Fundraising for our next Compassion trip

If you had told me 6 years ago when we first started sponsoring children through Compassion that I would have the opportunity to go visit one of our children, I would have thought you were nuts. There was no way I ever thought it was going to be possible to ever visit any of our sponsored children. But here we are, 6 years after sponsoring our first Compassion child and I have been blessed with the opportunity to visit two of our sponsored children.

This was only possible because God allowed it to happen. He gave me the ability to use some of my gifts to make and sell items to raise money. Sewing, knitting, baking, photography...and so many people stepped up to help me along the way by purchasing these items to help me get to Mexico and Colombia.

So now my daughter wants to go on a trip!! We have been sponsoring little Alfredo in Mexico for about two years now and Kelsey really wants to meet him, give him a hug, and tell him that she loves him. How can I not do whatever I can to make a trip happen for her?

I will still be sewing, knitting, baking and doing photography to earn money to fund this trip, but this time, we need to earn money for two people, which is going to take a bit more money.

This time, we are selling shirts! These shirts were created by Fund the Nations and we will be pre-selling them through April 15th. The shirts are $20 for S-XL (XXL and XXXL and $2 more). If you are not local to us, we will ship the shirt to you for an extra $3. We should be able to get the shirts to you by the end of April. My goal is to sell 100 shirts! Need more info, e-mail me at kymk99 at yahoo dot com.

Will you help us meet our goal?

My Week of Photos - Some of my favorite things

This week, for my week of photos, I decided to share with you some things that I enjoy doing. I know that some of you reading this blog may not know me in real life. So I thought this might give you a glimpse into some of the things that make me happy. 

Now in the course of one week, there is no way that I can photograph all of my favorite things. But these things I am sharing with you are some of the things I enjoy doing around my home.

ISO 800, f/2.8, 1/160 sec with 50mm lens

I love to cook and bake! Each week, I try to plan dinners that I know my family will love to eat. As a stay at home mom, it is one way we can save money by not eating out so much. Plus, many times, there are leftovers which are great for lunches the rest of the week.

ISO 200, f/2.8, 1/640 sec with 50mm lens

Most weeks, usually about three times a week, I love to get out in the morning for a brisk walk around my neighborhood. When I started tracking my walks using the MapMyWalk app, I was walking just over 2 miles a week. Now I am up to almost 6 miles a week! I don't have any particular goal in mind, I just know that getting a bit of physical exercise each week is good for me, especially with as much as I love to bake!

ISO 400, f/2.8, 1/100 sec with 50mm lens

Did I mention I like to bake? 

ISO 800, f/2.2, 1/40 sec with 50mm lens

Even though I recently cleared out a full bookcase of books in my home, I still love books and I love to read. When my kids were little, I loved reading aloud to them. We read so many picture books and classics that make up a special part of my home library. Today, I am usually reading at least three books at any given time, nonfiction is book form and fiction on my Kindle. Want to follow along with what I am reading? You can find me on my Goodreads account.

ISO 800, f/2.2, 1/100 sec with 50mm lens

If you have been following along with my Kickstart to Clutter Free posts, you know that I love to do craft projects! And recently, my love for doing craft projects has come in handy while fundraising for Compassion sponsor trips! My daughter and I are just starting to plan for a trip in January 2017 so stay tuned to hear more!

ISO 3200, f/4.5, 1/60 sec with 50mm lens

One more thing to share with you is my love for music. This particular piano is the one I learned to play on many years ago. I don't spend as much time practicing as I ever used to as a child, but it is one thing I am glad I learned to play.

So, that is my week of some of my favorite things! I hope you enjoyed this little peek this week.

What are some of your favorite things?

Kickstart to Clutter Free - Day 11

Getting closer to the last day of Kathi's Kickstart to Clutter Free challenge! Today's challenge is the medicine cabinet. Our 'medicine cabinet' lives in two areas in our home, one shelf in the kitchen and one drawer in one of the bathrooms.

So let's see the kitchen area first:

This shelf is where our vitamins and pain relievers live...or so I thought:

Once I pulled everything out, I was kind of surprised with how much was living on that shelf. So I checked dates on the bottles and boxes, and put back everything that I was keeping. Here is everything that I didn't put back:

Not sure why I was keeping all of those care and use guides, but they quickly made their way to the garbage. And the outdated benadryl?

Added it to my shopping list because it is something we need to keep on hand.

With the kitchen shelf cleared out, it was time to clear out the drawer in the bathroom:

Yep, this drawer is a mess!

My kids are 21 and 16, so I know we have no use for Baby Orajel, not even going to think about how old that tube is! Why is the towel ring hanging out in the bathroom drawer? Who knows, definitely something to give away. And that old instant thermometer? It doesn't even work anymore. That ended up in the trash.

Ah, much better!

Over the past couple of weeks, I have had the opportunity to attend Kathi's Finally Clutter Free events. She is a big believer in that when we overcome clutter in our lives, we are free to become world changers. One way that she is a world changer is by sponsoring children through Compassion international and sharing about her experiences at her events. At the last two events she has held, 12 children have been sponsored!

Not only do I encourage you to give Kathi's eCourse a try, but give it a try so you can clear out clutter in your home and become a world changer for a Compassion child today!

Compassion Share & Tell

Today is the second friday of the month, a day that a lot of Compassion sponsors set aside time to write to the children they sponsor. This morning, I was finishing up letters to my kids and wanted to share what I am mailing to them this month.

As letters come in from my sponsored kids, I am trying to respond to those right away so that I make sure I am answering any questions they may have. But once a month, I want to set aside time to mail extra things with the letters.

So this month, I wrote to each of them about going ice skating with my daughter. I also asked them if there is anything special they like to do with their mom and what sport do they love. Along with the letter, I sent a photo of the two of us ice skating, a postcard of a sea otter and a Bible verse printable I found on Pinterest.

One thing extra I did create this month was this printable stationary using Canva. You are welcome to access this file and use the printable stationary when writing letters to your own sponsored children.

If you are a Compassion sponsor, I pray that you are setting aside time to write to your sponsored children on a regular basis. These kids love, love, love letters from their sponsors!

Raising Grateful Kids Book Giveaway

Over the last couple of months, I had the opportunity to read a preview copy of Raising Grateful Kids by Kristen Welch. This is one of those books that I wish I had at the beginning of my parenting journey.

Ever since our family started sponsoring children through Compassion, we have had many discussions about 'wants' versus 'needs'. It is a tough conversation because we have been blessed to be born in this country with so many opportunities. And the opportunities to have so much stuff!

But when we give into to too many of our wants, we end up neglecting many of the needs around the world.

Kristen admits that she does not have all the answers. In fact, she is still right in the middle of her parenting journey. But...she has put together a book with many personal stories and practical tips to help families that are wanting to raise kids that are different. Kids that are okay with not having the latest and greatest thing so that child growing up in extreme poverty can have their basic needs met.

The end of each chapter is filled with 'Going Against the Flow' tips for multiple age groups. Even for parents...because this is where all of our families need to start. When we as parents start living more grateful lives, we can start raising more grateful kids.

Because I loved this book so much, I purchased two copies to giveaway.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment below. Winners will be randomly drawn on Monday, February 8. (Open only to US citizens)

2/8/16 update: Congratulations to Missy and Mindy! Your names were drawn today by my daughter. Please send me your mailing address to kymk99 at yahoo dot com so I can mail your books. Thank you to all who commented and entered!