The miracle of the Gas…..

I met Jesus Today and He was driving a 30 year old, Beat-up, Yellow, 1 Ton, Pick up Truck!

What impresses me the most about this whole scene is God’s amazing grace towards me.

Well, I am known to lack a certain “worry” gene that has been passed on in my husband’s family apparently for generations.  In fact due to his ability to take care of much of the worrying for both of us, I tend to lean a little to the opposite extreme in some areas.  Such as when to put or not put gasoline in our vehicle. 

My husband is very faithful at putting gas in the car whenever the indicator shows we are down around a quarter of a tank.  I know, theoretically that this is better for the engine, and the driver’s peace of mind, but on the otherhand, it seems like such a waste of time to me.  It involves extra trips to the gas station for which I just don’t have time.  In addition, I have tested the car, I know how many gallons of gas it holds, and how many miles to the gallon it gets (city and highway).  I know that when the gas indicator light comes on we have at least 30 more miles that can safely be traveled before we even get close to running out of gas.  I drive this car regularly and I have tested it numerous times.

Well, we were waiting for pay day to get more gas money, and the low gas indicator light came on 2 days before pay day was due.  I knew we had at least 30 more miles and made a mental note of the car’s mileage.  I also tried to limit my trips as much as possible.  My husband said, “GET SOME GAS.”  Pay day morning, he called from work to say his check was there, please come get it right away and “GET SOME GAS!”  I dropped the 4 year old off at preschool, picked up the check and deposited it in the bank.  Then I went home to do some housework, intending to get the gas after picking up the 4 year old at 11:00 a.m.. 

By this time I was definitely over my 30 miles, but I was *pretty* confident that we could get to her pre-school, pick her up and go straight to the gas station without any trouble.  My 10 and 13 year olds having heard dad’s concern about the gas situation were very nervous.  “Just get gas first mom, please.  It’s okay if you’re late to get the baby.  It’s better than not getting there because you run out of gas!”  “MOM, can we please stop and get a gallon or two of gas, just to make sure!”

I assured the kids that we were fine and headed the 4 miles from our home to the preschool.  There were no gas stations exactly on the way anyway.

I was only 1 mile away from the school and stopped at a stop sign waiting to turn right onto a busy street.  Finally, there was a clearing and so I pulled into the right lane –well, I tried to pull into the right lane.  As I turned the corner, the car stalled  out.  Not wanting to admit my error, I tried several times to restart the car to no avail.  I had to admit --I was out of gas.  My 13 year old son hopped out to push, giving me a very frustrated, “mom” look as he did.   I opened my door to try to push and steer us back around the corner onto the less busy street and out of the way of traffic.  Several gentlemen immediately pulled over and helped my young son quickly push us back around the corner and up onto the lawn of the utility company that sits on that corner. 

Feeling frustrated with my mistake and a little embarrassed I sat quietly for one moment, deciding my course of action.  First on the agenda, Call the 4 year old’s school to inform them I would be late.  –No answer there, they must be outside on the playground still.  I did not leave a message.  Second on the agenda, Call the insurance company’s vehicle rescue division, to ask for a tow to deliver a gallon of gas.  I was desperately hoping this service was in fact covered by the insurance. 

I sat patiently on hold for about a minute when I noticed a very beat up yellow pick up truck pulling up right behind me.  Inside the truck was a weathered man old enough to be my dad.  He had long grey hair like my dad too!  I hung up on the insurance company and got out to tell him what the situation was.  As he hopped out of his truck, the first words out of his mouth were, “You out of gas?”  I don’t know about you, but if I see a car broken down on the side of the road, the first thing that pops into my head is not that they might be out of gas.  (I rather think this is a somewhat uncommon occurance for most normal people). 

“Yes,” I answered somewhat surprised.  He turned and headed to the back of his truck, telling me over his shoulder that he had gas with him.   He returned promptly with a familiar looking red plastic gas can.  His clothes were tattered, but his smile was genuine as he poured several gallons of gas into my little green Outback.  I gave him a few dollars and thanked him for stopping to help.  He didn’t criticize me for running out of gas, he just smiled and then waited to make sure I got going allright. 

As I drove the last mile to the school I thanked God for His amazing grace to me.  This event could have delayed me terribly, making me late to pick up my daughter.  He could have “disciplined” me for my clear disobedience to reason.  Instead, God in His infinite mercy, smiled, saw my repentant heart, and then stopped and gave me enough gas to get to the school and the gas station.

I pulled into the parking lot of St. Aloysius School at 11:01.  The kids were still playing on the playground and had not even headed back into the school for lunch yet!  As my 4 year old ran to hug my legs, I quickly thought, “Thank you God, please help me to have the wisdom to parent as you do.”

I am looking for feedback on this chapter for my "Miracles" book --if you would care to offer any......

It is fascinating to see the results so far.  The four choices are:  Public School, Private School, Homeschool, or Unschool.  If you would like to see where the 15500 votes have been cast so far, or if you would like to cast your own vote... here is the link:

http://drphil.com/shows/show/796/
Just click on "take our poll"

I am not typically one to watch Dr. Phil, although DH likes the show occasionally, but we might watch tonight's education debate. 

And I definately cast my vote, although that choice does vary from day to day --some days unschooling (go ahead and just read today, mom's got too much housework to catch up on), some days homeschooling (alright now, children, get out your first subject and let me see how you've been doing! :-), some days public school (If you hit your sister with that broom one more time I am going to send you to public school.  I've had just about enough. All right, I'm calling right now!  GO TO YOUR ROOM!  Hello, Mr. Principal, can I enroll a delinquent, unsocialized 6 year old in your 3rd grade today!  Oh I'm sure I will be ready to unenroll him by next week, we just both need a little "change of pace." ) 

P.S. My 10 year old thinks my post is funny.  My 4 year old thinks it's just stupid!  I guess I have some work to do here in my little homeschool!

Okay this is the same family who owned the Remington Razor Company.  Remember those commercials, "I liked it so much I bought the company." 

Well, now they have a really unique line of jewelry.   I know, I know most of you are thinking you have never even seen me wear more than a wedding ring and maybe a noodle necklace or something the kids made!  But I still think this jewelry is unique and attractive. 

This company is called Lia Sophia and you can check out some of the jewelry online.  The following link is to my good friend Laura's homepage for Lia Sophia.  She is a Lia Sophia Distributor.  She is in Central Pennsylvania but could probably host a book party anywhere.  She can also do online sales directly anywhere in the U.S.  www.liasophia.com/laurag

At this point she is booking out home shows in January so if you want more info or want to see the jewelry up close and personal contact her through her web page or email me personally for her contact info. 

Allright that sounded rather like a commercial!  That was not the original intent, I just wanted to share Laura's new venture with my friends.  Let me know what you think of it. 

Blessings,

Catherine

My dad was scheduled for surgery today to make his feeding tube "permanent."  The surgery was cancelled becasue something more urgent came up for the Dr.

In the meantime, my mom and brother spent most of the day with dad, talking to him, praying for him and just hanging out.  Late tonight, about 11 or so, just my brother was there and dad's eyes were open --no focus, but open.  He started to cough really bad.  then after he coughed my brother was sure he heard him wisper two words and his mouth was moving as if he was trying to talk.  He asked the nurse how this could be since he still has a tracheostomy in.  She said that if the trac was blocked then some air would pass over his vocal cords enabling him to whisper.  And she pointed out that the trac was infact plugged up pretty much with mucous. 

We are very excited at this small develpment and continue to pray and pray and pray.  Please pray for dad to fully wake up.

Thanks so much.

There is Hope..  There is always Hope.  Hold on to Hope until there is no Hope left to hold on to.  Then, and only then, let go, with grace.  God's grace.

I don't believe in coincidences.  I believe that God is intricately involved in the little details of our lives, when He chooses to be.  I don't know why He doesn't seem to intervene in BIG ways sometimes, but that is why He is God and I am well, not.  And it is always quite possible that He intervenes in a lot more BIG ways than we give Him credit for, because we don't see what might have been...

I was searching the internet looking for a story about a little boy who had suddenly woken up from a coma after 2 years.  I couldn't find the story, but what I did stumble upon was fascinating.  Of course knowing the internet, you have to check the credibility of your sources carefully --I learned that from a good pastor friend who is famous for sending back those sensational emails and kindly pointing out that it was just an urban legend afterall!  Thank you, Craig! 

