Camera, Hebrew, Duggars, the Texas job and other random unrelated updates

The job in Texas didn't pan out, so we're still looking. And bummed.

In lighter news - My camera is finally back! Woo hoo! I have REALLY missed it and am so glad it's home! The repair was covered under warranty, so that was nice.

I'd REALLY like to learn Hebrew and be able to translate the original Hebrew manuscripts myself. Then there wouldn't be this "which version of the Bible do YOU read?" crap, and I could know exactly what the interpretation was supposed to be, based on the context, Hebrew language, and time it was written. *sigh*

So I like the "18 Kids and Counting" show, ok? I know it's silly, but I really do like that show. I like that they are wholesome and God-fearing. It's amazing to see how well they get along and how peaceful they all are. You don't see them get really stressed out or yell and scream at their kids ... I mean I know they have rough times too, and I know their family isn't perfect, but they just all seem so JOYFUL. The Duggars are a family that I enjoy watching. I'm beginning to look at their way of life and wonder if they aren't on to something. Their children don't watch much TV and only have strictly monitored access to the internet. They dress very modestly, and all the girls wear dresses. All the women have long hair. All the men tuck their shirts in and have short hair. They spend a lot of time with their children. They homeschool, teach, work, and play together. Everyone in the family has chores. The older siblings learn responsibility and family orientation and help take care of the younger ones - which I think simultaneously teaches them compassion and caring while they dote on their brothers and sisters. They seek out Scripture as an answer for just about everything, and they are incredibly financially wise.

I'd also like to point out that by "today's standards" the Duggar kids are VERY deprived. They don't have iPods, don't watch Hannah Montana, don't listen to secular music, don't go to see secular movies, and they don't all have their own computers and cell phones either. But in the same token, the Duggar kids are compassionate, well-behaved, don't smart off to their parents, and aren't self-centered. Concidence?? I think not.

So I got to thinking, what if they are doing things RIGHT and I'm missing the boat here somewhere?? So I started scouring the internet to find out more about their beliefs. They are Independent Southern Baptist and are part of the Quiverfull Movement, and get a lot of their beliefs from IBLP and Bill Gothard - although they are not rigid Gothardites (which is a good thing). They believe in having as many children as the Lord gives them, which is following the "Quiverfull" Movement.
QM quotes the verse from Psalms 127:3-5
"Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD:
and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man;
so are children of the youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them:
they shall not be ashamed,
but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate."

So I got to looking around wondering if I'm not doing the right thing by not wearing dresses all the time and by cutting my hair. I mean, if the Scripture specifically says to do things a certain way, I'd like to do them that way. But Scripture can also get misinterpreted. I found an AWESOME site that deals with just that. The long hair, the dresses, etc. 1 Timothy 2:9 says "In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array" ... And there's the verse from Deuteronomy 22:5 where it talks about women not weaing "that which pertaineth to a man" as it is an abomination to God. I read these things and I am intrigued. I want to know that the ORIGINAL Hebrew meant on these things. To know that you have to take into account the era and the fashion and things that were going on at that time.

Then I came across this website, which delves into the Hebrew words and the meaning of the times, and it's wonderful!! http://www.actseighteen.com .... One of the best websites I've come across in a long time. Incredibly informative. Fabulous read. I believe they have a blog too, which I'll connect to my blog when I find it. ... And since you might not read it, I'll sum up. The "pertaineth to a man" is a Hebrew term that means "military gear" such as guns and armor, so it doesn't mean that women can only wear dresses. The long hair simply means "long hair" not "never cut hair" and it doesn't mean that you can't be godly without having long hair as a woman either. Take the time to read the articles on that site. Really, they're eye-opening, full of historical info, and just altogether an enlightening read.

