Some Things...and the ZOO!

Before we get on to the fun zoo trip we took the other day, I want to share something I'm pretty excited about. My friend Chris and I have been friends for over 20 years - she lives down the street, but since we both have kids (she has 4) we usually end up talking on the phone - and more times than not we talk for a couple of hours. Most people wonder what we talk about since we see each other all the time, but we usually talk about family, kids, God, religion, HIV/AIDS, orphans, and what we can do to make a difference. From these talks we decided to start a playgroup, but one that has a purpose - we've cleverly named it Playgroup with a Purpose. :)

Our goal is to have moms and kids getting together each month for a playgroup, but to that group they will bring donations for whatever charity/cause we are collecting for that month. For example, if the charity needs children's Tylenol, then we will encourage the members to pick up an extra bottle of Tylenol each time they go to the store that month. Same thing if we are collecting diapers or whatever it is. We also want to try and find volunteer opportunities for moms to participate in with their kids - hoping to instill in our children a heart for giving their time for others. We know we aren't going to be making a HUGE difference, but we believe that small steps lead to bigger things.

We had been talking about it for a while, but I got motivated to start after I finished the book Red Letters. I figured it was time to stop talking and start doing. I'm sharing all of this because I plan to post about how it is going as we proceed. That way - if you think it might be a good idea to do in your group of friends, you'll have some idea on how to get started. We're hoping our first cause will be AHOPE (I've emailed them and am waiting to hear back) and our first playgroup meeting is next month.

Okay - on to the ZOO! You may remember last September when we met up with two other Ethiopian boys - Minnow and Boomer. You don't remember? Here - I'll give you a visual...

As you can see - Micah wasn't into the group photo. And, now that these boys are all mobile (Minnow has been, but Boomer & Micah were catching up), it is even harder to get a picture of them together. This was the best I could do at the zoo...

Yes, that is Micah's fanny sticking up in the center. He is still mainly crawling or spider-walking. He even told most of the other kids how cool crawling is so they joined him...

We were also joined by this little cutie on our trip to the zoo...

It was a really great day - I had a moment watching all four boys (and one sweet big sister) playing in the fountains at the zoo - I was just overcome with how wonderful and special they are. I know all children are special, but seeing them all together... well, I don't have words - there is just something about it.

Since there are so many more cute pictures from the zoo - here is a slideshow. (Because I know you all love slideshows! :)