Jordan is kicking off a fundraiser at school by selling magazine subscriptions. Our school gets 40% of all money that he brings in. He is totally excited to get involved and is hoping that some of you out there might take a look at the magazines they have to offer or check your renewals and see if you might find them listed on the site.
He has 2 weeks to sell magazines but if he sells 5 more subscriptions tonight, he is in the running for an iPad 2. He really wants that! (If mom doesn’t talk him into giving it to her.)
Thank you for taking a peak!!
P.S. I grabbed 2 years of Everyday With Rachael Ray (my fave mag) for $20 and Cesar’s Way (Dog Whisperer) – 6 issues for $20, which it wasn’t that price when I was going to subscribe to it before. There are tons of combo deals too.
Proverbs 25:28 He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
Ok, to be honest, I didn’t go. But, I have pictures to enjoy without actually having to have lived through it. Thank you Jesus. The only car races I like are Figure 8’s where the t-bone is the most exciting thing to happen.
Pato has a friend that invites him and the kids out to the Iowa Speedway every summer for a night of watching the races and a concert from the comfort of a humongous RV.
I use that time as my own personal relaxation moment. I can enjoy whatever I want to while he has the kids for hours. I could go. That is not relaxing to me at all.
Shelley and Josh went with them this year. (My brother and sister in law and their kids.) They had a blast and Shelley sent me pics to prove it. I’m so far behind on pictures, but I’ll get through them eventually.
A car in the air… with what looks to be a broken axle?
I don’t think that is an actual pit stop, but you’d know better than I do.
Pato and my brother Josh and what appears to be a passed out Cambria.
Ready for some absolute cuteness? It’s too much, I tell you. My heart melted at this next picture. My mom should be warned that she is going to want this one printed out. That might be see your daughter in law mom, but I do have a full size copy on my computer.
For real. Too stinking cute!! That’s Nano and his cousin Cambria.
Guess their age difference. I had to sit and figure out. I’ll give you a hint. Nano is not small for his age.
Nano is 6 months older than Cambria. He was born in February, she was born in September. Both in 2009.
Crazy huh?
He is a big boy and not much smaller than his 4 year old sister now.
Anyways, I think those pictures were meant to tempt me into going next year and I still think I shall use that time for me time. We’ll see.
Proverbs 12:1 Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.
I truly want to know. There is so much stuff I WANT to do but not nearly enough hours to get it done in.
I want to get my kids up and off to school in the morning. That is more of a have to. Ok, here are the have to’s.
Get the kids off to school. Alyce starts preschool soon, so that is 3 kids that all have to be up, the first one starting at 6:15 and going on until Alyce’s school starts at 8:30.
I HAVE to and WANT to read the Bible first thing in the morning, but I hate being interrupted when I am in the middle of God’s word so I wait until I get them off to get started.
I HAVE to clean the kitchen ever day. I WANT to get that done right after the Bible.
I HAVE to get the kids listening to me so that I don’t feel like I NEED to be the only one to clean the house.
Let’s face it women (and some men), (many of us feel that) the kitchen is our domain. I WANT it cleaned the way I want it clean. I’m a little OCD on other people putting away dishes because they never get put where I want them. I WANT to be able to sit down at the table and not go, I cannot stand the messiness in my kitchen. I just WANT it done.
I NEED to blog every day. I WANT to do it first thing in the morning. I’ve explained it before, my blog is my diary. A (not quite so much for a big) way for me to daily sit down and get my own thoughts out, vent, be proud, just talk about what is going on, ask you questions, etc. It is also part of my business and I earn income through it, so that cannot fall to the wayside again, EVER. Please keep me on my toes with that, all of you.
I NEED to start designing again, my store has completely fallen to the wayside, and not only is it something I love to do, I NEED to do it for the income, so I can contribute to our family’s income more.
I WANT to start digital scrapping my own pages more. I love doing that, it’s a release of creativity, if that makes sense. It’s just a release period, plus it’s a way of keeping memories for my children to share with their children as they look back through their lives through what I made.
I WANT to start reading more again. I love to read period.
I WANT to not be so far behind on my DVRs that I am recording. I have shows that I love to watch, but I keep falling behind on them to do *see all of the above and below*.
