Old Texas House of the Week

After These Forty Years......Reconnecting on Facebook

Recently, I joined Facebook. Even after my brothers had joined, I avoided the website because, frankly, I was afraid my adult children would not want to be my friend. I take total responsibility for this because when a few of them were younger and on MySpace I rather vocally expressed my dislike of some of their "web conversation".  I should have left this alone, because at the time, they were grown and on their own; it was none of my business. So, naturally, due to this past transgression, I hesitated to sign up for Facebook.  I certainly didn't want to risk having ZERO friends. What a smack to the ego that would have been. 

Anyway, as of today I have 82 friends. The biggest surprise has been reconnecting with my high school classmates; this has been an awesome journey for me.

When in high school, I was a bit of a loner. I had the tenth highest GPA out of 365 students.....That made me a bit of a nerd. I spent an incredible amount of time studying. The most trouble I ever found myself in was circling the Sonic Drive-In with Suzie (Her name has been changed in case she ever reads this blog and finds I've "outed" her!) Ft. Sill, Oklahoma was about thirty miles away from our hometown. Sometimes the young soldiers would come over to our hometown....I can't imagine why they would come because circling the Sonic was about the most exciting thing a young person could do then....and go to the Friday night high school football game, of course. Anyway, Suzie and I would flirt with the soldiers...you know, roll down our windows at the Sonic and have a conversation....By NO means, however, did we ever get out of the car or get into theirs or let them in ours... Just wanted to make that "Perfectly" clear!!

I've been thinking a lot about those days since I've been talking with old classmates. Over the years the characteristics that separated us socially are gone; the playing field has leveled. A few of us are a bit overweight and some have a grandkid or two. Basically, we're all grown up now; all of us are within two years of being sixty years old! Incredibly, I discovered a few of my old school chums live within an hour's driving distance of me; one even lives right here in my own hometown! Fortunately, I've had the priviledge of having lunch with a couple of them. Over lunch, the forty years since graduating from high school vaporized; we were the same "kids" we were way back when....

One of the outcomes of this "reconnection" has been how much I have loved visiting with them on the internet. It has been quite like seeing a long lost relative....We share so much history. A couple of the classmates are also girls that attended the same church as my family. I've known them since I was about four or five years old. It was interesting to hear their perspective on my family during that time....sharing thoughts we didn't even know to share back then. 

So.....Thank you Facebook. You have brought a bit of sunshine into my life.....Thank you for reconnecting me to about fifty people that I find I care a whole lot about!!  And...my adult children that have a Facebook account did accept my "friend" request....They Like Me....They Really Like Me.....

Fundraising.......It's Just Not My Thang...

Taylor and all of his siblings, when not being homeschooled, have attended small private religious schools. Our family made the decision to combine a homeschool with a private school education for several reasons - small classes, more control in the actual process of educating our children, and basically not having to deal with the negative aspects of a public school education....However, let me clarify that private schools have their own set of problems that I will not discuss in this post. Homeschooling has its' own pitfalls, as well - even if the homeschooling parent is an excelllent teacher and diligent at his or her job! I'll write about this in a future post.

This post is about Fundraising....the nasty unavoidable task of the private school....especially the "small" private school. Now, as much as I abhore fundraising, I totally "get" why it has to be done. Private schools are completely self supporting, unless they have a church sponsor them, which indeed does help tremendously. Taylor's private school has no outside church support. His school totally depends on the funds raised through tuition and fundraising projects. That being said, the type of fundraiser where the student and his parents have to ask friends, relatives, and yes, I said it, even good acquaintances such as the family's pastor, hair dresser, pet groomer, fellow church members etc.....for money is a gigantic pain to me. I would rather do an entire day of heavy yard work than ask people for money. Taylor is participating in a walk/run event where people donate money either in a lump sum or by the lap for each lap he runs or walks.

I just flat cannot bring myself to ask many people to sponsor Taylor. I sent donation literature to three of my adult children....the ones that have pretty decent jobs. Then, Taylor wanted to send one to a close extended relative. I tried to soften the blow by letting this person know ahead of time....He interrupted me in mid-sentence....."Are you asking me for money"? 

Inside, I spoke softly to myself...."Ouch."  He was quite generous with his donation, but it still felt awkward. This person sent his kids to public schools, so it was a bit awkward to ask him for a donation towards my son's private school education. I don't think I'll do that again....not because of anything this relative did, but because somewhere down deep in my heart of hearts, asking people to fund my son's education just doesn't ring true....

