Mullins Musings

Another Pinterest Project Completed!

2012-02-04T12:10:00.001-06:00

People warned me when I created an account on Pinterest that it can be extremely addicting... and they were right. The difference, though, between spending an hour on Pinterest and wasting an hour on Facebook or Twitter is that I generally leave my computer with some sort of useful information.

Case in point:

Last week I was perusing and saw this fantastic, yet seemingly super-easy idea for up-cycling candles. It was the kind of thing that left me saying "why didn't I think of that?" So yesterday I decided to try it.

Gather candles and liquify.

Pour liquified candle into a clean jar with a new wick.

Eleven old candles became four "new" candles (and lots of pretty, clean jars)!


Enjoying one of my new candles!

Two of the old candles either didn't smell or didn't have enough left to make a good layer, so I just melted them down and dumped them out.

Another great thing about doing this is having all of the jars cleaned out and ready to use for something else! I think a few of them will find a new home holding embellishments in my craft room.

Thanks to Kara at Happy-Go-Lucky for posting the instructions on her blog!

Happy pinning!

Random Thoughts

2012-02-03T09:57:00.005-06:00

I'm sitting in the cafeteria at St. Elizabeth's Hospital waiting for Hannah to be finished with her Speech and OT appointments, and I thought I'd visit my blog and attempt to do a little writing. It's always a struggle, but here goes...

We are about 99% moved and settled into our new home. There are just a few "what in the world am I going to put that" boxes left, so I'm feeling pretty good. It usually takes months to get to this point.

Hannah started at a new school after the Christmas break, and she has transitioned beautifully. This school has an autism program and, though they're still trying to figure out her placement, I'm very encouraged by what I've seen thus far. We have an IEP meeting scheduled for later in the month and I'm hoping by then everyone feels good about the decisions that are being made right now.

Hannah on Christmas morning.

Aaron didn't have a great nine weeks, but did great on his semester exams. He continues to improve on the guitar and I think he enjoys being part of the Praise Band at church. He is also still working (very part-time) at McDonalds. He tried out for the part of Raul in the high school's upcoming production of "The Phantom of the Opera", and was disappointed when he didn't get it. He did get a minor role though, and I think he's realizing that even the smaller parts are still a lot of work.

Aaron on his 17th birthday.

Joshua is doing well in school, in spite of a few mishaps toward the end of this nine weeks (missing assignments). He has been spending a lot of time with his girlfriend and her family... they are constantly on the go! A couple of highlights... they went to see "A Christmas Carol" at the Fox Theater in December, and the Globetrotters when they were in St. Louis last month.

Joshua on his 13th birthday.

Phillip is anxious to start his new job at the A6. He enjoyed the IG, but all the traveling takes it's toll.

I've been editing audio and uploading podcasts for our church. I find it very interesting, though I've been distracted lately and haven't found a good day/time to sit down and get the work done consistently each week. I also signed up with Creative Memories (again) a couple weeks ago. I missed my CM family more than words can say, so I just couldn't stay away any longer. Technically, I'm still active with Lindt... let's just leave it at that, for now. I've found myself several "crafty" things to do on Pinterest lately... in fact, I might be layering candles this afternoon.

Time for Hannah to be done... good-bye for now.

Feeling Crafty

2012-01-26T16:53:00.001-06:00

I've been browsing Pintrest the past few days, looking for ideas for a make-n-take for a scrapbooking event that I'm participating in on Saturday, and I saw this cute Valentine's Day idea. It was super-easy, and allowed me to recycle some things I had lying around.

First, I took four wooden blocks out of Hannah's room. These aren't just ordinary blocks to me... they were hand-made for Aaron when he was about two (I think) by my mother-in-law's father, who passed away a few years ago. The kids really haven't played with them in quite a while, but I just can't get rid of them... call me sentimental.

Next, I went digging through a box of photos and found several from my wedding that didn't "make it" into the wedding album. Some were taken from too far away, or the color wasn't perfect, and some were just duplicates.

Then I went through my scrapbooking supplies and found some paper and alphabet stickers (of course, you could cut letters with a Cricut, but I have a ton of sticker letters so that's what I decided to use), grabbed my Square Maker and Mod Podge and got to work.

Ready, set, go!

I inked the edges of the blocks with black Chalking Ink.

Adhered the paper and photos to the blocks with Mod Podge.

Applied a layer of Mod Podge over the top of each side of the blocks.

The finished project!

That's all there is to it! Thanks to Stories by Me for sharing this great idea!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-13T16:55:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from the Mullins family!

As we sit here and ponder of the events of the past year, we can honestly say that God has blessed us in so many ways. On December 16, 2011, we will officially become home owners! We will be packing and moving as most of you are reading this letter. We have discussed buying a house in the past, but it never came to fruition because it was not God’s timing. Once again, we prayed about the possibility and God opened all the doors. We are hoping to be completely moved in by the 23^rd so we can spend Christmas in the new house.

Phillip has had a really busy year. His job as the lead communications inspector with Air Mobility Command (AMC) Inspector General Inspection team has kept him on the road A LOT! He has been TDY 19 times this year. In March, he found out that he made SMSgt and sewed on his new stripe on the 1^st of November! However, with the new stripe comes a new job that he will be starting in Jan/Feb time frame. He will be moving back to the AMC Headquarters communications section and will be working as the superintendent of the new technology branch. It will be a job unlike any other that he has had in his career. He looks forward to the new challenge and increased responsibilities.

Patty has enjoyed being more involved at church this year with the Praise Team, Social Media, and Podcast ministries. She still enjoys scrapbooking when she has a chance, but gave up her Creative Memories business in May after 12½ years. She was blessed to be able to attend the first-ever Lindt Chocolate R.S.V.P. National Convention in New Hampshire in July, and in November she celebrated her first anniversary as an Independent Consultant.

Aaron is 16 and is a junior in high school. He is taking a break from sports this year, and spending more time on his music. He plays guitar with the Praise Band at our church, and he is actively involved in the church youth group. He is now a licensed driver, which definitely has its perks! In addition, he started working at McDonald’s part-time in September. And just this week, he will be receiving his class ring that he WON! “Like a boss!” (Yes, everyone has the opportunity to edit their own paragraph.)

Joshua, who prefers to be called Josh, will be 13 this weekend and is in the 7th grade. He grew at least 2 inches over the summer, and is quickly catching up with his Mom… in fact, it’s difficult to tell which one of them is taller right now. He’s quite proud of his new-improved and much deeper voice, and the fact that he needs to shave his mustache a couple times a week (except when he’s trying to grow it out)... he’s all but lost the “little boy” look. He also started attending church youth group this year and is really enjoying hanging out with the older teens. Also, Josh has discovered girls. He is “going steady” with a girl for the first time in his short life.

Hannah turned 10 in August and she is currently in 4th grade. She has been making steady progress with Speech, OT, and ABA therapy, but it was becoming increasingly obvious over the last year that her current classroom situation was not meeting her needs. So, after much prayer and careful consideration, we have decided to move her to a different school after Christmas because they have a very good autism program. Over the summer she was finally given a permanent spot at the Bridge the Divide horse riding therapy program. She also learned to tie her shoes, and her math skills have greatly improved this year… she learned to subtract while we were at Grandpa and Granna’s house for Thanksgiving! She loves to play with her Lalaloopsy dolls, and still watches “Signing Time!” virtually everyday.

We hope that you’ve had a wonderful year, and pray God’s blessings for you and your family in 2012!

Love,

Phillip, Patty, Aaron, Joshua & Hannah

Gather the Ghouls

2011-10-13T15:33:00.001-05:00

Wouldn't these be fun at your Halloween party?

Halloween Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS
*4.6oz Lindt Bittersweet Dark Chocolate
*1 cup plus ½ Tbsp. butter, softened
*1/3 cup powdered sugar
*Pinch of salt
*6 eggs, separated
*3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar
*3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. flour, sifted
*Favorite frosting and spooky decorations
*Lindor Truffles

METHOD
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place cupcake holders in tin. Melt chocolate using a double boiler. Cream the butter, powdered sugar and salt. Add the egg yolks one at a time to the butter mixture. Add the melted chocolate. Whip the egg whites, gradually adding the sugar and beating until stiff. Carefully fold 1/3 of the egg whites and sifted flour. Pour batter into the cupcake tins and bake approximately 20 minutes. When cupcakes are cooled, decorate with sweet and spooky frosting and decorations (including your favorite flavor Lindor Truffle, of course!).

YIELD: 18-24 cupcakes.

Halloween wrapped Lindor Truffles and Spooky Ghosts

No one wants to be the family with the bad Halloween reputation... you know, the ones that hand out apples (or nothing at all). With goodies like our Halloween Lindor Truffles and Spooky Ghosts, you can be the "Best House on the Block." Order today for FREE Shipping on orders $100 and up. Or get a half-price item when you book a party or catalog show (with no minimum sales requirements), and earn FREE chocolate based on your sales! But first, tell me... what's the WORST treat you ever got on Halloween?

Visit my website to browse at catalog or contact meat patty.mullins@charter.net to place an order.

Wordless Wednesday... almost

2011-10-12T08:25:00.000-05:00

Sorry, I couldn't choose just one!

Aaron's first day of work was Saturday... "I'm lovin' it!"

Look what came yesterday!

Sepia Saturday: Evelyn Savage

2011-10-08T08:15:00.000-05:00

Evelyn with hen.

This photo is of my grandmother, Cecelia Evelyn Savage, taken in the early 1920s. At the time, her family lived "out in the country" near Midland, Arkansas, which is about 30 miles south of Fort Smith. Her Daddy, Frank Savage, worked in the coal mines in Excelsior, Arkansas.

Homeschool Fridays

2011-10-07T17:22:00.000-05:00

I don't think I mentioned in my previous posts that we decided to keep Hannah home from school one day a week. She doesn't go to school on Fridays, instead she has 45 minutes of OT, 45 minutes of speech, and three hours of ABA therapy.

When I first pitched the idea to the Special Education Director in August before school started, she seemed concerned that I hadn't thought it through. But the cold, hard truth is that Hannah takes bigger strides with these one-on-one therapy sessions, so I have to make sure she's getting all of her therapy time in... and I don't want her in therapy until 6 o'clock every evening after she's been in school all day.

I did mention in a previous post that I was disappointed in goals written by Hannah's teacher. Remember how I said that the teacher wanted Hannah to be more "firm" with her addition? Well, this week we drilled "ones" and Hannah is now "firm". It blows me away that Hannah can pick something up so quickly, and yet at school they don't seem to know that. Anyway, we'll be drilling "twos" this week.

Speaking of math, I ordered a bunch of Math-U-See curriculum this week. Hannah is such a visual learner... I can't wait to try this with her! I think she's going to love it.


Hannah practices writing her name.

My homeschooling friends have been making fun of me... they say they're going to suck me into their world. I guess time will tell.

Thankful Thursday: Starting Again

2011-10-06T11:43:00.001-05:00

Okay, I admit it... I haven't written anything on the gratitude pages of my scrapbook in months. It seems that I took a hiatus from that at about the same time I took a hiatus from this blog. I'm going to attempt to get that going again... I think it really helps your frame of mind to intentionally focus on things that you are grateful for, otherwise the natural tendency to dwell on the negative things in life will take over and rob you of joy. I really don't want to live that way.

So, today I am thankful:

that Phillip is back from yet another TDY... I'll be on my way to "fetch" him as soon as I finish typing this post!
that the boys seem to be a bit more committed to their school work this year... so far. ;-)
for the movie The Phantom of the Opera... okay, that might seem a little silly to you, but I really love it! I hope to see the play in the theater some day.
for Ladies' Game Night which we hope to start doing monthly, and I wish we could have weekly.
for the opportunity to serve on the Praise Team at church... Praise Team practice on Thursday nights is a highlight of my week. I love the music and the other team members that I serve with.
that construction is underway on our new church building!
for coffee in the morning and chocolate in the afternoon! :-)
for unexpected blessings... Aaron won a FREE class ring this week! Long story short, the Josten's guy had the kids choose heads or tails and he kept flipping a coin until there was only one kid standing, and that was Aaron! The photo below is his design. Yes, he is having his nickname, "Toast", put on his ring.

for all of the "basics"... the blood of Jesus, my family, our home, my church, good friends... and all of the little things that I often miss. God help me to see all of the gifts you've given me today.

What are you thankful for today?

"They sang with praise and thanksgiving to the LORD: 'For He is good; His faithful love to Israel endures forever.' Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD because the foundation of the LORD's house had been laid." Ezra 3:10-12, HCSB

Horsin' Around

2011-10-04T19:26:00.002-05:00

Hannah had horse riding therapy tonight at Bridge the Divide, an awesome non-profit organization which provides free riding lessons for "exceptional riders".

Putting on her helmet.

Waiting for Mrs. Courtland to adjust the stirrups.

Mounting Taz.

"Walk on."

Riding around the arena.

Hannah loves to trot!

The dismount.

All done.

There are so many benefits of riding for kids like Hannah... sensory input, muscle tone, language and more. Click here to read an article on the benefits of horse therapy for kids with autism.

Oh, and look what we saw on the way home!

Catching Up

2011-10-03T11:22:00.003-05:00

I'm going to attempt to get back into the habit of blogging at least once a week, but before I share anything new I feel compelled to let you know what's been going on since my last post.

Phillip graduated in the top 10% of his class at SNCO Academy, which earned him a Distinguished Graduate award. I made the long drive to Montgomery on a Wednesday (thanks to my Dad and Step-mom who came to stay with the kids), attended the graduation ceremony and banquet on Thursday, then made the long drive back with Phillip on Friday. It was a whirlwind, but I was very happy to get to go.

Just a few days after returning from Alabama, I was on my way to New Hampshire for the first-ever Lindt Chocolate R.S.V.P. "Unwrapped" National Convention. I enjoyed being able to put faces with the names of people that I'd spoken to on the phone many times, but never had the pleasure of meeting in person. Touring the factory and designing my own chocolate bar were real high points of the trip!

With team member Ellen Sackett

Here I am with Thomas Linemayr, CEO and President of Lindt USA.

There are many more pictures from my trip on my Facebook Fan Page.

The boys had a pretty quiet and relaxing August. Hannah, on the other hand, was working her butt off! Last spring we were beginning to think she would never be able to differentiate boys from girls, and one of her therapists suggested using dolls. It worked!

This summer Hannah mastered boy/girl, man/woman and shoe tying. She also made great strides with identifying action pictures with full sentences... by the time school started she was writing the full sentences that went along with each picture. Oh, and she did FANTASTIC with spelling! I could go on and on... God has heard our prayers concerning Hannah and is doing a mighty work in her! To HIM be the GLORY!

Hannah also had a birthday in August... my baby girl turned 10 years old. This is the first birthday in I don't know how long that I could actually give a suggestion when someone asked me what Hannah might like for her birthday. Hannah discovered Lalaloopsy dolls a while back during a trip to Wal-Mart, and now every time we go she has to go and see them, and she tries her best to get me to buy her a new one. She likes the mini dolls, but she really loves the big ones... and they cost about $25 each (not really in my weekly budget). They keep those on the bottom shelf and once when we were in there Hannah sat down on the floor in front of the doll she wanted, folded her hands as if in prayer, and said "I want more doll, please". It was the sweetest thing... I wanted to load up the cart with every doll they had! But, it was just not in the budget... so we compromised and got one of the little mini dolls instead. When it came time for her birthday, I knew just what to get... and what to tell her grandparents and aunts. She was tickled pink!

Birthday girl!

I guess the next big event was the first day of school. This year, we didn't start until September 5th in order to allow time for the completion of the new Mascoutah High School. Can you believe that I went over there with Aaron on registration day and forgot to take my camera? Anyway, the new school is beautiful... a major improvement over the old school. Aaron is a junior this year... every time I say that it seems so unreal. He is not playing any sports this year, which is strange but kind of nice at the same time. His classes include Algebra II, US History, Chemistry, American Lit., P.E. and Concert Chorus. He is hoping to get a job soon (apparently we don't pay him enough... lol), but we've told him that his grades come first... no 3.0 or better, no job. He is currently playing guitar for Sunday morning services at church and is doing very well. I'm enjoying his interest in music... when he was so wrapped up in sports I felt like we had very little in common. It's nice to go to Band/Praise Team practice together and watch him grow musically.

Aaron - first day of Junior year.

Joshua is in 7th grade this year and is quite proud of his new, deeper voice (his voice changed over the summer) and the fact that he is nearly as tall as me now. He is also very proud of his class schedule, which includes: Pre-Algebra, P.E., Social Studies, English, Science, Reading and Spanish. Right this second, he is crazy-close to having straight A's (he has a 92.61 in English, which around here is a B). He is still very much into video games and would really like to try his hand at designing one. He was very excited to start going to Youth Group with Aaron this summer, and he continues to mature... spiritually, as well as physically.

Joshua - first day of 7th grade.

