http://www.angelfire.com/sc/anderklan
anderklan@yahoo.com
Saturday, 31 March 2007
done working...well, almost ..LOL
I didn't want to leave anything undone for Mike's mom so we've been cleaning up around the house. We could use a good spring cleaning due to all the construction in housing finally being finished. You know, dust gets everywhere around here anyway. We DID just have a sandstorm this week but all the construction made it tons worse. I guess we'll tackle the BIG spring cleaning when we get back from the hospital next week. For now, though, we're good enough and I'm gonna be lazy for the rest of the weekend :-)
On another note, God has been so good to us. I'm thankful for all the blessings He has given us. This car mom is bringing will be the much needed 2nd vehicle we've been wanting and will also allow us to finally put our van in the shop to get work completed that needs to be finished. We're so grateful for Mom and Dad making sacrifices for Mom to come down here to stay with the kids so that we could both take Caleb to Phoenix as well. I was really worried about Mike having to go by himself and now I don't have to be. The kids, of course, all love Oma and are glad to have her here too!
Friday, 30 March 2007
5 Minutes For Mom's is giving away a Dyson Slim!!!! How exciting is that? Ok, I want it!! My HUSBAND has wanted one since they first came out but it's hard to spend $500 on a vacuum so we just live with the one we have (which doesn't pick up dog hair very good by the way!
Ok, so a little know tidbit I didn't know about was that Mr. Dyson developed 5127 protypes over a 5 year period before finally being happy with the final product AND it was 14 years before he ever got it into a shop to sell. Now, that is perseverance!
ready, set, go -- off to the children's hospital this weekend
Topic: Asperger Syndrome
Today is a cleaning day, a Bible study day, an "oh my gosh, how am I going to get it all done?" kind of day. Mom should be here tomorrow to stay with the other kids and we leave Sunday after church to drive to Phoenix to admit Caleb to the hospital EARLY Monday morning. He is scheduled to be hooked up for his video-EEG no later than 9 a.m. but we have to be there by 6 a.m.. Hopefully we'll finally be able to determine if he is having seizures or involuntary tics. Thankfully, even though they lost the initial paperwork, TriWest has authorized us to go a full 6 days, if needed. The nurse said sometimes they get enough brain waves with incidents in a day or two and sometimes they need the whole week. We'll just have to play it by ear.
Mom (Judy) and I were talking one day and she said sometimes its hard to understand why God gave our family so many kids with special needs. I said it's to bring God glory in the long run. I mean, out of the four sibling families we have had lots to deal with, and it does seem like more than most other families I know. We've had miscarriages, and premature births, as well as all the special needs things -- Asperger's (autism spectrum), bi polar, ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, Jacobsen syndrome, now maybe seizures or Tourette's type tics, and I'm not sure that even covers it all. I really think we have so much to deal with because we all give it to God and He carries us through it. When people have asked us how we "handle" it all, I really think all our answers have always pretty much been somewhere along the lines of "Through the grace and mercy of God, Jesus Christ. Amen!" None of us sit in pitty parties and say "woe is me..life's not fair." This is our life. This is what God has chosen to give us in this time. We give God the glory for all the blessings that have come with our challenges and we live. Really, is there another option? I don't think so!
Thursday, 29 March 2007
My children always are teaching me
Topic: Bible/Faith
We had "incidents" with a family that led to restraining orders, etc. while Mike was gone to Iraq last year. We had some scary times due to these people being so bent on pushing their non-Christian (wiccan, pagan, etc.) views and lifestyles onto our family. Even with Mike home I am on the alert for this family if I realize they are close by us. Yesterday driving home, the dad pulled in behind us on the road and I said "Oh, there is _____" and Noah reminded me that the Bible says love our neighbors and that we should just pray for them. I don't know how many times I've said that to the children (especially the three boys) regarding this incident so it was good to know that they pay attention. We had a good discussion about it the rest of the way home.
Last night we had a meeting at church between our family, another family, the youth leadership, and our pastor. A young man was calling our daughter one in particularly terrible name at school and it had poured over to an activity at church. We were having a meeting to resolve the issue once and for all. Because of my talk with Noah earlier in the day and my later relaying that to Mike, it helped put our hearts in the right position for last night's meeting. Two weeks ago when the situation had sort of climaxed, we were ready to take our children and find another church because it was such a hurtful situation. With letting God lead us, and teach us, we were able to be submissive and allow Him to be glorified in all that was said and done last night.
If you have a problem with a brother/sister, go before God and make your heart clean and then approach the matter with them. Let God receive the glory for the unification that comes from it.
Quirky Quote Contest
Topic: Blogging, in general
Jewlsntexas is having a quirky quote contest so I thought I'd join in on the fun. I picked something that in this day and age of being able to find anything anywhere just seemed to fit.
"The multiplicty of facts and writings is become so great that everything must now be reduced to extracts." --Voltaire
Anyway, that's my quote. Go see Jewlsntexas and post a comment that you heard about the contest from Sallie at Everyday Me..Life as it happens! Good luck with your own quotes!
Wednesday, 28 March 2007
it's not to late to get something for Easter
Topic: Clothes
My family DID NOT have money when I was growing up. The two times a year that my sister and I got new dresses for church were Christmas and Easter. I have been bad about keeping up that tradition because, frankly, I only have one girl and she has too many clothes as it is :-)
I was thinking I'd shop around and find something pretty for myself for Easter since I don't really have any dresses -- lots of skirts but not ANY dresses anymore -- but I don't like most things local. One of my favorite online stores for plus size beautiful ladies clothing is Kiyonna. Plus, they are part of the concentric mall with the AAFES exchange online so I usually get a discount with them. They have really beautiful clothes so I thought I'd put my link for them here! Check them out if you haven't already..
