Wordless Wednesday (finally, I'm back!)

Every year, my father-in-law carves ornaments for the kids.

Each ornament is a kind of "living history"

documenting the kids' current interests and hobbies.

This year, as with every year,

he totally nailed it for the littles!

Perry The Platypus

will be adorning our tree and surreptitiously

scoping the area for signs of

the evil Dr. Doofenschmirtz.

I feel much safer now.

Big sister Candace will be keeping an eye

on the hijinx of younger brothers Phineas and Ferb.

Just like LadyBug does! 

And! Kai Lan! will make sure that all her

super! duper! friends! are

Super! HAPPY!

(Isn't that reaction by Li'l Empress PRICELESS?!)

For more Wordless Wednesday fun,

head over to 5 Minutes for Mom.

And don't worry, none of the moms keep

it truly wordless every week :)

Ahoy, or Should I Say Yoha!!!!

The other night, Dr. D and I were watching a late night college football game. We were talking about some of his favorite college teams and the "greats" of the sport that those schools have produced. I recalled a story of a player from many years ago who had been spotlighted regarding his struggles with ADD and dyslexia, so Dr. D was googling him and trying to find out who I meant.

In his searching, he came upon a list of famous folks, celebrities and the like, who deal with dyslexia. The list was quite extensive and we chatted about the names as he read them to me.  Some of the names included notables like Tom Cruise, Orlando Bloom, Sir Richard Branson and more. He was as surprised as I to read just how many folks have overcome such learning struggles as dyslexia.

After just a couple seconds of reading over the site, he said, "You know this list includes the three major actors in the Pirates of the Carribbean series. Johnny Depp, Kiera Knightly, and Orlando Bloom."

"Yeah. How 'bout that? What a funny coincidence," I said sleepily. After all, it was nearing midnight and my brain felt fuzzy.

He lifted his arm in the air (as if hefting a sword), smiled cheekily at me and said, "hgraAAA!"

One Last Giveaway To Share

I have one final giveaway to spotlight for you.  This, too, is a great way to invest in someone else while shopping for yourself or entering to win the goodies. As the mom of a former China Care girly, I'm especially tickled that China Care's partner organization, Half the Sky, will be one of the recipients of the blessings of your investments.

Here's the fancy-dancy button on which to click.

And please, click away - there's some truly great stuff in store for this giveaway. Read all about it in this post and get to clicking and commenting! The first post of the giveaway went live earlier this week and has already been awarded, but you should be able to get in on at least day two or three and go from there.... Have fun!

Another Great Giveaway

I'm pretty excited about this particular giveaway - first, because it's an awesome way to shop for gifts that have incredible meaning and purpose behind them. From moms trying to help support their family, to families creating and crafting to bring home adoptive children, and more - the gifts featured here are DOING DOUBLE DUTY!

And second? Well, it's opened a whole new world to me... Can we say ETSY?!

(I know, I know, I'm so behind. Sheesh, I can't be up on EVERY trend.)

(And right now, as I typed that, I'm realizing I'm not up on ANY trends.  But anyhooooo.....)

So, head over to Purposeful Giveaways and click away.

There's some beautiful things there and while you are clicking and commenting, take a moment to pray for the family that is creating the gifts you are trying to win. And pick out something special for your loved ones.  Your support will be priceless to them, I promise!