Saturday, December 06, 2008

The Blessing Box.

The Blessing Box:

Follow the daily instructions below. Have a box ready and determine where you will give the money that will be in your Blessing Box at the end of 24 days. This begins on December 1st, but you can start late!

Day 1. One out of 5 children live in poverty lacking adequate clothing. Give 2 cents for each pair of socks in the home.

Day 2. Are you thankful for the gift of electricity? Give 2 cents for each light bulb in your house.

Day 3. Most people in the world have never touched a computer. If there is one in your home, put in 50 cents, an extra 50 cents for a scanner and 50 cents for the printer.

Day 4. Most of the world’s population lives beyond the reach of medical care. Give 10 cents for each box of band-aids in your house…an extra dime if they are not flesh colored.

Day 5. Are you thankful you have a roof and doors to keep out the wind and rain? Give 10 cents for each exterior door your house has.

Day 6. Are you thankful for all your clothes? Give a nickel for each closet in your house.

Day 7. Are you glad you have indoor plumbing? Give 5 cents for every roll of TP in your house, counting all the stored away rolls.

Day 8. To people in refugee camps, even a thin sliver of soap is precious. Give 5 cents for each bar your family has…A dime for each soap pump.

Day 9. Do you walk to town to get a bucket of water for washing, drinking, bathing or cooking? Or are you blessed with faucets that bring precious water to you? Give 10 cents for each faucet you have and don’t forget the outside ones.

Day 10. What a blessing to be able to see and have eye doctors to help us. Give a quarter for every pair of eyeglasses or contacts in your home.

Day 11. Give thanks and a dollar for every child in your family and do a secret good deed for them today.

Day 12. How would you like to live in your car as some families do? Give a dime for every vehicle in your family.

Day 13 . Epidemics often follow natural disasters. Give thanks if no one in your house has been too sick this month to go to work or school and donate 50 cents.

Day 14. Did a blanket cover you last night? Give a penny for every blanket in your house.

Day 15. Was it cold enough to wear a coat today? Were you thankful for your coat? Give a penny for every coat, jacket or raincoat in your house.

Day 16. In some countries of the world, most people can’t read. Are you thankful you can read? Put in a penny for every book in your home….(Yes, for most of us this is an expensive one)

Day 17. By now you have received many Christmas cards from many loving friends and family members. Give a penny for each card.

Day 18. Most people in the world cook over an open fire. Aren’t you glad you didn’t have to chop wood this morning? Give 5 cents for every burner on your stove and a nickel for every oven.

Day 19. Aren’t you glad that you have people that love and think about you? Put in 10 cents for each gift under the tree that is for you.

Day 20. Unfortunately this is the time of year in which many people suffer loss in house fires. Give 10 cents for every phone in your house in which you can dial 911 in case of emergency.

Day 21. Many people in the world suffer excruciating pain from the lack of dental care. Have you ever been grateful for toothbrushes? Give 5 cents for every toothbrush in your house.

Day 22. Many children in the world barely get one meal a day. How many did you have? Give thanks and five cents for each meal and 10 cents for each snack today.

Day 23. Give one penny for every slice of bread in your house.

Day 24. Make a list of all the fruits and vegetables that you can name and put in a penny for each one on the list.


After you've accumulated all this, on Christmas, count it up, and donate the equivalent to a charity of your choice. Merry Christmas!

Friday, October 17, 2008

Pictures from the road trip.

We all went to Nebraska by car in late September to visit Tim's family in Scottsbluff. We had a lovely time, spent 4 of seven days in the car, drove over 48 hours with no major complaints, and saw a huge swath of the United States in its autumnal glory. Didn't get a picture of the continental divide, though, as the time we passed it in the light, we were too busy gawking to remember to snap a few shots.
Click here for our favorite pictures from the trip!

Friday, July 18, 2008

Our new friend.



This is Amy. She is the tiniest variety of dwarf pet hamster available, called a Roborovski. They hail from the Gobi Desert, and they are very fast! Fully grown, she will only be about two inches long. So far, she seems to like corn, strawberries, and broccoli very much, and enjoyed a special treat of Heart to Heart Kashi cereal tremendously. Her favorite pastime is running on her wheel and hiding from Ti'anna and Ethan. :) Hopefully she will get used to us more soon; we are just doing our best to make friends with her and help her feel more comfy in her new home. We named her Amy because a creature that tiny needs a very tiny name. (We had originally thought to call her Bumbleberry, but agreed it was too big a name for her.) She is a bit sweaty in this picture from Dad's hands, as she is VERY quick, and difficult to hold on to unless we enclose her fully in our hands, so we don't hold her very often. Watching her play and eat is entertaining enough! We also bought her a ball, but it only works on the hard flooring in the kitchen and hallway. She's really too tiny to move it very well, as it is designed for a standard hamster which are more than double her size and larger.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Tiny photographers.

We've set up a photostream for the kids, since their camera-wielding has quadrupled in the last few months, and they are generating a metric tonne of photos. Many of these are actually pretty funny/endearing. However, they have requested the right to post the pictures they find to be best, so please keep in mind this reflects the artists' tastes. Mom and Dad retain the right to veto that which we deem totally unrecognizable (due to blur, lens flare, over/underexposure, or just plain nonsense) but what you will see is nearly unadulterated Ti'anna- and Ethan-ism. Enjoy! All these pictures are taken by the two of them, and totally unedited. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tianna_ethan/



Tuesday, March 25, 2008

My sister's wedding.

A few select pictures from Helen's wedding to Mr. Shawn Coons, March 22, 2008. Tim and I took all of these ones. Let me know if you'd like copies of any of them, and what size. :)