Posted in Rantings

This is an email I sent out to friends and family today, as well as the local homeschool group.
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Posted in Family Life

Too much at the moment. Normally, my life is just a steady string of activities, responsibilities, and general mayhem. Right now, though, all these things are overlapping.

Probate stuff is still on the table; we did end up getting a lawyer, mostly to get some decent legal advice, but also to put some sort of pressure on the estate's lawyer to get something accomplished. I dropped the Girl's Night Out ministry; ARMS died out in our town (we have a really strong secular group in our town, and just kinda got edged out -- though we'll bring it back someday); and the pastor moved me from doing all the women's stuff to supervising and organizing -- helps me have a more flexible schedule to do whatever is necessary at the ranch. I might have someone to take over the church website. And, at the moment, homeschooling is on autopilot; she's studying by herself with minor direction from me, other than prods to get it done.

The biggest activity right now is in the writing department. Hubby is still doing his weekly food column, and I'm looking at a full schedule for the next couple of months as well -- building industry articles and Relay for Life soon after that. The fun ones, though, are causing the most stress at the moment. My dh is a huge train buff, and was asked to put together the train history of this area for the Grant County Centennial. First it was just for a display at the main event. Then our paper (the biggest one in the county) asked him to do a series of histories going by decade over the course of this year; the kicker is that they want us to do it together. You have to know that this is a new level in our relationship. Each of us can write with the advice of the other, but writing together?

Once we got our minds around that, the paper also asked us to do a food/recipe piece for every decade as well. That's even harder for me -- I know very little about food. But it's all happening, slowly. Which is the thing: tomorrow is the deadline for the trains and food articles for the paper. Either Friday or Monday is my deadline for the builder stories -- I can't remember which. Sunday is Dan's deadline for the regular food column. Sometime in all that, he has to finish writing up two of five train histories, and I have to reconfigure his blog to book form.

All before next Tuesday! Because at 10 am, we are supposed to be bright and bushy-tailed and ready to spread the historic word to the general public. Yay! We'll see.

So, in the midst of this, we get a wii, we get deeply hooked on Facebook, and we still have to eat and sleep. We bring it on ourselves, I know. And in the end, we're really going to enjoy all this. Remind me of that tomorrow night.

Posted in Family Life

... or good news, depending on how you look at it.

Two weeks after that last post, I was called to the family ranch to pick up Wayne, Dan's uncle, and take him to the emergency room. He never went back home. After three days, he was released into our care as a hospice patient, and died three days later in our home.

Pretty traumatic on the emotions, watching him fade away that quickly, but I wouldn't have traded the experience for anything. We had the opportunity to minister to him in ways we couldn't at a nursing home or from a distance. We sang to him, and read to him, and talked to him about eternity. I hope he heard more than I think he did. Doesn't really matter now anyway; he's already at the feet of his Savior, learning far more than I ever could have taught him.

The funeral was wonderful. My family music group sang, and all my sisters joined us so the original 10-voice choir was there. We were in a beautiful, old-style church with incredible acoustics, and we sang the a capella piece "God So Loved the World." Then I had the incredible privilege of telling all those people about Wayne accepting Christ, and how his whole life changed at that point. It was a wonderful day of ministry, and the only time most of us really broke down was when the Vietnam Vet blew taps.

We've been incredibly busy. The will grants the ranch and everything else to my hubby, so we had to jump in before probate is complete to deal with the situation at the ranch. Wayne's sister still lives there, but doesn't have any money, so it's up to us to winterize, repair and replace, not to mention clean. It's actually been a huge stressor in our lives, and everything else has taken a back seat. I know I'm only beginning to understand the responsibility that comes with owning this place.

There's already problems with the will; Dan's mother and sister feel slighted, and are trying to change things. I don't believe they'll succeed, but it's all very hard on Dan and I, him especially. If you think about us, just pray. Only God can make this all turn out well.

In the meantime, though, we feel like newbies to the world of ranching, but are looking forward to it. God told us over a decade ago that we would eventually be out there, and we feel that we've finally been given His green light to do what He's called us to do. Maybe after probate, God will make it all clear.

So, rejoice with us that Wayne is with Jesus, and keep us in your prayers. The battle is only beginning  -- I believe the next few years are going to demonstrate to us all how our siblings in Christ feel every day, and we will all need a deep, devoted relationship with Jesus to endure it. But we'll have saints in eternity -- like Wayne -- cheering us on and the most powerful Being in all eternity fighting by our side. Bring it on, world -- my God has already won

Posted in Family Life

Way too much, to say the least.

The uncle is saved now! I don't know if I mentioned that in the last post about him. He's still weakening, though, and I know he won't beat this. Miracles can happen, but God showed us years ago what we would be doing here shortly and He's bringing it all together very quickly. The uncle is a part of that, and while we can't imagine not having him here with us, at least we know we'll have him around for eternity now.

One of the ladies in my church had a baby just over a month ago, and then nearly lost her. She was only about four or five pounds, and only three weeks early, which should have been a good sign that something wasn't right. About an hour after birth, she began bleeding from her lungs and was airlifted to a bigger hospital about two hours away. She couldn't breathe on her own, and nearly died several times, but we had people clear across the country praying for her. When she finally began improving, the father asked how long until she could go home; the doc said they had no way of knowing because "these babies always die." They still don't know what was wrong, but she's home, healthy and putting on weight. If you think of it, pray for the mom; she's buying into the lie that God is punishing her for her past. I firmly believe He's trying to grow her faith and she'll come out stronger in Him on the other side.

The abuse ministry is going well, and really touching lives. I don't know that I've mentioned this before; you can check it out at armsonline.org. It's a Scripture-based domestic abuse program that helps women see who God believes they are (His precious children!), and then gives them the tools to heal. It neither promotes divorce nor staying in the abuse, but rather teaches that you can't heal completely without Jesus Christ, and that He will tell them what the best decision is based on His plans for their life. If you'd like to know more, check out the website or send me a personal email. I'm very particular about proper understanding and use of Scripture, and this is the only program I've seen that does that. I'm personally watching lives change every week.

