making our R.A.C.K. truly RANDOM!!!!

bless me readers for I have slacked.  it's been 8 months since my last blog....


wow!  so, many people have asked  us about "RACK'ing" this year.  what we're doing... give us an update.... 


weeeellllll...... hmm.... my little A.D.D. brain is running all over the place.... how to explain....


1.  this has been a different kind of year.... I became "unemployed"... so we're learning to live on less.
2.  my step-dad is terminally ill, which consumes emotions, mental strength, and time.
3.  adjusting to being "at home" has been more challenging than I expected.  I LOVE it, but I really have to focus to get stuff done!!


with everything going on... I didn't plan our 24 days of RACK's.  and that brings me to point 7.2b on my list of crazy things going thru my head!    PLANNING our RANDOM Acts of Kindness seems.... THE OPPOSITE OF RANDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  so what are we teaching our kids???  only do kind deeds when the envelope mom made tells you to????????  as my children get older, I want them to really learn to observe the world around them!  LOOK for ways to be kind and helpful!  I personally feel this is a major weakness of our culture.  we all "mind our own business" to the point of being OBLIVIOUS of those in need around us!  and "NEED" can be so much more than food, money, shelter.... the person in the cubical next to you may need a smile.... the lady at the check out may need a kind word... even the smallest gestures can mean so much!!!


so this December, the gonsers have been purposing to seek out people and organizations to help.


*  gave hats & gloves to a friend who posted she was collecting them for 5 women
*  donated a huge box of men's dress clothes/suits to a local church
*  gave a pair of shoes to a friends son who's having a growth spurt (we know how that goes!)
*  gave my kitchenaid stand mixer to my sister-in-law
*  gave our RACK jar of change/money to the Jimtown HS Band
*  made a toys for tots donation
*  we are giving away another RACK jar


and I'm sure we've been kind in other ways as well!


but, enough suspense... you really want to know about our EPIC experience!!!  here goes!!


sometimes, when a plan falls together so perfectly, you know that you know that you know, it HAD to be God!  that's what happened to mike and I this week.  ....  Tuesday, we received an email at our furniture design business.  mike was out of town... I read the email....

Good Morning,

I have an antique solid wood teachers desk I am looking to sell. I bought it with the intent to re-purpose it into a kitchen cart. I began stripping some of the white paint off of the drawers and it has set since. I am a single mother and home owner and with the Holidays here my septic backing up into my house has created reason to sell. As much as I dont want to part with it I have seen your work and wanted to see if you would be interested in purchasing?

I made an initial response.  the end. 


not really!  


a couple emails later.... I had a plan.  somewhere along the line I let mike in on my plan :)


and... I got my dad & mom in on it....


and here's what happened...


I made an appointment to go look at the desk this evening at 6:00
this morning I texted the customer to "randomly" ask her if her septic had been taken care of...
she let me know she'd called Middlebury Septic and they were coming out this afternoon...  she was especially thankful they were allowing her 30 days to pay.
I called middlebury septic (we use them for our rentals) and explained that my dad and I wanted to pay for the job they were doing that afternoon in Bristol. 
6:00 this evening... mike and I (with kids loaded in the truck) go to "buy" the desk.
a very sweet young mom greeted us and showed us the desk.
mike asked about the plans she'd had for repurposing the desk.
as stated in her initial email, we could tell she was sad to sell it, but needed to do what was necessary.
mike asked if her septic had been pumped.
she replied "I don't know... I just got home from work... but I hope it did!!"
and then mike says:
      "every December, our family likes to look for people who could use a Random Act of Christmas Kindness.  so today, we took care of your septic bill.  it's paid and you don't have to worry about that"
now... I WISH we had this on video... because it was awesome.  the look of SHOCK and APPRECIATION was priceless!!!  she was almost speechless.  she thanked us and was just so utterly grateful! 
then mike goes on:
       "and here's what we'd like to do with your desk... we would like to buy it.  but we aren't going to take it.  we want you to keep it.  finish your plans for it and enjoy it"


AND AT THIS POINT I AM FULL ON BAWLING!!!  this lady.... all 5'2" of her.... is looking up at mike... then over to me.... and she says "you can't do that!  you've already done so much!" 


and mike tells her:
       "yes we can!  it's what we do.  we just ask that you pay the kindness forward!  show someone else love and kindness and have a blessed Christmas"  .... that's paraphrased because of the snot... and tears... and blubbering!!! 


that was honestly, the most amazing experience ever!  it was awesome to meet a young single mom... who works... owned her own home.... who had a need, but instead of whining and begging, SET OUT TO CREATE A SOLUTION!  even if it meant selling something she really wanted to keep!!  and her pure grateful spirit.... was beautiful!!


