Hello from Berlin!

Yes, I got here.
Of course I am having a blast.
And yes, I managed to talk everyone's ear off in the entire airplane within arm's reach.

Even though I made many notable friendships in my air travels, one fella was particularly helpful in that he managed to recount Germany's history from the dawn of creation until the present in the length of a flight from London to Berlin. And when he mentioned Martin Luther, I brightened right up, "the father of the reformation!" and started licking my chops for a good discussion on the reformation.

Alas, it was not to be. The most important thing Luther did, according to my new historian friend, was unify the German language. And so my notable historian friend manged to give me a list of all of the great things to see in Berlin. The first thing he mentioned was the Museum Island, the "New" Neues Museum where the original bust of Nefertitti and a hundred or more original Egyptian artifacts are being displayed. Fascinating! Will and I were able to see it today.

I have seen pictures of the sarcofigi and mummied caskets, often gilded, ornamented, and beautiful. But I never dreamed that I'd encounter them so soon. The heiroglyphs are absolutely amazing. They carved these distinct details of their language into hard stone that still lives on today to tell their story.

I have a particular interest in Egyptian history and have done some reading on it. Berlin is a city of culture and education. I am quite impressed--as I knew I would be. I was under the impression that most of the Egyptian artifacts were in London, but now I am convinced that they have found a new home amongst a city and people where history is preserved and valued.

Whenever I travel, I do my best to secure enough of the history, culture, people, and their values to know more about their country/ area have a distinct impression in my mind when I leave. Even though I have only begun my sightseeing adventure, I believe it will be an unprecedented trip as far as history and knowledge are concerned.

Do I consider it to be a coincidence that my first impressions of Berlin were from an educated "tour guide" that happened to be sitting next to me on my flight?

And Will and I managed to meet up in Berlin--he on one flight and airline, and me on another. And now we are enjoying the comforts of our hotel. He starts his business tomorrow, and I continue being a tourist. I will continue to form my opinions and impressions of this great area and send them your way. quite nicely for this trip.

And for those of you who care, my hair has been behaving

I knew you'd be worried.

Last minute details..

Here I am back at my computer after an un-planned hiatus. After three solid years of abuse, my powercord for Macbook croaked. Since I'm not really good at the PC or the basement computer, I just decided to go without blogging, facebook and email for 48? hours. Feels like a long time.

I need to blitz and get ready for this trip to Germany. I NEED to get the house picked up. I need to take a shower and deal with my stink. BUT, I'm so happy to be back, that I HAD to tell you this story before I forget it.

So, here's the scene. You know me, I have to paint the picture just right...

A bunch of families from our Gavel Club planned an outing for the kids at Rock Cut State Park yesterday. It was a beautiful day and a fabulous time. The kids canoed for a while, and some of the dads showed up for the cookout. We feasted on burgers, brats and all the yummy side dishes. By the time we were all done feasting, fellowshipping, and frisbee-ing, it was getting dark. As we were loading up the car with various things, I noticed the big 5 gallon water pitcher in our car. In order to get the water out of the pitcher, it needs to be set on a flat surface, and then the bottom spout will pour out the water as you push the button.

The only flat surface that I could find at the moment was the back of the car. The only place beneath the pitcher was lower to the ground. I literally had to squat down to get this maneuver to happen.

So picture it this way. Here I was squatting behind the car balancing the pitcher in one hand and my water cup in the other. And because there wasn't a lot of water left in the pitcher, the water was just trickling into the cup. I felt like it was taking a long time, but I was thirsty, and this was worth it.

About this time, Mr. Anderson, one of the dads, is loading up the back of his van, which was parked next to ours. Since I was so long at this procedure, I just looked over at him and said "hi".

Well, the squatting woman behind her van, in the dark with the tinkling sound happening is probably what caused his perplexed look and the

"What ARE you doing?!" comment he made next.

Which caused me to burst into laughter and the thought of what he thought I MUST be doing.

It's like his look said, "Lady!! The bathroom is 20 feet that way. Do we need to do this HERE???"

And as you can imagine, all I could do is howl. The coyotes could not have out-howled me. Eventually, I managed to get up and show him my water cup, but Oh!

Oh!

Sometimes it is good for people to have a "rest period" between visits with the Hedgehog. I'm just sayin.

Next post from Germany, OK?

Yes, it is Germany!!

I looked up "Berlin images" on google to find the pics. Even though, I would rather be in Hamburg or Staussburg or some place famous on the west of Germany, I think we'll have sufficient fun in Berlin.

There is a business convention for Airbus, and that is what we are doing. I am just tagging along, as usual..

But today is.. can you guess?

Our 19th anniversary. Since the trip was so close to the actual day, I think that is why I got invited! Either way, I'm always up for a new adventure.

So, we're doing laundry, packing, cleaning up etc. and getting ready to leave in the next couple days. Oh, and we're trying to get the garden in, finish the bathroom construction, go on a field trip to canoeing with the Gavel Club kids, AND secure the last of the graduation party details before we leave.

See? Life is easy. Maybe I should start a craft or something with my spare time?

Things you HAVE to know..

Do you like my catchy intro? It's like I'm going to announce something fabulous or something, isn't it? And when you are a blitzing, happy hedgehog, it's really hard to distinguish from the magnanimous and the mundane... from the tumultuous and the te-tete.

