I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning can be used as a homeschool curriculum, for afterschool enrichment and for summer skill sharpening. Find out how to write your own curriculum review for Time4Learning.

the dark monk and the hangmans daughter

sooo i just got to half way through the dark monk and I tell you, I love the book. I read the hangmans daughter just last week and started the dark monk over the weekend. I was able to get these free on my kindle because i am a bzzagent and had a campaign. You would love the story. Its captivating, thoughtfelt and holds your attention. its about a hangman, his daughter, and a medic in the 1600s who solve mysteries. :) here are some links to their amazons

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006JTTK3O/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=darkmonk_bzzagent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B006JTTK3O

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003P9XMFI/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=darkmonk_bzzagent-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B003P9XMFI

and lastly, a link to bzzagent!

www.bzzagent.com

My packet came in!

Well I finally got my sponsorship packet in and I am filling out the card as I type. I am so excited to hear from her and I hope that her eyes light up when she receives my letter to her. Ive already went out and bought some bandaids and cute notepads so I can send some to her. I know this is a short post but I am busy busy with work.

sponsored kids need to feel loved

I wanted to write a little post about writing to your sponsored children. I know that the very first day I picked and sponsored my little girl from the Philippines I wrote her an email. Once that email gets to the center where she lives it will be translated and she will receive it. She will then be able to write or draw me back.

It doesn't take long to write an email or a letter. Everyone should be able to spare 10-15 mins once or twice a month. These letters will let your sponsored child know that you really are thinking about them and that you do care. This can form lasting bonds and you and they will be able to share personal things and prayers for each other.

Something else to remember is that you can sent small "gifts" to your sponsored children. I am planning on sending pretty band-aids, coloring pages, and some stickers to my little girl once I receive her information packet. I am also going to let my daughter color pictures for her.(I might have to join her in the coloring)

Just remember that when they are in that situation is is easy for them to feel like they are worthless and that no one cares. By writing you are correcting that thought process and you give them a little sunshine on the days the letters arrive.

crochet for charity

I thought I should add that in addition to small ads on the right side of my blog to generate profit to assist with sponsoring I am also making crochet items and selling them. my first item is a crochet beanie in hot pink, I am asking 6$ shipped for this item and will use all profit to sponsor a new child.I am also interested in taking requests. If anyone has anything they want me to try my hand at I am willing to do so.

Isn't he a cute model? :-P

A sunday thought

Today we had to go visit my fiance's parents. They live about 38 miles from the house. The whole way there I was thinking about how much gas that is going to cost us as we have been trying to live frugally for a while now. We put 20$ of gas in the car and took off. As I was driving I couldn't help but think of all the ways we could be saving money to sponsor our next child. To go out to eat this past weekend I spent 35$ on 5 people eating. I couldn't believe it when I got the bill, we only got pizza and cheese fries. So I thought about it and have disided the next time we want to eat out we are going to make a pizza and make cheese fries at home and have a picnic. I have been noticing more and more the ways I can cut money costs to save for my next sponsor. I don't need to buy cokes for the family, that's a bunch of wasted calories anyways. Why not make some tea? a box of tea makes roughly 30 gallons and costs less than a 12 pack of store brand soda. Just by not buying cokes every week I am saving around 20$ a month. Theres almost half of a month of sponsoring. Ill be doing more thinking, planning, and adjusting to see just how much I can cut off our budget and will let everyone know what I have come up with sometime this week.

In the mean time why not go read about compassion international at www.compassion.com

In the next few days I'll be posting more information about the organization as well as some frequently asked questions.

Perspective

To shed a little light on the girl I am sponsoring in the Philippines I thought I would show you all some figures. My sponsored childs family consists of 6 children and their mother. They are living on roughly 78$ a month. Now you may be thinking "well since they are from another country cost of living will be different, right?" This is only partially true. With their 78$ a month they pay for electricity. The cost to light their one roomed home is roughly 20$. There goes nearly a fourth of what they made all month. Now say someones clothes are too worn to wear. To buy a new no name brand shirt costs a little under 4$. They need some toiletries right? soap is 1$. might want a little hygiene added in too right? toothbrush and toothpaste 3$ (now remember this is 7 people sharing all of this). There goes 28$ in a month. that leaves 50$ a MONTH for things they need, food, water, schooling, transportation, anything they could need in a month. Thats 30-31 days living on what most people can make in one day.

Could you do it? Probably not. Now if that 78$ can be made in one day by us, why not spend half of that one day on sponsoring a child for a month? You would be improving their quality of life tenfold. and what are you really missing out on? That's 7 trips to starbucks. That's one night of eating out. That's 2 hardcover novels (sometimes even just one!)

It may seem like a lot to you right now, but think about what that is to them. If you think you can spare the 38$ a month then click on the image on the right side of the blog and sponsor a child. You can pick a child based on age, gender, location, and even birthday.