My Mom is Pretty Special

My Mom has for several years written a monthly paper for her church.  It's not a newsletter, but rather an uplifting paper geared toward the Seniors - those who are getting or have the gray hair and wisdom.  =)

She takes the paper to the church secretary to make copies, but there are also quite a few that get the Senior Paper by email, and Mom always includes a cover letter.

I wanted to share the cover letter from this month's issue:

January 20, 2011

Hi everyone,

Did you get much snow where you live the last few weeks? We did here and I enjoyed it a lot -- since I didn't have to get out in it. But it was also good to see the sun shine again. I do appreciate all those brave people who go out in extreme weather to serve us, helping us to stay safe and warm and making life better for us.

  

I enjoy watching the seasons come and go, knowing that only a wonderful Creator could make such beautiful things for us to enjoy, like the blazing colorful leaves in the autumn and the snow in the winter.

Our lives have seasons, too. Our springtime of youth, the summer of young adulthood, the autumn of middle age, and the winter of old age. Some of us are now in our winter season, but spring will come again one day, bringing newness of life for those who know the Creator of Life and the Author of Resurrection.

I hope you are enjoying the seasons of your own life, and I hope you enjoy this month’s senior paper as well.

 Health Update:

First of all, though I am having to rest more along and take more pain medicine now, I'm actually still doing pretty good most of the time and I am very thankful for that.  

Second, in my last update, I told you that my cancer has started growing again. I didn’t write everything in that update but that was the gist of it. The only other thing was that the doctor has given me a timeline now, a rough guess as to how long I have left. I had just found that out and hadn’t discussed it yet with my family so I didn’t tell you then. Since family and close friends now know, I will go ahead and write it here.

The doctor said that her “best guesstimate” for me is from six months to a year. She said she felt it would lean more toward a year than six months, given my circumstances and present health in other areas. However, only God knows that for sure. And only He can call me Home, and that will only be when He is ready to do so. It is in His hands and that is where it rightly should be. 

On a more practical "here and now" aspect, I was enrolled with Hospice in December. A nurse comes out every week to check me and assess my needs at that time. Others come by every several days from Hospice, and service people come in to bring supplies. I am getting so much attention now that some days I'm worn plumb out from all the attention!

Seriously, I am thankful for this organization. I never knew before how many good benefits are available to Hospice patients, many of them free, after Medicare or other insurance pays their part. And no one is turned away, regardless of ability to pay, whether you have insurance or not. Much of the equipment and many supplies are free to the patient and are delivered right to the home. 

[omitted paragraph about different Hospice services]

Living in America with Hospice available and a Hospice home just a mile or so away from my home is a big comfort and I’m very thankful I live in the age I do. 

And having the Lord by my side every second is the most wonderful comfort imaginable. I don’t even have to call him as I would for Hospice.  “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” Isaiah 65:24 There are times when one doesn’t even know WHAT to pray for.
Surprise! God “has an app for that, too.” It’s Romans 8:26-27: “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

And here’s a secret for those that glibly quote Romans 8:28 and say that “all things work together for good.”  Well…it doesn’t exactly say that, now does it? Most of you dear friends know what I am getting at here, but for those who don’t, let’s make it a mystery game and you go read it in context. And don’t forget to read “the rest of the story” in the verses that follow. All of Romans 8:28-39, if you please.

In reality, you are in the dying process just as much as I am. For that matter, you may go long before I do, so let's keep in mind that God gives us all every breath we take. Let's make every day count as much as in our power to do so. Today could be the last day we have to talk to a loved one. Or to even pray for one we love that doesn't know Christ. Or to just tell the Lord we love him and whatever is his will for us is our will, too. Believe me, being in the center of his will is the most safe, wonderful, peaceful, and fulfilling place there is!

Time is precious. Use it wisely. When you think of it, every day we live for ourselves more than for our Saviour is, in a way, wasted. Consider the poem below. It was in my files and I don’t even remember where I got it. There was no copyright with it, so I assume it is meant to be enjoyed by all.

Until next time,

My love and prayers to all,

Louise 

I LOOKED

I Looked upon a farm one day,

That once I use to own;

The barn had fallen to the ground,

The fields were overgrown.

The house in which my children grew,

Where we had lived for years -

I turned to see it broken down,

And brushed aside the tears.

I looked upon my soul one day,

To find it too had grown

With thorns and nettles everywhere,

The seeds neglect had sown.

The years had passed while I had cared

For things of lesser worth:

The things of Heaven I let go

While minding things of earth.

