Happy Holidays!!

Well I hope everyone's holidays were "merry and bright." Here in South Texas, the closest we got to a "white Christmas" was the sheetrock dust all over the house from putting in a doggie door. However, we are grateful people and will take what we can get.

Every year I miss my grandmother during the holidays and have always made sure I told her stories to my kids, keep her traditions alive, etc. She truly had the Christmas spirit and it wouldn't be Christmas without her, even though she's been gone for nearly 8 years. This year we added Christmas candy to our traditions - I swear, the book Paul found with recipes could have belonged to her - it looked like I'd pulled it out of my giant stash of her cookbooks (and now that Christmas is over, that's where it has been placed). I tried to make candy and failed miserably. But Paul - OMG he made white satin fudge, chocolate-coated blackberry fudge, date nut rolls (her favorites), peanut butter fudge, sour cream candies, butterscotch - I don't even know what else. But what a treat! Grandmother used to have this big production, candy-making day. When it was over there'd be plates of candy on every surface, and anyone who came over, even the guy checking the water meter, would get to take one home. We weren't quite so generous :)

Christmas Eve we spent here with our collective kids, then visiting with my dad, then down to Pleasanton to my mom's house (remember that doggie door? that means we get to LEAVE the house now!!) where we had a terrific time! All the little kids running around - Garrett, my precious nephew, shooting people with a water gun. My son reloading it for him - ha ha. I hated to leave but we did have to get back to SA, prepare for the next day, and go to church at midnight.

Wow - that communion service ROCKED. Literally - the church band opened with "Rockin Around the Christmas Tree" and it was terrific. After years of hearing whether or not we should even celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, and WHEN, and yada yada - we celebrated it as a family. Most families showed up to church in their PJ's, which we will do next year. Again, wow. Anyone who wants to get to know our church, check out www.brcc.net. To hear messages, check out "multimedia" at the end - the "Beautiful Feet" messages, especially "Love San Antonio" have been SO awesome and motivating. I wish the music was available to listen to online because we have one of the most incredible worship bands. Anyway, I already can't wait for next year's service.

Well it's time for the aftermath. While drinking my coffee from a cool mug that looks like it is cable-knit, and watching a slideshow of pictures on a digital picture frame (and while putting off reading the murder mystery my oldest bought me) I look around and see that Christmas must be put back into its boxes and away for next year. Before Nicky eats any more ornaments (he did - he found this nasty green ornament, a wreath made out of rice krispies and green-colored glue one of the kids made umpteen years ago in elementary school, and he ate that little sucker!!).

Hope your Christmas was great too!!!

Happy Birthday Zachary!

Today my firstborn turned 16. This picture is from last year (or year before?) but he hasn't gotten any uglier so I figure this is a fine one to post.

He was at his dad's until this afternoon, so I called him fairly early this morning and woke him up to say, "Hey, 16 years ago you woke ME up early, so I'm just getting even." Haha.

Sixteen years ago today, I was...blissfully and heavily medicated. Those were the days :)

Today he got a new keyboard, pickups for his guitar, and a new Bible. Right now he's teaching his brother to play while he sings "Two Pina Coladas" (Garth Brooks) - thank heaven we got him the Bible - Sorta balance out the drinking songs.

Happy birthday son!
Love - your mom

My "little" mouser

Well thank heavens I don't have any pictures to post - but guess what? Our darling Nicky has become a rat-catcher. We've seen them at night, scurring across on the tops of the privacy fences between the yards, probably snagging bits of dog food here and there. Quite grossed me out, to be honest - but not NEAR as much as now that my dear boy has begun to catch them and present them as an offering to us. And present them he does - see, our Nicky can open the back door and let himself in. So we will put him out and go about our business, and later he'll come into the house carrying something he wants to play with - like a garden hose, or a shovel or a rake, a soccer ball - whatever. And it's quite funny because if we're in "eyeshot" he will try to sneak in with his booty (like a 100+ lb dog could "sneak" anywhere!), and if Paul says, "NICK! That belongs OUTSIDE!" he will huff and turn around and take it back outside. UNLESS it's fresh kill, that is. Twice in the last week he's brought in a big rat and laid it at the bottom of the stairs. The second one Paul saw him sneaking in and yelled at him, and he ran the whole 2 bounds it took him to cross the living room into the dining room with his kill. Sheesh!

How nasty is that? Of course, somebody - Paul or Zach - has to go dig a hole and bury the thing, and then put something large on top of it so they won't just dig it back up. For this second one, Paul parked a LAWNMOWER over the little rat grave, and damned if the next morning they didn't MOVE THE LAWNMOWER and dig the little sucker back up.

