food for thought

What is this self inside us, this silent observer,
Severe and speechless critic, who can terrorize us,
And urge us on to futile activity,
And in the end, judge us still more severely,
For the errors into which his own reproaches drove us? -- T. S. Eliot

Jayme

You are so precious Jayme! Daddy, Mommy and I cried tears of joy when you were born. When you were just minutes old your Daddy talked to you and you opened your beautiful eyes and looked right at him! Mommy then talked to you and you looked right at her too! You knew instantly those voices! When I held you we looked at each other for a long time. Then you wanted to be fed. You didn't like having to suck on your tiny fingers. When you wrapped all of your fingers around my one finger you melted my heart. You are very loved by your family, your g'mas, g'pas, aunts, uncles and cousins!

View from our room

I'm sure the outdoor pools are a hit in the summer! Kalahari is expanding the waterpark. It will be the largest indoor waterpark until the sister company in WI completes their construction.

The pool size hot tub was great! I didn't stay long though because my hair kept freezing (it was 31 degrees outside after all). The covered waterslides are definitely a kid ride. We decided to try one. Ken's yelled all the way down! Right then I knew I was in for a ride I wasn't going to like. When I pushed off zip there was only inky darkness. It freaked me out so I just closed my eyes. That helped a little bit. I couldn't even yell. I had to tell myself to shut my mouth. I was on a water slide after all and didn't want to choke. I was pushed from one side and zipped into the next turn immediately, Up, around, right, left, up, almost over. I heard Ken quit yelling so I opened my eyes to light. SPLASSSSSH! I couldn't even talk. My legs were jelly. Ken laughed at the look on my face - pure terror!! Never a covered slide again!

More things to do at Kalahari

I am beginning to understand why Alyssa and Trina like going there so much!

There are outstanding restaurants, shops with all sorts of African style art, necklace shops, swimwear shops, t-shirt shops, yummy chocolate treats, a great gormet coffee shop, a pizza place, a grand lobby with a fireplace that had choirs some sing for Christmas, Santa and Mrs. Clause, baby tiger and lion cubs that for a price (of course) you could feed and get your picture taken - we just watched them play, a convience shop with post cards and any other thing you might need, a Tree Top Playhouse for young kids, and of course the water park - which was a blast!

Things to do at Kalahari

There is

putt-putt golf

cookie decorating

stuff-an-animal

paint the pottery

caricatures

bead in the hair braiding

karioki

arcade games

swimming fun

interactive games

and the list goes on and on.....

The Spa at Kalahari

Oh the wonderful Spa!

The Spa at Kalahari

Oh the wonderful Spa! it was soooooooooo relaxing! The locker room (if you can even call it that mundane word) was elegant. After changing into the robes, from the locker area you went into a lounge area with overstuffed couches, glass topped coffee tables, greenery along the walls, and carved wood statues. The massuse came and got you for your massage or whatever you were having done. The Spa has a wide range of relaxation treatments. After your massage you could take a shower. I highly recommend the shower since they use oils instead of creams for the massage. The shower had two heads - one rainforest type that spinkled you with rain drops and then a second smaller shower head that was about hip heigth on me. You could adjust it to any combination of relaxing sprays you wanted. They had green tea peppermint shampoo, creme rinse, and shower gel. I smelled sooooo good when I got out of the shower! Of course Ken had to spoil me and buy me the shampoo and creme rinse. At $13 a bottle it was a bit pricey but it is sooooooo nice to have at home.

The Naked Monkies

The band was awesome! The guitar player that was roaming around and I danced during one of the songs. It was a hoot! I got a great picture of Deb and Greg Blunk with DeAnna.

Kalahari

We had a blast!!! The party was great. We got our picture taken with Kalahi the elephant mascot, had a carricaturist do our portraits in a golf theme, rode the waterslides - some only once -, ate great food, danced, the list goes on. We haven't packed that much fun into a weekend since our Myrtle Beach vacation!I can see this getting better every year!

Remodleing again

This is the last bedroom to get remodeled. Brannon has become my great contractor! He's laying the floor in what will become my sewing room.

Mr. and Mrs. Claus

And who does this look like?

