Nov. 29, 2009 - Rebecca's Birthday

Just wanted to share a little bit of how we celebrated our sweet girl's birthday.  Roger took the day off from work as is his custom for their birthdays.  (Isn't that a great tradition?!)  Rebecca wanted to go to the park to picnic and play.  We invited some friends and headed out to the park. 

It was a chilly day, but still fun to hang out with friends.  One sweet friend brought cupcakes (thank you Rebecca!).

The kids played capture the flag and tag.  Fun games that can involve all who want to play.  Of course there was a playground to play on as well.

We even got a family photo!

After several hours we went home.  Rebecca and I then headed out again.  We first went to Panera to get smoothies.  Yum.  Then we headed to a spa for pedicures.  We were the last people in there for the day.  It was fun to have some pampering.

Then home for dinner that Rebecca picked out.  She also picked out Key Lime Pie for dessert. 

Most of the rest of the evening was filled with packing and baking.  Rebecca made 5 pies for Thanksgiving.  We had a great Thanksgiving week-end with my family and I'll post more on that tomorrow.

Blessings
Leslie

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Nov. 26, 2009 - Signing Time Special!!!

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Nov. 25, 2009 - Things I'm Thankful for . . .

2009 has been a year of trials and hardship.  Rather than dwelling on the bad things, I wanted to take a bit of time and reflect on the things I'm thankful for this year.  (Thanks for the idea, Wendy!)

*My family.  Through all the things that have brought me to my knees in tears and in prayer this year, my family has been the one constant in my life.  Brian works hard to support us (without complaining), and I have just the best kids.  My parents, too, are always here for us, and I'm so thankful for them each and every day.

*My friends - both in real life and the online ones I've never met.  I've  been blessed with many new online friends this past year (thanks to my work with the Homeschool Crew), and I'm so grateful for them all!  I can't even begin to list them all by name - if you're reading this, you know who you are (wink!)

*My job.  What a privilege and honor it is to work for a Christian company, especially one that's all about one of my passions - homeschooling.  Work doesn't really seem like work most days - it's more like fun!

*My house.  There have been times in the past when I've complained about my house or have desired to move to a bigger/better one.  Currently, I'm "at home" here and satisfied.  I'm thankful for the simple things - like a coat of paint (or 2, or 3) that have made the house more homey this year.  Earlier in the year, we were able to renovate our attic into a bedroom for Ashley, which has been a blessing on so many different levels.

*My health.  Walking through this scary road called "cancer" with my very best friend has taught me to treasure every day and to be thankful to God for my present health because we just don't know what tomorrow holds for us.

*My church.  Even though it wasn't in our plans to switch churches this past year, it must have been in God's plan.  Sometimes it's hard for me to accept His plans, or I'm resistant to change, or whatever.  Though it was a rough road, we are at a place where we're comfortable.

*My salvation.  Even if I die tomorrow, I'm sure of where I'm going, and that's DEFINITELY something to be thankful for.

I know there are so many more and this is probably just the tip of the iceberg, but it seems to be the most important things. 

We'll be enjoying lunch with my family tomorrow.  Later in the afternoon we'll visit with Brian's family, where we'll plan our family get-together.  Wherever you are, whatever your plans are . . .

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Nov. 25, 2009 - Terror by Night & Blind Sight by James Pence

About Terror by Night:
 
A father denied his daughter dating privileges with a certain young man. Typical teenage behavior might have included pouting, a bad attitude or perhaps even a yelling match. Never in a million years would Terry Caffey have suspected it would involve murder. Yet, in the early morning hours of March 8, 2008, Terry’s whole world turned upside down. His wife and two sons where brutally murdered and burned in the house they lived and Terry was shot twelve times…by his daughter and her friends. 

Terry Caffey and James Pence reconstruct this tragic yet strangely beautiful true story of God’s sovereignty, forgiveness and grace in Terror by Night. As if the story of Caffey’s family wasn’t enough, readers will be captivated by the way God ordained the meeting between the Blind Sight author and Caffey with a burnt page from Blind Sight found at the crime scene.
 
About Blind Sight:
 
No one plans for bad things to happen. No one plans on losing their family. No one knows how to move on after horror strikes. No one. Not even Thomas Kent. After receiving a strange phone call from a long-ago friend requesting Kent to pick up a package at the airport, Kent begins a spine tingling, suspense filled journey in which he hopes to reunite the package (his friend’s children) with their mother, Justine, a traitor in the Fellowship for World Renewal Cult. Twists and turns in this page turning drama make Blind Sight not only a journey of extreme action and thrills, but one of discovering the sovereign plan of God.



