The Homeless Camera

"The idea is simple. Give people who live on the streets a camera. Publish the results."

This is a neat idea, and some of the pictures are really cool. There's a certain quiet sadness I feel when looking at them.
Go check out, Homeless Camera and let me know what you think.

Children confined in America

"This prison, complete with barred prison cells measuring only 8' wide, now holds women and their children, picked up in immigrant sweeps by the US Border Patrol........Hutto currently "houses" about 400 inmates, 200 of whom are children.

Here's what we are doing to these little children:

Children are forced to wear prison uniforms.
Children over 5-years of age are kept in prison cells separated from their mothers.
Children are allowed recreation only 1-hour per day, and often are not allowed outside at all.
Children are being treated like prisoners in violation of federal law.
Children are being denied access to education, healthcare, and their families in violation of federal and international human rights laws and treaties."

Read more about this here

Day 9~ Jeanine

~Jeanine talks today about her experiences serving with the organization called, YWAM.

"......The reality of all this did not hit me until I was sharing dishwashing duty with one of the recently returned Khmer refugees, a woman in her late 20’s. She had spent the past 12 years in a refugee camp. Her parents and her siblings all died at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. And here she was, back in her home country, the country she fled when she was a teenager. Doing dishes. No idea where she could go, how to pick up the pieces of her life – and were there even pieces left to pick up?
I have seldom felt so humbled, coming from a life of such comfort – only because of the place I was born. " ~Jeanine

Times of Stress or storm

~"Here is a thought question. How many people are basing their opinion of God on how they see you act in time of stress or trouble?"

This question has been lingering in my head ever since I read it. Scientifically, they talk about the fight or flight response. Where you make the choice when faced with stress, to fight, and deal with it, or run from it. I am learning, that there is more to it, when you are a child of God.

In the bible, Jonah and Paul were both called by God. "Paul was compelled by his calling to Rome. Jonah was repelled by his calling to Nineveh."

Jonah fled, and Paul obeyed. Both were put on ships, and both endured storms. Both were affecting the others around them.

Jonah's presence on the ship, caused all the others on the ship to endure a storm, and while Jonah slept, the others were desperately trying to survive.

Paul's presence on the ship admist the storm, was calm. He offered the people courage and bread, and because of his mere presence, all 276 people that were on board with him were under the protection of God.
Ultimately, both Jonah and Paul survived those storms, but what went on during the storm was dramatically different. "An attitude of obedience makes a difference to the servant and to those close by. Servants of God can dramatically affect the lives of others positively or negatively."

(all quotes taken from "To Live is Christ" bible study by Beth Moore.) The scriptures that I am talking about in this are.

Jonah 1:1-17

Acts 27

Thoughts?

God hugged me

~ I was feeling pretty awful the other day, and praying to God that I needed to be comforted. I got out of my car, and two neighborhood children ran up to me and hugged me tightly. I felt like I was being hugged by God himself.

~It's so awesome to see how children respond to the nudging of God with no hesitation.~

Many people have said that we can learn a lot from children, and I whole heartedly agree. In this situation, they had no reason to hug me, they just had a sudden urge to randomly run up and hug me. I didn't need to tell them that I was sad, and they didn't even need to see me crying, they just responded to a sudden desire to run and hug.

As I grow older, I don't often run and hug people for no reason, but if I think about it, I've wanted to at times. Maybe that desire to be affectionate within me, is coming from God, to comfort a person who is hurting inside, that I may never know what is going on.

To go along with Kat's daily challenges, I am going to add one of my own today for my blog readers: pray that God would use you to comfort someone's unknown need today, and when He urges you, randomly hug them. They may feel as though they were hugged by God.

Day 8 is Stephen.

~Todays blogger, Stephen, is speaking on the blood water mission.

"In an interview Derek did recently with The Washington Times, while talking about what he is rebelling against and his involvement with Blood:Water Mision, he said “A mother and her children who have to walk 15 miles a day every day to get dirty water to put into their bodies with a broken immune system that will eventually kill them is the right thing to rebel against.”

~Forgiveness~

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." ~Matthew 6:14-15

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." ~ Luke 6:37

""If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him." ~Luke 17:3-4

"bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you."~ Colossians 3:13

The Greek word for Forgiveness is aphiemi, and some of it's definitions are, "to let go, let alone, let be. to disregaurd. to give up, to keep no longer. to leave one by not taking him as companion."

