Exciting Times

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s!
Well, The Ewe would be kicking up her heels today--if she could, LOL! Guess I'll just have to settle for a "siss, boom BAAAAH!!" :-)
GrandRamama woke me up this morning to let me know that our new lil' niece had been born. Yay!!! We're told The Ram's sis did a fantastic job of giving birth and her husband was a terrific coach! The RamFam spent some time on our knees last night, beseeching the Father on behalf of the B. family. The Lord is good. Sigh...
It's been funny this year--a bunch of ladies close to me were pregnant. My due date--Nov. 29--was the last of the long line of due dates. Seemed like *everyone* was having her baby, but Nov. never got any closer. LOL Well, my turn's coming now. I'm 36 1/2 weeks. The Lambies and I will move our Base of Operation Down South this weekend, to be nearer our beloved midwife. Emotions for me are mixed, a bit, as we don't know exactly what we're facing. Still, peace reigns.
I'll update from the Southland...
Y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe

Quote of the Day: "Baby M has been born...At HOME!" --The GrandRamama

Neat Thing that Happened Last Sunday

Hi, F.O.T.E.'s,
How is life treating you? We're doing well...plugging right along. I'm now almost 36 weeks along with these twin girlies and, outside of being t-i-r-e-d, I'm feeling pretty good. I do pace myself and try not to attempt too much, as exertion brings on a lot of uncomfortable contractions. These gals could use at least another week of simmering before we lift the lid. ;-) We have another ultrasound next week. I will update you about that afterward...
You know, the Lord KNOWS. Really! "Knows *what?*" you ask. Everything!
Last week, The Ram and Lionness went out on an errand. During some goofing off when they got back home to the garage, somehow, The Ram's house key got lost in the van. After extensive looking, it was spotted down in the housing of the driver's side seat belt assembly. We thought surely we could fish it out. Well, suffice it to say that after *many* "casts," that "fish" wasn't "biting." We employed small children to stuff their fingers down in the slot to try to reach it. No dice. Sigh. So, I let The Ram have my key, as the Lambs and I were about to head South for a few days to go to a prenatal checkup.
Fast forward to the night (yawn) Lambies and I drove back to MO...I discovered on the way, thanks to a very, very wet diaper on Tater Tot, that I'd left our diapers Down South. I called home to ask The Ram to go pick up some, as I knew we *needed* some when we got home.
Well, due to a series of events, The Ram got locked out of the house. We brainstormed many possible solutions--most of which involved property damage, lol. I was about 30 minutes from home at that point.
After one more attempt by a small fry to retrieve the key in the van, we decided to see if Home Depot had one of those "magnets-on-a-steeck" that might work to pull out that stubborn key.
Well, Home Depot was already closed. We were right next door to Walmart and *still* needed diapers, so The Ram went in to get something for T.T.'s hiney. We still didn't know how we were going to get in our house.
I had been praying all the way home--reminding God that we needed His solution to our problem. He stayed close-lipped. ;-)
While the Lambs and I waited outside Walmart, a white work van pulled into the parking lot. On the side was painted, "Drivers' Friend Roadside Assistance." God whispered in my ear, "He'll help you." I kinda shook it off--*I* definitely wasn't going to approach a strange man in the middle of the night. The man went inside.
After a few minutes, The Ram came out with the dipes. We sat in the van a minute, gathering thoughts and deciding what to do. As we were about to leave the parking lot, the Drivers' Friend man came out and was loading things into his van. I said to The Ram, "He looks like the kind of guy who could get this key out of this hole."
The Ram decided it was worth a try, so he drove over to the man and told him our sad tale.
Well, ten minutes later, with *no* property damage, the man handed us the key. All the while he worked, he had been talking on his cell phone, lol.
We told the Lambies how God's solutions don't necessarily come when we want them, but it's awfully important to wait for HIS solution and not trust our feeble little girly-man attempts to fix ourselves.
Well, must run...er, waddle. I'll try to keep you updated... Y'all keep your wool dry,
The Ewe

Quote of the Day: "SURRENDER!!! Or taste my sword!!!" Tater Tot, wielding a stick.

Just the Quote, Ma'am...

Quote of the Day: "I'll mow the grass when y'all are gone. I don't want the kids to see me doing that. That's what goats are for..." The Ram

Kids These Days

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s,
The Flock and I are about to run off to pick up The Ram from a conference thing he's been at this week...Can't wait to see him...
We're about over our colds. The weather's cooled off again...Life's good. :-)
I read this article and wanted to share it. As you drive through town, averting your eyes from the "hiney-cracks" of the teenage boys wearing pants 11 sizes too big, and you're tempted to think of words like, "...in a handbasket...", think about the boys in this article. There *are* responsible, respectable young men out there. Thank God for them.

http://www.therebelution.com/blog/2006/08/modern-day-gentleman/

Gotta run...y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe

Quote(s) of the Day: "When I was born, I was a baby." --Tater Tot

"Salt can fix anything. (pause) That's food. (pause, pause)
Except maybe pie..." --Lovable

Autumn Has Betrayed Me

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s,
I bet you're wondering about that title, eh? LOL Oh my...
You remember me bragging on the great temperatures we'd been enjoying? Well, for 3 days now, we've had record high temps! Up in the mid-90's. EEK!!! And only in the 70's for lows at night. AND...to top it off...our air went out!!! ACK!!! On the weekend...
I'll confess--when The Ewe gets overheated, she gets a little irrational. The mind doesn't work just right. Sigh...
But, the h/vac folks came to our rescue yesterday, so I'm coming back to my senses. I even had to pull the cover up on me in bed last night! That doesn't usually happen. :-)
Ah...air conditioning is a great invention!
Gotta run...I'm going to go sit over the air vent...
Y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe

Quote of the Day: "Get your blankets out, Girls...Mama's gonna be COOL!!!" The Ewe

Read It and Laugh

I laughed. Really hard...




LETTER FROM A FARM KID,
(NOW AT San Diego MARINE CORPS RECRUIT TRAINING.)

Dear Ma and Pa,
I am well. Hope you are. Tell Brother Walt and Brother Elmer the Marine Corps beats working for old man Minch by a mile. Tell them to join up quick before all of the places are filled. I was restless at first because you got to stay in bed till nearly 6 A.M. but I am getting so I like to sleep late. Tell Walt and Elmer all you do before breakfast is smooth your cot, and shine some things. No hogs to slop, feed to pitch, mash to mix, wood to split, fire to lay. Practically nothing. Men got to shave but it is not so bad, there's warm water. Breakfast is strong on trimmings like fruit juice, cereal, eggs, bacon, etc., but kind of weak on chops, potatoes, ham, steak, fried eggplant, pie and other regular food, but tell Walt and Elmer you can always sit by the two city boys that live on coffee. Their food plus yours holds you till noon when you get fed again. It's no wonder these city boys can't walk much. We go on "route marches," which the platoon sergeant says are long walks to harden us. If he thinks so, it's not my place to tell him different. A "route march" is about as far as to our mailbox at home. Then the city guys get sore feet and we all ride back in trucks. The country is nice but awful flat The sergeant is like a school teacher. He nags a lot. The Captain is like the school board. Majors and colonels just ride around and frown. They don't bother you none. This next will kill Walt and Elmer with laughing. I keep getting medals for shooting. I don't know why. The bulls-eye is near as big as a chipmunk head and don't move, and it ain't shooting at you like the Higgett boys at home. All you got to do is lie there all comfortable and hit it. You don't even load your own cartridges. They come in boxes.
Then we have what they call hand-to-hand combat training. You get to wrestle with them city boys. I have to be real careful though, they break real easy. It ain't like fighting with that ole bull at home. I'm about the best they got in this except for that Tug Jordan from over in Silver Lake. I only beat him once. He joined up the same time as me, but I'm only 5'6" and 130 pounds and he's 6'8" and near 300 pounds dry.
Be sure to tell Walt and Elmer to hurry and join before other fellers get onto this setup and come stampeding in.

Your loving daughter,
Carol

Rainbows

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s,
How is Sat. treating you? The Lambs and I are recovering from what turned out to be a nasty virus. The little ones are still coughing pretty badly, but all fever is gone and they are perking right up. I think I caught the worst of it. Now, my voice is pretty much gone. So, right now, *The Ewe* is squeaking like a *mouse* and waddling like a *duck,* LOL!
I was just thinking this morning that we are approaching the 2 year anniversary of The Ram's deployment to The Sandbox. He left the middle of Oct, 2004. It feels like yesterday. Veterans' Day will be the one year anniversary of his homecoming. My, how the years fly!!!
Do you remember my post from right before The Ram left? When I was driving home in the rain from an errand we all took and I was pouring out my hurts and fears to the Lord while the rest of the van slept? Then, out of the rain, the Lord gave me a rainbow to remind me of His promise? Well...
A few weeks ago, when I was driving home alone from my high level ultrasound, the sky opened up and rained like crazy. I had already been crying as I drove along, grieving over Baby B's severe birth defect. Somehow, the rain was a comfort--as if God were weeping along with me. Suddenly, the thought hit me, "He's given me a rainbow! Where is it??" Though the rain was pouring down, I started looking for that beautiful sign. It took some time, but finally I found my rainbow. It was behind me. It could have been there a long time before I found it, I just had to stop driving so I could look harder. I was immediately filled with such peace. I felt God pouring out His Comfort on me. The Holy Spirit had filled our van and I was overcome with gratitude to my Lord. Now, it might seem strange to some how I could be feeling gratitude when a doctor had just told me that one of my precious, beloved babies was going to die. I really can't explain it. The Bible calls it "peace that passes understanding." It certainly passed *my* understanding, so there's no way I could explain it to anyone else, LOL! The thing I was rejoicing in was not that my baby was sick, but that the Lord is The LORD. He *is* in control. He *is* merciful. He *is* good--ALL the time. Who am I to expect to understand HIS ways? Personally, I do not *want* a God whom I fully understand. I need a God so much bigger than me, that I know any problem I have is infinitely smaller than Him. His wisdom is way deeper than I can comprehend.
That rainbow was like a hug from God. We are being refined like silver in fire. It hurts...but I trust my Lord. We don't know what the Lord plans for our little Baby B--or Baby A or any of our Lambs for that matter--but we know He loves us and will carry us through all our trials.
Well, I've typed on and on today, eh? :-) Just felt like I needed to share.
Hey, y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe

