Straight No Chaser - 12 Days

Not too long ago my friend, Val, posted this video. I LOVED it!! And my husband and I have watched it over and over....

AND you need to go to the previous post and look under comments to see what my husband, JET, said. He's hysterical. :D

Why my hubby is no longer allowed to use the camera

It's recently been brought to my attention the reason why there aren't many pictures of me on this here family blog. Allow me to explain.

The other night, while the girls and I were decorating the tree, my husband grabbed the camera to take some pictures. Aww!!! How sweet. He's going to document, for the generations to come, that I actually DID exist. Nice.

And so the girls and I set out to transform our barren tree into something that closely resembles Hallmark...thrown up. All the while, trying to appear normal and not overly posed.

Well. The verdict is in. Either my "normal position" is to avoid putting my best face forward OR the photographer's definition of a good picture of me is a little...uh, skewed.


Exhibit A: Here we have a cute, albeit it fuzzy, picture of Charis. And me... sort of.

But hey, what's one booty shot, right? I'll cut him some slack since surely there's got to be a better one of me in there! Afterall, he was taking pictures the entire time we decorated the tree.

*biting my tongue*

Lets just move on to Exhibit B. Shall we?

So...at least here I'm standing in the upright position. That's a marked improvement, eh? But still. You have to wonder. Does he realize that I have a front side? A face? And a smile?

Moving on. Exhibit C...

And before you see it, I just have one word to say: Unbelievable.

I thought, until viewing the following picture, that the others were flukes. You know, sort of giving him the benefit of the doubt and all. Assuming that he was focusing on the "bigger picture" and, by coincidence, I just happened to be facing the other direction. It happens, right?

But...and I'll think you'd agree...THIS picture just shares a different story.

Um. Seriously?

Yeah. 'Nough said. I'll just let "exhibit C" speak for itself. *awkward pause* ...Right. Moving on.

But being the doting wife that I am, I still tried to justify all of the above ones (and the ones that I didn't even post!!) by assuming that he was focusing on the girls. Trying to get a good picture of THEM and completely missing the fact that my face was distinctly absent from view.

But (no pun intended hee hee)...

Even that reasoning didn't fly. Because here I am. All alone. Yep, that's right! Just me and my booty. Does that girl even HAVE a face?!!

So. To sum up. The reason why my blog lacks pictures of me? Because my personal photographer apparently has a "thing" for my backside. ;)

Maybe I should invest in a camera with a timer? Or remote control maybe? Cause I'm thinking the photographer, warped-picture-taking-skills and all, is still a keeper. Even if 90% of these pictures are not.

Be An Elf

Did you know that SOMEONE in your area post office reads the letters to Santa and makes them available to the public?! I had no idea. None. Until now.

You can read through the letters. Pick one. And be Santa (aka. Jesus) to that child-in-need.

For some reason, Blogger is "iffy" about displaying the video on my blogsite. Sometimes it there...sometimes it's the html. Sorry.

Share the brilliance...

I was surprised when other people said that they knew about the garlic oil and breastmilk squirt-fest remedies. Here I thought I ran in Circles of Brilliance. But apparently other people are enlightened as well. Shocking.

In fact, when I read that JavaMamma and CampGirdwood knew about said remedies and didn't have them highlighted in purple on their websites for all to benefit from, I was a little taken-a-back. WHAT? They knew how to help my daughter's ears without paying an arm-and-a-leg for antibiotics? And they DIDN'T tell me?!! The nerve of it all. *grin/wink*

But then I remember that my own informative little blog site didn't have the eye infection remedy posted for all to see either. Opps.

Obviously I'm kidding. We ALL have stored away different nuggets of information, but just don't think to share them. So here's the deal. I'm going to write down all the random tips that I can currently think of (the ones that I've tried and know work). And I'm asking you to do the same. In "Comments" share all the random bits of information that would benefit other ladies. We'll share our brilliance.

I know most of you just read and don't comment. And that's completely fine. But if you do have any jewels of brilliance to share...please do!

And Crystal. I expect you to add the thing you told me about the yeast infection. (she's a midwife in training, who gets to hang out with all sorts of people with a wealth of natural healing remedies). She's who I call when anything happens in my life. And the one that told me about the breastmilk in the eye trick.

