Touched by the hand of GOD

Hi,

You don't know me but I wanted to comment on your post about how your friend envisioned heaven. I think it's probably pretty accurate.

I wanted to share an experience I had when I was sixteen & was doubting my faith in God.

I was spending the night at a co-worker's house. Her parents always made her go to youth group on Saturdays. As I was a guest in her home, I went as well. I had been uprooted by my family a couple of months prior to this & had many bad experiences. Being from a small town in the Mid-west I was naive to say the least.

I mentioned that my faith was waning. It was waning because in two short months the following things had happened to me.

I narrowly missed being abducted on THREE separate occasions by THREE different individuals/groups of people.

I had to fight my way out of being date raped.

I had been informed that I would not be graduating with my class because so many of my required classes from Illinois did not transfer to Arizona. The only way to grad with my class was to go to night school & summer school. The money to do this was nowhere to be found...even from any relatives back in the Midwest.

I was working 35+ hours per week to help pay for rent & put food on our table.

My mother was rapidly spiraling into a deep depression was threatening to end it all daily. I had no idea WHAT to do about it. (Thankfully, she never did try to end it all)

My sister was also going into a depressed state, my brother was turning to drugs & my dad was working double shifts trying to pay the bills. Keep in mind we had left Illinois with what would fit in our van & an Cordoba...from a 15 room Victorian home.

Back to the youth group meeting.

Everyone was instructed to write on a piece of paper what they wanted to discuss & because the room the youth group usually met in was being painted, they met in the sanctuary instead. I had never been to a church in AZ so I was complete stranger to all except for my co-worker.

I was paired up with a teen aged boy, bless his heart. He let me talk & talk & cry & cry about everything that had been weighing on me so heavily. When time was up, he just held me in his arms & let me sob in silence.

Shortly thereafter, everyone knelt in prayer at the front of the sanctuary. There was this large cross with Christ nailed to it, illuminated by the sun streaming through a skylight. I was always told to keep my eyes closed with my head bowed in prayer, but something told me to look up.

When I did, I saw the hand of God come down & touch my heart. I cried silent tears like I've never cried before or since. Every teen there at youth group that day knew what I had seen.

I had a deep sense of peace & telling people about it still moves me to tears. If that is any indication of heaven is like, that is where I'd like to think I'll go when my time comes.

When I read your description of heaven, it brought me back to my experience that day 20 1/2 years ago. When I share the experience with people, many scoff or say I'm making it up.

Those who either know me or believe in God can see & hear it to be true. I don't know why I was chosen to have that experience.

I share it with people for many different reasons. It's not often that I share it, but I thought you could appreciate the experience & that maybe it would bring you some comfort while you are grieving the loss of your very dear friend Laurie.

My thoughts & prayers are with you.

Sincerely, Mary

The above is a copy of an e-mail I sent to a blogger tonight. I had been thinking about how blessed I am in light of all of the victims of Katrina. I am blessed & grateful for the following things &/or people in my life.

1. My loving devoted husband & 2 beautiful children.
2. My family, all of it's members no matter how much trouble they cause me at times. At least I HAVE family members to bug the heck out of me. They also have been a great support system when I've needed them most.
3. My pets. It may seem silly to some but they have often calmed me down enough to deal with things & made me feel loved when I felt unworthy of it.
4. My experiences & decisions both good & bad for they have made me the person I am today.
5. A strong sense of self & that my DH helped me find my way back to myself. Now I am working on what I don't like about myself, not just physically either. I believe the journey will help be become a better wife, mother, friend & human being.
6. My best friend that is like another sister to me. She has held my hand through break-ups, divorce, abuse, abortion & has never made me feel judged or "less than". She was there when I got married, with new jobs, new homes & new loves. I know not if my heart would have healed without her in my life. To me she is an earthbound angel....even if she thinks otherwise. She is the first person I call with news either good or bad. I truly love her like I love my sister. I been honored to call her my friend since 1993 when I met her at work.

There are more but I don't want to make this entry so long that nobody wants to read it.

My problems seem so small in comparison to what others are dealing with tonight.

• Katrina's victims
• My neighbor going off to Iraq soon, leaving his wife & two young children behind
• a fellow PG member that has likely lost everything
• my Uncle that found out this past Friday that he has Pancreatic Cancer
• all of the homeless, the poor, the ill & the grieving in the world
• those that feel trapped in bad relationships or dead-end jobs, feeling "forced" to hide their lifestyle choices or even feeling trapped by indecision about something in their life

Like I said, my problems are small in comparison. Things like ...

• Ow , I still have pain in my side from my c-section 3 months ago
• Sheesh, I'm paying $2.75 a gallon for gas at the pump
• how am I going to get everything done that I need to before we move into our new & larger home

Yes the pain in my side concerns me, but soon enough we will be insured once again & then I can have it looked at.