Quote of the Day: "Police officer? Yes, there is a bear in my soup." Tater Tot, talking into a play phone, holding a plastic toy bear in a toy cooking pot. :-)

Ok...I'm Spoiled/ Winner of the Ewe-manitarian Award

Hello F.O.T.E.s!
I can definitely feel myself becoming spoiled. I just had my groceries delivered to my kitchen counter, by way of a local grocery store's delivery gal. I filled out my order last night online, then she brought them right into my kitchen just minutes ago. Wow. Who'da thunk?
So far, this is my favorite perk of living near a big city. Ummm...maybe the only one yet...except for the part about The Ram having a job and all...That's a really big perk. ;-) Besides, without that perk, we couldn't afford the other one.
Anyway, I think I could get used to grocery shopping from my computer chair. Especially right now, when it would take who-knows-how-long for me to waddle myself around a grocery story, LOL!
Becky was the delivery gal's name. I considered telling her, "I thank you and my womb thanks you..." but I decided that might weird her out and she'd be reluctant to bring my groceries again, LOL. So, I just said, "Thanks." It seemed to be enough.
An aside: I and all the Lambies are sick. Just colds, so no big deal...but annoying, none the less. Even more reason to have my food delivered. :-)
I also want to nominate my new friend, D.J. for the "Ewe-manitarian Award" for telling me about the grocery store that delivers. THANKS, D.J.!! HUGS!
Ok...gotta go put away the groceries. Y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe

Quote of the Day: "I have beaver right here..." Tater Tot, holding his *feverish* forehead

A Couple Random Thoughts and Quotes

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s,
Hope things are going well for you all.
The Lambies and I drove over to Ft. Leavenworth, KS today to take care of some errands for The Ram. The leaves are just beginning to change here and it's becoming quite a pretty drive. It seems to me the prairie sky here is bluer, with whiter clouds than in our Old Home State. Plus, contrary to what I'd expected, there are beautiful, rolling hills with lots of trees. Of course, I'm referring to the rural area. In The City it's like other cities--a concrete skyline broken up by steel and the occasional brick. ;-) (You can tell my preference, eh? LOL) I guess I've really become a "prairie muffin." (Google Prairie Muffin Manifesto.)
Don't guess I've really got much else to share today. I've been mind-bogglingly (like my new word?) tired. I'm thinking it really *does* take more energy to grow two babies, as compared to one. ;-)
I'm going to leave you with a couple quotes I like--one from a Famous Guy, one from a Future Famous Guy.
Famous Guy:
"How can it be a large career to tell other people's children about
(arithmetic),
and a small career to tell one's own children about the universe?
How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone,
and narrow to be everything to someone?
No; a woman's function is laborious because it is gigantic,
not because it is minute."
~G.K. Chesterton

Future Famous Guy:
"Beeee--you-tiful moooorrrr-ning GORLY!" sung at the top of his lungs by Tater Tot...and, no...that last word *isn't* mistyped. LOL That song has been passed down for a few generations in the RamFam. It is used to encourage late sleepers to get out of bed. :-)


Hey, y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe

A Couple Good Days

Hi F.O.T.E.'s,
Hope things are going well with you all. I just have to share that today and yesterday, I have felt such a warmth around me. I know many of you are keeping us lifted in prayer and I have to say "Thank you." I believe He is The One sustaining us during this time. I know we have a lot left to face--and we don't really even know what the near future will entail--but I definitely believe The Lord is in control and will never let us down.
So, how is the weather where you are? In in MO, I'm loving it! It's not been over 72 degrees in weeks!! This is my favorite time of year. I call it the "nice, cool drink after the long summer." My lambies joke that, "Mom hibernates in *the
summer!*" With the cooler weather, I've been accompanying The Flock to the local park each evening after supper this week. Everyone has his or her (mostly her!) tricks they like to show Mama and Daddy. It's been so nice to just sit back in my jacket (!) and laugh with abandon at their antics. I told Lioness last night that the cooler weather invigorates me. She said, "Great! You wanna walk laps with me?" That started me laughing so hard, I could hardly keep waddling along, LOL.
Indeed, I get very tired, much quicker these days. I really have to pace myself. Still, I've been so blessed. Carrying twins brings on bed rest for some folks. I'm so happy that my health has been good during this pregnancy. I don't take that for granted.
Well, I need to run...Time to get dinner going. The Ram will (I hope) be home before long. (He's swamped with "end-of-the-fiscal-year" craziness.)
Hey, it's raining here--y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe

Quote of the Day: "Because I *do*!" Tater Tot

She's Baaaaaa-ck! Plus Important Info

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s (provided there are any of you left reading after my long hiatus, LOL),
Well, some of you will be surprised to know that the RamFam is *not* living in Europe now. (Job fell through.)
Some of you will be glad to know that we have recently moved to Kansas City, MO, where The Ram is working for the Corp of Engineers.
Some of you will be surprised to find out that we are expecting. (I'm now 30 weeks along.)
Some of you will be surprised to hear that it's TWINS! Two more girls! (ROTFLOL!)
And (deep breath)... some will not have yet heard that one of our precious babies has a life threatening birth defect. We are faced now with planning a birth and funeral, all at the same time. Certainly, we are asking God for a miracle, but at the same time, facing the possibility that His answer for our Lamb will be "the ultimate healing."
Never before has life been so bittersweet. We were intitially told that, though Baby A appears to be perfectly normal, Baby B has spina bifida--certainly a challenge, though not necessarily fatal. In more specialized ultrasounds, however, and through consultations with specialists at Vanderbilt University, we have found that Lil' B has an "encephalocele" --which is not her major problem--but also is missing 90% of her brain (her major problem.) The first specialist said Lil' B would die within minutes of birth...the second specialist opined that she could live minutes, to hours, to days, to weeks to months, but most assuredly not as much as a year.
The Ram and I are disciplining our mind to accept any amount of time with her as a most treasured gift.
And, really, you know...none of us knows how much time we have with any of our loved ones. It's an overdone quip, but true: "Every day is a gift...that's why it's called 'The Present'"
Keep us in your prayers. We never know when the tears are going to sneak up--anything and everything can trigger them. It's sad to think that Lil A could very possibly begin her sweet life without the companion she's shared a womb with for so many months...
Hey, go hug your babies for me...And keep your wool dry!
The Ewe

Quote of the Day: "Cajun! That's not sweet, that's spicy!" anon. lady at a restaurant

Funny Story from History

Hey F.O.T.E.'s!
I'm panting. (puff, puff) I've just sat down from another 2 hour time block of packing/sorting/decluttering. The days we were sick surely didn't help us along in this project, but I feel like I'm making better progress now. Today, I cleaned out the (dum, dum, dum) Storage Closet. Yes, it was as scary as it sounds, LOL. That was the closet where everything got shoved, when we didn't know what else to do with it. Do any of you have a closet like that? LOL Anyway, that was a JOB!
In cleaning out that big closet, I found a paper where I'd written down (years ago) an account my mother used to tell. Nowadays, Mother's memory is very dim. We have watched over the past several years as Alzheimer's has stolen parts of her life. Reflecting on that fact, I'm everso thankful that I took the time to sit down with her, while she was still "sharp-as-a-tack," and capture a sliver of her life. I'm going to type it below, just as I had written it then...


"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the Great Depression. Mother tells me about life with her many siblings during that dark time of American history. She tells me about being teased at school for wearing "flour sack" dresses and how she wore shoes with cardboard to cover the holes. But, on the other hand...
Oral history has yet to reveal to me which of the 11 Keele children began the romp, but knowing them as I have, I suspect most of them eventually joined in. You see, there was a calf--minding it's own business, I'm sure--in a field on the small Keele farm. Somehow, someone conceived the idea of what I now call "cow skiing." (Please, don't try this at home.)
One at a time, the children grabbed that poor calf by the tail and ran, being half dragged and laughing, behind it. The hilarity continued on as the calf pulled the kids around the field, their feet touching the ground only now and then. Those awaiting their turn watched from the fence.
Oral history has also failed to present me with the final culprit left holding the smoking gun. Or, tail, as it were...
A strange thing, oral history, as I still don't know who made the executive decision to give the tail a proper burial, thinking 'surely Mom and Dad won't notice' that the animal was lacking an appendage.
To the dismay of the children, the tail was, indeed, missed and corporal punishment ensued.
Yes, it *was* the best of times and the worst of times...especially for a calf on a small farm in TN."

Now, I don't want y'all to think I'm endorsing cruelty to animals. And you should know that the calf did fine without that tail, though I'm sure he'd have rather had it. LOL I think the thing that has always struck me funny about the story is that the children didn't think their parents would notice, LOL. I think we parents get the reputation of having "eyes in the back of our head" far too easily. :-)
Well, I need to go tackle another room. Any of you know where you can rent those big dumpsters they use on construction sites for the rubbish?? ;-)
Y'all keep your wool dry,
The Ewe

Quote of the Day:
"Isn't it funny how that, no matter where you want to go, your feet lead you straight there??" --Musical, waxing philosophical

A Word from Above Rubies

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s!
This devotional I received in my "inbox" this morning was quite timely. Thought maybe you'd be blessed by it, too...
Above Rubies is a ministry run by Nancy Campbell to encourage mothers. Our family has attended an A.R. Family Camp in the past, and it was a wonderful weekend. I've also been to a couple Ladies Retreats, and thoroughly enjoyed those, too. Nancy has bold things to say, at times, but always exudes grace. If you want to learn more, check out www.aboverubies.org
Blessings! and Keep your wool dry!
The Ewe




DAILY GRIND OR DAILY REST

Matthew 28:30, "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

When God told the Israelites about the new home He was taking them to, He said, "The land, into which you are entering to possess it, is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you used to sow your seed and water it with your foot like a vegetable garden. But the land into which you are about to cross to possess it, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning even to the end of the year." (Deuteronomy 11:10-11 NAS)

They could not rely on the rain from heaven in the land of Egypt. They had to do all their irrigation by hand, or I should say, by foot, for this is how it was done. They dug man-made channels for the water which they forced along by wheels operated by their feet. It was hard laborious work. It was a daily grind. They didn't have to do this in the Promised Land. They relied totally upon God to send the rain to water the crops.

Egypt is a type of the world. It is a type of walking in the flesh and doing things by our own energy. This contrasts to our new life in the kingdom of God where we walk in the Spirit and trust God instead of our own resources.

