Going the Extra Mile

My daughter has very special needs. If you've been with me long, you know all this already. :)

We can't just hop in the car and say, "Hey! Let's go out to dinner!"

Many months ago, a friend of mine called around to restaurants and asked if they had a place that they could cool down so that Kayla could eat out. Buca di Beppos told us they would cool down a whole room for us! Buca's even went so far to call every once in a while and see how Kayla was doing and if she needed a "special" day out. (Sadly, that restaurant closed.)

But my friend didn't stop, she went on another restaurant quest. She found the Red Robin on Powers. Let me tell you, we live in a big city - and I was amazed that they took us in and took time for us. Well, we've been numerous times, and each time, they are wonderful to us - even explaining to people why it's a little colder in the restaurant. So, of course, this is where Kayla wanted to go for her birthday. I called the manager and she was so excited that we were coming in. (Imagine that... excited that we were coming, even when I'm sure that causes more trouble for them.) I really hate asking for "special treatment" - but where my child is concerned, and I know she doesn't get to do this much - it melts my heart and of course I want to ask. Wouldn't you?

Anyway, off we go to Red Robin. We walk in and they have a table all ready, in the corner, under the air vents, and decorated with balloons! They did several special things for her that night, that they didn't have to do. We were just thrilled to have a place to take our daughter for her very special day - and here these wonderful people, the entire staff at Red Robin, went "The Extra Mile."

Do you know where that phrase came from? In Matthew chapter five, verse forty-one, it says, "And whoever shall force you to go one mile, go with him two." Jesus is speaking here and he's talking about the right that Roman soldiers had to ask any Jewish citizen to carry their gear or pack for a mile. He's saying that if you are asked to carry it a mile - not only to do that which was required by law - but to "go the extra mile" - willingly.

It's called service. And wow, how much different is service when it's done willingly, and with a happy heart. Just because...

Get out there and go that extra mile for someone else. Pass it on. And kudos to our favorite restaurant, Red Robin. I hope they receive even more business because of their reaching out.

And if you go there and it's a little chilly - don't take it for granted, remember, there's a little girl out there who doesn't sweat, and who thinks it's super-cool to be able to eat in a restaurant. :)

Homeschoolers Anonymous

A friend told me that she felt like she was in a cartoon. The picture was a very grim-looking group of people in a circle, all a little frazzled, and guzzling coffee. It said something like - "Hi, My name is Sharon, I'm a homeschooler, and I wear my pajamas all day long."

Grant it, that's a pretty funny image in my head - but isn't that exactly what we DON'T want to look like?

I mean really, I want to look completely "put-together" all the time! My hair will always be fixed, make-up always perfectly applied, clothes that scream "I am supermom - bring it on!" - and don't forget the freshly baked cookies, always on the counter with a pitcher of cold milk.

Yeah, I know. Not going to happen.

There are days when I truly am completely "put-together," and then, there are days when I wish I HAD stayed in my pajamas all day long. But that's not the point. The point is that we love our kids. We love being with them, love teaching them, and love the relationship that homeschooling gives us with them.

So, I'd like to dream up my own Homeschoolers Anonymous cartoon. All of us parents are in a circle, looking "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed," everyone is smiling, and we all talk about how much we love homeschooling, how great our kids are doing, and how we can't wait to start the next school year!

I like positive. Even though I am not perfect, (and never will be this side of heaven), I'd prefer to find the joy and laughter in my days as a homeschool mom.

Besides, if the UPS man ever came to deliver and you WERE in your PJs - you could just say, "It's pajama day at school!" And offer him a freshly baked cookie... ;)

Dragons and Surprises and Mrs. Paul

I have this great friend, and her name is Donita K. Paul.
She has written these wonderful books - The DragonKeeper Chronicles!

As you all know, we were chosen for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition - and my son Joshua's room was done in a dragon theme because of Mrs. Paul's books.

If you haven't read these books, you need to go buy them right now! They are INCREDIBLE!

And now, for the surprise!

There is a character in the last book of the series - Dragon Light - which comes out on June 17, 2008; this character is named after the members in our family. SO... there will be a very special prize for the one who comes the closest to guessing this character's name.