That last definition stood out to me, because it seems that if you choose not to forgive, then that sin that was committed against you, hangs onto you like a "companion" in your every day life. I think that often times people feel that forgiving means that they are still able to bring up the past sins and use them as weapons. I don't see that as the definition of forgiveness. "to keep no longer," does not say to me, "until I am mad, and then I can bring up your past sins."

If we see people through the eyes of their past, then we are not looking at them the way that God does. We are not looking at them in grace. Allow each day to be new for you, and for them. Forgive each other. Move on, and live your life.

"If you, God, kept record on wrongdoings, who would stand a chance? As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit, and that's why you're worshiped." Psalm 130:3-4 (message)

Day 7- Stephanie

~Todays blogger is Stephanie who is shedding light on a very important topic in the US.

Has this ever happened to you?

~ I woke up in the middle of the night to the baby crying, and as I got out of bed with my eyes still closed and half asleep, I fell over.
Both my legs were asleep.
In my delusional state of mind I thought to myself, "I must lay here, otherwise I'll drop the baby." So there I laid on the floor for who knows how long, until I realized that if I could get up and walk into the baby's room, I most likely wouldn't suddenly fall over and drop him.
Weird, I don't know how I was sleeping to cause both my legs to fall asleep, has that ever happened to you?

Day 6~ Chaotic Hammer

Today's blogger for the 40 day fast is Chaotic Hammer who is speaking honestly about how his heart has been changed for those living with AIDS.

Day 5

Hunger- Thirst-Malnourishment-Depression-Disease-Alcholism-Hopelessness-Tears-Bankruptcy-Sorrow-Loneliness-Destruction-War-Orphans-Abuse-Widows-Pain-Death.....

...This is our world. This is reality. This is now. It is everywhere. It's in the countries far away. It's in our neighborhoods. Maybe even in our own homes. Need is all around us. When you begin to open your eyes, and more importantly, your heart, you can not look away from need.
The wall that we put up around our hearts, to protect ourselves, has to come down. This is hard. Very hard to watch people dying of hunger when we have plenty. It's hard to recognize the pain of your brother, your friend, your neighbor, it's inconvienent. Hard to know that we can't fix it all right now, right quick.

Knowing is the first step, and the breaking of heart must come before change can begin.

The definition of compassion is: "a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering." This pain we feel, when we begin to see all the ugly realities of the world, is the moment when we decide to look to the heavens and blame God for this mess, to disregard their pain, to look away, or we choose to take His hand and his hope, and become his hand and his hope. This is when beauty evolves from the pain. One by one, a child Sponsored, a child loved, a person fed, the AIDS patient cared for, a soul saved, evolves into a man feeding, a woman saving.....

........-Healing-Nourished-Loved-Peace-Hope-Friendship-Restoration-Laughter-Salvation-Quenched-Happiness-Relationship-Purpose-......

.....Love has a ripple effect. Jesus multiplies our offerings.

~Real change takes time, and takes a lot of people. Our world changes with each generation, and for this reason I believe that we need to raise our children to be compassionate children. They need to grow up caring about others around them. They need to be giving, they need to be loving, and kind. They are the unfolding pages and the continued story of our lives. What will they say, what will they do, and what are we teaching them?

~ "What most inspires a child to grow up caring about others is the caring that the child receives. That nurturing is itself a perfect role model for children." (read all here)

~Here are some practical ways to teach our children here in America to become compassionate adults:

*Read them the bible. Tell them how God wants them to love and help others.

*Be a model to them. Be kind to others, talk well about others, and let them see you routinely helping others.

*Read them books about different cultures, and treating others kindly.

*Teach them that it is important to eat a healthy, and well rounded diet in order to grow well, and stay healthy. This way they will understand why not having enough of good food and water is a need.

*Encourage a friendship with a child from another country.

*Involve them in giving. Give to your local needs, give to your church, have them pick out fabric for quilts for orphans, and buy presents for under priveldged children at Christmas time.

*Help them learn about other areas of the world.

*Show them this map:


The colors represent the areas of hunger.
Red = greater than 35% of population
Orange= 25-30% of the population
Light orange= 5-20%
Yellow= less than 5%

~There are so many needs of this world, but there are also so many of us.

More about H.E.A.R.T.