The Girls Night Out/Stonecroft/Christian Women's Club group is having some issues. Mostly, the economy is making women question whether they can go out for coffee and socializing. But our chairperson is moving one year into her two year shift, and I refuse to step up to do it because I can't. But I've been involved in leading this group for three years now, and I probably would have quit if she hadn't beat me to it. Just burnout, really, and the fact that I really don't fit in with the other ladies leading this. Most of them are local girls who all grew up together, have all the connections in town, and most of them have money. I'm definitely not in their circle. Maybe I'm just feeling a little frustrated with it all; we'll see what happens once we get a new chair, probably in the next month or two.

Women's ministry at church seems to be doing okay (with the exception of no one showing up for Bible study tonight -- two with unpredictable infants, two out of town, two sick and two probably facing busy weeks that I don't know about). The ladies are enjoying our social events and finally really getting to know each other well enough to open up with one another. We're heading to a local farm co-op for the corn maze and harvest activities this weekend, and then to the Nutcracker in Spokane in December, both repeat activities that we all look forward to. Now if I can just get everyone back to Bible study as well...

Still don't have anyone for the children's ministry, but the four of us doing it on a rotating schedule are handling it okay. One of the board members made us shelves, so we're finally trying to get it all organized. It actually looks like a tornado hit it right now.

The worship team has gelled into a band, and a good one too. We enjoy our time together, bantering maybe a little too much now and then. I kid them that we should take the name of the Muppets' band -- Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. Would fit us, but I'm not sure Sharyn wants to be called Dr. Teeth. In all, though, worship is actually nearly distraction-free and very uplifting. But we're not perfect, so of course we have plenty to laugh about.

My sweet man was asked to teach a couple of weeks ago. This is basically the first step in training him up to be a leader of some sort. Our movement gives on-the-job training instead of seminary degrees, and then watches to see who the Lord anoints with a strong ministry; then they're sent out to start a new church somewhere. Very effective, actually. Dan's lesson was good ("but too short," as our pastor said), though I haven't heard the recording yet. I figured it was better for him that I teach Sunday School that morning. But how exciting and stressful at the same time. He had such a hard time putting it together, and knowing I do it every week was rather intimidating. Poor guy. Pastor gave him the most help, but now he's looking over my shoulder too to see how I get it done. Good learning experience, and with the way this election's going, he may need to use those skills a little faster than we once believed.

Health topics are interesting these days too. We're thinking I have an odd thyroid condition where I'm producing T3, but my body isn't converting it into T4 properly, so I get thyroid symptoms. This is why I'm always so blame cold! Wow! Somebody might have an answer for me! But the protocol is fairly intense; the only up side I can see right now (besides being warm someday) is that it's only allowed for up to one year. Long year, though. We'll see. And pray. And hope. And try to be patient. And dress warmly in the meantime.

I think that's enough for now. I have another long day tomorrow; the uncle has a chemo treatment. Please keep praying for him; he really needs to learn about God's peace and God's plan in a rather short time frame.

Maybe I'll write about my kid tomorrow.

G'night.

Posted in Family Life

Wasn't that the title of a TV show? I know it was; just checking to see if I'm the only one that's heard of it.

You have to know that my sisters and I have the strangest children on the planet. Mine asked me to find her a man when she was five years old. Yep. Wanted to be sure she had someone to live with her when she grew up, and wanted me to start looking now. Or then, however you want to look at it.

Earlier this year, I found my little one in the neighbor's driveway with the neighbor's girls, sitting on bed pillows in the gravel, making crayon signs for Ron Paul and waving them at passing cars. Yeah, we train 'em young in this part of the world. I only wish I could say it was my idea; it was actually hers, and done without my permission.

One of my sisters has an extremely political family. She and her hubby both have degrees in political science; he's a state auditor, she was an intern at the state capitol with one of our best local Christian representatives. She homeschools (or satellite schools -- I'm not sure what the term for her program is) and watches FoxNews in the background most of the day (outside of Backyardigans and Wonder Pets, that is -- the kids would never forgive her abandoning such great music shows). So the kids hear and see quite a bit of what's happening in the world of politics.

More than I had guessed apparently. She called my mom the other day with the "daily funny" (something that has become nearly a daily practice with all four of us girls). The three of her older children -- aged 6, 4 and 3 -- were having a political discussion in the living room. (Yes, you heard me right. Only in this family....) The oldest made a comment about Biden. FoxNews was interviewing Obama. The 3yo misunderstood her and had a complete meltdown, believing that his sister couldn't properly identify her political candidates.

Yep. You never know what the little munchkins will come up with next.

My youngest sister now has two little ones, the older one at 4yo is known for an incident when she was 2yo where she asked a complete stranger in WalMart if he suffered from ED. Yeah. She'll never live that one down.

This time around was a bit more reverent. My sis had been hoping for a dining room table, her soon-to-be hubby has never experienced. She found one in pieces in the basement one day (one of those handed-down apartments with plenty of other people's junk in the basement), and discovered that all the chairs in the place were a matched set. She prepped a special meal for her family and the friend that would babysit the kids that night.

They sat down to eat and my niece informed everyone that they needed to say their "praises." My sis, having come out of a JW experience with first hubby still doesn't have any sort of religious beliefs that she can pass on to the little ones, but is willing to let the kids go to church with Grandma and Papa when they're up, who do try to have them pray at meals and bedtime.

My sis agreed to do that, and K began to pray for them. "Thank you for the fish and the vegetables, Mommy. God bless the Lord. Thank you that everyone has food, and that everyone has juice. Amen."

Sis was the one who called; that's the other cool part. What a wonderful blessing that little one was that night. And while all the horrible things in the world try to influence our precious little ones, how wonderful that God created them to mimic the good in life.

We have the coolest kids in my family!

Posted in Family Life

I thought I'd share what's happening on this front too.

Dan's uncle has been battling lung (and brain) cancer all summer. He's done with radiation and part-way through chemo. The brain tumors have disappeared, but the lung cancer is still rearing its ugly head. He's been in and out of the hospital numerous times with everything from a respiratory cold to pulmonary edema. The nurses are now saying he's in end-stage cancer.

He'd lost all his hair, and become incredibly fragile. He looked like he'd aged thirty years.

On his way to this last hospital stay, though, he accepted Jesus as his Savior! Finally! I've been praying for this man for ten years, and I know the rest of my hubby's family has been praying for even longer.

