The Sad Irony of War

I am a headline reader. I also follow the war we are waging pretty closely. I am a supporter for the current war. Why? Basically, if we don't fight it, we will have Hamas and Osama Bin Laden blowing up buildings and fighting their war on our soil. No thanks.

Two sad, yet honoring, headlines caught my eye this weekend. The irony of the two is almost uncanny.

Dith Pran

First, the death of Dith Pran. He died over the weekend of pancreatic cancer. For anyone who is much younger than me, you may not know who this incredibly brave and amazing man was. He was a Cambodia man who survived the Killing Fields of the Khmer Rouge. One step better, he coined the term "Killing Fields". Again, if you are much younger than me (I was born when the Vietnam war was at it's peak), you may not even know what that means.

Quick summarizing history. When America pulled out of the Vietnam war, the war really wasn't over. Pol Pot, a sick dictator, pulled his army in the chaos of an unstable country, the Khmer Rouge, into Cambodia and started killing anyone who might disagree with his regime. He wanted the country to go back to it's original agrarian society. So if you were educated at all, you were killed. If you appeared educated, you were systematically killed. If you wore eyeglasses and looked educated, you were killed. It was horrifying.

As America was pulling out, Dith Pran was an interpreter for New York Times journalist, Sydney Schanberg. The Americans could pull out, Dith could not. Dith survived four concentration type of camps and was found by his good friend, Sydney Schanberg, four years later. The movie "The Killing Fields" is based upon his story. I think all of us need to see this movie, because it speaks to the war situation we are in today, and I'll wrap this post up with that.

Click here for a mini clip of his last interview from his death bed. It is very nicely done.

You can't talk about Dith Pran without talking about Haing Ngor. The incredibly special thing about that movie is the actor who portrayed Dith Pran was also a survivor of the Killing Fields-- Haing Ngor. Haing was an educated doctor in Cambodia, and he also survived the Killing Fields. If you watch the movie closely, you will notice he is missing a pinky finger. He lost that while being tortured. He was an educated medical doctor that watched his wife die during childbirth in a concentration camp. She was in labor and needed a C-section. But if he performed it on her, in appalling conditions, he would have revealed he was a doctor and he would have lost his life as well. Haing survived the killing fields by pretending to be a farmer and acting uneducated.

Mr. Ngor, an untrained actor, won an Oscar for his performance. I think he was incredibly brave for agreeing to act in this movie. I am sure he ran into a few ghosts from his experience doing it.

Haing S. Ngor

Tragically, Mr. Ngor was murdered outside of his apartment in Los Angeles in 1996. There has been all kinds of speculation as to whether that was a botched robbery all the way to some kind of conspiracy. One mystery surrounding his death, he had a locket with his deceased wife's picture. He carried it under his clothing out of sight. That locket has never been recovered from the crime. Tragic. He could survive the Killing Fields of Pol Pot, but not the streets of America.

Dith Pran said of Haing Ngor, "He is like a twin with me...He is like a co-messenger and right now I am alone." (CNN, February 27, 1996)

I honor these two men for keeping the tragedy of the Khmer Rouge alive. We will repeat history if we don't learn from it. Please take a moment and put "The Killing Fields" on the list of movies you need to see.

What else was on the news this weekend? Can we remember the name Keith Matthew Maupin? He is the young 20 year old man who was caught in the beginning of the current war on terror. Five years ago, that was when Bin Laden would kidnap anyone who looked American and put horrifying videos of them on the web. There was a video put out on the web of Mr. Maupin surrounded by a lot of masked men with guns. He was never heard from or about since.

Until this weekend. It is confirmed, his remains have been found. Click here for the article on that. I have been praying and hoping this young man would come home walking on two feet. He will be brought home carried by his comrades. I am so thankful he has been found, but wish it could have been different.

Keith Matthew Maupin

Why are these stories connected? I will keep it simple. Once America pulled out from Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge was ready to pull in it's regime and the killing fields began and lasted for four years. Two million citizens of Cambodia (a country of seven million at the time) were executed. If we pull out right now, on the drop of a dime, from Iraq, I believe and know that Muqtada al-Sadr is just waiting to make sure anyone who objects to his planned regime isn't heard. His brutality during this war should only warn us as to what he is capable of after the war. And that is on his own soil. I am sure airplanes in buildings on American soil seem like nothing to him. Remember, we will repeat history if we don't learn from it.

I dedicate this post to these three men. They have all shown their American patriotism in brave and amazing ways--and even with their life. They have also fought for the freedoms and lives of others in the face of horror. They have fought against some of the world's worst dictator's, and stood for human rights, not just American rights. They stood against evil and won. I honor them.

UPDATE: A good friend of mine who is an avid reader of my blog reminded me of something I have meant to post for a long time. There is a great website out there that will take your special message that you submit to them for a soldier of ours overseas, and deliver it to them. It is absolutely free, takes very little time, and definitely gives our guys and gals the morale boost they need. Here is the website: www.letssaythanks.com. Please take a moment and fill one out today, and make it part of your weekly routine to send a few more. What a blessing to our troops!

Easter Leftovers

You ever wondered what to do with the leftover candy? In our house, again, we have a child who doesn't like chocolate. Even if we don't buy any, we end up with a lot of it anyway. One thing I do is hang onto until Halloween and hand it out to the 19 year old trick or treater who comes to my door. Or you can follow my recipe and have a yummy treat.

The chopping. Again, I really recommend your Pampered Chef chopper for this. F from the Gorra's blog has a recent post about her love of her chopper.

Oatmeal Chip Cookies

2 C all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 Tablespoon of baking soda
1 C sugar
1 C packed brown sugar
2 stick of butter softened
2 eggs
1 C quick cooking oatmeal
1 C chopped nuts (omit if desired, I do!)
1 C chocolate chips
(or in this case, chopped up Easter chocolate)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine all ingredients except last three. Blend well with a mixer. Stir in last three ingredients and mix thoroughly. Chill dough (I didn't today, they seem fine.) Roll in to 1 inch balls and place on a greased cookie sheet; flatten balls slightly. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Oddest Book Title Award Goes to.......drum roll PLEASE!

