Grandma kisses

This little girl has a soft spot for one person in particular.


My mom.

Raquel will grab her face with both hands, pull her to her own face and kiss her. She does this every time Grandma holds her.... and *only* with Grandma.

Kari Jobe's Healer

Every. single. time I see this, I can't help but to cry.





There's something about worship that stirs me. but to see a child wholeheartedly worship...well, that's a whole other well of deep emotions.

She's 10yrs. old. and had just received a long-awaited heart transplant. From what I've read, she sang this song every night before going to bed during that long wait...

Her can read more of her story here.

My scattered thoughts...

Sometimes it's hard for me to give a true, uninhibited expression of my heart, circumstances, and God-experiences in this blog, knowing all the different people who read these most intimate thoughts of mine.

But then I remind myself that this itty bitty iota of the internet is, ultimately, for my daughters. I want them to know my heart. I want them to see the work of God in our lives. I want them to have a life-scrapbook of sorts to look back on, as a testament of His Work in my heart. in our family.

Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren. Deuteronomy 4:9

So for them, and for no other reason, I write.

pictured because she's one of the sweet little faces that I write for. :)

...
Do you ever feel like God has called you out? set you apart to do great things? Yeah, I guess that should actually describe everyone who calls themselves Christians, huh? We ARE a people set apart. (1 Peter 2:9)

But sadly, there seems to be less and less of the "set apart" and more and more of the blurred line of "trendy living".

These days, it seems that everything is going more decisively towards mainstream... even the Church at large. As Hollywood deems it should be, so it becomes. making it very difficult to decipher between Mainstream Society and those who are called to be "in this world but not of it."

• Ordaining homosexual ministers.
• Hosting drinking parties, claiming "Well, Jesus drank."
• Conversations degrading people who devote their lives to loving orphans...yet condoning others who devote their lives to loving money.
• Embracing clothes styles that reveal too much.
• Using "downtime" to support Primetime TV shows that glorify murder, adultery, homesexuality, lust, and crass humor.

My heart literally grieves over where we're heading as a Nation...and a Church.

I want with everything in me to guard my heart so that my life doesn't become that which grieves Him. And I'm finding that I have to know who I am (which means knowing THE I Am) in order to remain become who I want to be.


Because we, as a Church, shamefully look and sound the same as everybody else. making it excessively easier to be exactly what I don't want to be.

So what now? Do I spend my time pointing fingers and making judgments. NO.

Though I do believe that Christians are called to keep other Christians accountable, I want to spend my (limited) energy on something other than setting my attentions on what I don't want to become.

Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. Colossians 3:2

I'm finding that the things (whatever they might be) that I focus on are the things that I begin to resemble/desire. Don't believe me? Then consider this: Has a crass cuss word ever shot through your thinking out of the blue? Well, it has for me...and the ONLY reason it would be readily available in my brain is because I hear it when watching (focusing my thoughts on) PG-13 movies. *sigh*

So these past few weeks have been spent realigning my sights onto HIM.
reevaluating my life. taking a hard look at
my priorities (not those I SAY I have, but those my time reveals I have).
my relationships.
my long-term goals...

And then seeing whether the way I spend my time matches up with the characteristics/life style I want to embody.

I'm determined to set a different standard, for my children's sake.

I don't want to live in a rut. I don't want to live status quo. I don't want to revolve my life around the computer or when a certain show comes on or when it's more convenient to be aggressively righteous.

Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth: I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. Matthew 10:34 (so yeah, the reason why I put "aggressively". Because this IS war.)

I want even MORE freedom than I'm experiencing now. I want to run with all I've got towards all that the Lord, out of his limitless generosity, says is mine.
-healing...for me and for others.
-intimate friendship with Him.
-power to obliterate Hell and disease.

I want to live in way that off-sets anything else my girls may will see.

And no, not simply for the sake of being seen by them. But as any parent knows, the consequences of our decisions no longer live within the limited realm of Self. They show up time and again in the lives of our children.

Even the silent way I live is becoming the foundation for how my girls view what's acceptable in Life, and as a Follower of Christ. SO when I live life on the sidelines or with a certain attitude, they're picking it up and adopting it as their own, you know? *God help me*

So attitudes that allow pessimism or defeat when facing a person asking for prayer for a miracle need to go.

OR the defeatist mentality that warrants that I CAN'T lose this baby weight because "I'm 33 and have had 7 pregnancies in 8 years and I just need to accept it..." has to be severed from my thinking.

