We had a grand ol' time!

I am so incredibly blessed!

I have spent the day with this dumb grin on my face, and this time it isn’t because I’m plotting something. (Yea, I do that occasionally)

I have been much more purposeful in my time with God lately. I started by allotting a half hour in the morning, after Tim left for work, for bible reading, journaling, and prayer. The past week or two, I have spent around 1-1/2 hours each day. I don’t plan it… it just works out that way.

Some time ago, I would have insisted that I did NOT have that kind of ‘extra’ time every day. But now I am calmer and seem to be getting more done. This past week was absolutely crazy with meetings, doctor appointments, and events. I really thought I’d be half insane by this time, but here I am with this sense of peace that passes all understanding!

I have been praying for God to help me be a better friend- Today I sit back and I’m in awe of the wonderful friends that I have, and have been spending time with!

I’ve been praying for peace during a very uncertain time of employment for Tim. Things have become more & more uncertain, but I am very calm.

While I prayed about how “clean my refrigerator” is, I’ve been taking a harder look at myself, and I see changes. I still have a looooooonnnnnggggg way to go, but I feel I’m heading in the right direction.

Now, of course, there is another reason for this grin-

I had one of the most wonderful nights of my life last night.

We were blessed with the opportunity to go to the Home Opener of the Cavaliers last night. We were part of a group that went with our church,Cuyahoga Valley Church, and included the kids being able to go on the court before the game & shoot hoops. Our names were put in a drawing for a chance to “high five” the Cavs players as they entered the court after half time.

We got into the arena a little after 3:00 and walked down to the court and sat down. They started by telling us what was going to happen. and then they asked some Cavs trivia. Timmy answered the very first question and won a t-shirt! Then the kids got to go out on the court. They took turns throwing from the free-throw line, then they did drills. The kids had a blast, and I got some great pictures. (We were allowed to go just about anywhere we wanted around the court area.)

A couple hours later, we walked off the court and went into the concourse. They had all kinds of ‘goings-on’ out there- the kids made signs to hold up during the game, they got candy galore, other assorted thingys, I got a blanket and Tim got a t-shirt. I was with a great friend of mine. A few of our kiddos got their hair sprayed with Cavs colors. There was also the opportunity to have our faces painted. We pressured my friend’s husband to have his head painted like a basketball! (There’s no hair there to mess things up.)

While we were talking, some young ladies walked up to us and asked if any of our children were involved in the “High 5” group. I said yes, and luckily they asked if ALL the kids were. As soon as we said “no”, they handed us flyers for the “Cavs Kids” group. Our other kiddos got to down on the court again, but this time while the players were warming up! There were only about 20 kids picked for this!! Each of the kids got a t-shirt, a press pass, and a disposable camera to take pictures of the players! Then, they picked 5 kids from this group, and the players handed them basketballs to keep!!!! (We didn’t make that group.)

Oh yea, as soon as we were sitting down inside to watch our yunguns, my friend looked at the Jumbo-tron and yelled. There was her Hubby on the screen! He was being interviewed while he head was being pained like a big orange basketball!!!!!

After that, we headed for food (which was included in our ticket price) and then for our seats. We had quite a walk…… LOL

The game was going great, with the Cavs trouncing the Bobcats. With 5 minutes to go in the first half, Timmy met with his group to get ready for his brush with fame. I got his picture when he had his hand up to meet that of LeBron James.

As my friend said:

Purchasing a ticket for your son to the home opener: $25.00
Buying him a Cavs sweatshirt: $30.00
Seeing the look on his face while high fiving Lebron James at the end of half-time: PRICELESS

We ended up winning 96-79. Perfect!

Vote 2008

A friend helped produce this video for the AP Roundtable.
It really reminds us how important it is to get out and VOTE!

Reality SHOWS

Yes, reality is showing itself loud & clear around here today.

Sierra is taking a bible study course for homeschool girls. They are studying Exodus, and right now they are studying Moses as a baby. God blessed her amazing teacher by supplying 3 computerized "babies" for the class to use. You know those dolls that cry at any given time and must be 'consoled' with a key and then held, etc? Well, Sierra got her doll yesterday.