Seriously, I love this. I didn't know there was an annual award for the oddest book title. But this year's recipient resonates with me.

I am an almost 40 year old woman. I have seen a lot of things in my lifetime. I have seen a lot of my friends over the years make a lot of mistakes in relationships. Before I was married, I made a lot of mistakes in relationships.

This afternoon--great example. I am at a candle party. The hostess's 20 year old daughter is there an talking to her friends about how she is two months pregnant, and her unemployed, high school dropout boyfriend is freaking out. These are not poor people, we are in a very very nice home and her parents do very well. Why she chose him to be her boyfriend, I don't know. He has pressured her to have an abortion. What is so interesting, no one ever said the word abortion. She said things like, "He wants me to, well, you know. He's not ready." Currently, they are not speaking. I am sure he is wondering what kind of child support he will be paying and he is 20 years old.

In my lifetime, the family story I saw this afternoon has been played over and over again. In my mind, I am listening, not saying a thing because it's not my place, but the title to this year's recipient of the Oddest Book Title is screaming in my ears.

The award goes to "If You Want Closure in Your Relationships, Start With Your Legs" written by the pseudonymous author Big Boom. Click here for the headline.

The title says it all.

What We Did for Our Easter Break

We spent several days at my inlaws home for a relaxing Easter break. The kids were running around like whirling dervishes because they had their cousin to play with. We adult had fun watching and capturing it all on film. Easter egg hunting at church.

The spoils of the Easter egg hunt.

Easter egg hunting outside at Grandpa and Grandma's house. Easter egg hunts in the Pacific Northwest are never warm and dry. They are wet, cold and drizzly. Hence, the raincoats and a grumpy two year old. I asked him to smile, and he responded, "I can't." He didn't like wearing the rubber boots.

Forget the spoils of the baskets, having a cousin to play flashlights with was much more fun. Grandpa needs to buy more batteries, but that is beside the point.

JM got a late birthday present of these fun moon shoes. They are actually quite fun as you can see by the video. I just think videos like this are funny because at the end, first he's there, then he's gone.

Then we had the two preschoolers trying to get in on that action, and it was funny watching them team up and get into all sorts of mischief. BH doesn't have socks on, she can't figure out the velcro, but boy, they worked on it for awhile.

Now let me set up the final video. These two were just going round and round and round for three days straight. They loved playing with each other, and it was non stop. On Monday morning, suddenly BH runs into the room, pulls his shirt collar down as far as he can and announces, "I am Superman!" We were laughing pretty hard. It was also quite spontaneous. We are more of a Spiderman kind of superhero in our house. We don't watch Superman or anything, so for him to do this, he picked it up from some little reference long ago, and just used it.

Anyway, because kids tend to repeat fun things over and over, I tried to get him to do it again. It didn't work. All I got was video of kids whizzing by and being silly. It was pretty hilarious.

Horton Hears Something....

I don't know what to do with myself. I have been inside of a movie theatre twice this week. It might be when my kids are in junior high before that happens again.

We saw the very cute "Horton Hears a Who" with the kids. Obviously, it is rated G and is geared for the kids. I know that seems obvious, but there are some G movies out there right now that I won't take my kids to. The bumbling character of Horton left my kids in giggles.

I will tell you right now, there is a slur in reference to homeschooling that is quite derogatory in the beginning. I am not a homeschooling mom yet, but it made me bristle. It is the continued perpetuation of homeschoolers being from extremist, separatist, families because the parents don't want their kids being exposed to those outside heathens. It is one statement, but it made that impression on me. And it also left me hesitant to say it was a great movie. Moviemakers know exactly what they are doing when they write lines and make scenes. The scene where this happened could have been done so many different ways to get the same point across. Instead, just like how I bristle when adoption is portrayed poorly, the moviemakers decide to not show the truth but perpetuate the lie. Disappointing.

It was cute though. Jim Carrey and Steve Carell are the main characters voices and for once, Jim Carrey doesn't over do it. This movie doesn't suddenly become "Jim Carrey Hears a Who".

It is done by the same people who made "Ice Age". Honestly, I thought the story line of "Ice Age" was completely flat and not engaging to kids. Well, the screenplay to this one was already done in the story from Dr. Seuss, and it was very nicely done. The jungle scenes are absolutely rich and pleasing to the eye. The kids, who are friends of Horton, are completely cute. The Whoville people are the typical Dr. Seuss quirky Dr. Seuss characters. The Whoville story line was very nice in the ending in terms of family bonding, and that was nice and appreciated.

Parenting Upstream

Easter morning. More plastic filled eggs than in a third world country. Some of the eggs were filled with egg shaped candy that normally are jelly beans. For some reason, some were gum. I perked up and said we need to grab those from the two year old, he's not ready for gum.

The consensus? "Oh! He's chewed gum before." "We'll watch him." "Don't worry!" That little voice inside.......

I am watching the two year old chew, and he's chewing....suddenly, he's not chewing. He's not choking. He is running around and playing, but he's not chewing.

Me: BH, where is your gum?
BH: I 'wallowed it!

Okay, now I say, "No more gum for the two year old."

The consensus? "Who would make egg candy like that into gum?" "That worried me too." "We need to watch out for those and maybe give him the jelly beans."

Good Movie--I Recommend It!

What do you know? For the first time in about two years my husband and I got to see a movie by ourselves--in a movie theatre!

Why is this rare? Two reasons--we don't have family nearby who can offer free/discounted babysitting.

When JM was a baby, and we did a movie night. Between dinner, movie, snack, and the babysitter--it was a $100 night. I looked at the hubbie and said, "I love you, but we can't afford this." We then knew we would need to rent movies to watch them affordably.

But because we were visiting our inlaws, we had an afternoon of babysitting. JM freaked a bit. It made me realize, we do need to go out more often. He shouldn't have a conniption when his parents go out on a date.