I HAVE to take time to sit down and eat with my children at regular times everyday. I had that growing up. That family time is so important. That time should not be used to leave my children eating on their own as I try to accomplish everything that I haven’t gotten done yet.
I HAVE to take my kids to soccer practices and games. 3 kids in soccer, 2 seasons a year, plus Jordan in winter indoor, that’s a lot of soccer, but they need it.
I NEED to start getting to the gym, both for myself and Jordan. Jordan is dying for me to take him to the gym everyday, but again, not enough hours in the day.
I WANT to start making time to play my keyboard since I do not have a full piano. I WANT to get my clarinet repaired and play that also. I sing all the time, but music, it’s my life people. It always has been, and when I hear certain things such as this song below, I have this literal craving within my body to play. I miss it so very much.
Yesterday, I let everything above fall to the side, because I had an idea to share the scriptures that I write down everyday as I read the Bible by putting them into a Google Document. At first I thought it was an awesome way to share with my family things that I found touched me. Then I thought, I could share them with you all too, if you want to read them. The link is always at the top of each post, that will be the current month. On the sidebar near the top, you can find previous months as I move on through the year. This month’s doc is here. That took me awhile between organizing, typing, and taking care of my children, and all I got done was emptying the dishwasher. Oops. I did read the Bible and I blogged a few posts. I also took care of my family, but I didn’t get anything else on my list done.
I also NEED time to spend with my family that is outside of my house, with my friends, I need to find time every other week or so to go out and spend time with my grandma, I just need more time.
I don’t suppose God could give me more hours in a day?
Nope, didn’t that that was his plan for me.
It’s probably to get more organized with my time, to continue writing down things I need to do, things I need to remember, things I need to pray for.
How in the world do you all do it?
On top of everything I do, some of you work outside of the house. Some of you have more kids than I do. Some of you have kids that have special needs. Some of you are taking care of your parents. Some of you are fostering and loving children that need it. I have to say, I am feeling absolute amazement for all of you that do all of that.
At least I am not feeling completely overwhelmed and stressed out anymore. I just feel disappointment in myself because I haven’t done what I wanted to.
I could sleep less…. but I already am operating on about 4 hours a night.
I HAVE to do better than that too. I know that is why I am so absent minded and forgetful all the time.
Tell me please, how do you do everything you do, because I know you all are completely amazing!
Let me leave you with a couple of new pics of the dogs and cat –
Miss Suki – the one who thinks she is the dominant dog in the house
Miss Junie – The one who says, I don’t think so. I was here first, get over it.
I totally am still dealing with the dogs fighting when they aren’t best friends. sigh
Elaina playing with a catnip stuffed mouse. She has gotten so big and has the softest fur you will ever feel on a cat.
I think that is thanks to Wellness Kitten Formula. Her fur felt like any other cats fur when we got her. Lecture time – good quality food – nice fur, skin, bright eyes, and a healthy cat. Just sayin’.
Yep, cats and dogs do get along, especially at my house.
Elaina is a equal opportunity lover. She hangs with the humans in the family, she hangs with the dogs…. not so, well, she’s fond of the birds, in the way that she looks at them as if they are dinner. You could say she loves the birds too.
Have an absolutely beautiful day and feel God’s love wrap around you like a warm comforting blanket.
What we learn from children diagnosed with life threatening illnesses
They had no idea their lives would change so significantly.
Up until January 7, 2005 Ruthe Rosen enjoyed the “perfect life.” Well okay maybe it wasn’t perfect, but let’s just say it was normal. But things changed drastically overnight. Her daughter Karla was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor at the age of 14.
She was in the middle of her early teen years with all the excitement, drama, mood swings, hormones, and changes those early years entail. But then there were the headaches, that came suddenly and were so sudden and severe they would drop her to her knees in agony. After one episode they decided to go get a CT scan.
Then the phone call came. There would be no dance practice today. They found a mass growing on Karla’s nervous system.
For one year, Ruthe Rosen and her family did more than cope with the unimaginable, they embraced it. In their love and faith they found the strength to be there for Karla in every way. Karla had brain surgery and was in and out of hospitals (one stay was for an entire month). She had several sudden emergency room trips, bouncing back and forth between doctors. She endured chemo therapy and radiation treatments daily, simultaneously.
