ME NEITHER!

See told you they call Panera the wrong thing! And here's the proof!


Urbana, day 2. I don't even want to write this post knowing how poorly I will be able to convey even the slightest insight we heard today compared to how powerful the speakers were when they spoke. No, seriously, when I think back over our day, I just want to close my computer, but it was so powerful I can't.

First off, we are so lucky to be in the hotel we are in. Seriously, it's the best option!

Ok, so we went to two seminars today, 2pm and 4pm. The first one I want you to guess what the topic was, here are your clues:

1. 85% male population listening to this seminar
2. 90% asian population (which is alot even at Urbana)
3. Jokes were make about isomers and crystallization of impurities found in compounds

Guesses? Anyone?

The title was, "Reaching the scientific world with the gospel." All in attendance were undergraduate science students, post grad science students, or scientists who work in a lab. Wow, it was an amazing study on science, creation and athiesm. We were encouraged to read many of the books by Dawkins, Hitchens and other atheist writers in a group of others and share what we think. Many in the room already had, and found it very helpful to see what athiests believe, as well as to find the most common mistakes and misrepresentations that are said about Christian beliefs. Many are surprisingly basic.

But my favortie part was at the end when those in attendance were welcomed to stand up and share some of the experiences they have had, positive or negative, with sharing thier faith in the lab. I intend this in only the kindest way, I mean, nerdiness is loveable, right? But, some of the cutest nerds from all scientific fields stood up, pushed their glasses further up their noses, and shared their love of God and how it has played out. "As a paleontologist, some of my partners and I were on a dig for dinosaur bones and were telling me how Paul's letters were..." haha, that is a direct quote, but lacking without his awesome voice.

So, after this seminar, we casually strolled down the lane to get to the next seminar we chose. It was called "Follow Me To Freedom," and there were two speakers, John M. Perkins and Shane Claiborne. Maybe those names mean nothing to you, they didn't to me either, at the time. We waltzed into the conference room to this...







No room in the inn. No room for our butts. So we plopped down on the floor, as more and more people crammed in to hear these two guys.







John is an 80 year old black man from the south who has been beaten and brutalized by the hatred of racism. On Switchfoot's latest CD, a song is titled, The Sound (John M. Perkins Blues) about him. He was asked to serve in a role created by Obama, but refused becuase he didn't want to chose a political party, knowing that both sides are limiting and both represent wants of a fallen world, while only Jesus can fill our needs. He said he has great hope in our generation to be done with racism and seeing race first, and that he plans on living the last few years of his life serving God radically.

Shane is long dreadlocked hippie, has a southern accent and has served around the world, including with Mother Teresa. He is a founding partner of something called The Simple Way which is lived out locally, as days are spent feeding the hungry, doing collaborative arts with children, running a community store, hanging out with neighbors and reclaiming trash strewn lots by planting gardens. He does alot of work to expose the fundamental structures that create poverty and imagine alternatives to them. He writes and speaks about peacemaking, social justice and Jesus. Some of his books are Becoming an Answer to our Prayers, Jesus for President and The Irresistible Revolution.


"We need to be a people, not concerned with going 'up there,' but with bringing heaven down to earth." -Shane. And he lives it everyday, denying possessions and choosing to live among the poor.


He also said that each night when Mother Teresa would go pray with him and her other helpers, they would all remove their shoes. He noticed that her feet were grossly deformed. One of the sisters told him that they recieve the exact amount of shoe donations they need each year, and she never wanted to have a pair of shoes nicer than someone elses, so she would feel through to find the worst one, and wear them year after year, decade after decade.  This made her feet to be very deformed.


"What if we all chose to put other's needs above our own like that? I don't believe that God didn't create enough resources to take care of everyone, but I do know that we need to change thinking and acting and idea of possessions.    We live in a time of rich Christians and 24,000 people a day dying of poverty." -Shane


ok, so the title of this post was me neither. Best line of the night;


A man approached Mother Teresa and said, "WOW! I am so impressed by what you do, and the lives you change! It's so amazing, I couldn't do it for a million dollars!"


"Me neither!" she replied. "I would never do it for a million dollars, only because and for the surpassing love of Jesus Christ do I do this."


sassy and to the point, love it.