He's been so different since then (two weeks ago?). The added "age" dropped off, the haunted look disappeared, and the touch of paranoia has begun to fade. He laughs again, though much more shallowly. He's fascinated with Scripture, and can't wait to ask us questions on visits and phone calls.

I've always known that incredible transformations happen when certain people opt for eternal life, but this has been so dramatic!

My SIL is a nurse, and I've done too many articles on cancer survivors to have too much hope, knowing it's already metastasized. The two of us feel like the others don't want to address how serious this is. I know that's pretty negative, but there comes a point where you just know what the outcome will be. At this point, we're all just praying for as much time as possible to spend with him; they've at least acknowledged that much.

What we all agree on, though, is the sense of relief we feel. We know where he'll be now, and he knows it too. He and I had a wonderful conversation about eternity this weekend, and he's comfortable with the topic. It's such a sweet peace to know that when we lose him here, we have the hope and promise of seeing him again there. What a joy that is.

If you think of it, continue praying for him. This is still a painful journey he has to travel, but at least now we know his destination and we know he's prepared for it. Thanks.

Posted in Family Life

I have to share one of the coolest stories I've heard in a long time.

My youngest sister has basically embraced the idea that she doesn't need to go to church. While I disagree with her very strongly, I can do nothing but pray for her and her family. On the other hand, she doesn't mind her 4yo attending church with other family members, or watching VeggieTales, or anything else involved with Christianity. So the little one prays over meals at Grandma's house, and at bedtime too, while not doing so at home.

This weekend, while doing some cleaning in the basement of their hand-me-down apartment, my sis came across a dining room table and a set of four matched chairs. This, in itself was an answer to prayer, as she had been talking to the soon-to-be hubby about wanting to have meals at a table, but not owning one.

She set it up, made it all pretty for a meal with the family and the close friend who would be babysitting that night, and cooked a fabulous meal.

When they all sat down to eat, little K said, "We have to say our praises." They all looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and said OK.

K said, "Everyone fold your hands." And they did.

Then she began to pray. "Thank you for the fish and the vegetables, Mommy. God bless the Lord. Thank you that everyone has food. Thank you that everyone has juice. Amen."

Wow! What can you say? "God bless the Lord" is rather amusing, but she's at least picking up on the gratitude, and that (eventually) we speak to God in our prayers. How awesome! I've just had to laugh and thank God for touching that family in such a unique way.

He does work in mysterious ways, doesn't He

Posted in Family Life

For any of you still reading my infrequent ramblings, I wanted to tell you about the new collaboration between my hubby and myself. We started another blog a few days ago! Our hope is to share with you some of the interesting info we're collecting on our region of the globe, and to somehow organize it in the meantime into a book.

Here's the link until I get it added as a link here: www.homeschoolblogger.com/bigbend. Please realize that we are still trying to get the bugs worked out; there are some interesting color and font issues going on right now.

I know I'm not real consistent here, and I can assure you I won't be any better there, but maybe with my hubby's help in posting our finds, we'll have enough up to keep you interested.

Posted in Rantings

I'm incredibly fired up, and not necessarily in a happy way.

Let me lay a little background for you. I grew up Republican. I was active on campus in college as a Republican. My family members are Republican. I think I currently hold an office as a Republican (I haven't heard from them on the election yet).

Last election, though, I became an independent, in position if not party. I felt betrayed by Bush, a supposed Christian who made a lot of anti-Christian decisions and clearly departed from Republican foundations. I started looking at the Constitution party, simply because they claimed to want to return to the Constitution. Lately, though, I've decided not to follow them either; their party platform says only Christians are qualified for office -- while I'd rather vote for a Christian, that particular stance nullifies the freedoms our country is founded on and tells me that Christians are more willing to vote for "one of our own" than someone who is truly qualified for office. You want to vote for a Christian? Become a Christian candidate we can vote for.

Anyway, someone at my former office told me about Ron Paul. He ended up being the co-chair of our local Meet Up group, and once dh and I decided to put our support behind Paul, he was the one to supply us with the 4x8 sign we nailed to the highway end of our house.

We found that Paul was the only candidate out there who actually voted according to the Constitution. When the federal government was going to be granted powers held by the states, he consistently voted against it. He's adamantly against abortion, but voted down measures limiting it because, according to our Constitution, those are states' rights -- not something the federal government is supposed to be meddling in.

We knew some of his plans were shocking and unconventional -- like destroying the IRS -- but I seem to remember that our country was founded on the idea that no government had control over our lives, that we should have a say in any government we created, and that war against an oppressive government was sometimes warranted. I acknowledged that voting Paul into office may have led to civil war, but if that was what it took to get my freedom back, I was willing to enlist myself. (They'd never take me with my health issues, but I'd sign up anyway -- just give me or let me use my gun like in the revolutionary war.) I was 100% behind this man, as were a decent number of our friends and family, including my 87yo grandmother and my 8yo daughter.

At the county caucus, the Ron Paulers stole the show. Two-thirds of our delegates were RPs, and we were hearing the same from the rest of Eastern Washington. But when our delegates got to the state level. the head of the state Repub party pulled some pretty blatant illegal stunts, allowing in appointed delegates from other counties (illegal in our state) and hijacking our state caucus. There's actually a lawsuit going on over this.

So we were devastated to hear Paul was pulling out of the race. We didn't know who to vote for now; we didn't like any of the voting records of the other candidates -- and yes, we looked up the records ourselves! I know how McCain has voted, and I knew we didn't want him leading (or waffling over leading) our country.

A few days later, a former congressman from our area called me and asked if I'd run for PCO in my neighborhood. As a RPer himself, he asked if I would work to reinvent the Repub party from the inside out. My goal became to get on the platform committee for our county caucus, and to get to the state caucus next time around to stop the illegal moves (I'm just slightly vocal when I'm upset!). Paul had told his followers that this was the only way to return the Repub party to its foundations of small government and big freedom.

So I watched the convention closely tonight, knowing that Palin really seemed like my kind of gal. We turned on CSPAN two hours before she spoke, and were disgusted by what we saw and heard. Every speaker leading up to the big wigs praised McCain for his lengthy track record voting for us conservatives. I screamed "No, he doesn't!" at my TV too many times to count. I've read his record! He's a liberal! We don't have liberal and conservative parties in the two main ones anymore -- we have Marxist and liberal! I was pretty upset by this time.

