I did the right thing...

I just wrote 10 paragraphs that I reread and figured it would tick you off - so I deleted it! Yeah for me. I thought of you and did the right thing!

Sometimes doing the right thing simply means shutting up. So, I thought I would give it a try.

SO, God bless you and keep you!

Shouldn't we make a little noise?

This is from an email I received. I like how he ended it - he said this was his attempt to make a little noise. My Pastor proposed the question last night, "If we were put in a time machine and went back to the days of Hitler, before he took control and took the lives of so many... What would we do? Would we sit back and allow it to happen or would we shout and tell everyone that this man was a mass murderer? Sure, many would look at us like we were CRAZY! However, wouldn't it be our responsibility to tell them anyway and then let them make that choice to believe?" Think about it. I am not saying Obama is a mass murderer, or a serial killer, or even a bad guy. Personally, I think he may be a nice guy. He certainly is a good "politician". However, is he the best choice for America? Are we trading morals for a guy in a suit and a bunch of promises? Neither of our choices are all that great, it is a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils....

"I know this is rather impersonal, and I know we're not supposed to talk about politics, but I'm pretty passionate about this subject. With the upcoming election, we have so much at stake...the very soul of our country, I believe.

Barack Obama has many plans he would like to institute...and all of them cost money.
CAPITAL GAINS TAX
MCCAIN
0% on home sales up to $500,000 per home (couples). McCain does not propose any change in existing home sales income tax.
OBAMA
28% on profit from ALL home sales. (How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income.)
DIVIDEND TAX
MCCAIN
15% (no change)
OBAMA
39.6% - (How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama becomes president.
INCOME TAX
MCCAIN
(no changes)
Single making 30K - tax $4,500Single making 50K - tax $12,500Single making 75K - tax $18,750Married making 60K- tax $9,000Married making 75K - tax $18,750Married making 125K - tax $31,250
OBAMA (reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts)
Single making 30K - tax $8,400Single making 50K - tax $14,000Single making 75K - tax $23,250Married making 60K - tax $16,800Married making 75K - tax $21,000Married making 125K - tax $38,750Under Obama, your taxes could almost double!
INHERITANCE TAX
MCCAIN
- 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax)
OBAMA
Restore the inheritance tax
Before Bush repealed this law, many families lost businesses, farms, ranches, and homes that had been in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Have any inheritance coming your way? Better plan on paying a huge part to taxes.
NEW TAXES PROPOSED BY OBAMA
New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet. New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren't high enough already) New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity) New taxes on retirement accounts.



You can verify the above at the following web sites:
http://money.cnn.com/news/specials/election/2008/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues/issues.taxes.htmlhttp://elections.foxnews.com/?s=proposed+taxes
http://bulletin.aarp.org/yourworld/politics/articles/mccain_obama_offer_different_visions_on_taxes.html%A0http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/candidates/barack_obama/
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/candidates/john_mccain/

Don't you think that if we all just were able to keep a higher percentage of what we earn, we might be able to pay for the things we need...and even help those around us? More taxes are not the answer.
Mainers also have a love for hunting and the great outdoors. Half the meat I ate growing up came from the woods out back. Barack adamently supports laws that would slowly (or perhaps rapidly)take away your right to bear arms. Willing to give that up?
And regardless of how you feel about abortion , Barack took the issue one step further. Three times he voted to not give care to babies born alive after abortions. These are living children who are left to die in dirty utility rooms, and he voted against giving them basic comfort care in their last hours. Regardless of what you call it, this is just cruel. If vets were treating puppies like this, the media would be all over it.
If you aren't registered to vote, please do so. We can't allow this man to have control.
A friend of mine from India recently told me that we must not be silent when doing so would cause great harm. This is my attempt at making a little noise."

Halloween - a holiday?

Okay, Halloween is NOT my favorite holiday. I mean - isn't it supposed to be a HOLY-day and Halloween is far from being holy. However, it is difficult to tell my children that they are not allowed to collect candy and dress up with their friends. So, we try to do it in a christian manner, bringing the light of Jesus into a rather dark holiday. We figure - if this is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be GLAD in it. Who says satan gets his own day anyway?

