The End of a Beautiful Day

Regarding Organization

.....so I don't feel like I've made much organizational progress so far this week, but then again it's only Wednesday morning and there is still time, please tell me there is still time.

Done:
*Scheduled physicals for my boys so they don't get kicked out of their scout troop (the form is now about 6 months overdue!).

*Unpacked my scrapbook supplies and put them away in my new handy dandy bag (I bought it for my mom for Christmas, but it didn't arrive before she left and she bought herself one, so now it's mine). I'm afraid the scrapbooking itself will have to wait until summer.

*Cleared off my desk, so that I can file away all the papers cluttering my kitchen counter.

To Do:
*File the papers on the kitchen counter!

*Grade and record many weeks worth of school work.

*Sort through boxes that are taking up my parking spot in the garage.

*Do a thorough house cleaning before the weekend.

That list looks a bit daunting at the moment.....we'll see what happens.

Psalm 19:1

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim
the work of His hands.

Majestic

The week has been a grey and gloomy one, externally as well as internally. I've been cold and I've been fighting the blues. Sometimes these winter months just get to me!

But today has been a gift. The sun has peeked out and the mountain is visible in all it's splendor. And I have a respite plan ready to place in action come Monday morning....half days of school with the remaining school hours set aside for organizational tasks that will hopefully make for smoother sailing during the remaining winter weeks.

A little sunshine, a little organization...is that too much to ask?

Welcome To The Clan

Lavender Girl meets J

An Opportunity Awaits You

The following is a copy of a post from my sister-in-law, the new Supplies Coordinator for AHOPE.
Thanks,
Lori


I have officially begun my position as the volunteer Supplies Coordinator for AHOPE and tonight I posted a letter requesting donations on various lists and online groups. I am excited to see what people are inspired to do for the sake of the children. If you are interested in responding to the needs listed in this letter, please email me at ahopesupplies@gmail.com

Thank you

Here is my letter:

Hello,

This is Lisa Qualls, the Donations/Supplies Coordinator for AHOPE for Children. AHOPE for Children is an organization that provides a nurturing home in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for orphaned HIV positive children, provides care for HIV positive children in the community through an outreach program, and educates the community about AIDS prevention. Thanks to Dr. Jane Aronson’s Worldwide Orphans Foundation, the children at AHOPE are now receiving life-saving antiretroviral drugs and many of them are thriving.

Because AHOPE has a very limited budget for basic items like clothing, diapers, and toys, we depend on the generosity of individual donors for these things and on traveling adoptive parents and volunteers to help deliver the donations. We realize that adoption agencies also rely on traveling parents to transport supplies for their orphanages, and do not wish to commandeer luggage space that the agencies depend on. However, if you have room in your luggage to take donations to AHOPE, we would be very grateful for your help.

There are several ways that you can help the children of AHOPE.

1. If you are traveling to Ethiopia, you can collect donations from the needs list and carry them over. Any amount, large or small, is appreciated.

2. If you are traveling and are able to carry donations that others have collected, I will gladly arrange to have items delivered to you.

3. If you are not traveling to Ethiopia and would like to gather donations, please contact me and I will match you with somebody who is traveling and is able to carry your donations to AHOPE.

4. To make a financial donation or to learn more about AHOPE, please see the website: http://www.ahopeforchildren.org

Some notes:

1. If you carry donations over, you can visit AHOPE and deliver the donations, or I can arrange for somebody to pick them up from you.

2. It is easier for AHOPE (in keeping track of inventory) to receive a larger amount of one or a few items (such as a large box of socks and shoes) than it is to get a variety of items (such as a box with three pairs of socks, one bottle of vitamins, two coloring books, one bottle of eye drops and one DVD). That being said, any and all donations from the list are needed and appreciated.

3. Many people have asked about shipping donations to AHOPE. Unfortunately shipping items to Ethiopia is not only too expensive to make it cost-effective, but is also unreliable because of customs. Thus, it is not advised.

In the past few years, more families have become interested in adopting children from AHOPE. I am very happy to report that approximately twenty children have been adopted or are currently in process. When visiting AHOPE, please be sensitive to the fact that the children may be referred to a family. AHOPE has a photo policy in place that must be respected. Also, if you are interested in adopting a child from AHOPE and would like more information, please contact Erin Henderson, AAI's new HIV adoption coordinator at: erin@adoptionadvocates.org

Below is the list of AHOPE’s current needs. There are currently 70-80 children at AHOPE between the ages of infant and 14.

Medical Needs:

Bandaids and other general first aid supplies
Children’s Acetaminophen, Ibuprofen, and Benadryl
Children’s vitamins: Flintstones chewable or equivalent
Cough syrup
Hand sanitizer
Antifungal - Ointment and Shampoo
Antibiotic ointment
Sterile -First Aid gauze
Sterile Surgical gloves
Pediasure (complete balanced nutrition)

Electrolyte (oral rehydration solution – powdered form)
Amoxicillin (syrup, 250mg tablet)
Doxycyclin
Erythromycin syrup
Augmentin (150 mg .312mg, 5ml syrup)
Cloxacillin (syrup and 250 mg capsule)

Special Requests from our nurse:

1. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics 18^th Edition with CD

2. Textbook Of Pediatric Infectious Disease - current edition

3.Harrison Textbook of Internal Medicine -16th Edition

Always needed:
Arts and Crafts supplies
Preschool supplies: crafts, workbooks, coloring books, etc.
New or gently used clothing, especially sizes 8-12 (boys and girls) and boys sizes 3T-6

Because this letter is posted in a wide variety of places and on several message boards, please contact me at ahopesupplies@gmail.com if you have any questions or would like to make arrangements for donations.

