Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Family Matters IV - No Money for a Big Family

Some of the information given here may seem choppy or inconclusive.This is a “running" family blog and a continuation of a much greater story.You are encouraged to go to the main website to catch-up or read previous blogs.These blogs tell the story of Christian I(100% DAV, homeschooling pastor-dad with M.S.)and Christian II (son 3 years old-T1 diabetic)-BOTH TRYING TO RAISE MONEY FOR SERVICE DOGS!
 

Thank you for coming! If you have any comments or suggestions, please let Dad know :-)
 
Christian I (Dad) – So this morning I’ve got a really big corporate lunch to attend. You see, I’ve just opened up one of the largest accounts for my company in the Midwest. The only problem is my hair. It’s long enough that I could pass as a kind of gorilla.
An Exaggeration?
 
So before the big luncheon I’ve decided to go to see a new barber that my brother-in-law recommended to me. I did have a hard time driving through the lovely town of Rolling Meadows, but eventually, “presto”, I found it!
My appointment was for eleven o’clock a.m. and I believe I walked in two minutes late to find a very quaint men’s barber shop (complete with that shaving cream smell)…  waiting for me.  “My name is Joe, and you must be Mr. Carlson” said the short man with the butterfly collar and the chest hair to match (He looked like some kind of throwback from the 70’s – LOL).
After taking my seat at the throne of hygiene, I proceeded to listen to countless story types. He began with his political views, then some gardening, and finally came upon family matters. (As a side note, I tipped my hat to most barbers as they can talk about anything and everything-a real gift).
Anyway, my new best buddy Joe started to tell me about his brother’s family. Apparently his brother had too many children (something like four).  I said, “Four children are too much?”
Say What?
He stopped snipping at my head and bobbed his slicked back hair like one of those head bobbing toys that you see in the dashboards of a lot of cars. I thought, wow, this guy must know something that I don’t because he seemed so confident. So I said, “Tell me more about that”. As he revealed the secret to me, I thank God that there were no flies around!
 
My jaw hit the floor and was hanging so wide open; you probably could have walked right in yourself – LOL. Joe unveiled this very elaborate verbal schematic of how “A PERSON NEEDS TO HAVE A MILLION DOLLARS SAVED PER CHILD IN ORDER TO RAISE THEM ADEQUATELY”.  Honestly, I’m very proud of myself because I didn’t burst out laughing.
 
I let my friend Joe finish his discourse (which ended with the last snip)! And as I left I withheld Joe’s tip and said “I have a few children of my own- I better start saving”. I did manage to ask Joe how many children HE had. Joe had none…though he “wanted some if he could afford it”. But I do recall during his stories Joe told me about a few Mercedes that he had… and a mansion… and a summer home in Florida.  So sad.
Where Joe's "Lie" will Lead
This leads me to the next misconception regarding “Why I can’t have a big family”.
     Misconception #4 – “I can’t afford them”.
     Observation – You will recall that I am not directly speaking against these misconceptions. My goal is to let observations about my own family speak for themselves - THOUGH CALLING THEM "MISCONCEPTIONS ALREADY CEMENTS MY POSITION (WHOOPS...I STARTED OFF EASY-LOL!) 
Ok...back on track...I have seven children and if Joe looked at my financial ledger … his mouth would drop so wide open that you could walk right in!
Not actually Joe... but you get the picture !!

 
NEWSFLASH – I do not have seven million dollars saved up! Neither do you! There are a lot of lies floating around out there, and a lot of garbage that keeps good people from having the courage to raise other good people. Does it cost money? Absolutely!
However, I observed that in my own life and in the Scriptures (remember? I’m a Godly man); that when God blesses you with something He gives you a way to manage it. I’m managing very well. Of course I have health bills for me and my Diabetic son … and braces bills for two of my children’s teeth … and a ton of other concerns.
A BAD COMMANDER DOESN'T EQUIP HIS SOLDIERS FOR THEIR MISSION!!
 