about 15 minutes after leaving, still on a rush from the experience, we received a text:


I don't know how I could ever thank you in words to describe the way I am feeling.  you are all such wonderful people and I appreciate this blessing more then you will ever know.  thank you so much!
I'm still in shock!  I came into the house crying and my 1 year old looking at me like I was crazy.  miracles for Baby Jesus's birthday :) merry Christmas!




and THAT my friends... is how Jesus wants us to celebrate His birthday!!!  and every day!

the truth about brittin

as brittin has gotten older, i've found that half the battle is admitting she has special needs.  "special needs".... that so ridiculously PC.   today is brittin's annual IEP... Individualized Education Plan.   basically, it's where mike & i sit down with all her teachers, therapists, and para-pro... and listen to what she can't do and how far off track she is.   it's a great time.  i'm starting to become numb to them really.  

as i was psyching myself up for this... and having a particularly rough few days with britt...  i thought, it's time for a REAL blog about brittin.  one that may sound harsh.... but when i stop to think HOW MANY PEOPLE I KNOW with "special needs" children, i'm hoping this blog will let them know, they aren't alone with their REAL thoughts and feelings.

**************WARNING****************** THIS BLOG WILL BE FREE OF TECHNICAL JARGON RELATED TO BRITTIN'S CONDITION AND WILL BE MY REAL FEELINGS.

BRITTIN DOESN'T "FIT IN" 

.... this is probably the HARDEST for me to accept.  personally, my life revolves around "fitting in".   and to watch my daughter... NOT fit in... may be more difficult for me than it is for her.  

she's too "average" to be placed in Special Needs programs, and she's too "slow" when trying to function in an average class.   there's no "some where in the middle" program!!!   and really, this applies socially as well.  average children are nice to her,  but don't understand her... and she doesn't understand children with more intense special needs. 


BRITTIN STARES because her processing time is really delayed.  and on top of that, she doesn't understand facial expressions.  those issues together equal some awkward moments with strangers!   we've only had a couple of truly RUDE people say something about the staring... but it's just awkward.  and don't ask about "teaching" or "training" her not to... we've tried.  that's like training your average child not to speak.  

BRITTIN "LOOKS NORMAL", WHICH ALMOST MAKES IT WORSE... if brittin is sitting, not moving or talking, you would NEVER know anything is different.  even when you strike up your first conversation with britt, you probably won't notice right away.

BRITTIN HAS NO CONCEPT OF TIME... seriously, NO.  CONCEPT.  OF.  TIME.  she may tell you "we went to Disney World last night" but we really went last year.  or she may tell you "I'm going to see my grandma today" but it could really be next week!  

or if she knows we're going to do something that is exciting to her, she will ask EVERY 10 MINUTES IF IT'S TIME YET!!!!!  really... not kidding.  i try to NEVER tell her she's going to Aunt Traci's, or to a friends until it's time to put the coat on!  i made the mistake of telling her about the Daddy/Daughter Dance 10 days before it happened. BIG.  HUGE.  MISTAKE. every morning when she woke up "am i going to the daddy/daughter dance today??"

BRITTIN DOESN'T UNDERSTAND VOICE INFLECTION... you know that "sassy tone" that your child uses when they are so mad at you???  hear it in your head ... "yes MoM!"  OH... it's sooo annoying!  well, brittin does NOT understand how to NOT do it.  we've tried.  i'm not sure if she doesn't hear it... or can't stop...  

she also doesn't understand when we use a different tone of voice.  

BRITTIN DOESN'T UNDERSTAND SARCASM OR HUMOR ... everything brittin does or says is literal.  really literal.  it's almost like living with Amelia Bedelia.    brittin doesn't even like when we laugh... and we don't know why.  

BRITTIN NEEDS STRUCTURE AND CHANGE IS HER ARCH NEMESIS... it's like Amelia Bedelia and Rainman... with a splash of Monk.  and if you know ME... my idea of a routine is "wake up in the morning, go to bed at night, and do some stuff in the middle".  britt needs to know the hour by hour plan, it needs to be the same every day.  she knows "school days" "stay home day" aka Saturday, and "church day".... school breaks, snow days, vacations, throw her outta whack!  we spend the first three weeks of summer vacation just reassuring her she WILL go back to school in August... which of course means NOTHING to her.  