So anyway, we were just on the threshold of putting in a doggie door so that I could go further away than the grocery store and for longer than an hour or so - important with the holidays coming up - but now I worry what kind of "things" Nicky will have brought in while I'm away!!!!

Obama's Freedom of Choice Act

I don't care if you voted for Obama or not - but if you're pro-life, if you believe abortion shouldn't be a form of birth control but rather a necessary evil in the face of extreme cases such as rape or incest, please take the time to go to the link below.

This was (and always is) my MAIN reason for voting the way I did - to uphold what little value we currently place on life, and to promote more. This "act" annihilates that hope, and I fear it seals our nation's downward spiral. I truly resent that abortion was treated as a non-issue by Democrats (at least the ones I spoke to) - and yet is going to be the "first thing" Obama promises to addresses as president of our country. Does anybody care? I mean, does caring about the economy and health care mean you CAN'T care about this?

"All that is needed for evil to succeed is that decent human beings do nothing." - Edmund Burke

Freedom of Choice Act (fight FOCA website)

I'm angry! This is not the freedom our forefathers spoke about. Our foundations are crumbling and it's being blamed on good men, not on the moral decay that's been spreading like the Blob, eating everything in its sight and growing immensely. In the background, while everyone's sleeping, imagining themselves safe. That reminds me of yet another Casting Crowns song - "While You Were Sleeping". Wake up America!!!!

A New Day

I have deleted my previous posts regarding the hazards of electing Barack Obama. Not for any reason other than - I am not a Dixie Chick. I am disappointed, and disheartened, that America insisted that God give them their King (I Samuel 8). But he is now the President and that is that. For 8 years anyway (aw come on - 8 years is the going term nowadays).

I am disappointed and a bit nauseous. The race thing - I think that's cool. I'm glad that we have broken that particular wall down, and I feel happy for those who can take the accomplishment personally for themselves and their children. Right now that's all the good I can see in it. We now "look good" to other nations. America the Overspenders are no longer bigots. Well go us. I hope we do a lot more housecleaning than that - each of us, because that's what it will take to turn this nation around. Not from the top down - but each individual.

God help us.

What mud?

I didn't see any mud, honest Mom.

It's about time!!

So finally I got all 3 of my kids to stand still long enough - at the same time - to take a recent picture of them. The oldest 2 - the ones on the outside wearing green shirts - are Zachary and Jessyca, proudly wearing their Crew uniforms from Fuel at church. Daniel, well, that's his uniform - a silly smile or a way to make YOU smile. They're all 3 homeschooled, though don't get sucked into that ol' myth about "no social life." Their social life makes me tired. Most of it takes place at church - by their choice - which I must say is better than the social choices I made as a teenager. Zachary is my computer genius; rarely a day goes by when I'm not yelling, "Zach I need you to fix something!" He also refuses to let me beat myself up or spend any real time in a panic attack - he's a very good encourager (is that a word?). Not to mention he's just a good FRIEND and a terrific example to those he's around (including me). Now Jessyca's my social butterfly - as well as a clothes horse, of late. She's developing her own fashion sense and doing very well. She doesn't ever hear me talk - usually has those darn things in her ears playing Miley Cyrus or the Jonas Brothes or the BLUES BROTHERS...but who am I to complain? She is a lot of fun to share a milk shake with! Finally there is Daniel, who would gladly live his entire life playing his Wii and his DS, if only his mother would stop making him read so much. Funny, too - cause he has a real affinity for math and GERMAN of all things. Little dude catches on pretty fast! Daniel and I love to watch mysteries together - and Mr. Bean. I don't know who laughs harder, me or him.

Altogether - kids that don't suck too bad. :)

Cause to Celebrate

This morning my Ebay feedback hit the 500 mark. I now (tada!) have my purple star. When looking at my profile on Ebay - sadly lacking a good picture of me, which I will remedy as soon as I can lose (or photoshop away) about 30 lbs - I note that Ebay is now officially my longest-standing relationship. Ebay and I have been together for 8 years and 8 months (give or take a day or 2). Even more than that - Ebay and I have been together 8 years 8 months, have had 621 interactions, and I have 100% feedback. I have never been able to say those things about any other relationship. And it HAS been a 2-way street - I have bought, and I have sold. And Ebay 100% loves me and recommends me to others. I am A+++++ x500!!!! Wow. Shouldn't there be some special jewelry to go along with that? I bet there is, and I bet I could out-bargain someone on it!!!

