tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32375639865212709542024-03-13T04:16:25.662-05:00The Future Has BegunKristin Lodihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01197627389327648965noreply@blogger.comBlogger128125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-36567297334872571942016-06-02T21:03:00.002-05:002016-06-02T21:03:58.658-05:00A few thoughts about Mental HealthI'm trying desperately to think of ways to help my oldest daughter be able to receive the therapy she needs to overcome some serious anxiety/depression symptoms. I live with her and interact with her daily and I'm trying to be the listening ear she needs, her advocate, the support system that every human should have but I'm just one person. Many are supporting her from afar and send their love and prayers. . . But this doesn't seem to be enough. Olivia has been in counseling for about 4 months now. After battling a couple deep depression bouts she found herself in a Behavior Hospital for 3 weeks which is a lockdown facility for people who are a danger to themselves. I don't know that she would tell you that is was the best place for her. She was immediately put on medication for depression and began to feel a bit better, if you can see past all the sleeping she did, seizing, and vomiting during the first few weeks. She experienced extreme dizziness the entire time there and therefore was unable to attend any of the therapy session they held to help people. This dizziness has now been determined to be from a condition called Conversion disorder or Symptomatic disorder. It's just another symptom of anxiety that manifests itself through physical symptoms that make it impossible for her to function. She was released after a few long weeks not a whole lot better than when she went in. As I saw it, she needed to be released because being in this facility was causing her more stress and even more depression. The night nurses thought she was making all this up and even told her to stop faking. This does not help someone with these symptoms get better. But let me back up a year and explain another condition related to this one.<br />
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Over the past year she has developed what's called PNES, Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures. These seizures haunted her for months and would show up at random times, interrupting her life at the most inconvenient times. She was forced to quit her job because she would inevitably end up in the break room unresponsive. She was also forced to quit volunteering at the fire station because she couldn't get a doctor to clear her to be there. She was let go from finishing Fire Academy because of her health issues just a week before finishing. These seizures are a way of her brain disassociating from a stressful situation. It just checks out when it senses an unsafe place and she has no control over it. <br />
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Her counselor has been working with her now twice a week but feels she needs more help and she needs it now. She is still majorly depressed and is experiencing some pretty low, lows. How do you make a person believe they have value when they feel worthless? How do you encourage someone who is being bombarded with negative emotions? Believe me I've quoted scripture, I've prayed and told her to as well. She is trying but is not very motivated when all she sees is a bleak future.<br />
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A Christian residential treatment center is what she needs. People who struggle with trauma, anxiety, depression and many other mental health issues can go there and live under the care of qualified medical doctors, psychiatrists, psychologist, dietitians, and nutritionists who treat the whole person. They do not just put you through a program that generally fits all but they tailor the program to fit your needs. You take time out of your life to get better, to learn how to cope with disappointment, to work through your fears and anxiety, to connect with others who struggle with the same things, to reflect, to understand how much God loves you! Wouldn't we all want to go there? <br />
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Our big hurdle to overcome with this kind of treatment is the cost. Many people who go have insurance that covers a portion of the cost. We don't have insurance but we are a part of a program that pays each others medical bills called Samaritan Ministries. We love this program and have had almost all Olivia's medical bills paid 100%! The problem is they do not offer any mental health coverage. <br />
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We have looked into getting Olivia her own health insurance but the enrollment for all insurance companies right now isn't until November. As you can imagine, someone struggling with suicidal thoughts is not someone with time on their side. Waiting 6 months isn't really an option. As her counselor told me today, Olivia was ready to go yesterday. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZRyEcmlFVeXg3i_2rpRIVOBpX8AYPBI9qOb3y7rmJ29uYC2F589-121WNWWBJ_x8WmOBqc_dnVQ300jAUlQciKIhGacnErOHqywnPJAJgI2r_ilGKS-9vstVGy75BSLWmpxGZVyFfKb9n/s1600/IMG_20160217_125330372_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZRyEcmlFVeXg3i_2rpRIVOBpX8AYPBI9qOb3y7rmJ29uYC2F589-121WNWWBJ_x8WmOBqc_dnVQ300jAUlQciKIhGacnErOHqywnPJAJgI2r_ilGKS-9vstVGy75BSLWmpxGZVyFfKb9n/s320/IMG_20160217_125330372_HDR.jpg" width="179" /></a>I do not want this to sound like a plea for money. Nor do I want anyone to think that we need others to pay our daughters bills. She created a Go Fund Me campaign in hopes that if her friends and family pool their money together it could make a significant difference. The program did say that they will help her with a portion of the cost but obviously they aren't going to give it to her for free. Just like someone trying to raise money to go on a missions trip, would you consider donating to a good cause of helping Olivia get past these significant hurdles in her life? Maybe instead of tithing to your local church for the month, you could give to her treatment? Or maybe even just a part of your tithe? I'm just brainstorming here, please don't take offense. Every little bit helps. We as her parents will of course give her as much as we can, which will be a significant amount but still might only be about 1/4 of the cost. This is the best care she could get and the hope would be that the tools she learns and the care she receives would impact her the rest of her life! <br />
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Her only other option would be to admit herself to the local mental health hospital where people who have no insurance continue to come and go only getting a tweak in their antidepressants to get them past their emergency suicide attempts until the next time. The care in these places can be very lacking although they do their best with the funding they have but lets face it, the care in these facilities is rough and although she would most likely be safe, I'm not sure she comes out ahead of where she started. <br />
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Here is the link to her campaign <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/2724qec">https://www.gofundme.com/2724qec</a><br />
Olivia's blog where she explains a bit about her life the past few months: <a href="http://servantoftheking95.blogspot.com/">http://servantoftheking95.blogspot.com/</a><br />
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I can't thank you enough for considering this!<br />
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<i>Kristin</i>Kristin Lodihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01197627389327648965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-42506743559461100522016-02-18T21:53:00.001-06:002016-02-18T21:53:16.829-06:00Signs that you live in East TexasSince moving an hour outside the city of Dallas, I've noticed some pretty striking differences!<br />
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1. The mailman or woman drives her own car! There is no cute little mail truck. Our mail woman drives her own car with her windows down and music on. One day a car drove into my driveway and starting honking. I looked out the window and didn't recognize her and I thought, "what's going on?" Then it dawned on me as she got out of her car, it's the mail woman with a package! How was I supposed to know? This was new to me.<br />
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2. UPS or FED EX drive into my driveway and leave packages in my garage! My garage is almost always open unless I'm not here. So frequently I find a box or two laying around my garage that was delivered a few days before! Guess I didn't hear the knock at the back door?<br />
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3. Dogs aren't necessarily confined but roam the neighborhoods and when owners walk them, they don't have them always on a leash. This just floors me that dog owners will go for a run with their dogs free to run off. We've met a lot of our neighbors this way as their dogs come to meet ours. Our dog (who we took in as a stray) stays in our front yard. She roams to the neighbors to play with the other dogs but always comes back and pretty much hangs out in our front yard.<br />
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4. East Texas is notorious for it's fried food. Every restaurant I eat at around here has chicken fried streak or chicken fried chicken. Fried catfish seems to be a favorite as that's always the special for the day. One place I visited has fried pickles, fried green beans (so good!), fried okra, fried zucchini, french fries and fried onion rings!<br />
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5. Today I add another to this list of countryfied characteristics. I had a neighbor's two boys over today to play for the first time. Their dad picked them up in his tractor! He was headed down the street to help someone till their garden. I heard him coming from a few blocks away and quickly got his boys shoes on and they went yelling up my driveway, "Daddy!" It was a sweet picture to see him lift both boys up onto his lap and go tootling down the road.<br />
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6. During hunting season all the grocery stores are stocked with large bags of deer corn. I'm clueless about hunting but I assume they need this. Another retail thing I saw was camouflage wrapping paper in the stores at Christmas time. I guess I'm a city girl cuz I've never seen that before.<br />
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7. Another thing I've noticed which isn't so positive is that businesses come and go quickly. When we moved here there was an awesome hamburger joint called Charlies. We loved the food and the place was decorated really cool. One day it was gone and a Mexican restaurant took it's place.<br />
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A clothing boutique on the town square disappeared one day and the owner opened a tea house across the street. We liked that place too! It was a girlie place with scones, tea and nice lunch options. I arranged to meet a friend there one day and when I pulled up it was vacant. Just after a few months . . . . gone. Guess you shouldn't get to attached. It must be hard to make a go of it when the population is only 3,000.<br />
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8. This list would not be complete without talking about the garbage company. Bubba is the owner and he drives a truck that pulls a trailer with gated sides. He gets out, walks around to your garbage can and opens each can and throws the bags over the side and into this garbage trailer. No big, high tech claw around here! All garbage is required to be bagged or he won't take it and he does not supply you with a garbage can. We had to go purchase a couple when we moved here. Oh and did I mention, there is no recycling here? We just save our cardboard/paper garbage and burn it. You can smell the burning of paper garbage frequently and I love it.<br />
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9. Most people do not worry about their yards. There are no city regulations so lawns that are too long are not a problem. I still like to spend time cleaning up the yard to make it look it's best since I love to be out in it but there isn't a sense that you have to keep up with the neighbors. No one seems to care. I remember in the city when we had bagged a bunch of leaves and stacked them along the side of the house. Well, we got a notice from the city that we couldn't do that. It was our property but I guess you can't just do what you want. There are rules. Here, there aren't.<br />
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When we have a dead tree or broken limb, we cut it down, chop it up and stack it for firewood. When we get too much brush we just drag it out to a big pile in our pasture and eventually burn it.<br />
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10. In the country of East Texas, you really don't have to put your make-up on to run to the store or be seen in public. Most people run around in jeans and work boots. We noticed a man at Walmart when we first moved here wearing overalls with no shirt on underneath. He was not a thin man either! No one is trying to impress anyone. In fact, if you go to the store looking like you came from the city, you just might get stared at. <br />
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When we first moved here, I was thrilled to get away from traffic, people and the busyness of life and I welcomed the peacefulness of the country, the slow pace and solitude. Now, after a year and a half, I sometimes miss the safety of people, the familiarity of the busy streets and the variety of stores to choose from. Living in the country can be lonely but I'm an introvert by nature so it suits me. I'm also glad, though, that we are only an hour from a big city like Dallas where we can return for the day and get a good fill of people and good food! </div>
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I think I've learned to appreciate both worlds.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Lucida Handwriting, cursive;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Kristin
Lodi</span></span></div>
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<br />Kristin Lodihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01197627389327648965noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-28797242811666562122015-12-12T23:14:00.000-06:002015-12-12T23:14:41.365-06:00Is Radical Healthy?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Radical Christian</div>
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Radical follower of Christ</div>
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Radical for Jesus </div>
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equals . . . </div>
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A Radical Lifestyle, right?</div>
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This is what I thought I wanted to be,</div>
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Radical.</div>
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This is what I found for a definition:</div>
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<span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;">a</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;">person</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;">who</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;">holds</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;">or</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;">follows</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;">strong</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;">convictions</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;">or</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;">extreme </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;"></span><span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;">principles;</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;"> </span><span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; font-family: "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: start;">extremist.</span></div>
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When we first joined Gospel for Asia, 12 years ago, we thought we were being radical--following Jesus no matter what the cost. We left our beloved state of Colorado, our home that we intended to grow old in, our church community and our ability to earn our own money. We were going to become missionaries (the most radical lifestyle we could think of), but in the safety of in our own country. Without having to learn a new language and culture, we would move to Texas, raise our own support by sharing what we were doing and praying people would want to sponsor us. We took our 4 children, put our house up for sale and relocated to Texas to be radical followers of Jesus! </div>
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We were moved by the shame we felt of being wealthy Americans living in a free country, while other people were starving and were mistreated in other countries. We repented. We surrendered. We wanted our lives to matter, to count, to mean something to advance the Lord's kingdom.</div>
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We came with hearts ready to serve at the ministry in anyway we could to make a difference for eternity. I feel like all the staff came with this purpose, this dream. I was ready to live radically. But what did that mean?</div>
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As the definition states, we were ready to be extreme.</div>
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For 12 years, I listened to the leadership preach sermons about "staying in the battle." Continually we were encouraged to not "lose our calling." We were to be "reaching the lost at all costs." We were to be daily "dying to ourselves."<br />
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At first these teachings were refreshing. For we thought this is what "true" Christianity was. We were tired of living the "normal" Christian life. We wanted to be different.</div>
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I evaluated everything according to the bar of radicalness. Was I living simply enough? Could I sacrifice more? Was I spending my time wisely enough? </div>
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I knew I was saved but I certainly didn't want to waste my life living frivolously for myself. I did not know this at the time, but what I was really asking God all the time was if I was radical enough for Him. </div>
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I was already "set apart" from the world when I got saved in my early 20's, but now I was wanting to be set apart from even the Christian mainstream world. With this mindset, I found myself being stripped of everything I was. If I was to die to myself, then I had to have no desires of my own. My flesh had to die. The problem with this thinking is that I did not know what was fleshly and what was just me, my personality, the way God made me.</div>
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In all the devotionals given by the leaders, these statements were the ones I remember most:</div>
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<i>Your old friends will not possibly understand you so don't confide in them.</i></div>
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<i>Well meaning family will pull you away from God's work.</i></div>
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<i>Retirement is not in the Bible.</i></div>
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<i>While you vacation, or shop, or sleep, people are dying and going to Hell!</i></div>
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<i>Could you not pray for 1 hour?</i></div>
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<i>How many shirts or pairs of pants do you need?</i></div>
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<i>If you quit going to Starbucks every week, you could support a child in India.</i></div>
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<i>80,000 people are dying a day and going to Hell so what are you doing about it?</i></div>
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We were required to attend prayer meetings once a week and had an extended prayer time once a month where we prayed for hours at a time until the wee hours of the morning. These meetings were touted as Gospel for Asia's success story. Prayer was a huge priority and talked about regularly. If we weren't doing anything right, we couldn't be blamed of not praying! And if we were praying constantly for needs on the field then the ministry must be based on prayer. How could a ministry based on prayer go south? Even when we were falling asleep and still mumbling something, we felt God was honored by our "beating our bodies into submission." Wasn't this a selfless act? We were denying ourselves sleep in order to pray for others. Wouldn't God be pleased?<br />
