Lesson Learned!

Whether I have been right or wrong in the past, I can see now how I was so offensive to some people in previous years. These last couple of days I have dealt with a woman who is new to the Torah, so she still has a very Christian mindset. Though she seems to have a lot of things *right*, she is not open to correction and drives things into the ground, repeating things over and over and over as if I didn't hear her the first time. She feels the "need" to assure me that her intentions are pure, and that she is speaking in love. She has tried to help me understand that sometimes she can't NOT say anything.

Wow. Sounds just like me about two years ago! Oopsie! So glad I'm not like that anymore, though I am still growing (and always hope to be learning and growing more). Now that the shoe is on the other foot, I can see how it must have been so annoying!

So if you were one of those people who was annoyed by me, I am sorry! Please show me grace and forgiveness as I continue to grow. And for what it's worth, I've learned to just let people believe what they want to believe, 'cause they're going to anyway. ;) I am passionate about certain things, but you are welcome to disagree, and I won't try to change you!

Okay, so I admitted I have been annoying. You can stop laughing now.

It's a.......

No scrolling through, you have to read my post first! :)

I had an ultrasound today! I thought it was just going to be a quick one to check gender, but it ended up being maybe 20 minutes or so. It seemed like forever!

Measurements are exactly on the due date, weight is perfect (about 10 ounces), heartbeat was 154. Baby was moving a lot, holding legs together, just being modest and uncooperative. :)

I told Myles that I was going to cry either way, boy or girl, I just wanted to know! He didn't believe me, and just as he was responding, "Nah, you won't cry either way, unless you're already......" he looked at me and saw the tears in my eyes! I am so pathetic!

As the ultrasound proceeded, and she was getting measurements for a while, the longer we waited, the more I was REALLY wanting her to say it was a girl! We have one girl and four boys, so we just really NEEDED it to be a girl! But of course, I would be happy (and cry happy tears) either way!

She had a hard time seeing "down there", since the baby had its legs together most of the time, and the umbilical cord was also between the legs. Finally, just as I thought she was about to give up, she got one clear picture, and I must say, it wasn't obvious like my previous three! ;)

***STOP SCROLLING HERE UNTIL YOU READ IT ALL!***

Homemade Mayonnaise and Chicken Salad

I don't blog about food very often, because it is not my passion or something I am particularly *great* at, but this one needs its 15 minutes of fame.

I wanted to make this chicken salad with grapes, but it calls for mayonnaise, and the only kind I have has gelatin in it (and probably other ingredients we are no longer consuming). So I decided I would finally buckle down and make my own mayonnaise. I'd been threatening to do it for a few months now, and now I wish I had done it sooner. It was so easy and so delicious!

This is the basic recipe I used for the mayo, and below is exactly what I used. See the link for full recipe and to see how to ferment it and keep it longer!

1 cup coconut oil (I didn't have any other oil on hand, and I don't care for the taste of olive oil anyway.)
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
2 TBSP. kombucha (I didn't have any lemon juice or vinegar.)
1/2 tsp. salt (Himalayan or Real Salt is best!)

It turned out to be perfect!

Now this is the recipe I adapted for my chicken salad. I also added some roasted bell pepper (red) and some dried cranberries. With my homemade mayo, I just used the mayo and yogurt for the creamy part. And again, no lemons (or lemon juice) or vinegar, so I used kombucha. I have been wanting to make this for a while too, and it is everything I dreamed it would be!!! SO GOOD!!!

I also love that I was able to use, not only the homemade mayo, but organic, home grown, top quality ingredients. I am definitely going to make this more often!

Myles

This is my hubby when he was probably around 6 or 7. Ain't he cute? :) I think Jacob looks the most like him!

Josiah!

JOE! Oh my goodness, he's been a cute little guy, always making us laugh lately! A few months ago, he was still very clingy and whiny and SO SERIOUS, but he has reached a whole new stage now, and I am loving it! He is constantly doing something silly just to make us laugh, or something cute, like hugging and kissing on a doll. He loves Jayla's "babies"! He carries them around all over the place, loving on them, sharing them with others, until someone hands him something else he wants, like his bottle, then the doll gets thrown on the floor, of course. LOL! He is speaking really well, almost as clear as Jack, though Jack has a bigger vocabulary. Joe also likes to "play" the Wii (we let him think he's playing).

