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 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 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 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!

Posted in Family Life

This evening I had one of the most traumatic experiences in my life. I've had several, none of which you really want to hear about. Come to think of it, you may not want to hear about this one either.

We had a batch of chicks hatch last year, and now that they're all grown up, they fly very well. In order to protect them from dogs and coyotes, we have a 100SF strawbale coop which opens into a 1/2-acre, fenced pasture, where our flock of 6 geese, 3 ducks and roughly 15 chickens live. If they can fly, they aren't safe. So about once a year, we have to clip the outermost feathers on their wings.

Now, we've learned from past experience that trapping them all in the coop after dark is the easiest; we then corner them, clip them, and toss them out into the pasture while we catch the rest of the flock. They tend to be quietly roosting, half-drugged from melatonin or its chicken-equivalent, and thus fairly docile. Normally they're this way. Tonight they were not.

The three of us barricaded ourselves in there, dd at the small chicken door to the pasture, armed with a screen and a fear of flying chickens. Warranted, considering what came next. Fifteen angry birds began to fly over our heads, dive-bombing us as they tried to find a way out. Several hens seriously thought they could get through the screen and made a horrible racket letting us know how upset they were at not getting through. Our poor girl began screaming as the wings and claws flew in all directions. We'd finally catch one, and it would squeal like a stuck pig until it realized we weren't hurting it; but then it would scream again when we dropped it outside the warm coop into the blackness.

Part of the way into the flock, we caught one of our new roosters, and through the cloud of dust, we were admiring his beautiful feathers. Suddenly he let out a shriek, and caught me across the cheekbone with a wing. Let me say, that was two hours ago and it still hurts. But that wasn't the traumatic part.

We were down to two little hens huddled in a corner behind a stack of boxes, and I crawled back there to scare them out. I managed to get a handful of tail feathers on one of them, and as I was trying to get a good hold on her, the other flew up and tried to land on my head. I managed to hand off the first one to my hubby, simultaneously trapping the second one with my head against the wall of the coop. That was a tricky move; I was pretty proud of myself. I reached up to grab her, catching her throat on one side, and a leg on the other.

Now, remember that we're coughing up lungs in the dust, I've been beat up by a rooster, and I broke at least one nail. I'm already having a bad night.

As I pull the hen up over my head, my dear hubby says, "Ooh! She's throwing up!" Yes, that's what I said. In my hair, down my neck inside my coat, all over my hand and arm. She's fine; thanks for asking. I'm not.

AAAAAUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!! I don't remember anything else as disgusting in my life! And I don't get grossed out easy, either.

So, we're standing on the back porch, commenting on how we need face masks next time. My husband notices that I'm covered in dust (somehow momentarily forgetting that I'm also covered in chicken puke), and begins to beat it off the front of my coat. This seemingly kind and helpful action was instead rubbing it into my neck and making me ill. I don't think I've ever made it from the back porch to the shower in that short of a time frame ... ever.

Oh, the joys of animal husbandry. Next time I'm wearing a bio-hazard suit.

Posted in Family Life

Yes, it's been our first week of vacation this year. No, we didn't go anywhere for that vacation; money is definitely an object standing in our way. Bummer. But I did get to go to a Pastor's and Leader's Conference, and I did get to vote in my precinct caucus, and we have had another sickie in the family. All in all, an interesting week.

The caucus is probably all I'll cover tonight, but I'll get to the rest later. What an experience!

Several months ago, we became involved in the Ron Paul campaign here locally. We both felt that we finally had someone to vote for, instead of always voting in a lesser of two evils. So, I attended a meeting last weekend (the first I've been able to make) where we talked about the caucus, and how to go about it.

For those of you outside Washington State, you need to know that our Republican party just adopted the caucus process to obtain 51% of the vote for the candidate to represent our party (though I tend to vote whatever I want based on who is supporting the Constitution at the time). Most people living in the state have no clue that this is how it worked this year. Thus, from our community (rural, yes, but not necessarily hicksville -- and we live in the county seat no less), we only had about forty people show up. Sad, really.

Anyway, I live in a very politically active neighborhood. The city wants us in their Urban Growth Area, and consistently pull stunts (even illegal ones) to wrest us from the county. So, up pops our little neighborhood and shows the county and other neighborhoods around us not to believe the city's tactics, and we get to keep our neighborhood a little longer. Thus, I was horribly disappointed that only three of us showed up from the greater neighborhood (this would include a section owned by the city after they annexed the railroad right-of-way beside our house to get past us!) -- only three of us, and I was one! (My hubby was home with our sick dd, thinking I was more on top of the info about our candidate anyway.)