It was a lot of fun for her. We had a dinner to go to, so she got to bring her "baby" along and show it off. When we stopped at the grocery store on the way she was noticed by a few people. (One actually came up to me and said, "I am so glad that is a doll! I thought she was so young!!)

When we got home, Tim told her that she would probably want to get to bed a bit earlier.... after all, most babies don't sleep through the night!

Before we turned off the news and went to bed, at about 11:20, we heard the crying. Sierra was sound asleep, and I actually had to wake her. I'm not sure she was completely awake during the 15 minutes it took to 'feed & console' her little one.

I heard Tim mumble.... "the baby is crying" at about 1 am.

I heard her get up to a crying 'baby' at about 3 am.

She was up again a little after 5:30 when I was getting Tim off to work.

When I finished my bible time at about 7:30 am, she was staggering out of her room with the 'baby' in her arms......

She's had to put her school work aside once or twice already this morning to care to her 'baby'.

Don't get me wrong- she IS truly enjoying this. A LOT!
But when that 'baby' gets passed to the next girl tomorrow, I'm sure she'll be looking forward to a decent night's sleep!





Oh. And by the was---

I hate TV reality shows. ;)

The Salute

I'm so blue....

We went to see Expelled- No Intelligence Allowed yesterday. What an incredible movied! EVERYONE should see this. It is very sad that in a "Free" country, so many scientists are oppressed. Science seems to have become a religion in itself.

I really want to write more about the movie, but I'm recovering from a migraine. I had to take Maxalt for it. It was a real doozy. It works, but it leaves me a bit groggy, and not all that literate. LOL
As I posted before, I have drastically changed my diet. I've had amazing results! I do miss some of the foods- mostly cheese. I was hoping that I may be able to work some of these things, slowly and moderately, back into my diet.

Last night, after the movie, Tim & I went to Ruby Tuesday's. They have the most amazing salad bar! When I got up there, I was doing really well until I came to the blue cheese. Now, I know I shouldn't have, but it was as if my right arm had a mind of it's own. Before I knew it, there was blue cheese on top of my otherwise vegan plate of healthy goodness.

And it tasted delicious!

Today, though......
Now I know that blue cheese is a well known trigger of migraines, but I never really associated the two. I mean, since I gave up Diet Pepsi the number of migraines I've had has plummeted. But today was a "10".

Good-bye blue cheese. You'll always have a place in my heart, but never again will you be on my tongue.

I don't deserve you

Have you ever had a friend that holds a really special place in your heart? I don't mean the kind of friends that you have several of. I mean the kind that, even if you don't talk to them often or see them even less often, you get a warm feeling and smile when you think of them?

I got to see that friend today. I hadn't seen her for quite some time. And one thing really bothered me. You see- I have a confession to make:

I am a bad friend.

I really am. Anyone who remains my friend deserves a shiny gold star on their sticker chart. No.... they deserve a BUNCH of gold stars.
You see, I stink at staying in touch. (My friends that are reading this just uttered an audible "duh".) I almost never call, but I WILL talk when they call me. I'm horrible at returning messages. I almost never initiate plans to get together with them. I love to have people over, but I seldom invite them.

Back to my friend-----

The first time I met her, we talked for.... I dunno..... a long time. It was like I had known her forever. We talked about our families, our lives, our love for God. She met my family. I loved her smile, her kindness, her sense of humor, and her passion for Christ.

Today I learned so much more about her. She is vulnerable and has been hurt in a way that NO ONE ever deserves to be hurt. Yet she is so amazingly strong, that she is willing to use that pain and open herself up to others so that she might help bring them closer to God. (Yes, you ARE that wonderful!)

As soon as I got to talk to her today I hugged her and I didn't want to let her go. I almost starting crying, but I stopped myself. (I'm not sure why I made myself hold back the tears.... I'm certainly not holding them back NOW.)
I knew that she didn't have much time, and I knew that I didn't either, but I could have sat and talked with her for a loooooonnnngggg time.

I have been thinking about her all day. I don't ever want to lose touch again.