James H. Pence is a full-time professional writer and editor living near Dallas, Texas. James is a multi-talented writer who has been published in both fiction and nonfiction. His publishers include Tyndale House, Kregel, and Osborne/McGraw-Hill. James holds a master’s degree in Biblical Studies with an emphasis in creative writing and journalism from Dallas Theological Seminary. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in theology from Dallas Bible College.
 
James is also a vocalist and gospel chalk artist, and he regularly uses his talents to share the gospel in prisons. James is the author of Blind Sight, a gripping novel about mind-control cults and coauthor (along with Terry Caffey) of the new book: Terror by Night: The True Story of the Brutal Texas Murder that Destroyed a Family, Restored One Man’s Faith, and Shocked a Nation.

An Interview with James Pence:
1. You've dabbled in a little bit of everything career-wise. Give us a brief summary of your journey so far.

I have definitely had a colorful background as you've already mentioned. I guess the one unifying thread that has run through everything I do is the service of God. I knew when I was 14 years old that God had called me into the ministry, and I've never wavered from that. And even though that ministry now includes such things as teaching karate to homeschoolers. I consider that as much a part of my calling as anything else.

Since finishing Bible College back in 1978 I have been a youth pastor, a camp director, a pastor, a prison evangelist, a gospel chalk artist, a speaker, a singer, a Web designer, a writer, a karate teacher, an art teacher, and a writing teacher. Amazingly, I'm still active in most of those things. I'm not pastoring anymore, and I've long since left directing summer camps behind me, but everything else I still do.

It would be a book in and of itself if I were to try to go into the details of all of those different things and how I got started doing each of them. Suffice it to say that I've always believed that the talents that we have are stewardships. Thus I've always felt that if I have a talent in an area I have a responsibility to develop and use it for God's glory. And that's why do so many different things.  I wouldn't have it any other way.
 
2. There was a tight deadline for Terror by Night. Tell us a little bit about how you interviewed Terry Caffey and the timeline you had to submit your book.

There was definitely a tight deadline for Terror by Night. I had a total of 12 weeks in which to write it and that included doing all the interviewing with Terry. I'm very happy to say that I was able to meet that challenge, but there were times when I wondered if I could get it all done.

Terry and I got together every Wednesday for several hours and I would interview him. Our first few interviews were just for getting the layout of the book planned. I had to get an idea of the different aspects of the story that needed to be pulled together, sort of like a plot outline.  And then I actually had a plan the storyline based on my discussions with Terry.

It was sort of a cumulative thing, because as we talked each week more questions would come up and I would make notes on those and we would discuss them in subsequent weeks.

I recorded all of the interviews with a digital voice recorder and then transferred them all to my computer.  After that I edited the interviews down into soundbites of two to three minutes all according to topics. Then I put them all on my iPod and would listen to them at every spare moment. My goal was to be familiar enough with Terry's voice so that the book would sound natural and that it would sound like Terry was doing the speaking or writing.
 
3. Because of the intensity of this book, how did you deal with the emotional side of writing? Did it ever become more than you or Terry could deal with at one sitting?

This was a very difficult story to write and it was very stressful for both of us, but in different ways. As we went through the interview process Terry began to struggle with depression and had some rough moments. Once or twice we had changed the topic of our discussion because it was just getting to be too hard on him.

For me the stress came from the deadline more than the storyline. The fastest I'd written a book before was 20 weeks, and writing this one in 12 weeks was like running a marathon. Near the end I was exhausted, but still had to get that word count out every day. There were times when I would just become overwhelmed with the size of the task. But there was nothing to do but keep moving forward.

So we were both very happy when this project was complete.
 
4. You enjoy some great ministry opportunities outside of your writing. Share how God is using your other gifts to reach others for Christ.

As I mentioned earlier, in addition to being a writer I am a gospel chalk artist and a vocalist. I've been doing that for over 30 years now and really enjoy being able to use art and music to bring a message to people. For about the last 15 years I've been going into prisons with my art and music and sharing the gospel with inmates. That's been a huge blessing to me.  In fact, I often say that after a prison service I've been far more blessed than the inmates. And recently God has begun to open up more doors both in prison and out. Over a six-week period, I'll be drawing in Florida, Iowa, and Alabama.