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This only created an elitist attitude in me. I was more devoted than the average Christian because I participated in these meetings and consistently showed up for years. Most Christians I talked to couldn't believe we prayed for hours. Now that was radical! There's that word again.<br />
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These were mandatory meetings required unless we got permission from our supervisor to miss; we were EXPECTED to be there. This was also a part of submitting to our authorities.<br />
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Being submissive was another pillar of Gospel for Asia. We all were taught that Americans have a hard time with this and this was our downfall. Especially as women, we had a fleshly nature to rise above man and this was sin. So we were expected to not have a voice. Our role was to submit to our husbands and support them in the work of the ministry. We were to raise our kids, keep the house, cook, and take care of anything that would distract our husbands from focusing on the ministry. I watched as many women, whose husbands traveled frequently to speak on behalf of GFA, were expected to raise their children alone. If we broke and expressed weakness, then Satan was getting a foothold in our lives and using the woman to pull her husband away from his calling. We were frequently encouraged to examine our hearts and confess our sin. If this was a struggle, then we just weren't humble enough.<br />
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For me, this was all done to prove how radical we were. But how could I not live under a blanket of guilt?<br />
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I didn't follow all the expectations. I went to ladies retreats (non-GFA) the last few years we were there, even though I knew that was frowned upon. We did take some vacations, mostly went camping, because that's all we could afford. When my husband and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary in Costa Rica, we kept it quiet for fear of how it would look to others. Even though we used all our points through a Hilton program for the stay and American Airlines points for the flights. All we had to pay for was any excursions or souvenirs. But it wasn't just about the money we spent; it was about relaxing. Radical Christians didn't waste time enjoying themselves.<br />
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I remember when I realized that KP's (the president of the ministry) daughter got married she went on a honeymoon missions trip to help the poor. Most thought, "Wow, are they dedicated! Look at what they have sacrificed because of their love for the less fortunate!" We were all shown pictures of their trip--probably to use this as an example of how dedicated we should all be.<br />
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Was I that dedicated? How radical did I need to be? What was I trying to prove and to who?<br />
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Now that we have left GFA, all I want to do is go back to being who I was before we joined GFA. I want to be a normal Christian. One who takes one day at a time, is a light to those around me, one who sits at Jesus's feet.<br />
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<i>Living radically has made me tired. . . confused . . . somewhat lost</i><br />
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I'm processing God's view of me. He made me with special abilities and talents, desires and interests. He made wonderful things in life that are meant for us to enjoy. He gave us families meant to be reared by both parents. He meant for us to be creative, to support one another in community, and rest. He made rest. <br />
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Being a part of a radical ministry where our performance was evaluated, along with my own views of radically Christianity makes for a lot of pressure. Getting out of this ministry has given me my freedom in Christ back. God came to set us free from a yoke of slavery! Why put yourself back under these radical expectations? <br />
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Freedom and Grace are refreshing words to me now!<br />
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Kristin Lodihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01197627389327648965noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-88905072041577210492015-10-22T20:00:00.000-05:002015-10-22T20:00:46.782-05:00An Evil Report?Last time I blogged about rules. I've been thinking a lot about that and need to unscramble all the memories and junk racing through my brain. Maybe if I get it out on paper, it will make more sense and I'll be able to learn from it. After all, God does take dysfunctional situations and makes them new, right? I do believe he can redeems all things. <br />
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I've spent the last 12 years serving at a ministry called Gospel For Asia. It was always stressed that we should not listen to an evil report especially something said about the ministry or the leaders in it. It would defile us. Listening to negative words or gossip would forever be in our brains and would defile our perception of the very people we serve and have authority over us. Lots of verses about the tongue were used to support this claim. Women were specifically singled out and warned against this. None of us wanted to be labeled a busybody. <br />
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I have to point out that I rarely heard anything but positive things about leadership. When a staff person left the ministry, they always left quietly so as not to cause division. This always left questions in my mind about the "why's" but I was never allowed to ask questions. It was an unspoken rule to mind your own business. Besides, there might be an "evil report" wrapped up in the "why's" which would cause me to forever doubt the character of my leaders.<br />
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An incident occurred about 5 years into our time there where I was personally accused of not just listening to an evil report but actually participating in it. The words "evil report" were not used but they might as well have been. At the time, I was harshly rebuked, shamed, and put in my place. I struggled for almost a whole year afterwards but was able to forgive and somewhat forget. "Forget" isn't really an appropriate word to describe it but more accurately would be the word "suppress." So I went on suppressing my experience and believed I was somewhat successful in putting it behind me.<br />
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What really made me go back and remember all those horrible details from about 6 years prior was when a friend of mine at the ministry was similarly treated and she told me about it. I wanted to defend her and shout from the roof-tops "This is not right!" But I knew from my own experience and the unspoken rules at GFA that you do not question or confront leadership but rather our role was to submit and obey. I would not have another run in with KP if my life depended on it!<br />
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My friend had spoken an "evil report" against the President of the organization, K.P. Yohannan. At least that was what she was accused of. She couldn't remember saying anything against him but someone had secretly told on her ( just like in grade school). She didn't know who told and she didn't know what she'd said. Her husband was called into KP's office for a closed meeting and harshly rebuked for not being able to control his wife and a new rule was put in place regarding her, as her punishment, I guess. She was no longer allowed to cut the staff's hair. She cut my hair, that's how we became friends. So embarrassed by this whole mess, she sent out an email to all the staff who had regularly received haircuts and told them she was no longer allowed to cut our hair and she pleaded for the person to come forward who had gotten her in trouble so she could understand what she had said that had gotten her and her husband into so much trouble. I find it ironic that if someone is perceived to be spreading an "evil report" it is squelched in this way when in all actuality KP is the one hearing a report that he perceives as "evil" and not giving anyone the ability to explain what might have been said! <br />
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Is this Biblical? Is this the way we are to reconcile differences. Aren't we supposed to go to the brother or sister who sinned against us and confront in love? I mean not only was there no love, there was not a confrontation with the offender! Instead, her husband was blamed and left standing there speechless. What could she have possibly said that couldn't have been reasoned with? Aren't we in America where people are given a fair trial? She was not given a chance to know what she said or explain how her statements might have been misunderstood. Instead the "teachers pet" was believed and trusted. Doesn't this sound like kindergarten?<br />
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We learned through situations like this at Gospel for Asia, that we were immature and had so far to go to become like our leader. I personally believe she was used as an example to others not to mess with KP. Through humiliation and rules we were oppressed. We were taught regularly that it was a privilege to work there. That God takes inexperienced people and uses them in great ways. We were just worms whom God had chosen and we were not to forget it. These are half-truths used to make us think lowly of ourselves and submit to those who knew more than us.<br />
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My friend's experience reminded me of my own many years prior. I had suppressed that experience because it was really painful to remember it. But, I realized the same had happened to me. <br />
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I had been meeting with several ladies for tea and dessert once a month. We were all young moms and our husbands served at GFA. We had many things in common and one of those things, was that all 4 of us desired to have deep relationships with other godly women. This is why we formed this group. We wanted to encourage on another and spur one another on to love and good deeds. Looking back now, I realize that deep relationships were inadvertently discouraged because as women we had a fear of opening our mouths and really getting personal with each other but at this time, we didn't really know this. We were naive. We had many evenings at the restaurant where we laughed, cried and shared our deepest prayer requests. It was a safe group of friends. We were excited to do "life" together.<br />
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One night during our regular get together we were wrapping it up when one of the ladies mentioned something she had noticed KP speaking regularly against. She wondered how the rest of us were understanding his "less than positive" teachings on home schooling. She had been struggling with how to interpret his views on this since she was just beginning to home school herself. Another gal mentioned that maybe he didn't know that many of those home schooled kids would probably grow up to serve there and that many of the leaders kids were already doing that. In fact many of the home schooled kids were the ones volunteering at GFA because they weren't chained to going to public school but had the freedom to get their school done at other times and volunteer a fews hours a week. We definitely agreed he didn't seem to approve of our choice in home schooling and I personally felt relieved that I was not the only one who was interpreting his messages this way. It was a short conversation with one of the 4 not saying a whole lot. <br />
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This one friend felt very uncomfortable because (and I'm speaking for her right now, assuming what she was thinking and feeling) she felt maybe this was crossing that unspoken rule of judging KP's teachings. We had crossed over into an unknown territory and it made her uncomfortable. Well, she confided in a leader's wife this information and was seeking council about it, not ever dreaming she would get us all into trouble. <br />
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One by one our husbands were called into the principles office! The only difference between me and the others was that my husband wanted me to go in with him. He didn't know what went on that night because he wasn't there and surely we could go in and talk with KP, with respect for all involved. He had an "open door" policy that he spoke of often. This would be our first time to use it. Surely we could resolve this in no time, after all, we hadn't done anything wrong. I have an honesty, open discussion policy of my own that almost always works and clears up misunderstandings. I prepared myself to just lay it out there and tell him how we all felt about his teachings on home schooling. I assumed he would be understanding and discuss this with me in a civil manner. You guessed it, I was so wrong. <br />
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There was no discussion. I said one sentence and that was the end of my opportunity to discuss anything with KP Yohannan. He was so fuming mad, I couldn't get in a word edgewise. My motives were questioned, my call was questioned and I'll never forget his words to me, "Did I realized how important my husband was in the ministry? Why would I put that in jeopardy?" As If this whole thing might get us kicked out! Really? And then he said," If it were up to him, women wouldn't be allowed to get together and pray because that's just an excuse they use to gossip!" Oh, that's what we need, another rule! Well, we all knew he could not institute that rule. It would never fly, but I got the impression that it's only because he was dealing with Americans. I'm sure if he were in India, he would make that rule. For all I know, it is a rule over there at the headquarters but isn't publicized!<br />
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My husband and I said nothing that day. I'm sure everyone in their little cubicles outside his office heard him shouting at us from behind that closed door. I was wounded. I cried every time I thought of it. Quite frankly the only thing defiled was my reputation before KP. I still went to prayer meetings to prove that his words would not hurt me. To prove that I followed Christ and not him. I knew he expected us to leave but we wouldn't hear of it. We never even discussed leaving over it. We gave him the benefit of the doubt and figured he was just having a bad day. We moved on and I learned to suppress my feelings. I learned to forgive even though my offender never asked for forgiveness. In public he spoke to me, smiled at me, and acted as if nothing had happened between us.<br />
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I don't think the 4 of us ladies ever met again as a group. Two of the families left shortly after that. The 4 of us never spoke of it. We remained friends but that incident was never spoken of again for years. In fact, we never asked why they left the ministry. I guess we were taught to be afraid of the truth. <i>We were never trusted to be able to discern an evil report from a truthful report.</i><br />
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<br />Kristin Lodihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01197627389327648965noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-35131702934568245242015-09-24T22:19:00.000-05:002015-09-24T22:19:28.074-05:00Brand New DrumI've been listening to a lot of Christian pop music in the car recently just because I'm in the car all the time it seems. So this song keeps coming on that is a fun, hip-hop sort of song called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qq2Tp3asLU8&safe=active" target="_blank">Day One</a> by Matthew West.<br />
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After moving on from ministry at GFA, it does feel like a brand new day. Day 1 of the rest of my life, the future has begun. Mercies new every morning and I'm marching onto the beat of a brand new drum, yea, here I come, the future has begun!<br />
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What I didn't catch is this part of the song.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">Well, I wish I had a short term memory</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">Wish the only thing my eyes could see</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">Was the future burning bright right in front of me</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">But I can't stop looking back</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">Yeah, I wish I was a perfect picture of</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">Somebody who's never not good enough</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">I try to measure up but I mess it up</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">And I wish I wasn't like that</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">I wish I wasn't wishing anymore</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">Wish I could remember that nobody's keeping score</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">I'm tired of throwing pennies in a well</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">I gotta do something</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">Here goes nothin'</span><br />
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This speaks to me right now. It's so where I'm at. When I look back at the past 12 years it feels like a waste. Turns out the ministry we've been working for has misled us and much of what they said, was not what they have done. Scripture and Biblical teaching has been twisted to meet agendas. I know I'm not the only person in life who has been jerked around and I need to move on but how do you? <br />
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God has been teaching me some new things and for this I am thankful. Seek only God's Approval has always been my motto. And God has used it in my life to keep me from seeking man's approval. Not to say, I haven't sought the approval of my friends or family but whenever I get too far off track in this area, God has brought me back to this motto. It was taught at GFA but as I evaluate this quote in this season of my journey (I'm evaluating everything these days), I'm reminded that I already have God's approval! He approves of me now and I can do nothing to earn more of his favor. As the song says, "I try to measure up but I mess it up." Measure up to what? The bar keeps moving higher and higher. Who is moving the bar? God? <br />
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We move the bar depending on how we perceive the standard. Sometimes it's not even intentional but others lifestyles cause us to move the bar. Or the bar gets moved by how spiritual leaders/pastors encourage godliness. Especially if that godliness is attained by performance or strictly following a set of rules that man has created. I mean, I get following God's principles. That's just the fundamentals of Christianity but what about all the spoken or unspoken rules that we burden each other with. Some examples would be the simpler your lifestyle, the more godly you must be. The more time you spend in prayer, the more spiritual and closer to God you must be. The more you spend in evangelism or working so that the gospel can go out, then God will be really pleased with you and your rewards in heaven will be greater than others. For women, it might be the way you dress. The more modest and feminine you dress, then the purer you are. And then we stand back and judge others based on our perceptions of godly principles. But these principles aren't from God. They look good on the outside and impress us and others but God has not asked this of us.<br />
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Micah 6:8 says "One thing I require of thee, that you walk justly, love mercy and walk humbly with thy God. <br />
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Religion can make it much harder than it needs to be. Christianity should be defined by the verse above. So how do I move on? Take that baby step and begin anew. Changing my thinking would be a good place to start. Realizing that I have got God's approval no matter what I do because I believe in the finished work of Christ! Following God should not be hard. His burdens are light. Every morning His mercies are new!<br />
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I'm marching onto the beat of a brand new drum, yea, here I come, the future has begun, Day One!<br />
<br />Kristin Lodihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01197627389327648965noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-67592730160642021082015-02-20T22:45:00.001-06:002015-02-20T22:45:36.391-06:00Who is driving the infirmary bus?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is my oldest daughter, Olivia, when she was 12. She had just gotten her ears pierced in this picture for her birthday. </div>
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Olivia has had health issues for what seems like her whole life. But really aside from the fact that she was diagnosed with epilepsy at 4 years old, her chronic health issues seem to start in adolescence. </div>