Tuesday, 27 March 2007
Cute shoes!
Topic: Clothes
I was looking around at some blogs and saw Rebecca's linked to my sister in law, Kristine's, blog. She does fashion and all sorts of stuff like that. Well she has an affiliate coupon for these cute shoes. If you like shoe shopping, check out The Space Between My Peers!
It's NOT a broken toe!
Topic: Family
Well, today was busier than normal for the morning. We had Marines returning home from Iraq that I had to take care of and so I left the kids at home with their instructions for eating breakfast, getting ready for school, etc.. I got a phone call from Noah saying he dropped the piano stool on his toe and thought it was broken. Thankfully it was not but the process of making sure took up a lot of time today -- oh, and the Marines did all arrived safely too by the way. I had reimbursements to turn paperwork in for the KV network and two trips to the bank to deposit checks. Mike had to come home early to help pick up kids as we were at the doc's and we had prescriptions to fill for Caleb's asthma, as well as trying to get everything for next week's video EEG set up through TriWest. Then we got home and we have had a terrible wind and sandstorm all day. Jesse wasn't paying attention to the door and it slammed on his finger. It is fine but we had to go through the whole screaming "I'm dying" deal. Jes was actually funny. He is crying in one breath and then sees a Hershey bar and in between breaths says "OH, can I have some of that?" and then he started laughing and the crying stopped. I guess chocolate is the cure all...LOL..Also, I guess it's a good thing I don't "work" for a living ;-)
Monday, 26 March 2007
a long time keeping up with this
In March 2004 I had nearly 6 months of blog entries and then I deleted them. I started posting again in May of the same year and have been doing so off and on since. I have enjoyed reading over the last three years of my life. My blog is more of a diary than any other journal I've written. Most of those have less than 20 entries because I just never disciplined myself to keep up with it. With blogging, I would check email, and then do a blog entry. Easy!
Another thing I do is save emails (thankfully yahoo gives me a huge amount of space to do that..LOL). I have emails from my husbands deployments, and from friends and family that just hit a special note with me. I don't save all of them of course, but there are a lot.
One of my most treasured ones is from my friend Kayori Shimizu. She was my best friend when we lived in Okinawa. Kayori is 1/2 Japanese and 1/2 Brazilian and Meiji is full Japanese. They also had a young son. She and her husband were Christians and owned their own produce business which provided goods for our commissary and other commissaries on Okinawa. We became friends through English conversation classes. Her husband, Meiji, died on the 5th of May, 2002 from complications with leukemia. It was very sudden that they found out that he was ill and then even more sudden that he died, as he had been making progress with treatment. My email from her is the notice she sent to me of Meiji's death and her telling me of her broken heart. I haven't been in touch with her in maybe a year and a half(due to email changes and her moving back to Brazil)but I keep the email as a reminder to always pray for her. Kayori's faith in Jesus was always so strong and I know she is at peace with God's will in her life. I know we will meet again, even if it's on the other side of heaven!
Sunday, 25 March 2007
Topic: Bible/Faith
I am in a position that I never considered myself to be capable of being in ~ I am a mentor. I am a mentor as a Christian, a mom, a sister, a wife, a military wife, a friend. I cried the first day that someone actually told me I was their mentor. I thought "Oh God I'm such a screw up at all this.. don't look to me for guidance." Ok, Ok, I'm not really that bad but I have this major fear of leading someone in the wrong direction and then having to answer to God for it. I've accepted this new role with great pride but also with humility. I am glad that fellow women can look at me and trust me to give them my heart in fellowship and guidance. I pray daily for a select group of ladies and for God's guidance in their lives and mine. I want to be the friend that God would have me be. I hope they all know how much they mean to me and how blessed I feel to be a part of their lives!
Saturday, 24 March 2007
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Topic: Marine Corps
On September 11, 2001 we were stationed in Okinawa and we were in the middle of a typhoon. It was night there and bedtime. I thought I would check email one last time before going to bed. As I logged on, I got an IM that I better check out the news if we could get it. I turned it on and saw what was happening. I woke my husband up and he came out in time to see the second plane hit. We were up all night. My husband, Mike,(a Marine in case you are new here and haven't noticed that yet) got dressed in uniform. Packed his bags and called in. We were in a lock down until the typhoon was over the next day but he immediately went in to work as soon as the call came through for the all clear. Mike is not infantry but he had only been home a few short weeks from being gone on a six month deployment and knew they would be the ones to go -- they had just been trained and were ready. He left within a few short weeks on a ship expecting to go to the Persian Gulf area but another typhoon caused damaged to their rotors and they were diverted. He returned home a few months later.
He deployed again in December of 2004 en route to the Persian Gulf. The tsunami hit Indonesia and the ship was diverted to help with that. They did end up in the Persian Gulf area (Kuwait, Iraq, coast of Somalia) but for a shorter time. They helped chase pirates, break the guys watching the oil platforms, etc.. Mike's last deployment was in February of 2006 and he returned home just this past September. He spent that time in Iraq. He was on the base the whole time but experienced several mortar attacks as well as other things.
When Mike dreams now about explosions, he feels the concussion from the explosion. I think when you dream about things that you haven't experienced before, your mind kind of makes up what you think it would feel like and puts that into your dream. However, once you've experienced something though, your mind puts that reference in when you dream. He gets very touchy at loud noises like fireworks and cars backfiring. He hates the sounds of helicopters now. He says it reminds him of the wounded and/or dead being brought to the hospital. Certain helicopters, due to their size, meant lots of wounded were being brought in. Certain languages cause his hair to stand up and for him to become rigid.