Hannah is in 4th grade this year... still in a self-contained SPED classroom and still with the same teacher she had last year. Since I've already shared about some of the big progress that was made over the summer, I'll skip right to last week's IEP meeting. To say that I was disappointed would be an understatement. The goal written by her teacher that really stood out to me was for math: "Hannah will perform addition facts with sums to 20 using manipulatives or a number line" with 90% accuracy. She can already do this... and the fact that her teacher (the same teacher she had last year) doesn't know this really bothers me. When I questioned the goal, the teacher said that she would like Hannah to be "firm" with her addition. I think the word she was searching for is "fluent" and she really meant that she would like Hannah to come up with the answers more quickly. Here's another one: "Hannah will verbally formulate complete sentences when pictures are presented given modeling, gestural or verbal prompts." If you'll look back toward the beginning of this post, you'll see that she is not only able to give the sentences verbally but she is also able to WRITE the full sentences to describe a picture. Seriously? It made me go right back to the question I was asking myself in May... should I be homeschooling Hannah? There are certainly a ton of pros and cons. I'm beginning to think that I need for the school to hand me these ridiculous goals so that I can show them that Hannah can do so much more... it kind of lights a fire under me, so to speak. Right now we're hitting the addition flash cards pretty hard so that hopefully she'll become more fluent. I'm hoping to have to rewrite goals by the end of October.

Hannah - first day of 4th grade.

There is really more I could say, but I think you've been through enough for today. Kudos to you if you made it to the end of this post!

Making Progress

2011-07-02T11:25:00.001-05:00

It's been a while since I made a post about the kids, so I thought I'd take a minute to write a short update.

Hannah is making progress. Right now she has about 12 hours per week of ABA therapy, plus Speech and OT 45 minutes per week (each). She also rides horses at Cornerstone Farms a couple times a month. This summer we're focusing on increasing her vocabulary and comprehension so that she's closer to grade-level. She's really doing great with spelling and sight words! It's amazing how quickly she catches onto things when you use the right approach. We're also working hard on time, money and tying shoes. She has also got five weeks of summer school... she's already completed two weeks and will have three more in July. Just a couple weeks ago I gave a testimony at church... I'm just so thankful that God has put people in our path to help us on this journey! She is doing so much better than she was just 18 short months ago... and I know the best is yet to come!

My Dad and step-mom came to visit a couple weeks ago and they took the boys home with them for a month-long visit. While they were here, Aaron and I were able to go to a Hillsong United concert with a group from our church. It's been pretty quiet without the boys here, but I know they're having a good time. Joshua spent some time with my sister and went to VBS, plus he's been swimming and playing with his cousins... he's a happy camper! Aaron spent those first couple weeks with Granna and Grandpa, and cousins Matthew and Sam were even there for a few days. I think he's enjoyed running around and not being locked down because of Hannah's schedule. Right now they've flip-flopped (Aaron is with Aunt Michelle and Uncle Stacy, and Joshua is with Granna and Grandpa), but they will both be with my sister for the 4th so I'm sure they'll get to shoot some fireworks.

My Dad and step-mom will bring the boys back here and then stay with the kids for a few days so that I can drive to Montgomery, Alabama, to see Phillip's graduation from Senior NCO Academy. Just a few days later, I'll be on my way to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for the Lindt R.S.V.P. National Convention.

As you can see, we're doing well and keeping busy. Have a great summer!

Sepia Saturday: A Family Mystery

2011-06-18T10:00:00.001-05:00

My Dad and step-mom are here visiting this week and we were sorting through piles of old photos when we came across this one. There is nothing written on the photo, but the young boy in the overalls is very clearly my Dad's brother. We can conclude that the baby is my Dad... they were born about three and a half years apart, so that certainly seems plausible... but who is the young woman? She certainly resembles my grandmother, but Grandma Evelyn was 30 years old when my Dad was born and the young lady in the photo looks much younger than that.

When my Dad found this picture, he stopped... "Whoa!" You see, there have been stories circulating for years that my grandmother had a baby girl who was put up for adoption sometime before my uncle was born. Supposedly, it is recorded on my uncle's birth certificate (you know, they ask you how many pregnancies you've had, and how many living children, etc.), but any time they asked her about it she would get flustered and tell them that she didn't know what they were talking about.

My Dad remembers my grandmother asking him and his brother when they were young how they would like to have a big sister. They said it would be fine with them, but they never heard anymore about it.

My uncle remembers something about some girl who wanted to come and see my grandmother, but her parents wouldn't let her. There is also story of my grandmother pulling into some sort of business and a little girl wanted to break away from her parents and run over to my grandmother, but her parents wouldn't let her and shortly after they moved out of the area. After one of the girl's parents passed away, there was some attempt made to make contact... we don't know if my grandmother rejected the contact, or what ever came of it. We can only assume that these stories are about the same person.

As we were talking through the possibilities, I realized that there are some dates that don't quite make sense. My grandmother was born in 1918, but didn't graduate high school until 1937... when she was about to turn 19. Now, I know that she could have started school late, or might have been held back at some point, but is it possible that she missed a year because she was having a baby?

At some point, possibly after my grandmother passed away, my uncle received a phone call from a woman who wanted to know about my grandmother. My uncle thought it was strange that some woman that he had never heard of wanted to know about his mother, and at the time he wasn't thinking about the possible connection, so he didn't get much information from her except that her name was Sarah Garth and she lived in Washington. I actually located a Sarah Garth in Washington on 411.com, so we're going to write a letter and send it to that address and see if we come up with anything.

They say that truth is stranger than fiction, and this story has the making of a real-life soap opera!

{Special Offer} Ends May 31st

2011-05-20T16:34:00.000-05:00

For the past week Lindt R.S.V.P. has been offering our Instant Starter Kit for just $49 plus tax and shipping, and we've had such an amazing response to this special offer that we want to give you just a little bit longer to take advantage if it! We are extending the offer until Tuesday, May 31st. However, on June 1 the Instant Starter Kit will increase to a permanent price of $99 plus tax (includes shipping and handling).

With the $49 Instant Starter Kit, you can start holding parties (and building your own downlines) very soon after signing up! When you hit $1,000 in sales, you'll earn the complete chocolate storage system FREE (a countertop cooler for home and portable cooler for transport to parties - together a $169 value). All the exciting details are in the attached updated flyer! It's easy to see how quickly you can grow your commissions.

Sepia Saturday: Frank and Clara Savage

2011-05-07T13:30:00.000-05:00

This is another photo that I inherited from my grandmother, Evelyn (née Savage) Hinesley, of her parents Frank and Clara May (née Thach) Savage.

Frank was born on 3 July 1893 in Coshocton, Ohio. He was the second of six boys born to William Henry and Lucy Mariah (née Parks) Savage.

Clara May was born 15 February 1894 in Beattyville, Kentucky. She was the seventh of sixteen children born to William Calvin and Leona Catherine (née Woodson) Thach.

Frank and Clara May were married on 2 February 1914 in Sebastian County, Arkansas.

Thankful Thursday: {More Gifts}

2011-04-28T14:48:00.000-05:00

66. New haircuts
67. Not 66 for me, but shaggy hair (Joshua)
68. Unexpected business leads... welcome to my Team, Penny!
69. The sound of Hannah singing
70. The Holy Spirit's presence in worship
71. Phillip's safe return home
72. Seeing Mrs. Howard
73. Spending time with friends
74. A beautiful sunset... His glory displayed
75. Hannah answered a question, that did not require a yes/no answer, about something that happened in the past!
76. Safe travel to CT for Phillip.
77. Grace
78. Hearing "I love you"
79. A good book
80. Safety from the storm
81. The peace that comes from trusting God.
82. Hearing my children pray
83. Guitar (Aaron)
84. Being at home with my loving family (Phillip)
85. Safe travel home for Phillip.
86. Good report from Dr. Davis
87. Music (Aaron)
88. Experiencing a Seder meal and clearly seeing how it points to Christ
89. Setting up for Easter service
90. Spending the day with Aaron
91. The sacrifice Jesus made on the cross
92. Blue skies after many days of rain and storms
93. Phillip's safe travel to CA
94. Pam is coming to visit!

What are you thankful for today?

Sepia Saturday: Unidentified Tintype

2011-04-09T10:36:00.001-05:00

This is a tintype photo of an unidentified woman... one of my "Strangers in the Box".

According to Wikipedia:

Tintype, also melainotype and ferrotype, is a photograph made by creating a direct positive on a sheet of iron metal that is blackened by painting, lacquering or enamelling and is used as a support for a collodion photographic emulsion.

Photographers usually worked outside at fairs, carnivals etc. and as the support of the tintype (there is no actual tin used) is resilient and does not need drying, photographs can be produced only a few minutes after taking the photograph.

An ambrotype uses the same process and methods on a sheet of glass that is mounted in a case with a black backing so the underexposed negative image appears as a positive. Tintypes did not need mounting in a case and were not as delicate as photographs that used glass for the support.

I believe this was in the box of photos that I inherited from my Dad's mother, Evelyn (née Savage) Hinesley, but... as I've mentioned before... all of the unidentified photos got mixed up over the years, so this could be anyone.

Tintypes were popular from about 1860 to 1900, and reached the height of their popularity in the late 1800s, so that narrows the date down a little. I'm not very good at looking at period clothing for clues to date a photo, so that's about as close as I can get. Do you see anything that would narrow our date down anymore?

Thankful Thursday: {Seeking}

2011-04-07T10:03:00.002-05:00

Another week of seeking to recognize God's gifts to us...

51. Chirping birds
52. ABA Therapists Sarah & Jessica
53. Sleeping in
54. Safe travel to NJ for Phillip
55. Lunch with friends
56. Laughter and smiles
57. Green grass - Spring is here!
58. The hard lessons
59. Truth - even when it hurts
60. Getting an "A" on my speech (Aaron, smiley face added by Mom)
61. Promises kept
62. Automatic coffee makers (that have my coffee ready for me when I get up in the morning)
63. Peaceful, quiet days
64. Heat around 70-80° F from the sun (Joshua)
65. Candace and Barb - Speech and OT
66. New haircuts

What are you thankful for this week?

Rabbit Trail: Do you ever feel like God's really speaking to you? I do, and I'm having a season like that right now. The same things keep coming up in books I'm reading, Bible study, sermons, and even conversations with friends. Maybe He's always speaking, but I'm not always paying attention? I'm sure that's true.

I love this song by Kari Jobe. I think it perfectly describes what's going on here.

Matthew 6:33 (New International Version, ©2011)

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Wordless Wednesday: Well Done!

2011-04-06T16:14:00.000-05:00

Aaron had to give a speech today...

and this was the result!

Thankful Thursday: Counting is a Discipline

2011-03-31T17:18:00.001-05:00

42. Bananas (Joshua)

43. Family devotions around the dinner table

44. Bus drivers

45. Bible study groups

46. Actually being able to be in a band and play lead for once (Aaron)

47. Dinner at home w/the family (Phillip)

48. God is bigger than autism and ADHD

49. Quiet lunch with Phillip

50. Dr. Davis & Wendy who is working us in

I feel like I really missed a lot this week. Counting blessings is not always as easy as it sounds when you're so used to taking everything that God gives for granted, but I'm trying to become more aware and trying to cut myself some slack. This is a process... a journey... and I'll keep moving forward toward the goal of recognizing all of the gifts that I've been given.

Church With a Special Needs Child

2011-03-30T09:30:00.003-05:00

This post began as a response to the post Church With the Special Needs Child on The Thinking Person's Guide to Autism's blog, but my response was getting so lengthy that I decided to make my own post on the subject.

We are a military family, and we had attended First Baptist Church of Biloxi, a relatively large church, at our last duty station since my daughter, Hannah, was about six months old. When her developmental differences became evident when she was in preschool, the woman in charge of Childrens' Ministry helped us make decisions about where my daughter should be placed. We basically "held her back" when it was time for the next promotion. When we wanted to start my daughter in AWANA, everyone was very supportive. Of course, we had to modify virtually everything, but they wanted to see my daughter succeed as much as I did. As she grew, my daughter had more and more trouble in a "regular" Sunday School classroom. Our Children's Minister suddenly realized that there were probably many families who didn't attend church because it was just too hard, so she asked for volunteers and started a special needs Sunday School class.

Hannah was seven when we moved to our next duty station. We started looking for a church that was similar to the one we had come from. We visited a large church that had a special needs program which basically consisted of a teenager or young adult being "assigned" to a special needs child and attending Sunday School with that child. We never seemed to get matched up and either my husband or I went to class with Hannah. After a while it was suggested that she be moved into a kindergarten classroom, which resulted in a BIG meltdown. We gave up shortly after that.

Then, months later, God directed us to another church.

My neighbor had invited us to church several times, but I always had an excuse not to go. She attended a small church that was meeting in an elementary school while awaiting construction of a new building, and I just couldn't imagine how they could possibly accommodate Hannah, whose behaviors had steadily worsened in recent years. But God intervened one day when my girl had an accident in her pants at school (which was extremely uncommon since she had been potty-trained for about three years). After I got Hannah cleaned up, I stayed while the kids ate lunch and I visited with her personal aide. The next morning my neighbor and I were standing on our porches talking and watching the kids at the bus stop when my son's bus went by. I told her, "That's Hannah's T.A." [driving the bus]. Then she said, "That's my Pastor's wife!"

We started visiting their church shortly after, and I can't tell you how wonderful this group of people has been. They are so accepting and loving... even on meltdown days! I'm so thankful that God wouldn't take "no" for an answer and led us to Victory!

Hannah singing "Jesus Said Yes" with Miss Patty Cake, 3/2008

Turning the Tide of Autism

2011-03-29T12:54:00.000-05:00

April is Autism Awareness Month in the US. I'd like to share a portion of an e-mail that I received from Children of Destiny and encourage you to join us in prayer:

What is Turning the Tide?

Turning the Tide! is a corporate prayer thrust in which thousands from around the world pray over the same issues related to autism for each day of the month of April. Each day of the week is dedicated to a specific issues (for example, this year we will be praying for specific issues regarding families affected by autism on Saturdays, educational issues on Sundays, and so forth). We have set aside April 23 as a day of prayer and fasting to see the tide of autism turned once and for all.

How did Turning the Tide come about?
As many of you know, autism was once so rare that even doctors knew little of it. But it is now conservatively estimated that 100 new cases will be diagnosed worldwide with each passing day.

As part of Global Harvest Ministries for a decade, we participated in several global prayer initiatives for effective evangelization in different parts of the world. The results were amazing! Therefore, we at Children of Destiny decided in 2008 to launch a corporate prayer thrust over autism and those affected by it. We plan on making this an annual event until the wonderful day when it will no longer be needed.

Why is corporate prayer important?
As Christians, we believe that our most powerful tool in any of life's circumstances is prayer. James 5:16 says, "the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results." Furthermore, we believe that the power of our prayers are greatly increased as we join corporately to beseech the Lord. Jesus Himself said, "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them" (Matthew 18:19-20,NIV ).

How can I be involved?
You can download and print the Turning the Tide! brochure and prayer calendar. It can be easily posted on a refrigerator or tucked in a Bible as a daily reminder. Perhaps you might consider printing the brochure and calendar out for your family and friends, or direct them to our website for more information.

Take a few minutes each day to pray through the special extended versions of the Daily Prayer you will be receiving throughout April, or check our online calendar for each day's corporate prayer and extended prayer points.

Consider joining us on April 23 for World Day of Prayer and Fasting for AutismSpectrumDisorder. For more information on this day and fasting in general, please visit ASDPrayandFast.com.

If you have any other questions or comments regarding Turning the Tide! or anything related to Children of Destiny, we would love to hear from you! Please email us at prayer@childrenofdestiny.org.

We are excited, and expecting the Lord to move on the Earth as we come together in agreement to see the tide of autism turned. Thank you for standing with us!

Sepia Saturday: Mary Evelyn Nisbett

2011-03-26T09:08:00.000-05:00

This is my maternal great-grandmother, Mary Evelyn Nisbett, in 1904. She was born on December 21, 1882, which makes her 21 or 22 years old in this photo. She married John Murfree Colemon on January 24, 1906, so this was taken a year or two before she got married. I wonder if it could have been an engagement photo?

This photo used to sit tucked inside the mat of a large portrait and I remember looking at it as a young girl, hanging in one of the bedrooms of my grandmother's house, and thinking that she was so beautiful. That portrait was the only thing of my grandmother's that I asked for after she passed away.

The portrait was in pretty rough shape when I got it. There was no glass over it, so there were several worn places and water spots. If you look closely, you can see the faded place in the lower left corner where the photo used to sit. You can also see where the portrait had shifted inside the mat. I had it re-framed a few years ago, and now it hangs in my home.

This isn't the first blog post to mention Mary Evelyn. You can see her with her husband and children here.

Thankful Thursday: {Gifts}

2011-03-24T10:33:00.004-05:00

Thank you for stopping by and letting me share our list of counted gifts.

