Weekly Randoms

We have had a busy and random week, so this post and recap will be random, too :)

Abby and I did some Valentine's shopping this week. We did it a little early so that we could send a package to our World Vision child, Ahlumile, in South Africa. Here is her goodies. I have a hard time shopping for her- what doesn't require knowledge of the English language (books, cards, etc.) or requires more than she has, seems extravagant, etc. I just struggle. Oh, and the items must all fit into a 6" x 9" envelope and weight less than 13 ounces. It costs about $10 for a 13 ounce package. More than that is more postage.

So, here is our little Valentine's package. The good news is that I bought everything in bulk, so I am about done with her school and dance goodies, too!

Abby has water painted a few times this week. Since I took a picture the first time, when she colors she now tells me to take her picture :)

Marcus and I have been trying to eat low fat, low sugar, low carb like we did last Spring. We did really well the first week and then this week haven't done as well. We are just too busy right now to put such crazy diet restrictions on our life. We did lose weight in the 2 weeks (5 pounds for Marcus and 7 for me). We made this yummy salad with grilled chicken, strawberries and a homemade strawberry vinaigrette. It was good!

We dropped it today when I had more dental work done. I have a crazy number of cavities to fill- the dentist told me sweet tea is the worst! It gives your teeth a little coating of sugar with every sip. For about 3 years, I drank at least a 32 ounce tea each day. Oops. I am paying for it now.

I had 4 cavities filled last week and went back in today for 6 more. I know- INSANE! Well, 2 of those from last week were bothering me. So, he planned to redo those 2 today and then 2 of the remaining 6. Numbed both my upper left side and lower right side. After he did the two right (well almost finished them), I had to remove the mouth guard and cough- I was choking. That got the cavitiy wet before it was supposed to, and he had to do it all over again. That meant we were out of time for the left side. So, I got it all numbed up for nothing. Needless to say, soft food was required and most soft foods are carbs. I quit the diet- I couldn't do a numb mouth and grilled chicken or steak.

We'll enjoy the next few days since Abby is staying with my Mom this weekend and part of next week and then go back to being better with our carbs. It is eye opening to know how many carbs are in some of my favorite foods.

Finally, it is a big birthday week in our family! Happy Birthday Mimi, Granpa and Uncle Shaun. We hope you all have great days celebrating! I think Granpa (my Dad) is celebrating it best- they are headed to Florida for a cruise to the Virgin Islands. Jealous!

Abby's Ahlumile

This is Abby's Mile doll. She currently carries her everywhere- no strange looks in the stores yet :) She likes to lay her down and cover her in her lovie (pronounced wubie) and tell her night night. She sits across from Abby at her little blue IKEA table when we eat. She is well loved when she is dropped and hits her head. When we sing "Jesus Loves the Little Children" and substitute names for children, we always request that I sing about Mile.

Here is the crazy part- the other day at the refrigerator, Abby saw Ahlumile's picture on the door and pointed and without hesitation said, Mile. She knows- she has made the connection that her doll Mile is named after the little girl on the kitchen refrigerator door.

The next step is really to talk about Mile's life- her house, her family, her food, her schooling, etc. We sent her her first care package with hair bows and silly bands. I think her next package will include a wubie. :)

This is important. This feels good. This feels right. This matters.

If you missed the original post about Mile, click here.

Meet Ahlumile

This is Ahlumile, or Mile (pronounced Millie) as we like to call her. She lives in an AIDS affected area of South Africa and she is two years old. She lives with her mother and sister in poverty. She has the most serious eyes and crazy hair. She likes to play with toys and helps out around the house by being good. I've never met her, but I care about her. I don't know her Mother, but I bet she cares about me and I know we have a few things in common.

Our family has joined the World Vision family and select Mile as our sponsored child. We have "adopted" her, so to speak. We have talked about this for over a year- reading about Compassion bloggers and hearing about World Vision at various Casting Crowns concert. When I was given a raise this past month, I knew we were prompted to share our financial blessings with another.

We selected Mile because she turned 2 on December 29th... the same day Abby turned 2. When we found out we were having a girl, the 2nd name we had selected was Millie. We also for a short time were pregnant with twins and likely would have named the second child, had she been a girl, Millie. The Lord is in the details!

We are hoping to build a relationship with her through letters and teaching Abby about sharing and caring for others. We bought Abby a small doll that looks similar and named her doll Mile and placed Ahlumile's picture on the refrigerator. We are hoping to make the connection with her slowly.

I pray her Mother knows that we love her daughter and want to help her with an education, fresh water, medical care and basic needs. All the things you know she wants to provide herself. It breaks my heart to think about Abby being sick or hungry and not being able to help her.

I'll keep you all posted on our sweet little Mile. If you want to know more about World Vision, click here. One of the things I love about the organization, we have Mile and Mile has us. Nobody else. It makes it so much more concrete. I am not sending money to a school or a village, but a person. She isn't relying on something abstract, but she is waiting on a letter or assistance from just us.