tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92164801444825133932024-03-13T11:38:24.106-07:00The Mitchell Family TimesMindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18439298098411636570noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9216480144482513393.post-51714123754516345462013-08-26T23:59:00.001-07:002013-08-27T23:26:20.328-07:00Brain Balance Beginning Symptom ListAs promised, I wanted to post a list of things my son presently does that are things that could be caused by a brain imbalance. But to explain more what that means, I first want to give a little background as I understand it from what I've read and heard.
The people at Brain Balance discuss brain hemispheres and how they can be out of balance. A healthy or mature brain is one that has equally balanced left and right hemispheres and they talk to each other. There are many pathways that go from one hemisphere to the other. That is how information is brought in and laid down on the brain. Information from the right eye goes to the left brain and vice versa.
An imbalance in the brain occurs when one side of the brain is over-stimulated and the other is under 'done' or hasn't matured as fast. The two sides have trouble communicating. It would be similar to a generation gap. The adult side is talking in language the baby side can't understand. This causes learning problems or problems with physical abilities of balancing and hearing/processing or speech. In a recent study I read about it actually showed how the wiring in a brain of kids with issues actually has problems. Instead of the wiring going from one hemisphere to the other like it should, it wires back on itself.
I think this might be why loops occur in these kids. They get stuck in a pattern. Many autistic kids will actually walk in a circle or a figure 8 pattern. They also get in mental loops like fixation on one thing (my son likes gadgets of any kind and also loved vacuums when he was younger)
One good side affect of this is genius kids where they are super good at a sport or music or math. They excel beyond most at this one thing, but they might be socially backward or unable to do other things up to par. They are stuck on that one thing. That part of their brain is wired around and around instead of crossing over.
They have a list at the Brain Balance center that shows what symptoms show up if your child is brain dominant on the right or the left. My son has an under-active right brain and over-active left. When I found out what stimulates the left brain to be over-active I can see why. Electronics (TV, computer games, handheld games) inflexibility (he hates to change and freaks out sometimes when we change plans last minute)
Here's my partial list of things that I noticed about him, some of which I didn't even realize were part of his brain issues:
stuffing his mouth with too much food
speaking too loudly in most settings
repeating questions over and over till he receives stimulus back
'fixating' on certain things
taking extra long to learn how to ride a bike
running awkwardly
not looking people in the eye
reading issues *the test for this was so interesting. We were able to watch where his eyes went on the page as he tried to read. They were all over the page.
not understanding humor
taking things literally
allergies
spelling problems
not feeling comfortable in playing sports
emotional meltdowns over seemingly small things
addiction to movies, electronic games
immature digestive track
sensitivity to light and certain noises
singing off key (can't hold a tune in a bucket as my hubby says about himself)
speaking monotone
rhythm problems with both dance and playing instruments
also in dancing being unable to mirror what the teacher is doing
having to be told something over and over to get it
not being able to follow a list of instructions. Usually only does the first thing he's told but rarely the second step/instruction
inability to put new information into practical use. He may memorize the 'rules' but doesn't actually understand how to use them (causes issues with math word problems)
auditory processing issues-he hears fine but doesn't 'get' what was said
poor handwriting and drawing ability
socially immature (acts younger than his age)
not being able to read social cues- can't tell if someone is uncomfortable about what he's doing/saying
So, part of what they do at the center is to over-stimulate the weak side of the brain and cut back on stimulus to the overactive side. This means little to no electronics. It also means we have to change things up all the time for our son. He has a pattern of how he does things and we have to mess it up. He gets home, gets the mail, showers and then goes out for a bike ride (and has a regular route he takes) and then....... it goes on from there. If you try to interrupt his pattern, he doesn't appreciate it very much and often goes on with his pattern even if you tell him he can't.
This means that we have to take him out of his routine. Today we took him to an art museum. Art is very right brain. Also, he hasn't been to this museum for years so it's bringing in new stimulus. I also shifted his schedule around and had him do something else before showering. Then as he was trying to leave to ride his bike I stopped him and told him it was time to do his exercises (They send you home with a set of exercises to do 3X a day that stimulates his right brain). At first he argued, then he went and played the piano to try and avoid what I asked him to do. For him, this is like pattern B when his pattern A is interrupted. So, I had to change that too and get him doing something else. We also had someone else get the mail today. I'd say he has gotten the mail about 95% of the time since we've lived in our present home. He fretted about it. Luckily he is old enough for me to explain to him that we have to do this to help him. We were told to expect some immature behavior to come out. It's part of the program and actually shows progress. It is caused by the part of the program that addresses Primitive Reflexes. I'll cover those in another post because they are super interesting. But basically they are the reflexes that babies are wired with to help them survive. But you are supposed to grow out of them. Kids that are stuck in them or haven't yet matured out of them have issues that are currently being labeled as ADD/ADHD or Autism spectrum. More on that later.Mindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18439298098411636570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9216480144482513393.post-40829368183623639982013-08-26T00:30:00.000-07:002013-08-26T00:51:16.637-07:00Brain Balance here we come!For several years I wished I could take my son to a Brain Balance center for therapy. I had read their book called Disconnected Kids and it perfectly described my son's situation. But, since there wasn't one nearby, it wasn't a reality. I guess we could have picked up and moved for a few months but most of my family would have had a hard time with that. Plus, it would have been too expensive to do, so instead I just resigned myself to the fact that we would find answers that we could try at home. We did a few things to help over the years; Energy work, massage, chiropractic,emotional work, brain gym-type exercises, nutritional powders, etc.
