Our Life Succinctly Summarized.........

"You must just burn up grace like rocket fuel."
(post comment from caughtnottaught)

Man - is that a good reflection of the life we have been called to. Saved through grace and sustained by it. Not much else to say is there?

Maisy Update....a Visit to the PICU.

I don't really like this photo it's from my phone and didn't turnout very well - it makes Maisy look even more swollen than she was today when I visitied the PICU to encourage her parents and enjoy her sweetness. Please keep praying - IV's are an issue and the same fistyness that has kept her alive over the past two years makes it hard to keep her still in the hospital. It was great to see the attention and affection that the nurses and doctors have for Maisy - they cared for her often during that long first year when she wasn't with Mark and Julie. She is no stranger to them. For more regular updates on her progress link over to her moms site.

You Know you are a Frequent Caller When Poison Control Laughs at You....

So goes my life. It was a slow start today with a tough life lesson to be learned by one of the grade school kids. In our house, if you all called to breakfast and chose not to come, it wont be there if you change your mind a half hour later. We just don't work that way. I can't. It caused a touch of drama and before things had settled down enough to brew that first pot of coffee Jerry was discovered in my bathroom chewing a mouthful of my deodorant and using my electric toothbrush. Darn. Gross. I admit I poured that first cup before I called poison control - nothing like going into crisis mode without that extra morning boost. But I did call and they did laugh because we are 'regular' callers and this is just another lesson in our household poisons education. Good news is, it's not poisonous.

'Passing' In Our Society......:

When I hear that someone can 'pass' in our society I automatically assume that it's a racial or ethnic comment. Historically that is where I have heard the term used and socially I suspect that most people would do the same.

Since we have adopted kids with hidden disabilities I am seeing another way that people can 'pass' in our society and started thinking through the advantages and disadvantages of their situation. For example: One of our kids is pretty severely affected by FASD - reading and math are a real labor for him and through we are making great progress for him he is not able to compete at grade level. No way, no question about it. Except....

Last week on the CAT I learned something about him that surprised me. He can guess really well and uses clues to come to correct answers. I watched him take the grade level appropriate test and he got almost everyone right - even though he couldn't read the questions or the answers! He figured out the patterns, the key words to look for (or the beginning sound of the word he thought they wanted) and he got most of them right. This from a kid who couldn't read most of the questions. Cool and scary at the same time. I don't know how this plays out when he is older and can pass as a normally equipped adult, except that he probably wont really understand what is happening around him. Like buying a car, or a house, or all the other endless things we assume people who look normal have the ability to make good decisions about.

Passing - a blessing on one hand and a curse on the other. Both ways it's going to be a life long reality for us and a new thing to begin talking about early!

Prayer Request Updates....

It's a busy day for prayer around here feel free to join us if you feel led.
- Baby Maisy is in major surgery again as I type and her parents (Mark and Julie) are patiently waiting.

-My mom (Susan) is slowing walking through the exhausting reality of her second round of Chemo in Seattle.

-Pam's mom (Shirley) contracted a nasty systemic infection over the weekend and it's been a high-stress weekend in the ER and then hospital for both of them.

-Mary Pearson (her caring bridge site) a friend from church, mom to 4 and facing another round of treatment for lukeima.

-It's fall in the city - as much as we love the cooler weather and the kids heading back to school the next four weeks will be filled with a preoccupation by many in the neighborhood with violence, gore and killing. Historically it is an uncomfortable time to be here with heightened spiritual attacks and so many outward signs of Satan's influence. Please join us in praying that our community would become a stronghold of truth and place of refuge against these things. Especially for protection over the neglected children.

A Contractor After God's Own Heart.......

There is a strange emptiness in the house right now, a vacuum created by the absence of construction chaos and the 9 month instigator of it - Weldon Broberg. It's sort of like when the favorite cousins go home after a great visit and the party is over. Everyone is a little subdued and trying to adjust back into the normal routines of life.



Before we move on into the next season I wanted to recommend Weldon (of Weldon Broberg Construction) to those who are looking for a remodeling or concrete contractor in the Twin Cities area. Here are a few reasons we love working with him......


He is honest - not just because it's right but because God calls him to be.


