Rain

The rain is fitting today.  It comes, slow and steady and keeps me tucked into the warmth of the house.  But still I watch is trail down the windows and trees, slow and steady.

My mom always said grief was an ocean.  The waves wash over you and then let up for awhile.  After these heart-torn years it seems I know grief well, an acquaintance, not so much a friend.  Sometimes an ocean, sometimes a slow and steady rain.

Either way it doesn't let me choose when it comes.  It washes over me this morning, a rhythmic pat at my heart as I sweep the bunnies and dust people & pets have tracked around my home.

Raindrops and teardrops...

 for the losses of my extended family,

for a sweet friend who is fighting cancer,

for her family who fight with her,

for the excruciating, good work I'm pushing through with the love of my life,

for the slow farm work of growing boys and hopeful prayers,

for the years of pain piled up in my heart; the process of learning to let God have that burden in exchange for His always lighter load. 

So rain on, this morning, skies.  My heart may need the water to stay alive, stay supple under God's careful hand.

-    -     -

1 Peter 5:7

Cast your cares on the Lord, for he cares for you.

Psalm 55:22

Cast your cares on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.

You're invited to join me on my journey...

I am defective.

That's what the tests read...which is really probably no surprise to you in that a) you know me and it's easy to see I'm not quite normal and b) most people are.

This summer I went searching for some answers for my health.  I have been sleeping very poorly for a couple of years, and have experienced increased exhaustion, flat, at times down moods.  I knew from experience that my family physician would be happy to slap an anti-depression med on me.  In truth I was ready for that if that's what my true diagnosis was, but I was in search for a deeper diagnosis so I went to see a highly recommended Naturopathic Doctor.

After forms, questions about family history, health history, diet, excersize, etc I gave 11 vials of blood for testing.

The results were that I have a genetic mutation.  The neat name for this mutation is MTHFR.  I have two copies of the 1298 gene.  This means that I got one copy from each parent, meaning both of my parents, of course, also have MTHFR.

If you are related to me at all, there is a good chance that you have at least one MTHFR gene.

Studies show about 40% of people have at least one gene, and interestingly, 90% of children with Autism have MTHFR.


MTHFR, in short, prevents a persons' body from methylating (or processing) vitamin B.  This break down causes a body to hold onto toxins, can block seratonin from releasing into the brain, amongst other things.   Of course vitamin B is the energy vitamin, so I am also greatly lacking energy.

Other symptoms of MTHFR (and not limited to):

Anxiety
Depression
Hair Loss
Fibromyalgia
Memory Loss
Miscarriages
Stroke/Heart Attack
Bipolar
Cleft Lip
Spina Bifita
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Irritable Bowel Syndrome

A teeny bit of history for you, MTHFR was discovered through the Human Genome project in the early 90's. If you haven't heard of this diagnosis, you're probably in the majority. I recently went to a seminar on MTHFR and there were many physicians in attendance who are just learning about it and how to treat it.

 A certain Dr. Rawlins (OB) in the area has taken on the study and educating others about MTHFR, as treatment for MTHFR saved his son's life a few years back.   It seems to me that locally there is a lot of educating and information on MTHFR available, but not so much in other regions.

So now I've plunged into the simple treatment for this defect, I take methylfolate (Deplin and Metanx are prescribed supplements, often covered by insurance) and methylated B vitamins (not 'regular' B) and I'm feeling like a new person. I don't need to nap every day! I'm not dragging anymore and best of all I don't feel like I'm fighting off a little raincloud over my mind and heart anymore! Thanks to these and another supplement that has helped to regulate my cortisole levels I'm sleeping all night...for nearly a month.

I wanted to share this information with you in the event that you may be struggling in one or more of these areas. Anti depressants are very helpful, but if you can take a supplement that will alleviate the first problem, rather than just fixing it, it may help you. I know a few of you out there with fybromyalgia, and oh, that some of you might feel better, even a little. (If you have fibromyalgia, please listen to this woman's story) Again, your physician may not be familiar with MTHFR, you may need to research it and bring information to them and ask for testing and treatment.  I would love to share more with you, please comment or email me at puddlestomper@gmail.com to discuss what I'm learning more. This has been a pivotal discovery for me. I'm feeling so much better. I hope this could help you, too. To learn more, look at these :

 http://www.methyl-life.com
or 

Boys' Noise School: A Day in the Life

My Summer Challenges have ceased, and my time has been spent bustling around, planning (and enjoying each moment) for the coming school year.

It never fails that while in June I'm pining away for a bit of summer fun, mid-August I'm begging for routine and 'normal' life.  Don't worry, just as usual come February I'll be wishing for a little less normal-routine, just like always.

