Penpal Anyone?

As a BzzAgent, I am asked to check out various websites from time to time and give my opinion of the service, product, etc. that the website is promoting. This afternoon, I came across a unique website called Postcrossing which enables you to send and receive postcards from people around the world who are enrolled on the site. I signed up and will be sending my first postcard to Finland. Once the person in Finland receives my card and registers it on the website, my name will go into the mix and someone will send me a postcard! I love getting mail, and I love learning about other countries and places, so this website really intrigues me. Penpal anyone?

"Does God Eat Boo-Boos?"

The question above was articulated by my three year old the other day while we were traveling together in the van. He has sustained many bumps, bruises, and scrapes this summer due to his no-holds-barred approach to life. He is always going at 100 mph and his many tumbles don't seem to deter him at all. The day he asked this question, he was consumed with a good-sized scrape on his leg that had bled when it first occurred, but now was scabbed over. The scab was starting to disappear. When he asked me "Does God eat boo-boos?" I wasn't quite sure I had heard correctly. When he repeated the question a second time, my mind raced, as it often does at such intriguing questions, to figure out what he was trying to synthesize in his little brain. I remembered his fascination with his scrape, and how I had explained to him that God would make his leg better. I guess he thought that since the scab was disappearing, that God was making it better by eating it! I quickly explained that God has created our bodies in such a way that they heal, and that God was not eating his boo-boo--that would be gross! "Oh!" was his reply, and on he went to the next topic of conversation. Only out of the mouths of babes!

New Post on Adoption Blog

Check out my new post on our adoption blog here.

Thanks for sharing in our journey!

Kokeshi Doll Gallery Show Link

The Kokeshi Doll Gallery Show is officially open for viewing! Click here to see the unique creations people submitted from all over the world. My good friend, Bethany, at Red Yarn, deserves a lot of credit for challenging all of her blog readers to create in this unique art form, and then for putting together the online gallery. Thanks, Beth...you are the best! The dolls that Sabastian and I created are about a third of the way down the list. Please take the time to check out this special art show!

Retail Me Not

I found a new website tonight that will save you time and money by giving you coupon codes for free shipping and percentage discounts for hundreds of online retailers. It is easy to navigate, and fun to use, so check it out the next time you are purchasing online by clicking on the link below. Let me know how you like it!

Visit Retail Me Not

New Blog...Check It Out!

See that fancy, smancy button underneath my profile on the righthand side of my blog? The one that says "Our Silk Road"? Click on it and you will be taken to our new blog! Many thanks to Ragan and her expertise at designing the blog (and the button!) for us. You can find a link to her work on the new site if you are at all interested. You will also find in the first post the reason for the new blog...if you can't figure it out by the blog header! We are excited about taking the first baby steps in this new adventure for our family, but we know that it will be a long journey. The new blog will be solely dedicated to our adoption story, while this blog will continue being our every day life blog. Thanks for joining us on our journey!

Interesting Article

One of the blogs I subscribe to via e-mail is Tech Savvy Mama. She posted an interesting article regarding age appropriate technology from the NY Times. You can access her blog post and the article here. I commented on the article from both my mother and educator perspectives, so check out the comments!

Worth a Thousand Words

"If a picture paints a thousand words..." and you know the rest of the song. I am premiering a new blog feature on my blog where I will post a photo that's "worth a thousand words"--a favorite photo that means a lot to me for some reason or other. Enjoy!

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Here's looking at you!

Kokeshi Doll Gallery Show

I told you here that I was going to wait and share something really special that Sabastian and I created the other day...well, it's time to share! My good friend Beth, over at Red Yarn, is hosting a Kokeshi Doll Gallery Show, and Sabastian and I created a little Kokeshi family to put in the on-line gallery! You can visit the gallery from June 25-30...I will post more information when the show begins. I hope you enjoy viewing our creations as much as we did creating them!

Musical Moments

Two brand-to-remain-unnamed cooking pots...$100.00

Two brand-to-remain-unnamed bamboo spoons...$35.00

Brothers making beautiful music together (because the youngest wails when he's not in close proximity to Mom and she needed to cook dinner so the family wouldn't starve)...PRICELESS!

Mom Mom and Pop Pop Fisher

We recently had the privilege of sharing our home with my in-laws, Dave and Brenda, from Ohio. We last saw them in Florida in January when they graciously hosted us at one of their timeshares in honor of Nathaniel's birth. We don't get to see them too often, but we love our visits. Here are some photos of Mom Mom and Pop Pop with their newest grandson, Nathaniel. They always bring new toys and other goodies (such as the red hat in the photo below) which Mom has collected since our last time together. Thanks for coming out to visit us, Mom and Dad!

