I went to a leadership conference in August and listen to a man named Wess Stafford speak on his childhood, passion for children, and organization called Compassion. I read his book and was so moved by his story. I felt lead for our family to sponsor a couple children through this program. With our monthly contribution, our sponsor children are able to participate in a program that empowers them to rise up from poverty and enables them to become responsible Christian adults. We also are able to communicate with them through letters. Our family is enjoying creating a friendship with these children and their families that live so far from where we live (one is in the Philippines and the other in the Dominican Republic). I love when the children draw us pictures because I get a sense of their world through they're eyes. The houses, animals, and scenery's are so different from what my girls draw :) It also initiates conversation between the girls and I about different lifestyles and cultures, and broadens our awareness and prayers for the needs of these children and their families who are living so differently then we are.
This Christmas I am praying for Aziz S Ilboudo, a little boy who is awaiting a sponsor in Burkina Faso, to find a sponsor! If you are interested in learning more about Compassion or sponsoring Aziz email me, leave me a comment, or visit
http://www.compassion.com/(also, I highly recommend reading Wess Stafford's book Too Small To Ignore.) :)
We had a wonderful visit with Grandma Airdrie. We wished she could have stayed longer. The girls enjoyed lots of play time and story time. :)
We had a fantastic time at Disneyland last week. This visit was extra special because my brother and his family went with us. The teens got to run around and do their own thing and the little girls were so happy to be with eachother they didn't even ask about princesses at all!
You never know what you'll get in SD. After a beautiful Thanksgiving day, the Christmas season blew in with a storm. We had a wonderful rainy day and decided to set out to get our tree. It's a Barley tradition to get our tree on a rainy day to insure we get a crooked tree. Ha! The rest of the day was spent tree trimming, Christmas movie watching, turkey soup eating, and fire place enjoying! Perfect Christmas kick-off!
We spent the morning down at the beach walking around the tide pools. I had flash backs of being a kid with my dad. He always took my brother and I down to the tide pools.