My husband is also having depression issues, and anger issues, and every other emotion that runs strong in a person who has experienced the realities of war. He went to speak to a doc, who in my opinion either obviously didn't pay attention to what he was saying or didn't care to look at his recent military history, and she said he probably just needed anger management courses and then he'd be fine. We have a problem with military men not reporting PTSD for that very reason! It's this laissez faire attitude (which means to just let it pass, by the way) that keeps our guys from searching out the help they need.
Mike is reading his Bible more, and praying more, and running more. These have become his therapies for dealing with it. Most days it works. Other days he sits in a chair with tears in his eyes saying "what is wrong with me?" but thankfully those are getting fewer. I love my husband! I want to help but all I can do is pray and make our house what he needs it to be so that he can relax when he is at home. I'm not great at organization and all that but I'm trying and we are trying. Together we will be OK as long as we keep working at it!
Friday, 23 March 2007
migraines and allergies
Topic: Family
Caleb hasn't made it to school one day this week because of a terrible cough due to his allergies. We went to get his medicine for asthma/allergies changed back to singulair on Wednesday because the zyrtec just doesn't work for him (and it makes him really sleepy). We tried to go to school yesterday but after less than an hour of sitting in the classroom and him coughing and choking on the air, we gave up and came home. It rained overnight so I'm not even gonna try and make him go today. He is always terrible after the rain. We may even have to dig out the inhaler.
I know it rained all night cause I've been awake with a migraine. I can't seem to get rid of it. I think I've felt it coming on for days and tried to ignore it. It was bad enough to make me email with late notice this morning for someone else to take over the Bible study today. I hate doing that! This is the second one again in several weeks. I must be letting myself get stressed (duh!) over too much stuff. I'm gonna drink more water and a cup of coffee and take the kids to school and then go to bed. I know it's bad when my neck and shoulders hurt from me sitting tensed up. I need for it to go away!
Thursday, 22 March 2007
a problem with viewpoints lately
Topic: Bible/Faith
I have seen lots of churches lately using "worldly" ads to get peoples attention and this just really BUGS me! There was a conference in our town lately for having a "smokin' hot marriage" that was put on by a local church. Now, another church is doing a sparkle event for women and their website says "Remember, it's not what you want, but who you are, that you are attracting to yourself. Come and increase your sparkle-factor so you can begin to attract beauty, resources, favor, and God's best in your life." and they use Zechariah 9:16b-17a "they will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown. How attractive and beautiful they will be!" as the verse for the event. The billboard that is seen around town has a lady in a black sparkly spaghetti strapped dress laying on her tummy with her feet kicked up in the air behind her. I just don't get it. Aren't we supposed to be different? I mean the first time I drove by the billboard I thought it was for the local strip club because they have a similar billboard ad up a few streets over. It wasn't until I was stopped at the light by it later that I realized it was for a women's event at this local church. Maybe I'm not glamorous enough, or "plastic" enough, or focused so strongly on my outer shell, or whatever but I don't need to be THAT to be favored by God. He created me! He made me who I am. I much prefer 1 Peter 3:3-4 "your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." I'm not saying you are supposed to be frumpy and dowdy because I believe there are other verses to support NOT being that but I think true beauty that God loves in us is found inside! Anyway, had to vent about that!
Wednesday, 21 March 2007
bad news from Oma
Topic: Family
My mother in law (Oma) is very special to me! First, of course, she gave life to my husband for which I will be eternally grateful. There are other things, too. She thanks me for being a good wife to Mike (she remembers the first one with fierce anger still, I think). Also, being from a military brat and wife herself she can understand when I grump about things and am just needing to vent. One day she called me when she knew I was having a rough time and said "You're just overwhelmed, Sallie! I understand!" It was nice to hear that. My mom doesn't always understand the military life so I don't always know how to explain things to her. Mike's mom gets it! Anyway, we got an email tonight from my father in law (Opa) and he said mom had found out she had a cyst on her ovaries and could we please pray. Well, of course we can! I'm sure it is nothing. We are still praying, though! If you are reading this, please say a prayer for Oma... God will know who you mean!
patience and perseverance
Topic: Bible/Faith
James 5: 7-11
7 Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. 9 Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! 10 Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
There are so many things in life we have to have patience/perseverance for. For us, at the moment there are many things -- patience with the military, patience with fellow Christians, patience with each other, patience with school, just to name a few. All this is life though. It is what we have around us. What we can change, we work on (even ourselves). What we can't change, we leave to God and face it as best we can with patience and perseverance. Is it easy? NO! Were we promised easy? A definite NO! So, we continue on. We have patience. We PRAY! We talk. We grow. We learn.
Tuesday, 20 March 2007
Malachi 3: 10
Topic: Bible/Faith
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have enough room for it." Malachi 3:10
We have had so many blessings recently! I know they are directly related to our decision to not buy a car because we were committed to making sure that our whole tithe was in every month!
Where do I begin? Well, the beginning is always good they say so I guess we'll go there. My family has always tithed but we have not always tithed a whole tithe. Does that make sense? For instance, being military we have never really tithed on our housing allowance, or my husbands food allowance, or bonuses.. well, some bonuses we have and some we haven't. Anyway, we sat in the parking lot of the local mall in January and were talking about our tithing. I can't really remember why we were talking about it at the mall parking lot and not at home but that is where we were at when God led us to have that discussion. The place isn't really important anyway. We said to each other, "We are going to tithe off everything. We will trust God for a new vehicle and leave everything else up to Him but we will tithe off EVERYTHING!" We started with our income tax return that arrived the end of January and have made every tithe payment since then. We tithe off our basic pay, our BAH, our BAS, gifts we get in the mail, etc.. EVERYTHING! And honestly, we haven't missed that money at all! We've went to the movies, we've eaten out, we've had gas in our car (even for medical trips out of town), food on our table, etc.. We just had to make that decision in our hearts to do it and follow through. FOLLOW THROUGH NO MATTER WHAT because satan will tempt you not to tithe! On top of tithing, we've had extra money available for offerings above tithe. I don't know how we've had the extra money but everytime we've felt God say "you need to give to that" we've been able to.
