The Big Picture

See the picture up there, the one at the beginning of this blog?  That's Gabe.  He is our ten year old son who is diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome.  I love this picture of him, because it is the big picture.  He is at homeschool gym class, socializing, being lead by someone other than his mom (thanks to two truly special women Jaclyn and Julianne - do you know them?  If not, you should.  A true example of Christian sisterhood...I feel a blog post coming on!).  He has been asked to stop, stand still and listen and feel the rhythm of his heart.  His face is so serene; he is at total peace.  Why?  Because he is listening to his inner rhythm, the beat of the unheard drum that creates the base line for the harmony of his life.  I believe that is why Gabriel is successful.  While he strives to be part of this world, to make friends, to go to Sunday School and to be social, he is also amazingly able to be still, hear his own beat and be at peace.   Oh, if only I could learn that lesson from my dear, sweet boy.

For those of you who know and love and appreciate the quirky wonderfulness that is Gabe, thank you.  He could not be who is or do what he does if it weren't for your love and understanding.  More so, thank you Jesus for loving Gabe, for allowing us to be his earthly parents and for allowing him to find strength and comfort in you.  You are his rock, and reading your word is how he soothes himself.

The big picture... knowing who you are and being happy with it, loving people and knowing they love you, knowing God and finding you strength and peace in Him.  Gabe's ten and he's got it all.  Gabe, you probably won't read this, but Tommy will and he will tell you all about it.  You are my joy, and I love you to the moon and back.

My awesome gray bag

One year, how long ago I can't quite recall, I went birthday shopping with my mom at the Army and Navy Store.  Not the girliest place to go and pick out a birthday present, but thanks to Camp Wood Haven and Snow Mountain Ranch, my leatherness (that whole bit will make more sense in future posts; obviously things I need to explain) was in full effect, and I was looking for things that would help me in my wanderings.  I loved this gray bag at first sight.  It has pockets for everything.  It goes across one shoulder so you can have it on your back and then swing it forward to gain access to the pockets.  Because there is a place for everything, I never forget anything.  When I use this bag it is the only time I am guaranteed to have tissues, hand sanitizer, a water bottle, extra batteries, my camera, my wallet, ibuprofen, band aids, wet wipes, cell phone, pens and a sharpie.  Because of this, it tends to come along on our outings.

Recently, my family was gifted a day at Hershey Park through the virtual charter school that my sons use.  A full day at Hershey with catering and parking is not something in the Craig Family Budget, so we were thrilled to be able to go.  I of course grabbed my gray bag so that we would have everything we needed for a successful day.  As I began to open it's pockets, I was praising God for the opportunity to take my children on such an extravagant outing.  We are not the kind of family who take vacations every year or go to theme parks every summer, so this was truly special; a day the kids would never forget.  I went about the work of cleaning out the pockets and restocking necessities, and  I was awestruck at what I found in the pockets: pamphlets from our Scouts sponsored day in New York City to see the Intrepid, ticket stubs from our free day at the Philadelphia zoo, a Knoebel's bracelet from the trip we took courtesy of Phil's parents, a Disney card from our once in a lifetime extended family trip to Disney - a Christmas gift from Grammy and Pappy.  There is a tear in the bag from one of our outdoor adventures, a mud smudge from the mines we went to with our homeschool group, and paint from an art activity we did at an outdoor festival many many moons ago.  This bag is full of memories of simple pleasure, tremendous generosity and family fun.  Whenever I begin to think that I have it so rough, when I feel those pangs of jealousy as my friends head for the beach I will look at this bag and remember it is not the destination.  The trick is enjoying the journey with the people you love.  I don't need a sandy beach, a mountaintop or a theme park, I just need the wonderful people God has blessed me with in this life.  That is more than enough vacation and adventure for me.

By the way, for as long as I have had this bag it still has tons of life left in it.  If you are up for an adventure, a hike, a little letterboxing... give us a call. We'll bring the bag. 

Just to gross out Emily and Tommy!

Pardon the quality of the photo, but I an having trouble downloading photos from my camera, so the phone photo will have to do.  Now I know I said this was just to gross out two of my favorite people, but it's also because this was so yummy and delicious and from my own little kitchen and well.... I'm proud.  Let me tell you a little bit about what you are seeing here in this picture.

A few months ago, I went to Whole Foods and tried some of their Curry Tofu Salad.  It was good, but not vegan.  So last night I decided to give it a shot.  I used pre-cubed tofu as I find that helps with the watery icky texture thing that keeps many people from trying tofu.  I seasoned the tofu with salt, pepper, cumin and curry powder and browned it in a little olive oil.  While the tofu was getting a tan, I chopped a golden delicious apple, two stalks of celery and a chunk of Vidalia onion.  Then I stuck my head in the pantry and looked for raisins.  I found some poor, sad raisins at the bottom of a container, and while they should have been compost bound, I threw the little buggers in the bowl.  To all this goodness I added some Veganaise, curry powder, salt, pepper and just a smidge of cayenne.  I added the browned tofu, mixed it all up, ate more than I should have and put the rest in the fridge to meld for the evening.  What you see up there in the right hand corner of the post is all that yumminest on a couple of pieces of sprouted sourdough bread.  Let me tell you, that is some fine eating!!

Now if I had all to do again, and trust me I will do it again and again and again, I would do a few things different.  First, instead of petrified black raisin I would use some fresh yummy golden raisins.  I would also have some chopped walnuts on hand.  And maybe a red apple for color as I am not big on peeling apples. 

Really yummy, and the added benefit of grossing out Em and Tommy!  Life is just delicious!