ARGH!!

I know we all get the same 24 hours as everyone else, but lately it seems like I have 32 hours worth of stuff to squeeze into 16 hours. I am looking forward to falling back just to get an extra hour. I bet I won't even notice it.

A Book Review: Called To Worship

When I first received this book, I thought to my self, "UH-OH!" This is not a book for Janice, this is more of a Mike or Terrell book! However, I trudged on through. AND, I discovered it was a perfect book for Janice. Especially right now, I am in a weird place with my faith/God relationship. I have been really disillusioned with the concept of church as a whole. Not my church in particular because I love it and think we are very unique in our family-ness.

However, in relation to witnessing to a world that doesn't know Christ, church seems to not be the best way of reaching out. Churches as a whole get a bad rap, in some ways, a much deserved rap. We are paying for the sins of ourselves and the sins of our fathers. Sins which include treating others as 'not quite as good as we are', making visitors feel unwelcome, keeping our own sins a secret while nailing other people to the wall over theirs and so many more. Mostly though, our biggest sin is making our churches collections of people 'just like us'.

This books strips away all of that and puts worship on a higher plane than just church. Worship is not just about God, it is why we are created. It is why everything was created. This book delves deeply into the scripture and tells us exactly why we are created. Exactly why we treasure nature and all that it entails. Why God created the way he did, the order, the fact that he rested and so much more. I am in awe. AND I was already in awe, now I am so much more so. God is such a relational God and I JUST MISS IT. And I pay for missing it. Not only will I be referring to this book for a long time, I will also be exploring other books written by Vernon Whaley. He seems to pull the things from scripture that I have been passing over. This is one time where a book came into my life at just the right time and I am grateful. If you are struggling with your faith/God relationship, I highly recommend this book.

Blog Behind!!

I am so far behind on all things bloggy!! I have written 973 posts in my head but have had no time to post them. This is a shame because that means 973 posts are constipating my brain and this isn't good for anyone. I will attempt today to let some of those crowded thoughts out!

• My knee is so much better. I only limp when I have been sitting too long and it levels out as I walk. The chiropractor is really making huge strides in my well-being. I also made an appointment with a doctor that I go to church with. My big hope is that she will be able to level out some of my thyroid issues. Sadly that appt. is not until January. I decided NOT to rejoin Weight Watchers. The cost is prohibitive(the free month is only for online). I do plan to restart the program using all the literature I have from last time starting next Monday, October 19. I plan to begin a full exercise program that day as well. By full exercise program, I just mean exercising every day- walking or doing the new exercise tape I invested in. My goal is not weight loss-but feeling better. If my goal is weight loss, I know it won't motivate me(new clothes are expensive, yada yada yada), but feeling better will.
• I cannot possibly relay just how much I love our library. We go there at least twice a week and the librarians are not just my friends but they are also friends with my children. They are so kind and helpful. What a blessing. Some of them in particular go above and beyond to be helpful and as a homeschooler(as in constantly needing to expand our classroom with resources), it just makes school so much easier! Someday, I am gonna make them some cookies or something.
• We went to two different science presentations this week. They were both dealing with very similar science themes and so I think between the two, my kids learned alot. They will probably remember the concepts forever. I know they are ingrained on my brain and that is no small feat.
• I find myself staring at my children lately wondering when they got so old. It just doesn't seem possible that they are growing up so quickly. Yet, I have a ringside seat and I have been watching the whole time. Time marches on.
• Wayd is home now and I am sad to report that I have had zero time to help the family. I have made many meals for Aunt Pat while she had the other three boys. Now my time and energy are so depleted by other stuff going on that I feel terrible. My prayer is that the rest of the people in their life are giving them lots of attention this first week home and I can plug in next week.
• It has been really cold and rainy the last few days and if we were not so overscheduled, I would totally want to hibernate. I should've been a bear. I think this is the time they get to eat like crazy and gain as much weight as possible to prepare for the long winter, right? I should have been a bear. Really.
• School is slowly morphing into a schedule I can be proud of. The kids are getting more independent and I am holding their feet to the fire on staying caught up. Daily grades are recorded for this nine weeks and it is about time to do quarterly grades. It feels good to get (mostly) caught up.
• I am almost done with our clothing exchange...the long process of getting fall/winter out and spring/summer put away. It takes me forever. I HATE it. It is the only drawback to life with four distinct seasons.

Oh my!! That is alot to get out of my brain. Now I can move on a bit. Hopefully I will be able to post again sooner and perhaps even more philosophically.

Good Things

I have many good things going on in my life right now and I thought it would be nice to share those for all the world to see.