Yes we are paying $2.75 a gallon for gas, but we just won't make unnecessary trips to the store & such. It's something that we needed to change anyway.

I will find a way to get everything dome before moving day. At least I have a home to move to & I have stuff to put inside of it. It is something that sadly has been taken from thousands of people in the United States in the past 48 hours.

Like I said, my problems are small. I'm just glad that I can put it all into proper perspective.

Okay, I haven't jumped off the FLYlady deep end like it may appear from my activities. The inspector is coming tomorrow morning to look at our house for the interested buyer. Although my feet are screaming at me & I am sweating like a dog on a hot Midwestern July day...I will have a nice clean house. I am nowhere NEAR done cleaning & I don't think I'll get it all done by tomorrow morning. I did get the worst rooms looking decent, with the exception of the laundry room. I need to scrub the floor because the washing machine over flowed when I put a comforter in to wash a few weeks ago. I am afraid that if I don't stop cleaning soon, I won't be able to walk tomorrow because my feet will be so sore. This is due to my excessive weight & my heel spur. I know...No stinkin thinkin allowed. I did take 15 minute breaks each hour & a couple of those I spent with Elizabeth. I do need to get the laundry put away tonight & I'll clean the shower while I'm in it tonight. I will probably be sore tomorrow, but I'll be up early....cleaning again before the inspector comes in the morning.

http://www.mypyramid.gov./

We got approved for the loan

We got approved for the loan on the land & manufactured home. We NEED the space but I'm not looking forward to moving....again. Packing, flinging & donating won't be much fun with two little ones. If I would have been following FLYlady the whole time then I'd have much less to fling & donate. So far I have found a new home for the cradle that needs repair (that DH will never get around to fixing) as well as the metal lawn furniture from the 1970's that my MIL gave to us when we moved. They will be out of our house by the end of the week. We have already deceided that whatever we can't find new homes for we will donate. I hope Freecycle works as well as people say it does!

As for routines, I completed my morning & afternoon routines today. My evening routine was completed with the exception of one thing & my before bed routine will be completed as soon as I finish this entry. For me unwinding means journaling, either on the computer or paper, reading a book or watching a show on TV. The water is on the computer desk nearly gone.

As far as weight loss goes...DH sabotaged me this week. He brought home Lemon cookies, Little Ceasears Pizza, Ice cream, potato chips & soda pop. I love him but sometimes I think he WANTS to keep me fat. He met me fat. He loves me fat & HE is fat. He has told me he is afraid that if I lose weight I will leave him for somebody else. What do I have to do to reassure him this isn't the case. I have a wonderful (most of the time) DH that loves me, loves our children, is great father & works his rear off to allow me to be a SAHM! His ex fiance left him on Christmas Eve years ago after she lost something like 50 pounds. I guess all I can do is lose the weight & NOT leave him. Silly man. I won't be sabotaged this week though. I ate ALL of the lemon cookies so there are no more in the house. I ate ONE piece of pizza instead of 4 or 5 like usual. My late night snack was a small banana instead of chips, cookies or ice cream. I have a LONG way to go, but I'm taking things one step at a time. I REFUSE to beat myself up about giving in to temptation. I just have to pick myself up & climb back on the road to regaining my health. I was BAD today....eating all of those cookies & drinking 32 oz of soda. A couple of weeks ago I was drinking 96 oz of soda....so there is improvement with that already.

I'm yawning finally & I still need to make the bottle for "C" & stick it in the fridge. After all she is quite the impatient little princess.

Pictures from Sesame Street presents the The Body

These are pictures from the Arizona Science Center. The featured exhibit is Sesame Street Presents The Body. We took the girls this past weekend & "E" had a blast. Not to mention that she LOVES ELMO!
She wanter her picture taken with the picture of Sesame Street. That is what she called it. Then she proceeded to tell me who was in the picture...Elmo, Grover, Zoey, Telly,Bert & Ernie.
This is basically what "C" did throughout the entire exhibit...that is when she wasn't eating. We didn't have to pay for her because she is still so young...almost 3 months old already!
"E" was having fun in Grover's obstacle course. Who knew she knew what to do with a balance beam? It was a surprise to me!
"Mom! Look what I made! An umbella!" (that is how she says it)

We were there for about 3 or 4 hours & "E" was worn out by the time we were done.

http://www.azscience.org/

I was watching a rerun of Oprah's show with Lisa Marie Presley & let me just say WOW! I wasn't than impressed by the version of "Dirty Laundry" she performed on the show. I Googled her & up came her website. I clicked on "Dirty Laundry" there & listened. I LOVED it! I went ahead & listened to the other songs on the site & I now want BOTH of her CD's. This is saying alot for me because being a SAHM my funds are very limited. I liked "Lights Out" the first time I heard it but it didn't grab my attention enough for me to check into it. She kind of reminds ME of Melissa Etheridge. Others may not agree, but my opinoin is my own & others can agree or disagree. I don't care...just stating my opinoin. Anyway, click on the link below & give it a listen. Her Daddy would probably be pretty proud of his Princess.


http://www.lisapresley.com/music_home.html

Pictures from my sister's visit

This is my sweet little niece "R" She is such a little honey & had such a fun time at the park during her visit. This was the first time I had ever seen her since she was born. She looks just like my sister....with the exception of the blonde hair. Her & my "E" played VERY well together.




