Love/Hate Relationship

This time of year brings the following emotionally-charged words...

• Thanksgiving
• Christmas
• family
• New Year

I think it's safe to say that many folks have a sincere love/hate relationship with the entire holiday season.

If you are fortunate you absolutely love the holidays and all they entail. You're joyful and relatively stress-free.

Some folks just hate this time of year. They find no joy in the season and experience greater levels of stress and/or depression.

Then, I think there's 'the rest of us.' Those I mentioned above who see-saw between the two, or simply maintain balance somewhere in the middle.

• Realizing and acknowledging how very much we have to be thankful for
• Having difficulty feeling thankful during very difficult times and circumstances
• There's a strong focus on good food during the holidays - Yum!
• Difficult time of year for weight and health management
• Entertaining, decorating, traveling, shopping
• Entertaining, decorating, traveling, shopping
• Gift-Giving
• Finding money in the budget for gift-giving
• Exciting, stepped-up schedules
• Even less time to get everything done
• Time with friends and loved-ones
• Difficult or uncomfortable relationships for some; others are alone and lonely
• Wanting the perfect gifts for everyone
• Wanting our kids to appreciate the true meaning of the holidays
• New Year! New Beginning! New Resolutions!
• New Year, nothing changes, resolutions broken or not even attempted

The holidays can be a wonderful, magical time. They can also be pain-filled and depressing. I pray you make the most of the season and can be joyful. I pray, too, that you are sensitive to those around who may be struggling. Let your heart, not our commercialized society, dictate how you spend the holidays. Don't hesitate to show your love and always be open to receiving love from others.

May Holiday Blessings be Yours...

Ctrl-X

Wow...

Ctrl-x is a shortcut to remove text on the page and move it to the clipboard when using Microsoft programs. When blogging here it just removes the text; it's gone. Ouch.

a blank page

So many times I come to this place and want to write. I feel so much and want to express that here...on this blank page...but the words won't come.

I don't think it's having something to say as much as it is wanting to be heard.

Food For Thought...

Happy Birthday Wishes

to my sister-in-law, Carol, in Cocoa, FL.

Enjoy your special day!

There's not a cell phone battery around that can stand up to two 8-yr old girls on a marathon Sunday afternoon gab session!

Miracle in my kitchen... 'John,' the caterpillar Abbey brought home a few weeks ago emerged from his chrysalis today and is now a beautiful butterfly. She's been misting him with water all along and now he has Gatorade-drenched cotton balls in his cage.

Change of plans...I thought I would meet with Elisa tomorrow. Swap some coupons, get Zach's car seat to her - normal stuff. Guess that will have to wait. They're on their way up north for the holidays. I somehow thought that would be later in the week and I'd see them all again before they went. Oops.

I hate buying books that tell you how to save money...

Breaking tradition this year and going to eat out on Thanksgiving. Let's just say I'm not going to win any popularity awards for that decision.

Abbey, my 8-yr old, made wonderful Sloppy Joes for our lunch today.

Feeling good about cleaning out two freezers this afternoon...that is until I remembered there's one more to go. Need to have clean freezers in order to save all that money the aforementioned books are going to help me with!

Facebook and the Internet easily open long-closed doors. It's an emotional see-saw deciding whether to make those connections or leave them be. Most recently I've found that a best-friend from my teen years made a move she'd always talked about (yay!) and another old friend seems to be doing well when I really thought they would have been dead by now. That's good to know!

Laundry is evil.

That about wraps up my random thoughts for this afternoon. Have a blessed and very Thankful week.

Oh Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy...I Love New Toys!

Have you heard of Kindle? The portable book/magazine/newspaper reader by Amazon.com? It's a pretty cool gadget that's been on my 'wish list' for a while now, but a little on the pricey side.

Well, today, I received a notice in my inbox that Kindle for the PC was available for FREE download. So, in less than two minutes, I can go to Amazon.com, download a book (most for 9.99), and begin reading it on my computer.

• No going to the book store.
• No waiting for my beloved UPS deliveries.
• No Shipping Charges
• No storing the books in ever-decreasing storage space.
• No dropped books in the bath tub.
• No torn pages, missing pages, coffee splatters

I'm in book and computer lover's paradise!!! You've really got to check this out!