So ... while I do think that being fruitful and multiplying is definitely a command from God, and that having a "quiver full" of children is a blessing to be desired, I also realize that because I have to have c-sections, it would be unwise for us to just have as many kids as we can. Too many repeat c-sections can kill a woman if the scar on the womb gets too weak and bursts during pregnancy (OUCH!). I think that people these days are FAR too concerned about "well I want to have a nice house later, and a nice savings, and a Lexus, and a boat and (fill in the blank) so I don't want to have too many kids ..." and it's all about ME ME ME ME ME. It should be about family, about relationships, about furthering the Kingdom. What good is your retirement money if all you use it for is yourself? None of your trips to Jamaica are inherently sinful by any means, but they also do absolutely NOTHING which will survive through the "refining fire" of Judgment Day. (1 Cor.3 :9-15) You cannot take your nice car, new computer, up-to-date technology or personal belongings with you when you die. BUT YOU CAN TAKE YOUR FAMILY. If you teach your loved ones to follow Christ, then when you all die, you aren't cut off forever, but will get to see eachother again. It stands to reason then, that RELATIONSHIPS are far more important than THINGS. And in today's society, we are teaching our kids (through iPods and the ever-increasing pursuit of STUFF) that being alone is good, that listening to your music instead of talking to your neighbor is normal, and that saving up money - or spending it - to get all new things all the time is perfectly ok! Not that getting new things is bad, but when it becomes more important to have the latest version of some new technology than it is to spend time with our children ... we are missing the point of LIFE.

Anyhow, I got totally off track there. So, no, I won't only be wearing dresses. BUT I think I am going to take a new perspective on shopping. If we are to dress MODESTLY, and not with "costly array" then we need to realize that women are shop-a-holics and apparently, have always been! Even back to Bible times! God knew that we would want to spend lots of money to look pretty and be fashionable and I really just feel like if you go overboard on it - you're not being modest, you're being sinful. How you look on the outside should never be SOOOO important that you spend all your time and money and thoughts on it. If you spend more money and especially TIME on clothes/makeup/accessories than you do on things pertaining to the Kingdom of God ... then one item obviously outweighs the other and the scales have tipped ... can anyone say, idolatry? I do believe that "fashion" is an idol that should be cast down. Not that you can't ever get new clothes, or that you can't get nice clothes! That's ridiculous. But when it becomes an OBSESSION, when you can't go out of the house unless you're dressed to the nines, when how you look on the outside is something you constantly fuss over ... then I feel that this is when it's NOT modest.

Wow, I really can ramble on for awhile, huh? *sigh* I guess I'm just coming to a spiritual and emotional and nutritional and family-oriented revolution right now. My heart and brain are teeming with possibilities for the future. I think on the whole, our family is headed toward a much more conservative and natural approach toward EVERYTHING, including how we dress and teach our daughters to dress. And I don't know, that might involve "courtship" instead of dating as our girls age - that's something we've yet to discuss.

The main thing is - I don't want to endanger my children's futures by not giving them enough boundaries and love and attention, and at the same time, I don't want to be so strict and overbearing that I push them into rebellion either. It's a fine line to walk. I pray that God gives us the strength to parent our children using HIS love and grace and discipline.

I'll probably post more on this later. :) I can't wait to see comments!!

I am drinking my very last dr pepper for awhile. My friend jana and i are giving it up together starting tomorrow! YUM! i know i will miss you, DP!

Success! The silicone-laden diaper arrived. All are well and happy!

Silicone Silliness

Ok, so far so good. The silicone bra that Maezie ingested doesn't seem to be affecting her in any way, so far. No bad symptoms, no vomiting, diarrhea, or gastrointestinal distress .... But I bet I could give Larry the Cable Guy a run for his money as far as jokes about "edible underwear" go, huh??

I think we're going to be ok. I haven't had to change a poopy diaper yet, but I'll let y'all know when I do. I know you're just DYING to know.

I thought of some other things I have seen Maezie eat and thought I would list them for everyone's entertainment. Especially Shanna, who believes my child's eating antics are the makings of a sitcom. I bet my panic attacks everytime Maezie eats something she shouldn't would add some spice to the sitcom, for sure.

