Category: What’s Happening

The Glorious Unknown

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Blessings, Hallelujah Diet, Household, What's Happening

Week #2 started off with my trying out a new way to bake potatoes – in my crockpot!!!  It worked beautifully and they were yummy. 

I have also been able to try out a few new recipes that we really liked. 

  • More "liked" food means less wasted food and fewer science experiments in the back of the frig!

We really liked this Fresh Corn Salsa!  And the Tahini-Lemon Sauce is what makes this dish so yummy.  If your sauce gets really thick, just add water to thin it.  I'll be using this sauce on my veggie wraps, too…it is SO fabulous!!!

  • Today I found a 40% off coupon for some supplies I needed to buy at Michael's.
  • I also found a $5 off promo code when I ordered the bits and pieces I will need for a jewelry project.

With the money I saved, I was able to purchase bird food for the summer and Vitamin B supplements which we were out of.

  • I put some of my mystery books up for sale on a local "yard sale" group on Facebook.  I made $35 today from their sell.  That money filled up our gas tank to the very tippy-top.
  • We found out that Doug will be getting a tutoring job for the summer.  We are grateful, but it will pay less than half his usual salary, so all these little bits of savings are really going to help.
  • There was a check in our mailbox…for $300.  The rest of our bills due by the 20th will be paid.

…and the world thinks Christians lead dull lives!!!!!!!

There is absolutely no greater adventure than living a life of faith in the Lord Jesus!

Wondering what tomorrow holds,

Alesha

A Summer of Diligence

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Blessings, Hallelujah Diet, Isaac Update, What's Happening

Hello.

I know it's been a while, but I'm going to just jump right in.

We are all doing well.  Isaac is growing and happy and we've had to start shaving his manly whiskers once a week now!

Doug and I are doing well too.

Last Monday marked Doug's first day of unemployment for the summer.  While he is actively seeking a job, nothing has opened up yet; and while all our bills are current, we have been unable to save toward the summer.  It is going to be a real journey of faith, and I thought perhaps you would be interested in reading about that here.

I am going to try to blog daily, and just let you know what the Lord is doing, and how He is helping us save money, make money stretch and in-a-nutshell, survive 12 weeks without income.

It is important, too, for me to let you know that Doug has been accepted into a research program for the Hallelujah Diet, and we will be eating according to that program for the next 5 months.

So, let's get started!

Week #1 –

  • We scaled back the  minutes on our cell phone plan and that will save us $20 a month.  Also, Doug switched to one of our old cell phones – a non-smart one – and that will save us $30 a month.
  • We changed our internet plan from the medium-speed to the slowest speed and that is going to save us around $17 a month
  • We found a grocery store closer to home that carries the foods that we usually have to go to Whole Foods to buy.  We saved on gas and some products were actually cheaper there.
  • I had a jewelry order come in, with the monies going directly to Paypal, and the purchaser actually paid a bit over to cover the fee amount that Paypal charges for money transfers.

We were also given some new stuffed monkeys for Isaac – which he loved!  He pulled them out of the bag and started playing with them right away! 🙂

So, week one was a rousing success.  We aren't going hungry and all the bills are currently up to date.

My theme verse for our new "diet" and for this summer is Proverbs 13:4 – "The soul of the sluggard desireth and hath nothing:  but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat."

Seeking the diligent way,

Alesha

 

A Day to Celebrate!

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Holiday, How Great is Our God, Just My Thoughts, What's Happening

 

Happy Birthday to the world's greatest Mama!!!



Mama

 

Thank you for loving me.

Thank you for teaching me about Jesus.

Thank you for giving me home full of love and peace and fun.

Thank you for being YOU.

I love you,

Alesha

For Your Humming Pleasure…

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Household, Isaac Update, What's Happening

 

On the night before surgery,

We loaded up the van…

WITH:

  • 12 super-duper diapers
  • 11 gallons of unleaded
  • 10 papers for the doctors
  • 9 ribbons for chewing
  • 8 quarters for the snack machine
  • 7 bottles of medicine
  • 6 cool bandanas
  • 5 electronic devices
  • 4 cans of formula
  • 3 pairs of socks
  • 2 changes of clothes
  • and a package of Aloe Fresh baby wipes!

[object Object]akconklin


Winnie the Pooh and Paddington Bear

by ObtainingMercy, posted in Blessings, Florida Weather, Friendship, What's Happening

Doug, Isaac and I traveled to O-town on Saturday to visit with my interwebby friend Tia and her girls.  (You can click on her name to visit her blog.)

