Getting over sickness - Again

Ah, Piglet came down with a stomach bug on Wednesday last week. By Thursday, although drained, he was doing somewhat better. That is until bedtime. Then, it broke loose. He started coughing so bad, and really couldn't stop. This went on for hours. By morning, I got in with the Dr. He had bronchitis and croup. Now, it is 80 degrees here. Even the Dr scratched his head and said wow - croup season is over, but...

So, over the weekend he got worse. They called in more medicine and still nothing but non-improvements. Poor little thing hasn't eaten since Wednesday, despite my great attempts at such great healing foods like baby carrots, apples, yogurt with extra probiotics, pedialyte, etc.

So, back to the Dr today. They swabbed him for the flu since he still has a fever, but luckily that came back negative. So, more antibiotics and steroids. We left there and went to the drugstore. They said it would be 15 minutes. I knew there was a boiled peanut place around the corner, so I went there craving some. Closed, they don't open until after lunch.

But, I did see a hot-dog stand. I asked him if he wanted a hot-dog. He said yes and kept saying hot-dog, hot-dog. So, I got him a hot dog. He ate half of it and half the bag of cheetos and half the Fresca that came with his "meal". HURRAY.

He took his medicine and was then incredibly wired. He played for 2 hours then took a nap. He got up so excited and was hardly coughing.

Now, who would have thought that a hot-dog from a roadside hot-dog stand could do that? I though to myself, well at least they are all beef...

Two Tim Hawkins Videos

Okay, I don't know if you have ever heard of Tim Hawkins before or not, but he is so funny. I mean roll on the floor funny. he is a Christian homeschooling dad, his comedy is clean for the whole family. We've been watching him for several years on Sky Angel, on shows like Bananas and his own specials. He sometimes uses other songs and turns them into funny things, kinda like Weird Al used to, but it is so much funnier. Here is a video I have not seen before: (Pause the music player down on the right hand side before starting the video)




And another about homeschooling I have and still laugh so hard at:

Remembering Columbine

I am sure most of us remember where we were when we heard of Columbine happening. I got this yesterday and thought it was worth posting.

On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton , Colorado , was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful..

They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness. The following is a portion of the transcript:

"Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.

"The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart.

"In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder, I would be their strongest opponent.

I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy -- it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air,
You've stripped away our heritage,
You've outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms, And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question "Why?"
You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!

" Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence.

And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.

"As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America , and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain.

Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA -- I give to you a sincere challenge. Dare to examine your
own heart before casting the first stone!

My daughter's death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!"

No Breakfast In Hell

I put a new song on my playlist that I heard the Newsboys sing on a concert. Here are the lyrics. I laughed so hard, but it is true, there is no breakfast in hell and more importantly don't be caught without HIM. Enjoy.


Hold the milk, put back the sugar
They are powerless to console
We've gathered here to sprinkle ashes
from our late friend's cereal bowl.
Breakfast Clubbers, say the motto
that he taught us to repeat:
You will lose it in your gym class
if you wait `til noon to eat.
Back when the Chess Club said our eggs were soft
every Monday he'd say grace and hold our juice aloft
Oh, none of us knew his checkout time would come so soon
But before his brain stopped waving, he composed this tune:
Chorus
WHEN THE TOAST IS BURNED
AND ALL THE MILK HAS TURNED
AND CAPTAIN CRUNCH IS WAVING FAREWELL
WHEN THE BIG ONE FINDS YOU
MAY THIS SONG REMIND YOU
THAT THEY DON'T SERVE BREAKFAST IN HELL
Breakfast clubbers, drop the hankies.
Though to some our friend was odd,
that day he bought those pine pajamas
his check was good with God.
Those here without the Lord,
how do you cope?
For this morning we don't mourn
like those who have no hope
Oh, rise up, Fruit Loop lovers -
sing out sweet & low
With spoons held high
we bid our brother, Cheerio!