Anyway, we saw the movie "Juno". Loved it! Multilayered storyline, yet not overwhelming. It's basically a teen pregnancy from start to finish. It's nice in that it is light and somewhat comical, but definitely touches some tough topics. I really like her teenaged dialogue and yearning to be be cool. She, Juno the pregnant teen, is a mouthy geeky type and her performance earned her an Oscar nomination.

Some things were somewhat unrealistic. Her parents reaction was very calm, and that just doesn't happen.

What really intrigued me as I stepped back and really thought about it--all the different male roles. Juno's father, her boyfriend, teachers, and specifically, the adoptive father. All of them were very well portrayed showing that men have a hard time stepping up to the plate and being a man when it comes to childbirth, and specifically teen pregnancy. Yet when I sat back and thought about the women's roles it was pretty typical. Juno's best friend, step mom, and specifically, the adoptive mother of the baby. As flawed as each one of these women were--they stepped in and made Juno's pregnancy workable. Trust me, each one of these women were flawed. The variation of the characters specifically the men and the women, made this movie fascinating. That added with her quirky dialogue kept it light, yet not disrespectful.

The cinematography coupled with the music reminded me of "Napoleon Dinamite". That is where the similarities stops. But because of that, I am sure this movie will appeal to teenagers, and truthfully, it would be very appropriate for teenagers to see. There is nothing hugely inappropriate. I think a few swear words and a very implied sex scene.

I also cringe when I see Hollywood's depiction of adoption. There is always some huge myth that just angers me. It angers me because people, specifically women in a crisis pregnancy, will watch that movie and take what is being presented to them as fact. They will choose abortion over the untruth they have been fed about adoption from a movie. I just braced myself to get a tension headache.

It didn't happen. Adoption was presented very truthfully in this movie. It also shows the absolute nail biting that adoptive parents experience, and I think that has upset my cart a little the last few days, because obviously, I resonate with that.

But in the end, I am left with one thought. My hubbie agrees. This movie really does show how men can really buckle under the pressure of a baby and impending baby. Men, Juno thought, had the guts to handle it.

I really recommend "Juno".

Happy Easter

We are heading out of town for our Easter weekend.

Wishing all of you a wonderful, meaningful and rich Easter. As always we need to remember we have been given rich grace and mercy because of our Savior's sacrifice and resurrection. Thank you Lord Jesus, for going to the cross, taking our sin upon you, and most importantly, rising from the dead.

I also wish all of you a fun Easter. Having a meaningful Easter is not mutually exclusive of having a fun one. Eat some chocolate, have a yummy Easter dinner, and enjoy the children you'll be around.

I'll be posting our fun pictures either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Some of us have Spring Break next week....so we'll have some fun pictures coming of our planned excursions as well.

Blessings to you!

Three Easter observations I have made...

Did you know that if your child does not like chocolate, Easter candy choices are very limited?

JM does not like chocolate. We are limited to jelly beans and this year, Sweet Tarts came out with bunny shaped things. No big chocolate Easter bunny for him.

Did you know that if you leave a big bag of filled Easter eggs on your pastor's porch for the egg hunt on Sunday, the kids in that family suddenly think you're the Easter Bunny?

Yes, my pastor's kids now are confused.

Did you know that if your child gets Easter egg dye on his hands, doesn't wash the dye off, then uses the bathroom, the dye stains the toilet seat?

I didn't know that. I do now, though.

Eggs-venture!

What can your chickens do for you? Lots!

Here is a dozen eggs, given to me by my faithful chickens, I already washed one egg, and it will be seen later. If you have your own chickens, like we do, one rule is don't wash them until you're ready to use them. If you wash them, it removes a natural barrier on the shell that keeps bacteria out. Ever wondered why eggs in the store expire in a week or so? That is why, they are washed. Mine aren't, and I keep eggs for up to three weeks in my fridge with no worries.

By the way, you see none of Lizzie's eggs here. She lays very small brown eggs, and for decorating with dyes, they come out funny. But I do like to "blow" those kind of eggs so they are hollow and use them for decoration.


I used a lot of eggs this morning. I had my daily over-easy eggs, with soft yolks, on a toasted piece of whole wheat bread. Breakfast of whole grains and protein, yum!






And then, I started the water boiling, here is that missing egg mentioned earlier. I washed the rest of them, and they are humming away in the boiling water. We have eggs to decorate!

PS I feel so much better since I found the digital camera this morning! Someone tell my husband, he was getting frustrated too!

Prayers Needed

Difficult times for some of my friends. You might remember a post I did way last summer called "Finding New Friends in Old Ones" regarding a great friend of mine. She was diagnosed in the last few years with a mental disorder that she has worked hard to get on top of and has done so well, it just gives me the shivers. She had a lot to lose if she didn't--job, marriage, family, etc. I count it a privilege to be counted as a friend. Please please pray for her. She is having a set back in her daily maintenance that is cause for concern. When I read a message from her what she is struggling with, it makes me very concerned for her. Pray please! I'll give all of you a very simple update in the future. I keep her identity very confidential mainly because her story is for her to tell, not me. I want to protect her heart.

And then a few weeks ago for JM's birthday party, one of his cute little girl classmates was supposed to come and didn't. Her mom caught up with me that week to explain. She didn't need to but felt an explanation was needed. She has been separated from her husband for eight months because he was diagnosed bipolar. I just sighed and looked at her and said, "You have no idea how many friends of mine just in the last year have been diagnosed with that. I am so sorry!" Then, this normally very even tempered woman got a little fierce and said very firmly, "Yes, but I bet the accept their diagnosis!" I took a step back and said, "Why yes, you are correct. They do accept it, and it sounds like your husband doesn't." Apparently, no he doesn't and was recently hospitalized because of it. Then mild mannered mom came back and she said, "We are used to him acting weird, but we couldn't bring him with us on Sunday because he wasn't doing well. And we also couldn't leave him by himself." What a hard place to be as a parent, mom, person, etc. I want to ask prayers for this man as well. Pray he would submit to the help that God has given him, and that is through all the routes we know work, therapy, medication, support groups, etc. Also pray for his two daughters, they would see beyond this and not be scared or scarred by his erratic behavior.

