Easter

We wanted to read the Bible as a family pertaining to Christ's death and resurrection to thwart some of the notion that Easter was just about the Easter bunny, eggs, and candy. So we did read it all together as a family today and I asked the children that perhaps they could remember Christ's awful death when they are tempted to do wrong.

Then Arianna piped up that she knew what Easter was all about:
"Easter is about Christ rosing from the dead!"

I am so grateful for Christ's rosing and for the enthusiasm of my daughter when speaking about it.

Nancy

News from Nan

Another Ariannaism: Contar. Can you guess what that means? Keilan plays it. It is in many rock bands.

New book: The Art of Growing Up by Veronique Vienne.

This book goes along the lines of my musings (and bordering panic) regarding getting older. I bet the author is in her 50's b/c she references this age group a lot. Here is a brief outline with some quotes I enjoyed or found helpful:

1. The Art of Beginning
How old would you be if you didn't know your age? Begin anew by throwing out old things...there is no need to hold onto what's obsolete. One never loses what one throws away.
Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.
You begin to grow up when it dawns on you that all your alleged setbacks are in fact opportunities.
Some birthday wishes: lifetime season tickets to the symphony (ballet, opera, plays, musicals, all culture), clean windows every day, a huge dog, like a St Bernard, as a pet, a social secretary, housekeeper, cook, spiritual understanding-getting closer to my God, the time and money to start an art, dance, (fill in the blank) school-and be a student, a good relationship with your children, access to smart people, a pain-free body, the courage to give up the past, unexpected joy. The things one wants the most are not things after all.
2. The Art of Changing
Define progress as taking 2 small steps forward for every step back.
Don't exaggerate your weaknesses.
Remember late is never too late.
Stick to the schedule.
Continue what you've begun.
Don't seek closure.
Think of being up in years as a novelty.
3.The Art of Changing
"Fools that we are-we pray for a long life but fear old age" Chinese proverb.
The best age-defying beauty tip-SMILE!
4. The Art of Knowing
"Nothing was so unfamiliar and startling to me as my own thoughts" Thoreau.
Repeated self examination is a matter of survival.

A quiz for you: What do these expressions really mean? (answers on a future post):
A face that launched a 1,000 ships
An Iliad of woes
The last infirmity of a noble mind
In 2 shakes of a lamb's tail
Knee-high to a grasshopper
Quicker than hell can scorch a feather
To fiddle while Rome burns
To flutter the dovecote
To walk the chalk
To wear callouses on your elbows
To know a hawk from a handsaw
To syncopate the long hand
*For each new word we learn, we create a 1,000 mental connections.
5. The Art of Shining
Become visible by stepping out of other people's blind spots. Don't age typically-be radical, be different: play soccer with the kids, go to a rock concert with teens, etc. We have to replace the old cliches about aging with brand new concepts that don't relegate any of us to invisibility.
To be an adult is to be on one's own.
Love your age, stand your ground, refuse to be labelled.
Never apologize for your age.
The secret of eternal youth-cultivate the art of not complaining.
6. The Art of Inspiring
Inspiring someone can be as simple as listening.
Love is an incentive for reaching beyond our usual capacities.
Plans are one thing, life is another-Claudette Colbert
7. The Art of Choosing
Bless the day when you discover that good is good enough and excellence is onerous.
Life is sweeter when the best is yet to be.
We can choose our mistakes and in doing so we can take full credit for the inscurtable prospect of tomorrow.
Personal differences can be shared in unison.
One way to save the world: Stash it away in your mind. Be the eyewitness of all you see. don't miss a thing. Be there when nothing can console a crying baby. Stay put even though a friend offends you. Don't look away when someone needs help. Be the designated observer of grief and wonder. Take an imprint of all moments and hide them where only you know, then take very good care of yourself.
Nothing is lost. All that you have ever seen is always with you.-Henri Cartier Bresson.
8. The Art of Succeeding
Celebrate others' successes.
New Rules of glamour:
Treat others as you want to be treated (sound familiar?)
Figure out what you do best and do it.
No meetings over 30 minutes!
Wearing off-rack clothes as if made for you
Wearying of generalizations
Replace youth with mystery
9. The Art of Laughing
Make them laugh by keeping a straight face. Laugh at yourself.
10. The Art of Becoming
We grow up one day at a time without ever being able to study the master plan (but we can know the Master!)
Don't look back to find out where you are going-the answer is ahead of you. Become someone you haven't met yet.
We are always the same age inside.

My own revelation: One thing I have learned about myself. I experience and think about everything that comes my way to the fullest. Perhaps this is why my mind is so crowded most of the time and why I am frequently on a roller coaster ride of emotions. The good parts are that I am very rarely apathetic and will probably have no regrets in the area of experiencing life to the fullest. The bad: those who know me have labelled me anxious, "spazzy", and emotional. My response: It is better than being bland or dull.

Enjoy all the existential writings.

Hope

I could listen to this over and over...

