This was on the sign of a local Baptist church earlier this week.  You know, I usually hate those signs.  The messages on them usually make me roll my eyes, cringe, or want to get into an argument.  But this one made my heart say “yes” and “aaah.”  The first response was because I know it is true.  I am to forgive because of how much I’ve been forgiven.  The second response was a reminder deep within of just how much I have been forgiven.  Aaaaah.  Thank you, Jesus.

I just have to share this wonderful news.  We have a HAPPY boy again!! Our son, Jonathan, is 8 years old and has struggled with fears, worries, depression,  and explosiveness, due to an organic cause.  His brain just gets stuck on bad stuff, or on something he wants, and it just sends him all to pieces if it doesn’t happen.  We have lived through a few years of dealing with this on a daily basis.  He also has dyslexia, and this can be a discouraging phenomena for a second grader.  All of these have combined to make his life, and ours, quite a challenge at times. 

Things that are routine for others, small frustrations that inevitably occur, changes in plans, or small things like fatigue, can wreak havoc in our day and his life.  He completely melts down.  And it isn’t like he is just “being bad.”  He tries to control his frustration and emotions and literally cannot.  Then he is plagued with guilt and just feels deplorable afterwards.  It has been exhausting and heart-breaking to walk through with him.

Recently, we began giving him some natural supplements that have made an amazing difference - Omega 3-6-9, and Neurolink, a compound formulated by Dr. Amen specifically for someone like Jonathan.  It contains a whole bunch of good stuff:  L-Tyrosine, Gamma Aminobutyric Acid, L-Glutamine, Inositol, Taurine,and 5HTP.   Now if you’re thinking, oh yeah, right.  A natural supplement won’t help any.  I was skeptical myself, for months.  When things were at their worst, I read about how natural supplements could help, and I was totally turned off by their promises.  I still don’t like these boasts.  But, for us, getting the right supplements into Jonathan’s body and brain, has made a significant difference. 

Now, I’m making a disclaimer right up front, that I am NOT saying all of our problems are gone, nor that all of his tendencies toward inflexibility are cured forever.  I’m pretty sure our struggles will resurface.  But we do have a happy boy again.  He is laughing his contagious laugh again.  He is handling frustrations with a bit more objectivity.  And only someone who has walked through something like this with a child or loved one can really know what I mean.  We have Jonathan back.  And it is good.

If you are dealing with any type of special needs with your child that involve ADHD or any type of anxiety issue, I would recommend checking out the site of the Amen Clinic.  There are online tests you can take to help you figure out what your child may need.  There are suggestions for dealing with these issues, as well as recommended supplements for specific types of ADD. 

Dr. Amen is the first person I have heard of to break down ADD into six different types.  Also, he has extensively used a brain scan method that helps identify the place in the brain that is misfiring, so to speak.  It is fascinating to see these scans of the brain that actually help us to understand specifically what is going on in the brain and what needs to be done.   On the site you will find information about attending conferences or visiting a clinic, and even making a consultation phone call.  I’ve benefited from simply reading the information and from trying the supplements.

I just want to say a big “Amen” to the Amen Clinic!

Who knew that a group of 6,7, and 8 year olds could have so much fun learning about owls and dissecting owl pellets?  That’s exactly what we did Friday at a class my 2nd grade son has been a part of this year.  My father was the guest speaker, as a college professor at the local community college.  He explained lots of cool things about the owl, how it has excellent hearing and can even know the location of a mouse under inches of snow, how it has a special two-part stomach, how it eats its prey whole and then regurgitates the undigestable parts such as the skeleton.

Then, believe it or not, he brought owl pellets, the parts owls cough back up, sold by a science supply center.  And those young students dug right in.  Literally.  We found skulls of mice, voles, and one rat.  We found fur from voles and legs from bugs.  We even found one skeleton of a small bird.  With small magnifying glasses we set out to identify the remains.  We could tell from the teeth and shape of the skull which animal this particular owl had eaten on this particular day.  And we discussed the skeletal system of animals.

Very fun.  Very fascinating.  A little gross.  But so much fun.