To Christ I turned with bitter tears,

And cried, "O Lord, forgive!

I haven't much time left for Thee,

Not many years to live."

The wasted years forever gone,

The days I can't recall;

If I could live those days again,

I'd make Him Lord of all.

          ~ Theodore W. Brennan

I think my Mom and Dad♥ are pretty special!!! 

Biology, Module 8, Mendelian Genetics

Quizlet Vocabulary Game, M8 
Videos, etc. for M8

We had a blast today!  So fun. 
The kids did a Build-a-Spud Workshop.  =D

 Luther Fred, Lucy Faye, Spud, and David  (I would've said Spike.)
We're not sure how Luther Fred got that scar...  he doesn't like to talk about it.

Aaaaggghhhhh!!! Run from the MASHER!!!

We used these spud genes (from Applie) to see what alleles the parents of the Baby Spudoodle would have.  (There are enough for six students.)  They drew alleles from different cups to see the traits of each parent.

I printed two sets of alleles - one set for the mother on white paper, and one set for the father on some gray paper I had on hand.  I placed the alleles on corresponding labeled cups.  For instance, all the N's and n's (both gray and white) went in the "Nose" cup, and I had the kids draw two of each color from each cup.  They wrote these genotypes on the tops and sides of the Punnett squares for each (nose, mouth, etc.) of the mother's and father's genotypes, then completed the squares.

The completed squares showed which genotypes the Baby Spudoodles were likely to have, but since we don't know exactly which trait any given spudoodle will get from its parents, the kids rolled dice to get numbers 1-4 (5's and 6's had to be rolled again).  Counting from left to right, they circled the genotype their Baby Spudoodle got for that particular trait.  They did this for each square.  (nose, eyes, hair, tail, etc.)


On their worksheet, they listed the genotypes (such as Nn, or EE) and the phenotypes (such as 2 nostrils or 1 nostril, or large eyes or small eyes).  Hee hee, the genotype Bb was one large eye and one small eye!

They did their Build-a-Spud Workshop using the characteristics according to the chart, and weren't allowed any changes.

Click for my tweaked directions, and thanks for Mr. McClung for the idea and original directions.  Scroll down and see the slideshow of his student's spudoodles.  =)
See Michelle's, and Julie's student's spudoodles.  I love the peanut marshmallow ears! 
We had cap erasers, but all my students ended up with cotton ball ears!  Cotton balls apparently are dominant.  ;)  I had also meant to buy candy orange slices... would've been tastier.  (Kids tend to eat any extra goodies!)


The kids did the other experiments at home, most of which were something on paper.  In Experiment 8.1, Making an Earlobe Pedigree, we discovered that my immediate family all have attached earlobes, while my husband's immediate family all have unattached earlobes.  Our kids all have unattached earlobes as well.  One other student's family was the exact same as ours.  We determined that unattached must be dominant. 
We didn't get to do Experiment 8.4, about the radish leaves.  We don't meet every week, and I had the radish seeds at my house.  But due to snow and other unforeseen factors, we were unable to meet and get the seeds to them in time, so we skipped it.

It was a very interesting module, seeing all the different possibilities for just one genotype.
Just think of all the possibilities -- not only hair and eye color, but shade of skin, freckles, shape of mouth, nose, chin, face, ears, teeth, smile, as well as placement, width of face, eyebrows, eyelashes -- and that's just in one small area!
Think of the almost infinite number of combinations of alleles for the wonderful variety of mankind, made in God's image.
He sure knows what He's doing!  =D

"North is 90 miles southeast of Due West" (Bill Cosby with Marcia Brody)

Oh my!  This cracks me up! 

This is my 237th post...

Just so ya know.  hee hee!  =D

Sweet 16!

I can hardly believe it...

Mary and Joseph - Let the Whole World Know!

Even without facebook, the story of Jesus was known by the Shepherds.  The Wise Men knew.  Even Ceasar Augustus knew.  The story of Jesus is known more than any status update ever on facebook, and much more reliable.  =)  People are continuing to share His story over 2,000 years later. 
If you are familiar with fb terminology, this video is pretty neat.  Mary even changes her profile pic.  I love this.  =)

Let It Snow!

*★Let it★* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★Snow!★ 。* 。* ° 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛*__Π____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ * /______ /~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田｜門｜ ˚ *

Total Lunar Eclipse and Winter Solstice Tonight!

