Ball Season Montage

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Dinner At Home??

That's right! We had dinner...together as a family...at home...and it was COOKED HERE! OH....AND we ate it at the dinner table! What a concept!

It felt so good! We did some fun summer activity thingies early today and then we CAME HOME! I wonder if Captain was confused about why we didn't head to the ballfields. He's spent more evenings of his life AT the ballfield than he's spent at home! I believe that is probably a true statement and not an exaggeration considering that his birth occurred right at the very start of ball season and once practices got into full swing, we spent 5 out of 7 nights at a practice or a game. And this year, we didn't have the blessings of past years by having an occasional rain-out. Nope, every week was filled with softball and tee-ball. And the two nights we were NOT at the field, we were at church. So it honestly is a nice change of pace to be at home.

The dark part surrounded by the silver lining is that Indie's team did NOT win the District tourney. We were very disappointed by this fact but knew that it would be OK. Indie did a bang-up job playing ball this year and will be a great player again next year when she moves up to the "big girl" league.

I will soon have a ball-season montage posted here but it's not ready yet. Stay tuned :)

Let's see if I can bring y'all up to date on what's been going on. Captain is rolling and pushing himself off of every blanket we set him on. Today we experimented with sitting him up and letting go and he actually DID sit for a couple of seconds before leaning over. It was so cute! His head is still super-bald but has a light fuzz on it so he's trying to grow some hair.

He-Man is cracking us up with his grown-up antics. For example, last night he told everyone, "Let's GO people!" And he amazed us when he brought us some flash cards of "sight words." I bought these cards at the same time we bought the state cards but they never really kept his attention so I put them up. Yesterday he found them and would you believe he knew 3/4 of the words??! I KNEW he was getting close to reading but my goodness!! He's such a smartie! :)

Rocky turned 7 last week. I know, I know! I'm a TERRIBLE Mom! I didn't post a big sweet post to him to honor the special day. Agh. Poor guy has been getting the short end of the stick for the last couple of years when it comes to his birthday. It has landed during All-Stars two years in a row! We did have a teeny little party for him with a couple of friends and family so that was nice and he got a chance to spend the night with Leland and Feff and go to the Water Park. (THANKS UMA & ARTHUR!)

And speaking of that trip to Uma's house, let me tell you about this new addiction the kids have. WEBKINZ! It is truly an obsession and Leland & Feff gave one to Rocky for his birthday. Now all the kids want to do is play with each other ONLINE with this silly game. It's marketing GENIUS! Why didn't I think of it??

OK - I have to stop posting now cuz Henry is ready to watch the season finale of Scrubs online. We totally missed it (AND the season finale of Prison Break!) because of this silly ball stuff. I don't really like watching stuff online but I've been telling him we could so....

Y'all don't forget to pray for rain!

Angie - Telling Her Story

I am SO happy Angie has re-opened her blog to the public. Her story needs to be heard!

TWlS (This Week In Softball)

That should actually be "This week in between softball."

Because softball has taken up such a huge chunk of time lately, lots of other things have kinda gotten pushed aside. But this week, we've managed to squeeze in a few extra goodies (including a visit from friends!) that have made this a really nice time.

I confess to lumping lots of topics together in one post might but I know that if I don't just get all these topics out of my head and onto the screen, they might "die in committee" and never make it into recorded history. So please bear with me as I cover several things in one post.

First you'll see me wearing Captain in my newest and coolest green wrap sling given to me by my sweet friend A (pictured with her son worn in an identical wrap.) It's an awesome way to sling him at the hot-hot ballfield. It is so lightweight and breatheable and super-duper comfy. It distributes his weight very nicely. There are also lots of options for wearing him with this kind of wrap. I can't wait to try a back carry! A also gave Captain an awesome handmade blankie that he truly does already enjoy. I have a feeling it will be a treasured item. I know that I love it and early indications are that he does, too. (A -- I might need to ask for a twin blankie, just in case this one does become the favorite that I think it will. Any chance you have the fabric to make a back-up blankie? I know you wouldn't sell it but maybe you would barter for it?!)

Now you see Captain in his adorable green Bum Genius and in his green swing on his 4-month birthday! FOUR MONTHS! Unbelievable. Oh how I love this little fella. He is so totally awesome!

Next we'll move from talking about the totally adorable to the totally pitiful. He-man hurt himself at the ballfield Monday night. He was walking on the bottom row of bleachers, slipped, and banged his ribcage with a really gross-sounding 'thud.' He became hysterical with pain (and not the funny "ha-ha" kind of hysterical.) His lips were actually a little bit blue because the wind was knocked out of him. He tried to compose himself when we were looking at him but it was obvious that it REALLY hurt.

Thankfully, He-Man has recently started swallowing capsules so I gave him a 'recovery' supplement to take within a few minutes of his injury. I believe that quick intake time helped him a lot in the long run but for the time we were at the field, he was in a bunch of pain. He would try to calm down but every little movement caused him to cry out.

I got on the cell and called the pediatrician's office. It was Indie's friend's Dad who was on call that evening and I was glad it was him if it wasn't going to be our ped. He said exactly what I thought but I was glad to hear it anyway. Basically, worst case scenario would be a broken rib and if that was the case, there isn't much to do about it anyway. He suggested watching him through the night and if things were still bad in the morning to bring him in. And if he just couldn't settle down to sleep and if breathing seemed to be a problem, take him to the ER.

THANKFULLY, by the time Henry got him into the carseat (which wasn't fun) he started dozing off. He would settle down for a while and then start screaming cries again. We figured it must have been throbbing or bumps in the road hurt him or something. Whatever it was, it was sad.

At home, he just froze on the couch. He knew he was pretty good if he just didn't move. He let me put some "recovery" supplement (open capsule into lotion) on his sore spot and cover it with plastic wrap for the night. I really couldn't believe he didn't fight me on that!

