Hello SUNSHINE!- Happy Homemaker Monday

Posted on by Mary

Happy

Well Hello there!  And Happy Tuesday Morning to you all!  Here is upstate New York it is SUNNY AND WARM!  It’s May 1st!  YAY. The Sunshine is so bright it seriously feels like we have just skipped spring and went right to summer.   I was swamped yesterday with “stuff”. More mental than anything else. So here I am Tuesday! BRING IT ON!

The weather:::.

Ummm did you read my first paragraph. HAHAHA the sunshine. is amazing though.  And I must confess I eellike animals cooped up in the barn all winter,  Let’s just say that when winter is long and gray the sunshine brings the weird and crazy me out!  I’m not even gonna tell you how many times I have been told that in the few short hours since I woke up at 6!!

As I look outside my window:::

Well TECHNICALLY I’m at church so it’s not MY window per se…but hey.  I see a building going up.  That’s right we are in full swing of our building project for the new add on.  If I were in my office/crat room I would see the most amazing sight. A lilac bush with huge buds ready to say HELLO SPRING!

Right now I am::: 

Writing this in our church fellowship hall.  I don’t want to be a distraction to hubby in his office. Next up is catching up on planning.  Last week (Spring Break) was amazing but I am a little behind!

Thinking and pondering:::

about speaking to the ladies of our church on Sunday.  Trying not to et my nerves get the better of me.  I love to speak I have since high school. I was even asked to be on the Forensics team (debate NOT dead bodies). but when you speak in front of people you know instead of complete strangers it has a different element.

On my bedside table:::

diffuser and oils.  books. hand lotion and some rogue jewelry

On my tv::

:nothing

On the menu for this week:::

Monday – pasta

Tuesday – Pork BBQ and Potato Salad

Wednesday – Burgers and Fries

Thursday – Chef Salad with chicken and Feta Cheese

Friday –  Taco Casserole

Saturday – Ladies Luncheon leftovers

Sunday – Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Potatoes

On my to do list:::

It’s the week of the ladies luncheon, what’s not on my to-do list is perhaps the better question.  I have a bunch of paperwork for end of school year stuff.   I have to keep the house in some semblance of order , prepare for Saturday.  bible studies.  Food for Saturday keep four kids alive, fed and make sure homework is DONE.  Im sure I missed a few things but it’s ok.

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::

Still working on the bulletin board for church.  and I have purchased all the fabric for the curtains in my office/craftroom- so now I actually need to make them.  I also have to paint the bare wood and the cabinet ends.We need to get the metal for 2 of the cabinet fronts and stain for the cabinets.  That is my project before the kids are finished with school in 4 weeks.  I also want to paint the downstairs doors in the house.  They need it desperately

My simple pleasure:::

SUNSHINE

Lesson learned the past week:::

taking the moment to just enjoy the simplest of conversations with the munchkins.  It’s the idea of being present in every moment.  That might mean crazy dance parties in the kitchen.  Or giggling over something funny said.  Or crazy antics playing pranks (HMMM). Oh the stories I could tell  of college days gone by.

Looking around the house:::

general pickup.  our weekends are NUTSY to say the least so I always feel like Monday and Tuesday is a huge game of 52 pickup. But I must confess that when the sunshine is actually warming the planet I want to be outside enjoying it.  Such is the life of an adult!

From the camera:::

This munchkin celebrated his 8th birthday over spring break.  And he wanted his sis in the picture!

Prayer List:::

The teenagers in my life. I see a battle going on for their hearts.  I see things that are encouraging and I see  some horribly hard things.  They are like my second set of kids.  And just like when my own kids hurt, I hurt!

Bible verse, Devotional:::

Devotions would be Leviticus 17-22. Yeah I am playing catch up, but that’s ok.  I really struggle through Leviticus and Numbers and I always come out the other side being thankful I have Grace over the Law.

I am also focusing on Esther Chapter 5  in my Bible study as I prepare for Saturday.  I have ALWAYS loved Esther but boy when I get to heaven I have some questions for that girl!  She is amazing!

