Still walking...

Yes I'm still getting up at an ungodly hour to go and walk around the lake four times. This should be 3.6 miles, according to city workers. It seems some mornings like it's 36 miles!!

Then I come home and help Steve mow the church yard. Since we have only 2 push mowers this is a daily job in order to get it all done in one week. If anyone would like to give us a riding mower we'd be so happy!

And you wonder why I've not been posting,,,

By the way I've been killing myself yet gained 1 pound! Oh the joys of being over 40! And I hate when I hear people say " Muscle weighs more than fat" Ok that is just stupid. A pound is a pound! Usually very fat people use that argument!!

Peter's Anomaly and Peter's Plus Anomaly

My son Sam was born with Peter's Anomaly. It is a very rare eye condition. Currently the medical info suggests there are only 50-100 cases worldwide. It's so rare that the NORD National Organization of Rare Diseases lists it but has no info on it...

The most common symptom is a cloudy corneas which makes it impossible for the child to see out of the eyes. The cornea is basically the wind shield of the eye. If you can imagine a dirty windshield, that is basically what a child sees. There are other problems related to the eye- size, pressure etc.

Our son had corneal transplants which he rejected and now has corneal implants which has given him alot more sight. It is hard currently he has to have 32 eye drops a day!

Peter's Plus is the eye condition plus learning delays, short statue and a host of medical problems. We feel Sam has that also. There is not a chromosomal marker yet so it is not confirmed but he has about 75% of the symptoms.

It's very hard to find info about this condition. I plan on setting up a website to try and help other parents. It was a shock when we found out and no one was there for us so I'd like to be there for some other families.

Ok I'm in the exercise mode...3 days walking 3.6 miles each morning and eating low fat. Boy I feel good about it! We usually eat low fat because Jon's family history is filled with folks who have had heart attacks, by-passes etc...so he'd like to stay off the operating table! But in my 40's diet alone is not enough. I stay very busy with the children but that alone is not enough to lose weight. I believe walking daily will do it for me. I have to admit it does make me feel good to be out early and sweating:)Plus I know the benefits to my heart and my body. I want to live a long healthy life so I need to continue on this track!

I worry about getting old, having health problems and dying.I guess we all do to some degree but having Sam makes me worry about his future. He will always need someone to take care of him and I want to be that person! Life is different when you have a child with handicaps. Other people don't understand the terror that can grip your heart when you think about that child not having someone who loves him to watch over him. That is my only real worry about the future. I recently was talking to a friend about this matter and he just didn't get it. (of course this guy doesn't even have kids...) The guy was saying things like "Sam would be fine..." I've had other people tell me things like that but not parents of children with disabilities!!!! We all share that particular burden and concern!

So in looking towards the future, that is my biggest concern...I really hope the rapture takes place before I get old!!!

Exercise and diet

I recently (last night ) decided I HAVE to diet and exercise...so today I walked 3.6 miles and ate a turkey sandwich for lunch and a salad for supper...I have a goal to lose 20 pounds by August 4! We have our church's General Council in Orlando and we'll see lots of old friends and I want to look good! So wish me luck!!!!

Get to know me list

I was sent this on Facebook. so I thought you all might want to read my answers...


Are you a vegetarian? NO


Do you believe in Heaven?
YES! IT IS MY HOPE!

Have you ever come close to dying?
Yes. iN 97 WHEN I LOST THE TWINS I HAD DIC- UNCONTROLLABLE BLEEDING AND WENT INTO SHOCK. FROM WHAT I'VE HEARD FROM DOCTORS/NURSES 99.9% DON'T SURVIVAL DIC!!!

What jewelry do you wear 24/7? WEDDING RING

Are you eating? NO


Do you eat the stems of broccoli? NO

Do you wear makeup? YES!!!!!!!


Would you ever have plastic surgery? I DON'T THINK SO
.

Have you ever done anything illegal? YES...ONLY A FEW TIMES...


Can you roll your tongue? YES


Do You have a boyfriend or girlfriend? I BETTER NOT SINCE I'M MARRIED!!