And he fell asleep. He stayed asleep, too except for a few whimpers every few minutes for the first hour. I really think he had waves of throbbing pain for a little while but it eventually subsided.

Tuesday morning he woke up and was extremely nervous about moving. He remembered his agony before stirring but when he finally worked up the nerve to sit up, he realized that he no longer hurt at all! And would you believe there wasn't even a bruise visible on him?! It was amazing! We've had other similar experiences with overnight "home remedy" results for me and Ray but I don't think I've been as thankful for them as I was for this one! With only an "ugh" when Indie picked him up while playing and a "no!" when Rocky tried picking him up, we pretty much forgot there was an injury at all!

Lastly I will tell you that the 4 big kids have been at the neighborhood VBS all week. It's been wonderful in many ways. Not only have the kids been out of the house and away from Webkinz every morning (because they have quickly become obsessed!) but they are also not, ummmmm, (how do I say this??) AT HOME! Oh how rare are the days when the house is as quiet as it is when those big kids aren't here. One day I caught up on emails, phone calls, scheduling appointments, and goofing off on a Mom's forum. Another day I slept late (OK, 2 days I slept late.) Twice this week I got phone calls from a friend and just CHATTED! It was amazing!

Tomorrow I plan on straightening up the office. It needs it in a BAD way.

Next week? Big Rocky turns 7, Indie plays in the All-Star district tourney, and I head to Hotlanta for a Regional meeting (which will be super-fun with my friend and fellow blogger AMY! We'll have a great time at all the M stuff and Ray will be having fun as my babysitter for Captain. It is SO COOL that she's able to be Nanny -- but better! -- on trips like this!)

A Video I Hope To Update Soon

He-Man is the most hilarious thing to watch in my rearview mirror. But since it isn't safe to keep my eyes on him while I'm driving, I asked for him to be recorded for my viewing pleasure.

This is a little bit of him singing and dancing in his carseat but I hope to get some better footage of him when he's not so wiped-out tired. This shows him rocking out a little bit but he can REALLY put on a show when he's well-rested!

The CD we are listening to is from the group Family Force 5, which is one of the acts we saw at the Toby Mac concert several weeks ago. Rocky really fell in love with the band so we got him this CD. Turns out, we all love it! I wish we could see FF5 in concert again now that we know their songs!

I will go ahead and say that I don't know if that is a sound of flatulence or not, near the beginning of the clip. I don't remember it happening but Captain might have wanted to have his spot in the video. So if that's what it is, I'm sorry :)

Again, I'll be posting a more rockin' performance as soon as we catch it on video!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

For Those Who Didn't Google Their Way Onto This Blog

Allright, I'll quit talking about Mannatech and homebirth movies and all that kind of stuff for a little while since my "regulars" are usually just here to check out stories and pictures of family things. So here we go, back to the basics!

First let me just say that IT IS HOT! But I'm not going to complain because I quite often say that I'd much rather have hot weather than cold so I'm just trying to appreciate the fact that we're not bundling up under blankets at the ballfield!

Yesterday's ballfield experience was quite the challenge. We had 4 games (limited to 30 minutes each thankfully) for Indie and 1 game for Rocky. The first was at 9:00 and the last was at 2:30. With the heat and the back-and-forth between fields, and the trying to keep Captain shaded in the stroller while he just wanted to be held...well, it was a day that we survived.

The girls' All-Star team looks REALLY good so I'm excited about how well they might do in the real tournament.

The thing I do NOT enjoy about all this time at the ballfield is the total ruin of our try-to-be-healthy diet. Ugh. I MISS COOKING!

And let me just give a shout out to the two greatest troopers during this ball-season stuff. These two boys just hang in there with us while their big brother and sisters play their games and go to practices. These pictures are taken in the van where we tried to catch a slight break.

Long Entry About M And Response to 20/20

Gosh, this is long...

I've waited on further responding to the 20/20 broadcast because I knew that with time, OTHER people would end up doing a better job responding than I could anyway! So I've just been reading, "amen"-ing, and collecting the commentaries of others since that anti-M expose' aired.

Since I have gotten oodles of hits to my blog since posting about the sugar pill attack, I know there are people out there who are googling about this situation. And because this is true, I'd like to make sure some of these really pertinent points get out there for people to read.

Obviously, if M was a fly-by-night company that was truly guilty of anything sinnister, they'd be falling apart right now and those who have been duped would be running to hide their heads in shame. But since M actually IS a stand-up, scientifically sound wellness company that is truly making a difference in people's lives, many people are stepping forward to help set the record straight. It's a shame the entertainment/high ratings industry can cause such a scramble but it looks like good things are coming out in the end!

This post is very long but covers lots of great points. If you are one that thinks M is a joke, I strongly encourage you to read this before you share your un-educated opinions with anyone else. If you still think it's a joke after doing your homework, then so be it. But speaking without knowing everything is just foolish.

I hope this long entry will be of some encouragement to those who are open to the idea of doing something non-medical (alternative) for their health. I know the times are here where people are coming around to see that something needs to be done on a daily basis to help improve wellness. As the old adage teaches, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." For this to become such a popular saying, we know that it used to be common sense to include nutrients into the daily routine as a way of keeping healthy. Today, there's just been such a warp in teaching that people think they can eat the junky American diet and pop pills or have surgery when problems occur. One day it will become mainstream (again) to know that you can't have health without having nutrition. And when the food on the plate (or in the cardboard box or paper wrapping) doesn't provide that nutrition, people will reach for those supplements that scientifically prove they have what the foods are missing. And it won't come as such a surprise when people see positive changes when those nutrients are ingested. Those positive changes will no longer stir up such controversy because they will be so commonplace that people won't sound like liars when they tell their friends and loved ones about the improvements in their lives!

