One Bizy Bee

My Heart Sings

2011-10-21T13:36:00.000-07:00

There is a myth out there in homeschooling circles. It's the myth that every child in the family loves each other all the time. They are always kind to each other, speak sweet words, and never argue. I won't even address the perfect actions and manners in public.

That's what it is: a myth. Let me say that again. IT'S A MYTH!!!!

However, sometimes we do get to see moments of glory in our children, that if I weren't homeschooling, I would not get to see. For instance:

Today, Ponygirl was fussing at Princess for using "her" e-book. Then I turned right around and fussed at her for hoarding something that was not "hers" to begin with.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it.

Anyway, I just noticed a few seconds ago that the house was very quiet.

This makes me nervous, but more on that later....

So, I go check on everyone and what they are doing. Ponygirl is sitting on the basement steps WITH Princess at this moment, and letting her read the e-book and even helping her read the harder words.

What can I say? My heart sings for moments like these. Glimpses of heaven as it will be. No pain, tears, death, or arguing.

A mother's heaven.

The Still Small Voice

2011-02-09T18:28:00.000-08:00

"Mommy, will you cuddle with me?"

Most mothers will tell you that those are their favorite words in the English language. Not me. I cringe when I hear that. Not outwardly, but it means I must do something I detest: Choose.

Dishes are piled up in the sink downstairs, the floor needs to be swept; I'm tired, worn out from being police, judge, playmate, chauffeur, doctor, you name it. I feel over done.

I really hate choosing. Because I want to get the chores done so I can snuggle on the couch with Hubby, have a sweet snack, or just read a bit before falling asleep with my clothes still on; anything, but it's "me" time. Even doing the chores every night I get to be alone and be in the quiet. Maybe even hear the still small voice of God calling my name.

The only problem is that the still small voice tells me that Princess will be 6 next month. She's growing up faster than I can see. Reading, writing, even doing math well above her age. While I am very very proud of what she has done, I don't get very much time with her. She'll be grown and gone before I know it. My time is so short, and if I don't grab it, I'll miss it.

These are the whispers I hear from the still small voice of God.

So I snuggled. Maybe not as long as she would have liked (she would prefer that I sleep with her all night every night), but I loved and kissed and hugged and told her I love her the yellowest. She is my sunshine and I think she is one of the cutest things in the whole world.

She went to sleep with a smile on her face; and that, my friends, is the still small voice of God, right there.

Go snuggle,
Bee

Keep your eyes on the Controls

2011-02-02T07:29:00.001-08:00

Superhero is 7 1/2 and I swear he is my mechanical engineer. He loves to take things apart, and someday he will be able to put them back together just as well!

One of his interests is airplanes, and I have told him that when he is a little older, I will let him study for his pilot's license. So, being the good homeschool mom I am, I rented the Moody Science video, "Sign Posts Aloft", thinking it would be a great video for learning about airplanes.

Wrong.

It scared the crud out of me and my younger children. You see, it is a video demonstrating the value of flying by your instruments rather than relying on your own senses and instincts. The video revealed several emergency calls from pilots as they crashed into the ground thinking they were level because they were flying through fog or a cloud. You heard the terrifying cries of the pilots just before they died. Wow, that scared us all!

The point, however, was well taken. Apparently, when you fly a plane and cannot see the ground, your senses play tricks on you. The video narrator conducted an experiment that I have seen in person wherein a pilot in very good health was blindfolded. Then he sat in a chair and was twirled around. At first, he could tell he was turning, but as his equilibrium kicked in, he thought he had stopped spinning. He hadn't. When they did stop the chair, the pilot thought he was spinning the other way.

The point of the experiment was to illustrate that we cannot always trust our senses. In the instance of flying aircraft through fog or clouds, pilots must trust their instruments, even if their instinct and/or senses tell them differently.

I believe there are times in your life when your spiritual and emotional senses lie to you. The flight of life can seem easy when you see the horizon. Children behaving, school going well, jobs are secure, relationships are balanced. But what happens when children get sick, jobs are lost, friends betray and spouses don't live up to your expectations?

When life throws you a curve ball and your senses starting whirling like this pilot's had, you must cling to what you know. When you feel alone, betrayed, angry, scared, you name it, you cannot trust your emotions or your other senses. You must rely on unchanging instruments; things in your life that will always be true.

God's "controls" is the Bible. His words are written down for us to have when nothing makes sense, when we don't understand what is going on and cannot see what step to take in front of us for all the fog.

God is unchanging. In James 1:17 it says, "Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights; with Him there is no variation or shadow cast by turning." That does not mean that he only gives gifts that are perceived to be good, but as Romans 8:28 states, "We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose".

So, even though a "gift" may not seem to be good, God's unchanging nature assures us that He will work it for our benefit. That is why we need to keep our eyes on Him and on His unchanging nature. His instrument, the Bible, is the instrument we need to keep our eyes on, for it will never change, and it will always bring us in for a safe landing.

