Hello May!
Dearest Readers,
Another month has passed, and as always, I’m wondering where the time went. For those of you affected by the recent storms, know that I am praying for you, and I’m sure my other readers are as well. We were in the area of many of the storms but luckily only received wind, rain, and hail. Many lost everything. If you can find a way, reach out to your neighbors.
My children are growing, growing, growing. Please allow me to introduce them to you via their selected pen names.
Stellaluna, my six-year-old daughter, recently finished her kindergarten phonics work and is excitedly tackling first grade. That child is reading or attempting to read everything she can get her eyes on.
Zow, my four-year-old son, wants badly to read like his sister, and he is making progress. I keep finding myself pulling him backward to make certain he actually understands a concept before moving on.
Mr. Monkey, my two-year-old, is as his name suggests, into everything no matter how high I stick it. He’s finally consistently saying “Mama” and “Dada” if I insist he does so to get his way. Other than that, his vocabulary consists of negative and positive grunts. We’re making progress though. He mimics the phonics sounds he hears me practice with the older two.
Gabriel, my baby in Heaven, according to Stellaluna, is bouncing on the knee of Jesus.
Ladybug, due July 4th, is making her presence known constantly. She’s kicking well, and just last Monday we got to count all her toes.
Bennett Update
Bennett’s adoption fund is currently at $2133.50. (Someone has recently donated! Woohoo!!) Let’s increase that amount this month with Compassionate Creativity!
Submissions of donated creative works are still needed. So, have all the minors in your life get to work and send their donations to P. O. Box 12308; Knoxville, TN 37912. Visit Compassionate Creativity for all the details. Any person under eighteen can participate for the cost of a stamp.
Today, also, in just a few hours, the bidding will begin on the masterpieces generously shared by the youngest among us. Please begin bidding at $1.00 in the comments. Bidding ends each day at midnight. As soon as the winning bidder informs me, “I made my donation!” and emails me a mailing address, I will mail out the masterpiece.
You can donate through PayPal right on Bennett’s page or mail a check to Reece’s Rainbow; P. O. Box 4024; Gaithersburg, MD 20885. Mark the check for Bennett 3G’s Adoption Fund. For those of you who can, mailing a check would be best so that Reece’s Rainbow does not have to give PayPal their dues out of your donation.
I hope God enables you to give generously, and please do share about Bennett with friends and family in every way possible from face to face conversations to Facebook.
As always, please pray that this little boy’s family finds him.
This Month
On top of the donated masterpieces, please also enjoy photography and poetry by Michael Lee Johnson, poetry by Pat St. Pierre, Donal Mahoney, Stephen Jarrell Williams, Amit Parmessur, Salvator Buttaci, Michael H. Brownstein, and Jason Sturner. Jason Sturner is also sharing some short fiction with us.
Enjoy what you read and see, and please continue offering thoughtful feedback to the contributors.
Submit Your Work
Submissions for May are now closed, but I am still taking submissions for June. If you are an author, artist, or photographer please do consider submitting to Pond Ripples. Visit the submission guidelines and read other work published to see if your work might fit. You may also consider allowing me to spotlight you.
Help Pond Ripples
I am blessed with wonderful readers and contributors, and I hope to continue to serve you for many years to come. Help Pond Ripples by spreading the word. Tell everyone you know who might enjoy the work featured here or who might like to contribute in the future. You can also support Pond Ripples financially by buying my writer’s planner, Ponder Thy Paths, each quarter. For those of you with writing related blogs or newsletters, I plan to launch an affiliate program for Ponder Thy Paths by next quarter, which begins in July. Get in touch with me, and I will send you information when it becomes available.
In Closing
Have a wonderful May! Enjoy the work shared this month, and comment as often as you can.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Burgener
Mother * Writer * Teacher
Psalm 27:1
