

- the sound of the beads/stuffing of a stuffed animal when you play with it

- clapping (I can't believe this one, but he was clapping in the car, smiling and saying "I hear it!")

- my cell phone ringing in my purse

- leaves rustling across the grass

- the different sounds made by knocking on different materials (believe me, he experimented all the way home from the doctor)

- us calling him softly when his back is turned to us

I'm sure there were more, but that is what I can remember off the top of my head.

When we got home, Max and I were talking in the kitchen, and the first thing Brock did was to walk out of the kitchen and into our entryway on the other side of the kitchen wall. There he yelled, "I hear you! I hear Mommy and Daddy talking!" It was so interesting to see him experiment like this. Then, he went upstairs, and there, too, he yelled down, "I hear you!", and we proceeded to have a conversation with him from downstairs -- something we never could do pre-BAHA!

After wearing the BAHA for about three hours, he asked if it could be turned off. Truthfully, his little face looked quite exhausted. The audiologist told us that this would likely happen, as it can be a lot of work receiving and processing all of the new input (especially in this noisy, noisy family!). He suggested we come up with a schedule of on and off times as needed.

Baba sharing some of his favorite music with Brock in hopes of winning someone in the family over to his poor taste in music :o). Poor Brock! He now thinks the sound of the Bee Gees is what constitutes "music".

Last month, I took this picture of Brock's dictation lesson. The messy handwriting on the top two lines belongs to me :o), while the neat penmanship on the bottom two lines belongs to my eager student. Every day, I give him a sentence or two to read, then I cover it up, and dictate it back to him while he writes each word. He loves to do this, and as you can see, he is quite good at it.

Brock also likes to spend his free time copying books like, "Go Dog Go!" .

Today, while I was working with the big kids, I looked over at Brock and found him composing all of these little notes on the chalkboard.

Might we have two enthusiastic writers under one roof?!?

Three-Year Old Taxonomist

This afternoon, Brock and Brielle watched Charlotte's Web for the first time. Immediately after it was over, Brielle asked me,

"Mom, are spiders mammals?"

Recalling the recent science lessons she has sat in on with Brock, I explained,

"No, because mammals have hair or fur - remember?"

To which she aptly replied,

"Spiders have fur."

Ewwwwwwwww...........she's right.......unfortunately, some are furry.

Mammals they must be then :o)!

A New Way to Help Orphans: Running Hope

I am sooooo excited about this new opportunity to help orphans, and especially excited how it came at the PERFECT time for our family!

Last Sunday (February 1st), Max and I were out for one of our treasured runs together. We were discussing how we really wanted our kids to get more involved in extracurriculars/serving others and were brainstorming on how that could best be done with the unique talents/interests of our family. My thoughts trailed off, and I began to wonder if there could possibly be a way we could meet this goal through running. Seemed crazy, and I was just about to dismiss it, when Max spoke up and said that running could be a great venue for us to pursue with Brant (who runs with us during the off-season of hockey).

Oh my goodness...all of a sudden I was so excited, and my mind began to fill with ideas. Right away I said, "We could get sponsors and run races for a cause!" Of course the cause that is near and dear to our hearts is adoption, so we began to talk about running for orphans. I began to picture designing matching running shirts and imagined how amazing it would feel to run each mile for those who are fatherless. Truthfully, I didn't know about any organized adoption charities that had running sponsorship programs, but I planned on checking it out online and getting in touch with Steven and Mary Beth Chapman's Shaohannah's Hope to see if we could work out something with them.

A few busy days passed before I could sit down and research "running for orphans", but when I goggled those words, I was elated to find a link to Running Hope, a new branch of ministry for Shaohannah's Hope, just announced at the end of January (and complete with matching running t-shirts)!

If you run or walk, you can now do so on behalf of orphans through an established, amazing ministry! If you are not interested in the physical feat, you are more than welcome to sponser us as we race for orphans :o)!

Here is a description of Running Hope found on SCC's Manager's blog:

A New Way to Help Orphans:
Just announced last week by Shaohannah's Hope and an amazing friend to the Chapmans, Tony Amburgy. A new way to try to keep that New Year's resolution that you might have fallen off on perhaps? Not that I would know about such a thing. Here's an excerpt from the press release.

Show Hope, the ministry of Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman dedicated to helping families overcome financial barriers associated with adoption as well as raise awareness about the worldwide plight of orphans, is honored to announce their partnership with Running Hope. Running Hope is an organization with a mission to utilize running and walking events to generate awareness and resources to support charitable organizations across the nation, working to make a difference for the 133 million orphans around the world.

"While we find our nation in widespread economic unrest, this exclusive strategic partnership gives individuals, both runners and walkers, a chance to do something significant with their time and energy for orphans," explains Scott Hasenbalg, Executive Director of Shaohannah's Hope. "There is something for everyone in this program."

Running Hope is based in Atlanta and was founded by Tony and Marilyn Amburgy who were inspired to run for the world's orphans after attending a Shaohannah's Hope benefit in 2006. New to running at the time, Tony Amburgy learned many people participate in walking and running events to raise financial support and awareness for specific causes and charities. Amburgy began to consider running for a purpose, feeling called to support orphan causes. Partnering with Shaohannah's Hope, Running Hope was born.