He has made progress in small increments. When he was younger he was probably considered Asperger's but never officially got that diagnosis. He had quite a few of the typical signs of it. He did stimming (hand flapping) and had obsessions over certain things (vacuums) as well as delayed speech, auditory processing issues, problems with lots of school subjects. Things didn't seem to stick when he was taught a new concept. He had to see/hear/do it over and over again to learn it. We ended up homeschooling him so that he could learn at his own pace. It took a lot of time, but he learned to read and write. He gets frustrated over things, but generally has a sweet disposition.
A couple of months ago I was going through my emails and found one from Brain Balance. I get them several times a month and occasionally I open them but most times I don't have time. For some reason, this time, instead of just reading the email I also decided to check out their website to see if they had any centers closer to us than California. I typed in my zip code and was shocked to see that a new center had just opened up in my town. It was actually less than a mile from my house! I couldn't believe my eyes. I immediately called them and they said they had only been open a few weeks. I was so excited that I wanted to go over there that very day, but instead I found out that they were having an introduction meeting to explain their program in detail. You can bet I was at that meeting. Turned out it was standing room only. I had posted about it on all my homeschooling sites because I was overjoyed to have this option available finally and wanted everyone I knew that had kids with Autism Spectrum kids or ADD, dyslexic, etc to know about it.
The meeting was awesome and it just gave me so much hope for my son. I hadn't ever given up on the idea that he could live a less frustrating life. I love him the way he is and would be fine with him staying that way, but I can tell he longs for different circumstances and he gets frustrated by things that he can't do. So for his sake I wanted to try this. He was super excited. I didn't expect him to understand what it was about, but for some reason, from the minute I mentioned it he was ready to jump in and try it. Usually new things kind of scare him, so I was very surprised that he was so eager.
We signed up to have an assessment done to see if they thought they could help him. It consists of two periods of testing. One tests physical skills and one tests mental skills. Then there is the parent observation paperwork. That gives the parents a chance to give more detail on what they have observed about their child as well as their history. It was a lengthy stack of questionnaires but each one had a purpose. I've never enjoyed paperwork so I can't say I was happy to do it. But it was worth it to get so much information about my son that answered years of questions and frustration.
Our followup appointment to go over the assessment was so eye opening. I had no idea how hard my son was working just to overcome the symptoms and do as well as he had. I had more compassion for his struggles after that and felt bad for getting angry when he wouldn't do something. Now I learned that it wasn't possible due to his brain.
Now all we had to do was to decide yes or no. It was always a yes for me because I knew it wasn't an accident that I had discovered the center just weeks after it opened. I hadn't looked for centers for a years. Then I suddenly felt like I should look? Definitely inspiration, not accident. So I felt good about it from the get go. My son was a go too, and he was even willing to pay for part of it (most of it) because he felt like it would be good. I had explained the hard things about it that I thought might deter him. I tried to soften it because it was things that would really change his world (no screen time, a very strict diet, lots of exercises) None of that fazed him at all. He kept saying he wanted to do it. I had a couple of super busy weeks so I couldn't call the center to let them know we were going to do the program. During those weeks my son kept asking, "When am I going to start my challenge?" He didn't let up so I finally called them and set up our first appointment.
