I guess she really wasn't done taking a bath...

I gave the girls a bath yesterday (they get a bath every evening, but these pictures are from yesterday). Morgan decided that she was ready to get out, but Jaden wanted to stay in to play. I got Morgan out, dried her off, and put her clothes on. Next thing I know, she is back in the tub with all of her clothes on!!!

Grandma Frances turns 83!!

We went to Uncle Ray's house for a BBQ. Grandma Frances is in town for a week or so. We had a chance to visit with her and to wish her a happy birthday. She didn't want any pictures of her taken, so I snuck a cople of side shots. She is a sports lover (just like Uncle Ray & LeCount), so they watched golf and some football. We were hoping to get her to come to our house for at least a night, but it looks like she will be headed home sooner than expected. She may be leaving on Tuesday. If she changes her plans, maybe we can get her over to our house for a little bit.

Raising money to buy a bed

I received a thank you letter from Henry today, along with some pictures. I sent him some workbooks for himself and his 5 year old brother Esneiver. The reason I sent the workbooks (besides giving them something fun to do) is because he needs a bed, a towel, and dishes... I know that doesn't make sense, but I will explain. I had asked him awhile back if his family needed anything. He told me that he did not have a bed or a towel, and they don't have enough dishes for everyone to eat. Since, I don't have extra money laying around, I decided to raise the money using Ebay. I bought some workbooks, and have been selling them for the past 3 months now. I wanted Henry to know that I had not forgotten his request, so I sent him some workbooks, so that he could see what I was selling in order to raise the money for his bed (and the other things). Now, I finally have the money to get him those things!! His birthday is October 28th, and he will be 8 years old. For his birthday, he will receive a bed and dishes. I am raising more money in order to send him a Christmas package which will contain a towel set for him and his brother, a soccer tie blanket that I made a while back, and a soccer ball. Yay for Ebay!!!!! Thank you Mack and Su for your purchases of workbooks that helped contribute to making him happy!!! I will keep you posted as I get more pictures. By the way, my brother Kevin has left for school again, so I don't have him to scan my pictures for me. I took a picture of the pictures that I received. I know they didn't turn out very well, but at least you can see his smile!

Fly for cheap

Since beginning sponsorship, and getting to know the kids in 5 different countries, I have begun to think about international travel again. I would like to meet the kids that I sponsor one day, but I just didn't know how I was going to do it. It is expensive to travel, especially, if (like I) you plan to take your kids with you. Anyway, my friend Mack has given me hope. I am following her direction of raking up frequent flyer miles. Along with the directions she has given me, I have found other web-sites where you can earn miles. Microsoft has games that you play on live search to earn points and redeem for miles, and even some survey companies offer them as prizes. I wanted to pass on her good info, in case any of the rest of you would like to go somewhere for less. Here is what she wrote:

My friends are always asking me how I can afford to travel so much. I tell them that one of my big "secrets" is saving up Frequent Flyer Miles to trade in for otherwise too expensive flights.
If you want to do this, your first step will be to choose a FF program. I have no knowledge about which program is the best, because, like many people, I automatically signed up for the services of our state's small, local airline – the one I fly with the most often, and the one most likely to offer low fares from my nearest airport hub.
If you are researching different FF programs, my best advice is to look for one with a long list of partner airlines. With my program, for instance, I am able to earn miles by flying on American, Delta, Continental, NWA, British Airways, + more, in addition to my primary airline.
TIPS FOR EARNING FF MILES:

1. The obvious and expected way to earn miles is by flying. This is expensive, so if you aren't planning to do it anyway, I don't recommend it. That said, if you have the ability to travel spontaneously, it's fun to watch for super low airfares that make the trip almost worth it for the mileage you will earn. For example, I once found a flight to Paris for under $300, so I booked it even though I had no need to go to France. Between the FF miles I got, and the opportunity to check out some famous art, I felt the trip was worth the money.

2. Apply for a credit or debit card that will earn you 1 or more miles per dollar spent, then use it to buy EVERYTHING. Just be careful you aren't spending more than you can pay off at the end of each month, or you will risk paying finance charges!

3. If there's an expense you can't pay for with your mileage credit card – say, your mortgage or utility bills – use the card to purchase a money order from a department store (Wal-Mart has the best deal in my area). Your bank will see it only as a charge at the store, and you will collect FF miles for your purchase.

4. Be aware of your airline's various mile-earning programs and use them judiciously. I am able to earn extra FF miles by renting cars, buying groceries, sending flowers, shopping online, eating at restaurants … the list goes on and on. Research and determine how you can get FF miles for STUFF/SERVICES THAT YOU WOULD HAVE PAID FOR ANYWAY. If you are buying things JUST to earn miles, it kind of defeats the purpose of being thrifty.