And to top it all off. Vicki Van Meter. Do you know who she is? She was the cute little girl back in 1993 who flew solo across the continental US and then across the Atlantic. Such an accomplished little girl, and went on to become a very accomplished woman. She committed suicide and had been battling debilitating depression for most of her adult life--and refused medication or treatment. Yet she served in Peace Corps, went to college, applied to graduate school, etc. Her earthly accomplishments were amazing. Click here for the article on that.

We need to pray for all of these people and their families. Mental illness is not just having a blue day, it is serious, and greatly affects the person and all the people close to them. God is present in these people's lives, and I want to continue to pray that His presence brings peace, healing and comfort to all of them.

It's Only Tuesday!

Several things have happened in the last few days that have made them feel hectic!

First, my friend Tracy got me absolutely hooked on a game that is on Facebook. It's dangerous, because I can be sitting at my computer scrolling through things, talking on the phone, etc. At first, I was thinking hhhmmmmmm.....I am not so sure this is a game I would like, suddenly, it's midnight. Sigh...

Next, my hubbie's parents were here on Sunday through today. My father in law had a day surgery at the local VA hospital. I drove up there on Monday morning, to a full parking lot, and an hour of driving circles through the parking structure, watching more cars pulling into the structure than were leaving. It was insane. I sat with my mother in law for a bit while we waited for the surgery to be done, while chasing BH down the halls. I came away with one thought from that experience--VA hospitals are not a good place for two year olds. Second thought I had, two year olds cheer up grumpy old veterans in an instant.

Today, I thought I would have to relax a bit, even though my hubbie is working all day and evening. Nope. I forgot I voluteered to stuff Easter eggs for the church egg hunt this weekend. We won't be here but I wanted to contribute.

Then the funny timing thing happened. This sort of scenario happens to me all the time. I emailed with my pastor's wife about the Easter eggs, and it sounded like there was lots of candy and lots of eggs. I might need to buy candy. Well, this morning I went to Kmart to buy cheap jeans for JM, he blew three holes in three pairs in recent months. As I am walking by the Easter stuff, I think specifically to myself, we don't need any of that for church.

I talk to pastor's wife this afternoon--we have lots of candy, no plastic eggs. Back to Kmart for plastic eggs after school. The timing is always off. That sort of thing happens to me all the time, and it frustrates me to no end.....sigh...

Anyway, I have set my digital camera down somewhere and I can't find it. Otherwise you would have seen a very cute picture of my two boys stuffing two pieces of chocolate into each plastic egg. We did that all afternoon, and had fun.

Hopefully, tomorrow will be a somewhat more relaxing day. It will be more relaxing when I find the camera.

I don't need a home....I need homeowners!

Let me give you the scoop on this house. See first picture, with the blue house peeking behind this one? That is ours.

This little brown house has been vacant, count 'em, six years. It had a renter as it's last occupant, but he was evicted. We actually tried to help him. He basically couldn't pay his rent because of a back injury and was evicted. We cleaned the house up a bit for him and also brought him some meals and food. It was sad.

Here is the deal, this is a stinkin' cute little house that needs TLC. It hasn't been occupied in forever. The people who own it are weird! They have owned this house for a very very long time, and have not taken care of it. I have let them know that I don't appreciate them letting this house just sit and rot, while they live in their home 45 miles away and spend weekends a their beach house. From what my very cool neighbors tell me, this used to be the gem of the neighborhood. It was a showplace.

I have been in it. It is a two bedroom, one bath ranch style. If it only had the first floor, it would honestly feel like an apartment. But it has a couple of great things going for it. A formal dining room plus an eating nook in the kitchen. The dining room could be an office area. It also has a fabulous fireplace in the large living room. You can see the huge amount of brick on the back of the fireplace in the first picture.

The basement. It is the entire size of the house. It has a laundry room and two large rooms that could be an office, storage, TV room, etc. I haven't seen the whole basement, but I think there might be some plumbing possibilities for an additional bathroom.

You can also see, your backyard will back up to our house. It has no backyard, and what little there is has a lot of junk. That BBQ, yucky lawn chair, and bucket were items left behind by the tenant evicted six years ago. That is how much the current owner gives a rip about this house. They haven't cleaned it up at all. If I were buying this house, I would put in the contract that the owners need to do junk removal.

This house will require some cleaning up, some exterior and interior paint. You might also want to replace the pink sink in the bathroom. But truly, it's a diamond in the rough, and it would be very cool to see new neighbors care for it. Keep in mind, I look out my kitchen window every morning and watch the paint peel off of it.

If you call the number, keep in mind, the owners are weird! I don't know how else to say it-it won't be an easy transaction. They think this place is a palace, and they will ask too much for it. The previous renter told us an amount they quoted him and we both choked. With the market right now you should ask low, and they should be willing to negotiate. I also think this would be a perfect house to flip. If someone just came and put about $10,000 in it, they could increase the value quite a bit. If I had the money, I'd buy it and make it a rental, and have it make some money for me.

By the way this is in the NE area of town, near the airport, MBC, yet nestled in the neighborhood away from busy streets. We have lots of new, young families in the neighborhood, we all know each other and look out for each other. There is also a great park about four blocks directly west of this house.

If you want to do a drive by glance, just post and I'll give you details.

Relax Dude!

I just now walked into the living room. BH has his foot propped up on the "new" desk. Munching on craisins. Watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Relaxing Saturday morning for a two year old.

God Is Good

I know God has a heart for adoption. I can pull out Scripture for you showing that His example of Christ allowing us sinners to be adopted into heaven. I can pull bits and pieces out, but shamefully, I would need to stop for a minute to put together a somewhat coherent string of compelling passages showing the idea of adoption since before creation. Yes, I have a degree in Bible.

Take a look at this video. Again. I am getting this from Heather Friesen's blog.

So if you want me to come up with an encouraging, coherent Biblical representation of how God is not only the author and creator of the universe, He is also the author and creator of adoption before creation. If you want me to do that, my response will be to point to this video and say, "I am with him."