Another great organization that our church in CA works through is called H.E.A.R.T. (Health Education Africa Resource Team) They do many projects, including

HOST SEMINARS THROUGHOUT KENYA
HIV/AIDS Prevention Education (primary focus)
Empowering Local Leaders to become Trainers
Training (prevention & treatment) of Opportunistic Diseases: TB, Malaria, Typhoid & Hepatitis B.

WORK IN THE SLUMS
WEEP Projects
Serving the poorest of the poor

HOME BASED CARE
Visit the homes those who suffer from AIDS
Deliver medication, food, and hope

WORK IN ORPHANAGES
Minister to children and staff
Taking supplies and gifts for the children
Providing sports equipment for play times for the children
Support some orphanages monthly
Come along side various groups to offer support and hope

ASSIST CLINICS WITH MEDICAL SUPPLIES/EDUCATION
We donate medical supplies
HEART has donated $720,000 worth of medical supplies by Project Cure.
We need to raise $10,000 to ship another container of supplies.
Medical Camps during our HEALTH Seminars

WATER DEVELOPMENT (SUCH AS WATER HARVESTING)
HEART re-excavated a dam and repaired a water shed and storage tanks for a Maasai Village that did not have a water source

HEART donated 500,000 shillings to fund a pipe line project the Vice President was working on to provide a water source to many Maasai

Spearheaded providing a pipeline from Magadi to Oldonyonyokie.
Working to provide water for Karatina District and Kisii District Hospitals.

HEART has provided a well for an orphange in Nakura that has over 300 children.

HEART partnered with Rotary Clubs of Colorado to complete a water harnessing project for a Maasi village

You can adopt a family for $25.00 a month, or give a one time donation directed to which ever area you feel led to give.

Todays 40 day Fast blogger is....

..... Shaun talking about the other various projects that Compassion does.

Sunday's 40 day fast blogger...

....is SAM. I just got through reading it, and it is encouraging (as a parent) to see how her childhood influences have shaped her compassion and priorities.

Blueberry moustache

Saturday, June 23rd Blogger

~Today's 40 day fast blogger is..... Brant.

In deffense of one of my loves....Coffee

~ So, I was reading a very funny post on Brant's blog about his addiction to coffee, and his attempt at quitting and then returning to drinking caffine. As I was quietly cheering him on for returning to drinking coffee, I read Shaun's comment to Brant. He said, " ... put the mug down...or risk brain damage and colon cancer..."
Ususally I am a non confrontational person, until someone disses my morning beverage.
So Shaun and anyone else who thinks coffee is bad for you, here's a recent excerpt from the Harvard health publication in which it states that moderate consumption is not bad for you, and may reduce the risk of Colon Cancer, among other things..... Ha!

"Coffee Health Risks: For the moderate drinker, coffee is safe says Harvard Women’s Health Watch

( Boston , MA ) Despite 20 years of reassuring research, many people still avoid caffeinated coffee because they worry about its health effects. However, current research reveals that in moderation—a few cups a day—coffee is a safe beverage that may even offer some health benefits. The September issue of Harvard Women's Health Watch weighs the pros and cons of this popular beverage and eases the concerns of moderate coffee drinkers.

The latest research has not only confirmed that moderate coffee consumption doesn't cause harm, it's also uncovered possible benefits. Studies show that the risk for type 2 diabetes is lower among regular coffee drinkers than among those who don't drink it. Also, coffee may reduce the risk of developing gallstones, discourage the development of colon cancer, improve cognitive function, reduce the risk of liver damage in people at high risk for liver disease, and reduce the risk of Parkinson's disease. Coffee has also been shown to improve endurance performance in long-duration physical activities.

For those who drink coffee to stay alert, new research suggests that you'll stay more alert, particularly if you are fighting sleep deprivation, if you spread your coffee consumption over the course of the day. For instance, if you usually drink 16 ounces in the morning, try consuming a 2-3 ounce serving every hour or so. Again, moderation is the key.

However, as the September issue notes, coffee is not completely innocent. Caffeine, coffee's main ingredient is a mild addictive stimulant. And coffee does have modest cardiovascular effects such as increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and occasional irregular heartbeat that should be considered. Studies have been largely inconclusive regarding coffee and its effect on women's health issues such as breast health, cancer, and osteoporosis. But, the negative effects of coffee tend to emerge in excessive drinking so it is best to avoid heavy consumption."

The 40 day fast has begun!

