The Sweet Potato

I mentioned a few posts ago that one of my resolutions is to eat more whole foods.  Thus, I began making a list of foods that we are likely to eat more of which then led me to look into their health benefits.

First on the list is the sweet potato.  Here are some health benefits associated with this root vegetable:

*carotenes: gives sweet potatoes their orange color and  acts as an antioxidant in humans, actually boosting antioxidants

*good source of vitamins B2, B6, pantothenic acid (B5), C and A

*good source of fiber, manganese, copper and biotin

*unlike the regular potato, sweet potatoes are an approved food for diabetics since they have a lower GI.

 

So how to prepare the sweet potato for the dinner table?  Some people peel, boil and season as one would the regular potato.  I usually cut in half vertically and place in a shallow baking dish in the oven until the flesh is soft and mashable Then I add butter and sprinkle cinnamon. We eat them either as a baked potato or mashed potatoes. YUM!

www.allrecipes.com has a variety of recipes to suit your mood, from candied to casseroles to steak fries.  We’ll be trying a few!

We’ll Never Make the Tour of Homes

nor will we ever be featured in Home and Garden and our home will certainly never receive praise from Martha Stewart.  But that’s okay.
When you walk into our home, hopefully you’ll see more than just a family who lives on a tight budget.  You’ll see that kids do indeed LIVE here.  Watch out or you might slip on a stray Hot Wheel.  Their toys are not confined to the closets and shelves in their own bedrooms.  We live in this home. These walls hear the laughter (and sometimes bickering) of little voices.  The floors echo the pitter patter of little feet.  Our kitchen table may be disguised as a secret cave, covered by blankets.  Our kitchen walls?  They may be mistaken for a kindergarten classroom. That is what they are after all.  Books, and brightly colored posters abound. This is where little ones learn. And grow.  Yes, the wall paper in the hall may have a few strips missing here and there.  Little fingers just couldn’t resist the urge to pick and peel the edges.  I’ve decided that’s okay.  We needed to replace it anyway. Someday. You may discover the kitchen floor is a little sticky when you walk.  That’s from where a little one spilled their juice and then tried to clean it up without asking for help or expecting mama to do it.  Our furniture is,  well, loved. They are functional at best.  We live in this home.  We learn and love in this home.  Constant cleaning and decorating and saying “No don’t touch that” or “don’t mess up your bed” takes away from the precious moments of learning and loving.
One day I may have a designer home. Spotless. Stylish. No unknown funky smells. And pretty walls. But I hope that day takes forever to get here, for it will mean that THESE days…days of learning, discovery, giggles and hugs…would have passed away. 

image credit                                                                                                         

This post is linking up with Project 52 at

Christmas 2011

Christmas Eve began at Memama’s house. 

Tess and Myree

Uncle Mike

Miss Em and Buck

Trying to sneak a Pepsi

Then on to Mama Jean and Grandaddy’s. Here is Grandaddy fixing his egg/sausage casserole. It’s a tradition.

Aunt Stacey showing off her Christmas sweater.  It’s a running joke.

Buck got a new pair of cowboy boots. 

He’s so proud of them!

This is what Beauty’s been asking for for months.

Opening their stockings on Christmas morning.

Beauty playing with her playdough dentist  kit.

Give them a good cleaning!

Buck loves his big remote controlled truck.

What could it be?

Play time at last!

As usual, God blessed us abundantly and it was a wonderful Christmas.

Her Son Was In a Bag

That’s what my high school friend Sandra saw when she entered into her son’s school last week.  You may have read or heard about it.  It’s been on our local news, but it is also gaining national coverage through sources  such as Yahoo News ,MSNBC.com and NYDailyNews.com

Her son is autistic and Sandra was called to pick him up for misbehaving. When she arrived, she found him tied up inside a large drawstring bag intended for gym balls. She demanded that he be let out, which of course he was. Immediately.  She was told this was not the first time her son was placed inside the bag and set out in the hallway of his intermediate school.

This is the picture Sandra provided on FB to show an example of the bag. This is NOT the actual bag, but a representation.  The actual bag, she says, is a little bigger.

 

The superintendent’s official public response is that it is unlawful for him to issue an official public statement either confirming or denying the allegations, but that they are complying with the ensuing investigation and that the school district strives to treat all students with respect and provide the best education possible.

If I were not home schooling, this would be the district in which Beauty attended elementary school.  He is only one year older than she.

With the help of some wonderful people at change.org, she has begun a petition to the board of education to request changes in their policies in the disciplining of special needs children and to request that all staff involved with the special education department be properly trained in autism awareness.

Honestly people, if someone were to enter your home and found you had tied your child up in a bag like the one pictured above, they’d be pulled from your home so quickly your head would spin. As they should.  What is not appropriate discipline at home should not be allowed at school.  Isn’t that not only common decency, but common sense as well?

I’ve been told that some of these kids need restraining so they don’t  hurt themselves or others.  No one is saying they should be allowed to go all Kung-Fu on the classroom, but appropriate forms of discipline need to be enforced.  Being tied up inside a bag is not an appropriate form of discipline.  I understand that sometimes physical restraint is necessary, but again…to be tied up inside a bag?  They are not the spoils from a rabbit hunt.