This is my sister "C" & her daughter "R" tuckered out after a LONG day of visiting various local family members. This was taken in my "C's" bedroom formally belonging to my "E's" bedroom.







This is my oldest nephew "S". He is borderline Autistic but has improved greatly since entering school. He handled the changes in his routine & environment better than I'd expected.









This is my nephew "I" & my very own "E" in front of my house. We were waiting for my sister & the other 2 kids to come outside so we could walk to a nearby park.

We had a nice visit. My sister & I got to talk almost nightly after the kids went to bed. We polished off a bottle of Strawberry flavored white zin a couple of nights....it's a luxury we don't normally get to afford ourselves. The last night here, she bathed all four kids while I finished, sorted & folded all of her laundry. The while she got her kids down for the night & packed the carry-on's I crammed the rest of her stuff into one suitcase. I rolled, stuffed, jammed & crammed her suitcase full of toys, books, shoes & clothes. Since she had to leave by 4:30 am to catch her flight to St. Louis, we packed everything into her rental with the exception of HER carry-on backpack. I woke up to see her off, help her with the kids & kiss them all good-bye. I REALLY miss her & wish she didn't live 2/3 of the way across the country. She has to go where the opportunities in her field that ARMY has available. That happens to be the East Coast. I hope I see her sooner than 4 years from now!

