'Painty'

Sometimes you just have to let her be a 3 year old!



Her last line was, 'I want to be myself again.'
Who can guess the color of the tub water?

Solace

Dear Friends and Family,

This summer our family will be matched with a young girl, between ages 7 and 11, from Afghanistan through Solace for the Children (http://www.solaceforthechildren.org/). Solace for the Children is an organization taking very practical steps to help Muslim children in Afghanistan who have been affected by the war and poverty. They do this by matching children of need from Afghanistan with American families for six weeks while they receive medical, dental, and vision care-many for the first time ever. This summer we will have the privilege of hosting a little girl for six weeks in our home in El Segundo, California.

MEDICAL NEEDS

The children who are matched with American families are in need of serious medical attention. Some have cleft palates; many suffer from Thalassemia, a genetic blood disorder common among Afghani children (which can lead to an early death); heart problems that require surgery, broken limbs that have healed incorrectly and need repair or amputation, as well as many other serious medical problems.

DENTAL NEEDS

All the children will require dental work. It's likely they have never had any dental care at all.

VISION CARE

Vision care may be basic, or as serious as vision loss or serious eye injury.

COST OF CARE

All Medical, Dental, and Vision care is donated. To date we have two Dentists and one Doctor in Los Angeles who have committed to giving free care to the children. This is a simple way they can help those in need with out having to leave their office or the country to do so.

ROOM & BOARD COSTS

Room and board costs are carried by each host family. Currently we have four families in our area who will host a total of five children. Each family provides housing and is responsible for food, clothing, and any activities. The children will be able to see each other weekly as host families coordinate meetings at local parks, hold events, and visit other family's homes in an effort to provide familiarity and routine for the children.

TRAVEL & VISA

This is where your help is needed. It cost $3000 per child to bring them to the United States. This amount includes all paper work and travel to and from Afghanistan. We need to raise a total of $15000 for the 5 children that have been matched with our local community.

YOUR HELP

Here is how you can help. I am asking 60 people for $50 (about the cost of a dinner out) for a total of $3000 which will sponsor one of the 5 children. Your gift is tax deductible and you will receive a receipt for your donation. We are asking people to mail their donations to:

Solace for the Children

PO. Box 576

El Segundo, CA 90245

In your memo line please write "Los Angeles ID#56-207803”. Once we receive your donation your tax-deductible receipt will be mailed to you.

Thank you for considering partnering with our family. With a growing family and a tight budget, this is a wonderful opportunity for us to help someone without the cost of travel or time away from one another. Should you choose to give, please know you will not only be helping a little girl from difficult circumstances, but will also be blessing our family, which in turn will likely receive far beyond what we share with this child.

For added information on Solace please visit the Solace for Children website at http://www.solaceforthechildren.org/. You can also view a video on Solace for the Children at: http://homepage.mac.com/ote_productions/Solace-Mov.html.

If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment.

Hope all is well,

Boo and Stacy Arnold (Mattie-Sue & Malyn too!)

Rainy Sunday

The girls wanted to have a puppet show for Boo when he got home. They decided on The 3 Little Pigs. They had so much fun making their own pig and their own house. Sue made the brick house and Malyn made the straw house.




They each got to play the wolf many times. I never got to play the wolf.

They loved blowing the houses over.

Perfect rainy day activity, that dad loved coming home to!

Texas!

When I got to Texas all I wanted to do was WEAR Samuel! So, I did! After about 25 minutes Jess would say....he just needs to stretch out now. Okay:( I loved every minute of it!

Poppy passing out some love to the kiddos on the back porch!
Nama giggling with the girls in the best seat in the house!


Here is Malyn at the Rainforest Cafe! She is not into loud sounds (the rain storm in the rest.). I love this picture!

