Outgoing Mail

I spent some time this morning writing letters to my kids. It's been a little over a week since I mailed a packet of letters, along with birthday cards and gifts for Prayer and Brenda. This week, I had some fun things to share with them.

Each of our ten kids pretty much got the same letter this week. I started off by asking them how they are doing. I also told them a little bit about our weekend. I told them that the weather is really nice right now, and the weekend was fun. We went to a party for Brandon's uncle. His uncle Charlie recently retired, but that would have been kind of hard to explain. So I just said that there was a party for his uncle and lots of family members were there. And on Sunday we went to church and it was good. I asked the kids what they do on the weekends. I know some of them attend Compassion's program on Saturdays, and others attend during the week.

Next I shared the fun stuff! Recently I got to go to my friend Ashley's house to see her and have a playdate with my buddy Anell! We took them dinner on behalf of our Bible study group, and Anell and I read books and played. I told our kids a little bit about Anell and how he's doing. I have been telling them about him for months, asking them to pray for him before he came home, and then I told them about the airport party. I told our kids that he is speaking a few English words, like "mama" and "daddy" and "thank you." I told them that he has grown a little bit but he is still small for his age. I also told the kids that even though I'm an adult, I still feel like a kid sometimes! I like to play with toys and read kids' books. I asked them what they like to do with their friends. And I sent two pictures of Anell and I reading books together.

Lastly, I shared a prayer request and our plans for this weekend. My mother in law is traveling to India soon. My mom and I are picking up carry-out from a local Indian restaurant and having her over for dinner, as she's never had Indian food before (Brandon will be there, too, watching football!) So I told the kids that we will be having an Indian dinner this weekend, and that it's fun to try foods from other countries. I asked them if they would please pray for Denise, that she would be safe during her travels. In Jayid's letter, I told him that she will be in a different part of India from where he lives, but that I was really looking forward to seeing the pictures she takes while she's there. Jayid still doesn't know that Denise is taking a bag of presents for him!! That will be an awesome surprise.

Speaking of Jayid, I got his bag all packed. I had hoped to find a mini-backpack to send the gifts in, but I was having trouble finding one. Then this past week I found a mini backpack with the University of Kentucky logo on it! It is little and cute and blue and white. Everything fit in there perfectly. It's just about the same size as a gallon ziploc bag. The only real difference is that I can fit a little bit more at the top since there is a real zipper on the backpack, which will hold everything in. That meant I could fit a taller coloring book in there (it's just a regular-sized coloring book, but the ziploc bag wouldn't quite close with it in there.) I am including a letter for Jayid that says "SURPRISE!" at the top, and in the letter I explain that the bag has the logo and the colors of our favorite sports team, and that we are proud to share a part of our state with him. I am really hoping that they will be able to send a picture of Jayid with his gifts! : )

What have you written about to your kids lately? Have you found any cool extras to send along with your letters?