Myths

I'm doing some research for a meeting tomorrow. I've been struggling with my topic and the fact it's been 7 months since I've led a meeting. One thing keeps coming up today, how so many of us will believe false truths or myths. Moms believe the nurse in the hospital who's never breastfed or her friend who was unsuccessful at breastfeeding and you have problems that are common but not normal become the norm.
Why do people feel the need to dispense information on topics they know so little about, yet why do so many of us believe those false teachers?
This applies to so many areas of our lives but about the Bible to. Words from the Bible are taken out of context and you have a new sect is forming.
Well, I'd better be off looking up a particular fact to dispel the latest breastfeeding myth I've run across.

Blessings

I've been reading a few blogs and have been humbled. There are others going through trials far greater than my tree/house struggles yet they have a positive attitude and post a list of blessings in their posts.
My thinking needs to change to more positive. I need to focus on my blessings rather than on all the things that have gone wrong since returning to Mississippi.
We are blessed with so many friends and good neighbors who have helped us. God has placed us in a network of church family and friends that arise to help and bless others when there is a need.
I am thankful that Loren arrived safely back from Arizona, and he has no more conferences until 2008. I am thankful for the 4 blessings that God has placed in our safekeeping, to nurture and bring up in the love and knowledge of God. They are sweet and loving and I am so proud of them.
From the Beverly Lewis website, something I just read and had to add.
Scripture of the Month
"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 'I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.'" —John 15:4 niv
Bev's Reflection:When friends disappoint, when pastors fall, when a son or daughter abandons you—there is Jesus. He is the only Constant to cling to, when the rug of life is pulled out from under you. Your Friend and Savior longs for you to connect with Him—in praise during the good and bad days, in prayer, and in reading Scripture, which has the power to comfort, encourage, and, yes, heal.

p.s. Loren, I would really like her new book, The Parting

The Tree

This is a picture of the tree that is supposed to be coming down, see that it is marked with a blue ribbon now. The tree guy stopped by on Saturday, "to see what he was up against" were his words. He said he could be by Monday to take it down, but would only be able to haul it away on Tuesday due to a truck that broke down on Friday. Then he walked around some more and asked if he could access the tree from neighbors driveway and would I be able to get the power lines removed. Yeah, I guess the tree needs to score one more battle in leaving us without power for the day. I'm supposed to call the power company in the morning and arrange it for Tuesday. Do you think everything in the fridge and freezer will be okay with a day without power?
We picked Loren up at the airport last night, his flight was delayed in leaving Houston by 30 minutes. They waited for some mechanics who needed to fix a plane in Jackson and that flight was the last flight they could get them into Jackson that night. I'd better make sure and get all Loren's clothes done tomorrow, before the power is off, so he can be packed to head back out to a conference Wednesday.
This is a picture of the limb that knocked the power lines off the house on Monday.

tree wins another battle

Well, should I say that the tree wins another round in escaping being cut down. Humberto has delayed the scheduled removal. I prayed that all branches would remain in their proper places as the storm swept through Jackson, thankfully not much wind but a lot of rain.
We are headed to the Dr this afternoon, John has a rash all over his abdomen and started running a fever about 30 minutes before the rash appeared. It always amazes me how fast they can go from being 'a little warm' to 'burning up'. He slept in my arms for about 30 minutes and just now woke up wanting to watch a movie. It is now baby sister's turn to have mommy's attention. She's hungry.
Actually Miss. Rebecca is into rolling over. Two days ago she really started rolling over from her back to her stomach, now every time you put her down she thinks she needs to flip over. She's getting so big, and she's just so cute ;-)

Tree Update

Well, it looks like the tree may win the war, one way or another. Estimates to have it removed range from 1500.00 for partial delimbing to 3500.00. The best option is looking at 1900.00 right now. I'm making a few more calls in the morning, praying that all the limbs stay put and hoping to get rid of the tension headache so I can sleep tonight.

At War with the Tree

If I had the camera, it's in CA with my cell phone and my husband, I would take a picture of the offending branch that took the power, phone and Internet lines off the house. It didn't stop there but also took off the meter box. The cables were hanging across the street and a few people ran into them with their vehicles. It was the ones who were going to faster than the speed limit anyway. Lots of fun. I spent yesterday making phone calls from my neighbor's house across the street. I 'borrowed' electricity from my neighbor up the hill to run my refrigerator. The neighbor who fed our cats while we were gone gave me the key to her house while she ran errands so we could cool down. Everyone was so sweet and helpful, I really do have a lot of friends and blessings to be thankful for.
I heard the branch coming down, it was as if it was in slow motion. I watched as it landed directly in front of the house, 5 feet from Loren's car and *on* the wires. I noticed the power did not go out immediately and I ran to pull the main disconnect. One time I did not and it blew my air conditioner, stereo and fridge. The electrician said that was a smart move. It is just not so good that I know what to in this situation, this is the third time in 3 years. I was counting, and it has also been another 3 tree limbs that have punctured the roof. We actually just got a new roof a week ago. A few other limbs have fallen on the roof and in the yard but not caused any damage.
If we add up the electrician and roofing repair bills we could have already paid for the tree's removal. It is the last branch, I've snapped, the tree is not remaining as is. What if my children had been playing out in the front yard when the branch fell? No, I'm telling you tree, your time has come, I've made the call, there is no going back. You may have won some battles but I will win the war, bwahahahaha

Remembering the popcorn kernel in the ear...

