Need a good cry? Grab a tissue.

So, as you can well imagine, I read a lot of adoption blogs.  That’s part of the pre-adoption therapy process: knowing that others are waiting, others have their children home, and still others are spending their lives helping orphans who will not have the opportunity to live in a family like ours.  Here is one such young lady who is following God’s call on her life to serve the people in Uganda.  She is 20 years old… and a mother of 13 children… and if that isn’t enough… she feeds 400 children every day!  Oh my.

Go have a peak at her blog.  Warning: It’ll break your heart…. but breaking is good sometimes.

http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/

This makes me want to sell everything in this house that collects dust and jump on a plane to Uganda.  But, that is not where I’m called at the moment.  I’m called to serve the children I have been given and to prepare for the orphan that is coming home soon… never to be an orphan ever again.  Are you doing your part to serve the orphans of the world?  If we all only did OUR part…..

The Buffalo Chip in Cave Creek, AZ

Well, ya never what might happen when it’s a girls night out in Phoenix.  Last time me and my peeps went out, we sat in a Mexican restaurant and talked for hours.  That’s it.  Just talked.  The girls were helping me with the end of my marriage book by feeding me real-life stories from their own marriages to get my memory working.  It’s been months since Donna, Missy, Patty and I have been out together…. until last night. 

Again, we ate Mexican as El Encanto (Uno, not Dos) and then Donna, the entertainment director of the bunch, took us to the Buffalo Chip for some bull riding festivities.  It was hilarious… I think we were the only four not drinking beer and still having a great time.  We sucked in the dust.  We sang at the top of our lungs, “I’ve got friends in low places.”  We cheered for the golden boy named Pretty Boy, even though he needed some anger management classes.  We shook the bugs out of our shirts and bras.  (Seems that we sat right under the light from where the bugs start their dive-bombs.)

They have a live video camera in the bull chute so we could watch the cowboys (and Indians) tighten their ropes and get ready to ride.  My personal favorite was a guy named Bubba who has a small hole in his Wranglers in an extremely precarious location.  Adding to this dilemma, he was on an ornery bull that kept squatting down in the shoot and Bubba had to do lots of kicking and pushing to get the bull up and ready to rock and roll.  Sad part was, the camera was perfectly positioned to document aforementioned Wrangler hole as it continued to expand.  The G-rated bull riding activity was quickly progressing through PG and PG-13 until my eyes were closed.

In the photo above, you’ll notice the announcer’s shack on the right.  Well, Mr Bo-Jangles was having a humdinger time announcing until all of a sudden his shack went black and his mic went silent.  We could hear him yelling “The plug!  The plug!”  Yes, his entire announcing shack’s electrical was run by an orange extension cord around the bull pen to a plug on a light pole.  Someone stepped on it twice while we were there.  So rinky-dinky, it made me laugh.

Anyway, a great time was had by all.  And the Indian was the current winner when we left after round two.  Round three didn’t start until 10:45 and we were officially done at 10:15.  Thanks, Girls!

Coupon Sense Testimony Time

Ok, just had to share.  You know how it is when you save hundreds of dollars for your husband.  I dropped Austin off at hockey practice and lo and behold, there is a Fry’s and Safeway conveniently located by the arena.  Sweet Jesus!  I am currently grounded from spending money… but that’s for another blog on a depressing day… not today.  So, I went to both stores for just the freebies and got:

5 boxes of Kellogg’s corn flakes

2 avocados

6 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (4 in a pkg)  No, I don’t plan to eat all those tonight or even this week.  That is a three month supply!  Hidden of course.

(They were out of the free zip lock baggies and the free salad dressing!  BAH!)

And spent….. $.19.   Yes, that’s cents, not dollars.  NINETEEN cents.  That doesn’t even count as spending money.

Then I went to Barnes & Noble to casually browse adoption books, which is what us adoptive parents do in our WAITING time.  I found three and then a comfy chair.  Half way through the second book I figured out that I was pretty tired when I did a church nod!  (That’s when your head falls to the side in an uncontrolled, but quickly rectified fashion.)  So I put the books back and wandered TJ Maxx.  Remembering fervently that I’m grounded from spending money.

