Breaking Free of the Pink Cocoon!

Today is the day for Sarah to get her cast off of her leg! We are SOOOOOOO excited!
Two weeks ago she cried saying she didn't think she was going to be able to stand not being able to run any more. She is a runner, and hopper, and jumper and dancer, and she was just plain tired of not being able to do what she loves. My heart breaks at these moments. They can be hard for all of us.

Her moment of crisis is in the past and she is now ready to break free of that pink cocoon that has been holding her down for the last 7 weeks.

So here are her last few pictures IN her cast......the last 2 are at the hospital with Daddy in his volunteer Uniform. :)





I was going to take a picture of her getting her cast off, but she was a little too scared so instead we read a book, did tic tac toe and then I held a very scared little girl. But once it was off and she could see things weren't as bad as she thought, she did great. She told the Dr. it feels like her knee has been to the dentist. It was a little numb. :)

Presenting Truth vs. Brainwashing

Because of numerous conversations I have had with different people, my mind was swimming with ideas how truth is presented to our children. What is the difference between "Truth and Brainwashing"?

Some would say all religious education is "brain washing". Some would say teaching the evolutionary theory in schools is "brain washing". Some would say that teaching right from wrong is "brain washing".

This got me to thinking that the term "Brainwashing" is used as a negative term by those who oppose what the other side is teaching.

So, if you are not a Christian, then All Christian teaching is considered "brainwashing." You may ask how else could anybody think Christianity is true? Or, maybe you were raised being taught something you didn't accept, so now you say, it was brainwashing.
I was taught evolutionary science in Public School. Some would have argued I was being "brain washed".

But both of these examples are ample proof that no brain washing took effect.
As, the person who is not a believer after being raised in a believing home, has his own beliefs, and I, as a public school graduate am not a staunch Darwinian.

I looked up brainwashing, and the definition was interesting. It wasn't absolute.
Some definitions said that brainwashing took effect by isolation, coercion, torture,
intimidation, etc. but here was the definition that stuck out to me:

""""Social scientists who study new religious movements, such as Jeffrey K. Hadden (see References), understand the general proposition that religious groups can have considerable influence over their members, and that that influence may have come about through deception and indoctrination. Indeed, many sociologists[who?] observe that "influence" occurs ubiquitously in human cultures, and some[who?] argue that the influence exerted in cults or new religious movements does not differ greatly from the influence present in practically every{[fact}} domain of human action and of human endeavor.""""


Isn't that interesting? Brainwashing has been watered down to mainstream societal influence. And that is a shame, because it takes away from the true meaning of brainwashing.

In teaching our children the truth, the catechisms, true doctrines of the church, history, science, mathematics etc, we are not brainwashing them but educating them.
There is a big difference between brain washing and educating.

The same goes for the other side of this coin. If somebody teaches or holds the belief that is foreign to me, it is not brain washing for them to express their opinion.

I think however, when it comes to children, their minds are open to whatever is told them, and they are ready and willing to receive what is taught. They do not have discernment for what is true and what is false and therein lies one of our chief duties as parents.

We MUST teach our children to be DISCERNING. We must teach them to THINK, and we cannot do that without teaching them the absolutes of truth, which we can only find in scripture. Part of that teaching includes healthy discussion and debate.

I do not want my children to repeat a catechism with perfect rote memory and never have it touch their heart. But that doesn't mean I won't teach them the truths of God's word. I know many who are afraid of the word "doctrine" because that denotes indoctrination and thus is a form of brainwashing. HOGWASH!

Our children's education, both spiritual and academic must come from a moral compass.
We don't teach them to brain wash them and therefore cause them to believe as we do.
We teach them the truths of scripture to lead them on the path of Life. We certainly have hope that they will follow that path, but there is no magic guarantee, as each man is accountable to God for what he believes and NO MAN comes to God unless the Spirit draws him.

You may be wondering where I am headed with this.....

Here is where I am headed.....

There are movements within the United States that are asking for Change. I am not talking Obama here. I am talking about "within" the church. There are wolves among us who are preaching a new doctrine and not a doctrine based upon truth but upon lies. There is a new youth movement going on and some larger churches are allowing false doctrine to come in. (check out the emergent church and the website www.deepshift.org) I can think of a more appropriate name for this site, but this blog is G rated. :)

HOW OH HOW will our Children be able to discern the truth from the Lie if they are not taught the basic tenants of the faith, based upon the absolutes found in scripture?
If we do not teach them and make sure they understand the gospel, the TRUE gospel, then we are to blame when the wolf comes in and leads them astray with a "new gospel";
a gospel that is devoid of the Cross, without a need for salvation, without a need for repentance.

We had better wake up, as it will not be "brain washing" that steals the hearts of the next generation, but lack of teaching from the Church and from our own homes that entices them away.
It is time to TRULY teach them to think and discern and stop filling their brains with mind candy. If we do our jobs as directed in scripture, we have hope that they will not be led astray by false teachers.

The Challenger

Erika challenged me to a game of Backgammon.

Here she is about to begin....

Here is the game ready to go....

Here is the winner.....
She clobbered me!

Thinking, Playing and Learning

Tonight I was scrubbing cabinets in the kitchen. The girls had pretended to be servants and scrubbed the kitchen floor and then when they were finished, they carried their play over to paper dolls.

It was quite curious how they took their history lesson, recent bible lesson, conversations we have had in the car, and the life knowledge they have acquired and turned their play into an educational experience for all. Especially me.

I was watching, (listening more than watching) to them separate their paper dolls into servants. Then they decided to "sell" some. Then felt it was morally wrong to sell a servant alone. (separate a family)

Erika began a "story" about a man who married his servant's wife and had his servant killed. (King David) And then she gave a little theology lesson on how he asked for forgiveness and that God forgave him.

She went on to tell about forgiveness and that having servants is wrong.
Then Sarah spoke up saying, "But, there are servants in the bible! The bible doesn't say slavery is wrong!" LOL (our little philosopher)

She was perplexed by that, as she looks around her and sees that it would be wrong to treat another person as somebody to be owned or sold.

They were also able to see how helping in the kitchen or around the house is not being a slave or servant, but working as a team and having a "servant's heart" for the common good of the family.

These girls are such deep thinkers. Each of them was able to transfer the lessons learned recently in school and in discussion into their play.

It really shows how much influence we have on our children, how much influence there is in what they are exposed to and the responsibility we have as parents to teach them the truth. It shows how trusting they are in what they are taught, and even more weight is placed on the responsibility we have, before the Lord, to teach and guide them in the way they should go.

Just when you think they aren't listening..... they are. :)

They are fascinating to watch.

Hypervigilant Heart Protection Mode

This is the term I have come up with to best describe one of our darling daughters who shall remain unnamed, when she gets into a mood that causes all of us grief.(she gets a case of the snautys; which might include folding of arms or rolling of eyes and sometimes an escaped blank stare off into space because she doesn't want to do something that was unplanned) And to make sure that she protects herself even more, she'll say, she knows she won't regret anything. Of course she always does, which is a comfort, but she'll make sure to let us know that she doesn't. :)

I know what works to get her out of HHPM, or to head her down the right path, but what I haven't figured out is how to prevent it all together.

Parenting a child who has past trauma can be very counter-intuitive in nature. What causes a child to become HHPM may make no sense or have any connection to what is going on at all. Accepting that, is one of the keys to dealing with it head on.
Things don't have to make sense. They just are.

Sometimes just taking them in the other room and rocking them and soothing them does the trick to get them back onto the right path, and then you can talk later when things are calm and hearts are open to receive. Other times, that is just not possible, like this A.M. when I had to take Sarah to the Therapy appointment and she didn't know I was leaving, and she couldn't come.