For a while, she regained her spirit and even went back to playing on the soccer field. She amazed everyone. But after a year of hopes lifted and hopes dashed, 15 year old Karla suddenly lost her fight and died of inoperable cancer.
In Never Give Up, Ruthe Rosen tells the story of how she and her family immersed themselves in the ordeal of taking care of her daughter. She discovered her daughters’ courage and unwavering optimism. She realized that although she was scared she never succumbed to self-pity or despair, and because of her spirit and uplifting outlook, neither did the people around her.
Drawing upon the wisdom and personal experiences she acquired, she skillfully takes the mystery out of the many lessons to be learned from her daughter’s experience. She describes how to provide caring support that allows the family to maintain a sense of normalcy in their lives and sustain hope as they battle the most serious illnesses. She offers important and helpful guidance for those forced to face the reality of being a caregiver for a seriously ill family member. Here are just some of the valuable insights:
Embrace the journey. Take one day at a time.
In order to embrace it, you must first accept it. You don’t have to understand it all nor be able to figure it all out, but no matter how dark your struggle, embrace every single moment of it or you will miss the opportunity to find joy and purpose.
Plan for your tomorrow but live in your today.
If you spend your time worrying about the if’s and what might’s instead of enjoying the right now’s it will rob you of your joy today. Sometimes you just have to say, “If it’s not happening and it’s not a fact, then I don’t want to talk about it.”
Reserve the right to crash at anytime. Embrace the crash when it comes.
It is okay to be sad, mad, depressed, empty, lost…embrace it! Feel! Live it! Then get the heck out of dodge so it doesn’t consume you.
Stare down your fears. Look them straight in the eyes.
Don’t turn and run, because if you can find the courage to look it in the eyes, you have just accepted one of God’s greatest gifts of strength.
Maintain a sense of normalcy and you will discover your new normal
Continuing the activities and the routines as best as possible for your other children allows them to still be kids and not bring worry and fear to them. Keep it real, and so you don’t lose yourself in the chaos of circumstances. When you find yourself experiencing rare moments of normalcy, don’t feel guilty, soak it up and enjoy it and give yourself the gift of not worrying about tomorrow.
Just because life has taken away some of our choices, doesn’t mean it has taken away all of our choices.
Make the ones still available to you. Sometimes being selfish is the most generous thing you can do you for a sick loved one.
Even if something terrible is happening doesn’t mean you can’t laugh
Find humor in the moments that you can. True laughter shared with a loved one, no matter what the circumstances is never inappropriate.
Expect days that you will doubt your faith. They will come.
And when it happens, get your strength from what you know not what you are feeling at the time. Faith isn’t about believing everything will be all right; it’s about knowing you’ll be prepared when it isn’t.
No matter what the percentage of the prognosis given to you by your doctor; living everyday with 100 percent hope is a choice. And just remember ….
After Karla died, Ruthe Rosen and her husband Michael embarked on a mission to reach out to strangers who need help and return the kindness they experienced from the remarkable girl who refused to be anything but grateful. They created The Let It Be Foundation, which helps families with children who have been diagnosed with life threatening illnesses or medical conditions. The Let It Be Foundation provides such services as housekeeping, grocery shopping and meals, opportunities for family recreation and help in meeting the needs of siblings during difficult times. They live with their sons Brandon and Cole in Chino Hills.
“Any mother who has a daughter will ache, mourn, and cry with Ruthe Rosen. They will be awestruck by Karla’s tenacious courage.”
-Marianne Napoles, Reporter
“Never Give Up is the most inspirational, sad-and-heart-warming-all-at-once, book that I have ever had the honor of reading.”
-Sandra E. Graham, Reviewer for www.bookpleasures.com
“This book provides a firsthand look at how one girl empowered the lives of many.”
-Book Review, www.independentpublisher.com
“Never Give Up is a much needed and welcome resource for those who face devastating illness in a loved one. I highly recommend this book. It is a beacon of hope, and a clarion call to search for and nurture the grace, love, compassion, and joy to be found in life’s most heartbreaking experiences.”
— Eve A. Wood, M.D., author of There’s Always Help; There’s Always Hope
“In Never Give Up, Ruthe Rosen shares how to let go with grace and wisdom, and confirms the power of faith in facing uncertainty. Readers will find strength to accept and learn from the losses that occur in their own lives.”