How are you living each day? Are you still living back in Egypt, or are you basking in the rest of the Lord? Often mothers feel that their life is a daily grind, with no joy or hope. They are living like the Israelites were when they were slaves in Egypt. But we are no longer slaves. We are free people, saved by the suffering and shed blood of Jesus Christ upon the cross. He died to deliver us from relying upon the flesh.

"But don't you realize the financial difficulties that we are going through. I have to work this extra job to help my husband pay all our bills." Has God asked you to take on your husband's responsibility? Or are you taking on this yourself?

"But don't you realize how many things I have to do? I'm pregnant! I'm homeschooling my children. Plus I am involved in this Ladies' group at church and I'm also helping with the Sunday school." Who told you to get involved with these extra activities? Was it God, or was it pressure from people? Many times our life becomes a daily grind because we take on things that God hasn't told us to do. We cannot live our lives by what everyone else wants us to do. We must be led by the Holy Spirit.

God promises in Isaiah 40:11 that "He gently leads those who are with young." If you are pregnant or have little children, God does not expect you to be involved in anything else, apart from your mighty and divine calling of nurturing and raising your children for Him! He doesn't expect you to be involved in extra church and other activities (except for your commitment to meeting with the saints each week.)

"But don't you realize that I have to take Susie to ballet lessons, Grace to violin lessons, Johnny to soccer and Brian to baseball, as well as keep up with the home and everything else." Who told you that you have to take your children to all these lessons? Did God? Or are you trying to keep up with the Joneses who think that their children should be involved in everything that is going? We often think that our children will not make it in life unless we take them to all extra lessons and sports. That is not true. God is able to make a way for your children without putting extra pressure on your life and gadding about in the car everywhere.

"But don't you realize? I have to make my children finish the lessons I have given them for the day. I have to get this done and that done." Who said you have to do this? Is it what God has planned for the day or what you are setting? Are you teaching your children what God wants them to be taught, or what you think others expect of you?

Life is hard work, but it does not have to be a grind. It will seem drudgery when we do it in the energy of the flesh. God wants us to live according to the Spirit. The Israelites worked in the Promised Land, but they enjoyed their work, because they were cast upon God's resources, not their own energy. They no longer irrigated they way they did in Egypt. They had to rely on God to send their rain.

Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

Prayer:

"Father, I thank you that you have brought me into a new kingdom, a kingdom where I cannot rely on my own strength, a kingdom where I must trust you wholly. Please show me where I am doing things in my own energy for I want to be led by your Holy Spirit. Thank you that you are watching over my life and your eye is upon me from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. I can trust you to lead me. Amen."

Affirmation:

Resting 'neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus, earth's dark shadows flee.



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Drooping Wool

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s,
Yup...my wool's drooping. The Lambs are all still sick. We went from stomach virus straight into tonsillitis. In the past week, all of my littles have seen the doctor and one has been to the e.r. This is unprecedented in our family--we've always been very healthy and seldom needed the m.d. Anyway, do keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We *should* be all packed up, ready to move to Europe by now. BUT...in the past week, very little packing has happened. Discouragement in knocking on my door, and I'm trying hard to ignore it. ;-) Also, keep The Ram in your prayers, too--he's hit the "learning curve" with his new job.
Well, I hope to be able to share news of good health soon. :-)
Y'all keep your wool dry,
The Ewe

Breaking Gnus...

Hey F.O.T.E.'s...

Keep the flock in your thoughts and prayers. We're being attacked by a stomach virus. So far, The Ewe, Musical and Lioness have been struck...
Gotta go..

The Ewe

Slinky Surprise

Hello F.O.T.E.'s!
Well The Ewe is busily packing up, throwing out, giving away and burning The Flock's belongings. :-) I guess you could refer to it as The Great Purge. After 15+ years, with no major decluttering, we have a mountain to move. After we clear out from here, we'll be able to join The Ram in Europe. It's all still a bit surreal.
Hey, you know how when you move or declutter you invariably find some "lost" treasures? I know every move we've had (and there have been over a dozen) I've found something I forgot I needed, LOL. This time, I found some Christmas presents that were intended for one of my daughters in 2000. I found several different greeting cards that were intended for several different recipients over several different years. Yup. It's been a Day of Discovery. It's kind of fun to find things you'd forgotten you had...It's not so fun to find something you never knew you had...
Yesterday, we had friends that came and retrieved some of the stuff we really *do* want, in order to babysit it for us during our time abroad. We walked out to The Warehouse (big workshop) to see what goodies we could find. TickleMan found an item that would be useful to him and carried it on out to the trailer. Mrs. TickleMan and I were standing there, looking around and my eye spotted an odd electrical cable, lying on the 2X4 beam, directly over where TickleMan had just been standing. As I followed the cable from one end to the other, I discovered that the Other End had a pointy head!! I immediately thought of The Crocodile Hunter and an episode we saw many years ago. He had gone into an African hut to dispel a vicious viper that had wriggled itself into the roof beam of the the home. He explained how just some itty dab of the venom that snake carried in its body would be enough to kill (I don't know) half the population of Bombay, India. Ok, I don't remember exactly how deadly it was, but it was plenty deadly, let me tell you!
So, I'm staring at this serpent in my outbuilding with *my* mouth hanging open. I could tell by looking, that this snake, unlike The Crocodile Hunter's foe, was a harmless King Snake. In fact, I even consider them beneficial--provided they keep their slinky little (big!) bodies out in the woods or yard, where they belong. I definitely draw the line at them taking up residence in my shed.
The kids think this snake may be a descendant of Sid or Sid II--snakes that The Ram brought home from work a couple years ago (in hopes their presence would discourage mice from hanging around here). While conSIDering this possibility, Lioness said, "Really, it would be a 'de-SID-nant!'"
Anyway, I'm left with a sticky situation. There's still Stuff in The Warehouse. And there's still a DeSIDnant in there, too. And I'm none too eager to go out there and start boxing/burning/giving away again. Where's The Crocodile Hunter when you need him??
Well, I'll try to keep you updated on this unfolding situation. BTW, do any of you know, are there snakes in Europe? ;-)
Gotta go...Y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe


Quote of the Day : "Well, really, it would be a 'deSIDnant!'" --LionessLamb

My Friend Cider-Man

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s!
I've got news...er..uh..*Gnus.* But more on that in a minute...
First I want to tell you about a dear young friend of ours. We refer to him as "Cider Man," as he is fond of my spiced apple cider. :-)
While visiting the Cider Family one day, I inquired of C.M., "So, what's on the menu for tonight?" With about the most sincere, honest face I can recall, he informed me, "Well, I don't know what's on the *menu,* but we're eating spaghetti." :-) This sent me into a fit of the sillies. LOL You see, his family operates by a meal plan. (A tremendous help to us mommies!) So, he wasn't sure what their family was *supposed* to be having, but he knew what *was* being served. Aren't idioms fun?
Ok, now for the Gnus:
The RamFam is moving to Bulg...uh, Ger...well, we're moving to Europe!!! The Ram has accepted a job with a company based in Eastern Europe. Over the next couple months, The Flock will relocate. We are very excited and a bit nervous. We have a lot of work to get done here before we can leave. Anyway, I'll try to pop in and let y'all know about our adventures in The Old Country.
Ok...well, I'm going to go now and pack some boxes...
Y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe

Been Farmin' Long?

Hello, F.O.T.E.s!
Yes, yes....I know it's been a coon's age since I posted...accept my sincere apologies. Y'all are so sweet to email, call and ask me in person "WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO BLOG AGAIN?!?!" LOL So...without further adieu:

The Flock was all buckled up in the van, ready for a trip to town. One of our errands was to go out to eat, so we hadn't fed them before we left. In order to stave off sure starvation, The Ram began handing out beef jerky. Now, I should point out that there was an ax (to use during another errand) lying on the floor, in front of Musical's seat...
Musical, chewing one piece of jerky and admiring the piece left in her hand:
"Maybe one day, Daddy can catch one of these [animals the jerky was made from], and then he can kill it with his Big Ax." (Remember that farm tool I told you about?)
LionessLamb responds: "Musical, that's COW!"
Daddy adds: "AND, it's a *pick ax* not a 'Big Ax.'"
Musical, hearing the wrong consonant again: "OH!!!! OK!!! Then, Daddy can use the ax to kill the pig, then the PIG can kill the cow!!"

Now, I've not lived there for a long time, but I'm not remembering any "pig axes" on my dad's farm. And especially not any that were put to use by a deceased animal. Something just not right about that...
Email me if you need further explanation.
Y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe


Confuse-Us say: "Child in warm truck should not have fit in cold weather."

Say It Like You Mean It

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s,
Yes, it's been a while since I last posted. We've been super busy since the beginning of the new year and I can't seem to get my feet under me.
I've been thinking lately about the power of our words. More specifically, how what we say, or think, affects us. I'm not a real fan of Norman Peale and his "Power of Positive Thinking," but I do believe that we can edify or doom ourselves by the thoughts we entertain.
Sometimes, this battle of the mind is fierce--fearful or angry thoughts seem to bombard us. We grit our teeth and proclaim, "NO! That's NOT true!!!" I call this "taking every thought captive" so we can pull it down beside The Truth and compare the two. We *know* which one is True. God's word--His instructions for us in every situation.
I'll admit, this is something I've had to deal with lately. We have a couple situations coming up that I could get very fearful about, if I were to allow myself that luxury. That's the "flesh," our human tendency, and letting it take over *is* indulging the flesh. God says He didn't give us that spirit of fear. So, if it's not from Him, where did it come from? Hint: it smells like smoke. ;-)
Personally, I'm just fed up with making decisions based on fear. Our family motto is "'Rams' fear no man, 'Rams' fear only God." Now, do I *feel* that way? All the time?? BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! (ahem) Uh, no. But, I have a responsibility to, when I'm starting to allow fear, or any other negative, untrue emotion to take over my mind, to force it to leave and to speak God's truth into the situation.
You know, if we speak something long and fervently enough, we'll begin to believe it. What do you want to believe? You're not good enough? You're not safe? God isn't going to take care of you? That person *meant* to offend you? Or do you want to believe Truth? God loves you so much He sent His son to die for you! God is *with you*! Helping you!! He is able to supply all our needs!! Through Christ, we can believe the best of others!!
Wow. I'm feeling better. :-) Guess I'll go carpe diem for God's glory!!!
Hey, y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe

Confuse-Us say: "When life hands you lemons, avoid all paper." :-)

Hokie Pokie Wedding

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s,
God's peace to you! I hope you're being blessed here in 2006, regardless of the circumstances around you. :-)
I want to tell you about a wedding we attended Saturday. It was the wedding of our midwife's daughter. She also attended our birth, so I guess you could consider her one of our midwives, as well...Anyway, this precious lady has waited a long time for God to bring her husband to her, and we have prayed for years He would orchestrate their marriage. So, a few months back, I was delighted to hear from our midwife that her sweet daughter was about to be married.
The wedding was this past Saturday. I appreciated that on the invitation, all our children were mentioned as well. That's always a question when we're invited to a wedding. The children were so excited to be invited, LOL!
When we arrived at the church, we were blessed to see the vast array people there. There were several Amish families, and several um,...er...pierced/tattooed type families. :-) Of course, too, there were many, many families who fell somewhere between. Also, there were many, many babies and pregnant ladies. What else would you expect at a midwife's wedding? LOL!
The theme was "Dreams do come true..." and the decorations were castles, etc. Rather "Cinderella-ish." Truly, that day *was* a dream come true for this dear lady.
The ceremony was rather short--maybe 30 minutes, but the reception was a real party! Loads of food, lots of music, speeches, etc. And it was all "family friendly." The highlight of the reception, for me, was the Hokie Pokie dance. T.T. and I danced that together--what a hoot! Our girls were amazed. LOL
The night wore on until The Ram reminded us that we had church the next day, and we might ought to be going. So, after a few more minutes we loaded up and came home.
If you're the praying type, please ask The Lord to bless the union of J and J.
Y'all keep your wool dry,
The Ewe

Quote of the Day: "This syrup is supposed to be LIGHT!!!" unnamed Lamb

State Capitol

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s!
Thought I'd tell you about our little day trip yesterday...
The Ram needed to go by the state Headquarters for National Guard, which happens to be in our state's capitol city. I had been to the capitol while I was in college, but that was many years ago. Even then, we didn't actually go into the building, LOL.
So, we unloaded our brood beside the dome-topped capitol and went inside. We oohed the marble and ahhed the statuary. Then climbed steps and visited the galleries of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. We sat in the chambers of the Supreme Court. Once, I had to explain to a Lamb that, "No, President Bush doesn't work here." LOL We had a short discussion about state vs. federal governments.
We also enjoyed looking at the doll display. It was the "First Ladies" of our state. I was interested in what they would do about the lady governor we had some years back. Would there be a "First Man" doll? LOL No, they just did a doll in the likeness of that governor.
Anyway, we're back now. Looking forward to a quiet day at home. No mahogany, no marble...just hardwood, linoleum and peanut butter. :-)
Y'all keep your wool dry,
The Ewe

Quote of the Day: Our family was enjoying a visit w/ the GrandRams and it had gotten terribly late. T.T. was *not* wanting to settle in for bed. The Ram quipped to him, "Are you not wanting to go to bed? You're just wanting to stay up and read books?" (T.T. was looking at a book.) T.T. replied, "I dooo read books!" LOL

A Fire's a Fire...

...a grill's a grill...

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s!
I'm still forgetting that our year is now 2006. It usually takes me a while each year to adjust to the new date.
Anyway, we had temperatures in the mid-60's today. I've long said that 60's in January can come to no good. Indeed, there were storms today, but it never got very bad here. Storms seem to skirt our li'l' patch of the county. We are quite thankful. When it gets so warm during the winter, I always think of the tornado that we were in back in 2002. It was during January on a day the temperatures were unseasonably warm. The Lord protected us then and now, and we are thankful.
Today, the storms came through right after I'd put a pan of chicken breasts in the oven to cook for "lupper." (lunch/supper ;-) The thought occurred to me, "I hope the power doesn't go out..." Well, about 10 minutes after I put the meat in the oven...the power went out. LOL Once the rain was over and the sun was back shining, we "made lemonade" and pulled the chicken out of the dead oven and The Ram fired up the grill. So, we had a cookout. LOL Of course the rice I had put on the stove had to wait to cook until the power came back on a couple hours later.
All in all, a nice day. Not often you get to have a picnic in January. :-)
Y'all keep your wool dry,
The Ewe


Quote of the Day: (Overheard while watching a movie set in Asia when the character was eating raw fish)

T.T.: "That's shooey!!" (icky)
Ewe: "No, T.T., that's *sushi!*"

:-)

Blessed New Year!

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s!
Well, we welcomed in the New Year last night, in traditional RamFamily order--asleep. LOL We had spent the day going to the park, visiting an "old favorite" restaurant ("Ole!") and generally just enjoying being a family. Somehow, that wiped us out and we were off to bed pretty early. Anyway, I believe the last time we actually made it to midnight was about 9 years ago. Anyway, hope your year is a new "Best" for your family. :-)
I did want to point out that we need to seriously be enjoying those party eye glasses that spell out "2006." Remember the others, 2000 on up to 2005? It struck me last night that we only have 3 more years left to amass those glasses. Once 2010 hits, the era of kitschy new year's glasses is over for another 100 years. ;-)
So, you might want to prowl the clearance sales and pick up a pair or two. They could be collectors' items one day, LOL.
Well, y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe

Smart Cats and Antiperspirant

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s!
Well, if you've been around The Fold for a while, you'll remember we've had a few "cat incidences." Remember?
We've always joked around here that our house is a Cat Survival of the Fittest laboratory. Only the most advanced felines survive. These are the cats that know to stay away from the road. Evidently, this batch of 4 we currently have are pretty smart. They've been here since July with no unfortunate events.
Anyway, I was impressed this morning with my cats' tactics. It seems they had gotten tired of waiting to be fed early this morning, so dumped out the big bag of cat food. The "smart" part is that they dumped it into an empty plastic cooler. I didn't see one spilled bit of food. (ok, I *know* they probably ate any food that had spilled, just humor me. ;-) Later, the Lambies told me that the bag had earlier been sitting on the tricycle. I was even more impressed. No doubt the cats rolled the bag across the garage floor to that plastic cooler, then deftly emptied the bag into it. Don't you think?
I'm sure you're wondering about the "antiperspirant" part of my title. I'll begin that part by letting you know a keep-your-feet-warm trick I just heard about. Rumor has it that if you apply anti-perspirant to your feet before going out in the cold, it will keep your feet warmer by keeping them from sweating. I haven't tried it yet--let me know if it works for you...
Apparently, Tiny Tot was recently involved in a little anti-perspirant experiment of his own. I noticed a distinctly "peachy" smell right before he rounded the corner in the living room last night. Then, I noticed a distinctly strange expression on his face and a distinctly whitish, chalky substance around his mouth. At that point, my gaze fell to his hand, in which he was grasping a distinctly distinct bottle of (you guessed it) anti-perspirant. Well, at least his breath didn't, uh, *stink.* Now, I don't know if any of you have ever gotten anti-perspirant on you tongue, but *I* have. I don't know how, exactly, that it happened, but I can tell you that it leaves a very unusual sensation in your mouth. And, yes--your tongue is dry in that spot. Weird. (Please don't be alarmed--we really *don't* make a habit of slurping down inedible items. Purely just freak accidents. ;-)
Well, I need to go. The Ram has been working a new job that has us getting up at (yawn) 3:30 a.m. More on that later...
Y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe

Greetings from The Fold

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s!
Well, we're enjoying the Christmas season here this year. Having The Ram home makes it even more special. He and I also had the joy of celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary last Thursday. The GrandRams drove all the way up here to give us the chance the go to our favorite restaurant all alone. We really appreciated it. It was a very nice meal and superb company. :-) I did let The Ram know that we had eaten at that restaurant on our anniversary last year, as well--though the "we" was the children and I. LOL
This Christmas looks very much different than last year's. Last year's, if you'll remember, the Lambs and I were snowed in. I believe we had "M.U.O.'s" (Meals of Unknown Origin) from the freezer, during Christmas week. It was certainly a Christmas to remember--The Ram was 7,000 miles away and we were under ice and snow here.
When The Ram got home last month, a dear gentleman from our church gave him a good slap on the back and "Welcome home!," and then reminded us not to forget the soldiers still Over There. It was good word. Truly, The Ram's deployment seems like a distant dream. I have to remind myself of what life was like here without him. Occasionally, something happens that highlights the fact that "Daddy's home." It will strike out of nowhere and I'll marvel at the blessing of his presence. Last Friday, I didn't even know the whereabouts of the trash dumpster--and it was ok!!! Amazingly, it was parked at the end of the driveway, waiting for the trash man. Ahhh...peace. :-)
And, "Peace to you!" this season. I pray Our Lord grants you a blessed Christmas, one in which the hub bub is subdued and the *true* blessings are treasured and prominent.
Well, gotta run...Y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe

Update

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s!
Well, I was chided yesterday for forgetting to update y'all about Musical's last "hurrah!" Indeed, it *was* just a "mechanical mishap" as it was a one-time deal. ;-) For the time being, all The Flock is hale and hearty.
Thanks for asking! :-)
Warmly,
The Ewe

Quote of the Day: (laughing) "Mama standing in muh shooey chair!!!" T.T. upon seeing me standing on a dining chair to reach something in a cabinet. :-)

Not for the Faint of Heart (eh, er...)Stomach

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s,
Well, I'm sitting here a little dazed. My body is exhausted. My mind has been turned to mush. I've yielded to fits of laughter, tears... Never in my life have I seen such a display. Yes, Friends...we're wrapping up Vomit Week here at The Fold. The Discovery Channel once had a series called "Shark Week," but they never had Vomit Week. (Thank goodness--you wouldn't want to see it.) Beginning last Wed., some horrific gastrointestinal microbe wreaked havoc on The Flock. It began with LionessLamb(formerly Carnival ;-). Three a.m. she padded into our bedroom and said, "Mom. I don't feel good." I asked sleepily, "Do you think you're going to vomit?" A sleepy reply, "No." I said, dismissively, "Ok, well, go back to bed then and get some rest." She padded back to bed and I began to relax again. Then, in the darkness...that sound mothers dread and even have nightmares about....
BLECH! (kersplatty)