Cat food. Maezie eats cat food all the time. I ALWAYS have to clean up the cat food she has spilled and pull pieces of out her mouth. It totally grosses me out if the kitchen gate (we have a baby gate up blocking the kitchen at all times) gets left open and Maezie gets in there and I come up front from using the bathroom or something, to find her chowing down on the Iams with a guilty look on her face.

Diapers. Usually just the new, clean ones. But if one of us less-than-intelligent parents leaves a changed diaper balled up on the ground while changing the remainder of the child's clothes and it gets forgotten .... *shudder* ... Yes, imagine the worst. It happened once. It really honestly wasn't my fault that time, but Maezie has started to eat wet diapers on my watch.

Paper. Any kind of paper, including napkins and paper towels and kleenexes. She just sticks a wad in her mouth and bites it off like it's beef jerky or something. Gross.

I know I already mentioned sidewalk chalk. But seriously, this child LOVES sidewalk chalk. There have been a few times you could have made a video entitled "Maezie and the Technicolor Dream Poop" and posted it on youtube. Every time we go outside, I have to hide the chalk from her. Matt ran over a piece of chalk in the driveway, so it was just a smushed little pile of chalk. Maezie toddled right over there and LAID DOWN in the driveway to eat it. *sigh*

If this is genetic, she got it from Matt's side. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

But, seriously, praise God that she didn't get violently ill from eating my silicone sticky bra.





I think I might invest in a football helmet with mouthguard for her. Hopefully it will keep her mouth busy and she won't be able to eat any other weird things!!!

Maezie's Adventures in Eating

And by adventures, I don't mean the fun ones. At least, not fun for me!!! I remember Kyleigh putting everything in her mouth at this age, but she didn't EAT everything. Maezie EATS (like literally gums/chews and swallows) practically everything that she physically can!

The rest of this post is not going to be for the faint of heart ... errr, stomach ... so caution is advised if you want to read further!! :)

Some interesting things I've found in Maezie's diapers :
popcorn kernels
Kyleigh's stickers
sytrofoam packing peanuts
wads of paper
mardi gras beads (like 2 or 3 beads she had somehow detatched from a necklace)
a cat hairball (oh, trust me, I nearly threw up when I saw it)
a tuft of Ranger's (the dog) fur
and other various objects

But she LOVES to eat weird things. I am constantly on the watch for (and digging out of her mouth) : sidewalk chalk (her fave, I think), dirt, rocks, pebbles, sand and sticks.

But tonight topped them all. I walked into the den to find Maezie eating my silicone sticky bra. Please see this website : http://www.nu-bra.com/shop/nubra_self_adhesive-1-prd1.htm I have had one of these since our wedding in 2005. I guess Kyleigh got into the cabinet and pulled this out, and left it for Maezie to get! It's made of silicone and and I guess she probably ingested about 2-3 tablespoons of it before I found the mangled, bitten-up thing. *sigh*

Of course, I panicked. Immediately called the Poison Control Center and geeked out over the phone to the lady on the other end. She's not even phased. She says "silicone isn't very toxic
to the body, the biggest hazard is just choking. It's not toxic if ingested, she'll just poop it right out." Then she asks how the baby got silicone and I gave her the website and she's like "wow, she ATE that??" As we got off the phone she told me that I have now given her one of her strangest PCC calls and then promised me that someone would call in the morning to check up on Maezie.

FREAKOUT!!!!!! This kid eats EVERYTHING. *sigh* I'll blog tomorrow to let y'all know how it turns out.

To GMO or not to GMO?

GMO = genetically modified organism

So ... here the last week or so, I've been fairly depressed. (I'm sure that part of the depression has something to do with my camera being broken. *sigh*) I've just been feeling BAD. No energy, lack of motivation, more irritable, etc. It's been really bad the last week or so.

