Invisible Children

Is there such a thing as an invisible child? Well, those in the Pro-life movement believe so, those in the foster care system believe so, those in the social work system believe so, even those in the public school system believe so. These are kids who don't have a name, a face, a place in the public mind and heart. These are the kids that those of us who have children and cherish them with all our hearts cannot wrap our minds around the possibility that they exist...Who would treat a child this way? Who would not value their lives and fight with all that they have to keep them safe, secure and provided for?

Today, I want to ask you for both your patience and your attention as I try to introduce you to a group of Invisible Children that have been invisible now for over a decade. These children were recently featured on the Oprah show. I watched this program just two days ago, cried through it, and told Blake we just had to see it together. We sat up until midnight, watching, crying, shaking our heads, and marveling at the state of these children of Northern Uganda. Imagine your child being in danger of abduction every night of their lives. Imagine your children having to take a nightly walk to a "safe place", away from home, to sleep with hundreds, even thousands of other children. It is happening now. As I write this. In Africa. To our human family.

Three young men went to Uganda in 2003 and made this amazing movie. They came home wanting to do more than just film a movie, they wanted to remember the children and give a name and a face to their invisibility. They are heros and they are creative geniuses who not only talk about effecting change, but they do what they set out to do. Now 30 others have joined them, given up 23 months to travel in RVs, and screen this movie for others.

Please go to this website, Invisible Children, when you have at least 15 minutes to devote to it. I promise you it will touch your heart. Blake and a couple of our kids and I are going to sleep out at Greenlake Park tomorrow for the Global Night Commute. We hope to help raise awareness and bring the plight of these children and their families to the nation's attention.

And don't miss this page of video clips. They are unbelievable. My favorite is the Musical with a meaning. It made me cry, just the creativity they are throwing at this thing. I want to be apart of such creative passion.

Thanks for your time. Love to all. Jules

Our new rooms

We have been in the process remodeling our TV room and creating a workable Laundry/Dressing Room for our big family. Our good friends, the Cucjens were up in January, and Rick did a lot of the work while he was here. We then hired Ernie Peck to work on the rest. It is done! Well, I have one more little unit to build for the hanging clothes, but that was backordered and is now delivered, sitting in a box in my garage.

Here are some photos.


This is what the TV room looked like before we took the paneling off and removed the cupboards to build the wall that would be the laundry room.

We had just a berber throw rug down on the vinyl tiled concrete floor.

This is the living room now. We had it taped, mudded, texturized and painted, with Wanes coat installed and all new molding. We had a yummy carpet installed and the whole room feels so terrific and warm and cozy.

Here is the finished product. Ernie cut down the table and mounted it on the wall.

I labeled the plastic drawers in the IKEA PAX wardrobe system.

The blue thing is for socks. Each kid has their own bin.

I saw lockers like this in the O magazine and wanted them for my kids.

Engstrom's had their baby girl!

She is here! The baby we have all been waiting for! Abigail Jane Engstrom was born on Thursday evening. Check out their blog here for more details! Congratulations, God bless you all!

Jolene had her baby!

Jolene and Woody had their long awaited baby girl this morning! Bethany Joy weighed in at 6 lbs. 8 oz. and measured 18.5 inches. Congrats to the happy family...They finally have their girl!

Happy Birthday to my sweet Yommy!

I have a Mommy and I am lucky enough to also have a Yommy. (Your Other Mommy). And my sweet Yommy is marking another precious year on her calendar today! WhooHoo! Let me take a moment to let you know why this woman is so terrific and I can't possibly imagine my life without her. First of all, she gave birth to the man of my dreams 36 years ago. He wasn't exactly a "dream" from the very beginning, but all good things improve with age, right? By the time he walked into my life he had been through the ringer and put everyone else through it too, so all that was left for me was sunshine, love and 5 babies! Thank you, Yommy, for my Blake. I still get so tickled when I think about you and my mom walking around the planet, pregnant at the same time! So sweet.

Ok, another wonderful thing about my Yommy is that she has been my friend for over 13 years. Before I could even "claim" Blake as mine, she became my confidant and fellow schemer. We would laugh together, go shopping together and dream together about the possibility that I might become her daughter-in-love. She has such an amazing eye for beauty and I loved her lovely gift shop. She was such a hard worker and yet, she knew how to have a good time and shop, shop, shop. Did I mention, shop?

After Blake and I married, and she had lavished her generosity on us for our engagement and bridal showers and such, she and Papa helped us get camping gear and gave us money for the honeymoon that would not have been, if it weren't for her and other family members pitching in. She has always been so giving to us. I can remember water heaters being bought, maternity clothes appearing out of thin air, our van paid off when we bought our first home, school loans covered when the birth of our first child was announced, and so much more. Yommy, I remember it all and I am so grateful to you and Papa.