Now, TR and I will make a relatively sizable donation with respect to our own financial situation so that Taylor will have a "sponsor". But, we could just as easily have just made the donation without the walk/run event......and, Taylor would have been in the classroom learning that day instead of in the park sweating. But, not all parents feel the same way I do, or have the means to make a sizable donation......Hence, every year there will be the same walk/run event, and students will be asked to ask others for money....

What do you think??? I'd welcome comments concerning this subject. Fundraising has been a biggie for me ever since our kids have been in private school.

It's On The Way!!!! Our New Fridge Is Coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why on earth would a family get so excited about a new refrigerator???? Our fervor does seem a bit off the charts!! On an emotional scale of 1 to 10, some of us are at a 12.......I was teaching Chris when TR came into the room sputtering, "It's coming.....They called. They are on the road now. Get all the cats and dogs out of the way. Our new fridge is almost here!!" Little squeals of anticipation filled the house!! You would have thought the Ice Cream Truck had arrived; we had won an all expense paid trip to Disney World; or a long-lost relative had returned from the abyss.

This is our "Old" refrigerator.  Please note that we had to keep the door closed with duct tape. (That duct tape; what would families do without it?) Also, notice all the dings and outright dents!!! Oh, man......aside from not working well, this fridge is so banged up. It has to go. Patrick is having a moment of silence before the fridge crosses over to a better place. Wall-e are you there??



Soo-Jin is watching for the delivery truck!!

Houston....we have now realized the moment....The new fridge is here....

 Patrick is in "refrigerated" bliss..

Because of this.....New, Beautiful, Black Refrigerator W/ an Ice Maker!!!!

Guess which part we love the Best......

Christine even has a try....

I'm so grateful that I live in a family that is so much fun.....

We find joy in the small blessings of life.

My kiddos are the BEST!!!










Out of Commission

The past four days have been a test in patience. I badly bruised my right hand trying to break two adult boards while practicing Taekwondo. My family members have been so sympathetic.....even Suzanne who is away at college and doesn't presently live here...
My family is the Best!!
Having a badly bruised right hand is exceptionally trying.....
Mostly because my right hand is my Main-Hand Man...
I write with my right hand and am right-handed in everything I do.

What does a person do when their Main Hand is out of commission??  Use the other hand, of course....
While lacking in the smoothness and agility of my right hand, I salute my left hand....
My left hand has signed checks, been the lone pusher of grocery carts, assisted in cooking (I could not cook as it was well....just flat impossible), driven a car (my bruised hand was lightly placed on the wheel....for support), written notes when learning Latin, U.S. History, and Physical Science with Taylor.

Finally, today my right hand has improved enough to get back to work. The pain is mostly gone. Finally, I can get caught up on cleaning my house. My family helped me as much as they could, but as we all know, there's nothing like a good house cleaning...Mom Style.

My sweet Soo-Jin and Taylor cooked this wonderful chicken parmesan dinner while I was out of commission.....Doesn't it look delicious?

Old Texas House of the Week

I Am Always Embarrassing Myself...

Recently, Dennis Prager on his radio show made a statement concerning learning and embarrassing oneself....I'm paraphrasing because I can't quote his exact words....But it was something like; if a person is afraid of embarrassing themselves, they will never learn...He was talking mostly about asking questions, but I think it applies to making statements as well.
Tonight, I embarrassed myself royally.....It was actually something I wish I could reverse, but alas, I can't.

When leaving TKD class, I bade TaeKwon to a visiting 4th Dan Black Belt. I welcomed him to our school and just as deliberately as if I had known him all my life, addressed him by the wrong name. In my mind I "thought" he was called Mr. ____.  But, I did doubt my memory.  If I had given myself a few seconds to reflect on my words, I would have never addressed him by name. I would have just called him Sir, which is proper etiquette for demonstrating respect for a higher rank in TKD. But, I opened my mouth and out came Mr. ______.  It didn't help that there were several black belts and other high ranking TKD students standing around.

 He quickly corrected me, but as my son said, "Mom, it was awkward." These are not the words I needed to hear as I already felt flustered about the whole thing....But, he was right....It was awkward. I totally embarrassed myself.  However, I LEARNED a valuable lesson. If in doubt, be quiet!! Or...think before speaking. Or.......tread carefully in TKD school!!!!

