PINATAS ARE DONE!!

We finally finished the pinatas. I am very proud of Fred the dinosaur! I think he turned out awesome and NO we are not gonna bust him. Jacinta made Hannah Montana, Kalysa did BOB the tomato and, since the head fell off of Keslee's duck, she made a hot air balloon. Jacinta does not want to bust hers either but the little girls can't wait to smack theirs. I have got to get some candy and we may do that this weekend. We learned a lot about paper mache and what works best and what really doesn't do so great. In case anyone else is wanting to do pinatas, here is what I now know.....
1.The bigger the balloon is not always better!
2.Instead of dipping the paper in the glue(we used liquid starch) it is much easier and less mess to paint it. With a medium paint brush, paint glue on the spot to put the paper and then paint glue over the paper.
3.Do not pop the balloon until all decoration is done. We have a few crators.
4.It is not a quick project. It takes 24-48 hours for it to dry. We did 2 layers of paper-dry-2 more layers of paper-dry-docoration with tissue paper-dry-then some painting to finish the decoration(paint drys pretty quick).
5.It takes more stuff than you expect (at least if you make 4)-we used almost 3 bottles of starch(if we would have used paint brushes in the begining that would have been less)-6 or 8 newspapers and over 1/2 of a 50 sheet pack of tissue paper.
6.A little creativity goes a long way!!
7.It is messy but really FUN!
Hope you all like the photos!

BUSTED BAILOUT

Well the bailout plan did not pass the vote in congress and many people were really shocked. The news had already reported that the agreement had been made and they made the vote sound like just a technicality. I have not written anything on the bailout before because I am no economic scholar and wasn't really sure how I felt about it. Well I have been watching, reading, and discussing and now I know that I don't like it and don't want it. I do not see ANY reason for the American people to pay for these financial giant's mistakes. When Monty and I mess up our check book by even $100, NOBODY bails us out and we don't ask them to. We have to buckle down, start over and fix our own mistake and we have to suffer the consequences of that mistake. Why should they be any different. I truly do not want to have to live through another "great depression" because I know that it would suck! It would be VERY hard but mainly because we are VERY spoiled. Running water and a bathroom inside the house was a luxury. Now people don't have luxuries. Cell phones and cable and Mcdonalds and this computer are all necessities in the eyes of Americans. The people that lived through the depression proved that Americans are smart and resourceful. They came together and buckled down and did what they had to do and our country prospered because of it. They survived and we can too. Feeling the pain of hard times is not a bad thing. When we raise our children we try to let them feel the pain of not getting everything they want. We try to teach them to be grateful for what they do have. We have to make them face the consequences of their bad choices. We know they will never know joy without feeling sorrow. We do not keep them from all the tuff things kids have to go through, we utilize them to teach lessons. We do this in order to make them strong and responsible adults. The problem is that many of the adults running things now are not strong or responsible. If we begin bailing out the people that have destroyed our economy we are opening the door for them to do the same thing to us again. We are not teaching our children the skills they would need to survive. The only way for Americans to tap into these skills is to be faced with these challenging times and deal with them. We will learn from them. We will be more careful about how we elect next time. We will learn to appreciate the things this country has to offer. We will buckle down, start over and fix our system. WE THE PEOPLE will do it not we the government with the people's money.
note for election time...
Our congressman, Dan Boren said his office was flooded with calls and emails against the bailout 400 to 1 yet he still voted for it saying he knows more than the American people. His job is to represent us yet he voted against his people when there was no shadow of a doubt what they wanted. We do not need congressmen that feel they are going to Washington to protect us from ourselves. We need congressmen that will listen and REPRESENT us.

BLESSINGS!!

HERE ARE MY BLESSINGS FOR THE WEEK.....

1.THE KIDS REALLY EMBRACING THE CHORE CHART.
2.BEING A STAY AT HOME MOM SO I AM AVAILABLE TO HELP OUT A NEIGHBOR .
3.KENYON AND HIS FRIEND JONATHON CLIMBING EVERY TREE IN THE YARD. IT IS GOOD TO SEE HIM JUST HAVE TIME TO BE A BOY (SCRATCHES, BLOOD AND ALL).
4.GETTING THE KITCHEN CLEANED-COUNTER TOPS, STOVE TOP, DISHES, TRASH, SWEPT AND MOPPED ALL IN THE SAME DAY! =)
5.KESLEE READING MORE AND MORE EACH DAY!
6.KALYSA ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS (UNDER HER BREATH) THAT I AM ASKING KESLEE DURING SCHOOL EVEN THOUGH SHE IS DOING HER OWN WORK.
7.JACINTA LOVING SCHOOL-WE NORMALLY FIGHT LIKE SISTERS (REGARDLESS OF THE AGE GAP) AND SHE HAS HER PRE-TEEN ATTITUDE BUT DURING SCHOOL SHE IS LIKE A JACINTA I HAVE NEVER KNOWN BEFORE-SWEET AND HELPFUL AND EAGER ETC. IT IS REALLY NICE.
8.MONTY BEING SUCH A HARD WORKER (20+ HOURS OVERTIME LAST WEEK) SO THAT I AM ABLE TO BE HOME.
9.MONTY LOVING ME SO MUCH THAT HE WILL WORK THAT HARD FOR ME AND THE KIDS AND STILL PICK UP THE PAPERS EVERY NIGHT FOR ME AND MOM AND NEVER COMPLAIN!! WOW! WHAT A GREAT GUY!
10.MY GRANDMA! I TALK TO HER ABOUT EVERYDAY(SOME DAYS 2 OR 3 TIMES) AND WHEN MY PHONE WAS OUT I MISSED TALKING TO HER SO MUCH