Finally, Palin took the platform. I love her! She has a sweeter version of my sassiness! While she debunked the left's and the media's lies about her with a modicum of grace and a slight smirk, I would have levelled the place with a smug glare. She did it with humor and eloquence. DH and I purely enjoyed her speech ... all except the parts where she praised McCain. I would love to have her as President instead of him, or better yet, Palin and Paul in some order as our ticket. I pray McCain doesn't bring her down, because her record of bucking the system is what this country needs. I hope that someday she wakes up and realizes that she can get a better co-candidate next time. But in all, I was happy with what I saw of her.

Then came the roll call vote. Being a devout RPer in mourning, I counted the votes for my favorite candidate. Paul received 15 votes, four from my own state. At the end of McCain's overwhelming victory, the final tally was declared -- and they messed it all up! They gave Paul only five, got Romney's two right, and even understated the total for McCain by one. Plus, there were about forty votes (I think that was the total) from N. Carolina that weren't even allocated to a candidate.

That's when I nearly lost it. I know the liberal Repubs chose McCain months ago, and they would do anything (as we saw in our state) to get him on the platform, but ignoring us RPers is not a good tactic. Yes, Paul is out of the race, but the point was to send a message to the Repub party that they need to make some serious changes. Yes, Palin is a step in the right direction, but she's tied to someone who can't seem to make a consistent stand, who consistently votes against our Constitution, and who IS Washington-as-usual.

Did you know that the Repub party did not invite Paul, a Republican senator, to the convention? That he was told he could come -- but alone -- and they might be able to swing a temporary pass for him? And then they miscount his votes? And the CSPAN anchor has the gall to say, "And why does that even matter?"

I'm upset, frustrated, and heartbroken tonight. I want so much for my country, and I'm so worried for it. Obama will literally destroy this country in four years, but McCain will surely severely cripple it in the same time. Pray, people -- only the grace of God will save this country. So much is so severely wrong, and the people around us -- maybe even you -- don't know or don't care. Pray and vote, though I can't suggest who to vote for now.

Posted in The Christian Life

I finally made an attempt to get outside today and get something done out in the sun. My intention was to prune the roses; they'd been left to their own devices all summer, and had run out of places to sprout new buds. So I turned up the tunes while dd was doing her math, opened the window so I could hear it, and headed out with clippers in hand.

Half an hour and one rose bush later, I noticed the morning glory blooms reaching up above the flax -- quite a feat in my crazy flowerbeds. So I abandoned the two climbing roses in favor of saving my gardens from being strangled.

I cleaned out three flowerbeds before I wandered over to the herb garden. Already, I had fed two armloads of the vicious vine to the chickens, and the heat was getting to me. But my poor herbs were all bent over and tangled together. So, despite the screaming coming from my hamstrings, I tackled the neglected patch.

This herb bed was a dream of mine back when I married my darling husband. He's a chef and I'm definitely lacking in the cooking department, so I was trying to find a way I could contribute in the kitchen. I had drawn up multiple plans for herb beds, everything from traditional English knot gardens to postage-stamp plots around a hoped-for mailbox, but as yet, I hadn't had a mailbox, let alone a piece of dirt to plant in.

When we moved into this house a decade ago, it was a faded, old mobile home set in a forest of what I call "spider trees" -- those evergreen shrubs that attract every little bug in the desert. We tore out the shrubs, moved away for three years, and then moved back in with a small child in tow. Now we had bare ground and a poorly planted lawn; I wanted something fantastic to come out of the humiliation of being an architect in a trailer.

The west end of the house faced the pasture, the railroad tracks, the road and the beautiful Beezley Hills -- all the things that kept us entertained, but it also bordered the driveway. It wasn't a place we'd go to sit and watch the sunset, and other than my small (at the time) white rose bush, I didn't have anything I could put there that I would venture out to care for.

My solution to this was to plant herbs there. I figured that there wasn't enough exhaust and pollution there to worry about killing them or making them unhealthy for us, but they'd also have plenty of sun. They'd be close to the house in the cold winter months. Best of all, I'd have a reason to go take care of them, seeing how I was going to provide my husband with the choicest herbs for his culinary creations.

I planted three flavors of thyme, two of oregano, my hubby's sage plant from his mother's house, a few chives, and a handful of strawberries. That was six years ago. Now the tarragon is overrunning the old sage and the rose bush, the remaining Greek oregano has filled out the rest of that half of the bed, two thymes remain and have edged out the strawberries, peas, and second sage, and the two types of chives are being taken out by the mint that managed to sneak its way in. The rosemary never survives the winter, and the lemon balm hasn't yet taken hold.

I love this herb bed. It has a wild mind of its own, and besides the mint bed, it's the only area of the yard that I'm particularly proud of. No matter how seldom I actually weed it, I always wander back into the house dreaming of pasta and baked potatoes and summer and purple flowers covered in honeybees.

Today, though, I was angry. These horrible weeds had taken over my precious herb bed in my absence, and were destroying my sweet plants. Another armload of morning glory over the pasture fence and I was ready to give up, but compassion overwhelmed me and I dove back in, cursing the green invaders.

Suddenly God began to speak to me. It was the story of the harvest that was infested with weeds, but the workers were told to leave the tares until harvest time, when they would be separated at last from the good grain. I was having such a hard time finding the roots to these vines that I was pulling out beautiful oregano and thyme along with them. Every time I grabbed for vine roots, I also got herb roots.

At that moment, I understood God's heart. I know a young lady who's straying from Him -- more than one actually, and this applies to all of them. I've tried to counsel them, to help them, to explain God's heart, to warn them from my own experiences why the path they're on is so dangerous, all to no avail. And my heart breaks, but more out of knowing the hard road they have ahead of them than out of truly understanding the heart of God.

Today the Master Gardener was telling me to leave it to Him. He was saying that He'll deal both with the crushed plants and the evil weeds. He's the gardener and I'm just the hired hand. He knows how best to deal with them, because He loves them. I love my little (big?) plants because I planted and raised them; He loves us because He created us! He's angered when the weeds come in and strangle His precious children, and He knows which are weeds and which are just happy invaders who mean no harm. He can care for the wounded and strangled ones, without damaging or uprooting them in the process.