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She suffered from headaches and stomach issues pretty much off and on the whole time. Even though she is smiling in these pictures, her life was consumed with not feeling well. Throw a little teenage rebellion in there and those years were, well to say the least, difficult at best.</div>
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As her mom, I prayed desperately for wisdom and patience with her and for her. </div>
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It was a time of surrendering control as a parent and mother to God because I really just had too. What could I do? Oh, don't get me wrong, I wasn't giving up or not doing my part. I researched her ailments like crazy and revamped her diet to see if it would help, had her tested for allergies, took her to a chiropractor, and neurologist. But after I exhausted all I knew, I crumbled in a million pieces at the Lord's feet. "Please show me Lord what to do next!"was what I prayed. Most often God would grant me peace and patience to just be still and wait on Him. Wait on Him to lead and me follow instead.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhASSeX-JyPSy7Z0ZDvM17Vwkk9RPLjbvfesGEYCa8aJ3DtcL22eVEFGq4Kcfp5QawQ8qUAOlVi24rLcoVfoptdR3bcDjszWIkX44Vc7X4KgK4eO7L-4xTYzRU226XAVvAkQz-TbTWVOSev/s1600/DSC_0010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhASSeX-JyPSy7Z0ZDvM17Vwkk9RPLjbvfesGEYCa8aJ3DtcL22eVEFGq4Kcfp5QawQ8qUAOlVi24rLcoVfoptdR3bcDjszWIkX44Vc7X4KgK4eO7L-4xTYzRU226XAVvAkQz-TbTWVOSev/s1600/DSC_0010.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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All of these people helped her in some way shape or form but no one seemed to be able to get to the root of her problems. I learned more and more about health and lifestyle changes that helped prevent illness. I studied alternative cures for colds, allergies, gut problems, and how chemicals can effect people through, cleaning agents, food additives and vaccines.</div>
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I feel like God has blessed us with a wealth of information through the web and so we rarely see general practitioners for colds or infections. Using natural remedies we have cured our family of many issues that the normal person would deem a doctor visit necessary.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNiLY2woNk1WMvYzCxX_w-_DceBIvXDeGtMul9zUWYsNPh3a3SOVZDjlqQdcKgAjEx2ug5BIkYATpNJbkkJoBvAPf5d-oYVli4moUQbxZe-wVocItMJ_TizcIe4LffWzssJMYlDz4cQMwm/s1600/DSC_0012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNiLY2woNk1WMvYzCxX_w-_DceBIvXDeGtMul9zUWYsNPh3a3SOVZDjlqQdcKgAjEx2ug5BIkYATpNJbkkJoBvAPf5d-oYVli4moUQbxZe-wVocItMJ_TizcIe4LffWzssJMYlDz4cQMwm/s1600/DSC_0012.JPG" height="400" width="265" /></a></div>
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But Olivia's health issues seem to just evolve into more complex issues. She would complain of feeling foggy brained or just plain ol' fatigued all the time. The chiropractor really helped her with her daily headaches but she would still get headaches with fluorescent lighting in department stores or church. She began wearing sunglasses inside places that had these lights to prevent a headache. It actually worked even though she looked somewhat alarming with shades on inside! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV7Luh1kvwS0WO-jOMISixlAeNC07MC16BXS9rxNH-M4mBKOKKWIPqxU53JPSE1qxGAez1reh_iZlRO__sES2d8DY1j02osmehQCFluowq0VRugAWpW5zYfE4ZRG1CsmdOQcPLfBOaotls/s1600/DSC_0243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV7Luh1kvwS0WO-jOMISixlAeNC07MC16BXS9rxNH-M4mBKOKKWIPqxU53JPSE1qxGAez1reh_iZlRO__sES2d8DY1j02osmehQCFluowq0VRugAWpW5zYfE4ZRG1CsmdOQcPLfBOaotls/s1600/DSC_0243.JPG" height="400" width="265" /></a></div>
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Her stomach still continued to give her problems and we discovered that gluten and dairy were not her only issues. She is sensitive to all kind of pepper and chills, soy, all nuts, and beans if eaten too much can rip up her stomach. She began having to evaluate every meal she ate. Does this have gluten or maybe dairy in it? Does it have any pepper in it? Each year seemed to bring on new sensitivities and now she breaks out in hives when she eats certain fruits and can't breath when she eats corn.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisZniik-hLpwWe6rQfLn0rd6ax9KZcc6xHhs4JgzNYlUl420O_5-XdB04ADe6C4jrl8Lnl6hwi4aiTkryGJGzGm5WQTf3lnWVr8MVoK-eCSPJ_7nxyq86fts1euomRvzrKP_tIUoVQboNE/s1600/DSC_0181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisZniik-hLpwWe6rQfLn0rd6ax9KZcc6xHhs4JgzNYlUl420O_5-XdB04ADe6C4jrl8Lnl6hwi4aiTkryGJGzGm5WQTf3lnWVr8MVoK-eCSPJ_7nxyq86fts1euomRvzrKP_tIUoVQboNE/s1600/DSC_0181.JPG" height="400" width="265" /></a></div>
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I can't say I have always been so compassionate to her problems. I'd have to say that being in control and making things happen is my nature. I'm her mom and should look out for her as best I can, making sure she gets the kind of medical care necessary for her to live as normally as possible. This is what I tell myself anyway and with that comes a sub-conscience stress. If you live with the thoughts that you are the one who should be able to find her help so her problems can be fixed, you are just going to come up to a dead end because God has to be driving the infirmary bus. It is true that I'm her advocate and I will be forever. But what if you don't know what else to do? What if you have exhausted all options? What if you've tried your best only to be chasing a rabbit trail. You turn to God is what you do. That's what I do sometimes later that I'd like but eventually I get there.</div>
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I'm ashamed to say, we've had many fights over her not feeling well. Living with someone who feels bad more days than she doesn't wears me out. I'm a "pick yourself up and move on" kind of person. The phrase "buck up camper!" comes to mind often. Olivia wears her emotions on her sleeve --kind of gal. You always know how she is feeling because her body language and facial expressions say it all. She is my drama queen daughter.</div>
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So how do we get along? Some days we just don't. Some days I have to practice my compassionate mother role a little more than normal. She is learning to persevere even when she feels like poop. God is using it all. I just wish we could learn these things another way.</div>
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Now Olivia is 19 and is having more problems than ever. I guess you could say she has a movement disorder where she twitches or jerks the majority of the day. We've seen a neurologist and had an EEG where everything came back normal. It was such a hard day because as we were going in to review her EEG results, she was counting on the doctor having a prescription for a medication that would make this all stop. She is a certified EMT and wants to work. She cannot even drive because it's not safe. Well, that day was hard because the neurologist did not offer us any hope. He had no meds that would help her.</div>
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I ask God why? Some people would say that isn't respectful to ask him that question but I don't think He is offended. I'm learning many things through all this so that's probably why. I'm learning to long for heaven. To hope in a perfect eternity not a perfect life here on earth. This earth is cursed so there is sickness and disease. Is Satan targeting my daughter? Maybe, but God is allowing it. We know that everything that God allows is for our good. It's for her refinement and mine is what I've been told. It doesn't make it any easier to go through, though. Sometimes what we know to be true doesn't match up with how we feel about it.</div>
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Recently Olivia has begun having seizures again. She has been off meds for 7 years but now we hope for some to help her. Her seizures are different than they used to be. It's hard to believe that the neurologist found nothing in her brain that is amiss. No reason at all for her to be having these symptoms. He suggested we see a psychiatrist because he thinks it might all be stress related. That's what doctors say when they don't know what else to say. He told her to try and live as normal of a life as possible. How do you do that when your body is deteriorating little by little?</div>
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This experience with this neurologist has just added to the fact that I have no faith is conventional medicine. Another dead end. Another doctor who has no answers and doesn't bother looking at the rest of her body to see if something might be terribly wrong. That's the problem with specialists. They only seem to have training in that specific area and nothing else. Could she have an extreme vitamin deficiency that is effecting her brain activity. They say B vitamins and the mineral magnesium are both vital to brain function. But when I brought this up, he shook his head and told me there were no documented studies on this so it can't be.</div>
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We just finished sending Olivia to Colorado to see a doctor who is a trained M.D. but has invested his life into learning about functional medicine. This term means that they believe the body all functions together. That all your systems are related. They believe in looking at all the bodily functions to see what is amiss and could be the cause of your symptoms. So Olivia has been completing a series of tests along with lab work to see what they can find. This doctor has called me twice in a week to discuss her case. I was put on speaker phone for her 2 hour consult. He discussed her issues with his colleagues this week and then called me to discuss a few things that they are suspicious of. I am so thankful for doctors like this one! I even have his e-mail and can ask questions or give him necessary information as I think of it. This is the kind of care I'm looking for!</div>
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I'm also looking for a new neurologist since the Colorado doctor thinks we need a second opinion. He believes there has to be a medication for what she is experiencing. Neither one of us wants her on anti-seizure drugs but sometimes there is a place for it. What has caused her to regress? Something. She hasn't just developed a "condition" where there is no cure. How can you not have seizures for 7 years and then start having them out of the blue? Our bodies are complex and that's why I'm so glad I've found a knowledgeable doctor who cares and will do the research it takes to try at least, to figure her out! We now have some hope. It makes all the difference, really. </div>
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Am I still trying to drive the infirmery bus? Nope. God is driving this one. Dr. Mark actually asked me to pray for God to give him wisdom. This makes me respect him all the more. He is not promising me that he can cure Olivia. He knows his place and that it is only the Lord who can give answers. </div>
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Here is the website to the practice in Colorado in case you are at a dead end and have some seriously health issues. </div>
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https: www.trilifehealth.com</div>
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<i>Kristin Lodi</i></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-39446357420612438532015-02-04T22:41:00.000-06:002015-02-04T22:41:10.849-06:00Winter thoughts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
God's creations are just so amazingly beautiful. This is a picture of a female cardinal that we took in our very own backyard! When I watch the birds so busy gathering food, flying here and there, I'm reminded of how God provides for them and promises to provide for us even more. Why worry about a thing, when God is for you. Nothing changes when we worry anyway. The birds bless me in this way as they remind me of how God is our provider and cares for us even more.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1lHd3I0ejz1IrNwVx89CHKqqqFj5FytEcYTOQnVi7riD455g93zbVR0gTt4m6O4-RQ2zJ1k3nauoPmwO6fR_v7ZWrsPXjwbv3-UkTldzXYnjLx46F3tLohoYvTSqRwuiVTauQ-yL77Xpp/s1600/DSCF5217.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1lHd3I0ejz1IrNwVx89CHKqqqFj5FytEcYTOQnVi7riD455g93zbVR0gTt4m6O4-RQ2zJ1k3nauoPmwO6fR_v7ZWrsPXjwbv3-UkTldzXYnjLx46F3tLohoYvTSqRwuiVTauQ-yL77Xpp/s1600/DSCF5217.JPG" height="317" width="400" /></a></div>
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It's been so cold here this winter in Texas. I know I can't complain in comparison to other states who have even colder weather but the grey skies and freezing temps really are hard to live with day after day. I've always loved all the seasons including winter. I love the beauty of the snow and ice. I love the sound of rain and the feel of being warm in a cozy house. But this winter the continuous days with no sunshine and the ability to sit outside, has gotten me down. I know some people who do get depressed in winter and I can finally relate a little I think.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh8c7PNQo_KmDGAgXWT3fCkSAFudETuEf_T1WS8KlVt3WRovBbeWVu0VKcC-cxNdHMDCFLqfGU38HavvRyI7VooEf87UEBD2mo9mnOIWeMBxuoj55qw1ouVfv4dO_raChytOHDrE5MrW2C/s1600/DSCF5238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh8c7PNQo_KmDGAgXWT3fCkSAFudETuEf_T1WS8KlVt3WRovBbeWVu0VKcC-cxNdHMDCFLqfGU38HavvRyI7VooEf87UEBD2mo9mnOIWeMBxuoj55qw1ouVfv4dO_raChytOHDrE5MrW2C/s1600/DSCF5238.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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I realized how melancholy I felt all winter when the sun finally came out. It was so refreshing and wonderful that I sat outside even though it was really too cold to. Spring was suddenly in the air and all our ducks and chickens were happily running around playing and looking for food, taking other times during the day to nap in the sun. </div>
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It kind of felt like this picture of Levi hiding under his umbrella in the gloomy rain. Just like me, hiding in my house trying to stay warm and be productive during the daylight hours. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl7unuOhzFOeDXa2lHn8uiYxQNgPwTGJIvywTEpdzhITQzWp4HT2uTSRdzpVzwXMBCNJh-UjncXQXDD6FBED8wxxBZFSIAVH8NbQkVg2E0cRiWV_1T3U1k8uX8Va60ZhvUzuMeClltg1xJ/s1600/DSCF5357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl7unuOhzFOeDXa2lHn8uiYxQNgPwTGJIvywTEpdzhITQzWp4HT2uTSRdzpVzwXMBCNJh-UjncXQXDD6FBED8wxxBZFSIAVH8NbQkVg2E0cRiWV_1T3U1k8uX8Va60ZhvUzuMeClltg1xJ/s1600/DSCF5357.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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And then when the sun came out, the umbrella was lifted and a smile broke out!</div>
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This is my 3 year old duckling, Levi. My oldest daughter took this picture of him and I love it!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmQN5fE5t7DazFaqqSuN6IK1VjjECoONNur-jrEK4oK1VwUS8J_vLpyzI5RHEAiguCL5h4ABi-7w5i4gjE4Z48yfHfeKMFEA0Y1MmtHZNR9KWOdzd0n8LLcWm8_W8E-BlJl5N5WZfFIrjW/s1600/DSCF5363.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmQN5fE5t7DazFaqqSuN6IK1VjjECoONNur-jrEK4oK1VwUS8J_vLpyzI5RHEAiguCL5h4ABi-7w5i4gjE4Z48yfHfeKMFEA0Y1MmtHZNR9KWOdzd0n8LLcWm8_W8E-BlJl5N5WZfFIrjW/s1600/DSCF5363.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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These are a few of our real ducks basking in the sunshine. They are about 11 weeks old now. So big, they have grown! Their eyes are on the side of their heads so when you talk to them and they look at you they cock their head in funny ways to see you like the way this white one is doing. We have named her Snowwhite.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPcUr2vCW-gt94grFs_dmKEJrlh09KQ6LkL3XMH7wXRrdWC5DN1rKwWG2stclPG019iC3T55vy1C3yVx4XiwI_54A_Kx2eOVTRxUhWIwBoQNhOYfYfUZRt37ZQ8Ajr0luQUr5I-EKoK33m/s1600/DSCF5329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPcUr2vCW-gt94grFs_dmKEJrlh09KQ6LkL3XMH7wXRrdWC5DN1rKwWG2stclPG019iC3T55vy1C3yVx4XiwI_54A_Kx2eOVTRxUhWIwBoQNhOYfYfUZRt37ZQ8Ajr0luQUr5I-EKoK33m/s1600/DSCF5329.JPG" height="262" width="400" /></a></div>
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We live next door to a beautiful pond that our neighbor owns. Now that our ducks are older we are starting to herd them down to the pond each day to swim since our little kiddy plastic pool is way to small for them. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKOSer9O_ANsCV498FQ-GCim5FMy7ryFsDzRFEjh0-Ho_t25n99IIBtgRUIF_x4CnQf0L9fp2MRXgF5Klt8e1r193ChDt4ZAC8LheMFH4WMzG8iQK9Uh1tj_XtIbD91utuukYKdptpHBSi/s1600/DSCF5346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKOSer9O_ANsCV498FQ-GCim5FMy7ryFsDzRFEjh0-Ho_t25n99IIBtgRUIF_x4CnQf0L9fp2MRXgF5Klt8e1r193ChDt4ZAC8LheMFH4WMzG8iQK9Uh1tj_XtIbD91utuukYKdptpHBSi/s1600/DSCF5346.JPG" height="165" width="400" /></a></div>
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These two are mates. They are the same breed and I think two of the prettiest ones. We named the whiter one, Raquel and the browner one is named Harley. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBf7IqENSbG8g4rV1_na8J10SEe7IjrV_o6GlaEV4LtwU2FQXnVteDayRYmcfyy6oebb_0DFmZZxwCs6viYD-KjecssaQ4azvHAPAikMDXMY-AKdAvZh8jeQtfwQApZQSVwlVPeGc-jEYo/s1600/DSCF5347.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBf7IqENSbG8g4rV1_na8J10SEe7IjrV_o6GlaEV4LtwU2FQXnVteDayRYmcfyy6oebb_0DFmZZxwCs6viYD-KjecssaQ4azvHAPAikMDXMY-AKdAvZh8jeQtfwQApZQSVwlVPeGc-jEYo/s1600/DSCF5347.JPG" height="226" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is Prince. He is the biggest duck we have. He is a Pekin duck and because he is so big he has a big waddle too. It's funny to see him lead the pack or sometimes bring up the rear because he is pretty slow to get where he wants to go.</div>
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We have learned that when they go to the pond they are actually getting food from it as well. They have a type of sieve in their bills that filters out the dirt and sand so they can eat the minnows and tadpoles and other small bugs. They love the mud and and seem to be drinking it but that isn't really true.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeqevaRi1pkxV3mKUod8bFKeVJFS0wrdOU5x4FRA2e2c4ATHDaYSJa4qQ30Wzk-D_QiqtcH6B12-EJaotT4cJ_nZyxziiN-TTZJqicBbuaBNmqQP_dzT4zvBSJYZCiiHTmbU2l_TAxw9Dy/s1600/DSCF5392.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeqevaRi1pkxV3mKUod8bFKeVJFS0wrdOU5x4FRA2e2c4ATHDaYSJa4qQ30Wzk-D_QiqtcH6B12-EJaotT4cJ_nZyxziiN-TTZJqicBbuaBNmqQP_dzT4zvBSJYZCiiHTmbU2l_TAxw9Dy/s1600/DSCF5392.JPG" height="290" width="400" /></a></div>
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They also have oil glands on their bodies that help their feathers repel water so they never seem like they are wet. They can completely dunk their whole body under water but come up dry! They love to bathe and flap their wings to fluff up their feathers after getting wet. We have feathers all over our yard because of this. They jump in my kiddy pool and get as wet as they can and then they flap so hard, you think they will just lift off and fly away at any time. But these breeds of ducks can't fly.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6mH8-28dFeYsQvQYC7H_l2epIBrBcza9gBoBHa-DtTlFZfzMf8yZ8U7C4WnBmglpIMPfh8fvXfUCLM_Syixb9hfzxSiRdD3n6uatbFJJE8MMAvNeYHMV6MbnPXvHdAFC-wZhyZYHIc108/s1600/DSCF5398.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6mH8-28dFeYsQvQYC7H_l2epIBrBcza9gBoBHa-DtTlFZfzMf8yZ8U7C4WnBmglpIMPfh8fvXfUCLM_Syixb9hfzxSiRdD3n6uatbFJJE8MMAvNeYHMV6MbnPXvHdAFC-wZhyZYHIc108/s1600/DSCF5398.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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We are really enjoying our two black ones. They are called Cayugas and are a beautiful, silky black color. When the sunlight hits them certain ways their feathers look green or purple. I named one of them Beautiful but I can't really tell them apart.</div>
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This is Raquel again. She is my favorite. </div>
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Harley again. He is looking right at ya!</div>
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Here they are all in a row just like the ducks in books look like. They stick together, let me tell you! If one gets stuck or left behind, all the others will go back for it. It's really endearing to watch them stay together even though they represent 4 different breeds. They have grown up together so each other is all they've known. There isn't an independent one out of the whole bunch. I love this about them. Chickens go off on their own and don't seem to care too much where each other is hanging out. Ducks on the other hand are much more attached to each other. When I take them to the pond and they all are playing around in the water, when one decides it's time get out, then they all finish up and get out too. All of a sudden, all 8 of them will be done in the water and ready to follow the leader!</div>