Get ready for some encouraging Scripture and some tingles. God is good.

Score!

The bargains were coming my way today. Several months ago, I was delivering some candles to a very nice woman who has grown children. As we loaded up her car, I noticed she had some kind of upside down student desk in her car with chairs. Offhandedly, I let her know, if she ever wants to get rid of them I would love to make an offer. I told her we are homeschooling our oldest next year, and they would be perfect. She told me they had been in her family for a long time and she didn't think her siblings would want to part with them. I said, no problem, it never hurts to ask.


Guess who called me a few days ago letting me know she has the desk and chairs available if I still want them. She believes homeschooling is very admirable and wanted them to be used in such a way. She was also sheepish to say her sister wanted a little money for them. Honestly, I was afraid at that point. These are antiques, and she could easily ask $100+ dollars for them at an antique store. Her price was $20, and she felt bad! I told her no way, that is a bargain and where can I meet her to get them!!

I love it! The kids loved it when they saw the desk. It's a two student desk. There are two compartments below, and we already have a few workbooks down there. I am afraid JM will grow out of this quickly, but I want to use it as much as possible. I have been busting my brains wondering what I am going to do next year for a homeschool set up, and this was the ticket. Yes, it's a bit beat up, and the gal felt bad about that. I told her for as old as they are, that is to be expected, and we certainly will add our own scuff marks. The backs of the chairs also swivel so the kids can ever so slightly recline. I remember them doing that when I was a kid! I just love this, and my husband loves them too. God is good!


He also fulfills out little dreams too. Yes, that is a nicely used Gameboy with three games bought off of craigslist. It also came with a great carrying case, charger (standard), a car charger (NOT standard) and a charger you can use so that you can also have it charging while listening to the headset. I haven't quite figured that out yet. But anyway, drum roll please......$40. Keep in mind, a new Gameboy is a scosh under $100, and games run about $15 new. Just the games alone used at a game swapping store would have been $40. One nice game is 101 Dalmations Puppy Rescue. BH loves it! It's his speed.

He also knows, "I don't fro it!"

It also came with a couple of others the kids don't know about. I say this as advice to other parents who are treading the world of gaming with trepidation. Play the games yourself first. These are not super hard games. But you need to play them first, because you would be surprised at which ones are violent. Two games that this came with today were Incredible Hulk and The Incredibles. I assumed The Incredible Hulk would be violent and it is. I didn't think The Incredibles would be violent, but it is. Basically in both games, you have to fight off bad guys to get to higher levels. As an adult I can handle that--my seven year old doesn't need to play those. Games he has he loves are the Tony Hawk skateboarding ones, John Madden football, any Backyard Sports games (I love those!), etc. You are usually fine with sports ones and boys.

Fortuitous?

Last spring, JM worked his tail end off for a Gameboy. I knew I needed to get educated on them quickly. So I went to the local Game Crazy, and said to the guy, "Look at me. I am not a gamer obviously. Give me the scoop on Gameboys, and all that."

He gave me the scoop, which I will give you. Gameboys are not being made by Nintendo anymore. BUT! Because they were around for so long (10+ years, which is eternity in game world), there are thousands of games out there. Nintendo is doing more of a phase out than just plain quitting making them. Gameboy games are definitely child friendly, and many many can be found that are not violent, somewhat educational, etc.

Nintendo is replacing the Gameboy with the Nintendo DS. It has a stylus to it, will play all Gameboy games, and has an appeal to the adult market for two reasons. The children's games are much harder to find in the DS's. Also, recall the commercials where the guy is exercising his brain by playing Brain Age. They are word/math games that studies have shown keep us sharp. I have a side note to that at the end of this post.

Anyway, I chose to let JM get a Gameboy because that seemed more age appropriate. He worked a lot of chores, washed cars, took out garbage, and worked. He got it last May. Little brother BH was jealous, and a friend gave us a very old version that seems to work okay for him.

As JM's birthday came closer last fall, and especially his reading skills were going through the roof, I found a deal on a Nintendo DS, bought it, and hid it until the time seemed right. Well, this last Thursday, on JM's birthday, guess what little turkey (BH) got mad at a game, and threw his brother's hard earned Gameboy on the floor? You can see the results in the above picture. Cracked screen. Also makes a funny squeaking sound when games are in it. Well, the time seemed right to give the DS, that kind of answered that question.

Luckily, JM was a little out of it on his birthday. He was bummed, but also feverish. On a healthy day, he would have been mad (rightfully so!) and cried.

Later that afternoon.....I had BH hand JM a Nintendo DS game for his birthday.

JM immediately says, "But MOM!! I don't have a DS!"

Me: "Really? You sure?" I hold up the DS box.

Score! Suddenly the busted Gameboy went away fast.

I have been looking on ebay for a used Gameboy just because we have a good supply of games for them, BH definitely plays with them, the older one we have is hard to see the screen, etc. From what I have seen, I can probably get a Gameboy, with a handful of games, for half the price of a new one. I'll keep you posted!

Side note:
When I stopped working and stayed home with the kids, I noticed something that kind of freaked me out. I was suddenly not sharp anymore. I forgot things easily, lose things, and just have a general hazy intelligence feeling. Freaked me out! I am normally a fairly sharp tack.

At that time I read an article that said many people feel that when they are over 30 (hush!) and that an easy way to combat that is to play handheld word/math games. I just so happen to love hand held games and had/have a Boggle and a Scrabble game. I play one of them for a few minutes before I go to bed now. Guess what? Basically, I don't feel so stupid anymore. It does work. I really recommend this if you feel this way. Do you need to go buy a $100 Nintendo DS and a $30 Brain Age game? No. Just find a little $10 game at the back wall of the Target toy section. Pick one you like.

Got Tagged Again!

My Favorite Things

1. Favorite indulgence: Riesling wine. We're Episcopalians, so it's okay. The running joke, where there are four Episcopalians, there's a fifth.