So, I'll just leap in here.

1. A little gal in our Gavel Club gave a speech and announced that HEDGEHOGS were her favorite animal because they are so...........cute. Emma, you are one bright child. It has taken me forty years to fully comprehend the beauty of hedgehogs. Shall we start a support club? How about a charity? A non-profit 501 C-3 organization that benefits all hedgehogs and those who look like them? I could let you promote your cause on this blog, in fact.

2. My oven is fixed. It's looks like I'll have to cook again. I mean, praise the Lord! What sort of cool things can I cook? Yee Haw.

3. I've decided not to go to North Dakota this year. Thanks to my many on-line therapy sessions and virtual support groups, I think I am healed. Jamie still wants to go to Discipleship Camp in North Dakota, and he'll be traveling with friends. (Yes, you can pray for safety..) So, maybe next year, when Joanna is old enough for camp, Will and I will both go and try to help out. IF they need us, or want us.. which may not happen. Hey, I was willing! Nuff said.

4. It's great to think that so many people feel the way I do about those awards. A special recognition to Boojes, who isa regular reader, non-commenter of the blog. (Sorry, Kid! If you want me to remember that you read this, you have to drop a line once in a while, OK?)

And did I forget Jenny P? (yes, I love you, Kiddo) See? This is the dilemma! No more awards. It's like the crazy graduation party we're planning. I want to invite the world.

Let's just say this. If you are like--my best and most faithful reader, and you really want to come to the party, could you just come out and tell me? I'll send you an invite. I've got a lot on my mind, and I can't afford enemies or hurt friends. Don't be shy. The more the merrier. I have a facebook invite that is really easy to send.

5. Speaking of Facebook, I've decided to stay on. I went through and "unlike"d everything that I like, and deleted all the links and junk. I am not using FB to align myself politically or otherwise. So, I am staying connected. And I don't normally want the general public to be my facebook friend. I pretty much know the people who I'm friends with.

That sounds kind of odd. "I pretty much know the people I'm friends with"

In a different decade, this would have seemed like you had an alter-ego or multiple personalities. Now, I would guess, that MOST of you did not even bat an eyelash at that statement, given the context. Just goes to show how ODD we've become as a society.

6. Now for some real news. I know that I've told you that I NEVER travel, except to Belvidere or Woodmans. But occasionally I do go somewhere special. One thing I never do is travel someplace special twice in the same year. For some odd reason, we are traveling again. Yes, it is another business trip that I'm going on with my husband. Can you guess? (I'll just put up photos, and let you guess in the comments). I leave Saturday. It's like Tuesday, and we'

re leaving Saturday. GAH!!! Anyway, here are the photos:

I apologize.. these photos are not going to lend itself to knowing where we're going, except if you've been there. It's in Europe in a once-divided country.

Making Greek Yogurt

Will takes my homemade yogurt to work and shares it with his friends. Some of them have been pestering him for the recipe. My idea originally comes from a spin off of the crock pot yogurt recipe, Emily @under $1,000 a month and a little ingenuity.

So, how to start.. how to start.

You need a big crock pot. How big? About this big. Something that holds 1 gallon of milk comfortably. This is the insert of mine.

Now, you need 1 gallon of WHOLE organic milk. Note: the picture below is 2 quarts, so you would need two of them. With the crock pot on LOW, cook the milk for 3 hours. I just set the timer for 3 hours. Then, you turn the milk off for 3 hours.

So, let's review: on for 3 hours, off for 3 hours. Are we getting this? This is hard stuff.

Now that the crock pot has been turned off for 3 hours, it should be cool enough to add your yogurt. Pick ORGANIC, PLAIN, WHOLE FAT GREEK Yogurt. Don't be surprised that it is expensive!! $1.49 for this teeny tiny little thing here. Anyway, you should only need one of these. From that point on, you just use a little of your yogurt to make the next batch.

Put the entire container of yogurt (about 1 cup or so) into the milk. Stir it around and cover the crock pot in a towel for about 8 hours. It should thicken up nicely. If it doesn't, turn on the crockpot for a few minutes to heat it up and let it sit there some more. Make sure to turn off the heat within 10 minutes or so, so you don't kill the culture.

At this point, grab a little of the mixture and set it aside in the fridge to make your next batch.

Now, to get that really THICK consistency that most people like, you can strain the yogurt like this.

I took an old T-shirt and cut it. Attach the T-shirt to a container with some rubber bands and pour the yogurt in. The stuff that remains in the T-shirt is the thickened yogurt. The stuff that comes through is called "whey".

Whey is, to some people, an all-purpose elixir. I haven't not found it to be useful yet. It's kind of gloopy and weird. Then again, I'm just a baby in these things. I just pour it down the drain.. sorry, guys!!

Getting the yogurt out of the T-shirt is kind of fun. You pour off the excess and squeeze it into a bowl, flipping the T-shirt upside down. If you like that kind of thing, it's cool getting the stuff out.

And I feel like such a prairie woman. (in my air conditioned home)

You can add vanilla and sugar to sweeten it up. Yuuuuummmmy!