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I love the way they look against the green pasture! Every time I take them to the pond, I with I had my camera to capture the beauty. They now know how to come home all by themselves after I take them down there. This morning it was pretty cold so Micah and I stayed about 20 minutes. They were having such a good time in the water and didn't look like they were going to be done anytime soon so we just left them down there. They came home a few minutes later all together without loosing a single member of their family!</div>
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I'll end this post with another picture of my youngest duckling. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVnqJBOh_Qi2VcDHNokhpcKzzpr0oF7wmHLTtyu4OjWhvtG-kO9jDT4qSyOuWFzsTO8EhyphenhyphenTCDDyl1RMq7GZYWEm-vbhTKuz-aE3Su11psYP6DSJhxlFIFCE1SZKRQW2KCjh7LjYu_zD0Kz/s1600/DSCF5370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVnqJBOh_Qi2VcDHNokhpcKzzpr0oF7wmHLTtyu4OjWhvtG-kO9jDT4qSyOuWFzsTO8EhyphenhyphenTCDDyl1RMq7GZYWEm-vbhTKuz-aE3Su11psYP6DSJhxlFIFCE1SZKRQW2KCjh7LjYu_zD0Kz/s1600/DSCF5370.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Our own family is sort of like a duck family, I'm discovering. We all need our time alone and sometimes go off with friends for a bit, but it's hard to stay away from each other for long. We inevitably gather again to be together and enjoy each others company, sharing our days experiences. Rich is our leader and where he leads, we follow. Sometimes other members of our family voice their desires or concerns and unconsciously take a lead where we all follow to show our support. <br />
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Yes, I'm learning quite a bit about love and care by observing our ducks. Gods creatures are indeed, beautiful in many ways.<br />
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<i>Kristin Lodi</i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-45386491765550133412014-12-04T19:03:00.000-06:002014-12-04T19:03:16.084-06:00Jesus Came to Bring Peace<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I really wanted to share a little about what's been going through my mind lately about peace. Children and ducks are pretty peaceful if you really think about it. They are not stressed but relaxed, enjoying life and the blessings it brings. I took these pictures today of the little boys playing together and holding our 3 week old ducklings. So I will put them interspersed in this post about peace.</div>
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Lately, I've been feeling overwhelmed with the cares of this life. My children's health always seems to be an issue and with that bills accumulate. We are now a part of a Christian Share Program in place of insurance and I love many things about it. On the other hand, it's a new way of handling our medical bills that we aren't used to and requires more foot work on our part. Since Rich is working the majority of the day, this responsibility has fallen on me. Along with home schooling, disciplining to keep peace in our home, planning all the meals, keeping up with my children's social calendar, entertaining for the holidays, well, you get the idea. To say the least, my life has not been at all peaceful. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIPwmQ7mGQdiflvTZjeesFjjC-FAhdDRQWqCHbI6HKuEySBcuzbZ9_ku_kA1LpZjTtuRvRRzdRkDJI4UBEeSpj7ZFV0Amaa3NXfGPfj5Hh2_UA1-KHW5EJFLm01Bx-77i6z50S09hHWQqR/s1600/DSCF5211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIPwmQ7mGQdiflvTZjeesFjjC-FAhdDRQWqCHbI6HKuEySBcuzbZ9_ku_kA1LpZjTtuRvRRzdRkDJI4UBEeSpj7ZFV0Amaa3NXfGPfj5Hh2_UA1-KHW5EJFLm01Bx-77i6z50S09hHWQqR/s1600/DSCF5211.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<a name='more'></a><b> </b>I don't usually struggle with stress but lately it's seems to be out of my control. One day I just found myself overwhelmed, short with my kids, an emotional wreck. I felt like a weight was sitting on top of my chest making it hard to breath. Too many decisions had to be made and I felt like I was the one to make them. Which doctor do we take our struggling child to? How much money will it cost? Paperwork and more paperwork piled high on my counter. Bills that needed to be paid, forms to fill out, and calls that needed to be made. <br />
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The boys weren't getting along, I was behind on laundry, the house was continually a mess, the older kids needed me to take them places, and shouldn't my oldest son be driving by now? Oh yeah, that's up to me! Whatever it was . . . it was too much for me that day and so mommy had a meltdown.</div>
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The next day, I concluded I had to get into God's word and needed to hear from him. </div>
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I've been making my way very slowly through Romans 8. It is so chalked full of golden nuggets of wisdom and Christian principles that I can't ever get very far into it without having to stop and just chew on what I read for a few days. So I picked up where I left off. . . </div>
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<i>Romans 8: 26-27</i></div>
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<i>In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words, and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.</i></div>
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Did I feel weak? Did I feel like groaning to God? Did I need Jesus to intercede for me? Yes, yes, and yes again! Did I know how to pray for myself and all my issues that were stressing me out? Absolutely not. I really didn't even know what my issues were. As I thought about the Spirit groaning for me because words just don't seem to cut it sometimes, I was comforted. </div>
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Jesus came to help our weaknesses. He knows we live in a sinful, decaying world and it's not fun for him to watch us suffer. So he came to bring us peace. He came to give us life. He came to set us free from the bondage of sin but also from our burdens!</div>
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<i>I Peter 5:7 says:</i></div>
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<i>Cast all your cares (anxieties) on Him, because He cares for you! </i></div>
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I know this verse by heart. I learned it as a child. I know God wants to take my burdens but you know, He won't take them unless you release them to Him. </div>
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I took a deep breath that morning, closed my eyes and gave him my cares. None of them were too big for him. I prayed that I would walk through that day looking up at His face, like a child looks up to his Daddy. Oh, may I walk hand in hand with my Heavenly Father looking into his face. Not at my "to do" list, or at my child's health issues.</div>
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We have begun our Advent Scripture readings in anticipation for Christmas. As we lit the first candle and sat around the table listening, I was struck again that I had no peace about the currant appointment we had scheduled for our Daughter that following week. I had run out ahead of God and made that appointment out of panic for her situation. I decided right then and there while that candle flickered, that I had no peace about it and God was speaking to my heart about it. I had to cancel it, get my deposit and heath records back.</div>
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The following day, I called the right doctor who I should have made the appt. with initially and after talking with the receptionist, I knew it was where God was leading us. I then had to "eat dirt" and call the other doctor and cancel everything. You know what, it wasn't that difficult. They were understanding and have mailed back everything I need and have even offered to help us in the future if needed.</div>
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Since then, I've been able to breath again and handle what comes my way. My child is still struggling with her health but I have confidence that we are moving in the right direction for her. The bills are coming in but this share program will eventually reimburse us.</div>
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Remember this Christmas that Jesus came to bring us PEACE. Take time to breath and look up into His face this Christmas. Walk hand in hand with Him as you face life's struggles. It's so worth it!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-16083721505152394882014-11-19T19:34:00.001-06:002014-11-19T19:34:14.189-06:00Added Ducks to the Lodi Farm<br />
I'm sure people are wondering why we bought 9 ducks. Well, let me tell you. My neighbor has ducks and I go over there every now and then to retrieve my kids from her house and I always stay and talk for awhile. Her ducks are so pretty and she told me she is getting a few eggs a day from them. She proceeded to give me some to try. First of all duck eggs are extra large in size, packed full of nutrients and as I tried one I realized they are incredibly delicious! I remember seeing a dozen duck eggs for sale at a local market back in Dallas and they were asking $13 a dozen!! I decided duck eggs are valuable and therefore, ducks are worth having. So I ordered 9 ducks to be delivered by mail. I forgot to say that she also told me that they eat lots of bugs and especially grasshoppers when they forage around your yard. This is a plus for me since we had tons of grasshoppers out here this past summer.<br />
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It was fun to go to the website and find that you can choose the breed of ducks according to their looks, temperament and egg production and of course, availability. So we chose 4 different breeds all to be hatched on November 10th.<br />
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They were sent 2 day priority mail to our local post office and were to be picked up promptly as you would suppose the post office would rather not hold a chirping box with live animals in it for very long. So on a very cold morning, I received the call at 6 a.m. that our ducks had arrived! I was so excited as many of my children were too. I woke up Dominic to go with me to the little country town we live in to retrieve our prized duckling not knowing what in the world to expect. We'd never done this before. I was just praying they wouldn't freeze to death and would all be alive when we opened the box!<br />
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Dominic had done his research and I did too so we were prepared with straw for their bedding, chick feed and a home made water dish. Oh, and let's not forget the most important heating lamp! These ducklings were to be kept at 90* for the first week!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 day old ducklings</td></tr>
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They were so very soft and sweet. They had a ton of energy and were running around excitedly to be let out of the box. I was surprised to hear that they chirp just like baby chickens do. They don't quack. They must develop that deep quack later as adults.<br />
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This is their initial habitat but it only last about 5 minutes because we quickly realized that it wasn't deep enough. They were trying to jump out and by standing on their water dish, they could have easily escaped! So we emptied a clear plastic storage container from the garage and used that for the first week. Much better.</div>
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Since we got up so early to pick them up, Dominic, Rich and I got to enjoy them while everyone else was still sleeping. But slowly everyone began waking up and coming out to see what was all the chirping about. It kind of felt a bit like Christmas morning when you have a surprise waiting. <br />
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Julia enjoys animals so much. I don't think there is one she doesn't like. One day I found her with her chair right in front of the ducks house doing her school work while watching the ducks. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby Pekin duck. <br /><br /></td></tr>
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I had read that an old paint tray makes a great bathtub for baby ducks. We introduced them to water for swimming on day 4. They were a bit scared but not for long. The problem with this was that they kept jumping out and walking around the kitchen floor and when scared they would poop. So it turned out to be a messy event with water all over the floor mixed with duck poop! It was a new experience to say the least to have ducks running free around the kitchen! So the next day we gave them a bath in the regular bathtub. </div>
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Ducks drink a gallon of water a day when they are full grown. These little guys drink a 1/2 gallon a week per duck! That's a lot of water! So they drink water as they swim to meet their quota. They also have a mucus membrane on the side of their bills that has to continually get wet so they need to be able to dip their entire bill in the water. I knew none of this before. It's pretty fun to learn new things.</div>
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Each duck needed to be dried off so they don't catch a chill before returning them to their heating lamp. This, I believe, is a Blue Swedish duck. He, or she, is my favorite.<br />
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This is Dominic my other animal lover. He would love to have a whole house full of animals. He has been allowed to have a turtle and a gerbil but if he had his way he would have a pet farm and I'd have cages all over the house! Can you see the teeny-tiny duck he is holding? That's about how big they were at 4 days old.</div>
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This is their new home to date in the garage. After having them in the house for a week and having to change their bedding every day because they soiled it so badly we decided they needed a larger habitat. So now they have room to run around and we have room to put 2 water feeders in their pen for them. Now we don't have to change their bedding but every 3 days and they don't run out of water so fast either. This is my compost container that my smart husband reminded me would work just right for them. It's open on the bottom so we laid down some cardboard and then put the straw on top.<br />
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This is where we found Julia with her coat on sitting in a camping chair in the dark with only the heating lamp and space heater on doing her school work. It's a bit cold in the garage these days.<br />
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Today they are almost a 1 1/2 weeks old. I feel like they are growing right before my eyes! Each day when I go check on them in the garage, they look bigger! We decided to take them outside today for an hour or so to see what they would do. It was in the 60's today so we figured it wouldn't be too cold.</div>
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We made sure they stayed in the sunshine.</div>
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They were so cute. They seem to move in a pack and run pretty fast. They really liked the sunshine and we filled a shallow pan full of water for them so they wouldn't get dehydrated and so that they could get their bodies wet if they liked. And they liked.<br />
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They were in and out of the water dish. Drinking and fluttering about. Only about 4 could get in at one time so the others would wait patiently on the outskirts watching. It was relaxing for us too to sit out in the sunshine watching them. It's so amazing how ducks just know how to be ducks without any instructions. </div>
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These Pekins will grow white feathers and be a the pure white duck that you are probably familiar with.<br />
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I believe this is a Welsh Harlequin but I could be wrong. We are calling this one Chipmonk right now because of his markings. He is pretty distinctly different from all the others. Wonder when he gets his feathers if he'll still have these markings?<br />
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This one is the Blue Swedish that I had a picture of earlier. He or she is changing so much. Can you see how much bigger they are from just a week ago? There are two of this breed and they are the ones that have a pink rim on their bill. One nice thing about ducks verses chickens is that they don't have a sharp beak. When they eat out of your hand, you don't really have to worry about getting pecked at.</div>
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I hope you enjoyed my duck pictures! I hope to blog about this again as they change and we learn more about them.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-10150354885967906482014-10-19T00:57:00.000-05:002014-10-19T00:57:36.167-05:00Family Dynamic ChangesI wondered if moving to the country would change our family dynamics. When my older children were little, I longed for them to be outside with space to explore, throw a ball around, and spend time together. We had 1/3 of an acre in Colorado when they were little and we did spend long hours outside. I remember being barefoot and pregnant there and sitting outside watching them play. I visited with my neighbors in the backyard while they played on the swings, dug in the dirt or in winter went sledding down the short hill we had. <br />
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Then we moved to Dallas area and bought a house with virtually no backyard. It had an 8 ft tall fence and a small patch of grass. We looked for months for a house with a big yard but there were none in our price range and in the area we needed to live. At least the house we did buy had two large trees that they could climb when they were older. They did play in the street out front but had to be very careful not to hit a parked car with their baseball practicing. We did take many walks at the greenbelt close by to get out into nature and when they got much older, they could go ride their bikes down there and explore. We made due with what we had and they had a lovely childhood. I on the other hand, quit sitting outside with the Texas hot sun and plethora of bugs to wrestle with. I did when we first moved there but over time, I quit. I'm not sure why. . . maybe it was the view of the tall fence that detoured me. I did spend time trying to garden in my square foot box but that is only so relaxing.<br />
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When we moved to East Texas this summer, we bought a house that sits on 2 1/2 acres. What a blessing it has been. For the first month or so I felt like I was living in a country vacation home. All the fresh air is mesmerizing! I love the sounds of crickets, cows mooing, roosters crowing and the breeze rustling in the trees. If it was too dark to be outside on the back porch then I would open the windows in our sunroom and sit out there and listen, read, or just sit and be thankful for all of it. I think God is glorified when we are just still with a thankful heart.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is our sunroom where I can still feel like I'm outside without being out. When it gets too cold, I'll sit out here maybe with a space heater so I can feel like I'm still outside.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our front yard and house.</td></tr>
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So how has all this space changed our family dynamics? Well, I know it's helped me have more peace. I automatically began spending time outside again because I love nature and gravitate towards being in God's creation. Didn't God create all these trees, sounds, smells, and creatures for us to enjoy? They reveal His handiwork, His splendor, His intelligent design! I try to sit outside everyday for a bit and I just stand amazed at all the beauty there is to see.<br />
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Just yesterday I went outside to do Micah's reading lesson with him and it took us almost an hour to get started because we got distracted with a Monarch butterfly that floated by and landed in the tree above us. We studied it and then I had to go get my camera. <br />
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I've always heard about the Monarchs migrating to Mexico but have never experienced it. The more we watched, the more we saw. One would flutter by and then another. One right after another. So as I was following them, hoping they would land in the yard so I could get a picture, I spied a flowering weed and saw 5 Monarchs drinking the nectar!<br />
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Aren't they pretty? I had to get over the guilt of lagging in Micah's reading lesson and kept telling myself, this is what school is all about. This is life science! He'll learn to read all in due time.<br />