~ Today is the first day of the 40 day fast.
Kat felt compelled to bring awareness to the topic of world hunger, after seeing this photograph of a little girl starving, and crawling to a shelter for food, with a vulture waiting eagerly behind her. Kat couldn't look away without doing something. So she came up with an idea to gather 40 willing participants to each fast for a day, and then speak on their blog about an organization that is helping the poor, the orphaned, and the hungry.
Today, she begins the fast, speaking about the wonderful organization called Compassion. Go over to her blog, read, and comment, thanking her for bringing awareness to these needs in the world.

The Sewers and Rippers

~ Our church in California has a group of women that call themselves the "Sewers and Rippers." All year long the sew beautiful little quilts, with "Jesus loves you" embroidered in Swahili on the back. The organization called H.E.A.R.T. takes these hundreds of quilts with them on their trips to Africa to the orphans to become one of their only cherished possessions.

Another area these quilts are used is in the "Langata Women’s Prison – In this prison, women that have children under 5 years old can have the child stay with them in the prison. HEART Teams have visited the Prison and taken quilts (hand made by the Auburn Grace “Sewers and Rippers”) for these children and clothes supplies for the new born babies. Most of these women are in prison because of stealing – often to feed their children." (excerpt from H.E.A.R.T. website)


The Sewers and rippers are always in need of fabric, and sewing supplies.
To send them some fabric or a donation, you can mail it to:

Auburn Grace Community Church
"The Sewers and Rippers"
3126 Olympic Way
Auburn, CA. 95603

This coming month

We are about to start the 40 day fast. To me this is not a fast to pray about a cause, it's a fast to experience a day of hunger, to put things into perspective, and then to therefore talk about a way we can help.

Things I am thinking on:
~What can we do? We have grocery stores across America full of food that will spoil, while so many are starving. How do we balance things?

~ It's hard to know there are children starving and then hear my sons complain about what they are eating. I need to raise them with awareness, I want them to understand to be great full for what they have, and I want them to have the burden to help and to share.

~What are ways that you teach or would teach your children about the realities (hungry, dying people) of this world?

Rainy day!

~This is how he thinks.... "it's raining outside, I can't play in the sprinklers, hmmm..... I know! I'll go get my swimsuit, goggles and rain boots on, and go play in the rain!"

I love his joy of life. (I also love that it FINALLY rained in Tennessee!)

Great Learning to Read Website

~This website is a great interactive site for kids. It's colorful, fun and easy for kids to use and interact with and learn from. It's called Star fall

Poppy seed Chicken

~After moving to Tennessee, I had this poppy seed chicken at a lot of brunches, and friend's houses, so I guess it's a favorite out here. It's very good and one my husband and kids love too. We eat it over rice, with broccoli or a salad on the side.

INGREDIENTS
vegetable oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (10.5 ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream (or milk)
1 (8 ounce) package buttery round crackers, crushed
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup butter, melted

DIRECTIONS
Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, and cook chicken, turning once, until no longer pink in center and juices run clear. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees Celsius).

Cut chicken into bite size pieces, and place in a bowl with the cream of chicken and mushroom soups, and the sour cream. Stir until well blended, then transfer mixture to a 9x13 inch shallow baking dish. In a separate bowl, combine the crushed crackers with the poppy seeds. Melt butter in the microwave for 30 seconds, or in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir butter into the cracker mixture, and spread evenly over the chicken.

Bake chicken in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until heated through and lightly browned on top.

Super Vitamins

~My Mother in law suggested I start taking Juice Plus, I've heard others say I should take Biotin for my hair, what vitamins do you take and how do they help you?

(I ask this after having my entire family pass around various illnesses the entire month of June)

Happy Fathers Day!

To Brody, an amazing father to our boys!







And to our dads and papas to our boys!

aluminum can

Guess which electronic piece of equipment you can run for three hours because of the energy savings of recycling just one aluminum can?

Answer:
A computer or a television set!

Aluminum is the most abundant metal on earth. It takes 95 percent less energy to make a new aluminum can from recycled aluminum cans.

The aluminum can you recycle today will be back as a new aluminum can in 60-90 days.

I've been Memed

~ I don't know what that means, but apparently I have been virtually "tagged" by Kat, so now I need to write 8 things that you may not know about me.

