Steroid nasal spray eases mild sleep apnea in kids

Reuters - The corticosteroid drug
budesonide, given as a nasal spray for 6 weeks, benefits
children with mild sleep apnea, a study shows.

Read the original here:
Steroid nasal spray eases mild sleep apnea in kids
(Reuters)

Chicken Soup for the Soul Needs Stories About Twins and Multiples

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Twins and More

Whether you are a twin, the parent of twins, related to twins, acquainted with twins or just simply fascinated with twins, you’re sure to have an inspirational, humorous, or touching story about this relationship! We are looking for stories and poems that highlight the special bond that twins share, the joys and challenges of raising twins, the unique circumstances of their arrival, the “double trouble” that twins get into, the “multiple blessings” of being a twin or having them in the family, and much more! We’d love to hear about triplets, quads and more, too. As with all Chicken Soup for the Soul stories, they should be told in the first person, not be previously published, and not exceed 1,200 words. Topics may include but are not limited to:

• The journey through infertility, resulting in twin blessings
• The joys and challenges of pregnancy with multiples
• The perils of prematurity and life in the NICU
• Getting the good news and sharing it with others
• Sleepless nights and endless feedings
• The incidents that make twins “double trouble”
• The pranks and “switcheroos” pulled by identical twins
• Being a singleton in a home with multiples
• The chaos and silliness of everyday life with twins
• The special bond that twins share
• Adventures in double potty-training
• Getting out and about with twins, whether it’s to the store or on vacation
• Grandparenting twins
• Twins who arrive under special circumstances, such as adoption or surrogacy
• Single parenting with multiples
• Raising twins in a gay household
• The loss of a twin sibling
• Tackling the teenage years as a twin
• Twin tales from preschool, elementary school, high school and adult life

. . . and more!

If your story is selected for publication, you will receive $200, ten free copies of the book (worth more than $100) and a 50-word bio in the book. We cannot use previously published stories, but you will retain the rights to sell your story after it is published by Chicken Soup.

Please submit your stories through the Chicken Soup web site at www.chickensoup.com (click on “Submit a Story”).

DEADLINE: OCTOBER 15, 2008

Happy Mother’s Day Game: “Meal or No Meal?”

photo credit: billaday

For Mother’s Day week, I have added my own game show to the tradition of “Deal or no Deal?” I’m calling it “Meal or No Meal?”

I think I can compete with “Deal or No Deal?” host Howie Mandel but I refuse to shave my head.

My show works this way.

I have just been on a homeschool field trip to measure the width at the widest spot in the Fox River, the pediatrician, the post office, the oil change place, and pharmacy. But, of course, I am expected at 6:00 Pm to be home and produce a sumptuous, savory, and satisfying meal. Read more

It’s Time for Spring Housecleaning

One of our most difficult choices was to sell a new home we had built a year earlier. No, we didn’t have mold in the basement or obnoxious neighbors living next door; we just couldn’t afford it. We were house poor and we were honest enough to admit it. Moving into a house half the size meant we had to swallow a great deal of our pride.

Why was that so hard to do that one spring? Materialism teaches the lie that we are what we own. It promises that whatever we lack in our self-confidence we can make up in what we own.

God offers a wonderful alternative to materialism. It’s called contentment. Contentment is the choice we make to be at peace with the provisions God has placed in our lives. It’s a radical and counter-cultural thought.

Who we are is shaped by what we worship. True self-confidence comes from worshiping Jesus Christ. He allows us to be at peace with what we own, even if God never adds anything to it. If we have worked hard and followed Christ diligently, then all we own is all God must believe that we need for right now. Do you know the best news of all? God’s contentment doesn’t cost us a thing - except our misery.

Maybe instead of just doing spring housecleaning this year you need to consider downsizing to give yourself time for what is really important. Maybe you don’t need to sell your home but maybe you need to give up something else that is hindering the new true wealth which is time. You will finally be able to afford both quality and quantity time with your family. You may finally have time for a date night every week with your spouse. You may have time to deepen your relationship with Christ. You may have time to find that Christ can meet your needs in any and every situation because you won’t be chasing and running after everything else. You may have time for Scripture memory, prayer, church attendance, and Bible study.

At the Christian college that Bob attended a most unusual college course was offered. For thirty days each January during the coldest month of the year in Minnesota, a history professor took students to live in what what was known as “The Depression House.” The idea was to replicate the difficult conditions of rural America in the 1930’s. For one month the students would forego hamburgers, pizza, and tacos for a diet consisting of cornmeal, homemade bread, and beans.