"GO TAKE THAT HILL" (to soldier below)
 
God always equips for the mission...LOOK FOR IT!!
NOW "GO TAKE THAT HILL" (to soldier below)


But I am not worried one bit. Now that I think about it, you won’t even be able to understand this without Faith in God. Now that I think about it,   I have no idea how things have come together in the last fourteen years apart from my Faith in God.
Big families are a blessing ,just as children are and life itself is. Please don’t be like Joe and miss that blessing because of a lie.
Christian II (3 year old son) - On that note, my three year old son and I need service dogs ESPECIALLY MY LITTLE BOY. I know that God will provide a way. Perhaps he is going to use you, my friend! Christian and I need your prayers. No one has given in awhile and we have a long way to go.  We are very thankful to be alive... 
God bless you friend... :)
The Famous Little Christian Picture
 


The Famous Picture of Dad and little Christian













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Saturday, September 21, 2013

Family Matters III - WHY I CAN'T HAVE A BIG FAMILY

Some of the information given here may seem choppy or inconclusive.This is a “running" family blog and a continuation of a much greater story.You are encouraged to go to the main website to catch-up or read previous blogs.These blogs tell the story of Christian I(100% DAV, homeschooling pastor-dad with M.S.)and Christian II (son 3 years old-T1 diabetic)-BOTH TRYING TO RAISE MONEY FOR SERVICE DOGS!
 


Thank you for coming! If you have any comments or suggestions, please let Dad know :-)

Christian I (Dad) – So, picture this; all of the children are at the table for dinner. They just sat down to their favorite meal of spaghetti and French bread. Everybody’s really hungry! The smell of tomato sauce in the air is so thick that it feels like you’re taking a hot bath with a whole bunch of tomatoes and hot garlic. It smells so good you’re ready to dive in.

Just then, the doorbell rings! So you open the door only to be immediately greeted by a sobbing couple from church that needs your help. You ask them to join you for supper, but they quickly retort, “We’ve already eaten.” At this point your stomach is wrapped around your spinal cord, trying to get whatever nutrition it can because YOU’RE SO HUNGRY!

You invite the couple in, to come and sit in the back room and talk. As you leave the children at the dinner table with Mom you can see the folly in their eyes, and they are about to erupt with the overwhelming anxiety to devour their dinner!

While you’re sitting with this couple, the woman just gushes open with tearful remarks and uncontrollable heaving. She just found out that her husband cheated on her.
As you maintain the situation, the noise from the other room (dinner table) becomes louder and LOUDER! Before you know it, your little blonde seven year old bursts in the room with tears and says, “Daddy, help me!” Then your wife comes in after her (trying to chase her) and says, “Honey, we need you for a second, please.” Then the “Buzz Lightyear” of the family apparently jumps off his bench, screaming, “To the Trinity and beyond!” and lands on his 9 month old sister and there is immediate screaming and crying. Then the phone (that you didn’t have a chance to silence) starts blaring this obnoxious ringtone and immediately you realize it is someone else from church who has been asking for money for several weeks.
This is a well - constructed concert of chaos! It is also a scene like many that happens in our lives quite a bit; as I’m sure it may in yours as well.
Just remain calm :)

This leads me to the third misconception regarding “Why I can’t have a big family” =
     Misconception #3 –I just do not have the means to give a big family enough attention!”

     Observation – Regarding the story above – REMEMBER-DELEGATION, DELEGATION, DELEGATION. “Ethan (now fourteen years old), sit with little Christian (aka Buzz Lightyear) and help him focus on eating. Mary, (now nine years old) you pick up the baby, hold her, and calm her down and make sure she’s not bleeding or something. Joshua (now twelve years old), take this call and tell Mrs. X that I will call her back. Mom, take this little blonde teary eyed girl and please give her back the food that Buzz Lightyear took from her.”
Then you return your attention very lovingly to the hurt couple. “Tell me how you’re feeling…..”
 
iT MAY FEEL LIKE THIS SOMETIMES.....BUT JUST REMEMBER, LOVING, LOVING, LOVING :)

When you’re talking about time and attention, you’re right! Big families require a lot of attention. Whether you’re homeschooling, changing diapers, going to the park, or doing ANYTHING, there are always needs. EVERY ONE OF THEM NEEDS TO BE ADRESSED!
 
The sad thing is that if you have no courage, you will be left your entire life scratching your head saying, “How do they do it? There are a lot of children, but as those little blessings get older, they are more than capable of helping out.
We All Help Eachother !!


As a matter of fact, isn’t it a duty of parents to “train up our children,” so that they can be parents themselves? Good training! My children’s grandpa always says, “Shouldn’t a kid be a kid and have fun?” My answer to that is always “Absolutely! They don’t have to give up the most important thing in their lives to have fun!” It doesn’t make sense to me! It’s because we have a big family that my children DO have so much fun – LOL.
I just realized that in these entries I’m supposed to talk about my health – LOL. If you’ve read my previous entries it’s a “Good training day” Please pray for me.
Christian II (3 yr old son)– On my lap sleeping (shhhh!).
 