2. Favorite drink: coffee

3. Favorite movie: This is hard! Oh my! The one that is hitting my heartstrings these days is "Spitfire Grill"

4. Favorite TV show: Deadliest Catch, new season coming soon!

5. Favorite health item: Airborne

6. Favorite shoes: Flip flops, Birkenstocks

7. Favorite lipstick shade: Revlon Colorstay "Fabulous Fig"

8. Favorite form of exercise: huh?

9. Favorite store: Walmart

10. Favorite season: Autumn, but in no hurry for it to come again soon

11. Favorite toenail color: I haven't seen those in awhile...usually I do a dark burgundy in the summer.

12. Favorite hobby: gardening

13. Favorite waste of time: watching the "Discovery Channel", guess what channel "Deadliest Catch" is on?

14. Favorite fragrance: Well since you mention what I do for a living.....my favorite all time scent has been, from my line of candles, Honeydew Melon. However, my favorite trendy one right now is Agave Nectar. Hello! Yum!

Who should I tag??? Hmmmmm.....I say let's tag Tragor, since I have no idea who that person it, but would love to get the scoop. Also, let's tag Melenie! Although she just a 100 things about her on her blog, I don't believe she covered the things on this list. Plus, Melenie and her family just make me laugh--hard! Plus, whoever visits my blog often from the state of Missouri and Illinois. Again, would love to hear about you.

The Aftermath

Remember when you were a kid and you had something huge to look forward to? Like a birthday or Christmas? Then you had those few days afterwards that were kind of a let down and you were still a little hyped up, but had nowhere to channel it. Remember?

I can tell this is happening to JM. His big birthday party is over, he has spent his gift card to Game Crazy, the cake is almost gone, and the presents are put away.

Here is our conversation this morning getting into the car:

JM: Momma! I am so excited about next week!

Me: Really? What is happening next week?

JM: I don't know.

Roller Skating!

Here is the pictorial story of JM's birthday skating party. I took lots and lots of pictures. As I look at them, I laugh. Many of the skating photos will seem like plain photos--but you need to understand many of them, if I had delayed taking the picture for two seconds, would have been a picture of feet with skates on them.

Here is our organist for the afternoon. Nope--no pop 80's disco tech stuff. It was several renditions of "Edelweiss" and several other traditional song. I also heard "These Are a Few of My Favorite Things." Watch the videos below, and you will hear the same music over and over again. I am sure this is why I have a yen to watch "Sound of Music" today.

Ceremonial candle extinguishing.

Who is that skating? The last few times we have skated, it's been an exercise in frustration. Look at him! We had a lot of fun just enjoying not falling. See the practice area to the right? We spent an awful lot of time in that little area the last few times we skated.

Then we had this little daredevil in our group. She and I did the Hokey Pokey. She literally skated circles around the rest of us.

Lots of time spent grabbing the wall.

Then we let go of the wall at one point. That is our pastor and his oldest son.

This video is our pastor's second oldest son. I have to set this up for you. At the beginning of our day, I put his skates on for him, and he was so impatient to go. He has never skated before. So, before I let him stand up, I warned him, it will feel slippery and he might fall, so be careful, etc. He just stood up and went out on the floor, landed on his behind an awful lot, took some advice from a few of us who spent a lot of the 80's at skating rinks, etc. By the end of the afternoon, check him out! He was so determined and such a trooper!

We had kids from all ranges. Some put on skates, then sat down and wouldn't budge. We took those kids to a practice area that basically has a set of parallel bars that you could hold onto with both hands. We also didn't let them give up--they needed to at least try. Several of us parents are firm believers that you learn skating by falling down a lot. That is how we did it as kids!

By the end of the afternoon, we were ready for cake and ice cream, then a bit more skating, and then home. I popped some Advil before bed, slept well, and dreamed of the Von Trapp family singers.

Don't You Think This is Disconcerting???

Several months ago, I had this happen to me...

I bought some baby/toddler items at Target using a debit card. The next day I go back to Target to meet someone in the Starbucks that is in Target. I purchase my beverage with my debit card, and the cashier hands back to me my receipt and those register coupons for some baby items. Keep in mind, Target doesn't have a little club card like grocery stores do. I am only using my debit card here.

I point out to the gal, that is so weird. The 20 year old barista that is making my drink pipes up and says, "Oh, you probably used your debit card to purchase something recently."

My reply, "Yes, I know. Don't you think that is weird?" It's also disconcerting that she thinks that is normal. I think she got my point when I said that.

So I am thinking today, don't you think it's disconcerting that some satellite in the orbit somewhere will turn all of our clocks on our computers ahead by an hour? And that satellite knew that Congress had changed the dates for Daylight Savings time a few years ago? That bothers me just a little bit.

I'll say this a little more intelligently. Congress passes the new Daylight Savings Time, a memo is sent to someone at Microsoft to change the angle of the satellite and reprogram the date for Daylight Savings. Then suddenly we all wake up Sunday morning with our clocks changed.

I think that is a bit freaky.

You Know You're An Adoptive Parent If.....

I borrowed this from the Friesen Family blog (see my sidebar). I love it! Most of these things I am absolutely passionate about. Heather put her comments in blue on her blog, I'll put mine in red. She has some pretty impressive statistics, so you might check out her comments on her blog.

1. The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has made you lose sleep. (This makes me sad beyond belief. I also feel the same about kids going to bed in foster care feeling like a guest in someone's home, not in their own home.)

2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love & family.

3. You can't watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing. (Count me in this one! Every day at 11:30 Adoption Stories comes on, and I am a sobbing mess by the end.)

4. The fact that, if 7% of Christians adopted 1 child there would be no orphans in the world, is convicting to you. (Between Angelina Jolie and our family, I think we have made a dent, but the need is still there.)

5. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who've experienced the blessing of adoption.

6. It drives you crazy when people ask you about adopted child's "real" parents. (Wanna see me go from zero to irritated? Do this one to me. My usual humorous response is, "My kids certainly aren't imaginary.")

7. You've been "pregnant" with your adoptive child longer than it takes an elephant to give birth. (2 years!) (BH's pregnancy was in this category. JM's pregnancy was about the gestation of a cat.)