We are in the very beginning stages of potty training, and he is doing great (and of course, NOW I am wishing I'd done EC with him)! I let him run around in a t-shirt during the day, and he will sometimes sit on the potty by himself and pee! Then he stands up and claps. :) He is 20 months old now and such a busy little man, always walking or running to do the next activity. He is definitely not passive like my other children were at this age, he knows what he wants and he goes for it! He still bites occasionally, but he is outgrowing that, thankfully! He also hits sometimes, but most of the time it is done in a playful way and not being mean. We still don't allow him to do it, but his motive makes a difference!

With the next baby due in just a few months, I am so excited to see how Joe will react to him/her! I think he'll be a great big brother and love on the baby and probably want to carry baby around everywhere. Yikes!

Jonathan, my 12yo going on 20.

Where do I even start with this one?! Jonathan has done so much in the last couple of years and is really growing and maturing. I can't believe he is almost a teenager, but sometimes I think he already is one! He is definitely in that ornery teen stage, where everything has to be a joke....but in a good way. He's a good kid, he just sometimes has to be reminded that he is the kid and not the parent!

Jonathan just got elected by his fellow Boy Scouts to be the troop's Quartermaster, which is the person who takes care of the equipment, making sure it is all there and the condition it is in, etc. like whenever they go camping or someplace else. He was actually going to run for Patrol Leader but learned he wasn't ranked high enough to qualify. He was an Assistant Patrol Leader last year and really enjoyed it. I'm excited to see all that he is learing in Boy Scouts! Of course, he had to give a speech for the election, so he practiced with me and did great. It only had to be 2 minutes, so nothing major. What he WANTED to say was, "I'm Jonathan, and you should elect me because I'm awesome." Um, I didn't let him get away with that!

The troop already has several camping trips lined up and are already starting to save up and plan fund raisers for summer camp next year. I can't believe how expensive it can be, but they end up raising most of it so we don't have to pay much out of pocket. Jonathan always has a blast at all of the camps, but especially summer camp. This year they went to Tennessee, and aside from camp activities, they stayed in a hotel with a pool on the way and on the way back, stopped at a couple of different civil war reenactment places and stopped at the aquarium, which I was told was really incredible! I'm so glad he is learning so much and gaining all this experience, but I'm a little jealous that I don't get to go too! I am thankful that his daddy gets to go with him. He works so hard and deserves a break. The leaders in the Boy Scouts really don't have to do that much once all the planning and paying is done, so it was just as relaxing and fun for them as it was for the boys!

Jonathan is actually going to dance with the children at Sukkot this year! They do a big production every year, and the children (about 6-12 years old) always do a dance. I was shocked that he agreed! I was really pushing him, but ultimately I wouldn't have made him do it if he really didn't want to. He likes a girl who is also in it though, so I think that's why he agreed. LOL! He was acting embarrassed about dancing, but he is doing a great job so far!

Boy Scouts take up most of Jonathan's "spare" time, but if we could afford it and had the time, he would LOVE to be in soccer and/or basketball. He also still loves anything to do with animals and has been on a bird kick lately, reading everything he can about birds, but especially hawks. His favorite animals though are ferrets and cats. He wants to get some ferrets, cats and budgies (birds) when he builds his own "tiny house". That is another thing he is getting more serious about. He wants to earn his own money so he can buy a trailer and other supplies to build his own tiny house. He is getting more serious about it lately but hasn't really done much yet to follow through. He will soon though, as he has wanted his own room for so long. This will give him his own house that we will build (and park there for a while) right behind our house. We're looking into getting as many supplies for free as possible and already have a good start, but he wants to build it on a trailer, so we have to get that first!

And he is also saving for an iPod. I wonder which one will come first?!

My guy, Jacob!

If this guy just knew how CRAZY I am about him!!!!

Jacob will be 8 in November, and he is getting so big! He is just beginning his 2nd year in Cub Scouts and LOVES it. I think it makes him feel "big" and gives him a sense of responsibility. I love that the Scout motto, "Do your best", has really helped him at home too.