Why use the Greek yogurt? The idea of using the Greek yogurt is the only part of this recipe that I can claim as my own idea, although I have noticed others are doing the same thing. I have looked at the back of the yogurt container, and it appears (to me, at least) that there are 5 active cultures in the Greek yogurt. The overall consistency is very good, even before straining, and the end product is fabulous!!!

Randomly awesome

Laurie from:

Scene of the Grime

gave me this:

Angi from Tim and Angi's blog Now the first blog award suggests that I nominate 7 bloggers and the next award is for 12.. that pretty much covers my whole reader-ship. So, if you consider yourself a reader, take my awards and run with them. If you have forgotten to read recently, let me remind you of who (I think) you are.. LOL

Herding Grasshoppers

Braley Mama

Kathryn

DB family

Momma Mindy

Ruby

Nan

DarcyLee

Becky

(this is getting hard)

Oh yeah, Mrs. Parunak (she doesn't do awards, but whatever)

Lesa

Emily (who isn't writing, that turkey)

Scottish twins

Kristilea

And if I forgot anyone, send a nasty gram and a pile of spam, offers for Viagra and I'll get the message.

Oh, someone is already doing that. nevermind. except the nasty gram. O.K. disown me on facebook already.

So, Jamie invited 57 of his facebook friends to his grad party, in addition to all of the hand written invitations that haven't been sent out yet. Tomorrow. Tomorrow is the day that all of them will be sent out or I'll... I'll.... give up cooking.....in my oven. That's right. I'm done cooking in the oven until the heating element gets replaced.

So, have you ever made English muffins? O.K. well, I have, and they are awesome. AND you don't need an oven. You just cook those puppies on the stovetop. Just like a prairie woman, cooking over a a cast iron pan, sprinkled with corn meal.. right over a stovetop.. in a nicely air conditioned home.

Have you ever made chipotle chicken? Here again, awesomeness. Take one whole chicken stick it in the crock pot. Add some of those canned chipotle peppers covered in adobe sauce. Cook it up for 3-4 hours on high. Here again, no oven needed. What did the prairie women do for a crock pot? Not sure.

If there's anything about me that you have to know, I'll tell you.. like for example how often I clip my toenails or what brand of washing detergent I like, but I really don't feel like listing 7 random things about me. It's bad enough that you have to endure this much information..LOL.

So, for someone who has just been awarded the versatile blog award, I think we've sufficiently covered everything more or less in this post.

Boring, blitzing dish-mama..

As you can imagine, my home needs a little spiffying up after half of the week in Cedar Point.

While my dear, sweetheart played "Mr. Mom" all week, he rallied the troops into a work crew to finish the paneling of the bathroom basement. It was all done when I got home!! Now, the crew is putting in a floor, fixing ceiling tiles, designing a custom vanity and replacing the toilet seat. Hopefully I'll have pictures soon. It really looks great, and we will need the use of that bathroom for our graduation party guests!! (less than 3 weeks away)

So, while they were getting major construction done, I decided to clean up the dishes. Usually, I can clean up the kitchen in less than a one hour blitz, but today I wasn't even done at 90 minutes!

Uffda... but it does look a lot better, so I can't complain. As I was cleaning, I realized that we're out of food.. how does that happen so quickly? So, I made a list and was going to go out shopping. I was talking to my Mom on the phone and Emily came to me, looking very scared. When I hung up, I realized that the oven blew a circuit?? and scored the heating element completely apart. Somehow it was like a real fire?? in the oven. whatever.

So, now I have no oven.

Somehow these things don't really phase me. I think, "Oh good. I'll just buy bread.." rather than get all snarled up over the issue. Besides, it's grilling season.

Eventually, my husband's craving for cookies will force him to take care of the issue, so I have no doubt this will resolve itself in short order. :)

Besides, when they pulled the oven out, I noticed a year's worth of goo and gunk and syrupy yuckies had collected on the sides of it. It will take me longer to clean up the grunge than it will to replace the heating element.

So, rather than stress out over that, I focused my attention to my non-garden. I call it a non-garden because the plants are not in it yet!! We started tilling yesterday, and we are continuing to do it today. Then I realized that a little peat moss may be just the thing this clay soil needs. So, between the need for peat moss and the $1.00 flip flop sale at Old Navy, I found an ample excuse to get out of the house and away from construction, fire in the oven and tilling. And who is to say one way or the other if a Starbucks happens to find itself near my driver's window?

So, you see, life is good. While I was at Menards, I called home to see if the crew needed anything (like a new oven, for example) , and the only thing they could come up with was a $5.00 chalk line. I asked them if they wanted it immediately. They said they did. So, I hurried the peat moss and chalk line home and let the boys get the groceries.

Oh, yeah.

Now my only problem is that it is almost 7:00, and we have no food in the house, and the boys are out buying groceries that we'll need for dinner. And my choices are to blog or put laundry away. So, you can see, the choice is obvious because..like... here we are..

The Lord's goodness

If you are reading from yesterday, you'll know that my son, Jamie and two other boys were in a bad car accident on their way to Cedar Point with their senior class trip.

When I got the call, a very unusual peace came over me. I knew intellectually that this is the sort of thing that causes waves of various emotions. All I could feel is the peace of God. I felt so close to God the entire time.

Many people have a deep understanding of the Sovereignty of God in relation to their salvation, but very few people have a peace about the Sovereignty of God in relation to the events in which there is no control. And if they happen to acknowledge God's power over these events, they also make him out to be a monster--a God who is totally non-plussed about what is good or bad.