This is Alyssa. But she's laying just like Katrina did for so many years. It is wonderful to hear Katrina tell Alyssa to "sit up right!'

Invitation

I ran across this and have ponderred on it for a while. What do you think?

The Invitation © 1999

by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.

I want to know what you ache for

and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me how old you are.

I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool

for love

for your dream

for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...

I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow

if you have been opened by life’s betrayals

or have become shriveled and closed

from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain

mine or your own

without moving to hide it

or fade it

or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy

mine or your own

if you can dance with wildness

and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes

without cautioning us

to be careful

to be realistic

to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me

is true.

I want to know if you can

disappoint another

to be true to yourself.

If you can bear the accusation of betrayal

and not betray your own soul.

If you can be faithless

and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty

even when it is not pretty

every day.

And if you can source your own life

from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure

yours and mine

and still stand at the edge of the lake

and shout to the silver of the full moon,

Yes.

It doesn’t interest me

to know where you live or how much money you have.

I want to know if you can get up

after the night of grief and despair

weary and bruised to the bone

and do what needs to be done

to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me who you know

or how you came to be here.

I want to know if you will stand

in the centre of the fire

with me

and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom

you have studied.

I want to know what sustains you

from the inside

when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone

with yourself

and if you truly like the company you keep

in the empty moments.

Greg, DeAnna, and Deb

He cleans up VERY well!

Kalahari

One of the restaurants we ate at while at Kalahari was the Great Karoo. While eating the great meal on our last day, Ken said "that would be a great picture." When I turned around kids were congregating around Kahali, the elephant mascot. Our energetic, and very friendly waitress, Carol, said she's take our picture with Kahali. It a spure of the moment, kid thing to do! It was FUN!

Kalahari

Here's what Ken looked like when he tried to sit on the inner tube raft for the first time. He scared the daylights of the the peite, young lifeguard. Ken is all belly and no butt. He flopped on the inner tube and in slow motion flipped over backwards landing under water on his head. I thought "he better have a good breath!" I pushed on his feet and he popped up like a cork. We laughed to hard!

The pic is from the comic strip B.C. It ran in the Sunday paper and just fit so perfectly.

Garbage

How can you renew when you are full? You're full of all the stuff that needs to be dealt with in your life. I call it the garbage and garbage needs to go. You can stuff any more trash in the bin when it is at the top.

Miriam Webster defines garbage as discarded or useless material; inaccurate or useless data 2 a: trash. What inaccurate or useless data are you holding on to that needs to go? What inaccurate thoughts, feelings, and emotions are building in you? If feelings are unacknowledged they build and build and become trash just like the garbage that goes to the curb each week.

We all have garbage in our lives we hang on to because it is comfortable, is "how it's always been" or for any number of other reasons. It does not mean that the garbage is good for us mentally and physically. In order to dump the garbage, we must first acknowledge its presence, come to terms with what ever the issue, feeling, or emotion we are holding on to is, and then consciously rid it from our minds. We must consciously remove the garbage because that is the last step to ridding our house (self) of trash. Sometimes the garbage tries to sneak back in to our thoughts. When that happens we haven't thoroughly come to terms with the issues and must revisit them again, work through the issues and dump them in the trash again. Only by coming to terms with the issues can we learn self-love which leads to self-acceptance. When we love all the past parts of ourselves that we can not change, then comes acceptance of ourselves, and that's when we dump the garbage for good. Self-acceptance will not have room for trash because self-acceptance is self-love. Love has no room for garbage.

I do not say this process is easy – only essential for our self-worth and growth.

Holiday Party

Tonight is our holiday party at Kalahari in Sandusky. Ken and I have never gone before. We decided to spend the entire weekend. I'm excited! We haven't been out together all dressed up for just us in a long time!

Canoe fun!

Picture: I think we finally figured out the people in the canoe. Gail's in the bow, John's in the stern. But, we have no idea who is in the middle.

Aunt Lois and Uncle Dave live on a chain of five lakes. Dallas is the largest where people could even water ski. The other lakes are Witmer, Westler, Dallas, Hackenberg, and Messick Lakes in the Indian Lakes chain of LaGrange County, Indiana. It's a very small town as you can see from the Wikipedia info below.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wolcottville is a town in LaGrange and Noble Counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 933 at the 2000 census.

