God provides!

-an extra car for the weekend as we continue to wait on an insurance settlement.  Not sure what we'll do after that and not sure we're worried about it!  (We'll be adding rental car to our insurance from now on.)

-cupcakes in the freezer and a little birthday cake left from a weekend celebration to serve at Micah's family birthday party tomorrow--I can just focus on getting groceries tomorrow morning!

-and did I mention enough groceries to last a few extra days until I could recuperate enough to get to the store?

-money to cover a new dryer and refrigerator, both in the same month.  I was driving home from the appliance store when the accident happened, thinking that we'd be OK financially so long as nothing happened to our vehicles in the next few months.

-my mom and dad both home this week to help with kids during ER visits and trips to the chiropractor.

-Eric had only planned to work 2 days this week anyway, so when that was trimmed down to one, not a big deal. 

-free valet parking at the hospital so I didn't have far to walk to retrieve my X-rays for the chiro appointment.  I've always been afraid to use it--no more!

-Eric mentioned we just got new tires to our insurance agent, and they added that cost to the estimate/settlement information.  (As of 5:00 this afternoon, we think our car has been totalled.)

-still marveling I am ok and so is the woman who was under me.  Just exactly how did her windshield not shatter?  It was a miracle.  I keep praying she's feeling better than me and not worse.

I think He's got us covered!

this is what I was doing for fun about 1:30 yesterday...

http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/article_0dbb125c-12c0-11e0-aaf5-001cc4c002e0.html.

We are thanking the Lord for His protection in so many ways.  The kids were not with me.  The woman under me was not badly hurt.  Everyone walked away from the accident without a scratch.

My car is the one on top.

the newest challenge

We have had definitive evidence lately that Josiah reacts to corn.  Here's a list of ingredients that can contain corn: http://www.cornallergens.com/list/corn-allergen-list.php.

This isn't going to be easy.

labor of love

Snickers candy bars...they are delicious but also have artificials and the chocolate Josiah can't have.  So this Christmas, I tried a recipe for homemade! 

First, I had to make homemade syrup to replace the corn syrup, something else Josiah has trouble with.  This recipe is easy:

1. 1 c. sugar


2. 1/2 tsp. white vinegar


3. 1 c. water


4. 1/4 tsp. salt

Boil all ingredients together 5-10 minutes.

I made a batch and a half to have enough for my recipe. 

Then, on to the homemade Snickers recipe which you can find here: http://candy.about.com/od/otherchocolaterecipes/r/snackers.htm.

It could have been disastrous.  I'm not a cook, and my candy thermometer didn't work.  I burned one batch of nougat, three fingers, and melted a plastic spoon.  But amazingly enough, they pretty much turned out, and they taste great!!

My last task was to try melting carob chips to make a carob version for Josiah.  I wasn't sure if that would even work, but it did!  The top bar is carob, the bottom is chocolate.

Can't wait to try these--ok, we've had a few little tastes here and there.  Not low-fat or low sugar, but ok for us just once a year!

My challenge for next year: try to find some non-dairy substitutes so Rachel can eat them, too.

Where's the Line to See Jesus?

"In the last days, the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains...and all nations will stream to it.  Many peoples will come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.  He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.'"  Isaiah 2:2-3

Click here for video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OExXItDyWEY

too busy to blog

But here's a favorite website the kids would like to share: http://www.simonscat.com/films.html.  Micah usually winds up on the floor in tears, he laughs so hard.  If you are a cat owner or have spent any time with cats at all, be prepared to join him.

moments like this...

Rachel has been out of P.E. since April due to shoulder pain.  We've tried all kinds of interventions, but the pain remains.  The Dr. we saw in Chicago recommended she continue her physical therapy exercises but also that she return to P.E.  Yesterday was her first day. 

Today I got a call from the P.E. teacher.  When she started at her new school this year, Rachel was rather afraid of Mr. K.  He's tough with the kids but it's because he wants the best for them.  The school she attends has a reputation for their P.E. program.  Many of the kids go on to be outstanding athletes in Jr. High, and there is a high percentage who achieve the presidential academic fitness award at the end of the school year.  Last year the school had to cut minutes from their P.E. classes because they were over district guidelines.  

Anyway, Rachel's class was doing a 17 minute run yesterday.  The P.E. teacher took her aside and told her he wanted her to do her best, but she didn't have to run it all in one day.  Her situation was different than that of the other kids, and this was her first day of P.E. all year.  She could do the run in 3 minutes a day if she wanted.  He just wanted her to try it and see how it went.  He even checked on her often during her run.

Rachel ran the entire 17 minutes without stopping.  

When she finished, the P.E. teacher told the class, "Give it up for Rachel.  What a great run!!"  They all applauded for her. 

He called me just to tell me how proud he was of her.

for Rachel

This book from Voice of the Martyrs might help clear a few things up, and maybe she can even enjoy Santa again.

this probably won't become a made-for-TV special

It might be because she's part Rhodes.  Her grandpa hems and haws over Christmas every year, albeit in a good-natured way, mostly to tease everyone who takes the shopping and decorating too seriously.  He even gave us the book Skipping Christmas to read one year.  (It was a hoot.)   And her dad sings this song every year starting the day after New Year's: "It ain't Christmas no more.  Get that wreath off your front door.  Take down those lights, get them out of my sight.  It ain't Christmas no more."

Whatever the reason, Rachel seems to have grown quite cynical about Santa Claus this year.  There was a fair amount of eye-rolling over the annual State Farm visit for her youngest brother.  I listened quietly as she handled a conversation with a younger neighbor on the way to school one day.  It went something like this:

Neighbor: "Is Santa real?"

Rachel, carefully: "It's hard to say."

Then followed a discussion between the neighbor siblings about the reality of Santa Claus, and all that goes with it.

Later that day, in response to that conversation, Rachel asked me straight out: "Mom, is Santa real?"  She knows he isn't, but peer pressure was eating at her.

My mind flashed to every single movie and TV special that prolongs the myth of Santa for the questioning child.  However, since all we have ever done as parents is wink at Santa, I knew the time for truth was here.  So I answered the way she knew I would.

"I knew he wasn't real, Mom."

Are you ready for this?  She had biblical proof. 

Why Santa is not real, according to the Bible:

1. God did not make reindeer to fly.  Therefore, the whole Santa thing is a sham.  The things God made have to fulfill their intended purpose, and if the story does not hold up to that, it is not true.

2. Santa is not in the Biblical account of Christmas.  What more needs to be said?

3. Only God can be everywhere at once.  It's not possible for a person.

4. Santa cannot live forever, and if he was real, he'd be really old by now.  Too old to be alive.  God only allows people to live for a set time, since Noah's flood.  Usually not past 100.

So there you have it, my daughter is thinking Biblically about Santa.  I'm really glad I didn't attempt to prolong the myth.

some really great news!

The FDA has agreed to a hearing on food dyes and their affect on children's behavior in March of next year!! Here is the press statement available on the website for the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

If you have noticed any adverse affects of food dyes in yourself or in your child, please fill out this form and send it in. There is a huge potential for many children in our country to be helped by the banning of these dyes. There are health benefits for the rest of us as well! I'll be praying for the outcome of this meeting and hope you'll join me.