I have been reading lately about Halloween and what the practices of Halloween are supposed to signify. It is tough to be a christian and deal with this holiday. It is tough to have strong convictions of what we are allowed to do; by the Bibles standards, what brings the Lord joy and blessings, and try to do it all while trying to deal with your kids and your kids friends.

Apparently the act of carving pumpkins is rather crude. It is to signify the offering of your first born and I guess there is something in there about burning flesh too. In the days of the druids, evil spirits would go door to door to collect treats (I guess the remains of your burning first born) and if they got a treat they would pass over your house onto the next. So, kids began dressing up as "spirits" to trick people into giving them treats instead of getting tricks. YUM. Makes you want to run out and carve something doesn't it?

I struggled with this for a few years as we continued to carve pumpkins every year because everyone else did it. A few years back as we were carving and praying and pulling out the guts of these poor pumpkins, I realized - isn't this what the Lord does with us when we ask Him to move in? Doesn't He get into our hearts and do a good spring cleaning? He pulls out all that bitterness and sin and yuck and muck and gets our hearts all clean and fresh and then He moves in. Romans 8:11 tells us that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave dwells within US!

So, if we remove all this junk from the pumpkin and put a light in the pumpkin and the pumpkin is now smiling - isn't it a picture of what happens in our hearts and lives when Jesus enters in?

This year as the girls were carving their pumpkins, Ashley decided that instead of a face she wanted to carve a heart into her pumpkin. When asked why, she stated that if she put a candle in there she wanted her pumpkin's heart to light up like the light of Jesus.

We don't ever get anyone coming door to door looking for candy as we live in the country and our houses are too far apart to walk door to door. We always let the girls dress up though and we go to the local churches and collect candy from them. Of course they call it a Harvest Fest as a Halloween alternative.

I remember that as a kid before we were christians, Halloween was my dad's favorite holiday because his birthday was the next day. We decked out the house in everything haunted and frightening and "celebrated" big. After my Mom became a christian, we would hide out in the back room and turn off all the lights and pretend we were not home. As christians - should we hide out on this day? Should we pretend we aren't home? What would Jesus do? I really believe somewhere there has to be a happy medium. A balance between not giving the day to Satan but being bold in our convictions. Answer the door, christians. Be home. Be available. Be a blessing. Yes, we will have ghosts and goblins and other forms of evil knocking at our door, but we have to remember that hidden within these costumes are the dear ones that Jesus loves so much. Shouldn't we be available to them to love them and show them the love of Jesus? Maybe instead of candy we can pass out "Jesus loves You" pencils.

I am proud of Ashley that she has a heart for Jesus and so does her pumpkin. She sat and carved with love on her heart and in her mind. She wasn't practicing the ways of the druids, she was practicing the ways of our Lord and Savior. She was using that pumpkin to be a witness to the light that shines within her own heart!

Halloween certainly isn't a holiday, but October 31st is a HOLY-day. God created the day the same as any other day. Sometimes October 31st even lands - GASP - on a SUNDAY! Do you think the Lord would turn off the lights and pretend that He wasn't home or do you think He would light up His house for the world to see and proclaim that day as HIS day! You decide.

As for me and my house - we will serve the Lord on this day and every other!

That fallish feeling...

Sunday afternoon. No, a QUIET Sunday afternoon. A thing of dreams, yes?

Here I am - Sunday afternoon and the only noise I hear is the chirping and swinging of the baby swing. My 4 month old, Dawson, is stung and twisted a little so he is better able to suck on the little pillow behind his head. He is in heaven.

The two older children are downstairs playing in the rec room, once in a while I hear one asking the other a question about her Barbie, but otherwise, no yelling, no screaming, no hitting, no noise.

My in-laws are here. Mom-in-law is stug in her room taking a little nap.