Hello from St. Louis!

Brrrrr...... It is freeeeeeeeeeezing here! But, even though there is snow on the ground, it doesn't seem as cold as New York was last year. Thats good.

So, we have one full day of Urbana under our belts. Inspirational, uplifting, yes and yes, but there are a couple other things I want to touch on first.

1. This conference of 17,000 people, mostly college students, is full of asians! I mean, shocking amounts of asians! Apparently there are large asian Christian groups and clubs at all the various colleges. Tonight we sat at dinner with a delightful and shy asian college student who goes to Harvard ( a lot of asians are here from Harvard, seriously taking about YouTube kitten videos, seriously) who is majoring in statistics and who ate his entire meal in about 220 seconds...no joke. We were just taking our first bite when he said his goodbyes, and Pete came and sat down, making us feel better about "being too old to be here." He came to Urbana in 1996, and now runs a program called....called....oh dang, I can't remember, but his shirt said "2 Billion, unacceptable" about the 2 billion people on this earth who have never held a bible, have never met a Christian and who don't know Jesus. He was so kind, and asked us a million questions about us before he mentioned that he ran this "little group." Jeez, people here are so other's minded, weird :)

2. So, in review, #1. many asains, and now for #2 let me tell you that this poor city is BLOATED with people, seriously, I think they're a little overwhelmed. I mean, 17,000 people in a small area of a few blocks is insane. There was a line out the door at "Hardy's" (which normal people call carl's junior), and even more people at "St. Louis Bread Co." (which normal people call Panera). But what I love is that we see people going over and above to show kindness, and be friendly to the hotel staff and people who work in this city. We've gotten into it to, trying to remember people's names, and telling them when they doa good job, etc. One hotel worker told an Urbana staff that when everyone came, she felt like it was the first time people "saw" her while working in the hotel business.

But, even though that's good and all, we have learned ALOT of patience waiting in many LONG lines for pretty much anything around here (usually behind a group of asians, haha, ok, maybe just half the time). Luckily, no one's getting all huffy, cause everyone knows your a christian, so you have to put a smile on and work on your patience. No name calling or line jumping, even if you want to. That's what we did tonight while we waited in line for AN HOUR for dinner with all the other 17,000 people. (Urbana provides free dinner to us all, which we thought was awesome, then unawesome half hour into the line, then awesome again after another half hour when we were eating)

3. Asians, waiting, and my last random thing I have to tell you about Urbana is that apparently people found out we were coming, so wanted to drive their big "REPENT OR PERISH" bus down here from Washington, and pass out flyers to, well, repent or perish. We all believe it is most loving to smile, but ignore them. They are trained to engage in long debates, so we just walk on. Others pass out flyers for strange cults, called things like 12 TRIBES "where we share all our possesions, just like the bible wants, etc" but don't provide a bible verse to back up their claim. Well, the 12 tribes would do well in preschool where sharing is BIG!

4. We can see the arch from our hotel window.



YEEEESSSSS we went to amazing seminars, and met life changing people, heard startling facts and statistics ALL that I want to shout from the roof tops, but I'll save it for another day.


We're having a GREAT time though, and wish that everyone we knew was here

Ok, maybe one stat:
Today, 480 Christians were martyred. All while we sat back, drank our coffees and thought about maybe signing up to be greeters or which movie to see. 480 people risking everything to tell others about Jesus, while we sit worried what others might think.

Los Cuties

Check out this sweet video of Los Angelitos orphanage that Andrew went to yesterday to bring donations. You might fall in love!

Crazy Love

I am reading the book Crazy Love in a bible study right now, which inspires and challenges us each night in an intense way. (We all go home each night ready to change the world ;) So, this story particularly caught my eye--because it's a miracle. WOW! I just LOOOOOOVE IT!


This is taken from the Hollis' Blog

"Most of you know by now, our family decided three years ago to forgo giving presents to one another during the holidays. Instead, we reach out and raise money for orphan ministries.

We just finished going through the book, "Crazy Love" by Frances Chan with our kids and decided this year, we wanted to be CRAZY for Jesus! He is so crazy about us, we wanted to share His love with everyone throughout the year, but especially during November and December.