24. His mercies are new every morning
25. Chocolate parties
26. Christian Contemporary Music - Calming (Aaron)
27. Pizza night
28. Hannah's laughter while bouncing wildly
29. My sister, Michelle - Happy birthday today!
30. Workouts (Aaron)
31. Taquitos (Joshua)
32. Vitamin water dragonfruit (Joshua)
33. Mornings without meltdowns
34. Learning something new
35. Dad's safe return home
36. Having everyone around the dinner table
37. Running errands with Phillip
38. Orange sherbet
39. Grumpiness giving way to smiles
40. The sound of "good morning"
41. The smell of scented candles burning

Have you started your list yet? I would love for you to share how God has been blessing you!

1 Chronicles 16:34 (New International Version, ©2011)

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

Wordless Wednesday: Working Hard

2011-03-23T20:11:00.000-05:00

Spelling on her communication device.

Matching pictures with words.

Playing with Barbies... the most difficult work of all!

When Things Are Too Quiet

2011-03-22T09:36:00.001-05:00

One day last month I realized that I hadn't seen Hannah for a little while, and I hadn't heard her either. I figured I better go upstairs and see what she was up to. This is what I found...

She had climbed on something and gotten a bag of stickers out of the top of her closet, then proceeded to decorate the wall.

Yes, that's a sticker in her hair!

And another on her pants.

She was having a really good time. Of course, I made her take them down, but I was extremely calm about the whole thing. I can remember coming unglued once when Joshua had done something similar. Why was this so different? Because of Hannah's autism? Because I've mellowed in my old age? Because I'm more mature in my walk with the LORD? I'm really not sure.

1 Corinthians 13:5 (New International Version, ©2011)

It [love] does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Sepia Saturday: Joseph Thach Family

2011-03-19T09:18:00.000-05:00

This is Joseph Dowell and Mary Jane Thach with one of theirs sons and his family. This is another photo that I inherited from my Grandma Evelyn, and she thought that it was Frank standing in the back but she wasn't positive.

If that is Rufus Franklin then the woman in the back is most likely his wife Eva Eugenia (née Simkins) Thach. Frank and Eva had three children: Edna, Mary, and Sue Ann. Somehow I imagine that this is their first child... if that is true, I will estimate this photo to have been taken in about 1903 (which is the year that Edna was born).

Of course, there are a great many "ifs" in this scenario, so I could be completely wrong.

This isn't the first time we've seen Joseph, Mary Jane, and Frank. They were first mentioned in my post Sepia Saturday: The Thach Family.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thankful Thursday: Our hunt for gifts

2011-03-17T12:25:00.002-05:00

I finally finished One Thousand Gifts last week, and all I can say is "Wow!" I told my family a little bit about the book while we were around the dinner table several nights ago, and I shared with them that I would like for us to start our own list of 1,000 gifts.

I really wanted this to be something that we would keep and be able to look back on many years from now, so naturally I thought it should be in a scrapbook. Then I thought about a scrapbook Bible study that I participated in a few years ago... I knew that I hadn't finished that book, and I wondered what pages were still left to do. Wouldn't you know, one was about thankfulness... so, that's where we started our list of 1,000 gifts.

Can you guess who wrote what?

Wordless Wednesday: Good news!

2011-03-16T10:30:00.000-05:00

A Charming Birthday

2011-03-15T10:23:00.004-05:00

I’ve been following the story of Joanne Heim, a 38 year-old wife and mother of two who suffered a massive stroke on January 11^th, since I read a post entitled Prayer on Angie Smith’s blog a couple of months ago. You might have noticed the “Praying for Joanne” widget on my sidebar… if you haven’t clicked on it yet, I would encourage you to do so today so that you can read the Heim family’s incredible story of faith.

I don't know Joanne personally, but I know that she is my sister in Christ. I have learned a lot about her through her blog and her husband's tweets, and I have come to care about her and her family.

Joanne turns 39 today! One of her favorite things is her charm bracelet, and one of her friends encouraged everyone to wear and display their charm bracelets today in honor of Joanne's birthday!

Here is mine… full of memories from my 12-year career with Creative Memories. We can earn charms for many things as Consultants… sales, recruiting, anniversaries, attending conferences, etc. I used to wear my charms on a shooting star pin, but my Upline gave me a charm bracelet when I achieved Unit Leader in 2008 so I’ve moved all my charms onto it. I'm wearing it today in honor of Joanne, and every time it jingles I will be reminded to pray for her.

I love this post by another one of Joanne’s blog followers: A charming past?

Happy Birthday, Joanne! Thanks to your family and friends for allowing me to get to know you and pray alongside so many believers on your behalf. You are amazing and I know that God isn’t finished bringing glory to Himself through you! I look forward to reading about the many, many miracles He will perform in your life in the coming year!

In His love and friendship,

Patty

Rabbit Trail: My mother suffered a massive stroke in September 2000, and I have been reminded many times of how blessed we are that she is still with us. The doctors didn’t give us a lot of hope those first few days when she was in a medically-induced coma, but God had plans for her here.

Romans 8:28 (The Message)

^26-28Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

Sepia Saturday: Strangers in the Box

2011-03-12T08:53:00.002-06:00

This is a family photo that I inherited that has absolutely no marking on it whatsoever, except for the word MARKS that is somehow stamped into the lower right corner. I got most of my heritage pictures from my Grandma Evelyn (my Dad's mother), but I do have a handful from my mother's side of the family, and over the years the unidentified photos got mixed up so I really have no idea who this could be. I'm hoping that Connie from Forgotten Old Photos might stop by and lend me a hand... she has such a good eye for details and can usually give a pretty close estimate as to when a photo was taken. Of course, any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Whole Lot of Nothin'... and Everything

2011-03-08T17:58:00.004-06:00

Sorry the blog has been so quiet lately. I've had a lot... and nothing... going on. I'm busy, but I can't really tell you what I've been doing. Do you know the feeling?

Phillip has been gone a lot the last few weeks, and this trend will continue until June. I'm not complaining... it is what it is. The thought occurred to me recently (when I was more than a little frustrated with the whole military experience) that if things had gone according to our plan back in the day, we might really be in a mess right now. If Phillip had become an electrical engineer, who knows how many times he might have been laid off since the economy tanked. Anyway, I'm thankful for his job... even on the days that I hate it.

Hannah went to see Dr. Davis a couple of weeks ago. She did great at the appointment! No screaming or anxiety... so different from a year ago! Dr. Davis made some adjustments to her supplements and we've seen another step forward. I'm thankful for these small miracles, and I try hard not to miss them because we're not where I would like us to be in her progress yet.

I'm still reading Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts. I can't tell you how much I've learned from that book! One of the biggest things: "eucharisteo [thanksgiving] always precedes the miracle". If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it!

I'm also participating in Beth Moore's study The Patriarchs: Encountering the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Wow, that "Siesta" can teach! The way she brings new details to familiar passages of scripture is truly amazing to me.

Aaron went to baseball tryouts last Monday. He said that he had a really bad day... he was at short stop and was having trouble getting the ball to the first baseman (his aim was off, he was throwing wild). Tuesday he told us that tryouts for that afternoon had been canceled because the coach had to leave early. Wednesday afternoon Phillip returned home from a TDY and decided to go by the school and watch a few minutes of tryouts, but Aaron wasn't there. He decided because he had one bad day that he should just quit. I can't tell you how that made me feel. I was angry that he thought the need to lie to us, and disappointed that he would give up so easily... not because I wanted him to play baseball (honestly, my life will be a lot easier without all the practices and games), I just don't want him to let fear keep him from doing things like I've done my whole life. At any rate, he's probably done with high school athletics because he's burned his bridges at Mascoutah High School (he also quit going to off-season football training after the first week).

Poor Joshua... I really don't have much to say about him today. I guess that could be a good thing... he's not in trouble and I'll choose to be thankful for that! He's happiest when he's with his friends, and if they're playing video games... well, that's bliss!

Joshua's favorite pastime... playing his DS while talking on the phone!

And now you know where I've been. Let me know what you've been up to!

Thankful Thursday

2011-03-03T09:43:00.001-06:00

I've been reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp for the past few weeks, and it in she shares that a friend dared her to find 1,000 things that she was grateful for. I will admit... I haven't actually started my list of 1,000 things yet, but I do want to share a few things that I am thankful for today.

People who God has gifted with the ability to communicate and teach. I think specifically this morning of Ann and my Pastor.
The hard lessons. Without difficulties can anyone ever truly appreciate the "good" that they are blessed with?
Aaron. This teenager who is gifted in the areas of sports and music, but who is far too much like his Momma and lets fear keep him from ever really tasting success. Lord, help me know how to parent him through this that I'm still learning myself.
Joshua. My preteen with a highly creative mind and wild imagination... and more than a touch of ADHD. Life is certainly more interesting with him around! Lord, help me harness his boundless energy without breaking his fragile spirit.
Hannah. My beautiful red-haired girl who loves to swing so high that she scares her poor Momma to death! Lord, help me see her the way You see her and not get ahead of You in her recovery process.

Of course there are many more, but that's a start. What are you thankful for today?

Sepia Saturday: Leona Woodson and grandchildren

2011-02-26T09:08:00.000-06:00

This is my great-great grandmother Leona Catherine (née Woodson) Thach with three of her grandchildren: Katherine Mathis, Allen Lee Mathis, and William Allouis Richards. I estimate that the photo was taken in about 1926.

This isn't the first time Leona has appeared in my blog. She was one of the women standing in the back of the Woodson Family photo. According to the way that photo is labeled, she would have been the one in the middle wearing the white blouse.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sepia Saturday: Frederic Savage

2011-02-19T16:45:00.000-06:00

Another great photo from my Grandma Evelyn. This is her Uncle Fred with an unknown female. Supposedly, he didn't even know her... he just asked her to pose with him so he could send the pictures home to get a rise out of his mother.

Written on the back of this photo are the words "and they wonder why a man leaves home".

He must have been quite a character!

Thankful Thursday

2011-02-17T10:23:00.000-06:00

I made this a few years ago, and we keep it hanging in the house year-round even though it looks a little fall-ish. I asked the kids to help me brainstorm things that we were thankful for, and here's what we came up with:

The Bible
Our house
Our family
Good friends
Freedom
Plenty to eat
Forgiveness
Our health
Dad's job
Love
Salvation
Our church family

I would like to add something very specific to that list... today I am thankful for today. It's a beautiful, sunny, breezy,warm, spring-like day and I am thankful for it. I have opened the blinds all over the house to let the sunlight fill each room, and opened a few windows here and there for some fresh air. In a few days it will be cold again, back to normal February weather, but I am going to enjoy today while it lasts.

...in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T09:20:00.001-06:00

One of the most important things you can do for your spouse is to learn to speak his or her language. I read on the (in)courage blog this morning that they are giving away 50 copies of Gary Chapman's book The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts and I didn't want to miss the opportunity to share it with you!

You can visit the Five Love Languages website to take a free assessment if you don't know what your love language is. Mine is Acts of Service. If I had to guess, I'd say my husband's is Physical Touch.

Something else that's pretty important to me is physical appearance... I like my man to look good. More importantly, I like my man to smell good! Now, that's not one of the Five Love Languages, but Willard Hartley does discuss this in his book His Needs, Her Needs. Apparently, men more often need "an attractive spouse", but we ladies like our men to be attractive, too.

Phillip took the day off work so we will get to spend some quality time together, and we have an appointment for a couple's massage this afternoon. How will you be celebrating Valentine's Day?

Sepia Saturday: The Thach Family

2011-02-05T16:17:00.000-06:00

This is another photo that I inherited from my Grandma Evelyn:

The Thach Family

My grandmother wrote the names Tom, Frank, Joe, and Sam above each of the men standing in the back. She also wrote Great Grandmother Thach and William Dowell Thach below the couple sitting in the front.

My grandmother's great grandmother was Mary Jane (née Packard or Pickerd) Thach. Mary Jane was born on 10 Oct 1841 in Jasper, Tennessee. According to my research, Mary Jane was actually married to Joseph Dowell Thach, not William. Joseph was born on 3 Jan 1833 in Jasper, Tennessee. They had 10 children:

Elizabeth Jane (1856 - 1919)
Henrietta Ellen (1858 - 1945)
Infant (9 Oct 1860)
William Calvin (1862 - 1934)
Rufus Franklin (1865 - 1919)
John Oliver (1867 - 1875)
Lydia Catherine (1870 - 1951)
Joseph Van (1873 - 1910)
Samuel Theodore (1876 - 1896)
George Thomas (1880 - 1970)

I estimate that this photo was taken in about 1893. Lydia married in 1889, which explains why she is not in the photo. Frank didn't marry until 1900, which explains why he is in the photo.

Joseph and Mary Jane were married in Jasper, Tennessee, but moved to Kentucky sometime between 1866 and 1870, where they remained until their deaths. Mary Jane passed away on 13 Jul 1900, and Joseph passed on 26 Mar 1921.

Thankful Thursday: Winter Storm Edition

2011-02-03T08:58:00.000-06:00

Here are just a few things that I'm thankful for today:

hot coffee
warm blankets
sweatshirts and jeans
the storm wasn't as bad as it could have been
we never lost power
DVDs and Internet
neighbors who will help shovel icy sidewalks
plenty to eat
baby steps (Hannah buttoned her jeans yesterday)
chocolate
the beauty of God's handiwork that is all around us... we just have to take a moment to notice

The {BIG} One: Winter Storm 2011 (Day 2)

2011-02-02T11:05:00.003-06:00

Here we are on day two of "snowmageddon" and I think it's safe to say that our area dodged a bullet. We started the day yesterday with freezing rain that accumulated somewhere between a quarter and a half-inch layer of ice on virtually everything it came in contact with. Then we had several hours of sleet... close to two inches worth.


Sleet accumulating on the side of the house.

Road crews were out all day.

In other news, Hannah got dressed all by herself yesterday... well, almost. She picked out her clothes and had her pants on and her shirt pulled over her head (backward) when I walked into her room. I just helped her turn it around before she put her arms into the sleeves. The outfit was not appropriate for the weather, but I didn't have the heart to make her change it.


Yes, she's wearing capris and a t-shirt on a snow day!

I got a wild hair yesterday and decided to make homemade pizza for dinner. We used to do that almost every Friday night, but we haven't done it in a really long time. This time I used half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose, and ground turkey instead of ground beef. It must have been okay because the boys ate it without complaint!

Looks good, doesn't it?

I keep GFCF pizza crusts in the freezer for Hannah, and I had just bought some of her "fake" mozzarella cheese, so I thought we were in good shape. I was wrong. We were out of crusts. Thankfully, I had some GF Bisquick in the pantry and there was a pizza crust recipe on the box.

GFCF "cheese" pizza for Hannah.

We were about to give up on the snow, but I looked outside one more time before I went to bed last night and there it was.

Snow!

This morning the wind has really picked up. I'm glad we didn't get as much snow as they first thought we might because that blowing snow would be a real mess today!

The bush out front, with more ice and some snow.

View from my front porch.

The real news for the next day or two will be the frigid temperatures. Today's high is 21°, the low tonight is -1°, and the high tomorrow is 17°. Of course, that's actual temps... not wind chills. With 20+ mph winds today, all I can say is that I don't want to be outside.

It won't surprise me for the kids to be back in school tomorrow, although it wouldn't hurt my feelings for schools to be out for one more day. We'll just have to wait and see...

Did you get snow and ice where you are?

The {BIG} One: Winter Storm 2011

2011-02-01T09:43:00.002-06:00

The ever-changing weather forecast calls for ice and snow. At first, we expected to get a quarter to half-inch of ice followed by close to six inches of snow. Now it looks like we'll get a half-inch (or more) of ice and closer to three inches of snow. But every time I look, it changes... so for now, I've stopped looking. The reality is that I can't change the weather by watching the forecast, and the time to prepare is past.

That last line makes me think of a time that is coming... I hope I'm fully prepared when that time finally does come.

But I digress...

Just to the north of us 15+ inches of snow are expected. The strange thing is how huge this storm is... I know people in Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, and Indiana who are affected besides us in Illinois.

I'm really not a big fan of winter weather, but I'm trying to embrace an attitude of gratitude so what is there to be thankful for today? Hot coffee, warm blankets, sleeping in on a snow day... the power is still on so we can watch TV and surf the Internet.

I ventured outside for a few minutes and took some photos.

A bush out front.

The tree in the front yard.

Frozen blades of grass.

An icy seat.

Another bush out front, with remnants of last week's snow.

You know, the ice has a way of making things look different... beautiful. How can such beauty cause such big headaches?

Rabbit trail: I love this song, Every Season by Nichole Nordeman.

I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to the rebirth that comes in the Spring!

Sepia Saturday: The Woodson Family

2011-01-29T11:44:00.013-06:00

Several years ago I inherited lots of old family photos from my paternal grandmother, Evelyn (née Savage) Hinesley. Over the years, I've put some of the photos into scrapbooks but I still have several waiting in a box in my scrapbook room. This is one of those photos:

The Woodson Family

Here are the names that my grandmother had written on the back of the photo: (back) Mark, C.C., Leona, ?, Clara; (middle) Marion, Katherine, Great-great grandpa, George; (front) Porter.

As I continued digging through the box, I found a piece of the photo that I didn't even realize was missing. Here is the photo again, this time with sister Lockie on the far left.