God bless you friend... :)
Ethan Putting Litte Christian to Bed

The Famous Picture of Dad and little Christian












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Friday, September 20, 2013

APOLOGY / ANNOUNCEMENT

Some of the information given here may seem choppy or inconclusive.This is a “running" family blog and a continuation of a much greater story.You are encouraged to go to the main website to catch-up or read previous blogs.These blogs tell the story of Christian I(100% DAV, homeschooling pastor-dad with M.S.)and Christian II (son 3 years old-T1 diabetic)-BOTH TRYING TO RAISE MONEY FOR SERVICE DOGS!



Thank you for coming! If you have any comments or suggestions, please let Dad know :-)


Christian I – Today I’m happy to report that there are no emergencies. I don’t want to bore you today, and since there is nothing to report (health wise), I’m going to get straight to the point about several things. The first announcement that I would like to make is that there is going to be a schedule change for this blog.

Family Matters will continue tomorrow, but instead of this blog going every day, it will be written and published on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. After speaking with a friend at length, I realized that I may be burdening my readers more than blessing them!

My goal is not to burden anyone! We are in fact trying to raise money for service dogs, but we offer this to you as a chance to bless a really cool dad and his son. No one is obligated to do anything. The purpose of these blogs is to enrich YOUR life and heighten your understanding about our family… and therefore grow our relationship together (you with us).

The second big announcement is that it is my son’s birthday today. Ethan is fourteen years old! I do not wish to embarrass him, but I would like everyone to know a few things about my oldest child. In my estimation, Ethan is a very bright and gifted child (he’s groaning as he types for me – LOL.) He is a very strong servant of the Lord and one heck of a blessing to this family! I don’t think that there is a better way to show him love (right this minute) than to let the world know how much his daddy appreciates and loves him. Happy Birthday Ethan!
ETHAN IS 14 YRS TODAY
 

All right! So remember this blog will be back on track Saturday, Tuesday, and Thursday. We are always open to suggestions about what to write about. Stay tuned for more “misconceptions of a big family”.

Christian II – No emergencies! More to come tomorrow.

God bless you friend... :)

A Picture of Dad and Lydia
 


The Famous Picture of Dad and little Christian
 
(DAD- "I FEEL LIKE A HUMAN STROLLER!")











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Thursday, September 19, 2013

Family Matters II

Some of the information given here may seem choppy or inconclusive.This is a “running" family blog and a continuation of a much greater story.You are encouraged to go to the main website to catch-up or read previous blogs.These blogs tell the story of Christian I(100% DAV, homeschooling pastor-dad with M.S.)and Christian II (son 3 years old-T1 diabetic)-BOTH TRYING TO RAISE MONEY FOR SERVICE DOGS!
 



Thank you for coming! If you have any comments or suggestions, please let Dad know :-)

Christian I (Dad) – I’m so glad everyone decided to go to the trampoline park yesterday – LOL. There are a lot of groaning and aching bodies around here! Mom needs a little help getting around this morning! I think I’m going to help her and let her roll around in the wheelchair for a change! LOL.

That leads me to my next misconception regarding “Why people think they can't have big families”.

     Misconception 2 – “I don’t have enough help to manage a lot of children”.

     Observation – I like to think of myself as a very involved daddy between church work (as a family pastor) and other endeavors. I try to be as much a part of my children’s’ lives as possible. After all, they have been given to ME and our MY responsibility.
But here again, I’ve made one very important observation- I am one hundred percent of the time in a wheelchair and have chronic paralysis in my hands and upper body as well. So… though my heart is absolutely willing, I can’t really help that much! So you might be thinking to yourself, “Seven active homeschool children, very well educated and extremely bright – “HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN?”

I made another observation! My wife is a superwoman, but to be completely honest, she does not bear the brunt of the work in maintaining a family. WE ALL DO!

I’m a very big fan of the idea that “When God blesses you with something; He gives you a way to manage it”. Through regular and intimate communication with my wife and children, all of us are a part of the solution in almost every situation.
There is always a way! And, when you find it, the benefits of “The right way” are overwhelming! Just like I said in the last entry, “Don’t give up!” The world is ready to take your responsibilities away from you and to manage them in a way that THEY SEE FIT.
It can be very easy and accommodating, and there is a lot of peer pressure to “do what everyone else is doing”. And in this country you can do whatever you want, right?  I challenge you to honestly ask yourself if you’re “doing life” the best way or the easy way.
There is always a way….just look for it!
Needle in a Haystack
 

Okay, to report on myself – did you ever see one of those little Matchbox cars when you were a kid? The ones that were stepped on and smashed, but still rolling around, albeit in an awkward way (wobbling)? That’s how I feel – LOL. It’s a great training day! 