My Dad-in-law, husband and two year old Bethany are outside doing some Sunday type chores.

The football game is on, but I am so used to ignoring Football, I hardly notice.

Here I sit. And you know what?


I'm bored.

Sure, I could be cleaning. I could be cooking. I could be doing anything. In fact, I should be cleaning. I should be cooking. I should be doing something. But, I don't wanna. Sometimes in the life of a mom, boredom is a luxery.

Remember when we were kids and we would whine to mom and say "MOM, I'm bored."
My mom would always reply, go clean your room, play with your hamster, play with your sister/brother, go do something. She never told me to enjoy - boredom is a luxery you won't always get!

I do plan to try a new recipe. I know it isn't fall yet, but I have that fallish feeling. My in-laws are visiting, the weather is starting to chill (at night) and it feels like apples and raisins. I am in the mood to get out all my pumpkins and leaves and scarecrows and decorate the house. Make a big apple pie, and maybe some raisin and oat granola bars. I do plan to use this time of peace and quiet to enjoy things I don't typically get to do. If I actually get to do any of it - I will take some pictures so that someone besides me can enjoy those fall decorations! LOL. Of course as soon as I log off with the intension of doing something, well, that is when the in-laws will wake and begin to stir, the baby will start crying, the girls will start fighting and the toddler will play in the mud and need a bath! With a house full of people though, perhaps this day and others like it - I will find myself with the ability to do what I enjoy. That is if I can remember what it is I enjoy!

Better full than empty...

I am stealing that saying from a friend of mine. She states that in one of her blogs. The reason - she states that she is tired of people telling her that she has her hands full. Isn’t that the truth? She, like me, has four children. In a society that the norm is what, 2 and 1/2? I still would like to see that 1/2. My two year old is about a 1/2 of the size of my nine year old, but about five times worth the work. Oh, I am not saying she isn’t worth the effort, all good things in life take effort, but she is, none-the-less, effort, and definately not a 1/2.

Anyway, back to better full than empty. What is Brenda’s point? That people stare at her expanded and “large” family and comment, “WOW, you have your hands FULL!” Her comment back, “Yup - but better full than empty!” I like that. Brenda is a real woman. She is a self proclaimed tree hugging hippie. In many ways, we differ greatly. We don’t share the same religious or political views. She is much more “natural” in her approach than I am. There really isn’t any level we should connect on, but we do. We are moms. I appreciate her and respect her for who she is. She is busy raising her children to be responsible, caring, intelligent people that will better society. That is my goal with my kids too. Now granted, our kids will most likely be on different sides of the issues - both passionate in their cause and both feeling that the other side is wrong, heldfast in their convictions.

Above all else, I hope that they will see the person on the other side of that issue and give them respect. We are all different. We all have our opinions and pigheadedness about us. I like to think I am right all the time, but as I have pointed out in other blogs, even my nine year old has proven me wrong on more than one occasion. I like that. I don’t like being wrong of course, but I like having a child with a mind of her own and a voice that she isn’t afraid to raise. That is the biggest lesson and gift that I would like to see each of my children receive. Along with that gift comes great responsibility. A mouth to voice our opinions, but ears to listen to others. We aren’t always right, we aren’t always wrong, and sometimes we have to agree to disagree. At that point, my hope is that they will have the discernment to know to still love the issue, but love the person more. There isn’t a lot in life that is worth the sacrifice of love just to get our point across.

I read Brenda's blog everytime she blesses her site with a new insight. Like I said, we don't always agree, but I do always learn something that I can take and use in my life. Her words are like mana to my soul. She is a mama who loves her husband and loves her children and strives to do the very best she can with the gifts that God has given her, as I try to do the best I can for mine. That we can always agree on!


I wonder if she too gets the comment, “WOW. Four children. Haven’t you figured out what causes that yet?”

I think next time I get asked that, I may have to tell them that we have a little too much free time at night!

Above all else, as moms know, Brenda is right. Life is better full than empty!

Surely he didn't pee that much!