The first appointment is where we went over everything we had to do with him. There was a lot to talk about. I had lots of questions and they patiently answered. This appointment was with just my husband and I. Our son didn't join us for that one. Our 2nd appointment was with a nutritionist to go over the special diet that is part of the program. I thought my son should come with us for that because it might be easier for someone else to tell him he has to give up most of his favorite foods for several months! He was actually ready to start the diet the minute we finished the appointment. Unfortunately I didn't have the food he needed yet so he had to wait a couple of days before we could officially start. I finally got to Costco and Whole Foods so we officially started the diet 2 days ago. I'll go into that more in another post. I also want to make a list of some of the things that my son does now that we found out are part of his brain imbalance. I want a record of what he has been like so that it will be easier to document the changes. I'll post that tomorrow. We have lots of hope now that we haven't had for years. Mindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18439298098411636570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9216480144482513393.post-5193365694837342602012-02-27T11:51:00.001-08:002012-02-27T11:51:44.283-08:00Rebel Kids; Cobbler's Daughter<object width="420" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IY7D1etSuik?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IY7D1etSuik?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>Mindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18439298098411636570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9216480144482513393.post-32909518032970717232012-02-21T12:08:00.000-08:002012-02-21T12:10:20.198-08:00Parents of Rebel Kids RejoiceI was/am and will probably always be a rebel. I actually thought that it was just a phase I went through in my teenage years, but just today I realized that I still have that same rebel spirit and it is living and growing in my life today. Are my parents still shaking in their shoes whenever I'm nearby? Hopefully not.<br /><br />Am I sneaking out after curfew? No, but I'm staying up way past bedtime.<br />Am I showing anti-social behavior? Heck yeah! I'm kicking the politically correct stuff to the curb, making my own way instead of following the herd.<br />Where else is this rebel heart showing up?<br />Today I realized that one of my hobbies is due to my rebel tendencies. I like to figure out how to make stuff on my own so I don't have to buy it. Things that other people always buy and would never think to make on their own. This week it's pretzel bread. Last week it was something else. Next week its corn flakes. After that? I'm thinking maybe gummy bears.<br />It's actually addicting; finding something I like and then seeing if there is a way to make it myself.<br /><br />Another area is homeschooling. I want to do what I want to do, when I want to do it and not have someone else telling me what to do. Thus we do our own thing and love doing it. I want my kids to be able to follow an interest when they are interested, not when someone else tells them they are.<br />An example came up this week. My 15 year old hasn't been that interested in history. We've done some history, but nothing super intense. She suddenly is very interested in learning it and asked if we could. She felt something missing in her educational experience and now is ready to learn it. So fun to hear as a mom/teacher! Guess what I'm digging out of my library/storage this week??<br />Just today I got to hear my two rebel-junior daughters enjoying their day. I came in the front room filled with the sound of daughter 1 playing guitar and daughter 2 playing mandolin and singing together. It was beautiful. My friend dropped by and loved being in the moment and listening to their beautiful harmony. A regular school schedule would not have allowed such a thing to occur, especially since the girls are 7 years apart in age. They would never have been on the same school schedule. Most likely they wouldn't know how to play those instruments anyway because their free time would have been spread between church activities, friends, homework, chores etc. Instead it's part of their school day and we all get to learn together.<br /><br />Being a rebel is the best! I'm never going to reform. Yes, I look different than the average Joe (or is it Jane?) but it's wonderful to be so free from restraints and expectations to look and act like everyone else.<br />So, if you have a child who is a rebel, there is hope. Eventually that could turn into something amazing. Just ask my mom and dad!Mindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18439298098411636570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9216480144482513393.post-15392103936071659032012-02-20T00:28:00.000-08:002012-02-20T00:29:43.478-08:00Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 16<object width="420" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/n_n1kJ2Y9lw?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/n_n1kJ2Y9lw?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>Mindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18439298098411636570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9216480144482513393.post-47860058408087348662012-02-19T23:59:00.000-08:002012-02-20T00:00:29.646-08:00Mozart: Marriage of Figaro<object width="420" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ikQNFqVkNNc?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ikQNFqVkNNc?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>Mindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18439298098411636570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9216480144482513393.post-74089460131770437142012-02-19T23:51:00.000-08:002012-02-19T23:58:34.683-08:00Mozart: Magic FluteStart this one at about 1:30<br /><br /><object width="420" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Vwub-9dZLFU?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Vwub-9dZLFU?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>Mindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18439298098411636570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9216480144482513393.post-62868279321645578322012-02-19T23:48:00.000-08:002012-02-19T23:51:11.069-08:00Mozart: A Little Night Music<object width="420" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GT7_Y1pIBb4?