Journal entry from fit day & routines

Breakfast: 2 eggs scrambled (with water not milk), 1/4 C white onions, 1/4 C carrots, 1 slice of American Cheese, 2 thin deli slices of ham in water (looked at the package & the 1.4 slice of medium ham was the closet I could come calories & fat wise using the pre-set foods) & 16 ounces of 1% milk. Breakfast was really good....I need to do this more often!

~~~ !!!Light Bulb moment!!! For me to lose all of the weight I set for my goal, by my goal date...I only have to lose an average of 5 pounds PER MONTH! HELLO! That's just over 1 pound per week! I can really do this! That is an exciting & motivating thought. ~~~

I walked 15 minutes again today. That is 2 days down & 5 to go for that goal. I was craving chocolate SOOOO bad. Normally I would drive to the store & buy some, but instead I looked around the house & found the LF Fudge Brownie mix....so I made those instead. I only had one soda today & tonight I'm drinking Crystal Light instead of soda pop.

While I was out walking I stopped & talked to some neighbors....for TWO hours! WOW! TWO WHOLE HOURS WITHOUT ANY KIDS!!! Bonus....I got some much needed adult conversation. We talked about the illegal immigration issues in the news, the inflated real estate market, the enormous influx of people moving here from California & issues that are affecting our neighborhood. It was MUCH needed by me & I really enjoyed it. Because I didn't ave my cell phone with me my DH wasn't able to interrupt me & "beckon" me home to take care of two children that HE is perfectly capable of caring for himself. I love him & our kids but hey...I need a little bit of "mom time" once in awhile. I deserve it & I rarely get any of it. Between housework, family obligations, changing diapers, making bottles, wiping noses or bottoms, caring for the pets & our yard...time is very limited.

As for routines, these are mine....

Morning routine:

• Get up & dressed to the shoes
• make the bed
• brush teeth & hair

Afternoon routine:

• identify hot spots & put them out
• 15 minutes of zone work
• Elizabeth time

Evening routine:

• lay out clothes for next day
• walk (bless my heart) for minimum of 15 minutes
• journal my food, activities etc that I may not have done through out the day

Before Bed routine:

• shower
• shine sink
• empty trash cans
• unwind with tea or water

It's the beginning of a plan. I had to start somewhere!

Din over border money grows

By Mark Flatten, Tribune
East Valley Tribune

USA - Top state lawmakers are asking their federal counterparts to keep the heat on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to account for money that an agency whistle-blower says should have been spent to help secure the Arizona border.Republican leaders from the House and Senate said it is "unfathomable" that money meant to help bring technology to the Arizona border could have been misspent on bureaucratic initiatives in Washington, D.C.

That charge was leveled by Charles Cape, southwestern zone manager for Homeland Security, in a story published July 31 by the Tribune.
"It is disturbing enough that Arizona is burdened by the lion's share of the federal government's inability to gain operational control over our border," the lawmakers say in an Aug. 9 letter to Republican members of the state's congressional delegation. "The fact that tens of millions of dollars intended to tackle this problem have now possibly vanished is unfathomable."

The letter was signed by GOP leaders, including House Speaker Jim Weiers of Phoenix, and Senate President Ken Bennett of Prescott.
Cape told the Tribune he was sent to Arizona to find ways to use wireless technology to help guard the border against terrorists, smugglers and illegal immigrants. But when he tried to get money for the system, he found it had been misspent on nrelated programs by top agency administrators, despite specific instructions from Congress to use the funds for wireless technology, he said.

After the Tribune story was published, Reps. J.D. Hayworth and John Shadegg, both R-Ariz., took Cape's complaints to the House Committee on Homeland Security, which opened an investigation.
Before speaking with the Tribune, Cape filed separate complaints with Homeland Security's inspector general and the independent federal Office of Special Counsel.

Those investigations languished until Hayworth and Shadegg made inquiries.In their letter to Arizona's congressmen, the state lawmakers expressed sympathy for Cape's frustration in trying to report his assertions that the border money was misspent.
"It is particularly noteworthy that a high-ranking official with DHS would feel so discouraged about the status of the funds that he was compelled to bring this matter to the media after apparently exhausting every other avenue within his own department," the letter says.
House Majority Leader Steve Tully, R-Phoenix, whose district includes Paradise Valley, said he began circulating a letter asking Congress to investigate Cape's charges shortly after the Tribune story was published. But since members of the state's delegation acted quickly to pursue the charges, the letter was rewritten to express the lawmakers' concerns, Tully said.

Homeland Security has said the money was not misspent. The equipment Cape requested has not reached the border because it must go through normal testing and procurement channels, said agency spokesman Larry Orluskie in a previous interview.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9000226/

__________________________________________________

Ernesto Portillo Jr.: Polls guide the pols on illegal entry



Opinion by Ernesto Portillo Jr.
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

So Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano is playing politics when she declared a state of emergency and released $1.5 million to Pima and three neighboring countries to pay for costs due to undiluted illegal immigration.
Politics? Yes, said some shocked and awed Arizona Republicans.
I'm stunned to know politics is being played in the parlor of illegal immigration, to paraphrase actor Claude Rains playing police inspector Louie Renault in the movie "Casablanca."
Just like Rains' character knew there was gambling in the club's back room, we know politics is in play over illegal immigration. We just act shocked.
From President Bush to local elected officials, Democrats and Republicans are jostling for the best position to appeal to voters.
