This is Taryn Chichina

After hearing the testimony of a child who was sponsored through the Compassion program at Sunday School this week, the Lord put it on my heart to become involved in this ministry.  In her testimony, the girl from Kenya spoke of how she grew up in a small hut in the slums of Nairobi.  The hut had a dirt floor, and a roof that leaked when it rained.  When it did rain, the family had to huddle in the corner- and even after it stopped raining they couldn't go to sleep because the floor was sopping wet.  There was no plumbing or waste management system, so there was trash and human waste everywhere.  Crime and disease run rampant in these slums, and many of the kids born in these circumstances never leave.  The turning point for this girls' life was the day that she learned she had been sponsored by a couple in Oregon.  Her entire family rejoiced because they knew that their child would now receive a steady source of food.  In addition to this, though, the girl also received an education and came to know the Lord.  The girl giving the testimony is currently on scholarship to study education at the University in Nairobi.  She is also a servant of the Lord who gives her testimony across the globe.  Her happiness as a child and potential as an adult was completely changed- and all of this was possible because a family in Oregon decided to give $38 a month to help someone else out.  I cannot imagine anything better to spend $38 dollars a month on.  This is why I have decided to make a long-term commitment to this program.  My money is going to sponsor this beautiful child named Taryn Chichina.  She was born about a month after Olivia in 2006.  Her mother has passed away.  Her father is alive but is not in the picture for some reason.  She lives with her five siblings and her grandmother in Kenya.  This family is in extreme need.  I am so excited about sponsoring this child that I can barely contain myself.  I hope that this makes a difference for her and her family.  I look forward to sending her letters and to being a part of her life as she grows up.  Since Olivia is the same age as this girl, I hope that they can also develop a correspondence.  Please pray for Taryn and her family.

Back to School

Here at the Sanders house, there has been a lot of excitement about going back to school.  Olivia is excited to be going to Kindergarten, Owen is excited to be going to Pre-K, and Brian and I are excited that we no longer have to pay for daycare (whoop, whoop).  Olivia and I decided that a new outfit was in order for this big occasion, so we went shopping last week.  I told Liv that she could pick out any outfit she wanted for her first day.  She also needed new tennis shoes, so I let her pick those out as well.  You can see from the picture what we ended up with- pink, pink, and more pink.  I do not think that she could have found a better outfit to represent her personal style.  Olivia and I also picked out a new shirt for Owen.  Thank goodness he's not nearly as picky about his clothes.  Anyway, the first day of school came and the kids got all decked out in their new duds.  Neither of them were particularly forthcoming with details about their first day, but they both said that they liked it.  From what I can gather, the highlight of Owen's day was that he got to play with new play-doh.  Olivia enjoyed seeing her friends from Pre-K.  Overall, this has been a very good start to the school year.  Let's hope it continues.



Stadium Challenge

 My cousin Hunter and I recently traveled to Jacksonville to run in the Stadium Challenge 5K.  The event took place at EverBank Field, home of the Jacksonville Jaguars.  The course took us through the Pepsi tailgate zone, the practice fields, up and down all levels of the stadium, and finished with a lap around the field itself.  This was such a neat experience.  I finished with a time of 27:18 and Hunter finished about 3 or 4 minutes ahead of me.  This was really a unique race.

Wild Fun

Well, this is the last week that I have off before pre-planning.  It has been a great summer.  It was certainly nice to NOT have my dissertation hanging over my head.  One thing that we did several times this summer was go to Wild Adventures- the local amusement park.  We purchased season passes in June, and have made the most of those.  Wild Adventures has animals, rides, and a waterpark.  The kids liked the waterpark the best, so most of our time was spent there.  Although the passes are good through the end of the year, we probably won't use them as much in the fall due to school starting back and reduced hours at the park. 

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

My cousin's wife, Leslie, is doing the most amazing thing with her daughter.  She has begun a mother-daughter book club.  Each month, Leslie and her daughter read an age-appropriate book together and then meet with their club to discuss it.  She posted the details about this club on her blog.  Upon reading her post, Hannah and I decided that we must try this with our own daughters.  So, we stole all of Leslie's ideas- all the way down to the first two books that her group is reading.  We were so eager to get started that we just went and got the first book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, and began reading.  We probably should have taken a little more time to "organize" things, but we were too excited.  The reading of the book went great.  I was surprised by how well Olivia paid attention to the story.  It only took us four days to read the book.  Once we had all finished reading, we met at Hannah's house to discuss the book and celebrate.  The girls had a great time answering questions about what they had read.  We also watched the movie (Johnny Depp version) and had lots of chocolate treats- including candy bars and chocolate cake.  Yummy.  Hannah and I have decided that since this first book went so well we should carry on (with a bit more organization).  We have begun the planning process, and are looking forward to lots of fun with this in the upcoming year.

 

Beach Collage 2012

Go Team Littlebit

So, the kids were playing tag one afternoon and the adults were sitting in the grass watching them.  Suddenly, one of the adults got the bright idea to go out and chase the kids around a little.  Then another adult joined in (and then another and another).  Before we knew it, there were lots of 20 and 30-year-olds playing tag with the kids (aka "team littlebit").  It was kind of fun.  It would have been even more fun if Brian wouldn't have kept shoving me at the kids so that I would get tagged and he wouldn't.  I think the kids loved that we played with them. One thing is for sure, playing tag is tiring.