I have found that being able to plan ahead and prepare her is what works best for her, but that is not always possible either. AND, in the real world of everyday life, that isn't going to be probable. Right now she is a little girl, but soon, she will be a teenager and then an adult and the world is just unpredictable.

I can see that our job as parents for her will be to transition her into adulthood and try to help her achieve the personal tools needed to weather the unpredictability of the world. Easier said than done.

One thing though, that ALL of us CAN truly count on, is the unconditional love of our Heavenly Father. His constant and true care for us, even if it seems He isn't listening. He is. We can count on His word to guide us. We can count on his loving hand to hold us, and we can count on His eternal forgiveness.

We were talking to the girlies about this very fact last night during our Family Worship time. But we also were talking about the need for us to be willing to receive love, to open our hearts and be vulnerable.

And that is exactly the root issue I have seen in my one darling daughter's little life.
She opens up, and then closes up, then opens up and closes up. It is as if she remembers, "Oh yea, I can't do this, it will hurt too much and I must be in control," and then she shuts down.
The good thing is that we have seen 3 steps forward 2 steps back, then 3 steps forward, then more forward, then 2 steps back, etc. and we are always moving forward.

Over this next year, we are going to throw a few more surprises her way and try to help her learn to accept the unplanned. In this family, that isn't so hard. LOL
I have to work really hard to PLAN!
So, I guess what I'm saying is I am PLANNING to be a little more carefree on certain things and then work on helping her to develop coping tools.


Anybody got any new tool ideas? LOL

Mine is always STOP, DROP, AND PRAY!

One interesting thing: When I returned from our therapy appt., she had done exactly what she was supposed to with a cheerful heart. :)

Life Books

I have life books for each of the girls, just like we had baby books for the boys.
But at some point, with the boys, we started to combine pictures into more of a "Family Life Book", not individual books.

I think this is where I am at with the girls life books. They are not just individuals, but they are each an important part of a family unit. My brain goes fuzzy trying to separate pictures, join them, decide what book to put them in etc.

I think I may be able to solve this problem by making a simple "Family book". That way I can start to put together all sorts of pictures and I don't have to "sort" anymore!

Yea~! I feel FREE! FREEEEEE!!!!

Gramma Doris 1915-2008

Isn't this a beautiful picture of Gramma Doris? She was Mike's Gramma and Mike's Dad's Mom. She was also one of the sweetest grammas I have ever met. The first time I met her she flew to Dallas with Aunt Judy and stayed on our roll away couch back in 1989. It was fun to visit with her over night and meet both her and Judy. Our air conditioner was not working at the time and it was summer. She didn't complain! The next time we met, our boys were a little older and we went to Michigan for Thanksgiving. She was quite a card player, her favorite being bridge.
She was still living alone in her home during that visit.

Five years later, just Mike and I went up for a visit, and that was one of my favorite visits. We went to a birthday dinner with Noelle and Bob and I think Judy was on her way.... Noelle had to leave to answer a phone call and Gramma Doris leaned in and said, "Let me give you some advice now... when you get old like me, confess NOTHING, they will hold it against you!"
That was the week she lost her right to drive for good. She was becoming a bit of a danger on the road, and seemed to have a knack for running into police cars.
I will never forget that dinner. She was so funny, but so serious.

The next time we went to Thanksgiving, Gramma was much more frail. That was 3 years ago. She was starting to use a walker all the time and had moved to an assisted living home, near Aunt Judy. I'm glad we were able to see her again, and that Anna and Sarah could meet her. Unfortunately, Erika was not able to meet her.

One sad part of family life is that relatives get spread around in the U.S. and we don't get to be as involved with each other as we would like. Living in Texas makes it very hard to keep up with those in other states. We have relatives from one coast to the other.

Gramma died, and we are sad that she is gone. Death is such a final thing this side of heaven's gate. There are always so many things left we could have done, but the time is gone and the day is over. This chapter of her life is closed, but we know that there will be a new chapter opened as she goes into the arms of her Heavenly Father and He says, "Welcome, good and faithful servant!" "Welcome to your new home."

Here is a link to Gramma's Obituary:
http://www.legacy.com/Link.asp?I=LS000120370874X

Christmas Picture Bloopers!

Anna's First Phone Call

Is this a sign of things to come??? :)


Anna's good friend MaryGrace called today. MaryGrace and Anna have been friends since Vacation Bible School last July. They have been writing letters back and forth to each other, and sometimes see each other on Sunday's at the Dickey's BBQ here in Wylie. It seems that most of the church going population converges on Dickey's on Sunday afternoons to take advantage of the special deals where kids eat FREE! :)

She is being very polite on the phone and I'm glad she has a good friend. :)

God's Figerprint in Nature

Mike's mom and I were on the phone the other day talking about the Fingerprint of God in nature. I am always amazed at how the Heavens Declare His Glory. Everywhere we look, we can see His handiwork. I am always amazed at the detail and the depth of God's creation. How does a simple spider do this?



Isn't it beautiful? I saw it this a.m. when the dew was wet on the ground. The sun hit the web just right and it sparkled all its glory into my window. :)

Thank you Lord for your marvelous creation. For the simple joys you bring to us each and every day and for the lessons you allow us to see and teach to our children.

Mike and I took all the girls to the window to see our special web. We were able to take that little moment to tell them how awesome of a God we serve and how creative He is even with a simple, lowly spider, and they could see His handiwork this morning, through that spider's hard work. :)
ALL of creation Praises the Lord and tells of His greatness and goodness.
Let everything that has breath, PRAISE THE LORD!

The Continuing Saga Of "The Beverly Hillbillies Comes To Wylie".....

This a.m. Sarah woke up with that "Ellie Mae" accent again. She was asking for me to "whip up some greens" for breakfast. Then she kept on calling out "grannie" this, and grannie that....pretending to answer the phone and talk to Jethro, Jed, Pearl, Mrs. Drysdale etc. I told her, "Sarah, please don't call mommy grannie". She said,
I'm just playing; Your the one who keeps answering! LOL

Hmmmm.

The Miracle of Coffee Update

I have been giving Anna coffee in the a.m. before school and a little in the afternoon for a few weeks now. It seems to have be our magic potion of the month! She is concentrating so much better than before and seems to be able to organize her thoughts better.

There are 2 things I definitely noticed. Her comprehension is much better and her ability to go into her chapter and find the answer to a question is much better.

YEA!

Yesterday in History there were some questions regarding 2 chapters for overview. They had to go back into their book to look up the answer. I was sure I was going to have to work with her one on one, but guess what? She did it all by herself! I'm amazed.

So, my experiment worked, just like it did with Joseph. I will stick with the 1/3 cup in the a.m. and 1/3 cup in the afternoon and none on weekends.

The Beverly Hillbillies Come To Wylie

I'm beginning to question if that 5.00 DVD for the first 40 episodes of the Beverly Hillbillies was a good idea after all! Especially after the girls free play this afternoon!:)
I overheard them pretending to cook "rabbit stew" amongst some other strange sayings with extreme southern accents. I didn't notice the rabbit until later when I came upon this:

I called them out to ask about Poor Velveteen, as he appeared to be dinner.
They said they had gone "Rabbit Huntin'!" LOL

Interesting Article About Bus Ad Campaign Regarding Christmas

I just read a CNN article about the D.C. Area Rapid Transit buses having an advertising campaign with the words, "Be good not godly".
Here is the address to the article. http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/12/godless.holiday.ap/index.html

(someday I will learn how to make those pretty links like my blogger savvy friends do)

Anyhoo.... it is a campaign put out by a group who represent agnostics and atheists
saying that these people feel "alone" during the holidays.