Labeling by my grandmother on back of photo.

Another cool little tidbit is this handwritten list of birth dates for the members of this family:

Based on these dates, I estimate this photo to have been taken in about 1905.

If that is my grandmother's great-grandfather in the photo, then I wonder if he is Catherine's father Mark Marlow? According to my information, Mark Marlow was born in about 1792 and died in about 1868, so that really doesn't fit.

What about Catherine's father-in-law, Christopher Columbus Woodson? Christopher was born in about 1813 and died in about 1907. That seems plausible.

But is it possible that the person in the photo is my grandmother's grandfather, and Catherine's husband, William Richard Woodson? William was born on 10 Aug 1841 and died on 27 Sep 1902. If this photo was taken before William died, that would make Porter (A. P.) 13 or younger. It's hard to say, but I think he looks a little older than that. Also, I think the patriarch in the photo looks older than 61 (which is the age that William was when he died).

Based on what I know, I think the man in the photo is Catherine's father-in-law, Christopher Columbus Woodson. I would love to know if you agree or disagree with this conclusion.

Thanks for stopping by... come again!

Update: For clarification, my grandmother is not in this photo. Her name was Cecelia Evelyn (née Savage) Hopkins Hartman Hinesley. Catherine (née Marlow) Woodson was my grandmother's grandmother.

I do not believe that the older gentleman in the photo is my grandmother's great-great grandfather. In looking over my records again, Catherine's father-in-law Christopher Columbus Woodson would have been my grandmother's great-grandfather (not great-great-grandfather). I think this would have been an easy mistake for her to make if she had become accustomed to referring to him as "great-great-grandpa" after her own children were born.

There are lots of Christopher Columbus "C. C." Woodsons in this family. The first born son of William and Catherine was named Christopher Columbus, presumably after his grandfather.

Upon further investigation, I believe that Lockie's birthday is actually 6 Feb 1877 (not 1883) which would partially explain why her name seems to appear out of order on the list. That would make her about 28 in the photo, which I think seems about right.

Awakening

2011-01-28T10:54:00.004-06:00

I find myself sitting here this morning not really sure of what I want to say, but just writing whatever comes in an attempt to quiet my racing mind.

God has been speaking to me over the past few weeks. Softly at first in the words of my Pastor on Sunday mornings, but loudly now as if He is trying to wake me from this deep sleep that I've been in for much too long.

Several months ago I shared with my Pastor that I thought I might be in need of counsel. When he asked why all I could find to say was that I was "tired". I felt completely exhausted... physically, emotionally, and spiritually. But why and what did that mean? As I pondered that in my heart I found myself thinking that I was "thirsty" but not "hungry" (for God). Have you been there?

Last week I shared that I would be reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp with the Bloom (in)courage book club. As I was ordering it, I decided to get Angie Smith's book I Will Carry You (and the Beth Moore study The Patriarchs that our women's group is starting next month).

The books arrived Tuesday and I took the box from the mailbox as I was leaving to take Hannah to her weekly OT/Speech appointments. I opened the box in the waiting room and held the books, trying to decide where to start. As I have shared with you before, I really don't enjoy reading so I figured I better get started on One Thousand Gifts so I would be ready next week for the discussion of Chapter 1. But something inside me said "no", and I found myself opening I Will Carry You.

That was the fastest hour of therapy that I have ever sat through! I've followed Angie's blog for a long time, and was very familiar with the story, but I was completely taken in. If you don't know the story, I would encourage you to visit her blog... or better yet, get the book. It's a beautiful story of love, hope, and joy, intertwined with unspeakable grief. I devoured every page, stopping often to sob. I saw myself in this story of grief... but the one I grieve is still here, still present, still full of life.

Angie's husband Todd wrote:

The grieving process would hit me suddenly. It has never been consistent or predictable... Recently I was leaving the grocery store, and I saw a father lifting his daughter as she pointed to the sky. You could see his delight as his little girl looked up in amazement. Audrey would have been the same age as the little girl, and the scene hit me hard.

I can't begin to tell you how many times I've felt this way. I see my nieces, nephews, or the children of friends who are Hannah's age (or even younger) doing things that Hannah should be doing, but isn't. I dream of dance classes and gymnastics, tea parties and Barbie dolls... but Hannah bounces wildly on a large exercise ball, pretend play still a foreign concept to her.

Oh, God! Can't you hear me?

Like Angie, I am caught somewhere between the knowledge that I serve a God who is absolutely big enough to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think (Eph 3:20) but wondering why He hasn't intervened.

I think this constant inner struggle is where the fatigue sets in. I know that He has my best interest at heart, and that His timing is always better, but I am impatient. Always wanting more... now.

I don't think it's any accident that I started Ann's book the day after I finished Angie's. Ann's book speaks of thankfulness and daring to live fully... right where you are. I read the first two chapters yesterday. I was reminded of a Sunday School lesson from a few years ago on giving thanks to God for everything. I nearly fell apart as I went to a dear friend and asked "How do I thank God for autism?" I'm still not sure I can. But I remember what she said, her own eyes brimming with tears... "Maybe you're not supposed to thank Him for autism, but be thankful in it." Those words still speak comfort to me, though I'm not sure I've ever truly managed to be thankful for any part of the life God has given me.

I want to learn.

Another thing that I've heard several times is that sometimes we have to do what we know is right, even when it feels wrong. So yesterday I breathed a prayer of thanksgiving... for my husband, my children, and I asked Him to help me to appreciate all of them better right now... every beautiful imperfection.

I feel like I'm waking up... rubbing my tired eyes, blinking, trying to focus.

Photo by Aaron Mullins.

Dear Jesus, thank you for waking me... help me to live well.

Sepia Saturday: The Colemon Family

2011-01-22T09:14:00.002-06:00


About 1914

These are my maternal great-grandparents, Mary Evelyn (née Nisbett) and John Murfree Colemon, with three of their children: Mary Evelyn, Clemmie Elizabeth, and Annie Raye. My grandmother, Mary Evelyn (the baby), was born on 23 September 1914 so I'm estimating that this photo was taken in late 1914 or early 1915. The family lived in Rutherford County, Tennessee, where John was a farmer.

Both of my great-grandparents died before I was born, and this might be the only photo I have of them.

About 1920

This photo is of Clemmie, John, Mary Evelyn, and Annie Raye. There was one other child, Marjoree, born to this family who died shortly before her first birthday. I don't remember my grandmother's sisters, but I do remember visiting Uncle John when I was young. He somehow managed to convince me that he had a tiny puppy that lived in his shirt pocket!

Thanks for stopping by! Come again!

Take Some Time to Strengthen Your Marriage... It's Important!

2011-01-20T12:00:00.001-06:00

I have been completely brokenhearted the past few weeks by the number of my friends who either have ended their marriages, or are currently in the process of ending their marriages. The reasons vary from abuse, to infidelity, to plain old discontentment. So, when is it "okay" to end a marriage?

Jesus says in Matthew 19:9, "I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

It would seem that Jesus is giving us permission to leave a spouse in the event that an affair occurs, but I know there is much to be gained by staying together and working through those issues (as long as both parties are willing to do the work).

I thought about trying to share some personal stories from my 18+ years of marriage, but I found some things that others had written that I thought I would share instead. It is my prayer that you will see something in one or more of these posts that will help you to strengthen your marriage!

Gina at the blog Chats With an Old Lady has an excellent post entitled Can I Be Friends With a Man Who Is Not My Husband? that I think every married woman should read. Thinking that it could never happen to you might be the worst mistake you could ever make in your marriage! And it's just as easy for the men to fall into that trap if their needs are not being met. I would highly recommend the book His Needs, Her Needs: Building an Affair-Proof Marriage if you would like to be proactive in guarding your marriage against infidelity.

Tricia shared What I Wished I Knew About Men Before I Got Married this morning on her blog It's Real Life. This one is short and sweet, but offers some very practical things for you to think about.

I saw another excellent post about marriage entitled Marriage Advice Moms Don't Want to Hear by Hartley on the Hartley's Life With 3 Boys blog. It speaks specifically to those of us who are parenting special needs kiddos, but I think there is good advice there for everyone!

I would also recommend the movie Fireproof. If you haven't seen it yet, get it and watch it... preferably with your spouse! The movie and companion book, The Love Dare, helped us through a really tough time a couple of years ago.

Lastly, I would like to share The 25 Day Praise Plan - Marriage Challenge that I found on Courtney's Women Living Well Blog. I think this is a great way to celebrate Valentine's Day! If you decide to participate, be sure to leave me a comment and let me know how it's going.

1 Corinthians 13

¹ If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-19T10:04:00.000-06:00

Bloom

2011-01-17T12:15:00.005-06:00

If you've known me for very long, you probably know that I really don't like to read. Well, that's not entirely true... I read lots of blog posts and Facebook status updates everyday and I do really enjoy those. I guess I like stuff that's short, sweet and to the point... probably my ADD talking.

Anyway, my Pastor preached a New Year's message that has me thinking that I need to just "get over it" and get busy reading.

So I've decided to do just that. I have a bookshelf in my room filled with books, many that I've started but never finished, and some that have never been opened. That might sound like a great place to start, but I decided that I would probably need some motivation and accountability if I was going to actually finish a book.

So I decided to join the Bloom (in)courage book club. Bloom was actually started by Angie Smith and Jessica Turner a couple of years ago, but they have recently teamed up with (in)courage and have just announced the title of the first book selection for this new partnership... One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.

If you'd like to join us, you can buy the book at Dayspring for $10 (this week only). You can also get the Kindle edition at Amazon for $9.99.

(Thanks, Pastor Jon. If you're interested, you can listen to his message titled Four Cornerstones for a Balanced Life in 2011 here.)

Hot Chocolate Recipe from Lindt Chocolate Passion

2011-01-13T09:21:00.003-06:00

I made this for my Open House in December and it is absolutely the best hot chocolate I have ever tasted! Enjoy!

Classic Hot Chocolate

a recipe from Lindt Chocolate Passion

Ingredients:

1 qt (1L) milk
1 vanilla bean, split
1 stick of cinnamon
¾ tsp (3.5g) black pepper corns (whole)
2 bars (3.5 oz/100g each) Lindt Excellence 70% Cocoa, chopped

Method:

Heat the milk with the spices in a sauce pan over medium heat until it reaches boiling point, but do not let the milk boil.
Add the chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth.
Remove from heat and let rest for 25 minutes to release the spices' aroma.
Strain the liquid and reheat before serving.

Yield:

Makes 4-6 Serving
Recipe by Master Chocolatier Jean-Pierre Larramendy,
Helene Mazuyer, & David Vignau

Visit my Lindt Chocolate R.S.V.P. website for more great recipes!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-12T08:45:00.002-06:00

I can't believe we're almost two weeks into the new year and I'm just now getting back to blogging! Let me catch you up on what's been going on around here...

We drove over to the Wichita area the Monday after Christmas to spend some time with Phillip's family. We don't make it over there very often, so we always try to spend several days when we go. Getting ready for a trip like that can be pretty stressful, though... making sure we have everything Hannah will need to be away from home for several days. But overall it was a great trip! There was one really nice day with above-average temperatures, so Hannah and Joshua got to ride PaPa's horses... that's always a treat, especially for Hannah! Aaron was excited because PaPa let him drive all over the place, and he used some of his Christmas money to buy a B-B gun that he enjoyed shooting while we were there... you can do that kind of stuff out in the country. We also went to visit some of the great-grandparents. That's big news because Hannah's behavior had gotten so bad that we haven't taken her out visiting in a couple years. She did great and seemed to enjoy getting out. That really makes traveling more fun for everyone!

Are you wondering how the pictures turned out? Remember, I told you that my mother-in-law made an appointment to get pictures made while all 10 of the grandkids were going to be together, and I was a little concerned that Hannah might be overwhelmed which would make it difficult to get her into the studio. I am happy to report the the session went about as well as it could, under the circumstances. She did seem a little nervous, but she went in and stood near the group... she kept trying to step away, but we finally got her close enough to get a good photo.

This was the first shot taken... Hannah is obviously overwhelmed.

But just seven shots later, they were able to get this one!

After the large group, they took photos of all the sibling groups. I suggested that we start with my kids so we could get Hannah while she was already in the room. I know her well enough to know that it would be hard to get her back in there once she left the room. Here's the best one:

Remember what I just said about knowing that Hannah wouldn't want to go back in once she was out? Well, after they took the sibling groups they wanted to take photos of all the grandsons with PaPa and all the granddaughters with Granny. If I had only known they were going to do that... but I didn't, so this was the best one in that group.

She was done. Oh, well... two outta three ain't bad!

Since we got back we've just been trying to get back into routine. Hannah had a rough week at school last week, but she seems to be doing better this week. Of course, the boys took it all in stride. I finally got all the Christmas decorations taken down and put away over the weekend, so things are beginning to feel "normal" again.

We got some snow the other night, but only a couple inches... not enough for a snow day, much to the boys' dismay.

I guess that just about does it. I hope you've had a great start to the new year!

Rabbit trail: I almost forgot to mention that we have the best neighbors ever! While we were gone a very unexpected severe thunderstorm blew through the area, and my neighbors took our nativity down and put it in their garage so it wouldn't blow away or get damaged in the storm. Special thanks to Mark Hobson and Mr. Ford!

White Christmas

2010-12-24T19:42:00.000-06:00

I know I said that my earlier post would likely be my last of the year, but I couldn't resist. It's been snowing here all day... the kind that the kids will have fun building a snowman in tomorrow.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share a couple pictures. Have a safe and happy Christmas!

Merry Christmas... from our home to yours!

2010-12-24T12:32:00.004-06:00

This will likely be my last post of 2010, and I didn't wanted to miss the opportunity to wish my friends... both old and new... a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Here's a not-so-short update on what's been happening in our lives this year:

Hannah turned 9 in August and she is in 3rd grade. She started seeing a new doctor right before Easter this year because her screaming and OCD behaviors were becoming unbearable. Dr. Davis put Hannah on several dietary supplements and within weeks her behavior began to improve and the atmosphere in our home became much calmer. We've gone back to see Dr. Davis every eight weeks since then, and each time she's made adjustments to Hannah's supplements and we've seen more improvements in her behavior. This summer, she started receiving ABA therapy and quickly began to make progress in several areas. We really didn't realize how far we had come until we took a road trip in mid-July. We had gotten to the point that we hated to travel because when we would stop for a "potty break" Hannah would start screaming before we ever got to the bathroom and continue until we were out. There were times when the gas station attendants were on the verge of calling the police because they were afraid we were abusing her. But in July she walked into the restroom with her hands over her ears, but without screaming! She used the toilet, flushed and even washed her hands. In September, she also began receiving additional Speech and OT services. In October, she seemed to be regressing so we made an appointment with the pediatrician and found that she had an ear infection and the doctor recommended that we put drops in her ear in addition to giving her oral antibiotics. Not very long ago it took two people to hold her down to put drops in her ears, but this time she laid down and let us put the drops in with minimal objections. After just a couple days, she was lying very still and counting the drops as we put them in. We have an awesome team of people working with Hannah right now, and we are truly thankful for each one of them! They are an answer to prayer!

Joshua is 12 and is in the 6th grade. He is doing very well in school, and his favorite class so far this year was Industrial Arts… he’s particularly proud of the bi-plane that he made. He spent a month in Arkansas this summer with Granna and Grandpa, and he spent several days with Aunt Michelle and Uncle Stacy. While he was there, he attended VBS and music camp at Park Hill Baptist Church. Joshua also started seeing Dr. Davis in September in an effort to take a more “natural” approach to alleviating his ADHD symptoms. He still loves video games, Lego mini figures, and to be outside running around with his friends.

Aaron is 15 and is a sophomore this year. He played wide receiver, corner back and outside linebacker for the Jr. Varsity football team… and even kicked a few times as a place kicker. He sustained his first concussion this year in the first full-pads practice of the season, which side-lined him for the first few games. Aaron is teaching himself to play the guitar, and was even in a band with a few of his friends for a while. He is actively involved in the church youth group. In addition, he got his driver’s permit in July, so now he wants to be behind the wheel as much as possible. He can get his license in April if he gets enough practice hours in.

Phillip started the year as the Airfield Systems Manager for HQ Air Mobility Command (AMC) and it‘s 13 bases, but in October he took over as the lead communications inspector for the AMC Inspector General team. He has been TDY more than a dozen times this year and most of those trips were for training or conducting inspections. He tested for Senior MSGT this year for the third time and feels like he did fairly well. He only missed it last year by 8 points so hopefully the third time is a charm, but we won’t know for sure until March.

Patty has enjoyed being more involved in the music ministry at church this year, serving with the choir and Praise Team. She celebrated her 40^th birthday in July, and celebrated her 12^th anniversary with Creative Memories in September, and has spent many hours this year trying to bring the family scrapbooks up-to-date. In November she was given an offer she couldn’t refuse and signed as the 11^th Independent Consultant for Lindt Chocolate R.S.V.P., the newly formed direct-sales division of Lindt & Sprungli.