Easter

We celebrated Easter this year very low key. Between the dog dying and my hormones, we decided low key was the way to go. I bought a pre-made ham at the Honey-Baked Ham store, and because I was so late getting it, I got a Turkey breast as well as part of a special. We had Sweet Potato Casserole, Green Beans, Corn Casserole, Ham, Turkey, and Resurrection Rolls (from Marilyn Boyer's site, very neat) Right after church, we had a shrimp ring, cheese and crackers, stuffed celery, and an olive tray. Very simple and very nice.

The kids got new cups and bowls from Target - those cheap plastic things only last about a year anyway. They are so cute in the spring anyway. Piglet got several cars and Pear got some little ponies, Pepper got some jewelry, Pear got some jewelry and of course everyone got candy!!

Right after church, we had some baptisms in the pool outside. It was very nice. A little boy Pepper's age was baptised by his parents, a teen girl and several adults were baptised by our pastor. Piglet sung "Happy Birthday" after each one and kept telling the birds to "hush" (his new little word) It was pretty cute!

A wonderful day celebrating our Lord Jesus's Resurrection and our life through Him! I hope each of yours was wonderful as well!

Sad Day for Me

My old girl (13 years old) died today. She has not been doing well lately, having to be carried down the steps about half the time. Last night she paced and paced up and down the hall and was just not right. When I got up she had accidents all over the house which is just not like her at all. I finally got her outside and she laid down.

Mr Brown said to take her to the vet. I called and they didn't have anything until 4. They called me back and said bring her after lunch. I took her and the vet said she was not well at all. All of her muscle tone was gone, her bones were weak, her stomach and bowels were a mess and she was breathing very heavily. He said the decision was mine, but she would not be alive much longer anyway. I called Mr Brown and he said go ahead and put her down.

Easy for him since he wasn't there. I hate days like this. So, crying kids and sobbing me, I signed the paper. Could be pregnancy hormones or maybe just because I have had her almost as long as I have had Peach. She is the first dog my husband and I picked out together, and the first one I have had to say go ahead and put her down, but man does this day need to be over!

Poor Pear sobbed and sobbed because she thought they were just doing surgery, like she has - you know "put to sleep like I was Mama" No, baby after she is asleep, they give her something that will make her die. Oh the hysterics. She had to leave the room and little Piglet was so sweet. His 2 year old self said goodbye and blew her a kiss as the kids left the room.

Then she couldn't get up off the floor, just like at home and they actually had to pick her up and carry her out of the room. They assured me I made the right decision, but still I am sad.

When I came home, the other dogs ran up to the van and were trying to find her. I started crying all over again. So, I called Mr Brown and said if you want to eat, you better get a pizza on the way home.

They were so nice at the vet, and the girls up front were whispering when I came out of the room. One said I hate days when we have to do this. Yeah Me Too I thought, Me Too!

Strange Car

I saw a strange car today. We were on our way back from the feed and tack store because when Peach was riding the horse she (the horse) broke her bridle and we had to go get a new one.

We got behind this car with all kinds of bumper stickers.

The first one that caught my attention was one that said "All religions are Right" Um, okay, that's weird and untrue I thought.

Then the next one said "My hope is in the Atom" Okay, getting stranger.

The next said "Save the wildlife, Don't drill Alaska" Okay, one of those people I thought.

Now the next one said, "I Stand with Israel Wherever They Go" What?

Did they buy a grab bag of bumper stickers? Those don't even go together. I just found it to be strange one person would have those together.

We all laughed and the girls said, "You're not gonna put that on your blog are you?" Yep, I am.

Transformed

We just got back from the Transformed conference. Ray Comfort, Todd Friel, Mark Spence and Emeal Zwanye (EZ is what he goes by) were there. All I can say is WOW. If you ever have the chance to go to one of these - GO.

There were people there from all over. We are in Charleston, SC as in the coast, by the beach. There were people from North Carolina and the furthest away I talked to was from Alabama.

