Finally! July 4th Picts

While they aren't all pictured here, we filled 1,000 water balloons for our 4th festivities.

I had camera issues, so the pictures didn't come out with the resolution I had hoped, but you get the idea...we had a lot of FUN!

Camp Piankatank 2012 Father Son Weekend

 Caleb, Brandon, Joshua
Future Asbell Family Leaders
 
Joshua's arrow is in mid-flight!
 
Caleb made it to the top!

 

So did Brandon!

 

Joshua did too!

Camp Piankatank has a Father Son Weekend every year. Our boys love it!

It is a wonderful time of godly fellowship and activities.

Brandon was able to meet other adult sons who share his career interest and made some business connections this year. God is good!

"Our goal is to give children a week unlike any other they’ll experience all year long. We strive to create the most exciting experience possible where a child can learn about God, themselves, and others all in a safe and encouraging environment. It is truly the desire of Camp Piankatank that campers learn the simple, yet very important fact that God loves them and that God has a plan for their lives."

Amazing Video: Mute Girl Thought to Be Mentally Retarded Finds her Voice

UPDATE: Due to the interest level, I have added links to help you find more information as I have found it in response to helping others. If I find more, I will add it here. I am thankful to see so many parents searching for information to help their children. May God bless your efforts and help you communicate with your child. Yes, you may share a link that leads back to this site to help others learn more.

If you know someone with autism, communication, or sensory issues, you should watch this amazing video. It gives a window into the world of people with special needs. It gives hope and understanding to the loved ones of people locked inside their bodies. May Carly's story improve the understanding and level of care to others in the same situation. May it help others locked inside their bodies find their way out.

"Carly can't speak. Many people called her dumb or mentally retarded. But after she turned 11 years old, she discovered something truly incredible and found her voice. This is a must see."

Carly's Amazing Book: Carly's Voice 

Experience Autism through Carly's Eyes in Carly's Cafe

Forums for Parental Support, Education, and Autistic People to Connect

Follow Carly on Twitter  

Follow Carly on Facebook

Carly's YouTube Channel

Other autism books (different families): 

A Child's Journey Out of Autism: One Family's Story of Living in Hope and Finding a Cure

Autism and ADHD Diet: A Step-by-Step Guide to Hope and Healing by Living Gluten Free and Casein Free (GFCF) and Other Interventions I have personally heard a lot of positive things about this particular diet for people who are ADHD and fall in the autism spectrum. I highly recommend following the diet consistently for at least 6 months. Nutritional medicine does not work like conventional medicine. It takes time to work at the root level. Give it a proper trial before you give up on it.

 

If you have been blessed with a healthy child(ren) and feel this information does not pertain to you, I beg to differ. It is an opportunity to develop understanding and compassion that will allow you to better support and minister to the families around you with autistic loved ones. 

As this story shows, doctors do not know it all, and even the highly educated experts with the best intentions and most humbled attitudes make mistakes. Just like a hammer can build or destroy, doctors are tools to be used very carefully with wisdom and knowledge as we seek to be our own healthcare providers. ~Wendy

Save Money on Cooking Sprays

This is one of those products that will save you the purchase price right away.

Misto is a refillable pump aerosol container that sprays a fine mist of you choice of oil. It will save you from buying cooking sprays at $2.50 or more a pop. In 3 to 4 uses, you will have saved the purchase price. I purchased one for flavored oils and one for olive oil.

It is very easy to use. You remove the cap and unscrew the pump head. Then you fill approximately half way with oil and replace the pump. You pump it until there is pressure and spray. A fine mist comes out to coat your baking pans or frying pans. You can also use this for flavored oils, homemade perfumes, or to turn pump spray bottles of hairspray into aerosols. Mine works so great, I plan to purchase a third for our RV.

Destructo-Woman

brand new computer meets ceiling fan

I killed my new phone and lost all of the pictures and numbers stored on it. Clint order me a new one.

My very old 4x4 Ford truck needs a water pump. Clint is in the process of fixing that.

My Suburban has an alternator issue. Clint is planning to fix that when he gets home today. We are down to two cars with four drivers. Brandon is taking Amanda to and picking her up from school.

Our dishwasher was a year old. It was a very nice one and worked very well. It died three weeks after the warranty expired. As other consumers are learning and reporting online, the control panel on the Maytags are an issue.