I do not understand this thinking. Isn't the agnostic and atheist in the minority ALL the time, since over 90 percent of Americans believe in God?

Christmas has already been so secularized, I don't think any atheist would have a problem celebrating the "secular festivities" of this holiday, as the "Christian" element has all but been forgotten for the majority of people anyway.

Santa Claus has long taken over the manger scene in most communities. Even in the Bible Belt of Texas Santa far outweighs the Manger scene in the decoration wars of the community.

The Christmas Tree, which ironically came from the Druids is a part of the celebration in most homes. Gifts, fruit, yule logs etc. are all secular and even pagan expressions of the holiday of Winter Solstice. Pagan festivities were brought in and combined with Christian themes after the spread of Christianity.

One interesting thing about the Puritans, was that the celebration of Christmas was forbidden! Forbidden by Christians? yes. They very much recognized the Pagan themes that people were accepting and combining with Christian Celebration.
I know Christians today who do not celebrate the "secular" parts of Christmas which include trees and gifts. They find it to be wrong to combine these things and I respect them for it.

There was a time when I was questioning if we should have a tree. We decided that it was fine, as we understand that we are not worshiping a tree, and we are a part of the Culture. However, we try very hard to make sure the "commercialism" of Christmas does not take over the True Meaning of the Holiday.

That said, Christmas is one of my favorite times of year. I love the season of Reformation, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love the cold weather, the focus on thankfulness, origins, The Birth of Christ, Redemption and love and I adore the Christmas Music. :)

For the person who does not believe in God, there is plenty to do, just like at Easter time when the resurrection is celebrated. It is a religious holiday but the non religious have the Easter Bunny.

I guess I don't understand the need to have banners at the time of a religious holiday to say as the article stated, "There's probably no God now stop worrying and enjoy your life!" This was a campaign on buses in London.

It seems that a new "battle" has begun. And it will be for the minds and hearts of generations to come wierdly enough, fought on the battleground of public transportation.

Erika Has Learned To Type

I was doing dishes in the kitchen when Erika came in and said, "Look Mommy! I know how to spell with my fingers in the air!" She began to pretend to type and went through the entire alphabet CORRECTLY with proper fingering! I asked her, "When did you learn that? She said, "I've been watching you!" :) Smart little cookie she is!

Christie's Gluten Free Test Kitchen

I am coming up with Gluten Free Recipes and decided to add them to my blog if I like them. These are my original creations. I hope you enjoy them.

Coconut Macaroons
makes 1 1/2 dozen-2 dozen cookies

2 1/4 c unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 c sugar
2 egg whites at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 325º

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.


Beat egg whites until frothy white.
Add soda, salt and 1/4 of sugar

continue to beat adding sugar a little at a time.
Add vanilla

Continue to beat until stiff peaks form.

Add coconut. Fold into mixture.

Drop by spoonfull and bake for about 10 minutes.




Mushroom Onion Smothered Steak
(my friend Kim gave me the basic mushroom recipe)

Either use real steak or hamburger patties

1 8 oz. carton of sliced mushrooms
1/2 onion sliced
1/4 cup of butter
1/2 cup of marsala cooking wine
a little salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
pepper to taste (optional)

Melt butter with mushooms and onions. Saute' in pan for a while. When they are well coated and wilty looking add cooking wine, garlic, salt and pepper.
Let cook stirring occasionally.
Sauce will start to boil down and thicken. If it is too thin, you can add 1/2 tsp corn starch, but I prefer to let it boil down.

Smother steak or hamburger patties with mushroom sauce.
(delicious and I don't even like mushrooms that much)


Princess Chicken

1 1/2 lbs. chicken tenders, cut into 1" pieces
1 tsp garlic powder or 1 clove of garlic
1 large sweet onion sliced into thin strips
1/3 c olive oil
1/4 cup gluten free hot wing sauce (any brand if you aren't gluten free)
OR... 1 tablespoon of chinese hot chili
(I used the hot wing sauce)
1/2 cup of orange juice
1/2 cup braggs liquid aminos
1/2 cup cashews
salt and pepper to taste


Cooked rice

Mix chicken tenders, orange juice, wing sauce, braggs, a little salt and pepper together and let marinate for an hour.

Cook olive oil,garlic and onion until carmelized. Add chicken mixture and cook until chicken is done. (about 15 minutes)
Add 1/2 cup of cashews and stir well.

Spoon chicken mixture over cooked rice.


I used Jasmine rice for this recipe.

4 cups water
2 cups jasmine rice
1 TLB dehydrated carrots
1/4 cup dehydrated vegetabele blend
salt, pepper (dash each)
1 tsp olive oil added to water
1/4 c dehydrated onion

boil water, add all ingredients, turn heat to low and cook until
rice is done. Around 20 minutes. Turn heat off and let sit with lid covered
for 5 minutes. Season with butter if you want to.


Olive Cashew Salad

2 cups of Manzinalla green olives with pimentos sliced.
1/2 cup of cashews
1/2 white onion diced.

Combine ingredients and cool for about an hour.
That is it. It really tastes great!


Oven Roasted Nuts

Buy any nut you like, (I like cashews)

Buy them RAW by the lb.


I usually cook about 1 1/2 lbs. of nuts at a time.

Spread them on a cookie sheet and add about 4 Tablespoons of olive oil
and sprinkle salt over them. (lightly)

Bake at 300º for about 30 minutes, (or until golden brown) stirring every 5 minutes.

It is hard to tell with Almonds as they are already dark, but this time seems to be the magic time that works.

Enjoy them warm. When they first come out of the oven, they seem a little chewy, but quickly firm up and get crunchy. The longer you cook them the crunchier they become.



Cole Slaw and Chicken

1 16 oz. package of washed and rinsed coleslaw
or chop up your own cabbage with shredded carrots
1/2 cup gluten free mayonaise- Hellmans
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
1/2 cup of olive oil
1 tsp garlic
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper coarsely ground
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup craisens or rasins

Mix all wet ingredients and spices into a bowl and stir until
smoothe. Pour over coleslaw and stir, coating coleslaw well.

1 lb.chicken tenders or breasts cut into 1" cubes
1/4 tsp garlic poweder or 1 clove minced
1/4 cup of dried onions
2 TLB of dehydrated vegetables or bell peppers
(if you can't find these, just use 1 TLB parsley)
2 TLB olive oil.

Heat pan with oil and add all ingredients. Stir chicken several times
until thoroughly cooked. (about 20 minutes)

Let chicken cool.
After chicken has cooled down about 1/2 hour. Add to coleslaw.
Refrigerate over night.

serves 6


Baked Potato Salad

4 small or medium sized baked potatoes cooled in refrigerator over night
and cut into pieces
1/2 jar of Vlaski dill relish
1 small white onion, diced
1/2 cup green salad olives w/ pimentos
1/2 tsp dill weed
1/2 tsp garlic powder
fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp of liquid smoke
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup mayonaise (Hellmans is gluten free)
3/4 cup of sour cream

Mix all spices and vinegar into mayonaise and sour cream
pour over all other ingredients and stir together.
Let chill for about an hour before serving.

ALTERNATIVE:
Instead of Mayonaise and Sourcream
Substitute 1/2 cup of light olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp basil
and all other spices mentioned above
mix dressing well and pour over potatoes.
Chill.

Potato salad is very tasty with gluten free sausage, such as
Mozarella/Artichoke, or Poblano pepper.... there are gluten free sausages
available at Sams Club at a very reasonable price.