I got so much information from this it is unbelievable. One of the best stories was from Ray Comfort. Everyone who knows me knows how I feel about abortion. He spoke about when he was an assistant pastor at a church, there was a new member and someone came to him and said she was scheduled for an abortion - THAT DAY. He panicked and prayed. He hopped in his car and drove to the "square" (He is from New Zealand and I imagine he sounds like my friend Cassie from Australia :) Anyway, he is praying "Lord, help me know what to say to her. Lord please I don't know what to say." He runs upstairs and into her room. She had already been given the pre-operation meds and he says, "Please don't. I just want to you to know" and he starts to stumble in his words he is so upset. And do you know what? She says "Its okay, I just prayed if the Lord did not want me to do this, he would send you as a sign not to" Is that not amazing? This baby was saved and was born safely.

The point to his story was you must go and talk to people. Even if you are scared, even if you don't know what to say, GO. Being scared or not knowing what to say is no excuse. He didn't know what to say either, but his going saved that baby's life. WOW!!

We got so much info it is still spinning through our minds. I could spend weeks listening to these guys and still not absorb everything they were saying. It is all so Biblically true. They talked about everything from abortion to gay marriage to witnessing to everyone. It was so so so good.

Like I said, if they even come close to you, GO. It was 5 hours long, but flew by like you wouldn't believe. At the end, EZ spoke and man was that powerful. People were standing up and clapping and it was so powerful. He is the father of 5, as is Mark Spence and it was so moving to hear him talk about how God, who is the Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end, is relevant to everyone from A-Z. From the Accountant to the Zealot. He went through each letter and it was great.

A Sweet Award

Cassie from Cassie's blog gave me an award. She is such a neat person, I love her blog. She gets more done in a day than I can hope to in a week. She lives in Australia so sometime uses words like mince which means ground beef, but she always explains when I don't understand! She is also one of the most beautifully pregnant women I have seen. Check out her blog sometime, you will be blessed.

The award is as follows:

"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated."
Isnt that wonderful!!

The rules are
Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

So, the people I pass this award on to are:

Stacie at A Firefighter's Wife who always has encouraging words and wonderful wisdom

Her twin Jackie at CheeseMakinMamma who is always offering health tips and sweet words

CB at GatheringLilies my friend from beautiful Hawaii who is quite honest and uplifting

Cindy at Life Lessons although Cassie awarded her already. She is honest and an incredibly strong woman. Her husband is deployed and besides being a sweet lady, she could use our prayers!

Mama Ant at Ant Farm who is a Southern Lady from Georgia, a homeschooling mama of ten, who is an inspiration to me

The Smith Ladies, also from Georgia, at Smith Familia. These ladies are so sweet. Several of their children are married now, but the whole family lived on a boat for a little while and had a wonderful show we used to get on Sky Angel, and we were able to watch the adoption of their youngest children through that.

The Morton Ladies, also in Georgia, at Morton's They are a family of 12 I found through the Smith's. Mama Morton has wonderful tips on how to train daughter's to run their own household one day, and the daughters are so sweet as well.

And last, but not least, is my local South Carolina girl Mom E at Eppes Center I heard about her before she moved here from Georgia through some friends who used to live here but moved to Georgia. I know that's a mouthful, but I hope it makes sense. She is about to have baby number 8 and is such an encourager. She helps head up our local American Girl club, is wonderfully patient (I have never even seen her raise her voice), and is always opening her home in hospitality.

Thanks Again Cassie!

Eggs everywhere!

My friend Darcy and I take turns getting our milk each week. We get our milk locally, but it still is a 12 mile drive each way, so we take turns. Yesterday she got it. I met up with her after church and she gave me a ton of eggs. Her chickens are really liking spring and laying like crazy. I teased my kids they really wanted us to use real eggs to hide instead of plastic for Easter!

But, I have this great recipe for eggs, very cheap and very filling. I will share it with y'all:

1/2 stick butter
9 eggs (you can use more if you want, this feeds my family of 6, it is filling!)
1/2 cup flour
Salt and Pepper
Milk

Melt butter and scramble eggs in it. Just when they start to form, add the flour, salt and pepper and stir. Then add the milk and continue to stir. I don't measure the milk, but it looks like gravy.

We serve it over toast, you can serve it over noodles to if you want. This is a depression recipe and was used by many women trying to feed their family by what they had. Let me tell you, those women were quite creative and good at what they did. Enjoy!