Keeping my eyes on the controls,
Brandie

The Anger Monster Within

2010-11-21T17:45:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wondered, dear reader, why it is that when you buy a new car, you suddenly see that car on the road every where you go? I remember when I bought my first van, and apparently everyone else had gone out and bought one the same day.

Well, it seems I am a trend setter. You see, circumstances in our house have reached such proportions as to keep me from blogging for months. That is a long time for someone who loves to write. Circumstances I am referring to are issues within myself that have to deal with anger management.

I am not an angry person. For those of you who know me personally, you know that I am a fairly easy going person with a pretty cool head. But for some reason, there has been a monster sleeping within me that seems to come alive. It also seems to have a propensity to enjoy engulfing small children.

It seems that the only people on this earth that are able to wake this monster within are my own lovable monkeys. They don't mean to do it, I just think they like to play with the monster, so they ask it to come out and play. The only problem is that they don't ever seem to remember that this monster does not play nice.

So what does this have to do with new cars? Well, as I was praying for God to make this monster move away, I started noticing advertisements for webinars, books, DVDs, and tapes dealing with parental anger. Did you know, up to 50% of homeschooling moms describe similar symptoms of anger and rage coming out in their everyday lives? Even those like me who tend to be level headed people most of the time.

Weird! It's like God was trying to tell me something!

So, how has it been? Well, actually, it's been pretty good around here. The monster comes out to play less often. It still thrives on the anger my children seem to give it, but it comes out less and less, and thanks to me (and my trend setting abilities), now you too can have help when you need it.

The website I have found to be the most helpful has been the National Center for Biblical Parenting. They even have "Parenting University" an online seminar you can watch and learn in 5 minute segments.

The Coolest Hallelujah Chorus Ever

2010-08-21T20:37:00.000-07:00

You watered what?

2010-06-08T11:56:00.000-07:00

Sometimes as a homeschooling parent, I find that my children have learned lessons that I didn't even think had gotten through.

None of my children have really taken to gardening. Sure they enjoyed the planting of the seed and liked the idea of eating something from the garden, but as the heat index goes up, down goes their enthusiasm. So, unless I push through and weed myself, we don't usually end up with much at harvest time. Most goes to the rabbits and chipmunks.

Well, the other day, "Ladybug" very excitedly told me she watered her garden.

Garden? What garden?

Well, she dragged me up to my room and pointed to my bed. "Look, Mommy! I even watered the seed!"

Well, my worst fears were confirmed when I looked, and indeed, she had taken an acorn from the front yard and "planted it" on my nice white down comforter.

And she had indeed "watered" the acorn. Three times from what she told me...

Sigh.

Oh well, off to the dry cleaners with that. At least it's warm enough now to do without for a couple of days.

At least she learned her gardening lesson.

Right?

1 Corinthians 13 for Homeschoolers

2010-03-12T08:23:00.000-08:00

(Copied by permission)

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and teach my children Latin conjugations, Chinese and Portuguese, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal, and no matter what I say, they will not hear me. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know my children’s bents and God’s plan for their lives, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and am the keeper of the teacher’s editions and solutions manuals, and if I have all faith, so as to move mountains, and even keep up with my giant piles of laundry and dishes, but do not have love, I am nothing, even if all the people at church think I’m Supermom. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and my formal dining room gets turned into a schoolroom and our family vacations look more like educational field trips, and if I surrender my body to be burned, never having time to get my nails done, put makeup on or even take a bath, but do not have love, it profits me nothing, because all my family cares about is the expression on my face, anyway.

Love is patient with the child who still can’t get double-digit subtraction with borrowing, and kind to the one who hasn’t turned in his research paper. It is not jealous of moms with more, fewer, neater, more self-directed, better-behaved or smarter children. Love does not brag about homemade bread, book lists, or scholarships and is not arrogant about her lifestyle or curriculum choices. It does not act unbecomingly or correct the children in front of their friends. It does not seek its own, trying to squeeze in alone time when someone still needs help; it is not provoked when interrupted for the nineteenth time by a child, the phone, the doorbell or the dog; does not take into account a wrong suffered, even when no one compliments the dinner that took hours to make or the house that took so long to clean.

Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness or pointing out everyone else’s flaws, but rejoices with the truth and with every small step her children take in becoming more like Jesus, knowing it’s only by the grace of God when that occurs.

Love bears all things even while running on no sleep; believes all things, especially God’s promise to indwell and empower her; hopes all things, such as that she’ll actually complete the English curriculum this year and the kids will eventually graduate; endures all things, even questioning from strangers, worried relatives, and most of all, herself."Love never fails. And neither will she. As long as she never, never, never gives up.

Misty Krasawski is the overly-blessed mom of eight children whom she homeschools in sunshine-y Florida. She has been clinging ferociously to the hand of her Lord since she was knee-high to a grasshopper, homeschooling for the past thirteen years, and has eighteen more years ahead of her with the children who are glad she will have done most of her experimenting on those who went before. Her wonderful husband Rob has much treasure laid up for him in heaven for having been called to such a daunting task. After the house goes to sleep she can sometimes be found gathering her thoughts at http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/MistyKrasawski.