8. You'd no idea how you'd afford to adopt, but stepped out in faith anyway, knowing He'd provide. (& He does!)

9. You've taken an airplane half-way around the world with a child you just met. (Haven't done this, but have done it with babies in a cross continental flight. Imagine doing this with a brand new baby, with your first child. It is quite odd and public.)

10. You believe God's heart's for adoption.

11. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart & family is one of the most important legacies you could ever leave on this earth. (I believe there is a reason we haven't become pregnant--even though there is nothing medically "wrong" with us. I believe God's plan for my husband and I are to be adoptive parents, and that is an awesome thought to us.)

12. You know what the word "Dossier" means & you can actually pronounce it correctly! (I still said this wrong to my husband tonight. It's a document needed for international adoptions, which we haven't done.)

13. You've welcomed a social worker into the most private parts of your life. (We did, and our first case worker from the state we live in used that information to turn us down for adoption. Nice huh? Don't be daunted, just get a new caseworker, don't ever let a case worker tell you what to do. Obviously, we didn't.)

14. You shudder when people say your child's so lucky that you adopted them, knowing full well you're the blessed one to have him or her in your life. (Amen! My kids are a blessing to us, and their birthmoms are the people who deserve the medal. )

Happy Birthday, Son!

JM is seven today. We can't celebrate mainly because he is still coughing so hard, I am sure his lungs are swollen. We have a big roller skating party set for Sunday, let's hope that this is all behind us by then.

This is a picture of him when he turned one. Love his signature tuft of hair on the top of his head!

Happy Birthday, JM. Seven years ago today, I had no idea you existed, I didn't know that for 2 1/2 more weeks, when an adoption worker called me to tell us about you. Five days later you were in our arms, and we haven't looked back.

You are a gift from God. You have brought to our lives something we never thought we would have, the chance to hear a child's voice call us Dad and Mom.

God has huge plans for you. As we watch you grow it is amazing to watch the gifts God has given you grow. Trust me, we know your huge stature is not from us. Your affinity for music and ability to replicate songs you hear, that is not from us. We pray that you take those gifts and invest them wisely in your future as well as eternity. We pray you have a fun birthday this year and that you are feeling better soon. We thank God that he chose you to be our son. You are such a light in our lives, there are no words to describe.

As we celebrate you, and your milestone, we also celebrate your birthmom out there. She is remembering you today as well. She is wondering what you look like, how you are, what school is like for you, etc. She made it clear that after we took you into our family, she didn't want any more contact with you until you were older, and that is fine! She has her reasons, and we need to be respectful of that. But that doesn't mean we can't pray for her. Lord, touch this woman's heart today. Please give her peace to know that her flesh and blood child is doing well. Give her peace that her decision to place her child for adoption was a good decision. We also pray that her decision has given her opportunities. Opportunities to further her education, to raise her other children well, to find a great husband, to look to her future. One thing I have always wanted to do is give her a huge hug, please give her that for us today. Give her Your extra measure of peace and joy today, as we all celebrate JM's birthday.

As we wish you a Happy Birthday, and celebrate another year, your dad and I are reminded of something very simple. You are a gift to us, and we are eternally thankful.

That Silly Spam Box

You know, I get a lot of spam. I have had the same email address for over eight years, mainly because of my business. If I go changing it, then suddenly I lose contact with people. I get over one thousand spam messages a day. Each time I check my email, I skim my spam box to make sure I am not losing an important message from someone.

When I am as miserable as I have been the last few weeks between my illness, which I am over now, and my family, I see those sexually suggestive ones and just laugh....let me give you a sampling.....and my sarcastic answers I have in my head when I skim them.

"I won't forget last night"--My response: I would love to forget my kid having a fever induced nightmare and my husband throwing up. You sure you had the same night I had?

"People laugh at you." --My response: No kidding. I would too if they saw me a week ago. You should see my husband with an ice pack on his head.

"Help is on the way."--My response: Liar liar!

"Do you Want to Enlarge Your #*(#?"--My response: That spam is still going around? I don't have one to enlarge, don't want one either, thanks! Can we enlarge my sinus cavity? That is more useful to me right now and I miss the fact that it has only begun to function again.

"Best Way to Cure Yourself."--My response: That is really tempting to click on, though I won't because their idea of a cure and mine are worlds apart.

"Get a Naughty Date"--My response: How about if you babysit my sick family instead while I make a trip to the grocery store? That would really meet my needs better right now. Plus, it would give you a new line of work, and it sounds like you need one. Join the real world!

"Even Celebrities Use It"--So? Oprah is not my personal shopper.

It Just Won't Stop

This family is still sick. I thought things were perking up yesterday. There was a rousing game of War between the two big boys. People were walking around vertically. The medications weren't needing to be replenished. Tissue boxes were going unused. What happened? The flu went through our household--twice. But it is still here.

Today, the feeling is this--we have to join the human race again. The hubbie went to work, but we don't know for how long. The last two days, he has missed. He has a major major deadline for his PhD work that he needs to get done yesterday. He is sweating it, and it's not all because he has had a fever.

I took JM to school, only to have him go into a painful coughing fit. He came home as well as another boy. School is about half full right now, because this icky thing is making it's rounds through school.

Me? I had it last week. I have had the nasty cough. It's the kind of cough that if you start to talk for a minute, or breathe through your mouth, suddenly you get the catch in your throat and you have to cough. It's dry, it accomplishes nothing except making your throat hurt more from too much coughing. I feel fine. Because I have strained my voice too much, I can't talk now. Honestly, if I go to use my voice, there is nothing there. So I am whispering. Makes for talking to kids interesting. To get hustled out of the house this morning, I found myself snapping my fingers or lightly clapping my hands. I just can't do the calling out, "Let's get going everyone!" This may change my whole parenting scheme at this point.

UPDATE: JM is lounging on the recliner. He asks me to take his temperature. Normally, he hates having his temperature taken and we have a long discussion of toys and privileges he will lose if he won't let us do it. Now he is asking me?