My initial source was the "Guardian" a reputable Left (my husband tells me) British Newspaper  (Those two words can go together can't they?  Reputable and Left?)  Anyway, more importantly let me tell you what I found....

In 1999 in South Africa, a family doctor was responding to a families concern about their comatose son.  They were worried that he was uncomfrotable and maybe in pain.  He perscribed a sleeping pill, which they disoved in some water and managed to give him by mouth.  He quieted down and within about 15 minutes he woke up and started to talk to his parents.  He had been in a coma for years.  He was awake and lucid and could even joke with them.  After the drug wore off, he slipped back into a coma again.  They repeated the sleeping pill the next day with identical results, except that he also remembered the previous days conversation.  Amazing.  This had been accidentally discovered several times under basically the same circumstances.  Once in Texas aonther time in Britan.  And apparently Dr. Nels, the Dr. in South Africa has repeated the phenomenon with about 60% of the 150 coma patients whom he has given this particular sleeping pill to.  This story was in the September 12, 2006 issue of the Guardian and is very long.  But if you go to their site you can read all the details.  Search Coma and Sleeping Pill or Zolpidem and It should bring it right up.  I'll try to add a link later.

Anyway, knowing dad's doctors I didn't think the Guardian would be a substantial enough resource for them to even consider trying this, so I decided to search the medical literature.  Well, it was there, documented in several Doctor type journals!!!  I couldn't believe it.  When I first read it, I think my jaw must have been hanging open, as I was thinking this is too good to be possible.  And too weird too.  What I can't figure out is why every doctor of neurology isn't looking into this if they have coma patients.  The sleeping pill in question is Zolpidem, or Ambien in the States.  It is rather common here and in Europe and is considered to be rather safe as far as sleeping pills go.  The Medical Documentation indicates that even a whole bottle of these won't kill you although it would make you feel plenty lousy! 

So, I have armed myself with articles and abstracts, and am trying to get in touch with this Dr. Nels to find out how many of the patients he has tried it with have been a. stroke victims and b. in a coma for less than a year.  This drug has returned sight to a lady, given physical movement to one person, improved cognition in semi-comatose patients and woken up cully comatose patients.  The effect is temporary as they will slip back into their previous state when the drug wears off, but it is repeatable on a daily basis.  One coma patient has been getting his wake up (I mean sleeping) pill every morning now for 6 years. 

All right, how wild and out there is that?  We are reservedly excited to check it out a little further and give it a try.  It can't hurt.  Our big dilemna now is that while it is common in the States it is not available in Canada where dad is.  I found out it is legal there, although it is governed by the controlled substance board, it is just not marketed in the country. 

I am working on contacting Health Canada (like our FDA) and getting special permission to have it supplied to him at least for a trial at first. 

Here's the theory of how Dr. Nels and a nuclear Medicine dr., Dr. Clauss think this is working.  When our bodies have a Traumatic Brain Injury, the brain has a chemical called GABA (Gamma Amino Butyric Acid) which closes down brain function to help the cells survive.  They think that after a long time the receptors in the brain become hypersensitive to GABA which is a depressent and they don't wake back up --thus a persistent vegetative state.  Zolpidem is a GABA antagonist and these drs. think that by temporarily shutting off the GABA it allows the person to wake up.  Incidentally they have done brain scans prior to the administration of Zolpidem and after and prior to the drug the brain cells look dormant or dead.  Doctors would say a persistent vegetative state and this patient is not going to wake up.  After Zolpidem the cells look totally different and active.  THis is very facinating to me and gives me someething to pursue and something to hope for.  It is not a complete cure, but it is better than where dad's at now!  What we are not sure about is how soon, is 6 weeks too soon to try this, does his brain need to be shut down longer to continue to heal before it is woken up? 

So if you wish to pray for dad and us, these are some specific things you can pray about.  And thank you for caring, thank you for reading and thank you for praying.  May God's blessings fill your heart and life. 

I will post if and when we get approval to try this.

P.S.  Oddly, there was an episode of House last week that was loosely based on this drug.  they even referred to South Africa.  But they put an "Awakenings" (the 60s movie) spin on it, where the patient could be woken up but only once and that was it.  It was not like the case studies for Zolpidem but it was interesting that it was this week when I had just discovered this information.

God always knows what lies ahead of us.  I did not want to move all the way accross the country AGAIN, but my husband really strongly felt we should move to be closer to my folks.  So in June, Dad came all the way to Pennsylvania and helped us get rid of most of our stuff and load up what was left and move all the way to the West Coast.  (I know if anyone reading this helped us load up or unload, you may take issue with the word "most" in "most of our stuff", but it felt like it in the purging and it was at least half of our stuff :-).

Well, if you've read this far you're a trooper, so now I am going to give you some more details of dad's injury and progress so far.

As you have already gathered we have staunchely refused to "let him die" at every opportunity, and the blessing is that he has refused to do that too.  When he was first moved to the ICU, he was on a ventilator to breathe for him, a pace maker to maintain his heart beat, an IV for fluids and drugs, a feeding tube for food (Forgive me if anyone finds this offensive, but for pretty much crappy garbabe food.  YOu know in North America we start most people out on Corn Syrup with added synthetic "nutrients" and we potentially finish them that was 50 or 60 or 80 years later!)  I am not sure how anyone's body can really heal on that diet but we'll save ther rest of that story for later...

He was also hooked up to the ventrisculstomy (we call it the brain drain), and they had to regulate his usually low normal blood pressure with medications, first one to raise it, then a few hours later another one to lower it and then to raise it and then........

Well, after about a week it was obvious that his heart was maintaining a steady heart beat --his normal, on its own, so they took out the pace maker!  Then they put in a traceostomy so he didn't have to have the tupes going down his throat, but realized quickly that the ventilator was not supporting his breathing but rather just assisting it.  After about 2 weeks he was totally off the ventilator and breathing on his own 100%.  He kept the trac and they continued to support him with extra oxygen and they suction through it.  Next they realized that his blood pressure was normalizing on its own and he was off the epinephrine, to keep his blood pressure up.

Now they started talking about putting in a permanent shunt from his brain, to drain the blood and cerebral fluid directly to his abdomen to maintain a normal pressure in his head.  They gave us two options, pull it out altogether and see if he takes over normal absorption or dies, or do the shunt.  Well, on a Saturday morning, he was starting to throw up and the nurse rushed in to turn him on his side so that he wouldn't choke and in the process the brain drain popped out.  THe ICP (Intracranial Pressures --measured by the brain drain) had been really good for more than a week and so the doctor decided to just leave it out and see what happened. 

We were VERY concerned with this approach considering, if his body did not adequately absorb the fluid it would build up again in his head causing him to lose the small functions he was slowly gaining.  This was about 4 weeks into his coma, and the only thing keeping dad in the ICU at this point was the brain drain, so I know they really wanted it out, and to see what happened.  The only way to tell if the pressures were getting too high with out the ICP readings from the drain was to observe his physical responses. 

There are two scales used to evaluate the level of coma a person is in.  THis hospital uses the Glasgow Scale which goes from 3 at worst to 15 at best.  Dad was a 3 for the first week plus.  ANything less than a 3 is considered dead.  By the time of the drain popping out however he was getting readings as high as 6 some of the time, interspersed with 3s, 4s and 5s.  Due to the suddenness of the removal and the inconclusive determination of his pressures we asked them to watch him VERY closely and put the drain back in if there were any signs that his pressures were going up.  They put it back in within about 5 hours and the nurse (one of the few really defensive dranky ones) told us the doctor put it back in becasue we were so bent out of shape about it. (Oh well, it shows that you really need an advocate when you are in the hospital!)  Well, It was the day after that that he had actually spontaneously opened his eyes.  No focus or apparent recognition but open of his own accord.  We were very excited.  He was a 7 on the GCS scale. THe doctors made sure to inform us that patients with no brain activity i.e. in a "Persistent Vegitative State" can still open their eyes and don't get too excited about it.  A few days later they started shutting off the brain drain and watching the pressure (ICP) readings to see how dad was handling the fluids.  His pressures stayed good as his body took over yet another normal function, absorbing the fluids in the brain.  (BTW, our bodies normally produce about 10-20 cc's of cerebral fluid an hour and that is just absorbed, but after there is a brain injury especially with extra blood, it becomes too much for the body to handle.)  So by the later part of the week they took the brain drain out and moved dad to a regular ward in the hospital.