Lydia (They're 11 year old daughter) took "CRAZY" to a whole new level, however, when she approached me (while her dad was on a mission trip in Africa) and asked if she raised $20,000.00 before Thanksgiving, could we adopt a little orphan girl, Darya, who has Down Syndrome in Eastern Europe. (A friend of ours adopted a little boy from the same orphanage and reported that Darya gets no attention at all....no one speaks to her or holds her.)

THAT WAS 8 DAYS AGO! Being a sensible 41 year old, I told Lydia she would never be able to raise $20,000.00 in 8 days.....she is only eleven. She didn't hear me. Instead, she asked again, "But if I do raise the money, will you adopt her?" I responded yes, if she raised that much money in 8 days, we would know God is in it and would travel to adopt Darya!

Tonight, I would like to report that Miss Lydia has raised $26,550.00 and the donations are still coming in. It just so happens, we have good friends who have been planning to adopt a little one with Down Syndrome through Reece's Rainbow, but lack of funds has delayed them. Not anymore, everything above $20,000.00 goes to them.

So, friends, you have been a part of a double Thanksgiving Miracle. Not only will Darya have a home ....but through your gifts, another little angel will be given hope for a family tomorrow too! God is so great, isn't He?

Lydia will be on the local Fox Morning Show tomorrow at 6:45am. I will try my very best to post it to the blog, because I know so many want to see it."

"Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say REJOICE!" Phil. 4:4



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hug your kids tight because they are not sitting in an orphanage where no one hugs or loves them. God had other plans for little Darya, and had a family in mind for her, all it took was a brave 11 year old who had the courage to listen to God and not be discouraged by "impossibilities," but to live out the same crazy love God has for us.

The additional money is going to another family who is adopting another baby from eastern Europe, but who hadn't been able to make the funds necessary. Two babies coming home!

We need your help

Hello to all of my tens of readers out there in the blog world! Tis I, Amy, from "Abundant Life" blog(hahahaha). Andrew and I are gearing up for Christmas by not decorating, or buying a tree, or having a Christmas party, but just feeling the holiday spirit, that counts, right? Well, we're enjoying it. :) This Christmas we are headed out to Phoenix, woot woot, to spend time with the Brockhaus fam, especially our FAVORITE nice, Miss Charlee, and our nephew(just a guess) chillin in the womb.

This year, we welcomed a little cutie named Milagros into our lives that I blogged about here.
Since then, we have received two letters and two drawings from her in Peru telling us about what she's doing, and thanking us for being her sponsor and telling us that she loves us is always "remembering us in her prayers." She is so cute. I almost feel bad, because we have her funding set up through direct deposit, which automatically pays for her once a month though our account, so we never actually do anything for her, but she is ever grateful. It feels good to get thanks for not really doing anything :)

A couple months ago, Compassion asked us if we would be willing to pray for two little girls who need sponsors. We said yes and signed up and got packs for two little girls in Rwanda. I took a picture of one girl to my 11th grade bible study to pray for her, we did and she got a sponsor that SAME NIGHT! That little girl's life will be changed forever because someone was willing to to love her. She will be told very soon that she has her own sponsor. It must be an exciting day in the life of a child when they hear that someone in America loves you enough to pay for you to get food, go to school and learn about the bible. Um, best day ever? I think so! Many poor children are at risk to believe the lie that they are worthless when in fact they are precious in the eyes of God and worth so much.

So now we have Iragena, who also lives in Rwanda that we are praying for. So I know this isn't the beast picture of her, but just know she is super cute with her fancy white dress and green sandals, standing in a little chalk circle for her picture to be taken.



She has 5 kids in her family, her father is sometimes employed as a farmer, she is in Kindergarten, she loves to jump rope, and she would love you forever if you chose her to sponsor. If you can't sponsor her, will you please pray for her? Pray for her for anything really, she lives in Rwanda for crying out loud, that's rough.

If you never meet her in person, you will meet her in heaven one day and we can all chat then!

Thanks for taking the time in reading this, and for praying for her. If you are reading my blog, I pretty much love you right now!

Love,
Amy

Some things I miss about Fiji

Teaching everyday by a lake, surrounded by trees and green to these cute kids who really started to learn what we were teaching.