As the Gardener's helper, I need to hold up the wounded ones until He steps in to deal with the problem, and prayer is the best beanpole I know.

Matt 13:1-5

Posted in Family Life

... and wishing I had more of it! But we're home and trying to get back into the swing of things.

BTW, I won the quarter bet! Too fun.

Let's see ... we went to Seattle -- yes, again. This time Dan was with us, as was the rain, which while appreciated after the heat in our neck of the woods, still interfered with our fun. We were rained out at Woodland Park Zoo, and then again on a hike on Steven's Pass. It ruined our camera, or so we thought; we ended up buying a newer, better one at Costco before finding the old one was just too damp. But we do have good pictures of the zoo, the aquarium, the space needle, the science center, and other generally fun things we did.

We've also been to the regional fair in Waterville (very tiny county seat near us) where Dan judged another baking department and I chased children around (mine, my nieces, and some other little munchkin they made friends with there). We visited the uncle with cancer; the chemo is doing its job, but he's looking incredibly old all of a sudden. We met up with an old friend from college and his wife and two little boys at Sun Lakes, where they were camping with her family. We had a work day at the church, where my darling and I are in charge of creating our website. We had a church-in-the-park and picnic. We picked up our poor little truck from the mechanic. I made a stab at cleaning the office, or orifice (as my darling calls it). Hubby made dog biscuits for our client. And then we dropped the busy vacation schedule for the busy normal schedule. Never a dull moment.

The main thing that's been on my heart lately though, is the question of whether I'm actually where I need to be spiritually. Not that I feel like I'm backsliding or purposely sinning, but rather that I don't feel as much as I used to. I had the great privilege tonight of visiting a very special friend by the name of Eva, who was once a missionary to the Alaskan Eskimo tribes and who currently -- even in her 80s -- teaches GED courses at the county jail. Wonderful Christian lady who just exudes the love of Jesus.

I asked her this question: in our Christian walk, is it normal to feel a quiet comfortableness and yet still be passionate about Christ? I put it in terms of that stage of marriage that we're all warned about, where the passion dies off and you become familiar, comfortable even, but still love that person without the overwhelming emotion. Seeing as she never married, I wondered if I stated it wrong, but she is always so gracious.

She described it as one of the phases of life, and yes, of our walk with Him. Sometimes we need comfort, sometimes overwhelming joy, sometimes a dose of humility, but none of those take away from His love for us, or our love for Him. I think I get it. I grew up in a denomination that involved emotion -- not a bad thing in itself, but I can see now where they've gone way too overboard with it. I guess I tend to think I should be emotional about my God. I'm learning more these days anyway to control my emotions, and maybe this is just another area that I need to examine.

That was just one part of a wonderful conversation with this true saint of the Kingdom. I need to see that woman more often; I'm thinking it won't be too long before she leaves this world for His, and I just want to soak up all she can pour into me.

That's it on my thoughts for the night.

Posted in Family Life

... and my fingers can't spell tonight anyway. My backspace key is getting quite the workout.

So just a few notes:

I got another "so good to see you again" at the Republican booth tonight, this time from the undersheriff who acted as the PCO of my neighborhood last spring when the one in that position was down with a brain tumor. (She's completely healed, BTW, and has a wonderful testimony, but that's why I ran for the position.)

My mom and sister joined me in judging 4H demonstrations tonight. We only had three, but tomorrow's lineup looks more in the way of twelve. At least we'll be sheltered from the 104-degree heat by a newly AC'd building. I love this job, and having my mom and sis with me makes it even more fun.

Mom, Dad, Sis and I spent way too much time giggling with our chiropractor in the commercial booth too. To keep themselves busy, he and the staff have taken to dropping quarters in the path and betting on who will pick them up. Tonight we upped the ante -- literally. We had been watching for who would pick up the nickel (the food booth I stopped at didn't have quarters, and we were trying to mock the chiropractor, so we went with what we had). Then my sis dug out an old Starbucks card with only a dollar on it (she's not a coffee drinker obviously -- I would have had an empty one in my wallet!) and tossed it in the path. We then each claimed an age/gender combo that we thought would pick it up, and tossed in a quarter for the pool. His insurance expert won a few minutes later, so she got the dollar-fifty. But then we had to do it again, but back to the quarter -- people actually pick those up quicker than a card for some strange reason. We'll check in when we get there in the morning to find out who won. Too funny!

Anyway, not too much wisdom or humor elsewhere in my life today. Just trying to get everything done and stay cool at the same time. Much easier to do when you stay inside with the AC on, but then the animals get a little upset, and chores don't get done, and stuff doesn't get mailed. Yeah. So, goodnight, sleep .... uh .... cool. Yeah.

Posted in Family Life

Short post tonight.

We've recently rediscovered the Muppets. We got a great deal on the first three seasons (of five?), and are happily nearly done with season two. Happily because we're enjoying it immensely.

I've discovered that my favorite character is Crazy Harry, the lunatic who runs around blowing things up. He's hysterically funny! We shared an evening of Muppets with our best friends over a steak barbecue (now there's a contrast), and now her preteen boys ask, "Did someone say explode?!" I love it. Insanity at it's finest.

Second in line is the Swedish chef. I loved this guy long before I married a Swedish/Slovak chef of my own. My daughter now yells out, "Daddy!" whenever that skit shows up. Today she said something about "the Swedish chef, otherwise known as Dad." How cute!

After that, it's skits like Pigs in Space, how everyone looks at the ceiling when the announcer speaks on the Veterinary Hospital skit, the ancient hecklers in the balcony, Dr. Teeth, the ballroom scene ... oh, my. There's probably pretty close to nothing I don't remember fondly.

If you can get your hands on these old episodes, they're worth it. And season one has the original pilot, which is very different from the show we all know. So there's my wisdom for the night!

Posted in Teachers Corner

Today was much less interesting, but I tried to get a lot done. I put up the shelving pieces that have been all over my floor for a month waiting for me to decide where they're to go. I helped my hubby rearrange his delivery bin so he'd only have a thirteen-hour day. I did the dishes. Wow. I feel accomplished. Oooh.