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GT7_Y1pIBb4?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>Mindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18439298098411636570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9216480144482513393.post-37956716490944620732012-02-19T23:12:00.000-08:002012-02-19T23:45:39.318-08:00Mozart-Turkish March; Rondo Alla Turca<object width="420" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Yomi0-WL5Pg?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Yomi0-WL5Pg?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="420" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>Mindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18439298098411636570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9216480144482513393.post-36304359973973160572010-11-26T12:52:00.000-08:002010-11-26T12:58:42.036-08:00Christmas Hope<p><object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SXh7JR9oKVE?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SXh7JR9oKVE?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object></p><p>This video gives me hope that 'we the people' will not allow Christ to be pushed out of Christmas in public. I love it when good people gather together to do good things. It shows what our combined strength can do.</p><p>Try to watch this and not sing along. It brought a tear to my eye.</p>Mindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18439298098411636570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9216480144482513393.post-58927352691485489272010-10-28T11:25:00.000-07:002010-10-28T11:43:40.941-07:00Halloween Cub Scout StyleWhat is it with boys' fascination with gross stuff? If you want to get boys' attention then grab a whoopee cushion and away they go!<br />Last night our cub scout pack had their Halloween Pack meeting. In true boy fashion the activity for the night was a gross scavenger hunt. If you need a fun idea that will definitely have the boys interested give this a try. Each team gets the same list and get a different side of the street to find as many of these as they can in a given time.<br />Here's the list!<br /><br /><br />Witches Hair-Spaghetti Noodles<br />Bat Droppings-Dry Dog food pellets<br />Rotten vampire tooth-candycorn<br />Booger in a tissue<br />Werewolf’s toenail-clipped toenail in a tissue<br />Ogar’s eyeball-grape or olive<br />Dragon’s scale-orange peel<br />Skeleton bones-2 toothpicks<br />Mummy’s wrap-5 sheets of toilet paper<br />Spiderweb-cotton ball that is stretched out<br />Frankenstein’s screw for neck- a screw<br />Rat tail-rubber band that is cut to lay straight<br />Poison apple with a bite- apple with a bite<br />Remains of a ghost-dryer sheet like Bounce<br />Old pirate map-napkin with an X marked on itMindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18439298098411636570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9216480144482513393.post-76540794161092602432010-08-28T23:46:00.000-07:002010-08-29T00:13:06.400-07:00How to juggle it all<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_G26m2M3-mm8/THoEb36qboI/AAAAAAAAABg/O8nVSEd0PHs/s1600/juggle.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510721970954202754" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 305px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_G26m2M3-mm8/THoEb36qboI/AAAAAAAAABg/O8nVSEd0PHs/s400/juggle.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>A few years ago we had a wonderful LDS Missionary that worked in our neighborhood: Elder Justin Rae from Gainesville, Florida. He would stop by on occassion and give us a little lesson about something to make our lives happier. But one day he taught me a lesson that he wasn't intending to teach but it has stayed with me ever since. It was about juggling. It seems that to be a missionary you have to be able to juggle. Who knew that it was part of the job description? My own son practiced up before he left for his two years of service in Taiwan and he wrote home to tell us that many of the missionaries in the MTC (missionary training center) could also juggle.</div><div>So on one of those wonderful visits from the missionaries, Elder Rae was trying to help my son Tim learn how to juggle. Tim really wanted to learn and carried 3 hacky sacks wherever he went in case the desire to juggle came over him. LOL.</div><div>As he watched Tim struggle to learn he gave him some advice. He said, "Don't watch your hands; look up and your hands will know what to do." It seemed like a strange way to work since you wouldn't be able to see what you were doing, but he tried it and found that he could catch even though he wasn't watching his hands.</div><div>That one sentence stuck with me as I contemplated juggling my life. I have so much to do in my life that I can't seem to juggle it all. I wondered if that same advice would work for me. Finally, I got it! His advice was exactly the answer to how we can juggle all that is required of us.</div><div>I just wasn't looking up was my problem. I needed to look up, wayyyyyy up. I started looking to Heaven instead of watching what I was doing. When I stopped focusing on how overwhelmed I was and stopped worrying and fearing that I couldn't handle things then I got into the flow. When Heaven directs what 'balls' I should keep in the air, then there is enough of me to go around. When I focus on what <strong>I</strong> want to do, then I start dropping things. It isn't always easy to stay in that flow. I've picked up way too may balls that I thought I needed to but found out that it wasn't what I was supposed to be doing. I also have forgotten to pick up some of the important things that I was supposed to juggle. More and more I look up when making decisions about what to spend my time on. I'm amazed at how much more I get done and how much more at peace I am when I stop looking at my hands and gaze upward for direction.</div><div>Yes, from the outside, my life may look like a circus sometimes, but it is so rewarding when I actually get everything in sync. I used to think that as a mom I just needed more hands, but then I realized that I would have that much more to do so I'm very thankful for just 2!!