My computer hard drive stopped working. The Acer computer was about a year old. Again, other consumers are reporting the same hardware issue. We purchased a new Dell because of our personal experiences with that brand.

The Dell was great! I had it 2-3 weeks, if that, before I ruined it. In my haste to get my chores done, I lifted it over a chair...a little too high. We have 7 foot ceilings. And, a ceiling fan. Sigh. Yeah. Dumb, Wendy, real dumb!

I was getting in a tizzy while counting the cost of the things that have broken recently. Raising a family of nine on one income doesn't allow for a lot of financial wiggle room. I stressed over the financial implications. Then I realized the cost is actually very, very little.

We have our health, food, clothing, and shelter. All of our bills are paid on time. Clint has a good job and the ability to work to make more money to replace what has been lost.


The vehicles can be fixed inexpensively because my husband has worked hard to develop useful skills. I don't like that he will be tied up time wise working on a vehicle, but our children will be working along side of him and learning as he passes down the knowledge he has gained. The phone was a "dumb phone" so it wasn't too expensive to replace. I was able to catch up with many old friends as I added phone numbers back. The computer's screen is ruined, but the rest works. I am giving it to Brandon to experiment with. You could say my stupidity contributed to his education. :-)

My family is teasing me relentlessly, and I love it. I think it is great for the children to see Mom messes up too.
I would much rather be accidently destroying objects than relationships. I would rather be careless with things than people. One is a not really a big deal no matter how much the monetary value. The other is a very big deal and can have eternal implications.  One is a temporary inconvenience. The other can have a lifelong impact for both parties. Lord, let me value what You value and let go of things that don't matter.

John 13:34-35 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

Amazing Testimony from the CO Theater Massacre

"He is not the cause of evil, but He is the one who can bring comfort and peace in the midst of evil.  It’s been amazing to see the outpouring of love from so many people after this unthinkable act.  Yes, there was one evil act, but it is being covered by thousands, possibly millions of acts of kindness."

"God is always good.

Man is not.

Don’t get the two confused.

We will continue to praise and worship our mighty God, anticipating that He will bring beauty from ashes, as only He can do."

Please go read the chilling details from inside the theater at A Miniature Clay Pot.

Easy Bake Oven Recipe Links & Gift Idea (and an Easy Bake Microwave Kit!)

Here are a few links that will allow you to enjoy an Easy Bake Oven with your children for much less than the price of the Easy Bake Mixes:

Easy Bake Oven Pizza

Easy Bake Oven Recipes a large index of recipes

Make Your Own Easy Bake Oven Mixes This uses store bought mixes to keep the preparation time down while still saving money.

A good rule of thumb is 3 tbsp of any commercial cake mix with 1 tbsp milk. 

A nice gift idea or stocking stuffer would be to make up little bags of premeasured cake mix for the Easy Bake Oven.  You could even make your own gift basket for the Easy Bake baker in your life with added extra ingredients like chocolate chips, nuts (watch for allergies), sprinkles, etc. You can also include inexpensive child sized utensils for baking. (I save my smaller mixing spoons for the little girls.)

Did you know Easy Bake has microwave kits? When you have a large family and a child who is determined to bake a treat for each member, a parent will be spending a good amount of time supervising. The microwave kit will speed things up considerably. This is the kit I purchased for my girls: Easy Bake Microwave and Style: Trendy Tastes We are using it this weekend.

A Bad Attitude is Like a Flat Tire

This is a life lesson so many miss learning.

Your attitude and your mood are in YOUR control.
It is your choice to be pleasant or unpleasant.
If you change your attitude for the better, it will make daily life and the challenges you face so much easier!

Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Philipians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Read more verses on renewing your mind and what to set your thoughts on here.

4th of July

We hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th!

I can only upload this photo from my phone because my computer is having battery charging issues. I am using one of the middles' school laptops until mine is repaired. Thankfully, I have a husband and a son very skilled with computers.

We had a very wonderful time as a family on the 4th. We had a grilled foods and garden produce buffet, a homemade slip and slide, water balloon capture the flag battle, with an ice cream buffet and strawberry and blueberry parfaits.

We filled around 1,000 water balloons which took a long time, but was well worth it.