OR "I've never done XYZ before so I'm sure I wouldn't be any good at it so why bother trying"...OR the mindset that just sort of waits for life to invite me to be a part instead of causing LIFE to happen around me. Yeah, gotta kick those to the proverbial curb.

Those mindsets MUST be put to death IF I am to become who I was created to be, if I am to lead my daughters in the direction that they should go. You know, despite where mainstream society (and sometimes even the Church-at-large) wants to take us.

I want to be bold and daring and athletic and FEARLESS. Yet...most days I'm not, you know? Most days I take on the attitude of "Tomorrow, I'll..."

BUT I want to become "THAT" woman TODAY. I want to put off the things that hinder (the movies, the status quo living, the excessive computer time, the mindset that says I can't) so that I can RUN.

Today, I'm determined to not let who I have been dictate who I will be. For my daughters' sake, yes. But more so...for my own.

These are the days...

These are days that, if I'm not careful, I find myself wishing them away. Anything to just get to the end of the evening when I can put them in bed, flop on the couch, and have "me time".

Picture taken March 2010: Alana (18 mo), Charis (7yrs), Raegan (newly 3 yrs), Selah (5.5yrs), Raquel (3mo)

These are days that I'm sure, later in life, I'll be wishing them back again. Anything to just turn back time and have the opportunity to snuggle with the little version of them just one. more. time.

The things that make up 95% of my daily schedule this month will be forgotten by this time next year mid summer. Because life is moving fast, and my girls are literally growing up over night.

And I'm just feeling the need to remind myself again and again and again that I cannot emotionally live in a constant state of "One Day..."

• One day, they'll all be potty trained.
• One day, we won't have to use baby gates
• One day, I won't have to work my schedule around naptimes.
• One day, our car won't be crammed with five carseats.
• One day...

Or I'll miss out on Today.

I want to soak in every little bit of their quirks and budding personalities and sense of humor and current challenges. All things that can easily go unnoticed and/or "unremembered" if I'm not intentional in taking note.

So that's what I'm going to do: Take Note. Document for my sake as well as their own, so that one day we can look back and remember...

Charis (7 years 7 months)

This sweet little thing is every parents dream. She's (one of) my compliant child. wanting to always do what she thinks will please you. never wanting to make a mistake...

She wants, with everything in her, to do things "right". And I struggle with this...the knowing how to balance correcting her with encouraging her. Because I know how hard she can be on herself. So she definitely doesn't need to feel like I'm always on the sidelines wanting to pounce on her every mistake.

(this is where my NewYear's resolution to not micromanage comes into play!)

I'm praying about how to encourage her to take chances and to break out of the mindset of perfectionism. because that is something that will cripple and suffocate the joy right of life if not dealt with in a healthy way, early on.

When she was little (18months +), while most little children were getting pleasure in knocking down a stack of blocks, she did not. She wanted to build it and got upset if it fell down. So in the spirit of kicking Perfectionism to the curb, I had to start knocking down the block towers myself...and then cheering like a crazed monkey.

It took a while for her to catch on, but eventually she did...laughing with me when our blocks would fall. If only the rest of the "perfectionism issues" were as easy as clapping over fallen blocks.

-She's already a "little mommy" and definitely a HUGE help to me!! During the first few weeks of Raquel's life, she was my right-hand woman, especially when Alana would cry in frustration because she didn't want me to hold Raquel instead of her.

During those moments when nature proves that I am, in deed, lacking in my multitasking capabilities, Charis was always willing to step it up and do whatever I asked of her. whether that was holding Raquel for a minute, getting a diaper, or helping Raegan go to the potty.

And even though that trait blesses me to no end, I'm determined to find ways to make her feel special APART from being the 'big sister', you know? I DO NOT want her confidence to be hinged on her ability to please others. I DO NOT want her to feel like my life would fall apart if she didn't step it up and hold it together. With everything in me, before God, I am determined to make sure that she does NOT grow up feeling like her role in life is to make everyone else's life easier.

Do all parenting issues feel like we're walking an itty bitty tightrope? a little too much of this or a bit too little of that and *bam* you hit concrete. God, give me wisdom.


-A few months ago, Raquel had some breathing issues. Ones that required us to take her to the ER to see an neonatologist. which meant that we had to cancel a Date Night that Charis and I had planned.