There's plenty of time, so either email me through the site here, or comment on the blog. I may give more hints as we go along :)

The pictures are of Josh and his favorite author - Donita K. Paul - in his specially designed dragon reading chair that is named "Softa." And the other picture has Josh, Kayla, and Mrs. Paul!

Happy Reading! And put your thinking caps on... The prize is oh-so-cool!
Keep checking back for more hints about the name and the prize...

Faith, Faith, Faith... Just A Little Bit of Faith

Do you remember that song? It's the first thing that popped into my head when I started writing this post. :)

My adorable and creative son, Josh, loves snow. (Well, we all do - we did move here from Alaska!) And he calls the snow here in Colorado, "wimpy." There was a forecast of snow yesterday, and lots of times it doesn't happen - so we asked Josh to pray for snow. But before I go on, there's more to this story...

When Josh was about three years old, and Kayla about one year old, we were in southern Arkansas. Josh had been fixated with the idea of snow, and so at bedtime - he did the only logical thing for a three-year-old to do - he prayed for snow.

The next day - it snowed thirteen inches! Yes, in a place where they never get snow - it SNOWED!! Josh told me that morning - "I got faith, Mommy!"

"You sure do, Josh... you sure do!" I laughed, and my heart overflowed with love for my little boy with the faith of a multitude.

A year later, we were in Tennessee visiting my family for Christmas. They didn't have any snow on the ground, so guess what Josh did? You guessed it! He prayed for snow.

And do you know what happens next?

Yep. It snowed. A LOT!

And the story doesn't end there! The next Christmas we were in South Louisiana. I mean SOUTH, when I say that. They don't even know what snow is down there... (I'm from there, so I can safely say that.)

So, Josh prayed for snow. The next day... we woke up to snow covering the ground.

Soon after, we moved to Alaska. Josh told me that God had a sense of humor, because He sent us to a place where he (Josh) wouldn't need to pray for snow anymore! :)

Now, some of you may be thinking, "all I have to do is pray for what I want, and I'll get it!" Ummm... no. But think with me for a minute about Josh's prayers. Josh didn't just pray for it. He had faith backing it up. A LOT of faith. Untainted by the cynicism of this world. He knew God could do it, and he prayed for it.

Again, just because you pray for something, does not mean it's going to happen - but we do need to pray in faith. Sometimes God answers "no", sometimes "wait", and sometimes "yes." If you were to pray, "Lord, I really need a new job..." but in your mind, you're thinking, "but it won't happen, I'm not good enough for anything else, I'll just be miserable the rest of my life." Are you praying in faith?

Matthew 17:19-20 says, -Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you." - (NASB)

Some people, as adults, lose a lot of their faith. Their vision gets tinted with the view from the world, and the ugliness around them. Pessimism and cynicism and negativity seem to reign. But how about we put on that child-like faith? Isn't that what God wants?

Josh prayed for snow. And it snowed. He prayed for his sister when she had brain surgery, he prays every night for our family and friends. His faith is strong. He knows that God may not always answer the way he 'wants' - but he knows that His answer will be the right one. God is good, and HE is God.

Faith, faith, faith... just a little bit of faith.

I want to go play in the snow :)

The Grass is Always Greener...

I had the privilege of communicating with a mom today who is allowing me to share part of her story.

This woman was at the end of her rope. She contacted me through my website after reading through this blog. A friend of a friend of a friend of a friend... you get the idea, had told her to come "visit."

The first thing she said, "I want what you have! My life is so hard, and the struggles keep coming and I'm bogged down! Here, I come and read about you, and I read the long article about Kayla that went through all the struggles you've had, and I want to be like you."

Here's the kicker, she wrote, "Why doesn't God give me the same strength that He's given you?"

My heart hurt for this woman. We all have the same Strength - because that Strength is our God.

After several emails, I asked if I could call her.
We had an incredible conversation and we prayed. And I asked for permission to share in this blog.

You see, this woman - we'll call her Mary (that's not her real name) - was in a boat that many of us jump into. A boat that we drift out to sea in, without a paddle to make our way back to shore. Mary was handling it all on her own. She saw others around her struggling, and yet they were relatively happy. It became an idol to her, she wanted so much to have what others had, that she lost where her focus should have been. Mary wasn't wishing bad things on other people, or upset that some people seemed to glide through life while she was having trials. Mary was wanting to be able to handle her own struggles and "be strong."