Now, for the blessings! These aren't even normal run of the day blessings like those listed above..these are the EXTRA big blessings! First, within the first week of our deciding to follow God's direction on tithing, we received in the mail from an anonymous person a gift card for $100 to a local restaurant. We decided to use that to take Mo out to dinner when she came to town (read about Mo in my husbands blog). At dinner with Mo, we met Dan. Dan who lost his leg in an IED explosion in Afghanistan, who now happens to test prostetics for the US Army and works with the Golden Knights parachute team. Dan heard Mo and I talking about how cool it would be to jump out of an airplane and how it was something that we'd always wanted to do. My husband said he always thought it would be cool too (but we could never afford it). Dan then tells Mo and Mike that he can get them both on a tandem jump with the Golden Knights. The cost of this out in town would have been close to $500 each (AT LEAST). Next came the free movie and snack tickets to see The Last Sin Eater. We won two tickets and then someone else also gave us extra vouchers for the rest of the family and for the snacks (About a $65 value). Next, I won the book The First Five Years of Marriage in a contest. Then today, our family won 5 tickets to the Out of Africa Wildlife Park here in Arizona. You know what, though? Guess what?! God is still even bigger!! Our main FEAR in not tithing a whole tithe was knowing we need to really get a new(er) vehicle because our 1995 Toyota Previa (that we love and it has been good to us) is getting OLD and NEEDY. Well, yesterday my husband got an email at work with the offer of a vehicle for free -- one that we were contemplating asking to buy but were praying on it. I won't go into all the specifics of it but just know that it is just another of God's blessings... one of those floodgates of heaven blessings! Trust God! Believe Him! He will provide!!
Monday, 19 March 2007
a cute contest @ 5 minutes for mom
Topic: Children
5 minutes for mom is having a contest to win a really, frilly, adorable skirt from Katchy Kids Dancewear. I don't have a little girl anymore but my 15 year old does still twirl around and I have plenty of nieces with birthdays coming up!
The thing I love about sites like this is that they are all for moms who work out of thier house. Sometimes I know this can be an issue for people but it is great to see it working out for so many other people! My daughter has always, and I mean ALWAYS, wanted to be a fashion designer. We could see it in her drawings and in her fashion sense from the very earliest of stages. She is focusing in high school and meeting with her counselor regularly to make sure she is on target for doing what she needs for a scholarship to a fashion school. We talked the other day about what if she meets the man God has chosen for her and he wants her to be a mom who stays home. She said "I'll just make clothes for my kids and my friends and we'll all look cute! We'll do our own fashion shows in the backyard." I'm glad her heart is open to whatever may come! Anyway, go over and sign up for the contest and pay a visit to Katchy Kids Dancewear as well!
Monday, 19 March 2007
Facing The Giants
Topic: Good Movies
Let me just say what an awesome movie this is! I've heard about it and wanted to buy it for a long time but it wasn't in the budget and so we finally rented it on Saturday and watched it after church yesterday. We laughed and we cried with it. We have two boys who've played Pop Warner football for several years and Caleb, even with AS, played flag last year. We are a football loving family -- it just sorta happened one day. The whole moral of the story, in my opinion, is this: Will you still love God no matter what life brings you? This, I think, is my new favorite life line --> I will still love you, Lord! There are many days that I will need to repeat this over and over again but in the end, it is the ultimate truth. Jesus is the ultimate truth!
Saturday, 17 March 2007
General Pace
Topic: Marine Corps
We should all tell someone when we think they are doing good...
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Summary: good for General Pace!
Please verify: anderklan@yahoo.com
Date Created: 03/14/2007 12:51 AM
Last Updated: 03/14/2007 12:51 AM
Discussion Thread
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Customer - 03/14/2007 12:51 AM
Sometimes we have to throw down the political correctness of our
social policies and stand up for what we believe in! Thank
goodness that we have men of character in charge who have the courage
to do that! It does my heart good to see MEN in the leadership
of our country stand tall and say what they believe!
Sallie Anderson, proud wife of a US Marine
anderklan@yahoo.com
Marinated Pork Tenderloin
Topic: Homemaking
I am not a great user of recipes. I do, on occasion use them WHEN I HAVE TOO, but I don't like to. Does that make sense? I mean, I never seem to get it right when I use a recipe so why bother? LOL..
Anyway, I made pork tenderloin about a week or so ago and it was really good. I made extra for a friend who just needed a break and they said it was great too. I thought I would post the basics of it here but again, there is not an accurate recipe to go with it so you have to use your best judgement for your families tastes.
Ingredients:
~2 packages of pork tenderloin (ended up with 4 small tenderloins)
~ about 1 cup of olive oil
~ about 2 cups of balsamic vinegar of modena (I think that is just the Italian brand name and any balsamic vinaigrette would work)
~ a big dash of rubbed sage
~ a big dash of pepper
~ a big dash of salt
~ a big dash of garlic powder
Mix all the ingredients in a ziploc bag, seal, and shake up the pork. Put it in the fridge to marinate for a few hours and then place in a roasting pan in the oven and bake covered for about an hour and a half. The internal temp on pork should at least reach 170 degrees (approximately 25 minutes per pound). I served it with a cheesy vegetable medley.. Enjoy!
my grown up boy
Topic: Children
Last week we had our AWANA Grand Prix at church. Our son, Noah, got eliminated by his brother Caleb by just a hair of a second -- we put all names in a basket and draw to see who goes against each other so it is fair. Mike and I were helping with the races so Noah wandered outside with some other kids and in the bathroom one of those kids threw some chocolate pudding on the floor. Sometime later some other kids went in and smeared it all over the place. We talked about it at home and learned that Noah knew about it but hadn't said anything. He went to our Pastor on Wednesday and told him he was sorry for not stepping up and saying something before and not stopping the boys who did it. He asked the Pastor to give him a chore or something as a punishment so he swept and mopped the bathroom that night. The other boys (some we know and some we aren't sure about) will probably never step up and admit to any part of it, and we haven't said who they are, but Noah understands that for him it was about learning that he needed to be a leader and not a follower. I am very proud of him!!
let's just go win the war!