We hope that you’ve had a wonderful year, and pray God’s blessings for you and your family in 2011!

Love,

Phillip, Patty, Aaron, Joshua and Hannah

My Top {10} Favorite Christmas Albums

2010-12-23T12:17:00.001-06:00

I {love} Christmas music! It's all I can do to wait until after Thanksgiving to start listening to my Christmas CDs. Here's a list of my favorite Christmas albums, based on the ones that are in my current collection:

Celine Dion: These are Special Times (1998) - My favorite song on this album is The Prayer, featuring Andrea Bocelli.
Casting Crowns: Peace on Earth (2008) - Favorite song, While You Were Sleeping.
Amy Grant: The Christmas Collection (2008) - It's impossible to pick just one favorite from this CD! My favs include Breath of Heaven, Grown-Up Christmas List and Tennessee Christmas (sorry about the old clip, but this is still my favorite version... just Amy, Gary and a guitar).
Steven Curtis Chapman: The Music of Christmas (1995) - Favorite song, Christmas Is All in the Heart featuring CeCe Winans. I have his second Christmas album, too... All I Really Want For Christmas (2005)... but the first one is still my favorite.
4Him: Christmas the Season of Love (1993, re-released in 1998) - Favorite song, Strange Way to Save the World.
Point of Grace: Christmas Story (1999) - Favorites, O Holy Night and Not That Far From Bethleham (sorry, neither of these have great audio/video quality).
David Phelps: One Wintry Night (2007) - My favorite on this album is O Holy Night but my favorite Christmas song by David Phelps is Joy, Joy from the album Joy, Joy (2000).
Jaci Velasquez: Christmas (2001) - Favorite, The Chipmunk Song.
Phillips, Craig & Dean: Repeat the Sounding Joy (1996) - Favorite, Go Tell It on the Mountain/Amen (I also love The Kid in Me, but I couldn't find the video).
Various Artists: Wow Christmas Green (2005) - Favorite, Don't Save It All for Christmas Day by Avalon.

I've treated myself to a new one each year for the past several years, but I haven't purchased one yet this year. I would love for you to leave me a comment about your favorite Christmas album... maybe your favorite will show up on my list next year!

By the way... the albums listed are listed in the order that they were in my collection, not necessarily in the order of how much I love them. ;-)

Disclaimer: I was not compensated in any way, by any of these artists, to make this list... though I wouldn't be opposed to doing a review in the future.

Realistic Expectations?

2010-12-21T08:48:00.004-06:00

If you're at all like me, the next two weeks will be a blur of activity. My husband and I have some last-minute shopping to do and I'm just now getting our Christmas cards to the Post Office, but I really wasn't too stressed about it... until yesterday.

Isn't it funny to think about the things that stress you out? My biggest stress of the holiday season comes from visiting family... and I'm sure I'm not alone. It's not because we don't enjoy seeing our parents, brothers and sisters... in fact, it's quite the opposite! We love spending time with them and wish we could be together more often!

So, why the stress? In a word... Hannah. But to be fair, the boys inject their own special brand of stress into the holidays, too... Joshua's ADHD and Aaron's teen angst make everyday a holiday. Insert eye roll {here}.

But traveling with Hannah is such a huge production. With her dietary restrictions, we have to make sure we take plenty of GFCF foods or plan to go grocery shopping as soon as we get to where ever we're going. We also have to pack up all of the supplements, sensory toys, flash cards, etc.

Then there are the expectations of other people. I got an e-mail from my mother-in-law yesterday informing me that they had made an appointment to get pictures of all 10 of the grandkids while we are all together. Now, I completely understand why they want to do it... the oldest is a senior in high school and it's becoming pretty rare for us to all be together, and I'm sure that will only get worse after the kids start moving off and going to college... but, of course, all I could see were the "worse-case scenarios" flashing through my head. We're taking Hannah to a studio that she's never been to, with 20+ people that she barely knows who will all be talking at the same time, most of them loudly barking directions... this could get UGLY.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I get a little crazy every year trying to get the "perfect" Christmas photo. Here are a few that you did not receive in your Christmas cards (aka, "Epic failures from years past"):

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

So maybe I'm the one with the unrealistic expectations. Maybe my in-laws just want a photo of their grandchildren and if Hannah is staring off into space or screaming wildly, then that's okay. Maybe I shouldn't worry about how bad it could turn out, and I should just relax and go with it... she's surprised us a lot lately with her improved behavior, maybe this will be one of those days.

Here's to a stress-free Christmas!

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Philippians 4:6-7 (The Message)

Top {10} People I'd Like to Meet

2010-12-10T17:17:00.000-06:00

Have you ever been asked who you'd like to meet if you could choose anyone in the world? My Top10 list is compiled of living people who I admire for one reason or another, and that I would enjoy spending a day with.

Rachel Coleman, co-creator of Signing Time! Actually make that the whole Coleman family... Aaron, Leah and Lucy (who are stars in their own right), Laura (the "newest" addition to the family), and don't forget Alex and Emilie! I admire Rachel for deciding that everything was okay when they found out that Leah was deaf, and then finding a creative way to help others communicate with her. Also, she's a Mommy to two special needs kiddos... that alone makes her a hero in my book!
Amy Grant, Christian singer/songwriter. If I could spend a day with Amy, the first thing I would say to her is "I'm sorry." I was horribly judgemental when her marriage to Gary Chapman broke up in 1999 and she married Vince Gill a short time later in 2000. So much so, that I sold my entire collection of Amy Grant albums, cassettes, CDs, posters... you get the picture. It took me a long time to realize that I had put her on a pedestal that she never asked to be placed on. She is a human being, just like me... and she makes mistakes, just like me. I've also learned that marriage is a lot harder than it sounds on the day you say "I do".
Angie Smith, wife of Todd Smith of Selah and author of the blog Bring the Rain. I have followed Angie's blog since about the time she and Todd lost their precious Audrey Caroline. I can't tell you how many times I sat crying in front of my computer screen as I read her words, which were always full of faith and hope even in the darkest hours. I just wanted to reach into my computer and give her a big hug... one Mom to another. Angie seems so genuine... I think I would enjoy just talking with her over coffee.
Jenny McCarthy, actress/author. I would like to spend an afternoon with Jenny because she is a Mom who "gets it". She knows where I am, and where I hope to be. She is, to quote her, a "Mother Warrior".
Holly Robinson Peete, actress. Holly is another Mom who "gets it", another "Mother Warrior". She seems so down-to-earth, and always makes me laugh... whether I'm reading her tweets or watching her on The Talk.
Michelle Duggar, Mom of 19. I'm not going to lie and say I never miss an episode of 19 Kids and Counting, but I've watched enough to know that Michelle has a sweet spirit that I would like to have. I wish I would have had her as a mentor mom when my kids were small, but I'm sure she has many pearls of wisdom that she could pass along to me even now.
Beth Moore, Christian author/Bible teacher. I love listening to Beth Moore teach! There's something about her that draws me in and I just have to pay attention. I love her Texas accent, too! She has oodles and gobs of southern charm, and seems like someone I would really enjoy hanging out with.
The Gaither Vocal Band, Christian singing group. Technically, I met the GVB back in 1990-ish when the group consisted of Bill Gaither, Mark Lowery, Michael English, and Terry Franklin, but I'd like the chance to really spend a little time with them. I would love to stand around a piano and sing with them. Not because I think I have some awesome voice that needs to be discovered, but because I love the harmony they produce and I would love to have a chance to learn a little bit. Plus, Mark just makes me laugh... what could be better than that?
Sam Champion, weather anchor of ABC's Good Morning America. Just because I think he's about the cutest weatherman I have ever seen. Seriously, he's traveled all over the place... I'd just like to quiz him a little bit about what he loves... and hates... about his job. Plus, his sister has a child with autism and is an advocate for an autism cure... that makes him, and his sister, a part of the family.
Lisa Whelchel, actress/author/scrapbooker. I remember seeing Lisa as Blair on the Facts of Life... and honestly, I didn't like snotty Blair very much. But when I found out a few years ago that she was a Christian, and a scrapbooker, I thought, "Now this is a woman I can relate to!" I had the privilege to lead her Scrapbook Bible study, This Is My Story, in the Fall of 2008. I loved the DVD portions... she seemed like she was really having fun with her friends, and it made me wish that I was one of them.

So there's my list. Ask me tomorrow and I could probably add ten more names. Who would you like to meet, if you could meet anyone in the world?

Ready for Christmas?

2010-12-09T17:41:00.002-06:00

I ordered our Christmas cards today. Yes, I know that it's already December 9th. No, I haven't started writing the annual Christmas letter. I'm just not ready for Christmas.

But ready or not, here it comes.

In an attempt to get in the spirit, I picked up a family devotional guide that we received from the Children's Ministry of First Baptist Church, Biloxi, in 2007. It's a little bittersweet to look at those things from the past. I miss my friends from the coast. I miss the large choir, the Singing Christmas Tree, mild temperatures and palm trees wrapped with Christmas lights.

But as I flip through the first few pages of that book, I start getting to the real meaning of Christmas.

In Genesis, we see that God created the heaven's and earth and the He was pleased with His creation. He created man, and even made a helper for him, and gave them one rule... don't. Don't eat the fruit of that one tree in the center of the garden.

But by Genesis 3:6, Adam and Eve had already messed things up... for everyone.

⁶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

How many times I have thought about this story as I have said "no" to my children and then watched them do it anyway. Sigh.

The good news is that this was no big surprise to God. The plan, that was prophesied in Isaiah 7, was already in motion.

¹⁴ Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

Nonbelievers often ask, "If God knew that Adam and Eve were going to sin and all of these bad things were going to happen, why did He create them?" I don't have the answer to that question. All I know is that it wasn't because He wanted to see us suffer. I believe He wants all of us to accept His greatest gift of love, His son... Jesus.

I will try to keep this, the true meaning of Christmas, in my heart as I prepare my mind for December 25th.

Strangers in the Box

2010-12-08T08:08:00.004-06:00

I love family photos... the older, the better! So in the early 1990s when my grandmother said that she was going to start throwing away boxes of photos if someone didn't come and take them away, I jumped at the chance to save these old family treasures. We spent hours going through them and she identified weathered faces from the past on brittle, yellowed photographs. But, there were many that she didn't recognize... strangers in the box.

This is one of those photos:

As you can see, much of the writing on the back of the photo is so faded that it is illegible. One thing that can be made out is the word "Conesville", which is another city in Ohio.

I also have the tintype "negative" of this photo. This leads me to believe that this is probably a member of my family. I did have ancestors in my direct lineage with the surnames of Savage and Parks in the Zanesville/Coshocton/Conesville, OH area from 1850 until the early 1900s.

That isn't much to go on, but I'm hopeful that one day we'll be able to identify this young man.

Update: Connie from Forgotten Old Photos featured these pictures in her blog and was able to add the following details:

Mrs. SA Rich was in Zanesville Ohio from 1870 to 1876, then from 1883 to 1889 she was at 101 Main, then 1885 to 1886 she was someplace else in Zanesville. From that information I would say that this photo was taken in 1870 to 1876 or 1885 or 1886. There is some writing on the back of the CdV (above the FROM ..same as small.. is kind of circled) and (under the S.A Rich is Conesville.)

I think he is a young lad, fifteen or sixteen years old..born in either 1855 to 1861 or 1870 or 1871. I wonder what the census says for the surnames Savage and Parks in Muskingum County Ohio in 1860 ..1870..or 1880?

I was able to draw these conclusions, based on her information:

The family of my 3rd great grandfather, Robert Moffett Savage, can be found in Morgan County, Ohio, in both the 1860 and 1870 Census. In 1880, they are listed in Zanesville, Muskingham County, Ohio. There were three boys born to that family between 1855 and 1871... George W. (b. 1856), John Bryan (b. 27 Apr 1868), and William Henry (John's twin and my 2nd great grandfather). I do not think the young man in the photo is William, based on other photos that I have of him.

The family of my 3rd great grandfather, David U. Parks, is found in Virginia Township, Coshocton County, Ohio, in the 1860, 1870, and 1880 Censuses. There was only one boy born to that family between 1855 and 1871... Hamilton S. (b. abt 1866).

Based on Connie's information, I believe the best candidate is George W. Savage. Perhaps one day someone in the family will be able to verify that fact.

Strangers in the Box by Pam Harazim

Come, look with me inside this drawer,

In this box I've often seen,

At the pictures, black and white,

Faces proud, still, serene.

I wish I knew the people,

These strangers in the box,

Their names and all their memories

Are lost among my socks.

I wonder what their lives were like,

How did they spend their days?

What about their special times?

I'll never know their ways.

If only someone had taken time

To tell who, what, where, or when,

These faces of my heritage

Would come to life again.

Could this become the fate

Of the pictures we take today?

The faces and the memories

Someday to be passed away?

Make time to save your stories,

Seize the opportunity when it knocks,

Or someday you and yours could be

The strangers in the box.

12 Days of Signing Time Holiday {GIVEAWAY}

2010-12-06T10:16:00.000-06:00

By now you know how much I love a good giveaway, right? Well, I love it even more when it's a product that I absolutely love!

We were introduced to Signing Time! by a speech pathologist at Hannah's preschool, shortly before we received her ASD diagnosis. At the time, Hannah was nonverbal and we desperately wanted to see her begin to communicate with us.

I will never forget the first time I heard her say "more". We were at a friend's house and had just finished having lunch. Hannah walked into the kitchen and spied the pan of brownies on the counter... "mo-rah". I couldn't believe my ears, I yelled at my husband to come into the kitchen. "Mo-rah", she said again. We might have thought it was a fluke except she was also signing the word "more" as she was saying it. Oh, did I mention that it was Mother's Day 2004? I think that was the best Mother's Day present that I will ever receive!

I think we now own the entire Signing Time! DVD collection, with the exception of the Baby Signing Time! series. Hannah knows nearly every sign used in the series receptively, and will expressively use several as well. It is no exaggeration for me to say that Signing Time! has helped us teach our nonverbal daughter how to speak.

So, here's how to enter their fabulous giveaway:

Here’s how to enter:

Become a fan of Signing Time on Facebook at any time during the contest.
Go to Signingtime.com and click on the page for a product you like, but don’t have yet.
Copy the URL (web address) of the page.
Paste the URL in to your Facebook profile STATUS followed by “This Signing Time product is on my holiday wish list.” Then tag “Signing Time” so your entry gets recorded. (How do I ‘tag’ in my status?)
Get a second entry by telling your friends about the giveaway (see instructions on the giveaway page).
Check the Signing Time Facebook page daily to see if you’ve won!
Daily winners will need to email facebook@signingtime.com with the following to claim their prize: Name, Address and phone number.

Good luck!

Ogres are like onions

2010-12-02T08:47:00.006-06:00

Do your kids watch Shrek? Mine do. This little banter between Shrek and Donkey came to mind as I was trying to decide how to write this post:

SHREK: For your information, there's a lot more to ogres than people think. DONKEY: Example?
SHREK: Example? Okay. Uh... ogres are like onions.
DONKEY: They stink?
SHREK: Yes. No!
DONKEY: Oh, they make you cry?
SHREK: No!
DONKEY: Oh, you leave them out in the sun, they get all brown and start sprouting little white hairs.
SHREK: No! Layers! Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. Onions have layers. You get it? We both have layers.
DONKEY: Oh... you both have layers... You know, not everybody like onions. Cakes! Everybody likes cakes. Cakes have layers.
SHREK: I don't care what everyone likes. Ogres are not like cakes... You dunce, irritating, miniature beast of burden. Ogres are like onions. End of story. Bye bye. See ya later...

Now read it again and substitute the words "kids with autism" every time you see the word "Ogres".

But, guess what? We're peeling back the layers and starting to see the Hannah that's been hiding underneath them. It would be ~~difficult~~ impossible to communicate everything that's happened in the last nine months, but I'm going to try to give you a tiny glimpse into what's been going on here.

We started seeing Dr. Amy Davis at Crossing Back to Health right before Easter this year. At the time, Hannah's screaming and OCD behaviors were becoming unbearable. It was clear that she was miserable and frustrated, but we had no idea how to help her. Dr. Davis put Hannah on several dietary supplements and within weeks Hannah's behavior began to improve. The atmosphere in our home became much more calm. It was a huge answer to prayer!

We've gone back to see Dr. Davis every eight weeks since that first visit in late March, and each time she's made adjustments to Hannah's supplements and we've seen improvements in Hannah's behavior.

In June, Hannah was evaluated for ABA therapy by Behavior Analyst Jessica Harrison. I don't think we would have seen the same rapid improvement if we would have started the ABA before we started working with Dr. Davis. I love the way God has lined all of these things up for us! It's been truly amazing to sit back and watch it happen.

We really didn't realize how far we had come until we took a road trip in July. We had gotten to the point that we hated to travel because stopping for a "potty break" was so completely horrible. Hannah would start screaming before we ever got to the bathroom and continue until we were out. There were at least two times that the gas station attendants were on the verge of calling the police because they were afraid we were abusing Hannah, or trying to kidnap her. But in July she walked into the restroom with her hands over her ears, but without screaming! She used the toilet, flushed and even washed her hands. I was blown away!