Thank you for considering the needs of the children of AHOPE. Feel free to forward this letter or post it where interested people may see it.

Lisa Qualls
AHOPE Supplies Coordinator
ahopesupplies@gmail.com

Family blog: http://abushel-and-apeck.blogspot.com
Wife to Russ, Mamma to ten (three from Ethiopia)

Ladybird and Moonchild, Snow Maidens

Savored Moments In Time

The past three weeks have been full to overflowing...
Full of family.
Full of fun.
Full of festivities.

Things are just now slowing down enough to have time to reflect and savor those wonderful moments shared together.

First my parents arrived. They were here in time to involve themselves in the pre-Christmas festivities. Some shopping, batches of cookie baking, lots of package wrapping, and a lovely music and message filled Christmas service at our church.

On Christmas Eve my oldest brother and his family joined us for dinner and treats and it felt like Christmas had really begun. We continued to celebrate even after their leaving...with our traditional Christmas PJ opening and a Christmas story to fill our heads before nodding off. (Oh, and the strict admonition to the little girls NOT to wake any of us before 7 a.m., are we mean or what?!)

Christmas arrived with a dusting of snow. It never really stuck....but the effect was magical all the same, just to look out and see the big flakes falling was treat enough. Stockings were oohed and aahed over, strawberry crepes were assembled and quickly consumed (much more quickly than they were made, I might add, but they were also much appreciated). Then our Tomie dePaola Book of Bible Stories was pulled from the shelf and handed to Grandpa, who read us the Christmas story...another savored moment of our Christmas tradition. The snow continued to fall, presents continued to be opened throughout the morning, and the turkey was tucked into the oven for our Christmas dinner. The day was lovely, lots work of course, but worth it for this Mama to see the joy it brought her family.

Next up was the much looked forward to visit from our Idaho family, who arrived quite late on Saturday night. The visit was very worth the wait! We had three very intense, very lively days of visiting with 20 people in our home. We attended church (yes, we all made it out the door, but not in time for the 8 a.m. service), celebrated a birthday, brought in the New Year, the adults took a marathon long walk, the college girls sipped gallons of tea, some watched movies and all thoroughly enjoyed each other. It was especially wonderful getting to know my newest nephews and niece!

Bit by bit the company left and the house felt empty, after all only 8 of us were left to rattle around in this hilltop home. But we had more to look forward to . A trip to our favorite mountain getaway. A great chance to relax and reconnect with our own family. Here we had real snow and lost the power for the night and had to be pulled out by the neighbor's "machine". Here we watched The Invisible and Wives and Daughters. Here we played Carcassone and caught up on our reading and built snowmen! Leisure was the name of the game and we all won!

Today we are back to the real world...and it feels good. It's a good thing to pull the readers and workbooks back out of the cupboard. It's good to chain up the car (we had real snow overnight) and have Dad drop the college bound girls off at school so I don't worry that they're in the ditch somewhere. It's good to read aloud again while the laundry gets folded! Yes, life is good indeed.

Winter Wonderland

We Are Family

The Waiting Game

As you can see in the time stamp, the hour is drawing late...soon the clock in the entry will chime 11 times. The whole family, including the grandparents, are still up, still waiting for the cousins from Idaho to arrive.

It's been a busy day of preparation. Fixing beds. Mixing muffin batter to have ready for 22 hungry tummies is the morning. Baking birthday cakes for a little one turning five in the morning. Answering the age old question....how much longer 'til they get here, Mom?

We have just three short days to satisfy our family fix! Every moment counts when the cousins are coming. There's tea to drink and stories to share, games to play and movies to watch. Lots of talk and loads of laughter.

Hurry, hurry....we're waiting for you to come!

Glimpses of our Christmas

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

Snow for Christmas...a first ever for this family!

With thankful hearts.

Christmas Sunrise

Am I Ready?

The count down to Christmas has begun in earnest, it's just 7 sleeps away!!!! Tomorrow the Grandparents arrive, which will herald the beginning of our festivities.

Not that we haven't been celebrating already. We've decorated and begun baking, hosted a couple of parties, watched the Sunday School program with our adorable Ladybird and Moonchild participating, and made a few forays to town for shopping. I haven't done all that I wanted to do. I didn't make my photo pages to send out to family...yet, maybe they'll go our for New Year's. There is more baking to do and packages to wrap.

But I'm ready for the pace to slow. I want to savor the days shared with parents. I want to anticipate the arrival of my brother and his family coming to welcome the New Year with us. I want to enjoy the lights on the tree, the abundance of music in my home, cuddle up and read our Christmas books (now out of storage) with any children who want to join me.

I enjoy preparing Christmas for my family...but I love celebrating it with them even more!

Ending The First Term

I neglected to post a "first day of school" photo for my Lavender Girl!!!!! So to make up for it I'll put up this "last day of the first term" instead. My girl who went off to school dragging her feet is now completely sold on higher education and talking of graduate school. Her Dad knew what he was doing!!!!

Golden Autumn

We've had many a rainy day so far this season, but for a few brief days this week we've seen golden rays shining over the valley below.

Happy 9th Birthday to our Moonchild!

Another Vibrant Start Of Day

Praise of Created Things
St. Francis of Assisi

Be thou praised, my Lord, with all Thy creatures,
Above all, Brother Sun, who gives the day and lightens us therewith.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor,
Of Thee, Most High, he bears similitude.

Ladybird Turns 12!

The Birthday Child
by Rose Fyleman

Every thing's been different
All the day long,
Lovely things have happened,
Nothing has gone wrong.

Nobody has scolded me,
Everyone has smiled.
Isn't it delicious
To be a birthday child?

Rise and Shine