Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

I don't have time to blog right now, but why should that should stop me?  ;-)  How's about a quick recap on a favorite holiday?

I spent the first half of Valentine's Day e-mailing and taking care of co-op business.  Not so fun!  But the second half I was able to set up the annual treasure hunt for Sonshine and enjoy the evening.  We also ate . . . er, slurped our traditional special dessert.  This time is was a strawberry milkshake I wanted to try.  (Good but not yummy enough to post the recipe.  Only the best!)

At some point, I noticed a box of chocolates had magically appeared in Mr. Ape's hands.  I suspect he was in league with Hubby.  You may recall from a previous post, that chocolate plays a prominent role in our romance.

The treasure hunt always begins with a card exchange . . . between me and Greg, from Kylen to each of us, and from us to Kylen.

Our card to Sonshine always has the first clue.  He's a big fan of Phineas and Ferb!

Greg excitedly showed Kylen how the paper "decoder" worked.  It was cute.

Down to the basement for a clue!

This was funny.  Greg decided it would be cool to get video footage of the hunt from far and lofty heights, so he walked around carrying the tripod with the camcorder on top.  Kylen wanted to try it.

Cuppa clue: one of my locations for the sought after little folded strips of paper.

Kylen's haul included a couple LEGO sets, books, a ton of minfigs from the latest series, and his favorite: Mariokart 3DS.  Out of 12 packs of minifigs, we got four identical of one we didn't like.  I'm wondering about the odds on that.

A fun, possibly new tradition reflecting Kylen's recent affinity for practical jokes.  I discovered the "L" and "V" from my Mary Engelbreit letters had been swapped.  Who could have done it?  I switched them back only to find them swapped again.  And so we've been going back and forth between "LOVE" and "VOLE" all month long.  Good memories!

Kylen's Amazing Moves

After enjoying numerous blog videos posted by friends of their children, I've finally decided to try it myself.  This first one proved pretty tough.  Kylen got a 3DS for his birthday, and he's had a lot of fun using it to record people.  One day he asked if I'd like to see a couple of his videos.   I was impressed with this one!  He was able to speed portions up and return to normal speed at just the right places.  I asked Greg if it would be possible to put it on my blog.  Turns out it was an ordeal to get it from the DS to youtube, and the quality isn't all that great.  The version with portions sped up couldn't be transferred, so Greg had to do the editing through a more painstaking process after getting it on the computer.  Then he decided to add music.  Warning: you might want to turn off your volume if you aren't a Toby Mac fan!

Saying Goodbye

Today is bittersweet. It marks the end of one of our sponsorships through Compassion.

I wrote our first letter to Kanchana in June 2006. It didn't take long for her to win our hearts, especially with her frequently expressed desire to visit the U.S. We smiled when she talked about wanting to see snow, prayed when she fretted over her studies, and marveled at her beautiful pictures with their bold, brilliant colors.

We knew she should be graduating soon, because she was already at "older child" status when we began this journey. Older children have a difficult time getting sponsored, so when we were asked if we'd consider adding an "older child," we accepted. Two letters a month (one to her and one to a boy we were already sponsoring) were very doable along with the monetary portion for food, school, and healthcare -- in Jesus' name.

Somehow it still came as a surprise when we got the call a few weeks ago notifying us Kanchana had just graduated from the program. How could five years have passed?! We were told she is planning for college while continuing to live at home. We gave her a last parting financial gift with our blessing, and I just finished my last piece of correspondence. It's marked "FINAL LETTER" at the top in bold print and filled with love and hope: hope for a happy future in the Lord. I pray He will bless her.



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Her first letter to us:

How are you? I am fine. Did you go anywhere on vacation? I didn't go anywhere, because my mother was very busy. She worked hard. I want to see your house, and I want you to come to my house too. How is your family? My family is fine. It is difficult for me to take care of my sisters and brothers. There are many persons in my family.

I want to see snow. Do you have a picture of snow? I want to see your family. Do you keep pets? I keep fish at home because my mother likes it.



Please pray for my English camp next month. I dream to visit different countries far way like America. I have dreamed since I was a very little girl. I think it is impossible. It is just a dream but I really want to see it.

Please send me a picture for your house. May God bless you and your family to be happy.

May God bless you,

Kanchana