Here they are:

1. I had an imaginary friend as a kid that was named, "Tuckie."
2. I played indoor soccer, volleyball, tried gymnastics, and did modern dance for about a year
3. I tried out for softball, but walked home right after the ball hit me on my cold hand.
4. I played the piano and the flute in the school band, which ended after my teacher got arrested.
5. As a kid, I wanted to be an indian, so I never wore shoes, my feet are still very tough.
6. I broke 6 bones as a kid, mostly my wrists, and mostly falling out of trees, or off of my bike.
7. I re-broke my mom's wrist showing her a self defense move I'd learned in a class.
8. I really love coffee.

~To continue the memeing, (whatever that means....) Go for it,
Brody,
Jessie, and
Booterblog

"Making our Blogs about more than ourselves." ~Kat

Kat has had a great idea to host an awareness fast from her blog. The idea is that you would fast for one full assigned day, and on that day blog about an organization that helps the poor, the orphans, the widows, etc. We have 11 ready to do this so far, but need 29 more, so if you are willing, and for the full details, see Kat

Cool Blogs to Browse

Curious about people's experiences living in other countries? You can browse blogs from the countries of your choice from this website called, Expat- Blog

My son is Ambitious

All in one breath he said, "We should plant some corn, and then when we get home from church, I can make a basket, and pick the corn, and then I'll help you cook it, and then we'll eat it, but if I don't have time to make a basket, I'll just use my easter basket."

Why do you blog?

~ Just wondering...

These are my reasons.

1.To keep my friends and family updated on daily happenings and thoughts I am having, hopefully keeping us more closely connected.
2. To have a form of excersising my brain, to write, and listen, to think.
3. Now, to have online "community" friendships.

So tell me why do you blog? Is it for your carrer? Is it just for journaling? Is it just because you like to? (as was Seth's reasoning, which got me thinking,) so why do you?

Up an going again...

~ I figured I should say that I am well again, after all the wishing and prayers being sent my way, thank you!

Thankfully I had plenty of help from my friends, whom watched my kids all day while I slept, and stared, and recuperated. My son had his first sleep over, where he ate pizza, and stayed up until 12 am. Now one of their children is sick with the same throwing up virus.....sorry......
Hopefully Brody doesn't get it next, he swears he's never had the stomach flu, but this one is brutal, and now it's going round two in our neighborhood... will he outlast it? I hope so.

~Thank you again, for your prayers and kind words sent my way!

The Good outweighs the Bad

"Godly influence can carry a much heavier weight than ungodly influence."
(To Live is Christ bible study by Beth Moore)

For me, that statement shifts my focus from being afraid of the bad influences in the world on my children, and puts my energy and perspective on being a good and Godly influence for them. Which is where my energy is better spent anyways.

When you start thinking about situations, maybe even in your own life, you may start to realize that the good really did out last the bad. I know a couple, who the boyfriend started out as a drug dealer, and they got pregnant. Her church surrounded them with grace and love during that season, and through tears at one service the boyfriend accepted Christ and is now a huge voice for Jesus. He still had a life long of "ungodly influence," but those few months of "Godly influence," and the love of God changed his life, and their children's lives forever.

It's encouraging to know that the good and love we impart into our children's lives, and everyone else in our lives for that matter, will out last the bad. As long as we are being sincere in our faith, and showing the love of God, we need not worry as much about the bad out there, or at least know that the good we do will outlast the bad.

Thunder and Lightning...

"How does God make lightning daddy?" asked our 4 year old.
"I don't know....." says daddy,

"I think He took a picture." he concluded.

Learning about Cleaning Products/ Health

"Air quality inside our homes is often much worse than the air outside," says Sierra Club's Hattam. One way to cut down on indoor air pollution is to use nontoxic cleaning products. For starters, rid your house of ammonia and bleach, which are among the worst offenders. Then stock up on green cleaners or make your own. Other easy tips: Throw open the windows regularly to ventilate, and fill the house with plants — they absorb air pollutants."

"Nontoxic cleaning can give you a deep feeling of gratification in knowing that your family's health is protected, and that your home is a place for your bodies to rest and recuperate rather than promote harm."

~Method products found at Target are a good choice, they smell good, and do the job. Also there are recipes to make your own cleaning solutions, which work very well, using the ingredients of baking soda, lemon juice and vinegar. Here are some recipes

....

