When I was a little girl, anytime I heard a knock on the door I would dash into my room or hide behind a chair and wait for someone else to see who was at the door. I was quiet and shy and did not like to have attention drawn to me. My children are the exact opposites. I cannot understand where they get their boldness and friendliness because it certainly was not from me. I am getting better at this, but it is a work in progress. When my children know someone is coming, they like to wait outside for them and be the first to greet our guests. If someone comes unexpectedly, they all run to the door, fighting to see who will open it first. 
        Not only do our children like to greet people, but we have three others in the house that enjoy having people stop by and say hello. Usually cats are like I was, scared of strangers who quickly dash under the couch so they can watch without being seen, but we have three unusual cats who are the friendliest cats in the world. Everyone (who does not have allergies!) who comes through our door simply adores Maysie, who I am convinced is part raccoon and part corgi. She will not leave our guests alone and demands their full attention. Kia, who is a siamese, is not aloof as some siamese are, but will come cautiously over to sniff your hand. When she sees you are not a danger, she stays and likes to enjoy a good stratch on the head. She may even settle into your lap if you dare to sit on the couch and stay for a little while. 
    Pinky, who is Kia's son, is, well, just Pinky. Did you ever see Pinky and the Brain? They are two laboratory rats that live in a cage - one is extremely smart and wants to take over the world, while the other is extremely dumb. He simply goes along with the Brain, but always gets them into a whole heap of trouble. Narf! That describes our Pinky. Yet, what Pinky lacks in brains, he makes up in love and beauty. He has the softest, most beautiful fur of them all and has very striking sky blue eyes. He is a sweet cat and we love him dearly, and so do others who meet him. 
        People often threaten that they might take one of the cats home, but I always say, "No, we love our cats and they are here to stay." So, if you care to come to our door, be prepared to see lots of little faces, some with whiskers and some without (that is until JJ grows that beard he says he wants!) and enjoy a fun time in the home of the Simmon's crazy clan. Oh, and remember that we are still 'under construction!'
        

        Their laughter and screeches woke me up at 6:00 this morning and I knew they had made it through the night outside in the tent. In all my thirty-something years, I cannot recall a time when I would have, or even could have slept outside in the month of March. I do not think the temperature went below 47 degrees last night, but to some, that would be way too cold-not for my two oldest and their best friend, who had plenty of sleeping bags and blankets to keep them warm! Now comes the test to see how grumpy they are after getting only a few hours of sleep last night. Hopefully I will not regret our decision.
        This time of March is a busy one for our family, seeing that we have four birthdays to celebrate in two weeks time. Susanna turned 8 last week and Caleb will be turning 11 next Wednesday. The children's cousin, who was born on the same day as Caleb, will be turning 3, and Joe's sister has a birthday on the day after Caleb and his cousin's. I decided we should combine the birthdays and we would have one big family party today. It is often too hard to get everyone together more than one time in two weeks seeing we all lead busy lives and live some distance away from each other. Needless to say, that was why my boys were in the tent last night. In honor of Caleb's birthday coming up, we allowed him one friend and that was how they decided they wanted to start off the birthday celebration. 
        I am looking forward to having a house full of people tonight. I love entertaining and having people over. In my opinion, we do not do it often enough and would love to have more families over for dinner. Time is hard to come by these days, but I think I only need to look ahead a few weeks and schedule it in before something else comes along and takes up the white space that still shows through on the calendar. I know we have a large family so not many people can afford to invite us over and feed my entire family, but my desire is to have more people in my home. I want my home to be a place of friendship and sweet fellowship that is uplifting, clean, and fun. Would you like to come share dinner with us sometime? Oh, please do not be scared off by previous posts about strange dinner conversations and wacky 'chicken-boxing' stories - life is always an adventure around here, and you may get a good laugh. Remember, the Bible does say laughter is good medicine! Have a blessed weekend, everyone, and happy birthday to the family!