One of the great things about chalk art is that even if the people who see a drawing don't remember everything I say, they will remember the picture and the scripture that the picture represented. I've had people write me who saw my pictures 20 years ago and came to Christ through them, and now they are serving Christ in churches and other ministries. That's one of the great joys of this ministry.
 
5. With the re-release of Blind Sight, it's almost like two books releasing at once. What message do you hope readers will take away from reading both books?

I was so excited when Tyndale decided to release Blind Sight a second time. It's rare that a novel gets a second chance at life. And it's especially satisfying that both books were released simultaneously. And even though one is a novel and the other a nonfiction book, the message that people can take away from the books is really the same. God is sovereign.

So often we are confused when difficult circumstances come into our lives and we wonder why God would allow that. Sometimes we even get angry with him and demand an explanation like Terry did. But the message of both Blind Sight and Terror by Night is that while God doesn't explain himself to us, we can trust in his goodness and sovereign grace. We know that he is working all things together for our good and we can trust him in that.  Blind Sight communicates that message by way of a novel; Terror by Night communicates the same message by way of a true story.

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Nov. 25, 2009 - Happy Birthday Rebecca!

Where do I begin?  I think I must say that with all of the birthday posts.  Just having these days come causes me to be reflective and to think back in ways that I don't always take time to do.  Has it really been 14 years?!  Don't I sound like an "old person" just saying that?  I remember when I was that age wondering why older people were always so surprised that I had gotten older.  I didn't understand how fast the years could pass.  I didn't know that I would want time to slow down one day. 

I have even joked with Rebecca that we were going to skip this one so she didn't get older so quickly.  She laughed - but was not in agreement.  Guess you only want to skip birthdays when you get older.  LOL

I remember being pregnant with Rebecca and having a vision that I would be having a girl.  I had wanted a "Rebecca" for years.  I was so certain I was having a girl, that my mother had bought only gifts for a girl!  I was delighted with our beautiful new daughter - and yet had no idea the joy that was awaiting us.  I couldn't even begin to fathom the blessing she would be - to me, to our family and to so many other people. 

Where do I start?  I'm thankful for the gifts Rebecca has been given and the beautiful way she uses those gifts to bless others.  She is creative, talented and hard-working.  This is evident in her Wholehearted bracelet ministry (see sidebar for details) in which she has made hundreds of bracelets and raised over $8000 for Duke Children's Hospital.  I see these qualities in her day to day life as well as she is constantly creating things - both craft projects and also cooking projects.  All of us benefit from these!

Rebecca is bright, inquistive and interesting.  She is a joy to teach and has always been a great student.  She is motivated and willing to do all that is asked of her.  I know this will serve her well throughout her life. 

She is brave and willing to try new things.  Starting a business at age 11 is amazing to me.  Speaking to a group of 150 is daunting - and she was wonderful.  All this for a young girl who is somewhat quie and a little on the shy side - until you get to know her. 

Rebecca has a heart to serve.  She demonstrates this every day in so many ways to her siblings.  I would not be able to manage nearly so well without her capable help!  She has also served in the community.  She is wonderful with young children.  She is energetic, athletic and sensitive.  She is also unassuming - so much lies behind her sometimes quiet exterior. 

I have loved being your Mom, Rebecca.  I have learned so much from you.  I love spending time with you, sharing interests and just talking.  You are all I could have ever wanted in a daughter and so much more!  I thank God for you every day and look forward to another amazing year with you!  I know that God has great plans for you.  I have loved watching Him at work in your life already and look forward to seeing the work He will continue to do in and through you.

I love you!

Mommy

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Nov. 24, 2009 - Life is made up of little moments

So much has happened over the last several years to make me stop and appreciate the little things.  I think it can be easy to become overwhelmed with the big events, projects and deadlines that occupy so much of our energy.  These can become the focus of our scrapbooks (and sometimes our memories).  It isn't the bulk of our days though.  Most of our time is spent in the ordinary, every day things.  Things that are just as sweet and maybe even more important than those big things.  I want to remember to stop, enjoy and spend time in these moments as it is what my life is made of.

We've been enjoying being outdoors this fall.  I love the fall - the colors, the crisp sounds, the cool breezes (well, eventually we get those!).  We have been studying clouds for a week.  Wouldn't you know that 4 of the 5 days we had beautiful, clear - cloudless - skies!  LOL  The other day was our field trip day which has some great clouds which we enjoyed seeing but weren't able to draw in our nature journals since we weren't at home. 