Saturday was our first real taste of fall here in central Florida.  The temperatures were mild (in the mid-70s) and it was overcast and very windy.  With the exception of hurricanes, we do not have many blustery days, and that makes them so much more enjoyable to us!  And, of course, makes us think of Winnie the Pooh and his blustery day!

Tia, Mog, the Little Princess and Mary met us in the lobby of their hotel…all of us smiling and hugging and shaking hands in greeting.  The Little Princess was in her very impressive Land Rover chair and helped us keep up a good pace when we headed down the hotel corridors.  Really, it was an amazing little electric wheelchair that she has for traveling.  God bless the mind that created such a cool, little chair for the adorable little people who need them.

Mog was in rare form, telling us about her upcoming shopping trip via her Talking Book.  It is an amazing notebook that Tia has put together, with what I can only think to call "Question Trees." 

Tia went through 3 or 4 main questions, and Mog immediately let us know when we had hit upon the one she had an answer to.  Tia kept asking "yes" and "no" questions, until we had sifted out the ones Mog was not interested in.  Finally we hit "pay dirt", so to speak, when we asked if she had chosen a name for her new sock monkey!

She had chosen a name!

A few more questions were asked, and to MY utter delight, she wanted to name her little monkey "Alesha".  I'll tell you – I was quite honored. 🙂 🙂 🙂

Our sweet friends brought us some sweet gifts.  This lovely orange marmalade is from the Women's Institute:

Marmalade

I asked if I should bake some scones to have with my marmalade, and was told no, but to eat it on toast, like Paddington Bear. 🙂

They also brought along some lovely teas for us:  Yorkshire Gold (a black tea) and Clipper (a loose leaf green tea).

Englishtea2 Englishtea

All very English gifts, weren't they?  We were so tickled to receive them.  My religiously-soda-drinking husband has had tea TWO mornings in a row, and has already looked to see if the Yorkshire Gold is available in the states.  I am amazed, Tia!!!  I never would have guessed how much he would like this tea! 🙂

Honestly, though, much more special than any gifts they could have brought, was the sweet time of fellowship and visiting.  We stay for over 2 hours, and really, would have been happy to stay longer, but little ones needed medications and changes of position and tea and so forth; and so we made our way home with happy, full hearts.

The best part?  Hearing voices pronounce names we had only read in print, hugging friends we had never seen, seeing smiles next to us that previously only beamed at us from our computer screen, and communicating with little ones who have become so special to us over the years.

While I hope that this meeting was not a once-in-a-lifetime gathering, in all truth, it just might have been.  I am so grateful for the time we spent together with Tia and the girls. 

Tiaandgirls

Our lives are far richer because of your friendships!

Blessings,

Alesha

 

Catching up the cRaZy

by ObtainingMercy, posted in What's Happening

Whew!  It has been crazy here at our house lately.  Some sad crazy and some good crazy.  I've not been very successful at communicating all the crazy, so here I am – today – trying to do better.

 

The sad crazy is that we had to say "Goodbye" to our dog, Newton. 

Newton the Great

In about 3 weeks time, he developed a massive lump on this spine, which we now know was Fibrous Carcinoma.  The day we took him to the vet, he could barely walk and did not want to wake up for us.  It was very sad and we shed many, many tears about him.  Even now, it's hard for me to tell you about it.  The vet said we did the absolutely right thing, because his condition was very painful, and treatment is rarely successful.

Just a few months ago, I videoed Newton (in the red harness) and Kepler (in the blue collar) playing with the dogs next door.  It was the only time I actually caught him in action, with his powerful herding strength.  If you watch, you can see he does his best to get the neighbor dogs to "herd" through the fence!  Too funny!

Newton herding from Obtaining Mercy on Vimeo.

 

Now, on to some good crazy:  Kepler is doing well.  She has adjusted to missing Newton, and is actually learning some new commands and patterns.  She went for her yearly check up and shots yesterday.  The really amazing part??? She had gained 50 pounds from her last visit!!!  Isn't that cRaZy???? 

We had to remind ourselves she is still a pup, only 17 months old, and so she has done the bulk (pun totally intended) of her growing during the last year.  She weighed in at a whopping 73 pounds!  Whew!

The vet said she was fine at that weight, as long as she doesn't gain any more weight.  She is getting a little more exercise now, and is looking good.  All the puppy belly is gone and she is slimming up a bit.