MEXICO

In Kenyon and Jacinta's studies we are "traveling" around the world and learning as we go. We are in North America now. We finished up studying the United States about 2 weeks ago where we learned the 50 states, learned about deserts and desert animals, and memorized all the presidents. At the end of our stay in America, we cooked a typical American meal-sloppy joes, fried potatoes and green beans-and had some good ol' apple pie with a scoop of ice cream on top. That Mrs. Smith is one good cook! We had applied for our passports and when we received them(after I made them), we headed to Mexico. It was a short flight but the landing was kinda ruff, probably because it was my first time to fly a living room. We all had to go through customs, get out passport stamped with a Mexican flag and exchange cash for (homemade) pesos. Twenty bucks gets you over 200(I don't remember what the exact exchange rate was) pesos so the kids thought they were rich! Kenyon did try to exchange his (homemade) pesos back to American money (my $20 bill) after a few minutes saying he didn't want to buy anything while he was in Mexico. Yea, he thinks he is slick but they had to pay for their lunches with pesos. We are reading a missionary story about Cameron Townsand that worked with Indian tribes in Mexico and translated the New Testament into their own languages. We have learned about what the colors on their flag stand for and other interesting facts about the country. We are nearing the end of our stay and are planning a fiesta! We will be making homemade tortillas and of course we had to have a pinata(or 4). By the way-did you know pinatas actually originated in Italy? It is true but they are now a staple of the Mexican lifestyle. Anyway...we have a Hannah Montana head, Fred the dinosaur, a duck(whose head has fallen off), and a Bob the Tomato paper mache pinata in the process of drying so they can be decorated for our fiesta. Above are a few before photos, I will be sure to post the after photos before any of them get SMASHED!

THE CHORE CHART IS COMPLETE!

I finally got the chore chart finished. The top picture shows the chore cards. I used photos from a free clip art website (not sure which one, I looked through several) and pasted them onto a 3x5 card and covered them with laminate. On the back the chore is written out. That way Keslee and Kalysa can see what the chore is even though they can not yet read them all. Each of the kids have 2 pockets on the chore chart. I will put chore cards in their "DO" pocket. Throughout the day they will work on things in the "DO" pocket. When they have finished the chore they move the card to the "DONE" pocket. I will check their done pockets. If I see that the chore is complete, I return the card to the "CHORE CARDS" pocket to be redistributed later. If the chore is not completed or not completed correctly, I return the card to their "DO" pocket. I have had the cards finished for a few days and the kids have gone through them all and become familiar with what each picture means. They were anxiously awaiting the completion of the chart itself and were quite excited to begin (pray that excitement will stay!!). When I finally got the chart finished and posted today, I gave each one a few cards in their "DO" pocket(we only had a few hours before church so I didn't expect too much.) They immediately jumped into action and each of their individual personalities came pouring out.
Kenyon-the oldest, always feels he has to do everything, wants to find the quickest, easiest way to finish anything that is not playing so that he can go back to playing-was the first one to the chart going through every card in his pocket and his sisters switching the ones he did not want or that may take him any time at all. We will have to come up with a system that will prevent that behavior but for now I am going with threats of more chores if you get into anyone else's pockets or switch any cards!
Keslee-my pleaser and peacekeeper, always wants to make EVERYONE happy, is very giving and nurturing and most often the least selfish person in the house-started running around doing her chores and doing other chores she knew we had cards for that had not been assigned, going through the chore card pocket to find the cards for others she did and putting them in her done pocket. New rule-only PARENTS can put cards in or take cards out of the chore card pocket.
Kalysa-the baby, the perfectionist that is harder on herself than anyone else would ever dream of being, the one that will take so long just to cut out a craft as to make sure she does it PERFECTLY ON THE LINES that Keslee can finish her school lesson AND the same craft before she is finished cutting-started in on her chores and then just stood at the chart. When questioned, she told me what she had finished. I told her to put that card in the done pocket. She says what if there are more(bring any dishes from other rooms to the sink.) I tell her to go check again. When she returns she stands there a minute and then says "I don't know what to do with this card." She had trouble putting anything in the done pocket because she is never really DONE with anything. There is always something she is STILL doing or doing AGAIN in order to get it just right. I have no clue on how to remedy her situation (maybe because she kinda gets that trait from her momma?!?)