Even without the clouds we found things to enjoy in nature.  I loved the color of the blue sky against the color of the changing leaves.  Isn't this beautiful?

I also enjoyed seeing my children thrive in the fresh air.  I think it does them good to be outside and I do want them to appreciate the many amazing things that  God has made for us to learn about and enjoy. 

I also enjoy seeing them have fun together.  It does warm a mama's heart to see a site like this one.

Rebecca took advantage of the beautiful weather to take her siblings to our neighborhood park one day.  They had fun playing and I loved that she took pictures while they were there!  Isn't this a sweet one?

She also let Eliana help cook again.  Have I mentioned what a great big sister she is?  I wonder if they truly appreciate how blessed they are to have her?  I probably need to help this along. 

Nothing big.  Nothing dramatic.  Just a few of life's sweet little moments.  I'm loving them!

Blessings
Leslie

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Nov. 22, 2009 - Field Trip - Falls Lake

I love field trip days.  I look forward to the time learning more about nature or history whatever out topic of the day may be in a fun and hands-on way.  I look forward to seeing our friends.  I just look forward to all the day has to offer.

As our field trip day approached last week, it was raining and the forecast was grim.  It was calling for rain and our field trip was an outdoor nature one.  I wondered what the day would hold.  We were assured that it would be a go - rain or shine - as shelters were available (unless it was storming). 

As we drove over to Falls Lake, a few drops were hitting the windshield.  A number of people had to cancel for various reasons.  When we arrived, we were a small group.  It was overcast and dreary  ... and yet beautiful.

The haze obstrucing the view.  The brilliant colors of the leaves, muted through the fog.  Can you see God in views like this?  So many times, I want my path to be clear.  I want to see where I am going.  I want to know what lies ahead.  I want God to tell me what His plans are.  I want.  I want. 

What I don't want is to wait, to wonder, to worry.    I don't want to let go of my hopes and dreams.  I don't want life to be so unfair for so many.  Again, it is all about what I want.  Sigh.  It is hard when you can see so clearly that your focus is on yourself instead of on God. 

I want answers to so many things right now.  Things I've been praying about for a long time.  It is hard to wait and yet I really do want what God wants for my life.  I know He loves me.  I know He is working in my life.  I know He is there - even when I can't see clearly. 

There is beauty in so many places if only we will stop and look.  There is often beauty in places that may at first not look beautiful at all.  My eyes see things so differently now than they did a few years ago.  I'm thankful that God has given me that gift.  I continue to pray that God would give me His eyes to see things.  It is an area in which I fall short often.  I think that the many struggles that our family has been through have helped to open my eyes to so much.  I'm not the same and for that I'm thankful - and yet there is still so much work left to be done in me.  I think the more I learn about Him, the more I can see that I lack.  I'm thankful that I don't have to earn His love, but that it has been freely given to me. 

Now, on to the field trip.  We split into 2 groups.  The younger children were learning about Dangerous Plants and Animals.  The Ranger talked with us about spiders, snakes, fire ants, bees, ticks, poison ivy and unfamiliar dogs.  He gave the children a lot of good information on what to do when you encounter these animals/plants.

We looked at pictures in order to recognize various species such as the Black Widow spider.

And even saw some that had once been alive.

The most dangerous snake in our area is the Copperhead.  It was good to see what it looked like so that we could hopefully recognize one we might see.   (Though I hope we never see one!)

Due to its coloring, this snake can easily hide among the leaves.

The Ranger also shared the most poisonous snakes have larger triangular shaped heads and eyes shaped like slits.  One of the snakes that breaks these rules though is also found in NC, though typically not near us.  It is the Coral Snake.

 In order to help remember this snake, the children learned a rhyme.

Red and yellow kills a fellow
Red and black, OK  Jack

They looked at some snake skins.

We walked around a bit and looked at the poison ivy vines growing on some nearby trees.  Then we just played.  It is a beautiful area and I'm thankful we had the opportunity to be outside today. 

While we were with the younger children, the older kids had a class on Compasses.  They learned about how to read and use a compass and then were tested on this by having to put their skills to a test.  There were directions given and then they followed them to see where they ended up on a numbered line.  The teams were given points based on how close they were to the right numbers.  I heard great reports on this class, but unfortunately have no pictures to share.  Please check out my friend Lynn's blog (click on her name) for more details and some pictures of this group. 

