Forgiving Past Transgressions

As I sat in church last night I could, unfortunately, hear my son's voice drifting softly across the aisle. He was chatting with his girlfriend and, although I couldn't hear what he was saying, others around him undoubtedly heard every word. I grimaced thinking it was silly banter and he was disturbing those around him.
It was way worse than that.
Way worse .  Beyond way worse.  . .
She had, apparently, asked him if there was anyone at church we hated (why would such a question even come up??!) and he gave her a long list of names and how he felt each person had wronged us! 😕
As he sat in the car later telling me all of this I almost died. If ever there had to be a reason to find a new church this had to be at the top of the list!!
As we drove I explained to him that this was inappropriate. We are supposed to forgive and move on. We are not to keep a list . . Or publicly broadcast a list.
And, honestly, quite often things that hurt us are done unknowingly. The person may not be aware they are being hurtful, that what they are basing their statements/actions on is inaccurate.
I have learned that many people speak without knowing the whole story. They assume based on their life or rumors then offer unsolicited advice. They mean well.
But, regardless of the origin, we need to forgive and move on.
To be forgiven by God we have to first forgive others!!
And then we need to give them extra love and pray for them.
I have found that, with sufficient love and prayer, someone who was making my life miserable turned out to be a great friend!!
Hopefully our church members will reciprocate love and prayer as Matt learns.

Matt's too Tall for the Basement!!

Matt hit his head on a beam in the basement ceiling again .. 

This time the beam retaliated!!


#needtocheckbeamfordamage!!

Manicotti's December

These people are exhausting! Let me tell you . . I went outside just to hang out and keep an eye on the little birdies. I was wandering around minding my own business when my Dad came out, scooped me up and brought me back inside . .  . . they had smelly stuff to spray, a long green handle with pokey things they kept rubbing on the floor and a weird thing that made noise and blew steam!! These two (2) can be so weird to live with. Humph.
But, they did give me a nice new mousie toy for Christmas and even filled it with the most delightful catnip. 🐭
Now I've passed out on her quilting. .  I love to lay on her scissors so she has to pet me instead. . .

Supper a la Matt

   Chicken and rice . . this was so yummy!! Perfectly cooked with love . .
I am soooooo spoiled!!!

Joy Dare ~ December 9-10, 2016

° 3 gifts ugly-beautiful

      * being hated
       * seriously cold weather
        * poverty

° 3 gifts unframed art

    # night view from my windows
     # PBJ on cranberry-walnut bread
      # cute young lady who made a point to talk to Matt at the mall

Lunch a la Matt

PBJ on cranberry walnut bread ..  with strawberry-honey jam .   ..
Yummy!!

Monopoly Marathon

   Still playing .. 
     Monopoly experience does help. .

Monopoly Marathon

   Going strong!! Matt is learning the joys of collecting rent .   . . .

Time for a Monopoly Marathon!!

      Tonight is Matt's first time playing Monopoly!! He's setting up the game and reading the instructions.
      I wonder if he's ready to get stomped?!?!

Best Friends

       Personally, I think it's important to be more than just a parent. For me, being someone my son can turn to with any problem is extremely important. My little snuggle bug needs open communication as well as firm rules and flexibility.

Joy Dare ~ November 28-30, 2016

29th~ 3 gifts red~~ 

     ~ the way anger causing prayer can transform
     ~ diced tomatoes in casserole
     ~ focus


30th~ 3 gifts astonishing~~

  ~ restorative power of a day with the flu
  ~ feeling like a zombie and enjoying it
  ~ the intense love of my son

New Hats

       Tonight, as I was counting hats to share with the homeless, Matt and I each chose a new hat for ourselves .. 
       I'm not going to say this was a necessity as we both have many warm hats (the cost of living with a knitter). . 
      But, I will say that sometimes a new hat makes a person feel better . .

Our Evening ~>

   A few minutes of cleaning the car at Kiss Wash . .
    Quick trip to El Ranchito for sugar . .
      Sharing hand knit hats with a good friend and select Joliet homeless . .
   Playing Pokémon in downtown Joliet . .
     And a pause to pose in front of the city's Christmas tree . .

   An average family evening. .
         How about you?

Joy Dare • November 27, 2016

A gift handmade,
                 held,
                      happy . .        

      * peaceful home
        * teen son's heart
          * quiet day 

1000 Marble Challenge ~ Week 829

"An expensive rock because we had such an important week because we had so much fun working on getting our apartment more and more setup."