I need to be a better friend to all my friends. I just EXPECT that they know I'm here for them whenever they need me, but I don't show it. Maybe it's my own insecurities that stop me- I often think "what if they don't like me all that much, and are only pretending to like me so they don't hurt my feelings?" Yea, I'm much more insecure than I let on. Did I just type that? Now do I have the guts to leave that up here and not come back and delete it?

Please, all my friends- Hold me accountable. I will love you even more for it!

A word of advice-

Be kinder than you have to be. You never know what battles others are facing.

It's a veggie thing....

I became a vegetarian about a month ago. I got really sick a couple months ago.... August 5th to be exact. I thought it was food poisoning or the flu, but it just wouldn't go away. Then I always felt uncomfortably full and I was having some serious stomach pain- enough to double me over and bring me to tears. And the migraines!!!!! I went from one every month or two to 7 in one month! (I used to get them once ever 2-4 weeks until I gave up diet soda.)


After 3 weeks of this, I went to the doctor. He thought it was my stomach, maybe an ulcer. So he ordered an x-ray of my stomach and an ultrasound of the gallbladder and other such innards. After the ultrasound I went to the x-ray room. X-ray Dude said, "No, she has been ordered back to ultrasound", so back I went. Ultrasound Dude (ok, he's a doctor and may not appreciate me calling him that, so how about U.D. instead?)
So U.D. says, "We see something and we need to take a closer look." So the tech wiggles around and U.D. watches. Then U.D. says, "There is a 'good sized' mass on your liver. I don't think it is cancer, but it's in a bad place. You need to have a cat scan so we can see it better." It was a good thing I was lying down when he said this, or I'm sure I would have fallen down! The "C-Word" freaked me out.

I waited about 20 minutes while they call my GP, and then I'm in getting the cat-scan. Oh yea... and they wanted a REALLY good pic, so I got to drink yucky-creamy-orange-gatorade-tasting-stuff AND get dye shot in my arm. Then I got to wait for the results.
Results were that they wanted an MRI next! Had that a few days later.

A few days after that, I get the call from doctor to come in for the results. No... he didn't want to share them over the phone.
If my stomach didn't hurt already, it would have by then.

(By this time, I've lost about 15 pounds. I had thinking about changing my diet to no processed food and mostly veggie for awhile, and had been doing some research for the last 5-6 months. Now I'm pretty convinced this is the way to go. And it's easier now that I have absolutely NO appetite.)

I have several cavernous hemangiomas on my liver. What was freaking them out was that the largest one (though still only about 1" x 1") was up against the inferior vena cava. Thank GOD it was on the outside. They were concerned that it may on the inside. That would have been bad. The fatal kind of bad.

Oh yea. And it was NOT cancer.

The docs didn't think this was causing my pain, so I was sent to a GI doc and get a tube & camera stuck down my throat and into my stomach. Yea... fun.

He tells me my stomach looks fine, and sends me off to a hepatologist. He's a big time doc at the Cleveland Clinic, but I get an appointment in 3 days. He decides that the hemangioma is not putting enough pressure on the vena cava to cause problems (only about 10% blockage), my gall bladder looks fine, and he doesn't know what was causing these symptoms.

In the mean time, I've lost 25 pounds, I'm eating almost no animal products or processed foods, and I'm feeling pretty darned good.

Of course, all the docs agree that it's not my diet.

uh huh. right.

What I DO know is that I feel MUCH better, the headaches are about gone, and I'm even getting used to this new way of cooking and eating. My family is pretty open about trying new foods and they've been a huge support The kids RAVED about my bean burgers and have been begging me to make them again. I even got Tim and the kids to try kale!!!!

Eating out hasn't been too much of an issue as the other two times we've picked places that I can find something for me. Well, yesterday Tim & I went out to eat and for some reason I decided to have a burger with all kinds of crap on it, but substituted the beef patty with a Boca burger. And I had fries.

M-I-S-T-A-K-E!!!!!

I feel like crap today. I've felt sooooo nauseous, my tummy hurts, my head hurts, and my neck is stiffening up and threatening to turn into a migraine.

Yea, God. I hear you. I get it. Loud and clear.
I need to stay on the dietary path You've chosen for me.

Oh yea- and we shouldn't go out to eat. It's definitely not in line with the financial plan You've chosen for us.