A couple of hours later, some of the fog had lifted and the view was a little clearer.  I love the reflection of the trees!

At lunch, we had a scare as Joshua's blood glucose numbers were very, very high.  I haven't seen numbers like this since the week he was diagnosed.  It was frightening.  I had him wash his hands again and then we did a recheck.  The number was accurate.  We treated it and thankfully he was down 200 points by mid-afternoon and another 100 points by dinner time.  Yes, it was that high! 

He ALWAYS spikes on our field trip days.  Always.  I'm not sure if it is just the excitement of being with friends on a fun outing, but I've come to expect higher numbers on those days.  Just nothing like this.  It usually evens out by later in the day too.  I'm not sure if there is more I could or should be doing about it either.  I have talked with his doctor about this.  I'm going to try to make sure he is well hydrated on these mornings and just continue to do our best.  (There is no other factor that is different in terms of food, carb counting or amount of insulin.)  It's a mystery as this disease often is.  It can be a hard thing. 

So often I'm asked if his diabetes is "under control".  I'm not sure if it ever will be under our control.  We are doing our best to manage it day by day and I think that is all we can do.  Just yesterday a friend told me that it was still a struggle for her dh who also have Type 1 and that he still has highs and lows.  I think part of the challenge is that so many different factors can affect your numbers.  We are learning though and hopefully we'll continue to improve and get better.  There is a high incentive to do well and with God's help we will continue to work at it each day.

I feel like I've been rambling and want to end with some things I'm thankful for.  I'm thankful for our health.  I don't think I'll ever take this for granted again.  I'm thankful for a wonderful medical team.  I'm thankful for friends.  I'm thankful for a great FIAR homeschool group.  I'm thankful for the many things in nature that God has made - each pointing back to a wonderful Designer.  I'm thankful for my family.  I'm richly blessed.

With love,

Leslie

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Nov. 22, 2009 - Pampering Favorites

Sometimes you just need to take some time to pamper yourself.  Today, I thought I'd share a few of my more recent pampering favorites:

Fall is here and one of my favorite things about fall is the scents associated with the season - baked goods, spices, etc.  I don't always have time to be baking (and I'd weigh about a million pounds if I did!), so I like burning candles to get those yummy-smelling aromas in my house.  At a local craft shop, I found a really neat brand of candles that are poured in regular canning jars - what's neat about them is that they all look the same - the jars are covered with a bumpy brownish paint, some gauzy fabric, and a brown paper label.  This is cool because you don't have to buy candles based on color anymore - these fit any decor and you don't even see the candle inside.  Plus, they are long-burning.  Alas, I don't see a brand name listed on it anywhere, so I can't share a link with you (if I had a camera, I'd take a picture).

Another great candle product that I've been enjoying is the Sugar Cookie Soywax pint-sized candle by Homestead Originals.  These are available in various sizes and fragrances, are hand-poured by my friend and co-worker, Lisa Barthuly, and smell awesome! 

Another awesome product from Homestead Originals is their Handmade Lavender Wheatberry Heating Pad.  I ordered mine without the lavender because I'm not a fan of the flowery fragrances, but this thing is just so wonderful!  Lately, I've  been having a good deal of back pain and this feels so good when I heat it up and put it behind my lower back on the couch.  Also, after a long and tiring day, this feels great around my neck!  The website recommends using it as a bed-warmer, and I am SO going to be trying that this winter.  Talk about some major pampering!

With the cooler weather, comes  dry skin.  I haven't had much trouble in the past, but this year my hands have been unusually dry (right around the knuckles).  Just when I thought I was going to have to break down and purchase an expensive lotion, they started getting better.  I had recently opened a new container of dish soap - and it's been a lifesaver.  Dawn Hand Renewal has been surprisingly effective. The bottle  says that it improves the look and feel of your hands in just 5 days, and I'm here to attest to that fact.  It sounds kinda silly to consider dish soap something of a pampering product, but I'm sold on this stuff - it's a miracle worker.  On Wednesday, my knuckles were like sandpaper; today they're soft and smooth. 

Winter is the time for long, hot bubble baths, so I also ordered some of my favorite bubble bath from Avon.  Curling up in a hot tub filled with bubbles, reading a good book, and smelling a yummy candle - sounds pretty great to me.

What are you doing to pamper yourself?  Any great products you can recommend to me?

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Nov. 21, 2009 - Want a new computer for Christmas?

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Nov. 21, 2009 - Sherwood Pictures Presents . . .

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