Friday, May 23, 2008

Aaron's Memorial Garden

It was a bitter-sweet task to do this little flower bed, but I'm glad we did it. These pics aren't that great, but they'll have to do for now.
Here is a bad shot of the Bleeding Heart. I'll try and get a better shot later.



You can see the small Fushia in the lower right hand corner. These are supposed to grow and spread during the summer. Again.. poor shot. I'd better not give up my day job to become a photographer! LOL



This is a pic of the plaque we bought. It says:
Gone yet not forgotten
Though we are apart
God has you in His keeping
I have you in my heart.


"Aaron" is at the bottom.

Monday, May 19, 2008

The Countdown Begins

It's the beginning of the end. That's right... only about two weeks of school left for us! Our goal is to be done by the end of next week, in time for the Birthday Bash/ End of the Year Recital.

This past Saturday we had Spring Cleaning over at the church in the a.m., then a picnic, then another couple and our family went to get flowers to plant in the boxes and alongside the walkway. We ended working some in the rain, but when we got done we were pleased. We used that reddish mulch and it really set things off. As we stood at the end of the walkway looking up towards the church, it looked very warm and welcoming... until you got TO the church. We need to put up a couple of cheerful wreaths or a big viney swag or something.

We also got some plantings for our Memorial garden, and some tomato plants for the veggie garden. We got the plaque in the mail Saturday as well. If it wasn't raining when we got done over at church I would have gone ahead and done more work in the memorial garden, but the weather didn't permit that.

Today is another rainy day, so it won't get done today. Hopefully tomorrow will clear up a bit. Apparently we are getting all the rain we should have had in April, now.

Yesterday at church we had a special speaker, Tom Simcox, from Friends of Isreal in. He brought his wife Lorena, who is "pure" Jewish, converted. She wrote a book about her conversion, and they gave our family a copy, so I will be reading that soon. He is very informative, and knowledgable, and it was a great blessing to have them in. Unfortunately, they couldn't stay for the evening service, but had to leave after our Fellowship Dinner to drive 5 or 6 hours.

Today's agenda is simple... schoolwork, and a ton of laundry!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

How to Clean Your Cat

Toilet Cleaning Instructions :

1. Put both lids of the toilet up and add
1/8 cup of pet shampoo to the water in the bowl.

2. Pick up the cat and soothe him while
You carry him towards the bathroom.

3. In one smooth movement, put the cat
In the toilet and close both lids.
You may need to stand on the lid.

4. The cat will self agitate and make ample suds. Never mind the noises that come from the toilet, the cat is actually enjoying this.

5. Flush the toilet three or four times.
This provides a 'power-wash' and rinse '.

6. Have someone open the front door of your home...Be sure that there are no people between the bathroom and the front door.

7. Stand behind the toilet as far as you can, and quickly lift both lids.

8. The cat will rocket out of the toilet, streak through the bathroom, and run outside where it will dry itself off.

9. Both the commode and the cat will be sparkling clean.




Signed,
The Dog

(Please note: No animals were hurt during this post.)

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

A Little Pre-voting Info

I am copying this from and email I got from my Dad because I think it is pertinent information and it is not intended to try to influence you in your choices of candidates for the upcoming election. Just something we all should be taking into careful consideration. Oh, and by the way, you have the right, privilege, AND responsibility to vote.

This email comes in three parts:

Part 1.
In just one year . Remember the election in 2006?
Thought you might like to read the following:
A little over one year ago:

1) Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high;
2) Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon;
3) The unemployment rate was 4.5%.

Since voting in a Democratically controlled Congress in 2006 we have seen:

1) Consumer confidence plummet;
2) The cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3.50 a gallon;
3) Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase);
4) American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value evaporate (stock and mutual fund losses);
5) Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion dollars;
6) 1% of American homes are in foreclosure.

America voted for 'change' in 2006, and we got it!

Remember it's Congress that makes the law, not the President. He has to work with what's handed to him.

