I need them....

It's true that every child needs someone to love them. That no child should ever have to endure not knowing what true unconditional love is. But I think for me, as a mother, I need my children more. I need them to point out the beauties that are in life amidst all the hardships and sorrows. I need them to love me unconditionally as only children can do. I need them to show me the beauty in despair, to show me the face of innocence in evil, to show me how to live and love fully.

Two bloggers that I regularly follow (Kristen and Mckmama) recently embarked on a trip to Kenya with Compassion Bloggers for two weeks to witness the despair, slums, and hope that their sponsored children live in. What these two women do and open their hearts to amazes me. But it also got me thinking as I do sponsor a child as well that as much as that child needs the money that I send to them, I think I need them more. I need to know the wealth that I live in that can be deemed not very much, but when compared to the slums that they live in and the hardships that they go through and are witness to every day I live like royalty. And maybe I do. In their eyes. I'm sure that my modest home, that is heated by the gigantic oil tank in my basement, that has electricity that I so frequently forget to turn off, the hot and more important running water that flows through my house that is clean that I wash my babies in, the hot meals that I can cook, the abundance of food in my home that allows for my 3 year old to "snack" all day long, would be viewed as a palace to these children that huddle together at night just to stay warm, whose families try to keep an impeccably clean living arrangement which can be difficult when the "floors" are made of dirt or even worse garbage. I implore you to read the stories here and here and if you are able sponsor a child through Compassion bloggers. It may not seem like a lot to you but to these children you'd be their hero.

And to my children who have the ability to open their hearts so freely and openly and willingly share everything that they have, you are my heroes.

Works For Me Wednesday

I drink coffee. A lot of coffee. And I have to have creamer in my coffee. So the end result is that I have quite a few coffee creamer containers (primarily International Delight and Coffee-Mate) and while waiting for the recycling man to come one week when he didn't we decided to play a game using the containers. Now I can't take credit for this because it was really my nephew's kindergarten teacher's idea but they used them for bowling!!! Yes bowling! The creamer containers specifically the ones I mentioned are the perfect size for mini bowling pins!! I'm sorry to say I don't have a picture of this since my camera battery decided to die last night when I decided to upload at about midnight but the general idea is that you line up the containers the same way bowling pins are set up, find a small ball (we used a wiffle ball since it had holes for my 3 year olds fingers and no her fingers didn't get stuck) and roll it down the lane. That's what works for me when you're stuck inside for 7 days in a row and are having a major case of cabin fever. Head on over here for more Works for Me Wednesday this week and next as Kristen is headed to Kenya with Compassion Bloggers for the next two weeks. If you want to read about Kristen's journey click here, you can also read about Mckmama's journey of the same trip here. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they share their love in Kenya.