</div>Mindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18439298098411636570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9216480144482513393.post-5985256802791123682010-08-27T00:09:00.000-07:002010-08-27T00:50:33.374-07:00What flavor are you?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_G26m2M3-mm8/THdpiso7SsI/AAAAAAAAABY/s9Kd_ADwy78/s1600/marinating.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 256px; height: 192px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_G26m2M3-mm8/THdpiso7SsI/AAAAAAAAABY/s9Kd_ADwy78/s400/marinating.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509988713930377922" border="0" /></a><br />After a very long hiatus I'm back. I've been inspired by some great family bloggers so I must repent and get back to writing down those late night thoughts that come when everyone else is in bed and I have time to process the days events. It's then that I see patterns and 'learnings' in my world.<br />Tonight's learning is about marinating. I'm not actually someone who does much marinating in my kitchen, (although I do tend to marinate in my thoughts) but a wonderful analogy came to my mind tonight.<br />When you marinate something you put it in a sauce with a flavor that you want that item to assume. You leave it there and after a while you come back to it and hope it has taken on the flavor of the sauce. You would never put it in a sauce that tasted horrible because then your food would take on that flavor.<br />I realized how often that we are marinating ourselves in something, but don't expect that we will take on the 'flavor' of that thing we are in. So, I wonder, What flavor am I? What have I been marinating in. If you are in it you can't help but smell like it and taste like it right? So, logically I should easily be able to tell what I've been soaking in by the end product. When you are around some people can't you just tell what they've been marinating in? Sometimes I can just look at someone and know what they are 'into'.<br />As I think about choices for music, movies, reading material I realize that I don't want to spend any time in any stinky marinades. I don't want to watch movies that have 'just one bad part' because that will affect my 'flavor'. I even think that reading something or watching something that is so-so but doesn't have any bad parts is also something I want to avoid. It would be like marinating in just water. It won't add to my flavor and would be a waste of precious time. I want to only read, watch and listen to that which adds some good aroma and taste to the palette of my life.<br />What about the people we hang out with (or our kids hang out with?) How much do they affect us? If they are making bad choices and we think we can handle it, is that true? How long before their choices start to affect us and our 'flavor'?<br />I believe this also applies to what we think about, talk about and dream about. Do we constantly think about a past hurt to the point that it affects not just us but everyone around us? They start to smell our yucky marinade and can't help but be affected by it. Don't we all know someone who can't forgive and they are cankered by their wounds? If you marinate something long enough it becomes permanently changed and you can't wash it off. Imagine putting an item soaked in something bitter into your sweet light flavored dish. It would ruin it. So do those stories that we continue to tell of how we are the victim and were hurt by ___. The more we tell the story the more we soak it in. If we can forgive and let it go we get the sweet peace that come as a by-product of forgiveness. Peace is a wonderful marinade.<br />To those who say that "it doesn't affect me" or "its just one bad scene, but it was pretty timid" I would say, "Whatever you marinate in soaks into you and eventually you will smell/taste just like it". What flavor are you???Mindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18439298098411636570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9216480144482513393.post-73583567361064824882010-05-11T11:25:00.000-07:002010-05-11T11:50:11.210-07:00Pumpkin sculptures<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_G26m2M3-mm8/S-mm0r0jtyI/AAAAAAAAABQ/zQPgn4DSlb4/s1600/PB010009.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470086646464755490" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_G26m2M3-mm8/S-mm0r0jtyI/AAAAAAAAABQ/zQPgn4DSlb4/s400/PB010009.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div>Mindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18439298098411636570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9216480144482513393.post-15517909662906806692008-12-25T22:21:00.000-08:002008-12-25T22:40:01.369-08:00Merry ChristmasWhat a fun day! We had a quiet peaceful morning and the kids didn't wake us up until 8:00 a.m. We also got to talk to our missionary. Each person only got 4 minutes each though, so that was a bit of a downer. She sounds great and eager to work.<br />But, the weather outside is frightful (that would make a great song) and when we did venture out with a carload full of all of us to head to see Larry's mom, we only got a couple of miles away before we decided that wasn't a good idea and we turned around and headed back home. Suddenly we were in the church parking lot doing donuts in the snow. Don't know how that happened, but we think we may have started a new Christmas tradition. Upon arriving home there was a warzone in the front yard as an impromptu snowball fight ensued. We'll never know which side fired the first shot, but I thought I heard someone say, "Don't stop shooting till you see that white's covering their eyes." Isn't that a famous quote from another war?<br />In my position on the sidelines where I wore my press pass, I could swear Tony started the war and for some reason it became everyone against him. Unfortunately Maddisyn was in the firing line and Tony used her as a human shield. But Larry took the challenge and lobbed a shot over Maddisyn and got Tony in the ear. My hero!