Topic: Marine Corps
Chlorine gas sickens 356 in Iraq bombing By SAMEER N. YACOUB, Associated Press Writer
Three suicide bombers driving chlorine-laden trucks struck in the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Anbar province, killing two policemen and forcing about 350 Iraqi civilians and six U.S. troops to seek treatment for exposure to the gas, the military said Saturday.
The attacks came after back-to-back bombings last month released chlorine gas, prompting the U.S. military to warn that insurgents are adopting new tactics in a campaign to spread panic.
Just after 4 p.m. Friday, a driver detonated explosives in a pickup truck northeast of Ramadi, wounding one U.S. service member and one Iraqi civilian, the military said in a statement.
That was followed by a similar explosion involving a dump truck south of Fallujah in Amiriyah that killed two policemen and left as many as 100 local citizens showing signs of chlorine exposure, with symptoms ranging from minor skin and lung irritations to vomiting, the military said.
Less than 10 miles away, another suicide bomber detonated a dump truck containing a 200-gallon chlorine tank rigged with explosives at 7:13 p.m., also south of Fallujah in the Albu Issa tribal region, the military said. U.S. forces responded to the attack and found about 250 local civilians, including seven children, suffering from symptoms related to chlorine exposure, according to the statement.
Insurgents have detonated three other trucks carrying chlorine canisters since late January.
read the rest of the story here
I feel I have a very good reason for speaking about Iraq. My husband has gone there and may go again sooner maybe instead of later. I'm allowed to vent!
The reason we have "not yet won" in Iraq (a fact the Democrats like to tell us on a daily basis) is simply because our military services have their hands tied behind their back with political handcuffs and can't do what they need to get this war accomplished. Our Washington elite want to sit in their cushy leather chairs in an airconditioned house or senate and tell us how we can go about playing the game. The Brits lost the revolution because of playing the gentleman's war and we aren't much different now. War is a dirty job and it involves people dying and getting hurt. Here is the basic concept for anyone who hasn't figured it out yet: we kill them before they kill us. Yes, yes, I know it sounds so very harsh but that is life. Harsh things in life happen every day! Every soldier/airman/sailor/Marine knows this when they join the military.
George Washington had similar problems in the revolution too. The Conway Cabal isn't something we learn in history everyday. George Washington was so angry over it that he threatened to resign if his performance in the military continued to be questioned.
The way I see it is we have two choices: 1) Shut up in WASHINGTON (and Hollywood could do that too -- they're not real soldiers, they just play them on tv) and quit tying our military's hands. Let them do what they need to do. Stop making our Generals be desk pilots and let them do what they have been trained to do -- win wars! or 2) Pull our guys home, hang our heads in shame, say OOPS, and then let Americans live with chlorine laden exploding vehicles on our own streets and in our own neighborhoods. Ooh, that sounds like fun *yes, that was sarcasm for those who couldn't read it*!
Friday, 16 March 2007
Mike's got a new blog!
Mike shocked me by asking me to set up a blog for him tonight. So, I did. It is called The Gunny's Gouge and I guess will be his place to rant and rave, much like "Every Day Me" is my place to do that. I really don't read that many rants when I go back over it though.. do I?.. I don't think so.. hmmmm I better go read some more :-)
new topic list... nothing special
Today is an off day for the kids. I'm not sure why but none of them had school today. We are being kinda lazy. I did have a window replaced already this morning by the housing maintenance office. Also, I made homemade pancakes for breakfast. I have some gardening to do also. I guess it won't be a lazy day afterall.
I added a topic list but I have well over 200 posts dating back to 2004 so I doubt I go back and list them all under a topic. If a get around to it I guess I can do a few at a time but for now I'll just start adding posts to topics as I go.
A verse to think on today: Proverbs 16:24 Fair words are as an honeycomb, sweetness to the soul, and health to the bones.
Thursday, 15 March 2007
a busy day but with some special moments
Today was a so-so day for school. Caleb was feeling sick so he didn't want to work much but we did get all his notes written down and he finished his math for yesterday's homework and todays class work -- note I said yesterday meaning tutor is not doing job. *sigh* That was a great accomplishment for him though!! I was only home about an hour before the school called me on the phone and said he wasn't feeling good. I talked to him and convinced him to try and make it through the day and he did. I think he was just overtired from the problems earlier in the week because tonight he just kinda lounged around all night.
I finished with Caleb's class just as Jesse's class was going to lunch. I sat and chatted with him and enjoyed the free time. Jes was so happy I stayed with him and was smiling ear to ear. I always love to see my boy smile -- he's got such a good one!
I needed to leave before Noah's class was ready for lunch so I left a "love note from mom" with the cashier. The school is very small and she knows who the kids all are. When I picked the boys up after school, Noah hugged me with a smile and said "thanks for my note!" That made me happy!
I had a Pop Warner football board meeting tonight. I'm not even sure that our boys are going to play again this year but being on the board at least means I get a chance to stand up and say when I think they are doing something stupid -- like if we have to drive to Mexico for a football game, then we should have the option of taking a charter bus so that our military and border patrol parents don't have to drive across and be targets!
