Alannah Raven

My week in Eldora

2009-08-19T17:56:00.001-07:00

This past week I went to Eldora, Iowa to do recovery work. I had fun for a number of reasons. One reason is that I got to help people get the personal belongings and raise their self-esteem.

One of my experiences I shared was with a nice lady named Patty. Her story was her house got ripped apart. Right then and there I felt bad for her already. Me, my dad and Greg went to help her get her personal belongings. The one and only thing she wanted out of that whole house was her grandmother’s quilt. The only thing she couldn’t get. Luckily she was fortunate enough to find us; my dad put on his hard had and his bunker gear and went in. He had to dig a little but he found it. There was not a tear in the quilt; it was in perfect shape, good as new. Those are some of the little things that are part of the reason this is what we do.

Another reason is that I got to spend time with my family, closest friends, further friends, and people I just met who are now my friends. This past week I got to spend time with my dad, my mom, a close friend of the family’s Nikki, Greg, Marie, Sue, Nick, Heather, Terry, Caile, Aaron and last but not least Tyler. Out of twelve people I only knew seven of them before I got there.

Some of the things that frightened me a little were when we worked 20-hour days and weren’t tired and were looking for more work. We hauled all from 2 pounds to 100 pounds. Whether it was a team effort or being alone, we got it done.

We were fortunate enough to stay at a wonderful camp. We had a cabin the first night but then we went in the lodge. The kitchen was huge. During the time that we were at the camp we ate delicious food. This food consists of canned corn, pudding, canned chicken, canned olives, canned peaches all cold and with plastic spoons and forks.

Aside from the canned food I loved doing this. No matter what kind of person you are helping someone re-start their life makes you feel great inside. Next time you see someone whether its just dropping a penny to dropping 1,000 dollars… help him or her. They will know what kind of person you are and no matter what you think someone is always watching or listening. Think about your image.

Stay healthy, Stay clean, and Stay away from windows during severe weather. No matter what kind

Eldora, Iowa Updates

2009-08-11T18:35:00.001-07:00

Check out updates on Eldora situation on the team blog. Find it on our home page, www.chasing4life.org

Bullies

2009-08-11T07:54:00.000-07:00

How many people out there think its ok to bully? How many people out there get bullied? Well if you are a bully i think you should stop. One reason is because, here i am not trying to scare you but, say you bullied someone everyday at school, But one day they weren't there. because they got bullied so much they moved or worse. How would this make you feel? Would you care. If you had a heart at all i think you would. This goes again with the whole put your self in there shoes blog i did.

If you are being bullied try to ignor it. I know sometimes its not as easy as it sounds. But we just all have to stick together. If we show it doesn't bother us then they will get bored. Also sometimes they just need love and care to because they only bully people because of problems they have at home. But other times it could be just to bully someone.

Your self.

2009-08-07T13:22:00.000-07:00

This week i learned what its like to put yourself in other people's positions. You know the phrase that people always say take a walk in my shoes and see how you like it. Well they don't literally mean put on my shoes and take a walk. They mean if you could trade lives with them for a day you couldn't handle it.

Well this week my sister went to a camp. They did a 30 hour famine. This was so that they could see what the kids in Africa go through for even more then 30 hours. My sister didn't like it so i think that maybe she now has a different perspective on life. That must have been hard. I would do that though.

Say you are a vegetarian, this is because you feel bad for the many many animals that are being hurt each day just so we can have food. Well the Bible says that God put animals on this earth so that we can have food. If you don't believe me it is in Genesis.

Next time you make fun of someone put yourself in there shoes. See how you like it for a change. It might change your perspective on life. You never know!

2009-07-30T05:58:00.000-07:00

I'll be out at the Buffalo County Fair today with KRVN Radio! Come and see me and bring your kids- I have Chasing4Life Coloring Books for them!

Tractors and kids don't mix?

2009-07-29T19:28:00.000-07:00

I know it may be a tradition to help your kids on the tractor or even ride in the semi by the time they are five or younger. I get that. Except it can be very dangerous. Most people think about the good and not the bad. The fact is that accidents do happen! And they can be prevented. There are kids abused everyday, there are kids hurt everyday, there are kids starved everyday, there are kids that die everyday. That is a scary fact to think about I know. That is why most people choose not to think about it. Most people choose to think positive. Which I am not saying is the wrong thing to do I am just saying there are precautions that we need to think about.