I was immediately wide awake. I rushed to the bathroom to find L.L. (LionessLamb) bent over the toilet. "Whew," I thought. "Glad she made it to the bathroom." ROTFLOL--I just hadn't seen the bedroom yet. EEK! At that point, no matter how concerned I was or how much compassion I felt...I gagged. I called for The Ram and grabbed my nose and covered my mouth. I left the bathroom and sat on the couch, waiting for the nausea to subside. Strangely, it only got worse. I told The Ram, "I need to go into the other room--this is making me sick." So, while my saintly husband wiped and scrubbed the bathroom, bedroom and hallway, I went back to bed. Eventually, he made it back in there, too. L.L. was safely tucked back into bed. Everyone drifted back to sleep, thinking mean thoughts about the fast food restaurant we'd eaten at that night (assuming their food handling had made L.L. sick.) A while later, L.L. was back in the bathroom, making another deposit. All through the night, this went on--cleaning up L.L., lying back down...drifting off to sleep...then BLECH!!! Finally, about 5 a.m., Musical came into the room. "Mommy. I can't sleep in my bed." I opened one eye..."Why not, Musical?" Exactly what I *didn't* want to hear, "I threw up in it." NO!!! No, no, no!!!!! Not fair!!! I thought, "Does this microbe have no mercy???" Sigh...The Ram and I got up, mopped up Musical as best we could, and made her a pallet in the living room, so we could hear her better if she got sick again. As we were tucking her in...
BLECH!!!! This came from (horror of horrors) MY bedroom, where Tater Tot had (I thought) been sleeping peacefully. The Ram and I rushed into our room and found li'l' T.T. expelling his undigested bedtime snack onto the sheet...directly beneath my pillow. I again felt nauseated.
We cleaned up. We lay down. The next several hours are missing in action. I do remember lying down later in the morning, then yelling for The Ram to bring the Puke Bucket...QUICKLY. I remember him dashing in, like a knight on a white horse, sliding that pan under my head just in time. I don't remember how many times that little scene played out, because by that time, the fever had set in and I was in and out of sleep for the next day. Similarly, L.L., T.T. and Musical were alternately vomiting and sleeping, moaning and groaning for the next full day. The Ram and Lovable were the most selfless, incredible nurses. They lovingly cared for us all with much compassion.
By Friday, L.L., T.T., Musical and I were suffering only lingering effects of the stomach bug. It looked like it was about over with...then...
Lovable states, "Mom. I don't feel very good."
NOOOOOOOO!!!
Yup. We all cared for Lovable as she threw up, moaned and groaned like we had.
I thought it was curious that The Ram had been able to avoid the Terrible Illness. Not to worry, though, that Bug was not through with The Flock yet!!! "But wait, there's more!!!"
Saturday night (or was it later Friday night???) I woke up to find The Ram missing. Hmmm....He came inching into the bedroom later, carrying a Puke Bucket. He was the last to succumb, but succumb he did. At least by that time, most of us were feeling much better, so we could dote on him. Poor fellow--gone a year in service to his country, then BLECH!!!! Welcome home, Honey!! :-)
EPILOGUE: It's now Tues. night, nearly a week since the first volley was fired. Just today did I finish the mountain of Throw Up laundry that accumulated with 6 people emptying their guts for days. Mere moments ago, I snuggled down into bed, looking forward to a long night's sleep, when L.L. called out, "Musical's throwing up!!!!" Fear gripped me. I thought, "No, she must be wrong. It can't be..." I scurried into the girls' bedroom and found....NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Musical covered in supper remains. I had immediate flashbacks from the last week. My blood ran cold. Then, L.L. said, "She was just coughing and coughing, then she threw up..." Whew. Ok. I think that was just the effect of the gag reflex, triggered by a coughing fit, brought on by her sleeping on her back and saliva running into her throat. Right? RIGHT???
Sigh. I'll let you know tomorrow...
The (very tired) Ewe

Homecoming

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s,
Well, my Beloved is home. We brought him home on Veterans' Day. I will admit, I've never been prouder to be married to this man. Button-popping proud, I'd call it. Our reunion as a family has been seamless so far. We were told to expect difficulties in coming back together as a family, but it hasn't happened. Of course, The Ram is still greeted by the "Welcome Wagon" every time he emerges from the bathroom. LOL He is seldom out of our sight. Everywhere he goes, he has an entourage of little folks, still just soaking up being with Daddy. :-) He's been making us omelets--his specialty. We call him The Omelet King around here. YUM!
Today, he's planning on taking his daughters "geocaching." Have you heard of it? It's kind of like a high-tech scavenger hunt. Email me, if you'd like more info. It's a fun family hobby of ours.
We were reminded at church Sunday that, though The Ram is home, safe and sound, many soldiers are still deployed. We must continue to be faithful in praying for them. We saw many soldiers getting ready to leave at The Ram's demobilization station. My heart went out to them and their families.
There was something funny that happened the last time I drove on post to pick up The Ram. Every time you enter a military installation, you are greeted by a security guard. Some carefully inspect your military/dependant i.d., some barely glance at it, some are friendly and some are "all business." Each of them seems to ask you different questions..."Here to pick up someone?" "Do you know where you're going?" "Everyone buckled up?" Even the friendly ones are pretty "to the point." That last time I drove on post, the guard asked, "Picking someone up?" I replied, "Yes, my husband." He had a new question for me, "Does he have leave?" I answered, "Nope--he's DONE." Never before has a guard responded the way this one did--He let out an earsplitting WHOOOP!! and yelled, "GOING HOME!!!! YEAHHHH!!!" Hooah! :-) I couldn't help myself, so I hollered back, "YEAHHH!!!!" I couldn't stop smiling.
Well, I need to go...I'm wondering where The Ram is...haven't seen him in the past 15 minutes...hmmmm....
Y'all keep your wool dry,
The Ewe

Quote of the Day: "GOING HOME!!! YEAHH!!!!" --unknown security guard at Camp Atterbury, IN

Well, This is It...

Hi, Friends,
This is my last edition of The Ewe's Gnus as the wife of a deployed soldier. (The "deployed" part being what's about to change. ;-) We leave in a few hours to go stand watch over the demobilization station. I'm going up there to chain myself to a tree and chant, "Where's my hus-band?! Where's my hus-band?!" Not really, LOL. But we do expect his unit's return within a few days...don't know exactly when, but soon. (for security reasons, exact details are not shared)
The mood here is festive and nervous. The kids are festive and I'm nervous. LOL Not really...See, I'm in a joking mood. :-)
Actually, I'm feeling much like I did right before our wedding...except this is better--I'm not wondering, "Should I go through with this?" LOL Yes, I'm already married to a wonderful man, so any nervousness is not of the "bad" variety, just "Can't-wait-to-see-my-hubby" variety.
As you can probably tell, my thoughts are quite scattered. Do please keep The Ram in your prayers--he's going to be enduring a loooooong plane ride in the next few days.
Well, Friends...here goes...I'll let you know when the "Eagle has landed." :-)
Y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe


Quote of the Day: Musical--"Did that melt your heart, Mommy?" Her question regarding the unusual leaking around my eye area during a show we were watching. :-)

Single Digit Midgets

That's us! And I don't mean that we all cut off 9 fingers, LOL. The Ram gave us a "window" of dates when we can expect to pick him up. (He can't give exact times/dates--for security reasons.) So, though we don't know *exactly* when he'll be back, we do know it's soon!! The GrandRams came up last week and helped us clean out part of the garage and the "warehouse." (It's a big barn-ish outbuilding we use for storage.) Didn't get completely finished with it, but definitely got enough done to be an encouragement...and to make it seem "do-able."
We found some treasures that had been missing for years. We also found some "treasures" that made me wonder, "Why did we keep this????" LOL I realized I have enough clothes that are not being used that we could open a small Salvation Army. We are planning an indoor yard sale (the warehouse is BIG) in a few weeks. Fifteen years of clutter...sigh...
Well, I'm not sure how often I'll blog before we go to get the Ram. (Why are you laughing, L.A.?) We'll be spending several days away while the Ram does the necessary paperwork to get to come home.
We are all very excited about Daddy coming home. I think everyone has her list of Things to Do with Dad. :-)
Gotta run...got a V.I.P. coming soon... ;-)
Y'all keep your wool dry,
The Ewe

Update to Breaking Gnus

Uhh...for those who know me well...very well (hi, Honey!) I wanted to assure you that The Ewe's use of the word "snot" in the previous post in no way indicates a general change of policy at The Fold. It is still a four letter word, however, in this case, The Ewe judged the phrase "double barrel *mucus* gun" to not have quite the same ring to it...
Carry on...

Breaking Gnus

...Tater Tot has discovered that his nose has two parking spaces--one per thumb. We're calling it the "Double Barrel Snot Gun." Stay tuned...

Just the Quote, Ma'am

Quote of the Day:
(Overheard at The Fold): Musical and Lovable were playing...
Musical: "I'm not going to talk like a stylish teenager; I'm going to talk like a nice one."

