The most important thing in life!

Often when you are going through something very difficult it is an opportunity for others around you to put themselves in your shoes and think "If this happened to me what would I do? How would I handle this? What are the most important things in life, and are my priorities straight? It gives us an opportunity to get back to the things in life that really mean something, like our families, or making a difference to those around us.

We are faced with questions that are deeper as well. Questions of a spiritual nature. Why do bad things happen? Questions about life and death. If I were to die today...what would happen to my soul? God created us to be spiritual beings that were in an intimate relationship with Him. Once sin, and sickness and evil came into the world we could no longer be close to God. He desired to have us near Him. So he made a plan. You see He is a Holy God. He can not love anything that is evil or that does wrong. He knew mankind could not stop himself from doing or thinking evil. So He made a plan to win us back to Him. In the fullness of time he sent His Son to live the life of a man. To be with out sin or evil thought. Then when the time was right to sacrifice Him. Place on Him the judgment that mankind deserved. This Son did come! His name was Jesus and He did die! He was crucified. Once He was dead being sinless he was able to make a way for men to have that union with God once again.

This ment that man kind was with out hope before, but now he could again have an intimate relationship with God. Knowing the above facts are only one part of this amazing gift. We must also believe, and confess this truth.


Heavenly Father:
I come to you in prayer asking for the forgiveness of
my Sins. I confess with my mouth and believe with my
heart that Jesus is your Son, And that he died on the
Cross at Calvary that I might be forgiven and have
Eternal Life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Father, I believe
that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you right now
to come in to my life and be my personal Lord and
Savior. I repent of my Sins and will Worship you all the
day's of my Life!. Because your word is truth, I confess
with my mouth that I am Born Again and Cleansed
by the Blood of Jesus! In Jesus Name, Amen.

Garfield's Dream come true!!!

More Mega cooking today. It will be Garfield's favorite breakfast.....Breakfast Lasagna!



I really like this breakfast and it freezes like a dream. It is layered with French Toast instead of Pasta. The bottom layer is salty, and the top is sweet!

• Breakfast Lasagna

12 slices of french toast

2c. grated cheddar cheese

1/2 lb. sliced or cubed ham, or pepperoni slices(we use the peperoni)

2c. apple pie filling

1c. granola

Layer the toast then the meat of your choice and sprinkle with cheese. Then top with the next layer of french toast. Top that with a can of apple pie filling and sprinkle with granola. Bake in a pre-heated 350 oven for 25 min. You man put foil on the container to keep the granola from burning.

This is one that a questioned if it would be good, or if anyone would eat it. To our surprise the kids just love it. Give it a try you might be surprised!

Breakfast Mega Cooking!

Today i am doing some Mega Cooking. Making in bulk to have over the next few weeks. That will get us through to Thanksgiving. We have family coming and it is tough to make 3 meals a day when you are trying to visit. If it is all ready and just a thaw away then that leaves more time to visit and Thanksgiving prep will be much easier! i am making Breakfast to have in the freezer. Here is one of my "mega" favorites.

• Chocolate chip Bran Muffins

These are great for feeding a large family. Cereal is just such an overpriced breakfast for us. If the meal is frozen and ready to go its is much more cost effective for us. The Bran muffin recipe is one passed to me by my grandmother. She used to make this mega batch of muffins for the soup kitchen she ran in her local church. i remember her dropping spoonfuls of batter into the muffin cups. She made them in a mini version to make them go farther as well. She used to add pineapple to hers. If you need to stretch your grocery budget make them grandmas way. At our home it had to be modified. Since Jason didn't care to much for the fruit. We put in chocolate chips we buy them in bulk so they are not so expensive. The cost of chocolate chips have gone sky high these days. Or perhaps you could just add raisin bran cereal rather than the pineapple, or chocolate. Nothing is set in stone just use what you have on hand.

Chocolate Chip Bran Muffins

• 5c. flour
• 3c. sugar
• 5t baking soda
• 2t. salt
• 1t. cinnamon
• 1/2t. all-spice
• 4eggs
• 4c. buttermilk
• 1c.oil
• 120z. Bran cereal(use raisin bran if you like)

Optional additions:1(16oz.) can of crushed pineapples, or 1c. Chocolate chips. Or any other dried fruit you may have on hand!