Mike and I got to sit tonight and watch a whole movie by ourselves after the kids went to bed. That was nice and the movie was funny... weird but funny. What else can you expect from Rowan Atkinson?!
Tomorrow is St. Patty's Day and Victoria and Mike are running a 5K fun run together. This is the first official dad and daughter run so it will be cool for them. I'm glad they both have someone to run with --it's a good bonding time!
Wednesday, 14 March 2007
I won! I won! I won!
Ok, Ok, Ok, so I wasn't the grand prize winner in our local Christian stations contest but I did win. Actually, some of my answers (though all gleaned from legitimate wedding websites) were not exactly what thier's were, but I think they were indepth enough that they know I at least didn't pull them out of thin air. Anyway, I won a copy of "The First Five Years of Marriage" which seems a little funny since we are in our 16th year but you're never to old to learn, right?! The grand prize was a chance to win a weekend to remember conference trip. That would have been nice but I'll settle for the book!
these words shall be in MY heart
Deuteronomy 6:6-9
6 And these words which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart.
7 And thou shalt rehearse them continually unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou tarriest in thine house, and as thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up:
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9 Also thou shalt write them upon ye posts of thine house, and upon thy gates.
This became my favorite passage when I was homeschooling all my children and has remained so even though we don't currently homeschoool. Of course, I'm now aiding in Caleb's class, and I had to call on it today to help me through the morning.
I was frustrated from the start when we found out that the tutor had kicked Caleb out of class yesterday because he (the teacher) wasn't understanding his new job. Even the resource person said she felt like this teacher must have been sleeping in our recent IEP meeting. He just didn't get that he has to EXPLAIN EVERY SINGLE STEP of math to Caleb. Well, we settled that and they said they would make sure the teacher knows and does what he is supposed to. Then I moved on to the classroom. It is no wonder that Caleb has concentration and sensitivity in this class. Mr. G tries so hard but the class is just rowdy. There are kids that are just plain disrespecful and care nothing about honoring the authority of their teacher. Caleb and I were able to sit in the back and really focus on his work only because I was able to keep him on task. I kept talking to him about honor and respect and we would work verses out together. You have to be able to use every event in your everyday life to talk with your kids and grow them in the Lord.
I found a Geneva Bible online!!
WOO HOO!! My husband and I have been wanting to buy a Geneva Bible for about 5 months now and we are budgeting for it. We read about it's origins and found out that it was the Bible brought to this country by our early Christian founders. We've always like the King James Bible, but do not feel like this is the only version you can use to study scripture -- God wasn't English was he?!. There are some "versions" out there that we do not like and refuse to use because they stray so far from the original but since learning about the Geneva Bible we've just wanted one to study with. I mean I don't know Greek or Hebrew so reading the literal translation isn't an option for me! Anyway, click to see an online Geneva Bible and check out it's history!
Tuesday, 13 March 2007
Good stuff for kids with sensory issues...
We have been buying seamless socks for years now. They are sewed in such a way that there are no seams on the insides of the socks to wear against tiny toes. We buy ours at Tootsie's Stride Rite because we've always had good service with them.
Another great thing for autistic kids are the ability to rock. I just saw this great rocking horse site at a Rocking Horse To Love and think it has some great rockers! I wish I had a reason to buy the pink poodle..LOL..
Who cares if your child wears t-shirts all the time? If tags are his/her issue, buy them everything tagless at Hanes.com! Guess what? They even sell polo shirts, bras, and underwear in the tagless section now. Just type tagless in the search engine!
Hope some of these sites help you find what you need in dealing with your sensitive child!
some progress at school -- YEAH!!
This morning Caleb and I made sure that he finished AND turned in(this is the part he always forgets) all of the homework that needed to be given to his teacher. We also completed the math and science notes and worked on his reading (which he excels at anyway).
I talked with our resource person and she agreed that since I was staying all morning four days a week, that the math tutor who is pulling Caleb out for 45 minutes a day would now just work on homework so that we don't have any at home. That will be such a relief! Now, whatever I might not finish in the morning like laundry and such can be completed during the time I would have been spending helping with homework.
This will at least work for us to get through the end of May and then we can decide what we need to do next year! Thank God for miracles, both great and small!!
off to school
Mike couldn't attend the IEP meeting yesterday because he had to attend an "all-hands" brief. I liked some of the things that were said yesterday but I was confused also. In the end, I said I would come in to help with Caleb's math time because there isn't enough time left in the year to get the money for an aid, etc.. I am going in this morning and talking to the counselor to cut a deal for no homework. I mean, if I am spending 2 to 3 hours every morning at school, they can provide someone to work with Caleb the last hour of every day to accomplish homework. They need to do this. We are still talking about homeschooling because it just seems best for Caleb. IF the school can't continue (or won't) work with him, then he will be homeschooled. End of story. I can't put him in another school just to go through the whole process over and over again. The psychologist who came down from Phoenix was helpful in saying why Caleb reacts the way he does -- it sounds so much better coming from a "professional" I guess than a mom. I'll post more later this afternoon...
Monday, 12 March 2007
IEP meeting today
Our oldest son, Caleb, has Asperger's Syndrome (AS). AS comes in many forms and degrees so it's easiest just to say he has an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). All AS kids have, to some degree or another, social and behavioral abnormalities, as well as perhaps some learning disabilities . They don't look you in the eye, for example, or they don't understand personal space. For many, their speech is impecable but the comprehension aspect leaves them lost in a sea of words. Many also have sensory issues -- meaning they operate on a high sensitivity level!