I'm so happy, Happy, HAPPY!

A Day In the Life...

I was so excited yesterday to find out that our daughter and son-in-law are expecting a baby girl. Ooh...a baby girl!!! That will make 1-boy and 1-girl for Shannon and Josh, and 1-boy and 1-girl for Elisa and Rob.


I wish you could have seen the smiles - the joy in their eyes. How blessed to be able to share in that moment with them! Oh man, I can just see our grandson, Zachary, as a big brother. Having had 5-children of my own I like to imagine these scenes with a nice musical soundtrack playing in the background - that way I don't hear the squeals and screams that usually accompany sibling play time.


But...that wasn't the only news...


We also found out yesterday that our oldest daughter is a possible match to be a kidney donor for her father-in-law. She now moves to the next level of testing and nothing is certain at this point. We knew the family was being counseled and tested but we hadn't given it much thought beyond that. Now it looks like we're having to give it more thought! I'm very proud of our daughter for not hesitating to step-up-to-the-plate. As a mother, however, I have my own concerns. She is, after all, still my child...no matter how old she gets or how many of her own children she has. I believe some of my concern comes from the fact that my own father lost a kidney to cancer a number of years ago. My thoughts quickly hit on the 'What if...' questions.


Less dramatic but noteworthy just the same is the celebratory fact that our oldest son was able to get all his first-choice classes for next semester. He's a junior in college and class schedules are often a concern. Did I mention he's a worrier? Wow - yes, like you wouldn't believe!

Rounding out the day are homeschool issues, Boy Scout issues, Abbey so happy to have finished her first Nancy Drew book, a zoo field-trip, spiritual discussions, holiday planning, current events discussions and, finally, movie and pizza night at my mother-in-law's home. We're watching 'Up' and I'm looking forward to a lighthearted, relaxing evening. Tomorrow I get to babysit Zach while Rob and Elisa take in a football game.


And so it goes...each day has a new set of joys to celebrate, fires to put out, laughter to share, dreams to dream, tears to cry, and so on. I really love the 'and so on' part!

So if you hear me mention my (pick one: quiet, boring, laid-back, un-exciting) life, please remind me of my blog posts like this. After all, it's just part of 'a day in the life...'

All the best...

Giving Hope - A Message from "Be The Match Foundation"

Today I want to take a moment to promote a cause that my husband and I have been a part of for 10-years now. We are registered with the National Marrow Donor Program as potential donors. It's possible we'll have the opportunity to save someone's life one day.

I urge you to take a moment to visit BeTheMatchFoundation.org for more information.

Thank you...

*******************************************************************











You have the power to help, the power to give hope.

Be The Match Foundation supports the work of the National Marrow Donor Program. Together they help patients receive the marrow or umbilical cord blood transplant they need.

Your gift will help in many ways:

• Add members to the Be The March Registry, so more patients have the chance to find their match.
• Provide financial assistance to patients to make their transplant and recovery possible.
• Advance medical discovery to help patients live longer, healthier lives.

Thousands of patients with leukemia and other life-threatening diseases rely on Be The Match Foundation and the National Marrow Donor Program to make their transplants possible.

The need is great.

Every gift counts.

You make the difference.

To make a gift, visit http://www.bethematchfoundation.org/ or call 1-800-507-5427.

You may also mail a gift to: Be The Match Foundation, 3001 Broadway Street N.E., Suite 601, Minneapolis, MN 55413-1753

*Be The Match Foundation is the new name of The Marrow Foundation.

Have I been fired? OR "Leadership Training 101"

I love the fact that we are a homeschooling family. Undoubtedly a journey of countless blessings, humor, and, in all honesty, its fair share of doubt and frustration (for students and teacher alike).

(This photo of Abbey was taken while she was studying on the porch off our classroom. The photo of Christopher was taken in Washington DC during a lunch break on the mall.)

Each day is a new adventure!

A few weeks ago I was a bit under the weather and the kids did their schoolwork in the classroom while I rested on the couch. They would come to me or their college-student brother when they needed help. Overall, however, Christopher was 'in-charge,' or the 'teacher' for the day. He thought that was pretty cool. Since then, he often tells me I can take the day off. He can be the teacher and all will be fine. 'You can trust me,' he says.