Thanks for not being subtle!

Once, Twice, Three times amazing!

I have been spending much more time in the bible, and in prayer. Every day. It isn't always easy to settle down at the end of the couch with my bible, journal, pen, and tea at 6a.m. Well, that part isn't hard... it's not adding a blanket, laying my head on the throw pillow, and drifting back to sleep that is so tempting! But as soon as I get going, I'm completely and totally enthralled. Just as with any friend, the more time I spend with Him, the closer I feel!
And I had three big "WOW Moments" yesterday that I just have to share:

1.
I was at a different church service yesterday- not at CVC. The pastor there is a man I respect, and I get to listen to several times a year. Yesterday, during his sermon, he said something that...well..... it wasn't right. I caught it immediately, and in the split second it took me get the shocked look off my face I heard his wife quietly comment behind me. It was very obvious that she caught his error also. Now it was probably just a slip of the tounge, but it made me think. It is SO important that I use wise words when I speak to others about Christ. How easy it would have been for an unbeliever to be angered by his oversight, possibly turning away from a chance of salvation! (Now, I did not find it necessary to call him on this mistake. I'm sure his wife lovingly spoke with him. And I seriously doubt that anyone who reads my blog has EVER met this man, so you may as well quit trying to figure out who he is right now! LOL)
I was also incredibly grateful for the knowlege God has given me so far, that I knew immediately this wasn't correct, and that I need NEVER doubt His love for me. (I am by NO means an expert on the Bible... to say I'm a novice is probably pushing it!)

2.
Yesterday afternoon, while Tim & I were getting our travel trailer winterized, the kids were doing thier best to find something else to do. Sierra and Garrett were walking around when they spotted the mother of all booties next to the dumpster- a cool red bike! Now Garrett has a bike that he rides. It is getting too small for him, but he still rides it because it is closer to the ground and doesn't scare him. He still has training wheels on it. What he doesn't realize, is that Tim has slowly been raising the training wheels on it.
Well, for some reason I will probably never know, Garrett let Sierra talk him into giving this "cool red bike" a try. I didn't know any of this had transpired until I heard Sierra yelling "Mom!!!!! LOOK!!!!!!!"
Sure enough, he was mobile! He went about 20 feet before he went over! He was so excited that he got right back on, and did it again! And again, and again, and again! Now it's almost as natural as breathing. Yup, my boy is a two-wheel biker!!!!!

(Now, if you don't know why this is such a miracle, you haven't heard his story. It's long, and I'll write it another time, but know that this is something we thought may never happen. Heck, nine years ago, if someone had suggested this, we would have never believed it!)

3.
As I posted before, Tim is going to get laid off. We are in the process of cutting out, cutting down, and cutting off anything that isn't really necessary. One thing we ARE going to need, is new tires for the van. Well, only if I want to actually DRIVE it this winter. We didn't know where the funds would come from, but we knew that if we were truely going to need them, if it was God's will, God would HAVE to provide. We let it go at that.
Yesterday, after we got home, I went through the mail. Lots of medical bills from my latest stint.... but hopefully we've already paid out enough that insurance should cover most of it. The last envelope made me a bit leery- hmmmm.... those kind of envelopes are never good.
'Cept for this one.
Almost $500. The cost of a new set of tires.
GOD IS SOOOOO GOOD!!!!

John 14:13-14

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

How clean is the top of your refrigerator?

I have a small kitchen. It used to be even smaller, but we gutted it out and redid the whole thing. The fridge and stove stayed in the same place, but we added a dishwasher, a peninsula, counter top space, and lots of cupboards. When we added cupboards, we added a large, deep cupboard above our refrigerator. The builder guy kept telling us that it wasn't a good idea, it would be hard to get to, yada yada yada, but we did it anyhow. No, I don't regret it at all.

To today-
I'm not very tall.... about 5'3". So when I want to get into those cupboards, I must stand on a chair. No big deal. Thing is, at 5'3", I never see the top of my fridge unless I am standing on a chair. I had to get things down this morning so I got a good look up there. EWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!! It made me wonder who CAN see up there when they walk into my kitchen. Would I bother to keep it cleaner if I thought anyone at anytime might be looking there? If I know someone is coming over, I'll make a quick run through the house to pick up some clutter and maybe even sweep up the dog hair. But no one sees up there, so why bother?