Gluten Free Crepes

Oh my, I just figured out how to make these.
they are dangerously good. :) Beware!

For 2 crepes

1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 TLB potato starch
2 TLB sweet white rice flour
1/2 tsp powdered vanilla
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
Mix all ingredients making sure batter is quite thin.
On a VERY HOT oiled skillet, pour 1/2 batter.
When it looks cooked on one side turn, and wait just a minute
transfer to plate.
In middle of cooked crepe, add 1 TLB of Lingonberry Preserves
1-2 tsp butter,
sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Roll up
Sprinkle top with powdered sugar.

I ate 2! dang. :)

Gluten Free Spinach Crab Dip

1 cube gluten free vegan vegetable and spice bullion
1 TLB diced dehydrated carrots
2 cups of chopped spinach, steamed and WELL DRAINED
6 green onions sliced very thin
6 water chestnuts diced into small pieces (more if you like)
1 15 oz container of Natural Lump Crab Meat (no additives)
(available at Sam's Club)
4 oz. cream cheese
2 cups of Sour Cream
1 cup of Hellman's Mayonaise
1 TSP garlic powder
1/4 tsp dill weed
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper (freshly ground is best)
1 TLB hot pepper sauce or to taste

Bring Cream cheese to room temperature
blend cream cheese, sour cream and mayonaise together by hand
dissolve boullion cube with dehydrated carrots in 1/4 cup of water
stir and add to mixture
add all ingredients except spinach and crab and stir well.
When spinach is done, make sure it is drained VERY WELL
add spinach to mixture and stir in well.
Add crab meat making sure it is shredded well.

Mix and taste.... add salt or pepper if you think it needs more.
Refrigerate and serve with gluten free crackers
OR
Separate into different dipping bowl for those gluten cracker lovers .:)

Caramel Apple Salad
3 apples diced
1 pear diced
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup of Marzetti's Caramel Apple Dip
3/4 cup of Sour Cream

Mix sour cream and caramel sauce
Pour over fruit and nuts and stir well.



Dill Dip

2 cups of sour cream
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp minced onions
1/3 cup dill pickle relish
1/4 tsp dill weed
1/2 tsp salt
Fresh ground pepper
(to spice up add a TLB jalapeno juice or 1/2 c diced jalapenos)
1/2 tsp Knorr tomato/chicken boullion

mix well and serve with chips or vegetables.
best after refrigerating for at least 3 hours to allow flavors to blend.

Took The Lectric Leopard to the Store

All electric and no gas makes Christie a Happy Girl!

Well, I drove the electric car to the store. I was a bit nervous as it is doggy starting off. But I had no problem getting up to 45-50 mph once I got going.
Nobody honked at me. :)

I'd say it does 0-35 in 40 seconds. LOL

It was an experience getting it registered. They didn't know what to do about make and model and for a few minutes wanted me to go to a weigh station and have it weighed.

???

I couldn't figure that one out, and finally the lady said, "I'm going to ignore that and just put unknown. She said since it isn't a hauler, it shouldn't matter.
The only thing this can haul is groceries and a kid or two. :)

So Here I am in the little Leopard:

Mike's New Car

The reason that Mike and Anna went to Minnesota last week was for business. Mike purchased an electric car. He has been wanting for a long time to get into electric cars and for those who talk to him, they know he is MORE than interested; he is excited! He is excited about the possibilities and the future of the electric car industry. He has been studying and searching and tinkering, and now it is HERE!
I got to drive it down the street and back and it was really fun. After it is registered etc. I will be able to drive it anywhere!

So here he is in front of his "Lectric Leopard"

The Denny's in Africa SOON!

Our friends the Dennys are going to be leaving for Senegal via France (for 18 months of language school) on January 1.
The Lord has called them to work in Senegal teaching the scripture. We are very excited for them. They are still in need of a little more support in order to leave.
If they aren't at the right support level before their departure date, they will have to wait again until language school starts in September! So we are praying with them that the Lord will bring in the rest of that support.

They have a really fun blog called, The Denny's in Africa.
Check it out.....

It is located on my sidebar under "Other Bloggers".

TCU Study

Our family voluntarily entered a study on Adoptive children and attachment about 6 months ago. The results came back and we were very pleased to see them.

We have now volunteered to be in a 4 month study on "touch". I am really excited to participate in these kinds of studies as they will help other families in the future to implement positive paths towards attachment with their children.

I was pleased to see that much of what we already do is what is suggested, so now we just need to map it out on a calendar for 4 months and document responses.

It should be interesting to see if I can keep up with a calendar!
(there is the real study) "Is Christie Self Disciplined enough to complete a study!"
LOL

ARE WE SPEAKING KINDLY?

Those 4 little magic words have been used for years in this household. First with the guys and now with the girls. It is amazing how powerful they are when you cheerfully say, "Are we speaking kindly?"

I usually say this if I hear an unhappy or complaining voice in the other room. 99% of the time, that is enough to set the children back on track. "Oh yea, I'm supposed to be NICE to my brothers and sisters". LOL

Many times it brings up personal confession without needing a pry bar to get it out of them....

"Are we speaking kindly?" can get responses like, "No Mam, I'm sorry", to "I forgot" to "No, I'm frustrated because ......" and then the other one apologizes.

What powerful little words.

Proverbs says "A soft answer turns away wrath". I see how that works out every day and it is so very true.

I just wish I could remember it ALL the time. :)

Anna Daddy Road Trip Part 2

Here is a movie from the trip:

The Anna Daddy Road Trip

Mike and Anna took a whirlwind road trip to Minnesota and back in order to pick up an electric car. It was sort of a "spur of the moment" decision to let Anna go. So we let her have charge of the camera for pictures and she did a great job of capturing different places on the way. She brought along her stuffed kitties to keep herself entertained and Mike said she was great the entire time. It was a wonderful bonding time for them too. Anna has been abit house bound with the rest of us due to the other girls medical issues so it was great for her to be able to go, get out and let her hair down a bit. :)

Here are a few pictures their trip:

There is nothing like a visit with Grampa!

I love this picture: Taking pictures of taking pictures. :)

Enjoying the Trip

Anna and Daddy at Country Kitchen

Post Election Thoughts

Well, we have a new president in the white house! On a positive note, we have our first black president in the white house. I think that is significant. Even Condoleeza Rice was happy about that.
I remember the Watts Riots, I remember my grandmother openly using the N word when I asked "what is that funny smell" in a grocery store in Arkansas, and I was embarrassed beyond belief. I also remember living in Arkansas when our first son was about 2 and going to the grocery store. We were in a poorer part of town and I had more things in my basket than the black woman behind me. I asked her if she wanted to go ahead and it was like one of those E.F. Hutton moments. The entire store got quiet. She paused and then said, "Thankyou". I was a California girl and didn't realize that might be an unusual thing to happen in the Deep South. How sad. I remember seeing the abject poverty in the south and I have seen the ugliness of racism both White towards black AND black towards white.

I was SHOCKED and ASHAMED that Baylor University in Texas is STILL having terrible problems regarding race. They found a NOOSE hanging from a tree and Obama signs being burned.

In my opinion, the campus should be on threat of closing its doors if they don't get a handle on it. And not only that. It is a FELONY to threaten a president. If that was their intention, I'd go for maximum penalty by law. 5 years in Federal Prison.

THAT IS OUTRAGEOUS behavior, especially coming from a "Christian University".

I think my mom put it into perspecitve when she sent an informational Email to the girlies. She listed every president she has lived under including one who was elected on the day of her birth who has gone down as the worst president in history!

