Flat Stanley Learns About Liberty!!

Flat Stanley had the privilege of visiting our family friend, Beth, in Philadelphia, PA this week. He had a great visit, and learned a lot about our nation's foundations! Here is the blog entry from his visit.

"I took Flat Stanley to see Independence Hall in Philadelphia. It's amazing to think about what actually happened in those rooms over 200 years ago. A group of men (and their amazing wives at home, like Abigail Adams) had a shared vision for a better life. A handful of people had the imagination and courage to dream big and risk everything to create a new country, a new government and an existence in which people were free from oppression and could live life fully.

"They were true visionaries...just imagine, no government like the one they created existed before! They believed it could be successful and demonstrated an unshakable faith. They were united in the belief in our inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They knew that bringing this dream to fruition would be a deep struggle and cost many lives, but they were still willing to move forward.

"Now, over 200 years later, our country is the most powerful nation on earth. Men women and children from all over the world come to the United States in search of those same inalienable rights and the opportunity to live in freedom and peace.

"I'm so proud of our forefathers and thank them for everything they did. I am blessed to be able to walk the same ground they did and live in this great country.

"Beth Aaron

Philadelphia, PA

February 25, 2010"

Thanks, Beth for showing Stanley such an awesome time in one of our nations coolest places!!

Flat Stanley's AWANA Adventure!

Written by Jeffery Schwind, age 11.

On Wednesday, February 10, 2010, Flat Stanley came with me to AWANA. He was so excited! He was in the car with me and we read some of my book together on the way there. I even made him an AWANA uniform! He wore it that night.

When we got there, we were a little late. So, we missed the intro, but we went upstairs to practice quizzing. Stanley helped out with some of the questions! And with the other questions, he watched me answer them!

After that, we went to Handbook Time. It was pizza night, so Flat Stanley and I shared a piece of pizza. It was really good! After Handbook Time, we went to Council Time. We had a lesson with Mr. Schweibold about how we are not strong enough to take on life as a Christian without the Holy Spirit. K. Miyakawa was put on a big piece of wood with ropes on the sides. Mr. Schweibold said one verse, and the kid who found the verse was able to grab one of the ropes on the sides, and try to pull K. Miyakawa up off the ground. It didn't work, so Mr. Schweibold called out more verses to get more kids up. Finally, there were enough kids to lift K. up. This taught us that with help from the Holy Spirit we are able to take on the challenges in our life.

Then, after that part of the lesson was over, we got visited by a former Colts football player! It was so cool! At the end, after awards and points were given, we got a football card from him that he had signed! This ended our AWANA adventure!

First adventure: The Frigid Back Yard

Before we send Stanley off on his adventures, we need to have a few with him ourselves!! He certainly got acclimated to adventure when he went out in our frozen, snow-filled back yard!!

A few days ago we got 8 1/2 inches of snow. Today, we have gotten at least 3 inches, so our backyard is a winter wonderland!! The boys have been sledding down the slide onto the hard packed snow that is level with the bottom.

Since Stanley didn't have any snow gear on, he didn't' stay out long. He is inside with the mom, staying warm and watching her do dishes. However, he is occasionally looking out the window, asking if maybe, just maybe, we might make him a little paper coat and hat???

Operation Paper Boy

In the 1400's, the world's bravest men set forth in ships to travel the globe, finding as many new lands and new trade routes as they could. These were the explorers, and this time period was called The Age of Exploration.

Things are very different today. Especially if you are a boy made of paper who can mail himself anywhere he wishes to go!

Today, we begin our journey with our newest family member, Flat Stanley! He promises to be a very exciting family member, traveling the globe in search of adventure, like an explorer of old! He will begin his journey here in Noblesville, IN, USA.

On this blog, we will keep a cyber-journal of Stanley's activities, and hopefully we will be able to include many other families in many other cities, states and countries.

Personally, we cannot wait to see where this adventure will take us!!!

The Schwind Family