Blind Side

I have my own Michael Oher. His name is Reggie. He's one of my children. You see, I have six kiddos. 4 boys and 2 girls: Reggie, Troy, Melynda, Sky, Paco & Javi. My kids range from 19 to 2. I am not able to tell you my whole story for several reasons... 1) it's too long. 2) I'd short-circuit my computer with all the tears I'd shed and 3) My blog wouldn't be able to upload all I have to share. I'd need to have my own movie made.

Here's Reggie. Very young. Always smiling. This picture was taken before he came to be our son. He was a freshman in this picture, I think. Maybe a sophomore... he was already in my heart.

Reggie throwing shot his senior year.

Reggie and Paco in Mexico. We took the whole family after graduation from high school.

Here is Reggie packing Paco in Mexico. They love his hair.

If this isn't love, tell me what is! A naked, not potty trained babe sitting on your stomach! Reg may have been trying to nap here and look at his face - grinning & bearing it!

Tears come now... this picture was Senior presentation at his high school. I went as his Mom. I cried then, too. One of the happiest moments in my life. I couldn't have been more proud than I was at this moment.

Okay, I was really proud this day, too. And I cried - again. Graduation day!

One proud Moma.

And don't think Roy wasn't a proud Daddy... he was - is.

And here we are. I could so relate to Sandra Bullock's character when they took Michael to college. I was so happy and proud and then bawled my eyes out all the way home. Here we are in his dorm room, freshman year. He is in college, with a scholarship for track & field.

I miss him something fierce. Not for our lengthy conversations. I just miss him. When he's here, it just feels right. The movie Blind Side is not a replica of our journey with Reggie but it has many similar feelings and situations. At least from my view. I cried. I laughed. I cried and laughed some more. I can't wait to see it again with our family.

Being a step-mom to 3 kids, it's a different place with our Reggie. My step-kids didn't choose me. They got me when I married their Daddy. And I love them dearly, as my own! Reggie chooses us. He chooses me. While we took him in, he stayed. It's a good place to be. I love him so much and am a better person for him being in our lives.

For him and my family, I am thankful.

My Crazy Hubby

Roy turns 41 today. Happy Birthday, Darlin'! Here's a post in your honor. I am blessed to have you as my husband and the father to our children - all 6 of them. Go get 'em tiger!

Excitement take over at Downtown Disney

Letting our baby go down the slide ALONE!

Helping our baby ride his bike - ouch on the back!

Comforting Paco when hurt.

Packing the boys all over Mexico on his back.
This pack has spent 20 days hauling big heavy boys around Mexico!

Thank You, Dear Hubby! You are a good man.

Mi Corazon

Corazon is heart, in Spanish. Mi corazon is my heart. For a fun definition, watch this.

So, take care of your corazons. Not just the corazon inside you, but the ones outside your body; as well.

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your go heart walking around outside your body."

Elizabeth Stone

Today, Paco sang with the elementary choir at chapel. He has an eye ache and we're fixin' to get him to the "eye guy" later today to have it looked at. While he was dressed all up and singing his heart out, he would rub his eyes. I couldn't tell if he was nervous (he doesn't dig this kind of thing), scared (he doesn't dig this kind of thing), terrified (he doesn't dig this sort of thing) or if his eyes hurt. And the more it looked like he was going to cry, the more my heart hurt. It started out as a ping and turned in to a pang each time my corazon rubbed his eyes. OUCH!

And the more my heart hurt, the more my stomach hurt and the more my ears started to ring - not from their singing... no, from me trying not to cry! And then Elizabeth Stone's words were burned into mi corazon: my heart was walking around outside my body. And I couldn't wait to gather my sweet boy into my arms and kiss him and take away the pain. And I did just that.

We've lost Thanksgiving. It got smooshed between Trick-or-Treating and Christmas. And I think it's awfully sad. But I am endeavoring to keep it alive in our home. I'm not doing a post a day of thankfullness but... today I am thankful mis corazons. All of them.

Paco, front row, center.

Homemade Chili

One of my favorite books is The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn. I read it all the time and it has been the inspiration to so many of my changes!

I've always known that homemade from scratch is the most economical way to cook - I was raised this way so I didn't have to be sold on that idea.