So now we have a chore chart and all the individual issues that go with it. I can't wait to see how this thing turns out. We may be all seeking counseling before long.

DID YOU KNOW?

I have spoken a few times about Obama's liberal views. I have just assumed that other people know what I am talking about. Recently I have talked to 2 family members who had no idea some of the things Obama stands for(they were not planning on voting for him anyway!). I forget that not everyone is reading news articles that the main stream media does not report on. I decided to write about just one of the most disturbing facts about Obama that many people may not have heard about.

Obama is not just pro-choice or pro-abortion, he is pro-baby killing. To many people these all sound the same but the last one is really disgusting. It is truly unbelievable that a man that claims to be a christian could ever take this stance. So here is the story....there is a hospital in Illinois(Obama's state) that performs late term abortions by inducing labor. The labor process is supposed to kill the underdeveloped baby and result in stillbirth. On occasion the baby survives the process and is "accidentally" born alive. The policy of this hospital (which had the audacity to have the word Christ in it's name) was to deny medical treatment and lay this living premature baby in a utility closet until it died on it's own. This process could sometimes take several hours. A "Born Alive Infant Protection Act" was written to say that the doctors involved in these abortions would have to provide medical treatment to any baby that is born alive during one of these abortions. Obama, as an Illinois senator, spoke out against this bill. A nurse that had discovered and shed light on this practice spoke to the Illinois senate and even presented photos. Photos of babies that were wanted and receiving medical treatment(like my daughter) the same size or age as unwanted babies left to die. She says Obama did not seem phased at all by her testimony and even thanked her for a thorough presentation(of course she was fired from the hospital). Obama refuses to acknowledge these living babies are even people shown by this quote.....
Obama on the Senate floor, 2001: "...... whenever we define a previable fetus as a person that is protected by the equal protection clause or the other elements in the Constitution, what we’re really saying is, in fact, that they are persons that are entitled to the kinds of protections that would be provided to a – a child, a nine-month-old – child that was delivered to term....."

Last time I checked we were all entitled to "LIFE, liberty and the pursuit of happiness..." We, as a country, have allowed the life to be removed from the God given rights of babies before birth with abortion on demand. Obama wants to also take the right to life away from babies AFTER birth because their mother had intended on them being aborted. He would not call these living breathing babies "people" because our constitution says "people" have the right to life. I have MANY problems with the views Obama has and where he wants to take our country but this one is the most disturbing. How can anyone expect this man, as president, to protect us as fellow Americans. He will not even protect the least of us, these babies. He will not even admit that they are babies. He has already planned on aborting his own grandchildren if his girls ever are faced with an inconvenient pregnancy as to keep them(his daughters) from being "punished" with a baby. Ok, so that is a whole different story and I said I was gonna discuss 1. I would hate for someone I know to vote for Obama not knowing what he believes, especially if I do know. Anyone that will vote for him knowing these facts.....I will leave that up to God.

REVIVAL IN THE WHITE HOUSE!

I know that there are many Christians that are concerned about voting for John McCain because he is a little more liberal than many of us are really comfortable with. There are many that will not be voting for him because of this and will choose to vote for someone in a party other than democrat or republican. I can definitely understand their stance but I also know that either McCain or Obama will be the next president. Those are the 2 choices we have. Third party nominees are not on the ballet in all states and their views are not heard by enough people to give them a chance in winning. Being Christians, we should always be praying for our country and it's leaders. Prayer is our most powerful resource and we should be taking full advantage of it. I remember several times when our "old" preacher used to say things like "Imagine if Hitler had gotten saved when he was at the height of his power." That is the outlook I am choosing to take on this election. Imagine what can happen if John McCain wins and then is truly saved during his stay in the white house!?! I know McCain already claims to be a Christian and we can not judge someone else's heart. Only God knows what is in your heart. We can judge people actions and some of his actions are what have many Christian voters concerned. Based on the things I have seen and read about Sarah Palin, she is a Bible believing, God fearing, strong Christian woman. With her and her husband as a witness for God to the McCain family, imagine what could happen! If we were to have a true revival take place in the white house with the president, his family, the vice president and her family-WOW! That is what this country truly needs. REVIVAL! It is time! We have got to get our country back into God's will or suffer His wrath! This could be the opportunity for that to take place. I know McCain/Palin has not yet won the election but I don't believe we should wait to start the prayers. Obama is sooooo far away from having any conservative Christian views it is not real probable that he is the one to bring revival(nothing is impossible with God so if he were to win, I think our prayer should be the same). Just take a few moments to imagine the possibilities! Do you see the vision of what could happen in our country? Can you picture living in a country that is back on the RIGHT side of God's law instead of fighting against it? Do you believe God is in control and has the power to make that happen? Do you believe God is bigger than the giants? Well if you really do why are you still reading this silly blog when YOU SHOULD BE PRAYING!?!?!?