Had a discussion with Jesse today which brought back a lot of memories. Last year he placed a popcorn kernel in his ear, because.... the T.V. was too loud! Our Dr. said that she had recently read in a journal that the suction of a vacuum helped get out foreign objects. I can smile now at the picture of holding the vacuum up to Jesse's ear praying that the kernel would come out. At the time, I was barely containing my emotions. Anger, concern, frustration, definitely not amusement.
Thankfully the kernel did come out in less than an hour, after a couple of suctioning sessions and having him lay on his side with that ear down.

Oh, What A Day!

Well, the good news is that Loren wasn't late for his flight. The bad news is he left his jump drive plugged into the hub on the home computer,... with his presentation on it.
He had my cell phone for his trip, so he couldn't reach me to get me to drive it back up to him at the airport. I got his message when I got home, 25 minutes after the flight had left. Instead of coming straight home, I took the children to the Farmer's Market, trying to distract them from missing Loren already. John was screaming, "I want Daddy!" Lots of fun.
The Blue Bell 100 years Tour was at Market, with a bouncy and free ice cream. Of course, I saw friends I hadn't seen in awhile and we chatted. Then I chatted with a few vendors as I bought free range eggs and some muscadines; A typical 'Market Experience'.
My afternoon was spent trying to figure out the fastest way to get the jump drive to California. In the end FedEx saved the day and Loren will have his presentation by 10:30am. A bit of an expensive mistake but thankfully he only presents on Wednesday.

The Hummingbirds are back!

We had been feeding the hummingbirds this spring and enjoying seeing them hover at the feeder. I got out the feeder earlier this week after seeing a little hummer at my wind chimes. By the end of the day we had a steady stream of hummers at the feeder. I'll have to refill the feeder tomorrow they've eaten so much. It brightens my day to look out at the birds at the feeders :-)
We have to take Loren to the airport at 10 am, thankfully he doesn't have a 6 am flight like usual. It'll be an interesting week.

Party of 6?

I think this was one of my posts that never made it out of my head.
We stopped at a restaurant on the drive between AZ and MS. We now have 6 in our family, children ages 7, 5, 2 and 4 months. We were charged the automatic gratuity for large parties. It wouldn't have been so bad if the service had been great but that sort of irked me since Rebecca did not even eat at the restaurant. I didn't even nurse her in the restaurant because I was uncomfortable with the stares from the four large men sitting at the next table.
Oh c'est la vie.

Feeling caught

Have you ever composed a blog in your head and then been not sure if you actually wrote it? So, if anyone can read minds, they'll know of lots of our adventures here, haha.
Cynthia finally lost another tooth, it has been loose since July in Tucson.
I can hardly believe that 3 weeks have passed since we've arrived back home in MS. Of course, strep throat in my boys, my sinus infections, dealing with insurance for the tree limb that welcomed us home! Hiring contractors for the new roof and ceiling repair have all made the time fly by.
I found out last week that a good friend in moving to Wyoming. I know that their family is in for a big adventure but it is hard to think of not having her around. Things are going to be different for sure.
We really miss our Sunday School class from Tucson and the worship services. We made some good friends in our 10 weeks in Tucson. I'm really struggling here but not sure of any direction, but then I've had sick children with strep and haven't even been back to church. I will not take my sick children to church for a couple of reasons. I do not want to spread the germs, and I don't want their weakened immune systems to pick up more germs because other parents don't keep their sick children home. That is a big pet peeve of mine.
My volunteer treasurer duties have a long to do list, I'm working through it, thankfully nothing is absolutley pressing. I do not want my volunteer work to dominate over my homeschooling and my family. It can really suck me in, maybe it is the affirmation I getr for a job well done.
I found this neat direct sales swap-trade list and have listed some of my Usborne inventory. You get credit towards other companies to go shopping with. I'm amazed how fast the books were 'grabbed'. I need to make another post office trip.
Loren is heading to CA on Saturday for a week. He didn't come home from the office last night until 2 am and actually he only left because the internet went down. He's submitting his tenure promotion application today, I'd appreciate prayer on that. It is in God's hands.
Well, I'm being summoned to kill a spider *shudder*, and a stack of dishes and laundry await.