Now, to the words of others.

First, the truth about Angie Rhodes, the girl with cancer interviewed in the 20/20 story:

My name is Angie Law and I am a Presidential from Colorado. I can tell you the rest of that story...
Angie (Rhodes) came to a class we taught June 2nd in Warrensburg, Missouri, to set the story straight. She was very disappointed with the biased slant and misrepresentation of the whole truth that 20/20 portrayed! She detailed her
story explaining the fist sized tumor, the surgery that got most of it, the
two areas that were not removed because it would have left her with stroke
like symptoms, the fact that she was in a terminal situation, and the fact
that HER doctors, reviewing the scans, reported there was no tumor left
after 6 weeks of g therapy. Subsequently, the most recent scan
Mar. 12th when ABC was present, Angie’s oncologist opinion was, “I see
nothing there to be concerned about. Keep taking your g and I
will see you in 3 months for another scan.” Her surgeon’s response to the
recent scan was, “the scans look great! This is what we want and hope to
see but don’t always get!”

While they still recommend chemo and radiation they told her to continue
with what she's doing as it seems to be working! It was a great
disappointment for Angie that 20/20 producers, after contacting her doctor
on Thursday, did NOT include ANY of his comments. We can only speculate
why. Of course, she is continuing with g and believes whole
heartedly that g have saved her life BECAUSE they simply
provided the raw materials necessary for her body to function properly.

She was going to do the chemo and radiation IF she didn't see results with
the nutrients. She was NOT shutting that door completely. I encouraged her
to do what she felt was best for her, pursuing all options. She knew that
some choose to do chemo with the g and some choose to use
g without chemo. She chose the nutrients first without chemo
and radiation because she felt she had time to add the traditional therapy
later; if positive results were not achieved. Angie watched her dad suffer
with cancer receiving chemo and radiation for a brain tumor, but he died
anyway. She did not want to lose her hair and suffer with the side effects
of chemo and radiation IF it wasn't necessary. NO ONE TOLD HER TO NOT DO
THE CHEMO--it was her choice. AND, no one told her that g
could or would "CURE" her.

In the interview (what wasn't aired) she was bullied, baited and was so upset
when she realized that the interview was NOT just a follow up or a human
interest story. The local NBC news had followed her case because the
University she attended had raised money to pay for her surgery. She WAS
NOT expecting the big people from 20/20 to interview her for anything other
than what had been done already from the local network. So, in her
distress, not knowing whether or not she could trust Jim Avala, being
nervous, and MOST IMPORTANTLY being only 6 months on g, she
used the "cure" word (after HE used the cure word) not even realizing she
had said it until she saw the interview!

Those of us who have seen the interview know SHE was the ONLY wonderful part
about it! She was poised under pressure and handled herself beautifully.
It's just too bad they did not show the entire interview with Angie AND her
adoptive parents. She wants to get the truth known and is upset that they
have portrayed the program the way they did.

Angie Rhoads and her adoptive parents, Brian and Brenda Wilson, have
reviewed and approved this entire statement and are anxious for the truth to
be known. They asked that their names be listed so that the reader would
not think I put words in their mouth.

Also, read the attachments from Mark Johnson and Dr. Wilkins as they do a
great job in telling the “rest of the story.”

Sincerely,

Angie L
Angie Rhoads, Brian and Brenda Wilson of Lee’s Summit Missouri

Next, excerpts from Mark Johnson of Georgia:

regarding Dr. Hudson Freeze (I always thought his name was spelled Frieze but no one else, including 20/20 spelled it that way) and his denial that g are of any value:

In December 1998, Dr. Freeze and other scientists conducted a study on healthy humans who were given radioactively labeled galactose, mannose or glucose. To their amazement, galactose and mannose were directly absorbed and incorporated into glycoproteins without first being broken down into glucose. Dr. Freeze and the other scientists concluded: "that specific dietary sugars could represent a new class of nutrients."

also:

In a November 1998 review by Dr. Freeze and others, he concluded that disorders in glycosylation are much more common than originally thought and that there is emerging belief that Diabetes in children is just one such genetic disorder. The authors stated that "the finding that mannose, but not glucose, corrected glycosylation .... was surprising ... Mannose offers an attractive therapy because it should be easy to administer and non-toxic ... There is scant information on the availability of mannose in food, but dietary mannose is probably insufficient to supply all glycosylation." We all know that these "dietary sugars" are found in A. So why did Dr. Freeze respond as he did? We can only speculate.

Mark's comments about the other expert interviewed on 20/20 and about g in scientific literature:

The other person touted by ABC as a leading scientist in glycobiology named Ronald Schnaar, Ph.D. of John's Hopkins was asked the following question by the ABC reporter: "Is there any valid scientific evidence that this M product really works?" Dr. Schnaar responds by referencing the National Library of Medicine (www.PubMed.org) as the main repository of medical knowledge. Then with intentioned drama, he looks at the reporter and makes a circle with his right hand and says quite emphatically, "Zero." Well, he is absolutely correct, because "A" is a company brand name. The term "g" or "g-n" is the word that M coined as a new generic term for scientists to use in research papers.
G are found to be essential in the production of glycoproteins made in human cells (Harper's Biochemistry Textbook, 24th ed. and later). There are many listings on PubMed for "g." Basic common sense confirms that scientific journals, papers and research, all use terms like "g-n" "glycoprotein," "glycoconjugate," "glycoform," "mannose," ,"fucose," "xylose," etc... Journals report on the science, not on a particular company's name or
brand names. As an example, published papers focus on the results of clinical studies using "monosaccharides" and "oligosaccharides." Ol' Doc Ronnie is not demonstrating intellectual honesty with his answer to the question. Besides, there have been hundreds of published studies using M's g. Someone needs to show him how to find them.