He is kind - his attitude, choice of radio listening and speech are all honoring and respectful.


He is patient- I hadn't thought much about the details of the bathroom remodels before we started but he was willing to wait while I made decisions and ordered the things that I chose.


He is gentle - any man who can work for 9 months around 10 kids with dangerous tools and still have them cover him in hugs when he arrives must be.


He is particular - when something didn't work the way he wanted or didn't meet his expectations he redid it so that it was right. Without making a fuss about it.


He is humble - some things didn't work out like we thought or took more energy than we expected. He was able to admit the error and pull together whatever we needed to do to correct it. (And many of the things I was asking him to do were not normal - so there was the extra tension of creating the original process.)


He is skilled - I like the quality of his work. He is not a quick in and out remodeler that leaves a person feeling like they paid too much for low quality work. No, not, never.




Above all and rolled into it all - he is a man after God's own heart. Blessed with a balanced life of meaningful work and a wonderful wife and kids I can recommend him highly to you. And the funny thing is that I have yet to see him working in his real speciality - concrete. If you want to see some of the amazing things he has done in that medium, head over to his web site and follow the photos link. To see the work he did with such enthusiasm here you can trace this years photo journey through the transformation of two bathrooms and a bedroom. If anyone wants a specific reference on Weldon Broberg Construction please feel free to email me or post a request here at Urban Servant.



Thanks Weldon - for taking such great care of our home and our family! I'm plotting the next project already.....

"I'm Getting a Little Disturbed..."

Jesse (9) on the way in from church today. "Mom, I'm getting a little disturbed about the fact we don't have another new baby yet. These old ones are getting too big."

Amen Jesse - I love your heart for the motherless.

When Lack of Impulse Control Hits The Street........

Today at co-op my preschooler discovered the fire alarm pull box and did what most kids with low impulse control do - she pulled it. We all know what happens next. From the full building evacuation to the fire departments arrival on the scene and the contrite parent apologizing to the building staff and assuring them we will pay for any charges for the false alarm, it's not an unusual event in the life of a pre-school child.

The thing that sets our day apart is that I could in no way promise the staff that she will not do it again the next time she spies the alarm box. In fact I could almost promise the opposite, that given the opportunity she will most likely try it again because it created such a wonderfully loud and chaotic scene. What better way to break up the tedium of learning the preschool rules than to super charge the class with that little red handle? From her viewpoint she just found a new toy.

As we stood out in the parking lot several moms comforted me with statements like "lots of kids do this" and "she looks so sad, I am sure she learned her lesson," appropriate things to say, but just not true in our parenting reality. There is no guarantee that this isn't the first in a long line of fire alarm pulls regardless of how we spank, talk to, or remove privileges from her. Her brain was damaged by alcohol and drugs before she was born and as much as I wish it was different I can't necessarily change her behaviors - even the dangerous ones.

So what can I do? Police her diligently, pair her with people who understand what it means when I say "Watch her - she is fast and doesn't stop once an action is in motion." In daily life we never ask "Why" after an event (it's a worthless question in her reality) but we are constantly drilling into her the idea "Ask first, ask first, ask first!"

In truth, she may never be able to demonstrate good impulse control on a daily basis. But if we can teach her to ask before she acts (even sometimes) prehaps some crisis in life can be avoided. And as always we pray because this isn't something she will grow out of and we need to equip her as best we can to live in a world full of opportunities to PULL things just like that little red handle.

A Daddy Blogger........

Scott is dad to 7 and married to my friend Debbie. Here is a link to his blog Responsible Father and another to his giveaway for Free Bible Verse Songs. I love to read what the daddy's are up to and think about this amazing journey that we are all on together.

Weight off My Shoulders..... say 300lbs?

Last night a fun guy named John came and claimed our cool but displaced 1929 cast iron tub. Yeah! Finally it is out of the garage and of the last chores to the remodel is completed. Good thing Daniel was here to help Robert and John load it - it was a tad of a beast. It did inspire a muscle flexing 'macho moment' once it was in the van and we were ready to wave goodbye.

Recycling jewlery.....another unusual opportunity to bless.

