Saturday, March 13, 2010

Daddy Visits Friday School & Spends Time in Jaden's Classes

Jaden's woodworking class Block A (above) & her playground games class Block B (below)
Jaden's drawing class Block C (below)

Talk about an awesome experience! LeCount took the day off, so that we could go out of town. Before we left, there was school to attend to. LeCount went with Jaden to her classes (since I am always with Morgan in her class). Jaden was excited to show off her daddy to everyone, and I was happy to see the pictures of what I miss.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Making Easter Gifts



The picture right above these words is of Morgan's autograph. This is how she writes her name. Not bad for a 3 year old!

Jaden and Morgan decorated hot pads to give to their grandmothers for Easter. They love doing stuff like this.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

An Easter Package



It's funny to me how children get so excited over stuffed animals that sing/dance. A friend in Arizona, Alice, sent these rabbits to the girls. They love them. In fact, they love them so much that they don't want them to stop singing!! (Mamas know what I am talking about and can imagine what my house sounds like now). They have been restricted to only being able to use the singing mechanism in their room with the door shut :o) But, I am happy to see them happy!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Miracles in Caring Group














I started this group in January this year when an opportunity landed in my lap. This opportunity, has God's hand all over it! It was amazing how desperate the situation was for these Ugandan's and how we were brought together by nothing less than a miracle! Now, after gathering information and getting this business set up, I am ready to show it to all of you. 100% of the profits go directly to the women who made these items in the slums outside of the capital city of Uganda in East Africa.

Miracles In Caring is about giving parents the tools they need to provide for their families. In Uganda, for example, a years long civil war has left many children father-less and without homes. These families have moved to the capital city Kampala to escape the violence in Northern Uganda. When the families finally made it to Kampala, they found they had no skills to compete for the jobs there. These women and their families were farmers, and self-sufficient in Northern Uganda. Now, they are without land, and live in whatever home they can put together with the scraps they find.


These hard-working women have found one job that will take them in. This job is breaking rocks from big pieces to smaller piece. They sit down in the rock quarry and hammer at the rocks all day long. For 12 hours of work, they make about 50 cents! To do the math for you, that is 4 cents an hour!!

Because the pay is so small, most mothers HAVE to include their children in the work. Instead of going to school, the children break rocks right alongside their mothers to put food on the table. These are not bad mothers who want to get rich off of their children. These are mothers who have two choices: put their children to work alongside them, or watch their children starve to death!!

Their children should be in school, there is no doubt about that. An education is the key to breaking out of poverty. The problem is that these children are just trying to survive. When you don't even know if you will have enough to eat one meal the next day, it is a matter of survival. What good is an education if you will be dead from lack of food and dehydration tomorrow?

Our organization is going to change the lives of these women and their families. We have set them up with a business that isn't so back-breaking, and gives them more profit. This will allow their children to attend school, and allow the mothers to have the resources they need to take care of their families.

They have already lived through a civil war- Now it is time to restore their peace of mind!

There could not be a better time to help. To order, go to the MAC webstore.

To see a video of the stone quarry and what it is like to live in the slums of Kampala, and WHY the families are struggling so much, you have to check out this you tube video.

I have all of the items they are selling in my home, so if you see something that you like & would like to save on postage, just let me know!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Big Milestone~ Their First S'Mores








It's not so strange when a 3 year old and 5 year old have never had a S'More, but a 45 year old!? At the family picnic, we roasted marshmallows. Then, Jaden, Morgan & LECOUNT tried a S'More for the first time in their lifetime! As you can see, when LeCount went to eat his, it was a newsworthy moment, and photographers came from everywhere!

Monday, March 8, 2010

Picnic with Family




















We are on the last few weeks of seeing Bryan and his family before they move to another state. We got together with them on Saturday. It was family, family and more family. The kids had fun playing together & the adults had fun chatting.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Morgan's Rainstick


We talked about rain in Morgan's Friday School class. The children all made rain sticks, and listened to 3 books read aloud:

"The Very Bad Day" by Mary Packard

"Priscilla and the Splish-Splash Surprise" by Nathaniel Hobbie

"Rain Play" by Cynthia Cotton

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Jaden's Woodworking Class~ Bird House










I love the things that Jaden has made in her woodworking class at the homeschool coop! She LOVES the class, too! I will have to post the other things she has made later as I don't have pictures of them yet. This bird feeder she made, is her favorite so far. She made it a week ago and then painted it last Friday. She proudly hung it on the tree in the front yard after Friday School. She said she was able to use a wrench and a hammer. I think she did a terrific job!!