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We have slowed down since we've moved and that has helped me sort through what is important. We stopped piano lessons, baseball practice, and home school elective classes. Not because we wanted to but because we had to. We might pick up some of these things again but for now we are learning what there is around here in our little town of 3,500. Instead of me being the family taxi, we are spending time getting to know our neighbors, having friends over (new and old) and playing outside. all the while discovering things like Monarchs, spiders and the habits of birds.<br />
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The boys have named this chicken Fluffy Flyer. She is our most docile chicken and will let most anyone hold her. She is slow so she is easy to catch and never pecks at you. Chickens are so fun to watch. Sometimes I go outside in the late afternoon to read a bit or maybe plan our meals for the week and make a shopping list. I can hardly concentrate because the chickens are so interesting to watch. I love that they eat the bugs in our yard especially the grasshoppers and crickets. The run here and there as fast as their fat, fluffy, feathered bodies will carry them to catch a jumping insect. They roll and puff up their feathers in the dirt and dust to clean themselves. They separate themselves from the flock when they need to go lay an egg and will always lay it in the same place. One makes her way back to the pen, another sits by the workshop in her dirt nest she has created and still another has made her nest on top of a grassy mound. It cracks me up to see her fluffy red head peeking up over the grass as she sits and waits for that egg to drop out of her.</div>
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Anthony has had to observe 5 birds for his biology class. He took some exceptional pictures last week, much better than I could have captured them. This is a hawk. Hawks are beautiful birds but really not chicken owners friends as they will eat them. One swooped down into our yard the other day and all the chickens scattered and squawked. Sometimes the chickens will just freeze when they sense a predator. They will stand motionless for a very long time.</div>
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This is the neighborhood Blue Heron. He/she hangs out by our pond next door and one day when I was pulling away in my car, I saw it flying across the road to another neighbor's pond. The wing span was so enormous and seriously, it's wings were blue. Absolutely beautiful are God's creatures!<br />
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This the Texas state bird the Northern Mockingbird. They are fabulous looking when they fly because they have a white wide stripe on their wings contrasting with black or dark grey and they seem to love to fight with each other.<br />
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Isn't this picture striking? Anthony got this one of our friendly Cardinal! He is so pretty and comes around often.<br />
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And, did I tell you about the newest animal that our neighbor's added to their household? It's Pepper the pot-belly pig! She is 10 weeks old in this picture and our neighbor brought her over to meet our boys. Levi loves animals and always seem to wind up kissing them. Pigs can be cleaner that dogs and cats, I guess so this one is a pet and lives in the house with them. It sleeps in a crate at night in their son's room and they take her out to go potty just like you would a puppy. So far, she hasn't had any accidents. Amazing! I never would have known.<br />
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I've even decided that I love taking the time it takes to hang my wash outside to dry. I love being outside so why not? It's just another excuse to be outside among the trees with the breeze drying our clothes. It saves money on the electric bill and I love the way the clothes come out slightly stiff with that fresh air smell. In seems like more work because it is easier to throw them in the dryer and push a button but in the end it's less work. I don't have piles of clean clothes laying around waiting to be folded and put away. I fold them as I take them off the line and put them in the basket. Then when I get into the house, I put them away. This goes right along with my resourceful personality.<br />
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So living in the country is slowly changing the dynamics of our home. We are spending less time in front of media and technology, less time running from here to there, and more time outside. It has created a less hurried lifestyle. There seems to be more peace in the home and patience with each other.<br />
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We just ordered 9 ducks to add to our bird farm so I'm sure in the weeks ahead, I will be taking tons of pictures of ducklings. My nature girl, Julia and I, could not be more thrilled, anticipating these day old ducklings coming in the mail. Our neighbors have ducks and gave us some duck eggs to try. They are amazing! Did you know that duck eggs cost about $1 a piece? They are a precious commodity! So we will pray that they will make it through the winter weather and stay safe from predators so that in the Spring we might get to eat duck eggs regularly. <br />
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Stay tuned as we experience life in the country.<br />
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KristinUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-57976189028153214722014-10-08T20:54:00.000-05:002014-10-08T20:54:31.749-05:00Two kinds of people in lifeI've noticed that there seem to be two kinds of people, country people and city people. City people would be defined as those who like their conveniences, downtown activities and plethora of choices in shopping and restaurants and don't mind the traffic to get there. They are comfortable around lots of people and noise doesn't seem to bother them much.<br />
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Country people like the slow pace of virtually no traffic, a few quaint shops to choose from and don't mind spending the day driving to the closest grocery or town to stock up on food. They don't like crowds as much and find the peace and quiet of nature, soothing. They don't mind getting their hands dirty, occasional bugs and spiders don't freak them out as long as they aren't in the house. They like the idea of not having city rules like no clotheslines, no farm animals, and no burning garbage. Your lawn can be as long as you like and you can compost or stack bags of leaves to use later wherever you want. <br />
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Some people who have a country mentality have to live in the big cities but they find ways to embrace nature and slow down. They might choose to live in a suburb on the outskirts of the city and avoid the freeways. They might even choose a larger lot over a big new house so they can be outside and have a garden and do their own thing. City folk would choose the new house with all the latest conveniences and a patio instead of a yard so they don't have to mow.<br />
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I suppose some people are a bit of both. Let's face it we all love our comforts and conveniences but I if I had to pick a category, I'd be a country girl. And isn't it a good thing that both the city person and country person can actually like each other and get along? Even though, we are somewhat opposites, its a wonderful thing to get along and appreciate those differences.<br />
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I even have 2 opposites in our family. Once daughter loves her comforts, technology and clean living while the other loves the birds, climbing trees and can't keep her shoes on. <br />
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Together she and I have been watching birds and trying to the best of our ability to identify them. For a few weeks in August and September there seemed to be a bird festival in our backyard! We were seeing 7-8 different birds at a time in a matter of an hour of bird watching. It was truly amazing. It felt like we were at a bird sanctuary. We tried our best to take some pictures so we could search our bird book later to identify them. Here are some of what we captured.<br />
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This is a ruby throated hummingbird. One day I was watering my grass with an sprinkler that rotated because us country people don't usually have sprinkler systems. To my surprise a large bug came zooming through the water. I thought it was a cicada or some really large buzzing thing I'd never seen before. When it came in for a shower again, I realized it was a hummingbird! I quickly ran out and bought a feeder and shortly after we had 4 different hummingbirds fighting over the feeder. I've learned they aren't prone to share so while one guards his food, the others try to chase him away so no one really gets anything to eat!<br />
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So during our bird festival we counted 9 hummingbirds! They were swooping and zooming all over the place!<br />
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The cardinals out here seem really red for some reason. We had these when we lived in the Dallas area but they didn't seem as red. Maybe because of all the green grass and trees around here they just look brighter.<br />
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One day as we were bird watching we saw a bright yellow bird. He stayed in the tree above our fountain and he was so small that it was hard to get a good look at him. Day after day we would catch glimpses of him until he felt comfortable enough to take a bath in our fountain! It didn't take long before he brought all his friends too. We looked in our bird book and found that he is called a Yellow Warbler. <br />
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Aren't' they beautiful! The next bird I have a picture of I think is a sparrow. These birds have the prettiest song and sing very loudly! I heard her singing and couldn't believe so much noise was coming from this little bird. She has built a nest in our tree so we regularly see lots of sparrows flying back and forth from our feeder to this tree.<br />
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This is the red bellied woodpecker which we think is a funny name because his head is red, not his belly. This is the best picture I could get of him. We've seen him several times.<br />
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Ok, this is enough birds for one day. I'll end with the black-capped chickadee. They are another real cute, small bird that love our feeder. Pretty common here just like the house sparrow.<br />
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Now that it's October, we aren't seeing very many birds. The black crows are still around and the bluejays. Even the hummingbirds have slowed down in coming to their feeder. <br />
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That is ok, though, because we still have our chickens to watch! I look forward to Spring to see what kind of birds God brings our way. Hope you enjoyed my bird post.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-83034453227094826442014-09-05T10:58:00.001-05:002014-09-05T10:58:17.128-05:00Resourcefulness continued . . . <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I want to continue this idea of resourcefulness that I spoke of in my last post. The idea of taking something that someone else might consider trash, and fixing it up to make it useful and enjoyable to look at. This is my definition of resourcefulness.</div>
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There is a story behind this porch swing. It actually has some sentimental value to me. We bought this when we lived in Denver, Colorado about 15 years ago. I had always wanted a porch swing and we proudly hung it on our back porch. I remember sitting with my neighbor on this swing talking and laughing as we watched our kids play together. I have pictures of my two older children sitting in this swing in their pajamas, eating ice cream cones when they were 5 and 3 years old.</div>
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When we moved to Texas a few years later, we brought the swing with us, intending to use it at our new place. Well, you guessed it, we never found a way to hang it up. We had no covered porch and weren't handy enough to build one of those free standing frames for it. So it sat in our backyard in the weather getting more and more beat up. It actually sat for 11 years!</div>
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We just moved after 11 years to a ranch style home away from the hustle and bustle of Dallas, TX. We live an hour East of Dallas in a small town of a little over 3,000 people called Wills Point. It's one of those cute towns you drive through on road trips to your vacation spot. My husband said to me the other day when we went to town, "We live in one of those towns. Can you believe it?" I said, "What do you mean, one of those towns?" He said, "One of those little towns that we always drive through on our way somewhere." He's right, and I can't believe it!</div>
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These pictures are of Julia staining our old porch swing. It looks so much better with a coat of stain. At this house, we do have a covered porch with a good solid beam for hanging swings like the one we already have. Rich bought the screws and the chain and hung it a few weekends ago. It looks out into our front yard where we have a tire swing and a horse shoe pit.</div>
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Already, even in August we have sat out there in the evenings and watched the guys play horse shoes. We had to pull out a few hedges to hang it far enough away from the windows under that solid beam.</div>
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We have started school up this month and Micah often picks to go do his reading lesson out here on the swing in the morning. I was so excited to use this for the first time after so many years. This is our Colorado swing that has relocated to Texas. It holds many memories and will hold many more in the future. My two oldest children are now 19 and 16, the ones who sat in their pajamas and ate ice cream on this swing. </div>
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I look forward to making some memories with these two little guys out here on the front porch! Who knows, maybe Rich and I will grow old here in this house and as our nest gets emptier, we will sit out here and drink our coffee together. Or just maybe we'll rock our grand babies out here someday or spend holidays with company sitting outside enjoying the countryside. The possibilities are endless!</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-3738306319413570542014-08-20T17:39:00.000-05:002014-08-20T17:39:00.284-05:00Putting the Lodi Stamp on our New Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I realized I'm really into resourcefulness. I love to take old things</div>
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and turn them around into something useful. Why buy new when you can recycle something old and give it new life! I would actually classify this as a hobby of mine. </div>
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Since moving recently to a new house with all kinds of new features, I've gotten to practice my resourcefulness. There are many changes we want to make around here and one was our mailbox. It was this ugly purple color. Instead of buying a new one, I dug out of my cupboard all the non-washable paints that I could find for my artistic daughter to create something beautiful with. </div>
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We looked at a bunch of decorated mailbox ideas online and picked this bicycle picture in front of a white picked fence. Julia practiced painting it on a paper plate first. It's easy for her to sketch almost anything with pencil but quite another to use paints.</div>
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This is how it came out on the actual mailbox. </div>
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My other daughter really hated the purple still and felt we should get rid of it. Plus we wanted to do something else on the other side.</div>
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So I found some more paint out in the garage and she painted the whole thing plus added flowers and our name to the other side.</div>
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Not bad for an amateur artist. I think she should start her own business taking old mailboxes and making them new!</div>
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I love giving projects like this one to my kids. It gives them something constructive to do. Anthony's project was to hang a tire swing (previous post) and this was Julia's project, to paint me a new mailbox! I'd say she did a pretty good job.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQXW6UiwUUc9hlw7E4EhgrXVRu0ziUJeKP7Bcs1DbXznckWdAGGC0Zrv2timprzJgkbLXNeP2na6syu6HvzGMNjpTJn9mlP0Jf8ZFbqKNGSnVOGz44ixd12BobkUYK3tvdR35x925uQ7M/s1600/DSCF4129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQXW6UiwUUc9hlw7E4EhgrXVRu0ziUJeKP7Bcs1DbXznckWdAGGC0Zrv2timprzJgkbLXNeP2na6syu6HvzGMNjpTJn9mlP0Jf8ZFbqKNGSnVOGz44ixd12BobkUYK3tvdR35x925uQ7M/s1600/DSCF4129.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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This afternoon I gave her another project, refinishing our porch swing. Once we get it hung up to show how resourceful we've been, I'll post about it. Stay tuned!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-48174270149312621232014-08-15T11:59:00.001-05:002014-08-15T11:59:24.519-05:00Medicinal items to keep on hand for unexpected illnesses<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
There are a few supplements and medicinal items that I found to be extremely helpful this year. These things have kept me from running to the doctor needlessly when I don't feel well. And therefore I have avoided the antibiotics that they pass out so easily. I have to insert a little disclaimer here to let you know that I'm not against antibiotics or medical help when necessary. They are so helpful when in desperate times and in need of some desperate measures to find healing.</div>
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Usually it is not recommended to "self diagnose." But I disagree! I do this all the time with the computer at our fingertips and so much information out there. It's saved me many times from wasting money on doctor visits and prescriptions and wasting time waiting to be seen only to be guessing along with the doctor about what I might have.</div>
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I think God is pleased when we use the brains he gave us to learn new things. He created our bodies in such an incredible way and meant for our bodies to be able to heal themselves. For example, our immune systems are there to fight off disease and keep us healthy. Bleeding for example is God's way of cleaning out our wounds. Fevers are another example of the bodies way of telling us something foreign has intruded. There is a battle going on but the fever is fighting for us, not against us. As a mom of a large family, we've had our share of illnesses and I've been forced to learn a lot about how our bodies function best. </div>
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These are just a few ailments I've had that I've been able to self diagnose that I can remember off the top of my head. Maybe they will be helpful if you are experiencing any of them.</div>
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I've treated the beginnings of pink eye by flushing the eyes with contact solution.</div>
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A friend helped me diagnose a boil I had on the side of my bra line (which I'd never had before). She recommended a high dose of probiotics and hot compresses. I'd had it for a week before I even showed it to her. She told me that it was an infection under the skin and that I needed a strong immune system to fight it off. I took probiotics, stayed away from sugar and did the hot compresses every morning and night. I never had to see a doctor because within 3 days it was better.</div>
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One time last year, I had strep throat and was put on antibiotics because strep can be very serious. After I finished the antibiotics, I felt better for about a week and then it returned. My throat was killing me again! I drank my usual apple cider vinegar tonic because I knew that this vinegar is supposed to be able to kill bacteria and went to bed praying for God to take it away. I fully expected to have to see the doctor in the morning and do another round of antibiotics but instead it was better! I drank ACV all day the next day and never had problems with it again. Hallelujah!</div>