...especially the lyrics:

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you had a choice
You've made it now
Falling slowly sing your melody
I'll sing along

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness

While not normally a fan of fiction books, Andrew Peterson has written a captivating, amusing, wondrous tale for all ages. On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
really captivated my imagination and kept me wanting to know more about the wonderful, imaginary yet almost real world of the land of Skree.

In the quiet land of Skree, the Igiby children—Janner, his younger brother Tink, and their crippled sister Leeli—stumble upon the lost jewels of Anniera and determine to return them. Unfortunately, the scary-bad Gnag the Nameless seeks the jewels for his own evil ends… and so our band of friends, accompanied by their trust dog Nugget, must escape with the help of their mom and grandfather (who happens to be an ex-pirate). Their journey takes them through an inventively fantastical world of wonders, complete with memorable characters (like Gnag’s evil minions the Fangs and Peet the Sock Man), fanciful creatures (like sea dragons, snickbuzzards, toothy cows, flabbits, and bomnubbles), and captivating places (like the Books & Crannies bookstore, Shaggy Tavern, the Dark Sea of Darkness that divides the land of Skree from Anniera, the Glipwood Forest, Ice Prairies, and the Stony Mountains).

Through fast-paced storytelling, little ditties, songs, and poems, side-splitting asides, sensory descriptions of time and place, and characters rich in heart, courage, and smarts, Andrew Peterson has created a wondrous tale you’ll enjoy and treasure—just like those lost jewels.

As I read this, I wanted to know what happened in Anniera, who was the Sock Puppet man and how did he get like that, what were the family secrets and what were these jewels. Through rich imagery, funny stories, and rich descriptions, my mind painted a wonderful rich story.

I can't wait to read it to my children and see their faces as they follow the excitement of the Igiby children.

For another great review, read this review.

Naturopath

So I, Nancy, in addition to going to the chiropractor, have now gone to a naturopath who studies functional medicine. It is fascinating. I have to overhaul my diet (for example, no dairy, no soy, no white sugar, flour, etc), organic, more raw vegies and fruits, etc). She is also helping me take the supplements that I really need! I think I was buying whatever the studies said to buy and was spending more than what I will with her. I am getting blood tests and hair analysis and this funky pressure point test that help her determine where I am weak or dysfunctioning. So my food bill is going up but we are all going to eat healthier. (She is big on soups which does not make my kids happy but my kids will just have to "suck it up" literally). More later-have to go to work.

Some interesting tidbits on preventing and fighting cancer

John Hopkins Cancer Update AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY ("TRY, BEING THE KEY WORD) TO ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY. Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins:1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime. 3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply. CANCER CELLS FEED ON: a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc. are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in colour. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer cells are being starved.c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruit help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it. 12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines become putrified and leads to more toxic buildup. 13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells. 14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells. 15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.(PLEASE FORWARD IT TO PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT) CANCER UPDATE FROM JOHN HOPKINS HOSPITAL , U S - PLEASE READ 1. No plastic containers in micro.2. No water bottles in freezer.3. No plastic wrap in microwave. Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well. Dioxin chemicals causes cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Dr. Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons. Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead. This is an article that should be sent to anyone important in your life.

Hockey Night

Last Tuesday, Elizabeth picked up 3 tickets to see the Washington Capitals against the Minnesota Wild. I took Jonny and Elizabeth to the game. Despite seats almost in the rafters, we still could see the flow of the game and the puck just as easily as if we were down closer.

Highlights for Jonny were watching the two fights break out. Elizabeth liked watching the action on the Jumbotron. The Capitals won 4-1. If they would have scored 6 goals, we would have had a pound of chicken wings for each ticket stub from Austin Grill. Of course, this past Monday night, they scored 6 goals in the first period.

Fine Stafford Dining

Last Saturday as part of family night, we ventured out to La Tierra, a Salvadoran/Mexican restaurant off of Rt 1 near Bloom. While the restaurant was empty except for the six of us, the service was outstanding and the food was Excellent...excellent...excellent. There was some great music in the background and soccer on the tube.

The owner came out and was extremely friendly. Nancy practiced her Spanish while he practiced his English. The papusas and tamales were some of the best we have ever experienced. The Salvadoran platter was great. The plaintains were sweet, not fried and salty like we have made ourselves. Did I mention the papusas were excellent? After the meal, the owner brought out free orders of flan and fried ice cream.

We highly recommend supporting this local restaurant. For less than $10/person, we came away with a great meal and a great time. They do have a kids meal (pizza, cheeseburger, hot dog, nuggets), however, Arianna had beans and a tortilla and said it was excellent.

Overall, even the great restaurant critic, Colby Garman, would enjoy the fine food of La Tierra.

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness: Adventure. Peril. Lost Jewels. and the Fearsome Toothy Cows of Skree.

The FauthClan blog has been selected as part of Andrew Peterson's blog tour of his new book On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness: Adventure. Peril. Lost Jewels. and the Fearsome Toothy Cows of Skree.

You can read a quick review here. The official FauthClan review will be posted within two weeks. I am looking forward to reading this with the kids.

As part of the blog tour, the FauthClan blog will be giving away a free copy of the book. Once I determine how to do this, I will be posting the details.