— Cynthia Wall, LCSW, author of The Courage to Trust: a guide to building deep and lasting relationships
School has started here and I am always struggling to provide my kids with healthy choices, myself too. Quick and convenient are always the way I want to go, but it is so not always the healthiest option. I received this article and thought it was food for thought, so to say, for all of us.
Summer is coming to an end and kids are about to get back into the swing of school. Now is the time to take a closer look at what kind of fuel they are starting each day with. The type and variety of foods that children eat can affect their academic and physical performance, mood, behavior, and overall well-being. The bottom line is children need good, healthy food in order to perform at their best. Chicago Healers Practitioner Tiffany Triner, Assistant Nutritionist at Nutrition Connection Balance, LLC offers these great guidelines to better fuel kids:
Foods to avoid
Think twice about giving your children foods with labels listing food additives, colors, preservatives, or chemical names you can’t pronounce. Also to be excluded:
MSG
Artificial sweeteners and high fructose corn syrup
Genetically modified foods
Trans fat and hydrogenated fat
Fruit juice from concentrate
White and/or bleached flour products.
Roasted or sugar coated nuts
Healthier options – getting back to basics
Think real food! Start offering your kids whole fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, grains and unprocessed meats. Choose foods that have not been altered from their natural state. Whether your child is 2, 12, or 22 it is never too late to change the way you think about food. Here are some healthy lunch and after-school snack choices for your family that offer flavor and variety along with nutritional benefits.
Lunches:
Turkey roll up: A whole grain, rice, or corn pita, no nitrate lunch meat, lettuce or other leafy green, sliced tomato and hummus or whipped avocado as a pita dressing.
Almond butter sandwich:
2 pieces of whole grain, sprouted grain, or gluten free bread
1-2 Tablespoons of raw almond butter
½ cup of mashed fresh berries or an all natural/low sugar fruit preserve
Snacks:
A piece of fruit or vegetable slices with raw or natural nut butter
Trail mix: mixture of raw nuts and dried raisins, cranberries and pineapple
Mixed berries
Rice crackers and all-natural nut butter
Veggie bag: snow peas, green beans, carrots
Fruit leather, dried fruit slices, or fresh fruit
Greek yogurt and dehydrated veggie chips
About ChicagoHealers.com-Chicago Healers (www.ChicagoHealers.com) is the nation’s pioneer prescreened integrative health care network, offering a comprehensive understanding of each practitioner’s services, approach, and philosophy. Our holistic health experts teach and advocate natural and empowered health and life choices through their practices, the media, educational events, and our website. With close to 200 practitioners and over 300 treatment services, Chicago Healers has provided nearly 400 free educational events for Chicagoans and has been featured in 300+ TV news programs and print publications. For more information, visit www.ChicagoHealers.com.
The brothers Winchester face a short separation from the end of Season 5 and the beginning of Season 6. Dean lives with a woman and is raising a child, and Sam is still hunting. The two brothers re-unite again and immediately get down to their old demon fighting tricks. What’s the longest seperation you’ve had with your sibling or best friend? What was the first thing you did when you were re-united?
I do so love it when I have a prompt to include for you guys to follow along with.
I can say, the longest I have ever been separated from a sibling was when I moved to Ohio with Pato and it was 8 months. 8 very long miserable months because I am a mama’s girl. I remember when I came back for vacation, I had never been so happy to walk into my parents’ house and hug everyone. We just sat around and enjoyed each other. Then I went fishing (something I regularly avoid because a) I don’t put live things on hooks b) I don’t take live things off of hooks either c) I hate poison ivy and bugs) with my brothers. I returned with a nice case of poison ivy that landed me in the emergency room a week later.
I don’t fish. Love nature, especially when there are no plants with 3 reddish colored leaves protruding off of them and when I have a very strong bottle of bug spray. So not a fan of mosquitoes and ticks either. I so want to enjoy God’s creation without a rash or bug bites. I don’t think that is too much to ask.