BRITTIN DOES NOT SHARE... what a touchy subject.  our society is all SHARE SHARE SHARE!!!  i think we train our kids that way so when 20% of their paycheck is missing later, we can just say "you're sharing!!"  anyway... BRITTIN DOES NOT SHARE.  if it's hers, it's hers.  if it's yours, she'd really like to borrow it, but will gladly return it to it's original place when she's ready.  if you attempt to borrow something of hers, be ready for a  FULL.  ON.  FREAK.  OUT.  i mean FULL ON!  i wanted to borrow her heart scarf on valentine's day.  it went something like this:

me - "brittin, i would like to borrow your scarf.  is that ok?"

brittin-  "yes.  are you going to give it back?"

me- "yes.  after work."

brittin "ok.  are you going to give it back.  give it back.  give it back.  that's my scarf"

the next 15 minutes were spent attempting a "scarf trade", unsuccessfully... getting in the car... driving to the sitter... getting into the sitters house... and it sounded like "THAT'S MY SCARF.  I HATE SCHOOL.  I FEEL SICK.  I NEED TO STAY HOME.  I HATE DOGS. THAT'S MY SCARF.  FIRE FIRE, THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE".  

and lexi, brady, jared, and i just listened... i'm pretty sure there was snot... and tears... oh, and the throwing of an egg sandwich all over my car.  

ALL BECAUSE I BORROWED A SCARF.

now... you're probably asking yourself, "did she give the scarf back??"  NO.  did i do the right thing??   i have NO IDEA.  but she made it through the day.  i gave the scarf back as promised when i got home.  i don't plan on borrowing it again any time soon! 


BRITTIN HAS NO CONCEPT OF NUMBERS OR MONEY ... money means nothing.  she has walked into walmart with $5 and wanted to buy a lawn mower.  the other day, when her brother and sister loaded the cart with stuff they wanted, brittin was totally satisfied with the EOS Lip Balm she found.  it didn't matter to her that they were each spending $40+... and she had a $3 item.  she was happy!  i know this is going to be both a blessing and a curse throughout her life.  

BRITTIN DOESN'T UNDERSTAND TRUTH VS. LIE ... it's difficult to say "lie".   to me, "lie" means you are intentionally deceiving someone.  i don't think brittin is a malicious liar, she just can't seem to understand the difference between TRUTH and NOT TRUTH.  some of my very favorites are "today is my mom's birthday!!"; "my mom has cancer and the doctor says i have to stay away from her"; "my mom and i like to go to the movies to watch spiderman!".       wow... they all involve me :\

BRITTIN HAS NO SENSE OF DIRECTION... which is why, after THREE YEARS at our church, brittin still can't leave her seat, go to the bathroom, and come back to her seat.  not.  gonna.  happen.  she WILL get lost... or sidetracked by a squirrel.  she can't cross the street to play with a friend.  she can't use the restroom at a restaurant.  she really can't even go downstairs and make it to brady's room.  

WHY ***********  WHY ************  WHY**********

so WHY is brittin like this???  well, i didn't want this to be a technical mumbo jumbo blog, so the answer is this:

she has a brain birth defect that keeps the 2 sides of her brain from communicating with each other.  and on top of that, she has brain damage from a stroke.

so there... that's basically the tip of the iceberg.  when people wonder WHY i want to quit my job... its so i can be with her.  there's sooooo much more to Brittin than meets the eye.

in less than an hour, i'll head to her school... listen to all the things she can't do... and then i'll come back here and make a list of things she CAN.  :)

ReInVintaged Designs is Selling .... Chalk Country Paint!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

check out the BEFORE and AFTER on this French Provincial Night Stand!!!

"Our Haley's Rose"

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"Kermit's Green"

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"Teal Ocean"

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"Clementine"

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Mike and I are so excited to be offering Chalk Country Paint for sale in our booth at Hart City Resale in Elkhart, IN!!!  

ReInVintaged Designs

2301 S. Nappanee St.

Elkhart,  IN  46516

574-322-1538

www.facebook.com/ReInVintagedDesigns

Quarts- $32 (including tax)

8 oz jars- $12 (including tax)

* NO fumes!!  You can paint a project in your house!

* Easy to Apply

*  Easy to Distress

* 1 Quart paints more than you can imagine!! (2 dressers + a night stand!!!)

*  Add water to create a wash

Don't get new furniture, give a face lift to the furniture you have!!!

Clearly, I'm trying to sell paint, but I also want to save people money!!  When I look at the cost of NEW furniture, it takes my breath away!  And the majority of the time, the quality is appalling!  If you're tired of your furniture, give it an ECONOMICAL Face lift!  You won't believe what a can of Chalk Country Paint can do!!