BLESSINGS!!

I HAVE HAD LOTS OF TIME(WITH NO PHONE) TO THINK ABOUT WAYS I AM BLESSED SO I DECIDED TO BE THE 1ST ONE TO SEND THEM OUT THIS WEEK......

1.HEARING KENYON YELL "PRAISE GOD!!" WHEN HE GOT HIS GAME CUBE TO WORK(HE HASN'T PLAYED IT IN AT LEAST 6 MONTHS-I CLEANED THE LASER LENS AND WAAALAA...IT WORKS AGAIN!)

2.KALYSA RUNNING IN AND TELLING ME "JESUS HAS THE POWER TO MAKE KENYON'S GAME WORK!"

3.KESLEE YELLING "OH GOD I WANT TO KISS YOU RIGHT NOW! "(AFTER GAMECUBE STARTED WORKING-THEY WERE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT GAME CUBE!)

4.MY HUSBAND BEING SO SWEET (REFER TO "MY HUSBAND IS SO SWEET" POST ON BLOG)

5.GETTING 1/2 OF THE CHORE CHART DONE AND LAMINATED-IT IS REALLY A CHORE TO MAKE THE CHART!

6.EMAILS FROM ANGELA AND DEDRA-YOU GUYS CRACK ME UP!! I LOVE YOU GUYS!!

7.BRYN WANTING TO NAME HER PET RAT CHARLYNNE-I AM GONNA TAKE IT AS A COMPLIMENT ANYWAY!

8. EDIT: FORGIVNESS-FROM THE HEAVENLY FATHER AND EARTHLY FRIENDS!

9.MAMIE-I AM SO GLAD TO HAVE HER AND HER KIDS AT CHURCH EVERY WEEK. HER FAITHFULNESS IN UNIMAGINABLE TIMES IS A REAL INSPERATION.

10.HOMESCHOOLING!!! I LOVE IT! I CAN'T BELIEVE I RIPPED MYSELF OFF FOR SO LONG(OH YEA! AND MY KIDS)

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!

DAY 9

I HAVE A PHONE!!!!!!

PHONE-DAY 8

Well the phone guy was here this afternoon and found out that my phone is not working and the problem is in the outside cable-DUH! HELLO, I TOLD YOU THAT! So this guy was a LINE technician and could not fix it so he had to put in a report for the CABLE technician. He should be out tomorrow. And they are not even nice like the cable tv people that say "your appointment is between 10am-12pm and someone will need to be home." The phone company says "your appointment is between 8am-6pm and someone will need to be home."THANKS!! I WAS NOT PLANNING ON HAVING A LIFE TOMORROW! I WILL NOT EVEN TAKE A SHOWER IN CASE I MISS THE DOORBELL! YEEHAW! I can feel the sarcasm starting to kick in(did you notice that too?). It is a coping technique. Sorry!

WHOSE SIDE ARE THEY ON?!? (not mine!)

Of course I am talking about the democrats that are in power in congress and the one trying to get power of the white house. Our gas prices have been through the roof for like 50 years now(at least that is how long it feels when I drop another $75 to fill the van). Common sense tells us that if we were making our OWN fuel instead of being at the mercy of countries that don't even like us it would be a better deal. We all know the democrats in congress have prevented us from drilling for the resources that God gave us to use right here in our own soil. Well the pressure was on them. People have stopped blaming Bush for the gas prices(of course they still blame him for everything else) and have demanded that the congress drill here now. Well they have passed a bill to allow drilling. Only problem is it probably would not amount to any drilling here. They are trying to force the president to veto a drilling bill in order to place the blame back on him. In case you have not read about it, here are few of the problems with their bill....
1.drilling must be over 50 miles from shore-we already know where the oil is within the 50 miles so we would have to bypass the massive amounts we know about to begin exploration for it elsewhere. Nobody can SEE 50 miles. You can not even see for 20 miles so this point can not be added to protect the beauty of the beaches. It is just a way to prevent the drilling.
2.The state would have to agree to the drilling but would not be allowed to benefit from any of the findings. OK-so the state has to say go ahead-don't use what we know we have-here is the money to explore for more-here is the money to drill it -We get nothing but we don't care-YEA RIGHT!!!! One more way to prevent the drilling.
3.They also include huge extra taxes for the oil companies-again-if we go get all this oil 50+ miles from shore we will be taxed even more than we are now. Everyone knows things always get better with MORE taxes, right?-NO THANKS! (no drilling)
4.And the biggest problem with the bill is that most news outlets will not report the details of the bill and most Americans will not read it. When is does not pass the Senate or Bush is forced to veto the stupid thing the democrats will say-See we tried to help the little guy but the republicans would not let it happen-WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!!!

