Work At Home Family Talk Radio

This Weeks Show:This weeks guest is Janet Palkon with Noah’s Ark. This Weeks foundation is Children Angel Flights. There is of course a Recipe, this week it is Crockpot Coq au Vin. Our advertisers this week are: Belly Buster Diet, The Breast Cancer Site, and Operation Smiles.

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Hi everyone!  This week we have Pam Sargant on the show.  She is an author, musician, Mom and many more hats that fit her, you will just have to listen to her… The foundation this week is National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.  The Grocery section this week looks at Angel Food Ministries.  Of course we also have a recipe this week and if you love chocolate this is a good one for you.

Our advertisers this week are: Homemade Gourmet, Jockey Person to Person and Mothers Survival Kit.  We also have a PSA for the Breast Cancer Site.

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I realize this is going to get boring, but it snowed again this morning.  Coming from Texas, I assumed snow was just wet stuff that fell on you and made a mess… It’s not.  Here you can see the actual shape of each flake.  It is just amazing.  One of our sons is having a little trouble with the snow over-stimulating his senses, but he is going to make it.  Alex has a few autistic tendencies, but on the whole it is not an issue.

So what about Christmas?  Stephanie has made a few suggestions with her Pampered Chef business and I know I have a few ideas about food, but what else can we do?  I know that Nicole over at Itchin to Scrap has some adorable purses and of course Misty had some grate ideas with her Tupperware, but is that all there is? 

 One year I made outfits for my girls, who are now 21 and 19, but at the time it was cute.  I took a White Sweat shirt and then ironed on a Santa Clause Print I found.  Then I outlined it with sewing glitter from the craft store.  Or one year I made a gift for my sister-in-law.  I took a 12 inch Styrofoam cone and attached inexpensive ornaments to it with hot glue.  I went all the way around and up that cone and she had an unusual Christmas tree as a decoration.  Christmas is not about cost, but about thought.  One year I even bought a couple of photo albums. I then covered them with fabric that matched the personality of the recipient. They are still used.  So check out some simple crafts and see what you can come up with.  My mom use to take a shoe box and line it with foil.  Then she filled it with cookies… What a memory.  So think, don’t just fill out a check.  Make a wonderful memory this year

Every year at Christmas different people reach out to help others  One of these special people is Nicole Pereira.  Last year Nicole and a friend gathered the materials to give 200 kids “scrapbook”packages for Christmas in North Carolina.  These children were all in the fostercare system.  This year Nicole is acting on her own and her goal is 400 Scrapbooks.  She is partnering with San Diego Youth and Community Services.  Lets try to Help Nicole with this effort.  You can see what she needs and how to contact her at http://www.itchintoscrap.com/index.html.

I also heard from another listener about a project she has on the East Coast.  Roseann Giannone
lives in New Jersey and she is selling a number of things with all proceeds going to her local Women’s Shelter.  Her email is roseyg856@yahoo.com and she can give you the current list of items that she has.  Roseann works as a manicurist and this seems to be her calling.  Please help her help women in need.

It has always amazed me that people will go out of thier way during the holidays.  For our family, while we lived back in Texas, we would adopt a child at the State Home and answer a Christmas wish.  When we lost our two girls, we started adopting 2 children each year.  But, that isn’t all, when my oldest children were little, we chose Angels from the Angel Tree.  Then the children would each go and buy gifts for their child.  They enjoyed it so much… The children are now 21, 19 and 17 and they each go to the local store, mail or church and pick a child to remember. Its nice to know I did something right as their mother…

If you know an angel, please let me know and I’ll post their information on my blog.  Happy Holidays

I have never understood the mystery of Black Friday.  I know that back in ’99 when I was pregnant with the triplets, my husband offered to go to a sale for me to get some toy and when he returned promised to never go again. So I never asked him nor did he offer.  Well, this year since we are on a budget, I looked at the ads and decided to give it a try.  I was systematic.  I put down all the times the stores opened, then planned my list and then checked to make sure I was with in budget.  Then off to bed I went with the alarm set at 4am.. YUK!!! So I didn’t get up until 4:15, but I was out of the house by 4:25 and at the stores by 4:35.  So not too bad, then reality hit.  There were lots of other crazy folks out…

Parking was at a premium, but I managed to get a decent spot.  Then it was off to the store with my list.  I found everything and then found the lines.  Oh boy what a mess.  So to make a long story short, I spent more time in the line than I did looking for the gifts.  I did meet a very nice family from Canada which helped make the time pass.  So I checked out and then made my way to store two.  There I meet a very nice woman and her friend who offered to go and get me a donut from the front of the store, since I was by myself.  I just was overjoyed by the kindness of these strangers and the season.  Then we started sharing stories of the shopping day.  This woman was an EMT and had started at another store.  She told me of a woman who had run her basket into an older elderly woman when she didn’t move fast enough.  Could this be where the concept of Black Friday began? With folks showing their” good” side?  Oh well, I was fortunate, that so far all I had seen were kind people who cared about their families and were willing to share some time with a stranger.

The best part of my day happened in stop number 6.  I was at a sports store picking up a snowboard and new skateboard for one of my sons and found myself behind a couple, a few years younger than myself.  They were purchasing ski cloths for their kids and me being me asked what exactly you need for skiing.  Since I’m from Texas and snow is not a big thing for us, I really don’t know much.  Anyway the husband was very nice and talked a great deal and then I mentioned that I had triplets.  The conversation just turned naturally to children.  The man’s wife kept looking back and I think really wanted him to just be quiet.  Finally I mentioned that two of my triplets are identical with Down’s syndrome and then the whole world changed.  All of a sudden we were talking about schools and our dreams for our special children.  It turned out that their youngest son, while not Down’s also is MR.  We talked about our hopes and dreams and the ignorance of people who don’t have special children in their lives.  I came to realize that as much as Paul and Alex can drive me crazy and as much as I hate them still being in pull-ups, I wouldn’t change a hair on their heads.  While the boys present challenges, I sincerely hope that their siblings and those who get to know them will understand that there is something special about them and the way they see the world. 

So black Friday which for some is a nightmare, had become my way to reach out to others,  I met some wonderful people who shared the shopping experience with me.  And I in return, made them laugh and hopefully let them know that they were not alone in a world that is sometimes ignorant and uncaring.

Have a wonderful Weekend