Mix together the flour, sugar, soda, salt, cinnamon, and all-spice. In a small bowl mix eggs, buttermilk, and oil together well. Pour the wet mixture on the dry and fold in. Add the Bran, and any of the optional additions. Line your muffin pan and fill the muffin cups. Bake 400 for 15-20 minutes. Makes several dozen. Batter will also keep up to 6 weeks in the fridge!

Yummy!

How does Parkinson's affect our lives?

i had an interesting discussion today with someone about Parkinson's and realize there are so many questions people have about this disease and how it affects our lives. Most people are familiar with the disease only through Michael J. Fox, a well known celebrity who was diagnosed. This type of exposure to the disease has a limited understanding of how the disease affects a person other than the physical nature of what they can see, which is such a small part of what is really going on. A lot of these questions have no simple answers. i know that i had no real understanding of the disease myself until it became part of our lives. i will try to address as many questions as i can think of, at least the ones that come up often.

1. What is (early onset)Parkinson's? This is a quick (layman) summary of Parkinson's. There is a place in the brain called the Substantia nigra. This is Latin for "Black substance". This is a structure in the middle of the brain that plays an important role in reward, addiction, and movement in the brain. This portion of the brain makes dopamine. dopamine is a neurotransmitter. It tells your body to control its heart rate, blood pressure, and all muscles. In Parkinson's this portion of the brain is not working correctly. These cells either die or become impaired. Why or how this happens is not known. The body does not have the dopamine it needs to preform muscle controlling and all functions effected by dopamine. Once this process is started it is progressive. Which means that once the process starts the cells will keep dying and it can not be stopped. You do not show symptoms of Parkinson's until 60-80% of the cells that produce dopamine are dead in your brain.
2. What causes (early onset) Parkinson's? The exact cause of Parkinson's is not know. Your genetic make up can play a role. Your environment and exposures to toxins also may play a role in development of the disease. Mostly we do not know.
3. What are the symptoms of (early onset) Parkinson's? The most visible symptom is a tremor (shaking hands or legs). Bradikineisa, which is slowness of movement. This symptom makes it difficult to initiate movements. Such as writing, walking, sitting up, to name a few. One of the biggest symptoms is muscle rigidity. This has been one of the most difficult ones for Jason. Tight stiff muscle cramps that are extremal painful! Like the worst Charley horse you have ever felt. He describes it as feeling as if you have just finished a MAJOR work out all the time! Another symptom is impaired balance and posture and loss of automatic movement. Some examples are Blinking, swinging your arms while you walk, smiling. These can be diminished or even in some cases lost. Problems with speech and voice. Trouble swallowing, speaking quietly or trembling voice. Finally Dementia, confusion, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, depression, difficulty sleeping. (This all just scratches the surface but it gives you a good idea)
4. Will your children inherit Parkinson's? They are only and a slight increased risk to develop Parkinson's. Less 10% of cases are direct relatives of some one with Parkinson's. Most cases are people who have no family history. For us, ultimately, God is in control of that!
5. Does he move like Michael J. Fox? The movements you see Micheal J. Fox making are not a symptom of the disease, these are a side effect of the powerful medications that are used to treat Parkinson's. (primarily the medication Carbodopa/Levedopa) Jason does not move as noticeably as Michael...yet. However he will! And he does move that way sometimes.
6. Don't they have medications that can help him? Yes, there are treatments that do help with some of the symptoms. They however do have side effects, like the movements described above, and others. Another down side is these medications loose there effectiveness over time. Which means that the longer he has the disease the more medications he will have to take to get a shorter time of relief! And the more medications he takes the worse the side effects. It has been difficult for some to understand that he can't just, take and ibuprofen or go to the hospital and take powerful pain killers and feel better. Those treatments provide NO RELIEF! Living with this type of pain is a fact of life with this disease! There is no cure, it is all about symptom management.
7. Will he die from this disease? There is a saying with in the Parkinson's community...."You don't die of Parkinson's, you die with it" People with (early onset)Parkinson's on average do not die sooner that of someone with out it. However the disease is different for every person. It all depends on how soon you were diagnosed, your treatments, your health and life style. Most people die of Parkinson's related complications, like aspiration(from not being able to control throat muscles), phenomena, falls, accidents, and so on. The disease is considered to be a slowly progressing disease, however some people do progress more rapidly.