Just like always...it feels good to say that.  This year begins my 7th year of homeschool.  In case you're wondering, yes, I count preschool!  Preschool was the year of great adjustment, learning for mom and son, and school at home.  I'm starting to feel like something of an experienced homeschool mama.

Just for fun I thought I'd join in the fun and share a *typical day in the life at the Boys' Noise School.

6 (or 6:30) a. - I get out of bed & head down for a cup of coffee.   Comfy and bundled I find a favorite spot and sit down and work on my coffee while reading the Bible and praying for awhile.  Every.day.I.pray.for.Wisdom. (James 1:5)

7a. -My boys begin trickling downstairs.  They're supposed to stay in their rooms until 7 so I can get a little jump on the day quietly.  There is almost always snuggling with each of them.  They hang out with me a few minutes, then fall off to get breakfast or play.  These few minutes being close and talking to each boy are so important to me.

7:15 ish -Time to hit the shower, start laundry, grab a bite and get the day moving.

8:00 -This is my sacred hustle-bustle time.  I run down my chore items from my MotivatedMoms Calendar.  Laundry, vacuum, windows, dust a room.  Unload the dishwasher and sweep a porch.  The boys, in turn, are running through their lists.  Rooms, pets fed, cleaning up zones.

I do chores in the a.m. because I'm a morning-energy gal, because my boys play well together then, and because I can focus on school better with these things underway.  I LOVE this part of our day.

9:20ish -I give the boys' fair warning..."Meet you at the school table in 10 minutes!"  They scramble to finish their play or get a snack

9:30ish  -We pull out Bibles and "Long Story Short" and read through a day or two of stories.  There is usually a nice, socratic discussion that follows.  We pray for our day and use prayer sticks (shown on right) to pray for friends & family.  Yellow sticks have people we are praying for, blue has a topic.

Then using the Scripture Memorization system, we run through our scriptures and take some time to learn the new ones.

Then we tuck our books away but we're on a roll with recitation and memorization so we'll run through our Classical Conversations memory work for the week.  This usually only takes 15 or 20 minutes.  This year we will work longer on our mapping/ Geography.

10:15ish  I eat a handful of almonds, lest I turn into a monster.  The boys munch too, usually an apple or nuts.  Then we'll start in on our Math.  The boys all have different books, of course.  Joe usually has no trouble working through and correcting his own math.  I follow up with him on it later on.  I alternate between Nate and Eli working with them.  When they each finish up their work they'll head out for a little recess on the trampoline or LEGO play.

Then we'll move into our Language Arts Section.  Joe has an assignment sheet I've put together for IEW and Essentials from Classical Conversations.  Again, he frequently works on his own, and I read to Nate and Eli together from First Language Lessons and Writing With Ease.  We take time to work on Spelling Plus, I hop around from boy to boy helping whomever needs it at the moment.

After LA I'll work on Story of the World for a bit with the boys, reading while they color or work on maps.  This year I'll add Latin for Children to that mix, as well.

We usually quit for a break for lunch.  After lunch I'll gather them in to assess what needs to be done yet.  Each boy has time to finish up any lingering work.  Then they have assigned reading to work on for a bit.  I am off putzing around to more laundry, catch up on emails and other things.

Many afternoons they're at Karate or we're running errands.  Other days we lay low and hang about the house.  More LEGOS.  More trampoline, occasional park dates or river walks.  Some days (not enough) I read to them awhile.  I'll follow them to their LEGO spot to read aloud.  Some days they'll listen to their memory work while they play.

Ralph gets home about 4 or 5, we usually eat dinner right away.  He'll have a little house project to work on and I'll play a game with the kids, watch some TV, fold a last load of laundry or hang out in the yard visiting neighbors.

By 9 we usually get the kids tucked in and Ralph and I head to bed or the living room with reading.
I might make it to 9:30, sometimes 10....

*most days aren't typical, varying in schedule is ok by me.

Messy Floors

Ralph snickered at me when he was unloading our camping car, finding my on hands and knees scrubbing the baseboards and cupboards in the kitchen.  I know he was thinking that after nearly 6 days of camping I couldn't stand the sight of dirt in my home for another minute, and he's right.  But I'm also scrubbing away because I'm working through a realization about myself.

All this time, I maybe was thinking that forgiveness was about the rules.  That I'm supposed to forgive, I should, I will- eventually.

But today I'm thinking that maybe forgiveness isn't about playing by the rules, but how God wants us to forgive so we'll live in freedom.


Going back a little, I've noticed I'm wandering a lot.  Wandering away from the family & friends to do some important thing...wandering my way to a quiet spot with a book, wandering my way to the screen-o' distraction to peruse Pinterest or whatever.  I was wondering about my wanderings, asking God why I'm so withdrawn and why little interactions seem like work lately. Faithfully He whispered it to me, the answer:  I'm storing up hurt.