Then came the ultimate sacrifice...Inviting us to live in their home 2 weeks before Reuben showed up. We were there for 16 months and if you are familiar at all with the Odd Couple story, Felix and Oscar, well, that was Yommy and me. She was the clean and tidy Felix, while I was a plain slob...Okay, okay, so I am being a bit hard on myself. I was a newlywed with a new child and not a lot of "skills" in the home-ec department. Let's just say I signed up for that class in Jr. High, but they gave me woodshop instead.

Yommy was so good. I knew I was not keeping her basement up to the standard of the rest of the house, but she never said one thing to me! She was a little miffed when I managed to spill Reuben's liquid Vitamins all over their WHITE couch, but she held in her fury. And the day I moved out...We suddenly became Friends with a capital F again! Amazing how that happens! Thanks, Yommy, for being so gracious and willing to live with a messy daughter-in-law. I am still trying to get this crazy mess under control, but you and I know that I have other giftings....Lets just leave it at that, okay?

My Yommy is an adventure seeker. She goes on cruises...Not just to sit on the boat and veg and pig out, but to go DIVING! Oh my, she is so brave! She even visited Papua New Guinea last winter! She had her photo taken with men in war paint and loin cloths!

My Yommy likes a good challenge, will hike or bike or swim or work out at the Y. She will try a new palates class or ski Whistler. She even has a Kayak in my garage awaiting her mastery! Geesh. And they call this girl a Grandma! My Yommy is so young at heart and she is determined to stay that way. I think this is a terrific example for me and all women. The minute you start acting old, you will be old. The minute you allow your world to shrink down to a two bedroom home and a TV, that minute you stop living and you start merely existing. I like your way better, Yommy. Go for it and take lots of photos along the way.

Speaking of photos, my Yommy is a digital photo taking queen! She travels all over and takes amazing shots of doorways and windows and architecture. She captures color and textures and she blows these beautiful images up and frames them and gives them away! She not only enjoys her photography, but she takes pride in it and she is terrific!

And the best reason I love my Yommy, besides her honesty, her gentleness, her sincerity and her love for life, is her undying love for my babies. She will come over at literally a moments notice, and hang with the kidos, do homeschooling with them, fix them lunch, and fill their love tanks up with lots and lots of love. She and Papa even ditched their long time retirement ideas of living on the water in Skagit County, to move to Marysville and be close to the Grans! What people! She and Papa spend hours with the kids. They will come by and pick up a few and take some to the Y or to the movies or biking or hiking. They will come over and SIT ON THE FLOOR and play games or read books or color! If you want to see Yommy light up, you just give her an ABC workbook and a Kindergarten aged grandchild and away she goes! She is a born teacher.

Well all this to say, simply, that I love you Yommy. I want the world to know how much I love you. I love it when you are happy. I love it when you are crying because someone you love is hurting or gone. I love to see the range of emotions that make you, you. I even love to see you when you are mad at some contractor or sales guy...Boy can you put them in their place...I wish I could stand up for myself like you do. I just love all that you are. Your funny quirks, your perfectly clean and spotless house (how does she do it?), and your sticky notes. I even love your 3x5 card boxes!

I hope you all know a little more about my Yommy and I hope you all will join me in wishing her a Blessed and Happy Birthday! Jodie Anne Paine...We even share the same initials and the same middle and last names! I am honored to be in your life and I wish you many, many, many more years of true living!



Love, Jules

Please Pray

Please pray for Kristina's mom, Katie. She is back in the hospital with severe stomach pains. Last time, she spent several days in a Whidbey Island hospital. That was hard on Kristina and the care there was less than great. This time, she was able to talk her mom into coming over to Everett. They are at Providence Hospital right now, waiting for a doctor's evaluation. She wanted me to post this on the blog to rally some prayer support. I will keep you all updated when I hear more. Love to all.

Jules

I am embarking on my 3rd phase of Prism!

Hello blog readers! I am sure most of you know that I have been on a 13 week journey (well, actually, I have been pecking away at it for a couple of years now) to lose weight. I have never been at a very healthy weight, well, maybe when I was a freshman and a sophomore in high school!

Tonight I begin my 3rd phase of Prism Weight Loss Program. I have lost a total of 40.6 lbs., 23.6 of those on Prism these past 91 days. I am keeping a weight loss blog with a few friends and the blog is open to anyone who would like to join. We have members on Weight Watchers and other programs, too. Let me know if you want to participate!

Here are some photos of me and how I have progressed on my journey. The photo of me standing near the fire extinguisher was me at my highest weight on 9-23-03, I was 232 lbs.

The one of me in the denim shirt is me at the start of Prism on 1-6-06, I was 215 lbs.

The one of me in the pink shirt is me at the start of phase 2 on 2-21-06, I was 199 lbs.

The one of me in the green shirt is me today, the start of phase 3, I am 191.4 lbs!

Well, that is why this blog has not been updated as much as I used to. Sorry about that. I know that not everyone is interested in my weight loss journey, but hey, I only have so many hours in a day. I hope to post here more often. So don't give up on me!

Jules