Friday, October 24, 2008

Always Room in the Heart and Home

Aww...Muncie knows we still love her.

And even though Victoria was only supposed to be around 20 pounds full grown and now weighs 38 pounds, still growing, we love her too.

There is ALWAYS room for one more, don't you think?


Sadie has gained almost 5 pounds in the two weeks we've had her. I wonder if that's normal?

We've learned alot about Sadie.

She's SOOOO high maintenance to travel with....


She never holds still for pictures. And no one EVER wants to hold her, except Sophie of course.







"I'm soo sweet and innocent! I'm the PERFECT puppy!"


Doesn't she just melt your heart?
Who could deny that there is always room for one more, be it beast or man?







Saturday, October 18, 2008

An Educational Story

A friend of mine sent this to me via email. I think it' priceless! Enjoy...

How to explain the current US tax system to your children…
Volumes and volumes of tax code will glaze over the eyes of adults. Just a few paragraphs will bore any child. So how do you explain the current United States tax system to your children? Try using the story below.



Suppose that every day, the same ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do.The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers,' he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.'

Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so...

The first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay. And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

'I only got a dollar out of the $20,' declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, 'but he got $10'.

'Yeah, that's right, exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I got'

'That's true' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'

'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important - they didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.



(from http://whyhomeschool.blogspot.com/, author unknown per http://www.snopes.com/business/taxes/howtaxes.asp)

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Someone Knows How To Relax

This is the MOST relaxed puppy I've ever met! You would have to be relaxed to sleep in this position.



Or this position.



Wait! A rare moment! An eye is opening! Wake up!



Someone wants to play with you!



OK. I played. Can I go back to sleep now?



Sunday, October 12, 2008

Animal Genetics

There are some things in life that are difficult to explain to people. Like the mutant gene my children and my husband possess. It's a genetic defect that draws them to animals like bees to honey. They are unable to relax completely without an animal on their lap. Other kids have stuffed animals in their beds, my kids have real animals.



It's that same genetic component that allows my daughter to kiss her puppy.

(My friend Laurie is making the scrunchy "ughhh" face right now).


They come by it honestly enough. They inherited it from their father. And, I guess I admit to a similar gene, but I think mine must be recessive because I have the ability to control my instincts in this area.


My daughter can not.


What can I say? There weren't enough dogs to go around. Prince Charming and I have Muncie for a foot-warmer. The boys have Victoria, but poor Sophie had only cats to keep her company. She was deprived. She had to have her own doggy-warmer.

Meet Sophie's Sadie.

9 weeks old.


I'm sure she'll be very happy here at the zoo.


Saturday, October 11, 2008

No question about it.....

I have a friend who is the queen of research. If you have a question, take it to Charmaine. You can depend on her answer being thoroughly researched and as truthful as is humanly possible. I respect her opinion and consider her to be among the most intelligent people I know. (If she's reading this, she's blushing! Hi Charmaine! Love ya!) Charmaine recently posted about her Obama vote. Check it out here.

I can't say it any better. She's done the research, the work, and expressed it quite eloquently.

I do have an additional question.... Why do people think they can go against God and continue to receive His blessings as a nation? Obedience = Blessings. Which candidate aligns their policies with Biblical policy?

Barack has a 0% rating with the National Right to Life Committee. What does God say? Read Psalm 139:13-16. There is no question what God's stance is.

Barack says: "I don't think that gays and lesbians are any more moral or immoral than heterosexual...."

What else does he say? "When it comes to federal rights - over 1.100 rights that right now are not being given to same sex couples. I think that's unacceptable, and as president....I'm going to fight to make sure those rights are available."

What does God say? He states it up front, in Genesis 2:24 - "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." I think that is pretty clearly stated, don't you?

Leviticus 18:22 - "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman. That is detestable."

Not satisfied? Would you like some new testament references? Check out Romans 1: 26-27.

Again, pretty clear what God thinks.

And regarding Jesus: John 14:6 "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

What's Barack's take? "I believe there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people."

He doesn't stop there..... "Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers."