TIPS FOR REDEEMING FF MILES:

1. Book early! Each flight only offers so many FF seats, so if you want to ensure that you snag one to a particular destination on a particular day, you'll need to plan ahead. Find out how far in advance you are allowed to book (usually about a year) and call on the FIRST DAY that you are permitted to make your reservation.
Some programs will allow you to book your outbound and inbound flights separately, so that you don't miss your opportunity to be the first in line if your return date is well past your departure date.

2. If no FF seats are available to your chosen destination, don't give up! Keep checking back, because new FF slots open up at the whim of the airlines or because other travelers canceled. Also, you can try flying into neighboring cities or countries. Note: The more popular your destination, the better chance of securing a FF seat.

3. Before you trade your FF miles in for a ticket, make sure there are no special airfare offers to your destination. Sometimes it makes more sense to pay for your ticket rather than relinquishing valuable miles.

4. Don't be afraid to change or cancel your FF flight if a better deal comes along. You will probably pay a fee to do this, but it can be worth it!

5. Save FF miles by flying into "cheaper" regions of the world first, then continuing onward from that point. For example, let's say you are sponsoring a child in India. Your FF program requires you to exchange 100,000 miles for a ticket to Calcutta, but only 60,000 to Dhaka, Bangladesh. Fly into the neighboring country and travel overland or grab a cheap flight to India. Note: Cheap fares to all over the world can often be booked from Hong Kong.

6. Take advantage of "Open Jaw" options. Most airlines will allow you to fly into one country and out of another on your FF ticket. With this money saving method, you can fly into Colombia to visit one child, then fly out of Ecuador after visiting another kid!

7. If you are not on an Open Jaw itinerary, you are generally allowed 1 free stop-over at a scheduled connection city. This probably will not help you to visit your child, but you can enjoy a "mini-vacation" along the way at no additional cost.

Free Anti-Virus Software and more!

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Home School Conference

We got a chance to go to a home school convention and book fair a while back. While we were "in town" LeCount did an open check at a movie theater. While we waited in the car for him to get finished, I gave the girls hamburgers and french fries. Morgan always amazes me because she is so tiny, but yet, she wants to do everything that the big kids are doing. So here she is with a Jr Bacon Cheeseburger. In her hand, it looks like one of those big adult sized hamburgers!!

After LeCount was done with the check, we went on to the home school convention. There were a lot of vendors and good information. Next time, we will have to get a sitter so that we get a chance to get in on some of the seminars. I found a lot of good books and materials for Jaden (and Morgan eventually). I will be blogging later about the ones that I decide to use. I will be picking up a textbook for Jaden later this week. Of course, she has plenty to keep her busy right now as she is working on 5 different workbooks (and several free printables). During the day when all of the kids are here, I use the free printables. It is easier that way to make several copies for everyone since I don't have a copier. In fact here are some links to more printables: http://www.coloring-book.info/coloring/ (this one has famous characters to color, including Jaden's favorite character for the moment~Franklin). Today, I used this link: http://printables.familyeducation.com/ to print off coloring pages for the book "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie". I read the book to them first, and then, they painted the 3 coloring pages. And, this is where I get my alphabet letter print outs: http://www.starfall.com/n/N-info/abcprint.htm?n=abc We started the letters on Monday, and we are doing a letter a day.

The downside of Mystery Shopping & other similar employment

Theater "open checks" are my favorite. For one thing, they pay well. The other reason is because you can watch a movie that you may have been wanting to see for free. I did several open checks close to Christmas time for Fred Claus. I saw that movie so many times that I could recite some lines even now. I can still tell you all about the movie, but I will save you the boring details. Even though LeCount and I have pretty busy schedules, I still try to fit in open checks when I can. When LeCount was working 3 days of 12 hour shifts, it was even easier to fit them in. Now, we can't do that many.
Anyway, the down side of this kind of work is the pay schedule. It is NEVER predictable, and you usually are wondering where your money is long before it makes it into your account. It, also, depends on the kind of work you have done. For example, with the open checks, since you have to mail in your original paperwork to New York, it takes even longer to get paid. They usually pay somewhere between 4 to 6 weeks after you have done the work. On open checks, the counting doesn't start until they receive and process the original paperwork. We did 3 open checks the weekend of 7/11/08 & 7/12/08. I have been waiting for that money to hit, and so far there is NOTHING. I called them today, and they said to give it at least another week before I check on my payment. Good grief!!! We, also, did a check on the 25th of that same month, so I guess I won't be seeing that payment for at least 3 weeks from now. LeCount did a small check last weekend, so that means we may get that money before Christmas!! LOL!!!
It's really not funny. I am grateful to have the opportunity to do those kinds of jobs and bring money into the house, but I would like to see the money REALLY soon. If any of you have seen my money floating around, let me know!!

