Tornado Hits Small Town of Mena, AR

I’ve been out for a while.  Thursday, April 9th, 2009 was a day like all others, the kids colored Easter eggs in preparation for Easter..I cut out some of the items for their Easter outfits.

We planned for Easter dinner and Holy Thursday mass that evening.  The kids were serving the mass..so they were excited.

Thunderstorms came rumbling in, but they are common for this area…even the tornado watch they issued for us wasn’t uncommon…it’s April in Arkansas..the weather is just weird that way.

We went on to church…it was truly divine intervention on the dear Lord’s part!  We had everyone safely in the basement of our church when the tornado struck.  Praising Jesus for our safety was an understatement!

When we emerged from the basement, our little hometown looked like a war zone.  We were unable to even get to our cars, so we had to take the kids and walk the 3 blocks to our little house…it took 35 minutes…only to find that our house and garage/sewing room had been totally destroyed.  In the stroke of about 15 minutes…hundreds of families were left either homeless or with badly damaged homes.  We were homeless.  We gathered a few things we could in the dark and continued to walk another 12 blocks to my mother in laws home.

Our kids were terrified…so were we….daylight the next morning brought pain, tears and anguish..but also a small ray of hope.  All of our pets had survived the storm unscathed…not a scratch on them.

We found that the house, while totaled..was still standing enough for us to salvage some things….and the work began.

Now, 2 weeks later, we haven’t found a home, my sewing business is down indefinitely, we are still living with my M-I-L, and the kids are as stressed and upset as we are.

We have had so much help from friends and parts of our families…it is sad that it takes something so devastating to show you just how much some of your family and friends care about you and how little others do.

I am without Internet access on a regular basis for now…I am able to get on a few times a week to check email and such…I’ll try to update as I can on our home situation and such.

You can see pictures of our little town here:

http://photo.accuweather.com/photogallery/content/PhotoDetails.aspx?pid=76557&pfrom=us

The above link is the best I found at the moment…the tree they are showing was not too far from my house…it was really spooky and sad to drive by that tree and see all that metal tangled and twisted in it.  They just got it all out in the last few days.  Our little town will never look the same in my lifetime.

http://www.talewins.com/arkansas/tornadodamage.htm

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1638984/tornado_slams_mena_arkansas_fires_assault.html

http://www.city-data.com/forum/arkansas/232432-pictures-arkansas-18.html

The Beauty of an Apron

An apron is something we saw on our grandmother..or in my case, my great grandmother.  I can remember as a child….the amount of things that would fit in her apron pockets…a small paring knife, a napkin or towel, a hair pin or two, sometimes even a hairbrush…depending on what she was doing.

My mother didn’t wear aprons that I can remember.  She isn’t here any longer, so I can’t ask her if she ever did…but I doubt it.

As a newly wed..I didn’t even own one…thought they looked old fashioned and tacky…LOL!  My how things change! 

About a year ago, as our lives began to shift toward environmental consciousness and a more simple life, I started collecting aprons.  I would find them at our local thrift store and at yard sales.  I was amazed to find that my daughter absolutely adored aprons. 

Thus our collection grew!    We have aprons for Christmas, vintage aprons, tie dyed aprons, half aprons and full aprons.  Then I started making them…half aprons are my favorite…I’m still trying to work out the pattern I like best for a full one.

But now, I look back on my grandmother and great grandmother…and realized that those aprons were so much more than just an apron…they were a uniform…it meant that they were a mother, grandmother, homemaker, nurse, cook, bottle washer, fire tender, seamstress, and a home builder.  The apron didn’t do it, but it was such an important part of what they did…they wore them every day…those aprons helped gather food from the garden, protected clothes from cooking and cleaning, held cleaning supplies, cooking supplies, clothespins, hankies, safety pins, sewing supplies, and sometimes even a treat.  They wiped children’s faces and hands, they wiped away dirt and tears alike.  They helped get hot food out of the oven.  Then at night, they were hung on a hook by the door of the kitchen until morning.

Now, I wear an apron…I have one especially for hanging out clothes..it holds all my clothespins.  I have ones for cooking…washing dishes, etc.   But most of all, these aprons…they tell people…what I do, who I am. 

Aprons are a part of our heritage…a part that is disappearing in today’s fast paced world.  Grasp this piece of history…embrace it as a mother…and put on your apron…wear it with pride! 

The practical side of it makes since…fewer stains on your clothes, pockets to make up for those extra 4 hands that you just don’t have…they work as a portable basket if you have a garden…a comfort for that little child that needs a face or hand wiped.  Have fun…have several….choose them to reflect your own style…Fancy ones, plain ones, half ones, full ones…pick one for the holidays too! 

They are not only useful and practical, but also feminine…which we need to cling to!  Aprons fit in with my modesty theme…they make you feel more feminine…and remind you of the importance of what you do..what God has called you to do and be!  A mother, a homemaker, a woman of God!