Well another day, another flood. However, today I got blessed two times with two floods from two different children. Yup, you guessed it, Mischief woke up with no diaper on. Surprise, surprise. Same routine as yesterday.

Pan over to the potty, she is on it. She is admiring it. She has a huge smile on her face.

“Mommy, LOOK. Pee pee.”

Sure. I roll my eyes in disgust. We have been through this many times before.

“Mommy, I pee pee. NUM!”

Okay - num is gum in her two year old language. I know, it is awful, but I have reverted to flat out bribes.

“No, gum, Bethany. You have to actually pee pee in the potty to get gum.”

“Mommy, look in dere - dere is my pee pee.”

I walk over and sure enough there is a TON of pee pee nice and neatly in the potty and this child is PROUD. I started to cry. Wow - hormones are a funny thing. I want her to grow up, I want her to pee in the potty. I do. But with emptying the pee pee into the toilet from her little potty and flushing it, I realize, as I am saying bye-bye pee pee, I am also saying good-bye in part to my toddler that suddenly became a big girl.

As we walk proudly from the restroom, her with a shirt but exposed hiney because she still refuses to wear anything - I hear Dawson from the master bedroom crying. I smile. One down, one to go.

I walk in to pick up my son, and water starts flooding out of his diaper. He is wet, his clothes are wet, my bed is wet. Wet, wet, wet. Noah found a new place for his arc. This time I laughed. And then, I put him in the bath, changed my linens, put another load of laundry in the washer and we began our day.

Now Bethany hasn’t had any accidents, yet, though while in the bathtub she did announce that she went pee. I told her no pee pee in the bath Bethany. She laughed.

As I sit here and blog my day thus far, I have to ask myself, what is up with these diapers? Dawson’s diapers say right on the package that they are good for 8-14 pounds. Surely he didn’t pee that much!

Bless you!

What a day today has been. Ever have one of those days? You know the ones. The days when you feel like the center of some big joke and you are the butt of it?

My dear husband is still out of town with my older children. THEY are having a grand time. Meanwhile, I am at home with Chaos and Mischief. My precious in-laws are coming into town in the next few days. The house is a wreck and last week I was diagnosed with Graves Disease. So - there is a lot on my plate and a lot more to tackle.

After what seemed like already a very long day - see previous post about potty time (Yes, that was this morning) I was exhausted. Mischief had more energy than usual, and she is talking, A LOT. Where is Ka-Ka? (aka Katelyn, my eldest) Where is A-A (Ashley my second oldest) Where is Daddy? (You know my most precious and handsome husband who is always missing during life lessons) ALL day long. No joke. Every minute of the day. EVERY. Seriously.

My husband works from a home office so Bethany is used to having Daddy at her disposal and of course the older girls are home schooled, so we are always together. I explained and explained where they were. She was so offended. Why did she have to stay home with - gasp - Mother?

Back ground - husband is the fun one and I am, well, not so much. He takes off and plays - rides bikes, swings, rolls around on the carpet wrestling, you know FUN. I on the other hand, I am washing dishes, washing clothes, feeding babies, changing diapers (he doesn’t do potty) and picking up after my litter - of pigs! So my reputation in this household is that of, well not so fun.
I tried being fun once, but in the process we lost a kid in the piles of laundry and haven’t seen her since. HA. Okay, maybe not, but things did get pretty messy.

Anyway, after battling Bethany and her endless quest for Daddy, Ka-Ka and A-A, I was exhausted and frustrated and ready for a major break. So, I put Bethany down for a nap, early. That didn’t fly well with my little 2 year old. She had a melt down.

Frankly, I didn’t care. Dawson was asleep and I needed a break. I was sitting on the couch wondering if I would make it another day without my husband.

Ah - Ah - CHOO. I sneezed.

Silence.

“Bess you!” came a little voice from her bedroom.

And then I remember, that is right. I am bessed, er I mean blessed. God granted me the honor to be the Mother and keeper of these children for a season and even when things are tough, I am blessed!

So if you are a mother or a father - Bless you!!!