Part 2:
Taxes...Whether Democrat or a Republican you will find these statistics enlightening and amazing.

www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/151.html

Taxes under Clinton (1999) Taxes under Bush 2008

Single making 30K - tax $8,400 Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $14,000 Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $23,250 Single making 75K - tax $18,750

Married making 60K - tax $16,800 Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $21,000 Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $38,750 Married making 125K - tax $31,250


It is amazing how many people who fall into the categories above think Bush is conning them and Bill Clinton was the greatest President ever. If Obama or Hillary are elected, they both say they will repeal the Bush tax cuts and a good portion of the people who fall into the categories above can't wait for it to happen. This is like the movie The Sting with Paul Newman; you scam somebody out of some money and they don't even know what happened.



PART 3:
You think the war in Iraq is costing us too much? Read this:
Boy am I confused. I have been hammered with the propaganda that it
is the Iraq war and the war on terror that is bankrupting us.
I now find that to be RIDICULOUS.
I hope the following 14 reasons are forwarded over and over again
until they are read so many times that the reader gets sick of reading them. I
have included the URL's for verification of all the following facts.

1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year by state governments. Verify at: http://tinyurl.com/zob77

2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://www.cis..org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html

3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://www.cis..org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html

4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school
education for children here illegally and they cannot speak a word of English!
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.0.html

5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the
American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies.
Verify at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

6. $3 Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

7. 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens.
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for Welfare &
social services by the American taxpayers. Verify at:
http://premium.cnn.com/TRANSCIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.html

9. $200 Billion Dollars a year in suppressed American wages are caused
by the illegal aliens. Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two and a half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular, their children, are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US
Verify at: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/12/ldt.01.html

11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana, crossed into the U. S from the Southern border.
Verify at: Homeland Security Report: http://tinyurl.com/t9sht

12. The National Policy Institute, 'estimated that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period.'
Verify at: http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/pdf/deportation.pdf

13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $45 BILLION in remittances back to their countries of origin.
Verify at: http://www.rense.com/general75/niht.htm

14. 'The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One Million Sex Crimes Committed by Illegal Immigrants In The United States.'
Verify at: http://www.drdsk.com/articleshtml

The total cost is a whopping $ 338.3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.

I am hoping Americans will wake up and see the whole picture, not just the hot issues that everyone likes to harp on. Typically, Americans focus on the sensationalism issues, and not the background. Whether you are Democrat, Repblican, or Independant, it is important to be well informed and vote accordingly.

Monday, May 12, 2008

New Outfits for Mother's Day

I finished them! I scrambled Saturday to finish up my outfit so we could wear our new dresses on Mother's Day.

It was a pleasant enough day. Dale cooked (aka- took us to Friendly's to eat) and then when we got home I laid down for a while. I was thinking I would go to Aaron's grave, but I just couldn't do it yet. Maybe I should just do it and get that "first" over with, I don't know.

Anyway, here are the finished dresses:

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Winnie the Pooh Update!

Mr. Winnie the Pooh was arraigned Thursday morning after being arrested for evading the long tongue of the law. The arrest was made after a high speed chase through the highly populated hallway, living, and ending in the kitchen, during high traffic hours. Officer Frog E. Wendacourtin was commended for his show of bravery and persistence in guarding the residents in the area, and refusing Mr. Pooh's bribe of pure honey.

"Pooh was captured and one point, but he managed to escape. That frog sure can hop though! He was quick to grab Pooh and pull him in with his tongue," one bystander observed.

"No one is above the law," Officer Frog E. Wendacourtin said.

Mr. Winnie the Pooh refused to comment.

Mr. Winnie the Pooh was sentenced, without bail, until the 3 year old's bedtime, when she'll need her bed back.

Ten Years Ago....



I had the twins!

I knew from the beginning of the pregnancy I was having twins. Don't ask me how, but everything was different. I had an ultrasound around 8 weeks, and sure enough, there they were , Baby A, and Baby B. I met my dh for lunch at work and showed him the pic. He had no clue. I loved the look on his face! He was looking it over saying "Awwww... Baby A. Baby A????? OH! " Then he saw Baby B. Hehehehe.