Politicians read the polls. Voters want politicians to act and sound tough on illegal immigration, even if the get-tough measures will not resolve illegal immigration fueled by economic and political forces that can outmuscle stricter controls.
Napolitano is reading the polls, as is New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. The two Dem-ocrats calculated political gains and losses when they declared an emergency zone in eight counties abutting Mexico.
Napolitano wants to get re-elected next year. She's looking to deflect Republican criticism of "being soft" on illegal immigration.
Before declaring Pima, Santa Cruz, Cochise and Yuma counties disaster zones, she had taken several public steps to ward off Republican chiding.
In February she asked the federal government to pay the state $118 million that Arizona spent to incarcerate undocumented immigrants.
Republican opponents still criticized her. But in other parts of the country, Republican officeholders have made the same headline-grabbing gestures.
Also this year, Napolitano called for a meeting of state and local enforcement officials - in Flagstaff, away from the border and media attention - to discuss strategies to deal with criminal activity related to illegal immigration.
Republicans play politics, too.
Last month the Los Angeles Times published a story that Bush and his advisers will craft an immigration-reform plan that will attract Latino voters in the 2006 congressional elections.
Bush and some top Republicans believe an angry debate over illegal immigration will split the party and alienate the growing Latino electorate, said the July 24 story.
Other Republicans want to follow a different political script.
When Don Goldwater, a political unknown, announced his wish to be Napolitano's Republican challenger, he made sure he would make news. He blamed virtually all our problems on undocumented immigrants.
Likewise, Randy Graf is taking his second shot to unseat Jim Kolbe in the Republican-safe 8th Congressional District on a promise he can put the squeeze on illegal entrants.
Build a fence? Go ahead, since it plays well even if hungry and jobless people will find a way over or under it.
Put more guns and guards on the border? That's a vote-getter even if increased border enforcement in the past 10 years has not led to lower illegal immigration.
People want solutions to reduce illegal immigration but really don't want to pay the price.
An effective solution is a guest-worker program for undocumented immigrants and a program to legalize the millions of undocumented immigrants here.
But that would require politicians to accept a humane comprehensive overhaul of immigration laws. That hasn't happened because too many politicians are busy playing politics.

http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/sports/89214.php

Taking control of my life & FLYing

I am tired of looking & feeling like a fat & ugly trainwreck. Today I am taking the first steps to change my lifestyle with the goal of regaining my energy & my health. I revisited fitday.com It is a site that helps you track your food intake, calories, activites & has a journal.

Here is the link to my fitday.

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=mrymerry

If I make it public then I have to hold myself accountable. I generally walk in the evenings after it cools off. I am currently getting over a nasty cold that hit my husband, both of our girls & myself within 12 hours. The girls are nearly over their colds but my DH & I are having a harder time with the colds we have. I think it's because the kids can just rest, we adults don't have that option. That & both DH & I are obese.

I also have rejoined FLYlady...for the third time. I know she says baby steps & it takes 28 days to form a new habit. I don't have time to screw around with my house OR my health anymore. You would think that as a SAHM I'd have it together...but admittedly I don't. I get overwhelmed & then I don't where to start. FLY Lady says that you are never behind, just jump in where you are! That is what I'm doing. I will do my best not to beat myself up over being a failure at housework & begin to "FLY" (finally love myself). I was never taught how to do housework becuase I never really saw my mom do it. Things were just always clean. Yes, we had to do things occasionally like pull weeds, rake leaves, clean the bathroom or vacuum & dust. We even had to do the dishes...but never on a schedule of any kind. I will do my best not to make those same mistakes with my girls. A few things have stayed with me...

• Decluttering magazines
• Decluttering clothes
• Tackeling Mount Washmore
• Blessing the world with my dust
• Having a control journal complete with overly ambitious routines, address book & emergency information

Improvements have been made that way. Others are just on the horizion. Everytime I restart FLY Lady, a few more of her lessons stay with me. She is a bit corny I admit. For ladies like myself that are SHEs, she is a blessing. She is the reason I named this site Purple Puddles. In the next few days I will revamp my overly ambitious routines & get back to the basics. I may even post them here! That way I can keep track of how they change & grow while I shrink & regain my health!

Are there any other FLY Babies out there reading my blog? If so, feel free to leave your comments, share your struggles with sticking to your routines or just say "Hi".

I look forward to reading your comments.

Mary

Here is another useful link to the new food pyramid

http://www.mypyramid.gov./

Kids put in danger in car trunks
Recent incidents show case in Va. is not unique
By Wendy KochUSA TODAY


The arrest of a Virginia woman for traveling with children in her car trunk has called attention to a recent series of incidents in which mothers have stashed their kids in trunks, including one instance when a boy died.
One woman was punishing her children, another lacked a babysitter, another said her kids wanted to ride in the trunk, and two said the car was too crowded.
“It's silly and dangerous on so many levels,” says Alan Korn of Safe Kids Worldwide, a non-profit group.
Since 1980, 49 children 14 and younger have died in trunks, says Janette Fennell, president of Kids And Cars, a non-profit group. The average age of those who died accidentally is 4.
Fennell, who was locked in a trunk during a kidnapping while her 9-month-old baby was in the back seat, says the incidence is understated because there is no federal database. A bill pending in the Senate would require tracking of non-crash car fatalities.