I was ultra-inspired to find this research for homemade chili... I can make homemade chili, using my canned tomatoes, dried beans and TVP for .07/cup! This is the most economical way to go with Wendy's costing .99/cup at the time this was written, canned chili = .53/cup, Homemade with dried beans and hamburger = .27/cup and dumpster diving for canned chili being free.

Here is the recipe I go by, using whatever beans I have in the pantry. I am sure mine costs a little more as I use organic but I am going to stick with these costs for your benefit:

1 chopped up onion
2 cups TVP
3 cups pinto beans, dried
1 cup black beans, dried
1 cup navy beans, dried
1 cup kidney beans, dried
chili powder
garlic, pressed
salt & pepper to taste
2 quarts home-canned tomatoes

Boil all the beans and TVP all day. Half-way through the day, add everything else and cook until beans are tender. Be sure to watch the water level so the beans are able to cook. Once they are tender, turn the temp down and allow the flavors to meld.

This makes a HUGE batch and you can then freeze into smaller portions to use on baked potatoes, nachos or for lunch time.

Using The Frugal Zealot's numbers, if this takes me an hour to make, I will make $10/hr tax free, for my time. My guess is I make a lot more since it didn't take me an hour. Win-Win situation.

Enjoy!

Economic Gift Ideas

DH and I have been having some great convesations over the reason we give gifts. Do we give someone a gift that they desire or do we give a gift that we want them to have? The answer we came up with... both. So, if both are okay, let's look at some gift ideas.

I believe I mentioned that DH and I enrolled in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. We are half-way through our first 13 weeks. Then, in January, we will be the coordinators for our church and will be able to go through it again, right away, which I think is going to be great for us!

That being said, we are not spending a dime over what we have saved for gifts this year. I'm not going to take my Pampred Chef commission, my funeral escort pay or Roy's vinyl collection to "make Christmas happen." We've been trying to incorporate the ideas in "Unplug the Christmas Machine" for a couple years now and we're very happy with the results so far.

We're unplugging the machine even more this year - and I'm so excited about it! It's what I have wanted to do for a long time.

This post is on economic gift ideas:

~ Grandparents: pictures. They love pictures of their children, grandchildren and grandanimals! Think collage or calendar that they will enjoy throughout the year! If the GRANDS live away and don't get to see you often, consider making a home-movie with your family doing regular things, in addition to the posed moments.

~ Children: Honestly, they could care less if it is brand new. They prefer things out of the box, anyways! Shop thriftstores, yard sales, craigslist and better yet, find a friend and swap toys for toys!

~ Grandparents - Consider making a movie of you reading stories to your grandchildren for them to watch at bedtime! How awesome for them to see the story with you, hear your voice, see your face. What a lifetime treasury!!!

~ Spouse: Look around the house at something they have wanted to get to and do it for them! Is it laundry? Dusting? A little remodel? Have they wanted the bedroom rearranged? Do it!

~ Teachers: They want coffee and chocolate. Really. Maybe tea. Find a mug that you haven't used that is "like-new" and fill with chocolate, coffee or tea. They want a jar of your home-made jelly and fresh baked bread. You don't have to spend money to make it special. Perhaps you could make them dinner one night for their family! How thoughtful a present is that?

~ All those family members.... hopefully, you can speak to them and ask that "family gifts" be encouraged this year. Then, make a basket of carmel popcorn, one of your families treasured favorite movies that has been replaced by a new favorite movie, home-made goodies and a picture of you all! Merry Christmas Family!!!

Raid your closets. Really. What have you bought and never used or maybe used one time? Do you know of someone who would just love it? Don't pretend its new, if it's not... say, "I used this one time and realized I'm just not a cake decorator, after all! I know you enjoy decorating and I hope this works great for you." Let your friends know it's okay to do the same for you. Do you have a closet with lots of candles in it? Give some away! Think outside the box. Everyone will be relieved by the pressure it takes off of them to find the "perfect" gift for you.

~ Your BFF (best friend forever, Mom): How about making her favorite meal and a spare for the freezer! I know I would love you forever!!!

Have we covered your gift giving list? More gift ideas to come.