Mary had forgotten that God was right there beside her. That He was waiting for her, wanting her to come to the point where she said, "God, I can't do this on my own. I don't want to be in control of this. I want to cast my burdens upon You."

I told her that I imagine myself like a little two-year old. I take my concerns, worries, and troubles and hold onto them like they are prized possessions. They're not my favorite "toy," but I don't want anyone else to have them, they're mine. And yet, there's my Lord, my Father, sitting beside me waiting for me to give it to Him. He's not going to yank them out of my hands. He sits patiently, until I am tired of holding on with my own strength. There are times, I hand them over and leave them in His care - and then, there are times when I let Him take care of things for a little while and then I demand them back, screaming, "MINE!" I don't really want them, but I take them back. Why? Why do we do this to ourselves?

Well, because we're sinners. But, we're also saved by His grace. Praise God!

We're not going to have this blessed, perfect life. Life will not be the proverbial bowl of cherries. It will be hard, and we'll struggle... a lot. BUT - the good news is that He's right there beside us, and He will never leave.

Mary asked me how I could possibly "laugh my way through life." I responded with 1Peter 1:6-9
"In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of you faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." (NASB)

My rejoicing, is a lot of times, my laughter. I have to laugh at myself, or I won't make it! :) But, I also praise Him in song, with words, and I try to praise Him with my attitude.

You can, too. We all have access to His joy. Mary found hers again today - and she emailed to tell me that she had called over thirty people to encourage them! Wow!

James 1:2 "Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds..."

And remember, HIS joy can never be taken away.

Be Watching!

In the next few days I'm going to have a special post about my very special friend, Donita K. Paul.

She's an awesome lady, through and through. I am SO blessed to have her in my life!

So... go check out www.dragonkeeper.us and be watching for a special post with pictures and a surprise for this summer!

Back by Popular Demand...Clean Up On Aisle Two!!!

This post is actually from back in February. I've had a bunch of you ask to see it again - or to let the new readership see it, if they hadn't already. I was reminded of it again as Holly and I trekked out to Safeway last night. Only problem now, people recognize us everywhere we go... and my goal in life is really not to scare anyone (well, maybe the people who tried to climb my fence to take pictures of us at 3 a.m. - but definitely not any of YOU guys!)

So... enjoy. Between this post and "Turkey Diving" - I will have either made you laugh (hopefully) a lot, OR scared you into never entering the same grocery store as me... ever again.

Clean Up On Aisle Two!!
If you know much about my story, you know that I don't get out much. I have a daughter who doesn't sweat and I need to keep her in a regulated temperature all the time. Anyway, grocery shopping has become one of my favorite times. And it's not because I need social interaction and I choose the grocery store for that interaction -- No. It's because Holly (and Katie too) and I have had some of the best adventures 'doing the grocery shopping'.

Little sidenote here: I have a wacky sense of humor (I am a creative person, you know) - so feel free to imagine the sound effects... or whatever makes you laugh :)

On this particular trip - we were headed to Safeway. It was really close to our house and a Friday night, pretty late, because that's always more fun (actually, it was because Holly had just finished her late shift at work - but, it sounds better - and we always have fun, no matter what - again, I'm rabbit trail-ing).

Another sidenote: Holly and I are not known for being quiet... especially when together... especially in the grocery store... or ANY store for that matter.

We walked in and worked our way down the list. On the "soup aisle"- as we lovingly call it- Holly (in a voice much like the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz when she's melting) said, "I'm surrounded in a sea of soup! Canned soup, and boxed soup, and powdered soup.... AAAAAHHHHH!" Chiming in, I replied, "Look away Holly, look away!" And then... some poor guy who was supposed to be stocking that aisle looked at us really weird. (Imagine that!)

Holly and I cracked up laughing. And I mean, we lost it. I told her to stop scaring the poor people in the store and attempted to keep a straight face. It didn't work. I was laughing so hard, I couldn't see -- the tears were blinding me. There I was, in the store, leaning over the cart because I was laughing so hard and then, there crouched Holly... crossing her legs, doing some weird, I-can't-take-it-anymore dance.

At this point, I don't think she can see either. Her face is all red, she has tears streaming down her face and she's laughing so hard, she can't breathe.

"Don't make me laugh," she giggled. "I'm going to wet my pants!"