Did you know that the price of gold is at an all time high? At over $1013/ounce today it worked in our favor as I sorted out my irritating stash of broken necklaces, rings and necklaces and cashed them in to repair something special for a friend. It worked great for both of us - I cleaned my jewelry box out and have the joy of sharing the proceeds and she gets the fun of wearing her bracelet again. I love to be a member of God's warehouse team!

The 100,000 Mark.....

While I was the Endocrinologist with Jesse this morning John called to tell me that the counter at the bottom of Urbanservant just turned over the 100,000 mark. He was excited as only a 13 year old boy can be and it made me smile as I listened to him. Thanks to all of you who invest your time walking through life with us - it makes blogging more fun knowing that someone is reading and the kids love to track the counter.

It was a great visit to the dr - Jesse has lost 4 pounds, gained 2 inches and his markers of early puberty have been stalled out by the medications. Praise God for that report! We are on track to have a 'normal' year of physical development for him. I am so glad we pushed and pushed our pediatrician two years ago when his basic tests were coming back normal but something just 'felt' wrong. There really were problems starting in his endo system and identifying them early has given us the chance to change their direction.

Have I Said Out Loud.....Thermostatic Valve?!

I chose the Novello Custom Shower System for our new bathroom for several reasons, but the main thing I love about it right now is that it had a Thermostatic Valve. So what? Well, because of it I can send a pair of preschool girls up to take a shower together and the temperature is always preset to the perfect temperature. No chance to burn or freeze their tiny bodies and when I get in I can release the button to crank up the heat for my creaking joints. It saves me time and trips up the stairs so it's now on my list of things that help large families save mommy resources. (Price wise? It cost about $150 more than a cheaper version, but I justified the investment because it is significantly sturdier.)

Sundays are for rest, unless......

You find yourself home alone with the youngest 5 kids who are feeling well enough to fight, but don't pass the 'cover your cough' standard for church or Sunday School.



And if your feet and legs look like this FOUR days after you have been bitten and you can't seem to sit still without scratching them it is so itchy...



And unless....


You go to hang up the only coat in the closet and the door comes off in your hand. Who decided to use 1 inch screws on this solid wood door 109 years ago?! I guess it wasn't too bad a decision as they lasted this long, but please! There was no 'leave it hanging there' till tomorrow for this job.And then we heard the chanting and our local Catholic church had their annual processional through the community. Good thing we could drop our tools and run to the fence to wave. Nothing worse than a parade with no one watching!

The most fun (for me) was that then everyone was outside and wanted to play/fight in the fresh air. I had a great idea....it's called "help mommy sort the garage!" They were thrilled, I was eager and there is a large pile of treasures that I listed on Twin Cities Free Market and put out behind the garage for takers.

Then we went inside and broke a plate on the way to the table - definitely not the time to rest yet!

But it did get easier....Daddy came home with the older kids and we took the nap hour and went to watch our friends from TKD, Daniel and Pat compete. Of course the next question was....."Can we do it next time!" That sure doesn't sound like rest to me!

Parenting Kids With FASD: Creative Correction....

Traditional correction doesn't seem to help my kids with FASD change behaviors. Their short term memories are too limited to make spankings useful and lectures have no place for the same reason. Time outs are often similar to keeping a cat sitting on a chair - a lot of work for the paretns and not much potential for changing the cat's behavior. So we are watching to see what does work.

Rewards (catching them doing right) and consequences that logically follow behaviors seem best at this time. Last night I caught an older child taking drinks out of the 1/2 gallon syrup container in the refrigerator. Taking (stealing) sugary things is a huge issue for this kiddo and we have had to limit their access to the pantry because of it.

They were surprise to be caught (I was sitting outside on the phone and saw them through the window) and overjoyed at the stated consequence - finishing off the last two cups of syrup in the bottle....chugg...chugg....chugg. I explained that I would have to throw it away otherwise because it had their germs in it and that I thought .....maybe...they would learn a good lesson if they had to finish off the bottle. Sure enough, their laughter and giggling over the situation ended about 30 minutes later with the logical throwing up in the bathroom. I have yet to see them this morning, but I will be interested to see what the impact is 10 hours later, but I suspect that the lesson has stuck with them.

Photos now - more words later......