• Cousin Wayd is home now. BIG CHEERS!!! We are all so grateful. Keep him and his family in your prayers though. His brothers keep passing illnesses around. Wayd will have to be isolated from them and that will be TOUGH.
• Erik is recording today with his newest band. I love this new band. I may even follow him around like a groupie again...or not.
• Next week is crazy busy but like every other week we have, I am grateful to have activities that bond us as a family.
• We had three out of five really good school days. I won't focus on the two that weren't as good.
• My kids LOVE church. They love to go. They get angry when we miss. I remember hating church as a teen(so much I left my mom's church and went to a different one without her!), so I am very happy.
• I have clean underwear just as I almost ran out!! I managed to do one important load of mount washmore!! I'll do more tonight.
• There will be more work from home for me this week(hopefully) and I will get a paycheck again. I love getting a paycheck.

Okay, that is all I have for today. I am thankful we are all healthy and relatively happy. Have a great weekend, y'ALL.

A Book Review: Perseverance

Perseverance True Voices of Cancer Survivors by Carolyn Rubenstein

When I received this book, all I could think about was how many cancer survivors I know. AND THEN, I realized these were all people who survived cancer as children and I thought WOW. I don't really know anyone who has gone through that. I then marveled at how much different that would be. I started reading the book and really wondered why God had brought this particular book into my life. It was encouraging for sure but I could not even think of anyone I could pass it along to.

The plot thickens a bit as my little cousin Wayd gets sick, is transported to Vanderbilt and is diagnosed with leukemia. OUCH. I preferred not knowing anyone. I will be passing along this encouraging book to his mom. I hope it will serve as a life preserver to her as they fight the good fight. Sometimes it just helps to know others have been where you are and they made it out to the other side.

I was mesmerized as I read through these stories. It was so amazing to see how strong these survivors are. How all of them had one thing in common...they were grateful cancer happened to them, despite all the pain, because it made them better people. It gave them a greater appreciation of life, people and a positive outlook on everything.

The author of this book allowed each survivor to pen their own story. She prefaces each story with how and when she met them and also why she is including their story. The rawness, the open honesty contained in these stories is a must read for anyone who has a cancer survivor in their life. I laughed, I cried, I experienced a roller-coaster of emotions. This is what life is about. There is nothing like flirting with death to make you lose all your pretense.

I highly recommend this book. It is a story of triumph. It is an example that attitude is everything. Health should not be taken for granted. Obstacles are meant to be overcome.

Keep the Kleenex box handy, especially if someone close to you is battling for his life.

Just One of Lilly's Best Days Ever!

Reflection...

Erika was studying her face in a mirror at Sam's today. However, it scared her a bit because turned out to be a trick Halloween mirror with a ghost that screamed, "Somebody, get me out of here!"

Priceless Sunday memories at Sam's.

And you thought it would be a serious post with that title, didn't ya?

What is Tomorrow Anyway?

It certainly isn't 'tomorrow' like I promised. Sorry. Our life is jam-packed with field trips and sniffles. We are loving every minute of being on the run and taking all our spare time to get a little school in and rest up from what we think is allergies. We think allergies because the KY Goldenrod, our state flower, is in full bloom and really showing out.

So anyway, on Sunday, we participated in the Monarch butterfly tagging for the third year in a row. It was a blast. My friend Amanda and her children went with us. It was their first time. Being the organized thinker that I am, I made sure they were fully prepared and knew what to wear, NOT. However, it was still lots of fun and I don't think sandals really hold you back unless you let them.

Our group caught and tagged 19 butterflies before the 'grand finale'. What was the grand finale, you ask? Someone got stung by a bumble bee. Someone's mom requested she go on over to the LBL guy and get some bee sting ointment after inspecting the sting. Someone's mom then went on about catching butterflies with nary another thought about the sting. Someone's mom then heard this frantic cry,

"ERIKA'S MOM?!!! ERIKA'S MOM PLEASE COME HERE!!"

I went running over and learned that Erika had passed out and thumped her head on the pavement. Then I got a little worried. I didn't know if this was an allergic reaction or another round of 'Erika does not drink enough!". Turns out it was the latter. The bee sting was not swelling and she came to and was completely normal. However, everyone all around was quite worried about what to do. To complicate matters, we were in LBL vans-not our vehicle. To complicate matters even more, both LBL vans were parked in a moist ditch. One van was able to back out and get out of the ditch, but the other van was hopelessly stuck. After waiting a bit, our guide decided it was best to get Erika back to the Nature Station and have the first responder look her over. Upon arriving there, we pushed a benadryl and a powerade on her and she was as good as new.

I now pack benadryl with me at all times and Erika packs a water bottle.

We decided since all was well, we should stick around for the owl program. How old is the barred owl? The question was answered that the owl was in its late twenties. Lilly's response?

"I just know that owl is gonna die really really soon." This was stated in the hyper excited way Lilly states most things.

My life is never boring. Never. Ever.