We ain't out of the woods yet folks, 102.5 F. Tylenol has been administered, and my plans for the next twenty four hours just changed--again.

How American are YOU??

I am 60% "Average American"

I am average because I donate to charity. I am not average since I have (at least) a college degree.

How "Average American" Are You?

Kids!

This family of mine is so beat up right now. I am finally getting better from this illness icky thing.

My husband is out for the count. He hasn't moved a whole lot from the couch this week. JM was not looking himself at bedtime tonight. I am predicting a sick day tomorrow for him. BH is not sick, but we wish he was. Then he wouldn't be beating us up with his incessant two year old energy while we're trying to get an extra nap.

One top of the sickies, we had a weird thing happen at school that has been boiling over time. JM has been at odds with a classmate, H, since about October. They used to be good friends, but after about October, it has been somewhat adversarial, but nothing out of the ordinary of normal boyhood troubles. I have been watching it unfold and it just ended this last week.

One of JM's problems is his absolute love of his friends. He is such a social little boy. If someone doesn't like him, he will ingratiate himself to a huge degree to get that person to like him. And he gets incredibly frustrated when he can't figure out why this person won't just be nice.

The flip side of that coin is the other kid. The other kid is at least a troublemaker, usually the class bully. We had a huge problem when he was in four year old preschool with, yes at four years old, a class bully. That little boy didn't physically hurt JM, but he sure teased and humiliated him, and JM kept going back for more because he wanted that little boy to like him so badly.

Jump back to the beginning of school in January. I begin to realize that H is getting pretty sophisticated. The stories coming home from school are getting bizarre. Several red flags for me. The first being, H is turning the whole class against JM. Depending on H's mood on any given day, he won't let other kids play with JM. I tell JM to tell the teacher. "But Mom! That is tattling!" I realize that H has JM by the neck. Think about it. JM has to do whatever H wants him to do just so he can play with his friends. And if JM tattles, then the treatment from H gets worse. There have been a few rides home from school with tears because of this frustration and I don't blame him. It's bizarre.

I try the motherly advice, give him words to say, deflecting, play with someone else, tell the teacher, etc. Nothing is working.

Next thing I notice--JM suddenly won't wear red. He got a couple of nice polo type shirts in a deep fire engine red for Christmas. Major fight to get him to wear them. I got to the bottom of it. "Mom. H says red is a girly color, and I don't want to wear it." Keep in mind, it is a weird day if H is not wearing something that has camouflage. He always wears fatigue type pants, has a camouflage colored lunch box, backpack, and jacket. Okay, well we could certainly tease him for his wardrobe choices. I find myself getting my sista attitude out and saying, "You tell H!" but caught myself.

If JM has worn anything red to school, it is because I have pumped him up like a coach would--to be confident in himself and tell H that H is not in charge of what JM wears. It usually works, but again, I am troubled by this.

One day during gym time, JM comes up to me and says, "H won't play with me." Personally, that is fine with me! But I ask, "Why? Did he say?" JM says, "His dad advices him not to." Yes, he said it just like that. Clue! H is going home with stories about JM. JM is also doing some antagonizing here to the point that his dad is telling him not to play with JM.

I am done. Parent conferences were at the middle of February. Teacher didn't mention a thing about this conflict. I had to bring it up. I asked, "Can you tell me about the relationship between JM and H?" She gets a far away look in her eyes and says, "Oh yeah........"

She tells me that way back in October, JM did do something to H that made him mad. I asked what, she couldn't remember. However, H's parents did complain to the teacher then. Funny how she didn't tell me. Funny how no one can really remember the offense, not even H it turns out. But boy the punishment can't seem to stop!

I tell her my concern about H's sway on the whole class and how he turns other students against JM. Get this! She then reveals to me that she has seen this first hand, and didn't realize what was going on. She has watched JM sit at a table at lunchtime completely separate from the class. There is only one first grade in this school. When lunch takes place, it's not like other classes join them or that JM could join another group. H has not only turned a few kids away from JM, but the whole class at lunchtime.

I also relay the whole clothing thing. I tell her I am absolutely frustrated that this kid has this kind of sway and influence over an entire class, and I demand it to be stopped. I also demand that if this kid does have a beef with JM to say what it is and give JM the opportunity to apologize and not just to continue to punish him. What a cruel kid!

Anyway, big pow wow of parents and kids after school this last Thursday set up by the teacher. I was scared to death. I really thought we were going to find out a huge bad thing that JM had done and H's parents defensive. I thought that mainly because of the advice H's parents had given him to not play with JM. Gotta wonder what made them say that.

Nope. Found out that when JM was going through his "too rough" time last fall, he bumped into H a little hard once. JM did apologize for that, but boy H took retribution to a whole new level. He really figured out JM's weak spot for his friends and has spent the last four months dictating JM's friendships. Freaky huh? Get this, H, in front of all of us admitted in two different ways, without blinking, that he was doing this. His parents seemed concerned as well that their son was doing this. The dad whispered in my ear, "Please keep me posted on what JM says after school. I want the lines of communication to be opened up here." Thank you Lord!

The teacher was apologetic that she hadn't realized what was going on. Why? Because H was being very secretive, and shaming JM into not tattling to anyone. It has been absolutely frightening for me to watch H have so much influence over an entire class of kids, a teacher and four parents--at a Christian school no less. The game is up, and I do appreciate that his dad wants reports from us that this isn't happening mainly because that takes some of the tattling pressure off of JM at school.

I also just hurt for JM! How miserable he has been for the last four months! How helpless he has felt at the hands of this kid!

I think we are on the mend here. But I tell you what, makes me love the idea of homeschool for JM that much more. He can be so easily swayed by his friends, and this is a good example, that if he did get into a wrong crowd, even so young, he would be lead right into a den of thieves. He just wants to be everyone's best friend! At all costs!

This ended so much better than I thought it would. I thank the Lord for His grace before us before the meeting, H's parents being willing to listen to what their kid is doing and not going defensive, also letting JM have the opportunity to apologize for a wrong no one can really remember, etc. Thank you Lord! Your mercy and grace cover us so much!