Jacob still loves to play with Legos, and he really takes it seriously. It is almost time for the county fair again, and he has made several different models that he wants to enter. He won first place last year, so he is aiming for it again! We'll have to look at the other categories too. He loves to build just about anything, so I'm sure he will want to enter as many categories as possible!

I can't convince Jacob to dance for Sukkot. He danced AT Sukkot last year with the large crowd of believers dancing during the worship time. He and Jonathan discovered that they really enjoy dancing (but don't like to admit it) during the children's dance classes. (Jayla was actually bored in that one!) But apparently he has forgotten how much fun it is, so I guess he won't be doing the children's dance in the production this year. Hopefully next year! He is definitely excited about Sukkot though, and getting to see his friends again from last year! He is such a social little guy and easily makes friends with literally anyone. He has a friend in the neighborhood who he enjoys hanging out with in his driveway (where I can see them), searching for rocks, shooting arrows, things like that.

Jacob is such a great brother. Even though he is "stuck" in the middle, he makes the best of any situation. I think he's got a great position, actually, because he can choose to play with younger OR older siblings, and he's got two of each! He is your typical middle child in many ways. I joke that he is "that 3rd child" because my husband and I are also the third out of four, and we all have very similar characteristics, some good and some not so good. :) Jacob sure can be ornery, but since I am too, that is one thing I kinda like about him. Example: at least three times this past week, when he first woke up, he came and turned his back to me and FARTED. Yep, that's my boy! LOL! I had taught him a couple of years ago how to fake burp, even though I can't do it myself. He's probably one of the best I've heard! Little stinker! He loves it too, he claims other people's farts just for a laugh! What a kid! Sometimes I'm not sure I really want to claim him, but I just love him too much. :)

Jayla

Our only daughter is such a helpful young lady. She is a very bright star in this dark world! My little girl isn't so little anymore. Well, she's still on the small side, but she is growing up and maturing so much!

She recently celebrated her 10th birthday at a nearby horse stable. They have a party barn that the public can rent, and she absolutely LOVES horses. So we invited anyone and everyone we could think of (I didn't realize she had so many friends!), and we had a great time.

Happenings in her life currently, or about to start as the school year starts, are dance class twice a week, American Heritage Girls (we just need one more committed leader and then we can charter!), 4-H Horse Club and she is learning the dance that the children will be performing at Sukkot!

She is extremely excited about this next baby and just KNOWS she is about to have a sister! I'm not sure when yet we will find out the gender (possibly this week!), but once we know, either way she and I have a BIG day of shopping planned!!! I might be more excited about that than she is!

I think the thing I love most about Jayla is her heart. She TRULY desires to follow YHWH and obey Him. She has to be reminded constantly to not boss her brothers around and the typical tween girl things like that, but over all, she is very sweet and loving and just wants to obey YHWH with everything she has. She is such a beautiful young lady, inside and out!

Jack-Jack is AMAZING!

Jack is just 5 years old and has "learning disabilities", for lack of a better term. I hate comparing him and try not to, but he is just not your typical 5yo boy. He has a genetic duplication that has caused delays, the most obvious being speech, so most everything has been a challenge for him.....well, if I were to push him to "keep up" with other kids his age, then it would be a challenge. I don't do that, I let him be himself.

The other day he wanted to draw. He has really been into drawing for about a year now, and I must say, he is pretty good at it! He amazes me with pictures of dinosaurs, choo-choo trains, airplanes, etc.....all the typical interests of a little boy.

He also likes to "draw" the letters of the alphabet! And I know for him it really is drawing, not writing, as with most kids his age. He doesn't draw numbers very often, but he likes them too.

So the other day, he wrote drew a "P" on the back of an envelope, then he asked me how to spell my name.

To my surprise, he drew every letter correctly! Then he asked how to spell Jonathan's name, and he did really well with that one too! So I got out a piece of paper (since he was really enjoying this) and had him draw the entire alphabet as I gave him one letter at a time. Then we did the numbers.

Mind you, he has had little to no formal training on how to write/draw, this is something he just enjoys and has picked up completely on his own. I guess he just has a knack for drawing!