Actually, we finally got some schooling in. She did a tangram, very quickly too -- I might have to filter out the easy ones from now on. She learned her times tables, yes, all of them. I picked up a "Times Tables the Easy Way" a couple of weeks ago (sorry, Dena -- I hadn't connected you with the competition at that point), and she's pretty much got it, with the exception of speed. That will come. She also started in on a book called "God in Art" (I believe) that I picked up after that wonderful art class at the conference. And then we played a logic game tonight. Not too bad. Oh, and we enjoyed a lovely romp through extremely odd time signatures with composer Leroy Anderson -- I love his music!

I was incredibly impressed with the speakers at the conference this year. Dr. Tom Hoyle of Genesis fame started out, but I only caught half his presentation. Fascinating. He made a scale model of Noah's ark, using only the info in the Bible (not all our crazy notions about how it had to be), and then compared it to scale models of modern-day ships that we know. Highly effective.

The Brain Guy, Terry Small, was one of my favorites. He's a brain scientist, and has never spoken to homeschoolers before. Boy, did he have fun with us! We may be a little too overeager about learning; he loved getting us to do goofy things during his talks. I was even scolded in front of everyone for laughing too much (actually, my "partner" in all these hilarious antics he had us doing made a goofy comment to me using what he was teaching us, so I wasn't really in trouble, but he did "stop the class" to make us share. Essentially, she called me a genius -- I couldn't help but find that laughable!).

He made quite a few good points that I'll be introducing in our lessons this year, but one of the most significant in my eyes was one he related to Alzheimer's. In most of us, myelin sheaths cover our synapses so that we retain information and that connection is strengthened; I've known this for about six years because of some research I did into behavioral problems with early-term preemies (my dd was 8 weeks early). What I didn't know is that recent research shows that Alzheimer's patients lose their memories because the myelin sheathing disintegrates!

I had never thought of that before -- my daughter's behavior back then (and generally that of others with this same problem -- usually labeled ADD, ADHD, Asperger's, Autistic, and others) resembles that of an Alzheimer's patient! Short attention span and memory, major fits over minor issues, hyperactivity, aggression, uncontrolled emotions, and so on -- it all sounds so familiar.

So my next question was: what can we do to improve the production of myelin in these children? I asked Terry, and first of all, he hadn't heard of this research. I'll have to send him the links to the info I found years ago. But second, he said I shouldn't worry because the brain continually produces more and more myelin. I didn't want to offend the man, so I thanked him and figured I'd send him on this goose chase later, but I had plenty more questions. If the brain continually produces more, what causes the brain to stop producing more in the brains of Alzheimer's patients? And the research I read said these early preemies have some improvements (and remember, there's a wide range of affectedness in this group), but most have ongoing issues for most of their lives, at least as long as we've been able to track it. So somewhere, somehow, there's a switch that either gets turned off or damaged in these kids (probably because they trying to survive in an incubator instead of focusing on producing all the remaining developments they've missed in the womb).

Hmm. I can't wait to see what he and other scientists come up with on this one. I wish I had taken more of his courses.

Enough of my ramblings for one night, but I thought I'd start giving you a flavor of what the conference was like. More later.

Posted in Family Life

Get it? "Boot-stomping good time" is the fair theme this year. Get it? Yeah. You should have seen the other title I had going.

It's been an interesting and very long day, with some interesting lessons.

I spent eight hours on barn duty in the home ec building, keeping the glass cases free of fingerprints and sticky remnants of ice cream, and showing people to the entries they couldn't find, and explaining the premium system to fairground newbies. (By the way, do you realize that the cleanliness and overall organization of each barn at your local fair eventually leads to the premium amount you earn for the ribbons you win there? Fascinating process, actually.)

In this long stint, I spent a lot of time thinking over the changes I'd like to bring to our failing fair and our poor little baking department. Highest on my list for both is the idea that grouchy old ladies scare little children away from entering their little projects the following year; if you're going to man a building or sit around demonstrating how to crochet or quilt, SMILE at the children! And everyone else for that matter. So, I was rather irritated with the scowling quilter who calls herself a "fixture" in the neighboring department. She would smart off that things couldn't get that dirty between my third and fourth rounds of Windex patrol. When I let her and the sweet old lady beside her know that I needed to head out for lunch and a bathroom break, she basically questioned that baking was suddenly in charge of the building. For goodness' sake!

Later, I learned that this poor woman has been sick for two weeks, recently moved and has been dealing with quite a bit of other hard things in her life. That doesn't mean I still won't take on the "we've always done it that way" cranky crowd, but I guess I should have a little more sympathy now and then.

So, feeling put in my place a bit, I finished out my shift and spent some time with this year's superintendent learning some more about the books. I finally got a call from my poor hubby, saying he still wasn't done with what he expected to be a 16-hour day, which meant I headed out to get him some dinner, pick up my little fair-worn dd at my sister's house, and head for the hinterlands. On my way out, I passed the Republican booth, and thought I'd wander through quickly and see which personnages of notoriety were stationed there for the day.

I didn't notice anyone I knew offhand, but a few people turned and said hello, including a darling little elderly woman in a blue dress with a slightly mismatched blue straw hat. She asked me to sign the log, and began to offer info on what the party believes, and on and on. I turned to her and said, "Sweetheart, I'm already working for your party." (I can't remember what I've posted and what I haven't. I am currently running unopposed for Precinct Officer of my neighborhood. I don't think she knows that, but somehow my answer pleased her.)

They introduced themselves all the way around, and two gentlemen I recognized by name as being somewhat familiar, the third being the state Republican delegate to the national caucus. She then asked my name. When I told them, I got definite recognition. The delegate turned to the lady and said, "This was one of our delegates to the county caucus." My thought was, Wow -- he must have been there that night, of course. Then the next guy said, "And she's good too." Now I got the hint; they knew me only from that night, and I must have made a bigger impression than I thought.

So, I blurted out something like, "I guess I made a pretty big stink, didn't I?" The third guy said, "Yeah, but that's what we need." At that point, I didn't know what to say. It's a big deal to catch the eye of politicians; you have to do something pretty intense to get that. I knew I was pretty vocal and pretty intense that night, but I just thought I was one of a crowd of us that want to return to true conservative foundations. Maybe it's the younger crowd/female gender phenomenon -- you know the one, the "you're pretty rare in this racket" thing.

