A Human Penny Bank

We had a little scare here the other night. Our precious middle child came downstairs with tears in his big brown eyes along with a sincere look of panic. He had just swallowed a penny. My first question was, "Why did you put money in your mouth? and then, Why would you swallow it?" He just shook his head. I think it all happened so fast, before he knew it, it was gone.

So I quickly called the on-call doctor, as it was past normal business hours. Our conversation went as follows:

Doctor: "Hello."

Me: "Is this a doctor?"

"Yes."

"Well, with whom am I speaking?"

"This is Doctor X."

"Hello Doctor X. My son just swallowed a penny. He seems to be fine, but is there anything I should know?"

"I don't have many young children swallow pennies."

I thought to myself, "Well, who cares, I have a kid who DID just swallow a penny."

He then replied, "Well, it should pass. Well, unless it gets lodged and creates an obstruction. Then he may need surgery."

Well, can I say I felt very reassured at this point. Nice! An obstruction! Just what a mom needs to hear.

He then told me to call my regular doctor the following day to let him know and see what he said.

Our doctor said it should pass in 3 days or so. I was supposed to check, but I didn't. I was actually supposed to take a stick and check the contents of the toilet. I'm probably grossing you out so I'll stop.

Well, it's been 3 days. He's doing great! Awesome!! Crisis diverted.

A friend did mention to me, "Your kids seem to do all of 'those' things that we hear some kids do." I agreed.

Living Life In Perspective

Recently we had a chance to get to know 5 amazing young men. They have all lost their parents to AIDS. They are orphans. They have unimaginable joy, kindness, and a zest for life that I rarely see. They awaken in the mornings eager for another day. Their smiles are contagious. They are blessed with gentleness and fill rooms with laughter.

They unknowingly gave me perspective. They showed me what is truly important in life. They showed me contentment. I haven't seen contentment in a LONG time! It looks wonderful!

We (as a culture) have been blessed materially. We have SO much stinkin' stuff! I felt ashamed as I was trying to find a place to put it all before they came. All the stuff just seems to complicate life. We have the stuff, but we don't seem to be filled with the joy. We're consumed with consuming. We don't have contentment although we say we want it. We have the stuff, but no time to enjoy it together. I could go on and on.









The kids we met have Jesus. They have each other. They have their love of music and dance. The use their gifts and they give them away to bless others. Seems so simple.

The lives of these children has been changed thanks to Childcare Worldwide, www.childcareworldwide.org, and the generous people who chose to sponsor them. There are millions of kids around the world waiting for a sponsor.

A friend shared that she recently received a letter from her sponsored child. The young girl wrote that she prays for her sponsor family every day. She is blessed by their giving, but her gift in return is much greater. Prayer.

So for some perspective... A few weeks ago I was thinking about scheduling a facial. There was a day when I got facials occaisionally, but they're very rare now. Well, as of now I haven't gotten around to it. The reason being... one facial, 2 hours of time, can support a child for 2 MONTHS. Hmmmm.... Now where would that money be better spent??

Summer Coming to a Close

What a great summer we have had! The many beautiful days of sunshine made for great gardening, lots of time playing outside and many trips to the lake.

Wakeboarding Camp

Making Boats

The kids had quite a few great outdoor adventures. Our oldest got to take wakeboarding lessons. He attended his first week long day camp. The kids had great fun in an outdoor pool. The process of getting that setup was a story in itself. What a nightmare for me! Our oldest found out how much he liked playing baseball. Prior to this summer he thought life revolved around the soccer ball, until he was introduced to the great American past time. We'll watch his career.

The boys also took 5 weeks of swimming lessons and got to compete in their first swim meet. That brought back many good memories for me. Yeah for my swimmer boys!

The garden has been wonderful! We have more tomatoes, zucchini, spaghetti squash and yellow summer squash than we know what to do with.

Painting Boats

Library CardOur middle son got his library card! Huge event! Then he had to get a wallet to put it in. So cute.

We dedicated our youngest this summer also. What an awesome event. Our pastor gave her Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Baby Dedication

In addition to doing activities around the homefront, we were able to attend an exhibition soccer game. It would have been more fun if R & C were with us. Sorry guys! We also made it to a professional baseball game too.

Now it's back to school and hitting the books. It's good to get the routine back, but I'm going to miss the summer...