Charis was obviously annoyed that we were having to postpone her plans when I told her we were taking Raquel to the hospital. I looked at her, slightly annoyed myself, and said, "Charis! Raquel isn't breathing right. If she stops breathing, she could DIE."

Without skipping a beat and without changing the look on her face, she casually said, "Oh. Okay. Well, that's important too." :)


March 27th, she lost her first tooth, while brushing her teeth, after spending the night at Grandma and Granddaddy's house.

Being that she's the last of her friends to lose her first tooth, she was starting to wonder if she'd ever have any loose teeth. ;)

-She's into everything Kitchen:
writing recipes.
wanting to cook 'by herself'.
wearing aprons
playing money and restaurant games with her kitchen playset

She's even asking for a cooking set (as in the REAL thing) for her birthday.

Chances are if I'm in the kitchen cooking/baking, she's underfoot, asking begging to help. And while I let her help and make food whenever I can, I want to be even better about entrusting her with culinary things. despite the fact that it'll inevitably slow the process down.


-Just recently, she decided that she wanted to be a doctor. In addition to being a Professional Princess, of course.

When I asked her what kind of doctor...she asked what I meant. So I told her there were all different types: pediatrics, dentistry, ENTs, heart surgeons, brain specialists...

She wanted to look into "the brain one". Until I showed her a you*tube video of an actual brain surgery. With tears in her compassionate heart (because after all, it was some poor person's brain that they were working on), she said that she didn't know what type of doctor she wanted to be...

Just not the brain one. Ha!


-She's a very logical thinker, that one. And a very literal as well, as I'm constantly having to explain jokes to her...though, I do have to say, she's gotten a LOT quicker, more savvy in the whole joke department in the last month.

-She continues to be like a sponge when it comes to anything intellectual. In fact, she's constantly teaching me things that she learns during her nightly reading.

-She tends to be a little timid when trying new things. That said, I'm SOO proud of her as she recently joined a track club. Her first time racing getting 2nd place in the 60m AND 2nd place in the 100m sprints. WAHOOOO

though I have to say her athletic abilities are beginning to surprise me. I've just recently started JillianMicheal's 30 day Shred video. And while one level (20 minutes of INTENSE workout) is enough for me. She, my crazy 7 year old, does all three back to back.

Which means that she does sixty minutes of increasingly intense workouts. Um yeah, you're only supposed to do one level at a time. She does all three, breaks into a total sweat, but then does more. Aw, my little glutton for (exercise) punishment. :)

SELAH (5 years 8 months)

Selah (5) singing in the spring play

This little one continues to be a Snuggle Bug. a deep thinker. an intense feeler.

-She fiercely loves her sisters...to the point that I have to repeated tell her to not kiss her sisters if she's sick. She's that into snuggling and loving on her family. In fact, whenever she's with Raquel, she'll lock her jaw real hard, squeeze her hands into fists, deepen her voice, and say, "I just want to squeeze her!" ha!

-She's always wanting to make someone happy if they're crying. And while I really love this desire to bring joy to others, I, again, just want to make sure that she doesn't get into the train of thought that her life's purpose is to focus on making others happy. But God bless her, she's just so genuinely sweet, and hates to see others sad or lonely.

Like when I asked her who she wanted to call one day, she said, "Nana."

I thought it soo sweet that she was thinking about her and the fact that she was probably feeling lonely living alone. But that's just like her, sincerely sweet through and through.

When the time came for her to try out for the spring play/musical at church, she was all over it. At least where the singing was concerned. She had no fear, no hesitation, no thought that she couldn't do it and do it well. (though she didn't want to have a speaking part to begin with, but did reallly well with it in the end! Atta girl!)

We've recently been talking about approaching life with the confidence that you can do it. that all throughout life, we're going to have to try new things, and if we go into the situation thinking that we can't...most likely we'll do just that, fail. But if we approach a situation believing that with God we CAN do anything, then, chances are...we will.

Am I teaching my daughters that they'll never fail? No. But I am challenging them to believe in themselves instead of taking the view that if they've never tried something, then they won't be any good at it.

Whenever the opportunity for a deep talk happens, it's Selah that sits there and soaks it in. She gets this half-grin on her face, like she's getting to hear a secret meant only for important adults. But what blesses my heart is that she usually (immediately!) changes her attitude/actions/thinking. In fact, I'm ALWAYS amazed at how interested and influenced she is by our talks.