Now on to NObama! It has come out that on his trip to Iraq a while back he met with the leaders there and asked them to hold off on any negotiations with America about our troops leaving until AFTER the election. This idiot would not admit that we were winning the war there until about a week ago but HE NEW WE WERE ALL ALONG! He wanted to be sure that nothing Big(that Americans would all see) happened until after he was elected president so that he could then take the credit for it! He bashes Bush on his war efforts (and McCain for supporting them) every chance he gets but then tries to stack the deck so that he can look like the hero. WHAT A LOSER!!! Is there really anyone in America that has not seen through this liar yet? Can anyone really be considering voting for him? I don't see how.

The democrats always try to claim that they are the ones that are for the little guy. They must BE the little guy because the only ones they are trying to help are themselves!!! I know one thing for sure-THEY ARE NOT ON MY SIDE!

MY HUSBAND IS SOOO SWEET!!

Before this blog I had a family website(that I did not get updated very often). When I took on the blog world I planned on just deleting the other site. Monty really wanted to keep it so I told him he could then take on the task of keeping it updated. Well he has been playing around with it and learning how to do everything. He has not gotten much done(besides the most important-posting Dallas football schedule), but he did have something to say about me. I decided to share it with the world....

DEFINITION: TO DEFINE THE TYPE OF WOMAN CHARLYNNE IS. WOULD TAKE TOO LONG. SHE IS WONDERFUL, CARING, AND LOVING. I COULD HAVE NOT ASKED FOR A BETTER WIFE. SHE HAS BROUGHT CHANGES IN MY LIFE THAT WERE SERIOUSLY NEEDED. SHE IS AN AWESOME WIFE AND MOTHER. THE WAY I HAVE SEEN HER TAKE ON HOME SCHOOLING IS AMAZING. WITH NO FEAR IN HER EYES AND GOD ON HER SIDE I KNOW MY KIDS WILL GET THE PROPER EDUCATION. ONCE A PERSON IN TOTAL CONTROL SHE HAS GIVEN ME THE TASK OF BEING IN CHARGE. WHETHER IT BE LEADING OUR FAMILY OR MOWING THE LAWN(SHE COULD HAVE KEPT THAT ONE) I HAVE NO DOUBT SHE WILL STAND BY MY SIDE THROUGH IT ALL. IN SEPTEMBER OF 1994 I KNEW SHE WAS THE ONE. AND ON OCTOBER 14TH WE MADE IT OFFICIAL. A MAGNIFICENT WOMAN WITH A STRONG MIND AND GREAT HEART GOD GAVE ME THE CREAM OF THE CROP. THE KIDS AND(MYSELF) MAY DRIVE HER CRAZY BUT I KNOW SHE WOULDN'T GIVE IT UP FOR ANY THING IN THE WORLD. A GREAT WIFE A GREAT MOTHER AND ONE AWESOME WOMAN!!!

I was really touched when I read it. Monty is the kind of guy that doesn't really talk a whole lot about feelings except once in a while(usually about 3am when it is quiet and we start "remembering the good ole days") so I don't always know exactly how he feels about things. When I started homeschooling, I don't know that he was completely on board. He did not understand it and asked lots of questions then just said if God is telling you it is best then do it. He has really embraced being the principle and I am really glad to read about the confidence he has in me. I LOVE HIM!

edit:family website address removed

THE 6TH DAY!

It has been 6 days so far with no phone! Last week, when we were getting lots of rain, my phone had a lot of static on the line. By Thursday it was so bad I could not hear anything else. My mom told me how to check if it was my inside lines or the phone company's outside lines-it was outside. I put in a trouble ticket. The good news is I wont have to pay anything because it is the phone company's problem; however they are not gonna get it fixed until at least Thursday the 18th! A whole week! I wasn't sure how I was gonna make it but at least I still have internet(don't know why when I have no dial tone.) I sure hope they are gonna credit our bill for the week with no service. I haven't talked to my grandma or Amy in a week but I am still making it-I just wish I knew if they were!

BIG GOD!!!!-little giants

Last week we had a revival and preachers meeting at church. We had a different preacher each night (Sun-Fri) and 4 preachers on Tuesday morning during the preachers meeting. It was definitely different with so many speakers. God is sooo amazing! The preachers were all from different areas and told to preach whatever God gave them. All the messages tied in together like it had all been planned out(which I guess it had and His plan always works best). I did miss a few nights but God used the days I was there to give me just what I needed. I thought I would share some of the points that really hit home with me from one of the messages.

We were reading from Numbers 13 when the 12 men were sent out to check out the promise land. Ten of them saw some BIG GIANTS and a little God and were scared to go in. Two of the men, one being Caled, saw a BIG GOD and, oh yea, there are some little giants as well. Caleb remembered God's promise and knew He would fulfill it. Caled remembered all the times God had taken care of them on the journey and knew He would continue to do so. Caleb did not know how they would overtake the giants, he just knew they would. CALEB TRUSTED GOD!!!