As an example, two double blind, placebo-controlled studies conducted at the University of Arkansas, evaluated the effects of g supplementation upon the brain functioning of twenty healthy college students. It was found that g (1) enhanced brainwave frequencies known to be associated with attention or alertness, (2) increased reaction time and (3) enhanced concentration (Wang, Pivik and Dykman – University of Arkansas, presented April (2002) This study was done with M's g.

Contrary to the drama of Doc Ronnie, and the sensationalist, yellow journalistic reporting of ABC's "20/20 Entertainment Show," here are the counts for the number of published papers on some of the components of A as listed directly from the PubMed.org web site:
Mannose: 20,265 papers
Fucose: 7,983 papers
Galactose: 26,832 papers
Xylose: 7,493 papers
Glucose: 302,162 papers
N-Acetyl Galactosamine: 1,175 papers
N-Acetyl Glucosamine: 3,744 papers
N-Acetyl Neuraminic Acid: 3,766 papers
Arabinogalactan: 776 papers
Arabinose: 4,308 papers

It is obvious that ABC, partially funded by revenues from pharmaceutical company advertisers who know that our products are making a difference in the quality of life of thousands, has purposefully tried to damage M in the 20/20 piece.

Regarding 20/20's angle:

If ABC was interested in fair reporting, they would have taken a different approach. For starters, they would have interviewed the tens of thousands of people whose health has recovered as a result of using these products. That would be some good news, worthy of airing. If they were reporting honestly, the 20/20 story would have mentioned that M's g have been found to be necessary to be incorporated into special "quick response foods" by the World Health Organization and the United Nations, to help nourish distressed and starving people in crisis situations. Perhaps ABC could have mentioned about the ministry of MR and the global impact that M's g are having on children around the world like those with AIDS in Africa. Surely ABC could let people know about the up-coming 8th Wonder of the World Concert Series, where MR is a beneficiary and where billions of people are going to learn about MR and be exposed to the benefits of A for saving the lives of children.

From Mark regarding other angles 20/20 could have taken:

If ABC were so accurate in reporting, surely they wouldn't have missed the fact that rheumatologist, Dr. John Axford of the Royal Society of Medicine and a renowned author of several medical textbooks as well as a leading researcher on Rheumatoid Arthritis, joined the board of directors of M. Dr. Axford is helping with g research being conducted simultaneously both at Mannatech and at the Royal Society of Medicine.

Or what about the first place award given to M's Chief Science Officer, Dr. Rob Sinnott, for the poster presentation he recently showed. Dr. Sinnott's presentation explained how emerging science is showing that digestive bacteria play an important role in the chemical breakdown, assimilation and absorption of dietary sugars found in our product, A.

I guess ABC 20/20 video editors were in a hurry and "just forgot" to put the name and title underneath the short video clip of H. Reginald McDaniel, M.D. (Dr. Reg). Dr. Reg, who was one of the highest paid pathologists (doctor specializing in disease) in the Southwest, was shown speaking about glyconutrients to an audience. I guess ABC sort of wanted the gullible viewing public to think he was just some wacko renegade M Associate peddling a "sugar pill."

ABC failed to mention that Dr. McDaniel is one of the co-inventors listed on the M A patent, that he has been doing clinical research with hundreds of patients over the past quarter century, and that he is the founder of the Fisher Institute for Medical Research.

ABC should have known that Dr. McDaniel, as a professional witness, testified before Congress on Comprehensive Medical Care for Bioterrorism Exposure. At that historic event, Dr. McDaniel's exhibits and scientific data showed that "glyconutrients boost the level of innate body defenses by enhancing the synthesis of cytokines that are designed to protect the body from ALL infectious agents ." (http://www.fisherinstitute.org – complete syllabus available for
anyone).

The investigative ABC reporters seemed to have missed a chance of a newsworthy story
relevant to the current stem cell debate. Dr. McDaniel has published research based on accepted testing methods demonstrating that supplementation with glyconutrients greatly increases the production of adult stem cells in the human body. He has presented this incredible finding before state legislators in an attempt to inform them that fetal stem-cell research is no longer necessary since our own bodies can generate massive quantities of healing stem cells when given glyconutrients. In fact, he reveals that implanting stem cells from other people is actually very dangerous and even fatal (as studies in China have proved)!

Oh, and by the way, you'd think that ABC would have mentioned something about the American Medical Association (AMA) approved Continuing Medical Education (CME's) Category 1 Credits now available for Medical Doctors, Nurses, Dentists and other medical professionals on the benefits and applications of glyconutritionals. Medical professionals are required to accumulate CME's in order to maintain their medical licenses to practice in the various states where they work. Courses at various Glycomics Medical Conferences have addressed specific disease conditions that respond beneficially with the use of glyconutrients and other nutritional
components. Medical professionals are taught about the potential benefits of dietary
supplements and how to recognize quality, pharmaceutical grade supplements and nutritional technologies.

Dr. Gilbert Kaats, Ph.D., CEO of Integrated Health Technologies who has been independently testing the effects of nutritional supplements for nearly 30 years, has performed one of the countries largest longitudinal studies on nutritional supplements – specifically M's glyconutritionals. Testing blood work and bone density of nearly 7,000 people over the past 12 years, his findings are impressive. In his conclusions, 8 of 10 biomarkers associated with the disabilities of aging are actually reversed on A. Further, Dr. Kaats states that there is
no competition with M with regards to (1) efficacy, (2) safety and (3) consistency – the three things one desires in a nutritional supplement product.

I guess in the name of fairness, ABC just didn't have enough time to "squeeze it all in."