For those of you who are interested, I posted another fact on my blog, I'ts Factual.blogspot.com. I've not kept up with that lately. I hope to do better.....I love studying......I'm just plain curious about all kinds of topics....

Off to Austin to Visit My Girls.....

Here we are at a little Mom and Pop restaurant in Austin.

Breakfast here was heavenly...

Tellanova knows all the best "Little Hidden Secret" restaurants in Austin.

Soo-Jin, Suzanne, and I appreciate her efforts to show us all the best eateries.

We love you Tellanova!!

Strawberry Shortcake.....Taylor Style!!

Taylor went with me to the grocery store.

He wanted to make dessert for the family.

This is his creation!!

Eating it was like visiting Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory....

This dessert was made with oodles and bakoodles of LOVE!

Yum.......

Old Texas House of the Week

When Christine Began Talking.....

Yesterday, Suzanne came home from college. This was her first visit since she left. Her father and I did not want her to head back, so we kept taking her places and finding activities we "just" had to do before she headed back to school.

About mid afternoon, I asked Suzanne to go to lunch with me. We headed off to Schlotzsky's sandwich shop. I love the "Original"....In my opinion, that sandwich just can't be beat. Suzanne and I were talking about some of our disabled kids when we began sharing our thoughts about Christine. Christine came to us from the Philippines when she was five years old. Suzanne was only two years old when Christine came. There are a lot of events Suzanne doesn't remember because she was so small. She asked me to tell her the story of when Christine began to talk. I hadn't told the story in a long, long time. I'm so glad Suzanne asked, because for the whole rest of today I've been marveling at the goodness of God. Here's the story of "When Christine Began Talking"..

Christine and Eun-Hye

Christine came to us a tiny five -year -old baby of a girl. Christine was born blind. Even though she was five years old, she only weighed about fifteen pounds. She wore a size 3T!!! Our doctor said she was malnourished....(pretty obvious, I think!!).......We were told to literally shove (ie. force feed) the food down her. Christine had never eaten solid food. She had only had formula in all her five years on this earth......Kind of a biggie to wrap one's head around, isn't it??? The orphanage she was in was overwhelmed with mouths to feed. Christine was happy to curl up with a bottle and blend into nothingness.....She was quietly dying there.....But, in third world countries children die from hunger every day. This is a sad fact.

The whole first year she was in our family, we had to force feed her baby food. She hated solid food...she only wanted that bottle....In a way, the bottle had become her mother. The bottle was her only source of comfort. Because Christine did not speak, walk, or eat........her first year in our family and as an American was probably the worst year of her little life. She had to endure sensory exercises with a blind therapist. From all her screaming, I think it must have been excruciatingly painful for her......After having to hold onto a rope and try to walk across the room, and have such items as sandpaper, feathers, and velvet rubbed on her skin.....she literally fell into a heap on my lap.....

Everday she and I had "school". Mainly that meant just trying to teach her what different objects were and hope that she would eventually speak....Initially, she said nothing. We would go around the house touching different items. I would place her tiny hand on a chair and say, "Chair"....Then we would go to a table.."Table", then I'd touch a cup..."Cup" and so on ....over and over every day ...day after day for one whole year....

Then one day, there was a really good program scheduled on Oprah. Now, as we all know, Oprah comes on at 4:00 in the afternoon. This was the time I normally worked with Christine. I battled in my mind whether or not to skip Christine's "school" that afternoon......We could do it another day. It was okay to miss just one day.....Then, my conscience won out. I knew I could not miss that day.Now, I don't remember whether I had a premonition that something wonderful was about to happen. I could have, but I don't remember. What I do remember is the overwhelming guilt at not having school.The conviction was tremendous....

So, we began our class. I took her little hand and placed it on the chair. Christine, what is this? She clearly and emphatically said, "Chair".  My body immediately shot up to attention.....Had I really heard her say chair? Did I just want it so badly that I was hallucinating?  I tried another word. I put her hand on the table. Christine, what is this? Again, Christine said in a deliberate voice,"Table". I ran to the lamp. Christine, what is this?... "Lamp". I burst into a hysterical bout of sobbing. The children that were at home, were all cheering, clapping, and screaming....."Christine's talking....Christine's talking". Truly, a Bibical miracle was happening right before our eyes....It was then, and remains one of the most spiritual days of my life....After an entire year of this little wisp of a girl enduring some of the most difficult moments a person can endure, she was now experiencing a moment of  blissful victory. Christine was talking; she was laughing. Christine understood and could communicate about her environment. She was now on the road to being able to communicate. It was a glorious day......

