7 Quick Takes (two memes today)

Click the sidebar link to visit Jennifer and join us in publishing 7 mini posts to sum up your blogging thoughts this week.








1) Since our Mary Clare was diagnosed with Lymes Disease yesterday, I've been reading up on the condition and have discovered some interesting symptoms. You can read my post on benmakesten to be made aware.

2) Danielle Bean wrote a very thought-provoking article about a teacher who was severely reprimanded for handing our anatomically correct, tiny, rubber doll models of unborn babies.
The post was written from the perspective that those who were angered by this teacher's act were merely over-reacting to a pro-life message. I absolutely LOVE Danielle and enjoy each and every one of my visits to her site: Faith and Family Live. She does MUCH in the way of inspiring and encouraging moms, wives, families and Catholics. However, I disagreed with the stance taken in the post and actually agreed with those who thought that a teacher had no business handing something like this out to students without parental permission. You can read the article here. My comments are among those posted underneath the article.
I'd be VERY interested in your thoughts on it.

3) It seems that it always takes a trial, a suffering, a specific cross to bear, or some tragic event to prompt us to do a "priority check" in life. I wish that I could have the same awareness, the same appreciation for the joy and blessings, the same understanding and "I-so-get-it" attitude when all is well and we are merely going about our daily business. As a character in a movie I saw once said, "Why does it take an injured, cut up, mashed up left hand to make us take notice of the good, healthy, wonderful gift of a right hand that was there all along?"

4) My husband and I have noted that we have been to the ER and with our kids more times in the past three years than we have in all 25 years of parenting put together! This is a "new trend" that we would like to see come to an end!

5) I'm almost done reading Lisa Hendey's new book : "The Handbook for Catholic Moms".
Because I won it in a Twitter contest, I thought I would "pay it forward". So, as soon as I'm done, we will be offering it in a give-away contest on our website! Our hope is that whoever wins it will keep the gift going and will offer it as a prize or give it away as a gift when they are done reading it as well!

6) I LOVE innovative ideas! And I greatly admire those who use their creative abilities to come up with a new business to supplement or fully support their income! Do you make your own laundry soap? We do! It really saves money, it's easy to do, and you get two full gallons out of one batch if you do the liquid version. Someone who makes the powdered version had the GREAT idea of pre-grating the soap and adding the boxes of the other ingredients in order to create a "ready-to-make" dry ingredient laundry soap kit and sell them online! Is that not a FABULOUS business idea?!?!? Check out the website here! I am just amazed at the things people think of...it is so inspiring!

7) Who else has been enjoying strawberries in season? My daughter's father-in-law, affectionately known to my children as "Pappy Dixon" has a wonderful garden where my sweet grand-daughters enjoy "berry picking" each year. We were treated to a huge bowlful of these tasty summer treats the other day and it was a great way to kick off our summer vacation! I hope to grow some of our own strawberries in the next year or so. Until then our garden is filled this year with: lettuce, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, hot yellow peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, summer yellow squash, watermelons, and musk melons. What are you growing?