Next is an excerpt from David Wilkins, MD

I felt compelled to respond to the 20/20 report on A. I have included my bio so you will know my background.

I received my undergraduate degree at La Sierra College followed by my Doctor of Medicine Degree from Loma Linda University School of Medicine in 1970. In 1974 I completed a residency in Ophthalmology also at LLU School of Medicine. After thirteen years of private practice in Ophthalmology I joined the faculty ofLoma Linda University in 1987. Two years later I became the Dept chairman. I also ran the Ophthalmology residency program for nearly ten years. Since the year two thousand I have enjoyed refocusing my attention on glycobiology and the role glyconutrients, and phytochemicals play in wellness and disease.

I would like to add my voice to point out the mockery of the two experts you had on the program. They should know that you will never find a reference in the National Medical Library to a company brand name. When you search with the specific names of the structural sugars in Ambrotose there are several hundred thousands of peer reviewed pagers on these important sugars.

It has been clearly shown that there are active transport mechanisms for many of these sugars allowing them to be absorbed undigested and found in cell structure in less that 2 hours. World renown experts such as Dr. John Axford M.D. at the Royal Society of Medicine (world recognized expert in the field of research in rheumatoid disorders) was so impressed with M's scientific efforts with these sugars that he joined their board of directors to help direct further investigative efforts. His current ground breaking work with the specific formulation of Ambrotose is giving further validation to the importance of glyconutrient sugars in modulating dangerous inflammatory responses.

Dr. Wilkins words directly to ABC 20/20:

You and your experts failed to mention that you cannot do nutritional research in a drug paradigm environment. T. Collin Campbell in his recent book "The China Study" says that all kinds of unwarranted conclusions will be drawn if nutrition is studied the way drugs are. There is too much nutrient packaging, interplay and team work going on between food compounds to isolate a single ingredient, give it in major amounts, and look at a specific targeted effect as one would do with a drug. That is why the beta carotene, and vitamin E studies came to grossly wrong conclusions as did the "Women's Health Study" and the large "Nurses Health Study" This false approach to nutritional study is called by Dr. Campbell "Scientific Reductionism." You experts never mentioned this.

If your reporting was not biased you would have asked the public to read "The Truth About the Drug Companies" by Marcia Angell M.D. recent editor and chief of the New England Journal of Medicine. She has been a perfect position to know the truth that we have an economically customized evidenced based medicine system. Incestuous relationships between drug companies, reviewers of their submissions, the FDA, and NIH are simply obscene. The drug companies have no interest in finding of natural ways to improve the health equation. They will spend money shamelessly to discredit and slant the truth about technology such as A. The drugs properly used by the system are the 4th leading cause of death in this country (JAMA 2002). Optimizing cellular nutritional biochemistry has killed no one and has been a major benefit to so many. You failed to point this out.

If you were honest in your reporting you would have disclosed all the sources of funds making the 20 /20 broadcast possible. You would also have had your experts declare there relationships with any drug companies (financial or reviewing their work) including any drug company funded research they are doing. The last thing the system wants is for technology such as Ambrotose to be helpful regardless of cost to discredit it.

You refused to tell the public the difference between cell structure function science and the probability science of those in the white coats. You stated and left unchallenged the idea that the only way anything can be known is the drug paradigm. That is fine if you are going to give some form of therapy that can potentially help and harm people and they want to know the gamble they are taking. It is truth and not probability that comes from structure function science. Once truth is known there is no risk in acting on it. There is no significant downside as with all drugs.

We know that there is a requirement for glyconutrients. When we know that the body with its fail safe system to supply the required glyconutrients (when not consumed) can supply barely enough to keep a person going but not enough to optimize the bodies resources handle challenges it makes sense to supply it and see what the cellular community can do to improve quality and length of life. This is the support of cell and system design not the treatment of disease of disorder.

Your experts said that the body can make all the sugars and that is true. What they didn't tell you is that the system to do that is a slow, low output system prone to error and dysfunction because of exposure to toxins and other stresses.

You in your presentation kept trying to force the notion that this is about treating disease with Ambrotose. Repeatedly Sam Castor indicated that this was not about treating disease, but rather the optimizing of the bodies normal physiologic mechanisms. He repeatedly suggested that this approach should be used in conjunction with standard of care. You carefully edited out this emphasis by selecting only sound bites that would, out of context, support your agenda and put A in a negative light. I listened to the entire interview with Sam Castor and it is shamefully clear what you did not want the public to hear.

There is so much more that could be said but there is enough here to clearly expose your yellow journalism masquerading as investigative reporting. In fairness another program should be done to address the issues I have brought up and the content of Mark Johnson's important comments below.

I have personally studied and supported this technology for ten years and have seen so much benefit in very challenged people with regards to quality of life. I have staked my reputation on it and now give full time and effort to make this information available to health care providers in a continuing education Category I environment. Continuing education Information that can qualify them to keep their license.

Respectfully,

David Wilkins M.D.

In response to all of this, M posted this video at youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-BZ3j6Q6GM

So ask yourself, "If M is truly a scam company, why are they spending so much time, energy, and money to keep their information clear and public? If they were really wanting to pull a fast one on the public, wouldn't they put less focus on science?"

This science stuff is a little heavy if you're not interested in knowing the truth but it's PERFECT for those who are doing their due diligence and researching whether or not this glyco stuff is really just the "placebo" effect or if these "sugar pills" actually make a true impact on health.

Lastly, I'll close with words from Kevin Robbins:

First off, know that 20/20 is not in the news business. ABC is not "mad at us". They don't care. They are in the entertainment business. And… all they care about is viewers and ratings. And what drives ratings? People love to watch train wrecks. So, ABC set out to create a HUGE train wreck. They heard about us through an ABC affiliate who ran a story on Angie. I'm sure they Googled us, read the class action lawsuit, and probably figured we were a bunch of hillbillies from Texas who were scamming people. They made up their mind and went out to "prove" their hypothesis.