Pregnancy Nausea? Take 1/2 Unisom and B12 (my nurse told me this one. and I had HORRIBLE sickness with the first pregnancies)

Infant diaper rash and raw skin due to diarrhea? Use Aquafor and Maalox directly on skin. the Maalox balances out the acidic PH of diarrhea and the Aquafor seals the medicine to the skin. The rash clears up within a day.

Stains that won't come out of clothes and no StainStick? Dawn Dish Detergent takes EVERYTHING out. Even blood. My dad swears by this. And trust me, it works. Just scrub into stain before washing.

Sudden face breakout (acne) and need to get rid of it fast? Put white toothpaste on it. It'll dry it out FAST.

Cracked, dry feet? Put Eucerin (is at Walmart) on at night and cover with socks. It works great! My heels get really dry in the winter and can crack. But this stuff heals it up in a night.

Made cookies? put a piece of bread in the container with them. The bread will keep the cookies from getting hard.

I have not tried these, but they were too interesting not to share:

*Keep apples and bananas from turning brown by placing them on a plate containing a small amount of a lemon-lime soft drink.

*Breast Milk KILLS existing, live Cancer cells!!
Swedish study done and now funded by the American Cancer Society. From what I've read (there's a ton about it), the scientific community is leery to publicize it yet. One of the reasons I read, being that they don't want the milk banks for Preemies to be depleted. But anyway...I thought the study was amazing and wanted to share.

Sleepless nights and Garlic drops...

The last couple nights have been rough. Raegan hasn't been sleeping well. Meaning, WE haven't been sleeping well. I feel like a walking zombie.

In the past few months, she's had at least two ear infections...I was thinking she was getting another one. Thus, the no sleeping theme: You lay her down, she screams out in panicked pain. :(

It's times like these that I don't mind that she reneged on saying my name. All night long, she could be heard crying "DaDa! DaDa!"

Yep, that's right, honey. She's calling for YOU. Go to her, will ya? heh heh




Coincidentally, a few people suggested that we put Garlic Drops in her ears. (can be found at health food stores) And though she smells of Italian bread gone awry, it's helping!!! IE. she's sleeping! So...got a child with ear infections?...you may want to try it!

And since we're on the whole "natural" medicine thing...Got a baby with an eye infection? When you're nursing her, squirt some breast-milk in her eye. I'm not kidding! It clears up the infection in NO time!

And NO, I'm not a hippy-chick. I just happen to have some highly intelligent friends. :)

All Grown up

It happened. My little girl went and grew up. And dubbed herself ready to get her ears "punched." No. I do not speak of boxing rings. I am referring to EARrings.

Now, I'm not sure that I would have chosen to let her get her ears pierced this early. But I know my girl. She hates any and all things painful. So if she feels ready, I'm ready.

And I figure...I want to let her make all the decisions that she can at this age. Build her self-esteem. Let her try out her independence here and there. Show her that I trust her judgement.

So when she announced that she was ready for earrings, I didn't argue. I just said, "Okay. One day soon."

"One day" happened Saturday. By fluke. We happened to be at the mall to cash in our "free pretzel coupons" at Auntie Anne's. (Auntie Anne is Jet's cousin) And as we made our way to eat, we walked by it. The Ear-Piercing Counter.

Providence was lining up all the details. There were TWO earpiercing ladies there (so both ears could be done at the same time), which they said was rare. AND there happened to be another little girl getting her ears done! ...I haven't seen anyone sitting in that chair for years! It couldn't have been more perfect.

Charis stood there, fascinated. wide-eyed. intent on the girl's face as they put the earrings in. The girl winced, but nothing more. The mom was crying, but not the little girl. :)

"Mom. I want to do it too! Can I?" Charis was determined.

"Are you sure?"

"YES!"

I look at Jet. He shrugs and says "Why not?"

