"People have a lot of hurts."

I'm quite sure there is a sign on my head, however it is not visible to me. It is probably not visible to you either. It seems as if there are only 2 groups of people that can see this sign...people wandering in the Wal-mart parking lot or people who are holding up signs and standing alongside of the road to Wal-mart. I am guessing that this sign on my head says, "THIS LADY WILL FEED ANYONE, JUST ASK!!!!!!!"

All kidding aside, this has never really bothered me because, on some level, I understand it. Growing up, there were times when we didn't have food in our home. But, during those times, someone almost always gave something to us. I do not believe that these things were coincidences.

I do feel for people who get to the point where they swallow their pride and ask for help. Kevin and I never turn anyone away. Our rule, though, is that we never give cash. We will take people to buy food. We will give them the food right out of our pantry. We will even take them to a fast food place.

That is what happened on Monday. I was at Wal-Mart with Benjamin and Olivia grabbing some last minute things. It was 7pm (bedtime for the children) and Olivia was already in her pajamas. I was rushing because I still had to pick up a friend who was over near Good Shepherd and drive her out to Lake Cherokee. So, I quickly put the kids and the groceries in the car. Right then, a man and a woman walked up to me. The man said, "Ma'am I am not asking for money. My wife and I and our son are staying at (some motel I don't remember) and are hungry. I was wondering if you'd maybe buy us something to eat." I immediately handed over the salad that I was holding (for Kevin who was working late). It was a quick fix and I had things to do! Then I felt guilty for basically brushing them off. I realized that that salad wouldn't feed 3 people. I told him that I would help. The man said they didn't care what it was, and would even be happy with something from McDonalds. I said, "Sure. I'll take you over to McDonald's and get you a gift card." They said that someone from the motel had given them a ride and that they'd meet me over at McDonald's.

On the way there Benjamin asked a lot of questions about what we were doing and why. I explained that those people were hungry and that God says in the Bible that He wants us to feed people who are hungry. We also got to talking about how God wants us to take care of people who aren't as fortunate as we are. Benjamin thought this was a great idea. He also said, "I hope that they use the money careful and not waste it." Then my (untrusting) adult mind starting thinking things like "what if they sell the gift card and use the money to buy drugs" and "what if they really don't have a son and are just going to feed themselves and their friends" and "how can they afford to stay in a motel yet they can't afford food." I finally just had to pray and say that it is not my money to begin with. It is God's. I will hand it over and whatever happens to it after that is up to God. So, I bought the gift cards in the drive-thru and handed them to the man.

A few weeks ago I felt led to give money to a man who was on the side of the road. We were at the stoplight and the man was just standing there. I pulled $2 out of my wallet and rolled the window down. I just held my hand out and he came to me. I simply told him to have a nice day. This one time I broke our "don't give cash" rule, but I felt like I was supposed to. Benjamin was in the car then too. He asked me why I did that. I told him that the man needed money and that God told me to give him some. Benjamin seemed pleased with this answer.

I think that situations like this aren't always to help other people. I do believe that Benjamin has benefited greatly from seeing me and Kevin do things like this. Benjamin has been blessed with a sensitivity to the hurts of others. Whenever we see someone walking on the side of the road or sitting under an overpass, Benjamin will always point them out and say how he thinks it is sad that they don't have a home to live in. He almost always prays that "Jesus will help them have a place to live." I think that it is important to help others, even when we are skeptical, even if for no other reason than to teach our children that this stuff is not ours and that it won't bring us joy if we horde it all away.

Now for the end of my very long story....my proof of God in action through me. After leaving McDonald's and heading over towards the hospital, Benjamin says to me, "Mommy, I think that maybe I should play less outside and take some time to help other people. You have that gray card table under the bed and I could put that up outside and put food on it to give to people who need it. You have those baby first aid kits and I could use those to heal peoples' hurts. Can we get more first aid kits because people have a lot of hurts. Do you think this would be a good thing to do?"

"People have a lot of hurts" Oh, sweet boy, you don't even realize what depth that comment has. Yes, this is a good thing to do.

Seafood...well, kinda

Benjamin's class has been doing something called ABC days at school. Each day is a different letter and they do some sort of activity that starts with that letter. For instance, they did an Easter Egg hunt for E day and had a Silly Sock day for S day. Well, Benjamin was sick on O day. On this day they had Octodogs for lunch at school. Benjamin was very sad that he missed this.

For those of you who are asking yourself, "Self, what is an octodog?" I will tell you. A hot dog with 8 slits in it. So, your pork product that is named after a canine magically becomes a sea creature. Imagine that....

I don't know what Benjamin's teacher did, but this was what Good Ole' Mommy came up with:

I took Ramen noodles (seaweed) and cooked them with mixed vegetables (logs and rocks). I drained the noodles and left out the seasoning packet. I then took the hotdogs and made the 8 legs. Boil the hotdogs for a few minutes so that the legs curl. In an effort to have some sort of nutritional value, I also used a cheese stick (obviously don't boil this or you end up with a jellyfish or something) and slit it as well. I used fennel seeds for eyes.