There is to be a total lunar eclipse tonight, nearly at the same time as the Winter Solstice.  It has been 372 years since these occurred on the same day.  The Winter Solstice is the moment at which the North Pole is tilted the farthest away from the sun.  This is the shortest day of the year and the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
These two events are unrelated, but they do not usually happen on the same day.
You can see the eclipse if you don't mind staying up awhile!
I'm telling my kids that if they want to stay up, then they have to look up some information first and tell me a few things they've learned, hee hee!
The moon starts into the earth's shadow at 1:33am EST and will be totally eclipsed from 2:41 to 3:53 EST.   This is when the moon will be red. 
You lucky people in the Pacific Time Zone!  Your clocks will be three hours earlier than mine!
I hope I can stay up!  Maybe I need a nap.  Zzzzz....
Thanks to Apologia posting this on Facebook.

Total Lunar Eclipse on Aug. 28, 2007, seen from Kapiolani Park in Honolulu, Hawaii. Shot thru a telescope, about every 5 minutes.


Why does the moon turn red?  Simply put, it's for the same reason that sunsets are red.
White light is made of red, green, and blue. Our atmosphere filters out the shorter-wavelength light (blues, greens), so right on the edge of the earth's silhouette, the light from the sun that is hitting the moon is red.
If you were on the moon during a lunar eclipse, you would see a red ring around the silhouette of the earth.
The moon has no light of it's own and reflects whatever kind of light from the sun hits it.
--Last year in Physical Science, we did a very simple experiment (sheet of paper, red marker) that shows how the light spectrum works this way.  (Scroll down -- it would be the last one, of course!)



►At EarthSky.org, watch a video and/or read why "there won’t be a total lunar eclipse this far north on the sky’s dome until December 21, 2485."
Scroll down for specific times for different time zones. 
►More information on Lunar Eclipses, including a list of future eclipses, and from what region of the earth they can be seen.  Scroll down.
♦Learn more about light and why you see a rainbow the way you do. 

UPDATE: Here is the eclipse from yesterday.

Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse from William Castleman on Vimeo.

JohnDavid made Deer Stew today! =)

He made deer stew all by himself, from start to finish.  I'm proud of him!
He's done it before, but usually the girls would join in and help.  Today, he did it all on his own.
and.... he let me take his picture!!!  And post it!!!  =D

And Bethany made chocolate chip cookies.

Ahhh, the deer stew smells soooo good! 

The CUTEST little snowmen!

Aren't these the CUTEST things???  Find out how to make this easy no-sew craft at BabyCenter.com.

You could even use a 20 oz. soda bottle; just rubber band the white tube sock to the top instead of tucking in.  Great to use as a centerpiece on a piece of batting.  =)

Frozen Pipes? Nooooo!

It's supposed to be 11º tonight! 
What do you do when the temperature is going to be reaaally cold? There are many things people do to keep pipes from freezing. Of course, good insulation is always great. You know, the foam pipe type stuff you slip over the pipes. But do you know any other tips, little tricks, that you do other than leaving the water dripping (in the other room where you can't hear it, ha).

I like to start a load of laundry right when I go to bed. That way, water will definitely be running through the pipes for a while.  Then I set my dishwasher to come on a few hours later.   That is at least another hour of water running. I know, the water dripping might be all I need, but these chores need to be done anyway.  And I normally do the dishwasher in the evening, and empty it the next morning to be filled throughout the day. So I just wait and set it when I go to bed.

We also have vents that let air flow under the house.  We close those when it's going to be really cold. 
If this won't work for you, what kinds of tips do you have? Leave a comment for me and other readers. Thanks!

Biology, Module 7, Cellular Reproduction and DNA

Quizlet Vocabulary Game, M7 
Videos, etc. for M7  

Whew!  Talk about something over my head!  Well, I think I got it, thanks to Apologia's teachers being willing to email back and forth with answers to my questions.  =)  Thank. you. Andrea!  (I don't know who she is, but she has to be the most patient person ever!)

Last week we did experiment 7.1, DNA Extraction.
What???  Extracting DNA!?!  Yep.
But of course it was in clumps, or we'd never have been able to see anything.
In fact, it takes a powerful microscope to even be able to see the chromosomes, which are long strands of DNA in the nucleus that are coiled up and compacted.  See image. (source)

Let's see... how big is a chromosome?