I had just happened upon an intriguing book at the library to learn a bit more about owls before the class.  It is called Wesley the Owl by Stacie O’Brien.  I had no idea owls could be such close companions.  She rescued this particular injured owl when he was only 2 weeks old.  Having raised him from infancy, Wesley identified her as his mother and later bonded with her as his mate.  I have never heard of a person being any closer to an animal, not even Marley.  She cared for her owl with commitment and determination, even when she had to begin killing multitudes of mice to feed him.  (I know, I know.  G-ross!)  He protected her with fierce loyalty, attacking anyone he thought might harm her.  They even slept in the same room.  In infancy, he slept with her hand cuddling him, and in his old age (he lived 18 years) he began to sleep with his wings spread over her in a warm embrace. 

I’m not saying I want an owl or anything.  Nope, that’s a bit too much for me.  But it is a terrific story of how she rescued him and how his life was a gift to her. A bit of a slow read, but interesting anyway.  Oh, here is what an owl pellet looks like, for the scientist hidden inside of you. (It may be kinda deep down there.)  Did I mention we found one on top of our treehouse?  We have a neighborhood owl.  Cool, huh?

Okay, thanks to my dear friend, little redhead, I found animus to make a fun activity a bit more of a January tradition.  She was inspired by the book Night Tree to make a new Christmas tradition of filling a tree with all kinds of goodies for nature’s animals and critters.  We weren’t that far ahead of the game to take action on the idea in the full month of December, plus we needed some fun activities in quiet January, so we adapted it just a bit. 

We strung popcorn and cranberries and made bunches of pinecone and peanut butter bird feeders.  Then we chose a tree in our own back yard to fill with these goodies.  The kids helped me decide on the name, “The Giving Tree”, because the birds and other creatures do get a bit hungry in the long cold winter, and it must be such a delightful surprise to them to find such a richly loaded tree in a barren season.  We finished our tree early this week, and so far we’ve seen doves, chickadees, squirrels, cardinals, and finches having a hayday with the goods.  We threw some extra popcorn on the ground, and tossed out a few orange and apple slices also. 

I love the visual art representation below, called Ode to the Giving Tree by Tjasa Owen.  It is a fun tradition, but it is also a word picture of what I want my life, and my kids’ lives, to be - a source overflowing and giving nourishment to any and all who find it, especially in wintry times.

Yesterday we were having one of “those” days.  You know, the kids had been sick for several days, it’s coooooold outside, and we all had cabin fever.  It was about 5 o’clock, and they were beginning to fight.  Like cats and dogs.  I was grumpy.  My son was sad because the neighbors couldn’t play.  Not a good picture at all.  And quickly going from bad to worse.

Then out of nowhere the kids came up with a plan.  They decided to make some fun out of nothing.  They began to plan a party of sorts for the evening.  It began with “pin the tongue on the froggy”, a picture my middle daughter had colored that day.  Then we had dinner and brownies with pink icing that they helped decorate.  We rolled around on the floor and did flips and airplane rides on flying feet.  Finally, we relaxed in front of a cozy roaring fire (my husband’s specialty) and played games.   Animal rummy.  Uno.  Break the ice.  And our all-time favorite - Old Maid.  You should have seen the suspense on the face of our four year old Mollie as she hoped against hope she wouldn’t draw the Old Maid and the silly giggling when she did.  We laughed so hard we cried.

But the grand finale by far was the hide-in-seek-in-the-dark with flashlights.  Imagine this.  Every “hider” had a glow stick bracelet.  The only light on in the entire house was the fire in the fireplace downstairs.  The “seeker” held a flashlight that wasn’t turned on until the loud counting was complete.  Then the sound of small feet padding on the stairs as we took turns running  to hide.  Concealed giggles as we searched in the dark for those glowing bracelets or for some give-away sound.  The eruption of roaring laughter and screams of surprise when discovered in dark hiding places.  The suspense was a thrill even for me.

It was such a disater of a day.  And those delightful kids turned the evening into one to remember forever!