In early September, Hannah was re-evaluated for and began receiving additional Speech and OT services. We have such an awesome team of people working with Hannah right now, and I am truly thankful for each one of them!

Fast forward to late October. Hannah seemed to be regressing and we were at a loss as to why it was happening. Suddenly I remembered something that my friend, and Hannah's pre-K teacher, Sherry Stockstill used to say... "Physical first." I made Hannah an appointment with the pediatrician and found that she had an ear infection. Just a few weeks later she was "not herself" again. I took her back to the pediatrician and found that she still had infection in her right ear. The doctor strongly recommended that we put drops in her ear in addition to giving her oral antibiotics. It wasn't that long ago that it took two people to hold her down to put drops in her ears, but this time she laid down and let me put the drops in with minimal objections. After just a couple days, she was laying very still and counting the drops as I put them in. Amazing!

Like I said before, it would be impossible for me to write down all of the little improvements we've seen. It really does feel like we're peeling an onion. I have no idea how many layers there will be, but I'm anxious to see what we're going to find next!

Rabbit trail: Speaking of Dr. Davis, Joshua and Aaron are also seeing Dr. Davis now and we're finding that they both have issues of their own. I'll keep you posted on their progress!

Who Doesn't Want to WIN {Toys} Right Before Christmas?

2010-11-29T10:38:00.002-06:00

As you already know, I love great giveaways! So here's another one that I want to pass along to you...

Autism Spectrum Quarterly and Hartley's Life With 3 Boys are celebrating the ASQ Holiday and Family issue by giving away some of the educational and inspiring toys listed in their Holiday Gift Guide!

They will be selecting 2 GRAND PRIZE winners, and each will receive a fabulous holiday prize pack (you can find more information on the toys, and why Hartley recommends them here) :

3 sets of 52 Citiblocs

1 Dressing Vest from Fun and Function

5 Tubs of Aroma Dough

1 Science Kit from Kits for Kids

1 Make Your Own Gum kit from Glee Gum

Contest begins November 29th and runs through midnight on December 14th.

Sounds awesome, doesn't it? Good luck!

{My Very First GIVEAWAY} Enter to WIN a Power Palette System!

2010-11-28T18:15:00.003-06:00

As I was bouncing around from blog to blog yesterday entering to win great giveaways by fellow bloggers, I was inspired to have my very own giveaway! Are you ready? Here's what you can win!

It's an entire Black & White 12 x12 Power Palette System by Creative Memories!

It includes:

16 sheets Tone-on-Tone Paper

16 sheets Designer-Print Paper

96 piece Storybox

3 sheets of clear Title Stickers in black and white

2 sheets of clear Decorative ABC stickers

4 rolls of Paper Ribbon (5 feet each)

24 Paper Frames

64 Paper Flowers

And because I know how much you love to have chocolate while you're scrapping, I'm going to throw in a classic assortment of five (3 Milk, 1 Dark, and 1 White) smooth melting Lindor Truffles.

Here's how to enter!

You may receive up to 5 total entries by choosing from the following entry methods.

No duplicate comments.

1) Leave a comment and tell me what you will do with your B&W Power Palette... use it for yourself or give it as a gift?

2) Join the Miles Apart Scrappers group on Facebook. Leave a comment letting me know that you did.
3) Fan Creative Memories on Facebook. Leave a comment letting me know that you did, or that you're already a fan!

4) Post about this giveaway on your own blog. Leave a link to your blog in your comment.

5) Mention this giveaway on your own Facebook page. Let me know that you did.

6) Tweet about this giveaway. Leave the URL to your post in your comment.

7) Subscribe to my Creative Memories newsletter by following the directions on my website (this option is available for new subscribers only).

You must leave a separate comment for each entry! If you are commenting as anonymous, please leave an email address so that I can contact you! Giveaway ends at 5pm CST on December 5, 2010. This giveaway is open to US residents age 18 or older. Winner will be selected via random drawing, and will be notified via e-mail on Monday.

Update, 12/6/2010: Congratulations to Suzanne! She is the winner of this giveaway!

I love great {GIVEAWAYS}!

2010-11-27T10:20:00.007-06:00

I have some AWESOME blogging friends who are doing some great giveaways right now, and I just can't keep them to myself!

The first one I ran across this morning was by TomKat Sudio. This giveaway ends on Nov. 28th, and here is what is included:

Silhouette Machine

Software for Windows XP/Vista, Mac

Power cable, USB Cable

2 Cutting Mats (one for thick media, one for thin media)

One Cutting Blade

$10 gift card to the Silhouette Online Store

Next, I found this giveaway for a computer and a gift card for $250 to Best Buy on Angie Smith's Review and Giveaway Page. She has a great review for the computer on her page, and I know you're going to want to win it! Sweepstakes ends at 5 PM PST on December 22, 2010.

Then I found this awesome giveaway by Soft™ Clothing and HLW3B! They are co-sponsoring an incredible holiday giveaway this season! Entries will be received until midnight on December 13, 2010. Two Grand Prizes will be given (one for boys, one for girls), and will each include the following sensory friendly items, which focus on fine motor development, dramatic play skills, sensory integration, creative expression, auditory exploration, and FUN:

Quilted Train Stocking from Pottery Barn Kids (boys prize)

Quilted Angel Stocking from Pottery Barn Kids (girls prize)

This is Gabriel Making Sense of School, by Hartley Steiner

SPD Awareness Calendar (for sale at http://www.sensoryplanet.com/)

Glitter bouncy ball from Pottery Barn Kids

Alex Finger Crayons

Tangle Textured Jr

AKU Sensory Ring

Melissa and Doug Jumbo Paint Brushes (set of 4)

Melissa and Doug Deluxe Fuzzy Make your Own Monster Puppet

Wonderland Eco Friendly Rainbow Sound Blocks

Mood Therapy Putty

Soft Seamless Sock 2-pack

One complete Soft dressy look for girls OR

One complete Soft dressy look for boys

Win a copy of the Pearl Girls book - leave a comment and share your 'kernal' blessing here on Tricia Goyer's blog. Contest ends 11/28/2010.

General Mills is kind enough to offer a Live Gluten Freely Product Box as a prize to one lucky Matthew's Puzzle reader. All you need to do is leave a comment with what food item you would like to see gluten free. This contest will end on Dec. 5, 2010 at 11:59 PM.

There's a choose-your-own giveaway going on at Welcome to Normal. Based on what will most benefit their own family, the winner of this giveaway will be able to choose from: Carol Gray’s latest published edition of Social Stories (which has just been awarded ASA’s literary work of the year award), or A one-hour personal consultation with Laurel Falvo, Certified Family Life Educator and Executive Director of The Gray Center, or The new DVD Why Do They Do That? Answers to Questions You Might Have About People with Autism and Asperger Syndrome…and Tips You Can Use to Help Them! by Laurel Falvo. Entries will be accepted until midnight, central time, on November 30th.

I found this great giveaway for a Shield of Faith cuff bracelet by Gracewear on the {in}courage blog. Contest open until midnight EST Wednesday, December 1, 2010.

Please visit my friends to enter to win one (or more) of these great giveaways!

Thankful Thursday

2010-11-11T08:06:00.002-06:00

Three things that I am thankful for today:

That I was born and raised in the USA... land of the free and home of the brave!
For my Dad, who served in the Air Force for four years... much of that time was spent in Vietnam and the Philippines.
For my husband, who has served in the Air Force for nearly 15 years... largely due to the counsel of my father. There are certainly things about this military life that I do not like, but I am thankful that in this down economy we have not once worried about whether or not Phillip would have a job. We also have great benefits and have made some great friends over the years.


MSgt Phillip Mullins - 2007 SrNCO of the Year

Me, my Dad, and Phillip - Sept. 2009

Happy Veteran's Day!

Thankful Thursday

2010-10-28T17:07:00.000-05:00

Today I'm thankful:

that God guides and directs my steps (when I let him).
for my neighbor, Wendy, who invited me to a Bible study last fall where I met...
Laura, who has a little boy with autism and told me about...
Dr. Amy Davis, who has helped us tremendously since last March!

Isn't it awesome when you can see the hand of God working in your life! What are you thankful for today?

Less Words Wednesday

2010-10-27T09:24:00.002-05:00

One of Joshua's latest obsessions... Lego mini figures.

Does anyone else have scenes like this sitting around at their house?

Rabbit Trail: Do you remember to take pictures of the things that your child is interested in? These photos aren't great... my auto-focus was having trouble focusing on these tiny little Legos... so I'm going to try to remember to take some more tonight with Joshua in them. I think they will make a great addition to his scrapbook!

Scrapbooking on a Budget... without sacrificing Quality!

2010-10-26T11:16:00.000-05:00

It seems that everyone is money-conscious nowadays, and this leads people to believe that they can't afford to scrapbook with good quality supplies. I'm here to tell you that you CAN, and here's how you do it:

Tip #1: USE WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE
If you've known me for very long at all, you know I've talked people out of buying things from me just because they think that brand new paper is the cutest thing they've ever seen. I'm not going to make a lot of money doing that, but I hope I've earned the respect of some of my customers over the years. My motto is "if you don't know exactly what you're going to use it for, do not buy it!" But we've all done it. We see that brand new paper or embellishment and we just have to have it right now, because we know we're going to need it... eventually. Then we take it home and it gets buried in our scrapbooking supplies right under the next new thing that we just have to have... it's a vicious cycle! So before you grab your coupon and run to the discount store to buy more stuff for your next project, go through the stuff you already have and make a pact with yourself to use it. You bought it once upon a time because you loved it, so now's the time to get it out and put it into your album. Who cares if it's "so last year"? I personally started a project a while back and challenged myself to use only "old" papers and embellishments. Those pages will never be published in Creating Keepsakes magazine, but guess what... my family doesn't care. They see memories of a past vacation in our family album, and they love it!

Tip #2: DO NOT OVER EMBELLISH - USE COORDINATING PRODUCTS TO CREATE CLASSIC LAYOUTS
I recently had a conversation with a customer who refuses to spend $25 on a Creative Memories coverset that has a lifetime guarantee, but who will spend $5 on a pack of embellishments that will only decorate one two-page spread. I cannot begin to tell you how sad that makes me feel. Creative Memories has always urged people to put more emphasis on their photos and stories than the embellishments, but we've also got some really great stuff for anyone who likes "tricked out" pages. Our Power Palette systems come with everything you need to complete at least 16 two-page spreads... wallpapered backgrounds, matted photos, titles, and embellishments... that all coordinate together for about $3.78 per two-page layout. I'm just sayin'... if you're going to spend $5, would you rather have everything you need or just the bling? And remember, in terms of adding embellishments to your pages, sometimes less is more.

Tip #3: SHOP THE CLEARANCE SECTION
I have a clearance section on my Creative Memories website that will allow you to get some of last year's retired paper, stickers, and album kits at half-price! Great deals and the quality that you've come to expect from Creative Memories... sounds like a perfect match!

Tip #4: HOST A PARTY
I know that everyone is busy these days, but hosting a Photo Solutions Party is a great way to get a lot of scrapbooking supplies for little or no money! The number one reason that people give me for not hosting is that they "don't know anyone who scrapbooks." Exactly! We're not necessarily looking for scrapbookers, we're looking for people who own cameras and take pictures. It only takes about an hour to share with your guests the solutions that Creative Memories offers for digital or printed photos. We also offer lots of decorative and gift options, so there really is something for everyone. Click here for more information about the Host Program.

Tip #5: BECOME A CONSULTANT
If you really love scrapbooking with high-quality supplies, you should really think about becoming a Consultant. That's why I started 12 years ago! Think about it... wouldn't you love to get a 30% discount on all of your Creative Memories supplies... even the ones in the clearance section... all the time? I know I love it! Click here for more information about joining the Creative Memories team.

I hope you have found these tips helpful, and that you'll share a photo of a recently completed project on my Miles Apart Scrappers Facebook group page.

Halloween Party Mix Recipe

2010-10-24T19:10:00.000-05:00

I made a batch of this yesterday and it turned out pretty good so I though I'd share.

Halloween Party Mix

9 cups oven-toasted corn cereal squares
4 cups popped popcorn
1½ cups dry-roasted peanuts
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
½ cup light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. baking soda
1¾ cups (10 oz. pkg.) Halloween shaped morsels
1 pkg. (7.5 oz.) milk chocolate covered pretzels

Preheat oven to 250°F. Grease large roasting pan. Mix cereal, popped popcorn, and peanuts in a large bowl. Pour into prepared pan. Combine brown sugar, butter and corn syrup in a medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla extract and baking soda. Pour evenly over cereal mixture, stir to coat evenly. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool completely in pan, stirring frequently to break apart mixture. Stir in morsels and chocolate covered pretzels. Store in an air-tight container. Makes about 5 quarts.

Since we have food intolerance issues at my house, I modified this recipe to make it GFCF. It was pretty easy to do since several varieties of Chex are now gluten free. I used 5 cups of Rice Chex and 4 cups of Honey Nut Chex, Orville Redenbacher's Natural Simply Salted popcorn, Earth Balance natural buttery spread, Tropical Source semi-sweet chocolate chips by Sunspire, and Glutino Gluten Free Pretzel Twists. Since the Honey Nut Chex already has a sweet coating and I was not using chocolate covered pretzels, I left the Honey Nut Chex out of the mixture until the end and put the pretzels in at the beginning... I hope that makes sense!

When I made this snack mix last year, I used a different kind chocolate chips (I believe they were made by Enjoy Life). They were mini chips and I waited until the mix was cool to add them. The chips had a very good flavor, but they all ended up at the bottom. This time the chips were "regular" size and I added them while the mix was still a little warm. This worked well because some of the chips stuck to the cereal, popcorn, and pretzels so that you had little clumps with a variety of tastes. I just waited until the whole thing cooled into a big solid chunk, then broke it up into smaller pieces.

If you decide to try it, I would love to know what you think and what substitutions you made to make it your own. Enjoy!

Hannah's 9th Birthday

2010-08-20T10:34:00.000-05:00

Hannah turned 9 on Tuesday. She spent most of her day at school, then had a doctor's appointment. Once Aaron got home from football, we had dinner (hot dogs and french fries... some of her favorite things) then she opened presents and we had some cake. It was a small family celebration, but it was just right for Hannah. I hope you enjoy these photos of her big day.

Happy Anniversary

2010-08-15T16:47:00.000-05:00

I just realized that it was one year ago yesterday that I started this blog. I would love to know what your favorite posts have been, and if there is anything that you would like me to write about in the future. Thanks for being my sounding board for the past 12 months!

A Week of Firsts

2010-08-14T09:34:00.002-05:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, Thursday was the first ~~day~~ three hours of school. I don't think I'll ever understand why this school district begins and ends with such short days, but I digress.

Hannah is now in 3rd grade. She is still in a self-contained special ed classroom, but she moved up to Mrs. Howard's class this year and will have a new personal aide. On Tuesday I was getting a little nervous about all this change and called the school to see if I could bring Hannah to the school to meet Mrs. Howard and see her new classroom. Mrs. Howard returned my call and she agreed to meet with us. Hannah started whimpering as soon as I turned on the road to the school, and continued to escalate as we walked to the building. By the time we were inside, she was screaming. Mrs. Howard met us in the hallway and we walked to the classroom together... Hannah screaming all the way. The situation was not getting much better once we were in the room, even though Mrs. Howard was being extremely kind and gentle with Hannah, until I found a bin of sensory items. I pulled out something that I knew that Hannah would love (looks a little like these puffer worms) but I wouldn't give it to her until she stopped screaming and asked for it nicely. I then put the bin between Hannah and Mrs. Howard and they bonded while exploring all the fun sensory toys. Hannah was a different child after that, and I was even able to get this photo:

Mrs. Howard and Hannah

She did very well on Thursday, too. I know some people thought I was horrible for counting down the days until summer was over, but if they only knew how much Hannah enjoys going to school... She was up early, got dressed, helped me make her bed (which she will not do during the summer, on weekends, or any breaks from school), had breakfast and was ready to go shortly after 7 a.m. Since we had 25 - 30 minutes before her bus was due to arrive, we watched an episode of Signing Time! (another school day ritual) and she happily jumped onto the bus when the time came.

Ready...

Set...


GO!!

Joshua was up and ready early, too, for his first day at the Middle School. That's right, Joshua is in 6th grade and moved up to Mascoutah Middle School this year. He seemed to really enjoy his first day... I think he's going to love getting to change classes every hour. Right now his classes are:

English
Science
Industrial Arts
Reading
PE
Social Studies
Advanced Math

Waiting patiently?

Ready to go!

Aaron's first day of 10th grade was overshadowed by the great football debate (see A New Year). We're still praying that he will reconsider and decide to play, but at this point I have no idea what he's thinking. He met with the head coach yesterday to turn in all of his stuff, but the coach asked him to take the weekend to think about it some more and come to talk to him again on Monday. So, we wait. Aaron's classes are:

Driver's Ed
Civics
Geometry
Biology
Study Hall/Lunch
Composition I
World History

Aaron's most exciting "first" this week was not the first day school, it was the first time behind the wheel. Phillip has taken him driving three times this week and says that Aaron is doing very well. I can't believe my boy is driving!