Ooo, Supper a la Matt!!

Candles . .

  Hey, for day 14 of the Make Your Home a Haven Challenge we are using a candle we made over the summer. How fun to be reminded to pray for our home and family while looking at a candle that reminds us of a family adventure and new skills learned!!

1000 Marble Challenge ° Week 828/1000

  This was a fun week because "we got settled into the apartment and got it all cleaned."
  Okay, so after sharing this fun project with a neighbor who just had a new baby girl, I began to wonder, " how many weeks since Matt was born and how many weeks until his 1000 are up?"
   He has been alive 828 weeks and I must confess I've not used all well. If he weren't autistic he'd have only 172 weeks left at home. With he autism he'll be around a bit longer to forever. We have many spectacular weeks ahead of us!!
   Although this is week 162 of tracking well used weeks, it's week 828 of his life.

     This week's rock of choice!

162 rocks/marbles . .

Prepping after Losing Almost All Our Preps

   At one point we were almost totally prepped. We were ready for all but floods and fireballs!! With having our tiny homestead we had a place for a huge garden, fruit trees and room to store more than a two (2) year supply of food. We had a shed full of hand tools (non-electric) and were honing our skills in each area.
   And now? Well, we are in an apartment with nowhere to garden.   All our canning supplies and garden tools are gone as well as over $1000.00 of groceries.  The above picture is all the nonperishable food we have on hand!! We are truly starting our prepping journey from scratch.
   At first this un-prepped prepper scenario gave me a Huge stomach ache! I mean there we were. I'd spent so much time making sure we'd be okay. Crazy government puts us on martial law, we'd have a garden to live off of. Power grid finally collapses, we had antique hand tools. I was ready for almost anything.
  So here we sit. I can't let my situation suck the life and hope out of me. It's too easy to let evil win and become a mindless clone, an unthinking blob.

   As I begin the process of quietly re-prepping I'd like to take you along with me. But, I'm changing my blog. What you're seeing now day-to-day will stay the same. However I will also be adding premium content over time. I am still in the process of planning how this will work, so bear with me.
   But, as a preview, let me say that I plan to include: 
~ videos of where we explore/hike
~ tutorials of projects I'm working on
~ ideas for prepping if you're stuck in an urban setting

     I know there will be at least one premium post a week and that, eventually at least, access will be dependent on how much is paid in a subscription.
   For right now, I am asking for some serious feedback as to what you'd like to see more in-depth. I must say that these posts will share more, but I will also be taking greater care with our privacy and safety. 
   As I am barely starting this project I may make all premium content available to all subscribers initially then create tiers later. What will happen with tiers is that people who pay more per month will have access to more. So, for example, someone who decides to pay less than $5/month may only have access to premium blog posts. However someone who pays $20/month may have access to all lower levels as well as my videos on YouTube.
   Please, as my blog grows, I need to hear what you think.

Happy Thanksgiving . .

     As we enjoy a paid day off I have to sit back and remember our Cherokee heritage. For many years after visiting a powwow in Point Place (if you can attend only one powwow this should be the one) I simply didn't want to celebrate a day commemorating land stolen from Native Americans.
   Then over time, although the truth of the holiday didn't change, I moved on. Yes, I still share this truth, and how it can, and is, easily repeated globally. My son knows the truth of what pilgrims gave thanks for. True, they were thankful for their safe passage across the ocean. BUT, they were also thankful for land they intended to take for their own. This acquisition of another's land I can't celebrate any more than I celebrate Indian Reservations!!
  And so, what does today entail for us? It is definitely a day to sleep in (apparently only an hour extra sleep for me although Matt is still snoring!!). It is a day to eat as every year I use this as a tool for teaching Matt one more cooking trick.
   It has also become a day to go hiking and exploring. This is a small tribute to our ancestors. Getting out into the woods all bundled up and spending time as a family away from TV and internet gives us a chance to connect with nature.
   Are we still thankful for all we have? Definitely, especially after being homeless earlier this month! Every day we are thankful. Thankful for those who sincerely care (not as many as we thought and our previous estimate was almost microscopic!!). Thankful for an apartment . . for full tummies ..  the ability to reach out to those in need . . for freedom to follow God . . and for the ability to move ahead, wherever God leads us!!! 
   And your family? What does Thanksgiving mean to you?