Of course, I shouldn't be surprised...her name does mean "pause and reflect on what the Lord has done." And she is definitely into thinking about life.

In fact, at least a few times every week, she's talking about what her life will be like when she has a family. how she wants to teach her children the things that I'm teaching them. how she's going to make a certain dinner for her kids. or keep a certain toy for them. She's definitely a forward-thinker and gets that life isn't all about the immediacy of today.


She has such a desire to know Jesus, especially his voice. Whenever I tell her something that the Lord has told me, she gets teary-eyed. Because she yet to hear his voice in a recognizable way. (doesn't that just melt your heart???)

Because of this girl and her questions and desire for the deeper things in life, I have multiple open doors to discuss things with my daughters that most wouldn't be talking about until the teens years. But I so love that about her!

I'm thinking her love language is touch because she's daily asking if she can snuggle with us. I'm constantly finding little love notes to me, asking if we can spend time together and snuggle. Even after she's been disciplined and is crying, she wants to sit on our lap and just hug. I love that about her, that she doesn't close off her spirit after being corrected.

Her heart is soooo tender....crying if she's disappointed Jet or me...or been misunderstood... or accidentally hurt one of her sisters.

Selah...always so photogenic, regardless of what else is going on. :) She is my sweet sweet SelahGirl. And I cannot imagine life without her.


RAEGAN (3 years)

A few months ago, Raegan turned 3. and God bless her heart, we were all sick. Yet, she didn't complain. Not Once! She just focused on the fact that she got to have cake (that she threw up) and a few balloons, which she shared with her older sisters.

Can you say TROOPER!?

I am continually amazed at this little girl. A girl (16months-ish) that used to attack her sisters out of frustration of being the littlest (ie. left out). But since the birth of Alana, she has matured into this big girl (I'm not allowed to call her "little") that won't even retaliate when little sisters pull her hair (out!) or grab away toys.

Already she has a tender heart towards the Lord, wanting to pray for people's healing...reminding everyone to pray before meals...asking honest, simple questions about the heart of God. Like yesterday.

As I was leaving her room after tucking her in for her nap, I stopped and walked back to spend a few more minutes with her. Completely overwhelmed, I just started telling her how much I love her. How I love her eyes. her nose. her tummy. her toes.

At some point, I told her how much God loved her. And she stopped, looked up at me, and said, "But why?" My first reaction was "Man, this little girl is sooo much like me." (Jet tells me he love me and in my deeper moments I ask this same question. Not because I don't believe him, but just because I want to know what he's thinking when he says that.)

So we talked about the reasons why God loves her. Each time, I'd try and answer on an increasingly deeper level, but each time she'd ask again "But WHY does he love me?" Finally, I got to the place where I told her that even when she makes mistakes and does bad things, he STILL loves her.

She laughed and asked, "He does??!!" It was such a precious moment to be there when she first grasped that concept, at such a young age (just barely 3).

Yet. Despite her intense sweetness and irresistible charm, she knows when and where to draw boundaries....

Where: Public library. Children's floor, in front of the snoopy house that all the elementary-aged kids want to be in.

The Antagonist: A rather large (in both height and...*cough cough* stature) little girl playing the part of territorial bully, obviously having issues with the fact that Charis and Selah were inside Snoopy House. and she was not.

The Situation: Charis and Selah were just smiling at Massive Bully, essentially ignoring her. (or were they just not cluing in to the fact that they were being picked on?) while Mommy practiced extreme levels of self-control by not going over and giving that bully a little lesson in Momma Don't Play That.

The Heroine: In walks 2 year old from stage right. Without hesitation or the slightest bit of intimidation, she makes a bee-line to Bully Girl. Points her finger in her face (which essentially meant that Raegan's arm was at a 45 degree angle), and said, "You stop dat!"

And then she calmly walked away, leaving Bully completely speechless. Raegan wasn't being malicious. She had no interest in fighting. She just wanted to be clear, "You are messing with my girls and that just isn't permitted on my watch."

I have to tell you, whatever self control I had been practicing up to that point...you know, to not put that little tyrant in her place... was nothing to the self control I had to muster in order to remain seated and calm. because I so wanted to give Raegan a standing ovation,with a loud, "You go girl!!" ;)

She's the perfect mix of sweet and sassy. I have a feeling "leader" in somewhere in her future calling. In fact, I'm thinking Charis and Selah will learn how to be more assertive by watching their little sister. :)

-She cracks me up with the way she talks sooo grown up. to the extent that I SO wish I could capture it all. But there's just no way to bottle up the essence of "Raegan" into words. She's hysterical and innocently assertive well beyond her years.