Starting the engine... I just noticed the position of his seat belt. Naughty boy!

Ready to roll!

A New Year

2010-08-12T08:53:00.000-05:00

It's the first day of school. I knew that things would be different this year, but I had no idea how much.

Aaron has decided to quit football because he wants to focus on his music. Read that statement again and let it sink in a bit.

He told us in May that he didn't want to go to football camp this summer because he wanted to take a year off from football. What?! If you know anything about my son, you know he's had a ball in his hand since before he could walk. For a few years now he's been talking about trying to get a football scholarship for college, so to say that this news was a shock would be an understatement. When I saw the schedule for camp, it all started to make sense... early mornings, three days per week. He complained, but I paid for camp and he went. I really thought that once he was playing again all this talk of quitting would fade away... I was wrong.

I'm not fully buying into the whole music excuse. Don't get me wrong, I know he enjoys playing guitar and I know it had been becoming a big part of his life, but that's not entirely what this is about. It's much more about spending time with his girlfriend and hanging out with his friends than anything else. I've rarely heard him play for the past month... oh, until he slammed me with the news that he was quitting football on Facebook the other day. He's played a handful of times since I then because I called him on the carpet about it.

Right now I'm angry with him for throwing away a potential scholarship opportunity. I'm hurt that he posted it on Facebook instead of talking to us about it, and that he absolutely would not take anything that we had to say about into consideration. I've been reminded many, many times just how much like me he is... and I hate that! He's going to let his heart override his head more than once, I'm afraid.

I laid awake all night last night begging God to give me some kind of peace, but I often found myself in tears... not really knowing exactly why this feels so very sad to me. Great... here I go again. Just a sec.

To my praying friends out there, please pray that:

God would give me wisdom, discernment, peace, love, grace, humility, kindness, gentleness, etc.
Aaron would show some interest in finding out God's plan for his life, and that he would put his priorities in an order that would reflect that.

Summertime

2010-08-09T09:04:00.000-05:00

I took a break from blogging and scrapping while the kids were out of school this summer, so it's time to get back into the "normal" routine. I thought I'd start with synopsis of our summer activities.

Hannah started summer school just one week after the regular school year was over, Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to Noon. She really enjoys riding the bus, though I think she would have preferred for school to start at 10 a.m. (that's pretty typical, right?)

About a week later, Aaron started football camp. He really didn't want to go to camp this year because it was three mornings a week for nearly the whole summer, but I pretty much told him he had to do it. He keeps talking about wanting to earn an athletic scholarship, but he wanted to blow off camp so he could sleep in all summer. Needless to say, he did it. He only missed three times... twice because he was "sick" and once to participate in the Go10 Walk for missions with a group from our church. He actually walked 12 miles that day.

Joshua spent 5 afternoons in June at the Destination Imagination at the youth center on base. He seemed to really enjoy it.

We went to Arkansas for the 4th of July weekend, and celebrated our 18th anniversary with my Dad and step-mom as they celebrated 27 years together. We left Joshua there to spend a few weeks with grandparents, aunts, and uncles since he really didn't have much going on this summer.

Once we were back in Illinois, Aaron was back to football camp and Hannah finally got started with ABA therapy. Since we're nearing the end of the fiscal year, she's been seeing therapists multiple times per week for 2 - 3 hours at a time. This has been an absolutely wonderful experience!

I hit a milestone a week ago when I turned 40. Phillip was out of town, so we just went to church and then I spent a nice relaxing afternoon in my recliner. Aaron made me a "gourmet" lunch of ramen noodles, and made Hannah a hot dog, so I didn't have to cook. I spent most of the day reading birthday greetings from all of my awesome friends on Facebook.

My step-Mom brought Joshua back to us last week, and she even brought my Mom with her! They stayed to visit for a few days and we celebrated Hannah's 9th birthday (which is coming up next week) while they were here. Then Phillip left for yet another TDY.

That brings us to today... 3 days before school starts. I think most of the back-to-school shopping is done, so now we're just trying to get back into the habit of going to bed at a decent hour so we're ~~ready~~ able to get up at the crack of dawn.

How did you spend your summer?

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-16T10:27:00.000-05:00

Adventures in Dentistry

2010-06-03T08:44:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago, I had to take Hannah to the dentist because the state of Illinois requires that all children in 2nd grade have record of a dental exam in their file at school. In order for you to understand what kind of anxiety this brings on, I need to take you back to her last dental visit.

In November 2008, just about a month prior to our leaving Biloxi, I took Hannah for her semi-annual cleaning. The times before had not been pleasant. Hannah hated practically everything about going to the dentist, even though we had the most kind and gentle dental staff on the coast. She had gotten to the point where she fought so much that at that visit the decision was made to strap her to a papoose board. As much as I hated to do that, I felt so relieved when it was actually done because I knew she wasn't going to hurt herself or someone else.

But is it any wonder that I was not in a big hurry to do that again?

In April, I called and made an appointment for myself with a local dentist that specializes in family dentistry. I needed to have a filling fixed and I thought it would be a good way to check the place out. The staff was very friendly, it was a very calm environment, and there was a small room separated from the waiting room by windows with video games for the kids. Oh, did I mention that they were able to get me in to fix that filling the same day that I called?

I was sufficiently pleased, so I talked with the receptionist about Hannah. She assured me that they would be able to handle her, and even suggested that I bring her back and let her watch as one of the boys got their teeth cleaned. I had thought about asking if we could do that, but I was impressed that she was the one to bring it up. Maybe they really had dealt with kids like Hannah before.

The day arrived and I was nervous, to say the least. Hannah was in a good mood that day and did very well in the waiting room. I expected her mood to change dramatically when they called us back, but she went into the room and sat down on a stool in the corner like it was no big deal. Whew! They turned a TV on Cartoon Network for Joshua, which served as a distraction for Hannah as well, but I could see her occasionally looking to see what the hygienist was up to.

Then it was Hannah's turn. She climbed into the big chair without completely wigging out. All things considered, that was a big step for her! She let the hygienist look at her teeth... well, sort of. Hannah wanted to hold the little mirror and things started to go downhill when the hygienist tried to get it back from her. When it came time to polish her teeth, Hannah absolutely couldn't take anymore... so the hygienist stopped.

The dentist had to come in to take a look so that he could sign the form to meet the state requirement, but by this time Hannah was done and was being quite vocal about the whole thing. Finally, I asked if I could try something. With the dentist's approval, I told Hannah to stand up.

There is something about having someone looking down on her while she's laying down that really freaks Hannah out. Once she was standing, she opened her mouth and ~~said~~ yelled "AHHH!" and the dentist was finally able to take a peek at her teeth. Finished!

Now, I know it may seem like they didn't do much of anything for her during that visit, but they went a long way toward earning Hannah's trust.

I took her back for Aaron's appointment two weeks later. She sat in the corner and watched, and jumped up in the big chair when he was finished. The hygienist talked sweetly to Hannah, then leaned the chair back and showed Hannah how she was making it move. You could see Hannah relax when see understood that. Hannah kept looking over her shoulder... she was waiting for the little mirror. The hygienist got out a clean one and handed it to Hannah... you should have seen her smile!

If you had told me 18 months ago that I would see my daughter smile while sitting in the dentist's chair, I would have told you that you were crazy!

The hygienist looked at her teeth, then told her she was finished and that she had done a great job. They even let her get a ball out of the treasure box.

I hope that the next appointment will be even better!

Thanking God for small miracles everyday...

Mission Update: Week 17

2010-05-23T19:46:00.000-05:00

After taking a week off, I think I've finally got my groove back.

On Tuesday I was ready to pick a new project and get started. I thought I would work on Aaron's sports album because I thought it would be fairly easy to get it caught up, but I completely changed my mind when I got up to my scrap room.

What did I decide on? Christmas.

I started an album years ago with all the photos that we receive in Christmas cards every year. That was an old 8x10 album and it contains photos from 1992 to 2005.

Since then, I've let the pictures pile up but never started a new album. Several months ago I decided that I would use a red 12x10 album that I had laying around, and I even sort of laid the pictures out up to 2008, but I just never actually stuck anything down in that album... until Tuesday.

I'm happy to report that I just stuck down the 21st page and that album is now up-to-date!

Now I just have to decide what to do next! Any suggestions?

Hannah's Recovery: Phase 2

2010-05-15T18:45:00.003-05:00

Hannah had her second appointment with Dr. Davis at Crossing Back to Health last Wednesday. I'm very excited to report that we have seen improvements in Hannah's behavior that have resulted in a much more peaceful living environment around here!

She has had fewer meltdowns, and the ones she did have were much less severe.
Her OCD has been "dialed back".
She's not thirsty all the time, and doesn't seem to crave juice.
She's interacting with us a little more, and has been a smidge more verbal.

All I have to say about that is PRAISE THE LORD!

Dr. Davis changed some of Hannah's supplements based on the results of her urine test. It seems her neurotransmitters are out of balance, so "Phase 2" is targeted toward getting those numbers back into the normal range.

We'll see Dr. Davis again in eight weeks. In the meantime, I'm currently jumping through the necessary hoops to get Hannah started in ABA therapy. If you've never heard of it, you can read about it here.

Thank you to everyone who has committed to pray for my girl! It's working, so don't stop now!

Mission Update: Week 15

2010-05-11T12:31:00.002-05:00

HALLELUJAH... it's finally FINISHED! Well, almost...

After 11 weeks, that honestly seemed like twice that, all I need to do is go back through and finish up a little journaling (I need Joshua's help with some of it, so I'll have to wait until after school), and slide the page protectors on and Joshua's school album is DONE! I can't wait to show it to him this afternoon!

Preschool through 5th grade... 60 pages! Here's a sample:

What's next? I'm not sure, but I'm thinking about Aaron's sports album. I'm definitely taking a break from school stuff... sorry, Hannah!

What are you working on?

More Mother's Day fun

2010-05-07T19:01:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure what my family has in store for me on Sunday, but I've already had a GREAT Mother's Day week!

First, my husband took Monday off from work and scheduled a couple's massage for us. Ahhh!

I colored my hair today. Yes, I did it myself. No, I usually don't do that, but my "girl" at the salon doesn't work there anymore and they were booked up until Wednesday. I don't know about you, but when I decide I'm ready to get my hair colored, it's usually because I can't stand looking at my roots anymore so I want it done NOW! I think I did a pretty good job. So far Phillip hasn't noticed.

Tomorrow I'm spending the day with some new friends at an all-day crop. That's scrapbook lingo for a bunch of ladies with scissors spending the day together. It's 16 hours... 10am to 2am! I don't know if I'll make it to the end, but I'm going to give it my best effort.

Oh, and I found a couple more fun articles especially for special needs Moms: Top 20 Reasons Moms of Kids With Special Needs ROCK and A Special-Needs Mother's Day Wish List. Enjoy!

If you see any great articles for Moms, please share! Oh, and tell me about your Mother's Day plans... or what you're hoping for.

Less Words Wednesday

2010-05-05T12:47:00.001-05:00

I found a link to a great article called Regular Moms vs Special Needs Moms on the "A Mommy on a Mission" blog that I wanted to share with you. She said that she got a good chuckle out of it... not me, I cried. Lots of little truths in that article. I think you'll enjoy it if you have a special needs child... whether it be through laughter or tears. Happy Mother's Day!

All Showers Lead to Australia -- Guest Post by Hartley Steiner

2010-05-03T19:51:00.003-05:00

From Patty: One of the things that I love about being part of the "Mommy Blogger" community is the opportunity to get to know the people out there who "get it," so to speak, and who are eager to share their experiences with other Moms (and Dads). Hartley Steiner is one of those people. She is the author of the blog Hartley's Life With 3 Boys and the book This is Gabriel Making Sense of School: A Book About Sensory Processing Disorder.

Just in time for Mother's Day, Hartley shares about the value of Mothers taking care of themselves... in particular, Mothers of special needs kids. It is humorous, yet serious, and I know you're going to love it as much as I did!

All Showers Lead to Australia
by Hartley Steiner

“Do you want to go to Australia with me?” My husband asked casually while I stood at the stove cooking the taco meat for dinner the other night. Such a ridiculous question didn’t warrant an actual verbal response, so I just looked at him out of the corner of my eye and gave a sarcastic smirk. He smiled, and said, “I am being serious. If you and I both start working on it now, we could find someone to take care of the kids for a few days and you could come with me to Australia in June.” He really was serious. And you know what, I wanted to go.

It isn’t going to surprise anyone to find out that spending a week away from our kids is something that we have NEVER done – heck we haven’t even made it 48 hours away from our kids in the last seven years. SEVEN YEARS.

Normally when I get asked by friends or relatives about traveling for an extended period of time, I always say my dream is to ‘be away from my kids long enough to miss them.” And it is true. The kind of stress I am under every single day as a special needs parent is not the kind that dissolves with a 20 minute shower. Not even close. And I spent years using that excuse to justify not spending any time taking care of myself.

But that changed about a year ago.

The light bulb went on when I stepped on the scale last spring – and well – let’s just say that instead of displaying a number, it actually said, “One at a time, please.” That was the first sign that I had stopped making time for myself.

The other signs were equally as disturbing; I was eating horribly (what my kids left behind, or fast food drive thru), wasn’t getting any exercise (chasing Matt should make me thin, but no such luck), hadn’t been to the doctor in years, never mind the dentist, and was down to having my hair cut 2 times a year at best, no matter how awful it looked. I would NEVER accept those things for my kids, so why was it OK for me?

I realized then that respite time had more to do with how I was treating myself – that taking the 20 minute shower was symbolic of self value and, more importantly, a stepping stone on the way to Australia. (OK, so I didn’t actually know the whole Australia thing then, but I knew it was a stepping stone towards something.)

I made a commitment to treat myself better. To treat myself, my health, my body, my mind, all of my needs, as if they were as important as my son’s needs.

The irony is that because we have special kids, we somehow have convinced ourselves that taking care of our own personal needs is a luxury. It’s not a luxury. A Mercedes Benz is a luxury. A Rolex is a luxury. 1000 thread count sheets is a luxury. Taking a shower, spending time with our spouse, or even going out with our friends is not my definition of a ‘luxury’.

The well kept secret here is that we can choose to take care of ourselves AND our kids.

I started my new self-care campaign by committing to getting myself a shower, if not every day, hopefully every other day. Do you think that was easy? NOT EVEN CLOSE.

My choices were to either, a) awake before my kids like my husband does by getting up and into the shower before 6am or b) find a way to distract my youngest son Matthew while the older boys were at school, and jump in then.

Now, I am not a morning person and I don’t drink coffee because I can’t stand hot beverages, so that ruled out option ‘a’ pretty quickly (I may just be the only SAHM on the planet that doesn’t sip a latte every morning, but thus far, Starbucks hasn’t seen a dime of my money).

This left me choosing option ‘b’, which requires a great deal more creativity and even a tinge of daring on my part. Matthew, as much as I love that small child, is a mess waiting to happen. Which means, no matter how well laid my plans are, no matter what awesome ‘new’ show I have recorded, no matter how many bribes he has in front of him, he will be NO WHERE near the spot I left him when I get done with my shower.

But, I am willing to take that risk.

And when I get out of the shower, wrap a towel around my head, and run through the house in my underwear surveying the damage he did in mere minutes, I remind myself that it was worth it. Because I am worth it.

But showering was only part of the plan.

After I had showering under my belt, I began to feel better about myself – dare I say even less stressed, and that feeling was addictive.

Soon I turned my new self-care addiction into going out for dinner with my girlfriends, attending more support group meetings, the occasional trip to the gym, going to the doctor, getting my hair cut, replacing 10-year old clothes with new ones, and going on dates with my husband. I even painted my own nails at night when the boys were asleep.

It was a change of attitude really: A change of perception about me, and about my life. It wasn’t (and isn’t) about just being away from my children, or doing frivolous things, but rather about allowing myself to see me as more than just a SAHM or a Special Needs Parent. Those are only part of who I am.

Taking time to out to take care of my needs allowed me to remember that I am a whole person, not just one label or another.

I spend a great deal of time talking about my family on my blog and in my real life, because I love them and they are truly the focus of my life every day.

But they aren’t the sum of who I am. I am much more. I love to laugh, can bake amazing desserts (cheesecake and lemon pound cake are my favorites), still listen to rap music, enjoy photography and have been infatuated with the ocean since I was 9 years old and decided to become a Marine Biologist, despite getting decompression sickness while SCUBA diving and going through hyperbaric treatment in Hawaii when I was 14. I bet you didn’t know those things about me, right? Truthfully, I’d begun to forget about them myself.

The bottom line here is this: It is OK that I want to go to Australia.

Two years ago, there is no way I would’ve been able to admit that and honor that I needed time for myself and that it would be OK to leave the kids for a week (Although I have yet to master the logistics involved in leaving them for an extended period of time). I know now, that taking time for myself and for my marriage will make me a better person, wife and mother.