Have you seen this? Have you experienced this? I know I have in the past. When something happens that I totally can not get my head around, my default emotion is to assume that God's wrath has somehow come down to "get" me. What KIND OF God do we serve anyway?

If we can not see the LOVE of God in every decision he makes, we are the most miserable creatures on earth--serving under the servitude of the biggest, most powerful monster imaginable. No wonder our children leave the faith for something "better" ????

I think I would also. And so this begs the question, so what IF the boys had died? What would our view of God be now? I can tell you this: I would be saddened beyond belief. The entire focus of this blog would be about this tragedy and me getting over it. I am not strong, and everyone knows it. I am one of the most emotionally fragile people I know, despite what everyone sees.

But here is something.

God had given me the peace which surpasses understanding. There is no peace as great as God can give. And he confirmed it to me in this way.

The very next morning on the Today Show, I saw our friends, Don and Susie Van Ryn being interviewed by Matt Lauer. (This video is a must see)

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

So, the morning after OUR accident there they were again on T.V. telling people about this tragic and yet beautiful time of God's love.. If I could summarize what Matt Lauer said to them,

"The thing that amazes me about you, Don and Susie, is your faith--your deep relationship with God.."

Don and Susie had the opportunity to say that the object of their faith is "Jesus Christ" in front of millions of viewers.

It's almost to say that Matt Lauer was saying, without really saying it is this: I've heard a lot of stories from religious fanatics and people talking about answered prayer, but I have never seen forgiveness like this. I have never seen peace and trust in the goodness of God... like this. I will never forget you.

And so, seeing this interview so close after the car accident with our boys, reconfirmed to me that even in the midst of tragedy, God's goodness is alive. God has used it, and will continue to use their story to touch many people with the message of the Gospel.

And here we are--WITH our children. We are doing boring things--putting in a garden, finishing up the bathroom construction, sipping coffee in my pj's and blogging, and doing laundry. In general, we are enjoying the goodness of God in a way that I can only describe as blissful. And yet, my heart goes out to Don and Susie. Does TIME ever take away their loss?

Incidentally, the Bible Camp where they are devoting their time to right now, is the same camp that I made my first profession of faith at: The Upper Peninsula Bible Camp in Little Lake, MI. Will and I had dinner in their home about 20 years ago, when we were dating. I am thrilled--thrilled beyond belief at how they are serving the Good God that they know even more intimately than they ever did.

Sobriety amidst Mardi Gras..

The decor of the inner section of the hotel revealed an inspired plan to imitate the Louisiana-French architecture and style of the 1903 Riverboat excursion. Think Mark Twain on the Mississippi. Ornate French-style urns cradled tropical luxury flowers in the commons called the "Rotunda" of our Hotel Breakers, off the shore of Lake Erie. If it hadn't been a breezy, crisp evening, no doubt we would have been basking on the shoreline, watching the sunset engulf the landscape.

As it was, I was still slightly sensitive to the stimuli, after having experienced the phone call no mom ever wants to hear.

"The car rolled off the highway and was totalled.."

"And?"

"And the boys are O.K. "

And the boys are O.K..... Yes, there were two cars traveling together to Cedar Point on their senior trip. All the kids were exhausted from the graduation ceremony, the late night activities leading up the event. And then the unthinkable happened, not one, not two, but all three kids fell asleep--even the one at the wheel.

As their little car when back and across the freeway, the Lord sent his angels to gently guide the car to the side of the road, with a jerky roll. The kids got out of the car as fast as they could and were sitting on the hill--all three of them--alive!

So, our Jamie, was one of the kids in the car--a passenger in the back seat. The other boy was Caleb. The driver was Joel, probably the sweetest, most wholesome man to ever come out of a Nebraska corn stalk. (His mother is from Nebraska, I think..)

Jamie said it felt like he was getting rolled out of bed in the morning. He was basically non-plussed. Caleb was calm. Joel, being the sensitive, caring, responsible guy that he is, was an emotional wreck.

I just barely hung up with Joel's mother when Caleb's mother walked into our house. She was crying and shaking. Will walked in also.

And for some unexplained reason, I felt the peace of God, unlike I've ever experienced. I was at ease with everything. It's not like I can't hold my own in the drama-queen, worrying department. But this time it was different.

Since Regina was beside herself and wanted to see her son, I started asking the Lord if there's anything I should be doing. The Lord opened a way for me to drive Regina, her sister and brother in law to the scene of the accident in Indiana.

Now Regina and I are friends, and our kids know each other and we even live near each other, but her kids are into totally different things than ours. Her kids play drums, bass guitar and the like. Their "gigs" are rowdy "gigs" if you will. You know our "gigs" get really crazy on Bach.. Her kids are major athletes--especially basketball. Basketball is huge at our homeschool co-op, and I'm so thankful the kids have the opportunity to play. For some odd reason, our kids have never even requested to attend the games? (How dorky can we get?)

But I've always liked her. She has a lot of cats, and if I ever have a stray cat hanging out at the house, I can count on her to come and get it and add it to her collection. One day one of her kitties carried all her babies over to my front stoop and was basking in the sun with them.

