THE best idea ever!

A few days ago, I saw this blog by 1+1+1=1.  It was to make a Tot Notebook, and she also had a corresponding blog entry for a calendar notebook.

I thought it was a GREAT idea!  Some pages printed out--alphabet, numbers, phone number, etc.--and placed in thick page protectors in a binder.  Give the kids some dry erase markers and let them have fun!

Why didn't I think of this before???  Both of my boys LOVE their notebooks.  The younger one draws only on the letter "T" right now.  Because T is for train, of course! :)

We even went out to eat the other night, and I brought along 1 page from the notebooks for each kid, the markers and an eraser.  It was great kids entertainment!

And so then, I had another idea!!!

I'm usually a planner. Ok, not just usually.  Almost always.

I plan out our meals a week at a time, or 2 weeks at a time, if I'm feeling really creative!

I go to the local market once a week, when the fresh stuff comes in, and I buy all the fruits and veggies for a week. And so, I really need to plan ahead to make sure I know what I need to buy.

Well, I usually just use scrap pieces of paper and they are stuck all on the fridge.  Then I thought--what if I did myself a dry erase page?

Wa-lah!  I now have  a dry erase calendar page where I can plan out my meals for a week or 2, or even 3! This also works great for remembering how old the leftovers are, because I can see when I made that particular dish.

I LOVE my new way to organize my meal plans! And the idea for the notebooks and the calendar was SO cheap! (and I could actually find all of the materials here--a bonus!)

Elias Update

Words can't truly express how grateful we are for your prayers for Elias and his family over the past several weeks!  As you all know, this situation was extremely severe and God has worked in a mighty way to bring healing to his little body.  

He is now at home and is eating liquid foods and is gaining strength daily.  According to a conversation with Ruben on Monday, Elias is now running through the house again playing like a normal little boy. 

He will return to the doctor on 11/25 for a checkup and will hopefully be able to start eating regular food again.  We will continue to update you on how he is doing, but for now, all is well and he continues to recover daily! 

Christmas Countdown Calendar

You know that feeling when you make something with your hands, and you finish, and it ACTUALLY looks good! 

That's how I feel! I imagined something in my head, and it came out right! 

I think the idea of a christmas countdown calendar is cute for the kids, but usually, they are little doors that you open with a piece of chocolate.  I don't really like the idea of the chocolate every day for the boys. Me, well, that's a different story! :)

Instead,  I decided to sew a calendar where the boys could put an ornament on the tree each day. We'll start by taking off all the ornaments and storing them in the present pocket.  We'll start with 1 and work our way up to the star on top on Christmas day.  (S. knows how to do the date on the calendar, and I though it would confuse him to count down backwards instead of just matching the numbers with the date).

We hung it up today with all the ornaments, just to see what it looks like. Everyone is excited about getting started!

Transformation begins!

 It's starting to sink in that next year I'll be homeschooling 2 kids (part time, as both will also go to preschool part time).  This will be a new challenge for me!

I've started to think that we needed to reorganize and re-plan to get ready for next year.  (Our new school year will start in January).  We were just using a table, but trying to have the boys sitting next to each other, and keeping them from playing or fighting, isn't my idea of a fun learning environment.

We moved some furniture around and then went shopping for some new desks--in their favorite colors, of course!

The boys are ecstatic and ready to learn!

I still have a few more ideas and we will slowly transform our homeschool space before the new year.

Recent Projects

 I've been working on a few craft projects lately.  One project has taken quite a bit of time, but I can't mention what it is because it will be a Christmas gift for someone. (**insert sneaky smile**)

However, I can mention these other 2 recent projects.

The first project--I had some extra fabric laying around and it was folded, and then I thought, "That will make a cute little baggie."  And so, I sewed it up, and now I have a few little baggies--to fill with homemade little breads, cookies and other goodies to give out as gifts for Christmas. I will definitely use these for the 4 teachers at the preschool, and then I made a few extras for other people that I think of between now and then.


Project #2 was born out of a need.  I like hang up kitchen towel thingys.  I have a couple of them, but having to change it out every day because it is pretty wet by the end of the day leaves me needing a few more. While in Lima a few weeks ago, I was able to find a matching towel/pot holder set.

Pot holder + Towel + a little bit of sewing= Towel Hang Up Thingy!! 

I'm so happy to have another one!!

Recent Update on Elias

First of all, we would like to thank all of you for your continued prayers for Elias.  We haven't sent an update in a while mainly because we were traveling and in meetings, and so we didn't have much time or access to send updates.   Also, Elias continued to progress during that time, but there wasn't anything major to report.  Well, since our last update, Elias was removed from the ICU and was placed in a regular room.  They began taking him off of the IV (his only source of nutrition), and slowly began feeding him formula through a feeding tube.  He handled that change well, and so they completely removed him from the IV and he was only receiving the formula from the feeding tube.  As of today, they have removed the feeding tube and he is now drinking liquids normally.  He still can't eat regular food, but the doctors believe the he will be able to soon. 

They have also allowed him to get out of the bed and are trying to help him regain strength in his legs and feet.  Due to the fact that he was restricted to a bed for almost 3 weeks, he lost strength in his little legs and feet.  As of Friday, he would just get frustrated and really couldn't do much.  However, he can now walk again with help and is showing improvement daily.  (Before this incident, nothing could stand in his way!) 

They received a report several days ago that his hemoglobin level was low and that he may need blood.  (I believe that the fear was possible internal bleeding.)  Fortunately, that level hasn't decreased, which shows that there is no internal bleeding.  However, it hasn't increased either.  At this point, the doctors aren't real concerned about it, but are keeping an eye on it. 

The future plans now are to continue helping him to regain strength in his legs and feet and to help him adjust back to eating regular food (with time).  The doctors plan to do another MRI soon to see exactly how the internal wounds are healing and if it shows that all is well, he could be released as soon as sometime next week.    

We really appreciate your prayers for this family and we truly believe that God has been hearing and answering them!  At first, the doctors really didn't believe that he would survive.  Now, they are all surprised at how well he is doing and how quickly his little body is recovering!  While the doctors have done a good job, I believe that all credit is due to our Lord and Savior (and to each of you who have been interceding for him)!   You all have been such a blessing to this family and they are eternally grateful for your prayers and generosity! 

Please continue to pray for this family and for Elias!  Hopefully our next "Elias Update" will be our final one letting you all know that he is back to normal and that the Lord is using this family once again to impact the Aymara people for His kingdom sake!