Gratitude, Grief, and Prayers.

.  Long ago when I was much younger and more energetic, our home was graced with a series of tiny foster babys. Most of them went on to be adopted. The mothers were young, 12 or 13 years most of the time. In those days, girls went to "visit" a relative and came back without a child.
  One of our little ones was not well when she arrived. We kept her for a year. A year filled with trips to emergency rooms, wearing pillow splints, caring for eczema etc but she was such a little doll that when orders came to move on to another base, we decided to adopt her. The first few years went well, then she started bruising. We were sent via military aircraft to a wonderful hospital in Denver. Many sick children and returning wounded vets were all mixed together. We found out our babe had in laymens terms, aplastic anemia. This is the failure of the bone marrow to make platelets so she bled easily.  I had been told she might live 6 months.
 We moved into a country setting, grew our own fruits and veggies, had chickens, horses etc and gave her 5 years. This kind of lulled us into thinking she might survive. But when she was ten, we lost her. Like the parents in Conn. this last week, grief was overwhelming. I know first hand the horrid wrench of loosing a child, so symapthize deeply with those parents and families facing this Christmas without the joy on the faces of small ones whose gifts have been planned for months.
  My life changed then, guess I really unraveled.  But as it does, life went on. I had even prayed that God take me and let my baby survive, she had so many years of living to do, and I had been around longer.
  God had given my the three best children in the world, and the little one we lost. All my kids have grown up to be kind, caring, loving adults.  My one regret is that one of them does not keep in touch, and I miss hearing from him very much.
  After life settled down, I remarried and had one more son. He is now the farthest away. And has a new daughter, his second. So I am packing up to travel the thousand miles to meet this new little girl. But this requires a lot of travel on the part of my wonderful kids. My daughter in Illnois will head this way in a few days, and the next day we head back to Illinois. There I will get to visit with 3 of my grandchildren and 2 of my great grandkids. Then on to Nebraska, part way across MO we will meet my son from Crete and I will go the rest of the way with him. I am so grateful to have kids that want to do this, its a great many miles, weather is always a concern, and safety. So many prayers are being sent out for safe travel.
  Having Christmas with the 2 youngest grand daughters will be a treat. And the son here in TN is also invaluable, as he takes care of my companion and friend Miss Libby while I am gone. She is a 6 year old kitty from our local shelter and my constant friend. She knows I am packing and is very upset, knowing she will be alone except for feeding times.
  How could any one be more blessed, I have the greatest kids, grand kids and great grandkids on earth, and I am thankful for every one of them.
  I will not be forgetting the heavy hearts of others this year, and sadness will be taking up a small part of my heart, but God has a way of getting us through tough times. Let us all be grateful for the blessings we have in our lives, even if they seem few sometimes, we likely have more than we realize.
  May your holidays be richly blessed, filled with family, songs, food and happiness.  Take time to give thanks for homes, families, food, and most of all love, it's our greatest blessing of all.

Christmas Greetings, ice help, pinwheels for your holidays

  Hi all, time is flyin by and Christmas will soon be here. Hard to believe it's only 10 days away.
  Are you having company? Need a pretty snack to serve?  Here's one to try, easy to make.
CRANBERRY PINWHEELS
1 package sweet dried cranberries
1 8 ounce block of cream cheese, softened
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onions
4 large tortillas
Mix first 4 ingredients, and spread on the tortillas. Roll tightly, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Can be longer so you could make these a day ahead. Slice each into 12 slices and serve. 
  It's gotten colder, and there are now many frosty mornings, ice will be a part of the scene soon. If you have slick walks, porches, decks etc, try this. Mix 1/2 gallon of hot water(very hot) with 1 teaspoon of Dawn dish soap and 1 tablespoon of rubbing alcohol. Stir or shake well and pour onto icy surface. It will melt the ic e and prevent it from coming back.
  Watched a very interesting Dr Oz show this week. Several doctors doing research on cholesterol have found that people with high good cholesterol levels out live those with low levels. They are concluding after all their research that cholesterol is not a bad thing and should never be treated with drugs. The statins so widely used are so bad for your body, destroy your health in the long run. Instead, learn to eat  sardines, salmon, and foods high in omega 3's and throw in anti inflammatory things like pomegranite and turmeric.  You can add turmeric to your soups and stews etc and its so very beneficial. Also helps prevent arthritis. Nice to know that taking it all these years has given me a lot of bonuses.
  Headed to town yesterday, the weather didn't say a thing about fog, but there it was. Pea soup stuff. Got to town and missed my turn into Walmart, couldn't see any lights, good thing there is a traffic light at the 2nd turn. Navigating the parking lot was a great challenge, visibililty was nil. Didn't improve while I was shopping, and heading home I missed the turn off on to our mountain road. There is another chance down the road, but don't use it often and was unsure of landmarks. Had a guy on my tail that was in a big hurry and sure was glad to find my turn. Nearly missed the road up to our house, was so grateful to get home! Took a long time for the fog to lift. This morning the news said there is heavy fog, guess what, none here. The sun is coming up and it's still frosty but will warm up by afternoon.
  Hope you have your shopping done, your cards mailed and can enjoy the days before Christmas. Rev up that mug of coffee or cocoa, watch. a good Hallmark movie and enjoy your family.! Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas

Winter malodies, building your immune system, staying well

  It's unbelievable how many people are ill most of the winter. Our schools here in the area are already closed because of so many absences due to flu. There are a few things you can do to increase the effectivness of your immune system, and if you think about it, why would you want to spend weeks feeling crummy?
  To start with, ditch fruit juice. By the time you get that, it's been processeed down to water and sugar.  Many docs are telling us now to eat the real fruit instead. So add blueberries, or strawberries to your oatmeal, even dates or raisins work. And mid morning, have a piece of fruit for a snack. Banana, apple, whatever is in season and you like.
 Eat as many fresh fruits and veggies as you can, that 11 per day may be a bit difficult, but try working them in. Home made vegetable soup will give you a great boost, use fresh carrots, celery, onions(lots) garlic, whatever you can. If need be, resort to a bag of frozen mixed vegetables.
  If you do get sick, it's recommended now that you alternate aspirin and tylenol every 4 to 6 hours, don't just take one or the other.
  If you feel like a cold is trying to get you, try  mixing 1 teaspoon of honey(raw if you can get it) and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon in a cup of boiling water, cool a bit and drink several times a day so you are having 3 cups at least. Should kick that sucker in a couple of days. You can add a one inch slice of lemon to the cup if you have it, for an even bigger boost.
 There is also a bath which helps draw out toxins of colds,  run your tub full of hot water and add 3 pints of hydrogen peroxide(3%)plus 2 ounces of ground ginger.This will increase your circulation and help draw out the toxins casing the cold. Be sure to drink extra fluids as this is drawing fluid out of your body.
  When I was 20 I started taking turmeric and ginger to prevent arthritis as I aged. It has worked perfectly and now I find out that being antioxidants, they also boost your immune system, so I have been getting multiple benefits. There are also a couple of other things I do, astragalus is a great immune booster and also helps you sleep better so I take one of those every night.I always take 1000 mg of vitamin C, and 1000 mg of D3. During the winter, if you are prone to colds, you may need to take more vitamin D3, several thousand units a day will help. There is a product call NAC or n-acetyl-cysteine which is also a great immune booster, these are available at Swanson vitamins, as are the other things I have mentioned.
  At the very first sign of a cold coming on, grab your saline nasal spray, it cleans out your nasal pasages and kills bacteria. Its like a magic bullet to help you stay well.
  Basically, you are in charge. Cut back on sugar as it breeds a lot of toxins in your body, kick up your fruits and veggies, drink lot of fluids, sleep well and be as cheerful as possible.  If you don't take care of your body, it won't take care of you.
 Countdown to Christmas is on, only 2 and 1/2 more weeks. Time flies. Hope you have found something helpful here, stay as well as you can. Make yourself a priority, after all, you are in charge of yourself.
   If  you are getting ready for the holidays,  find time to spend with family and friends.  Call someone who lives alone and wish them a Merry Christmas, donate what you can to the homeless, poor, and sick. It will make you feel extra good. Til next time , boost your immune system and stay well.