Kevin was impressed. Benjamin thought I was a genius.

What an observant son....

Olivia had a lot of fun today

Uh oh! Look out Phillip!!! (Do you recognize the piano? Benjamin never used it, but Olivia plays it until the batteries die.)

Music makes her happy...just like Momma.

Okay, I admit it! I really loved the dress and bow. So I took lots of pictures.

What do you expect? Girls like jewelry. (this is also what happens when your Momma is from New Orleans)

Being adorable is hard work!

Friends don't let friends pee in the ditch

A few weeks ago some of the neighborhood boys decided that it would be great fun to pee in the ditch across the street. Benjamin, being clueless that peeing right out in the open was a bad thing, shared his excitement with me. I informed him that we DO NOT pee outside. I then had to add that, "Yes, when we are out geocaching in the woods and there is absolutely no potty around, then it is okay, but not desirable" and "Yes when we are on a long trip to Michigan and there are no rest stops for 100 miles, then it is okay" and "Yes, when you are out at the houseboat with PawPaw and there is no potty around, then it is okay" and "OKAY BENJAMIN YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!" (asking questions helps him learn, asking questions helps him learn, asking questions helps him learn)

He asked me what he should do next time his friends want to pee in the ditch. I told him to just not do it. He asked me if he should tell me when they do it. I said, "Yeah, that's fine."

Now for a quick disclaimer: I do not know what other peoples' rules are concerning ditch peeing. This is simply my own rule.

Fast forward to the next week. I am inside talking with a friend of mine when Benjamin runs in the house, "Mommy, the kids are peeing in the ditch!!! But I didn't I just came and told you." My friend asks if her son did it, and Benjamin said yes. My friend heads outside to get her son...who is also a "no peeing in the ditch" rule violater. Benjamin then tells me that he told his friends not to do it and that if they did he was going to tell. Kid1 tells Benjamin that if he tells then he really isn't his friend. This concerned Benjamin very much. I explained to Benjamin that helping our friends not do things that they shouldn't do is, indeed, being a good friend. He seemed pleased with this idea.

So, today at lunch Benjamin says, "Mommy, a couple of days or a week ago" (yes, 5 year old time) "Kid1 was going to pee in the ditch. I told him that he shouldn't do that or I would have to tell you. Kid1 said that if I told you then I wasn't his friend. But, Mommy, I told him that I WAS his friend because friends help each other to not make bad decisions." Kid1 didn't like Benjamin's rationale.

Benjamin asked if I was proud of him...which I certainly was. He also asked if I was sure that that was what friends did. Since I am only the Mother, and what do I know, he decided to ask Laura. She confirmed for Benjamin that this was correct. (It sure is nice to have a whole block of neighbors who will back you up in your parenting...thanks you guys)

So, all is right with the world now...until next week.

I really am proud of Benjamin. My sister said I'm going to get him beat up......

I guess you can't win 'em all.

You say Bulgarian, I say Bulgrien

How about a little pet peeve post? When I married Kevin I thought how great it would be to escape all of the "Are you related to Jimi Hendrix?" jokes. While I can see how one could think that we are related (fair skin, stick straight dishwater-colored hair, Christian lifestyle), it was still terribly annoying. But noooooooo, I inherited the name Bulgrien. I wouldn't have it any other way, but I cannot tell you how hard it is for people to say this one. We have heard: Bulgarian, Bull-grin, Ball-grin, Ball-green, Bull-grine, etc. So, say it with me now. BULL-GREEN. Yup, like the male cow and the color of grass. Yay!

He got in!!

We found out today that Benjamin got in to Hudson PEP. Yay!!

The lady said that he scored very high in reading, average in basic skills, and high in math. Go Benjamin!!

There's just something nice about

having dinner in the crockpot already. The evening times are always so hectic, and making dinner is usually stressful. I have a friend who actually cooks her dinner in the morning in order to avoid the evening "rush hour." I think that I may try to do that too.

Anyway, I am making a Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken. It is so easy that I don't know why I don't make more of them. Here's how you do it:
--Make 4 balls out of foil and put them in the bottom of your crockpot. This keeps your chicken from mingling with the fat.
--Sprinkle your chicken with the seasoning of your choice. I have used Lawry's seasoning salt, Tony's cajun seasoning, and today I tucked a few sprigs of rosemary under the skin and coated the chicken with an Herb/Garlic seasoning.
--Place your chicken, breast side down, onto the foil balls.
--Turn crockpot on High and cook for 5 hours. It must be on high!

Oh, I have read that some people wrap baking potatoes in their foil and then have baked potatoes right along with dinner. I haven't tried it yet, but I plan to.

Well, this turned out to be a recipe post. 8-)

Happy cooking!