Who Can Explain It, Who Can Tell Me Why?

fools give me reasons, wisemen never try..."
Really not sure that even fits as a title, but tonite at the supper
table we somehow got on the subject of dominant and recessive genes.
I know, I know...should maybe be more sensitive to all my children...but
I forget...
no, my children don't look just like me...none of them really do...so we
usually just discuss...."look your hand is as big as mine" or "see your
leg is the same length from the hip to the knee as it is from the ankle
to the knee"
but I remember the first science classes when we discussed Gregor Mendel
and his famous pea experiment. It was fascinating and it was easy to
see...blue eyes were recessive genes, dark eyes dominant...some people
had curly hair, some had straight, some people had brown hair, others
had blonde, black or red hair.
When we started talking about recessive and dominant genes, Joseph had a
puzzled look on his face and was questioning what on earth we were
talking about.
It really seemed it was a concept that had never been discussed
before....I think we managed without it being to sticky...
yet another topic that should be in the advice books

Progress!

On Friday, my parents, Joseph and I journeyed to Phila to get fitted for
the new legs!! and to get rid of that wonderful but hated fixator!
Unfortunately we will not have the new legs by big brothers wedding day,
but they will be coming!
Thankfully the removal of the fixator went as planned and we didn't need
to stay overnight or some other unwelcome surprise.
Actually I guess there was one unwelcome surprise...the cast....should
have figured that was a possibility, but I didn't and he woke with it on
his arm and was not a happy camper....when he heard that it would be 4
weeks...he really was not pleased!
One day soon we need to write a book about this summer, it has been
quite the adventure.

Tuesday

If Monday was ambitious Tuesday was way more sluggish...a bit of rain and dreariness didn't help

So I worked on this some more

Talked on this a bit too much...mostly to my mom...she offered to make the trip to Philadelphia with us on Friday. Thanks mom!

Then tried to figure out what to make for supper.  There was some chili left from the other night...not enough for supper and too much for me and my ulcerative colitis to eat for lunch...

so I made it into soup by adding about 6 cups of vegetable broth (used those handy cubes) and added a bunch of diced potatoes and a couple handsful of carrots, made some fresh bread and called it enough.


My chili recipe looks like this

so I'll translate.

Chili
1 pound ground beef, browned
1 tsp salt
1-2 Tablespoons chili powder
1/2 -2 tsp red pepper
1/3 cup onion, fry it with the meat
1 --8 oz can of tomato paste ( I use a quart of canned tomato juice)
2  17 oz cans of kidney beans
2  Tablespoons vinegar (apple cider if you have it)


Cook 20 minutes to an hour   add more pepper if you like, eat over mashed potatoes (my parents) or over macaroni (dh's parents)  or plain with biscuits  (our family)

Revivals tonite--For God so loved us  see John 3:16   He didn't HAVE to go to the cross, but He loved us so much that he did.  A certain young man was scribbling down questions for us during the sermon. I think daddy answered all of them.  He is certainly paying attention! PTL
BTW the answer to last night's question....We are all at the same level compared to God...so that would make us all a "1".

Monday

Started very ambitiously...

Four neck pumpkins....




Before I freeze all that, might as well make this....Healthy Pumpkin Bread 
(in the back) or Oatmeal Pumpkin Bread
we liked the Oatmeal Pumpkin Bread the best

While I am doing all that better be doing this....

 
Oh and that Christmas order....better be working on it....

 
Then first night of revivals...topic tonite "Woe is me"  Isaiah 6:5 comparing our
nastiness to God's greatness. Not a pretty picture.  The evangelist challenged us with this...On a scale of 1 - 100   God's greatness being 100 and the worst criminal you can think of being "1"....where would you put yourself?

God's Protecting Hand

Since we have a 16 year old learning to drive I have thought that I saw
glimpses of wings beside our car....protecting angels' wings .
Actually his driving is not that bad, but in the last 4 years I think
the drivers out there have become scarier...I think a lot more people
are texting or something.

Today we were on the way home from school, Ben at the wheel. We rounded
a curve and suddenly a white car (Ben informed me later that it was a
Chevy Equinox) was coming straight at us!
Life truly does slow down....I had time to think "turn lady!" I truly
did not think we had space to get off the road, there is curbing on that
street. Ben had the presence of mind to brake and turn sharply to the
ditch and at the same time the other driver yanked her wheel and there
was NO crash! NOTHING hit!

Poor Ben turned pale and pulled off in a nearby drive and I took the
wheel...(the lady had almost stopped, but I didn't know it at the time)
It was truly a miracle, somehow our side of the road became wide enough
to hold two mini-vans.

