In Business

It's official! I'm up and running on my new nook, thanks to my family who gave it to me for Christmas and my dad (who shall remain nameless) who gave me an ebook gift card to get me started.

First official downloads?

Anne of Green Gables

The Holy Bible (NIV)

Notre Dame de Paris

Food Rules

Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

I'm nothing if not eclectic.

Help Me Make Lemonade

If you're in my email address book, you know that my account was hacked this week. The thief took over my gmail account and my facebook account in order to scam money out of my friends. Please tell me you didn't send any. It's been a long few days trying to get back as much information as I can. I've lost my entire contact list and will have to rebuild it over time. It appears he also got hold of my credit card number, so that's another little mess to clean up. After I get everything fixed, I'll post a blog on how to protect yourself better. I've learned a lot.

The hacker's note read to the effect that I was held up at gunpoint in London and would you please wire me $1500 so I can get home.

The irony is, I've been trying to figure out the best way to ask people to send $1500, not for myself but for some missionary friends who have a specific need right now. I didn't ask because... well, frankly... I was embarrassed. I feel like I've asked for a lot and that people must be getting tired of me reminding them to turn in their missions pledges or give towards a certain cause. Well, now I'm really embarrassed because all of you got bothered by someone using my name and my address.

I'm not saying that God hacked into my accounts. Not unless he has a phone number in Nigeria. I don't think he works like that. But I do know he can redeem bad situations to use for good.

So here's my idea:

Instead of sending your money to a scam artist, why not put it towards a good cause? You might have heard that the dollar is not doing so well overseas. For missionaries who depend on the dollar, it means their spending power has been dramatically cut. Our friends in Brazil, Ben and Juliana Roberts, find themselves unable to afford a lot of things, but their most immediate need is to provide education for their boys. They've had to pull their two sons from school because of the expense. They would like to homeschool, but Brazil only allows home education if it's done through an accredited institution.

For Juliana to teach her boys at home using the Calvert school, it will cost them $1500 for the year.

Instead of wiring money to England or wherever, why not drop a check in the mail?

Make it out to Cloverdale Church of Christ and earmark it for the Roberts' education fund.

Mail it to:

Cloverdale Church of Christ

3000 E. Park Ave

Searcy, AR 72143

If you want, leave an anonymous comment telling how much you'll send so we can all keep tabs. Help me redeem my crummy week by being a blessing to someone in need.

Help me make some lemonade.

A Must Read

I don't have the Koonce family blog in my blogroll but I'll be adding it soon. Marty just wrote a series of posts about his recent trip to Togo that are encouraging, exciting, and - as he says - surprising. Scroll down to January 10 and read to the top and join me in praising God for people like Papa Koffi and Hammer and Ablavino and Bertain (formerly Houndzo).

Koonce Family Blog

Dragon Party Time

I always feel like I've accomplished something when I pull off a birthday party. Our house is small and with 11 kids over on a rainy day, feels even smaller. Look at that smile, though. It was worth every minute.
This year's theme: dragons (a compromise of sorts since the birthday girl figured boys wouldn't enjoy a Hannah Montana party - nice of her to consider their feelings).

For those of you who are looking for dragon party ideas of your own, here's what worked for us.

I made dragon wings for each child out of felt so I didn't have to sew the edges. The wings velcro on with ribbon at wrists and neck. Note to self: sew the velcro on better next time.

Each child was given an egg with a dragon inside to take care of for the whole party. They were instructed not to open the eggs. (eggs from Dollar Tree, dragons from Joann's Crafts)

Activities:

Build a dragon out of legos

Make an origami dragon

Dragon egg relay (where the kids race with their dragon egg in a spoon down the hall. Each kids used his own egg and tried not to drop it. We made it harder on the older ones by making them go backwards)

Treasure hunt - I filled a "treaure chest" with bags of treasure goodies - candy necklaces, silver kisses and gold chocolate coins). I made really simple clues on index cards like "Mirror, Mirror on the wall." The kids ran to find the clue but before they cold open it, they had to perform a task (count to 100, do 10 sit-ups, spell their name out loud, etc.) to make the game last longer. The treasure hunt was a huge hit and hilariously funny to see a mob figuring out the clues and working together.

Refreshments:

Dragon cake from Family Fun

Dragon Breath punch (ginger ale, cranberry juice and orange juice in a bowl, set in a bowl of dry ice) The kids could blow in between the bowls to make the smoke come out. Note to self: no need to add ice to the punch, the dry ice froze it solid by the end of the party.

Decorations:

We happen to own every plastic dragon ever made, so the kids went to work hanging them from hooks and light fixtures. Stuffed dragons on the table and that was about it.

For thank you cards, we took a picture of each child sitting on a large stuffed animal. One of my older kids has drawn a picture of a dragon and is going to photoshop each child onto the dragon to send on individualized cards.

Back in the Nest

The fledgling has returned, a little older, a little wiser, and immensely proud of herself. And well she should be. She spent a week away from home, managed to wake up at 6:30 a.m. five days in a row (a miracle for a homeschooler), and proved she can keep up with the rest by earning an A+ in her legislative classes.

My job's not over yet, not by a long shot, but I'm realizing that it's in transition. This is the time to encourage and guide, to offer challenges, to encourage her to seek out her interests and cheer her on in her pursuits.

It's time to back off the nit-picking and trust her to figure out the small stuff on her own.

Letting go. I think this is the hardest job yet.

How Did I Miss This?

I've been to Lyon a few times and have seen many of the wonderful places the city has to offer from the Cathedral of Saint Jean-Baptiste to the old city to the Roman ruins, it's a fantastic place to explore and discover. Besides that, it's the gateway city to the Savoie region, one of the most beautiful places God made.

But how did I miss this - the Bal des Argents bookstore in Lyon? You've seen a cathedral, you've seen 'em all. But a bookstore? Everyone holds a different trove of treasures waiting to be discovered.

Doesn't it look like the magical kind of place where you could get lost for ages and not even mind?

*photo taken from flickr.com and featured on The Most Interesting Bookstores in the World.

Fledgling

One of my kids is taking a big step into the world tomorrow. I find as a mama bird that I'd love to have all my little chickies hang out in the nest and eat home cooking for a long time. They're getting big, though, and jockeying for position on the edge of the nest, ready to try their wings.

One week as a senate page at the state capitol. I wonder what she'll be like when she comes back to the nest. I bet her wings will be a little stronger.