And so our little girl sat in the big chair. Brave and confident in her decision. Waiting while they cleaned her ears and drew the blue dots.
They told her that they'd count to three. "1. 2. 3...." CLICK. She grimaced a little and then smiled. A lot.
The crowd went wild. Literally. 12 people clapped and cheered for her as she sat on the chair, grinning from pierced ear to ear. You can tell she feels all grown up!! I was too busy clapping to get a picture.
She told Selah, as her voice went up 3 octaves, that it only hurt a "itty bitty bitty bit". ;)


I can't believe the little girl who cried last year when I asked her if she wanted to ever get her ears pierced, now has her ears "punched"! She's grown up soo much in the last month. (2/3 of an inch in height AND leaps and bounds in her level of maturity)!!

If the next 5 years go as fast as the last 5 years, all of my girls will be grown up before I know it!

With thanks to a friend...

I HAD to post this.

In the last entry, I ended the blog by saying that I WANTED to attempt to get a picture of all three girls AND our large doberman, but that I was intimately aware of my limitations. :)

Well...apparently my friend, Nell-Marie, has no limitations. She was able to man-handle my brood into submission. And even shrunk my beast of a dog down to a manageable size....

...with Photoshop. ;)

Thanks, girl! Jet and I laughed hard. For. A. Long. Time.

The unspoken law of Christmas Photos...

Go ahead. Take a picture of one child. An it will, inevitably, turn out great.

Ah, isn't that a winner?! There is a genuine smile. Eyes are focused at the camera. Dresses are down. Underwear is hidden. Hands are controlled.Even the youngest one adheres to the Unspoken Law of when sitting alone, one must smile pretty. Sit up straight. Make eyes at the goofy lady behind the camera.

Then I got daring. I figured, these are an obvious success. So I'll go ahead and add one more child into the mix...

Okay, so maybe one isn't looking at the camera, but at least she's pleasantly smiling. They look genuinely pleased to be having their picture taken, don't they? Cooperation seems to come so naturally.

But then...add the third child. Go ahead. Try it. Something combusts. Panic breaks out. Chaos ensues.

Can someone tell me why this is?! Maybe because I was the lone adult on the scene? Hmm...could this have been my downfall?

BUT Finally...after taking at least 80 more pictures filled with stray arms, exposed bottoms, and wandering eyes, I got this one.

Aren't they cute? :)

I would have tried to get the doberman decked in reindeer antlers sitting beside them, but...I am well aware of my limits... and large dog with nails-needing-to-be-trimmed, delicate Christmas dresses, and lone parent holding camera far exceed them. Wouldn't you agree? ;)

The Dead Raised...

This is a testimony from an old YWAM friend, Lubens. Because my computer is in the process of being rebuilt, I can't scan in a picture of him. Do you ywam-blogger-friends remember him?

I'm going to set the stage before using his words....

Lubens, a Native Haitian, was leading a SST (Season of Service and Training...a ywam summer "camp"geared towards middle- and high-schoolers) to Jacmel, Haiti. The first morning they were in Jacmel, a man came to Lubens asking him for help.

The man was a witch doctor.

His wife was extremely sick, having been cursed by another witch doctor. This man had done everything he could...seen all sorts of doctors, spent all of his money. But nothing worked. Feeling great shame that he could not heal his own wife, he left his town to move to the town of Jacmel.

And now, he was asking Lubens to drive him to the hospital. But Lubens felt the Lord tell him "No." Not understanding, Lubens could only obey. An hour later, the man came back. "My wife is worse. You are the only people in the village with a vehicle, can you please help me?" Lubens desperately wanted to help the man, but the Lord, again, said a resounding "NO."

In Luben's words (via a newsletter):

Later that morning, the students were scheduled to go into the neighborhoods to pray and give out Bibles. One particular group of students entered a house where they found a woman who they thought was "merely sleeping." She looked very sick so they began to pray for her healing so that she would be able to know God.

Never noticing that she wasn't breathing.

As they prayed, she opened her eyes and the students began to share with her the love God has for her. And she chose, in that moment, to receive God has her Savior. While they were talking and praying for her, her husband had returned home and stood behind the door just watching...

The students left and returned to share with us what they thought had happened: That they had prayed for a sick woman and God healed her. They proceeded to explain that they had invited the couple to the church service that evening.