Fiji. Well, I miss Fiji. Look at this place. gorgeous.


Living waking to sleeping with 25 friends.

UPDATED!! giving blood has it's dangers...

***********************
This is an update as to why giving blood was such a painful ordeal in my life. So, five, yes, five days after I gave blood, my arm was killing me. I mean, I couldn't grip things, I couldn't go for a run because the bouncing hurt my arm, I would wake up at night in pain, etc. So I called that blood bank, yes I did! I called them and I told them what bad shape my arm was in.

"Oh my gawd!" -The nurse said, "You should have called me earlier, hmmm, do you feel numbness and tingling?"

"YES!"

"Is it hard to grip objects?"

"YESS!!! (Hello, lady, I just told you that)"

"Yep, it sounds like they hit a nerve"

Hit a nerve? Are you kidding. All all things to hit with a sharp object in my arm, least of all I would want my nerve. I just want to let you all know, that even though it's embarrassing, when I hung up with her, I started crying just thinking about that incident, and now I know why! Cause hitting a nerve really hurts--so it makes me feel emotional. Now I don't feel so silly for loosing it in that blood bus infront of a slew of strangers.

And...they said if I need to go to the doctor, they will pay for it, but I think I'll wait it out a few more days. Goodness gracious, I just don't know if I will EVER be giving blood again in my near future.

So, here is the original story;



So I thought it would be a great idea to give blood last week; good cause, relatively easy, all in all a great way to spend a half hour...right?


I am going to jump to the end of my experience and tell you that giving blood was not fun, nor did it help anyone and left crying. Why? Well, first off, she jabbed that needle in, missed the vein and sent this electric shock of a pain up and down my forearm( remember this part...) She waved off my feeble attempts to complain about the pain as well as my sudden decent into wooziness, that is until a minute later--when to her alarm she notice I wasn't giving off any blood. "OH NO! OH NO!" she uttered as she began to wiggle the needle into my arm, causing my body to become on fire, and a rogue tear to escape my eye... "Oh No!" she repeated, "I'm going to have to take this out and repoke you!" Which she did before I could soundly protest.( I was feeling woozy or I would have been screaming) Upon entry the second time, my eyes were waterfalls and I almost passed out because when she missed the vein, she hit other objects. She decided to take it out, kept apologizing for doing a bad job and got me a cold press for my burning, colorless skin. I left crying and 3 days later, I still have an electric shock pain in my forearm! That night I couldn't stretch or bend my arm, and Andrew has to help me put on my pajamas...

Silly flobotomist!

incredible.

Can I tell you how amazed I am right now? I have been reading this blog



about a girl who lives as a missionary in Uganda. Everyday, she makes a difference between life and death for hundreds of children and orphans, around 400 to be exact. They attend school, receive medical care, and come to Katie's home on Saturday for lunch, Bible study and play time. Some of these children are so sick and malnourished when she finds them they have open sores and are barely mobile. Some she has taken into her own personal care...

and did I mention that she's 21? And remember when I said she has taken some into her care? Read what she wrote recently about her life as a missionary and caretaker of so many without parents:

"I don't even know where to start to tell about all that God has been doing in our lives since I last wrote. I know that my words aren't even close to adequate to describe His goodness and love.

A week ago today, I turned twenty one. I sat in awe as I celebrated with 14 beautiful girls who call me Mommy. (Ok one actually calls me "Maamaaaamammaaa") I wondered why God chose me, little ole twenty one year old me, to be entrusted with so much. There is nothing greater than the responsibility of raising a child to love Jesus. Except maybe raising 14. Words are escaping me. Two years ago today, two we moved into this home. In the last years I have learned more about Jesus, about myself, and about life than I ever could have imagined. I am so thankful. So, so very thankful for the life you have given me Jesus, for entrusting me with so much when I deserve so little..."


