This film came out a few years ago and is a powerful testament of the love a parent feels for their child. It follows a couple, Rupert and Kristen, as they literally travel the length of the world seeking help and understanding for Rowan, their autistic child. The three make an awe-inspiring trek across Mongolia in search of healing.
It's beautiful seeing the amazing connection this child has to the animal world - The Horse Boy is an important reminder that each and every person has special gifts to share with the world.
Rupert and Rowan are now working to help "bring the healing effects of horses, nature and supportive community to autism families." Horse Boy World is their foundation. There is tons of interesting information on what they are calling "Horse Boy Learning." Workshops, books, ideas for teaching autistic children. Tons of fascinating stuff.
Do yourself a favor and get cozy one night this winter and watch this film about one courageous family.
I was meaning to share this poem after the shootings at Newtown. It was written by someone whose short life was full of tremendous courage and hope. If you haven't heard the name, "Mattie Stepanek", before...do yourself a favor and read a quick biography about him.
I profiled his mother, Jeni, last year during my Month of Courage. You can read my post here.
I have a few of Mattie's poems, I'd like to share with you, during this Month. They are all from his book of poetry entitled Journey Through Heartsongs
that I randomly stumbled upon in the library. It never ceases to amaze me how books always find you.
Climbing to Heaven
In the winter, trees reach
Up to touch the sky.
Without their leaves,
The trees look like hands
And fingers stretching up
So, so, so high.
And if you look at the
Tallest tree in our backyard,
You can see that it is
So, so so close to Heaven.
Perhaps we could go out
And climb
Up the tree,
Up the hand,
Up the fingers,
And into the sky.
Then, we could just step
Through the clouds,
...And into Heaven.
-Mattie, January 1996
Mattie wrote these words when he was 6 years old. His life is an inspiration to all. An old soul, if there ever was one.
Very soon after the beginning of Catoctin Mountain Mama, I decided to organize my blog around a Monthly Theme. My Monthly Themes were inspired by my time at a Friends School. Some Months have been more successful than others.
This Month, I plan on sharing people and organizations who inspire me. All have demonstrated Courage one way or another. Here is my Round-up of posts from last year's Month of Courage. Hope you find a something that moves you.
During my last pregnancy, I taught at a Montessori Preschool until I was 8 months pregnant. I was literally on my feet all day (except for 20 min for lunch and the 20 minutes I took a nap during my break).
It was fantastic exercise but I started getting some weird leg pain at 5 months. My midwife recommended that I start wearing "Compression Socks" (the kind that Nurses and Elderly people often wear) every day. They were amazing. I had no swelling in my feet until I was 39 weeks pregnant. I have the same shoe size as I did before I was pregnant.
I kept wearing them every day even after I left the job. Luckily, I had a pair of my Grand-father's, so we didn't have to plop down $50 on a good pair. I washed them every night, after I got home...so they were dry and ready to wear the next morning. (Note: Those pink socks WERE NOT my Grandfather's, although I'm sure he could of rocked them).
Are they sexy? No. Are they cheap? No. But, if you are either on your feet all day or are sitting down all day, "wearing Compression Socks while you are pregnant" is totally worth it. Definitely get a pair.
I'm not nearly on my feet as much this pregnancy, but I just noticed some minor swelling at night once or twice. Time to bust out my special socks! I've wore size 8 1/2 shoes since I was 13. The vain part of me would like to stay that way!
My husband and I had one of those nights, the day after Christmas. We needed to go to the Grocery Store but didn't have the energy. We kept opening and closing the fridge door...hoping, magically that a meal would appear. I then glanced over to the shelf and noticed some Orzo. My husband then reminded me that we had very small amount of Lamb left over from Christmas dinner. It wasn't enough to feed one person, yet alone two (and 1/2...the 1/2 being our toddler). We had a few leaves left of Kale and a jar of Tomato Sauce. Bam. Inspiration struck.
I thought of the Kale, he added the Tomato Sauce. It was fast, easy and so, so good! Cheers to Teamwork...in and out of the kitchen!!!