Tam

Heaven

At the urging of my aunt, I borrowed from the library - and subsequently went to Family Christian and bought a copy I could pore over and highlight if necessary - a copy of "Heaven" by Randy Alcorn. It seems that I am not alone in my secret disdain for the idea of leaving here for a boring city of light where we dress in white and sing hymns all day. I have always kept this feeling hidden - although in the last months or so it had begun to occur to me that a God who could create this fantastic temporal place certainly wouldn't abandon His lush creativity for an eternity of bleak boredom. And perhaps that if we don't see the green fields of Ireland or feel the rain on our heads in Paris in this life, perhaps we might spend part of the afterlife exploring the world God created without the hassle of actual tourism. Randy Alcorn confirms it - heaven might not suck :) Trust me - read the book! (either "Heaven" or "The Book" itself - there's plenty of proof in both).

You are my way

I would just like to say THANK YOU to whomever at Hulu started posting Another World episodes. A big NO THANKS to soapnet for dropping the show, an even bigger NO THANKS to NBC for cancelling AW in the first place! I have not watched NBC daytime since the last episode of AW aired!

In any case - it is wonderful to be able to catch up once again with my friends from Bay City, hear the familiar music, see the outrageous hats Felicia wore....sigh.....

Gotta run...there are more episodes to watch!

Well said!

By John-Henry Westen

GUATEMALA CITY, August 20, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - "It is just as serious to kill a 10 year-old child or a 20 year-old adult as it is to kill a baby in his mother's womb," said Guatemalan Cardinal Rodolfo Quezada Toruno in a homily Sunday. "No one, under any circumstances, can assume the right to directly kill an innocent human being," he added.

The Cardinal's homily comes as pressure to legalize abortion increases from groups within the country, which groups are also supported by powerful international organizations. The United Nations has long sought to overthrow Guatemala's constitutional protections for unborn children.

It was due to those constitutional protections that the Guatemalan Supreme Court suspended a family planning law passed by congress in 2006, which would have legalized abortifacient drugs.

Cardinal Quezada noted that abortion is "killing of a child in his mother's womb." He added, "Everyone has the right to be born, and anything deliberately done to obstruct this right to life is a crime...there are some things we must call by their name. A crime can never be turned into a right."

Moms and daughters

Well, really just the one daughter - mine. This is Jessyca last Christmas with my grandmother. Today she left for church camp - her favorite kind of camping, in a hotel at the beach. What can I say...she is my daughter!

Last year when she left for camp I was so worried...would she make friends? Would they get to know her or steer around her because she's different? Then I went to pick her up and nearly cried when I saw all these people crowding around to hug her goodbye, and others yelling across the church parking lot that she MUST come to the youth event they have every Monday night. And, of course, she has been there every Monday night since then.

Today - a year later - I dropped her off again and I thought I would only be excited for her. She and her friends have been jumping up and down excited over camp all summer long. But no, as I drove away it was the same old sad...my baby is growing up. One day she won't even need me to write the checks that pay for camp. I don't know what I'll do! She laughs and says, "Mom, what will you do when I grow up and you have to bend down and get things off the low shelf yourself?" Very funny. Oh - if you don't know, my "little girl" is a Little Person, bona fide, true-for-real.

Oh well, last year I worried about her for a week (church camp=no electronics, no MP3 player, no cell phone) and it came out okay. This year I only have to wait until Sunday afternoon for her to return. I already can't wait to see her.

Our rights - given away by "choice"

Below is my response to one of those mass e-mails regarding politics...it stated that the Bush Administration is responsible for the erosion of our Constitutional rights. Below was my reply.

I think it is too much to say the Bush administration is responsible for the erosion of our rights. They have been eroding for years. The incoming hero will always end up the stooge for the next incoming hero. It's a merry-go-round. It will never be fixed in 4-8 years because it
took longer than that to screw up. Personally I think the rapid decline began with Roe v. Wade, when we decided that some persons were created equal and some didn't count. I believe that the devaluing of one life based on the feelings, needs, economics, etc. of another person is today what slavery was in its day. I believe fast-moving erosion came with that decision; when right and wrong became so "subjective" - and brutal murder began being hailed merely a "choice". Then began the mad washing away of the clarity between right and wrong, taxing and stealing, governing and oppressing. It's all "subjective". It's all "politically correct". Nothing is considered worse nowadays than to say anything that might offend another person or culture or choice or behavior - but HEY some persons and cultures and choices and behaviors are WRONG. Not DIFFERENT, folks - WRONG. The inability to define - the illegality of defining it now - THAT is erosion.

Defending principles was a responsibility, and our freedoms the privilege that came with upholding the responsibility. Now our freedoms are going the way of our principles - they are subjective.