Here is her email:

Dear Anna Sarah and Erika
I am probably your oldest relative...so
I want to share this presidential stuff.
Nov 2, l920 the day I was born is the
day Warren Harding was elected
president...it was the first year women
could vote....I have been here for
the following presidents: Hardin,
Coolidge, Hoover, FDRoosevelt,
Truman, Eisenhauer, nixon, Kennedy,
LBJ, Ford, Carter, Clinton Bush sr.
Bush W....and soon to be Pres. Obama.
I left out Regan......some of these men
served two terms (eight years)...
My love to you all Dabba


Isn't that totally cool?

And here we are today, still America, still a country. She has been through the Depression, World War 2, the Korean War, The Vietnam War, lived in Israel during the Gulf War, and now these wars.

I am curious to see what the next decade will bring to America.
As a citizen of this great Country, I am proud that we had an election where the people spoke freely and nobody died in the process. There were no bombings, there was nobody taken out and shot for how they voted, and there was integrity at the polling places.

As a Christian, I know that my citizenship is in heaven and everything happens for a purpose. My EXAMPLE here, and how I behave when I do not get my exact wish is being watched by those who know me.

We are living in a Post Christian Era of our society. I would be very cautious for those wanting separation of Church and State to be eliminated again. Right now, for those who's children attend public schools, the schools are secular. If you are to insist on prayer in school, or religion be taught..... think.... Who's religion? Prayer to whom?
We no longer live in Plymouth.
And frankly, much of Plymouth brings me sadness. Morality without Christ is an innoculation AGAINST the gospel itself. One of the problems I saw in Plymouth and with the Separatists was that they went on to impose and persecute those around them that didn't think the same way. The VERY REASON they left England and Holland! Persecution.

We have great opportunity in this country to live out our faith on a daily basis in every walk of life. We can start by being a good example and praying for those who now lead us. I am guilty of not being respectful of my leaders and not praying for them in sincerity. I would like to apologize for that bad example. Times are serious and it is time to pray seriously.

I feel sorry for any president taking over the mess we have gotten ourselves into now.
We have wars, economic woes, medical woes, job woes, and a host of other issues.
I wouldn't want to be the new president and I even know that Africa is a continent! :)

For those who are worried. Put your trust and faith in the only one who can make a true difference in your life.

For those who are happy. Congratulations, the people of our country have spoken loud and clear and been heard.

And for those like me who love our country but also love other places in the world and the people there too, I pray that ALL will be safe and secure and able to freely Worship our Lord.
One thing that has happened to me since we have gone overseas a couple of times is the set in realization that we as Americans do not have a corner on Christianity. It is alive and healthy in other parts of the world. Jesus was not born in Plymouth, He is not an American. He is the same Lord to the person sitting in a tent in Darfur fearing for their life as he is to the person sitting in their home, like me now, typing on a computer. He was there with Erika while she rocked in a bed and he was with our friend who was laying in a bed in Baghdad suffering from gangrene of the appendix. He was with Sarah when she was afraid and he was with Anna when she was plucked from a suspected meth lab. And he is with you now.

He works in ways that I do not understand and do not claim to, but I am comforted that HE IS TRULY at work in this world.

So let's work together and bring about positive change in our world and continue to live our lives for HIM.

Here Are Some More Funnies

We went to a friend's daughter's wedding. The groom had several piercings in his nose and eyebrows. Sarah's eyes were rather drawn to him when she leaned over and whispered.... "Mama, when I get married do I have to marry a guy that looks like that?" No, I replied..... "Oh good!" I was afraid I 'd have to marry a man with all those things on his face! Will it hurt when they kiss?"

Sarah was irritated that Anna took the Arm of the Usher when we went to be seated at a wedding. She leaned over and said, "I'm going to WAIT before I take a man's arm! I'll wait until I'm at LEAST 10!

Anna was 5 and her brother was tickling her. She couldn't pronounce her r's very well so she said, "Be Cafull, I bwuise like a gwape!"

Sarah woke up in the middle of the night after having surgery. She was having pain. I told her to call her nurse... She pushed the button and when the nurse answered she said, "I think you better come in here, my leg is trying to get a headache!"

Another time when she had surgery she called the nurse button. A man answered and she said, "Who is this? I'm trying to call a girl nurse!
She didn't want to tell the man she had to go to the bathroom.

We studied the reformation recently and watched a video on Martin Luther. I quizzed the girls a couple of days later... "who was Martin Luther?"
Sarah said, "I know, I know!" He was a German, A German...... A GERMAN SHEPHERD! :)

When Anna was 5 she was taking a bath and she pointed to her chest. "I think these are going to be my breasteese.

When Erika had her body cast taken off they placed her in a whirlpool bath. She overheard the nurse say her therapist wanted to come in and see.
She PROTESTED! "NO WAY, He can't come in here and see my womanhood! I'm almost a WOMAN! LOL

Sarah saw her old prosthetist that she had when she was 5. He was walking down the hall and stopped her and said, "Hey Sarah, do you remember me?
She studied his face and said, yes, I think I do, but you look different. He said, "it is probably my beard!" She said, "No, you are old now."

We attended another wedding and the girls were all sitting quietly having cake. Daddy leaned over and said, "hey girls, maybe we can find some boys that are brothers for you to marry and then we'll just have 1 big wedding!" He was kidding of course.....
Anna said, "But Daddy, I had my heart set on marrying a black man!" :)

Still on FRUA Withdrawl and Other Thoughts

I can't believe I'm posting this, but I was missing FRUA today. :) I am going to stay the course and wait until I can get my projects finished. I talked to Mike and he agrees that is a good idea. There are many people on FRUA I have never met, yet I feel close to. I could call them my friend. Aren't computer's wierd? You can talk to somebody and share the most personal details of your life and never have met them.
2 of my Frua Friends live close by and I am thankful for them every day. One doesn't know I'm gone as she is out of town, the other doesn't post much but lives 5 doors down. :)
For those that don't know what FRUA is. It is a WEB site dedicated to Families for Russian and Ukrainian adoption.
There are a LOT of wonderful people who adopt children and are dedicated to making their lives better. They come from all walks of life and all parts of the world.
What a great group.

Many times I work out what is going on in my own mind when I write. Sometimes I have to run to the computer and throw it in with a blast of fingers flying and words appearing, and then there are my first draft thoughts all written out; which is what everything is, a first draft.

I think I have always worked this way. I was never really good about making "planned" entries into a diary, which is one reason I do not have my project done. I have also never been very good about "organizing" my thoughts into neat categories. I am an ADHD poster child.
BUT.... I am really trying.

Life is a first draft. In fact,it is an only draft. :) We only get one shot at it, and we don't get to go back and erase. Our corrections look like eraser marks and red marks all over our papers and those around us remind us of our mistakes and sins.
There is One however, who corrects things for us and it is forever. His red marks wash our lives white as snow,and with HIS eyes, even though we live with the temporal consequences of our sins, He does not see it. He has removed them as far as the East is From the West. He sees something different. He sees our lives through Christ. I am so thankful for that.

(on a side note: I am keeping up with LAUNDRY!) YEA!

Legs Are on the Way!