But if you watch the episode again, taking the emotion out…. What amount of real substance did they really come out with? Almost nothing! They had all the resources of ABC news, they had all the time they wanted, they had access to anyone and everyone who might have been opposed to us. Going undercover, they went to countless number of meetings. I'm sure they talked to as many people as they could TRYING to get someone to say something inflammatory that they could use in their expose. They couldn't even find anyone who had actually taken our products and claimed that they didn't work (and don't think ABC didn't try to find someone who would claim that our products actually HARMED them).

All of that… and what did they come up with? They stated numerous times that Mannatech does NOT claim our products cure anything. They recorded associates saying the same thing. They didn't catch ANYONE directly promoting our products as a cure for anything? I think that is AMAZING! All they got were associates implying that people with certain conditions would benefit from taking our products. OK GREAT! They would… as would all of us! All they got was a couple of PhDs (who have NEVER tested our products) claiming that our science doesn't stand up to the wonderful world of pharmaceuticals. All they got was Bill Merlo being silly doing an ice-breaker before a M asking everyone to go shake hands and say, "I want to be rich"! Of course right before that, Bill said to go shake hands and say, "I want to be healthy"! All they got was some very old news about Sam having a prior business that failed (which of course has been answered dozens of times). All they got was building this HUGE story around "poor" Angie… and then at the end having to admit "no change" in her condition (of course implying that meant BAD NEWS, when in fact that was possibly VERY GOOD news for her).

So, if I could make a baseball analogy….. I believe that ABC sent their best and strongest hitter up to the plate with the bases loaded. And after hitting some LONG, LOUD foul balls, in the end, I believe they STRUCK OUT!

May God bless you and your health!

Happy Anniversary - June 5th

14 years! So hard to believe! No wonder my wedding photos are starting to look old-fashioned!

I guess early June wasn't as busy back in 1993 because Henry and I have struggled to find time to celebrate this special occasion the last few years. Tonight we had a YUMMY dinner at Chili's after Rocky's t-ball game. The Gardeners kept the 4 big kids and Captain stayed with us. After dinner we walked around an outdoor shopping mall and got some mix-up ice cream (Birthday Cake mixer from Stone Cold Creamery - ohmygoodness it was good!) Captain rode along happily in his sling and Henry and I just enjoyed an extremely pleasant evening together.

I'm sure my face will be puffy tomorrow from all the junk we ate tonight. Hmph.

I love you, Henry! Thanks for being such a Godly husband and father and for working so hard to take care of us.

Gotta Talk About Ball Season, Too

We're almost done with ball seaon, kinda. Ray's league finished with its regular season this past Saturday. I am thrilled to say that she won her team's Sportsmanship Award! It really is so cool because I KNOW she is one of the best encouragers on that field. As catcher, she took lots of opportunities to walk out to a struggling pitcher and give them sweet nudges and I believe she played an important role in her team coming back from a sad-looking start to the year and ending up in the PLAYOFFS! They won 6 straight games in a row! I'm very proud.

Rocky will be completing his season this week. He has a potential for playing 4 games this week! Isn't that crazy? I don't know who scheduled these things but couldn't they have known we would be tired of t-ball by now? Thankfully, it's been lots of fun but we're ready for it to be over. And this week it is going to be HOT! And it's pretty unlikely we'll be rained out. Darn drought!

Indie made All-Stars again this year so her season won't be over for several more weeks. If her team wins, they'll go even longer. She's really a heckuva ball player and can smash the ball like nobody's business. It's pretty cool!

I can't believe we'll have four kids playing next year! YOWSERS!

Back To Talking About The Family - Funny

Indie got real excited today when I climbed onto the bed beside her for naptime. I had Captain with me and she squealed, "Ohhh, I've never taken a nap with Captain!" Then she started patting his back and kissing on his bald little head. I told her, "You need to be sure you talk with your husband before you have children and make sure he knows you want your babies to sleep in the bed with you."

She asked, "Why?"

"Because y'all need to talk about it and make sure you both want the same things before you start having children."

"But where else would the baby sleep?"

"Honey, a lot of people put their babies in a crib. We did that with you and Ray because we thought we were supposed to."

Looking bewildered, "Why?"

"Baby, that's why you need to talk with your husband before you have children. A lot of people don't believe babies should sleep in the parents' bed."

"That's weird. If they don't sleep with you, you would have to get up every time they cry."

I figured there was no need to tell her about the idea of "cry it out" at this point.

Lord, please prepare a loving husband for my daughters and a loving wife for my sons and let their marriages glorify You in all ways, including a like-mindedness in all things that could cause a struggle between them. Please work in the lives of the sweet children and their parents right now as You move forward with the plans You have for them. Please continue working in me and Henry as we have been given the blessed opportunity to raise these sweet babes. Help us to mold them with Your Hands, God. Prepare a blessed union that will serve and glorify You through another branch in Your Vine. Amen.

So Much Media...

I'm exhausted with all that's in the media these days. My head spins with things I'd like to write about but I can't get it all together right now. Therefore, I'm going to just stick with providing you with some easy links to interesting interviews about a documentary I am dilligently working to have brought to Butterville before AL's next legislative session. Lotsa folks around here need to see this film!

Good interview here and a funny-ish one here

Are They Twins?

The girls HATE this question (supposedly) but they do favor each other...especially when Indie straightens her hair and wears Ray's clothes (or vice versa.)

Can you tell which is which?
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Scroll down for answer :)
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Don't you hate getting emails like this!? LOL
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Indie's Day!

Yesterday was Indie's 9th birthday! As I reminded her over and over, I just really can't believe it's been 9 years!