It was definitely a boost to my ego, and a confirmation that I'm not the only one in my area feeling this way about a party gone liberal. I can't say it didn't feel good to have people recognize me (or at least my name).

On the other hand, it's greatly humbling. Number one, to be a spokesperson for so many people is a huge responsibility, no matter what level of politics I end up in, but I'm also sad that so many others don't have the education or training to do so for themselves. Why God would choose me to be one of those who ended up in the few effective school programs out there that taught the skills I use today, especially when there are so many others more passionate, more effective, more powerful than I am to do these types of things. His grace is overwhelming, and I so wish that I could pass on all that learning and experience to others on a whim, with the shake of a hand or maybe a simple statement of encouragement.

It also made me think of all the times I feel like I'm invisible in a crowd. I never am, and I do know it at some level. Too many people know my husband, my parents, my ministries, my friends, my church, me, even my car. That's probably the most frightening of all; my hubby calls me Mario for a reason. I'm not a Sunday driver by any means, and I pass anyone who's in my way. I forget how many people in our small region know me well enough to recognize me. What is that saying about me? I guess some level of aggressiveness is a character trait I've never managed to get rid of, but I always hope I use it in the right places (like at caucuses and with stick-in-the-mud fair boards).

After this happened, the radio in the car was playing the song "I Want to Leave A Legacy" by one of the newer Christian artists out there. I've always liked that song, because it is my heart's desire. I want people to see me as a Christian woman who did everything she could to remind people of truth, who laid a foundation that is based on Jesus and then supports a worldview that puts everything in life from politics to religion to education to the tiniest detail of life at the feet of Jesus.

My mother commented tonight that my reputation is beginning to precede me. I hope so, and I hope it's the reputation for doing the right thing, no matter what the cost. Isn't that what He's called us to? I think so. No, let me say that a different way -- I believe so. And that's how I intend to live

Posted in Family Life

The sign-in screen asks that. I laughed -- there's very few left who remember me by now!

Since I haven't posted in a month and a half, I should tell you I had major eye surgery on July 1; it all went well, and this last week, the surgeon released me until late October. Yeah! In fact, I'm seeing so well these days, I even drove myself and my daughter to Seattle for the WATCH conference. Got there and back fine, obviously.

Which brings me to my next topic ... I had the incredible pleasure of meeting Paul and Gena Suarez, our dear publishers here at TOS blogs, and Dena Wood, also a familiar face to TOS readers. Oh, and I can't forget SuzyScribbles, who was signing her new books in the exhibit hall. How much fun that was! It was another one of those times when you know someone so well because you talk on the blogs, that it seems like you're hanging out with your dearest friends from childhood. Well, maybe not since childhood, but at least since having children ourselves!

In a chat session with Gena, she commented that another familiar blogger, SpunkyHomeschool, was just an average mom who is now famous on the blogosphere, simply because she POSTS EVERY DAY. I know that's yelling, but that's about the way it hit me. I'm a journalist for crying out loud, and I can't get myself to write every day! Hopefully that's the kick in the butt I need to get my act together -- not that I want to be famous, but if God keeps telling me to write, I should probably be doing so. Duh.

So, over the next few days, I'll be posting a bit about the conference for those of you Washingtonians who missed it (shame on you!), and a little about the (continual, yes) zoo that my life is.

As for today, we headed out to the prep day for the Grant County Fair. The previous baking superintendant is quitting simply because it's time, and they are desperate for someone new. My hubby was nominated a few weeks ago, but his schedule won't allow it, and if he's the "stupor" (as he calls it), he can't judge anymore and no one in the county wants that. So, yes, I'm it. I spent the morning learning from the pro and meeting all the pertinent people. Shouldn't be too big of a job under normal circumstances, but the administration is new this year (meaning chaos), the previous admin purposely dumped all the previous records (chaos), the numbers are dwindling all over the fair (general depression), and the quilting department is taking over our space (animosity and frustration); thus I have a great deal of work to do this year. I guess one of the reasons my name was brought up is because I actually welcome confrontations, unlike everyone else in line for the job. Sounds like fun, huh?

I also ended up canceling women's bible study for the summer. Too many people going too many directions, and two of my main attendees (out of maybe six) have either had their baby three weeks ago or are on bedrest for the rest of the pregnancy as of this afternoon. So another month or so reprieve, and then we begin Ruth again. (Maybe I didn't mention that before -- we finally finished Philippians after 19 months! We got one lesson into Ruth before the surgery.)

We also visited the book guy again (did I mention he gave me that ancient bid document for Grand Coulee Dam -- what a treasure!), saw the dad of a guy we both went to high school and youth group with (and I dated at two different points in my life), chatted with the 4H super that I'll be judging for this weekend, hung out with the pastor's wife and step-daughter (and her darling little baby), and ran into another friend of mine from high school. It's like people come out of the woodwork on fair week. Wow -- maybe they're thinking the same about me. Ooh.

Anyway, I'm still unpacking from last weekend and this new week's already off and running at full tilt. If you're reading this, thank you for being faithful to me, the ever inconsistent one. I hope to get some good stuff posted here soon. C ya!

Posted in Teachers Corner

I almost forgot! Any of you Washington homeschoolers need to go check out watchhome.org for info on the Christian homeschool conference in August.

They really reconfigured everything this year, and I can't wait to go! The kids are welcome this time around, with their own mini-conference alongside ours. It's at the Seattle Pacific U campus; we get to stay in the dorms or apartments for prices similar to motels, but with the benefit of rubbing shoulders with the conference speakers. BTW, TOS's own publishers Paul and Gena Suarez are supposed to be there too! Nice to have them visiting our neck of the woods!

It's going to be a wonderful conference, and I'd love to have some friends there to visit with. If you decide to go, let me know so we can make plans to meet up

Posted in The Christian Life

Yep, once again, my health has taken over my summer plans.

I was hoping to get online tonight and post some fun thoughts from my weekend rafting trip, or a cheerful hooray because we finally completed Philippians in our women's study after a year and seven months (which we did tonight, BTW).

Instead, I get to tell you that my right eye (the good one) just hemorrhaged again, after seven months. Stepped off the platform after worship yesterday and suddenly couldn't see out that side. Wonderful.