It turned out okay. Our neighborhood/precinct was allotted three delegates besides our precinct officer (who, BTW, just had brain surgery for cancer -- please keep Vicki in your prayers). So, guess what? I'm now a delegate to our county caucus in March! How do I end up getting roped into stuff like this?! Actually, I'm very excited and honored, even though it was kind of a railroad job. And as part of all this, I get to vote on the party platform of our county and our state -- what an incredible opportunity to affect the state of our government! I like this -- I can be involved without running for office (not my thing).

By the way, in our county Republican vote, Ron Paul took 31%, McCain took 27%, then Romney, and then Huckabee (sorry, I can't remember the other numbers at the moment).

All in all, an excellent experience, one I would suggest taking your kids to next year, or even this year if your state hasn't had their caucus yet. Remember, we don't have any right to complain if we don't vote. Stay in the game.

Posted in Family Life

Yeah, I've been away from the blog this week. I have all the typical excuses -- we've been sick, very busy, family responsibilities, etc. But this one takes the cake.

The dog chewed through our internet cable.

Honestly.

Lucky he didn't find the power cable instead. But nonetheless, we were without internet for about 24 hours until we discovered the problem. Should have seen dh's face; anger has never been more apparent! Fortunately he had intended to go into electronics before chef school, so he was able to fix it until we can get the tools needed to do the job properly.

Now we have to figure out the most efficient way to train the mutt to stop chewing on everything. He's taken out hoses, bottles of motor oil, bags of potting soil, even a dropped bottle of willow tincture. He even regularly eats grapes off our grapevines, and they're supposed to be lethal to dogs. Maybe he's indestructible... hmm.  Then maybe the power cable won't do anything to him.

Better not test that theory.

Posted in Family Life

I'd like for you all to meet a few people. First, my hubby is now blogging here, or soon will be. He is going by SDP45 -- a train thing, if you're clueless as to what that means, like me.

Next, my mom and dad are going under the name "paintbrushpapa" in reference to my daughter; I asked them to come on and leave her messages. I don't know that they'll be blogging, but they have a presence here now in the least.

And then there's the Treasure Hunter. I can't reveal the identity of this person (though I may have in a past post somewhere), but suffice it to say she is very close to the family. She visits/calls/mails maps to my dd now and then, which send her on a treasure hunt for some trinket or other. She too was asked to comment on dd's blog, and so has a page here now too. Again, who knows if she'll do any blogging, but maybe we'll be able to convince her to do so when some of dd's cousins get to blogging.

So, in the least, please pop over to my dh's blog and say hi. You'll find his link at the bottom of my friends list. Thanks!

Posted in Family Life

Well, the girls are now in my in-laws' custody until the case in March. It will be a long five weeks, but at least the kids are with family.

The case itself is going to be nasty, according to the lawyer. Not surprising -- the CPS ladies are real manipulators. I ended up having a bit of an argument with them over some very improper questions they were asking just before walking into court, all meant to further their case rather than to help the girls' placement. Leave it to me to take on an untouchable agency, but it was clearly coming from ulterior motives.

My MIL is going to be homeschooling them until then; it's easier and cheaper than putting them back in the Christian school in our area for just a few weeks. I'm hoping she gains a better understanding of the whole process through this; she's a licensed music teacher (retired) and only slightly supportive of our efforts. But it will be good for the girls to be at home with Grandma for a while.

So thanks for your prayers, and please continue to pray for the whole situation. We're far from done.

Posted in Family Life

Good morning, all.

I need to request prayer for my SIL's family. Her children were taken from school yesterday by CPS. The hubby has had a shaken-baby incident in his past -- about 15 years ago, but hasn't had an incident since. He has, though, dealt with drugs and anger issues, though the anger issues generally stem from CPS' continual assault on him. (I do know about fears of abuse -- I have been trained in domestic abuse advocacy. But this is not the case with this family and with these two little girls. The school counselor even agrees.) CPS has continued a major assault until this week when my SIL told them to back off because there was no active case.

The girls are in an undisclosed location, instead of being sent to us or my in-laws. CPS claims there's no one to send them to, but had spoken with my in-laws the day previous. They lied in their information to the judge for the warrant. They've lied to the state representatives, the state ombudsman, police and to the school as well.

These girls are very family-oriented, and the 5yo is very shy. The 11 yo has health issues too.

Please pray that the lawyer's experience dealing with CPS' abuses in the past will give him a good foundation and that God will give him wisdom. Pray that the girls will be comforted; I've been praying that He send them an angel or a Christian caregiver to help them. Pray that the parents trust Him to take care of the situation. Pray that the girls will be allowed to come stay with family right away, if not back to their own mother. (BTW, the father is visiting daily, but is not living in the home at present.)

My SIL meets with the lawyer today at 4 pm, and the hearing is Friday at 4 pm.
I know you don't have enough info to simply take sides, but if you know me, you know I am very protective of children's safety but also of freedoms. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that these girls are safe with their father. Just pray and we'll hope together that God's will be done.

Thanks.