Catching up...

The kids have been sick for over a week and our lives are beginning to get back to normal, until the next big disruption! This past weekend, we enjoyed celebrating Aunt Sherry's birthday and seeing family, the beautiful weather outside on Sunday and spending time with Uncle Rick after he ran the Marine Corps Marathon with cousins Larry and Josh yesterday.

Happy 60th Aunt Sherry!

Mom with Baby Hollie

Sela enjoying the party:

Mom and Dad:

Nathan found a friend to play with - Simon Says with Brian:

Impromptu photo shoot with kids outside Sunday:

Visiting with Uncle Rick:

Shabbat at Sela's school

Today was Sela's turn to be Ema (mother) at school for their Shabbat service. PopPop was able to attend and just sent me some pictures. I am so proud of my little girl.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Shabbat filled with peace, happiness and love!

Mayan Families Fundraiser

A few years ago, I made beautiful photocards (printed professionally on Kodak 5x7 paper) and personally paid for these cards hoping to use them as a fundraiser for GAFI (our online forum of Guatemalan adoptive families) to raise funds for Mayan Families. All cards have the Mayan Families website on them and note that a donation has been made in the recipient's honor.

I still have some gift cards available and thought this would be a good time to remind you as the holidays near. If you make a donation to Mayan Families through paypal for a the minimum amounts listed below, I would be happy to send you or your recipient a beautiful gift card. All you have to do is forward me your paypal receipt as proof of donation made and I will send it directly to your recipient (with personalized message on the back) or send to you inside a larger envelope for your distribution. I will pay the postage.

Here are the cards I have available:

9 cards for a donation of chickens to a family $35 donation

1 card for donation to the emergency fund $20 minimum donation

8 cards for donation towards the purchase of an onil stove $50 minimum 9 cards toward a new traje (traditional outfit) for a young girl $50 minimum donation 6 cards toward the donation of desks and chairs for classrooms $30 minimum donation 8 cards for a donation to provide vaccinations and worming for a dog or cat $15 minimum donation 9 cards for donation toward having a dog or cat spayed or neutered $20 minimum donation
To donation to Mayan Families please click HERE. Or, go directly to their website (www.mayanfamilies.org) and find the DONATE NOW button.

Also available are the beautiful cookbooks made by GAFI members also to benefit Mayan Families. We have over 50 of these left for sale. The price is $10 each and includes shipping. To purchase a cookbook, please contact me directly at RLK913@aol.comSome of the recipes included:

For more information on the cookbook, please contact me directly.

THANK YOU!!

T-ball and my Brown Eyed Girl

Nathan is playing t-ball after school. The coaches have been great and Nathan seems to be learning a lot and having a great time. Now if I could only teach him to round first and head for second rather than the outfield!! He reaches first, his hears his coaches say "keep going" as he approaches, and he does...straight into the outfield. I laughed so hard the first time he did it that there were tears in my eyes. While Nathan practices, Sela has wonderful time walking in the grass picking flowers... here are my t-ball player and my beautiful brown eyed girl.

Rosh Hashana 5770

It was a very busy weekend celebrating Rosh Hashana and spending time with friends and family, but we had a terrific time.

L'shana Tova!

Water Filters

In June, we took part in a community wide yard sale. Members of my family contributed to my stash of items for sale and we decided the proceeds would go to benefit the three children (in two different families) we sponsor in Guatemala through an organization called Mayan Families (http://www.mayanfamilies.org/)

With our money we were able to purchase water filters for these two families and through a special matching grant, these two water filters we purchased turned into 8, so eight happy families will receive new water filters. Here are the pictures of our three students with their new water filters:

The homes of many indigenous families do not have clean, running water. This is also true for many schools and community centers.

Mayan Families brings efficient water filters to individuals, families, schools, and entire villages. The cost of a water filter for a needy family is $50.

Note!!: The Florence (Oregon) Rotary will add $50 to your contribution if it is sent directly to them. The Rotary Foundation will then match the matched amount of the full donation. In other words, your $50 contribution will become $200 worth of water filters for Mayan Families to distribute. Thank you Rotary!

If you would like to take advantage of the Florence Rotary Club's matching donation program for Mayan Families, then please send your contributions to:

Florence Rotary Club District 5110
5043 Kelsie Court
Florence, OR 97439
Attention: George Lewis for Mayan Families

Please make your check payable to: Florence Rotary Club. The minimum donation for the Rotary Club's matching program is $50 USD.

After the rain...

After almost a week of overcast skies, cold weather and rain, we enjoyed some time outside yesterday