What part of John 14:6 doesn't Barack get? It's pretty clear in my Bible. What Bible does he read? Did his Bible leave out John 3:16?


I have several friends who are Christians who plan to vote for Obama. I worry that they don't realize the deception. Do they really want a socialist in office? Are they truly looking at this through a Christian worldview?

I could go on and on, but my family wants to go look at a St. Barnard puppy. Just everyone, please, please pray and search your belief and your heart before you go to the polls. (And pray for me as I try to convince my family we dont' need another puppy)! But of course, if Obama is elected and gets his way, and takes away the right to bear weapons, then maybe we DO want a BIG dog for protection.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Choices

What makes it a good day for you?




For me, it's simple....

For me, I am learning to appreciate ordinary days as the ideal. Uneventfulness is a good thing.

I think sometimes we forget to appreciate the ordinary and the mundane. The excitement we may crave in our lives may turn out to be an excitement that's not so good. So for me, for this time in my life, boring is good.








I'm thankful each day for my family.
For the health of my family.
For my friends.
For the health of my friends.
For good neighbors.
For not just a job, but a job I enjoy, working with people that I enjoy working with.

I'm very blessed.

We have a roof over our heads. A mortgage we can afford (with a fixed rate I might add).

We can read the Bible. We can home school our kids. We can get the medical care we need.

We have a cupboard of food. We turn on the faucet and there is running water.

Sometimes we just need to stop and take stock. No whining allowed. Because in a heartbeat, life can change.

So today, I am happy. I choose to embrace the uneventfulness of life. Each day we wake up to new choices to be made. Are we going to look at our blessings, choose to embrace the weeds of life (as the Gardening sister would say), and choose contentment regardless?

What choice will I make tomorrow morning? Will I choose to be happy? Will I choose to be content with what God has given me? Will I choose to serve others? Or will I choose materialism and selfishness? Will I choose to be discontent? Will I choose anger...anger at the economy, anger at the elections....or will I choose fear? Will I be fearful for the future?


Or will I choose to embrace the here and now, a minute at a time choosing each minute to make the most of it and be of service to those around me? I have the choice of how I spend my time. What will I do? Will I look back at the end of the day and feel that the day was spent doing what God would have chosen as the best use of my time? Or will I have whittled and wasted it away?

It's a choice. Minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, day-by-day.


Lord? Can you please slow down these days and minutes? They are ticking by awful quickly. I think I'd like to enjoy them more, and so it would be helpful if life didn't fly by so fast. I want to take some time to smell the roses. The kids are growing so quickly. Grandma is slowing down. I want to freeze this time. Is that too much to ask? Maybe it is. So today, and hopefully tomorrow, I choose to be content, and say "Thank you, Lord". Life is good.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

The Perfect Gift

On his second birthday, we gave Sam a birthday present that would change his life forever....



We gave him a baby sister.


I'll never forget bringing her home from the hospital 11 years ago today. Sam was so mad he threw up on me. It was the first time I ever saw my sweet baby boy furiously mad at me. At the time, it was sooo traumatic. Now we can all laugh.


Yearly Sam and Sophie campaign for separate birthday parties. I can just hear it now...."Umm. Excuse me. Could you please leave and come back for the next party in 15 minutes?"

I think they might leave and not come back.

Hey! At least they each get their own cake!



For Miss Sophia it's all about the dog stuff....



Never enough dog stuff.



It's a different story for the boys....


What's the phrase that only men understand?

Is it "whoever dies with the most guns wins? "

Well, when you're 13 it's about the nerf guns.



Or maybe it's really about the video games?















For someone at the party, it's all about bein' green. Can anyone in cyber space guess which party guest wore this shirt?



Here's a party guest who wasn't so happy... That little baby that she helped babysit and take care of, that she carried around all the time and played with and dressed up, and changed his diapers... That little baby is now taller than she is.
I'm so sorry, Laura.....another cousin passes you by...




I would tie bricks on their heads if I thought it would keep them my little babies forever.





Wait a minute...no matter how big they get, there will always be room on my lap for my little babies. No matter how big they get, they'll always be my babies!

Happy Birthday Sam and Sophia!