:-)

God's "It's-No-Problem" Laboratory

Hello F.O.T.E.s!
You know, Our Lord is so good about providing opportunities for us to "work out" the things He's teaching us.
For instance...Sunday, I wrote the "No Prob, Bob" blog. Sounded fine, but God wanted to be sure I had a chance to test that concept. So....Monday...on our way to Town, the van began making a terrible sound--like a flat tire, but under the hood. I pulled off the road and started to feel panicky. Then, just as I'd rehearsed, I began telling myself, "It's no problem! Just an opportunity." I'll admit, I needed to rinse and repeat that several times as I drove my wounded craft to our pastor's house for an emergency landing. Pastor's Family graciously welcomed us to stay in their home while Pastor's Mechanic worked on our van. My children are now forming an alternate reality about mechanical probl...uh...opportunities. The last two times we had van issues, we landed at friends' houses to regroup. The children look forward to vehicles mishaps, as that's when we are forced to make time to do some visiting. LOL We will endeavor to "spread the love" and land at different friends' houses, so as not to overburden any one bloodline. ;-) Not that I'm planning on any more breakdowns. In fact, I'm planning on not doing that again. For a really, really long time. Though I imagine my children get a little thrill whenever the van starts making funny noises. :-)
Well...gotta run...got work to catch up on from all our recent "visiting." :-)
Y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe

No Prob, Bob

Hello F.O.T.E.s! (Friends of The Ewe ;-)
Something has been stirring around in my head this week. I thought I'd better share it with you...
Talking with The Ram this past week, I stated, "I have no problems." We were discussing how that your attitude determines whether your life is "full of problems" or you can say "I have no problems, only opportunities for growth." Now, I haven't always been able to state, "I have no problems." It's not that the circumstances were any worse--it's that my attitude was. In the New Testament, when Peter stepped out on the water to walk out to Jesus, he did fine for a short time. He was saying, "I have no problems!" But soon, those waves caught his eye and he doubted. His former "opportunity for growth" quickly became A Problem. Once his faith shrunk away, he began to sink. (glug)
I have so much to be thankful for. I reflect on the prob...umm..."Opportunities" others have, and I realize what a life of ease Our Lord has graciously granted us. I am so grateful to Him for his loving care for us. There have been situations in our life that, during the heat of it, it seemed like A Problem. I thank God that He has oftentimes allowed me to look back later and see that that Problem was, alas, just an Opportunity!
I'm praying that The Lord will help me to discipline my mind and continuously declare, "I have no problems!!!" I realize I cannot do that on my own. The faith to trust in God is not something any of us can conjure up. I am always tickled by the verse in the Bible found in the Book of Ephesians, the 2nd chapter and 8th verse: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, *and that not of yourselves* [emphasis mine] it is the gift of God..." I love that! I can almost picture the writer getting excited, explaining how we can never work up God's good favor toward us. He reminds us that we didn't do *anything* to earn God's gift of salvation...Yes, we did have faith to believe, but doggone! Even THAT came from God. So...do I have faith at all times to confidently state, "I have no problems!!"? NO! I don't have enough faith for that. But, praise the LORD! I can ASK for it! Wow. It is such a relief to know that I don't have work myself into a frenzy to "have faith." If my faith is waning, I can ask God to grant it to me. So, with that in mind, I will say, *by God's grace* I will declare my "problems," OPPORTUNITIES and trust the Lord to work it out. Besides, 27 years ago, I told God I accepted His free gift of salvation. If I can trust Him with my eternal soul, shouldn't I be able to trust Him with all the piddly little details in the here and now? I want to confidently declare, as Paul did, "For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain!" In other words, what do I have to lose? If I live, I can serve my Savior. If I die, I get to go live with Him. Where's the unfavorable choice? LOL If the worst thing that can happen to me is death, it's All Good. :-)
Now, Dear Friend, you might be saying, "Yeah, sure...but you don't have my problems..." You're right. I don't. I cannot even imagine the pain some of you live with. Please know, I do not want to sound harsh or lacking in compassion! Far from it! I just want you to know that life doesn't have to be filled with fear and worry. If our Lord truly is in control (and I believe He is!) we can relax in Him. We can stop trying to wrestle the steering wheel out of His grip. It's awfully tiring to fight against Him! Oh, Friend. I pray God's rest for you. :-)
Many blessings,
The Ewe

My Garage...

...grows pink bicycles.

Hello, F.O.T.E.s!
Ahhh...this is my FAVE time of year!!! I tend to "reverse hibernate"--I only come outside when it gets cool enough. LOL And, Sister, it's cool enough!!! The last few days have been downright fall-ish. Which is fine, it being Fall and all. :-) The trees around our house are sending down more confetti every day. Yup. Life is good...
Tonight after dinner, I went outside to enjoy a bike show. My children delight in putting on fine shows of the two-wheel variety. This evening it was a bit nippy out there, so I made myself a "spot of tea" to fend off the chill. While I was snuggled down in the lawn chair, sipping my peppermint tea, my eye fell on a pink bicycle (c'mon now...enough jokes...you know it didn't *fall* on the bike ;-). I thought, "Hmmm...I forgot we had that bike." Then, all of a sudden, it was as if my viewpoint zoomed out, and I saw the whole driveway--with countless pink bicycles, and one pink trike strewn about like an explosion at the Schwinn plant. How did this happen? How did we accumulate (what?) 4 pink bicycles?! That's not even including the black one I donated to Carnival when she outgrew her (you guessed it) pink one. I wondered how I'd not noticed the abundance of pink bikes through the years. It wasn't as if we were constantly buying pink bicycles. We did buy a couple of them--usually for Carnival, as she outgrew the others. One of them Lovable won at a restaurant give-away. One was given to Musical. I guess we were predestined to have a plethora of pink two-wheelers. Well...that's ok...I think the Pink Bike Owners are pretty neat folks.
Might not be a bad idea, though, to begin some sort of registration program for the bikes. I think they're colonizing in the garage and I want to be sure they do not become too powerful.
Must run...getting oh-so sleepy ...
Y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe

Quote of the Day: "YoujusSOfunny!" Tater Tot

Happy Birthday to......

Lovable!!!
Hello, F.O.T.E.s! Actually, tomorrow, Oct. 8 is Lovable's birthday, but we'll be celebrating today. We'll be meeting her buddies at the park to enjoy a picnic and cake and ice cream. It's hard to believe this girl is 8 years old! She asked me yesterday if I remembered when *I* was 8. I told her I remember my 8th birthday, because I got a swingset. I hung upside down on the bar and thought, "Wow. I'm 8 now. I've got to start acting my age." LOL I remember feeling very old and mature. Yes, turning 8 was a very serious event for The Ewe. LOL
In other news, we rolled the trash dumpster out to the curb last night. Another trash day down...we have tantalizingly few more "roll outs" left before The Ram returns home to us. I'm getting awfully nervous--to the point of frantic, truth be told, LOL. I keep thinking of things I wanted to have done before he got back...Frankly, I fear some of those just aren't going to happen at this point. I think he'll still want to come home, though, even though the garage has yet to be cleaned out. ;-) Surely all the "wags and licks" he'll be assaulted with will distract him from the clutter in the garage. Don't you think? :-)
Well, I'm going to sign off for today. Many Big Doings to get ready for.
Y'all keep your wool dry,
The Ewe

Quote of the Day: "Carnival, I'm going to the bathroom...TAIL your brother." (The Ewe)
"Ok [turns to baby]...Tater Tot, Mom's going to the bathroom." (Carnival)

Volunteer State Festivals

Hello, F.O.T.E.s,
I don't know what it's like where you live, but down in TN, they know how to have a community festival. This past month, I've spent a good bit of time down there, trying to get the house sold. In our spare time, we attended a few community festivals. One of them celebrated the soybean. We ran into several dear friends there--it was great. We enjoyed funnel cakes.
After that was Doodle Soup Days. We sampled doodle soup (kinda like bbq chicken with a dipping sauce) and had Dippin' Dots. Carnival scaled a climbing wall, sponsored by the National Guard.
A week later, we visited the Dulcimer Festival. Strangely missing was food...? They were, evidently, very serious musicians. The powdered sugar might be bad for the instruments.
Months earlier, we attended the Fiddlesticks Festival. Fiddlesticks are basically ice cream on a stick, covered with chocolate. Not a bad way to spend several hundred calories. ;-) This one was crowned King of the Festivals by my flock. Their reasons: all the rides were free, the crowd was small, ICE CREAM, and Wimpy's. Wimpy's is a restaurant in that town that makes the best burgers. And huge! The regular Wimpy is a 1 pound, hand pressed patty! The Jr. Wimpy is a half pound and the "Baby Wimpy" is a quarter pound. EEK! That's one big baby! The fries come in a huge basket. One order fed my whole flock. So, what was the price for this gut-wrenching, artery clogging amount of food? Less than a trip to McDonald's. ! Yeah...the Lambies have discovered "haute cuisine!" :-)
You know, after analyzing all our data on the Great TN Festival Road Trip, it appears that Tennesseans, 1) know how to party and 2) love food!
Gotta run...
Y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe


Quote of the Day: "Those other girls got the music...YOU got the musician." :-)
A dear friend's husband, defending himself of his wife's accusations that he wrote his other high school girlfriends love songs, but never wrote her one.

Ewe Ever Dance?

...This Ewe did yesterday. Mr. FedEx man brought me a check. From the sale of our house! Sweet success! It's been 4 years in the making. Whew!
Yup. I did the Happy Dance right there on the driveway.
Y'all keep your wool dry,
The Ewe

Quote of the Day:
"WE'RE DEBT FREEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!"

The GrandRams...

...Are home. Continue to pray for them as they decompress.

The Ewe


Quote of the Day: Lovable, had just asked me what that 'funny looking underwear in the catalog' was. I explained that it's special underwear that helps a lady look more trim. Understanding brightened her face and she replied, "OH! So, it's a griddle!" (that's no typo) :-)

My Heroes Have Always Been...

...normal folks. Nita, Tanisha and Ernestine, you rate. :-)


This is from Foxsnews.com:

"At the convention center, people stumbled toward the helicopters, dehydrated and nearly passing out from exhaustion. Many had to be carried by National Guard troops and police on stretchers. Some were being pushed up the street on office chairs and on dollies.

Nita LaGarde, 105, was pushed down the street in her wheelchair as her nurse's 5-year-old granddaughter, Tanisha Blevin, held her hand. The pair spent two days in an attic, two days on an interstate island and the last four days on the pavement in front of the convention center.

"They're good to see," LaGarde said, with remarkable gusto as she waited to be loaded onto a gray Marine helicopter. She said they were sent by God. "Whatever He has for you, He'll take care of you. He'll sure take care of you."

LaGarde's nurse, Ernestine Dangerfield, 60, said LaGarde had not had a clean adult diaper in more than two days.

"I just want to get somewhere where I can get her nice and clean," she said. "


Faithful nurses, doctors, soldiers, and elderly folks...Those are the heroes.

Keeping my wool dry and keeping the faith,
The Ewe

What Can *I* Do?