Well after just a day and a half on the regular ward, the nurses kept telling me (by phone cause I was home at this time) that his Glasgow Coma Scale readings were consistently 3s.  I kept telling them this was not good, and he had been consistently higher than that, and that this was a sign that his pressures could be going up.  Finally, I convinced his nurse to give me the doctor's number,  The Neuro surgeon said, he was now out of the picture casue the drain was out, call the regualr family doctor.  Regular DR was on vacation, call the oncall guy,  On call guy was home very sick!  I told the receptionist the situaiton and that I was convinced based on the informationthe nurses were providing to me that dad needed a Cat scan to either confirm increased blood build up or not.  I also, told her I was sorry the doctor was sick, but if he didn't handle this and call me back to talk to me I would raise holy @#$% at the hospital until I made sure that dad was getting the proper monitoring.  Afterall the drain had only been out for a day and a half and for his GCS to drop so much so fast was not good.  Well, the sick dr. called back and told me he had ordered the cat scan and they let me know the results as soon as it was done.  He said it was one of those calls that could go either way, but due to our concern he'd do the test.  THe cat scan turned out to be no change in fluid from the previous one earlier in the week -- a good sign, but why the change on the Coma scale?  We were worried.  I went back up there with the kids and finally realized the problem.  The nurses on the new ward had 8 patients each instead of 1 or at tmost 2, and they were not ICU nurses and were not doing the assessments anything like the assessments done in ICU.  When I did my own assessment basedon observing the ICU nurses and their explanations Dad was a 4, 5, or 6.  They still put down a 3!!!  IT was the difference in care and training.  Which made us feel much better and then worse.  On the new ward, the nurses are very friendly and fun and helpful.  But really really busy.  They hygiene is not good.  Dad gets edema terribly now becasue they don't have time to turn and change him except every 4-5+ hours.  We try to massage and move his limbs but it is definately not good for him.  He does get about 5-15 minutes of PT Physical therapy about 5 days a week, but that is really nothing compared to what he needs now either.  We need to start trying to pursue a remedy for this.

I have been researching all sorts of potential benefits for him although there have been no official medical discoveries for the treatment of coma patients in over 30 years. 

I did discover that Progesterone has been being tested on animals for 15 years and has a neurologic protective factor which helps prevent some of the damage in a TBI (Traumatic Brain INjury).  the first human study done on 100 TBI patients was just released and shows promising results but it is such a small sample they will be doing a larger scale study soon.

I also discovered a Neurologic Chiropractor  in Florida, Dr. Carrick who has woken 1000's of patients up from a coma.  HE is basically retired but I am working on finding someone who has had coma experience closer to us here...

I have also been looking into nutrient therapy and the hospital dietician (the good one --who is assigned to dad thank the Lord) agreed to add Cod Liver Oil, Acidophilous (sp?), Sardine Oil, and Garlic Oil to his tube each day.  THe first dietician was very condescending and said I'd have to bring in medical literature documentaing the efficacy of anything I wanted to give him!  THe one on his floor is great, she said, "hey, wouldn't it be just great if we could get him better with this stuff.  We'll show them!"

Dad got a Staph Aureus infection withing about a week of being on the new ward --no surprise.  So, back on antibiotics, and he was much more lethargic.  (I know how can you be much more lethargic than in a coma?  Trust me, there are levels to this!)  We didn't get to see him open his eyes the whole time we were up there the last time. 

The infection went away and he began opening his eyese again.  He has been opening them for a while everyday now.  I can't wait to see that.  It is still the 1000 yeard stare, but mom says his eyes are looking more and more clear.  There is no apparent communication, although one nurse one day said he moved his toes when she asked him to. 

So, we see lots of little rays of hope, but it is potentially such a long haul.  When I think about dad's life and the magnitude of his recovery it can make me (the unemotional one) burst into tears.  I have been driving dad's car, cause mom can't drive it and obviously neither can dad right now, but sometimes I just miss him sitting there in the passsenger seat reminding me when to shift.  ON the last trip we took together, I was teasing him that when I'm in my 60s and he's in his 80s he'll still be telling me when to shift!  He said, "I will not, I'm not telling you now, I'm just reminding you."  Or something like that!  I have this picture of my life, and it always includes dad being there, I can not even fathom him not being around for another 20-30 years.  I see him in my mind's eye standing proudly at my daughters' weddings.  I see him flying with my son in his Airforce jet --not sure how they'll pull that one off, but dad has always wanted to fly in one of those jets, he wanted to be a pilot but couldn't becasue of his eyes.  I see him putsing around on our little farm (the one we don't have yet but hope to eventually) helping us figure it all out.  And I see him sitting up with us at night drinking tea in his Burger King Mug with the spinny hamburger on the handle, spinning that hamburger and reminicing with us. 

If he loses this battle, I know where'll he'll be.  And I know he'll be holding Ethan or maybe playing baseball with him by now.  And I know I'll see them both, and Elizabeth too --one day. I am at peace with that possibility as much as  I'm not ready for that yet.  But I don't think he's going to lose this battle.  And I'm going to do everything I can to help him pull through.  I really have this gut feeling that eventually he's going to pull right through and wake right up.  I can also see him walking back into that ICU to thank the nurses and to tell off the doctors!  Okay just to show them he's better.  I really want to be there that day!!!!!

I will post one more part tonight.  Part Four is about the hope (actually a medical hope) that we have found...  It's a bit out there, but there is quite a lot of documented success.  If you know of anyone in a coma, this is worth checking out.

God is good ALL the time.

Euthanasia used to just be a word.  You know, have you heard about the "Youth in Asia?"  It was just a distant word, until we had to face it head on...

When dad was first put into the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) we had no idea of the statistics and had never even heard of this type of stroke.  This has been a huge learning curve for all of us in SO many ways. 

When got into town, we went straight to the hospital.  The kids handled our first "visit" with dad so well.  They talked to him, held his hands and sang and prayed over him.  We were a little worried that the trauma of it all would be too much for them, especially the 4 year old, but we have never tried to hide reality from them before and they (the older two) have been through worse and come out stronger on the otherside, so we took them right up there with us.  During our week and a half stay the ICU nurses were really good with the kids and us too answering lots of questions and allowing us in and out of there at all hours of the day and night.  They listened to us all sing and pray and talk and talk to dad just willing him to open his eyes for us.  There were only a couple of nurses who were really unpleasant, the rest were very helpful. 

Where we encountered the greatest oppression was from the doctors.  Right from the start they started pushing us to unhook all the life support and "just let him go."  They never once gave us a speck of hope, telling us they had "never seen someone in your dad's condition recover. Ever."  "No, I don't belive in miracles."  "It's cruel to keep him alive like this, what kind of quality of life is he going to have liek this?"  "Wouldn't he rather have you let him go than prolong this."  And on and on --even now it still continues.

We FINALLY figured out a few things.  1.  They really feel they have to give the worst case scenario, because if they are wrong and they give the family hope then they are liable.  2.  This is Canada, the home of "Socialized" Medicine.  It is a direct drain on the government's finances to prolong the life of anyone who does not have a high probability of a good recovery.  A 10% chance of a good recovery sounds way too expensive to a governmental medical system that is not even holding itself together very well. 

About 90% of the nurses were, as I would put it, "on dad's side."  They gave us stories of hope and encouraged us to keep talking, and singing and praying.  "He can hear you, I know he can." one nurse told us. 

Another nurse, when I told her that I was so frustrated with the bleakenss of the doctor's reports that they had NEVER seen someone in my dad condition recover, replied, "O yes they have.  They just can't tell you that."  She keyed us into the liability side of things.  She also told us part of her story.   SHe herself had been in a coma.  Her parents were informed that she would not live and if by chance she did, she'd be a vegetable.  (And yes, they really do talk to families of injured patients that way!), they refused to allow her 5 year old to say good bye to her as they wheeled her into the emergency surgery, where they expected her to not come out alive --or at least as a vegetable.  She told me that that is the one thing she will never forgive that neurologic surgeon for.  I don't know how long she reamained in the coma with her parents fighting for her life, but now she works as a nurse on the floor where my dad was eventually transfer too, and she is our greatest ally.  We are working on alternative treatments and anything that we are confident will not be harmful and could potentially be helpful, that the doctors won't agree to --"She'll help us out with that!"  So far they have agreed to the first 4 things we presented them with. 