I am awed at this young girl with open arms to these needy children. Are you kidding!? 14!? For them, it was her or death. Katie was so moved by Jesus, that she scooped them out of ditches and gutters and is giving them new life. I am continually inspired and moved by her writing, but also challenged. She wrote this a while back and I thought it couldn't be said better:

"I DO NOT BELIEVE that the God of the universe created too many children in His image and not enough love or food or care to go around. In fact I believe that He created the Body of Christ for just that, to help these little ones, the least of these. And I believe that except for a handful, the Body of Christ is failing. And its not just me who thinks this. When I'm angry, I like to research so that I can at least feel a bit justified in my rage ;) According to several differnt resources, there are an average of 147 million orphaned children in the world today (this statistic includes children who have lost only one parent as well), 11 million children starve to death each year or die from preventable, treatable illness. 8.5 million children work as child slaves, prostitutes, or in other horrific conditions (making things like that cute baby Gap dress Jane wore today...) 2.3 million children world wide are living with HIV.

That is 168.8 million needy children like Michael and Patricia. Seems like a big number, huh? It shouldn't, because there are 2.1 BILLION people on this earth who profess to be Christians. Jesus followers. Servants. Gospel live-ers. And if only 8 percent of those Christians would care for just ONE of these needy children, they would all be taken care of."


Ouch! What are we as Christians focusing our time and energy on? I need to be doing more, I need to be God's hands and feet. Thank you so Katie for living boldly for Christ, and for being an inspiration for the rest of us who aren't...

Now go get moved by her amazing writing and life: http://amazima.org/blog.html

mind laps

OH MY GOSH! I am the slackingest blogger! I know, I know! So, what to write about...

Andrew and I sometimes wish we would sell all our earthly belongings and serve the poor in Guatelmala, yep, Guatelmala. Set up a home for the orphans on the street, revolutionize the education system by retraining their teachers, start small businesses to hand off to Guatemalans to support their families. Feed the poor, reach out to the needy, offer hope to the thousands living in the dump, pull kids out of the gutters who spend their afternoons sniffing paint out of a bottle, edify young mothers and teach them to love and care for their babies and not sell them....

These are things that fill our minds...but what about our relationships here? What about the American dream? What about family ties, and Thanksgiving turkey dinners, and tv time on the couch, and trader joes? What about savings accounts and dinner parties.

What about how our lives are a vapor. I believe that He wants us to love others so much that we go to extremes to help them. I believe He wants us to be known for giving. To stop the suffering of the world. To stop giving excuses for others to not believe in God.

So now the decision. Should we go to Urbana and learn about missions this winter, or to book a flight straight to Guatemala and feel it out. Should we got now, or go later in life. Should we go?

Why am I even writing all this? Well, because it's the thought cycle that fills my mind. I want to be sure that whatever decision we make, that it is based on God's crazy love, and not my crazy centered fears.

Honey

As I sat on the plane, the glossy cover of my new novel as pristine as it would ever be, I struggled to stay awake. Sleep bullied me until I made amends with the pain in my neck necessary to sleep in a seated position. Somewhere in my mind I was conscious that I was dreaming, while my mind began to drift over the complications in human relationships. People are stuck to others as if by honey, most not knowing how tightly bound we really are. Even when we kick and fight to separate ourselves from those in our sticky mess, we never do more than pelt and damage those stuck in our lives, often cause unrepairable damage while gaining no distance.

"I have hidden your word in my heart..."

"I have hidden your word in my heart" Psalm 119:11



Matthew 16:24
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

These are the cutest CDs with bible verses, called "Seeds of Purpose." It's an easy way for kids to hide God's word in their hearts :)

Vinaka Vacaleyvu!

I can't wait to share with you about my Fiji trip. God is doing miraculous things daily in that small country where there is such great need. Everyday, lives are being restored, Satan is banned from making people feel worthless and unloved. More on that to come...
My camera broke the very first day we arrived in Fiji, through which God taught me to focus on the relationships I was making as opposed to focus on the photo ops... ;-)

The future Soulemama?

Ok ok, so I'm no Soulemama, but I do love this ladies blog. She makes me want to be crafty and make things from scratch. I'm serious, her blog is by FAR my favorite...as of right now :)

She homemakes things and takes incredible photos all with a vintage flare. Sometimes, she even writes posts that make me want to knit. ALMOST, I said...jeez, hold your horses already! knitting is rough...

Infact, it's almost as if she would prefer to have everything in her house to be homemade than not, even socks...YES SOCKS!