Creative Summer Afternoons

As I shared here, I have attempted to add some creative time to our daily schedule this summer. I purchased good art pads and lead pencils for the older boys so that they would be more motivated to draw, and I found a lot of good books on Amazon about drawing and creating for both my older boys, and my younger boys. The first couple of weeks the boys spent their creative time drawing pictures in their art pads, but that soon got old. So I have tried to come up with some other things for them to do. Thanks to Grandmom Fisher, the older boys have kept pretty busy with some really cool paint by number kits this past week. Here you can see a lighthouse that Jonathan is really proud of:

He was nice enough to share one of the three paintings with Sabastian, who is still working on his. All three pictures relate to the ocean. Grandmom Fisher already requested that one of them be returned to her when its completed! She loves receiving the boys' artwork!

For Father's Day, I had the boys create their own cards for Dave. They each drew a picture on white drawing paper, and then I helped them mount it to the front of a card. Dave really liked how they turned out...I think they did a great job, too! Here is Jonathan working hard on his football themed card (of course!) and then with his finished product:

And here is Sabastian working on his football mascot themed card (of course!) and with his finished product (notice the new braces, too!):

And last, but not least, is Benjamin, working all of two minutes on his colorful card. He is not into coloring as much as I would like, but he enjoys using different colors from our large assortment of colored pencils. This card was from Benjamin and Nathaniel:

So as you can see, we are trying to be creative around here. Today Sabastian and I worked on a really special project which I will post about later. We had fun! (Jonathan is at camp this week.) I hope our attempts at being creative inspire you and yours to get out the colored pencils, crayons, or markers, and create!

Happy Father's Day

What Makes a Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,

The majesty of a tree,

The warmth of a summer sun,

The calm of a quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature,

The comforting arm of night,

The wisdom of the ages,

The power of the eagle's flight,

The joy of a morning in spring,

The faith of a mustard seed,

The patience of eternity,

The depth of a family need,

Then God combined these qualities,

When there was nothing more to add,

He knew His masterpiece was complete,

And so, He called it ... Dad.

Author Unknown

Happy Father's Day, Pop Pop Christian and Pop Pop Fisher!

We love you!

Ebates

I have found a great way to pay myself for doing what I do best...shopping! By logging on to Ebates first, and then linking to my favorite on-line retailer through the Ebates site, I can get money back for purchases that I'm going to make anyway. And when you join Ebates, which is free, you earn your first $5.00...how easy is that! I have found that most of the retailers I enjoy are on Ebates. Most of them offer cash back on your purchases, which accumulates in your Ebates account, and then can be sent to you via check, or deposited in your Paypal account. Some retailers offer special coupons through Ebates instead, but it's still a good deal. The hardest part is remembering to log on to Ebates first, because you must link to the retailer from the Ebates site in order to receive the cash back. On my sidebar, underneath my profile, is a link to Ebates. If you join via that link, you and I will both earn $5.00--so if you care to earn money for your shopping habit, check it out!

Long Time, No Post

Wow! Where has the last week gone? It was our first week of official "summer vacation" and it took some getting used to. Monday was a rough day, but by Friday we had all adjusted to the new schedule. Being the teacher mom that I am, our summer schedule looks something like this:

8:30 a.m. Family Devos (Breakfast and A.M. Chores done!)

9-11 a.m. School Time

11-12 noon Free Time (Outside if weather is nice!)

12-1 p.m. Lunch and Clean Up (Big meal of day!)

1-2:30 p.m. Family Creativity Time

2:30-4:30 p.m. Free Time (Outside if weather is nice!)

4:30-5:00 p.m. Afternoon Snack Time

5-7 p.m. Free Time (Outside if weather is nice!)

7-7:30 p.m. Supper and Clean Up

7:30-8:30 p.m. Free Time/Showers

8:30-9:30 p.m. Showers/P.M. Chores/TV Time

9:30 p.m. Prayer time and to bedrooms

9:30-10:00 p.m. Read in bedrooms

10:00 p.m. Lights Out!

After being accused on the first day of summer vacation (that would be the rough Monday) by my dear hubby that I was being "overbearing", I think the schedule has worked pretty well, especially in the morning. And, to show my dear hubby that I'm not "overbearing", it has flexed quite a bit depending on the day's activities. So, all in all, our summer is off to a good start. Next week is the first of several camp weeks, with Jonathan away all week--Sabastian follows the week after that. The little pool we got last summer went up yesterday...in perfect time for this mini heat wave we're having here in the East. Wherever you find yourself as you read this post, I hope you and yours are doing well and enjoying your season of life!