This year Pam and her crew stayed home so our annual fall camping trip to Wilderness Fellowship turned back into a single family event. Just me and 11 of my closest friends, 5 days, 4 nights, tons of mosquitoes and many surprises - like the flu on day 2!

Daddy caught the biggest fish casting from the dock....but I caught the most with 3 in my 10 minutes of casting practice. :) This photo is for Anna - Jerry has gone total redneck on you...sorry!
We were well protected at every turn by 'men' with homemade bows and an endless supply of arrows.

Cleanliness is optional when camping...but fun is mandatory!

No frogs were killed (to my knowledge) but many were man handled....

Anna? Jerry likes to lick the bug spray off his body...any input?

The view from our windows...

"What I know now" A fellow bloggers thoughts on adopting older kids....

My friend Megan has been on an incredible journey this past year. She went from a mom of two little ones to having 5 in her home and facing the heartbreaking reality of living with severe RAD. From peace to war, order to chaos, it's been a journey that took her out of my circle for a season but now she is back with wisdom to share. One of her posts from this summer answered the question "What I know now...." and is a great insight into the true trials of adopting older sibling groups who have been damaged through abuse, abandonment and crisis. I have added her blog Columbian Brewed to my bar at the right and will be tracking her posts to share here.

Courage From Alaska

Hi Urban Servant readers: E. here, longtime friend of Dorothy and author of 'Elituq-She is Learning', a blog focusing on perspectives from our daily lives here in Anchorage, Alaska. I appreciate the opportunity to poach Dorothy's lovely blog to provide some thoughts of my own while she lazes away (haha) on her sojourn into the Minnesota woods with her family.

Occasionally Dorothy will refer to our blog when discussing our oldest son. We too are raising a child with special needs. In our son's case, it is through Asperger Syndrome, a disorder that has led us through gates of indecision, passion, and persistence and back again to find out what it truly means to be parents of a child who sees our world as so different from his own. Currently our son, almost 16, lives and attends school at a specialized program in Salt Lake City, Utah. Alaska has so few resources to manage the myriad of social and emotional disorders they do have (FASD, Bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, drug and alcohol abuse, among other things) that there is little funding or time left over for children trying to live their lives with disorders such as AS.

The upswing of this means that our son, MJ, is part of the only residential facility on the West Coast equipped to manage the entire Asperger's label, i.e. the structural support, emotional support, social skills training, life skills, etc. And the State of Alaska funds it. Entirely. While I do wish he was here in our own town learning from teachers and therapists of our choosing, I will say that the opportunity to immerse our child in the skills he so desperately needs has been the answer to a prayer.

A downside is that we, and all parents of kids from Alaska (and there are many) do not see our kids on a day-to-day, or even monthly basis. Quarterly visits lasting four or five days have become the norm, with daily therapy sessions, outings to practice social skills, and occasional movie nights thrown in. We are not a family unit any more; one parent visits while the other manages the homefront and little brother, now 4. I always feel as if I need to draw a dotted outline of MJ in family vacation photos, to show that he is with us in spirit and we are not purposely having fun without him.

He is always here, as much as if his 6 foot frame was draped over my shoulders, goofy grin pasted on his slender face. His imagined presence provides a measure of peace. We can only hope he feels such peace emulating from us that long, long 3,000 miles southward.

You can link to my blog through http://www.elituqakbrady.blogspot.com, or just look to the right and see me on Dorothy's list of blogs...I'd be glad to welcome you to our little corner of the North.

"Parenting Is Your Highest Calling" and 8 Other Myths that trap us in Worry and Guilt..

Last night I stayed up and finished the second book that Leslie sent, "Parenting is Your Highest Calling And 8 other Myths that Trap Us in Guilt and Worry." Similar in format to her previous book Surprise Child, it is broken into comfortable length chapters with discussion/reflection questions in between. As a mentor/friend/co wanderer in the maze of parenting I find that many moms are struggling with the big questions about this 24/7 job and how to do it well. Regularly I have younger moms (I still cant believe I am now moving into that 'older mom' category) coming and begging for the answers to why parenting is so hard and not meeting any of the needs they dreamed it would. I have sympathy for their struggles and spend hours listening and helping them see that parenting is about more than how they 'feel.'