How many times do I look at the BIG GIANTS in life and see God as so small? WAY TO MANY!! I have got to stop looking at things backwards! I must remember that my GOD is BIGGER than any problem I face. I know that He has promised to never leave or forsake me. He made the promise and it is my job to BELIEVE it always. He will not/can not break a promise. HE IS GOD!!! He took care of me yesterday, he is taking care of me today, and he will take care of me tomorrow! I don't want to follow the crowd of untrusting men that forgot what God had done for them all along. I don't want my kids to follow the crowd of unbelievers that did not expect God to fulfill his promise. I want us to follow God! There is no reason that we can not live our lives as Caleb did. We just have to have faith. We have to always remember who we serve-an Almighty, All Powerful God that loves us. When I see what is normal in our society I can get discouraged. When over half of marriages fail, how can Monty and I stay married until death-don't know but God can do it! With all the corruption in the world now, how can we raise 3 children with character and some morals-not sure but God is working it out. With all the times I find myself being impatient and inconsistent, how can I homeschool 3 well educated children-no idea but He brought us to it and He will take us through it! I trust Him! I DO TRUST HIM! I HAVE to trust him or my life would be a wreck. The thing I have to work on is trusting Him ALWAYS! EVERYDAY! EVERY HOUR! EVERY MINUTE! EVERY SECOND! There are still times that I see the giants and get a little intimidated. I have to stop that. I just have to remember at ALL times BIG GOD-little giants!

ORGANIZATION IS A MUST!!!

All homeschoolers talk about it and I thought I was pretty good at it(I'm no Martha Stewart but I have always done OK). This summer when I knew I would have All the kids home ALL the time, I really started trying to get more organized. We rearranged both kids rooms and the school/play room. I got rid of tons of things I had accumulated but now knew were not gonna work for our school. I thought I had done pretty good! I WAS WRONG!! Since we have been doing school (about a month) I have to sit with the kids through our whole school day. I have to read everything to the girls and help them through their assignments. Kenyon and Jacinta are doing the unit study so I have to be very involved with them as well(partly because it is fun and also because I am learning as much about geography as they are-I never had a geography class). I have been lucky to cook everyday and load the dish washer. That is literally about all I was accomplishing. I looked around the other day and realized MY HOUSE IS NASTY! I mean unlike any thing I had ever lived in before!(I thought about before and after pictures but decided whatever you imagine is probably better than the real thing.) Luckily my husband is not a clean freak and still loves me. Normally when I think my house is awful he says it is not so bad. This time he agreed with me so I know it was bad. I called an emergency fall break for Thursday and Friday and we have spent the last 2 days cleaning and ORGANIZING. You should have seen all the laundry that I have gotten folded and PUT UP!! I still have a pile of laundry but now it is a neat pile that does not obstruct my laundry room door. I have gone through everyones clothes and now have 4 boxes to send off to the thrift store. WE HAD SOOOO MUCH JUNK!!! The kids think I am crazy! They have really been doing pretty good but can't seem to understand MY definition of clean. I am going to make a chore chart next week and really start implementing it(they will really think I am crazy then!). They have always had to help out but now I see the need for structured daily chores! Most schools have a staff of janitors so no reason ours shouldn't. There is NO WAY I can maintain the house and school by myself! School has gone great so far but keeper of the home as not been so good! The good news is-I AM LEARNING and I am happy to say that now my house is back to livable(so no need to call DHS). We are gonna figure this out! I have got some plans to rearrange the living room next! I have always been a list person but realize I need to become a DAILY list person. I am gonna get a notebook and really plan out daily and weekly house things that must get done. I would LOVE to know what things have worked for you!! PLEASE-any help is welcome!

BLESSINGS!!

Our piano player at church, Brother Jayson, has recently graduated Bible college with a Biblical counselor degree. Several months ago he gave a lesson on the importance of recognizing and counting our blessings, especially the small, not so obvious ones. He showed us how doing this daily will change you outlook on your life and your love for the people in your life. It brings to light how much The Lord is truly with us in everything. GOD IS GOOD-ALL THE TIME-ALL THE TIME-GOD IS GOOD!! Since then, several people in our church family(and even some from other Churches)list10 blessing a week and email them to each other. It is so wonderful to see how The Lord is blessing others-it ends up being a blessing to each person that reads them. It is an email we all look forward to each week. I will post my list here each time and would love for you all to share your own list.
HERE ARE MY BLESSINGS FOR THE WEEK.....

1.OUR MENS GROUP AND MENS TRIO AT CHURCH-I COULD LISTEN TO THEM SING ALL DAY(I AM STILL WAITING FOR THE CD!!!).

2.GETTING A CHIROPRACTIC ADJUSTMENT FROM BROTHER (DR.) JORDAN-I DIDNT KNOW MY NECK COULD FEEL SO LOOSE-IT FEELS GREAT!!

3.SEEING MONTY IN A SHIRT AND TIE-IF I CAN GET HIM SOME MORE DALLAS COWBOY TIES MAYBE HE'LL WEAR ONE EVERY WEEK!