Don’t know where to start?  Check out my aprons in my Etsy store…

Homeschooling in Arkansas

We live in a small town in Arkansas.  So far, the laws in Arkansas have been fairly relaxed, with very little government interference.  We have to file an intent to homeschool form each year and take a standardized test once a year for grades 3-9.  Other than that, the schools and the government pretty much leave us alone.

However, today I found out some info that is pretty bothersome.  Nothing we can’t handle, but still…

There is a bill in the Arkansas House right now…to add some restrictions and such to our rules.  The new laws themselves are not that bad..but the doors that they open are…and we can’t let that happen. 

Oddly enough, the proposed bill is not as disturbing to me as the opinions expressed by our very own Superintendent of our school district.

It has become obvious that she does not like homeschoolers.  She supports this new bill and her statements were very, very disturbing in how she views us, as homeschoolers. 

I have included her email she sent in support of HB 2144.  This is an unedited version of the email…just copied over to here.  As you can see…she views the “majority” of us as not doing a good job and lacking in respect for our children’s educaton.  Hmmm….this is her first year in this position….I wonder if she will last….she didn’t at our local Community College.

Her email:

———-Original Email———-
I am in favor of HB 2144. As a school superintendent, I am working non-stop to ensure that each child intrusted to Mena Public Schools receives a quality education. This week, our principals sent letters to parents warning them that their children had reached the 12 day (since semester) absence limit. I have had parents in the office or on the phone since the letters were mailed trying to home school their children.

One parent said, “They don’t like lunches at school; they don’t like to get up in the mornings, and I don’t want to bring them to school (they ride buses and are on free lunches)–so I want to homeschool.” The boys were in grades 5 and 8. The mom had no idea what she was going to use to teach them, how she was going to help them like school, how she was going to discipline them as a teacher/mom. I tried to talk them out of leaving. They were determined, and mom basically let 10 and 13 year olds drop out.

I have many more stories just like these that convince me that homeschooling in Arkansas is promoting the very things that Gov. Beebe, Presidents Bush and Obama, and each of you are against. We are seeking to educate the children so that they are not left behind. We want to improve our number of graduates and students going to college. How are we going to do that when we allow children to leave our schools at the whim of a parent? There are some who do a good job, but the majority are perpetuating the low regard for education that has been the curse of Arkansas’ progress. Our school district of 1954 has more than 130 students being home schooled. Many never come back and are added to the cycle of generational poverty. Please help us by passing HB 2144.
———-End Original Email———

Her comments concern us…although we know that it’s mostly about the money…she is losing money for the district for each child that is homeschooled. Huh! 

She expresses a lot of dislike for homeschooling with the comment

I have many more stories just like these that convince me that homeschooling in Arkansas is promoting the very things that Gov. Beebe, Presidents Bush and Obama, and each of you are against.

What about the good side of homeschooling?  Doesn’t that count???  What about the fact that these kids are doing really well in testing and later in life in college and beyond?

What about the proven record of homeschooling achievement across the country that shows that homeschooling works really well?

I guess that doesn’t matter to her…it always boils down to the money and control doesn’t it?  The states keep trying to take our kids away…to indoctorate them to their way of thinking…so that they would grow up to believe all the garbage the government trys to spout off as fact.

Ok…done with my rant…just had to get that said!    Hope you all have a blessed day!

Youngblood GrassFed Farm, LLC

Here is a neat concept!  How about raising our meat and milk without chemicals, hormones, or other yucky things?  Kind of a novel idea huh?  Have you noticed how a lot of your store bought meat says product of Mexico/USA/Canada?  They can’t tell us where it came from and we are supposed to eat it?  Makes you wonder about our milk doesn’t it?

Well, I found a lovely little place, nestled right here in Polk County that bucks the trend and offeres something that you can’t get elsewhere!  They are homsechoolers too!

Real meat…without fillers, added water, hormones or anything else.  These are grassfed animals..all natural…

The idea and concept behind this is not new…it’s as old as the hills, but in today’s world, the idea had been almost lost.  The Youngblood’s turned the clock back on how they did things.  Wish there were more people in the world willing to make changes like this..our world would be a better place for it and we’d all be so much healthier!

Want more info on what they offer, what they are doing and the things they have researched and learned? 

Check them out!  Go to Youngblood GrassFed Farm, LLC and read all about it!  Email them if you want even more info!

Got Honey? Wild Acre Ranch does!

This is a wonderful site!  I have had the pleasure of buying the most delicious honey from them(best I’ve ever had) and also am enjoying their Lavender lotion..smells just wonderful and works great!

Wild Acre Ranch is a family operation that raises honey bees, blueberries, makes lotions and soaps and they even carry plants..blueberries, grapes, and rasberries to name a few!

Check out their site and try a few things!  Their prices are reasonable and their products are good!