Erika was fitted this a.m. for her new legs. I have to say I breathed a big sigh of relief that she was able to get into them and wear them with NO PAIN! YEA!
She has a bruise on her bone from walking around without legs, and now cannot walk anymore. So I was quite worried that she would not be able to participate well with the new fitting. All the way to the hospital I was trying to keep from crying because I felt so bad for her. I thought for sure that it would be a problem, and bruising on a bone like that takes forever to go away. I was picturing her set back 2 years needing to call out for me to take her to the bathroom, needing to be back in a wheel chair and I felt so guilty that I could barely bear it. Even though Erika is 10 and Sarah is 9, I have not been a "Prosthetic Mother" for that long. Just 3 years, so I still have much to learn about complications. Some of it you do not learn until it happens.
So now, it will be just a couple of more weeks and she will be running around like she used to. Then, it will be Sarah's turn to get a new leg.

I am so thankful for the guys at Scottish Rite who work on the girls legs. They are really, really talented folks with big huge hearts. And they are so supportive. They give comfort and strength and let you know great tips. My favorite one: When you want to go shoe shopping without the kids, just take their foot after they go to bed with you to the store! What a great idea!!!!! LOL

Our New President

I didn't vote for either of the main candidates. I voted my conscience.
Yet, I know that whoever makes it into the highest office of our country will be there for a purpose because GOD has allowed him to be there. I wonder what the future will hold for America. I wonder what our country will look like in 4 years. Will we be better off? Worse off? Will we be a strong world power or lose our status and fade away?

In the grande scheme of things, eternally, it is but a blip on the radar screen. But that blip, is a blip where I exist and have knowledge! I am curious as to what will happen.

My biggest concern honestly: The Unborn; the protection of those whose lives are potentially terminated, and then, if they survive; murdered.

I pray that the Lord's will in our lives will be done. And I pray that those who oppose abortion will put their actions where their mouths are and ADOPT or support somebody to help themselves should they choose to keep their baby.

Election Day Comic Relief

Courtesy of the girls at various times this year: I wish I had written everything down. Some of the newest ones (the last 2 months I didn't post here)

Enjoy:

Erika was asking about having babies today. I told her when her brothers were born, the doctor held them up and said, "It's a boy!" She said, "how do you know if a baby is a boy or a girl?"
Anna piped up from the other room and said, "girls have hair and boys are bald!"


Sarah was looking on the Calendar and noticed it is "Ash Wednesday". She asked what it was. After the explanation about what Lent is, and people "give up" certain things during this season and focus on Easter.... she said,
"I know, I'll give up school!

Today we were starting Language Arts. We were having our oral lesson and I asked "How do you look up a word in the Dictionary"?
Sarah piped up, "That's easy! You just open it up! It is full of words! :-)

The other day, Gramma sent them each a Valentine's Day Card and it was signed....
"God Loves You",
Love, Gramma and Grampa

(Erika has overheard gramma now and then say, we are all god or I am god)
Erika looked at that and said, "If Gramma thinks she is god, then why didn't she just sign it "I Love You".


My dd just walked in and said, "mama, you know what my life motto is"?
No, what?
She said, "Never take anything for granite because that is what tomb stones
are made of." :-)


Yesterday we went to the hospital for checkups.
Sarah has grown and we had to take her leg down stairs to add some height to her prosthetic leg. She has grown over an inch!
After she put it back on, the dr. asked, "How do you feel?" She said, "I feel like a grown up woman!"


The girlies were watching "The 10 Commandments".
The intermission section showed up and our dd Anna said, "Oh, that is so all the actors and actresses can go to the bathroom!" LOL

Our newest neighbor was born 2 days ago.(a cow)
I took this photo of him yesterday.
The girls PROUDLY said, they could tell he was a boy!
"Because of that THING!


We have been studying ancient Egypt. Today we had a creative writing assignment where the girls had to pretend they at one time lived in ancient Egypt.
Anna's started with:

I helped to bury King Tut... I put him in a Jackyl jar. I put him in a Falcon jar. I put him in a Baboon Jar. etc...........I was laughing so hard I couldn't finish grading her paper.


I threw my back out once again, so I asked the girls if they wanted to play Cinderella. They said yes! So I had them clean the floor with wash cloths and Murphy's OIL soap. It didn't take but 10 minutes.
After they were done, I said, "Thank you so much my sweet princesses!" Sarah piped up and said, "I don't want to be the kind of princess who scrubs floors, I want to be the kind that wears pretty dresses and doesn't do any work!"


Our son and daughter in law stopped by with our one year old grandson. It was time of a diaper change so I asked Ivy if the girls could watch. DS says, "Is this some sort of science lesson?" (he knows me)
Of course it is. So Ivy says, "come on girls, let's change Will's diaper."
She took his diaper off and Sarah said, "Oh MY! I think I'm simply going to faint!


Anna was cleaning out her fish tank today. I overheard her tell her fish rather matter of factly, "If you don't swim into my hand right now, I'm going to have to ground you and take some of your pretty rocks away!"

I asked her, "Are you talking to your fish?"
Yes, mom, the net has a hole in it.

When Does Life Begin?

My friend had this article posted on her blog, and I felt it was well written enough to spread it. :)

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MDRhMjcwNjkxOTQ4ZGQ4YjM0YTE4OGU5N2M1MDcwMDQ=

Organized Anna and Sarah the Comic Relief

Like I said, Anna thrives on organization. She announced this a.m. that Therron's Birthday is coming up.

Therron is Mike's helper at the business. He is going to be 55.

She said, "It is time to get Therron's birthday present!" I have all his sizes right here!LOL
Apparently she got his shoe size,(12) sock size,(12) pant size and shirt size. Of course we will have trouble finding pants since they are a 34x302! And, we are to be sure to get a shirt with a pocket. :)


At School the other day, we were talking about the Reformation and its impact upon Christendom. We have been learning about Martin Luther and they watched a video about him. So a few days have passed and I asked the girls..."Who was Martin Luther?" I got stares, like the Mayflower Compact Stares.... Then Sarah raised her hand, excitedly she said, "He was a German! A German! A German Shepherd?"
LOL

But That Way Is Too Hard!

I was correcting a math paper today. When I came to hundreds column addition, I figured it wouldn't be any big deal. After all this is review. They are working on fractions, multiplication and division.
So when I was grading Anna's paper, ALL the problems were WRONG! I called her over and asked her, "How can you come up with 41 to an addition problem of 824,236 and 79? She said, simple, I added it.

HUH???? Show me how you added it. 8+2+4+2+3+6+7+9...... :)

Uhh, why did you add it that way?

"Because the other way is too hard and takes too long!" LOL

I guess she was doing "creative math".

So, she is doing it the old fashioned hard way now.

Back to Church ..... Comments About Family Life

Sarah was able to attend church again yesterday for the first time since surgery, which means I was able to attend church again for the first time since Sarah had surgery.
It was nice to be back!

Bob Deffinbaugh spoke yesterday on Hebrews 7, but it was his last part of his sermon that stuck in my mind so very well, and I am thankful that he spoke it, as they are words of wisdom.

Here is the female regurgitated version of what he said:

Be cautious that you do not look to a shepherd, an accountability group, a mentor a trusted friend or counselor and replace them with being accountable to Christ, to looking to Christ and having them be your intermediary instead of trusting your Christ and your relationship with him, depending upon personal prayer and the word.

Excellent advice. He was not saying that mentors are bad or seeking wisdom from a trusted counselor is bad. What he was saying was be careful not to replace them with seeking God directly.


Now, about Family life Comments.

I have had several people ask me how Anna is taking being a sister to special needs sisters. They have made comments like, "The other girls have all these needs and get special attention and then she is just there", or "she doesn't get the attention they do."

I wish these types of comments didn't bother me, but honestly, they do. Not because I am blinded and cannot see the girls individually, or because I think Anna has no needs, but because it is implied that Anna is being ignored. She isn't.

