For those of us who try to do too much

Begin with the possible.
Begin with one step.
There is always a limit;
and you cannot do more than you can.
If you try to do too much,
you will do nothing.
~Ouspensky & Gurdjieff
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We are teething

My little Triny Bear is teething. Pretty soon there will be teeth in this beautiful smile.
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Kentucky

I just got back froma trip to Kentcuky With my YA YA's Luna and Dawn! Dawn husband Ed wa there and my husband GOD was there as well. We brought all of our kids and had a family style vacation, it was amazing I would deffinitely do it aagin if they would have us. I also get a beautiful broom, my camera is broken so as soon as my Dawn sends me some pics I will post them.
Thanks again for having us Dawn and Ed we love you guys!!!!!!
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BULLIES

have to touch base on a very troublesome topic, Bullying.
I wrote this in my journal at 2 am the other night, I couldn't sleep.
My son Ashton has been getting bullied badly since we moved to East China schools Gearing Elementary. I can tell you the zero tolerance policy has been proven thus far to be bullshit. My son is 12 years old, but emotionally he is delayed. If it wasn't for the mild impairment with that you would never even know he had developmental problems just meeting him. He asked me the other day if I was ever teased, and if I ever got so mad and depressed I wanted to die. As a mommy my heart broke into a thousand pieces, what do you do in a situation like that. I could only re-assure him that we would get to the bottom of things and that these feelings will pass. I told him if he kept feeling this way we would get him some help. I have since locked up all meds and I do not leave him alone anymore. He went through something similar when he was in kindergarten and I paid a first grader to kick the other kidnergardeners ass. I am not beyond hiring an older kid to do it again. Obviously talking to the other childs parents was useless, the behavior comes from somewhere big shock, and it isnt helpful when I am 10 seconds away from jumping across a table to punch someones teeth in.
All I know is this as I told my son.
He was put on this earth for so much more than being bullied. He was born 8 weeks early and almost dies, but he pulled through. Then at 14 days old he caught RSV and his lungs filled with fluid. He died 5 times on his way to the hospital, and multiple times once we arrived. Per Doctors orders I had to physically injure him to keep him awake and crying so they could try to stabalize him. When they couldn't do so he was put on life support and transferred to a special hospital. The nurses there told me I was being selfish and I should take him off the machines. They said even if he lived he would be a vegetable, but they said I was too young and ignorant to understand...some family members said this was my punishment for not beleiving in god. I knew in my heart of hearts though that he was strong. So for 21 days when I could I sat by his little lifeless body,as they sucked out liters of phlegm and fluid from his little lungs. I sang to him and read books...we even prayed to our gods. My heart wrenched whenever he coughed or cried, because no sound came out due to the tubes into his lungs. Then one day he started smiling and I could feel a presence with us, well more than one. And that was the first day I met my Spirit Guides and they have been with us since. That was the day the tubes came out and he cried for the first time in about a month.... It was the most beautiful sound I've ever heard.

So when I think of all that I know one day 15 years from now when my son is making a difference in this world, those little bastards who are teasing him now will be asking him if he wants fries with his big mac!

I also know this one day the victim becomes the bully and as we learn from that there becomes hell to pay. So if you see bullying behavior in your kids or other kids try to stop it. I don't care if they are babies or teens, it ISN'T cute or something to be proud of. I also know for certain in one way or another it will backfire on them. We just need to stop the cycle people. Unfortunately easier said than done.

Peace out,
Raven

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The Pentacle song

I just wanted to share this with everyone, it brought tears to my eyes.

Performed at Sacred Harvest Festival 2006, a Pagan gathering of the Minnesota Harmony Tribe

The inspiration for the song was the death of a soldier and his wife’s request that a pentacle be used on her husband’s memorial plaque.

On September 25, 2005, with honor, Sgt. Patrick D. Stewart, 113th Aviation, D company, Mustangs, of the Nevada National Guard, gave his life for his country. He was killed in action in Operation Enduring Freedom. Mustang 22, the Chinook helicopter he was in was shot down in Afghanistan by Al Quada terrorists.