I was SO sick! My brother was getting married the following week and we had to travel with my mom and my 18 month old son 12 hours south the to Blue Ridge Mountains (can you say, Goodnight, John Boy?). It was a miserable trip. My mom wasn't feeling well either because she had had an enounter with bats in a hotel room and was on a rabies treatment for "just in case". She had had a shot a couple days previously and they can make you feel miserable for a few days. My dh was wonderful dealing with two hormonal, cranky women and an active toddler.

I remember we stopped at one little out of the way resturaunt and I was coming out of the bathroom and my mom said "you're showing already!"

Right before the Esther and Elizabeth's due date we had a missions conference at church and I was wearing a pretty white pleated maternity skirt and blue and white striped sweater top. The stripes were horizontal (what was I thinking???) and as we were sitting with our dear pastor one night after the meetings the babies were kicking like crazy and he blandly remarked to me : "Your stripes are moving." Hehehehe.

On a Thursday before Mother's day, I had a check up. The dr. examined me (this is before we started homebirthing) and said my body wasn't ready to birth yet, but he would give me the weekend, and if they weren't born by Tuesday, we'd induce. :huh: Don't you just love dr's? So, I resolved I would go to the nearby community yardsale on Saturday and walk and walk until things got started. Well, I didn't have to worry. At 5a.m. Friday morning (a mere 12 hours after the dr. said my body wasn't ready yet) my water broke. I had woken up while dh was in the bathroom shaving, getting ready for work. I sat up and "shwoooosh". Thankfully my mother was visiting to help with the babies after they arrived. I remember wanting to take a shower even though the contrax's were about 5 minutes apart and we were 45 minutes from the hospital. My dh went to wake up my mom to let her know we were leaving.
"Mom, it's time," he said.
"Time for what?" she asked groggily.
Don't worry, she woke up in a hurry after he explained. She stayed with Benjamin who was not quite two at the time and we went tearing off to the hospital.

At the hospital, panting and trying not to have the baby in the VW, they very quickly got me into a room. I really was wanting to push. No one seemed to realize this. Finally one of the nurses checked me and I was 10 CM. It was hospital policy to deliver the twins in the OR in case of an emergency, so she quickly wheeled us down there. When we got down there the dr. and the anesthesialogist (sp?) were zipping through. I heard him ask the dr. "I need to ask her a couple questions."
The dr. answered: "Oh, you have plenty of time."
I remember thinking, Hello! I want to PUSH!!!!!

I was waiting in the hallway as the dr. and dh changed into scrubs and I told the nurse "I HAVE to push!!" Esther was born in the empty hallway, on a gurney, with the bewildered nurse catching her. The nurse did a fine job, despite the fact Esther had her cord around her neck. Didn't seem to bother her at all, as she came out screaming to peel the paint of the walls.

Dh said that in the changing room, he heard me yell out and someone poked their head in the door and said "Dr, you better hurry! That baby is coming now!". He said he saw the dr. run by pulling his scrubs up over his BVD's. Well, that is what you get for not believing the Mama when she says she wants to push.

This is the bell I wish I could go back and unring. Elizabeth was breech, and hadn't decended since Esther made her way into the world. Personally, I think she was enjoying some stretching time. She wasn't in distress, I wasn't in distress. Looking back, I wish I had said "Just give me a shot of pitocin." However, the doctor was concerned that she hadn't decended and that she was still breech. So, we had a C-section. Now, Elizabeth was a pound lighter than Esther, so I realllly think in retrospect we could have done a breech birth. The important thing was that she was healthy, and still is.

