Christmas Music Rant!

I listen to a Christian radio station 88.3 The Wind. I love Christian artists and their music and this station was the first in our area that I found who played contemporary Christian music. I've listened to this station for years but noticed something this Christmas season that I hadn't noticed before. Come Christmas time they began playing the Christmas music non stop which is okay but I am so disappointed that they don't exclusively support Christian artists during this time of year. They do the rest of the year but for some reason during Christmas time it's okay to play Mariah Carey, Sarah McLachlan, Elvis and every other secular artist that has a Christmas tune.

Not everyone would agree with me and that's fine. I just find it to be a contradiction that a Christian station supports artists who are pro abortion and openly bisexual or practically naked at Best Buy! (Mariah Carey advertisement)

City Ordinance Endangers Lives!!!

Back in May I posted an angry rant about my neighbors pit bull dog. Click Here To See Post.

Last night my family and I were sitting on the couch enjoying some cool Netflix video's when I heard a dog fight outside. Chris ran out back to see what was going on and came back in screaming that two dogs were attacking our dog Banjo who was chained up in our back yard. Everyone in our house was scrambling to find flashlights and the phone book to call the police. Chris went back outside to try to break up the fight as I called the Police. Chris is lucky the dog didn't turn on him but he said at the time he wasn't thinking he was so angry. He beat the dog with a golf club which is now bent, and the dog would not let go. When we found our flashlight we could see our neighbors pit bull dragging our dog around the back yard as far as his chain would go. We thought Banjo was dead by the way he was being drug around. Chris went inside to get the shotgun and I was on the phone waiting for the Police to arrive. I had to scream at my very angry husband to get him to put the shotgun away because our town has a city ordinance against discharging a firearm in the city limits. We would have probably received a ticket for shooting the attacking dog.

When the Police arrived I waved them to the backyard. The officer got out of his car and we watched as the pit bull chewed on our helpless dog. After trying to call off the dog the officer shot him. It was terrible because the dog didn't die right away and had to be shot again. I was shocked to see Banjo was actually still alive. We brought him in the house and cleaned him up. He has a big gash under one ear, another on his tail and his neck is shredded from the chain that got wrapped around his neck as he was being drug around by the pit bull.

I lay in bed last night sick thinking how lucky we are that this wasn't one of my kids that was attacked. Emily had just been outside retrieving something from the van and her little dog needs to go out at night and it's Emily's job to put him on his leash to go to the bathroom. I'm shaking right now thinking about it. Chris told me this morning all he could think about when he was beating that dog to get him off Banjo was how hard it would be to get the dog off one of our children if it were attacking them.

So thanks to the city ordinance we have in our town human lives rank under the rights of animals. This dog was a danger to everyone in my neighborhood and I know I'm not the only person who's called this dog in. Back in May when I first posted about this the dog was aggressive towards Emily. I don't normally do the "what if" thing but WHAT IF that had been my daughter!!! City ordinances are there to protect citizens and this one puts everyone in danger. Not everyone is a responsible pet owner and even if they are accidents happen. I believe one act of aggression should be enough to get rid of a dangerous dog. It should not have to attack first!

This could have been one of my children!

Am I a Strong Swimmer?

I was listening to the radio this morning and heard a story. I don't know if this is a true story but it really touched my heart.

A father and his two children were swimming in the ocean. They were all good swimmers but soon the father looked up and noticed the tide was coming in and the current was taking them out to sea. He was a strong swimmer but he knew he would be unable to fight the current and save both of his children. He turned to his daughter who was the older of the two children, and he said to her, "Honey you are a strong swimmer and I know that if you try you could float on your back for hours. I need to swim to the shore with your brother and I will find help. Don't be afraid, I will come back for you." And he left his daughter our in the ocean.

When he reached the shore with his son they went for help. Within the hour there were hundreds of searchers out on the ocean looking for the little girl. After four hours they found her, still floating on her back far out to sea. When asked if she was scared the little girl replied, "No I wasn't afraid. My Daddy said he'd come back for me, he told me he'd send me help. I was just doing what my Daddy told me to."

This story touched my heart and I felt like God was reaching down to give me a great big hug. He's telling me just hang in there you're a strong swimmer, I'll send you help, I'll come back for you soon.