Caleb has all of these issues and they are not all created equal. He has a great reading ability, and unlike A LOT of AS kids, can comprehend things pretty well. He does get confused at times but it's not often. As a matter of fact, because his speech and comprehension have always been so elevated, we sometimes wandered if he even had AS. Then he'd be really confused on something very simple and just not "get it" so we'd say "Yep, he has it!" I think because his vocab is so good it has helped him to, in a way, process through confusing words or phrases and pick the one that fits best to the situation -- almost like seeing a dictionary in his mind.
Two of the comprehension things that are most memorable for us are these: 1) We had asked Caleb to walk across the room and he tried to walk in a pattern of a cross to get to the other side. We of course are saying "What are you doing?" and he is getting frustrated because he is walking a cross the room like we told him. 2) Caleb has always had a good musical ability so he was taking voice lessons from a friend of ours (until he moved away to Oklahoma). He has perfect pitch and so when I was trying to remember the exact notes for "There is a Balm in Gilead" one day and couldn't I figured I'd ask Caleb. I said "Caleb, do you know "There is a Balm in Gilead?" He said, "No, but I hope it doesn't blow up. That would be terrible" and walked off. Needless to say I didn't get the notes out of him that day.
Another example of how Caleb's mind works is when our garage door wasn't working right last week. Mike and I tried EVERYTHING to fix it and was finally just lifting it manually. Caleb walked in and fixed it in two seconds. We asked him how he did it and he said that he just figured you had to take care of what "was the activator" so he got down and eyed the laser safety devices (something crosses in front and door won't work so nobody gets squished)and one had been nudged just slightly. We had even checked those but he somehow could see they were not in proper alignment.
He also has light, noise, and touch issues. Lights are too bright for him (including the sunlight). Violins once upon a time made him cringe and scream in pain but he has either developed a tolerance to them now or grown out of it. He hates itchy, scratchy clothes and because he will wear the same thing over and over again if he decides that item feels good, we have learned to buy in bulk the things that feel good on him. We try to spend money on seamless socks too but they are expensive and I've only found them online. He has found a pair of shoes that he knows are comfortable and for the past three times we went shoe shopping, he has picked out the EXACT same pair of shoes. Lord, help us if they ever quit making them :-)
Today we have an IEP meeting for Caleb at school so we can add in an aid. The school tried not to do that as they only wanted to focus on math (which is his learning disability area)but have learned in the last few weeks that he really does need it. Kids tease, and he gets frustrated because of that, or the teacher is moving too fast, or any other thing that is out of sync for the day. I am really praying that the meeting goes well and Caleb's needs are what tops the list.
Some great sites with info on AS are:
O.A.S.I.S.
Asperger's Disorder Homepage
MAAP Services for Autism and Asperger Syndrome
Arizona Autism Support
Sunday, 11 March 2007
AWANA Grand Prix
We had our AWANA Grand Prix at church today! This was the 3rd or 4th time that Mike and I have got to help run it. It's hard work and lots of people put a lot of effort into it -- it turned out great! We keep it simple and give out 1,2,3 for design and 1,2,3 for speed.
Noah's car didn't win anything but I thought his car was awesome!! He had a cool design that even had a windshield cut into the wood! Better luck next year, bud! Click on his pic to go to the photo album with pics of all the boys and their trophies (we brought home 3!)
Saturday, 10 March 2007
Picture time :-)
Now Playing: Gimme That Mountain Dew by KJ-52
Mike went skydiving a few weeks ago -- tandem only for now...LOL -- with the Army Golden Knights.
Noah and Jesse got to help with packing some parachutes.
All of the kids enjoyed the "no school" day!!
I didn't want to take up lots of space with ALL the photos so I created a photo page with them. There are 5 photos on that page.
I downsized the photos but linked to the original so you can click to see them. Just click the back button to come back here!
Click on Billy and Mike to go to the Photo Album:
(this photo album is linked on the main home page -- the link was lost here with the transfer of my blog)
Friday, 9 March 2007
I guess I'm not a good partier....LOL
I only had two visitors to my party for the partyblog. I must have visited a hundred! Oh, well, better luck next time!
The Bible study today went great! We had a really good loooooooonnnnnnnngggggggg fellowship and we covered all five days of the workbook! Now, THAT is an accomplishment!!
Proverbs
Now Playing: Jars of Clay "I'll Fly Away"
We like to read Proverbs everyday because, well, there are 31 chapters in Proverbs and they are good reminders of how we should live our daily life. I mean, Proverbs literally explains what they are for in verse 2: to know wisdom and instruction, to perceive the words of understanding, to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgement, and equity; to give prudence to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion-" and so on. Today chapter 9 verse 10 says "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." I like that verse! Well, now I have to go finish straightening up my house for our military wives Bible Study that is later today. I can ponder on the verses while I work.
Thursday, 8 March 2007
Giving beyond belief
Our family attends Morningside Baptist Church here in Yuma. We had visited the chapel on base and another church out in town before we joined Morningside. In transit here, we had decided we were really going to give the chapel a try this time around but we just didn't feel led there by God when we attended that first month. The other local church lost our youngest child out of the nursery and children's church both the first and second Sunday we attended. I know, I know! Why did we go back? Well, God has always seem to focus us towards mission work and this church was HUGE into it with a team just returning from a mission trip and another one in the plans already so we kept visiting. After our 4th Sunday my husband said to me as we were getting ready that morning "I guess we might as well join this morning if we are gonna keep going." and that statement alone told me it would be the worst mistake we could ever make. I asked him about a church one of his fellow Marines had mentioned and we decided to just try that one out that morning. We joined Morningside that very same morning! God was so in it! Admittedly, when we got home later that day we looked at each other and just laughed. God continues to lead us to churches with an older population and that is smaller in numbers and we thought we'd get away from that this time around. Well, guess what?! Morningside had mostly an older population and was small. It was growing in the younger family area though with a good AWANA program going and we were pleased even though it didn't seem like they were too mission focused at the time.