We live in an upstanding town in an upstanding time - let me tell you!  Earlier this week, we read on the front page of our local paper that the police officer of the year was found, after reported missing, in Las Vegas, where he had fled with more than $2,500 of confiscated drug money.  A couple of days later, our county sherriff began joining him on the front page, because he was keeping food money reserved for the local prisoners for himself.  The grand total from the last few years of this sheriff’s scandal adds up to over $300,000. 

And guess what.  Today he is out of jail.  Because there is a 1939 law in our state that allows sherrifs to keep extra money after they have fed inmates.  Hmmm.  Not a great idea.  Not in 1939.  Not today.  So, he’s been feeding the jailbirds corndogs, peanut butter, and bologna and pocketing the leftover cash.  Maybe not against the “law”, but way far against morality and right ethical behavior.

The irony on today’s paper was not lost on me.  Top of the front page:  The sherrif has been released from jail (where he probably didn’t like the food too well).  Bottom of the front page: The charged police officer is coming back home from Las Vegas and will be handled by the above-mentioned county sherrif’s department.  Makes you feel great about how that one will turn out.  We can rest because we’re in good hands.

The other night on the way home, we drove by a local assisted living apartment building for the elderly.  My daughter Anna looked over and said dreamily, “I just luuuv those hoomans.  I love those hooman beans.”  

A few weeks earlier she had participated in a caroling outing to those apartments, and she fell in love with the kind residents who so appreciated the young voices and hands to hold.  Guess we’ll have to go back!

My daughter Anna’s kindergarten class has begun a new unit of study this winter quarter looking at different cultures in the world, and I was more than happy to take the country of Mexico to help teach.  First of all, I took Spanis

h in high school and wound up with a double major in Spanish and English in college.  Through all those years I gained an appreciation for the culture of Latin America.  After grad school, when I was living in California and working as a flight attendant, I took a trip across the border and experienced things firsthand.  Years later, when I returned to my small southern hometown, I was surprised to see the increase in number of Mexicans living here.  Before I had begun my own travels, I had left a fairly homogenous town behind.  I returned to find it a melting pot of cultures, with close to 10,000 Mexicans and other hispanics having moved into the larger county area.  There are pockets of the town that are almost entirely populated with hispanics, and the local Walmart has begun selling Mexican specialy foods and other items.  This is not an uncommon occurance in small American towns, but it was surprising to me nearly 11 years ago when I moved back to my hometown.

At that time, my newly wed husband and I decided to embark on an adventure.  We began “English as a Second Language” classes at our church.  First, we simply advertised by putting fliers up all over town, in laundrymats, grocery stores, etc.  Then, we began, not exactly sure what we were doing.  What we found was a wonderful experience of sharing life with people of different cultures.  We had an amazing turnout for the free classes, and they continued for two years, until having small children prevented our being able to continue to run them.  We had a few students from China and Japan, but an overwhelmingly large portion of the students were here from Mexico, working hard at minimal paying jobs to send money home to their families.

I am not naive about the problems regarding the immense migration of illegal Mexicans who have stormed into our country.  But at the same time, I gained a huge appreciation for what they were doing and for why they were doing it.  The average gross national product per capita at the time in Mexico was $9,000.  During the years of 1994-1995, the percentage of Mexicans living below the poverty level was around 50%.  Since that time, the number has largely increased, but it is still above the 20% mark.  Now, think about it.  If you had a family to feed, and you had no way to do it, but to cross over into the rich country next door, what would you do?  I would cross over.  The large majority of Mexicans living in the USA send a large portion of their earnings to family members at home to feed and clothe them.  We Americans have a hard time fathoming that level of need and scarcity.

Anyway, during those years, I made some dear Mexican friends.  We attended Mexican birthday parties and we were given fiestas for our first baby’s birth.  I still keep in touch with a few of these friends in town. 