You can see in the photo that I wrote some numbers on the side to help him know what they look like (mine are circled), and on the envelope, the "N" at the bottom left is also mine. Everything else is his. He started turning letters upside down in the 2nd half of the alphabet. I thought this was interesting since he ALWAYS "reads" books upside down. I don't know what that means though! I know his little brain just works differently, but is this a sign of a "problem" that can be corrected, or should it just be considered normal???  None of my other children have done this! I don't normally worry about it though, I just turn the book around for him and he happily continues to read. :)

So when he was drawing the alphabet the other day. I really tried not to interfere because I wanted to see how he drew them all on his own. I had to show him what a few of them looked like, but otherwise I didn't correct him when he drew one upside down or backwards. He did great! I'm proud of my little man! :)

Jack is about to start speech again this week, probably twice a week. We're hoping it helps, and I'm sure it will some, but we are also working more on sign language so that he can more easily communicate with us. He is getting frustrated when we can't understand him. His vocabulary is getting really big, but he still sounds like a 2-year-old. In fact, his 20-month-old brother sounds very much like him!

Jack-Jack is also about to start horse riding therapy! We are so excited about this, especially since they are only about a mile down the road from us! He still has weaker muscles than most kids his age and still often trips or falls. This therapy riding should strengthen his muscles and improve his balance, so I cannot wait to see how he likes it and how much it helps him!

This message is for my fellow brothers and sisters in the Messiah.

Don't ya love it when someone makes false accusations about you, then you try to defend yourself with TRUTH and present FACTS, and they turn it around and say you are not "acting biblically"? Gotta love people who throw "religious words" around to sound more spiritual. <rolling eyes>

Honestly, those kinds of people always annoyed me when I was in the church. It just seems forced and fake.

This same "friend" was giving me problems a couple of weeks ago. She deleted me as administrator of a group *without my knowledge* after telling me we would work things out. Long story short, I had to block her AND her emails because the false accusations continued, so I have no idea if she has emailed again or not. I guess it's all for the better.

I am so SICK of people playing the "holier than thou" card and throwing in some religious lingo to make it all sound perfectly "biblical". Like that justifies their actions?! This person was so incredibly rude to me and deeply hurt me on a very personal level, yet I am the one who is acting unbiblically. Wow.

Friends, if I ever try to play this game on you, SLAP ME. I am no better than any one of you, and I still have a lot to learn. If I ever make you feel like a horrible mother, child, friend, etc. shake me to the core. Tell me exactly what I have done in plain English. I know what the Scriptures say, so the Holy Spirit can and will convict me, just as many times in the past.

But at the same time, if you're going to accuse me of something, make sure you know all the facts and have witnesses, if necessary. That is one thing this person didn't have. She had no witnesses and was accusing me of something I knew NOTHING about. FAIL.

At first I was hopeful I would be able to reconcile this "friendship", but after seeing how haughty she truly is, I'm not so sure now. I am still hurt, but trying to keep it in perspective and realizing that SHE was not acting biblically really helps me to know that the things she said about me really hold no water. I know she was assuming things about me that were not true, but I still have no idea how it all even started. I have an idea though that there were some seeds planted through gossip, as one of her good friends doesn't like me (never has, no explanation). I don't think this person is an active part of gossiping, at least not intentionally (wow, still giving her credit after what she did to me!), but those seeds can still be planted when someone else just makes a comment here and there.

Control the tongue, people! And that includes in text form! Sometimes emails, blogs, facebook, etc. can be really bad for communicating such things, and I have been guilty of this myself. Sometimes it's just easier to type it out, but it can get really ugly, really fast. That was how this all started and ended, and the damage has been done. We both have a copy of what was said (not good on either part.....but especially not for her!), and we could not see facial expressions, body language, hear tone of voice, etc. I definitely think it could have been worked out if we had talked in person right away, I just had no idea she was harboring all these (wrong) ill feelings for me!

I guess, all this to say, be REAL and stop throwing around a verse here and there or some "religious lingo" just to make it sound like you are in the right and the other person is wrong. GROW UP. Truth be told, you're probably both in the wrong, but just concentrate on your own actions/words. Know the facts, have witnesses and STOP GOSSIPING.

What a horrible witness we are when we can't even get along with each other!

The end. I hope.