Sad day for little J-bird

Jalen has a friend from his old school that he barely ever sees. She is a sweet little girl, and he really has only seen her one time since last May.
So, she invited Jalen to her birthday party, and it's a big deal. Jalen could barely sleep for the past three days, he has been so excited to go to this party and to see Lauren.
So, Friday he had a headache, woke up not doing great, but couple hours later he's fine. Today he wakes up through the night a few times, and in the morning again a bad headache and fever. So I know, okay he's fighting something. cold, flu, sinis pressure, something. So I do all my home remedies and we decide he definitely can't go to his basketball game this morning, so he's a little bummed, but he's okay with it.

10:30am, I call Lauren's home and tell them that Jalen can't come to the party.
10:35am, I tell Jalen what I just did.
10:35-10:45am, Jalen cries and cries and hugs me tight. (I cry too, boy it broke my heart)

So he rests all morning and about, noon, he jumps up and is feeling great! He gets dressed, starts helping with chores, eats 2 pieces of toast. No headache, no fever, I think, gee my home remedies sure work great!

1:00pm, we are getting ready to go to Cameron's basketball game, and Jalen seems fine, so I start thinking okay you can go to the party. But I think well take a few more vitamins just to keep you strong. But he doesn't want to take them, (cause he already took stuff early that day). But, me, I'm determined, I say - "if you want to go to the party you take this", so he gags it down.
1:05pm, we are half out the door, Jalen says "I feel funny...." 5 seconds later he is in front of the toilet throwing up all those wonderful vitamins I forced him to take!
1:07pm, he says, "I feel great, can I go to the party?"
1:08-1:15pm, I clean up the bathroom, pray about what to do, and decide how to tell Jalen.
1:15 - Sit down with Jalen and tell him, no he can't go to the party, even though you feel okay, you are sick and you don't want to get your friends sick.
1:15-1:25pm, Jalen cries again, I hold again, he is extremely sad, and I think to myself, 'what will it be like when he has to miss something like a Prom or a major sports game or a big concert when he's older.'

He continues to ask and almost beg for the next hour. I consistently say, I'm sorry you can't go. Such a bummer. I don't have sick kids very often, but when they are it's not fun.

Whatever

I use to say the word 'whatever' alot. Not in a bad way, just when I didn't really care or didn't have an answer, I would say 'whatever it doesn't matter to me'. But my daughter starting picking up on it, and she would start to say it, but with alittle attitude to it, (hands on the hips, rolling eyes). So we all had a talk, and I told the kids that we weren't going to use the word whatever anymore, but that it is not a bad word, it all depends on how you say it, etc............

So yesterday I was getting Jalen ready for school and my friend, Michele came to pick him up and give him a ride to school, (we carpool), and she happened to use the word 'whatever'. So my kids immediately say, ohhh we don't say that word, so again I said it is not a bad word and lots of people say it......... and Jalen pipes up and says, "Mom, the word whatever is in the Bible. In Colossians 3:23 it says, whatever you do work at it with all your heart as working for God, not for men, Colossians 3:23".

Needless to say I was very proud, but also got a kick out of it!

Recipe for Strawberry Jam

This is our new family favorite. It's homemade, sugar-free, easy, yummy, and did I mention yummy?

4 cups Frozen strawberries (no sugar added)
2 cups Dried pineapple (no sugar added, no sulfites or sulfates)

Mix it all in a large bowl, then let sit for approx. 4 hours. Then put it into a blender.

That's it. You can freeze it or store it in fridge to use right away. Enjoy!

Is JANUARY over yet?

This has to be the longest month of the year. I am thankful the days are starting to get alittle longer (more sunlight).

February starts off with the Super Bowl, and then Miah and Justin have a special occasion in February also. The daddy/daughter dance is in a couple weeks, and Miah can hardly wait. This is the first year for Justin to take her, and I thought she might be alittle too young, but after we told her about it she is totally into it! She wants her nails painted and a pink sparkly dress, she is hoping to do a ballarina dance. Whatever happens it should be a fun memory for all. We are also, full into Basketball season for the boys, which is really AWESOME. They are having so much fun, (as well as daddy). Justin is coaching Cameron's team, so he has them doing all the little drills he did as a youngster. Pretty cool!

School is going well also. Lots of flashcards, spelling words, and books fill our days!

We're Back....

The internet was gone from our home for the past week, so I felt very disconnected from the world, but also had more free time! Anyway, trying to get caught up.