I never know whether to be insulted or proud. Is he trying to fire me? Or is he, as I prefer to look at it, working on his leadership skills?

Our days are full and lively and in some respects very similar to classrooms all across the country. In the best ways, I like to think.

Our days are also different from what you'd find in a typical classroom. I've had Abbey run out of the room in tears when her brother wrote a 'Little Sister For Sale' ad in his creative writing course. We have a dachshund named Trudy for our school mascot and she's often treated as one of the students. We are pretty good at 'doing school' on the go, in the car, in a variety of cities and states, and just occasionally, on weekends or in the evenings. You'll hear squeals of delight when our principal walks in..."Daddy! Daddy,!" and our most recent fire drill occurred in a high-rise hotel in Washington DC.

Oops...the principal just came in...guess I better get back to work. After all, I don't want to get fired.

T'was the Month Before Christmas

The following email made it to my inbox this morning. Thanks, Joy, for sharing.
It's nice finding a 'diamond in the rough' of my emails!

*T'was The Month Before Christmas*

*When all through our land,*

*Not a Christian was praying*

*Nor taking a stand.*

*See the PC Police had taken away,*

*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*

*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*

*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*

*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*

* December 25th is just a ' Holiday.*

*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*

*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*

*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*

*Something was changing, something quite odd! *

*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*

*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*

*As Target was hanging their trees upside down*

* At Lowes the word Christmas - was no where to be found.*

*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears*

*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*

*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty*

*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*

*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*

*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !*

*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*

*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*

*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith*

* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace.*

*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*

*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*

*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'*

*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*

*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*

*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday!*

Please, all Christians join together and wish

everyone you meet during the holidays a

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christ is 'The Reason' for the Christ-mas Season!

Humbled yet again...

With so much in this world that I don't know, I'm probably a bit smug about those things I do know about. Well...let's just say that I have been humbled. Yet again.

I recently came upon a wonderful bread and was fortunate enough to get the recipe for it. I've been a bit of a foodie for years (not in practice but in a more scholarly manner) and I love to bake bread from scratch.

So, shopping list in hand, I began searching for the needed ingredients at my local Bloom grocery store. I was familiar with all the items - while not in every pantry, I knew they wouldn't be too difficult to locate.

Here were my thoughts while shopping...

Hmmm....let's see...polenta - that's the corn like stuff, ok, dont' see it anywhere - going to have to go to the healthier-type-food store

rolled oats - hmm...I have Quaker in the cupboard but I don't remember if those are rolled or not - better buy the specific 'rolled oats' item called for - I'll get those at the other store, too.

Ok, wheat bran - not wheat germ - of course - I know where that is in the grocery store. Ok, here's another for the other store. I give up here - I'm just going to start again tomorrow with a trip to Earth Fare.

Ahh...Earth Fare...pretty cool place. Let's try again. Let's check out the bins of fresh items.

*Ok, polenta - No? Darn. Ok, I'll have to check the shelves.

*Rolled oats - oh hey, hurray! Ok, I'll grab a plastic bag with about 4-scoops of these rolled oats - I know I want to make a lot of this bread.

*Wheat bran - hmm...nope - oat bran but no wheat bran here -

*Unbleached bread flour - I can get that most places but since Bloom didn't have it and I'm here now I'll go ahead and get that. Just a small bag because I'll get a big bag at Sam's.

I should have the other items already...brown sugar, brown rice, salt, yeast, honey, buttermilk, poppy seeds. Oh good - buttermilk - I'll have to pick some up but that's good 'cause now we'll have my special hotcakes one night this week.

Ok...so now Abbey and I are off to check out the shelves for the still-needed items. This will take a little investigation because the items are certainly different from those found on my Carolina grocery shelves.

Score! Here's the wheat bran. That was easier than I expected. Now, polenta. Yes! Here it is. Bob's Red Mill; Corn Grits also known as Polenta.

WHAT!?! Corn Grits?!?

You're kidding, right? I've been looking all over the place for corn grits? I can't believe I have to go home and tell my husband I was looking all over the place for, of all things, grits. I will never live this one down. I'm envisioning the laughter bubbles penned above everyone's heads. Practically a headline in the Greer Citizen... Long-time resident skips grits and goes for POLENTA. ARGH!

Boy, oh boy, this bread had better be good.