Starting Monday afternoon, I started talking about what we were doing 9 years before. I could tell she liked hearing the little details of what was going on back then. She chuckled as she had a realization of how young Ray really was! When it became a tangible thought that Ray was actually younger than her little cousins, Indie almost couldn't believe it.

I told her of how Henry and I were watching a rented movie (Red Square - it did not catch my attention and I don't remember anything except that it starred Richard Gere) when we decided it was time to head to the hospital. We took Ray to a friend's house, a friend she can't even remember (they have lived outside of AL for the last several years) and excitedly went to the hospital to have a baby!

**Indie, you are a precious joy in our lives. You have always been the smiling-est of children we've ever known. Your fun-loving spirit always keeps the house in a silly mood (even though we sometimes need it to be serious!) and you need to know that this is DEFINITELY a gift from God. There is no doubt your Heavenly Father has huge plans for you and we can't wait to see how God continues to guide your life. You encourage us with your natural love of people and the way your friendly approach to life is such a blessing to everyone in range of your gorgeous smile.

You really are a beauty inside and out. You have a strong maternal instinct and are such a dear blessing as you help take care of your brothers. I honestly appreciate all the ways you step in to help me. You make things much easier for me and I am so glad I can count on you to be a loving helper.

I hope you will continue enjoying this busy summer we are in and will keep playing ball in such a fantastic fashion. You're a strong player and we're very proud of you. We're sorry the crazy ball season has prevented us from doing anything super-big for your birthday but you know we're not done celebrating yet!

WE LOVE YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, INDIE!

1 Peter 1:6-9 NLT So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

My Bragging On The Fam

My Mother has been playing with OneTrueMedia now so I'm posting links to some stuff she put up. Small snippets of each when you click on the links below.


Henry Singing (with beard!) at the church Easter musical


Ray playing at piano recital


Indie playing at piano recital

After 3 Months...

I guess I'm finally ready to share some pictures from Captain's birthday!
I better get TONS of comments on this! It's taking a lot of courage to put THIS much out there for y'all to see! In fact, I'd love to have the number of comments equal the number of views so if you watch this, PLEASE comment - just to let me know who saw it, OK?

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Henry Is A Goober

My hubby spends his "breaktime" goofing off at the computer. This was emailed to me just moments ago:

Mother's Day 07

Hope it was a great day for everyone!

Special prayers for those who are yearning to be a Mom but have not received the desired answer from God about that yet. I know today is a tough day for those of you struggling with this and I just want you to know I am remembering you...

I'm also remembering those who have lost children and are feeling that extra-heaviness in their hearts today. I think of you often...

And to my Mother and Mother-in-Law, I know you have a place of sadness in your hearts too as you are missing your Moms today. Granny and Grandmother were beautiful, precious women and I miss them, too.

Thank you to Mom and MeMe for all that you have done for me and Henry and the kids. We love you very much!

I've Been Tagged!

I've been tagged by Hope at Hope For The Ta-Tas so here are 8 Random Things about me.

Here are the rules:
1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged write a blog post about their own 8 random things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog you need to tag 8 people and post their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment and tell them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

Random Things about me:
1. Our DVR is 72% full.
2. I'm going to be very involved with lobbying for a midwifery bill in Alabama these next 12 months.
3. I don't drink carbonated beverages and never have.
4. I really do love Jesus and am saddened whenever someone thinks faith is just something cute, cultural, or religious.
5. I want to go back to the Price Is Right and try again, even without Bob Barker.
6. When I get rare "alone time" I miss my kids terribly.
7. I dislike going to the dentist because it seems like a waste of time but I do it because it's free and my grouchy dentist always compliments me on my nice teeth.
8. I am getting lots of gray hair and have no plans to color it.

Tagged:
1. Amy
2. Jamie
3. JD
4. Joe
5. Lisa
6. Ryan
7. Suzanne
8. Willena

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We got rain! PRAISE GOD!

This May Day Is RAY DAY!

Happy Birthday to my little Ray of sunshine :)

11 years ago, from right now, I was getting into the groove of hospital labor. I had seen the midwife on May 6th for a 2:00 appointment and by 4:00 that afternoon, I knew that it was almost time.

I called Henry at work and told him there was no need to rush home but not to dilly-dally when he got off at 5:00. We didn't want to just sit around doing nothing so we drove up to Shoney's for supper. I don't know why Shoney's, but that's where we went and enjoyed our last pre-kid family meal. We saw a friend from school (Cassie F for those who remember her) and she asked, "When are you due?" and I answered, "Well, I think I'm actually in early labor now!" I think it weirded her out!

At 10:00 that night, I rationalized, "We should go ahead and call our family and go to the hospital. It'd be easier to tell everyone now before they all go to sleep for the night."

So we called everyone and headed towards B South Hospital. Most of the family arrived the same time we did! Being the first child born on both mine and Henry's sides of the family, EVERYONE was as giddy with excitement as we were!

So I went through all the normal checking-into-the-hospital things and got hooked up in the bed. Since my water wasn't broken, I was free to get up and go to the bathroom as needed but at all other times, I was required to be in bed and hooked up to the monitors.

Of course, I didn't know NEARLY what I know now and was 100% fine with all routines. And because my contractions were pretty regular, I was pretty much left alone once we got situated. I think they were just gonna let me labor the best i could through the night and then handle any possible delays in progression when the sun rose.

THANkFULLY, Ray kept moving down her pathway. Contractions were pretty regular and somewhat painful but I was able to get into a trance-like state and handle them. I remember staring at cross-sections of the white panel ceiling during each contraction. I also focused on breathing and as the pains got stronger, i would work harder at keeping my inhales equal with my exhales. That was the worst thing I did and as contractions got closer and closer, I began to hyperventilate. It was awful. Really awful. My face and hands were tingly and I had to have a paper bag to breathe into. When I got to the serious stages of labor, I had to really focus on handling the contractions and I had to have someone hold the paper bag over my nose and mouth until the contraction was over. That little pattern of breathing into a bag during each contraction really helped a bunch.