Holding it up in my heart and quietly building a wall around myself so that it won't happen again.  I won't get hurt without seeing it coming.

Here enters God's good plan for us regarding forgiveness:

At that point Peter got up the nerve to ask, "Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?"

Jesus replied, "Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven." (Matthew 18:21&22)

Jesus told Peter to forgive over, and over, and over....even if that same person hurt him over and over and over.  Biblically we are able to forgive because God forgave us, and still forgives us for every sin.  We can give because we were forgiven.  

But God wants us to forgive, not only because he forgave us, but so we can live in freedom. 

Unforgiveness doesn't:

• protect me

• make me right

• make me better

• make me stronger

• heal me

• save me

• hurt the person that hurt me

But forgiveness does give us freedom.

Freedom to be in that relationship and love and laugh and live.  Freedom to embrace that friend and all their stuff and love them anyhow.  

Lord knows I understand it's not always so simple.  It took me years to fully forgive my first husband who left me and betrayed me so badly.  Even longer before I addressed my anger toward his family.  When I did fully forgive him it didn't mean I was back in any sort of relationship with him.  Sometimes the relationship requires severing, but forgiveness is always freeing.

So I'm mumbling for help and healing in this area as I go back to my floors.  It doesn't do any good for me to stay mad at the mess people-I-live left on the floor.  I'm going to clean it up and move forward, knowing that my floors will get dirty again tomorrow and I'll be cleaning it up again soon enough.  I want to invite people in my kitchen.  I want to engage my heart and mind again in freedom knowing  nothing will protect me from getting hurt but I trust and know a God who can usher me through the hurt and will help heal me again and again,

seventy times seven.  

A Cool Little Dig

This is a revisited summer project for us. The boys were able to do a lot of it alone this year. First we filled up a tub & a cake Pam with water. Then the boys ran off in search of little trinkets & toys. Meanwhile, for fun I dug out some treasure... Coins. We dumped all our booty into the water & put the pans in the freezer.
While I had my coffee on the front porch first thing next morning, the boys ran in to get their ice-treasure. The ice cubes quickly slipped out I the bowls and the boys went at the ice cubes. I let them use table knives. I think we have used spoons in the past.
This year, of course, the boys got the treasure out & spent the rest of the time tossed the ice up & watched it shatter on the concrete. ☺

Gone Camping...

Back with More Next Week!

Platforms, Play & Pursuit: Week 8

(As it turns out, we're headed out for a family camping trip this weekend complete an earned trip to a water park.  I may have to re-run this week, I'll be busy packing and then relaxing in my favorite place, the majestic outdoors!)

I'd love for you to come with me on a path of being intentional.  Intentional in helping my boys fill their empty summer hours, living out the dream of actually doing some of those fun ideas I've pinned on Pinterest, and pursuing and nurturing their little hearts.  Read more about it here. 

This weeks' Platform(giving the kids a place to start independent play):


     Inside: I'll set the stage for a puppet show...create a "stage" and bring in some stuffed animals.  


     Outside:  buying dollar store or grocery store bouncy balls to leave in the backyard.  Endless fun!

This Weeks' Play: Heading to the hobby shop to buy boxes to make these great little LEGO boxes. 

This Weeks' Pursuit: Take and teach my boys thrift store shopping.  Talk about prices of new shoes, toys, clothes vs. thrift store prices.  Here's a cute article about 5 Things You Should Always Buy at a Thrift Store  (Maybe we'll even find the boxes we need for LEGO Travel Boxes in our trips!

*My boys are 6, 8 & 10.  If these activities are too advanced, switch them up so they work safely and sanely for your kiddos.

Platforms, Play & Pursuit: Week 6

I'd love for you to come with me on a path of being intentional.  Intentional in helping my boys fill their empty summer hours, living out the dream of actually doing some of those fun ideas I've pinned on Pinterest, and pursuing and nurturing their little hearts.  Read more about it here. 

This weeks' Platform(giving the kids a place to start independent play):


     Inside: Bringing the dress up clothes upstairs!  Maybe I'll add to the box, some of their dad's things.


     Outside: Sprinkler fun!  If I can get my stuff together I'll make a cool sprinkler I've seen on Pinterest for them to play in.

This Weeks' Play: I buy blank cards in packs of 50 about twice a year.  I'd love to work with the boys and decorate them in some fun way in advance as Thank You cards.  Always feeling behind in this, It'd be great to go into the holidays with a stack ready to go!


This Weeks' Pursuit: This week I'll spend 20 minutes here and there with each boy in his room.  Organize, beautify (in a boy sort of way) and donate unused stuff.

*My boys are 6, 8 & 10.  If these activities are too advanced, switch them up so they work safely and sanely for your kiddos.