We will stay the course on preserving my father's life and praying for his recovery.  The road could be long, but my disabled mom, who is struggling a lot without dad there to help her, has been to the hospital every single day to visit him since he got there.  This is the same mom who used to get out 1-2 times in a month if it was a good month. 

I told you dad was working on finishing the downstairs renovation.  Well that first week and ahalf in between spending time at the hospital with dad that's what we did, tried to finish up the little bits we could of what he had been working on and move the stuff from downstairs upstairs and move what mom needed from upstairs, downstairs.  This was enough to move even the strongest of heart to tears, as my dear mom is an extremely sentimental packrat!

I will continue in part three by telling about dad's progress so far.  Thanks for reading so far already. 

It's Amazing --How One Tiny Blood Vessel Can Throw So Many People's Lives Into Complete Disarray...

Part One...

Warning:  This will be rather long and somewhat emotional --it will also have some medical details.  If you don't want to read it all through, our family will covet your prayers for my dad's complete recovery and our strength to help him and to continue to fight a very euthanistic system. 

My mother's health has not been good for quite a few years.  My brothers and I have tried (as much as one can prepare) to prepare ourselves for that dreaded call in the middle of the night from dad. ....

Well in the wee hours of the morning on Thursday September 28th, our phone rang and I stumbled out to the livingroom in a half awake state.  On the phone was my mom, calling close to paniced, but loaded with adrenaline to let me know that the EMS (Emergency Services) --about 12 of them she thought were "hauling your dad out of here in an ambulance right now."

This is my dad who is never noticable sick.  As mom says if he does ever get anything, he just has to wiat a minute and its over and he's back to his usual activities.  We realized neither of us had ever even known of him to take a Tylenol, he is always well. 

My mom is pretty close to being a shut in, because she can walk a bit but can't do stairs and they live in a townhouse upstairs.  Dad was in the process of helping to finish a handicapped accesible renovation in the downstairs so they could move down there and at least mom could get outside.  He had spent Weednesday painting a ceiling and then had gone out to eat with mom at my brothers' home.  They had a nice time and came home and as dad was falling asleep in the recliner he kind of mummbled, "no one ever thinks anything can be wrong with me."   Then around 4:30 in the morning mom was in the bathroom and heard him throwing up.  She didn't worry too much cause he never gets sick, but came out a couple minutes later to find that he was not really breathing and she couldn't wake him.  So she called 911. 

It turns out he was choking on his tongue, becasue he was having a stroke.  She feels so badly that she didn't figure this out and give him oxygen.  She did try to lift his head cause she thought he'd been throwing up, but could not. 

My brothers got there almost as fast as the ambulance and beat the ambulance to the hospital. 

First it was a stroke then they told us an anerism, then they weren't sure we'd have to wait, but "if I (who live about 8 hours away) wanted to see him alive again I better get up there RIGHT NOW."

We threw our wet clothes out of the wahser in a laundry basket, got the kids together quickly, they were all up by now, and then realized our van's check engine light was on, and we had absolutely no money to fix it.  We called our cell group leader from church, he suggested a mechanic to go to for such an emergency and siad he'd pay for it until we got back and got Kevin's MIA paycheck.  We rushed over there and it was an easy fix and were on our way.  I thought about flying but to where they live it really wouldn't have been that much faster with changes of planes and what not.  We got pulled over within 20 minutes of leaving by a state trooper and I (non-emotional being that I usually am) burst into tears and told him why we were doing 20 miles over the speed limit.  He told us dad needed us to get there alive and slow down and did not write us a ticket --thank the Lord.  We slowed down just a little.

We were out of cell phone range most of the trip, but stopped and called from a couple places along the way. 

It turned out that there are a variety of ways that a body can have a stroke and my healthy father's brain chose the worst option.  He burst a tiny blood vessel deep in the right lobe of his brain, in the Thalmus region causing a lot of blood to go all over the place doing a lot of damage. 

By the time we got there he was in the intensive care unit, hooked up to a lot of machines.  They had done an operation to put a ventriculostomy into his head to drain out the blood and cerebral fluid and try to relieve some of the pressure.  We were superficially relieved to see that they managed to do the operation without sacrificing too much of his long hair that he is quite proud of.  He looked so helpless lying there depending on all those medical machines for his very life.  They told us his diagnosis an "intracerebral hemorrhagic stroke" causing a severe Traumatic Brain Injury.  I never heard of this kind of stroke, only the kind where there is a blood clot that stops the blood and thus oxygen to the brain.  Hemorrhagic strokes account for about 17% of all storkes and have a variety of causes.  THis type of stroke is more common in younger stroke victims and has a very high mortality rate in the first 30 days.  Statistics told us that if a patient survies the first 30 days they have about a 10% chance of a reasonably decent recovery!  That is what we are still going for. 

I will briefly answer the questions I got regarding my Adventures in Bartering Aritcle.  First of all what is bartering? 

Bartering is simply a way of exchanging goods or services without the use of money.  I offer you produce from my garden, you sew a dress for me in exchange.  Or whatever arrangement two people or families set up.  So far all of my barter arrangements involve my working and providing a service for someone and them providing me with either goods or a service in return.

Question 2 was how do I go about arranging these types of barter relationships?  This is simple.  When there is a product or service and I can not afford it, I ask the person if they do or would consider bartering for the service or product. 

Our previous chiropractor's office introduced me to this by actually offering.  They kept a barter sheet in their office and a client that could not afford to pay the entire amount for services could fill out the sheet with any goods or services which they would be able to offer in return.  The sheet was a list of items or services which they (the chiropractors) were in need of.  I can not tell you what a blessing this was to us during our lowest time financially, there was not way we could have afforded the care otherwise and we didn't have insurance.  They literally helped keep us well through that very stressful time.  They were tremendously generous and have blessed us so much.

Then when we moved, I just approached the places where I have barter set up and asked.  I shared that I was seriously interested in the product or service they had but did not have the financial means to pay for it, and did they have any products or services they needed that I might be able to provide to them.  They all said yes.  And like I said in my previous post, this helps me to look at the value of these products and services in a different way.  3 gallons of raw milk and a dozen eggs "costs" me about 3 and a half hours of cleaning work on the farm.  My daughter also cleans and receives alternate products from the little store, in exchange for her work. 

So, for those of you who wanted more info, I hope that this has answered your questions.  I am still interested in learning more about other people's use of the bartering system.  Hey it's how we started before money and I think it's where we are headed eventually again.

Blessings

I have been so blessed by people who allow us to barter with them for services.  It gets a little hectic at times, but it is fun and it helps us realize more tangibly the value of the products or services we barter for.  Right now we have three barter arrangements. 

1.  We work on an organic farm once a week in exchange for organic, raw dairy products and other items as needed.  My second child and I and sometimes the oldest will go for 2-4 hours and work cleaning mostly.  We are also benefitting from the farmer's extensive knowledge as they teach  us new things.  We also get to see just how much work even a small farm can be.

I keep a barter ledger for the farm, showing number of hours vs. dollar value of goods.

3.  I work 2-3 hours per week at a Montessori school in exchange for registration and suppy fees for our youngest to attend there 3 days  per week for 2.5 hours each day.  Actually now that I am working over lunch time she gets to stay an hour longer on 2 days and get "free" lunch --which she just loves, I'm not soooo thrilled with.

In addition to receiveing services, I have decided to formally offer this same opportunity to other families.  I teach Bradley Natural Childbirth classes and in our area the other teachers are insistent on charging a rather high rate which makes these classes unachievable for many young couples.  I will therefore be adding a barter or partial barter option for  those who can't afford the higher cost.

I would be delighted to hear about other people's experiences with bartering.  Positive or negative.  I think there is an opportunity for a whole "off grid" economic system to develop in local communities.  And as our financial system gets more and more shakey I suspect that barter will become  a norm not an exception or an oddity.

Thanks for reading and sending me your comments on bartering.

I just found this on another Blog and I personally need to read this at least once a day, I tend to the opposite of what I want to do.  We have these little ones for such a short time....

If I Had To Raise My Child Again:

I'd finger-paint more and point the finger less;

I'd do less correcting and more connecting;

I'd take my eyes off my watch and watch with my eyes;

I would care to know less and know to care more;

I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.