This book, "Parenting is your highest ....." is a great resource. In the study questions I found many of the same concepts I explore with these grieving moms. Those simple struggles over thinking our children should make us happy, why we feel their successes and failures reflect on our effectiveness as parents and how to face the reality that sometimes we don't love our kids as much as we thought we would.

This book is another keeper. I think my copy will be well passed around in our homeschool group as well as social circle, and it was well worth my investment to read. Here is a sneak peek at the 9 myths it addresses............happy reading!

1. Parenting is your highest calling.
(How pursuing God first leaves us free to love our children more)
2. Having children makes you happy and fulfilled.
(Discovering Gods real purpose in giving us children.)
3. Nurturing children is natural and instinctive.
(Discovering God's real purpose in giving us children.)
4. Good parenting leads to happy children.
(Exchanging shallow hopes for for God's deeper purposes.)
5. If you find parenting difficult, you must not be following the right plan.
(Learning to rely on God rather than formulas.)
6. You represent Jesus to your children.
(How we trap ourselves into a role we were not meant to play)
7. You will always feel unconditional love for your children.
(How our false ideas of love burden us with guilt.)
8. Successful parents raise godly children.
(The danger of making too much of ourselves and too little of God.)
9.God approves of only one family design.
(Why is God not limited by imperfect families?)

So....Are We Done With Construction?

Yes - we are done for today. The kids are enjoying a break from the focus on major repairs over the past 9 months and we are going out of our way to help them enjoy the last few days of summer. It's going to be a tad quiet out here at UrbanServant for the next week unless E or J break in while I am gone. Both of them have access and my blessing if they want to jump in (go girls!) and share their wisdom while we are off in the wilderness with the crew.But what is left to fix on the house? For those that know us closely it's been 9 years of repairs, updating and maintaining our fun (but needy) 109 year old home. I have mastered many skills previously undreamed of and learned that most of what needs to be done is not rocket science. A long way from my first tearful afternoon removing damaged plaster in the dining room and discovering that bricks from the chimney hidden behind the walls fell apart in my hands.

Next on my personal repair list would probably be the front steps. For 9 years I have donned latex gloves, found a plastic shoebox and hand mixed small (like 6 cup) batches of vinyl concrete patch to keep the stairs from crumbling under us. I haven't done this years patches yet because Weldon is really a concrete man and would probably fall over in hysterics watching me with my green kitchen sponge and rubber gloves stretch the stairs life over 'one more winter.' Actually, he probably wouldn't as he spent lots of time this week looking at their crumbling profile as he painted the doors and put on a new storm for the front this week and is probably as irked by them as me.
After the steps I think that the backyard will be the next project. This shed has seen better days - hurried along this year because the kids broke so many windows I declared defeat early in the season and took out the remaining panes. So...remove the shed, repair the concrete that has lifted and sunk and whatever, in the back yard and redo that whole space to make it more usable.

In my semi-wild dreams we will replace the windows on the second floor porch and create a second bedroom for the boys. Shoot, since it's a wild dream lets say both first and second floor porches. :) Right now we have the original single pane with storms, loose glazing, don't push too hard when you clean them - watery glass windows. The positive side is that I am pretty sure we will not die in our sleep of CO2 poisoning as there is a constant draft from them year round! It would be good though to think toward this as there will soon be 6 boys in the one room......that's a lot of Lego's and stinky shoes!

Stucco repair is boring but somewhere in our future as is replacing more (many more) windows. There are a total of 56 double hung windows in the house and so far we have done 7...only 49 more to go. Other than these projects there are the appliances that are being abused, the electrical that is original and the normal house needs like refinishing the floors on the main floor. My theory on the floors? Well.....the longer we wait the more original finish we are scraping off by abusing them (about 20% left now) so it's going to be easier to refinish. And it needs to be done when we are on vacation sometime because it is our main living space. So that one is at least a year off, maybe longer, as the Lord provides. Good news is that there are not any repairs on them, they are actually a beautiful tight maple and in great shape. :)

It's been years but I am down to one in diapers!