Most times, Korn says, kids are locked in trunks accidentally when they climb in, the lid closes and they can't get out.
Last month, the bodies of three boys were found in a car trunk in Camden, N.J., after a two-day search. The Camden Police Department says they got trapped while playing.
Children run a particular risk if trapped in a car. Their body temperature can increase much faster than that of adults. In minutes, they can suffer life-threatening heatstroke.
A boy, 8, died of heat exposure in May in Asheville, N.C., after his mother put him in the trunk of her Ford Escort. Police say Michelle Joyce Gibson, 36, left him in the parking lot at her job because she had no babysitter.
Police found her cradling the dead child in the back seat of the car. She is in jail awaiting trial on charges of second-degree murder and two counts of child abuse.
Other cases since May:
•Laverne Dunlap, 35, of Gardena, Calif., was charged in June with three counts of child endangerment after allegedly driving 70 miles with a boy, 15, and a girl, 10, in the trunk. Seven more people were riding in her Toyota Corolla.
•Tamantha Parker, 33, of Quantico, Va., was charged this month with child abuse after police said she locked her two children, who police said were about 5, in a trunk as punishment for misbehaving in Wal-Mart. Nine people were packed into her car, including at least two others who should have been in child car seats, police said.
•Lanora Lucas, 37, of Frederick, Md., was charged last month with reckless endangerment after a police officer saw her put her 9-year-old son, 3-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old friend into her Volvo's trunk. She told the officer the kids wanted to ride there.
•Cheryl Ann Schoonmaker, 38, of Stafford, Va., was arrested Friday on child-abuse charges after two daughters, 8 and 10, told their father they had to take turns riding in the trunk of a four-door Nissan Sentra during an eight-hour trip from Alabama to Virginia. The girls said there was no room for both of them inside the car, which was also carrying a 12-year-old sister, a 12-year-old family friend, an infant sister and a dog. They said their mother drove with half of the back seat folded forward so there was an opening into the trunk, and another child rode atop the collapsed seat.
The father, Curtis Schoonmaker, filed a report against his ex-wife. She will be arraigned next week. Her attorney, Eric Strom, says she will deny the charges.
After 11 children died in car trunks in the summer of 1998, a federal safety panel recommended internal trunk release mechanisms. Congress has required them in passenger cars made since 2002. Many manufacturers offer inexpensive kits for older models.
Fennell's group urges parents to keep vehicles locked at all times, teach kids not to play in or near cars and check trunks immediately if kids are missing.

www.usatoday.com/printededition/news/20050714/a_trunk14.art.htm

Family reunion August 2005

BR; Brother, Mother, Father, Brother

FR; Sister, Me

Family Reunion August 2005

BR; DH, Daughter (in DH arms), SIL, Brother, Brother

MR; Nephew, Sister, Nephew, Me

FR; Neice, Nephew, Daughter

My daughter

My children, nephews & my neice.

Elizabeth may no longer be peeing on the Princesses but now has taken to POOPING on them instead!

Elizabeth may no longer be peeing on the Princesses but now has taken to POOPING on them instead! Today I had had enough & I made HER clean the princess panties up. She didn't like that AT ALL! I told her I don't like to clean it up either & that I KNOW she can poop on the potty like a big girl because she WAS doing it until a couple of days ago. If she was sick then I would understand. I DON'T understand it when she is fine, has JUST gotten off the potty without any coaxing from me & then five minutes later she poops on the Princesses.

This has been a recent develpoment over the past week. It usually happens while I'm feeding Charlotte so I'm pretty sure it's about attention. Hopefully I have solved that problem. I give Elizabeth lots of individual attention by the way.

Tonight we had the first major storm of the Monsoon season out here. In town the rain measured 2.64 inches in 2 hours....the rain was still coming at that point during the 10 o'clock newscast. I was just returning home from Mervyn's when it hit. In a matter of seconds....literally just seconds, I was soaked to the skin. I had gotten out to grab a blanket from the trunk so I could get the girls inside without getting them soaked when the sky began to pour buckets of rain. I said enough if this, I'll wait it out in the car!

Keep in mind, the weatherman said the average total rainfall for July, August & September during the Monsoon season here is just over 2 inches. We got that in ONE night in some areas of town. I'm just glad I was in my driveway when the heavy rains hit. The roads flood SO bad out here by our house even when the rain isn't heavy.

Bob had heard me come home & couple of minutes after I pulled up & didn't come inside, he came running out with a box over his head, He was going to use it to keep Elizabeth from getting soaked but she didn't cooperate...having been woken up from a nap. He was soaked but managed to get her inside without her getting very wet. Meanwhile I'm getting soaked freeing Charlotte's car seat from it's base. The sun shade on her seat kept her bone dry. Bobby & I both looked like a couple of drowned fat rats wearing clothes. It doesn't rain that heavy here very often.

We now have a lake in our backyard & I'm hoping it dries up before Crissy comes out with the kids. Our pool is in the middle of our "backyard" lake. Come Friday I will probably have weeds poking up through the rocks due to the rains. Oh well, we need the rain due to the 5 + year drought we've been in.

We are looking forward to Crissy's visit & seeing the kids. I just wish Jon was coming also. I guess that four out of five isn't bad,

I need to get some sleep. My best friend is coming over tomorrow. Since our kids all play well together...they will have fun destroying Elizabeth's room. It will be like a toy bomb went off in there! Better in one room then throughout the house right?

My girls, potty training, my sisters visit comming Friday & "house" hunting

"E" is now offically no longer wearing diapers! FINALLY! My Mother-in-law sent some panties with the Disney Little Princesses on them. I then told "E" that she couldn't pee on the Princesses because they didn't like that. She has been wearing panties WITHOUT plastic pants for 3 days & yes we have accidents, but she is staying dry & telling us when she needs to go most of the time. FINALLY!