These are some of the questions that i hear a lot. If any of you can think of any others that you may have send a comment.

So, you think no one cares!

We were driving down the road on our way to write a check for our rent that we did not have the funds to cover. i kept hearing a verse from the popular 120th Psalm, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." We often forget that part of the Psalm. i guess i had to remind myself to believe it! Sadly i had been saying in my head all day..."No one really cares what happens to us." That is what it feels like at times, when we struggle and no one knows. i am a very inward directed person, and often when i struggle i usually tell no one, not even my husband.( but most of the time he knows me well enough to figure it out)

As we were driving the phone rings and someone from the Church is calling to tell us someone had donated $200 for us! The exact amount we were short! What a blessing, that given my attitude i did not deserve. God knows. He cares. Yet i forget from one miracle to the next! When Jason became sick our living situation was placed in state of dependence on his grace. We had to let go and accept that! We have just enough to meet the bills, with the hope that the electric bill does not go too high, or the car does not break down. The Lord has come though every time we wonder what is going to happen. i felt so stupid about it afterwards. i fret at every critical point but i have seen the provision time and time again. Boy, i feel like an Israelite griping in the desert about Manna!
If it were not for Grace!!!!! i have been foolish,(forgive me) and will be again. Yet, He is still mindful of me! Oh, what a blessed soul i have even if i have nothing but those facts in my life!

Back to the Future!

Its been a real long time since I have been here! So I suppose I have a ton of updates.


i guess number one is another baby has been graced to us. So that makes 6 preordained lives entrusted into our care!(quiver is getting a little less roomy:)



In more ways than one, but especially on the career front, our paths for life the ones we thought were set in stone for us....have been chiseled away and something totally different has taken shape.


Its been a challenge. i thought we were being chiseled into a pillar. I guess due to just wanting a "normal" life of consistency....but not to be our path! i have found that at times i have wondered if we would survive the tapping away of unneeded rock. Sometimes saying "OH, Lord a little to much that time....Or that's a little close to the quick don't you think?" When it was done would we be more than a pebble? But through it i have come to understand that even a pebble can have a place of significance. A wall does not stand with cracks and only the smallest pieces can patch it. Yet they hold in some ways the most important role. They keep the structure standing!
(a little note after editing)
What's funny is after i wrote this saved it and came back i saw a neat little video of this same idea! i will post a link to it at the bottom


i am coming to embrace what i was made to be..... and my size and power does not matter as much as my purpose does. Being true to that makes the fall of the hammer easier.





First i would like to address why i have not been here in so long. i allowed people who felt they knew what the proper things to say were and what was acceptable before God, and man, push me away! Weakness....on my part. Such a desire to have no conflict that i gave in. But I have been hearing a snip it on Klove that talks about conflictlessness and sinlessness not being mutually exclusive! So true!





So when a friend of mine....a new one that has been brought into my life (another great update), made her blog private for similar reasons, i recalled how much i loved this place and dusted off the old blog. Reposted a few of the things i tore down. When i had taken things down i erased most of the posts....but a few that were close to my heart so i could not get rid of them. i just could never bring myself to delete the blog, even though i tried.





Well, the updates.....

I substitute my blog self expression for facebook! I became a facebook addict! (not really an addict hopefully)


Early On-set Parkinson's that was a big one! Why I decided to call this post back to the future! a double meaning with coming back to blogging moving towards the future and the whole Parkinson's thing!


Jason became very sick over these last few years and had to stop driving....which was his career, and discovered he had Parkinson's! What most people say is "like Michael J. Fox?" The answer is yes. But, surprisingly we are so grateful for the whole experience! What more to be said about that in the future?

Before that new baby came...Yes it was a Son, and his name is George. A year old now! We had a beautiful home birth this makes our fourth home birth! Still homeschooling, FINALLY found the church God wants us to be in( Praise for that).


We have grown, and strained, and endured........