        I think by now all of you know that I enjoy reminiscing about my childhood. My younger years were filled with lots of fun adventures, a Christian family, and many siblings who made life interesting and exciting. Life was never dull and there was always someone following me around wanting me to play with them or “put on a show” using stuffed animals or little people. 
        One thing I always took for granted was our family dinners around the table every night. I did not realize other families did not have that time together and it was not until later that it dawned on me that we had something special. I am happy to say that I have carried on this tradition in our home, though to be honest, I do not believe it to be a tradition, but a ‘must do’ in order to stay close to the hearts of the dear ones in our family. I love the time to talk about the day, laugh, cringe at the topics of conversation that always seem to arise at the most inappropriate time, and have family devotions together. 
        With that said, I must go on to say that children have a way of letting it be known that they do not always appreciate the food that is placed in front of them. Every night my children ask me, “What are we having for dinner?” and I have learned to ignore that question and let them keep asking to their heart’s content. They always have their suggestions, which are the same every night:  pizza, macaroni and cheese, or rice pilaf. One of my children could eat pizza at every meal, but I have grown very weary of these common place foods. I remember asking my mother what we were having and I can recall being disappointed a few times when she informed me we were having Pea Soup or some other casserole that I did not enjoy a whole lot. I would pick at it and eat a little, but I do not remember giving her a hard time about eating it. There was the time I had to sit at the table after everyone else had gone so I could finish my peas, but I finally choked them down and was allowed to leave. My children seem to have the same aversion to veggies as I did and there have been times they had to sit at the table and finish them before leaving the table also. 
         Now, when it comes to meat, some people are bone pickers and some people must have the meat pulled off the bone. I have always been a bone picker, but Joe is one that cannot stand seeing anything other than meat and I have to pick it all off the bone for him to enjoy his meal. Some of my children have taken my side, but a few of the others have joined Joe’s side. Susy can pick an entire bone clean and leave nothing behind. Benny is the same when it comes to eating a chicken leg, but JJ and Alaina like to have it pulled off like their daddy. Caleb, well, he is another story. Up until tonight he used to enjoy the bone, but after the meal we had this evening, I wonder if I will ever view a chicken leg the same again. 
         It all began as I set the plate of steaming chicken legs on the table. I had some meat cut off of a few for the ones I knew did not like bones and dished it out to them. Caleb asked for some without a bone at first, but after looking at the yummy legs in the pan, he changed his mind. “Can I have one with a bone?” he asked. 
         I told him he could and passed one to him. Then the questions began….”What is that slimy stuff on the top of the chicken?” 
        “It’s just the skin. Take it off and you’ll find the meat underneath.”
        He dug a little deeper and looked up at me with a strange look. “I see little lines inside! Oooh, there are two bones inside here!” With his knife and fork, he began dissecting the poor leg and began announcing his discoveries. “Hey, look, I found a vein!” he said as he wiggled a stringy thing with his knife. “I can’t wait for biology class when I can dissect a frog and see his heart!”
        My stomach was turning at this point and I lost my appetite for eating any more meat. When I stopped to examine something on the plate that closely, I began to realize why Joe does not enjoy eating from the bone. I do not remember ever asking my mother those questions at the table, nor do I remember any of my siblings ever complaining about the food in front of them. I do remember the famous quote, “There are starving children in Africa who would enjoy eating that food!” so it must have been said at least once, but I can honestly say that I do not think I will ever look at a chicken bone the same again – the poor, little starving children can eat it if they want. 
        

           

Here is a song I learned as a little girl and it has always stuck with me. There is nothing like the Word of God and the precious comfort and hope that it gives.

As the waves of the ocean can make smooth a stone,
And the winds can change  a mountain to sand,
So it is with God's Word, when its heard and done,
It's able to transform a man.

It's a mountain of strength,
A refuge in trial,
It's a warm rain to a soul that is dry.
And the man who does the Word,
Oh, he's like a tree,
Where the rivers of water are nigh.

Chorus:
Oh, oh, sweet water of the Word,
No sweeter shall ye ever find,
It's by hearing the Word,
That a man's born again,
It's the Word that will renew his mind,
Oh, oh, sweet water of the Word,
My comfort right from the start,
Oh, oh, sweet water of the Word,
It's doing a work in my heart.

In these times of trial and testing,
Only one thing shall stand,
When around seems to be shaken,
You can trust in God's Word,
It shall not pass away,
For forever it's settled in heaven.

        Okay, so maybe I spoil my children a little because I make all five of them lunch in the morning, making sure they have a balanced meal of some sort. I could have them all make up their own lunch bags each morning, or even the night before, but to be honest, having five children running around the kitchen trying to get the necessities such as bread, fruit, and dessert would be a headache in itself. I do not mind taking the time to lovingly package up their lunchbags and sending them off with the peace that I know what they are eating and there will be plenty to fill their tummies during the long day. 
        With that said, I must say that lately I have been having a hard time understanding the thought process of food distributors and those who are in charge of packaging and supplying our food. I do not normally go into these kinds of rants in my blogs, but I am coming to the conclusion that people really are not looking out for our well-being and all that stuff they say about good nutrition, obesity, and good health is a bunch of bologna. Whatever happened to the old fashioned farms with plenty of home-grown veggies, cattle, and eggs? 
         I remember going with my dad once a week to get some nice, cold milk out of the large, shiny, metal milk container at Mr. Pigeon's farm. The barn was always warm from the rows of cows lining each side of the building, lazily chewing their cud as their brown eyes watched me play with the many kittens running around. We had some stainless steel milk jugs we would fill with the frothy white stuff and we would take it home where my mom would scoop off the cream that settled on the top. Nothing tasted fresher and more delicious than that milk back in those days not too long ago.  Along with the fresh eggs we had from our chickens (mentioned in an earlier blog), we had something I wish we still had today. 
        With the size of my family, our food budget has been going up, as fast as the prices of the food in the stores have been rising higher and higher. As those prices go up, packaging of food has been getting smaller and cheaper in quantity. Sometimes I wonder if the people who say reduce! reuse! recycle! even mean what they say? If they cared about reducing the packaging as much as they cared about reducing the contents inside, then the packages would become smaller, so we would not have as much waste to clutter the dumps!
       Years ago toys were made to last and so were applicances. Toys were made of solid metal and were actually kind of heavy, and could withstand some rough play. Today, toys are made of cheap plastics that break within the first day, or need more batteries after an hour's worth of play. If people truly wanted us to "be green" and save the earth, wouldn't they take more care in the products they produced to make them last?  
        While I do not believe in the whole 'being green' idea, I do believe God wants us to be good stewards of the earth He has put us on and take care of it. Genesis 2:15 says, "And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it." We are the caretakers of this earth and since He owns a cattle on a thousand hills, we should do all we can to make sure His world where we live remains a beautiful place. Daily I pray God will give me wisdom in how to feed my family with good, healthy meals, and foods that will help them grown up and not out - may He show me how to wisely manage the unchanging food budget in a world of constantlychanging prices. Amen.