Tractors are responsible for 41% of accidental deaths of children under 15, yet 4 out of 5 farm children regularly ride tractors. So keep your kids safe or away from the farm. Personally I would rather keep my kids safe and be positive they won't get hurt by farm equipment, then let them work on the farm and risk them getting killed.

It's easier to bury a tradition then to bury a child!
For more information check out the KEEP KIDS AWAY FROM TRACTORS CAMPAIGN

2009-07-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

Friends.

2009-07-22T19:36:00.000-07:00

Do you have good friends? i bet 80% of people think they do but really don't. Have you ever herd the saying "Keep your friends close your enomies closer", well i bet some people do. You have to know and trust your friend well enough to tell them secrits right. Well have you ever wondered why the whole school know your secrit when you only told one person. It might be the fact that you don't have very good friends. Next time you go tell someone a secrit just know it probable isn't going to stay a sercrit for long! I am not saying that no one is a good friend and that you shouldn't trust anyone i am just saying watch for the little sighns from the ones that you do trust.

A good friend is not someone who says lets go to the mall in your car and then ditches you when you get there, a good friend is someone who says lets go to the mall we can take my car and then loves it when your there. Now it doesn't have to be going to the mall it can be any situation.

All i am saying is to watch who you trust because one day they can be your best friend and the next your enomy.

Websites!

2009-07-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

Do you know what websites your kids go on?
Is it just a kid website? Is it an adult website?
My advice to you is to tell your kids about the consequences of putting personal information on the web. I am not telling you that you can’t let your kids on websites, I am just asking you to watch and make sure that they are safe.
On Facebook it is for people all over the world just like Twitter, some websites may not be, but the most popular are. On Facebook you can tell because on the home page it shows you what countries it is in.
Kids should really go on websites such as disneychannel.com webkinz.com neopets.com, etc. My Space, Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube are really for adults. Don't let your kids go on these sites if they are too young and don’t know the consequences.
Here is a scenario: what happens when your 8 year old daughter is on Facebook and starts talking to a stranger? Will she know what to do? Will she get off line? Will she talk back and not think anything of it? Too many kidnaps happen that way. Wake up to reality!!! Anything online can be tracked. That’s how your kids disappear.

Some ways to prevent that is to talk to your kids about the dangers. Help your kids realize what could happen. Monitor your kids when there on line. Change the password when your not home! Protect the kids of tomorrow by doing something today.

Distractions

2009-07-17T19:48:00.000-07:00

Part 1:Some times when your at home trying to have a conversation with a friend or work associate and your kids just won't stop talking all you want is a distraction for them. Am i right? Well here are some idea's before hand. You should ask what they like or what they like to watch. If you know that then get them some toys or put it on their favorite Disney channel movie. What ever the case may be if they are bothering you, getting in your way, and
just won't stop talking, most likely they don't like what they have or you don't give themenough attention.

Part 2: When your having fun playing or talking to your son or daughter and suddenly you get
a phone call, do you answer? I think that it is ok to answer if it is an emergency. Or to tell
said person you will call them back. A senario here is say your playing on the X-Box with
your son, your right in the middle of a race on the second to last lap when your phone rings
so you press pause and answer the phone. Remember your kid is waiting to finish the big race.
So say it is one of your friends and you say "Yeah yeah i have time to talk". And then spend
a while on the phone while your son is sitting there waiting for you to get off the phone.
So finally an hour later you come in the room and say "Son what are you doing?" and your son
looks up at you and says "Well i was waiting for you!" That is a disappointment for them
and now they don't want to play another game, or talk to you because they know or assume
what your going to do in the middle of the game or conversation.

Review: Distractions can be either good or bad. Depending on the situation. Take the situation
into consideration before deciding anything offically.

*Alannah Raven*

Today we... Should be...

2009-07-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

Today we: Today we let our kids run around in the streets. Today we go out side with our kids during severe weather. Today we don't keep track of our kids like we are supposed to. Today we have pregnant teens. Today we watch our kids on the news for being involved in murder, rape, robbery, and other things. Today we buy our kids cigarettes. Today we watch them smoke it. Today we allow them to buy drugs. Today we watch them sell it. Today we don't put them on birth control when we know they need it. Today we don't take responsibility.