<br />At that point even the press were in danger so I retreated into the safe zone and shut the door. A perfect end to a beautiful day. I sure love my family. Heavenly Father certainly was smart to put us in families.Mindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18439298098411636570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9216480144482513393.post-6583111386496519432008-12-22T23:55:00.001-08:002020-05-26T23:11:31.249-07:00The Sock<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_G26m2M3-mm8/SVCiEarw3mI/AAAAAAAAAA8/wNf1xe08-M8/s1600-h/December+2008+126.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282900559671647842" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_G26m2M3-mm8/SVCiEarw3mI/AAAAAAAAAA8/wNf1xe08-M8/s320/December+2008+126.JPG" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 240px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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It's official; he's gone. It wasn't until he came home and took his Christmas stocking that it finally sunk in. Why would this be the act that finally set my heart to wobbling? It seems that it's about socks. My first real sewing project as a mother was that Christmas stocking made 22 years ago. It looks 22 years older, but still has the charm of it's youth (much like it's maker-LOL) I still laugh at the way the teacher of the class looked at me when I asked her to thread my borrowed sewing machine. She said in wonder, "you don't know how to thread a machine?" to which I responded, "It's not mine." That only satisfied a small percentage of her confused look. Somehow I finished sewing that stocking and felt such pride in my creation. I even borrowed and copied the pattern to make more wonderful creations, which I never did do. But over the years I managed to make a couple more stockings but none with the flair of that first one.</div>
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How could Tony now march into the house and take it from it's sacred spot on the mantle; leaving a big hole in our magical picture perfect fireplace mantle? It just doesn't make sense. Didn't he know what it would do to me? His lame excuse was, "Stephanie has hers and I need mine so we can have our first Christmas together." And I'm supposed to believe that?</div>
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I have been reeling ever since and thought up a few good reasons he should leave it here. </div>
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1. Don't you want me to fill you a stocking here too?</div>
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2. I didn't take a Christmas stocking from my parent's house when I got married.</div>
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3. Don't you want to start things off new and fresh and get each other matching stockings?</div>
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But, unfortunately, none of these ideas came to my head before he was out the door with the precious cargo.</div>
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And now he has it and possession is 9/10's of the law. Can I claim that since I made it that it really belongs to me?</div>
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But, as I sat contemplating the whole affair till late in the night (it kept me up at night, just like <em>he</em> used to. Does he know he's doing it again?) I thought about another sock that set my heart wobbling. It was nearly 5 years ago. Tony had packed up all his possessions and left on a mission. I had helped him get his things put away so that another sibling could use his room in his absence. I thought we had gotten everything. But, with no warning, as I was doing the laundry a few days later, there it was. Tony's sock. It was just one white sock, but it was all it took to start me crying. I had been so brave at the MTC as we dropped him off (okay, there were tears) but I thought I handled it all pretty well; that is, until I found the sock. Luckily I had a fresh basket of clean laundry on top of the dryer in which to put my face as I cried. For some unknown reason, having a piece of his laundry there to remind me of him was enough to make me lose my composure and let all the bottled up feelings come out. I had a hard time going near the laundry area for days after that.</div>
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If it were just the two socks, that might be manageable, but just a few days ago as I unpacked yet another box from the move, I found something that I wasn't sure about. As I looked closer there was a little baby boy sock. The kind they only wear for the first month of their life. Is there a conspiracy to drive this poor mother over the brink? I sat looking at how tiny this little sock was and remembered how tiny the little foot was that went inside it. How could it now be a size 12 and be walking out of my house with a much larger stocking on the foot and in his hand? This day was always supposed to be in the future somewhere. It's never supposed to actually arrive. But arrive it has and I only have one warning for you young mothers. </div>
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Watch out for those socks!</div>
Mindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18439298098411636570noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9216480144482513393.post-12818028731407374452008-12-13T23:15:00.000-08:002008-12-14T00:01:48.139-08:00Nourishing is Nurturing<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_G26m2M3-mm8/SUS9N3IJYtI/AAAAAAAAAA0/vVeCbJtYTCU/s1600-h/P8080626.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279552709019132626" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_G26m2M3-mm8/SUS9N3IJYtI/AAAAAAAAAA0/vVeCbJtYTCU/s320/P8080626.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I've been mulling over this idea for some time now and it has finally come together into something that has taken shape and has clarity. It concerns making dinner (or any other meal) for the family. I've looked back over the years and noticed how our meals have changed. I'll start at dating. When I was dating someone, we would go out to eat. When my date really wanted to be nice or impress me he would take me to a nice restaurant. When I got to the point where I really liked a guy, I would make him a nice meal., or invite him home to eat with our family (and I would cook).