4.KENYON AND JACINTA ACTUALLY WORKING TOGETHER AND HELPING EACH OTHER DURING SCHOOL-NOW THAT IS SOMETHING I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD SEE.

5.GETTING TO HOLD BABY CONNER TODAY-I CANT BELIEVE I HAD NOT GOTTEN TO HOLD HIM BUT KESLEE HAS SEVERAL TIMES. HE IS SUCH A CUTIE!!!

6.QUIET TIME ON THE PAPER ROUTE. IT IS A GREAT TIME TO HAVE 2 HOURS ALONE TO TALK WITH GOD!!

7.KESLEE TELLING ME ALL ABOUT HER SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON-I AM SO GLAD SHE IS LISTENING!!

8.KALYSA SAYING SHE DID NOT EVEN CRY WHEN KESLEE PROMOTED TO A DIFFERENT SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS-AND I HEARD SHE EVEN TALKED TO BROTHER JAYSON(she is shy and usually lets Keslee talk for her).

9.KENYON HAVING SOOO MUCH FUN WITH ALL THE PREACHER'S SONS AT THE PREACHER'S MEETING. I AM SO GLAD HE IS MAKING FRIENDS WITH GOOD KIDS AND WILL BE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT TIME THEIR FAMILIES GET TO VISIT OUR CHURCH.

10.LAUGHTER!!!- I HAD SO MUCH FUN WITH MY CHURCH FAMILY PREPARING LUNCH-IT IS SO GOOD TO LAUGH WITH/AT EACH OTHER!

MY POOR HOMELESS DAUGHTER!

Do you remember things from when you were small. How old were you at your first memory? I have memories from when I was about 3 years old. Have you ever wondered what happens to all the memories we make before we are 3, 4, or 5? I have always believed that children probably remember things from before they could express them. As we get older we naturally remember less. It just makes sense that the first few years of our lives are the first memories lost. It is always a special treat when we get a glimpse into how children felt about the times they remember but could not yet talk about.

My youngest, Kalysa, was born premature(26 weeks gestation). She was 2 pounds and 4 ounces and was 13 inches long. She spent the first 10 weeks of her life in the NICU at Mercy Hospital, 5 of those weeks were on a ventilator.

Yesterday I was going through some old pictures and Kalysa was enjoying all of them. She wanted me to explain where we were, what we were doing, and where was she(most of them were before she was born). I finally got to a group of pictures that had a lot with her in them. She would tell me everything about them; what she remembered about the trip to San Antonio, or a favorite toy she remembered playing with. She really loved to see pictures of her as a baby with the "special" blanket she still sleeps with today. Then I found some from her time in the hospital(she has seen them all before). This is the conversation that followed....

ME: Oh look! This is when mama first got to hold you.

Kalysa: Yeah, that was before I had a home.

ME: WHAT?!? Of course you had a home. Your home is with me and daddy and Kenyon and Keslee!

Kalysa:I know! And I wanted to go there sooo bad!

WOW! Did my tiny daughter truly feel homeless? Was she wondering everyday why we were leaving her at the hospital? Did she lay in the little incubator everyday for 10 weeks just yearning to leave with us, to be with her mama all the time, to hear her brother and sister running and playing instead of the beeping of monitors from the neighboring beds. Was she dreaming of daddy picking her up in the middle of the night instead of a different nurse every 12 hours? Did this teeny tiny baby already realize that there was a place she was supposed to be and the NICU was not it-it was HOME and she wanted to be there!? I believe each answer is yes.

The question for me is not "when does life begin?" but "when do the memories begin.?". When does an unborn baby begin yearning for home, waiting for mama to hold them, dreaming of kisses from dad. According to Kalysa they had already begun 14 weeks before she was even due to experience any of them.