Do you believe in Abortions? NO- ESPECIALLY NOT AFTER HAVING SAM- I SEE THAT EACH LIFE HAS A VALUE TO GOD!!!!


What is your Hair color? BLOND NO GRAY THANK GOD!


Do you smoke?
NO WAY!

If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be? TO A BEAUTIFUL REMOTE ISLAND WITH A WONDERFUL SPA!!


Do you sleep with stuffed animals? NO I SLEEP WITH A CORGI, A BIG 23 POUND CAT AND A BABY KITTEN THE SIZE OF A HAMSTER..OH YEAH A HUSBAND TOO AND SOMETIMES SOME KIDS...NO ROOM FOR A STUFFED ANIMAL!


If you won the lottery, what would you do first? GET A GOOD STORY TOGETHER FOR MY CHURCH AND DISTRICT!!!! LOL i WOULD PAY OFF ALL OUR MEDICAL AND OTHER BILLS!!!! tHEN BUY FOR MY FRIEND'S HER ORPHANAGE IN CHINA FOR ALL HER SPECIAL NEEDS BABIES


Gold or silver? GOLD


Hamburger or hot dog? HOTDOG


If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? pizza!


City, beach or country? WOW HARD. I LIKE ALL THREE FOR DIFFERENT REASONS BUT I GUESS IT WOULD BE COUNTRY, BEACH THEN CITY


What was the last thing you touched? MY MAGNIFYING GLASS I NEED BIFOCALS!

Where did you eat last? IN MY KITCHEN


Do you read blogs? READ THEM AND WRITE THEM!!!


Would you ever go out dressed like the opposite sex? NO


Ever been involved with the police? I WAS A PROBATION OFFICER /SUPERVISOR FOR ALL TOGETHER 11 YEARS!


Do you talk in your sleep? NO


Ocean or pool? SWIMMING IN A POOL IS EASIER BUT THE OCEAN FEELS SO GOOD...CAN'T DECIDE


Whats your favorite song at the moment ? THE "NEW" AMAZING GRACE "My chains are gone, I've been set free, my God my Savior has ransomed me and like a flood, His mercy reigns, unending love amazing Grace"


Window seat or aisle seats?
aisle seat


Do you feel you've had a successful life? YES God has been so good to me. My life could have turned out so different but for His grace...I have a loving husband who is faithful and strong, three wonderful boys and all the animals my heart could want. God has been so faithful to me. I got my BA from SEC and lived and worked in ministry in NYC, traveled alot, adopted a little guy from China and am now my husband is pastoring a nice country church near alot of our friends. I had a good career with the state as a PO before Sam ...All in all it's been a good life. Jon recently found an old journal of mine (how embarrassing ) but I had my "life goals" written down. It was SPOOKY!!!! I wrote down I wanted to have 3 kids one adopted...travel. marry a pastor...complete school...so many goals I had met!! Life has had some heartache but it's been GOOD so far!!


Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it? CUT IT


What is your favorite sport to play? N/A


Basketball or football?
football


Do you drive a stick? NO

Cake or ice cream?
Cake

Are you self-conscious? SOMETIMES, DEPENDING ON THE SITUATION. IF I'M IN "MY" ELEMENT , NO I'M NOT BUT IF I'M IN A NEW SITUATION..I AM


Do you like any of your close friends?
LOVE THEM

Have you ever given money to a bum?
YES

Have you been in love?
Wow, yes!

Where do you wish you were?
I'M SATISFIED MOST OF THE TIME. SOMETIMES I WISH WE WERE MISSIONARIES AND MAKING MORE OF A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD, TOUCHING MORE LIVES DAILY BUT WE'RE IN A GOOD PLACE FOR US AND OUR KIDS NOW!

Who's your best friend and why?
My husband, we have gotten so close over the years in a way I never dreamed possible in the beginning of our marriage. Now we even know what the other one is thinking, we may not agree but we know:) Besides him, It would be Angela Harris comstock Sabaria...BFF since we were kids. We don't see each other enough but the deep friendship NEVER goes away! We know each other's deepest secrets!!And we knew each other when we were kids, so many memories...