The irony is that students flocked to the course. The majority were from affluent homes in which they had never known deprivation or struggle. The value of the course was that they discovered true contentment and happiness can survive even a Depression.

The apostle Paul from the New Testament wrote most of his letters while held in damp and dreary prisons. We can assure you those awful prisons needed a real spring housecleaning but Paul could speak of joy and contentment because he discovered that even in prison Christ is present and alive. The secret of contentment for the Apostle Paul was his relationship with Jesus Christ.

“I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Philippians 4:12b

God wants us to learn the lesson in our family and marriage that Christ is contentment. That’s the secret to really doing a spring housecleaning where it matters most - in your soul.

————————–

By Cheryl and Bob Moeller
Cheryl Moeller is a columnist for www.mommiesmagazine.com. She’s also an outrageous stand up comic for moms. Her syndicated humor columns will make you laugh until you feel better. Find out more about her new CD “Spin Cycle,” her humor columns and how you can bring her to speak at your mom’s group at www.momlaughs.blogspot.com

Bob is President of Marriage. His conference website is www.forkeepsconference.com. He is a pastor, speaker, TV show host, and writer on marriage issues.

They have co-authored two books. Marriage Minutes, Moody Press and For Better, For Worse, For Keeps, Marrriagevine Press can be purchased on www.momlaughs.blogspot.com.

“Twice the Love” Wins Best Parenting/Family Book in Reader Views 2007 Annual Literary Awards

(Austin, Texas) Twice the Love: Stories of Inspiration for Families with Twins, Multiples and Singletons (ISBN 1-891846-31-0, Twins Magazine, Inc., 2007) was selected as the best parenting/family book of 2007 by Reader Views Annual Literary Awards. Reader Views Annual Literary Awards were established to honor writers who self-published or had their books published by a small press, university press, or independent book publisher.

“Reader Views reviews more than 2,000 books per year from budding authors who have worked hard to achieve their dream of being published,” Reader Views Managing Editor Irene Watson says. “Our Annual Literary Awards recognize the very best of these up-and-coming authors, all talented writers who we know have very promising writing careers ahead of them.”

The Reader Views Annual Literary Awards are granted in 20 fiction and 30 nonfiction categories, as well as 15 specialized, sponsored categories. The entries are judged by Reader Views reviewers, all avid readers with a wide range of experiences, considered experts in the respective fields.

Reader Views is currently accepting submissions for the 2008 Literary Awards. Entry information, registration forms and further information can be found online at http://www.readerviews.com/Awards.html. Reader Views is an Austin, Texas, based company. They started December 2005 as a volunteer-based book review service. Shortly after the company’s birth they expanded into offering publicity services to authors. Now they are a one-stop center for budding authors. For more information, visit www.readerviews.com.

About Twice the Love: Stories of Inspiration for Families with Twins, Multiples and Singletons

Published in conjunction with TWINS magazine, Twice the Love is a compilation of inspirational stories written by parents and other family members about the joys and challenges of raising multiples. Susan M. Heim, former Chicken Soup for the Soul editor and founder of the TwinsTalk web site (www.twinstalk.com), collected these true tales about the joys and challenges of loving twins. Stories reflect a variety of topics, such as the special bond between multiples, typical crazy days in the life of a family with twins, challenges encountered in pregnancy or childhood, humorous situations created by multiples, adopting twins, and much more.

Twice the Love: Stories of Inspiration for Families with Twins, Multiples and Singletons (ISBN 1-891846-31-0, Twins Magazine, Inc., 2007) may be purchased at www.twinsmagazine.com/twice_the_love.html or www.twinstalk.com/twinsshop.

How to Teach Your Children the Most Important Thing about Easter

by Cheryl and Bob Moeller

At Easter we try to explain the resurrection of Christ to our children in a unique way so they will really understand it.

Numerous people have questioned and even ridiculed the idea of the resurrection of Jesus over the centuries. The author of The Passover Plot suggests that Jesus swooned or fainted on the cross. The author then claims that Jesus was later revived by the cool, moist air of the tomb.

Despite such novel theories that attempt to explain away the resurrection of Christ, Josh McDowell in Evidence That Demands a Verdict, points out several key historical facts that have never been refuted. (1)

We want our children to learn AND remember the Easter story. So we will try to not only tell but also show them what it all means.