One of the adoption books, or should I say anti-adoption books, was just more than I could take.  It was so generalized on the negative side I felt like ripping out pages and wadding them up.  But then I’d have to explain the the B&N people that I can’t pay for it because I’m grounded from spending money.  So I just put it back on the shelf and truly questioned the benefits of books full of negative smack.  Who reads those?  Oh, negative people.  Right.

Anyway, Rick is away tonight on a trip, so I will have a full night of blissful rest without having to tell him to turn over and stop snoring.  Yes, I’d rather have him here.  Yes, my tired body is happy he’s gone for just one night.  I can’t imagine being a real pilot’s wife when they are gone so much.  Thankfulness has again filled my heart, even though I’m grounded from spending money.  Sweet Dreams!

The Little Engine that Could!

We are studying the Industrial Revolution right now and today’s assignment was for the boys to make a working steam engine.  After much discussion about what is needed as far as materials, supplies and resources I showed them this picture and yelled, “GO!”

 (Sorry it’s fuzzy.)

So they looked at the picture for a long time and then one headed to the garage and one to the pantry.  They decided that Austin would make the engine half and Keeve would make the propeller.  Aus asked if he could empty a can of chicken broth and proceeded to poke a small hole with a nail.  But, as you know, without two holes, it takes FOREVER to get the broth out.  But patience is being learned along with resourcefulness. I was wondering how he was going to get the water back in the little hole????  They are so smart.

 Next, the fire.  I can’t believe they thought of using the camping lantern!  Ingenious.  A constant flame that can be controlled (not like a candle or lighter).  Then there was the malfunctioning plastic propeller that was replaced with a tin one.  They had some smoke alarm issues so they moved outdoors and then had wind issues.  But eventually it worked!  Yeah!

And the little engine that could… did.

Keeve has been consumed with watching MythBusters lately, so he made this sign when all was said and done.

It’s Over Now

I should be going to bed.  Day one of 2009-2010 homeschooling is over.  I can cross it off the calendar.  But I’m so stinkin’ excited about this new course I found for teaching the kids about worldviews.  It’s called Thinking Like a Christian and we’re starting tomorrow morning, right after the Wheaties.  It’s quite in-depth, but we are doing the watered down version so it’s understood by the almost-11 year old and easy enough not to be a time sponge for the almost-16 year old.  They all need the gist of it, but not the nitty gritty at this point.  I pray this will be a book that Larisa calls home from college and asks if she can borrow it. It’s designed for 5 days a week with homework for 12 weeks.  We’ll take the leisurely pace of three days a week without homework and see when we finish.

Back in the day, we were part of a group of fanatics that started a church in a teeny northern Canadian town.  I thought I knew all about my faith and beliefs until we came up against other people with different ideas.  Good Christian people…. I called home to ask questions, but there wasn’t a book for me to borrow then.  Our goal has always been for our children to be more prepared than we were when we left the house.  You are laughing right now, if you knew us then and know our children.  They are light-years ahead of where we were!  But STILL!  We hear horror stories of Christian kids having their “parent’s faith” be blown to bits upon entering university.  That doesn’t have to happen.

I’m back on my soapbox again.  THAT’S what the D6 conference is all about!  Being the parents that train their kids and don’t expect 37 minutes of Sunday School to do the job well.  Anyway, if you are wondering about the worldview deal, here’s the site:  http://www.summit.org/curriculum/ss/tlc/

Ok, I’ll go and lie in bed now and look at the ceiling and think about training our kids in righteousness for a few hours.

School Starts in the Morning! Aaaack!

This is a picture of me a few years back, teaching Keeve at the chalkboard.  OK, back to reality.  I’m so thankful to be able to teach my kids at home.  I love it.  I love them.  I love being at home. I love learning.  I love watching them learn.  It’s the best.  I can’t imagine sending them away all day.  (I CAN imagine what I would do if they did go, but not the actual sending them part.)