Ingredients:
Cooked Lamb (about 1 cup minced)
Orzo (about 8 oz)
Kale (about 3 leaves)
Tomato Sauce (1/2 a jar)
Spices of Your Choice
1. Cook Orzo for 9 minutes or whatever your directions say.
2. While the Orzo is cooking, mince up your Lamb and cut your Kale.
3. Two minutes before your Orzo is finished throw in the Kale.
4. Drain the water from the Orzo and Kale.
5. Put Orzo and Kale back into the pot and add the Tomato Sauce. Reheat. Add whatever Spices float your boat. Enjoy!
This "15 minute meal" was a hit with all three of us. Our 21 month old, ended up eating an entire bowl of this for dinner and for lunch the next day. Can't wait until we have some more left over Lamb!!!
It sounds like the Flu Season has really begun in earnest here in Northern Virginia. So, I wanted to share again how to make "Elderberry Syrup" for your family.
In 2011, Medical News Today reported how German scientists had found that extracts of "Sambucus nigra" had been shown to inhibit "the growth of influenza A and B viruses and bacteria associated
with upper respiratory tract infections."
If taken before being infected with the flu virus, Elderberries can help prevent infection. If taken, AFTER being infected, Elderberries can help reduce the length and severity of your infection. Pretty nifty, right?
Since making my first batch of Elderberry Syrup, Nye-Nye and I have both been taking a tablespoon of Syrup every day. It's safe for pregnant women and children, over the age of 1 year old (just remember to run it by your Doctor first).
Whenever it seems like we start coming down with something, I up the dosage to 4-5 tablespoons a day. The one time I ran out of syrup and I took awhile to make some more, we both got sick. Otherwise, we've had a healthy Winter (so far).
As I wrote in this post, my daughter enjoyed helping me make the Syrup.
She helped pour the
1/2 cup of dried Elderberries I got from Frontier Herbs into the pan. She
carefully added the tablespoon of crushed ginger, the cinnamon stick,
and the 5 cloves to the mix. She then stirred the mixture for a few
minutes (totally unnecessary...but she was having so much fun).
Together we added the
2 cups of water and then I put the pan on the stove. I covered
it and brought it to a boil and then down to a simmer for 15 minutes.
She watched as I
strained the mixture and used a spoon to squeeze out all the liquid from the
berries. "HOT, HOT, HOT," she reminded me. Together, we sampled the syrup after
it cooled.
GOOD.
I agree.
We've since made several more batches, some of which did not include the ginger, cinnamon stick or cloves. Those batches didn't taste quite as yummy. I definitely recommend adding all three of those ingredients.
I bought 1 lb of dried Organic Elderberries from Frontier Herbs which at $21 seemed expensive. But...when you
look at an 8 oz bottle of Commercial
Elderberry Syrup costing $16, you quickly realize how much money you can
save by making your own!
The pound of Elderberries made enough Syrup for our family for 2 months. I just went to order some more from Frontier and found out they are already out of the Organic Elderberries.
Lesson learned....buy ALL the Elderberries you need by September.Mountain Rose Herbs was out by the beginning of October.
I bought 3 lbs of the wild-crafted berries sourced from Poland (non-Organic). Frontier Herb serves numerous health food stories from around the country, so I'm hoping that they are very responsible about where they picking their berries. I can't wait until the berries arrive and we can make another batch.
If you are interested, check out this simple video on how to make your own! It's easy and fun to make with children (even toddlers). Enjoy and stay healthy this Winter...
English: Fireworks on the Harbour (Sydney) 2008 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It's always takes a few months for me to grow accustomed to writing the date of the new year. 2013. Nice to meet you.
I was planning on sharing some photos from our Holidays including some of the presents we ended up making. But, I appear to be having some difficulty uploading new pictures to my blog, so that will have to wait.
Ironic since I FINALLY have a nice working camera for the first time since our camera broke in June. Thanks, Papa Bear for such a thoughtful present!!!
that I randomly stumbled upon in the library. It never ceases to amaze me how books always find you.