Bored at home? Take a trip to the cemetary

When in a small city like Colima, it can get boring really fast. The malls are not really malls in the way that we consider a mall. They may have about 25 stores in them, and the stores aren't that great. There is usually a Sears in one of the malls, and that is their big department store. The movies don't play until at least 3 months or more after they start playing in the states. So, you can easily find yourself without something to do. When some friends called up and asked if I wanted to go to the cemetary with them, I thought they were crazy! And they were, but it was probably from lack of entertainment. At any rate, the cemetary was different than any I have seen here, so I took some pictures. There was a poor part of the cemetary that only had wooden crosses made of twigs or markers made of glass bottles.

Not funny!

While attending a small town festival outside of Colima (I forget which town we were in), I found myself atop a horse riding through the streets. Weird how that happens. I went with my Mexican family (the people I lived with for 4 months). One of the borthers-in-law thought it would be funny to pay one of thse guys on horses to ride me through the town. I'm sure it was funny to everyine else (as if I didn't stand out already~I had to be paraded through the streets). I tried to maintain my sense of humor, but I was glad when the ride ended.

Wow!!!

These pictures are of the kids stringing together colored noodles to make a necklace.
We had a busy week... Non-stop action!! The nine kids that were here for 12 hours a day were:
9 year old girl (my neice)
9 year old girl
8 year old boy
4 year old girl (mine)
4 year old girl
2 year old boy
18 month old boy
18 month old girl (mine)
8 month old boy
This week will hopefully be a little less chaotic since one of the 9 year olds was my neice Kasey, and she has gone back home. Also, the 9 and 8 year olds will be in school, so I will only have them in the moring and after school. I will still have all of the rest of the children here, and in one week, a 3 year old girl will start coming as well. It should be easier with the preschoolers because it was hard to have 3 different activities going at one time (one for the older kids, one for the preschoolers, and one for the toddlers). Grandma Leslie made a surprise visit on Friday, which is always nice. Of course, I wasn't great company because I was exhausted at that point. By the time the last child left at 5 PM, I just wanted to sleep.

The two four year olds got up from their naps before everyone else. Jaden cooked no bake chocolate cookies on the stove (I measured everything, and she put it in the pan and stirred). Then, Gabby and Jaden put globs of it down on wax paper to cool. It was nice having that time with them, and they enjoyed making cookies & eating the leftover stuff in the pan before everyone else got up~ Morgan watched on the sidelines because I didn't want her to burn herself.

Passing on the torture

After torturing Jaden by brushing her hair and putting it into 5 braids, she decided to do the same to her baby doll. While she was brushing her baby dolls hair, she kept saying, "ooooooOOOWWWW!!!" LOL!!

The older kids make a blanket

I am used to entertaining preschoolers toddlers and babies, but preteens are a whole different ball game. It takes a lot to keep them busy when they are used to playing video games and watching tv all the time. While the babies slept, I got them to work on a tie blanket. That kept them busy for about 30 minutes. Of course, it looks nothing like the ones adults make, but they did it on their own, so they were proud of themselves.

Dr. Jaden

Younger, wilder days~ Colima, Mexico

I can'r believe I was crazy enough to get in this water. It was so COLD!!! Everything was going ok, just a little chilly... Until, my arms and legs stared to go numb from the cold at the same time I was trying to swim to shore. Of all of the stupid ideas!!!

A day full of fun!

We had a very busy day! There were 9 kids to play with, and everyone had a playmate. This is the last week before school starts, so everything is starting to wind down (did I say wind down? I mean, the kids are playing like there is no tomorrow!!)

Jaden's first flower grows

Jaden planted some sunfloers from seeds a couple of months ago. Every time LeCount mows the lawn, he always cuts down the weeds, too. He has been accidentally copping off Jaden's growing flowers. Somehow one of them survived. It's not very tall, but it's alive!

Comala, Mexico~ Botanero

These two pictures were taken from the bus as I travelled through Comala. I saw houses more run down than these while I was in Colima, but I never took any pictures of them. These are my only pictures of the poorer side of Mexico.
I went to Comala a lot for lunch with my friends. From the university, we were able to get on the bus, and we would be in Comala in a matter of 30 minutes. The food there was "free". You only have to buy your drinks. So, you could get whatever drink you wanted non-alcoholic as well, and then, the waiter would keep bringing plate after plate of food. Here is more info:

The botanero is a type of restaurant that is found in the area, especially in Comala. Bottles of local alcoholic beverages may be ordered that come with an assortment of botanas a no additional charge. The drinks include ponche de granada (pomegranate punch) and drinks made from tamarind, dried plums and other fruit, as well as tuba, an alcoholic drink made from palm sap. Botanas may include fried tacos, enchiladas, ceviche tostadas, cheeses, and salads. However, the botanas have become quite popular and are more appealing than the alcohol to many of us so you can purchase an assortment of botanas and make a meal of it without the alcohol. The dishes come to your table a few at a time so you can work your way through the assortment.
( http://www.tomzap.com/comala.html )

My Family

Jaden made her first picture of her family yesterday during "school". As you can see I have big feet. At least my waist is small, I guess. LOL!!!