Keppiegirl2

 

We had a lovely surprise this week.  When Doug and Isaac went to Melbourne for therapy, they dropped by to see our friend Mike, and he sent them home with this:

Teapot

It is a Russell Hobbes electric tea kettle, tea pot and infuser.  Isn't it lovely?  What a nice surprise!  And now I am shopping for a loose leaf green tea to use as my base to add other flavors to.  I do like black teas, too, but since I am not doing caffeine, I thought it would probably not be good to add a strong black tea to my daily regimen. ;) 

I know the green tea has some caffeine, but the brewing times can alter the amount of caffeine, so I can tailor it to my own needs.  Also, green teas have so many other healthy benefits that even my (mostly holistic) physician recommends them.  If you have any suggestions of a good tea for me, I'd love to hear it. 🙂

 

We found these lovelies at the grocery store recently.

Oranges

A gorgeous day last week:

Gorgeousday

 

NOW – for the Best Most Exciting news:  I am going to meet my friend Tia!  And her two girls – The Little Princess and Mog!!  From England!!!  I am beside myself with anticipation.

Tia and I came to know each other through an email list in 2002 (at least, that's the date to the best of my calculations!).  Remember when we did email lists?  Before Blogs?  Before Facebook?  Gasp!  I know!  Waaaaaay back then!

Since we met, Tia and I have both adopted special needs children.  She has 2 girls.  She is a brave, multitasking woman!!! 🙂

She and her girls are traveling with some friends to visit O-town with all of its attractions and theme parks; and she has very kindly allotted an afternoon to us.  We are going up on Saturday to meet them.  You can be sure I will be taking pictures and will blog all about it (with her permission, of course!).

Aaaaaand I have one more cRaZy thing to share:  I have started walking.  In the mornings.  Before the sun comes up.  It's insane.  I know.

I stick to our property, which is so much safer than venturing out onto our busy road; and most days Doug joins me.  We are able to open the blinds in Isaac's room, and due to the Christmas lights that are on 24/7, around the ceiling in his room, we are able to see him throughout most of our walk; and should he need us, we are within just a few yards of our back door.

I have had more energy since I started these walks.  I have not had any less pain, but that's to be expected when I have been so sedentary for so long.  I am hoping to keep it up until I begin to reap more benefits.  I am going verrrrrry slowly and not walking for very long.  I just keep reminding myself to take "baby steps". :oD

 

I guess that's all for the crazy news at our house.  I hope to be back soon, with more gentle, sedate, normal updates. 

"cRaZy" is overrated, I think. 😉

Blessings to you,

Alesha

Isaac’s Funny Little Schedule

by ObtainingMercy, posted in A Door of Hope, Household, How Great is Our God, Isaac Update, Just My Thoughts, What's Happening

Hey y'all.  We've had a good week here at our house.  With the exception of continuing allergy issues, we are all doing well.

Isaac has developed this really odd schedule, and I thought I'd share it with you.  Keep in mind this is a child who has multiple special needs and is not supposed to be aware of things, you know.  Heh!

We put Ike to bed between 8:30-9:00.  He listens to his "Hallelujah" (Gaither video) for about an hour and falls asleep. 

Then somewhere between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. he wakes up.

Then he goes back to sleep around 7 a.m. and sleeps until Noon.

Isn't that peculiar?

So why is he waking up and staying awake???

Because DADDY is home!  Daddy comes to check on him.  Daddy sits in his room for a while.  Daddy changes him if he's wet.  Daddy gives him his juice and meds at 5:30.

And why does he go back to sleep after 7???

Because Daddy comes in and says, "I'm going to work now.  Be a good boy for Mommy and Mrs. Julie today."

And out he goes like a light!

Isn't that something???

This poor, little unaware, handicapped, developementally delayed child that knows nothing, and is incapable of making decisions or understanding the concept of time wakes up to spend time with his Daddy.  And sleeps the sleep of the dead when Daddy is not here.

Julie and I can talk.  The dogs can bark.  Julie can vacuum, clean the bathroom…he snoozes through all of it…because he doesn't want to spend his waking hours with us.  He'd rather spend them with dear ol' Dad!

I love that he loves his Daddy and is so attached to him.  I love that he knows who he wants to spend time with.  I love that he can alter his schedule to suit his own needs and desires.

God has been so good to us, and I am so thankful that He is allowing our boy to grow and mature.

 

Psalm 139:14 "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."

 

It also makes me wonder how excited I am to spend time with my Heavenly Father.

Do I wake up early to be in His presence?  Am I willing to give up sleep to talk with Him?  Will I alter my entire schedule just to sit with Him for a while each morning?

Yes, I think there is much to learn from my child in this area.  I think I should probably pay close attention to see what else he can teach me about myself, about life and about God.

I used to think the following verse applied to simple salvation, but maybe there is more to it than that.  I will be meditating on this for a bit, I think.

 

Matthew 18:2-3 "And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as
little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."

 

Praying you have a blessed weekend,

Alesha