Ok, so now I'm looking around for things that I can homemake...I started off small hoping I can start working my way up! (perhaps you will see homemade socks on MY blog in a mere months. perhaps not )

But, I did do a few projects based on some haushold needs.

Need #1: For my cats to STOP scratching the couch! Enough all ready!
Solution: So, for my cowboy birthday party, we had purchased a heavy duty rope to circumference the dance floor. As I don't need rope often in my daily activities, I decided to wrap and nail it around my cat tree, and VOILA!! It's homemade, functional, and free--just welcoming the curved daggers growing out of my innocent fluff balls.


Not bad, eh? But then it was time to see if my couches were saved from the wretched kitten talons: would the cats like my rope creation?

Exhibit A: mission accomplished!



Need #2: A baby gift for a little girl who's parents like to dirtbike:
Solution: Check out this pink and skull quilt I totally made! YES!! I am so STOKED! Make me an offer and I'll sell it to you before the shower-no shame! ;)





Need #3: Some durable shorts for Andrew that "aren't lame" he says! Well, those are not easily found in stores, so I took some super shears to some Levis (That "feel kinda lame") and solved the problem! (Soulemama would be oh so proud of how well I have been homemaking things!)



These babies held up perfectly on our 10 miles bike ride on the fourth of July! Bellisimo! This is Andrew watching the fireworks in his new britches.

This LAST bit of craftiness was an accidental blooper. Oh well, you can't win em all. This paint job that I did, which I was SO certain would enhance my picture frame to a lovely shabby-chic quality, instead now resembles the best teal blue home in Mexico...


So now, hopefully bigger and better things are on the horizon, we'll see. Either way, check out Soulemama for some REAL inspiration!

swim day

Carrying the cargo to the pool...



We were well prepared



some had double duty


Can't have a pool day without kisses


Our pool is great, come join us when you can!!

Thank you, Mr. Piper

John Piper writes,
"I'll show you what tragedy is. I will show you how to waste your life. Consider this story from the 1998 Reader's Digest: A couple 'took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they travel on their 30-foot trawler, play softball and collect shells...." Picture them before Christ at the great day of judgment: "Look, Lord. See my shells.' This is a tragedy.

God created us to live with a single passion: to joyfully display his supreme excellence in all spheres of life. The wasted life is the life without this passion. God called us to pray and think and dream and plan and work not to be made much of, but to make much of him in every part of our lives."

Most people slip by in life without a passion for God, spending their lives on trivial diversions, living for comfort and pleasure, and perhaps trying to avoid sin. This book will warn you not to get caught up in a life that counts for nothing. It will challenge you to live and die boasting of the cross of Christ and making the glory of God your singular passion. If you believe that to live is Christ and to die is gain, read this book, learn to live your life for Christ, and don't waste your life."

I wondered why I was pink slipped untill....

Then I saw these...






This is when things got crazy....


Don't worry, I'm keeping my options open :)

p.s. please look at the boy, front and center in picture two, HAH!

Our final products!

I promised that I'd share our final starry nights, so here they are! They were a hit at the school's art show!

Starry Night

I love art, I love painting, and I mostly love teaching it. We studied Van Gogh's life, and some of his paintings until we studied, Starry Night. Then, with their seats separated, my students painted just the sky, for an HOUR! Yep, no talking, just painting, curves and curves of blue. Layer after layer, dash after dash. I kept reminding them, "wind can't come from the middle of the sky, start it from off the page."




I supposed many teachers use art time as a time of just lazy fun for the kids...but not me, which is why I said it is mostly fun teaching it. I am very serious about teaching art. I taught the students brush technique and how to lay the paint, how to move the brush, how to mix paint, how to look at the original and then quickly back to your own painting. I take art seriously, and I expect the same. Don't get me wrong, its still fun, they absolutely LOVED it....but if a student wasn't following directions, I kindly showed them the proper way on their own paper. :-)

The next day we added the moon and the stars. Special curved-dashed of mixed color makes it look like they are really shining int our dark, windy skies.





The next day we finished the hillside and the town. With carefully placed flecks of yellow, it almost looks as if their are people inside the little cottages, finishing up their evening reading.

The paintings will be in our school's art show, so I'll take a final picture then and put it up for you guys to see, but they really turned out great!