Should be: We should hold their hands. We should take cover. We should know where there going and when they will be back. We should talk to them about sex. We should talk to them or put them in counseling. We should protect them from cancer. We should help them put it out. We should tell them the consequences of doing drugs. We should throw it away or burn it. We should put them on birth control. We should take responsibility for our kids there actions and ours.

Love your children and help them out!!!

What makes a kid emotionally healthy?

2009-07-15T20:33:00.000-07:00

First, if you want your kid to be emotionally healthy don't put them down. Give them encouragement. Help them out once in a while. Tell them there doing a good job. Spend time with them, get to know them and what they like to do. When you give them projects sometimes you can help them. If you try to teach them something don't just dump it all on them at once work it out and explain it any questions they may have. I know that always helps me. Listen when they need help, and give them advice. Make sure that they know you will boost them up anytime they need to be. Make sure they know you'll listen. Don't give up on them. Don't shut them out. Most of all let them know that you love them, and it wouldn't hurt to tell them that every once in a while.

Second, if you don't care if your kids are emotionally healthy technically means that you don't care about them at all. If you don't do any of those things i said before then your kid can become very emotionally sick. Which means that they could need counseling. It could lower there self esteem and cause them to do all sorts of things including drugs, drinking, or robbery.

So in other words be nice to your kids, help them, listen, and love them!!!

Are the children of our country safe?

2009-07-14T20:55:00.000-07:00

NO!
Does that worry you? The children of our country are not safe, and here's why... This evening I read an article from Herald News, the town of Fall River is where they were located when this incident happened. On July 6, of 2009 a lady was driving through the town at the speed limit posted when suddenly a kid jumped out in front of her. She swerved so she would not hit the kid but then noticed that his mother happened to be standing right there. She then chased him away from the car. Parents, do you teach your kids how to walk across the street? If not here are the rules you should follow. Look both ways, walk on a cross walk, always hold the hand of an adult, and wait for the correct signal.

We are worried that if anyone else was driving the car the kid would be dead. This woman had a very good driving record, never sped, never texted, did makeup, ate, or drank while driving. She always looked where she was going. If this would have been any other driver doing any one of those things the kid could be dead from careless driving.

Do you leave your kids in the car to just run in and get something? Do you leave them buckled? How would they get away if something were to happen? Think about your actions before doing them! Make this world a safer place for all of us. Be worried about the safety of others and encourage others to be worried as well and do something about the safety of our next generation. The Kids!

Distressed kids

2009-07-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

Today I read an article about kids in distress from disasters. In a town called Hazleton they formed a camp called camp Noah. This is because there was a tornado that struck their town on May 22, of 2008 and the kids were still stressed. They formed this camp for counseling, and for fun. One thing they did was take the kids in a room full of counselers and had them tell their stories. One little girl told her story about how they all went to school the next day and there was one girl missing. They all thought she might have passed away but then she came that after noon and everyone was so relieved to see her. At this camp they have a wall, kids and volunteers placed their thoughts on the wall as they looked forward with hope. They call that the "Wall of Hope".

During their week at camp the kids do all kinds of crafts and activities. On thursday's they do what is called "Pass the Ribbon" as the ribbon is passed from child to child or person to person they name at least one person who has helped them in there lives. This camp is a day camp from 9am to 3pm but the kids learn so much. The camp goes on from Monday till Friday. Other camps will be held in up coming weeks at La Porte City, Shell Rock, Postville, Parkersburg, Waverly and Waterloo.

Oscar the prepared?

2009-07-08T14:47:00.000-07:00

For a long time I have listened to my dad talk about disaster preparedness. I am going to try to find cool websites and fun ways for kids to get involved in disaster preparedness planning! Maybe if we all work together, we can get the adults to start paying attention to disaster preparedness!

I don't watch Sesame Street anymore, but they have a cool website for kids about disaster preparedness. You can find the website at http://www.sesamestreet.org/ready

Hello!

2009-07-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

This is the first of what I hope is many posts you will read from my new blog. This year, I will be touring with my sister Cheyenne Night and we will be coming to your town soon so make sure you keep watching me so you know when I am coming!