Special needs children are not animals.  They are human beings created by God, in the image of God and deserve the same respect as anyone else. Furthermore, they deserve our protection for they so often cannot defend themselves nor even verbally ask for help.

If you would like to read and /or sign the petition please click here.

I am very proud of Sandra for taking a stand and trying to change her world and that of her son and children like him.

Pre-Resolution List

I always love the new start a new year brings and usually make at least mental resolutions even if I don’t announce them.  I usually don’t announce them cause, well, I know ME and the likely hood I won’t keep them.   My self-reflection has begun earlier than usual this year and I want to make a few notes about the changes I would like to make. 

First of all, it would be pointless for me to even begin if I did not immediately surrender all my intentions and plans to God.  So, I do.

Here’s the semi-official list:

More quiet time with God.  It seems lately the kids’ eyes pop open the minute my feet hit the floor, so prayer time and devotional usually happens with them chaotically fluttering about.

Incorporate more Whole Foods into our diet.  Much more.  As the mother of a special needs daughter, one would think I had jumped on that band wagon years ago.  I have not, but now have one foot up in the air ready to heave myself onto the wagon of “limited processed foods”.  I am not naïve or foolish enough to think we can make a complete transition to no processed foods at all.  They seem nearly unavoidable, and let’s face it, sometimes convenience wins the meal-time war.  I do want to make the effort to serve more fresh fruits and vegetables, or at least  frozen, so we may reap the nutritional benefits.  I KNOW that I know that I know that the benefits are many and we’d all FEEL so much better if I just take the time to prepare nutritious well-rounded meals. 

Drink More Water. And no, sweet tea is not the same thing. Duh.

Play. Lately my idea of a good time is to be curled up with a book. While that will always be among my favorite pastimes, it is a solitary one that has does not offer the relational and physical benefits that acting silly or DOING something fun provides.

Time-Management. So that my days are more productive and I don’t work myself to death one day a week to make up all of the neglected house work.

Simply. Must. Practice. Self. Discipline. This is a biggie and none of the other goals can be achieved without it.  It covers a broad range of areas in which I must control myself: what I think; what I say; how I spend; how I teach; how I train;how I spend my free-time; how I manage household chores.  Every facet of my life basically.  (Lord, I really need help with this one!)

Have you begun your resolution list?  If so, I’d love to know what’s on it!

This Mama Is So Proud

On Sunday, December 18th, Beauty was in her very first Christmas play. She did not have any lines, but sang in the choir.  She could not read the words, but held her choir book proudly and belted out the songs from memory.  She did so well!

Those of you who have a child with significant learning challenges can appreciate what I am saying.  She stood still, during a scene where she needed to be seated while Luke 2 was read, she sat still.  She announced her name at the end during the cast introductions.  She was wonderful.

Here she is, to the right and behind the guy with the beard (who happens to be my brother-in-law).

I am so proud of her!

Looks like it may run in the family- during the choir’s concert, Buck ran out of the pew and up on stage and stood next to his sister. He turned to the audience and said “Hidee!”  He’s a ham.

A Most Tragic Deception

A man Hubs knows hung himself on Saturday evening.  They had not spoken in years, but it was one of those relationships that do not break.  They were not close, but still bound to one another.  I cannot give any more details than that. 

The young man leaves behind two very young sons and a devastated family. No one saw it coming.  His mother found the suicide note just moments too late.  What ifs are fueling their grief.  My heart breaks for his mother, extended family and of course for the two boys and their mother.

Many emotions swell and toss about when I hear about a suicide.  Thankfully I have not experienced if first hand through a loved one of my own and I pray I never do.  But we all know someone who knows someone……

Mostly I cry at the tragedy of it all.  An eternal soul that is now on the other side, that has reached the point of no return.  All hope is gone. No do-overs. 

I realize how this sounds.  Like I am assuming he was lost.  That is not for me to determine.  Only God knows the condition of his heart and the circumstances leading to his final decision.  It is my sincere hope that he is indeed now at peace.

Still, I have to ask myself “What goes through a person’s mind to lead him to end his life and leave behind a family and two small boys?”  What lies had the enemy used to convince him this was the best and only solution?

What caused him to ignore God’s promise, “And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”(Deuteronomy 31:8) and

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” ⁶ So we may boldly say: “ The LORD is my helper;
I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 31:5)  and instead believed there was no hope. 

I mentioned before that depression is something I have struggled with for years.  There have been days when I felt overwhelmed, when the enemy has whispered to me that “nothing will ever get better” and suggested I drive my car into a tree.  But those thoughts are immediately taken captive for Christ and I am reminded of His words in Matthew: “ ²⁸ Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  There is always Hope and Victory in Christ.  The cross shines through the shadows and we can live because He lives.

click for image source

¹⁰ The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.  (John 10:10)

Dear ones, I pray that we all remember this Christmas, and always, to share the Good News to everyone we meet.  Let our lights so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)