Auntie's Artic Adventure, a very Martha Experience

What happens when three Martha Stewarts get together?

You get an Artic Adventure* complete with princesses...

And knights in shining armor to protect them.


Every kingdom needs a black knight so the good knight will have someone to defeat, right?

Here is the Matriarchal Martha with a Martha-in-training.

And every kingdom must have a baby Knight in training.

(Don't chew on the sword, please)

"I'll protect you!" says the brave Daniel.



The princesses must stand together and unite against the evil knight that threatens them!


Doesn't she make a beautiful princess?
Check out that tiara!
(The real Martha Stewart would approve, don't you think?)





Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most Marthiest of all?

Is it the one who creates the songbooks for the campfire sing-a-long?

Or the one who is in charge of the castle-cake-decorating-activity?

This two year old definitely has "the gene". Look how serious he is about his cake decorating!

Is the most Martha the one who applies princess tattoos to the little princesses?

I think these are some tired little girls.

Being a Princess is a lot of hard work!

Certainly, a very successful Artic Adventure!

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*Auntie's Arctic Adventure: Each fall Prince Charming's sister invites the entire family to her home for a theme party. There are games, crafts, activities, and of course singing around the camp fire, smores, and talk of sleeping outdoors in tents (which, in the 8 years of this tradition, has never happened, but each year we like to pretend that THIS year is the year we will be brave and sleep outdoors by the fire underneath a starry sky.)

It was a wonderful Arctic adventure!

Thanks Marthas for making it a wonderful memory for us all!

It Will Be Just Fine

Remember when you were little and your biggest worry this time of year was to find the "perfect pumpkin?"

Remember the joy of roasting marshmallows and getting them "just so"?

There's nothing quite as good as a s'more on a chilly fall evening. Especially one shared with your little cousin that lives far, far away (far enough away that it isn't cold there!)

Did that taste good little one? Did it taste better because Grand-daddy fixed it just for you?




Sorry....must slip in Sadie picture....


S1, the oldest, who lives far, far away in a land of warmth and sunshine, came to visit us last week. She brought her Daddy his grand babies.




2 little Grandsons. So sweet. Not a worry in the world (as long as their mommies are close by)!

Sweet little grand daughters. Their biggest worry right now is to make sure their clothes match.

Remember the hayrides of your youth? The fun and laughter. That warm feeling that comes from being with friends and family?

Who gave that kid a piece of gum?


Every kid should have an aunt and a couple of uncles just the right age to play with.

Aunts who hold your hand and sing songs with you and

mother you so your real mother can take a break

Uncles who torment you and play pretend.

I long for the days of childhood where a good fire, a mommy and daddy close by, and toasted marshmallows made all the problems of the world go away.

For right now, though, I worry. I worry about the elections and how far our country has sunk... How far we have come from the morals and philosophies that our country was founded upon.

I worry about the future for the babies and their babies.

Good thing God is on His throne and I can turn those worries over to Him.

He has a plan.

For each of us.

He is in control.

It will be just fine......

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Go check out my friend Sticker's Blog.

Single Mom-of-four-extraordinaire, making it work. She could benefit greatly if Obama is elected, but she isn't voting for Obama. Check out her blog and find out why.

(unless you are a child, in which case have your mom read her post first).

Amen, sister, Amen.

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?

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)

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?

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.

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.