That was 10 years ago! I still remember the few weeks after of the bilirubin trouble we had... we had to take them in everyday for the week to the lab to be checked after we got home from the hospital. Then every other day. It was a whirlwind of carseat sunbathing, nursing, and lab checks. They both eventually leveled out. Then there was the cute stuff... how even though we swaddled them and put them at opposite ends of the crib, they would wriggle their way to lay next to each other. As newborns! The first three months after their births were and still are a blur for the most part. Having a very active 2 year old and twins and no sleep made life interesting. But once sleeping patterns were established, and eating routines made, things settled down and we were able to get 4 to 6 hours of sleep a night and enjoy our new family.

10 years ago!!! Where does the time go?

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

What is this World Coming To?

It's a shame, and disgrace, that's what it is.
"Where is he?"
"He is in jail!"
"No, he escaped!"
This investigative reporter Mama was quick to respond to the Screamin' Mimi scanner and arrived on the scene to find this:





You know things are bad when Winnie the Pooh is arrested!

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

When Life's Not Fair

This is from a devotional I signed up to recieve online years ago.
`~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



WHEN LIFE'S NOT FAIR

How do you handle an injustice? Recently I was talking with a person who had given years of dedicated service to her local church and had suddenly been removed from her position.
The hurt was obvious and deep as she shared with me how unfairly she felt she had been treated.
The advice I gave her is the same I give to myself when I feel another has done wrong to me.

WHAT HAPPENS *IN ME* IS MORE IMPORTANT THAT WHAT HAPPENS *TO ME*.

There are many things which happen to us in life that we do not like. But we are really powerless most of the time, to change our external circumstances. We cannot rearrange someone else's behavior toward us, nor can we undo moments which have brought us harm.
If we keep reliving the untoward event, and devoting endless hours in "appealing the verdict," we will be left spent at the end of the day. Our best recourse is to ask the Lord to change our inner life.
Joseph knew that truth. Rather than rail against his brothers for their unjust treatment of him he decided to concentrate his energies on being the best person for God he could be in the circumstances he was in. Over the process of a lifetime, he was able to live out the indelible truth regarding unjust treatment from another: "Ye meant it for evil, but God meant if for good" (Genesis 45)

OUR REACTION TO THE UNKINDNESS OF OTHERS REVEALS THE DEPTH OF OUR OWN WALK WITH GOD.

Suppose you held a glass of liquid as you walked toward me, and I carelessly or deliberately reached out and bumped you. Whatever you carried inside the glass would spill out.
That is the way our lives are. When we are bumped whatever is inside comes out.
That is why being filled with the Spirit on a continual basis is so important. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Bump that kind of person, and you will get the personality of Jesus.
In my present capacity I am called upon to assist congregations in resolving disputes. We call such conflicts "church trouble." I have found it impossible to see such conflicts healed when people are waiting for someone else to change. Most of the important changes that need to be made in our world lie within ourselves.
Jesus said that out of the heart come the issues of life. When I find a "saint" who is unkind, critical, or trying to "straighten out the church or pastor," I know I am ministering to someone who has been bumped: and what they are spilling out is the content of a life lacking the Spirit's presence. The Holy Spirit is not filled with hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissension, faction or envy.

THE LORD HAS GIVEN US CLEAR DIRECTION ON HOW WE ARE TO RESPOND TO THE PERSON WHO HAS INJURED US.

Our human reaction is to retaliate, blame, and feel self-pity. All these emotions while understandable, lead us down dead-end streets. In yielding to them we permit ourselves to become victims rather than victors.
A fascination passage from Jude says, "Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee". (Jude 9) We may not know much about the mystery of the dispute over the body, but we can see the plain spiritual applications: Don't become like the devil when you are fighting the devil. Michael did not slander the prince of all slanderers.
Jesus plainly told us how to respond to bad treatment from another person: We are to love that one.

ACTIONS LEAD, FEELINGS FOLLOW.

Love does not necessarily mean our feelings will be positive: in fact, Christian love means feelings follow actions. Jesus does not say: "Have good feelings toward the other person."