I was perplexed about this until I remembered that I once put the grilled salmon carcass out for a kitty. Apparently the post-pardum kitty had a "craving" for salmon. I happened to call Regina, on a whim, to see if there were her kitties. Sure enough they were..

Anyway, we had enough of a history between us to get her to laugh on the way down. I really felt like my mission field for the next couple of days was to use this very traumatic thing in the lives of the people who were closest to it and impart peace-the type of peace that ONLY God can give. And for some reason he gave it to me to share.

Peace of the Sovereignty of GOD. God is good.

So, I'd like to share more of these thoughts of God's Sovereignty and his goodness tomorrow.

But the bottom line is this: everyone is safe and home now. The kids were able to continue on the trip and enjoy Cedar Point the next day. The moms were able to enjoy themselves a little too. And God was in it all.

Our first homeschool graduate!!

On Saturday, May 15, 2010, our oldest child, Jamie, graduated with the other homeschoolers from our Hallstrom co-op. It was a wonderful experience, and we are so proud of you, Jamie!
The dads gave their children the diplomas.

Here's his "class". A lot of these kids we've known for a long time. Some of them were new faces for us.

Jamie is in the middle back row.

Yeah!!!

One down--four to go!

Proud of you, J-star!

A new rant: part 2 teen dating

It is without question that our own personal experience color our current opinions. As much as we would like to claim a balanced, unbiased view, I think it is a kindness to everyone involved if we just gave up faking it and just came right out and said how we feel and what we've experienced, right?

Well, without going into the gory details, I was probably a tad "boy crazy" during my teen years. I had various boyfriends in high school, with various degrees of heartbreaks. I had a standard of purity, but it wasn't based on a solid Christian belief--more of a practical one. I was saving myself for the man I would marry. Sex before marriage sounded way too complicated and scary. My Mom talked openly about the topic also, as much as she could. I had a profession of Christian faith in my teen years that was probably more of an emotional response to compelling evangelical messages than a repentance of sin. This weak profession along with my prudish sense of what was practical kept me from a degree of problems, but it did not keep my heart and mind protected and pure.

Essentially, I gave away much of what should be kept in secret, emotionally and physically. I have no one to blame for this except myself. I am thankful for the God-sent ability to thwart the advances of bad boys and literally "slap" those who tried to pinch my hind quarters on occasion. Nevertheless, there has got to be a better way to rear children in a Christian home rather than just reliving your own childhood.

I think many people who have not repented of the sins of their youth are somehow trying to justify their actions by not restraining their children and their lusts. Sometimes it is merely a lack of knowledge, and other times, it is a lack of true conviction and repentance.

Either way, I would like something better for my children.

And when I say "better"; I am not referring to more rules. What I am referring to is discernment, self control, and reliance on God.

I am not referring to arranged marriages or somehow dating the entire family. These are extreme reactions to our out of control culture.

But I really, truly do not know what the answer is for each family. It should be a real, heartfelt, leading from the Holy Spirit. So, to sit down and make rules.. to somehow make it such a legal thing... can this possibly be the right way either? And who am I to talk?? Really. My oldest child is only 18, and as far as I know, girls are a ?? (don't kill me) necessity. I'm sure this will change.. in time. My daughter who is a beautiful 16 year old is also in no frame to be thinking about this either. She is enjoying a beautiful girlhood, though. Boys are toads right now. Sorry, guys. And we ARE a fun-loving family. It's going to take a decision on her part to take an interest in boys, and quite a special guy to lure her away.

I would like to pray with my children, though, as they find a mate. I would like them to be content as single people before they launch into marriage. I would like them to know what their life's calling is before they drag along someone else into their lives. Basic stuff.

And there is the possibility that a young man or woman would have it all together at a fairly young age (like 14 or 16) and know who they are to marry at that age. But it would be more convenient for everyone if they didn't! Nevertheless, it happens. And if God is truly in it, than who are we to squelch the Holy Spirit?

I think my parenting style would lend itself to letting these things remain quiet stirrings rather than an outward expression for as long as possible. Life gets complicated for our young people. And if you are a type A, study nerd like my kids are, they want to get educations before they dive into the next phase of their lives. And my guess is, although I can not confirm this, is that they will probably marry people who are also study nerds also...

And if you are wanting to go to pilot training (like one) and grad school (like another) and law school (like a different kid)..it would highly convenient if God kept this part of their emotions quiet during these years.

Knowing that is the training to fulfill their live's callings, I am also trusting that God will provide spouses for them at the right time. There will be plenty of other Christian young people who are pursuing dreams rather than launching into marriage at such a young age.

So, you know my biases. I apologize. This need not be an issue to divide on. I write to make you ponder.. to hone my own opinions.. to challenge.. and learn.

And, everyone comes out of the woodwork when I write about teens... LOL.

And when I told Jamie that "Writing about teens and dating makes everyone read my blog"

He said, "What!?? What do YOU know about teens and dating?" And I said, "You're right. I know nothing. I have never actually HAD a TEEN who is DATING. So, consider your source.. LOL.

Part 1 of teen dating

Make my home sing at Mom's the Word for more ideas.

Note #4

in reaction to this LINK?

A new rant: part 1

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only Mom in the world who feels a certain way, so I need to post a rant and see if there are any earthlings out there who agree with me.