Well, two thousand average cells can fit in a line across your fingernail.
Breaking that down, each cell of humans has 46 chromosomes.
One chromosome is made of a single strand of DNA, that when stretched out, is about 6 feet long!  And there are 46 of those in each cell!!!  (um... 46 x 6 x 2,000 = mind boggled)

Ummm... evolution did not do this.  God is our Creator, and he did not need to use evolution.  =)

Experiment 7.1, DNA Extraction
--We put dried split peas in very cold salt water, and ran it thru my food processor.  This was to expose the cells.  Salty water will help the DNA solidify and appear in the alcohol later.  We used cold water to help keep the DNA intact during the extraction process.  (More about that in a minute.)
After running the food processor for several minutes, the peas still did not really grind up or anything, but the water did turn light green (but was not see-through).  I wasn't sure if it should have been ground up more, but the experiment worked!
--Then we poured the pea liquid through a small strainer and added 2 Tbs. of clear, liquid hand soap, and stirred very slowly.  (Supposed to work better than dish soap.) 
But why add soap?  Well, what does soap do?  It breaks down fats and grease.  The plasma membrane of a cell  and the nuclear membrane are made up of phospholipids.  Lipids are fats.  The soap allows the cell and nucleus to open to expose the DNA.  The cell's contents will now be mixed together.

We allowed it to sit awhile -- longer than the book recommended because we were going over some other stuff.  Maybe 30 minutes!
--Then we added a little meat tenderizer, again stirring slowly.  The DNA strands are wound around proteins, and certain enzymes in meat tenderizer help break these down.   When we used cold water, it was to keep the DNA intact from the enzymes that are already present in the cytoplasm of the cell.  The cold slows down the enzymatic reactions.  (The purpose of enzymes being present in the cytoplasm is to destroy the DNA of viruses that may enter the cell.) 
But at this step, we were now ready to break down the DNA proteins with enzymes, so we added the meat tenderizer.
--Then we finally added refrigerator-cold, rubbing alcohol.  I found some 91% isopropyl alcohol.  Yay!  I'd read that a higher percentage would do better, and also that it would do better if the alcohol was cold.
We tilted the glass, and slowly poured the alcohol down the side (yes, the inside, lol), so that it would not mix with the green pea mixture.
We had instant results!  Clumps of DNA!  =)  These clumps also contain RNA.

After waiting maybe 20 or 30 minutes more, we checked the glass again and this is what we had.
See the thin strings near the bottom?  Those are not single strands of DNA.  They are tangled strands of DNA.

I found a lot of this information on this page of FAQ's, and of course some was in the biology textbook.  Those FAQ's had said for better results to allow more time for each step, which we unintentionally did!  =)
Here are instructions (PDF version) if any other blog readers need them, and an instructional video.  Neither are exactly like the textbook, but close.
I've found that if I look up the experiments we are going to do, I can find a tip here and there that might give me more insight as to the why of some things, and also maybe help prevent common mistakes.  (Yes, I am prone to those!)

We also learned about DNA and RNA (of which there is more than one kind).  Two kinds are messenger RNA (mRNA) and transfer RNA (tRNA).  We learned about transcription and translation, the processes by which DNA makes proteins.
We learned about mitosis (asexual reproduction of cells) and meiosis (sexual reproduction), and about diploid and haploid cells.
We learned a little about how a virus uses human (or animal) cells to reproduce the virus, since a virus cannot reproduce itself.

This was a very interesting and complex module.  I've said this before, but I am always amazed at God's awesome creation, and how intricate it all is!  =)

Cousins singing at my brother-in-law's church ♪♫

Love this!

The girls sang too, and here they are singing after church.

Family Game Night!

Well, it would have been Family.  But the men declined.  hee hee!

My old Clue game...
It was Mrs. Peacock, with the rope, in the conservatory.  (I was not Mrs. Peacock.)

See my green "men" still in Start... we are now drawing from the second deck...  I have yet to move.  And Bethany already has a man in the home stretch.  (Yes, I had little green men!)
And then I won!  haHA!

Skip-Bo!  I think I got to play one card from my stock pile in this round.  It was an 8.  =)

Phase 10 ended up being Phase 3.  It was getting late...

Now I want to play Mancala.  We only have the 2-player game, but I just saw at this site there is a 4-player game!  Wonder if 3 could play?  I'll have to drag JohnDavid into playing.  =)

Cold Winter Predicted!

 

 The Farmer's Almanac is predicting a very cold winter. 
It must be true because the squirrels are gathering NUTS.  Three of my friends have already disappeared!
Are you O.K.?!

My Mom emailed me this.  =D

My kids in the snow!

My girls!

My twins!

My sweet kids!

It snowed today!  Not a whole lot so far, but in NC, we do have winters with no snow.
So snow is always exciting for us.  =)