I would stop playing serious and seriiously play;

I'd run through the fields and gaze at the more stars;

I'd do more hugging and less tugging;

I would be firm less often and affirm much more.

I'd build self-steem first and the house later

I would teach less about the love of power and more abouth the power of love...

By: Diane Loomans

Thank you Diane!

Catherine

I can't believe that God has intervened and given me something I have wanted for about 25 years.  I have wanted a Vitamix for so long I had pretty much given up any hope of ever getting one.  There is really no reasonable way we coudl ever afford to buy one, even on a payment plan it would be a big stretch.  Well, this weekend The Orkin Man actually sat through not one but two cooking demos at the Interstate Fair, one of them being of the Vitamix.  And he was as impressed as I have always been with the potential for increased healthy eating with this delightful contraption.  It makes healthy so much easier and it tastes so good too.  Well, he really wanted to just put one on layaway then and there but both of us realized that we have so many greater priorities financially right now, trying to get back on our feet and so reluctantly walked away A G A I N.....With another brochure and hope yet disapointment.

Well, this time I thought, you know, I've got some potentially serious health issues to deal with right now and this would help so much, "Dear God, if you could see fit to help us find a way to get this item, I really belive it would help us improve our health."  Well, Freecycle then popped into my head.  But who in their right mind is going to give away a $400 machine to a stranger on Freecycle?  But God, who knows all, knew that there was someone out there... Here is a copy of the email I just received: 

Catherine, I have a story for you. In 1981, the year my 6th (and last) child
was born, I finally paid off the Vitamix I had on layaway for many years, if
you can imagine...it still runs and was rebuilt once, had many gasket
replacements but that's all. I want to give it to you, and if you remind me,
I'll see if I can find the cookbook that goes with it and perhaps an
instruction manual. I will be here tomorrow but then gone Tues Wed and
Thurs, home again Fri and thereafter. I will tell you how to find us and you
tell me when you want to come over for it.
@@@@ N @#$$% St, west side of %%$%$. Park on 12345 (one block north of
23457) and walk south two houses to the old house with peeling paint and
projects in the driveway.

Can you believe it?  God is so good, I pray that I can be half the blessing to others that so many of His children have been to us!  Many of you are reading this and know who you are.  This is just another entry in the "Book of Miracles."

Never give up.  God is interested in even the small things in our lives!

Blessings to all.

Our favorite Live WebCam from Pete's Pond in Botswana Africa is back online!  My kids and I must admit, myself, were so excited to see the pond and the animals live tonight.  The camera operator was fabulous too, zooming in on various animals. 

The incessant sound of the birds does drive "The Orkin Man" a bit crazy however, so we have to turn the sound down when he's trying to do other activities!! 

For anyone reading this and unfamiliar with Pete's Pond it is a project on a wildlife preserve in Botswana.  During the dry season when animals need water they set up this webcam that pans the pond showing a great variety of wild animals in real time in their real habitat.  My four year old just loves to wake up in the morning and watch for the Zebras.  We have seen lots of Elephants including an intense few days last year when one young bull elephant was sick and he lay in the pond for several days with just his head and sometimes just his trunk surfacing periodically for air.  He got better after a few days and lumbered up out of the pond.  There is also a blog or forum for discussion of the pond and it is helpful to learn what you've missed while not watching --even though it can be quite addictive!  Avid Pete's Pod fans even have names for some of the more popular animals.  THere is a big crocodile called "Fatty."

We never did see the lions last year but we heard them several times.  Oldest son is hopeful to see a cheetah this year.  We shall see...

The web site also has a listing of animals that you are likely or possibly lucky to see.  Last year I printed out three pages of animals that might be seen and put them on a clip board for the kids to check off what they had seen.

Let me know if you enjoy Pete's Pond as much as we do!

Happy viewing...

And they pay you to enroll your children in this school!!!

Having been homeschooled myself and raised with a good dose of comon sense I often think "if something sounds too good to be true it probably is."

All three of my children got "First Day of School" photos as I got them out the door to their new "schools."  The baby was only disapointed that she didn't "get" to ride the bus.  What's with that anyway?  She loves her uniform though, so hopefully that will make up for the lack of bussing--cause I am not going that far! 

Well here is the scoop, and you can tell me what you think!

Four years ago, a group of homeschool parents, public school teachers and a public school principal all got together to try to figure out a way to work together.  They ended up forming a school called "The Enrichment Cooperative." It works like this.  They have a building, which was previously used as an elementary school.  They operate as part of the local school district.  The school serves as a resource place for homeschoolers and offers them the option of taking classes either at the school or online.  They also offer many internship oportunities and practical life skills for high schoolers.  And many of the online classes are AP classes and college level classes designed as part of a "Running Start" program to give high school kids a decent amount of college credit prior to their "graduation" from high school.  In the lower grades the classes offered are considered "enrichment," and children may come to the school for classes 1 or 2 days per week.  The homeschool parents are formally and legally considered to remain in charge and in control of their children's education, but the cooperative offers these enrichment classes to help supplement the home curriculum.  And the definition of enrichment is very broad based upon how each individual family views it.  Some families do the "fun and interesting classes" at home and have their children take more academic classes at the cooperative for "enrichment."  Other families have their children study the academics at home and they go to the cooperative for "fun and exploratory, hands on" kinds of classes.  For example, my 7th grader is taking Flash Animation, Stop Motion Animation, Bridge Building and Historical Structures, Guitar Lessons, Martial Arts and Sign Language.  My 4th grader is taking an Art class which is primarily pottery, Sign Language and Stop Motion Animation with her brother, Sewing and a chemistry class.  We are hoping to get her into flute lessons as well if we can find a cheap or free flute for her to use.

The atmosphere of this "school" is family.  Parents are strongly encouraged to stay on site, wander in and out of their children's classes, or stay and learn or help.  Younger siblings are also encouraged to tag along and be a part of the action as long as they are not disruptive.  Alternatively there is a very friendly family room with toddler toys and activities, and kitchen stuff.  They have pot luck lunch days, bring your own lunch days and a "delightful" cafeteria with typical school cafeteria lunches (for those days when nothing goes right getting everyone out the door I guess.) There are also 2 playgrounds. 

Legally, the parents remain responsible for their children's education and must still fill out the state required documentation for homeschooling.

Financially the school, as a public school, receives funding for the number of students enrolled.  And each family is allocated a stipend to use towards their children's education.  This can be used towards the coperative classes that have a fee, towards music lessons, towards curriculum which you purchase for use at home (but religious curriculum is excluded), museum admissions related to school, sports team registrations, and more. 

There is an accountability mechanism in place which, so far, is the only potential problem area I see.  To participate there is a requirement that you share your learning goals for each child with a teacher/advisor at the cooperative.  They then give you any suggestions if they think you have gaps in any areas.  At this point my understading is that these "suggestions" are simply that and there are no requirements for you to change your program, but this is the area I intend to be alert about watching.  The people are VERY nice and I was welcomed into the co-op by my former childbirth educator from 10 years ago, who was one of the founders of the cooperative!  Just moving back into the area after 9 years it is nice to find some familiar, friendly faces.

So, it does seem too good to be true, although there are a few hmmms.  We intend to try it out this semester and this school year and see how it goes.

As a homeschooled student myself and as a homeschool mom I don't even know what to do with myself now 2 days each week.  I take the 4 year old to Montessori School at a Catholic School where they VERY graciously provided her with a great scholaship. Then I take the big kids to the cooperative and then I have to figure out how to better myself in some way, or relax, or rush home and get a bit of work done I'm not sure yet what to do!  I think I need a laptop, then I could sit and get caught up on all my computer work instead of staying up all night to do it!

 

Good Night --it'll be tomorrow in 5 minutes ...

The National Pediculosis Association,^® Inc.
A Non-Profit Organization
Serving The Public Since 1983.

www.headlice.org

This site gives a lot of great information on how to really get rid of lice, and a lot of information about why you SHOULD NOT use the pesticides.  Well, to get on with our story...