I am so thankful that we have already done this before with our boys. Our lives were different than many families because we had a child with special needs. But you know what? Different is just that... DIFFERENT. It isn't less than, it is different. Anna's life just as her brother's lives were not "less than" or defined by things we did not do. In my opinion, all of our lives have been made richer and broader and fuller and raw and real. We have had opportunities we would have never known. We would have never met the wonderful people we have met over the years. We would never have had opportunity to minister to other's needs and hurts like we have been able to BECAUSE of "special needs".
"Special Needs" are also not limited to physical needs. Anna has special needs too, which are not visible to the human eye. She has every bit as many "needs" as her sisters do, and we are very aware of the specialness of our daughter. Unfortunately, her needs many times are looked over by others outside of our family. They can be misinterperated and misunderstood.
I am so thankful for a Heavenly Father that I can look to for wisdom and understanding in dealing with each of our children's individual needs. Anna does not feel the least bit "slided" by her family life. She is every bit a center part of it and loves being a helper. She is REALLY enjoying taking care of the animals herself right now and not having to share the "chore" of taking care of them with Sarah. :)

Sarah and Erika are both accountable themselves to be helpers in the home, with casts and without feet. They are both capable girls and we do not let them get away with being dependent when they don't need to be.

Each of our girls gets special time with mom and dad. We take them out alone at different times during the month and treat each of them individually and take that time to listen to them and have fun and enjoy them.

I have watched a few shows about people who have had special needs siblings and how much they resented it. I think the shows were slanted and slighted towards abortion.
I think they were grossly missing the point that ALL Humans have value and selfishness is not to be condoned but put aside and risen above. Selfishness is sin. To put yourself more important than another is wrong. There are just as many selfish people who resent even having a healthy sibling. :)

The way parents raise their children to view siblings is oh so important. We try to help our children to view their siblings as very special people whom they will have relationship longer than they will with us. Thus, those relationships are special relationships given to them from God.

Each one of our children is a blessing to us from the Lord. Each of them teaches us to be dependent upon the Lord for our very breath. Each of them bring us utmost joy.

We do not take those relationships lightly, nor do we ignore one for another. Sometimes we have to take more time with one, but that does not diminish our love for the others. Each person is of utmost value to us. I also do not feel guilt about needing to spend extra time with one than another. It all works itself out in due time. And... As I have told each of our children. God placed you here for a reason, in the order he placed you and in the body He gave you. IF you are the oldest, he must have thought you could handle it. If you are footless, he knew you didn't need feet to survive. If you are the youngest, he must have known you needed to be and could put up with a whole lot of bosses. :)

We put our trust and rest in the Lord, and we place our family in His Hands.

When Past Crosses Present

Past vs. Present, Present vs. Past
Sin nature or Trauma
Attachment Issues or Sin Nature
Nature vs. Nurture
Inherited traits vs. Learned Behaviors

These have all been on my mind as of late and especially this a.m.
This is that time of year for Past to Cross Present. It is that time of year
that reminds A of where she came from, and how far she has come.

Today started out as a bit of disaster, but has turned out quite well.
I need to remember that GOD is ultimately in control and when things are out of whack
He is still working on our hearts.

A needs to have consistency in her life. She THRIVES with a secure schedule. She THRIVES with everything planned ahead and with no changes being made, but that is not necessarily the real world. It is something we try to make sure happens as it helps life go smoother, but it doesn't always work. So when it doesn't we try to help her through things smoothly. Sometimes it is great and she does fine, other times there are mornings like this morning.

Maybe we should call it our own personal "Black Sunday".

Things have been a bit chaotic around here due to extenuating circumstances. Not really anybody's fault. So A has had alot to deal with all month. She did great until.... today.
Combining the events of the last 6 weeks, with her anniversary for coming to live with us, AND of all things her growing out of her pre planned Sunday School dress and not being able to find her favorite shoes, it was a recipe for "all chaos and no order makes A a grouchy girl!"

And GROUCHY she was.

Daddy and I swiftly decided that we were not going to give way to a "Pity Party", so we headed her off at the pass. She was warned and then the boom was lowered.
Her reaction?
"What about time out, you didn't try a time out!" LOL

We do not negotiate with terrorists~! (I didn't say that to her, but I sure did think it!)

I am so thankful for God's mercy and grace in my own life, and am thankful seeing it unfold in her little life.
A consider's her 5th year anniversary to be on her Birthday, which will be Thanksgiving Day. Funny, her 5th birthday was also on Thanksgiving Day.
We have seen so many changes in her since that day 5 years ago when she came to stay with us. And we are so thankful to have her in our lives.

Sometimes it is hard to define when something is bothering her what the root cause is.
But ultimately it doesn't matter. God Knows and as she yields her life over to Him, no matter what the source, He is the complete answer. :)

A gave me permission to post this, as long as I used A and not her full name. :)

DON'T FORGET TO TUNE IN ON.... AND

AMERICA'S FUNNIEST HOME VIDEOS tomorrow night November 2nd at 6:00 central time. Marcus and Ivy are finalists with their Missed Kiss wedding video clip. :)

It is also DABBA's BIRTHDAY! YEA! She has made it to 88! And she is BEAUTIFUL! I can't wait to get a new picture! Hint. Hint...... :)

My Dabba


This is Dabba and Joe last year.

I just wanted to share a few things about my Dabba. I have not physically seen Dabba since the boys were much younger. She came to Dallas one last time to visit, and we had a WONDERFUL time. She met Mike for the first time and accepted him with open arms.
After that, she went on to Israel and lived in Jerusalem taking care of handicapped children in an orphanage and working at Bridges for Peace. She survived the first Gulf War when Saddam Hussein was sending Scud Missiles into Israel. She said, "we would have to carry all the children down to the shelter, by the time we got down there the all clear siren would go off, we would get them all back to bed and then before we knew it, the siren would go off again and we would repeat the entire process." This is a woman who had suffered a broken hip a few years before. But she LOVED every minute of it. Ok, not the bomb shelters, but she loved what she was doing.
During a time of relative peace, right before the Infantada, our son Chuck went to visit Dabba in Israel. He was 15 and what a trip he had. I don't think he will ever forget that experience.

Dabba and I share funny stories of life from long ago and we share the ones of today.
Some of our funniest stories seem to stem from Aunt Lee Lee and Joseph. I do remember when Dabba broke her hip, we didn't know it was broken yet. I had to go to work and she was caring for the boys. It was a Saturday and she was resting a very sore hip. Apparently she was dozing in the recliner and Joseph had moved in to stare at her rather closely. His breathing startled her and she startled him when she opened her eyes with his eyes meeting hers. I believe there were screams from both parties. I'm not describing it too well, but let's just say, 5 year old Joseph for some reason thought she was laying awfully still so she must have passed away. :) LOL
To his shock, she was alive! I think he was abit relieved too.

I have so very much missed having Dabba close by. I love her deeply and miss her.
I am ever so thankful that she has email and a computer. We are so blessed to be able to communicate this way. I don't know many 88 year olds who get on computers. She is a "Happenin' Woman!"

Joe and Becca were able to visit her in Idaho with Sam not too long ago and I truly hope the other boys are able to see her soon. I know she is not able to travel anymore.

I am so thankful for her being a wonderful Gramma in the life of our boys through a very difficult situation, and now she is truly a gramma to our girlies. She has never met them in person but she keeps up with everything they are doing and I know she loves them.