And I have proof of it in my daily life – in the way I am able to be with my kids, and honor their challenges. In the way I am able to see my husband and support his dreams. And in the 20lbs I’ve lost without so much as being on a ‘diet’ this last year. Turns out taking care of your own needs is a good idea – and it is never too late to start.

Now, I know all of you are not going to read this and run off to Australia – but my hope is that you do run off to the shower, because as you now know, all showers lead to Australia.

-- Hartley Steiner, Australia bound mom, special needs advocate, blogger at www.hartleysboys.com and author of This is Gabriel Making Sense of School.

Sing a Song

2010-04-26T10:06:00.006-05:00

Have you ever had a dream... something you wanted to do with your life... and it just never seemed to happen for you?

I have, and yesterday I was reminded of it once again.

I love to sing. I can remember belting out every song on the radio from a very young age. I fell in love with worship music at Maranatha Fellowship when I was in upper elementary school. My first "formal" training didn't come until I was a junior in high school when I joined the Girls' Chorus. This was also my first encounter with the thing that would keep me from ever realizing my dream... fear. You see, I joined the Girls' Chorus because you didn't have to try out for it.

That year, I went to All-Region Choir tryouts because several of my friends were going. There was no pressure because in my mind there was no possible way that I could make it... I was just going for the "experience". Imagine my surprise when they announced that I had made it!

My senior year I went to tryouts much more prepared and earned 6th Chair for Soprano II in the region. My nerves got the best of me at All-State tryouts and I knew as I was leaving the room that I had not done well... I placed 55th out of 60... which in my mind meant that I really wasn't that good. Oh, the lies of the devil that I have chosen to believe throughout my life.

I had thought about pursuing a vocal music minor in college, and to that end I auditioned for a vocal music scholarship at Memphis State University. When I didn't get it, I once again heard that little voice saying "you're really not that good".

Over the next few years I did a little singing with the church choir, which allowed me to do what I loved on a small scale. At the time it was better than nothing, but soon I would feel that longing in my heart for more.

At one point (circa 1990) I had paid the entry fee to attend an audition during Gospel Music Week in Nashville, but chickened-out at the last minute.

From there, my singing was strictly limited to church. I sang a few solos, one of which was for my sister's wedding, but I stopped because it made me so crazy to be up in front of people all by myself. What if I messed up? Everyone would know.

I sang with the Praise Team at West Willow Community Church while we were stationed in Oklahoma. I took some time off from music ministry after we moved to Mississippi, but finally joined the choir when I couldn't handle sitting in the pew and just listening any longer. In 2008 I decided to try out for a solo in the Singing Christmas Tree, but when I got to the church fear overtook me and I ended up sitting in a Sunday School classroom until the tryouts were over and practice began.

Once we decided to make Victory Church our "home" in Illinois, I didn't waste any time... I hopped into the choir as soon as they would have me. I was asked to sing a duet for the Easter musical and I cannot tell you how good it felt to be doing what I loved!

So what happened yesterday to bring this passion for singing back to the surface? Eight 20-somethings from Missouri Baptist University came to sing for us. Tears rolled down my face during the first song and that little voice said "that should have been you 20 years ago, you've wasted your life".

Isn't that just like the devil... first he tells me I'm not good enough, and now he's trying to tell me I've wasted my life by not pursuing my dream.

This inner struggle went on for most of the day yesterday. At one point, I got in my van and these are the first words I heard:

So what are you waiting for?
What do you have to lose?
Your insecurities try to alter you

You know you're made for more
So don't be afraid to move
Your faith is all
It takes and you can
Walk on the water...
Walk on the water too (from Walk on the Water by Britt Nicole)

And the very next song started like this:

I want to sing a song for You, Lord
Lord, for You I want to sing a song
And I want to lift my voice to Heaven
And listen to the angels sing along (from Sing a Song by Third Day)

But last night as I laid in bed talking with God, the words of Sing a Song still running through my mind, I could hear Him say "if you want to sing a song for me, then it doesn't matter if anyone else ever hears it or not".

He's right. I can sing for Him anytime, anywhere... I don't need a stage or an audience. I am grateful to have the opportunity to sing with the choir and praise team at Victory Church, and until He leads me to do something else and opens the door for more, that will be enough. When He does present me with an opportunity to do more, I pray that I will not let fear keep me from doing it.

Mission Update: Weeks 7, 8 & 9

2010-03-31T21:35:00.000-05:00

I knew it had been a while since I blogged about the mission, but I didn't realize it had been three weeks! There has been a lot going on around here, so I really haven't worked on Joshua's school album much since the last update.

Here are the "scrappy" things I have been up to:

I completed the online course, consisting of six lessons, required to become digitally endorsed by Creative Memories. What does that mean? It means I have some knowledge of our digital products, Memory Manager and StoryBook Creator Plus.
I created my first StoryBook! It was a 44 page, full-color, 12x12 full of over 200 photos from my 20th class reunion. I started with around 900 photos and had to sort and narrow those down... I think that was the hardest part... but I had it completely finished and had uploaded it to be printed eight days after I started! If you 'd like to see it, just click here.

Something that I thought was really cool about the StoryBook is that I was able to convert it down to an 8x8 softcover to make it more affordable for any of my classmates that might want a copy.

I'm hoping to get back to the heart of my mission this week. What will you be scrapping this week?

What did the Doctor say?

2010-03-30T20:12:00.005-05:00

In a nutshell... Hannah's digestive system doesn't work the way it should which leads to all kinds of problems.

Specifically... she is sensitive to, and should completely avoid, the following foods:

Sugar (from beets, corn and cane)
Fructose
Caffeine
Dyes (blue, red, yellow)
MSG
Aspartame
Banana
White flour
Casein
Cow's milk
Lactose
Milk chocolate
American cheese

Most of this stuff we were already avoiding as part of the Feingold or GFCF diets, but I was completely floored by the bananas!

The good news is that there are some things that Hannah has been sensitive to that she will be able to have occasionally with the addition of some digestive enzymes. That list includes:

Whole wheat
Soy milk
Soy beans
Milk (almond, rice)
Corn (white, yellow)
Peanuts
Eggs
Chicken meat
Turkey meat
Apple
Cocoa

We left the office with 21 supplements. So now instead of taking a multi-vitamin (that really wasn't very good, but it was the best chewable that I could find), she takes the specific vitamins that are deficient in her system. She is also taking a heavy-duty probiotic (20x stronger than the one she was taking before), some really good fish oil, and a bunch of other stuff that I won't bore you with.

The doctor seemed VERY confident that Hannah will get better. Of course, she also said that it's likely things will get worse before they get better (which they have). She said that when we go back in 8 weeks, we should have a different child. Not a child that is "cured" of autism, but a child that is much better than the child we've been living with lately.

I told her that I was going to hold her to that. She said that she's been doing this a long time, and I was welcome to hold her to it.

I guess now we wait, but I'm praising God for the things I'm already seeing. Right now it seems like negative changes, but I know that it means we're on the right track.

Hannah's BIG appointment

2010-03-23T08:21:00.003-05:00

Hannah has an appointment tomorrow with Dr. Amy Davis at Crossing Back to Health in Chesterfield, Missouri. We will be there for about two hours so that Dr. Davis can talk with us and evaluate Hannah, and certainly tests will be suggested (hair, urine, stool samples, etc.). The team at CBTH is "not satisfied to treat just the symptoms, but to treat the root causes." I am hopeful that through this process we will begin to treat Hannah in a way that will alleviate some of Hannah's more pronounced symptoms of autism. For this reason, I covet your prayers. Thank you in advance!

Mission Update: Week 6

2010-03-09T16:45:00.001-06:00

Wow! Is this really only my sixth Mission Update? I feel like it's taking me forever to get Joshua's album done, but I must not be doing so bad after all.

I have a full Power Layout Box... more than 30 pages laid out... most of them have cropped photos, paper, and embellishments. All I have to do is stick them down then do some journaling.

I stuck down the first 10 pages or so last week at my Friday Night Crop. I would have done more, but I started "chasing a rabbit". Someone brought up the beautiful 12x18 calendars that Creative Memories came out with last year, so I thought I'd show her how "quick & easy" it is to make one. It should be quick and easy, but I wanted to change everything about all of the templates. I did finally manage to get a few of them done, but then I didn't get all of Joshua's school pages stuck down.

Today, I sat down and journaled several of those pages.

This week I'd like to finish up the pages that are already laid out because I've still got two years worth of stuff to do. I'd also like to finish that calendar! What scrapbook project would you like to work on this week?

Family Update

2010-03-05T16:00:00.002-06:00

I just realized that I haven't really written anything about what's going on in our lives since the first of the year, so I thought I'd take care of that right now. All I can say is time flies when you're having fun!

I'll start with Hannah. As you probably know, she had surgery in January to have her adenoids removed and new ear tubes inserted. Everything went well, though she was pretty agitated when she came out of the anesthesia. Some of her autistic tendencies are becoming more pronounced (like OCD), but she continues to make slow and steady progress at school. I am often reminded of the story of the tortoise and the hare. We are hoping to take her to an autism specialist In Chesterfield, Missouri, soon.

Joshua's inattention problems continue to improve with the aid of his medication. His grades have always been good, but now he is not blurting things out in the middle of class on a regular basis. The biggest problem that we have with him here at home is his dirty bedroom. He loves to play video games... really, too much! I've considered enrolling him in some kind of martial arts class, but he doesn't seem interested. He's also really into the Star Wars Lego sets right now.

Aaron is doing much better in school this semester. He is learning to play guitar... acoustic, electric and bass. He and some of his friends have even started a band called Facing Eternity. I haven't heard them play yet, but they should be pretty good as much as they practice. He decided not to try out for baseball this year, much to my surprise. He turned 15 in January, but still hasn't even asked about getting his learner's permit (he's really too much like me). This week he's been working on his schedule for next year... pretty standard sophomore stuff. Yes, I said sophomore... can you believe it?

Phillip found out yesterday that he did not make Senior MSgt. I'd be lying if I said we weren't disappointed, but we know that God must have a better plan. He said that finishing his degree would probably help quite a bit, and he's found a college that offers a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering Technologies online. Since I've been wanting him to do that since he first joined the Air Force 14 years ago, I was ecstatic to hear him say that! So far, he hasn't had to go out of town much this year. He's supposed to go to the SrNCO Academy in a couple weeks, but now it looks like that will be deferred until a later class. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

If you've kept up with my blog at all the past couple months, you know I've been doing a lot of scrapbooking. It's been so nice to get some projects finished! I've also been singing in the choir at church, and will be singing a duet in the Easter program. Speaking of church, we officially became members of Victory Church last Sunday. I attended the Creative Memories regional convention in Saint Louis a couple weeks ago, and I hope to go to Showcase in August.

Well, there you have it! Leave a comment or drop us a line and let us know how you're doing!

Less Words Wednesday

2010-03-03T15:46:00.000-06:00

Joshua and Aaron playing a game of Battleship together without arguing. A miracle? Perhaps.

Mission Update: Week 5

2010-03-02T15:25:00.001-06:00

In an effort to keep from getting even further behind, I'm going to make a post today even though there's not much to report. It seems like every day that I planned to scrapbook, something happened that took me away from it. I'm sure you can relate.

I did manage to get all the pictures that I printed last week into my Power Layout, and I started cropping the photos (but I didn't get very far with that). I also went against the whole Power Layout concept and stuck down the first few pages. In my defense, I had run out of guides so I stuck some pages down to free up a few.

I thought I'd share one of the pages that I put together. I normally wouldn't have gone with pastels for a boys page, but I thought it looked good with the sepia-toned photos. Enjoy!

Mission Update: Week 4

2010-02-23T18:22:00.000-06:00

This week I was working on Joshua's school album. Before I started, I thought it would be easier than Aaron's album because I didn't have as much memorabilia to sort through... NOT! It seems that I just traded one problem for another.

I knew I was going to have to print most of the photos, since I have not been good at staying current with printing since I switched to a digital camera in 2005 (can you relate?), but I did not realize I was going to have to dig through negatives.

You remember negatives, right? Many of my negatives are in protective sleeves, labeled appropriately, and filed chronologically. Of course, the ones I was looking for were not. I had forgotten what a pain it was to try to identify images by holding negatives up to the light. Thankfully I was able to locate the ones I was looking for relatively quickly, but when I got to Wal-Mart to have the images printed I realized that two of the negatives strips from Joshua's preschool field-trip to the fire station were missing. UGH!

C'est la vie.

I ended up having over 100 photos printed, and I have most of the preschool through 3rd grade pages laid out. I hope to have some time tomorrow to pick out paper (and maybe even get some pages stuck down).

What have you scrapped this week? Please leave me a comment and let me know what you've been working on!

Thankful Thursday

2010-02-18T21:40:00.000-06:00

As the list of things that I'm thankful for was running through my mind, I was reminded of a Sunday School lesson from Thanksgiving week of 2008. We discussed that, because of God's sovreignty, we should be thankful for everything in our lives.

I left that class barely able to keep my composure. I saw a dear friend in the sanctuary and through my tears told her that I just didn't know how to be thankful for autism.

This wise friend told me that perhaps I could be thankful for things that had happened that would not have happened if Hannah did not have autism, or people who I had met that I wouldn't have if Hannah didn't have autism. That made sense to me. That was a perspective that I could handle. But since that time I've had a shift in my thinking.

Though I completely agree that God is in control of everything in my life, I do not think He expects me to be thankful for everything that happens in this life. I do, however, believe that He expects me to be thankful in everything. It's funny how changing that one tiny little word changes the whole thing.

I'm still not thankful for autism. But in the midst of autism, I am thankful.

Thankful that Hannah, who at age 3 was non-verbal, now verbally communicates her wants and needs. Thankful for the songs she sings, her sweet laugh, her beautiful smile, that she's learning to read. Thankful for every tiny bit of forward progress that takes us closer to the goal.

What are you thankful in today?

Mission Update: Week 3

2010-02-16T15:46:00.002-06:00

Did you ever have one of those weeks when things just didn't go according to plan? Well, it was one of those weeks for me.

Not only did I not get to Joshua's school book, I haven't even looked through the pictures on my computer to see what still needs to be printed. In fact, I just finished journaling Aaron's book a few minutes ago.

What got me so off track? Hannah was home sick a couple days last week, Joshua had a doctor's appointment, and after that I just couldn't seem to get into the groove.

Oh, and the kids were out of school yesterday for President's Day, so I'm already a day behind this week, too.

But even with all of the obstacles, let's think about what I did accomplish. I finished Aaron's school album! It's journaled and there are protectors on every page. You can stick a fork in it... it's DONE! Do you know how good it feels to be able to say that?

I guess my motto for the week is "Don't quit!" When things aren't turning out the way you had hoped, keep going... don't give up.

That would be a good thing to remember in nearly every aspect of life, don't you think?

Mission Update: Week 2

2010-02-08T16:16:00.010-06:00

I was hoping to be able to tell you that Aaron's school album was 100% complete through the 8th grade, but I'm afraid I'm just not quite there yet. Here's what I did accomplish:

First, I gathered up all of Aaron's photos and memorabilia that pertained to school...

and let me tell you, there was a lot!

Then I started sorting through it, and after a couple days ended up with a Power Layout Box full of pages.

When it was all said and done I had stuck down 28 pages, inserted 5 portrait sleeves filled with memorabilia, and thrown away 7 pounds of stuff that just would not fit into the album!

I ended up stopping at the end of 6th grade because the album was getting so fat. Now I just need to finish up some journaling and I'll be able to call this one done. I hope to get that done tomorrow, then I'll get started on Joshua's school album.

Here's a sample layout after I stuck it down, it just needs to be titled and journaled...

What kind of progress did you make this week?

Prayers, please

2010-02-05T14:19:00.000-06:00

I'm having a stressful day, so I thought I'd reach out to all my prayer warriors.

My sister Michelle called me last night to tell me she thinks my Mom has a blood clot in her leg. This is especially concerning because my Mom had a massive stroke back in September 2000. Michelle called me this morning to let me know that she called the doctor and he told her to take Mom to the ER. That's where they are right now.

Hannah's teacher called this morning to tell me that it's time to schedule our annual meeting. Apparently the SPED director for the district wanted her to mention the possibility of moving Hannah to another school next year that might be more suited for her needs because the SPED department there specializes in autism. I'm trying hard not to take that as a "downgrade", but I'm really having a hard time even thinking about it. Hannah's behavior has improved quite a bit over the last year, but she seems to be losing ground in other areas. I would still like to take her to the specialist in Chesterfield, but the referral that we got is for a different doctor. I just don't know what to do and I really need some guidance and direction.

We're still trying to get the dosage right for Joshua's ADHD medication. It seems to be helping, but only a tiny bit, so I'm sure the dosage will be raised again. I just hope we're doing the right thing for him.

Anyway... all that to say I could use your prayers.

Less Words Wednesday

2010-02-03T10:51:00.000-06:00

In an effort to give the boys equal time, I thought I'd share some photos from Joshua's 11th birthday in December. Enjoy!