April 23, 2009 marks the 2nd anniversary of the Veteran’s Administration addition of the pentacle to “its list of emblems of belief that can be included on the grave markers it issues to honor deceased US military veterans” (source)




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Moon cookies/ crescent cookies

Cultures and religions across the world have developed a wealth of stories about the moon. To the Romans, the moon represented Diana the huntress. To the Nahua, the moon represented the beautiful Tecuciztecatl, God of the Conch Shell. To Wiccans, the phases of the moon represent the Goddess as she moves from Maiden to Mother to Crone. A fun way to teach kids about the moon and the mythos surrounding the moon is to make moon cookies.


Make sugar cookies (recipe below).


Decorate the cookies with powdered sugar icing in a small-tipped pastry tube, or with a tube of pre-packaged icing. Decorate the cookies with designs that represent the different stories surrounding the moon. For example, you could draw a bow and arrow representing Diana; an ankh representing Isis, Queen of the Heavens; or the face of a young girl representing the Maiden form of the Wiccan Goddess.


Discuss with your kids the stories and symbolism behind different conceptions of the moon. Be certain to explain the relevance of the moon within your own path. Take this as an opportunity to learn some new things for you. Some resources for stories about the moon include the following:


American Indian Myths and Legends selected and edited by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz
Circle Round: Raising Children in Goddess Traditions by Starhawk, Diane Baker, and Anne Hill
The Goddess Path: Myths, Invocations and Rituals by Patricia Monaghan
Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham
Sugar Cookies

1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup shortening
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla


Beat butter and shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.
Add the egg, sugar, milk, baking powder, vanilla, salt, and about half the flour. Beat until thoroughly combined. Beat in remaining flour.
Divide dough in half. Cover and chill for 3 hours.
On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough at a time 1/8 inch thick. Cut with a round cookie or biscuit cutter. If you would like to make crescent or Gibbous moon shapes, you should move your cookie cutter about 1 inch from the edge of a cut cookie and cut again. This will make one crescent and one Gibbous moon.
Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a 375 degree oven for 7 to 8 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are very lightly browned.
Fully cool cookies on a rack before decorating.
Powdered Sugar Frosting

1 cup sifted powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla
milk or orange juice


Mix powdered sugar, vanilla and 1 tablespoon milk or juice. Add milk or juice 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. Spoon into pastry tube.

( Or you could just buy the already made sugar cookie dough, and shape into moon shapes!)

I also have this very easy recipe...

Almond Crescents (Cookie Mix)

Servings: 60
Betty Crocker® Cookie Mixes

Ingredients:
1 (1 pound 1.5 ounce) pouch
Betty Crocker® sugar cookie
mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine,
melted
1 egg 1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup ground blanched
almonds
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup powdered sugar
Blue edible glitter, if desired

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, butter, egg, cornstarch, ground almonds and almond extract until soft dough forms.
2. For each cookie; shape rounded teaspoon dough into 2 1/2-inch strip. Taper ends and form crescent shape on ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Roll in powdered sugar. Sprinkle with edible glitter.

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When you thought I wasn't looking

I am not sure who wrote this, but I thought it was beautiful and that any parent can relate.


How Love Raises Children
*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hang my drawing on the refrigerator, and I believed I had talent.

*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me, and it wasn't even my birthday, and I knew that little things are special things.


*When you thought I wasn't looking, I felt you kiss me goodnight and pull the covers over my toes to be sure that I was warm, and I felt loved.


*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw tears come fom your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it's all right to cry.


*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you become very angry, and stay calm and "use your words," and I learned to do that too.


*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give my clothes that didn't fit anymore to those less fortunate, and I learned to reach out to others to help.


*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you read, just for enjoyment, and I learned to love books and learning.


*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you look at the full moon in the night sky and utter a prayer to the Goddess and I learned that She is always listening.


*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hug a tree, and I learned to see beauty and comfort in Nature.


*When you thought I wasn't looking, I heard you sing as you washed the dishes, and I learned that work can bring great satisfaction.


*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you fail, and make mistakes, and I saw you keep doing your best, and I learned perseverence.


*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw people you loved criticizing you for what you believed, but sill you continued to love them, and I learned tolerance.


*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you close your eyes when I blew out the candles on my birthday cake and I knew that you were wishing too, and I learned that it's okay for grown ups to believe in magicke.


*When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you cared and I wanted to be everything that I could be.


*When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked...and I wanted to thank you for being you and for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking.

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