What about the "top of the refrigerator" of my life? Like a lot people (I believe), I try to be "good", and I try a little bit harder to LOOK "good" to those around me. What about the parts of my life that no one sees? Are those parts clean?? Are the things I say & think when no one is there to hold me accountable the things I'd want anyone to take a white glove to? How would I behave differently if the "top of my refrigerator" was low enough to everyone to see?

It took me awhile to clean the grime from up there this morning. I know that it will be dirty again in no time. It will take a constant effort to keep it clean. Will I keep up the effort? Probably not.

Lord, help me to put much more effort into keeping the "top of the refrigerator" of my life clean.

Good news..... bad news........

Last Tuesday I went & saw the hepatologist (liver doctor). I"d been having severe abdominal pain, no appetite, nausea, as well as some other undesirable symptoms. After two weeks of that, I went to my doctor. He ordered an upper GI xray as well as an ultrasound of my gallbladder an other assorted inside stuff. During the ultrasound they found a "mass" on my liver. That is when the excitement started. They did a cat-scan almost immediately because of the placement of the mass. Things still looked pretty bad, so they ordered an MRI. Finally we found out that the mass was not in the vena cava like they had feared. (This would be VERY bad.... fatal kind of bad.) After more & more doctors, the hepatologist finally said that it was a hemangioma (I have several on my liver, but this one is the one they were worried about) and that it wasn't putting enough pressure on the vena cava for it to be putting me in any danger. My blood work came back good, and I don't have to go back except to have a repeat MRI done in a few months to make sure it isn't growing. YEA!!!!!!

(That was the good news!)

We did end up buying a "new" car for Tim. We bought a Ford Focus ZX5 that will hopefully get about 30 mpg. It's actually a sporty little car with lots of pep. Tim was a wee bit bummed about getting this instead of a big truck, but the more he drives it, the more he likes it. He'll be working in Louisville for about 3 weeks, so I'm glad he has something safe to drive that is also good on gas!

The bad news is that when the work is Louisville is done, he very well may not have any work here. I'm praying I am able to start working soon, so that we can at least make ends meet while he is out of work. It looks like he will either have to go into a new line of work, or we'll be moving out of Cleveland. (sigh) God got my diet to change, he just may be changing my scenery as well!

Today Rick talked about "living for the line instead of living for the dot". Rick's message This really got me thinking about when, in my every day happenings, do I live more for that dot? I immediately thought of two circumstances that got me squirming in my seat. And I think they were both pride driven. Yuk.


James 1:2- Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
This verse has been one I've held very close for many years. I feel that when times are tough, I pretty much do look at the line instead of the dot. Does that sound really self-righteous of me? I hate to tell people that, because I don't want to come off as "I have more & better faith than most of you. I don't doubt that God is in control. I don't doubt God's power, love, or existence." But truly, I get almost excited when something difficult happens or my comfort zone is re-zoned. The first thing I (almost) always think is: "OK, God. What's up? Why are You taking me through this? What is it that You want me to learn, or how do You want me to grow?"
That is really difficult for me to share, because I SO don't want to come off as a snob. I'm just a stupid, stinky sheep and I'm no better than anyone else. I think another reason I'm hesitant to share that is that I don't want to sound so comfortable that God says, "OK, Kim. You think you got it handled? Here's another one for you!" In fact, I'm pretty sure that if God EVER shakes His head and rolls His eyes, He's doing that to me right now. :)

Martha Martha Martha!

I'm in a study group at church titled, "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World". If you don't already know the story of Mary & Martha, I'll sum it up for you. Jesus and his disciples went to visit Mary and Martha at their home. Martha was busy, busy, busy in the kitchen while Mary sat at Jesus' feet listening to Him and learning. Martha was pretty ticked, and requested Jesus to tell Mary to come help her. Jesus told Martha that Mary had made the better choice.
I've made the commitment to do my bible and prayer time in the morning, NO MATTER WHAT, and to slow down so I can better hear what God wants from me. I've been doing great with my mornings, but I've been running like a madman the rest of the day. I'm struggling... should I really be this busy right now? Is this what God wants from me right now? Or am I letting Satan keep me distracted? I really think that these are things that are a must right now (getting Tim's new car, doctor appointments, getting the kids situated with the new school year, etc), but I really feel that I need to take a serious inventory of what "important" really is, and what I can cut down. We are also running around trying to get things done that need to get done before Tim leaves for Louisville again. There are some things I just can't do while he's gone, like repair the roof! Maybe I'll make a list on paper tonight...