Ethan (13 yrs old)– Dad has asked me to report on myself and little Christian again. I’m doing all right today but very sore in the shoulders from yesterday’s excitement. Today we’re sitting on the front patio because it’s somewhat rainy (and here we have headcover), and the children are actually trying to crawl out the window to get to me and Dad. I love being a part of such a big family. We’re watching our family cat trying to get out of the broken screen also…out of our front door. He didn’t make it out though! :) He’s still trying, but Joshua is right beside him, so even if he did make it out he wouldn’t go very far. Dad is going to post a picture at the bottom of this blog. Hilarious!
Epic Fail - Prison Break :)
 
Christian II (3 yrs old)– Today Christian slept in late because of yesterday’s trampoline experience. His blood sugars are doing fine right now, but we just changed his site, and that yields low numbers throughout the day. Please pray for him. Anything happens with Diabetes. As my dad says, “We need that dog!”
IMPORTANT: (Christian I speaking)The people that we are working with for the service dogs (Service Dogs by Warren Retrievers) are making an important announcement to all of their clients this morning! This could be bad, or this could be good for me and Christian! We will keep you informed.
God bless you friend... :)





 The Famous Picture of Dad and little Christian











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Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Family Matters I

Some of the information given here may seem choppy or inconclusive.This is a “running" family blog and a continuation of a much greater story.You are encouraged to go to the main website to catch-up or read previous blogs.These blogs tell the story of Christian I(100% DAV, homeschooling pastor-dad with M.S.)and Christian II (son 3 years old-T1 diabetic)-BOTH TRYING TO RAISE MONEY FOR SERVICE DOGS!






Thank you for coming! If you have any comments or suggestions, please let Dad know :-)

Christian I (Dad) – Having a big family is a very special treat.  Talking to a lot of people presents a lot of misconception.  In the following entries (over the next few days), I’m going to have some fun speaking to some of those misconceptions.  However, I’m not going to do this by giving advice (just yet).  Rather, I’m going to make observations of my own family and allow those observations to speak to those misconceptions.  Got it? 




     Misconception #1-  “I can’t have a big family because I will never look as perfect as other big families!” 
     Observation- We are a perfect looking family!  Everything we do is flawless.  Everything we do is so wonderful that are faces hurt from smiling so much.  AND IF I SAID THAT FOR REAL…..MY TONGUE WOULD SNAP OFF ITS ROLLER AND I WOULD BE FIBBING ( though just a little bit- LOL). 
I love Sunday morning…everything looks so perfect sometimes. Or, out at the store and the restaurant we have received glowing reports from other people about our family - talking about how “wonderful our family is”.  And praise God I do have a wonderful family! 
But, I don’t want this “wonderfulness” to discourage others into thinking big families are always perfect … because they are not.  I would love for some of you to be able to watch us during those “special moments” (i.e when the children are starving and dinner is served- ideal freak out time for the children- lol). 
Watch this.... :)
I’m going to get straight to the point. This is not a religious blog or theological discourse. I wouldn’t do that to you because that is not what most of you signed up for. However you need to know that God is at the very head of this family!
That being said, family is like a training ground for the real world, and God has created it to be that way. I know it’s difficult. Now... because of sin, every single family that has come into existence HAS STRUGGLED! We all know this! But the secret to Godly families is this:  recognizing that it is supposed to be hard, and working through it with God's Love-- the only secret (for really ANY issue). Don’t give up!
If your suffering...it's okay!! You're training...gear up :)

I’m absolutely exhausted today. I took the family to “Epic Air”. Basically it is this huge indoor park with trampolines put together so closely that large areas are entirely made of trampolines. KIDS BOUNCING EVERYWHERE! Mom was out there too – LOL. I’m only a little upset that I couldn’t get on any tramoplines because of my wheelchair.
Ethan – (Ethan is speaking now) Our time at Epic Air was awesome! We all had fun on the trampolines and the foam pit. But it was dodge-ball that took the cake! (In my estimation) Basically you play dodge ball in an enclosed area but on trampolines. So it was an extremely awesome but exhausting experience. I have burned more energy today than I have done in any other day of my life! LOL. We all had a very wonderful time there.
 
Christian II – (Ethan still speaking) Christian did very well at the trampoline park today. We were somewhat nervous about Christians’ blood sugar and how well he would do on the trampolines. But he did fabulous! He jumped well and his blood sugar was in normal range. We were worried because physical activity lowers blood sugar dramatically. But everything was all right and we gave him juice to guard against low blood sugars. So overall we had a very nice experience today.


God bless you friend... :)





 Mom roughin' it at Epic Air
 





 






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