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s,
As pictures and stories come to us from the Gulf States, some of you have probably had the thought *I* did yesterday--"...but what can *I* do?" My in-laws are actually down there, helping provide food and comfort. (Also, my husband is 7,000 miles away, doing his part to promote Democracy.) And I'm here, making peanut butter sandwiches. :-)
Now, I do plan to collect items to send (check out the website below), and I do plan to send a monetary gift, but we all like to feel we had a personal impact on situations like this. A friend encouraged me yesterday, "You've got family off doing these big things and you're left behind. But you keep being positive--keep on keeping on." Oh, how that made me smile. I thought a lot about that. I realized that it's all a matter of *knowing* what your job is. My calling is to raise up these little ones and hold down the fort while The Ram is gone. Now, we will incorporate our "relief efforts" into our life here--collecting items, etc--but, since I know where I'm supposed to be, I can keep my priorities straight. Yes, there is something attractive about doing the dramatic things. But I'm called to be faithful to my mission. Our soldiers overseas can't rush home to help our Gulf Coast brothers and sisters. They have a mission there, as *I* have mine here.
Thinking about this last night, I heard a little whisper in my heart, "Ewe, you could be feeding those peanut butter sandwiches to the future engineer that will solve New Orleans' problem once and for all. You could be feeding those sandwiches to a future Coast Guardman who will pluck people from danger. You could be feeding those sandwiches to the scientist who will discover a cure for cancer. You could be feeding those sandwiches to the mother or father of the person who God uses to usher in the next Great Awakening." OH, isn't that exciting? But what if I'm feeding those sandwiches to a future restaurant manager? Or truck driver?
Remember the movie "It's a Wonderful Life?" I love how it points out that we *all* impact our world. We may never know the extent of it, but that doesn't matter. In the big picture, we're all just "a vapor." But we're vapors who can mean the difference to some other "vapors." :-)
So, what can *I* do? First off, I can pray. I can ask The Commander daily what He has for me to do in that day. I can remain faithful and steadfast in my calling. In that context, we will also reach out to the people in such desperate conditions.
Well, gotta run...I've got some peanut butter sandwiches to make...
Y'all keep your wool dry,
The Ewe

For information on giving monetary gifts and in-kind donations:

http://www.tnbaptist.org/

Katrina

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s,
Oh, my heart is heavy for the people of our Gulf states. It seems the worst was just beginning in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina blew through yesterday. She had mushroomed into a monster Category 5 hurricane the day before, but weakened before barreling ashore. Still, a Cat. 4 is nothing to sneeze at. Though she veered slightly east and did not strike New Orleans squarely, the devastation is incredible. I had thought that, with the advance notice and mandatory evacuations, the death toll would be low. No one is expecting that anymore. My understanding is that many of the city's pumps (which it needs in order to stay dry even without flooding)have stopped working. There have been levee breaks, letting Lake Pontchartrain run into the city. A water main is broken. The mayor estimates that up to 80% of the city is under water--up to 20 feet deep in some places.
I've just read, too, that the mayor has issued another mandatory evacuation order. This one requires citizens to leave the city, including the "refuge of last resort"-- the Louisiana Superdome. Up to 10,000 people, mainly elderly, frail or poor, had lined up for hours to get inside before Katrina hit. Even there, portions of the roof peeled off, letting in torrents of rain. The mayor, concerned about the deteriorating conditions in the city, has now ordered even those refugees moved.
Amidst all this, The GrandRams are on their way to New Orleans. They are going as part of the Disaster Relief Team from the Southern Baptist Convention. You would be surprised at the training that you must take to be part of those teams. They do a great job. Please pray for the Teams...and pray for The GrandRams, too, as they go.
As for us here, we're soaked. Many surrounding counties have some flooded roadways and most closed the schools today.
Well, I'm going to sign off now. I'll keep you updated.
Today, I *really* mean it--"Y'all keep your wool dry!"
The Ewe

Check out the info about the TN Baptist Disaster Relief Teams:

http://www.tnbaptist.org/page.asp?cat=news&subcat=disaster

Time Speeds By...and a Prayer Request

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s!
I am truly astounded that another week has passed. I've said from the beginning of this deployment that once we made it to Aug., time would fly. So far, I've been right. Aug. has flown by. Seems like Trash Day rolls around every other day, LOL. I'm certainly not complaining. We can't wait to have The Ram back in our grasp.
Let's see...oh, yes... the prayer request. Well, our landlord called last week and told me that they are planning on selling this house. And that they'd *like* to sell it to *us.* LOL Hmmm....One catch was that our TN house hasn't sold yet. Well, a couple days after Landlord called, our Tenant (in TN) called to say they'd gotten financing to buy our old house. WAhoo!!! We're supposed to close on that next week. (Lord willing.) So, about *our* living arrangements...I told The Ram the time has come that we either have to marry this house, or set it free for someone else to love. LOL I am rather attached to the house, but we're nearly positive that we could never afford the mortgage. So...what do we do? We have our eyes on a beeeee-autiful piece of property not far from here, but there is no house on it. So, do we buy a trailer to live in there while we build a house? Just don't know. Would you join us in prayer that God will show us clearly His will for us? Thanks.
Oh, I have to tell you what happened tonight. File this under "Appliances and Plumbing Know When the Man is Gone." I went to flush The Ram's toilet (i.e. the toilet in his bathroom here. ;-) and it wouldn't flush. Not uncommon around here. Usually, we just dump extra water in and "viola!" it flushes. Not tonight. So, I lift the lid to the tank. Hmmm..."Wonder what would happen if I pullll...this?" NIAGARA FALLS!!! EWWWW dirty potty water came gushing out of the toilet, soaking the rug in there, flowing out the door into the laundry room AND kitchen...EEK! It's as if the Pacific were backwashing into my bathroom! Anyway, somehow I got the river to stop "running through it," then mopped, soaked, and toweled until the water was gone. Dumped the rug/towels/etc. into the washer. Filled the utility sink (in the laundry room) with bleach water, and began cleaning/disinfecting the floor where the toxic spill occurred. Mop, mop...sweat, sweat...strain, strain. Whew. Got that done. Washed out the mop head...nice and tidy. Pulled the plug on the utility sink...and...NIAGARA REVISITED!!!! The "exit pipe" had pulled apart at a joint and dumped bleach water everywhere (of course, bleach water is better than potty water...but I had some laundry in the floor, waiting its turn to be washed. I had to scoop up the non-colorfast stuff really quick, while the sink released its contents onto my floor.) GRRRR...but then, LOL!!! I decided I was too tired to get mad...might as well laugh. LOL Yes, finally, I got the laundry room cleaned out. Now, The Ram's bathroom and the laundry room look really good! :-)
Well, must run. Tomorrow is Sunday--always a busy time around here. Y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe

Quote of the Day: "Mommy! You forgot to press 'play!'" Musical--standing at the silent microwave.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s!
Well, I've got such a ton of gnus for you, but I wanted to just pop on here for a minute and let you know about what we did today...
I've been needing new contact lenses for *some* time now, but with The Ram gone, plus being an hour+ from the optometrist, I had put off taking my lil "von Trapp" entourage in get them. ("The hills are ali-i-i-i-i-ve...")
Well, I decided last weekend that MONDAY (today) was The Day. So, I bit the bullet and loaded up my troops. The drive gave me opportunity to instruct the children about the behavior I expected from them. Words such as "duty, family honor, courage" were involved in that conversation, along with words like "punishment, serious, silence, immediate, obedience, and 'small reward' IF..."
The Ram has always purported that if you take all the children into a place of business, you get more prompt (if not altogether friendly) service. I was about to test his hypothesis...
By the time I had filled out the requisite paperwork, the pre-examination person was ready to puff air into my eyes, test for colorblindness and see if I could tell "which bullseye pops out at you." (That last one was new to me. I'm not sure that I passed. :-) I had escorted the children to the toy box and they had settled in.
The first thing Pre-Exam Girl did was take my blood pressure. Lest I frighten you, I won't tell you the numbers--just that they were high for me. The Girl didn't flinch, so I imagine she understood my high level of anxiety. I explained that we'd never tried this before--with me being incapacitated during the exam and Carnival in charge of keeping the peace. Well, a few puffs, colors and bullseyes later, the Girl stood up and asked me to go take out the lenses I'd worn in. Uh...OK...
I went and took those out then sat in a chair near the toy box and listened for clues that those blurry spots were, indeed, my children. Before my chair cushion had time to warm up, the Dr. was leading me into The Big, Blue Chair. Horror of horrors, he shut the door behind him--my progeny on the other side. I felt my blood pressure click up another point.
I have always had a hard time keeping a straight face when the eye doctor examines my eyes with his penlight, right up close. When I was a kid, the optometrist we went to was a smoker. When he turned off all the lights and walked right into my face with his light shining and his breath coming in hoarse rasps like an obscene phonecaller, I always suffered from a fit of giggles. Now as a grown up, I always try to psyche myself up before a visit. I tell myself that it's really NOT funny. It's a very serious eye exam and I will NOT giggle this time. For the past several years, I have managed to get through the inspection with only a grin. Today, with the distraction of the children in the other room, I thought surely I would not be attacked by The Humor Monster. Evidently, the Humor Monster is superior in strength to the Fear of Being Embarrassed by My Toddler, and I caught myself about to snicker. Again, I forced myself to act dignified, and made it through the exam with only the hint of a smile. I've always wanted to ask the Dr. (I see a different one now than the Smoking Eye Doc) if anyone else laughs in his face. But I never have.
I'll admit that I was hoping the doctor might have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding the length of time a patient has worn the same pair of disposable contacts. I will also admit that I carefully phrased my answer. His question was, "How often do you change your contacts?" My scientifically formulated answer was, "GENERALLY every 6-8 weeks." (Notice, he did *not* ask how long I'd been wearing *that particular* pair of contacts...and notice further that I said *generally*.) Two things I'm not likely to share with you: my weight and the length of time I wore those last contacts. ;-) Anyway, the dreaded question/answer was over and the Dr. was writing out my prescription. Before I knew it, the assistant was bringing me a brand, spanking new pair of lenses.
I know you're wondering about the children's behavior during my heart-pounding exam. I am very happy to report that the conversation in the van after the visit was replete with "proud, cooperative, quiet, good job, and small reward." (please, cut me some slack--we almost never do material rewards for good behavior, but this was a momentous, not to mention stressful, occasion, LOL)
As for The Ram's Hypothesis: I'll summarize this way. Time upon entering said optometrist office: 3:15 p.m. Time upon leaving said optometrist office: 4:00 p.m.
Time I spent last time we went and took only one child: 90 minutes. Hmmmm..."The hills are al-i-i-i-i-i-ve with the sound of mu-u-u-u-sic...." :-)
Well, must run put the flock to bed...y'all keep your wool dry...
The Ewe

.

Here at the Flock...