Dabba was widowed at a young age with 6 children. She has LIVED Christ ever since she met him at the age of 44. She started Family Mission with her Secretary's salary and has done more for the hungry, the homeless, the orphan, the widow, the down trodden, the mentally ill, the wounded, than any one person I have ever personally known.
She paid to have an orphanage started for the handicapped in Timothy's name when he was little. She supported World Vision and they knew her well. I still have vivid memories of the pictures of orphans and children who needed food she supported, and I remember her famous map with all the little pins in it. Those pins represented children, orphans, orphanages, etc. of places she was helping with. This didn't include the immense giving and help she was for her own children. She even took a second job at McDonalds on Saturdays and a 3rd one working in a church Nursery on Sundays.
If I'm making her sound amazing. I'm not touching the surface of what she means to me personally.
I have never had anybody make more of an impact on my life than her. We have laughed together, cried together, resided together, prayed together, taken care of kids together and lived life to the fullest together in the midst of awful circumstances.
I am forever greatful to her and not worthy of her love and devotion.

BUT to her I am forever thankful, forever greatful, forever in love with a person I am proud to call my mom.

I love you Mom!
Happy 88th Birthday! :)

Celebrations

Last night, October 31, most people celebrate as Halloween. There are the costumes, the candy, the parties, the excitement.... and then there is the "scare factor", the celebration of things that are evil and dead.

Why is this something to celebrate? We do not participate in Halloween and many people just don't get why. They do not see the harm in dressing up and going to get candy.
And you know, for little kids who don't know any better, there probably isn't any big deal to it. BUT.....

In my mind, it teaches that Halloween is good. It teaches that Halloween is about Candy and not about what it really celebrates. As a Christian I cannot celebrate ghouls and demons, murderers, death and violence and in between a cute little fairy.

Yesterday when Mike was volunteering, one of the staff workers mentioned that "Conservative Families never let their kids have any fun"..... ARGHHHH....And the typical uneducated mentality of "that is why when they grow up they will rebell and go crazy"..AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
I can't tell you how many times we have heard this. It doesn't matter that our grown kids are responsible, married, tax paying citizens who are parents themselves and didn't go crazy. It doesn't matter that our little girls are sweet kids and are well behaved and kind. Nope, they will all go crazy. :)LOL

He is much more patient than I am on this stuff. I honestly don't know what his reaction was well enough to blog it, but I know what I would have said.... :)

Anyhoo...
This really, REALLY bothers me. We are not at home with our drapes shut hiding in fear waiting for the evil trick or treaters to pass by. Nor are we hiding from life, protecting our kids from the "real world". The Scripture clearly states to Being in the World but not be OF the World. Our girlies and our boy's were educated about the world. How can they not be? They live here!:) Some of our kids have experienced more of the REAL world than many adults in America. We see our job as parents is to EQUIP our children to LIVE successfully in a difficult world. Just like you wouldn't send a soldier out into battle without teaching him how to prepare himself and use his head, we see this as an opportunity to prepare our children for what is to come, both POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE.
They are not at all kept away from worldly ideas. In fact last night at our party which I am about to talk about, Anna came home and told us about a little girl who was telling her all about going on the computer to places her parents don't know she goes and writing inappropriate things. All about "gays", all about "sex", all about boyfriends etc and the very worst thing, something she was very upset about, "she talked about periods". LOL I asked her about the other things and it was abit over her head. We asked her, "do you think we should let her parents know what is going on and her reaction was, "I don't want to get her into trouble". But I wanted you to know. We thanked her for telling us, and then we talked about honesty and integrity on computers. We also talked to her about not needing to listen to conversations that are inappropriate and thankfully she shared with us that she and her friend Mary Grace left the conversation when they realized it was inappropriate. They obviously had an ear full before hand though. We also let her know that as time goes on and she gets older, unfortunately she will run into situations like this more and more often and will need to learn to control her own actions and reactions. THIS IS ALL PART OF BEING PREPARED FOR THE REAL WORLD. IT is NOT hiding our heads in the sand. Ok, I'm off that soapbox.

Anyhoo again: What We DO Celebrate:

We celebrate what REALLY TRULY happened on the VERY DAY of October 31.
Martin Luther nailed the 95 Thesis to the Wall in Whittenburg, thus beginning the Reformation, where many of our present day churches come from. We CELEBRATED with some very excited girlies at a friend's house with MANY MANY other families of like mind. There were games and food and a Pinata with CANDY and more kids playing.
We have done this same celebration with our same friends since our first set of children were young. They have grown, our friends kids have grown and we all have more. There are over 100 people who attend and converge on this house and there is a tribute each year to one of the Reformers.
Our girls were so excited that they had the Timer on the oven set for the countdown before it was time to leave. Teenagers carried Sarah and Erika around the house and played with them, and Anna held hands and ran around with her best friend Mary Grace. They were both very excited to see each other. They didn't know they had been invited to the same party!

I didn't take pictures of last night. Forgot the camera. But just wanted to say for those who think we don't enjoy ourselves at this time of year; think again. We had a wonderful evening and the kids didn't miss out on anything. AND... we don't have all that excess candy to worry about. :)

The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat

This morning I lost a killer backgammon game to Sarah. So, she challenged me to a game of Chess afterwards. She always beats me at chess too, but I was willing to play. It was my motherly duty to bring her satisfaction and joy, especially since I taught her to play both games and had my fill of wins.
Her little kitty was SHOCKED by the outcome of this game!


Can you tell who won based upon these pictures?





Ahhh, the thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat!

REMATCH!!!!! :) No way, not until a picture. :)

In all fairness, I owe her a rematch. She was having a discussion with daddy about Evolution while playing the game.

Custom Calendars

I have been looking at Custom Calendar making. I found the best price on Shutterfly!
They have several types to choose from. This should be fun!

http://www.shutterfly.com

The Miracle of Coffee

Many years ago, when Joe was little, the Doctor suggested I give him some coffee before bedtime to help him sleep. You may be thinking WHAT? Coffee to SLEEP?
Yes.
Joseph was hyperactive and had a difficult time going to sleep. He also only slept about 5 or 6 hours at night and then it was full tilt all day long! Sometimes I could get a nap out of him, but usually only if he spent a huge amount of energy in a tantrum and then fell asleep.
The coffee worked like a dream. It calmed him down.

Many people do not know that ADHD drugs like Ritalin, are actually forms of stimulants like speed. They have an opposite effect in those that TRULY need them. They calm them down and help them to concentrate.

Fast forward to Sarah. She too is hyperactive, and there are times I give her a little coffee to settle her, which works great.

Well, today, it dawned on me that Anna might benefit from a small amount of coffee too.
It is worth a try. After yesterday's inability to concentrate and get her work done, I needed to try something! She definitely fits into the ADD category, if there ever was one.
I gave her 1/3 c of coffee this a.m. and guess what.... I don't know if it is placebo or not, but she was able to concentrate much better. I am going to try it for a few days next week and if it works, we will try it for 2 weeks. If it works, we will use it during school days and not on weekends. This is soooo much better and easier than using medications that have terrible side effects.

Hopefully she will outgrow her ADD; we will see. I don't think I have ever outgrown mine. :/

Todays coffee was Organic Free Trade Bolivian. Wow... excellent and only 4.99 lb at Sprouts!

Simplifying

I have come to a crossroads in computer meets Christie. I have decided to simplify things, as I have too many projects going on and I am not finishing them. I need to use my time more wisely, and some things are just distractions. Sort of like, "mind candy". Sometimes you can read what is going on and it will dwell on your mind and then you can't concentrate on the project you are trying to work on.
So I am no longer participating in FRUA a website I have frequented for a few years, and Facebook, a website I have a difficult time navigating anyway. :)

I will miss the FRUA website, but I think it is for the best.

Now, to get to my projects!
After laundry of course! :)