"Welcome Home to Strep X's 4"

Can't say that it is the most welcoming banner to hang for a daddy whose been gone for over a week, but definately truthful. Yes, Chad came home from Mexico with 20 students only to find that his family ALL had strep. Craziness, I know!! I was the only one of the 4 that had the "closing of the throat, can't swallow it hurts" symptoms which actually didn't kick in till Sunday night, but all the boys had a variation of symptoms since Thursday. FOr all you moms out there that haven't experienced strep like me....here are some pointers/symptoms in children:

• throwing up - Owen once Thursday
• runny nose - Tate on Friday
• loss of appetite
• fatigued
• tummy ache
• temperature - Griffin on Sunday afternoon (unfortunately after going to church)
• raspy/smoker's voice - Griffin and Mommy on Monday morning

Unfortunately, those symptoms don't just scream "Strep Throat" so have fun with your own diagnosis. j/k So, as of yesterday, we all received shots, and we 100% better today. Praise God! Seriously, not eating or drinking since Sunday afternoon was making me a little edgy.

So, back to Father's Day.....Chad's love, devotion, sacrifice, servitude, and help with a lack of sleep on the day he returned pretty much shows you the kind of Daddy he is to us all. I mean, if you know Chad at all, you know he loves his sleep. And he didn't get any since he was the one to take Griffin and Tate back to the doctor to get checked. Once we found out they were sick, I drove Owen there, and once again Chad was available. Not in a way he would choose, but he had to hold Owen down for his shot. Not fun....for anyone. All of you who get upset over 2 month shots, just wait till they can really fight back. With all that to say, we had a fabulous day today playing in the yard as a family and then Chad and I were able to have our date night...icing on the cake!

Please pray...

This past Thursady, Ramey Caroline Newman was born to dear friends, Ross and Mandy Newman. She had a safe delivery, but is in th NICU because her lungs are considered "wet." She was delivered by a section 6 weeks earlier, so we are just praising God that she is here and a healthy weight. Please pray for Ramey to thrive and gradually get off the oxygen at a safe time.
Another tremendous prayer is for Mandy the new momma. After the surgery and because of internal stuff, she lost about 1/2 her body's blood supply. This was very dangerous and almost needed to use the crash cart. Praise God that her body responded to the medicine and blood given to her. Please pray for complete healing, no permenant damage of any kind, and just some precious moments with her new little girl. This family loves the Lord and is dependent our Their Father, but I am asking you to pray for them right now! oh, you can see the little beauty on my side bar. "mandy" thanks:-)

A Father with a Passion

Guess our national leaders didn't expect this, hmm? On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton , Colorado was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful.
They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness. The following is a portion of the transcript:
" Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers!
"The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart.
"In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder I would be their strongest opponent.
I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy -- it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.
Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air.
You've stripped away our heritage,
You've outlawed simple prayer.
Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question "Why?"
You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!
"Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.
"As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America , and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA --
I give to you a sincere challenge. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone!
My daughter's death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!"

Afternoon Fun

Just a glimpse into the life of three curious fellas. This was about the 5th time they had transported the water from the water table to the tramp, so I was just glad to remember the camera. ;-)

Fuji Date Night

Last night Chad and I had this spontanious idea to take the boys out for a date night. We told them we were going somewhere new and exciting. Of course they asked all kinds of questions, but we held out until we got there. We all dressed up, boys matching...too cute. We ventured to the local Japanese steakhouse, Fuji. We had so much fun. We all loved the ginger salad, Owen and Tate loved the soup with Chad and me, and everyone enjoyed our shrimp and veggies meal. Owen kept saying, "I want to eat everything he cooks!", Tate kept swealing, "Yeeh!" throwing his arms in the air when the flames got high, and Griffin just quietly checked things out next to momma.

I must say though, Chad and I were completely shocked at the amount of people that were there, and treating it as a "Let's go grab a bite out, casual type place." I remember going to a similar place growing up, but it was rare and a big deal. You know, the whole dress up, special date kind of place. Needless to say, for our family it will be a rare visit and I hope we can continue to teach our boys the simple art of appreciation through moments like this.

Thank you Lord for the little things in life, those surprises to our days, and the moments to experience new things with our children. I am so grateful for Chad and his desire to treat us.

CSA

This year our family is participating in a CSA , community supported agriculture. We are a part of the Delvin Farms co-op, which provides a bushel of organically grown food each week. It is so fun to guess what might be in our bushel, although mom has a heads up because the owner sends an email of what to expect with some recipes. The last few weeks I haven't gotten around to take a picture before I jumped into the goodies. So far, we have eaten kale, swiss chard, onions, garlic, lettuce, strawberries, and this week collard greens. This new experience has really challenged my cooking skills, which are lacking, so I have had fun learning and trying new recipes. If you have any good ones to share, please do... There is a recipe we tried this week and really enjoyed!

Matthew's Spicy Tomato Peanut & Kale Pasta

(I doubled this recipe for us)

dry pasta, enough for two

1 10 oz can of tomato juice, unsweetened (I used crushed tomatoes)

2 C kale, finely chopped

2 tbsp peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1 tsp Asian Chili -garlic sauce

Boil pasta. While pasta is cooking, in a medium pot on medium heat. cook tomato juice and kale for ~ 6-8 minutes or until tender. Stir in peanut butter and chili sauce until smooth and simmer an additional 2 minutes. Drain and return noodles to the pot. Add the sauce to the noodles and toss together well. Yummy!

At first, the boys turned their nose up, but after I asked them to have a try bite, they literally devowered it! It's light, fresh and oh so good!

Getting Organized

Little Tots and Trains

TV and Air Hockey

Music and Legos

Art Spot

There is a part of me that loves to organize, schedule, create new beginnings, and see structure. It just fills my heart with joy to have a place for everything (I haven't labeled the drawers yet, but watch out!). Over the last few days I have had ideas floating through my mind as to how I wanted to rearrange the playroom. The boys needed a little change up, and I was trying to create a space where our art supplies were more readily available. So here's the newly rearranged playroom with mini "play spaces" to help break up the room. I am excited to think that one of those sections is where we will call homeschool. Grantly, that's not the only place we will do school, but it was fun to get all my supplies in one spot.