Friday, March 5, 2010

Painting Fingernails



The tongue helps you stay within the lines when you are painting fingernails! Bet you didn't know that!



I watched this scene play out. Jaden, Morgan and Grandma Leslie were having a long conversation about the postal workers. I felt like I was hanging out in a nail salon! Where all of the ladies are making small talk.
Check out Morgan's tongue and her complete concentration!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

She Cracks Me Up When She Cracks Herself Up!


Morgan has a laugh that always gets me laughing. Watch her eyes- that really cracks me up!! The thing she says at the end of the video is priceless- Kids just say what ever they want to!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

A Package from East Africa


For those of you who are not familiar with my non-profit activities. I have two organizations that I started. One of these organizations is Miracles in Caring. Here is some information about the group:


Miracles In Caring is about giving parents the tools they need to provide for their families. In Uganda, for example, a years long civil war has left many children father-less and without homes. These families have moved to the capital city Kampala to escape the violence in Northern Uganda. When the families finally made it to Kampala, they found they had no skills to compete for the jobs there. These women and their families were farmers, and self-sufficient in Northern Uganda. Now, they are without land, and live in whatever home they can put together with the scraps they find.

These hard-working women have found one job that will take them in. This job is breaking rocks from big pieces to smaller piece. They sit down in the rock quarry and hammer at the rocks all day long. For 12 hours of work, they make about 50 cents! To do the math for you, that is 4 cents an hour!!

Because the pay is so small, most mothers HAVE to include their children in the work. Instead of going to school, the children break rocks right alongside their mothers to put food on the table. These are not bad mothers who want to get rich off of their children. These are mothers who have two choices: put their children to work alongside them, or watch their children starve to death!!

Their children should be in school, there is no doubt about that. An education is the key to breaking out of poverty. The problem is that these children are just trying to survive. When you don't even know if you will have enough to eat one meal the next day, it is a matter of survival. What good is an education if you will be dead from lack of food and dehydration tomorrow?

Our organization is going to change the lives of these women and their families. We have set them up with a business that isn't so back-breaking, and gives them more profit. This will allow their children to attend school, and allow the mothers to have the resources they need to take care of their families.

They have already lived through a civil war- Now it is time to restore their peace of mind!

I have been working on this project for a few months now. I was finally able to raise enough funds to get a shipment of goods sent from Uganda to Texas. The goods arrived on Monday, and you can tell be the girls' faces, they LOVE the items!! We received dolls, purses, tote bags, aprons, necklaces, and bracelets. All of it is for sale, so if there is something you would like to purchase, let me know. 100% of the profits go to Uganda to the talented women who made the items.

Once we have sold half of the items, I will get some more sent this way. We are, also, trying to raise money to purchase a tailoring machine so that the mothers can make dashikis and other cloth items to sell.

Monday, March 1, 2010

March 1, 2010~ Jaden Moves on to 1st Grade


Jaden has been bored with her kindergarten work lately, and she flies through it. I decided to order a placement test to see if she was ready for 1st grade. The test was easy to her. She passed. It, also, showed me what I would need to work with her more on. I ordered her 1st grade materials, and got her a curriculum that I thought would be good to improve her handwriting (A Reason for Handwriting). The other subjects I ordered through Rod and Staff (surprisingly!) I didn't think I would want to use Rod & Staff in the higher grades, though Morgan is using it for Preschool. However, I have been very impressed with their preschool workbooks and Morgan just loves them. I will let you know how First Grade goes. I only got the first quarter of 1st grade book work because I want to see if it will work for Jaden.

The things that Jaden needs work on are her handwriting, placement (fifth, sixth, etc), and her higher numbers. She is in the 1st grade at the home school co-op, and loves her classes there- it isn't too involved, but she is able to keep up with everyone.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Fun in the sand & sun


Texas weather, what can I say? It was such a beautiful day!!

Books to read:

  • Diary of a Mad Mother to Be by Laura Wolf
  • Diary of a Mad Bride by Laura Wolf
  • The Nanny Diaries by Emma Mclaughlin and Nicola Kraus
  • Love in the Driest Season by Neely Tucker
  • Restavec by Jean-Robert Cadet