First off, if you do disagree with me, you are probably "normal", so don't feel the need to tell me how normal you are. I already know. And just so you know, I love normal people. But I don't feel the need to connect with my normal friends at the moment.

Calling all abnormal friends!! Please come to the surface, please. I'm feeling lonely.

O.K. now that you are all here--all 12 of you-- thanks for joining me today.

So, what is my rant?

I'm trying to get my head around this enough to focus my thoughts, but this is the gist of what it is:

Why do perfectly normal Christian people allow or even encourage dating amongst their own children or other young people?

The reason I am asking is because: I don't get it.

I realize that the age at which young people are ready for relationship stage varies from kid to kid, but it seems that the kids who are the least prepared for life (no prospect of employment, no real goals, no real direction) are also the most likely to be involved with a teen relationship.

My question is for the parents of these aimless young people: What is the goal for your child in this casual dating experience? Are you hoping this experience will prepare them for marriage? Will it deepen their relationship with the Lord? Is it developing or stunting their emotional growth? Is it helping or hurting them with their educational or professional goals? Are they developing socially as an adult? Is this aiding or distracting from living a holy life?

I can not even see one benefit from casual teen dating. Nor, would I take it lightly if I sensed my kids wanted to be involved in any relationship with the opposite sex. I would take it seriously and soberly, praying with them for guidance and direction from the Lord.

We are not legalistic style parents. We have not set a magical "age" for dating/ courtship. I just expect them to behave like adults when the time comes.

For our sons, I would ask them this question: how do you plan to support a wife? If they are so far from financially supporting someone (let's say at age 16..) then, why would you want to get involved with someone when marriage is so far off?

For our daughter also. Is this young man going to support you?

Obviously, financial constraints are not the only questions, but they do put the issue in perspective for a 16 or 18 year old. I suppose there are a few industrious lads out there who could pull off marriage at a young age. But let's just think about these things.

It's not to say that young people may not have an "inkling" of who they would like to marry at a young age; I think that is entirely possible. But the "couple status" at a young age is probably not in the best interest of most..

Thoughts?

You think I'm joking?

You know these people who have..like... "normal hair"??

Well, they think I'm joking when I tell them that I NEED to like cover my hair all day.

"We love the tousled, curly hair look.. it's so.. pretty"

"It can't be THAT bad.."

And I would like to imagine that it isn't.

but.. BBBOOINGGGGGGGG!! It lives. It truly lives..
All I can say is: What kind of thoughts need to get out of my head that they have to soar out of the top like that?

What sort of event has made me so... surprised from my roots out?

What? See?

There's no reason. Granted, I'm having a small crisis (ever so small) that my oldest son is done with high school. And the programs need to be printed for the graduation ceremony on Saturday, and we're putting together a last minute slide show of all the seniors.. and a big tri-fold board.. etc.

But that's just small stuff.

I need to tame the beast and get dressed and go teach pilates now. Ever heard of hair gel? Super powerful HAIR GEL? Yeah.. it's my weapon of choice for today!

It's not North Dakota's fault..

Have you ever been in a really bad place in your life? No, I do not mean location.

Have you ever been so depressed, so discouraged, so overwhelmed, so..? and you happen to live somewhere, and then you move? That's kind of what North Dakota represents for me.

It's not like there was nothing good that happened there. It's not like we didn't meet a ton of great people; we did. But... things were not "right" in my life.

If you've ever been a military wife, you know the drama of having to pack up and move (often!). Sometimes you are not wanting to leave, and other times, you are ripe and ready to go.

So, when we had four little ones, a big country home on 10 acres, and a stable job for my husband, you think I would have been as happy as a clam. No, I was just plum overwhelmed.

So, it's really easy for me to look back now and see why it was such a hard time. We've lived in Rockford for almost 10!! years now. Prior to moving here, the longest we ever lived anywhere was about three years. We have been out of the military for over 12 years--is that possible?

And yet, there is a side of me that still has nightmares about North Dakota. Why?

So, my kids know that when I am looking for something to complain about, I will often revert back to North Dakota. After all, it's easy to pick on (it doesn't fight back), and it's so far away (16 hours by car?) and it's so easy to pick on an area that has 40 degrees below zero!

So, despite my unhealthy relationship with a mere area of land, I am contemplating facing my fears and going back into the battle zone. (Jamie told me that they'll do this with veterans to get them over their fears. They will send them back to the location of the battle to help them get over things..)

So, what am I going to do? Well, there's this discipleship camp that Jamie went to last year that is in North Dakota. I must admit that I sorta sent him there as a "punishment" for being a sass last year. It ended up that he loved it. It was no sweat for him to be there; in fact, he really wants to go back. So, I am contemplating driving him out there and helping out at the camp in some way.

First, I have to see if they need my help, and then I have to get over my fears of going there. But it will be good, AND it will be summer. Summer is a great time of year in North Dakota.

See? I'm psyching myself up for it. Just because everyone in North Dakota knows that I'm a basket case doesn't mean that I can't redeem myself in ONE week. What am I thinking? The entire internet knows I'm a basket-case, so why do I care about one little state?

Hey, if there is anyone who reads this from North Dakota, it's not your fault, nor is it your state's fault that I am a basket case!! Whew! Felt good to get that off my chest!

This is what is making my house sing Mondays..