The day after camp I checked heads again.  Same daughter had 1 louse and a few possible eggs.  I treated her again with pesticides.  Still no one else in the family has had any signs of the nasty critters.  I really can't figure that out.  Anyway, all was fine.  Then she started complaing again about a week later of itchy head.  Sure enough there were 3 mini lice (nymph stage), the next day I found a few eggs too.  I was beside myself.  Were we never to be rid of these dreadful creatures.  BOth of us cried.  I pesticided her head AGAIN!  My gut kept telling me "NO, don't poison her head again!  Her little brain is in there you know!!!"  So that's when I figured there had to be a better way, and obviously the poison wasn't working anyway.  I began researching more diligently --looking specifically for problems and side effects caused by the pesticides.  It made me cry again.  I told her there is another way and this is not a just battle to be won but a war to be fought with many battles to win along the way.  Incidentally, her sister who sleeps in the same bed still has no signs of any lice at all!  No one else does --except I can't check myself (at least not very well) and when ever I think about the issue I itch like crazy.  "scratch scratch scratch"  Okay, no lice just dry scalp!

Here is the regime we have taken up the last several weeks and it seems to be working, FINALLY. 

#1.  Check hair carefully and religously everyday, before bed. Now that I have learned more what to look for and a much more effective technique for checking, this takes me a good hour everynight!

#2.  If there are any signs of lice, drench the hair in a mixture of coconut oil, olive oil and essential oils.  Leave on for a minimum of 20 minutes.  Then comb and check using the rigourous method listed on http://www.crisny.org/not-for-profit/nycap/headlice.htm 

#3.  After combing and removing all eggs, nits and lice, and disposing of them VERY carefully, then the hair can be rinsed out and washed, preferably with a natural shampoo with tea tree oil. 

Finally the hair MUST be carefully checked everyday at bedtime for a minimum of two weeks after the last egg, nit or louse is found.  Then and only then can you let down your guard a little bit, and start checking a couple of times per week.  I have learned that even if you effectively get them out of your home, it is very easy to reinfest from the same source you got them from in the first place becsaue people think that once they've used the pesticide they are free of lice, but they are likely not --Not only do the pesticides cause potential harm to our bodies but they are becoming less and less effective as the lice develop resistence to them.  ICK! 

The oils, on the other hand, help to soften the glue on the eggs and nits, and make them much easier to comb out.  They also smother or partially smother any live lice causing them to either die or slow down.  The essential oils act as a repellant to the lice and have some other good uses as well --Oh and all that oil is really great for your hair and scalp besides.  Although a litle expensive.

This regim is working, and I intend to stay ahead of these buggers one battle at a time! 

Incidentally, I have read and heard that lice are more attracted to light colored hair, dark haired people are reported to have fewer problems with lice.  And curly hair seems to be a deterrent as well.  Apparently, lice prefer a perfectly round hair to attatch their eggs to, and curly hair is oval when cut on a cross section.  Straight hair is round.  These two factors might explain why daughter number one is the only one to be "blessed" with this dreadful infestation.  She has very pretty straight blond hair.  Everyone else has dark and either curly or at least wavy hair.  Interesting, to contemplate but curious just the same.  Statistically 10% of the white population is said to be affected by lice each year but only about .5 % of African Americans are. 

Final weapon we are using is a bandana.  When ever daughter is playing with children who are a potential cource of her infestation she wears a bandana as a physical deterent.  And as I said, I think (fingers crossed) all of our vigilence is finally paying off. 

Good Night

Well, today has been a rather productive day for me.  It's always nice when one of those comes along, however rare it may be.

Today, I accomplished visible things, which is muchmore encouraging than all those invisible mother tasks. 

I posted the three entries I had been waiting to write on this blog.  (Plus this one now of course.)

I bottled a batch of Ginger Beer and started another batch.

I made a gallon of Yogurt (okay that was easy.)

I cooked and cleaned as per usual.

I learned how to down load my pictures to my camera and upload them to the internet for friends to view.  Now I just have to organize them into an album and put in the email addresses!!!

And last but not least, I made my first batch of Homemade Laudry Soap!  I have been "itching" to do this for a while.  It took me over a week to gather the 3 necessary ingredients, and then we were away for a week and a half.  Now we are back and unpacked and today was the day.  So, I invited the little girls in who hang out on our back patio.  they were all excited to help.  Made it more chaotic but it was fun.

Here's the process:

1 bar of grated Ivory Soap

1/2 cup Borax

1/2 cup Washing Soda (not Baking Soda)

2 gallons of water

optional essential oil.

Put the grated soap and 6 cups of water into a pan and cook over medium heat until the soap has disolved.  Then add the Borax and WAshing Soda and stir until they have disolved.  Next put 4 cups of hot water into your large bucket.  I used an old Costco Laundry Soap Bucket!  Stir and stir.  Next add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water to the bucket and stir stir stir.  At this point you can add the essential oil if you wish.  I added lavender and tea tree oil.  Then it must sit overnight and it will become a nice light gel.

I will post my satisfaction results in  a couple of weeks once we have had a chance to use it. 

cost wise it is fabulous.  All the basic ingredients for about 10 batches cost $5.00 - $7.00 and each batch will wash about 64 loads of laundry.  That's about 640 loads of laundry for around $7.00 not counting the essential oil.  I have been paying 5-6 dollars for one box of detergent that will wash about 40 loads of laundry! 

So, if this turns out to work well, and it doesn't cause any skin irritations...guess what?  I'll be sold on homemade laundry detergent!

I am up really late trying to determine if my picture upload is really going to work.  I accidentally aborted the upload half way through last time grrrrr.... Now I am back to half way through again.  

Good Night

I was rushing out the door, late as always, to take 12 year old son to check out a new Civil Air Patrol Squadron.  He came running back inside calling, "Mom, come quick, there's a little kid out here with more blood coming out of his nose than I've ever seen before!"  I went out to find a 4year old boy with a bloody nose and no sign of any adults around.  Bother!  Why does this stuff always happen when you're already late?  I sent my son back inside to get a couple of wet washcloths and tried to get a coherent answer from the 4 year old boy.  His brother came up then on a bike and I asked where their mom was.  "She's not home.  She went out." 

Me: "Well, who is taking care of you then?"

6 year old "Tabitha is."

Me: "So, where is Tabitha?"

6 year old "I don't know, I can't find her, Maybe she went out."

Me "Go check inside Tabitha's house and your house and see if you can find her."

6 year old "ok"

Well, I mopped up the 4 year old and took him upstairs to the deck of Tabitha's apartment.  It wasn't really too serious just a bloody nose --he had fallen off his bike or slammed into the basketball hoop or something --rather unclear story there.  Little 4 year old stopped crying and fell asleep in a lounge chair.  He had not been showing any signs of concussion so I decided the more pressing need at this point was to find a responsible adult in charge of these children. 

It turns out that the 6 year old couldn't find Tabitha in his apt. or hers.  He said that maybe Amanda, Tabitha's older (13 year old) sister was watching them.  I sent another child to fetch Amanda who was hanging out down at the skate ramp by building 5 (these kids live in building 1).  Well Amanda refused to come saying she wasn't watching those kids. 

At this point the 6 year old, Who I have never seen with a parent ever, starts to cry, "No one is taking care of me, someone's going to come and steal me."  I assured him that he would be cared for and no one was going to steal him.  What else could you say at that point?

I hiked down to speak with Amanda myself, and she informed me that Tabitha was watching them. 

Me "And so where is Tabitha."

Amanda "My mom had to take her to the emergency room becasue she might have broke her arm."

Me "Okay, so then who's watching these kids?  And where is the 2 year old?"

Amanda "I don't know, I think Tabitha's supposed to be watching them."

Me "And the 2 year old, where's the 2 year old?"

Amanda "I don't know, Probably with Tabitha at the emergency room." 

Me "But we don't know that.  The baby could be wandering around this neighborhood, or be drowned in the river?!"

Amanda "Yeah, I guess."

Me "Do you have a cell phone number for their mother or for your mother?"

Amanda "No."

At this point, I'm about ready to call the police.  When a couple of the other teenagers with Amanda say. "We know the kids, we'll babysit them." 

Amanda, "I'm pretty sure Tabitha has the baby with her."

So they all come back to building 5 and hang out with 4 year old and 6 year old while waiting for Tabitha to return.

I offered at this point to take my son to Civil Air Patrol about an hour late.  He said no.  Then a few minutes later I spotted Tabitha out my window with her arm all bandaged up.  I ran out and said, "Do you have Jania (2 yo) with you?" 

Tabitha "No, I'm looking for her right now."

