LAST DAY OF PRE-K

Today was our two little girls' last day of Pre-K (Caleb and Hermela will be done in 2 weeks-just in time for Rahel to come home). My little "twins" are growing up so fast and will both soon be 5. Five sounds so old. Once you hit 5, you're definitely out of that baby stage and on to bigger and better things.

We celebrated with a little "party" and craft time using the book "Perfect Square." It's a cute little book that shows all the different things this perfect square can turn into (like a river, a fountain and mountains).

The best part of course was our "perfectly" square brownies that we decorated with sprinkles for dessert.

notice the sixth little school desk :-)

We ended the day reading another great book, "Mrs. Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten."

I can't believe we'll have 5 kids in elementary school next year.......where did those preschool years go??????

GRAND TOTAL--SO FAR

So far, the "wrap them in love" campaign has raised

$418!

That means every child at TOG will be receiving a new blanket of their very own to cuddle up with! We still have a few other things that we'd like to do while we are in Ethiopia. One of these is to buy a bookshelf to start the TOG children's library. The cost for a new wooden bookshelf in Ethiopia is about $120, so if we end up raising anymore funds, we will apply it to that first.

If anyone would still like to donate to Trees of Glory, please use the donate button on the top right hand side of my blog to do so. You can specify where you'd like your donation to be applied. Either type in WATER (for the well project) or LIBRARY (for the bookshelf) in the message section and I'll be sure to get your funds to the project that you prefer.

Can't wait to post pictures of our time in Ethiopia and these special kids that you all are helping to support.

Thanks to all of you who've donated to this project!

Please continue to pray for our upcoming trip and the children at Trees of Glory.

UPDATE

First, a cute (if I do say so myself :) picture of our kids on Easter morning. We had a much easier time this year getting all the kids to smile and face the same direction. I think they're finally figuring out that the sooner mom gets a good picture, the faster the photo session is over.



On the adoption front, we are awaiting a birth mother interview that the embassy has requested. It seems that this is becoming more and more common these days. It was not what I was hoping to hear (of course I was frantically checking my email for a "you passed embassy" message), but I think once it takes place, we should be cleared and able to travel shortly after that. Please pray for Rahel as she continues to wait-her very last friend leaves next week to go home to her family (one of the waiting children that I started advocating for last year-so we are very happy for her). Also, remember her birth mom who will have to travel for this interview-I'm sure it will be difficult for her. If you still have prayers left, remember me and our family as I'm a little on edge these days waiting for news.

Lastly, the Trees of Glory bracelet fundraiser was a huge success as as of today, ALL BRACELETS HAVE BEEN PURCHASED. I'll have a final tally of funds donated shortly, but I'm pretty sure that we'll have all the funds needed to purchase all 100 blankets! Once again, God has provided for his children and I'm so thankful that he is using this little blog as a means to care for them.

If you missed your chance to donate and receive a bracelet, I'm planning on picking up more of them while we are in Ethiopia and using them as an ongoing fundraiser to help fund projects at TOG. So, check back in a few weeks if you still want one. You can also continue to donate via paypal as all donations will directly benefit TOG.

Quick little story: My dad has to work some Sundays, and he was over one day when he mentioned he would be working that Sunday. Hermela gasped and said, "you have to work on the Sabbath day?" She's already learned the value of our "day of rest." (she's actually napping as I write this)

Hope you enjoy your Sunday-I'm off to get a little rest in myself!