For more Happy Homemaker Monday Posts Check out Dairy of a Stay at home Mom

Five Minute Friday- Stuck 4-27-2018

Posted on by Mary

Stuck

STUCK: That is how I would define November to March (So November 2017 to March of 2018) I wish I could pin it down to something in particular that made me feel so stuck-but I can’t.  I felt as though I was just spinning my wheels.  I know many of my Christian friends would have said that I just needed to pray and be in God’s word more, or…..you fill in the blank.  I really wish it had been that simple, but I was already doing the “right” things. In the end I just needed to be persistent.  I came  through that time of feeling stuck.  I learned that sometimes  persistence is the only thing  needed to get unstuck!

for more Five Minute Friday posts Check out Five Minute Friday

Have you ever felt stuck?

How did you get unstuck?

Bucket Lists, Strange Movie, Finishing What I Started-Random Reflections

Posted on by Mary

lists

This post has been three days in the making! No joke.  I have had this post open and slowly coming up with what to write about. But as we have been talking about things this week we have been talking about a few things over and over and over again.  This  post has been born out of our conversations,.  Conversations about a certain bucket list we have.   We aren’t normal in the terms of bucket lists.  Yes we have places we would love to go  and see and do BUT we have some odd lists. And this week, the conversation has centered around one in particular.  Then this morning I was telling hubby about this strange movie that I listened to.  It was weird. And lastly there is the topic as this week has been a week of finishing things I started last year.  I will go into this a smidge more in another blog post coming this evening.   LET”S JUMP IN!

Bucket Lists.

So yeah I guess you could say we have bucket lists.  Like we would love to continue the Trend  we  started on our honeymoon of visiting presidents homes.  Since we have been married  we have visited  something like 11 or 12 presidents homes.  We have visited the Eisenhower’s estate in Gettysburg. Montpelier, (Madison’t home) Ash Lawn (Monroe’s Home). Mount Vernon ( Washington’s home), Monticello (Jefferson’s home) James Buchanans home.  The home of both Harrison’s, Home of Woodrow Wilson, Abe Lincoln’s Birth home, Andrew Jackson’s home in Nashville and I am sure I have missed some or two !   Not all of those were done on our honeymoon. Lincolns and Jackson’s were done with very small kids on our family vacation in 2009 to Franklin and Nashville Tennessee and Kentucky.

Another odd little bucket list is battlefields centered around the civil war..  We have been to Gettysburg , Antietam, Appomattox Courthouse and the Canton House in Franklin TN.  (out of those Canton house is the CREEPIEST). Even though there aren’t any others on this list to speak o (That we went to see)f we wouldn’t necessarily turn down the opportunity either.  (There is this ongoing threat that the hubby and the oldest man child are going to take me back to Gettysburg to read EVERY. SINGLE. MONUMENT. -if you have been to Gettysburg, you know how serious this could be, we may never make it home again!)

But the bucket list we have been discussing all week is concerts.  After being to our second Newsboys concert in two years and a Mercy Me concert in October,  we are discussing what’s next.    There is one man child who wants to see Mandisa (I’m with him). And there is one Man child who wants to see Toby Mac ( I’m with him). and there is a hubby who wants to see Casting Crowns (I’m with him). HMMMM I think I can’t loose!   I would then add Francesca Battisstelli., Chris Tomlin, Matthew West and Brandon Heath and Jamie Grace.   I’ve been scratching concerts off my list for a LONG time, so these  would. be icing on the cake. (oh and since I just got to see the  Old Sschool  Newsboys- I can now hold out hope for a DC Talk reunion concert ..hint hint hint!!)

Strange Movie

So often times while I am working on house work I will have a movie playing in the background.  Yesterday I pulled up  PUREFLIX and scrolled through some movies.  and I landed on a newly added movie called  THE LIST.   There are actually two movies called this and I had already listened to the other one.   This particular one starts out in colonial times (Remined me a lot of the NATIONAL TREASURE movies. ).   It has Christian themes and  gets really weird.  Basically a young man gets caught up in a secret society/ cult.  And there is spiritual warfare BUT they aren’t really forthcoming with info needed to explain what exactly is going on.  The focus was on Prayer and breaking free from the grip, but from what?  It was just an odd movie, and if you didn’t know what was really being said  ( as in an unbeliever or a baby Chirstian). you would be severely confused!