I'm doing better now emotionally. Everyone else seems more upset about it than I am, maybe because I've been through it several times before. The thing that I'm getting this time around is that it's like the grieving process in a way.

I was supposed to teach Sunday School yesterday, so in the rush from worship to the classroom, I pretty much tucked it away -- that's the denial. "No, it has to be something else. I don't have time for this." A mother and daughter came in and took over for me (they knew because the dad is the elder that I asked to initiate prayer after the service, since Pastor was already starting the lesson). That was such a blessing, and allowed me the time to fully comprehend what was happening to my eyes.

When the board prayed for me, I finally hit the grief stage. Having been through this, I knew that surgery will follow (pray for me on July 1), and that all the things I meant to do this summer will be put on hold or canceled altogether. It also means that whatever progress I've made in controlling my blood sugars went out the window with the pizza and pop I had Saturday night, and the McGriddle I had that morning (my assumption may be wrong, but I'm assuming that's the reason it happened at the time it did). So I cried, but only for about five minutes.

Now, that's not a brag. That's almost a criticism of myself, actually. With all the changes that will occur in my life in the next six months because of this, I should have cried for at least an hour. Five minutes. I don't know whether that's good or bad. Either way, It's grieving, and I hit it in front of most of the church.

The next part, the acceptance and coping, seemed to hit immediately. I worried about the plans Dan and I had with our friends and a river raft; Dad ended up taking my place on the raft, and Mom drove me to meet them afterward for dinner. I was still running around encouraging ladies to come to Bible study, and talking about next week's Sunday School lesson, and making plans for the ladies' activity in a week. If it wasn't for the blur in my vision, it would have been just any other Sunday. Almost sounds like denial again, doesn't it?

I thought so too, until today. Now I see it as the anger stage too.

My pastor's wife was sick and home from church yesterday, so she called today to pray with me and find out how I was doing. She said, "Dani, I don't even know how to pray for you." Most everyone's just praying for my eyes and my vision, but Pastor and his wife are both nurses, and understand that it's more than that. The whole thing is so complicated, and this is so common for diabetics, that simple prayers for vision and health every week, every day, seem to be not near enough to address the real issue.

I told her that my prayer request is for peace and rest. I go through stuff like this all the time. Comas, broken bones, vision problems, pain in my feet, threats of dialysis, so many other things, all the time. I actually said, "I just want to be left alone." Not being isolated from friends and people who love me, but from the constant feeling that my life is one disaster after another. From the sorrow I feel for my family who has to care for me instead of enjoying the summer, or the carefree days that we watch other families share. From the physical suffering. From the comments like "what is it this time?" or "It's always something with you, isn't it?"

I began to understand Job in a different sense. He lost so much, much more suddenly than I have, but a deep loss nonetheless. He mourned over his loss. He bent under the weight of it. He begged God to tell him why, to stop the pain and loss, to explain Himself. He buried himself in what had to be done, burying his children, cleaning up the mess that his life had become, all the while questioning God and feeling angry at no one in particular.

I know how that feels. I'm not angry at God; I've known since I was a child that I would endure these things before His promised healing would come. I'm not angry at myself; I may not have my diabetes under complete control, but I try every day. I'm not angry at doctors, family, society, anything. I'm just angry, and hurting, and frustrated, and tired of the battle.

When I think of Job sitting in the dirt, scraping off the scabs with broken pottery, listening to his best buddies say, "Give it up, Dude. Curse God and die," I now see the tired eyes that look up and respond with quiet determination. "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him."

My eyes are tired, but this won't stop me. I'm reading, but with glasses now. I'm driving, but with a strength in my left eye that I never had before. I'm teaching from my memory and from the promptings of the Holy Spirit. I'll get through this, just like I have every other disaster that's befallen me. My God is bigger than the Boogey Man (thanx, VeggieTales), than the prince of this world, than this disease. This will all be to His glory someday. In Philippians 4, at the end of the chapter and of the book, Paul says, "this suffering is nothing compared to the glory that He will reveal to us later." Amen; this is truth; it can't be argued.

In the meantime, pray for me. For peace in this storm. For patience with all the changes and frustrations that come with this. For grace in accepting the help of my family and friends. For the faith that I know God is creating in me. Thanks.

Posted in Family Life

... has finally been published!

Yesterday, the Columbia Basin Herald published its summer "Choose Your Own Adventure" travel guide, which this year included a lengthy piece on local historical markers and points of interest, written by me! How exciting!

My dear hubby and I love to prowl around with old tomes in hand, searching for faint clues to the past. We've discovered ice caves in the middle of the desert, abandoned railroad cuts, roads trailing off into rivers and lakes, native axeheads, and the vantage points from which many famous pictures were taken. This is probably our number one family hobby. Dd comes home from excursions with as many ticks as the dog, and sometimes months down the road we have difficulty deciphering what the subject of that picture was. But it makes us very happy.

So when my dear boss asked if I would take on this project, I was thrilled! We had so much fun traveling around snapping the 200+ pictures, of which I only sent the paper 70. I think they only used a third of them, but some of them were actually really good ones. We prayed for sunny skies, and God granted them, with the exception of the stormy one that perfectly set off the white hills of the diatomaceous earth mines. How cool He is!

Anyway, we're planning on taking this basic info and writing a book on this area. We have several people from previous generations that we're going to interview, and so many books to read, that I have no idea how long it will take us, but I'm sure I'll let you know.

In the meantime, if you're headed this way for any reason, contact the Chamber of Commerce in Moses Lake, or the Columbia Basin Herald, and they should be able to get you a copy. That is, if my family doesn't snag them all up first!

Posted in Family Life

This is my latest favorite incident.

I'm a horrible night owl, and my only time alone is after everyone else is in bed. So my daughter has been taught to get up, feed the animals, have a piece of fruit, and watch a couple of cartoons (we have Boomerang, so she gets all the good old ones!). I get up an hour or so later.

A couple of mornings ago, I came out and sat near her on the couch. She began chattering about the morning's shows, how the dog was behaving, asking what my activities the night before entailed, all the while looking around the room and ignoring the cartoon she had been watching.

Finally, she sighed and said, "I really need to find a book on conversation starters. I just don't what know what to say to you that's interesting."

Oh, my. Poor thing! She just wanted to talk with me, and didn't know what to say!