</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Then after marriage my husband and I cooked together and experimented with different foods, but the majority were fast foods, convenience foods, easy foods, with a few special foods thrown in here and there, like a candle lit dinner when I wanted to show him some extra love. Then when kids came along it became kid friendly foods, including hot dogs (dare I say it!) and ramen noodles, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter sandwiches.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>At that same point in my life, I was overwhelmed with motherhood and looked for opportunities to take a break/s. I sometimes rushed through nurturing and instead looked for opportunities for 'me time'. I looked for meals that I could rush through even though they weren't very healthy choices because I wanted to get it out of the way as well; lots of frozen, ready-made foods and other things I could easily heat in the microwave and throw on the table.</div><br /><div>The last few years as I have stepped back and looked at my choices for nutrition (or lack thereof) and learned much more about how to eat healthy, I have taken more time to learn about how those foods affected my mood, stress level, energy level as well as my children's behavior. I also had a couple of picky eaters come along that made me stretch in my ability to make nutritious meals that also passed muster with their tongues. I see the reaction in my family when they really enjoy a home cooked meal and I can tell they feel loved by my effort.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>It's been quite an adventure, but it's also taught me something about my job as a nurterer. I've seen so many people over the years that didn't like cooking for their family and a lot of times those same people were not very nurturing with their spouses and/or children. I truly see a link in nurturing/nourishing. It really starts at the birth of a child. Many moms refuse to breastfeed their babies and prefer the convience that a bottle gives them. Then others can nourish the child and they aren't tied down. Other mom's can't wait to quit nursing as soon as they can and only do it out of obligation. (To me this would also include allowing more children to come into our families even though it is hard work) On the other hand are the mothers who love it and thoroughly enjoy the time spent nursing and bonding with their little ones. The word nursing is so close to nourishing which in turn is very similar to nurturing.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>As I thought about our first parents and their command to sweat to eat their bread all the days of their lives, I wondered.; Was Heavenly Father trying to help them start off on the right track with nourishing as well as nurturing the first crop of children to come to earth? 'By the sweat of our brow' shows me that even if it's hard work to make good food for our families, that it's something that Heavenly Father knows will bring us joy. It may not come at first, but after a while we truly do gain joy from putting a healthy meal on the table before our sweet families, even if we have to sweat.</div><br /><div>As I've come to realize this, I've noticed how my nurturing has also changed. My desire for me time has completely changed. I don't look for opportunities to get away. My favorite me times are spent with my mini-me's. We love to snuggle in my bed and read books, or work together (believe it or not, they love it much of the time) and having come full circle we cook together and nourish and nurture each other. Who would ever want to get away from that!</div>Mindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18439298098411636570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9216480144482513393.post-51784676613219224652008-12-07T00:16:00.000-08:002008-12-07T00:22:30.702-08:00Our Maine Missionary<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_G26m2M3-mm8/STuHqijxyAI/AAAAAAAAAAs/GHcuxzojY7s/s1600-h/Sister+Mitchell+and+Cornwell.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276960553295792130" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_G26m2M3-mm8/STuHqijxyAI/AAAAAAAAAAs/GHcuxzojY7s/s320/Sister+Mitchell+and+Cornwell.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Even though Ashley's mission is to New Hampshire (aka New Hamster) she started out in Maine. She got her first glimpse of the Atlantic Ocean. Here is her latest email;</div><br /><div><span style="font-family:times new roman;color:#ff6600;">Dear Family and Friends, Greetings from Yarmouth, Maine. I still can't believe I'm here :) I hope you all had a wonderful week. My week was pretty amazing. Thanksgiving was awesome. My companion and I ate at a member's home. The food was delicious - especially the homemade mashed potatoes. People have been giving us leftovers all week, which is very nice for us - no cooking necessary! Our neighbor made pot roast with veggies the other night and he brought some over to us. It was so good. Especially after a long day of tracting in the cold. Mom - you'll be so proud of me, I ate shrimp yesterday and I liked it :) It was in a yummy pasta dish we ate at a member's house. But anyway, sorry for talking about food so much, you can tell its almost lunch time. The work is coming along. We have a new investigator. Her name is Sally. We met her while tracting and she invited us in. We taught her the first lesson then and there, and she invited us to come back. She said she would read the Book of Mormon. Yay! We had another interesting experience while tracting yesterday. We met a young man named Ziggy. His father turned us away, but as we were walking down the driveway he called us back and said "I'll talk to you guys." He got out his bible and sat down with us and started asking questions. He's been struggling in his life and wanted to know if we could help him know how to be happier. He told us about some of the struggles and we basically taught him the law of chastity and called him to repentance. It was interesting. He said he'd like to read the B of M and come to church tho, so that's exciting. The weather this week has been crazy! We had a big rain storm on Tuesday - it rained all day with pretty strong winds. Up to 50 mph I heard.There was debris all over the road. Luckily we were able to stay