Finishing What I Started.

In the next blog post (Five Minute Friday ). I will be talking about the one word prompt for today : STUCK.  And that is exactly how I was feeling from November  of 2017 til March of 2018. It didn’t seem to matter what I was doing, I felt like I was dragging a 250 pound weight behind me.  And yes I was completely immersed in play season for two of those months but generally I can still manage life along with the Christmas play for church.  Well just over the last couple of weeks I feel like I have finally had my head come up above the water.  And in the last few weeks I have completed some things I started last year.  Like my One Thousand Gifts Study, The Hebrews Study I had been working though and I finished the Lies Young Women Believe study.  And I am really on track for finishing this years first Study of Esther and completing the study portions of Hello Mornings (my review book from the beginning of the year).

I also want to finish up the women’s leadership video  series that I started last year on Right Now Media.

When these things are all caught up I will begin tackling my rating list for 2018.  Let’s be honest I know it’s not all going to happen AND THAT’S OK.  The point is to grow, not perfection.  But it was really important to me that I finish these things.  I want to be a woman who is known for finishing well.  Finishing well isn’t a time frame either.  It’s not gauged by years but by doing your best with what you have .   This is all part of the reason why I evaluate my goals so often because sometimes goals need to be taken off the list.  It’s just not what can happen in this moment of time.

Well That’s about it for this week!  I hope you  have  have a wonderful weekend.  What are some of your Random Reflections from this week?  Share them in the comments below!

Wordless Wednesday-Who Am I Kidding

Posted on by Mary

Yeah  This isn’t going to be wordless.  I have been doing these posts for a LONG time and I rarelyy if ever manage anything wordless! HAHAHA!  Well all kidding aside today’s post is a sweet one.  We have had a bunch of fun on Spring Break and as I mentioned on Monday we were  going to go to Pennsylvania this week to do Christmas with my parents.  Well when we head south we always try to visit Mimi and Pop pop Hubby’s grandparents, and this trip was no different.  The now live in an assisted living facility about an hour away from my parents and so we try to visit as often as we can.

We even had an extra guest who ran right up to the door depot the fact the kids were standing there!

kidding

Mimi and pop pop are in their mid-90’s and will celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary this October!It is a blessing for our children to know and dearly love their great-grandparents.  They certainly have a legacy of Love and faith!

Compromised Immune System-An Autistic Life

Posted on by Mary

immune

It’s not often anymore that I write about what it means to have a kid with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). It’s been our normal for the last 5 years (it’s actually been our normal Since the boy’s birth- but we have only known for about 5 years – he’s 10 1/2).  For the last four or so years he’s been on a regimen of supplements, not medications. And they have been awesome.  they have worked wonders for the boy. We work closely with his pediatrician and we monitor everything closely.  Now I’m sharing all of this not to get into debates or anything and I will not be sharing the supplements because I am not a doctor.  That’s not really the point of this blog post.

Immune System Attacked

The last six weeks however have been nothing short of a crazy roller coaster ride.  He has been to see medical professionals 6 times in 6 weeks.  That is not normal.   Six weeks ago he came down with a stomach bug, which is rare.  But when he gets a stomach bug he has to go off his supplements which are used to build up his gut health.  The supplements can be irritating on an empty stomach SOOOOO as you might imagine it does not help with the stomach bug.  Well 5 days came and went.  He was getting better and resumed his normal diet over that weekend, but by Monday night he was back to complaining about severe stomach pain, and before bed he tossed his cookies again.  He had  a doctor’s appointment where the doctor determined he had basically stripped the good bacteria from his digestive tract so he was put on a strict diet and had to take probiotics for about a week.  We slowly eased him back onto dairyBut he still could not handle the daily supplements. He went back to school that week there were conversations over the phone with his doctor.

