Loving the Fall

As always, we have had a busy fall and enjoying lots of activities.  The kids are in full swing at school and both enjoying it thoroughly.  Every MWF Rylan enjoys the Ladybug class and the group of friends that he has been able to be with for the last couple of years.  Mrs. King and Mrs. Nunnely are super sweet and enjoy Rylan very much.  Callie Jae is a part of the Fish class on MW and LOVES going to school.  No tears are shed and the very mention of Ms. Flo, Ms. Yvonne, or Annslee, she is heading to door and looking for shoes to put on.  She has quite the vocabulary, compared to Rylan at this age, and loves to "talk" even though we don't understand most of what she says.  Rylan was sharing a story at dinner the other night, and she tried very hard to talk at the same time and use all of the facial and hand expressions that he was.  She likes to do EVERYTHING that the big kids do.  Tomorrow is picture day, so we tried on her outfit to make sure it fits.  Callie Jae of course did not want to take it off, especially the shoes!

This Fall we have also enjoyed our annual trip to Dewberry Farms.  I have to admit, it was much more fun when I only had to worry about one child.  The idea of being at a pumpkin patch and participating in the activities with friends sounds great, but the reality of the situation ends up being a little different.  Being that it is still 85 degrees outside and keeping track of two children amongst groups of field trips ends up putting a damper on things.  The kids had a blast though which is all that matters.

Our annual ECDC Fall Family Festival is Saturday.  I am so excited for it, as it really is my final activity that I will be involved in for Advisory Council.  I am in charge of it this year with a couple of friends, so it will be nice to see our hard work come together and pay off.  I will be sad to not be on Council anymore, but I am excited to begin the next chapter.  I am looking forward to the next six months or so of not having any obligations before Kindergarten starts for Rylan.

~hugs and love~

Fwd: Through the Eyes of a Child: Burkina Faso | Compassion International Blog

Through the Eyes of a Child: Burkina Faso | Compassion International Blog

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Through the Eyes of a Child: Burkina Faso Posted: 22 Oct 2012 02:23 AM PDT We gave several children in Burkina Faso disposable or digital cameras and asked them to take photos of their lives. Looking at these photos, what do you think matters most to the children who took them? Photos gathered by Paul Henri Kabore, Field Communication Specialist A special thank you to our young photographers: Alassane, Ali, Nana, Sandwidi, Belem, Nehemie and Nina. My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

Let the Wise Listen Posted: 21 Oct 2012 11:38 PM PDT In our world today, there is much distraction. We are bombarded daily with all kinds of technology — television, radio, computers games, and so forth. There are so many things that compete for our attention that it is difficult to listen. Listening demands uninterrupted attention and focus. How many times do we find ourselves supposedly listening while at the same time doing something else? We believe we do not have the time to be attentive. It is common to see in church auditoriums a sign instructing church members not to use their mobile phones during the service. We struggle to pay attention even in church! Listening is an act that requires skill. A true listener listens regardless of who is speaking. Second Kings 5 tells the story of Naaman, a commander of the army of the King of Aram, and his healing from leprosy as a result of listening to the advice of his servants. Based on his maidservant's advice, Naaman went to Israel to see Elisha. Elisha sent a messenger to tell Naaman to wash seven times in the Jordon. This infuriated Naaman, as he felt humiliated. He nearly missed his healing, but again, his servants intervened and advised him to try what Elisha had said. After washing seven times in the Jordan, he was healed—healed because he listened to the advice of his servant. We sometimes fail to listen to advice because we are looking for the "right" person, someone of equal standing. We need to listen regardless of the speaker. Pride can hinder our ability to listen; humility has a way of enabling us to listen. Naaman questioned what he heard. He was looking for a complex solution, but a small and humble idea may be all it takes to bring about transformation. God is as loud as we are willing to listen! Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. . . . So Naaman left. —2 Kings 5:4, 5b, NIV Prayer: God, help us to avoid distractions and truly listen to what your servants are saying to us. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Patience Antonio works as the Human Resources Specialist for Compassion Ghana. Read all the One in Spirit devotionals. My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

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Dad's Night

Rylan and Jason had Dad's night last night at ECDC. Jason was able to successfully guess which questionnaire belonged to Rylan, which contained questions asked of Rylan that were about Jason. They had fun building things together and sharing a snack. I have to say that the picture they took makes Ry look like a mini Jason.

ECUADOR Compassion Story

> http://jonesbones5.com/2012/10/13/finding-pepe-lots-of-tears/

May the force be with you.

BF's

Annslee and CJ are two peas in a pod. They LOVE each other and enjoy being together in preschool and Sunday school. Watching their faces light up upon seeing each other is precious.

'08 and '12

David McClain

513.549.3080

www.davidmcclainphotography.com

dm_photo@mac.com

Callie Jae

So the 19 month old had an opinion about what shoes she wanted to wear this morning...really?!?! That's all I have for today.

I invite you to watch "When Hearts Overflow."

http://www.stpkaty.org/giving-resources/sermons/

My fortune cookie today :-)

Working blog!

Blogger has changed quite a bit and I have spent the last couple of hours playing around on here.  I think I have everything working.  I changed how some things look but you should now be able to click on the latest and greatest pictures on the left side.  Enjoy our family fun adventures that never seem to end!

Compassion

Today has been a day that I think will be life changing for this family of ours.  Rylan and I went to church this morning to listen to my close friend Kelli, give an account of her trip to Ecuador to visit the children that are sponsored through Compassion International.  Each church service played a short 5 minute video to summarize a trip that lasted for only two days, but one that has the potential to affect approximately 300 children that St. Peter's is trying to get sponsored.  I, as were most people in the services, was completely overwhelmed by the compassion, faith, sweetness, and love that moves people in our world.  Through Compassion International, we are going to have the opportunity to sponsor a child, a one on one sponsorship, in which he will receive our financial, spiritual, and encouraging support.  We will be able to have correspondence with him through letter writing and I hope and dream of being able to meet him one day.  Watching Kelli meeting Mateo on the video, the little boy that her and Chris have sponsored for the last few years, was a moment that I will never forget.  Meet the newest member of our family, chosen by Rylan, Juan.  He recently turned 5 and loves to play soccer, run, and play ball games.  Please keep him in your prayers.

First Day!

Wow!  It has been awhile since I last posted.  Life may get a little more back to normal now that I have a couple days to MYSELF!  Feeling very relaxed this morning after taking my two lovely children to preschool for their first day!

Rylan was SO ready and wanted to be dropped off in the carpool line.  I asked if he wanted J and I to walk him in and of course he wanted nothing to do with that.  I am so happy that he feels so much at ease at St. Peter's.  What a huge blessing it was for my family to have found such a wonderful church home and school!

Callie Jae was the typical 18M old being dropped off at school for the first time.  I was one of the first parents out the door cause I knew that once the crying started, it was not going to stop :-).  I am sure she did what her normal is...cries for all of about 2 minutes and then is happy again.  I'll be interested to hear the report at pick up time.

I had big plans today to run around town and shop but unfortunately have been dealing with some pretty awful headaches the last few weeks.  This mornings was pretty awful and I decided to just come home and take it easy.  The peacefulness of this house right now is an amazing sound.  It has been a long 18 months of being a 24/7 mommy and I look forward to my two days a week of me time. 

Hopefully I can get better about updates.  There are more albums being uploaded to my Picasa Web Albums, so just click on the same one on the right and you should see our pool progress album and pictures from Up North, MI.