inside most of the day, and when we did have to go out tracting, the rain had slow down some. When we got home for the night, the power was out, but it came back on around 5 am, so it was ok. Friday we had some awesome looking fog and Sunday we had snow! The first snow I've seen here. It was really pretty. It's all gone now though - the rain melted it. The members here are great. Almost everyone has a calling because our branch is fairly small. I thought it was really neat that the priest's quorum has the calling to lead the music in sacrament meeting. Yesterday in church we had some really awesome lessons about scriptures and how to be a good teacher. It's cool how the lessons each sunday can apply to every person's life in a different way. I love going to church:) Sorry I didn't have time to finish reading your e-mail before I sent this. It sounds like you are having fun with the holidays, I'm glad that you all like the new house. I haven't been too cold mom, so don't worry too mcuh. My new coat is down and really long, so it keeps me pretty warm. Ricky and Jacqui - Congratulations on your new family member, I'm so excited for you guys. Ammon is such a cute name! Love you all! Shelley and Tammy - Thanks for all your help in getting me warmer clothes :) I haven't received any package yet, but I'm excited. Thank you! I've got to go now, but I love you all! I hope you have a wonderful week! Know that I'm doing well and that missionary work is awesome and so important. Much love, Sister Mitchell </span></div>Mindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18439298098411636570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9216480144482513393.post-19799950501004152962008-10-12T23:50:00.000-07:002008-10-13T00:01:04.995-07:00Single's Ward Family styleSo, the next time you want to sit through a quiet Sacrament meeting go to a single's ward. You could hear a pin drop during Sacrament. Well, most people could, except for those around us. Carter was the only sound in the room. I couldn't get him to stop whispering. He has this thing about silence.... it's evil and must be filled with chatter. He did get lots of glances from curious singles ("Mom, that guys staring at me")who obviously haven't heard a noise at church in some time.<br />We went to hear Ashley give her first of two 'farewell' talks in church. She did a great job and sounded like a pro. We were quite the site though, sitting there with four children and surrounded by the 18-30 crowd. I'm sure no one noticed (yeah right!)<br />It was fun to see the Sacrament blessed and passed by returned missionaries who probably thought they were past that stage of life. (You're never too old to........)<br />Another phenomenon was the singing. From where I was sitting, it sounded like everyone sang in unison (i.e. no parts) and to me it was very symbolic since all of these people have one thing in common, they are single and at/around the same age in life, so their singing seemed to be the same way. In a family ward, you have young and old, babies, divorced folks, single sisters and brothers, newlyweds, in other words all parts of one song.<br />Next week Ashley will speak in our ward and it will be another wonderful experience.<br />Only 17 days left till MTC day!Mindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18439298098411636570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9216480144482513393.post-30517241353079636562008-09-22T12:20:00.000-07:002008-09-22T12:33:43.221-07:00New Hampshire, Here She Comes!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_G26m2M3-mm8/SNfzCNTYbYI/AAAAAAAAAAc/KMiixVRhYPg/s1600-h/August+2008+034.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248931109979843970" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_G26m2M3-mm8/SNfzCNTYbYI/AAAAAAAAAAc/KMiixVRhYPg/s320/August+2008+034.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Ashley Kay Mitchell is going to the Manchester, New Hampshire Mission!! She leaves on October 29 for the MTC in Provo. I'm sure there will be many tears as we watch the Called to Serve (aka Called to Tears) video and have to watch her walk off into the unknown doorway, where no parent ever ventures and no missionary ever returns through. It's the first hard door they must tract and behind it lies their first convert .....themselves.<br />Is she prepared enough? Only through venturing forth will we ever know. What hard experiences await her? None, only big or small learning experiences.<br />We've already begun praying for those whose lives she will eventually touch and for those who will most definitely touch her life.<br />We're so proud of the woman she has become and know that she is prepared to serve the Lord and the people in the New Hampshire area.<br />Way to go Ashley. We love you!</div>Mindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18439298098411636570noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9216480144482513393.post-6179771668019908022008-09-07T19:42:00.000-07:002008-09-26T21:25:23.724-07:00The Adventure Begins!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_G26m2M3-mm8/SN21mFX1BzI/AAAAAAAAAAk/0uKGNAOt9_M/s1600-h/Tony+%26+Stephanie%27s+wedding+day.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5250552406465644338" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_G26m2M3-mm8/SN21mFX1BzI/AAAAAAAAAAk/0uKGNAOt9_M/s320/Tony+%26+Stephanie%27s+wedding+day.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Thanks to my cute new daughter Stephanie (Tony's bride) I am now an official blogger. I have enjoyed other people's blogs but never knew where or how to start my own. So, I called in the expert. She helped me get up and going. She has promised to be my guide until I get more confident.If you want to see her blog and her superb blogging skills click here; <a href="http://www.princessteffo.blogspot.com/">http://www.princessteffo.blogspot.com/</a><br />Now I just have to make our life interesting enough that someone will want to read about it. So, stay tuned for the laughs, the tears, the drama, the twists and turns of the Mitchell Family as we glide our way through life. I hope this will help us to keep in touch with friends and family better.</div>Mindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18439298098411636570noreply@blogger.com1