YAY ART DAY!

Our new, sweet child!

is four years old, matches stripes with plaid, lives in Peru and has a bit of sass. We love her.

Now it's time for a proper introduction. Her full name is Milagros Del Pilar Ramirez Iparraguirre. Kinda just rolls off the tongue.

How did we meet such a delightful child? Well, I happened upon my bff's blog, and well, she'll do a better job explaining our decision of why we chose a Compassion Child. After reading about her very own experiences with children who are currently being sponsored by compassion and how their lives are bettered daily, from living in trash, to living with a hope and future, we decided to find one of our own.

Oh, and then there was God. He's all, "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." Well, hey, ok then!

Well, back to our little Milagros, which means "Miracles" in English. She is in Kindergarten, where she is doing "average." hmmm, I will pray that although I am not there to tutor her, that she will soon become advanced. :-) Who knows where I can find Kinder/1st curriculum books in Spanish?

Please pray for little Milagros with us, she needs it! Thanks!

Here's her pic, told you she was sassy! That's why she jumped out at us, we knew she'd fit PERFECTLY into our family!



To see some of the other precious (seriously) children needing sponsors, visit here!:

WARNING! Do NOT click here if you are not ready to see some MAJOR cute

Quick, pray for Milagros right now before you click on the next blog/facebook!

Why I miss Lucy

Cause she was so flippin' good at data entry. Entering grades has become a tedious chore in her absence.

11 Countries in one day!

Last Sunday we had the best day! We met up with our sweet friends Jason and Mindy and went down to the international fair in Balboa park. There are little cottages, each with artifacts from their country, and little treats! Norway house has heart shaped waffles and strawberry jam, Ireland has beef stew and soda bread, Sweden has almond danishes, Italy had biscoti, and much more! My favorite was definitely the Norwegian house because the man in charge was passionate about sharing the history of Norway with a smile! He also spoke like many in Minnesota when they are telling an "Ole and Lena" joke. (these are classic Norwegian jokes with the same two protagonists, and they cannot be told without a thick Norwegian accent, even ask my dad)

Andrew's favorite was the Ireland house because they had an abundance of food, and Irish dancers which made it very festive. Well, just thought I'd share, it was really fun and I recommend it to all!

It came in a dream

"Mrs. Brockhaus, can we stay in at recess and create a poster to cheer us on for First in Math?" asked four of my students.

First in math is an online game, and each class at our school is a team. You can log in at home, school, library, play math games and earn points for your team. Our team is in second place at our school with 48,000 points. But only first place gets a trophy. The closest next behind us is only 30,000. We are in fierce competition. We DONT' share our secrets, we don't fraternize with the enemy, we do whatever it takes! We are pitted again the first place team--a fourth grade team--who currently has the trophy in their class, and they have all year.

Oh, did I mention you can be ranked within the city and state? Oh, did I mention that this fourth grade class who holds our trophy is ranked second...in the state? ONE of their players has more points than half my class....

But California has a small populous, right?

Well, here's to high hopes! :-)

My eager students created this masterful paper of hope, had each student sign it and we hung it on the wall above the computers. "I thought of the idea in my dream," said Timothy.

Here's us with our poster, and YES! WE mean BUSINESS! WE are MATH STARS! At our school at least...






Three cheers for optimism!

The tricky team strikes again!

So, I have some buddies that I have been taking care of since they were almost two, now who are four. The best part about us, is that we are REALLY tricky, I mean, basically, if you're around us, you're gonna be tricked! I not sure exactly where our most prominent strength is in our trickery...if it be coming up with the tricks, executing them, how silent and invisible we become when have the task.... while I search for our strength in how we are so good at what we do, all I know is, that we get the job done! Here is just one of our most recent capers on a poor, unsuspecting victim:



WOW! Did you see the look on that poor fellow's face! What a SHOCK! After this more than successful event, we decided to have our victim play us some music, a free concert! We demanded!



We were so enthralled with the tunes, we decided that we wanted to learn how to play this contraption! We are vaguely certain that we will be signed within the month. Still working on a band name, please share any suggestions.



Until next time! Watch over your shoulder for a time that we may just be pulling a fast one on you! We look for unsuspecting personas!