I also remember my Mom rubbing my feet and legs a little bit because they had some tingling sensations, too. And as things got more obvious that a baby was on her way, Henry started fiddling around with cameras and tripods. He had that nervous activity thing going on but also did a good job with helping me through the contractions. I think he liked being able to hold the bag ofr me because it gave him something productive to do.

A little before 8AM on the 7th, the midwife came in to check me and little did I know, go outside and tell my waiting family that it would be a while before there was any baby.

So breakfast became the topic of ocnversation. I remember people coming in and out of my room asking Henry what he wanted and that they were all running out to get some breakfast. I remember being hungry and mad that they were talking about food in front of me!

Mom and Dad went downstairs and wanted to speak to a friend who works at the hospital and knew he should be on his way in since it was right at 8AM. As they were getting off the elevator to find their friend on the 1st floor, before going to get breakfast, they were told by a lady at the desk that they needed to get back upstairs because their grandbaby was about to be born.

Since the message came via the hospital staff who said Mr. Trippe (Henry's Dad) was calling, my parents thought it was a joke. Mr. Trippe is quite the joker and if he had thought of it, he probably would have played this little prank. It wasn't a prank, though! After my midwife had checked me and left to tell everyone that a baby was a long ways away, the nurses helped me roll over in the bed to get some rest.

That roll made family history!

As I moved from my back to my left side, there was a loud POP and a little head receiving a crown :)

Ray was born at 8:11 AM after just 3 little-ish pushes!

This birth experience was such an awesome one that I started thinking about how I could share with pregnant Moms that not EVERY birth experience is a horror story. Good labors and births are totally possible! Even natural ones!

Even though it took me a little while to become a doula and eventually a homebirth advocate, it was definitely this experience that got me started thinking.

And it was this BABY that got me realizing that being a Mom is definitely one of the greatest blessings in the world and that I am SO HAPPY with this calling.

Ray, you are a precious jewel and I just love you to bits! You will always be that special introduction to the best part of my life...being a Mom! You are beautiful and oh-so-smart, and encourage me with your spirit and love of the Lord! I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU!

Psalm 20
1 In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry.
May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.
2 May he send you help from his sanctuary
and strengthen you from Jerusalem.
3 May he remember all your gifts
and look favorably on your burnt offerings.
Interlude

4 May he grant your heart’s desires
and make all your plans succeed.
5 May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory
and raise a victory banner in the name of our God.
May the Lord answer all your prayers.

Motivated

Honestly, I was motivated to write this post because of watching American Idol tonight. It was a GREAT show!! I REALLY hope the final two end up being Jordin and the obvious winner, Melinda, but after Phil and Blake's excellent performances tonight, I would hate to see them say goodbye. I really hope it's Chris' week but this is the week that two will go so I think the other will be Phil. He did a really nice job tonight but I believe his song choice was probably a little too foreshadowing. I'm afraid he'll go down in a blaze of glory...

Melinda -- oh my goodness, she's just awesome! She can sing A N Y T H I N G ! I had this laptop in my lap, doing some work, when she started singing and I had to set it aside so I could lean forward on my knees, pat my hands on my thighs, tap my toes and generally do a tired little rock-out. Incredibly enjoyable. She HAS to win this thing. SHe's the only one we're voting for so that we can do our part to prevent one of those tragic, freaky, and wrong dismissals.

And while I'm motivated to talk about reality contests, let me say I'm happy John Ratzenberger had such a good run on Dancing With The Stars. This has been teh first season I've seen where the dancers have been eliminated in a judicious order. If things continue in this manner, Billy Ray will be the next to go (he's been fun to watch, too) and then Ian. The last 3 will be Laila, Apolo, and Joey. I've yet to decide which of the guys I want to end up on top.

Motivated -- that's me! You know what I'm motivated about OTHER than blogging because of the boob tube??? I'm motivated to LOOK GOOD :) OK, to look as good as I can! I just got my first tube (cleanser) of M's preservative-free, Hunza-water skincare line and it is AWWW-some (hear me singing that!) I will be ordering the Serum and Moisturizer at the end of this week and then I will really be getting some good-looking skin on my face. And for a recovering sufferrer of acne for many years, this is uplifting in lots of ways. Even with as much as I've believed in and loved M's nutritional products, I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised at how well the skin stuff works, too!

I'm also motivated to lose weight. Even after just a couple of days of A3, I feel my body trying to kick into its fat-burning mode. My energy is increasing and I feel non-bloaty, for lack of a better term. I'm taking it slow and easy because of breastfeeding but I know I can do this safely and effectively. It's exciting!

Lastly, because of the following adorable pictures, I've been motivated to spend too much time uploading these so that I could share them with you. I hope you like them!


Ain't he darling? 11 weeks old today!


Posing like his Daddy in the middle of his haircut.


Rocky really looks like Henry, doesn't he?

Indie is a NUT! This was taken while we were waiting for Ray's Bible Drill to get started.

And here's Ray during her Bible Drill (The bible verse memory equivelant of a spelling bee.) She did a fantastic job all the way through the District level! We were extremely proud!

I hope you'll leave comments to keep me feeling motivated but I know that the feel-goodness of this week isn't from anything people have been saying TO me but because of what people have been praying FOR me. I've had a couple of specific prayer requests mentioned to a small handful of people this week and I just have to PRAISE GOD for these prayer warriors and for His answers.

11 And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety. 2 Corinthians 1:11