FLOWER CHAIN SCHOOLING
How would you like to enjoy a project with your child that offers variety and repetition of needed skills? What if that same activity provided your children with precious memories of time spent knitting their hearts to your own?
Making chains and garlands of flowers can accomplish this and more. A son can be taught this skill so that he might one day present treasured keepsakes to his wife or daughters. Your daughter will feel much like a princess with a wreath of flowers on her head.
This project requires sturdy stemmed flowers. Some of the flowers that work well for this include: asters, black-eyed Susan, daisies, globe amaranth, red clover, zinnias, bachelor buttons, chrysanthemums, dandelions, marigolds, and tithonia.
Plant identification is another practical skill to be learned. Note which ones are edible. Do the plants have other uses? Learn to identify the parts of the flower. Show your child where the stamen and pistil (the name for the style, ovary and stigma) are located. What are the functions of these parts? The ideas are endless.
Plucking a flower firmly but gently exercises fine motor skills. By reaching for the swaying flower blooms, a child develops hand eye coordination.
Adorn your child with the finished project in .
To your child, you just spent time with them, showed them how to make floral decorations and had a great time. You will know that you just used one outing to cover several subjects
Page 224, THE VISION by Debi Pearl
"We lay there together, our heads close and our fingers intertwining. Her eyes sparkled with delight as she handed me a long-stemmed clover and ask me to teach her how to weave a crown for her head. . . . .
"
WHY AND HOW TO PRIME CANDLE WICKS
Settler days and frontier festivals often have candle making demonstrations that allow members of the public to try their hand at candle making: moving a string from a container of hot wax to a bucket of water and repeating the process. While an educational experience, the resulting candle is often bent, cracked and deformed. If you want to make a useful candle, the first step is to know how to produce a quality wick.
Most people think that the wick is the string that burns in the middle of the wax. The flame is not fueled by the wick. The wick is used to direct the flame towards the wax which, when heated, releases a combustible vapor. The resulting flame is burning that vapor.
A candle that burns reliably and brightly will need a well constructed wick. Unbleached, 100% cotton thread which has not been dyed is needed. Craft string or thin cotton yarn will be suitable.
SEASON YOUR WICK
Select cotton yarn or string and secure at least 3 lengths. Twice the finished length of your candle plus another foot will equal the length you will need to make a tapered, dipped candle. For dipped candles, a single wick can be used to make a candle at each end. When only one candle is needed, cut the twine equal to a length of six inches more than the finished candle.
Soak at least 8 hours in a mixture of one of these solutions:
First Solution
A tablespoon of salt, two tablespoons of boric acid (gives the flame a deep red color) and one cup of warm water.
Second Solution
Two tablespoons of salt with 4 tablespoons of Borax (burns yellow green) in One and a half cups of warm water
Third Solution
OTHER CHEMICALS
Select ONE of these chemicals to have a flame that burns with a different color:
* A teaspoon of potassium nitrate (saltpeter) or potassium sulfate brings a violet flame.
* Add one teaspoon of Epsom salt for a white flame.
* Add 1 tsp alum for a green flame.
Take the string from the liquid and hang for 5 days or until thoroughly dry.
Using a firm grip, braid the dried twine tightly.
KINDS OF BRAIDS
Candles that have no taper are known as block candles and should be constructed with a wick that is square braided. Molds are used to form these square or round candles. Unlike the flat braid, the square braid is rounded due to its circular construction.
No matter the method, a wick should be braided TIGHTLY. Making a wick with high quality will increase the life and light of your candle. Your candle will burn too fast if the wick is loose and poorly made.
PRIME YOUR WICK
Primed wicks help ensure that your candles will light easily. Wicks that are primed will more reliably burn. Your primed wick resists water intrusion. Cotton will quickly soak up water unless the wick is primed.
Wax is flammable if it reaches a boiling point. Wax fires should be doused with baking soda or a fire extinguisher. Never use water on a wax fire as it will cause the wax to migrate and take the fire with it.
Keep pets and children away from the area when making candles.
NEWBORN CARE
It can be difficult for a new parent to know when a baby is sick. Medical professionals field so many questions from mothers of newborns that they often treat concerns as nothing more than just new-mama nerves. Mothers can begin to doubt whether or not to trust their instincts.