So - I vote Pro Life. To clear the problem out from its root, we must get to the root and start over. Protect LIFE, then promote LIBERTY, and then PURSUE HAPPINESS.

Tam

It IS time for change

I have been seeing e-mails fly between my friends and family about who is the best candidate, or the worst - personally I think Ron Paul was our best hope (you'll have to look him up, as the media negated his candidacy by simply pretending he didn't exist). But in the midst of this frenzy, my cousin sent this in one of her e-mails. I asked her permission to post it here and haven't gotten it yet - so I'll have to remove it if she wishes. I don't even know if she's the original author (though I suspect that she is). But I love it and couldn't wait to share it with anyone visiting here or passing through or simply poking in by accident of WEB.

When we stop taking God out of the public arena,

When we stop killing our unborn children through both birth control and abortion,

When we stop violating the privilege and holy state that is marriage,

When we recognize the family as the building block of society,

When we stop sneering at families with many children,

When we stop dressing like hookers and making fun of those who dress modestly,

When we start to realize the health of the soul is more important than the beauty of the body,

When we stop treating Sundays like Saturdays,

When we stop believing we are self-enlightened,

When we start thanking God for what we have AND for what we don't have,

When we start praying with our hearts and not just our mouths,

When men start to act like men and women start to act like women,

When we start being better examples for our children,

When we start humbling ourselves rather than making ourselves know-it-all "gods",

When we stop expecting everything to be given to us without any sacrifice on our part,

When we realize that justice means we may do evil here but will be punished,

That those who suffer here may more easily find happiness after death,

That earth is NOT where we are meant to have all we want,

That the mercy of God is perfectly balanced with His justice,

That yes, God does punish us to teach us, just as our parents punished us to teach us,

And that we do not dictate what is right and wrong, but that He does...

One of two things will happen.

1. We will understand why the world is how it is, and realize the punishments we have brought upon ourselves, and pray harder to do God's will and accept his punishments,

2. We will see the beginning of a better world.

If we're lucky, maybe both will happen.

All I have to say to that is AMEN.

OMG This made me cry!!!

Our Great Danes remind me of lions for so many reasons....this lion reminded me of our Great Danes.

Christian the Lion

A truly feel-good little video!!

Me? With a laptop?

Yes, it's true. I have moved into the new millenium. My new Dell with the 17" screen arrived yesterday and I have been all a-flurry with the transferring of things (which hasn't actually worked, since Windows Vista thinks I should buy a $43 cord to make this one-time-only transfer. Silly Microsoft. Oh - I guess maybe I might use it more than once if Vista crashes as often as I hear it will :) Still, I say NAH I will just put the important stuff on discs, forget the rest. And enter my address book ONE ADDRESS AT A TIME thank you very much. Actually if everyone would just email me I could just click "add sender to book". Anybody?

So right now I'm listening to 33 Miles on Napster trying to re-sync my phone, which is also an MP3 player, and guess what? More downloads must take place first.

Today I hear that E-bay may be a contributor to Planned Parenthood. I sure HOPE that this is not true, because I'll boycott if I have to but I would miss E-bay. I bet they would miss me, too. :) Heard it on a Casting Crowns song last night, how we are a nation that wants to save the trees but kills its children. Sad, but true.

Oh well. I will go update. Or let it update while I sleep. Sleep - who am I kidding? I haven't slept thru a single night since we brought Nicky home!!

Meet the kids!

Have you met Nicky and Trudy? They are our Great Danes. Trudy is a Brindle. She's about 20 months old. Nicky is a Blue Merle, and is about 15 weeks old this week. I call them the Dammit Twins. Partners in crime, both snuggly and warm, and more than a little bit moody. You've heard of "yours, mine, and ours"? Well, Nick and Trudy are OURS. Not just Paul's and mine - the whole family. In this particular picture, Paul is asleep in the bedroom and they, rather than sitting faithfully at my feet while I type only a few feet away, curl up outside the door and wait for him. Every once in awhile they get up and knock on the door, whine, and then lie back down.

We finally have Nicky to where he will go sleep in his kennel at bedtime. Two giant kennels in our bedroom - like two sublet apartments. But 3:45 this morning (and I hadn't finally gone to sleep until almost 2) Nicky wanted out of his apartment to go potty. It's like having a new baby - I wonder when I will ever get another full night's sleep. HELLOOOOO I have to work to keep you in all that kibble! Let me sleep already!

So these are our babies. Oh, we have 5 other offspring to sing and shout about - that's another day.

Tam

If you can't be a fine example, at least be a horrible, memorable warning