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Most recently I had a UTI (urinary tract infection). I'd never had one of these before either. I knew it must be either a yeast infection or a UTI. I looked them both up online and decided according to my symptoms it was a UTI. The recommendation were to drink lots of water, take high doses of vitamin C, stay away from caffeine and sugar, and make an apple cider drink and sip on it all day. I did this for a week! Whenever my symptoms went away, I'd stop and then they would come back so I decided I needed to stick to it a few days after my symptoms were gone to completely kick it. I was so grateful I never had to see a doctor about this and blown away again by these natural methods of curing oneself!</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfO-0YFXJxYvT0GVBt0PkpQeN9mb08JLNscIZs-cWBMMTB0RUGgib9owXBQmryGxjPz01XMzjsR-Ep4uRJ8A4Cf6PjvseCrvCdyGMZcrjYt4Z0eCVHxoL5E5kLtve8yKH9zetHxQXlBHP/s1600/DSCF4143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfO-0YFXJxYvT0GVBt0PkpQeN9mb08JLNscIZs-cWBMMTB0RUGgib9owXBQmryGxjPz01XMzjsR-Ep4uRJ8A4Cf6PjvseCrvCdyGMZcrjYt4Z0eCVHxoL5E5kLtve8yKH9zetHxQXlBHP/s1600/DSCF4143.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vitamin C (1,000 mg), netiwash pot, Braggs organic apple cider vinegar (with the mother in it), acidophilus blast</td></tr>
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So now here we are as to why I'm writing this post. I'm in the middle of another ailment new to me and I'm seeing success although, I'm not out of the woods yet. Because I feel so much better, I'm ecstatic that God continues to help my body heal and fight off infections, naturally without the help of antibiotics!<br />
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About a month ago I developed a cough. No other symptoms, just a wet, croupy cough. After about 2 weeks I began to also have a bit of congestion. Because I felt great and never had a sore throat, I felt it was due to allergies. I'd been spending a ton of time outdoors and when our air conditioning went out for three days, we even slept with our windows open. By the third week, I took a turn for the worse and woke up one night freezing. It's the middle of August in Texas! Why am I cold? My head was heavy, my body ached and a few minutes later I was hot, throwing all my covers off that I had so carefully put on a half hour before. "Oh no" I thought, "I have the flu!" I slept pretty much the next day away. I couldn't stand up for more than 10 minutes without needing to go back to bed. The second day, I was a bit better but still very fatigued and had a lot of pressure in my head. By the third day, I began to wonder, if I didn't have the flu but an infection of some sort. I just moved to the country an hour away from where we used to live in Dallas, Texas. I didn't even have a doctor yet and my old doctor wasn't practicing anymore. I kept thinking, maybe I have pneumonia since I've had this cough forever. I didn't want to think about it. Then it dawned on me that I might have a sinus infection! When I did the research, I realized I had 9 out of the 10 symptoms! So I began an intense regimen. I started taking my probiotic 2 TX a day on an empty stomach, I took 3,000-4,000 mg of vitamin C spread out throughout the day, I made my apple cider vinegar drink that I always revert back to to fight bacteria and you guessed it, I did the neti-pot wash. I'd never done this before but had one of these in my medicine cabinet. I watched a video online of how to do it and read the instructions on the box. <br />
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I'm sold on this thing and might just have to do this weekly for allergies to wash out the pollens and dust from my nasal passages. It is no piece of cake and is kind of gross but I had no idea I could get the actual infected mucus out of my nose this way. And if it's not enough to get that gunk out, remember that if you add colloidal silver to your saline solution you are killing the bacteria that has penetrated the lining of your nasal passages. If you don't have silver, you can open a probiotic capsule and pour it in your solution as well. They say if your snot is a yellowish/green then you have an infection. Just think of all those times you had head congestion and couldn't sleep because you couldn't breath! Going through an entire box of kleenexes didn't seem to help and there you lay breathing through your mouth hoping to catch a few zzzzz's! Bet you didn't know that you could heat up some warm saline solution (salt water) and pour it through each nasal passage and get complete relief! <br />
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I did this once the first day and twice the second day. I haven't yet had to do it today, the third day, because I don't feel congested. Yesterday I felt so much more energy than I had felt in a week, that I really began to be excited that just maybe God was healing me through these methods! Today I feel almost normal. I'm still taking the probiotic, drinking ACV, and taking the vitamin C. It's such a great feeling when you can live life again. My two sons birthdays are this weekend and I really wanted to be able to celebrate with them. One is turning 6 and the other 13. It's really no fun when life is happening without you while you are miserable in bed.<br />
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A few details to end this long post about health: Vitamin C is an anti-inflammatory supplement that goes right through you. You process it through your kidneys so it is best to take it sporadically throughout the day. I take one when I'm sick at every meal and I buy a very high dose because you cannot overdose on this supplement. I was told by my doctor that I can take up to 6,000 mg a day usually without incident. More than than can cause diarrhea so if you experience loose bowels then back off of it a bit.<br />
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My apple cider drink that I love to sip on all day is:<br />
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2 cups of water<br />
2 tablespoons of ACV<br />
2 tsp of truvia, honey or a few drops of stevia<br />
I like to throw in a 1/4 cup of frozen berries<br />
squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon<br />
a chunk of raw ginger ( about the size of your fingernail)<br />
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Blend this up in your blender and then strain out the pulp before adding ice. Store the leftovers in a jar for later. You can double this recipe to make up more if you like it.<br />
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Just had to share what I'm learning and my excitement about natural things that actually work! I hope this will help someone in the future with an ugly ailment that needs to be overcome!<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-79496272875011530132014-08-06T14:32:00.000-05:002014-08-06T14:32:21.521-05:00This city girl has been countryfied!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Ira_mrjb94Fg1hrkLk7VNlTx-TJzd2GMnR35fjJtTzN98EAHithJh1UpJXyWBtxCVwLdZVefD61wpJvypQV7tTVG_wGZLN_0wCZ_RUzXJOvEXX4hHUD51Vg4mXIqNBF6yqne_OErqY8w/s1600/DSCF4087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Ira_mrjb94Fg1hrkLk7VNlTx-TJzd2GMnR35fjJtTzN98EAHithJh1UpJXyWBtxCVwLdZVefD61wpJvypQV7tTVG_wGZLN_0wCZ_RUzXJOvEXX4hHUD51Vg4mXIqNBF6yqne_OErqY8w/s1600/DSCF4087.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Most of you already know that we have moved to the county. I think blogging about our experiences will be a great way to log the changes that are happening as well as my thoughts about it all. I have lived in the city all my life but I grew up in Modesto, California. It is a very agricultural town with many orchards surrounding it. One of my best friend's family growing up lived in the small town of Ripon on a farm in a big ol' farm house. I loved going out to her house to spend time in her screened in porch or playing around in her barn or just running barefoot in the grass. Her mom made the best home cooked food and freshly squeezed lemonade.</div>
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My whole life I've loved the county or the idea of country life. I grew up watching Little House on the Prairie and The Waltons! Who wouldn't want the joy of running through fields of wildflowers, climbing trees, having farm animals as pets and swinging on tire swings. Now that I have children, I want that for them. Nature is a beautiful thing to behold and living in the city makes it awfully hard to appreciate it. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ZM3s8SKozEl_IoDkQffA59ZFp7kDleox3dIp5lqjyJrdi22bkPNPZF_pqu2UmXpOLTfs2aY7GgVUaVHVP0xrv62wpF47rtzqfZZMMIunOW3X9tWa9B3Iu6dY2D_wdSYyjgz8VVE9iNvZ/s1600/DSCF4104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ZM3s8SKozEl_IoDkQffA59ZFp7kDleox3dIp5lqjyJrdi22bkPNPZF_pqu2UmXpOLTfs2aY7GgVUaVHVP0xrv62wpF47rtzqfZZMMIunOW3X9tWa9B3Iu6dY2D_wdSYyjgz8VVE9iNvZ/s1600/DSCF4104.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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Well, we didn't move way out in the middle of nowhere. We are only an hour from the big city of Dallas and all it's conveniences. Being fifteen minutes from Wal-mart makes life a bit easier. We aren't farmers by any stretch of the imagination but more like country bumpkins! We did purchase a small parcel of land that we can do what we want with. The kids have room to explore and see a bit of God's creation. Our neighbors aren't squeezed in right next to us instead they have land too and are doing their own thing. Raising cattle is popular or having a donkey or some goats. We get to enjoy their livestock too because their pasture buts up against ours. I could go on and on about the pluses of country living but I'll save that for another post.</div>
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I really wanted a tire swing. My kids love to swing but I didn't really want a rickety swing set that would rust in the rain and that they would grow out of in a couple of years. So I stopped at a tire store yesterday and asked the greasy looking tire guys who were sitting around doing nothing, if they might have an old tire for a the purpose of a tire swing. To my surprise they did have one and gave it to us for nothing! Score!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgKN1ZRGwarVt__4ZLPLzgclHgSQzmc0OY_ZmNw2xbQmcEidnrKHxSnXTYcrKIV_UoR3jw0bcsZhHmFcFaNAYmDlqaEpT55MU0PpEaaLfHNHiKrpzsJfO8aguPbUQjF28oMurlClNozf8E/s1600/DSCF4107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgKN1ZRGwarVt__4ZLPLzgclHgSQzmc0OY_ZmNw2xbQmcEidnrKHxSnXTYcrKIV_UoR3jw0bcsZhHmFcFaNAYmDlqaEpT55MU0PpEaaLfHNHiKrpzsJfO8aguPbUQjF28oMurlClNozf8E/s1600/DSCF4107.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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We already had rope in the garage so I assigned the job of hanging it to my oldest son, Anthony. He loves to work on projects and fix things so this job was perfect for him. It took him awhile since he had a tall branch to figure out how to get the rope up to. I pulled out our knot-tying book and it came in real handy! Finally after over an hour of working on it, he and his younger brother figured it out and produced a "countryfied tire swing!"</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTMMfV6Sf66zRlItk0IpBvLWO0jd2E-ozToyPcKKPdET76lq1RB5NeqcpKcxqKUMpmAvlMJTk6LlbiWnNyv2Zve65Cz-OL2wRYZr5CRETXzp1fkIITSTi-p_0hd8dgJGlRF2M-i_IbPXh/s1600/DSCF4109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHTMMfV6Sf66zRlItk0IpBvLWO0jd2E-ozToyPcKKPdET76lq1RB5NeqcpKcxqKUMpmAvlMJTk6LlbiWnNyv2Zve65Cz-OL2wRYZr5CRETXzp1fkIITSTi-p_0hd8dgJGlRF2M-i_IbPXh/s1600/DSCF4109.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj62CuFI6ICOCsISZadjj989BB2jyob9rHz-1OlhMfmRq31wVnveEwpntEWCP-zuppa8B-m6XoAn0VQV4HE-JxbWpJk18yPEp4zIuuDey3ebOiFHUd_e4VBmPuZfJr7z1HJr-UIfInQyosV/s1600/DSCF4115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj62CuFI6ICOCsISZadjj989BB2jyob9rHz-1OlhMfmRq31wVnveEwpntEWCP-zuppa8B-m6XoAn0VQV4HE-JxbWpJk18yPEp4zIuuDey3ebOiFHUd_e4VBmPuZfJr7z1HJr-UIfInQyosV/s1600/DSCF4115.JPG" height="328" width="400" /></a></div>
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So far it is a hit! My prayer is that this will provide hours of fun and memories will be made for the future. Anything to get kids outdoors and away from the T.V. and computer is worth the investment. And really, it doesn't take much of an investment to come up with some simple things like this to have some summer fun. The hardest item to come by for this is the tree to hang it from. If you live in the city, you can be creative. I've seen tire swings at parks these days and they aren't hanging from trees. </div>
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I'm not going to promise that I'll be blogging regularly even though that's my goal. Life for me is getting back to normal these days so it is possible but I'll refrain from making promises. If I could just figure out how to make these short then I might actually be able to find the time!</div>
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Love,</div>
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Kristin</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-22013461173178859752014-01-10T18:51:00.001-06:002014-01-10T18:51:26.120-06:00Heaven Cried today<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Today as it rained, I wondered if God was crying with us. We went to our first funeral of the New year to celebrate the life of 13 year old Lydia Kizziar. Even though I did not personally know Lydia very well, I've known her family for just about 10 years. We used to go to church with them when Lydia was about 7. She was quiet, the 4th child of 5, and always wore her blonde hair pulled back tight with barrettes. She followed her 9 year old sister everywhere.</div>
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Then when that church disbanded, our paths crossed many times. Her family had ours for dinner and we had them for dinner too. The girls had Valentines Parties and we were invited. Every couple of weeks their Mom would come over to pick up her milk and her kids would swing on our back porch and run furiously around our yard playing chase. My Olivia took violin lessons from a teacher they recommended and we would see each other at lesson time. Then a few years ago, 4 of us Moms decided to get together occasionally for lunch and Lydia's precious mommy was a part of that group. As our children grew, they didn't see each other as much but we kept in touch through these lunches and would share our mommy moments, lessons, and funny stories about our children with each other.</div>
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January 4th, just a week ago, we got a call. A mutual friend was on the line and through tears he told us Lydia Kizziar died. What? Our mouths dropped open. Everyone gathered around Dad, who was on the phone, and tried to make sense out of what he was saying. When he hung up he told us, "Lydia had the flu and they took her to the hospital and she died today." Everyone began to cry and we all struggled to pray for them through our tears and choked sobs. </div>
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Since then we've had a week to process it all (really, to turn to God for answers). Her death is so sad and every now and then it just hits, that she isn't here anymore. Death is such a morbid word. We think of it as so dark and lifeless but as I pondered Lydia's death, God showed me that she didn't die. Because she was a believer in Christ, she passed from this life to the next. Almost like she fell asleep not to wake back up for us but to Jesus instead. Lydia is more alive in heaven with Jesus than she was here on earth! He has raised her to life with him in glory. </div>
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Being shocked by death is so brutal. I mean, if you know someone is sick and dying, you can prepare yourself for their passing. If they are getting old, you know one day they'll die soon and it can still be a shock but not as much. But for a teenager to die so suddenly is hard. </div>
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I was comforted to think about how God knew she would die on that day and the exact minute she would take her last breath. In fact, when she was born, he knew she would live to the young age of 13.</div>
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He gave her to her family to raise and instill morals and values, to teach his word to her and they did. At this young age, she loved God and wasn't afraid to die. She knew about her eternal home and is now there dancing with Jesus.</div>
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Today was a sad and hard day but one I can rejoice in. Lydia's funeral was packed, standing room only, with friends, family, and fellow believers who came to pay tribute to a young girl who lived life to it's fullest. As it rained and heaven cried with us, I thoroughly enjoyed worshipping God together. Lifting our voices to heaven, agreeing with the truth that IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL. I do believe, God cried with us today. We needed His comfort and reassurance that he loves us personally. And through our tears of loss, we can at the same time rejoice that we are His.</div>
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How can a funeral be a good experience? When you know Jesus, it's makes all the difference!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-67100575473822151562013-07-25T22:28:00.001-05:002013-07-25T22:28:31.491-05:00Micah's Success<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Many of our friends ask how Micah is doing and so I wanted to write an official update on his progress thus far. As most of you know, he was hospitalized last October for 4 days because of uncontrollable seizures. He was still not completely seizure free when released from the hospital. The meds did help him and we were able to go a week or so with no seizures. Anyhow, to make a long story much shorter, it took about 3 months to finally get some good control over his seizures but at that point he was pretty medicated.</div>
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In Jan. of this year, we scheduled an appt. with a Functional Medical doctor in Colorado. He ran a series of tests and found Micah had parasites, leaky gut syndrome, heavy metal poisoning and candida. He felt that all of these could contribute to seizures. He was put on a regimen of supplements and a special diet. We began to see significant improvements by March. He began sleeping through the night again, became much more alert and began speaking in full sentences again. He quit repeating himself over and over and stopped talking about things that weren't there or didn't make sense. He laughed and started singing like he used to. I can't tell you how wonderful it was to hear him giggle after many months of a stoic countenance!</div>
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Now it is July and the Colorado doc says we can start tapering his meds! This is a praise since we still have many angry, aggressive behavior days. It is so discouraging to see your child treating others rudely, shoving and sometimes even biting others because they are angry and unhappy. The medication Micah is on causes aggression and suicidal thoughts. So this is why we want to decrease his medication. We feel he is way over medicated. The good news is this month he has had many more good days than last month. He is down to 1100 mg a day instead of 1300. We are taking it slow, so his improvements in this area has been slow too.</div>
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We had an appt. yesterday with a local neurologist to see if she would work with us. We still will be consulting with the doctor in Colorado but we need a neurologist to manage his medication. She confirmed to us that yes, Keppra (his med) does cause aggression and she does not usually prescribe it to children who already have some behavior issues because it will hone in on that negative behavior and magnify it 10 times larger! She confirmed to us that his behavior problems are probably due to the meds. The crazy part is that she actually told us that his dosage of Keppra is maxed out. He is at the highest dose there is for his age and weight! We did not know this. No other neurologist told us this. She is in favor of decreasing it but not all the way. She would like to see him at a medium dose which is at 6-700 mg a day if we can keep him seizure free at the same time. </div>
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This is great success. No one wants to have him seize again and yet we want our little boy to grow up without constant memories of conflict. </div>
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Please, if you think of him, pray that he will stay seizure free while we slowly decrease his medication.</div>
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Thank you!<br />
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<i style="font-family: Zapfino; font-size: 12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ff0080;">Kristin Lodi</span></i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-18073849026062438862013-07-15T20:10:00.001-05:002013-07-15T20:10:35.966-05:00Characteristics You Need to Camp<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This picture represents beauty to me. I love the woods even more than the beach. The smell of pine, the breeze and sounds of birds singing is peacefulness at it's best.</div>
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But spending days here requires work if you are going to camp. Especially when you are the mom and have 8 people in all to plan for! Some would just forget it and find their relaxation elsewhere and believe me, I've thought of giving up camping more than once! </div>