This year on Easter Sunday morning our six children will get in their Easter baskets, along with 2 feet chocolate bunnies and lots of jelly beans, a plastic Ziplock bag filled with 6 special objects. These objects are symbols of historical facts that have never been refuted about the Easter Story.

1. Jesus predicted His resurrection. Before His death Jesus told His disciples that

“They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him. On the third day

he will rise again” (Luke 18:32-33).

For the first object we place in each Ziplock bag is a three inch piece of string

to symbolize a whip used to beat Jesus.

2. Jesus suffered actual death. Numerous doctors, researchers, and pathologists who have

examined the account of Jesus’ death have concluded He was definitely dead when He was

taken down from the Cross.

For the second one we place in their Ziplock bag is a blunt nail to represent

the Cross and the agony Jesus suffered there for us.

3. Jesus was buried. No one has suggested, not even His enemies among the religious

leaders of that day, that Jesus was never buried. The leaders went to the ruling Roman

governor Pontuis Pilate and pleaded that the tomb be sealed and guarded (Matthew

27:62-66). No one would ask that an empty tomb be guarded.

For the third one we place in the Ziplock bag is a small rock to represent that

the tomb was sealed.

4. The tomb was empty - except for the grave clothes. If the tomb of Jesus wasn’t

empty on Easter morning, the ruling officials would have just had to produce the body

for public viewing. They would have silenced everyone.

For the fourth symbol we place in the Ziplock bag is a white kleenex to

represent the grave clothes.

5. Despite centuries of attacks no critic has been able to adquately explain away

the resurrection. Even Christ’s enemies never refuted His resurrection. Although the

early believers were persecuted for their faith, the facts of Jesus’ resurrection were

never publicly protested or refuted by His enemies (Acts 5:27-31).

For the fifth one we place in the Ziplock bag is a small Cross.

6. The disciples’ lives were changed. Jesus’ followers were demoralized, frightened,

and confused after His death. Then something significant changed this group of cowering

fugitives into a group of fearless evangelists. What was it? The answer is

simple-they saw the risen Jesus.

For the sixth symbol we place in the Ziplock bag is a toothpick to represent a

match, showing that a fire was started and it’s a Flame that cannot be

extinguished.

Each one in our family has have been transformed because we too have met the

risen Jesus. Our sins are forgiven, our future in heaven guaranteed, and

our daily life filled with His living Presence. The key is to place your entire faith on

His finished work on the Cross. Our prayer for ourselves and our children is that we

will be an irrefutable, living argument for the resurrection of Christ

“After He said all of this, he showed then His hands and side. The disciples were

overjoyed when they saw the Lord.” John 20:20

footnote

(1) Josh McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict, vol. I (San Bernardino, CA: Campus

Crusade for Christ, 1972).

———————————————————

Bob Moeller is President of Marriagevine. Conference site is:

www.forkeepsconference.com

Cheryl Moeller is a stand up comic and humor columnist for moms.

www.momlaughs.blogspot.com

Together they have authored two books on marriage. Both books Marriage Minutes,

Moody Press 2000, and For Better, For Worse, For Keeps, Marriagevine 2007, can be

purchased on the conference website above.

Exciting News for Families with Twins and Multiples

Did you know that today is Twins Day? Okay, it’s not really, officially a day for twins (and I’m not talking about the Minnesota Twins here, either). But I have a lot of news about all the exciting things that are going on for families with twins, triplets and more. If you are the parent of multiples, a twin yourself, close to twins or just fascinated with twins and multiples, please read on.

First, I have a wonderful new website for parents of twins and multiples. It’s called TwinsTalk, and it’s filled with great tips, tales, and articles about raising twins. You can submit your twins’ pictures for a chance to become the Multiples of the Month and receive a free book, and participate in the forums to benefit from advice offered by other twins’ parents. If you’re parenting twins or triplets, please join our community at www.twinstalk.com.

Second, I am collecting stories for my next book and the new TwinsTalk website. If you have an inspirational, humorous or touching story about the twins in your life, please submit your stories to susan@twinstalk.com. Articles and tips about raising twins are also welcome for TwinsTalk.

Finally, I recently wrote the Foreword for a wonderful book called Twin Connections: Stories That Celebrate the Mysterious Bond Between Twins. Author Debbie LaChusa, a fraternal twin, always wanted to know if other twins experienced the same things that she and her sister did. This curiosity led her to begin collecting stories from twins around the world that demonstrate the unique bond between twins. Please check it out at www.twinconnections.com/book.htm.