"What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Greek Vegetarian Pizza

NGREDIENTS
1 (12 inch) pre-baked pizza crust, such as Boboli (I use the wheat version)
1/2 cup prepared basil pesto
3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped or a fresh tomato sliced
3 cups torn spinach leaves
1/2 red onion, quartered and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
DIRECTIONS
Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
Place crust on baking sheet and spread pesto on pizza. Top pizza in the following order: tomatoes, spinach, red onion, garlic, feta, mozzarella and oregano. Bake until spinach wilts and cheese starts to brown, about 10-15 minutes.
Remove pizza from oven and drizzle with oil, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, slice and serve.

~When cooking this pizza for our family with kids, I make half of it for them, (or a separate pizza) with red sauce, chopped fresh tomatoes, torn spinach leaves, lots of mozzarella cheese, and a little oregano on top! They love it, and don't really care they are eating those veggies hidden underneath.

~This recipe is from All Recipes A website where you can find most any dish, submitted by it's readers, and rated by those who have tried it.

~Sharing Meals~

~When we moved into our neighborhood a year ago in May, we joined the culd a sack dinner co-op. There are 4 families who cook dinner for each other Monday through Thursday. We each have a night to cook for the other 4 families. At first the thought was a little overwhelming, but now it is very easy to cook for that many people, and it's fun to come up with meals, and especially to receive dinner 3 nights a week. We are able to spend more time with our family and friends before and after dinner, with less clean up the nights we don't cook. It has been one of the sources of our close knit community of our cold a sack. I highly recommend it, even if you can just do it with one other family.

We cook primarily vegetarian meals, with an occasional poultry dish, or sprinkling of bacon on soups. The meals are nutritious and very good. We all try to have the dinners ready and delivered by 6pm., but it is flexible depending on the night. We eat outdoors with everyone a lot during the summer, and have barbecues. I feel that it is a great example of serving, and sharing for our children as well as creating healthier eating habits, with a wider range of tastes.

It is also fun to experience different styles of cooking. All of our mexican dishes are different, because of the areas we are from. Two of the families are from Texas, one from Georgia, and we are from CA.

~It has been a year since we started eating less meat, and mostly healthier vegetarian meals. We thought it was going to be hard to not surround our meal planning around meat, but it turns out there are so many things you can make that are delicious and meatless. Our kids started out the year not wanting to eat much, but now love things like spinach, potato and lima bean soup, and wheat pizza with spinach and tomatoes, when previously my oldest, (and husband) only liked their pizza with only cheese.

~It's amazing what a year can do. Now I'm on to learn more about nutrition, I've got a lot of peoples health I'm responsible for with my one dinner a week!

Learning

~I want to keep learning.
I am a "just do it," type of person, but I am realizing that real change happens slowly. So I am going to start learning about different things, and make those changes bit by bit in my life.

~Examples:
I want to grow in knowledge and wisdom of the bible, so I am doing bible studies regularly.
I'm exploring the possibility of learning Greek.
I want to eat healthier, and feed my family healthier, I want to learn more about nutrition.
I am learning more and more about "Going Green," and practical, cost effective ways to do this.

So I thought I'd post a tid-bit here and there about these things, little chunks of info we can all chew on. You may start seeing "theme days" once in awhile, with info about these topics and something I've learned.

I am working on a list, but am open to suggestions.

~What would you want to see regularly, what are you interested in learning more about, that I too could learn about?

Mr. Positive

My oldest boy is so so full of Joy. Sometimes he reminds Brody and I of Will Ferrell in the movie, "Elf." He gets so excited about everything.

"Mama, we WALKED to our FRIENDS HOUSE!!!! I ran because it was so much fun, and we saw a cat, and a bird, and a........" He likes every child, and makes friends with everyone in the grocery store, and he's just so positive.

Yesterday morning after he threw up, I was changing his pillowcase, and he said, "I get daddy's star wars pillow case, I love that one!" He didn't complain about not feeling well, even though I knew he didn't. He spent nearly the whole day horizontal, which for him is an obvious sign that things were not feeling right. He had a fever throughout the night, but I think he's better today. He woke up asking for pancakes and eggs. Hopefully that is all for the sickness this summer.

Here in Nashville...

... Things are unusually dry. It is normal for things to be green and beautiful this time of year, not to feel dry and hot. We have been waiting for rain rather impatiently since we received the notice to conserve water. Our lawns are looking very brown, and the boys are longingly waiting to play in the sprinklers. I see some green on the dopler, so hopefully tonight will be the night to get the rain!

~What is it like where you are?