My mom is the youngest of five kids. Since we were always the babies, we missed out on a lot of the fun. Or at least we thought we did! The highlight of any campout was to be deemed "big enough" to do anything that the older cousins did! Canoe trips or water skiing were at the top of the status pole! The canoe trip would last all day starting right after breakfast. And you'd better do your part paddling or you were going to get very wet (which was worse than getting yelled at!)! We would head for the dam. It is so quiet and peaceful there. Except the the SWAT! OUCH! SWAT! SWAT! SWAT! OUCH! The deer flies had found a free lunch! And did that bite ever sting! We would have welts the size of peas! Yes, we used the deer fly spray. that just seemed to attract them more. Once past the dam and park, it was time to get down to some serious paddling. We'd wind around the different lakes and eventually around noon stop for a picnic lunch if you were lucky enough to go on the looooonnnnnngggggggg canoe trip. Then more paddling - did I say my arms were very, very, very, tired and sore by now? I didn't complain (much). By early afternoon we'd reach Dallas Lake. The water skiers would be in full force by then. If you weren't careful you'd catch the wave just right and tip. Once down the channel, it was only about an hour's paddling until we reached the dock. We'd pass white and pink lily pads floating in a sea of green leaves. Then under the bridge, around the curve and home! It was the best trip ever! More on "the bridge" in another post.

July 4th camping fun!

Fireworks!

Part of the tradition is for the older cousins to put on a fireworks show for the Foruth of July celebration! It gets better and better every year! People from across the lake comment on the display1 They say it is better than the surrounding towns' fireworks!

The goal is NOT to set the yard or surrounding buildings on fire but there is always a designated "Fire Chief" who stand by with the bucket of water. Ok, there is usually more than one bucket of water because someone always ends up wet.

It's ice scream time!

i scream,
you scream,
we all scream for
ice cream!!

Aunt Jo

Aunt Jo is cooking again! WOW! can she cook! Aunt Jo is Italian. Her Mom still lived in Italy at the time of this picture.

This looks like dough for the meat pies. Ohhhhhh are they good - rich but ooooooohhhhhhh are they goood! I have her recipe and every now and again I dig it out and make them.

Aunt Jo's meat pies

Pizza Chiena (Filled Pizza) (Meat Pie)

Crust:

6 eggs

1 cup crisco

1 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

2 tps salt

1 cup milk

9 cups flour

Cream sugar and crisco. Add eggs. Then milk - add dry ingredients - knead till smooth - separate into 12 balls - roll out 6" circles. Line 6 small (6 inch) pie tins - cut off excess dough.

Filling:

15 eggs (large)

1 fresh cheese grated (formaggia fresca) (tasteless soft) [fresh motzerella]

1/2 cup grated cheese (Parmesan)

12 slices ham - 1/8 inch thick

24 slices large pepperoni (pizza type)

Beat eggs with mixer. Add cheeses. Mix by hand. Separate in 4 bowls. Use 1 bowl egg mix on bottom of pies. Layer: 1 slice ham each pie. Egg mix (2nd bowl) - pepperoni - egg mix (3rd bowl) - 1 slice ham - egg mix (4th bowl).

Roll out remaining pie crusts - top pies - cut 1/2 beyond plate - fold under bottom crust. flute edges. roll out left over pieces of dough. cut in strips - decorate pies - then brush with beaten egg.

Bake 350 deg for 1/2 hour with 3 each shelf. Switch pies after pinching tops with fork. Then bake 350 deg another 1/2 hour.

They are best eaten warm or cool rather than right out of the oven.

Family

Top row left to right

First Row

First picture

Ken, Brannon, Larry at Brannon's choir concert in high school. Brannon said that would be the only time I'd see him in a tux. Not quite...he wore one when he got married.

Second picture

Leisa and her daughter Alyison. Alyison is now 16 or 17.

Third picture

Turtle races!! One of the past times at the family reunion campouts were turtle races!! It would take half a day to catch the baby turtles. Then we'd put the in the center of the table. The first turtle to make it to the edge was the winner! See that cute curly haired little girl in the white bathing suit? That's Katrina!