I met up with my high school girlfriends one afternoon. It was SO neat to see us all with our kids. Lots of little mini me's running around!! I would like to take this moment to thank Amy for helping handle my 2 children that were melting down while taking the picture. Nothing like high school friends to take care of your dirty work!! I just realized I have a pic of Anna Faith!! Courtney's big blue eyed little girl that I met for the first time too!!!
This is Little Miss Ellie, Allison's #2! I wanted to take her home with me! Al said no.
Ryan and the girls really got to enjoy each other this trip. Ryan introduced the girls to Cars! They adore Ryan and greeted him with so much love every time he walked in the door. Such a darling personality we got to enjoy in person (not just Skype) while we were there!! This is story time just before the attempt to get all the kids to sleep so Jess and I could play Bananagrams. It lasted about 30 minutes. Then they went home :(
Visiting and helping Auntie Jenny at the Loft!! Just so amazed at her talent and gift with The Loft!!!
Jess and I saw Avatar with my dad. We got coke icee's and popcorn! It was really a good movie that was 2 1/2 hours long. I was entertained the entire time!!!! If you have not see it GO (get a sitter) and see it in 3D!!!!

ONLY IN TEXAS

This is the portion of the post that I will call 'Only in Texas'! And you will see why!!!

The Arnold Party of 15 (#16 is Nathan who is in training for the Navy Seals).

The girls found a Snoopy Snow Cone Maker amongst some old toys upstairs. Of course when they asked Memaw and Pepaw if they could make some they said YES! More power to the grandparents!! Best part of this little activity was that there was no syrup to go with it so we poured in some Big Red! YUM!
Here is Christopher, just chillin' on the back of the truck on FM 1123. Again, only in Texas!
Here I am attempting to rope a stationary calf. It only took 4 times!! By the time I finally roped it everyone had moved on to other things. That's okay...God knows I roped it!!
This here is a horse training thingy. Micah, Madelyn, Robert and Jaco stepped into some ropes for a big swing. Christopher and Bobby swung them around and around......it may not look like much in this picture but it was hilarious! And they were going sooo fast!
Mooks got to ride a horse while Christopher sent Sue on a scavenger hunt....ranch style!
Uncle Bobby and Mattie Sue had a sweet moment together in the boat.....without a life jacket.

We had such a great time in Texas. We of course ate too much, enjoyed family, and laughed with long time friends! And went to bed at 10:30 on New Years Eve!

Merry Christmas!

We are loving being home in Texas! Enjoying every moment!

5 on Friday

1. Have you met my new nephew? I haven't:( See you in 13 days buddy!
2. Here are my advent stockings! I was up to my elbows in felt for a few weeks. I neglected my family dinners for this felt. Go felt or go home!


3. This is Sophie, Mattie Sue's little buddy at school. They went to a birthday party together last weekend where they were taught a fairy dance at a ballet studio. They were SO excited!!!!!
and this is how she performed.......one finger in her mouth the whole song, frozen, not moving. I had instant flashbacks to last years battle with ballet.

4. And this is The Dream Mansion, a Christmas gift from Nama and Poppy that only to 2 1/2 hours to put together!
They LOVE it!!!!
5. The Arnold family Christmas tree. The girls are loving having the tree up (M.I.A starfish tree topper). They take the ornaments off and play with them (then loose some) then line them up, then hang them back up. Between this and the Dream Mansion (that took 2 1/2 hours to build) they really are enjoying each other and this festive season. We are ready for NAMAS!!!!
Merry Christmas and happy decorating!!

Baby Katie!

Baby Katie (who is now a 30 year old Secret Service Agent that packs heat) came to visit us from San Francisco (originally from Ohio) for Thanksgiving! We were sooooo excited to have her here!!! We took her to the strand to walk before the stuffing of the food. It was 83 and sunny!!


This was really funny!


"Mattie Sue, will take a picture of Katie and I on Thanksgiving?"


"Great one, thanks, let's try again!"
We used the timer and the wall for this one.
We celebrated with The Peers and The Browns this Thanksgiving! It was a wonderful day!! The food was SO tasty. I love Thanksgiving food. I made the Pioneer Woman's Sweet Potatoes. And other than the sweet potatoes crusted to my arm the night before I have to say they were THE BEST sweet potatoes ever. Yes, Martha Stewart, I like Ree's better!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!