Reverse Thinking

Note #3

Make your own stickies
note..

Which hat today, Mom?

When the Hud was a little critter, he would bounce out of his room wearing a complete outfit, including a hat. Some days he had on his favorite pooh bear shirt, red suspenders and a big cowboy hat. On other days, he would be fully decked out in a suit with a brimmed fedora.

It didn't matter what time of day it was, he could always find an excuse for changing his outfit. During those days (those were the North Dakota years..) I didn't even bother to fold his clothes. I had a big drawer that everything went in when it was clean. He could rifle through that drawer faster than a rolling "O" and find whatever costume he wanted for the moment.

I had a babysitter once tell me that he "emerged" with a new outfit six times during her three hour visit. I didn't even bat an eyelash over this. She couldn't stop laughing as she described every single outfit. I just rolled my eyes.

For the most part, at 14, Hud appears to only wear one outfit a day. But he has kept the hat thing going, which is great. I can always find him a "new" hat at a garage sale to add to his collection.

If changing your hat often equates to a change in responsibilities, my kids have been wearing a lot of hats lately. In a sense, each kid, on each day, wear a different "hat". Which may be the reason for the general lack of blogging around here lately: I'm shuffling "hats" around for them, hoping that juggle of things doesn't come crashing down in a heap.

Our oldest, Jamie, is wearing the "graduate" cap lately. In one week, he'll be marching down the aisle with 29 other homeschool graduates at the graduation ceremony. He is helping me put together the program for graduation and making a slide show with pictures of all the other graduates. Lately, he's been wearing the "campaign manager hat", helping three of his buddies campaign for student council office. His campaign posters were hilarious! And all three kids were elected in!

Next is Joanna who is wearing the "over-achiever" hat (x 32) , if you know what I mean. She is not only hoping for/ striving for straight A's, she took on this massive sewing project to enter a sewing scholarship contest which involved making her own dress. We just barely finished it to get her to the homeschool banquet last night. Can we relax a little now, Jo?

Hud is wearing a basic "8th grade cello player hat" these days. While he saunters through his school work, he pretty much spends his time on his cello or piano (6?? hours a day). He has an audition today for the Northern Illinois Christian Youth Orchestra. (Actually, all the kids are auditioning for it..) He also made his "choir debut" this week with his choir class performing at the Homeschool class performances on Tuesday. Hhmmm... do you think he likes music?

Nathanael hasn't put down the fancy camera that dad got out of the closet yesterday. (It's a non-digital.. "antique" camera from the 90's). During his solo recital last Saturday, he really did a great job on his cello. He's done very well for his first year of "hard" school, with science projects and literature class tests. Way to go, Than. This will be his first year participating in the summer orchestra, N I C Y O.

And Emily.. part of me wants to say,"Hey! She's too young to have a schedule!" but nevertheless, we can't hold a kid back. She had not one, but two debuts at the performance on Tuesday. Her Bible class did a big singing show with costumes. And her ballet class did a fabulous dance to "A bushel and a peck".. She looked confident up there dancing! I was sitting there thinking, "Is THIS my baby?"

So, while we are wearing "whip lash" collars instead of hats these days, we are so blessed to be the parents of these very busy but highly talented young people. So, YES, the house is a mess, and NO, I haven't made dinner in a while, and YES, there is a pile of laundry to do, and NO, we haven't had and aren't planning any guests for a while, and YES, most definitely, YES.. LIFE is GOOD. Praise the Lord.

Funny stuff

For three entire days my hair has been hedge-hogging something fierce. I even wore a kerchief ALL DAY (even in public) yesterday.

Then I remembered: it's been a long time since I washed my hair. So, last night I washed it, and this morning, I styled it. See? It CAN look decent. I'm just sayin.

Now getting the hedgehog to ACT decent is an entirely different manner..
Kung FU Panda. Becky, this shot's for you. Cartoon Network Restaurant opening soon.
Oh, I gotta go to Hallstrom now. I'll stop fooling around and get to work.
And THIS is what your study skills teacher looks like... No wonder you are all excited to get to class... Does anybody want to text in my class???

The right to criticize them?

I watched a smiley toddler bumble her way down the hall. Her bright blue eyes were shining while her hands grasped everything she could get ahold of.

"So clumsy. That kid is so clumsy. She has such big feet.." her grandmother noted to me.

Something struck an unhappy chord in me. I spent the rest of the day going over that scene in my head, even this morning I was still perplexed. It really bothered me.

I wish I could not see the wheels of time spinning fast forward in my head. First, it is a toddler's natural tendencies to toddle. This doesn't need to be criticized, does it?

Every stage of life has it's troubles, doesn't it? What do we as parents and grandparents to help them get through those stages? Is it our job to sit back and criticize the natural stages or love and support them through it?

And why is it that those who are closest to the children feel the need--the compunction to openly criticize them in front of others? Is it their way of laying claim on their existence as people?

For example, "I own that child; therefore, I can criticize them" or is it pride? "Others are noticing this bad behavior, so I had better make a comment to make sure they know that I know it is bad also?" What?