Have you ever ridden in an ambulance? YES thanks to Sam several times...one just recently when he had the seizure!!

Last gift you received?
a funky flower arrangement with acountry church in it...

Last thing you spent lots of money on?
I try not to spend lots of money on anything...I guess our 2 week vacation in the Keys last summer

Where do you live?
Zephryhills Fl

Last wedding attended...
a real "hillbilly" wedding for this couple who never have attended our church, they just saw us in the phone book and called and asked us to get married here. It was wild. They were 1 hour late, the maid of honor didn't wear shoes...it took alot of self control not to burst out laughing!!!

Favorite restaurant?
Red Lobster

What is your favorite kind of car?
I actually like minivans...they are great

Most hated food(s) ?
Brussel Sprouts; liver

Most loved food(s)?
Pizza, Fried chicken, lemon cake...

Can you sing?
Not too good...

Person on your mind?
Sam- still worried about his health issues..

What's your least favorite chore?
I'm weird, I like to clean I guess I'd have to say the 32 eye drops I have to give Sam every day , that gets hard on hm and me

Favorite drink?
Pepsi and sweet tea (not together)

Currently have a Crush?
no

How long was your longest drive in a car? Zephryhills Fl to Rochester NY for Sam's eye surgery in 07. Or it may have been from New York City to Springfield Mo for a convention in '94

Why do you do Facebook notes?
to connect with old friends

Do you know the Muffin Man?
Not personally

Public vs Christian vs Home Schooling

I've been home schooling Steve since Jan'08. Steve had always gone to a private Christian school and we were comfortable with that, we like him having the social interaction. But at that time, there was so much going on with Sam, I didn't have the time to take Steve back and to from school as it was across town. So I started home schooling. I have a BA and for 2 years was an education major until I realized I did NOT want to be with a bunch of bad kids all day long. So I felt qualified to teach him. The Christian school Steve went to in Zephryhills used textbooks where a kid works at his own "pace" and the program is called ACE. It's really easy to teach, most of it is self taught anyhow.

Most of the time I enjoy home schooling. It's not a huge effort on my part and I like Steve being around the house. Sam loves to be with Steve and will often go and sit in a recliner in Steve's room while Steve works so that helps out too. But there are days when he drives me crazy!!!!!

Steve is so sweet and so much like his dad in all the good ways but also in the bad ones. He is a procrastor! He doesn't have any drive to do his work. Now most subjects we do ok in as far as time goes but he hates math and just will not stay focused! Steve is finished with all his 7th grade books except for Math and a couple of English. So everyday is a pain for me! I have banned him from the computer until he finishes the year up and he is not happy with me. With this curriculum, the student must score a 80 or above to pass the book. He never has scored less than that but he just takes forever to do his work and finds any excuse to not do it. This is one of the irritating things about home schooling.

So there is always a debate about public school vs. private vs. home schooling. I will never send my children to public school. It ain't agoing to happen!! I think parents that subject their kids to public school are just asking for trouble. I have friends that would strongly disagree with me but that is how I feel about public school. I have good friends who are teachers in the public school system and they are great BUT they can only control their classroom situation. They can't be free to speak their minds or deal with situations in an openly Christian way. I love that Steve's books have Christian themes. His English sentences that he has to diagram are about famous missionaries or Bible stories. It's a way to get the Word into the kids every day lives.

As a probation officer, I was in public schools alot and it was horrible just walking down the sidewalks. I don't want my kids in that cess pool. Some people will say that you can't shelter them forever...To that I say my kids are so NOT sheltered from the REAL world. As pastor's kids they see alot and they deal with real life. Not a bunch of foolishness. When we were in school in the 70's. 80's, kids would have been kicked out for the things I saw them doing and saying when I'd walk the halls. I remember one girl cussed at Mrs. Blankenship our asst principal and she was expelled for the year. It just didn't happen!! My kids are not going to be in that cess pool where the grownups have in many cases have lost control. I had a friend that taught for a while in a middle school and he told me he couldn't send kids to the office for cussing even at him! Foolishness and mayhem!! That's not the real world. I can guarantee you those kids will not speak to their employer like that or if they do, it'll be the last time because they will be fired! It's a failed system that allows such nonsense to go on.