The good news is that there are tangible and objective measures of a baby's health.
THE FIRST WEEK
During the first week of life a baby should nurse at least 8 times a day for more than 15 minutes at each feeding. You should be able to hear the baby swallowing milk. Baby's first sticky-black stool -- called meconium -- should pass. You should see it progress from greenish-black to a brown soft play-dough consistency. By the fourth or fifth day, this will appear yellow. During the first two days of life, a child should begin to have wet diapers. At first this will be 2 or 3 per day and increase in number by the week's end.
That first week will also give you clues if a baby isn't doing well. If a baby has no desire to nurse, has a weak suck, feeds less than 8 times per day and can't manage to feed for at least 15 minutes, these are reasons for concern. If a baby falls asleep before nursing for 15 minutes, makes a clicking sound when nursing, and has dimpled cheeks when sucking, these are also indications that there is some difficulty. When the baby's diapers don't show stools progressing as they should and you don't see wet diapers within 48 hours after birth, there is something out of the ordinary. More than 2 days of these symptoms indicate that you should seek medical help.
THE FIRST MONTH
The signs that your baby is healthy will be pretty much the same throughout the next month. For weeks 2 through 4, the baby will continue to nurse at least eight times a day and have 2 to 4 yellow bowel movements per day. Wet diapers will likely occur between six to eight times per day with clear, not yellow, urine. The suck will strengthen and you should see milk and continue to hear swallowing during feedings. The baby should increase in weight and alertness.
However, in this 2nd to 4th week, you should make a note of anything that is out of the ordinary such as a baby not eating at least 8 times per day, infrequent or small stools, too few wet diapers, or if the urine becomes bright yellow. Measure your baby's length and weight; these should increase. Should the baby have a weak or tired sucking reflex, if you can't hear swallowing, if the baby becomes sluggish, slow to respond or refuses to sleep between feedings, these are all indications that something is not right. Should you observe these behaviors for a couple of days in a row, seek out a health care provider.
WEEKS 5 TO 10
In the second month of life, a baby might reduce the number of feedings to seven times per day. This is because he is growing and can take in more milk. Again, you will notice a change in bowel movements to either several small stools per day or a large one as infrequently as every couple of days. This is normal for a breastfed baby as the body is able to assimilate much of mama's milk with little waste. Six to eight wet diapers will continue daily, but check to be sure there isn't a concentrated yellow color. Along with increasing alertness, you should continue to see a strong suck, milk dribbles, and hear an audible swallowing at feeding time.
During the 5 to 10 week mark a baby that doesn't nurse at least seven times a day and produce the right amount of wet diapers (without dark yellow color) should be watched carefully. Make a note if your child stops gaining weight or doesn't grow in length. Weak, tired sucking without an audible swallow indicates the baby is not getting proper nourishment. Should the baby become sluggish, slow to respond and be unable to sleep between feedings, seek medical assistance in rectifying this problem. Two consecutive days of these behaviors indicate something is wrong.
KEEPING TRACK
This way, should anything seem out of the ordinary, you can refer to your notes and present them to a doctor if needed. This is also a good way for a new mama to bond with her baby. You may be too tired to figure out why your baby is crying, but a quick check of your notes will tell you if it's been too long since he ate (hunger) or if he hasn't had a bowel movement that day (constipation). In turn, you begin to interpret your baby's cries and what they mean. This goes a LONG ways towards helping a new mama learn to trust her instincts when it comes to her baby.
The BEST advice for new mamas, however, comes from not-so-new mamas. Enjoy these first few weeks to their fullest. Don't worry about filling your day with anything more than getting to know this new little one. Too soon, they are no longer little.
U.S. -- HOME BASE FOR TERRORISTS!?
Portland, Oregon along with Minneapolis, Minnesota and Raleigh, North Carolina have something ominous in common. It is in these three places that citizens of the United States have been convicted of terrorist activity.
The southwestern portion of Portland, Oregon is home to Katibat Al-Mawt, a group of seven people also known as the Squad of Death. Even before the September 11th attacks of 2001, this group met to study jihad, learn how to use various weapons and martial arts techniques.
American forces began an offensive against terrorists in Afghanistan one month later. October of 2001 was also the same month that the male members of Katibat Al-Mawht flew to China and attempted to move into Pakistan across the border. Unable to breach Chinese security (which was heightened after 9-11), the men came back to Portland.