A note to all you FaceBook people. I sort of got onto Face Book, I was trying to contact someone, and discovered that they are not on FaceBook, and then all the sudden I had like 50 people 'wanting to be my friends' and I don't know exactly how all it works, so I haven't really responded to many people and don't even know how to get to my FaceBook page. I think it is confusing and don't really want to to be on FaceBook anymore, so if you are reading this and you like FaceBook and you understand it, please shoot me a comment and explain it to me, please.

More to say later...

The Lowdown on Water

We all know that water is important but have you ever seen it written down like this before?

75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger. One glass of water shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a U-Washington study.

Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 3%. Lack of water is the primary trigger for daytime fatigue. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of suffers

A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed paper.

Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

Are you drinking the amount of water you should every day?

My little helper

She could be doing anything right now. She chooses to help mommy. She cut up lettuce, onion, green pepper and red pepper, and wants to do more. So sweet. I love her heart. She loves to help, and the crazy thing, she is really good at it. She cuts the vegys really good. For a 4 year old, she is actually helping!

Ebay????

I am trying to sell some things on Ebay, and am very frustrated with the Ebay web site. I am following the instructions, but it will not let me choose a category. I keep trying over and over again and I choose a category and then click 'continue' and it comes back and says that I didn't choose a category. I try again, and again, I have done this for days. I am annoyed. It makes me feel stupid, and I am starting to believe that I must be. Millions of people sell things on Ebay, right???? Everyday people post items? So what am I doing wrong? Any thoughts?

2009- Get Wisdom!

Proverbs 4:7 says, "Wisdom is supreme, therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding." Hosea 4:6 says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." Proverbs 3:13 says, "Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding." Proverbs 4:5-6, "Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love wisdom and she will watch over you."

My motto for this year is "GET WISDOM". After reading thru Proverbs for the past year or so, It seems to repeat over and over in many different ways the point that WISDOM is important. I believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and so I take what it says seriously. In fact it says, Wisdom is SUPREME.

In my life there are 5 areas that I love to 'get wisdom' in. Everybody is different, but for me, these are my big FIVE.
1. Jesus/Spirituality/Bible
2. Marriage
3. Parenting
4. Health and Fitness
5. Finances

I love to read books, look on-line, talk to people about, and basically research these five things. You could say these are my passions. So this year I turn 32 years old, I am devoted to following Christ, serving my family, and raising three amazingly energetic and passionate kids! In my spare time, I plan to stay healthy and make wise choices w/money.

So for those of you who share some or all of my passions, if you have any books to recommend, web-sites to refer or advice for me, you know how to reach me!!!!

Yeah it is 2009!!!!!!!!!!

Wedding Memories... Nov. 22, 2008

My sister's wedding was about 6 weeks ago. Great memories. Cameron was the ring bearer. He loved it and felt very special and honored to be in the wedding. (He also thought it was cool to ride in the limo.)
My sister is amazing! Smart, beautiful, loving and a great mom! I wish her and her new husband the best! Ty's a pretty neat guy! We're all looking forward to getting to know him more in the years to come. The little blond is my one and only neice, Josey. She is 6 years old and quite the smart little cookie. She made about 15 dollars during the 'dollar dance' as she told all the little boys that they had to pay to dance with her!
Jalen was truly the entertainment of the night. He danced and danced and danced. It is hard to put into words how amazing and fun it was to watch him dance. He started out dancing with all the little kids and then continued to dance even when no one else was dancing. His style is very quick, very dramatic, and 'break dance' style dancing. I can't believe his knees were not all bruised up the next day.
Miah had a great time at the reception but, she struggled at the wedding. I was the maid of honor, and Justin did a reading for about 3 minutes during the service. That left Miah sitting alone with Jalen for only 3 minutes, but it felt like 3 hours as she cried and cried for mommy the whole 3 minutes. It was funny to other people, but I was not laughing. I really didn't know what to do. Thankfully it ended when Justin was done reading and the wedding continued on.
My 81 year old grandma was able to attend and my brother flew in from California for the weekend. It was really a great day and so sweet to spend time with family and celebrate Tammy and Ty.

Let's get back to work

Well, the past two weeks in the Maust home have been filled with much laughter, much celebration, many late nights and early mornings, and lots of visitors and trips. It has probably been my favorite Christmas season yet. Simple yet full.
I am very much a routine, schedule kinda person, so all the holiday chaos can throw me for a loop, but this year was different. The kids were so much fun and so helpful. The only thing missing is two days at the end of break so that we can really break! Ya know what I mean. I would love to sleep in, lay around and read for a couple days. But instead, tomorrow morning life starts up again. A life that I really love, yet it is starting two days too soon for me.