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s!
Well, my, my...it's HOT! Our county is under a heat advisory for the next several days. ICK. I've thought for a long time that the best time to hibernate is in the summer...In the winter, you can always *add* clothes, but in the summer, well, there's just "so much" you can take off! ;-) On the other hand, the produce is yummy. We were blessed with some peaches yesterday and they are some of the ssssweeetest I've ever eaten. So, as in everything, there are always trade offs.
A sad occurrence: an agitated pack of neighborhood dogs caught, killed and dragged off one of our sweet little kittens a couple days ago. :-( We have a neighbor who keeps between 3-6 pit bulls, who, along with our other neighbors' dogs, wander around out here. They have carried off countless toys, bike helmets, etc...from our yard and now this. The Ewe is *not* a happy camper. Anyway, that was an awful thing to witness. And, yes, I did see it--thank goodness the children did not. Of course, my mind kept thinking, "That could be my baby!" So, I am looking into what back-up we can get from the county animal control officer. Meanwhile, we've put up the remaining kittens and I don't let the children play out unsupervised. I'll keep you updated...
On a happier note, we visited with our pastor's family yesterday...The girls got to help in the kitchen while Pastor's Family canned some of their homegrown produce. The children love to help out like that. We all got a short tutorial on home canning, as that is something I've never really done. Of course, my thumb is brown, so I've got to learn how to actually grow something! Anyway, we all had a great time.
Monday, I visited a new doctor. I wanted him to look at my wrist--I've had a ganglion cyst there for several months...Also, Musical's leg has hurt her off and on for a long time, too. The visit came off as I expected..."Yup, Mrs. Ewe...that's a ganglion cyst." "Yup, Mrs. Ewe, Musical has a strained muscle." So, also as I expected, there wasn't really anything he could do for us. He did stick a needle into my cyst (OUCH!) and puff air into it to try to pop it. Didn't work, but it did help me know not to complain about little things. The cyst is worse now than before. ;-) Ah, well...at least we know what we have.
Well, I need to run...we've got a trip to the grocery store on the docket...BUT, before I go...
As a "trained journalist," I understand about the public's "Need to know." So, in light of that: If you ever truly need to read someone The Riot Act, see the link below:
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext05/rtact10h.htm

Y'all keep your wool dry!!!
The Ewe

Quote of the Day:
"I make milk...What's *your* superpower?" Overheard on an internet message board. :-)

Another Day at The Fold

Hello, F.O.T.E.s!
Well, another day under our belt here at The Fold. The Ram's deployment is over halfway done. I'll admit, though, that since we topped the hill, the roller coaster has slowed down. I mean, time seems to be creeping along for us now. The Ram, on the other hand, is really busy right now. That's good for him--makes time pass faster. And when the temperature is 122 degrees outside, it's good for time to pass fast!!! LOL He told me he hasn't gotten sunburned because you can't stay in the heat long enough for the sun to burn your skin. OUCH! What a harsh place.
We're surrounded by green here. It has rained for 2 solid weeks here. Thanks, in part, to Hurricane Dennis. Now, Hurricane Emily is churning out in the Gulf. Don't' expect we'll see any effect from her. She's aimed more toward TX, from what I heard last.
Oh, Friends. I miss my hubby. Sometimes I just wear down. I must remember, though, that we are so blessed. We have very regular contact with The Ram...not all soldiers have that luxury. Golly, though...a year is a long time.
Let's see...on the menu today was chicken, broccoli and cheese casserole--very yummy. We also made pumpkin bars--a recipe I made up. They're very good!!!! And, outside the 18 pounds of sugar, good for you! LOL Ok, so it's really just a cup of sugar...I guess that's not bad, spread out over the whole pan. May have to tweak the recipe and see what I can do to reduce the sugar content. Why didn't anyone ever tell me how nutritious pumpkin is?!? A whole lot of vitamin A and fiber. Beta carotene...it's good stuff. You oughta go buy a can and make muffins or something. LOL
Well, I'm a tired ol' ewe. I'm gonna go lay my carcass down and catch a few winks...y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe

Quote of the Day:
Horse sense is the thing a horse has
that keeps it from betting on people.

~W.C. Fields~

Our Fourth of July Trip

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s!
Well, the Flock and I are back at The Fold after our safari adventure. What? You didn't hear about that? Oh, yes...we went to the land of fire ants, alligators and rattlesnakes...You guessed it!! ALABAMA!!!
Traveling (or would that be "travailing?") with 4 children is always an adventure in itself, but I will say I was very pleased with the children's behavior both on the road and at our destination. No complaints from me!
As for the wildlife...I had been warned to avoid the fire ants every year we'd been down that way, but never (in 15 years!) had an up-close and personal relationship with one. Well, I guess they felt an urge to get to know me better, because they marched in through the window of the room we were sleeping in, and right on into my suitcase and through my underwear and everything else in there. Imagine my horror when I opened the suitcase to find a colony of fire breathing insects rifling through my unmentionables! Imagine the increased horror, when I began shaking out my things (outside the house ;-) and the buggers started biting/stinging me! OUCH! The real kicker about those bites is later, when they start itching. My word! Talk about a make-you-crazy itch. I believe the ants are gone now, though the bites remain.
Now, just in case *you* ever get bitten by one of those ill-mannered creatures, the remedy recommended to me was meat tenderizer. Do skip the "pierce several times with a fork" part of the directions on the bottle. ;-)
Well, I'm still a tired mama, so I'm going to sign off for now.
Y'all keep your wool dry...
The Ewe

Quote of the Day: "Don't you bite my cellulite!!!" --overheard at The Fold (wink)

A Letter to The Ewe

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s,
Well, The Ewe had a "letter to the editor" asking my opinion about a passage of scripture. The question was re: I Cor chapter 5. I'd usually put this on our "sister" website, activeflock.com, but AF is down for the moment, so I'll respond here--Y'all don't mind, do you?
What was going on in this letter (to the Corinthians) was really nasty stuff, like immorality between men and their stepmoms, etc...To top it off, they were actually boasting about doing it! Paul basically said to just expel them from the fellowship. A couple things to keep in mind: these were people who called themselves "Believers." Folks "of the world," who don't claim a relationship to Christ--we're not talking about them. We're also not talking about Believers who sinned, then were repentant. These folks Paul was talking about enjoyed their sin--were even proud of it. Those are guys Paul said to expel. Don't even associate w/ them. Jesus didn't tell us not to have anything to do w/ "sinners"--unbelievers...The folks He told us to avoid are "Christians" who are unrepentant and hypocritical...the "image only" guys. I call them "schmoozers." Basically, what I think of as the Pharisees--Jesus called them white-washed tombs. Ick. Look good on the outside, but just full of nothing but death on the inside. So, to my reader who wrote the question aobut ICor5:9, telling us "not to associate with sexually immoral people" we've got to read on in verse 10, "not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you not associate with anyone who *calls himself a brother* [emphasis mine] but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolator or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. Expel the wicked man from among you." This is not referring to folks who "mess up," and repent--it's talking about folks who are proud of their sin. So, reader, does that help?
Y'all keep your wool dry,
The Ewe

A Tick Tip from GrandRamama

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s!
Yes, yes...it's been a while. Please forgive me...I'm juggling just as fast as I can!
The tick season is pretty much in full swing around here. I really despise those critters! Sometimes it's hard to know what to do with one once you've found it and pulled it off. GrandRamama found a tidy way to dispose of them the other day...
She was riding along in the van on some interstate between Here and There and felt a tickle. She tried to ignore it a while, but that tickle persisted. So, she reached up and, lo and behold, it was a tick. She thought of throwing it out the window, but she feared the tick would be swept back in by the rushing wind from the open window. Hmmm...what to do? Couldn't hold in her hand all the way from Here to There....Hmmm....
Well, ingenious lady that she is, she took the chewing gum out of her mouth, wrapped it around the little pest and *then* tossed the whole Tick Burrito out the window. The gum added enough weight that it flew out, instead of out--then back in. Also, she knew that if the tick *did* fly back in, she'd surely know it by the icky sticky mess. :-)
Well gotta run...the Lambs are enjoying the day outside and I think I'll go enjoy it with them.
Y'all keep your wool dry,
The Ewe

Quote of the Day: "Dead rabbits don't hop." The Ram

Bit of Excitement

Well, Friends of the Ewe,
I'm not going into all the gory details, but just suffice it to say that it's a *good* thing that lizards can't get good traction on linoleum. Also, that a person can maneuver quite well in a kitchen by standing on one pink chair and picking up and placing another pink chair adjacent, then stepping onto Pink Chair No. 2. Then, you reach back, pick up Pink Chair No. 1, place it next to where you are...step onto it...repeat...
I will add, too, that it is a good thing to have children who are adept at catching reptiles.
GRIN
The Ewe

Happ'nins

Hello, F.O.T.E.'s!
Well, I'll tell you...the calendar says "Spring" but the thermometer says "Summer" here at The Fold. Those of you who know me well, know that Summer is my least favorite season. Something about staying sweaty for months just doesn't appeal. On the other hand, I must admit the produce during the Summer is wonderful! We had the sweetest cantaloupe (our favorite fruit!) a couple days ago, and I thought that might be our reward for surviving the heat. :-) Thank you, Lord, for Summer!
I guess the biggest news around here is the state of Tater Tot's noggin. Nearly 2 weeks ago now, he fell onto a stick outside. He cried a bit, then acted like all was well. That night, as I was putting him down for bed, I found a spongy spot on his head. !! I was talking to a friend on the phone at the time, and I'll admit to you, panic just about set in. I shot off a desperate email to The Ram and awaited his call. He did call...and continued to call through the night, as we kept vigil over T.T. The next day, we went down to The GrandRams and Grandma Ram went to the E.R. with me. After we were *finally* able to get the X-ray done of T.T.'s head, the doc saw that the skull was fractured. So, T.T. has a cracked head, in exactly the same place *I* cracked *my* head when I was exactly the same age as T.T. is now! (The "fractures of the mother, visited on the son," or something ;-) The doctor told me to not let the Boy hit his head on that spot again for 6 weeks. This is quite a challenge, as T.T. is a lil busy guy. It's getting easier, though...that first week, his balance was terrible and he kept falling all over himself. He's much more sure on his feet now, thank You, God.
Well, I have a lot more to write, but life at The Fold calls. T.T. is toddling around w/ strawberry jelly on his face and I know it will end up other places if I don't act now. Y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe
Quote of the Day: "OOOOOoh! He's *maditated!*" Musical, as T.T. carried out a protest at having to sit at the dinner table. We had earlier discussed the word "agitated." :-)