Ben said, "I didn't feel like going to work this afternoon, now I'm
thankful I AM going to work and not to the ER."

25 Years Ago

I have no idea who those very young kids are....

One Year Ago...

We walked out of the hotel a family of 7 and returned a family of 8! Yes I can count...oldest brother was at home.




 

It was the hardest and the easiest way to add a child to the family...no
crying, no screaming (not yet) no diapers.
But half a lifetime missed...
He came with the clothes on his back and a car that he had bought with
his New Year money (quickly because you can't use it in America) even
gave the change to an ayi...no one told him we could convert the RMB
Ten years of awards, report cards and photos missing....(we gave him the backpack) and he immediately gave one of his new motorcycles to his friend...the one we call "picture friend")
Picture Friend is coming home one of these days....to CA  but at least in the same country.
  

            (the photo shop where we took our adoption photo also first time in a shopping environment)

                                                        (eating our McD's icecream)


But now there are lots of photos (mostly with funny faces) too much
clothes and too many toys
AND somedays too many siblings
But mostly I think he likes having the others around...loves school and
has amazing determination
That determination has gotten him through life to this day and has
caused us to butt heads...
Sometime this weekend we will need to celebrate family day...too bad
that adoption day will forever be on our wedding anniversary....sorry
kiddo...you can't join us for that one.

Welcome to the family, son!

Better Info on Benefit Auction

Go back two posts....the date of the auction is Sept 17...NOT this
weekend as I implied

Non-Electric Sump Pump

Today we woke up to MORE rain, and then got the dreaded phone calls... first a 2 hour delay then school closed for today.

OK...what do I do with 5 kids around when I expected to have a free day to dig into the next quilt project?

Well...let's see... the basement stayed dry all week, even though Lee was pouring rain on us all week...the carpets that we lugged out after Irene were clean and dry....I know!!

Let's put the carpets back in their places and clean up the basement....especially since my family was coming over the the abbreviated weekend campout....(we were going to camp in the house and hopefully at least cook outside)

We had just put the carpet back in place and I was talking to hubby on the phone "no, no water...well just a trickle in the one corner...we'll watch it" As I was talking I walked down into the basement to check on the trickle....

We had 1-2" of water covering most of the basement!   I feel petty fussing about the small amount but we don't normally get water in our basement (we discovered the reason later this evening)

Suddenly we had lots of work for all those kids who didn't have school...

 Even the one that was not allowed to get his compression socks soaked with flood water

 I figured we had about an 8 gpm pump going...maybe faster when I was helping J

 Yes Hope, you might need a second shower today

After Irene, I declared I need to clean out the basement...get rid of some stuff...but I needed to have the camp out first and finish a quilt first....well the camp out is cancelled...maybe a yard sale? maybe just a dumpster?

Benefit Auction-Corrected!

**I neglected to give the date  it is Saturday September 17, 2011**
If you are interested in experiencing the 'culture' of Lancaster County
plan to attend the benefit auction for
the Clinic for Special Children (Dr Holmes Morton started the clinic
many years ago when he started studying the genetic and inherited
diseases found amongst the Amish. The clinic treats many children and
not just Amish)
The auction is to help defray the costs of the clinic and the plain
community comes out in force, donating many items. The one big draw is
the quilts...about 100 this year (the one pictured will be
auctioned...called moonglow)
--the furniture, high quality craftsmanship--- and the food
The auction is held at Leola Produce Auction House, 135 Brethren Church
Rd, Leola PA 17540
admission is free--doors open at 7am and the quilt auction will start at
11am (cash or check only)
And then the FOOD
I like to sit and watch the people there are all types.

Proud but Irritated

At lunch time today a certain 11 y.o. boy was "too tired" to carry his
plate to the dishwasher and needed to crawl.
Hours later the same child fueled by anger and frustration, kicked open
the screen door, grabbed his basketball and went out to shoot baskets.
Will see what tomorrow holds

Saturday and some improvements

After going to S*m's Club for a number of years I finally got wise and
made a master list of all the things we usually buy there and little
bubbles to put my check marks. I even have the items in the same general
order as we normally move through that huge store. How long does it take
for some people to learn?

Also decided to make my bread into rolls this time, hopefully, we will
have fewer bread crusts left in the bag that need to be tossed. I
know...if I would be paying attention I could have all the bread crumbs
we ever need. But...

Then we made 2 apple pies

Cut up about one basket of apples and made applesauce...if you want good
applesauce - use Ginger Gold apples Yumm!!
Then we even managed to go to a wedding all in the same day!