Instead He exhorts us to action - "Do Good!"
Here are questions from the Lord's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. (Matt 5:38-48, 6:12) We must ask ourselves when we are treated unfairly:
Am I returning good for evil? Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek and walk the second mile.
Am I praying for my adversary? Jesus tells us we are to treat our opponent in the same way God himself responds to the just and the unjust - He blessed both with rain and sun.
Am I blessing rather than cursing the one who hurt me? The underlying word for "Bless" literally means "to speak well of." When someone else has injured our hearts, we can think of a lot of mean and unkind things to say. But that is a form of cursing - a diminishment of the other person's character. Watch your tongue and say good things.

"FATHER, FORGIVE THEM."

Am I forgiving the other person of the debt or transgression against me? A wise person defined forgiveness as the odor flowers give when they are trampled on.
People are going to take advantage of us - they did to Jesus. But His opening word from the cross was not one of vengeance, nor did He seek to get even. He prayed, "Father, forgive them" (Luke 23:34).
How are you responding to unfair treatment? Mrs. Charles Cowman said it well" "The opposing force becomes a lifting force if faced at the right angle." And, "The same wind that uproots a tree lifts a bird."
Our ability to rise above the hurt will depend on whether or not we are willing to let the Lord alter us rather than expecting the other person to change. And His way of altering us is to bring us to an alter of commitment where we say: "Lord, Your will be done in my life. Give me the strength to do what You ask of me."

George O. Wood

Monday, May 5, 2008

Gardens and Yardwork

We certainly have our work cut out for us this spring. The yard needs some serious cleaning up from doing wood last fall.. lots of sliver pieces and bark and stuff. We are raking it into a burn pile. Also, there is some gravel in the yard from having our driveway plowed, which will need to be raked out quickly, as now the grass is getting tall enough that it looks like it needs mowing!

We planted potatoes in the garden on Saturday. In a couple weeks we'll put in green beans, carrots, squash, lettuce, and some corn. We are attempting to cut down on weeding time by laying cardboard. This is the first time we have tried this. If it works out well, we'll do it again next year.

I have plans for a Memorial flower bed, as I mentioned before. Now we have the job of weeding the walkway at the church too. What happened was last night the deacon and wife and I were talking about what we could do with the flower beds and such. I mentioned that mulching would give it a nice finished touch. Well, this morning he called me from the parking lot at church at 8:15 am to say "you're mulch is all delivered." Which I took to mean that we were responsible for weeding the walkway and spreading the mulch. Okayyyy, not really what I was looking to do besides everything else we have to do, but that's okay. I'll say this for him, he jumps right on an idea and goes at it.

I hope we have lots of sunny weather this spring!

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Three Down One to Go!



There it is, Jerusha's dress. I did French seams on this one. The pattern I was using suggested that and since I don't usually do that technique I thought it would fun to try it.

Next week I will cut out my outfit and get started on it. The fabric I am using isn't the same as the girls', but the same colors. I will be making a floral skirt, with a matching solid blouse.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Out of the Mouth of Babes...

I was folding laundry in my room, when I heard a minor "debate" going on out in the kitchen between Caleb, Josiah, Esther, and Benjamin. Caleb was sitting at the table doing some printing, Esther and Josiah were finishing up some dishes, and Benjamin was stirring up some bread. I went out to see what the debate was and Esther said that Caleb was contending that a word she said was a bad word. I was inwardly cringing. I asked what word it was. Esther said that she and Josiah had said "I hope this don't make too big a mess." Caleb was saying that "don't" was the bad word.

This is a very good example of how reading to the children pays off. Caleb can't read yet, but hears the grammar and how the sentences are supposed to sound. So, he corrected his older siblings.

Take time to read to your children! They absorb more than we think.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Two Down, Two To Go

I completed Esther and Elizabeth's pinafore dresses today, cut out the pattern to Jerusha's dress, then cut the fabric for that. The first pic is a close up the pearlized buttons I used. I know there is only one dress in the pics, but trust me, I made two of them. The colors are "richer" looking IRL. I am thankful that Jerusha's dress isn't a pinafore dress! After Jerusha's is finished, I will do my skirt and blouse. Halfway there!