I'm Back!

After a writing hiatus, I have decided that this is an ideal time to begin again. Since the autumn of 2008 so much has happened in my life. While I cannot go into it all, let me try to sum it up.

I worked really hard on earning my MBA at American Intercontinental University and graduated in May of 2009. During that time, some things at home suffered and it was a really tough summer. Last fall I decided to quit working in the family company. It was a difficult decision, but my husband and I decided it was the best for our family. I was relieved of a load of responsibility and excited about being a stay-at-home mom for a time while I figured out what to do with my life.

I spent a couple months going through the holidays and feeling blah, probably because of having so much time on my hands (Ds5 was in preschool). DH and I decided we had room to spare in the house and started foster parenting classes through the state. During the 12 weeks of classes, I had a round of doctor's appointments, a surgery and recovery, then it was spring! I have attempted my first garden and learned a lot about how to take care of our farmland.

So, back to present time. School is out so I'm back to full-time motherhood and waiting on that first phone call saying a foster child needs a place to stay. I am learning about natural living - gardening, essential oils and health remedies, safe cleaning products and the like. I have field trips planned each week for my soon-to-be-kindergartner with a good friend of mine and her 2 little ones.

My plan is to write about our summer adventures, and hopefully to soon write about the roller coaster ride of foster parenting. Join me!

American Halloween

 

So, here is the homemade American Flag outfit for his 3 yr old Halloween. Found the idea on line in a list of costumes, with no pictures, and it turned out better than I expected. The tri-cornered hat is from Williamsburg, VA, where we took a vacation earlier in October.

 

"Is he Paul Revere?" "What a little patriot!" "Hey, Uncle Sam!" Not one person guessed that he was simply the flag itself. I thought it was fairly clear. :)

I would rather live my life

I would rather live my life as if there is a God,

and die to find out there isn't, than live my life

as if there isn't, and die to find out there is.



This quote sums up my basic life philosophy in a nutshell, so had to share!

In Memory of .....

I just returned from visitation for a 13 year old boy. Never before have I seen the body of one so young. His parents showed up as we were leaving, and while I have seen people more distraught, they looked very different from the happy-go-lucky types they usually are. They spent 11 hours on their feet for visitation at the funeral home yesterday (hence the late arrival this morning) and have several more hours to go through before the funeral this afternoon. Please pray for this boy's parents and younger sister as they deal with the grief over this tragedy.

I could tell the dad was struggling to hold it together, while the mom had already given up the attempt. She hugged me about three times, and didn't want to let me go. It broke my heart seeing them, even more than seeing their son.

Here is his story, but I won't share names since I am not a family member. He played basketball at the middle school, and had an undiagnosed heart condition. He collapsed during practice Tuesday night and no defibrillator was on hand (donations for one can be made to the school board in lieu of flowers). This boy accepted Christ as Lord and Savior of his life just two years ago, at age 11. Thank God for that. He was very open with his faith and wasn't afraid to tell anyone about it. His parents are confident that his death will bring others to Christ, and that they will get to see him again someday in heaven. Pray that this small community is touched by this, and that others come to know Jesus personally through the amazing witness of this family.

This morning I was inspired to offer them a refuge, and I did manage to tell the mom, who was appreciative of the offer. Because the family's business is just across the street from ours, I told her that when they needed to escape that environment (where the son so often was)that they were welcome to come hide in our quiet office. I hope that they do take advantage of the available privacy so they don't have to lock themselves up in their car to deal with the grief that is certain to keep coming in waves for a long time to come.

Republic vs Democracy

Plato said
“The price of apathy toward public affairs is to be ruled over by evil men"

and Edward Abbey said
“A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.”


Wow. And the fall of the Roman Empire is analogous to the fall of the United States, as well, as far as the underlying reasons go.

We are supposed to be a Republic, not a democracy. It makes me so angry to think that all those years in the public school system did not teach me the difference, and glorified the same Presidents that actually ruined our monetary system. We are paying that bill now, are we not?

In case you are wondering what brought up these subjects, I just finished reading the Republic Magazine, issue 4. (http://www.republicmagazine.com/) You can get a free digital subscription on their site.  I think this magazine should be required reading of all Americans, or at least high school history students. :)

“If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude
greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in
peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick
the hand that feeds you. May your chains set lightly upon you; and
may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.”
— Samuel Adams