Philippians 4:6- "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God."
God wants me to come to Him in prayer. I never need be anxious- that is such a waste! pray about EVERYTHING! The only one who has the control is God- and He has ALL the control. I need to come to Him with my worries, my praises, my requests, and my thankfulness- for myself and for those of others. (1 Timothy 2:1) So often I attempt to take care of it myself, and use God as my safety net. I need to put total & complete prayer to work so that I can help with what God wants, not what I want from God.

Wanna buy a car, buddy?

You've been good to me, honey. But some things just aren't meant to last forever. Now, don't take it so hard..... I know you've been there for me since before we even had our oldest.... I know you've kept us safe, and that we've always been able to count on you..... Over 14 years..... It's kind of hard to say good-bye..... Hopefully you can find someone who will love you as much as you deserve to be loved.....

But it's time to replace you.

Yup. Our '94 Escort is just about history.
We went looking for a "new" car yesterday. We refuse to buy new. There are LOTS of used cars out there for CHEAP. So, we did one thing that sends chills down the spine of even the bravest man-

We hit the used car lot.

Actually, the guy we dealt with was pretty decent. We might have a car by tonight if everything goes the way we want. We were looking for another little car- something to replace the 30+ mpg we were getting. We'll hang onto the van a bit longer. Heck, it hasn't even hit 200,000 yet!

The toughest part is starting

How am I supposed to start this thing...... I've thought about starting a blog for awhile, but fear kept stopping me.

What if someone I know reads this? What if NO ONE reads this? What if I say something that comes back to haunt me??? ...ok. That probably won't happen. I'm waaaayyyy too boring to do anything like that. right????

I guess the best way to start is to tell about myself and my family-
I am a Christian, conservative, homeschooling, full time mom.
(Some frightened liberal who accidentally came across my site is now clicking their mouse with a fury to make a quick escape!)
But hang on! I'm also a recycling, almost-vegan, wanna-be homesteader!

I AM looking to get into the workforce again, but just part time. To work around my kids & hubby. You know... when most people sleep. After all- isn't sleep overrated? Naw... actually this would just get me to bed at a decent time instead of watching mindless tv at night.

I've also completely changed my diet lately.
For health reasons. I've gone completely unprocessed, no animal products. Now a tried & true vegan wouldn't consider me vegan, but your run-of-the-mill American would consider me a bit wacked out. After all, how on earth can I possibly get enough calcuim without drinking milk? How can I get enough protein without eating meat? Easy. Very easy. I just don't feel like going into it in this post. Maybe another time.



I'm a homeschooler. Not loved by the public school system, but also not totally accepted by the hardcore homeschool community because I use an e-school. (This is a charter school, done online, mainly run by me, although I have to answer somewhat to the eschool itself.) I may go with traditional homeschooling sometime in the future, but for right now, this works for us.

I've got 3 great kids, though sometimes I surprise myself with the volume I can muster to tell them just how they can better please me & the world. LOL Yea, I yell. I know I shouldn't, but I do. Then I feel horrible and I apologize. Yup. I'm a regular mom.

Hubby & I have a dream that doesn't fit well with what most people would view of the "American Dream". We want to move from our house now to a fixer-upper out in the country. We don't want a mortgage and two shiny cars. (Well, the shiny cars wouldn't be bad if they didn't come with shiny loans.) As far as we are concerned, the Joneses can keep up with themselves. I would love to grow most of my own food, use a woodstove and/or fireplace for heat, and have a yard big enough to love my neighbors from afar. Hubby still thinks I'm a bit nuts, but I'm working on him. I think he's coming around. Either that, or he's hoping it's a phase that will pass. ;)