That was five years ago. Now, we average about 220 in morning service, about 180 in Sunday school and weekly home studies, and about 65 on Sunday nights (MBCYuma being one of the few churches that still offers an evening service). Technically, I guess the church has always been mission minded with giving -- 20% total that comes in goes straight to missions: 12% to the Cooperative Program, 3% to Yuma SBC association, 3% to CrossRoads Mission, 1% to NewLife Pregnancy Center, and 1% to AZ Baptist Children's Association. Honestly, tho percents don't always add up when the giving is minimal. The difference this year is that our hearts changed to wanting to be servants! Our small church gave over $105,000 to mission causes, including Katrina Relief.
I'm ashamed to admit it but my husband and I weren't a huge part of that giving last year with him being gone to Iraq -- I was not as faithful as I should have been! This year I am proud of our progress. We haven't liked using offering envelopes in the past because one of the first churches we attended after being married had a secretary who would tell everyone what you were giving so we just quit using them except for on occasion. Still, no matter whether it showed up on the end of year statement because we used envelopes or not, we know what we didn't give and that has weighed heavily on us. We decided we would use the envelopes and write everything down this year. I mean we do that with our investments so why not tithes and offerings?! It was a wonferful feeling on March 1st when we went over already this year what we gave the whole of last year. It's not bragging, it's just honesty. God changed our hearts and minds and showed us what was important! It's a good thing.. it's a GOD thing!
Wednesday, 7 March 2007
Calling all free graphics designers???!!!!
I used to do web design and quit cold turkey, so to speak, because my husband felt like it was taking too much of my time away from our family. I wanted to find some new stuff to update our webpage because it's been so long but it's hard to sort through all the ones that pop up with google. Does anyone have any favorite webpage graphic designers that are linkware? Thanks!!
There's a party going on!!!
I saw this at my SIL page and thought it'd be fun to have new visitors, especially since I just transferred all my posts over from the old blog. Let's have a potluck and you can sit back, relax, have some snacks or a nice cup of joe and read on! I've got over 200 posts for you to go on and get nosy...LOL.. Everyday me! That's what ya get!! Have fun and leave your comments!!
today is dreary and overcast
Dreary days in Yuma are like a big tease -- you know, kinda like ninny ninny boo boo! You get your hopes up and you think maybe it just might rain and at the end of the day you are still usually just as dry and dusty as ever. I remember days like this in Kentucky. If it looked like it would rain, it did! You could be sure of it :-) I miss so many things about home -- our garden, Natural Bridge, swimming and fishing in the creeks, old log cabins, white picket fences, and the list could go on for pages. I can't guarantee we will ever make it back to my old Kentucky home, but hopes of it make all our other Marine Corps homes OK because I know they are only for a time.
Tuesday, 6 March 2007
investments are for the LONG haul
People should know by now that investments are a long haul item and you shouldn't worry about them on a day to day basis. We have lost a little over $300 in the last week in our TSP account and some of the guys at work seem to be freaking out. Mike and I have to just laugh because really these days $300 doesn't seem like much and it could be lots worse! Leave your money alone, and let it ride. I'm no genius investment guru but chances are everything is going to bounce back and then some.
On a side note, today I have a migraine and regular ole ibuprofen hasn't seemed to do the trick. I'm feeling pressure in my sinus'too so I'm thinking I may need a check up but for now I'm gonna try and just sleep it off. Hopefully the phones, etc. won't ring off the hook...LOL
great, easy chicken tortilla soup
One of the ladies made a chicken tortilla soup for our Hope for the Homefront Bible study a few weeks ago. We all loved it so much and so she sent it out on email. I didn't have my email working at the time so I didn't get it but I was craving the soup so I came up with one on my own. My version is very simple and uses pre-prepared items so it was ready after 30 minutes of simmering. Give it a try!
2 packages of already cooked chicken fajita meat (I have also since just used chicken tenderloins cooked with a taco seasoning packet)
3 15 oz cans of black beans
1 15 oz can of petite diced tomatoes
2 small cans of rotel tomates
a pinch of onion powder
a pinch of paprika
Tortilla chips
Mix all together and simmer for a wonderful soup. Crush tortilla chips over it or use them to scoop up the soup! So good even the kids will eat!!!
Monday, 5 March 2007
has it really been that long?
ok, so I didn't realize at this blog it has been over two years since I posted. I have another blog but its a real pain to try and remember posting and I want to try and keep this webpage and blog more up to date so I'll try here for a while.. my other blog at xanga was from May 04 to Sep 06 (when I got lazy again)and I'll gradually be moving my posts over to here so I can delete that one..
girls vs boys
We had a young Marine over for dinner after church yesterday and after our quick meal of pizza and girl scout cookies for dessert, Victoria starting working on her embroidery. Mike made the comment that she was a regular Pride and Prejudice kind of girl and our guest said "Well, you need to learn how to change a tire and the oil in your car too!" Why?! We are teaching our daughter that she can study for a career in fashion but that if she meets the man that God has for her, then she has to be willing to give that up if he wants her to be a stay at home mom. There is NO feminist movement going on in our house..LOL.. I was active duty Air Force once upon a time but I truly believe my daughter's place should be at home with her children and that my son's places should be out winning the bacon for their families. That is how it was meant to be!
Thursday, 1 March 2007
healthy twin girls!
A girl we know just had twin girls by emergency c-section. She is a single mom now but we have a lot of respect for her and the decisions she has made in her life recently. I had a gift card for a local day spa and Mike and I thought she could probably use it now more than me so we gave it to her. I know she can use it!