However, school starts in the morning and I am nowhere near as ready as I’d like to be.  Oh well.  We’ll still take our first day of school picture on the front porch (in front of the school house.)  We need to clean out the boys’ binders from last year and test everyone to see how much smarts seeped out over summer.  There won’t be a general cleaning of the bookshelf this year.  First time in 9 years.   Again, oh well.  Worse things could happen….  and probably have.

Yes, this is year number NINE!  Wow!  We have lots of field trips lined up already for the boys with a great group of families.  That is new and exciting.  We are starting a new math program, VideoText, for Larisa and possibly Austin… that is ALWAYS fun with a capital F.  AND we’re starting with breakfast at the table together each morning.  You’re probably asking yourself, where did they eat before?  We didn’t all sit together.  We slipped in and out of the kitchen chairs at our convenience all before 9:00 a.m. Not no more.  (Ain’t that great grammar!?) 

I bought a Christian worldview curriculum, Thinking Like a Christian, that we will be going through together to figure out what we believe and why.  It’ll be good.  I promise.  Right after the Wheaties.

We are also ALL taking Spanish(except the principal.)  Watch, right when I get all these great ideas rolling along merrily, we’ll get our referral call and all my planning will be blown to bits.  But that’s ok with me!  Bring it on!

Happy schooling, for those schooling!

Good Grief! Where did this week go????

Just so you know, I haven’t been watching soap operas (we don’t even have TV) or eating bon bons (maybe that would have helped!)  This week has been one long blur of activity and busy-ness.  On Monday morning I figured out that school starts in one week.  Homeschooling, that is.  That’s when my life gets a schedule and free time is minimal.  The week before school starts is usually spent getting everyone’s books straight, cleaning the book shelves, sharpening the pencils (really!), testing all the felt pens and throwing away the bloopers, etc.  BUT, on Monday morning I also figured out that it was the last week of “freedom” to get stuff done around the house that hasn’t been done for….. well… some of them FOUR years.  (Sad and disgusting, I know.)  So I made a TO-DO list for my unsuspecting family.  Here it is:

 And There’s my hubby too… on the fridge.

The list had more than 50 items to be done and on Monday alone we finished over 25!  I was thrilled and exhausted.  We have slowly accomplished more of them as the week has drawn out.  The ones that are left require my husband to help…. or a task that I’m not exactly sure how to handle.  Then if cleaning and painting and wiping weren’t keeping me busy enough, my book came back for me to proofread!

So that was another day of not getting ready for school OR checking off items on the TO-DO list, but I’m glad that task is over.  I’m officially done with my part of Laughing in the Midst of Marriage.  It’s ETA is Mid September, I think.  I haven’t actually heard a date, but I saw on www.christianbook.com that it is pre-selling with a Sept. date for shipping.  Cool!

So THAT is why I haven’t blogged since Monday.  It’s not that I stopped having crazy things happen to me, or that I didn’t have strange stories to tell.  B~U~S~Y with a capital B.

It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a Bag for Zaza!

Yes, sewing has been slow lately, but there is a hum-dinger of a bag up for auction at www.BagsForZaza.blogspot.com, thanks to my mother and her wonder machine.  Go look at the fancy-shmancy stitching on this bag.  She was showing off, fo sho!  Silk and velvet fuzzy dots, to boot!  Thanks Mom, and Jennie!

Other exciting adoption fundraising news:  We started a media drive and have made over $250 so far!  whoooo hoooooo.  Friends donated videos, CDs, DVDs, books, and video games that we have been selling at a 2nd hand store and on ebay.  (I’ve been highly amused at the beer and enima boxes that the media arrived in!)  Here’s a link to 6 VHS VeggieTale videos:  http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320412671256&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT  (No, I still can’t get the link thing working….)  Then click on ‘see other items’ to view our 19 current auctions!  Something for everyone…. and something very special for that tribulation-loving person.  Thanks friends!