-For some weird reason, she's into asking "What time is it?" And then regardless of what time you tell her, she says, "That means it's nine o'clock!" Uh...? No. but she won't be swayed that every hour of the day does not equal her golden 9:00 hour.


Alana (20 months)

This little girl is the life of the party.


Regardless of whether she has a known audience or not, she's hamming it up...making hilarious faces in the corner just to amuse herself. If she then catches you watching her, she bursts into laughter.

She loves to sing. It doesn't matter if it's her ABCs, Old McDonald, or the song her daddy wrote for her (all the girls have a "daddy song" that is sung to them every night before they go to bed)...she just loves to sing.

I rarely know where my cell phone is, due to her uncanny ability to retrieve it from all manner of heights...and then hide it. Though I don't think she's intending to hide it, she's just highly distractable. So when she sees something more entertaining, cell phone gets dropped on sight.

Praise be the God that her cell phone escapades haven't included the toilet bowl. Yet. She did go through a phase where she discovered the toilet...and the water that lurks within. I'll just leave it at that, being that the thought makes me involuntarily heave.

She LOVES talking on phone (and has for a LONG time) and will routinely hand it to me, saying "Ma-ma" (Grandma). She's always had this special love for my mom, asking for her on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis. My mom, of course, loves this. :)

Thankfully, at 20 months, she still naps two times a day. *Sweet bliss*


I just want to squeeze that face. Gently, of course.


Everything ends up in her mouth. pencil erasers. rocks. markers. bubbles.

I told Jet today that it's a wonder she has never choked. I've gotten to the point where I'm just having to trust that God has got her protected because, seriously, I think the girl likes to try her (my) limits.


She LOVES her sisters...especially Raegan and "Baby 'Quel".


But because Raquel has a thing for grabbing hair...


Lani's interactions with Raquel can go from this...

to this in 2.2 seconds.


She loves Raquel sooo much that she leaned in to kiss her face. *insert heartbroken sobs over having her offer of love being met in a firm yank of hair*



I'm so completely blessed to have daughters that truly love each other, when I know that siblings can fight nonstop. So yeah, I don't take that for granted on any level. Even some of our neighbors tell us how they love watching them play together. ;)

-Alana calls cheese "izza!" Can you tell what we ate a lot of right after Raquel was born? You know, being that she connects cheese to pizza. ha!


-She's very into doing things herself. completely refusing to eat food unless she is the one using the fork or spoon.

-I have never, as in EVER, seen a child more in-love with shoes than this girl! Once Jet was trying to get her to come back into her room. Laughing, she hightailed it in the opposite direction. "Lani, come get yours shoes on." She LITERALLY stopped in her tracks, turned 180degrees, and ran back to him.

Who knew the promise of putting on shoes could bring about such immediate obedience? Nice. :)

If she knows we're leaving the house she runs around saying "I want shoes on! Shoes on!!"

-Her newest thing is to pucker up and come at you, ready to plant some kisses. I'll have to get a picture of that soon. But unfortunately my camera has been lost since Memorial Day. (this is where I fight back tears of frustration)



RAQUEL. (5months)

(picture taken a while back...maybe around 3.5 months?)

more up to date...5 months

-This sweet little lady has been sick for over 6 weeks now (coughing, throwing up mucous, struggling to breath), finally getting diagnosed with pneumonia a while back. All I can say is that she is a trooper!

Thank God she's so laid back because were she prone to scream, she may have had to be hospitalized (screaming=more mucous=less breathing).

If this were a video insert, you'd be hearing her "singing", which in my opinion, somewhat resembles Scuttles squawking on "The Little Mermaid". Love it.

I don't think I realized just how much it was effecting her strength *duh, Mommy!* until after she started to feel better (at 5months). Because almost immediately she started rolling from tummy-to-back and then back-to-tummy.


and then just recently, she's moved on to sitting up.

(Charis has been trying to help her sit up for a little bit now)

She's definitely a sweet, sweet personality. laying in the bed, talking to herself, rolling around...until she falls asleep (at least most days). I'm SO looking forward to watching her personality develop as she grows.


One last thing (that I can think of at the moment)...

She crosses her feet when she sleeps. like her daddy. ;)

I love each stage that my girls go through!! I told Jet last night that I felt like each one of them was in my favorite stage.