Fourth picture

The last picture is of my baby brother, Troy. (2006)

Second row:

First and second pictures

Another fun time camping was when Aunt Lois and Uncle Dave would borrow an Amish buggy from their friends and give us rides. That is Troy, I'm not sure who is in the middle, and Patti.

Third picture

The young girl and the boy on the right are now Troy's kids riding in the buggy! The boy on the left is a Sprow, one of Mitch and Sue's kids but I don't remember which one.

Fourth picture

Brannon is sure enjoying his ice cream! It's melting faster than he can lick the paddle!

Third row

First picture July 4th 198-something

Church services during campout. The older cousins would read from the Scripture and the rest of us would make up the choir. Brannon is the toddler in the bibs and red shirt in the front. Katrina is in the purple sweatshirt behind him. Here's what I could figure out from left to right starting at the top of the picture. Ken Vallimont is standing. Richard Faunce (Dad), John Christner are sitting in teh back row. I'm holding Patti Brose, Troy Faunce, Krissy Sprow, Peggy Faunce's hair (Mom always liked to hide in pictures!), Reenie Brose (cousin Irene - we called her Reenie I guess because Grandma was Irene.). Next row is Aunt Joyce Brose hiding behind one of her grandsons, Aunt Bea Vallimont, Mitch Teal, and Aunt Jean Sprow is sitting. On the left side of the picture is Todd Faunce is the front then Janice Vallimont, and I have no clue who is in the red hat and jacket.

Picture two

Kindra Faunce, Troy's youngest.

Picture three

Troy, John, Ken and Chris T who was someone's friend who came to visit.

Picture four

Uncle Pete, Aunt Joyce's husband.

Fourth row

First picture and then around the large family photo.

Katrina eating ice cream. She had tons of curls then too! Under her picture is Todd (2006). The picture under that is Todd's wife Missy and her son Hunter dancing together at Todd and Missy's wedding (8/10/2007). That house is where we grew up. Katrina and Chip have bought a house on part of the acreage next to this house! Camping again. Uncle Pete is kneeling trying to get the stove going for a meal. Doug Brose is holding the pot lid, Ken is in the hat. Gail Sprow has he back to the camera in the red shirt. I'm not sure who is in the chairs around the campfire. Above that Bo and Kindra (Kinner) are swinging another cousin.

Large family photo.

This was taken in the mid 80's. Brannon was a baby so it probably was 1985 since he was born in the winter. These are all first cousins. There are about 12 people missing from this picture for various reasons they could not be at the campout that year. I remember one of the girl cousins was in the service overseas. Grandma and Grandpa Heilman are sitting in the middle. One of these days when I have time I'll repost the picture with names.

Aunt WeeZee

I was the first girl on the Faunce side of the family in 35 years. Aunt Weezee (Louise) was my Dad's aunt. I couldn't say Louise so I called her Aunt Weezee. She was my favorite aunt! I hve pictures of me when I was abouit two sitting at her piano. Later Mom and Dad bought that piano for me and I took lessons for 10 years. Leisa, my sister took lessons for about 6 to 8 years. I still have her piano. I don't play it much any more but I love it just the same. Every time I do sit down at the piano I think of Aunt Weezee.

Introducing Jayme!

Mommy was great! She was a real trouper!

And only one push!!

Daddy was so awed he cried! It was so beautiful!

Yes I cried too!

Just look at that adorable face!

WELCOME JAYME ALEXANDER!

Baby and Mommy are A-OK!

We've counted the fingers,

We've counted the toes,

He's sweet as can be,

as Mommy and Daddy know!

Meet our precious new addition!

Jayme Alexander

7 lbs. 2 oz.

20 1/2 inches long

lots of dark hair

long, slender (piano playing) fingers,

long toes, long arms, Daddy's nose,

Mommy's eyes and chin,

I think he gets the hair from both.

Alert and inquisitive!