Me, being the loving, kind and generous friend that I am, started walking down the aisle yelling, "CLEAN UP ON AISLE TWO! CLEAN UP ON AISLE TWO!"

She laughed harder.

And then, I heard a "SMACK" on the floor. Worried that she hurt herself, I whirled the cart around and found her sprawled in the middle of the floor, laughing hysterically, pointing up at the aisle sign.

"What?" I asked her.

"WE-- are on aisle two!" And then, the crazy, half-crying-because-we're-laughing-so-hard started again.

"Exactly!" I responded.

Several store employees casually glanced down the "soup aisle". I began to worry that we would soon be kicked out of the store. Thankfully, we were not... but, we did attempt to behave the rest of that trip. (Personally, I think we added a little life to that dull Friday night - and of course, I had Holly with me--and she's really cute--so that had to count for something!) :)

There are days that I feel sorry for the poor people at Wal-Mart and Safeway and Vitamin Cottage that have to put up with our antics... but, it doesn't last long. :)

And on a final sidenote: you may be wondering if this is "normal" for us. Yes, sad to say... but, yes. Ask me next time about the time I scared the poor guy on the "light bulb aisle", the endless search for paint brushes, buying the entire stock of snap peas and asking them to 'check the back' if there were any more, or the episode of the "runaway cart". There's plenty more... oh my goodness - you can't leave out turkey diving either... (That's a whole 'nother blog in itself)

I think Holly and I will head out to the store...

Turkey Diving

After much interest in a post where I mentioned turkey diving -(and don't forget the prodding and threats from my wonderful readership) - This story's for you!

Our Safeway does this great thing before Thanksgiving where turkeys go on sale (this really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.) Anyway, it will have the really nice, brand-name turkeys for a deal - like up to a 14 pounder for a few bucks, and then over a 14 pounder for a couple bucks more. The key - is getting the most turkey poundage for your buck, right? Everyone with me so far?

Okay...so - the only way to really do this is to DIG through all of the turkeys in the freezer bins. Most people don't go to the trouble of really searching, they see the sign - and think, "ooh turkeys are on sale" - and grab one. How do I know this? Many years of observation, that's how!

Let me tell you, those people disappoint me. Where's the fun in that?

This is what I do:

Go to the store with several friends- (it's even more fun if they have a child or two with them... you'll understand in a minute)- Head to those turkey freezers and everyone stake out territory. Then, you dig. And there are rules- You MUST look at every turkey in the freezer - Yes, I said EVERY turkey. And if you are too short to reach all the way in, you yell, "I'm goin' in!" One of your faithful friends will help you by holding your legs so that you can "dive" in. Another option is to throw a small child in to help you look (not literally - you don't really think I would do that, now do you?) Actually, you can hold the child's legs while they reach for that last one in the corner that no-one else can get to, but you just KNOW that's it's the biggest one in the freezer!

The other important thing to remember, is to sing! Yes, you heard me. Sing.
My personal favorite is "I love you a bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck..." This is great fun while turkey diving.

So, you have the turkey diving story. I'm going to have to trademark it now, since everyone will know what I'm talking about.

This Thanksgiving season, I'll be watching for all you newbie "turkey divers" -- just don't come to MY Safeway -- I already have it staked out.

Five Cent Fine

You've probably heard me talk about the fine we have in our house for whining, grumbling, or complaining.

I owe $0.25 for this afternoon. I admit it.

Let's just say, Microsoft Excel and I are still "developing our relationship."

I have this awesome writer friend, (her name is KATHY KOVACH - yes, she's responsible!) And she teaches this great class on using these wonderful templates that she made to help us writers. (Seriously, I know you felt some sarcasm there, but they really are "wonderful templates," and she really is an "awesome writer friend," and it's a really "great class." Excel and I just needed a moment alone - to regroup and realize that my SUM wouldn't come out correctly if the 'input-ee' forgot the minus sign! And, I really didn't want to chunk the computer out the window.)

Anyway, I whined. I grumbled. I complained. I asked my computer why it was treating me that way... AND... my kids walked in :) and laughed.

I will pay my fine. Accountability folks. That's what happens when you teach your children...

I now have a sticky on my computer that says, "Must be smarter than program to operate" --

I think I need to replenish my stock of nickels.