MY FRIEND AMY

This time of year is my favorite. It brings back memories of the time that I met the true epitome of the word friend. I met Amy 18 years ago this month as we were both starting college. We had grown up a mere 15 miles from each other and had done the same things and gone to the same places but somehow never met. Late September 1990, we met a few times and spoke in passing as we both settled into college life. One evening in early October, she had something she needed to talk about and for some reason she came to me. Our lives were both changed that day. We love to tell people how we slept together on our first date and the rest is history! OK so it is not exactly as it sounds...she told me what she needed to talk about and our relationship officially began. We ended up going back to my dorm room and laying together in my twin bed and talking all night long. Those late night(often ALL night) analytical conversations became a staple of our relationship. Most people think of a soul mate as their spouse, and not to take anything from our husbands, but Amy and I are soul mates. God brought us together for a reason. Over the years we have loved each other, hated each other, cried with each other, yelled at each other, strengthened each other, lifted each other up, and grown with each other. We have been bad together and been good together. There have been many times that we had moments and could say "this is why God brought us together in the first place." She is a part of my family and I am a part of hers. My sister can think of her as a sister, my parents can call her a daughter, my brother loves her(first because he was a teen boy when they met and she is gorgeous but now because she is family). Now we are both at a time in ours lives that we can say "THIS is REALLY why God brought us together!" About the time that I was having a renewal in the Lord-she found Him. My husband is soooo much like her and hers is a lot like me. She helps me understand him better. When her husband said their children would not be going to public schools, I researched homeschooling along with her. The Lord brought us both to similar decisions at the same time. I have started my second year of school and she has just begun her first. Her daughter is 4 months younger than Keslee. We go through the same situations with them together, they are just alike(and destined to be best friends). We live 4 hours apart but are closer than ever. God had our paths cross 18 years ago so that we could walk the same path, side by side, today. She can see God working in my life and I see His work in hers. Amy tells me that she is proud of me and looks up to me. How can someone that I look up to also be looking up to me? I am so proud of Amy! I love her! I thank God daily for her! I can not imagine my life without the kind of friendship we have, it surely would not be as rich. I pray God will someday bring my girls a true friend to grow with and share life with. I hope you all have a girlfriend like mine-that adds so much to the time we have here on earth.

I THINK SARAH PALIN IS ARMED

We made it home from church just in time to hear Governor Palin's speech tonight. I have been reading a lot about her but this was the first chance I had to hear her talk. I do have to say that I like her. I liked what she had to say but I really liked the way she said it. Her personality really came through and it did not seem at all stiff and rehearsed. Anyone can write jokes for her, but the proof is in the delivery. She came off to me as a strong women that is not afraid to stand for what she believes in and will not back down. The way that she picked out many of Obama's biggest weaknesses and highlighted them in humor was priceless. I think she let him know that she is not intimidated by him and really has no reason to be. She was standing in front of cameras from every branch of the media and let the "liberal media" know she is not here to gain a glowing opinion from them. This is not a popularity contest for her but a way to serve her country and it's people. I think she did a great job. There are already people pointing out that she had a speech writer. GIVE ME A BREAK! They all do! The media talks so highly about how great Obama speaks but I guess we all saw how great he did without his speech writer in the saddleback interview. I can't wait until the vp debates because I have a feeling she will come through just as well on the spot. In high school (when I was a snotty teen) there was a saying that I loved....I refuse to have a battle of the wits with an unarmed person. Based on that saying, and Palin's delivery of the speech tonight-it is a good thing for him she doesn't have to debate Obama(although it might be fun to watch.)

WARNING TO ALL READERS....

WOW! When I first decided to blog I thought it would be really exciting. I could just imagine writing the wittiest post and have tons of comments from like minded people as we all rejoice in the truths of my thoughts. Well I haven't even really started and it is a little nerve racking! People are actually LOOKING at what I wrote(not a lot of people but someone other than just my sister or my mom!?!?!) I did not post yesterday because I just did not know what to write about. What if I sound stupid or am totally boring? I want people to enjoy my writing if I am gonna take the time to do it. I feel like I have to live up to someones expectations and I don't even know who that person(or people) is. And what if my friends from church read and realize through something I wrote that I am even less spiritual than they thought? What if an old friend that I have not seen in a long time reads and my thoughts have changed so much since we last talked that they don't know or want to know me anymore? What about other people in my family that do not hold all the same beliefs I do? WHAT IF I OFFEND SOMEONE WITHOUT EVEN MEANING TO??? I tell ya it is a lot of pressure and I was not expecting it.

Well I better just tell you now....I have never really cared a whole lot about what others thought of me. I know I am a sorry sinner that falls short everyday but I also know that through God's grace, truth is available. I want the truth. This is my search for and sharing of that truth. If I feel it, then I think about it. When I think, it most often leads to research, prayer and reading until I know it. When I know it, I usually talk about it. I say what I feel and often times before actually thinking about how it will be received(editing may help with this some but I doubt it will work completely.) When I feel strongly about something, I can get quite passionate about it. I truly do not intend to offend anyone but if you are offended by my feelings or thoughts than I believe you have bigger issues(unless I PERSONALLY attack YOU which I hope to never do). I have been known for arguing but I do not want this site to be used as a debate forum. These are MY thoughts. I am not always right but if the thought has already gone through my feel/think/know process, then it is obviously to the point of being a belief and I refuse to believe things that are not true. If you have some truth that will enlighten me, then by all means, let me know; but there are many things that God himself will have to clarify for me before I change my mind so there is no sense in mindless bickering. Also...I HATE political correct anything so don't expect to see a lot of it here.

And just one last note of explanation-I just watched the republican national convention speeches and really thought about writing about it. Everyone says never talk politics or religion....Well my Christianity is all that is important to me and what I try to base my life on. This year I have really followed more in politics than EVER before and feel so much more knowledgeable than before. When I think I know something I naturally want to share that knowledge! How can I write my true thoughts and feelings if I were to avoid those 2 topics? The answer is I CAN'T so be forewarned.