I say shelter your kids from the world!! That is what the Bible teaches in NO uncertain terms. When God was giving the Hebrew the law and His commandments in Deuteronomy ch 6 He really emphasised to teach the law to the children. In verse 7 it says " You shall teach them diligently and you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk in the way, when you lie down and when you rise up." It doesn't say to give the state 8 hours of your child's day to talk to them about all other kinds of stuff. Also if you look at Psalm 1 the chapter starts out with " Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in this law he mediates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of waters that brings forth in his season." I for one am not going to put my kids in a place to sit in the seat of the scornful! Remember we have to stand before the God of this universe one day and He will demand of us an accounting of how we raised our kids!

So what if you can't afford Christian school and have to work so you can't home school? Trust God He will make a way for you to send your kids to Christian school or to home school. God has always provided for us to send Steve. We didn't take him out because of financial issues but rather because of Sam's issues. He was missing alot of school with us going to Miami so much and then the eye drops, at one point I was doing 42 so I didn't have the time to take 1 1/2 hours of my day transporting him back and to to school.

This coming year Steve and Shad will be going to the Christian school and we are just trusting God for the finances. He has never failed us and He won't this time either. Sam will be in the Home bound ESE program through the School Board, he will get all his instruction and therapies at home. If he had not gotten approved, I was going to go through all the steps to home school him as a ESE child. Even though Sam does not understand alot, I'm not going to have him in an environment of chaos! But with all his eye drops and his fragile eyes and health, it was no problem to get him classified as home bound. If there had been or if there ever is in the future, I will home school him. I know more about him and his situation than any teacher ever would. Once I took him to speech therapy through the school board and the teacher was trying to use flash cards with him. I asked her if she was aware he was blind...!!!I think I can do a little better than that!!!


Christian schools are not utopia but there is so much more control over the student's behavior and what they learn and are exposed to. The kids still have to learn social things like how to deal with bullies etc but those are normal things. I had one friend who taught 2nd grade in Lakeland and she had 2 different boys in the same month bring in Playboy to class! Wouldn't happen in a Christian school. Why? Most of the parents are Christians so they probaley aren't going to have Playboy laying around and if a kid did that they would know that the consequences would be harsh. Also in Christian school, you have alot of positive peer pressure. Steve has some good friends that are really trying to live their lives as Christians so really bad behavior is usually frowned on by the group.

So I hope my post has encouraged you to think about the schooling your children are getting. What are they around 8 hours a day. What has more influence on their lives?? It's something to take seriously!!

Clean House-LET IT GO!

This afternoon I watched one of my favorite shows Clean House. If you've never watched it, let me tell you about it. A group of four people go to a cluttered house and convince the owners to clean up and get rid of junk. Most of the people have way TOO possessions and do not want to get rid of things. During the show the home owners are convinced to clean out their house and have a giant yard sale in order for the group to repair and buy a few nice things for the home. There are usually some tears and anger on the part of the homeowners who do not want to give up anything even in order to get something so much better. In each case the end result is a nice NEAT non cluttered home with a few new things to take the place of all the junk that was there before.

It's a great show and each time I watch it (thank God for DVRs) I have this uncontrollable urge to clean out my house. Now you all that know me KNOW I don't do clutter. I'm a bit obsessive about my house being clean and free of clutter. Only the fact that I have 3 kids gives me any clutter. I have rules in my house and the number 1 rule is: If you haven't used/worn/played with or needed it for 6 months, it needs to go!! I take stuff to thrift stores or give things away or throw them away on a regular basis. My husband would be a pack rat if I let him but he does appreciate a clean house, he just can't keep it that way. So today after watching the show, I had to clean out all my kitchen drawers. I felt so much better afterwards. There is probably a mental condition for me and my obsessiveness...but at least my house is clean and orderly most of the time!

I teach the kids to hold on lightly to possessions. "It's ok to have stuff but don't let stuff have you" The kids are good at giving up stuff to others (except for getting rid of real animals). I really try and teach them that they didn't bring anything into this world ( I was there and can attest to that!) and they can't take anything with them.