Mine Field in the Grocery Store!!!!

When I moved to this small town one of the biggest changes I noticed right away was the conservativeness. I'm not sure if that is even a word but I'm using it ha ha! When I say "conservativeness" I mean things like, no buying alcohol on Sundays, and no slot machines in the gas station, and a church on every corner (even in a small town).

When I became a Christian and a mother I began to appreciate small things like how the local grocery store I shopped in did not sell alcohol. I am a recovered alcoholic and there are times when the urge to drink is so overpowering it's only by the grace of God I am able to escape it. I am a born again Christian and Jesus changed my life. I don't desire the lifestyle I did before being saved but there are times when I am so tempted. I can't explain it and I wish I could be rid of it but it's part of my flesh and I am pretty sure I will live with this for the rest of my life. That is one reason why I counsel my children not to even bother with the first drink. I pray they will live a life free from the scars of drugs and alcohol.

A few years ago our "conservative" local grocery store began selling alcohol. I was so disappointed to walk in and see the stacks of cases of booze... I got in the habit of just not walking by the alcohol section. Then they grew wise to my methods because they started placing displays of beer all over the store!!! So now when I'm shopping with my family it's like a mine field of temptation. God tells us in the Bible to flee from sin and I do every time I see one of these displays. I dart down the closest isle or scoot past as quickly as I can.

I am getting stronger every time I refuse to give in to my temptation. I know God allows me to be tempted for this very reason. To make me stronger. I'm sad to see the slow decay in our society. It's actually not so slow anymore. It's spiraling out of control. So many people have lost the sense of right and wrong and those who haven't are like me in the grocery store, walking through a mine field of temptation. I am sad to think of the world my children are growing up in, and what they will face as adults raising children themselves. It makes 1Thessalonians 5:17 mean more to me than ever. "PRAY WITHOUT CEASING"

Updates...

Well Facebook has really made it difficult for me to keep up with my blog. I originally started my blog for my mom who moved off to Hawaii. I wanted to be able to keep her updated on the family. Well I quickly learned how much fun blogging is. Now I've discovered Facebook and have drifted away from blogging. So this is me updating my neglected blog. Maybe I'll think of something interesting to write about again soon :p

And Still They Prayed.

Occasionally I try to write songs. This is my newest attempt. I am posting it here for all my friends and family who don't have facebook yet. I am posting the lyrics here as well. I hope you enjoy, I'm a little insecure sharing my songs because they're personal to me. I'm getting better though :)

"And Still They Prayed"

There's a time and place for everything. We never know what tomorrow brings.
So through the pain and suffering, she tried to be strong.
She told her children it would not be long. Before the Lord would call her home.
And not to fear her being alone. Jesus would be there, yes Jesus would be there.
Take care of Daddy for me please. I'm sorry that I have to leave. Trust in God.
Always believe. His word is true. Be strong.

And still they prayed. Every hour of every day. Lord please let her stay.
We trust in you to bring us through. To give us strength and faith.
But if there's any other way, please let her stay.

It was hard for him to see his wife. Struggle each day to stay alive.
He knew that he would pay any price. Just to end her pain.
He tried so hard to be strong. To comfort her and carry on.
Their love was a never ending bond. He knew would never die.
Their love would never die.

And still he prayed. Every hour of every day. Lord please let her stay.
I trust in you to bring me through. To give me strength and faith.
But if there's any other way, please let her stay.

Her hair had gone many months ago. But her faith in God continued to grow.
She left behind her family....

And still they pray. Every hour of every day. Even though she couldn't stay.
He gives them strength to face each day. Jesus brought them through.
Even though she couldn't stay, they still have faith.
They still have faith. They still have faith.

Memories...

When I was 16 years old my Dad owned a gas station. This provided me easy access to alcohol. I had a serious drinking problem. I didn't know it at the time but I used alcohol to numb myself. I could drink and not feel anything and that's how I spent my time. When my Dad padlocked the beer cooler I had to turn to hard liquor because it was harder to sneak the beer.