That night the husband came, wanting to share with the students what had really happened. ...and I (Lubens) was amazed to see that it was the same man that asked me for a ride that morning!! The ride that the Lord had clearly said for me not to give. The man began to share:

"When I saw the three of you teenagers praying for people across the street from my house, I didn't realize that you could do something like 'this'. When you reached my house, I called to tell you not to enter. But I guess you didn't hear me.

When you entered, there was a forth person who followed behind you. He was very tall and had wings. And light just flowed all over him. I couldn't get my mind straight and for a moment thought that he was one of the spirits that I used to worship. But then I just knew that there was something different about him.

As you were praying, he stood watching. And when one of you asked God to give my wife another chance, he looked at me. Then walking to my wife lying on the bed, he touched her and she opened her eyes.

When I saw that , I wasn't sure if I was happy or scared. I just feel dumb with shock as I watched you talk and pray with her. I just couldn't believe that she was alive again."

All of us listening were shocked ourselves, as we had thought she was only sick. And here he was saying that she had died HOURS before the students had come to his house. In fact, he had been out looking for people to help carry her to the morgue.

One of the students (a 15 year old) summed it up when he said "If I had had any idea that she was dead, I never would have entered the house. But God used us anyway!!"

Lubens goes on to say:
Many times it hurts when we need to turn someone away because God said to do so. But what we need to know is that our little wisdom is not the same as our Father's. He has the big picture. And it is only He who sees all things and knows best how to order our steps. Jesus knew that by doing God's will it would be the best for everyone.

In John 11:4 when Jesus heard about Lazarus's illness, his response was: "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory, that God's Son may be glorified through it."

Lazarus died and four days later, Jesus raised him from the dead. Verse 40 caught my attention when Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"

The degree that we believe God is the degree we will see His glory through our lives."

.......

The story goes on. But I just wanted to share that part because it impacted me greatly. You read stories like this in the Bible, but rarely get to hear them from a friend. And the fact that God used these young people...teens were just wanting to pray that someone receive an understanding of the love of God...blesses my heart to no end.

Lord, may we all have that innocent trust in You to show your love in dark places. We don't need to always understand the details...we just need to embrace the fact that You love. And you've called us to, simply, share that love.

...even to the witch doctors.

Little by little, understanding breaks forth

My computer has been on the fritz (as you can see by my blog heading that I'm still trying to rectify). Hubby just took the entire thing apart...unscrewed the whole thing. Piece by piece. And voila! Computer fixed.

For now :)

Today has been a rough one. That, I cannot deny. And just now, as I sat here watching Jet dismantle the computer, I began to wonder...what the heck is he doing?!!

*wink* Okay. So that's not all I wondered.

...This thought, too, crossed my mind:

Is today's emotional onslaught tied, at all, to the vision God allowed me to see last night?

(refer to previous post)

Could these raging ups and downs that I've been battling be at all tied to the fact that, in the Spirit, God released me of any and all baggage that I was carrying? (which by the way, I have to say Praise you, Jesus!) ...and in the process, ALSO stripped away any and all "masks" that I had on as well? leaving me truly feeling vunerable and weak?!!

Is that what I've been up against today!? The stripping of all the things that I've used, in the past, to hide behind? The resulting "nakedness," so to speak?

I really don't know...? As I honestly don't feel like I've been in hiding...covered in pretenses. (Though the Word does say that we don't even know our own hearts) But the whole thing is still very new in my heart; this half-formed revelation. But...it's coming.

Yet, the choice still remains. Do I dance before the Lord in JOY that I am weak...uncovered? Or do I hide, like Adam, in shame and attempt, once more, to cover up?

Lord, I do want to come before you uncovered...undone. So that your strength can be made Perfect....through my weakness. And though I'm yet to truly understand what all this means, I do know that I WANT to chose your strength over mine.

Funny to me that I've been saying for a long time that I felt like God was up to something. But somehow, in my ...was it pride?...thought it'd be a more glorious road. *laughing*

Anyway. There's MY heart on a platter, eh? Completely out there...for all to see. But just keeping it real, people. This journey that I'm on with the Father.

It may not always be glamorous, but it will always be worth it.

Stripped of all...and given a choice.

This is the closest thing to what I saw tonight. The rock faces were like these. Only steeper. Much, much steeper....

As I was worshipping tonight, I saw a vision.