I see so many people that hold on so tightly to their possessions, homes, cars, jewelry etc. It's sad to me. I can think of several people that are bound by their possessions. I think for some people possessions define to themselves who they are. My aunt that raised me, lived during the depression. She and her sisters owned so much stuff. Our house was so cluttered. When she died and I inherited the house, it took us weeks of going through and throwing things away or giving them away. There were things still in boxes, never used that we just gave away. She didn't take anything with her but for years, those things comforted her. I know a family that lost a loved one and has kept all her stuff and the lady that died was a pack rat herself. Whew - they fill their houses and garages and spend money on storage units to keep stuff. They have so much stuff they don't even know what they have! It's crazy! Sometimes I can hear in someone voice when they talk about "my house, My car my my my "
It's weird but when the word MY is repeatedly emphasised, I'm ususally thinking "This person is too into their stuff" Without fail, I tend to be right (in my opinion) The person usually has a garage/shed full of junk they don't need and they hold way too tight to the things they do need. I was in a car wreck and the person I hit (it was her fault for pulling out) kept crying about "her car". It was new and she obviously loved it. I could have cared less about my car, I was so grateful MY kids and I were still alive. I knew we'd get something else to replace it and as long as it had a/c I didn't care!1 We ended up getting a better van than the one that got hit!

Probably because of how I was raised in junk and clutter, is why I like things clean and clutter free! I was a psychology minor myself! Possessions have never meant much to me. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not going to invite 30 little kids to jump on my furniture and rip it up. But if I no longer have a use for something, it's time for it to go. We've moved so many times in our life and ministry that I've been forced to keep things to a minimal, now it's just a lifestyle. I could box up my entire house in a day or less and be ready to go. When we just had one child, sometimes I'd buy him junk toys, you know what I mean. Well those days are so gone. Not only do I not have the money to do that, with 3 kids, you can't do that! And forget Happy Meal toys! First I usually don't buy a Happy Meal cuz I can buy some hamburgers and one fry for them to share and they can get a drink at home! But in the rare times I do buy something like that, the toy doesn't leave the restaurant! I really try to think when buying the kids Christmas or Bday presents about what I'm buying. I'd rather buy a few quality gifts than a bunch of junk for them. This is something I've really learned in the past few years with 3 kids. Kids do better with fewer toys. They seem to play with them more and appreciate them more.

So when I say I'm not into possessions, I don't mean it pridefully ( I hope I don't) but I really do try to remember that this world is not my home, I'm only passing through. I think in this day and age we have so much stuff in the here and now, our gaze is not upwards but it's on this earth and the things of this world. Now I am not some weird person who lives like the Amish or worse but I do think we Christians tend to get caught up too much in this world and its' things. The older Christians used to sing about heaven and that was to be their reward "I'm satisfied with just a cottage below, a little silver and a little gold but in that city where the ramsoned will shine, I'll have a robe a harp and a crown, I've got a mansion just over the hilltop..." Nowadays Christians demand that God gives them a mansion here, a Lexus and lots of gold and silver...Something just doesn't seem right about that.

Anyhow after watching that show, it really has some spiritual insights. So often we hold on to junk even though God wants us to get rid of it so He can do something beautiful in our lives. But we want the junk, we can't see beyond our situation to understand what God can do for us if we just LET IT GO! In some shows, there is such a battle for some particular object, that the group gives up on tearing that object away from the family and instead of the family getting something nice in its' place, they have to settle for less. One story they tried to get an old junky useless juck box from this guy. If they could sell it in the yardsale, they would redo a room for him and give him a big screen tv, but he wouldn't let it go so he had to settle for less. It looked so silly to see a grown man holding onto junk when he could have had so much more.

LET IT GO!!

So if you have things you need to give to God or things you need to give to Goodwill LET IT GO you'll be so much more happier!

ps. If you need me to come in and help you clean your clutter, I'd love to :) I've done that for a few friends but I am BRUTAL!!!! Get rid of the foolishness and mayhem!!