I would take what I could get my hands on and then find me a place to be alone and just drink. I didn't always drink alone. Sometimes I would hang out with people I called my friends and drink with them. I would try to get home before my Dad closed the store for the night so I could be in bed before he could see me. This didn't always work out and there were many times that my little sisters had to clean me up and put me to bed. Sometimes they didn't get the chance and I would wake up covered in the previous nights vomit. When I think back on it now I don't understand why I couldn't stop. But now I have something I didn't have back then that keeps me from falling victim to my old vices.

One specific memory I have that I don't ever want to forget, is a time I had hidden away in my memory that God used to show me something amazing. I was 16 and I had just gone through a huge fight with my Dad. I was in trouble for staying out too late and of course coming home drunk. Our fights usually ended up with hugs and me saying I was sorry and would do better. I always intended to do better, I truly wanted to.

After this fight with my Dad I found myself sneaking a tall can of beer. Yes I knew it was wrong. I just told him I was going to stop. I told myself I was going to stop. I promised and when I promised I intended to keep the promise. I took my can of beer out the back door and sat down behind a shed and cracked it open. I took my first sip and my Dad walked around the corner and sat down next to me. He just looked at me with this look in his eyes that I could not explain then. He was so disappointed yes, and I was ashamed. I cried I wanted to stop, I wanted him to love me and not be mad at me. But he didn't take the beer away. He just looked at me with his disappointed eyes and something else that I couldn't tell at the time. Then he got up and left me there, alone.

Twelve years later I know so much more about what was going on in my Dads eyes and my own soul. I am still tempted to drink but today I have something in me more powerful that this temptation. I have Gods Holy Spirit living in me and giving me strength to fight the temptations. The hole in my soul is filled and I don't have to turn to those things to numb the pain of my existence. I no longer have this pain because I am healed! Praise God I couldn't be who I am today if he wasn't part of me. He makes me who I am. I am a sinner, I would turn back to alcohol if he didn't keep me from it. I am thankful for my salvation that God freely gave, I just had to accept it.

My Dad looked at me that day with disappointment and abandon. He had given up on me right then because he didn't know how to help me. The only thing that could have helped me then was Jesus. If my Dad had the peace of God in his soul he could have offered this to me as well. He could have told me about Jesus, but he didn't know him so he had nothing to offer me. He loved me still and he wanted to help me but he had tried everything he knew to try and nothing worked.

There are so many parents today trying to save their children from the sins of this world and they are failing because the only cure is Jesus and they don't have him. You can't offer what you don't have. I praise God that I have the antidote to offer my children and any others God gives me the privilege to influence. You can give your children fancy clothes, toys and things but none of that matters. Give them Jesus, teach them every day about the savior who loves them and gave his life for them. Our children will face harder trials in the future and they can't hope to win the battles without Jesus. He is the only way.

It's been a while...

Over a month since my last blog post to be exact. Not much has been going on but things are starting to speed up around here. We are excited to be starting this new homeschool year. I love homeschooling so much!!! I am so thankful God directed us down this path because I couldn't imagine my family any other way.

We are trying to organize a homeschool co-op in our town and I will also be helping out with a class in another co-op AND I'm teaching a Sunday school class AND planning Wednesday night youth meetings at church!!! So YES I will be busy busy busy and I am really looking forward to it. The last one isn't really a big deal right now because we don't have much of a youth group on Wednesday nights. My job is to change that ;) So wish me luck and remember me in your prayers.

A Wonderful Sunday!

Just when I start getting in a slump God does something truly amazing to get my attention once again and show me that he is still working all around me. I was amazed this past Sunday at the outpouring of Gods Holy Spirit. We had ten people baptised! One of them was my nephew Devin!!! I've been praying for that little guy and I feel like a huge weight has been lifted. I know there are so many more people who need salvation and I'm not trying to trivialize that fact by saying how blessed I am to see him saved but praise God I am so happy for him.

Another young boy who was baptised Sunday was saved the night before! God had special plans for this Sunday and he worked it all out and I am still feeling giddy from the huge blessing I got from being privileged to witness this event.

Part of the crowd gathered to witness the batptism.


The smile on Chloe's face is just beaming. I love this little girl!


Emily is super proud her cousin is soaking wet! She prayed hard for him. She really loves him.



Mother and son!

Mom's Back WHOO HOO!