After putting us through all that of course The Lord would move from tilling the ground making the rows to planting the seeds, and that is where we are. He is carefully choosing the seed and placing it in the worked soil he prepare. Now the most difficult part of the whole garden comes......maintaining favorable conditions for optimum growth....hoeing and weed pulling, watering, covering during frost and waiting!
So this blog is changing too, really just starting fresh. It will become a collaboration between Jason and I. A family blog! Nothing set in stone yet. Although stone can change too! :) We will wait and see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhfUzodLRvk&feature=share

When was the last time you stepped over a puddle?

It had been raining and it just kept coming this last week. I don't mind it though. Its just like life. You get into a pattern and then the rain comes and for some reason you are just waiting for it to pass. Well here the rain had come and was going to stay. Its good we need the rain. However their is a down side to that. Being cooped up in the house with 5 kids, no time to go out an play. Well, we had been in and were starting to get just a little tired of being creative with how to fill our time. So we went out to lunch with my friend Margo and her kids. We went in and ate. We were the only ones there because no one else wanted to brave the downpour, but we were desperate. And desperate times call for desperate measures. The kids were good just a little jumpy walking about around the table a little loud, but just because they were excited. The meal was over and we decided to go home. People were starting to come in and we felt the kids were getting to rowdy for the customers. The kids all file out. You see I have 5 she has 2. We have been told we are quite the spectacle everywhere we go. As we get to the cars there are 2 spaces between our vans. The rain had stopped. And for some reason their was a BIG puddle in between our 2 vans. So trying to get loaded into our cars we reach the puddles edge. Little Christian can't resist touching the water with the tip of his shoe. Suddenly from nowhere Margo jumps into the air and lands SMACK in the middle of the puddle. SPLASH! Everyone was hit by the water. All the kids just stood with a look of fear and confusion. Their little minds thinking "what just happened? Is this bad? And,I mutter "I'm I'm all wet." Then Margo let out a huge smile and laugh. We all looked at each other and the next thing you know Mommy's and kids alike are in the puddle. We are splashing each other laughing, jumping up and down. When is was all said and done we looked around at the people inside the restaurant just staring at us. I'm not sure what they thought about our behavior. But I will say this. Playing in a puddle is so much fun. Two year olds and adults alike. Why don't we do things like that more often? We may have been wet...but you could not buy a moment like that one with a million dollars! It was great. So the next time you are out with your kids on a rainy day... jump in a puddle together. You won't regret it.

What's your very best?

The Death Crawl - Facing The Giants

Shane Myspace Video


I love this video. I think it represents how the Lord is with us. He does not show us what is ahead because he doesn't want us to quit when we have more left. I think of all the things I have faced in my life and if I would have known what was ahead I would have given up. Watch it for sure and think of the struggle you are facing and give your very best.

From the mouths of babes.

Caity had this small quote hanging up in her room on a post-it note. I think it is so profound. If you can't read it, it says "OH THE THINGS LOVE CAN DOO!!" I love it. She is just so sweet. I nominate this for the quote of the year.

Top Ten Things To Do When You Don't Have Gas Money

1. Blog. Update with a new post, or come up with your own Top Ten list. Go on a random rant, or say something you have been wanting to say,
   
2. Hug someone you love. It's free and binds hearts together. We forget to do this to often.
   
3. Read snuggle up with a book. Pick one you have on hand but have not read in a long time. If the library is close by you can walk to check out books... if not borrow one from a friend.
   
4. Exercise. Take a walk, Run and chase your kids. They love a never ending game of tag. Yoga or stretches. Get some cans of food out of your pantry and do arm curls.
   
5. Work on an long over due project. Clean out the garage. Go through your clothes. Any project you have been putting off.
   
6. Take a nap. Naps are always free. Take a rest you deserve it.
   
7. Clean your car out... if you can't drive it, it should at least look nice sitting there.
8. Come up with ways to recycle. Do something with old newspapers or magazines you have laying around. Set up some system to recycle things in your house. Call and find out where the local drop points are for your recyclable goods. (If you're not lucky enough to have curb side pickup)
   
9. Listen to the radio. Sometimes nothing lifts your spirits more. And it might make you feel like you're driving.
   
10. Look through old photos. Reminisce about days gone by, enjoy a few old memories. The things you forgot may surprise you.