"C" is holding her head up for longer periods of time now. Granted, she looks like a little Bobblehead most of the time, but she gets stronger everyday. Yesterday I witnessed what I think is the first time "C" actually smiled at her big sister. It warmed my heart to see that.

As of yesterday we have begun the pre-approval process for buying a new place to live. As you know we bought our current home 2 1/2 years ago. We love our house but it is too small with "C's" arrival. The market value of our home has nearly doubled since we moved in.

We are planning , if all goes well, to purchase land in a rural area...that already has water & power run on the land, & purchase a manufactured (mobile) home. They aren't the tin cans we usually think of a MH's.

The two we have in mind are approx. 2280 Sq. Ft verses the 1251 Sq Ft we currently live in. A realtor would sell our home & we would purchase the land & MH on a contingency. That would be the only way we could come up with the down payment, etc.

If we wait even a year to do this, we will be priced out of the market, as the home builders are gobbeling up the land at an insane pace. According to the relators, more & more people are doing this for the same reasons as we are. They want homes that they can do with as they please & NOT have to get approval from an HOA (Home Owners Associan) before they do.

Why would we move out of a house & into a MH you ask ? The median price of a home in our metro area's market today is $250,000. These are usually 3 or 4 bedroom houses. Since we want to build our dream home & that takes land. We need to grab that land now while we can still find it & its in our price range. Since we are neither American Pioneers nor nomads...we must have a roof over our heads. That is where the MH comes in.

We would live in that while we build our dream home...it will be a couple of years before the building begins. We would use the equity in the land to have the $$$ to build our home ourselves. We would keep the MH after we move into our dream home & that would give us a place to care for my parents if & when that time comes. It is our answer to an assisted care home....of which my parents will never be able to afford...nor would we.

It would allow them to keep some independance & prevent them from driving us insane! LOL! It would also allow them to get most if not all of their "stuff" in one place. That is the thought process.

If we don't do this, then mom & dad would have to become wards of the state & the state would just "stick" them somewhere with substandard care. I know that "C" & "J" have talked about the possibility of my parents living with them. "C" has told me they have. My DH & I were talking about the same thing at the same time! I don't think Mom & Dad would not be happy living on the east coast.

I can't see "C" OR "J" being happy having our parents live with them all under the same roof. Since my parents wouldn't be under the same roof as us, DH & I think we could handle that situation easiest. It can't happen if we don't get that land now though.

Our county, Pinal, is growing so fast that the county is only allowing the home builders to submit 11 building permits per week. Thus, preventing a backlog that slows approval of the permits that regular folks submit. The builders were dropping off 1000+ permits at a time, which is why the county now limits what the builders can submit.

This is actually kind of exciting for us. I will miss my neighbors, but having the freedom to what we want with our home will be worth it. Hopefully it will all work out & the tradition of having at least ONE "Tompkins" living a rural lifestyle will continue.

I am looking forward to seeing "C" & the kids. "E" has been telling me that "C" is comming with her kids "tomorrow" for the past three weeks. She tells me she will share her toys with the boys & "R". She is going to show "C" her new room & my "C's" room. She is going to take the boys swimming too.

"Dusting" the new "drug"

I just received this via e-mail from my MIL. Please pass it along.



Subject: DUST OFF - WARNING


First I'm going to tell you a little about me and my family. My name is Jeff. I am a Police Officer for a city which is known nationwide for its crime rate. We have a lot of gangs and drugs. At one point we were # 2 in the nation in homicides per capita. I also have a police K-9 named Thor. He was certified in drugs and general duty. He retired at 3 years old because he was shot in the line of duty. He lives with us now and I still train with him because he likes it. I always liked the fact that there was no way to bring drugs into my house. Thor wouldn't allow it. He would tell on you. The reason I say this is so you understand that I know about drugs. I have taught in schools about drugs. My wife asks all our kids at least once a
week if they used any drugs. Makes them promise they wont.

I like building computers occasionally and started building a new one in February 2005. I also was working on some of my old! er computers. They were full of dust so on one of my trips to the computer store I bought a 3 pack of DUST OFF. Dust Off is a can of compressed air to blow dust off a computer. A few weeks later when I went to use one of them they were all used. I talked to my kids and my two sons both said they had used them on their computer and messing around with them. I yelled at them for wasting the 10 dollars I paid for them. On February 28 I went back to the computer store. They didn't have the 3 pack which I had bought on sale so I bought a single jumbo can of Dust Off. I went home and set it down beside my computer.

On March 1st, I left for work at 10 PM. Just before midnight my wife went down and kissed Kyle goodnight. At 530 am the next morning Kathy went downstairs to wake Kyle up for school, before she left for work. He was propped up in bed with his legs crossed and his head leaning over. She called to him a few times to get up. He didn't move. He would sometimes tease! her like this and pretend he fell back asleep. He was never easy to g et up. She went in and shook his arm. He fell over. He was pale white and had the straw from the Dust Off can coming out of his mouth. He had the new can of Dust Off in his hands. Kyle was dead.