Tonight, I'm feeling MUCH better and almost back to my normal self. I'm happier (even though I don't have my camera back and still miss it!) and have more energy. I even told my husband tonight, "Man, you know, I'm feeling SO much better!! I just feel nearly great again!!" I was just enjoying my near-normalcy again when a crazy thought struck me. Thursday, I bought more O Organics brand popcorn. Popcorn is my favorite snack. I seriously eat 1 or 2 O Organics brand bags per DAY, and have been doing so for months now. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the plain O Organics popcorn - it pops up so many kernels that they literally spill out of the burstingly full bag, it tastes great, and it only has sunflower oil and sea salt in addition to organic corn kernels. YUM!! But for the last week prior to buying more O Organics brand, I was using another brand - a non-organic brand. These days, if corn doesn't SPECIFICALLY say that it's organic, then it's been genetically modified in some way. So for the last week, I've not had ANY organic popcorn, I've only been eating GMO popcorn, because that's what we had around the house and I wanted to use it up.

So I've been eating non-organic popcorn since early last week (so about 8-10 days) and I started feeling really crappy last Friday. I had THREE allergy-related migraines over a period of four days last weekend, and missed church because of them. By Monday morning I was depressed, low on energy, and just generally felt crappy. (Monday afternoon is when I had my stick-impaled-in-my-toe-incident.) I've had no energy all week and have gotten like NO housework done. Constantly tired, depresed, and frustrated. I ate my last non-organic bag up on Wednesday, and started with organic popcorn on Thursday when I bought more. By Friday night, I was feeling much better. More energy and definitely more happy.

I seriously, seriously can't believe this. It's like a night and day difference in how I feel, physically and mentally. Most of the food we buy these days is organic, or if it's not organic, it's "all natural". We don't have genetically engineered ANYTHING if we can help it. So by eating a bag or two every day of the regular popcorn for 10 straight days, I was effectively LOADING my system with chemicals, pesticides, and genetically-modified CRAP that my body just wasn't used to anymore!! A couple of days without all that going in, and I'm already feeling better. I wonder how I'll feel in a week once all the toxins are out of my system!!

WOW - even though I already knew that organic is better, now I REALLY know. Instead of just reading about it, I'm living PROOF!! Food is much better the way God intended. I really do believe that!! How cool that I was a living science experiment!!

Here's some GMO Corn Info from the American Academy of Environmental Medicine:
http://www.aaemonline.org/gmopost.html

Broken Camera

*sigh*

So yesterday we went out to Durango to have some more family fun. We were headed to the upstairs portion of a Mexican restaurant for dinner, and Maezie was in the stroller. Matt picked up the front half of the stroller and I picked up the back half. We carried her up the stairs like a queen, I guess. But about halfway up, the camera fell out of the bag underneath the stroller and landed on its top on the stairs. It still turned on and everything seemed to be fine, no scratches to the lens or anything. But then I tried to snap a picture, and oh no ... it wouldn't auto-focus. So I put it in manual, and when I pressed the shutter button nothing happened. Aboslutely NOTHING. No snap, no picture, no more LIFE.

I took it to a local photo shop, but since it's still under warranty I have to send it to Nikon. I talked to a Nikon guy and got all the info and am going to send it off today. He said that it usually is about 7-10 business days turnaround for fixing it. And if whatever's wrong with it isn't under warranty, then I'll have to pay for it out of pocket. Which is FINE. I just want my camera back!

So today I'm very sad. I rely on that camera for a lot - it brings me quite a bit of joy!!

In addition to a broken camera, I also have fussy children. I had a migraine last night and it has left me with that migraine hangover feeling so I'm incredibly short-tempered and just generally feel like crap. Fussy children plus no patience = bad day for everybody.

Matt works all day and won't be home until around 8pm tonight, so it's just me to put up with my two rambunctious kids.

I miss my camera. *sad*