With a friend, it would be my best friends from school, Angie and Danielle. Years. Years and years I tell you. It was my fault, but I have told that story before. Our first get together was at the Olive Garden and it was as if time had never passed. We just started gabbing like we always did. I love them so much. Though we don’t have nearly as much time as we did to hang out when we were in high school, we are all trying to make time together because we need each other. It’s more like sisters than friends. 23 years people. They are my girls.
LOVE the Big Bang Theory. I haven’t had a chance to watch it as much as I would like to, but seriously a funny show. Jim Parsons is my favorite actor on that show. I love watching him on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson too. He seems to be on quite a bit and his sense of humor is so dry, total dead pan. He says something completely seriously that just will crack you up. I think that is why I love the show, it’s dry humor. My favorite kind. There is classic humor also, but the dry humor just cracks me up.
The whole cast is very good looking in the show, but not in a conventional way. I’m trying to accept how I look now and get over the whole I’m ugly, fat, and point out every flaw that I can see all the time part of me.
See, not conventionally beautiful. But, I would like to say that I do not cringe when I look in the mirror any more. I spent so much of my life tearing myself down, throwing up my food, overeating, not exercising, that I just hated myself. Born again Heather can look in the mirror and say, nope not a super model, and not the perfect Heather that God created, but that I still am beautiful in my own way and I will get to where God intended me to be eventually, soon.
Geeky.
I have a new found way of looking at the world. I looked around now and I can see beauty in everyone. Before I was a little too judgmental. It bothered me people who were overweight, like myself, didn’t take pride in their appearance, dressed sloppily, didn’t brush their hair, didn’t look like they cared. Now, I can look at overweight people, like myself, and see beauty. Though, I still wish that some people would put effort into themselves. I think they would feel better about themselves. You can see a difference. I know someone who never wears make up, never has her hair done up fancy, but just looking at her you can see her confidence, she knows she is perfect the way she is. I see others who just don’t look like they believe in themselves at all, and that makes me sad for them. I can understand that, and recognize it, because I am still struggling with that myself. I can look at people who I never would have paid attention to, the man at gas station who before I only noticed that he was balding with long hair, and had acne, and now I look at him and think, you know he really is a nice fabulous man, and I hope he can see his own beautiful as God made him.
Geeks rock.
Geeks are beautiful.
Those of us who are overweight? Beautiful.
Any other flaws you have? You’re still beautiful and believe me, you notice those flaws way more than anyone else does.
Season 3 of Fringe is set within two distinctive worlds where one world is affected by the actions that occur in the other. How often do you feel like your professional and personal worlds collide? How does your online persona differ from who you present yourself as professionally? Explain how you, like the characters in Fringe, are able to function in both worlds without upsetting the balance.
I just thought that was an interesting question and wanted to pose it to you all.
My online persona is my professional persona since I am a stay at home with the kids. I could separate it into my public and private persona as well.
In public, I am the most patient (most of the time), slow to anger, easy to get along with, slightly nervous, usually confident person you will ever meet. (Now)
At home, I am still working on controlling my temper, not yelling when I am frustrated, following through with my children when my patience is beyond frazzled.
In public, I know for a fact that it appears that I have everything pulled together and don’t worry about anything. I have been told that people just don’t know how I did it with my 4 kids (as my kids are running around pulling me in 4 different directions at the same time – one to the parking lot, one to the snack shack, one to the playground, and the other back to his game – multiple tantrums ensue, and Heather, public Heather, can handle it all.
Private Heather, the one at home, sometimes shuts herself in her room to get away from the chaos. Private Heather has to do deep breathing when 4 children are screaming at the top of her lungs.
Both public and private Heather adore her children completely from the bottom of her heart.
I’ll admit it, public Heather does a very good job of acting as if she has it all pulled together.
Beaded HopeSupport women in Africa who are working hard to support themselves and their families. Ricky Martin Foundation The RM Foundation supports fights for a variety of causes including stopping child trafficking. Saving Promise Help be a voice against domestic violence.
Plumpy Nut
Help fight childhood malnutrition
ARTSCOW
I've used them so many times. Love the quality and the free stuff! All new registers get 1200 free prints credits & 3 8"x8" photo books & other great photo gifts credits, plus they send out coupon codes ALL the time.
Blog this!
. Her fur felt like any other cats fur when we got her. Lecture time – good quality food – nice fur, skin, bright eyes, and a healthy cat. Just sayin’. 