The woman in the group was once married to one of the six men. She was charged with six counts of money laundering to which she pled guilty on the 26th of September, 2003. She confessed that she assisted her husband in providing support to the Taliban by transferring money from the U.S.
The men were given 18 year prison terms in November, 2003. Each entered guilty pleas in October to the charge of seditious conspiracy.
The three remaining members were sentenced 8 and 10 years in prison, three months later. Testifying against the two younger men (which are siblings), the oldest man negotiated for a lighter term.
Another US citizen traveled to northern Somalia where he succeeded in killing himself during a suicide bombing in October, 2008. For this purpose, he had left his home in Minnesota. Possibly as many as 20 additional young men were enlisted to travel to Somalia with him. Federal officials are trying to find more than twelve of those individuals that seem to have vanished, leaving their Somali families wracked with worry.
The investigative probe has led to the arrest of an additional two men from Minnesota. US Citizens, these men traveled to Somalia and joined Islamic Militant forces, resulting in charges of terrorist related activities, to which they pled guilty. Three of the men are thought to have been killed of those that remain missing.
Eight additional individuals pled guilty to terrorist charges Monday, July 28, 2009. Only one of the 8 persons resided in Minnesota. Raleigh, NC was the home of the remaining seven. The entire N.C. group was charged with participating in military training for the purpose of attacks outside of US borders and plotting jihad. That group included a father and his two sons. One of the men is a legal US resident; all of the others are citizens of the United States.
How could these things tie in to a little country town in eastern Tennessee?
Within the first few pages of Debi Pearl's newest book, The Vision, you'll know there are some eerie similarities. It is there in Pleasantville, TN where Debi lives with her husband Michael Pearl. The Vision's publication comes at a time when current events give it an air of realism. What IS predictable is that this couple would view transpiring world events from the perspective of their abiding faith. Michael Pearl wrote an article in November 2008 for No Greater Joy Magazine entitled Hard Times Coming. Michael and Debi's ministry is No Greater Joy. No Greater Joy Magazine is offered free of charge by subscription at the ministry's web site: www.nogreaterjoy.org. Take a look at the site for a view of current events beyond the headlines.
LEARNING OF THE MAKER
Explorers thrill with the discovery of intricate processes which work in concert to produce order in the natural world. Both the spectacular sunset and the dramatic rainbow have exact atmospheric ingredients. Those that investigate these processes no longer engage in passive observation of these things. It is with a depth of understanding and a profound appreciation that these individuals encounter these things. God's fingerprints are seen by those who carefully observe.
It is unfortunate that students of faith have often separated from students of science. As though fearful that their faith will be weakened, many avoid such investigation. This exchanges faith for an ignorant, superstitious belief.
Refreshingly, there are those that enjoy learning of the intricacies of nature as it reflects God's creative design. With such a perspective, viewing the detail of cellular structure or the far reaches of space will bring forth praise. God's glory is truly reflected in nature.
THE VISION is Debi Pearl's latest book written from the perspective of someone that is glad to see God's workmanship reflected in nature. Readers of THE VISION are treated to a story with an appreciation of creation's design. Plants, animals and humans are portrayed by Debi Pearl as the result of a Master Designer whom she is delighted to know. The characters are refreshing in that they are not portrayed without flaws or difficulties. Life and relationships are presented as something that can be delicate and tenuous. Even so, it is this weakness which drives her characters to seek the help and hope that comes from one single Source.
Debi Pearl presents extraordinary events through the lens of the commonplace while offering glimpses of the miraculous in that which is ordinary. Debi presents her characters as very human and flawed, but demonstrates how they respond in faith to their difficulties, prodding the reader to follow their examples.
In THE VISION, Mrs. Pearl seems to take the reader on a pleasant stroll that is also educational. Readers may get the feeling they've been invited to walk a while with the author and discover some things. Current headlines and pertinent information are sprinkled throughout the saga, causing the reader to become curious about the topics. However, THE VISION is no droll lecture. THE VISION does more than just inform the reader; THE VISION exhorts the reader to become a student. Debi Pearl artfully whets readers' appetites for more in this first of a series. Don't wait to purchase a copy of THE VISION!
The music video below echoes this theme.