Me, really freaking out now, "You don't have her with you!  Your sister said she was pretty certain you had the baby with you at the emergency room.  Are you telling me, she has been wandering around here for the last hour and a half alone?!!!  She could be drowned in the river or dead by now."

Tabitha, looking pretty worried, "She might be with her mom."

Me "But we don't know that!!!!!"

Tabitha "I'm going to go look for her down here."

At this point we sent the 4 year old to check inside their house again for the baby.  I was still reluctant to start searching through the home of people I don't even know.  Tabitha ran arond the neighborhood looking for the baby and the rest of the teenagers sat around a picnic table "just hanging out."  They were unresponsive and unconcerned about the 2 year old, This was Tabitha's problem cause "She was supposed to be watching them."

So I went to Tabitha and Amanda's house to find their mother, who I had also never seen before.  I explained the situation to her and she said that Tabitha had told her that Amanda was going to watch the children while she went to the emergency room.  "Not according to Amanda," I informed her. 

Just then, a tossled head, sleepy looking 2 year old girl followed her brother out of their apartment.  She had been in their apartment the whole time, at least 1.5 hours, alone, probably asleep, but alone with no one knowing where she was or caring to provide any supervision for her.

Tabitha and Amanda argued about who was responsible and their mom finally sent Tabitha home with the 3 kids to feed them and stay home with them until their mother got home. 

It appears that the final story was that, the kids mom (quite young herself) had asked Tabitha earlier in the day if she would babysit at 6:00 p.m.  Tabitha agreed.  Then Tabitha had to go to the emergency room with her mother and asked Amanda to watch the kids when they came over, until she got back from emergency.  Then the kids mother and their aunt went out and told the kids to "go over to Tabitha's house,"  without making physical contact with anyone upon leaving (The kids mother denied this the next day when I spoke with her).  So the kids played happily until the 4 year old go hurt and there was no one to go to.  (Incidentally Amanda was right there when he got hurt, saw it and did nothing.  And it's not like she's uncaring, really apparently just clueless.)

I was VERY upset by this whole event.  Should I call the police?  Should I contact Child Protective Services?  Should I ?????  I prayed about it and decided I want to be a positive influence in this neighborhood.  So, I called the American Red Cross and explained that I live in a low income neighborhood where children are caring for children and not doing a very good job of it.  I asked them if they would consider coming on site and providing their Babysitting Certification Course with a good healthy dose of the importance of responsibility at low or no cost for these kids.  No matter what anyone does the problem is not going to go away and my thought is that if we can at least give some of these kids some better skills and responsibility to deal with situations it might help.  Then we need to work on a parenting class!

Anyway, the Red Cross Agreed and the teenagers and their parents are all into it.  So, if nothing else, at least for now, we are going to try to equip the teenagers with a few skills and hopefully some responsibility.  In the meantime, the 2, 4, & 6 year old continue to wander the neighborhood, although not quite as much.  I have now met their mother and will probably continue to do stuff with her kids as long as we live here.

Sadly, this is probably not an uncommon scenario in many parts of America everyday.

We were vegetarians for years and years and it took a major philisophical shift for me to become an omnivore.  I am now a passionate omnivore following many of the philosophies of Weston A. Price. Except we don't eat Pork or shellfish etc.  And that's as far as I intend to go on this meat eating journey. 

Well, I sent my kids off to a Christian summer camp for the first time ever and my 12 year old had the misfortune of encountering his first and hopefully last cannibal!  And I thought we've had some strange eating preferences!

Here's how it happened...

My dear son (ds) had the bottom bunk.  His bunkmate on top was another young 12 year old boy.  Well, my son has a VERY strong personality and this was his first experience away from home.  He did NOT want to be there at first and was very homesick.  His counselor was 15 and it was his first experience as a counselor.  As I told son he had to stay and this was going to be a great experience for him, and he would regret it if I let him back out of it now, I nervously looked for a "responsible" "adult" that would be overseeing this cabin.  It turns out that each cabin had 2 counselors and the Sr. conselor in the room, Tim, was at least 17 or 18!  I felt "much" better. 

Well there comes a time, even an attachement sometimes over protective mother, must let go and trust her children to the God who made them and loves them even more than she does (if that is possible).  So, I smiled, waved, and left my two oldest children at this delightful, rustic, Christian, horse camp.  It was a long week for me and the youngest child! (We went back to stay at my parents home so I wasn't TOOOO far away from the camp.)  It was a long week for hubby also, alone at home 8 hours away starting his new job. 

Early the following Saturday morning we packed up and headed to camp to see the Rodeo prepared by all the new horsemen and women.  The rodeo was nice but paled in comparison to the joyous reunion we had with our newly independent children after the rodeo.  I didn't cry all week until we got there and I saw them across the rodeo field.  I was so glad and relieved to see them.  They were really still there, and it appeared that they had not been seriously injured or maimed or anything.  (I'm sure they both cried with happiness to see us too --although one of them will never ever admit it!)

Well, almost the first thing our 12 year old did was show his father the impressive bite mark on his right forearm.  "Oh my Lord, Who tried to eat you?"  There were bruises from each of the teeth and scabs where the holes from the incisor teeth were beginning to heal over. 

Okay, who sends their child to summer camp and would even imagine that another camper would try to eat them?  This was not even on my list of things to worry and pray about --I guess that's why it happened.  I didn't pray, "And God, while you're helping him to fall alseep tonight with the peace of your angels all around, please help him grow closer to you through this experience.  Oh and please don't let any of his fellow campers try to eat him in the night."

So, anyway here's how he explains the whole thing.

DS "I was lying on my bunk, and this kid, the one on the bunk above me, threatened to put toothpaste on my pillow." 

I'm thinking, toothpaste?  It this instead of ketchup?

DS "So, I grabbed his arm so he couldn't squirt the toothpaste all over my pillow and I held on really tight.  He starts hitting me and kicking me and yelling at me to let go of his arm.  I kept holding his arm because I didn't see any reason to let it go immediately.  When I didn't let go of his arm, he kept kicking me and then bit my arm."

Me "So then did you let go?" 

DS "No, becasue I was backed into the wall at this point." 

Me "Don't you think you should have let go, then maybe he would have stopped biting your arm."

DS "Yeah probably. But I just barehanded him on the side of the head with my other hand and grabbed his hair and held his head down until the counselor got there.  Then Jordie kept kicking the counselor and screaming while they dragged him out of the cabin.  "

Me "Um, so what did your counselors do?"

DS "Took us both outside and talked to us separetly."

Me, "And how did they treat your bite?"

DS "Oh I took care of it.  I just spit on it, rubbed the spit in.  and then put some of my First Aid cream on it.  Oh and I asked the conselor if he thought Jordie (the cannibal) had rabies,  Don't worry, Tim (the counselor) said he didn't have rabies.  I said, 'okay, I'm fine then.'"

Me doubled over with laughter at this point. "You really asked that?"

DS "Yes, it was the only thing I could think of that might be bad from a bite."

Anyway, we had a discussion about the whole thing and found out that our DS had probably instigated the toothpaste threat in the first place by kicking the bottom of Jordie's bed, in response to Jordie dropping things on him.  No big surprise there. 

The only really distressing part to me was that the counselor was satisfied with our son's own medical treatment of the bite and chose not to report it or even take him to the camp nurse.  Upon calling the healthline the next day, they said any adult human bite should be taken to an emergency room for evaluation due to the possibility of:  "Herpes Simples, CMV, Syphylis, Hepatitis, Tuburculosis, or HIV."    I followed up with the camp and asked them to verify the absense of any of these diseases or contact with someone with any of these diseases by this camper.  They got back to me and said that according to the parent of the child he does not have any of these diseases, has not had them and has not been in contact awith anyone with them as far as they are aware.  We were offered the option of requesting blood tests but opted to accept the mother's word, trust God and move on. 

I must say, all told, I am glad to not be the mother that had to receive that call.  I would have prefered that the incident not happen at all, but given the choice of recipient mothers to be I am thankful to be the mother of the bitee and not the biter.

Well I married my husband "for better or for worse,"  but then "the Orkin Man" came along...

I am very much into health.  You know herbs, nutrition, good environment and all that.  I was a vegetarian for 19.5 years thinking that was the way to be healthy.  I am now a recovering vegetarian and am learning how to prepare and eat healthy (when I can) meat.  We still eat tons of vegetables but have severely reduced and altered our grain type carbs. 