I was rock climbing a 90-degree mountain side. Behind me, about 30 yards straight across, was another steep rock face. Between was a drop...so deep that there was no bottom. It just kept going.... into blackness.

And then from above me, my climbing partner reached down. To say his hand was large would be an understatement. I only saw the top of his head and his hand, as he turned back towards me. Holding a knife.

And then I saw it. A large black "bag" of sorts. Three times my size. On my back. Tied to me. I hadn't notice it, until he, in one swift movement, cut it from me.

At the exact moment that he sliced through the rope which bound me to the "bag", I saw that it was in the process of falling. It would have easily pulled me down with it.

But just at the moment that it was falling, his hand cut me loose.

And then I looked down. Apparently, as he cut the load from me, my outer garment came off as well. Leaving me, essentially, naked.

And then He spoke.

"Now you are left with a choice. Will you dance in freedom like David did (2 Samuel 6)? Or hide in shame like Adam?

For now, I have no words to add. I'm still processing...

The Nightly Chase of Love

These are my girls. The precious ones entrusted to me by God. to train. to guide. and most importantly, to love.

But how often do I focus on the training more than the loving? the leading and blazing the path ahead of them more often than just holding their hand to leisurely walk through the fallen leaves with them?

Have I forgotten to connect with them before I direct them? to establish a relationship before I establish rules?

Honestly, with my being at stay-at-home homeschooling mom, it can become so easy to focus on the discipline part of my parenting. Since it is their fighting, disobeying, and the like that is what demands attention. Rather loudly, at times.

You know the saying "it's the squeaky door that gets the oil"? It should go on to say "...and the dirty laundry, and the empty frig, and the sticky floor..." For I find it's the loud stuff that tends to get done.

But it is love that endures, right?! Yes, discipline and training have their very important place. But it's a balance, for they must be framed and covered in love. Rules obeyed because there is a foundation of love, not of fear. Because there is a relationship to enjoy, not retribution to avoid.

In the not-t00-distant past (read this to say "last week"), it's frustrated me that I, seemingly, was the "main disciplinarian" of the house. Something that occurred out of necessity because I am the one that is with them all day long. While Jet does discipline, he has but two precious hours with them before they go to bed at night. And he, of course, wants to use those hours wisely. So when Jet comes home, he plays.

Traditionally, the girls run and hide as soon as they hear Daddy's truck pull up. He walks in the door (after kissing me) and picks up Raegan and goes off in search of hidden treasures. Which happen to be half-hidden under the dining room table.

Then The Chase ensues.

Jet, with Raegan in tow, chases the older girls around the circular first floor of the house, screaming and laughing. The girls love it. They love playing and laughing and being silly...

And while this is happening, I get dinner ready. Finish cooking it. Setting the table. Dishing it up. I have things to do.

Or do I?

Would everything fall to pieces if I were to stop getting "things" done and jump in on the action too? Would we starve if dinner was set on the stove and served 30 minutes later? Would we fall apart if some clothes remained in the laundry basket for a couple more hours (or days)?

And if I were to do this...to procrastinate in the name of love and choose to put aside the stuff to do in exchange for being silly and playing...what would be the silent message spoken to my girls?

I know what it would be! That they are more important. That they are worth my time. That they are not just "the most important thing to me" in words, but in Deeds. In the way that they currently understand: time spent laughing and playing. precious, never-to-be-gotten back time spent building an authentic relationship with a 8 month old, 3 year old, and 5 year old.

Years from now, how will they remember they're time with me? that I taught them over and over and over again about sharing and picking up after themselves? Or that I was on the floor, first, helping to make the mess? reveling in the moment. laughing in the joy of play.

That I spent large amounts of time instructing them that what they just did was wrong and shouldn't happen again? Or that I spent time getting to know them? embracing their thoughts. their opinions. their inner personality. and sharing mine.

Lord, my mothering needs help. My focus needs to be shifted a bit. My heart has been like that of Martha in the Bible. Serving...getting things done that I think will bless...

But I want a heart like Mary's. One that desires just to sit on the floor, completely engrossed in getting to know these hidden treasures that you have entrusted to me. Treasures that aren't all that hidden underneath the dining room table.