My Mom and Ken (stepdad) finally made it back from Hawaii. They don't have any of their things shipped over yet but it should be soon. We went for a visit yesterday. It was the first time Chris had seen their house. I love that they are so close. Only 46.8 miles from my driveway LOL. It was a fun visit and I'm thankful to have them back.

Me and my Mom

Me and Jake

Me & Emily goofing off.

This is a whole nother subject... I have siamese twin squash... Isn't that the weirdest thing you ever seen? LOL I didn't know squash did that.

I Feel Blessed!

Sunday at church the preacher made a comment about how we should take time each day to be alone with God. I thought to myself that this is something I NEED to make priority. An average day for me began to play out in my head and I was mentally trying to think how I could fit this in somewhere. I thought about how I couldn't do it in the mornings because I have to be moving around for a good hour or so or I'll get all sleepy again. Then I thought about how I couldn't wait too long after I woke up to wake up the kids and blah blah blah. Finally I just prayed "God make me do this!" I knew I couldn't sit there and promise God I was going to do this because I knew better. I knew I would be too busy and things would be too hectic and I just wouldn't be able to be as strong as I need to be. So I just asked God to make me do it!

I know this is just the second day of the week LOL but God works that fast! Yesterday I told the kids I was going in my room to talk to God and I didn't want to be interrupted. I got a good ten minute chat in with my Lord and I can't tell you how big a difference that made in the rest of my day! I am once again amazed at how great God really is!

I started reading a book last night that I have been trying to read for like six months. Every time before that I've opened this book it just didn't mean ANYTHING to me but now I am reading this and am amazed that I didn't realize what it was saying before! It's called "The Pursuit of God" by A.W. Tozer. I am so excited to be seeking God. I just wanted to share that and anyone reading this who doesn't have a personal relationship with Jesus should think seriously about getting to know him. He is the closest friend you can ever hope to have and he will never leave you no matter what. I'm thankful God is forever faithful and there when I seek him.

Now this is off topic but we harvested these from our garden this morning. Another blessing! ;) A yummy one too!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANNAH!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUyouyouyou! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUyouyouyou! HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANNAH BANNANA!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUyouyouyou.

Happy Birthday Emily!

She's nine years old today... Hard to believe!

A Day With Dad!

Chris took the kids on a hike the other day. Taylor and I stayed home because the hike down to this cave at Bennett Springs is like three miles in so like six miles round trip and I didn't feel up to dragging Taylor along right now. Well they took the camera so I have some cool pictures and cool stories about their adventures. They really had fun and I'm glad they got to get out and explore.

Emily Brett & Logan in some sort of hollow.

This is not the same hollow spot as the one above. Logan was the only one who climbed up to this one. He is like a monkey. Chris said he just took his shoes off and shimmied up the side and into the hole. Of course I was freaked out when I heard Chris let him explore a "cave" by himself. Chris said Logan got up there and said he could see the back wall and there were lots of flies in there LOL

Logan sittin' proud after his climb.

Logan climbing back down. It's a lot steeper than it looks in the first picture.

This is the little creek inside the tunnel cave that they hiked to. I guess the cave is open at both ends with a creek running through it.

One of the openings of the cave. A view from inside.

Logan found a friend along the way.

This is a video of the kids playing in the creek in the cave.

More storm video's...

We had another strong thunderstorm yesterday. It was during the day so we thought we might catch a tornado... well Chris is the brave one. There were some really strong winds at one point it was scary. I was amazed that there were no warnings for our county during this.... We were listening to the radio since the power was off and no warnings for our county... I think we at least qualified for a severe thunderstorm warning.

CHARLIE BIT ME!!! HAHAHAHA!!!

Ok this is the FUNNIEST video ever!!! Me and the kids can't stop watching it and laughing!!! I love the way that little boy talks and the baby is just cute and funny as can be. You'll love it!!! Just wanted to share it.

My Baby Boy!

My Baby Boy Taylor will be a one year old tomorrow! It's amazing how fast children grow. I don't remember growing this fast!!! Taylor has been such a blessing to our family. I'm sure having an eight year old daughter to help me out has been a big part of how easy things have been. I also think the fact that Taylor is the happiest baby ever has a bit to do with it as well.

ANGRY!!!