Joe and Lily are now both officially 'out of diapers' and in full time undies (except for overnight.) Wow, what a difference one in diapers rather than three makes in my life! That shift from changing 15 diapers a day to 5 is a really nice break. And Joe totally trained himself - all I had to do was produce the M&M's when he emerged from the bathroom. Believe me, they have not all been like that.
(Her pants are wet in the photo from playing in the sprinkler not having an accident....at least I think so.)

And about that dryer fire.....

It really was a fire! The repair man came today and announced that it was a lint fire over the igniter in the dryer and that it was a good thing we had turned it off when we did. Who knew that major appliances could be so dangerous?! Especially since this was in an area that I could never have cleaned without taking the whole thing apart. Good news is that we caught it early so it didn't ruin the electrical panels or catch the duct/house on fire....especially since I just replaced it.

Surprise Child: Finding Hope in Unexpected Pregnancy.....(or adoption?)

Last week I received one of my favorite gifts in the mail - new books! They were authored and sent by Leslie Leyland Fields; a mom to 6, professor, and commercial fisherman in Alaska. (I think I love her just for her bio. :) I dove right in and found that Surprise Child was a quick encouraging read and a much needed portrayal of women who can be pro-life and at the same time highly distressed to discover they are pregnant. (Note: Not all of the women portrayed chose life for their unborn children but I feel the tone of the book is focused in that direction.)

The end of dreams, compounding stress, a derailing of plans - surprise babies can bring all of these things into a home. But within the church we tend to assume that a woman should be instantly thrilled whenever she finds she is pregnant. I haven't seen much room to share both the grief as well as the miracle of a surprise pregnancy , but this book is a good opening to the discussion.

As an adoptive mom (to more than the usual number) I can venture to say that the same thing applies in my world. The last thing my heart desires is another child. I am tired, exasperated and challenged daily by the demands that my current kids bring to my life. And the LAST thing I 'want' is another child! (Yeah, I wrote that.)

I used to 'want' more, in that chest aching, need to hold a baby sort of way, but it changed sometime after child #3 arrived. Since then my hearts desire has shifted from "wanting" another child to being open to and willing to receiving more, but never 'wanting' them in that culturally understood way.

Sort of a strange thought in adoption isn't it? Why would anyone pay all that money, go through all the stress and end up bringing home children who might never grow up - and not 'want' them? Obedience, willingness, a radical decision to be open to hard things, trust in the promises of God and faith that we are investing our lives in the future? All of these reasons and more. But it's not the same 'OH BABY!' sort of thrill that came with our 'planned' children. It's more of a chill that has to warm in my heart. Like when the whisper of a hint came last winter that twins related to one of our kids were due and might be placed for adoption. Much of my body screamed 'NO! RUN! IGNORE!" and I had to go through a similar process of grief that a surprise pregnancy might bring before I was at the 'Yes, if the question is asked we will receive them and we will trust that the blessing will overcome the fear." In the end, the question was never asked, but I had to walk through the dark thoughts and fears that the whisper of a thought raised.

I'm keeping Surprise Child on my shelf and have it to share if anyone wants to read it next. Tonight I'm headed into "Parenting is your Highest Calling - and 8 other myths that trap us in worry and guilt" the other book Leslie sent. I especially like (hate) #8 Your success as a parent can be measured by your child's behavior. Sounds interesting doesn't it?

What is it with me and dryers?

Thinking that the dryer drama was over for the week (having removed the dead birds and exploded diapers) I was almost smug sitting out in the side yard with Pam this morning. Close enough to admire that clean new vent cover and varmit proof flap we were also close enough to smell and notice the SMOKE and burning smell that started pouring out when it was started. Yes, my followup proved that something inside the body of the dryer was on fire. Enough to make me think (for a moment) about the simplicity of the drying lines....until I realized how many I would need to replace my dryer.

Fall Preperations....

Ten years ago I used to line my shelves with homemade jams and fruit, freeze the produce of our garden and haunt the berry farms in search of the perfect flats. Now life has a slightly different bent. If I bring home a case of pears it's consumed within 24 hours, a friend might bless us with brown bags of apples and regardless of my saucing intentions our eager hands and those of our neighbors will save them all from the pot. The more of us there are, the more we seem to live in the moment and fresh fruit and produce is the special treat that I can't seem to limit when the time arrives. So be it. If the kids grow up and remember the days that they ate 5 apples each and huge chunks of cheese they will be good memories. If they fantasize about the cases of exotic fruit from the discount stores it will have been a good investment.