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The reason I keep making these memories is for the kids. Kids love to camp! At least mine do. What could be more fun? Getting dirty, playing in water, swimming all day and living outside is just what will entertain them for hours. And you don't have to worry about them tracking mud in on your carpet! </div>
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You don't even have to wash them up before dinner or dry them off before coming to the table.</div>
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It's one big free for all!</div>
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So what characteristics do you need to possess to camp? First, you need to be a no nonsense woman. Dirt never hurt anyone. If you run around with baby wipes washing off every speck of yuck, you'll never get around to relaxing. Don't worry about your hair or your make-up. What's the point? I don't bring make-up when I camp and just wear a hat if my hair looks awful.</div>
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Make sure the clothes you pack for your kids can be ruined. We always have a pair of clothes just for camping and really, if they swam in them, ripped them, or rolled in the mud, I wouldn't care.</div>
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You also have to be creative. Washing dishes outside is different than normal, of course. It takes a bit of thinking. How will I get these clean with no hot water? How will I rinse them off and keep them clean with no counter to dry them on? You can't just lay them in the dirt to dry! This can be frustrating for some moms. I used to heat up water on our camping stove to sterilize the dishes but after years of doing this, I gave it up (unless I have a greasy pan). It's so much faster to just wash them at the spigot with cold water. I'll run them through the dishwasher when we get home and none of us are sick anyway. Sharing some germs isn't so bad.</div>
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Another characteristic is that you need to love nature, bugs and all. Well, I don't love bugs, exactly but have a tolerance for them. My boys almost immediately went down to the lake and began catching little frogs and tadpoles with plans to bring them home. Do I want a frog in the house? Not really, but there is so much learning that takes place when observing God's creation. Our culture doesn't take enough time to do this anymore. Kids grow up knowing nothing about insects or animals from first hand experience.</div>
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When I was changing in our tent, I noticed a huge insect stuck between the screen and the tent flap. I called everyone in to see it. It must have been some sort of grass hopper but it didn't look like anything I'd seen before.</div>
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Back to needing to be no-nonsense woman. You have to be able to sweat and not shower right afterwards. Or swim in a dirty lake and not shower before bed. Most campgrounds do have showers you can use but then you'll need to get over the whole public shower thing. I'm not sure what's worse, not showering or sharing showers with people you don't know!</div>
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I have a daughter, who will remain nameless, who will not shower when we camp. She waits until we get home and really I can't blame her. I at least like to wash my face, hands and feet before crawling into my sleeping bag.</div>
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Spontaneity is also very important. We woke up after our first night camping and it was so cool and beautiful that we decided to eat breakfast later and go on a hike around the lake. In Texas it's gets hot quickly and we wanted to hike but not in the heat. Of course the hike took longer than we expected and we were all famished when we returned to camp but it was worth it.</div>
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Micah, who is almost 5, could have slept in the lake. He loved it and couldn't get enough. The first night we were there, he wanted to go to bed really early because sleeping in the tent sounded so fun to him. We let him, but he wouldn't go to sleep for hours. He was so wound up. Even after Rich and I went to bed, I could hear him tossing and turning. When I asked him why he couldn't sleep, he said he was too excited to go swimming in the morning!</div>
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You also need to be able to just sit and breath in the fresh air. Again, not jumping up to pick up the plastic fork that your 2 year old just dropped in the dirt and then put right into his mouth. Inevitably, it's going to happen. So I guess that would mean, that you need to be easy-going too. If not, you'll be so uptight about all the dirt, germs and bugs that you'll never enjoy yourself and won't ever want to come back. And if that happens, your kids will never have memories of camping with their family growing up!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span">This is my nature girl. Julia spotted so many birds and tape recorded their calls. She is not squeamish about bugs and will actually pick them up and hold them. She hates it if they get squished. This picture was taken on our hike. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span">We are already planning our next camping adventure. I figure if we do it enough, I'll perfect the art of camping and some day it will be easy with no head aches at all.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><i style="font-family: Zapfino; font-size: 12px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ff0080;">Kristin Lodi</span></i></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-26899813780731659332013-07-03T23:11:00.001-05:002013-07-03T23:17:52.736-05:00Olivia's Graduation Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is Olivia at 18 years old. Who'd a thought she'd grow up? And on top of that, she'd grow up to become so beautiful inside and out! Of course, I'm just a little partial.</div>
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It makes my heart sing to see this picture. I can honestly say that these two really enjoy each other. Even though Anthony is 2 1/2 years younger, he is like a big brother in a way. He is a confident guy and isn't afraid to protect his sister if need be. I'll never forget when he expressed his concern about her riding her bicycle alone and he decided to go with her.</div>
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This table was so much fun for me to help Olivia put together. We decided to stick with 4 subjects that describe her the best. Photography on the left, music in the middle, first aid (emergency stuff) on the right and thought provoking quotes throughout. Olivia loves these 4 things a lot!</div>
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Olivia's original cake that we ordered is below. She loves green and orange and picked chocolate for the cake and frosting. Then we discovered that over 100 people had RSVP'd! So I went out the day before the graduation and picked up the white cake above and had them put her name on it.</div>
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This picture is of Olivia when she was 3 months old with a stack of her favorite books.</div>
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Micah and Will played with these guns during the whole graduation in the front row! It was a bit tricky keeping them quiet but I'm glad they had fun.</div>
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Decorations that we borrowed. Absolutely loved these things. They added so much to our 150 year old church dining hall.</div>
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Sisters and the best of friends. I'm so thankful I have two girls. They are 4 years apart but have shared a room almost their whole lives. Julia has a very hard time thinking about Olivia ever living away from her. It will be interesting to see what the future holds. I have a feeling that they will always be close.</div>
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My wonderful hubby who pulled off his speech the morning of. He never prepares much in advance. I'm so jealous that he can do that and do it well. </div>
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Me, on the other hand, prepared what I wanted to say weeks in advance and kept revising it over and over. Then I got up there and kind of second guessed my plans and skipped over parts of it thinking our guests weren't that interested. Funny how a bunch of faces staring at you can influence you.</div>
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Pictures of the crowd.</div>
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Olivia and Julia played a duet of Glorify Thy Name and I Love You, Lord. No one was leading the singing but everyone began singing along. This brought tears to my eyes. I was struck with what a beautiful group of friends we have that love Jesus and were showing their love for Olivia. It was one of those moments I will never forget.</div>
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Olivia surprised me and got up in front of everyone and shared her testimony with no notes. She just shared her story of how God revealed himself to her and how much he has impacted her life.</div>
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Proud Mommy moment!</div>
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Olivia wrote a song called You Are My Everything. Sarah, who is playing piano, put it to music. I thought it was only fitting that Olivia sing it for the first time publicly at her graduation.</div>
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Julia paid a tribute to Olivia and she didn't cry! She is a very cute 13 year old, I must say.</div>
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These 4 sang, O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus.</div>
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So these two really blew me away.</div>
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Anthony wrote a funny skit giving the graduate advice.</div>
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Throughout the week leading up to her graduation, he kept running it by me. I wasn't sure if it would turn out very funny or if the audience would get his jokes or not.</div>
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But once they got up there and started in, they were just darling together, acting out their parts and just having fun up there. </div>
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They really cracked themselves up which was so entertaining to watch!</div>
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Lastly, we presented Olivia with her diploma. </div>
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These pictures are so sweet. Michelle is a friend and co-worker of Rich's.</div>
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One of my best friend's daughter is Lydia Schulz. She has developed a sweet friendship with Olivia.</div>
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More pictures of her table.</div>
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Olivia is really into this right now and is looking into becoming EMT certified.</div>
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She literally lights up whenever an ambulance or fire truck drives by.</div>
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You know your child has an interest in something specific when they read EMT textbooks in their spare time!</div>
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The food line. I love the decorations hanging from the ceiling in these pictures.</div>
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More friends and guests. Dear, dear people who have been instrumental in Olivia's life and my own, for that matter.</div>
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Little Levi and Esther getting a good look at each other.</div>
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Olivia and Faith have a love for the medical world in common not to mention they seem to have similar personalities! It will be fun to see what doors God opens for these two in the future.</div>
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I love the way Emily is hanging on her mother's shoulder.</div>
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My Mother and Father-in-law serving punch and coffee together. What a cute pair!</div>
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You have to speak up when talking to my Father-in-law. I can just hear him asking loudly, "Huh? You want more? or No?"</div>
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Levi was on his own a bit with all these people. Looks like he was having fun looking at the people outside.</div>
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These two girls are sisters. Hope in the picture above and Faith in the picture below. Aren't they pretty? Faith took all these pictures for us and I'm so grateful I have a detailed account of the whole day.</div>
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Pictures of the whole family. It was so wonderful to have both my parents and Rich's parents fly out to be here to see Olivia graduate. Even one of Rich's sister's was able to come! We felt very loved and supported.</div>
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I can't imagine celebrating this special day and not having my parents attend. I'm so glad they were able to make it.</div>
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This is Olivia's true personality!</div>
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I'm so pleased that we chose to make a big deal out of Olivia's high school graduation. We could have celebrated in a variety of ways but this just seemed fitting. Olivia and I had a blast planning everything that it really wasn't a big head ache. It could have been stressful for me since I'm not a big party thrower but it wasn't. God really showed up for this one. Olivia will remember this forever and that is what I'd hoped for.</div>
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Olivia has begun her own blog and needs some followers. If you are interested in it go to<br />
<a href="http://servantoftheking95.blogspot.com/">servantoftheking95.blogspot.com</a><br />
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<i style="font-family: Zapfino; font-size: 12px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ff0080;">Kristin Lodi</span></i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-6471155974767007322013-06-28T12:22:00.000-05:002013-06-28T12:22:46.350-05:00New Way of Eating = New recipes!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I'm so excited to tell you that loosing weight can be fun and enjoyable. I've just put the whole family on the Trim, Healthy Mama plan. The book is at <a href="http://www.trimhealthymama.com/">www.trimhealthymama.com. </a> I've had my eye on this book for quite awhile as many of my friends were buying it and discussing it. I waiting until May which is Mother's day month and my birthday to ask for it. </div>
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Now that I'm 46 years old I'm not loosing weight like I used to. I used to be able to skip a meal or just eat fruit for breakfast and then cut out desserts and get back to my pre-pregnancy weight pretty easily. Two years after the birth of my 6th baby, I find myself struggling with not only an extra 10 lbs but my body shape has changed. I no longer seem to have a waist! All my life I've carried extra weight in my hips and thighs but not my waist or arms. Now my arms are flabby, my stomach is bulging and so I'm feeling my age. I do have a sluggish thyroid so I'm on Armor to give my thyroid a boost which I thought would give my metabolism a boost too. But after 3 months of thyroid meds, I'm not able to get this weight off. My doctor put me on the paleo diet which just means no carbs. I was allowing myself to eat fruit whenever and milk in my coffee which was probably spiking my blood sugar and at the wrong times. Never eating grains is quite a bit of work and to have little to no results is draining. This diet is different in that you can have carbs, you just have to eat them at the right time and limit your carb grams to 45 per meal. Once you get the hang of it it's easy. There is plenty of desserts you can play around with they just all contain Stevia instead of artificial sweeteners or even natural sugars. I did not know that honey does the same thing in your body that sugar does as far as glucose levels go. Knowing how to combine your fats, carbs and protein is key to this diet.</div>
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I began looking at the Trim, Healthy Mama Facebook page and reading other peoples testimonies and looking at all the recipes and was hooked! I wanted to start immediately. So I tried my best while waiting for the book to come in the mail. This is the dinner we were having the day I received the book. </div>
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I knew my family would not be satisfied with barbecued beef ribs, cucumber salad and asparagus so I quickly checked the book for another side. I made the cauliflower potato salad and it was so yummy!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ5FBx6i_Qv8hSJ3MrzXspekP-8dpplcNYluanEWIX_rWVJfzrIE23ju-n_ugCnptyekZorFVZ_01MsCtiOZzMe-SBD7SyYBPlstsKRdkeMN8M4ELi4Zgll-z2KGTVk4uPF1gzGr5DwK8/s1600/DSC_0196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ5FBx6i_Qv8hSJ3MrzXspekP-8dpplcNYluanEWIX_rWVJfzrIE23ju-n_ugCnptyekZorFVZ_01MsCtiOZzMe-SBD7SyYBPlstsKRdkeMN8M4ELi4Zgll-z2KGTVk4uPF1gzGr5DwK8/s400/DSC_0196.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is considered a Satisfying meal or S meal for short because it has a protein, high fat and hardly any carbs. No potatoes in that salad and no side of bread or any fruit to spike your blood sugar levels. So you can eat all this yummy food and still loose weight.</div>
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This is an S lunch. I'm telling you, this lunch was so tastey I could hardly contain myself. It's a BLT salad on top of paleo flatbread. So the bacon and mayo make it high in fat. The flatbread is made with eggs, coconut flour, and cream. Bacon makes everything fabulous and you can have it. I buy the good stuff made with no nitrates and it's uncured. Just a few pieces crumbled into your salad or casserole really makes a difference.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFxc5jCiZy0ZUkvHV4K0J75Yuoziv4rYJzSGWrWw2hPnV5fvxGFpLyaOTxbLzZO3wvDfHdk2B-cCdTEOIpfW5DyBLfbws8ZT09CeodNmDheXFWV8667CLpper2Sh4b40J5tpLjfkPqTc/s1600/DSC_0207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFxc5jCiZy0ZUkvHV4K0J75Yuoziv4rYJzSGWrWw2hPnV5fvxGFpLyaOTxbLzZO3wvDfHdk2B-cCdTEOIpfW5DyBLfbws8ZT09CeodNmDheXFWV8667CLpper2Sh4b40J5tpLjfkPqTc/s400/DSC_0207.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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A side of fresh coconut is a yummy, crunchy snack or side to your lunch instead of crackers or potato chips. The benefits of coconut are amazing!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihORmBWCHDSiICkiKodeE5sgGbpTE1q5msBiFn4xq-5iUXtZawb4cYH-7_ukVXF6n4PEXYvRmH78p5c57W5z_OfbBsZkuPDdEslP-zV6JPpP5pH8DgcIlK4Reo8d3ULcHFFJdm-jDpKM8/s1600/DSC_0215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihORmBWCHDSiICkiKodeE5sgGbpTE1q5msBiFn4xq-5iUXtZawb4cYH-7_ukVXF6n4PEXYvRmH78p5c57W5z_OfbBsZkuPDdEslP-zV6JPpP5pH8DgcIlK4Reo8d3ULcHFFJdm-jDpKM8/s400/DSC_0215.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The key to making a good salad is lots of toppings. My mother-in-law makes the best Italian salad and I noticed that she puts all the toppings in first, filling her bowl about 1/3 of the way and then adds her lettuce. She tosses it with an Italian dressing and adds cracked pepper and salt. My standard salad usually includes tomato, red onion, olives, and shredded parmesan cheese. Avocado is good on this too but not everyone in my family likes it. So I put in on myself after I've put a large helping on my plate. We make a delicious creamy Italian dressing that is easy and healthy. I've given this recipe out to many friends as it seems to be a favorite for lots of people. We make a lot so we have it on hand all week but you could cut the recipe in half if you don't want that much.</div>
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I'll list it here so you don't have to remember to ask me later:</div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">1 cup of Apple Cider Vinager</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">2 clove of garlic</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">1 Tbsp of Tahini</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">1 tsp of Italian seasoning</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">1 tsp of salt</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">1/2 tsp of pepper</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">a dash of Stevi</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">1 cup of Olive oil</li>