This morning Emily was helping me get ready to go to Chris's parents house for our annual Memorial Day Fish Fry. We were loading food and stuff in the van, making trips in and out of the house. On one of the trips Emily took Taylor out and was buckling him in his car seat. As she was doing this our neighbors pit bull started barking at her and chased her. She slammed the van door and ran to the house.

We have had constant problems with our neighbors dogs. One is a little dog that uses our yard as a toilet and gets in my garden. The other is a half grown pit bull. As it gets older it is getting more aggressive. So I was of course furious. Luckily Emily had gotten Taylor buckled into is car seat before this happened so he didn't get hurt.

I called the police because our city doesn't have a real dog pound that will deal with dogs, I don't think they're even open on Holidays... Anyway the police officer pulled up and I explained what happened and that we've had constant problems with these dogs. The pit bull is not full grown but it's still scary for an eight year old and this town has a leash law. The officer looked at me and asked me, "so what do you want me to do?" I thought that was odd and I asked her, "what can you do?" The officer proceeded to tell me there was a leash law and that she could ticket them but it probably wouldn't do any good. She said she's been to their house over their dogs before and they say they're always leashed. Well we were standing in the road and the dogs were roaming around in another neighbors yard so the officer obviously could see they were not leashed. I sarcastically said, "so it's going to take someone getting bit before you can do anything?" The officer looked at me and replied, "pretty much yea."

So basically I'm supposed to hope as this dog grows into a full grown pit bull that it won't attack my children or someone else. When it finally does then we'll be able to take action??? That is the most screwed up thing I have ever heard. I am so mad I don't even know what to do.

Pictures For Mom!!!

My Stepdad Ken is visiting for a few days from Hawaii. He has to come check out the house he and my Mom are moving into in a few months when they move back. Well he came bearing gifts so we took pictures for my Mom who wasn't able to come with him.

Emily with her journal and pen. She is the queen of doodling and drawing she loves it.

Brett got some bug glasses.

Brett trying his bug glasse on.

Logan with his bug glasses.

Logan trying on his bug glasses.

Taylor is turning a year old next week so he got a fun birthday present. A leapfrog bug. He loves it and it makes lots of noise.

Taylor really likes Ken they're pals.

Taylor playing with his bug.

This was totally funny! Chris left for work before Ken woke up so they didn't see each other today until about 7pm and LOOK they dressed the same!!! Haha :p They didn't want me to take their twinkie picture! TWINS!!!
And last of all we have the video of Taylor playing with is bug! He was dancing.

Just call me the plant lady....

I love plants. Every Spring and Summer I think I learn more and love them more. I was out in the yard enjoying this beautiful spring day and decided to capture some images to share on my blog. I've seen a lot of flower pictures from other blogs and such but I've never taken any of my own. So here are some pictures of my roses. I love roses. My red and purple roses have not bloomed out yet so I don't have any pictures of those. I also took some more pictures of my tomatoes. Yea I'm proud of them I can't help it. This is the first year I've had good plants and I'm just so excited! I put some pictures up from May 5th to show how much they've grown.

This is out in front of my house. My goal is to get the roses to grow over the entire trellis and mix together. One side is darker pink so it'd look cool if they were all mixed together. The bush on the right is two years older than the one on the left.

This is a picture of the tomato plants on May 5th 2009
Tomatoes on May 5th 2009

Tomatoes on May 19th 2009

Tomato plants on May 19th 2009

Long Awaited Treasure Hunt

I forgot about the pictures I had of the kids treasure hunt. Chris sets up a hunt for them every Easter and they use the GPS to go find their treasures. When I say treasure I mean boxes full of candy... Anyway we had to keep putting off the treasure hunt because of RAIN. It rained every Sunday since Easter. It even was rainy last Sunday but there was no way we could put it off again, the poor kids would have had a stroke. So this is Emily, Logan and Brett and their two cousins Damon and Devin hunting treasure!!!

OFF TO FIND SOME TREASURE! Brett forgot his coat he had to borrow Grandpa's ;)

Emily working the GPS

This way to treasure!Okay maybe not this way time to back track!

Treasure Hunter #1

Treasure Hunter #2

$5 Footlong!!! mmm Subway

Treasure Hunter #3

And the battery on the camera died so we don't have any pictures of them with their loot! :(