So, when the kindergarten teacher needed a volunteer for Mexico, I said, “YES!” My girls (ages 4 and 6) and I visited the local hispanic markets (extremely authentic) to find a sombrero and purchase some Mexican candy for the classmates.  While we were there a Mexican toddler befriended my girls.  She was chattering away about the pinatas hanging around the store.  Then she started pointing at some of the foods and saying “pica, pica.”  When my daughters asked her what it meant, her mom said “spicy.”   They were thrilled to be learning Spanish from a child younger than themselves.

We found fun crafts, including making a sombrero and also colorful foam tostados.  We showed pictures of beautiful scenes across Mexico, and we made “tres leche” cake.  If you’ve never tried it, this is a yummy cake that is the standard cake made for birthdays and other celebrations in Mexican circles.  It starts with a normal white or yellow baked cake.  Then you poke holes all over the cake and mix three milks (tres leche) together, whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk.  This yummy, rich mixture is poured over the cake, and then the cake is topped with cool whip and other optional toppings.  (nuts, coconut, or pineapple)  I was a bit leary about the kindergartener’s reaction to this type of cake, but they ate it up greedily, and some asked for “more please.” 

The highlight of the day when I came to share, however, was by far the Mexican hat dance!  We had so much fun clapping and dancing to the catchy song.  We lined up in a circle and took turns dancing around the sombrero in the center of the circle. Check out this video of the real thing in a Mexican pueblo.  This  is what I call “spicy fun!”   Pica, pica!  And we enjoyed participating in it this week soooooooooo much.  Can’t wait for the fiesta Friday with taquitos, chips, and a pinata!

I don’t know about you, but I simply do NOT want the Christmas season to be over.  Not just yet.  None of that ripping down the decorations the day after for me.  I like to let it linger.  We are still enjoying the bright lights of our Christmas tree, and our wise men are still making their way toward the baby in the manger.   Only a couple of years ago, I came to realize the twelve days of Christmas are the days between Christmas day, December 25th, and Epiphany, January 6th.  Epiphany is the day the Church remembers the visit of the wise men to see Jesus and how God revealed himself through that visit.

Epiphany is defined by dictionary.com as “a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.”  The Christian holiday is defined by the same site as “a Christian festival, observed on January 6, commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the gentiles in the persons of the Magi.”  So, without studying the history or origin of this holiday, I’ve been contemplating the choice of the word used to entitle the day.  Epiphany.  A sudden insight usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence.  Hmmm.  Isn’t that what the visit of the wise men was?  Or what it can still be for us today?

They followed the star.  They longed to see the baby King.  They came from afar.  They were not of Jewish origin.  They brought gifts.  They defied King Herod and went back another way to protect the infant they worshipped from sure slaughter.  So, this coming Sunday, we will move our wise men to the manger.  Finally.  My kids keep asking me when they will ever get there.  And I hope that we will also have an epiphany, a moment of truth.  That wise ones still follow God’s light, still worship Jesus, still bring gifts and still defy evil to give him laud. 

We had fun saying goodbye to 2008 and ringing in the new year yesterday.  During the afternoon, the kids made place mats from blank poster paper, filled with drawings of their favorite memories, events, and accomplishments from 2008.  I’m going to laminate them, and we’ll enjoy using them for awhile. 

Last night everyone (David, me, Jonathan - 8, Anna - 6, and Mollie - 4) stayed up until the ball dropped in New York City (our oldest stayed up for the “real thing” and hour later), and we filled a small cookie tin with special drawings and memoirs from this past year.  We plan to make this a new tradition and open it next year.  While we did that, we talked about our hopes for 2009 - what kind of birthday party the kids want to have, what they want to learn and do, the fact that I’m turning 40, (whew!) and David and I will celebrate 10 years of marriage.  It was so fun to share the day with them in this way. 

I’ve always been a bit reflective at the end of the year, and I love to dream and make plans/ hopes for the new year.  But it was the first time I had done this with my children.  I could tell they enjoyed it as much as I did.  We had a roaring fire, yummy snacks, and lots of fun time together - drawing and playing video games.  This morning when they woke up, a “Baby New Year” had been born.  I had dressed up one of the girls’ baby dolls in happy new year attire. It is 2009, and I can’t wait to see what the year holds.