I got to enjoy a few hours at the barn yesterday. Today is Bob's turn for fun... he's taking a flight lesson 
Does it bother anyone else that food choices are given a persona in marketing and we are expected to EAT them? What is the underlying message here?
I was feeling courageous this morning and went down into the cellar
for the first time (we have lived here four years). I found a little
treasure 
I've heard other people make similar comments to this (paraphrased)
"I don't care what the professionals say, we were raised differently" [therefore this problem/solution isn't valid]
and
"I don't care what history says or what the Bible shows differently about what I believe. This is my tradition and I refuse to hear any thing different."
This is how my children were treated by their Dad's family. 
This mind set allows no room for growth. I'm glad I don't have to live with it any more!
Exactly HOW is a mother to react when a loved one says that she should just LIE about the ingredients of an item that she wants to give to a child KNOWING that the family has food sensitivities but doesn't believe the doctors?
How do you "just ignore it"? Should you ignore a threat to your child's well being because some people think you are "over-reacting"? How is a Mom NOT going to be reactive about that?!
If it wasn't someone very special, my friend would have already cut ties, but I have no idea how to address the situation without flaming arrows. 
I am very thankful for freedom of choice!
God could have created automatons, but He knew that true love and devotion can only come with the freedom of choice. Life is full of choices - including whether to follow Him or not. And choosing to follow Him includes all sorts of individual choices based on what we choose to believe.
One of the great things about being an American is having freedom of choice for a great many things - including whom to worship (or not worship).
I guess some of us have more intense "Grammatude" than others!
One grandma, who had been complaining about not getting enough time with the grandbabies, was asked for some babysitting help. She was then overheard saying to a companion that the mother was trying to force her to spend time with the kids! 
It's not the first altercation the family has had.
I'm not even involved and it makes me so mad! If it were me, it would be the very last! I would be saying, "You feel that way about spending time with the kids after all that whining? Fine! No more. I'm done. You can see the kids when they are teenagers and are curious about the rest of the family." Of course, I've had my fill of controlling, manipulative people and can't handle it any more. 
The family though has greater patience than I and are thinking about trying to work through it. There is greatness in trying to salvage important relationships.
Bob was beaming about having everything on the truck being fixed (the tailgate and passenger side door didn't work most of winter and there was a problem with the starter to name a few). Then, half way to the horses he looks down at the dash and grumbles that the truck was over heating. Of course. Thankfully, the barn owner was home and had some coolant... and water... so we could get home again. After some investigation, it was discovered that the pump was leaking. Yay. New project. I'm glad Bob can take care of this stuff!
I said, you know why the pump broke, right? He said, yeah... I said something about everything being fixed! 
I sometimes share things here about something that bothers me. Stuff that triggers me on a personal level. I am purposefully generic about situations to respect the privacy of others. Some situations are similar to things that happen to people other people know. That is because that situation happens over and over again in LOTS of families and people just don't realize it. This is why books and movies have warnings, because people jump to conclusions and go to war about stuff they think they know about.
If I have a problem with an individual, I will speak to or message that individual. But, I am allowed to have my own opinion and emotions regarding ANY subject and share that on my profile. As long as I'm not being specific and naming names then it is not calling people out or airing laundry. It is me dealing with personal feelings. There is a difference.
What is Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS)?
This is interesting...
My ex-husband was just diagnosed with Steven-Johnson Syndrome. He has had several allergic reactions to medications and multiple doctors have ignored them as coincidence - even after having to stay in the hospital looking similar to this picture for two days. However, he recently moved and started seeing a new doctor who said that he should have been diagnosed a long time ago!
What is more interesting is that the doctor told him that the medications that he is allergic to are all linked to him having a meat allergy. He was also told that this is highly inheritable and should let his kids and grandkids know in case they have inherited his meat allergies and need to avoid medications and vaccinations that have trace amounts of meat and egg proteins.
My ex-husband was not vaccinated as a child and raised vegan. Probably a good thing now that we know of this link (50 years later).
I am awed at the validation I have been receiving about choices I have made before there was evidence to support it. Choices like raising my kids vegan, not having them vaccinated, and home schooling. These were personal decisions at the time and I have been through an incredible amount of ridicule for making them. Now I can see the Lord's leading in those choices (even if others still disagree)!
Currently, my oldest gets to make informed choices with plenty of scientific evidence to support those choices and is still ridiculed. It is heart breaking.
Some days, it is an act of courage just turning on the computer and scrolling through facebook. Some negative thing said to someone else about an incident that has nothing to do with me is sometimes enough to cause me to feel over whelmed. When it becomes more personal, my knee-jerk reaction is often "I just won't speak to anyone ever again".
Some days are worse than others. There are days when I feel like deleting all of my social accounts and closing my doors to others altogether. I know other people feel this way too - especially introverts.
I would cave to these feelings if I didn't realize that that is a traumatic reaction, would make me feel like a failure, and would be in direct opposition of the growth that I've worked so hard to achieve. I also know that it is ok to take a step back and rest a bit... Just not to the point to shut people out of my life altogether 
Plus, I have enjoyed my growth (more on that tomorrow ). And, I think I might actually miss some of the social interaction my circle provides
Fighting Anxiety with Colorful Hair Dye
Sometimes, the journey to the top requires a shift in direction
I woke with a sore throat. My support team stands ready!
Remember my idea to have Bob enjoy a few air joy rides a year? Well,
he took off with that idea and is now 1/3 of the way towards a
private pilot's license!
Yesterday, I was thinking it is about the perfect time to start planting in my tires (as soon as I'm feeling up to it).
Last night,
I dreamed that the neighborhood bunnies came and ate every thing!
That's a very real possibility.
Now, I like the bunnies and wish
them no harm. But, I'm also kinda selfish and don't want to grow
rabbit food (they can eat the clover in the lawn).
Does anyone know how tall my "beds" will have to be to keep the rabbits out? And, how far will I need to move them away from the porch steps?
Early Mother's Day flowers from my children 
A few days ago, I started coughing uncontrollably. I tried four
different things to still the cough. Within an hour, I was begging
for mercy. Not only did the Lord still the cough at that moment, but
coughing was gone altogether within 12 hrs. This is a big deal for
me because a cough typically lasts a couple of weeks once it starts!
This was my prayer. The verses came to me as I was creating the video. Enjoy!
Some days I get so frustrated with myself! I have a file on my
computer that I've been keeping my goals for the month on. The
problem is that I must have made two of them because I know I
updated it at the beginning of April, but the one I have now ends
mid-February. I backed up my computer a couple of weeks ago and
deleted all the extra files. The back up only has the same file I
have now. Grrr! Now I need to try to remember what I have done for
the past two months. Good luck with that!