I believe in organics although find eating all organic to be outside of our pocketbook's range right now.  As soon as we can get our little farm up and going, we will be able to eat a lot more organically again.  In Pennsylvania, we belonged to a CSA and just delighted in the box of fresh organic vegies each week.  We also had a garden there and ate a lot more organic food.  We had a fresh supply of organic, raw milk and were in the process of switching most of our household chemicals to more healthful options.

Since the big move to Washington we have not yet become fully connected and found affordable sources of the most healthy foods etc.  I am working on it.  We have found the Weston A. Price Foundation Chapter Leaders and they are a Grade A Certified Raw Milk Dairy.  They are even willing to barter!  And we are finding quite a few organic options in the grocery stores.  Even the food bank which we have been able to utelize here often has organic past dates produce! 

Since my recent miscarriage, I have been a bit more concerned about health and the environmental toxins.  We talked about trying again in the next few months to get pregnant, even though the miscariage was from a pregnancy that was very unplanned, we would lke to add one or two more pieces of heavenly chaos to our family.  Then, what should dear hubby do, but apply for a job that would pay acceptably for our needs, and that fits his work style very nicely.  BUT, does not fit our/my lifestyle philosophies at all.  (It's kind of like when I worked at McDonalds as a Vegetarian.)  He applied to become the Orkin Man. 

Well, the idea of him being employed really appealed to both of us.  The driving all over North Idaho part really appealed to him.  The driving around with his own route to service, part really fits his style.  (He doesn't prefer a sit at a desk all day kind of job.)  The financial compensation isn't fabulous, but it will certainly help us start getting back on our feet.  BUT, the spraying chemicals (pesticides at that) all over himself (accidentally of course), and in and out of people's homes really doesn't appeal to either of us. 

So now I'm scared to even think about getting pregnant and he's nervous about it.  It will probably be "fine" but ....

He comes home everyday and thoughtfully bags his clothing at the door, hops in the shower and is taking all the precautions he can to not contaminate any of us, but there's always that nagging hmmmm.... 

Life is full of inconsistencies, unknowns, hardships and joys.  We can control many things but there are many things we have to just sit back and let go of.  I'm not there yet with this one, I keep hoping and praying he'll be offered a better job.  But I will stick it out "for better or for worse."  It would be better to have harmful effects from a physical ailment here on earth than harmful effects from a discontented heart through eternity. 

When my mom got scholarships for both the oldest kids to go to horsecamp this summer after our big move, she read the application to me over the phone and it said... "There will be a lice check at registration, and any child with any signs of lice will be sent home."  I thought absolutely nothing of it.  We have never had lice and don't even recall any friends experiencing this.  Not a problem. 

Well, about 2 weeks before camp, my 10 yo dd starts complaining about an itchy head.  I looked at her head, we changed shampoos --she is very chemically sensitive-- I checked her head again, and couldn't find anything.  Finally I had just about decided she was alergic to chlorine or some other chemical they put in the city water!  This is the first time we have lived with city water since we've had her.  As she got itchier, and camp was looming, I remembered the lice warning and thought hmmmm.....

So, two days before we were to leave for camp, I really checked her head.  Really checked....  She has long, blond, thick, hair....I spent over an hour looking and looking and found red marks looking like bites. Hmmm.   Finally, I found a bug and upon close examination and comparison to pictures, sure enough it was a louse.  I ended up finding 5 all together.  So gross --she cried, I was freaked out.  New experience for us.  I did not find any nits.  Well, here is miss organic mom, with insects living in her daughter's hair and we have to leave for camp with NO LICE in a day and a half.

I reviewed a lot of information quickly.  There are quite a few natural means of dealing with lice:  Peanut butter on the head overnight.  (takes at least two days to wash out though!) Vaseline on the head overnight --that sounded even more fun.  The use of tea tree oil shampoo --that one I think I could handle but would it be effective enough in two days for her to not be turned away from camp???  Then there is the rigid prevention of wahsing everyone and everything several times per day and running all bedding through the dryer for 20 minutes at least once per day.  Like I could ever keep up with that!

All right, you know what I ended up doing.  At 1:00 a.m., I packed up all the wide awake, freaked out kids and headed to Wal-Mart where we had just been 4 hours earlier "camp shopping."  The oldest ds wrote the list as we drove:  2 rolls of quarters for the laundromat, a vacuum cleaner (hadn't replaced ours yet since the move), individual brushes for everyone (normally we share one), and the dreaded pesticide shampoo, and more laundry detergent.

We got home late/early and I shampooed the 10 yo. and the 12 yo and changed their bedding and put them to bed.  The 4 yo went to bed for morning application.  Then I spent the entire night cleaning everything, and doing umpteen million loads of laundry.  Interestingly the HUMongous (there are lots of them --not their size) Hawaiian family that lives  next door was up all night too--with all sorts of activity.  Anyway, I finally slept a couple of hours and then got up and treated 4yo and myself and then cleaned our bedding too. 

My dear husband was starting a brand new job the next morning, so we did this all very quietly so that he could have a good night's sleep before his first day of work.  What his new job is will be another story for another day --Adventures in Irony.

He got up early and showed no signs of lice upon checking --I warned him that he would be "Pesticided" as a precaution upon his return home from work!

That evening we went out --at the 10 yos request and she got her hair cut SHORT, she had been contemplating doing it anyway.  It is very cute, but I do miss her pretty long hair.  As she said, it will grow back.

I rechecked everyone's hair that next day and found many many eggs on 10 yos head.  Spent several hours removing them all.  She must have no nits and no lice!  How dreadful to travel sp far, gettin her hopes up and be turned away from camp. 

No one else in the family showed any signs at all of lice or nits.  It appears that we actually caught it early and that she was appropriately stingy enough to not share with the rest of us --thank the Lord for small blessings. 

We made it to camp, with an exhausted mother and they didn't even do a lice check.  Not that it mattered, I wouldn't have wanted her to have any anyway, but you know.

When we picked them up a week later, after their first experience away from us overnight (That too is a story for another day --Adventures in Canabalism. ), they told us there was a quick lice check after all the parents left.  Anyway, I checked 10 yo again upon arriving back at my parents home and she had 1 baby louse and no nits.  I treated her one more time and checked everyone else again --still no lice on anyone else, although the more I write the itchier I get...hmmmm...

Next agenda item will be to explore effective natural treatments just in case we are so luck y as to have this delightful experience again.  It is most likely related to our new living environment,.  The kids have now been educated in prevention and will hopefully be able to be careful too i.e. putting their hair up or keeping it short, not sharing any clothing especially head related items. 

Well, I shall go check my fresh batch of Ginger Beer --which also does not work with chlorinated water!  And I think I'll cover my itchy head in pesticides --just in case :-)

Well our new home is much more projecy than I ever anticipated it would be.  Here we are, 40 and almost 40 anxious to raise our own chickens, start a mini CSA (Community supported Agricultural Farm), have a dairy cow or two, and horses - dogs - and cats, for fun!  Yet we just moved into an urban project!  Something must be wrong with this picture.  But is it? 

I have always thought about missions, probably short term, but where would we go? and how could we raise the necessary support?  etc.? etc.?  So now that our "Sustainable Housing Initiative Project" (chosen via the internet from 2500 miles away) turns out to be more project than sustainable, maybe this is our chance to be short term missionaries.

There are a lot of struggling, hurting families (of various compositions) living here.  There are many children left to wander all day with little to no supervision.  These are 1-10 year olds taking care of each other and looking for attention wherever they can find it.  They wander into our apartment when we are not paying attention, and help themselves to toys, drinks, and the computer... Benjamin (12) and Hannah (10) draw these children to us like magnets.  Hannah has taught the girls to braid ankle bracletts and they sit outside our door for hours braiding many color combinations.  Benjamin makes many different awesome paper planes for the boys and teaches them how to use them.  Next he will teach them how to make their own.  Then we are going to host an airplane competition.  Yesterday we "hosted" a trash competition.  The boys, who constantly compete, had a competition to see who could pick up the most trash. 

Well, it sure isn't the country!  But I pray that God will use us to bless these children and maybe their parents in the time that we are here --We have already taught one family how to make their own yogurt!  And I have started a Faith based Storytime after the "subsidized Free Lunch Program" each day.  We read a picture book for the young kids and then a good chapter book to the older ones.  They are enjoying that too.  Right now its all about building relationships!

Good Night.