Pull Card Tutorial Video

This fun card is easy to make! I made this a while back for a website... and I wanted to share it with you, my blog readers. I can share all my videos because I retain the rights to my video productions. Enjoy!

Pull Card from Pattie Curran on Vimeo.

Tarantulas....and large, growing Turtles

Sean put together a model of a Tarantula today and started soaking this turtle that will grow in water. It supposedly can grow up to 600% larger and then shrink again when taken out of water. We shall see!

Making a Lemon Clock

We received a lemon clock kit from a friend. Today, Joseph made it work! It was really cool!

The Culture of Death is Upon Us

See article below. It is so sad. Sad that so many people rejoice that embryonic stem cells are used. I am on a list for children with spinal cord injuries/tethered cord who are cathing and having other issues because of the spinal cord problems they are faced with. Since yesterday’s news, they have all been rejoicing. I am trying to compose something to let them know not everyone rejoices at the use of human life (destroyed!) to help. The culture of Death is truly upon us.

Our tax dollars now pay to support abortion around the world. Thanks to Obama’s Presidential Executive Order. The culture of death is being spread to all corners of the world. How truly sickening and sad. A nation whose Founding Fathers knew all began with LIFE. Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Without the right to Life, without protecting LIFE, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are not an option.

I am saddened that our great nation is supporting the culture of death. We should be a nation supporting the culture of LIFE. We should be a nation helping all nations support LIFE.

Having two children who can benefit from STEM CELL transplants using BONE MARROW stem cells or Peripheral Blood Stems Cells, I am interested in stem cell research. Embryonic stem cells that have been used for research have yielded NOTHING compared to adult stem cells and umbilical cord stem cells . Here at our own Wake Forest, Dr. Atala (who is known for having built bladders out of patient’s own bladder cells) found a rich supply of stem cells in amniotic fluid. Cells that do not require the destruction of human life!

Even if embryonic stem cells could lead to a cure for Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome or Joseph’s spinal cord problems, I would not choose to try them or support their use in research. It would pain me more to know that I would not be with my son for all eternity more than losing him here on earth. We all need to fight to end the culture of death. There is HELL to pay—and I hope to know Him, love Him and Serve Him in this life so that I can be happy with Him for all eternity. The more you (I) know, the more we are held accountable by our Creator.

Saving one life by murdering another still equals murder and is a grave sin. It is an abomination to God.

Now that Obama's in, stem cell trials begin
In a move the Food and Drug Administration denies has anything to do with the new presidency, the federal agency granted permission this week to begin the country's first embryonic stem cell treatments on human subjects.
The FDA approved an application from Geron Corporation, based in Menlo Park, Calif., to inject stem cells derived from human embryos into 10 people paralyzed from the chest down by spinal cord injuries.
Read the latest now on WND.com.

Sweet Potato Muffins

We had extra sweet potatoes and no one in the house (other than myself!) eats them. Until today. My boys ate all of the muffins in the first batch before I told them the secret ingredient. I used my favorite muffin recipe that I had already altered ...so this is an altered, altered recipe.

Sweet Potato Muffins

2 cups white wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
1 cup sugar/brown sugar mixed (I put them both in the measuring cup)
3 large eggs (or 4 small)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes
splash of milk ( I added the milk last -- mix milk in until it is "muffin consistency" -I did not measure)

Bake at 400 degrees until done, about 15-18 minutes. I didn't time them, either. :-)

Hysterical Science

I was making dinner last night and Joseph (age 11) walks by (I was also on the phone!) with a water bottle that has a catheter sticking out of it. It looked like he was using it as a straw to drink from it. He told me that he was figuring out how it worked (aka homeschool science class on his own). He said he drank the water out of the bottle (not through the catheter—and it was a clean one that I gave him several days earlier because he wanted it to look at, etc) and he told me that he didn’t waste the drinking water. He filled it up so that he could watch how the catheter works and drains the bladder. Here are pictures. I had to share. He had it like it was in picture 2 as he walked by…….. with the catheter in one hand stretched out like one might drink from a straw……

Inspiration for Today

Joseph's article appeared along with mine in the recent issue of the Shwachman-Diamond America eNewsletter
http://shwachmandiamondamerica.org/cgi/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/sdajanfeb09-newsletter.pdf
I post this not for our articles…but there are several very good articles in this newsletter—one is Brooke’s story. She developed sepsis as an infant and almost died. She survived and had to have her toes amputated and the sepsis caused damage…her one leg turned, etc. She had a bone marrow transplant several years ago and this past summer had her leg amputated. She is doing amazingly well and I think you will find her Shwachman-Diamond story inspiring.

I have been blessed to meet so many amazing people on the journey we call SDS Highway 101. God has blessed us with an amazing Shwachman-Diamond family and I wanted to share them with you this morning! Perhaps you are dealing with a life-threatening illness or know someone who is….these children are an inspiration to us all. If you would like to read past issues, we have the back issues of the newsletters posted on our website (link to follow). We have many children who have written articles—the SDS children themselves and their siblings. http://shwachmandiamondamerica.org/newsletter.html

Joseph's Wisdom

We have had quite a trying few weeks. But we are coming out on the other side of things and life is seeming to be a bit more normal.

The other day as we were walking into the grocery store, Joseph said, "Cathing isn't going to be so bad." Chris said, "Well that is a positive attitude to have." Joseph replied, "Well, I learned to look on the bright side from mom."

I wrote an article for the Shwachman-Diamond America eNewsletter and asked Joseph’s permission to put it in. He said okay and wrote something to go with it. Here is what he wrote. I thought it was special and wanted to share it with you.

Joseph’s Point of view: Looking on the Brighter Side
By Joseph Curran

My mom asked me if it was okay to print the article she wrote about counting blessings and looking on the bright side and I said okay. I told her that I would write something about looking on the bright side of things, too.

I am eleven and I have Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome and I have to do something called intermittent catheterization (IC). Life hasn’t always been easy, but I try to look on the bright side. I learned to look on the bright side because my mom taught me to. I was upset about IC until I looked on the bright side.

Since I was little I have had a lot of medical procedures and surgeries. I started looking on the bright side of things and I got through the procedures and surgeries better. I learned that even when I am sad Jesus is with me even when I think He is not. I learned to count my blessings and look on the bright side and that there is always something to be thankful for. Looking for good things when life is hard makes me feel happier.