That weekend James was away at his weekend respite.  We picked him up Sunday before church.  He was fine but he had a cough.  By Monday night I had 3 (yes three ) men  in my house who came down with Strep , by Wednesday that would become 4 men.  Bring on 4 rounds of antibiotics.  he finished his antibiotic and all of a sudden we are back to a stomach ache, and a cough that sounds like he has been a chain smoker for 50 years.   Monday morning he went back to the doctor.  Is it still the strep?  Why does he have extreme stomach Pain? (and other tummy issues).   The doctor examines him.  no strep. Post nasal drip. and the stomach thing- she believes it is a bad  yeast overgrowth in his GI tract. And yet a different probiotic was suggested with very strict rules about what to look for if issues should arise.  And a decongestant.

After just one dose of the decongestant I could see a difference.  He had three doses before school the next day and he left feeling better.  However when he walked in from school it was a different story.  He had blood pouring fro his nose AND his mouth.  I had never seen so much blood and I must confess I was freaking out. Because pinching his nose was not working.  I called the doctor.  The gave us instructions about what to look for in a GI Bleed and  said if it happened again to cal the after hours emergency number.  Well at 7 pm on the dot he was standing next to me while I plated their dinner.  He looked at me and said Oh no it’s happening again. I grabbed the phone and called after hours FOUR times and couldn’t get through so I finally called my hubby home and he took him to the ER.  Finally when he was almost home I got through . I explained the situation and they said theat someone would call me in 15-20 minutes. Hubby got home and took the boy.  45 minutes after I made the call a nurse called me back.  I was a train wreck.  I know that nosebleeds that don’t stop ad bleeding out the mouth are horrible things.  Through all of this emails went out to our church family.  People were praying and he gave us quite the scare.

Laughter and Blessings

In the midst of all of this I got a text message from a young mom in our church who was shaken by the whole thin. g She kept me company (via text messages ) for hours.  Her little one was sick too but her momma heart ached for us and our boy.  You see this boy has a very special relationship with many people in our church.  He was just a little over a year old when we moved here and our church has walked with through some pretty tough stuff since then.  Through all of this she made me laugh.  Which was much needed. Let’s just say that we discussed the finer parts of being sweaty…LOL.

Well finally the boy and his papa came home.  Upper nosebleeds with some ulcers.  I decided no decongestant for bedtime.  His nose did not bleed at all at night.  GI bleeds were ruled out though we still were instructed to watch for them due to the other issues.  In the end we discovered that the decongestant suggested by the doctor is what made  these nosebleeds so bad.  We went back to his normal dose.  he still has a cough..not as bad but it is still there and he is doing so much better.  AND he has been on his regular  supplements for 4 days!

We knew the boy has a compromised immune system, but we have never experienced anything like the last 6 weeks. We have dealt with other strange things like a crazy case of athlete’s foot and psoriasis.  Yeah I know !!!! His little body is just susceptible to anything and everything.  We have tried our best to keep him healthy. So when He was finally feeling better by mid-week we knew that he was going to be able to attend the concert we had planned on going to .  You see the boy is a huge fan of the NEWSBOYS.  and I must confess it was great to see him do his crazy dancing, singing and smiling throughout the whole thing!  It was even great to see him dance with Phil Joel after the concert

But that smile says it all. He was in his element because singing and dancing I am sure is his love language.   When he was first diagnosed a lot of wonderful people said “oh he will grow out of it”  Well he hasn’t grown out of it. And to be completely honest it keeps us on our toes (and our knees). God keeps working some very amazing things through this kiddo.  His heart to serve the Lord is a blessing to those who know and love him.  We hope and pray he will always embrace who he is and love people so unconditionally!

I know our journey isn’t over and I have no idea what lies ahead but I refuse to think about it.  I cannot spend my life and his thinking about the what-ifs.  I need to trust that God has his best interest in mind.  And in the midst of it all we will enjoy each and  every moment (MOSTLY LOL). Those who know about the  6 foot high fence and the window and door alarms know what I’m talking about!

So yes one of the many aspects of  an autistic life is a compromised immune system.