AND, if having books and videos stacked all over my family room is not exciting enough, a friend of Larisa’s is doing his version of Take Home Chef and donating 75% to bringing Zaza home!  M3: Matt’s Meals on a Mission.  Matt has been in drama with Larisa for quite a few years and is in his senior year.  He is taking culinary courses at a Scottsdale college.  So if you live in the Phoenix area and eat food, check out his blog and have him over to cook and clean up!  http://mattanvik.blogspot.com/  He’s also very entertaining.  Thanks Matt!

D6 Conference!

It’s coming soon… September 23-25, 2009 in Frisco, Texas.  If you haven’t checked out the conference, you need to.  It’s going to be awesome:  www.d6conference.com.  D6 stands for Deuteronomy 6 where parents are instructed to diligently teach God’s commands to their children while they’re sitting, standing, walking, jogging, swimming, shopping, working, etc., etc., etc. (OK, side note:  We just watched the original The King and I video for the first time and now I will forever be reminded of the King of Siam saying, “Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.”)

Back to D6.  Here are just SOME of the speakers for the three day conference:  Jim Daly, Angela Thomas, Dave Ramsey, Mark Matlock, Darren Whithead, George Barna, Tim Hawkins, (ok, if he isn’t reason enough to go, please!!!) Renee Swope, John Trent,Rob Rienow, Kelly Rosati, Susan Sheppmann, and Linda Crosby.  WHAT?  Was that last name really on the list????  YES!  Amazingly, this whole shindig is put on by my publisher, Randall House, and they asked me to speak and are promoting my new book, Laughing in the Midst of Marriage, which comes out minutes before the conference.  I’m thrilled, to say the absolute least. 

I think I shared this preview cover before, but here it is again.  They made it so cute!  And yes, the turkey is burnt. 

Most parents want to be involved in the spiritual development of their kids’ lives. They just don’t know where to begin.  Here’s help!  COME to D6! 

Just had to share.  :o)  Excuse me now, I need to go pick up all of my buttons that are on the floor by my feet.

Feeding the Fish

Remember the guppy overpopulation problem about a year ago?  Well, to solve the massive breeding overabundant supply of fish, I bought another type of fish….. that eats baby guppies.  OR SO I THOUGHT!  When I left for Mexico over a week ago, we had five male guppies and the other fish.  Seems between my 10 year old son, Keeve, and Rick, my 42 year old husband, feeding the fish was a mite too taxing for them.  I returned to one male guppy (obviously the fastest swimmer) and the other fish.  The other fish ate the four slower swimmers.  Larisa even witnessed the last one…. experiencing the circle of life.  I’ve been back to my regular fish-feeding duties and am maintaining the current fish population: 2. 

As I was shaking the Wardly Tropical Fish Flake Food (with no artificial colors) into the tank this morning, I got one of those vivid word pictures that use a thin line of similarities to produce a monumental life lesson….. all from feeding the fish.  It related perfectly with raising children.  Are you ready for this?   If we are consistent with “feeding” the children with positive words, affirming words, and loving corrective words all the kids dwell together in unity.   It’s when we are silent from our God-given parental duties of building up our children, and let then “go hungry” that they start “feeding” on each other.  (Some of you are probably really having to stretch your brain to grasp this one.) 

I admit to inconsistency in my positive words toward my family.  Sometimes I have to make a conscious effort to think of “building up” words for my boys as they’re, ….   well, acting like boys.  But as I’ve said more than 27 gazillion times to our eldest son, “God made you the oldest to protect and defend your younger brother.”  I know it needs to be said another 27 gazillion times to make it stick.  Another favorite Mom-quote of mine is “God gave you a brother to learn how to get along with people.  When you get along with him, THEN you can go and practice getting along with your friends.”  (and not until then.) 

Often when the children are less than cordial to each other I catch myself wondering, “What is wrong with them today?”  I can usually trace it to something that is wrong with ME today.  That ol’ log in my eye makes the specks in theirs so hard to get out! 

All that from Tropical Flake Food.  Simple mind.  Simple person.