Either way, it needs to stop. In the case of age-appriopriate behaviors, it is perfectly normal for:

a toddler to toddle

a young child to stumble in words and reading

a young adult to have pimples

a young mother to be sleepy

a young father to be discouraged

a middle-aged man to be overwhelmed with work

a middle-aged woman to be trying to re-find herself

and for the elderly to have wrinkles and pains

This is not to say that children and grandchildren do not need correcting: they do! They need loving exhortation on improving their character. For the little ones, they need constant reminders to obey their parents in the Lord for this is right. We all need encouragement in that area! When people are criticized for things that they can not help, they start to feel hopeless and they start searching for acceptance outside of the home.

We have been wondering why the church is loosing its young people to the world. I think this is it. It starts right here. We fail to correct their characters, and we over correct in the non-essentials. We let pride dictate how and what we correct. That would cause me to rebel too.

Of course, they are going to leave their families and the church when this is the type of scenario they have going on. I was so blessed to have SUCH an encouraging mother to be an example to me! Even before she knew Christ, she gave us oodles and oodles of encouragement--not criticism. I know that's why I am 1) close to my mom to this day and 2) love being a mom.

I hope my own children will grow up wanting to hear what grandma and mom have to say; that is, after they recover from my craziness... (which also is attributed to my MOTHER)!!!!

The final stretch!!

At the beginning of the home school year, the prospect of it finishing is so long off, that you settle into this routine of craziness, with fresh resolve to "do it better this year". Whatever it was about last year that did not make the cut, in my mind, is going to be fixed this year.

We need to read more ...or Let's stop the running and be home more.. or All we do is... We need to add... We need to drop the... etc.

High hopes, I tell you. By the holidays, I usually feel pretty good about school and life and activities. And we're already half way! And then second semester sets in. And the dreaded February hits.... life is hard, dark, cold and there's way too many weeks until Spring Break.

But before you know it, break comes and goes. And the final six weeks are upon us. And it's all rush rush rush to the finish line. Every musical performance, every homeschool fair, bee, bowl, competition, test, and contest, and project board is all due NOW. Everyone needs clean socks and tidy shoes, and no one is home for dinner. Except when they are, and they wonder where dinner is.

So, it might be part of the reason why I feel kind of disjointed in my head at this time of year. It has nothing to do with the wild piano playing by Hudson, who has recently decided to "take up" piano. Anything that can be played wild and loud seems to be his preference. I think he asked Jamie and Jo for help and is playing all sorts of things. I need to get him lessons.. one more thing to do.

In the meantime, I want to tell you about the interesting lunch I served today. Our guest said,

"So, what do you call this?"

In someone else's family the answer to that question might be straightforward. Not here.

Just the asking of the question makes the kids laugh.

So I said, "South of the border moose"

Other options:

"Canada meets Mexico"

"Mexican moose"

"Leftover moose on chips"

But it was actually pretty good, despite the weird comments. Yesterday I took two large moose roasts and slow cooked them in the oven all day. I broke apart the meat and returned it to the pan. I sauteed some peppers, onions and garlic in butter and added them to the shredded moose and put them back in the oven for 1 1/2 hours. We had "Italian moose" last night.

Today, I put the leftover moose/ veggies in a pot with: salsa, kidney beans, a little chili powder and salt and served "Mexican Moose" over crushed tortilla chips, lettuce, cucumbers, cheese, guacamole, salsa, sour cream etc.

Now I'm sorry for everyone who couldn't make it for lunch, but it was decent.

So, after the big discussion over what to call the dish, our guest asks, "Does it have a recipe?"

Which made everyone slap their hands on their legs and laugh out loud.

Things to do:

1) Help my family learn social graces

2) Get some myself first

3) Use recipes

4) Plan meals

5) Get piano lessons for Liberace (Hud)

6) Buy a leotard for Pavlova (Emily)

7) Hire a secretary for me

That's all I can think of for now.

Make my home sing Monday

2 days!!!

2 days, I tell you, 2 whole days without internet.. (gasp, sputter, shake face back and forth)

I have no idea why our internet was shut off, except that the Lord knew that I, like all addicts, need to go cold turkey once in a while. So, while I had my unplanned break, here is everything in the world that I've been doing.

1. Edited and typed my half of the program for the homeschool graduation ceremony. This is where each of the graduates find some profound quote or verse, tell us what they will be doing after high school and thank everyone for their wonderful success.

Most notable quote so far: A kid quotes himself and signs his name as the quoter. (Like a 17 year old is worthy of spewing forth quotable quotes..) It was, "This is the month to stop procrastinating" huh?

Most notable future plans: To live happily ever after... (in your parent's garage? what? )

Most notable thanks: to the girl who lists every single friend she has and a special private joke for each of them.. (yes, I just made a list of the people and left the side comments behind)

2) Another thing I have done is write a draft of Jamie's graduation party invitation.

3) Start laundry. O.K. it is not done at the time of this writing.

4) Make banana bread.

5) Go to a garage sale and find some deck furniture. ($35.00! really cute too)

6) Planted a bunch of seeds in the ground and transplanted my parsley.

7) Studied my Bible study for next Thursday.

and 8) Attended the kids' solo concerts at Rockford College.

So, the real question was: did I get more done without being on the computer? YES!

Do I feel a little less ADD when I'm not on the computer? YES!

Should I give up the computer for ever and ever? probably not.

But I may get more organized with my time if I set some limits around here. What do you guys do to stay focused with life, even when the computer/ blogging/ blog reading gets out of control???