• The smushy, chubby stage of babyfat, and cuddles while they nurse.
• The stage where they're starting to grow up and want more independence yet are ever-ready to crawl into your lap and plant messy kisses on your face.
• The stage where you are just able to start having 'big" conversations with them, watching their eyes open in wonder to all around them.
• The stage where they're beginning to learn about themselves and their capabilities.
  
• The stage where they're branching out, apart from you. becoming more and more like the young adult version of themselves.
  

I love them all! And I consider myself WHOLLY BLESSED to have the chance to watch five beautifully sweet girls grow into young women.

20K in 10 days

I wish I had more time to write about this, but I don't. My children have been battling pneumonia for what seems like an endless stream of weeks (Okay, so it HAS been...but who's counting) and I'm too tired to really form coherent thoughts. (And yes, they're finally better now. Thanks for asking. *wink*)

BUT I do want to point you in the direction of my bloggie friend, Courtney.

*Cue Rocky theme song*

Introducing Mom of 10... Passionate about fulfilling the call to both "store up treasures in heaven" and God's repeated command to "defend the fatherless".

Okay, so maybe it's more like the BarneyTheme song, right Court? (I know how you hate being put on a pedestal). ;)

Her heart for adoption, though, extends beyond the reaches of her own home as she's been raising money to help OTHER families bring home children they're trying to adopt.

And honestly, I think it's AMAZING!!

The price (a ransom as her husband calls it) to adopt children is ASTRONOMICAL. Really, who has an extra $30,000 laying around? Yet. there are people who's hearts are so impassioned to love the millions of children up for adoption (one by one by one) that the personal expense to their wallets seems secondary.

So what can weWE do? DONATE. $5. $10. $100. Whatever. But know that as you do...as you give of yourself...you are enabling a family to LOVE a child that hasn't known what "FAMILY" actually means.

Our giving to this goes directly to bringing a child home. Read her blog. Hear her heart. and if you so feel inclined, give.

(apparently there are prizes, as people from etsy have gotten involved!! but being that I'm not read up on Blogdom, you'll have to read that for yourself. *grin*)

Bottle bombs

The following is NOT my writing. It's concerning an email I got this morning concerning bottle bombs. Check it out on Snopes.


But because I couldn't copy the snopes article, here's an article:

"At least two "works" bombs were left in the yards of York Township residents overnight, creating a dangerous situation since the pop bottle bombs quickly detonate, police said.

Washtenaw County Sheriff's Deputy Keith Mansell sent a warning to township residents this morning, urging them not to pick up any bottles that have liquid in them or appear swollen.

Mansell said he was dispatched to a home on Bemis Road near the Saline city limits this morning for an unexploded pop bottle bomb. When he arrived, he discovered a 20-ounce bottle in the yard, moved it from the front yard, and it detonated 30 seconds later, he said in the e-mail.

Mansell then checked other yards and located a second one a few doors down from the first one, he said. He moved that one, and it also detonated, the e-mail said.

The homeowner told Mansell she noticed the bottle and planned to move it when she got her morning paper. "There was a high probability that this would have detonated in her hand/face while she carried it to the trash," Mansell said in the e-mail.

A "works" bomb is described as Drano and foil mixed inside a bottle. The chemical reaction makes a volatile build-up of gases and subsequently detonates the bottle with a great amount of force, with the chemical substance in the bottle becoming boiling liquid at that point, the e-mail said.

The explosion can be severe enough to cause second- or third-degree burns or blindness, Mansell said in the e-mail.

Mansell urged residents to watch for bottles in their yards and offered the following advice:

• If you find a soda bottle or any other bottles, examine it carefully before you touch it or get near it. If it shows signs of swelling or melting in any way, do not touch it. Call 911.
• If you find a soda bottle that has any liquid in it, don't touch it and call 911.

Both bombs this morning appeared to be slightly swollen, with a dark colored liquid inside of it, the e-mail said. The liquid could have easily been mistaken for leftover soda, according to the e-mail.

If someone is caught making such a device, it is a felony of possession of a substance with explosive capabilities punishable by up to 15 years in prison if no damage is caused and 20 years if damage is caused. The penalties are more severe if injuries occur, including a mandatory life sentence if someone is killed, police said."












And I wanted to pass along the information. I think it's incredibly sad when you live in a time where you can't even clean out trash from your front lawn without fear that it may blow up in your face.