I am a police officer and I had never heard of this. My wife is a nurse and she had never heard of this. We later found out from the coroner, after the autopsy, that only the propellant from the can of Dust off was in his system. No other drugs. Kyle had died between midnight and 1 AM

I found out that using Dust Off is being done mostly by kids ages 9 through 15. They even have a name for it. It's called dusting. A take off from the Dust Off name. It gives them a slight high for about 10 seconds. It makes them dizzy. A boy who lives down the street from us showed Kyle how to do this about a month before. Kyle showed his best friend. Told him it was cool and it couldn't hurt you. Its just compressed air. It cant hurt you. His best friend said no.

Kyle was wrong. I! t's not just compressed air. It also contains a propellant called R2. Its a refrigerant like what is used in your refrigerator. It is a heavy gas. Heavier than air. When you
inhale it, it fills your lungs and keeps the good air, with oxygen, out. That's why you feel dizzy, buzzed. It decreases the oxygen to your brain, to your heart. Kyle was right. It cant hurt you. IT KILLS YOU. The horrible part about this is there is no warning. There is no level that kills you. It's not cumulative or an overdose; it can just go randomly, terribly wrong. Roll the dice and if your number comes up you die. ITS NOT AN OVERDOSE. Its Russian Roulette. You don't die later. Or not feel good and say I've had too much. You usually die as your breathing it in. If not you die within 2 seconds of finishing "the hit." That's why the straw was still in Kyle's mouth when he died. Why his eye's were still open.

The experts want to call this huffing. The kids don't believe its huffing. A! s adults we tend to lump many things together. But it doesn't fit here . And that's why its more accepted. There is no chemical reaction. no strong odor. It doesn't follow the huffing signals. Kyle complained a few days before he died of his tongue hurting. It probably did. The propellant causes frostbite. If I had only known.

Its easy to say hey, its my life and I'll do what I want. But it isn't. Others are always effected. This has forever changed our family's life. I have a hole in my heart and soul that can never be
fixed. The pain is so immense I cant describe it. There's nowhere to run from it. I cry all the time and I don't ever cry. I do what I'm supposed to do but I don't really care. My kids are messed up. One wont talk about it. The other will only sleep in our room at night. And my wife, I cant even describe how bad she is taking this. I thought we were safe because of Thor. I thought we were safe because we knew about drugs and talked to our kids about them.

After Kyle died another story came out. A Probation Offic! er went to the school system next to ours to speak with a student. While there he found a student using Dust Off in the bathroom. This student told him about another student who also had some in his locker. This is a rather affluent school system. They will tell you they don't have a drug problem there. They don't even have a dare or plus program there. So rather than tell everyone about this "new" way of getting high they found, they hid it. The probation officer told the media after Kyle's death and they, the school, then admitted to it. I know that if they would have told the media and I had heard, it wouldn't have been in my house.

We need to get this out of our homes and school computer labs. Using Dust Off isn't new and some "professionals" do know about. It just isn't talked about much, except by the kids. They all seem to know about it.

April 2nd was 1 month since Kyle died. April 5th would have been his 15th birthday. And every weekday I catch myself ! sitting on the living room couch at 2:30 in the afternoon and waiting to see him get off the bus. I know Kyle is in heaven but I cant help but wonder
If I died and went to Hell.
----------------

This Officer is asking for everyone who receives this email to forward it to everyone in their address book, even Law Enforcement Officers.

Brain-Dead Woman in Va. Gives Birth
August 02, 2005 10:07 PM EDT
RICHMOND, Va. - A brain-dead pregnant woman who has been kept on life support for nearly three months to give her fetus more time to develop gave birth to a baby girl Tuesday, the woman's brother-in-law said.

There were no complications during delivery and the baby "is doing well," Justin Torres wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press. The baby, Susan Anne Catherine Torres, weighs one pound 13 ounces and is 13 1/2 inches long, he said. The infant was delivered via caesarean section, the hospital said.

Susan Torres, a 26-year-old researcher at the National Institutes of Health, lost consciousness from a stroke May 7 after aggressive melanoma spread to her brain. Her husband, Jason Torres, said doctors told him his wife's brain functions had stopped.

Jason Torres quit his job to be by his wife's side, and last month her fetus passed the 24th week of development - the earliest point at which doctors felt the baby would have a reasonable chance to survive, the brother-in-law said.

A Web site to help raise money for the family's mounting medical bills had received about $400,000 in donations from around the world as of two weeks ago, Justin Torres said. The family said it must pay tens of thousands of dollars each week that insurance does not cover.

Torres was about seven months' pregnant when the child was delivered. Doctors had hoped to hold off on delivering the child until 32 weeks' gestation. A full-term pregnancy is about 40 weeks.

The infant is being monitored in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, about 100 miles north of Richmond.

"The entire staff and administration of Virginia Hospital Center, especially the physicians and nurses caring for Susan Torres and Baby Girl Torres, are delighted with the successful delivery," the hospital said in a statement.

A spokeswoman declined to release any additional information, including Susan Torres' condition and whether or not her life support was still in place.

A telephone message left for the brother-in-law was not immediately returned.

Since 1979, there have been at least a dozen similar cases published in English medical literature, said Dr. Winston Campbell, director of maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Connecticut Health Center, which conducted research on the topic.

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On the Net:

Susan Torres Fund: http://www.susantorresfund.org/