Now, little Christine is twenty-five years old. She is still a little wisp of a person, topping the scale at only seventy-nine pounds. She is a non-stop chatter box.....really. She talks.....and talks.....and talks......I have to admit with all the events that have happened in our home over the years, I sometimes need to be reminded of that glorious day so long ago when Christine began to talk....I don't want to forget, and I don't.. It's just not in the forefront of my mind all the time. So, I'm thankful for today when Suzanne asked me the story of "When Christine Began Talking".
Thank you, God for giving our family the priviledge to love this precious angel. Thank you for Your Miracle....

Seizures........Not Fun....

Isaiah and Stephen

Today Soo-Jin, Taylor, Christine, Isaiah, and I piled into my SUV and headed off to church...TR had already gone to the early service with three of our adult disabled children...Now, it was my turn to take a bit larger group. Getting ready takes awhile, because Isaiah requires involved care to make him all spiffy. Isaiah has a disability named Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum. This disability ranges from mild to severe. Isaiah's case is severe. At his age, getting him ready for church includes a good washing, shaving, a hair cut (at least this morning, not always), and being sure his clothes are straight and his shoes are on the right feet...We woke up plenty early to take care of all the necessary duties involved in getting him ready to venture out into public...

We drove the 30 minutes to church, but just as we were driving into the parking lot, I realized I had not given Isaiah his seizure medicine. If he goes without this medicine, he will definitely have not just one seizure, but several throughout the day. It's so important, and in my haste to get everyone out the door, I totally forgot to take care of the most important task....

So, sadly, we made a U-Turn in the church parking lot and headed back home. I apologized to the kids...They mostly love to go to church. Christine had been up for hours getting herself ready. She is totally blind, but is so independent. She had adorned herself with multiple bracelets and a necklace. Of course, she had her favorite purse on her arm...She is such a girly-girl....

I felt such a letdown...But, I just couldn't risk Isaiah having a seizure, much less one in church. I'm confident the congregation would freak. It would be bad. We are used to his seizures. While they are not pleasant, we know that they will pass and Isaiah will eventually be his old self again....But, to see a seizure if you have never seen one, can be unnerving....

We stopped by a convenience store on the way home...At least, I could provide a soda for all their trouble of getting in their best duds..... They all looked so nice!!!

I told them I was so sorry....It was my fault, and I would try to do better next time. Soo-Jin said, "Mom, it was nobody's fault." She is such a sweetheart....Thank you, God, for entrusting them to me...They are my angels.... They are my family...forever, and always...and no matter what.

Sarah Linguam Latinam Discit...

Well, it's official.....I regret not having learned Latin when I was growing up. It would have definitely helped my GPA when I endured five years of Spanish in junior high and high school. ( I say "endured" half in jest.My Spanish teacher, Mamacita Tucker, was a fine teacher......one of the BEST).

My youngest son, Taylor, is taking Latin this year. And....at my house, whatever my kids are learning in school, I learn as well. Last year it was Texas History. I didn't know about Texas history because I took Oklahoma history.....Growing up in Oklahoma, every eighth grader took Oklahoma history. So....when Taylor took Texas history last year, I took Texas history too.

This year, the big, bad subject is Latin. And, I discovered I LOVE Latin!! English and Spanish make so much more sense to me......Latin is exciting....and wonderful.... All the words such as dicit, quis, quem, est, discit, docet, patria, porcus, lupus, quid, and on and on....give rise to images of togas and sandals, bare legs and strong arms....Oops, I digress......

The accusative case used for direct objects is nothing less than phenominal....Time flies when I'm studying Latin.....Well, it does for me....I'm not as confident of that fact for Taylor.

Latin is considered a dead language because no one actually speaks it anymore. Of course, the Romans spoke Latin, and if we could bring a few Romans back to life, they would speak to us in Latin. Imagine how spectacular that would be......conversing with a few dead Romans about the gods, traveling the roads through the empire, and their latest conquests.......and doing it in Latin????

With all that happens in the world, it's so great to discover something new......I didn't expect to love Latin. The possibilities become endless now.....Maybe after I have a good foundation in Latin, I'll tackle French....I've always wanted to learn French. Then...I'll go to Paris...maybe TR will come along....we'll speak French....we'll rent a villa....we'll do nothing but speak French and eat....and eat and speak French....Then we'll visit Spain....we'll hang out in Barcelona.....and then.....and then....and then.....