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Blend the first 7 ingredients in blender or Vita-mix and then slowly add Olive oil and blend on low till it's all nice and creamy looking. Tahini is Sesame Seed butter, in case you are wondering and this is what makes it creamy looking. It's found in the same section as your peanut butter at the grocery store. You could make it without it but it would turn out more like an original Italian dressing.</div>
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This is the chili relleno casserole from the THM book. It's so easy and fast to make. Chicken, green chilis, cheese and eggs. </div>
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Again this is an S meal with little to no carbs. The berries don't count as carbs. </div>
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You can have carbs on this plan but I'm still figuring out how to add them in without adding too many and you then have just a little fat. These are called Energy meals or E meals. I'm showing you all S meals in this post.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU95icxfVAVBmNod4Lt75DS5MFwZLXKkZqPVSYeKhOIclVBcc1RqkkgPXAXqFngvYmrQ6Gc92r8BZUk6P2TZci-VmtfgcHwt2n6PX3sIDAINojm-HyoouYkCSaC7IoQNaqi-tBp0tL0oI/s1600/DSC_0220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU95icxfVAVBmNod4Lt75DS5MFwZLXKkZqPVSYeKhOIclVBcc1RqkkgPXAXqFngvYmrQ6Gc92r8BZUk6P2TZci-VmtfgcHwt2n6PX3sIDAINojm-HyoouYkCSaC7IoQNaqi-tBp0tL0oI/s400/DSC_0220.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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This was such a good side, I just have to share it with you! I got the basic idea from THM but I tweaked it a bit. It was easy and a filling side for our barbecued chicken dinner. It's hard to know what to fix as a side if you want to eat an S-meal. Potatoes and rice are out so this recipe was a great alternative!</div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">2 1/2 yellow or green zucchinis (shredded)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">1/2 cup of red onion</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">1 cup of shredded cheese</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">5 eggs</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">1/3 cup of cream</li>
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Serve your mini zucchini quiches with sauteed green beans adding chopped almonds and parmesan. Serve these sides with your barbecued chicken and you've got yourself a fat burning S meal! </div>
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I think this plan will help me eat right for the rest of my life because now I can have a few carbs each day so I'm not denying myself so much and then feeling guilty when I cheat. Now I understand how to combine food and keep my sugar levels down to a reasonable level which will keep me healthier and keep my body from storing glucose in my fat cells. I've already lost 6 pounds which is encouraging. The book is a good read and quite entertaining too. I highly recommend it!</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Blessings,</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Kristin</i></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-72949017985228411662013-06-21T21:52:00.001-05:002013-06-21T21:52:21.490-05:00Summer Fun<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOMwzHHBeXyvQnxbFszW_EF6ograBxdwg-JFgn9JWaA9KkF9KbTedWKCZQqr97GBUMSc0p1fWVfHZnQuBvCsAuo9EGAwnqXun4-08xSfi_vTmbPSixCbtvEbKQrgKKPPPlu3s6iNsoKgw/s1600/DSCF1090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOMwzHHBeXyvQnxbFszW_EF6ograBxdwg-JFgn9JWaA9KkF9KbTedWKCZQqr97GBUMSc0p1fWVfHZnQuBvCsAuo9EGAwnqXun4-08xSfi_vTmbPSixCbtvEbKQrgKKPPPlu3s6iNsoKgw/s320/DSCF1090.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Olivia got a new camera for graduation and this picture was taken with it. She has a nice zoom option! I love birds as long as they are not flying anywhere near me. Flying things freak me out when they are fluttering next to my head and I have no control over what they might do! They sure are cool to look at though, from afar. Birds give out such a peaceful feeling. Probably because they never seem troubled.</div>
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With two boys who fight a whole lot, I've been trying to pull tricks out of my hat to keep them occupied. I used to live and breath "fun activities for kids" but as the years go by, I've forgotten what they love to do. One day when I was particularly tired of trying to entertain my almost 5 year old, I saw a bucket out back and the hose and thought, "hey, who cares if he gets wet or dirty, I'll just give him a bath when he is done!" Instant entertainment, when there is water around, right?</div>
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Then I was reminded of many summers spent in these little plastic pools and I went out to find one. I'm still hopeful it will be just as entertaining next week as it was the first week.</div>
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We have a pair of lovebirds in our backyard and I'm pretty sure they have babies in one of our trees. I'm a little scared to go searching since when I go to pick my tomatoes, they yell at me and fly around just like a mother bird would to protect her young.</div>
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Another summer activity that Anthony and I do every year is make soap. This is our second batch this month.</div>
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Anthony always tries crazy stuff (his is on the left) and I decided to do my own since I really wanted a fresh green soap with a lemongrass scent.</div>
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Making stuff is so fun especially when it's useful. I love learning how to make things so that we don't have to rely so much on big companies to produce what we need to survive. I just recently learned how to make a lovely scented paste to use as a deodorant! I don't have a picture of it here but the recipe is so easy that I have to share it with you. It works so well that you only need to apply it in the morning and you will be good to go all day long! And if I can say that, living in Texas, you know it's got some awesome oder power and . . . it's all natural!</div>
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Love this picture of Anthony's soap.</div>
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Ok, deodorant recipe is:</div>
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Equal amounts of Arrowroot and Baking Soda (I used 1/4 cup)</div>
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Stir together and then moisten with coconut oil until it's the consistency you like. It doesn't take much. I think I used maybe 2 TBSP. I might add a little more to see If I can make it more like a lotion than a paste. Then I used a Young Living essential oil called Thieves to scent it and for it's anti bacterial/fungal properties. </div>
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I hope to post some pictures of Olivia's graduation once I get them. Stay tuned!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-49222724018486147122013-05-16T22:53:00.000-05:002013-05-16T22:53:05.636-05:00Enjoying every minute<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My firstborn is graduating from Highschool! This has been a year of many 1st for Olivia. She is just shocked that she is graduating, she has been learning how to drive this year, filled out her first application for a real job, and is turning 18 years old! All this has come together the past few months and is coming to fruition next week! It is overwhelming for her and me as well. Although, I can't say I feel overwhelmed but just an immense amount of gratitude to God for guiding and leading her all these years.</div>
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Am I proud of her? Of course I am! She has made some very good choices and still looks to her parents for advice, for which I am grateful. I'm grateful I still have a "say" in her life and yet she is becoming more and more independent. It's still nice to know, though, that she wants our approval and will ask us for our opinions about her options for her future.</div>
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I find myself realizing that she is not an outcome of our great parenting but of God's hand upon her. Oh, I'd like to think I had a huge part in the beautiful person she is, but really, I know my weaknesses and my faults are glaring at me on a daily basis. I fight constantly with my flesh and can say that I don't always model Jesus in our home. In fact, some weeks I rarely model Jesus at all! So really, God has blessed us with a daughter who desires to serve Him. When I look back over her life thus far, I can see how He has had his hands all over her life teaching her of himself through many different people along the way.</div>
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So her graduation will not be a ceremony to flaunt her accomplishments. Her success is not from human hands. It is all God. So it will be a celebration of what God has done in her, through her, and for her. This is what's so nice about planning your own graduation. Instead of focusing on the graduate, you can focus on Him who takes our mistakes and makes them wonderful! I'm enjoying every minute of it.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-68201418944336164762013-05-03T23:23:00.001-05:002013-05-03T23:24:45.589-05:00Imaginary FriendsTwo of my children have been on my mind so much lately. That is not to say that I don't think about all of them a lot but sometimes life's struggles and joys with specific children can be consuming.<br />
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I haven't written on this bog since January which is just shocking to me. I don't feel guilty about it though because there are times when some things just have to be left behind to survive. This blog was one of many for me that I had to put down over the past few months.<br />
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Most of you know about our trial with Micah's health so I don't want to recap all of it. He has been consuming and continues to be sometimes. I have to repeatedly release him into God's hands and I'm learning more each day how to believe for something I cannot see. We seem to take a few steps forward and then a few steps backwards. We are waiting for his healing in several areas of his body. His gut is messed up, his brain is full of toxins and his levels of minerals and vitamins are terribly low. But I'm encouraged that now we know possibly why he was seizing and I'm encouraged because we are seeing some really good, normal days. All seizure activity has stopped since about 6 weeks ago. This is truly an answer to prayer.<br />
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He is on a detox program, a special diet and a whole slew of vitamins, minerals and yeast and parasite fighters. I know he will get better because he is already getting better. When I get discouraged and have a set-back with him, I just remember back to how he used to be a few months ago. Then I realize that he has come so far! Just the fact that he is going to bed without a fight and sleeping through the night in his own bed is a true miracle!<br />
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God has taught me many things during this period so I thought I'd share just one. A few months ago, Micah was spending large amounts of his time in an imaginary world. Now this troubled me mostly because I've never had a child live in a fantasy world for more than an hour or so. But Micah would wake up talking about things that just didn't make any sense. He would continue this all morning and I couldn't talk to him about anything else so I was forced to play along. Now, I knew this was a result of his brain trying to get back on the right track again.<br />
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We've all heard of imaginary friends before when dealing with children. It's not uncommon but this was a little over the top for me. I had to buckle her in her car seat, feed her lunch too and give her kisses at night. He never forgot about her. She was always there and he wouldn't hear of her being "pretend." When I would ask him where she was he would say, "right there" and point to the air where nothing was. So as I was praying about it one morning, God spoke to my heart.<br />
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I felt him saying, "How can you discourage an imaginary friend when you tell him to believe in Me but he can't see me?" We always tell Micah that Jesus is his friend and is with him always. He often asks us, "Where is he?" as he looks around the room. We reply, "He is with you everywhere you go."</div>
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I understood at that moment that God wants to be my "imaginary friend." He wants me to talk to him all day long and remember that he is with me in the car, at mealtimes, and with me when I lay my head down at night. How often do I go about my day and forget about my Lord? More days than I can count, sad to say.</div>
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This all lasted about a week with Micah and I think it was just to teach me a tangible lesson about God and his desire to commune with us as much as possible. He really is with us all the time, everywhere we go and we can talk to him just like Micah did with his "friend."</div>
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The other child that has been consuming my thoughts and time I'll have to post about at a later time. I hope to have time next week to blog more since I'm trying to pick this back up again.</div>
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Thanks for reading!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-21155476326740957452013-01-12T00:00:00.004-06:002013-01-12T00:00:58.644-06:00DeathJulia and Anthony have been helping out a somewhat house bound lady that we know who lived close by. Her husband works with mine at the same ministry. Julia would clean her house every other week and Anthony would mow her lawn. I sometimes would take her to her doctors appointments and then we'd go out for a milk shake and chat. She had a cute little dog that would jump up in her lap and he was her baby.<br />
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We got a call the day before Christmas that she died suddenly in her sleep. We all stood there stunned. She was always so joyful, not at all sickly. She had a hard time getting around and sometimes had trouble with her memory. She had pain but never much mentioned it. None of us thought she was close to death. It never crossed my mind. She was only 64.<br />
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As I sat at her Memorial this week, I couldn't hold back the tears. We started by singing a few songs and I realized I was a wreck. We sang songs like Be Thou My Vision, Better is One Day, and 10,000 Reasons. I was really surprised by how emotional I was?<br />
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I think the significance of living life and then leaving life if so strange. I mean it's beautiful to think about heaven and her life now. . . and a life well lived is so meaningful as well, but being here one day and then gone the next is so strange. It's so sad. I've always hated goodbyes and have avoided them all my life. If you are a good friend and are moving far away where I might not see you much, you won't find me on the front lines saying farewell. I'm just so uncomfortable with that. So Wednesday at her Memorial, I had to say goodbye. I'd rather not have had to but I didn't have a choice. My natural reaction was to cry.<br />
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Then as we watched a slide show of her life, a friend sang, Give Me Jesus by Jeremy Camp. Isn't Jesus really what life and death is all about? Perspective is always so good for me. I'm a "here and now" kind of person. It's difficult for me to see in to the future, to hope for the best. God has to remind me so often that life is short and so much of the daily grind is not eternal. When he pulls me out of the "here and now" so I can see ahead, I find that when I look back, all that will matter is how I lived it for Him. Give me Jesus!<br />
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When I come to die<br />
When I come to die<br />
Oh, when I come to die<br />
Give me Jesus<br />
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Give me Jesus<br />
Give me Jesus<br />
You can have all this world<br />
Just give me Jesus<br />
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Here is a link to the song in case you want to listen:<br />
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http://www.elyrics.net/read/j/jeremy-camp-lyrics/give-me-jesus-lyrics.html<br />
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<i>Kristin</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237563986521270954.post-25166555490880696992013-01-05T20:29:00.000-06:002013-01-05T20:29:34.083-06:00Independent ChildI'm still in shock about the experience I had yesterday with Micah at the vitamin store I frequently shop at. It made me realize that Micah is more independent than any of my other children have been growing up. I'm really quit stunned that he could be so confident and sure of himself at such a young age. I mean, he is only 4 years old and this character quality doesn't run in our family in any significant way.<br />
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He has expressed his independence several times with his outgoing personality, walking up to total strangers and starting conversations with them. He must believe that everyone is nice and wants to be his friend. Thankfully that is almost always the case! I pray all the time that God would protect him from those who might want to do him harm. Too bad we live in such a yucky world!<br />
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I still remember the time he walked right up to the snack shop at the baseball game and ordered from a picture menu. He said, "I'll take one of those!" and proceeded to point to an ice cream picture. The lady working the stand was kind and just gave him one. All I could do was laugh and lightly rebuke him for not asking me first as we walked away.<br />
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Over the past few months we haven't seen this side of him at all until yesterday. Does this mean he is more himself these days? I believe so, which is such a praise!<br />
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So back to my story about yesterday. Like I said, I was shopping and had both little ones with me. They were both in the shopping cart. I'm not sure I'll be able to take Micah shopping with me once he grows out of it because he is everywhere and touches everything. Major training needed but his ability to have self-control is so limited right now. So once I finished shopping, I went up to pay. Thankfully this is a small store and there were hardly any people there, just a few. I took Micah out of the cart so we could fit the groceries in it. He was strictly instructed to stay close to me and the cart. He immediately went behind the counter and told the cashier that he was big enough to work there! We laughed and joked with him about it. As I was putting my stuff in my wallet and getting situated, I noticed he walked a few feet away from me and was out of view. I figured the cashiers were watching him, I mean there were three behind the counter and my back was to the store. When I wheeled my cart around, he was nowhere to be seen. I thought, "Oh great! He is probably down one of the aisles touching something he shouldn't!" I proceeded to look down each aisle, calling his name. He wasn't there! Ok, he must have gone the other direction and be down another aisle? I asked the cashier if he knew where he went and he joked and said, "We put him to work!" Very funny! Now is not the time to joke with me. I hurriedly looked down every aisle and had that sinking feeling. I felt foolish for calling his name because it drew attention to me and it never works anyway because Micah thinks it's funny when I can't find him. Knowing him, he would hide from me and that just makes me look like a foolish parent!<br />
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Ok, so no Micah anywhere! The only place he could have escaped to would be outside. Would he have gone to the car by himself? As I looked outside at my van, I saw no little boy. I asked the other cashiers if they saw a little 4 year old go outside by himself. The manager said she saw him go towards that direction. At this point they were starting to help me out. I still had to unbuckle Levi and get my bags and they could see the urgency on my face. The cashier helped me with my bags while I got Levi out of the cart. As we approached the van, I saw the door somewhat ajar and I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that he was in the van. Sure enough, there he was waiting for me. I gave him a strong lecture on how he should never leave the store without me! I thought he was lost and had been looking for him. He didn't seem to understand by the look on his face.<br />
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All the way home, I kept thinking, if I'm not fully grey and haven't had a heart attack by the time I'm 50 (that's only 4 years from now) it will truly be a miracle!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0