Today's Fall preparations are a little different. I was thrilled to capture 60lbs of dried peaches on clearance at COSTCO. They should hold us until March as one of our three staples for mid-morning snack. Meat has been on sale so we have been using every flat surface to hold pots, ingredients or cooling meals for the winter when we are back into the school routine. This week we were able to make and freeze 20 pounds of BBQ pork, 20 lbs of black beans+hamburger for burritos, 20 lbs chicken roasted and de-boned for pies etc. and we threw away a huge batch of pinto beans that were too old to soften - regardless of what tricks we tried.

It feels good to have a few meals put away and the fall changeover starting. The kids and I are embracing the wonderful month of September as our own special break this year. We are claiming every sunny hour and are alternating work and play in the most extreme manner. Parks in the morning, chores and rest through the early afternoon and then more parks or even the last stolen moments in the lake as other families put summer behind them. Plans for the rest of the month include 4 nights together at Wilderness Fellowship, more meals in the freezer and standardized testing for the oldest 5 - mixed in with lots and lots of time outside. I think this is one of the important reasons we homeschool - the ability to follow our own lifestyle and to set our own pace not one that fits the masses.

It is good for our hearts, especially those moments when the older ones delight in playing and loving the little ones. Time that would probably be lost if they were not home to have the time.

War!

Our house was built in 1900 and I believe that regardless of all the toxic and terminal methods humans have used to remove mice from it over the last 109 years - the battle has resumed every fall. This week I found the first sign of the annual invasion - little mouse presents on the window sill behind my keyboard. As soon as possible I'm rearming myself at Home Depot.....poison, snap traps and glue traps depending on where they are to be hidden and the count for the season is 0-0. My goal is to hold even - loaves of bread destroyed holding level with the number of traps triggered.

"What you staring at? You know who you are messing with....."

The first chapter of life with my neighbor Kitten ended Tuesday with her move eight houses down. It is a relief to have that new margin between us (10 feet was not enough) as well as the opportunity to keep loving her from a slightly wider distance.

Lest I think life was going to settle down with her move, Lucky (yes that is his real name) the 250lb angry boyfriend of the neighbor over our other fence started in on the monologue that is this posts title tonight. It took me a few moments to realize that he was rehashing something that had happened at the park not talking to me. But by the time he started ranting on about guns and not being afraid to kill people and how he wasn't going to let 'them' mess with him I started paying attention and wondering if I need to drop a call in to his parole officer. Life is sure never boring here on the block.

Kisses From Katie.....

My friend Carrie forwarded me the link to a high impact blog site Kisses From Katie. The photo above is from her header (I emailed for permission - really I did) and I would encourage all of you to reheat that morning coffee, find a quiet corner and spend a good half hour catching the vision for what God is up to Uganda through this young woman's life. Blessings Katie!

FYI - I did receive permission to copy the photograph by Amazima Ministries International so now I'm in the clear. :)

What is Impossible Pie?

It's simply one of my top 10 no-brainer meals for those really hard mommy days! Here is the recipe straight off the Bisqick box. - it hasn't changed from the first time I made it back in the 80's.

We mix it times 6 (only using two- three pounds of hamburger) and use two of our huge glass pans to bake it. Sometimes we add in salsa or substitute bacon, left over ham or vegetables.

1 lb ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
1/2 cup Original Bisquick® mix
1 cup milk
2 eggs
Total Time: 10 min

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray.
2.In 10-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Stir in salt. Spread in pie plate. Sprinkle with cheese.
3.In small bowl, stir remaining ingredients with fork or wire whisk until blended. Pour into pie plate.
4.Bake about 25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Bake 30 to 35 minutes.

It's been a LONG construction season when....

It was a sure sign that it's time to end construction for a season when I went to make the families favorite Impossible Pie last night and discovered that the eggs expired June 5th.

What is that? Almost 3 months ago?! Especially for a woman who (usually) cleans out the fridge every two weeks on COSTCO day and a family that empties it down to the condiments the day before in their search for food. Crazy - and funny in an over tired 'what ever next' sort of way.