All About WOMEN: Your Gut/Stress Connection

All About WOMEN: Your Gut/Stress Connection

Stress gives some women migraines. Others get continual colds. But irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)? Indeed. A new study reveals that feeling stressed-out could be a risk factor for developing IBS, a condition that plagues millions of women, causing constipation, diarrhea, or both. Here's how to keep stress from taking hold of your bathroom habits. (see below)

Not the Cause

Stress doesn't cause IBS. It's actually not clear what does. Researchers suspect that a viral infection (aka gastroenteritis) may trigger IBS in some cases. Once it's triggered, stress may cause IBS to hang around and become more than just an occasional nuisance. In a study, women who suffered a bout of gastroenteritis were more likely to report IBS months later if their initial patient profile revealed a tendency to feel stressed-out. In other words, a stressful life could be a risk factor for developing IBS.

Get a Handle

So now you have a new reason to chill out: more predictable bowel habits. There are lots of ways to relax. Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a very effective stress-reduction tool -- particularly for IBS sufferers. (Get the scoop on this and other mental health therapies.) But if you prefer something less structured, grab a pen. Journal writing is a known stress reliever. And, of course, if you are showing these signs of stress, take a look at the life you lead and figure out where you can cut back.

Stress

What is stress? Stress is when life's demands seem too heavy. You feel anxious and tense and may be aware that your heart is beating faster. A certain amount of stress in our lives is unavoidable and a little may even be good for us. For example, some people claim they can accomplish more if they have a work deadline. Too much stress, however, is harmful. Your body responds to stressful situations by raising your blood pressure and making your heart work harder. This is particularly dangerous if you already have heart or artery disease or high blood pressure. Stress is more likely to be harmful if you feel helpless to affect the problem or situation. Your body reacts to stress in other ways, too. Symptoms like back pain, trouble sleeping, headaches, muscle aches, heartburn, upset stomach, shortness of breath, high blood pressure, and weight gain or weight loss are often caused in part by stress. Many office visits to health care providers are for conditions related to stress. How does it occur? Anything you see as a problem can cause stress for you. Different things may cause stress for other people. Stress can be caused by everyday matters as well as by major problems.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms may include: difficulty sleeping, tiredness, aches, pains, heartburn, indigestion, change in bowel and bladder habits,· anxiety, tension, depression, a increased use of cigarettes or alcohol. Could your GI symptoms be IBS? Use this symptom checker and find out.

RealAge Benefit: Taking care of your emotional health and well-being can make your RealAge up to 16 years younger. RealAge Gastrointestinal (GI) Health Assessment Abdominal cramping and bloating, constipation, and diarrhea could be symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or simply a result of something you ate. Get to the bottom of your gastrointestinal discomforts by taking this free questionnaire. You will learn: What might be causing your gastrointestinal distress. How to treat your symptoms at home. Which symptoms mean you should call the doctor.

RealAge Smart Search: Find more ways to soothe stress with RealAge Smart Search. Originally published on 08/29/2007.

What we do in this life echoes in eternity.

Caught you napping Macy!

Georgia at Chip & Katrina's - Thanksgiving 2006

Thanksgiving 2006

Chip, Derek, Gail

Thanksgiving at Chip and Katrina's in BG

Kick that ball!

Action!

Ball in play!

Teammates

#4 going after the ball

Take that!

AGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH

kicking it out

Push 'em back

Shove 'em back

Waaaaaay back!

Get that ball!

Go Trina Go!

Get that ball!

Trina's soccer game 2006

Trina in action...

Trina's soccer game

Go Trina Go!

Train's soccer game 2006

Trina's right behind the girl in purple.

More teamwork

WE WON!

Staunch FANS!

This is Trina's Aunt and cousin. Isn't he cuuuuuutttee!

Alyssa playing with Buster. He loved all the action.

Teamwork!

Trina

Hussle Trina!

D-E-F-E-N-S-E

Trina's soccer game 2006

Comin' to get ya!

Trina's soccer game 2006

Trina's soccer game against Fremont Ross

Trina's # 13 in red. This was one of Alyssa's old numbers too.

Santa's helpers?

Trimming the tree at Jo's 2006 - my angels

Jordyn and Kaylee Trimming the tree '06

Trimming the tree at Jo's 2006

Tape can occupy kids for ages!!!!!!!