"Miss Me Yet?"

2010-02-10T12:13:00.000-08:00

Here is an interesting billboard that has been popping up all over the internet and news media.

Made me laugh so hard I almost fell off my chair.

You see, dear reader, I am a complete "W" fan. Yes, I admit it. I am one of a few (seemingly) people that believed that President Bush was a good man who lead our country through a very difficult time.

No other President in history had to deal with what he did. He lead this country like he cared about it. He never apologized for his actions, he did what he thought needed to be done.

He never (and still doesn't) defend his decisions to the media, who hated him. The main stream media, and even some conservative talk shows ripped him to shreds and he never defended himself. I wish he had.

The secret is that he doesn't care what the media thinks of him. They called him stupid. He didn't stand up and say that you can't fly a fighter jet if you're stupid. They called him a "red neck". He said, "Yup!" They said he was hell bent on a personal vendetta. He didn't bother to answer.

Was he perfect? No. He never claimed to be. Did he make some wrong judgments? Yes, I think he did say that. But his intent was never a personal agenda. And he NEVER got mad about people disagreeing with him, like other people we know. Here is the link to the story of the billboard, I think it's worth a read.

The Parental Rights Amendment

2010-02-02T06:59:00.000-08:00

This is a copy of Parental Rights.org talking points memo stating the reason for the Parental Amendment that is going through Congress as we speak. You can go to their web site and find out whether or not your Congressmen are cosigners of the bill. There are several cosigners in the house, but not very many in the senate.

The proposed Parental Rights Amendment will preserve the time-honored principles of parental rights in the actual text of the Constitution, just as the Bill of Rights preserves other fundamental rights.

Section One: The liberty of parents to direct the education and upbringing of their children is a fundamental right. Section one is rooted in several Supreme Court cases, and without exception:

Meyer v. Nebraska (1923) – “It is the natural duty of the parent to give his children education suitable to their station in life.”
Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925) – “The child is not the mere creature of the State; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.”
Prince v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1944) – “It is cardinal with us that the custody, care and nurture of the child reside first in the parents, whose primary function and freedom include preparation for obligations the state can neither supply nor hinder.”
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) – “The values of parental direction of the religious upbringing and education of their children in their early and formative years have a high place in our society…. The primary role of the parents in the upbringing of their children is now established beyond debate as an enduring American tradition.”
Moore v. East Cleveland (1977) – “Our decisions establish that the Constitution protects the sanctity of the family precisely because the institution of the family is deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition. It is through the family that we inculcate and pass down many of our most cherished values, moral and cultural.”
Santosky v. Kramer (1982) – “The fundamental liberty interest of natural parents in the care, custody, and management of their child does not evaporate simply because they have not been model parents or have lost temporary custody of their child to the State” (emphasis added).
Washington v. Glucksburg (1997) – “In a long line of cases, we have held that, in addition to the specific freedoms protected by the Bill of Rights, the “liberty” specially protected by the Due Process Clause includes the rights…to direct the education and upbringing of one’s children.”
Troxel v. Granville (2000) – “[T]he interest of parents in the care, custody, and control of their children is perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests recognized by this Court….In light of this extensive precedent, it cannot be doubted that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects the fundamental right of parents to make decisions regarding the care, custody, and control of their children.”

Section Two: Neither the United States nor any State shall infringe upon this right without demonstrating that its governmental interest as applied to the person is of the highest order and not otherwise served. Section two is similarly established by the Supreme Court:

Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) – “[T]he essence of all that has been said and written on the subject is that only those interests of the highest order and those not otherwise served can overbalance legitimate claims to the free exercise of religion” [i.e., a fundamental right].
Quilloin v. Walcott (1978) – “We have little doubt that the Due Process Clause would be offended if a State were to attempt to force the breakup of a natural family, over the objections of the parents and their children, without some showing of unfitness and for the sole reason that to do so was thought to be in the children’s best interest.”
Parham v. J.R. (1979) – “[H]istorically, it has been recognized that the natural bonds of affection lead parents to act in the best interests of their children…. The statist notion that governmental power should supersede parental authority in all cases because some parents abuse and neglect children is repugnant to American tradition.”
Santosky v. Kramer (1982) – “Until the State proves parental unfitness, the child and his parents share a vital interest in preventing erroneous termination of their natural relationship.”
Washington v. Glucksburg (1997) – “The Fourteenth Amendment forbids the government to infringe…’fundamental’ liberty interests of all, no matter what process is provided, unless the infringement is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest.”
Gonzalez v. O Centro Espirito Benficiente Uniao do Vegetal (2006) – “The government must “demonstrate that the compelling interest test is satisfied through application of the challenged law ‘to the person’ – the particular claimant whose sincere exercise of [a fundamental right] is being substantially burdened.”

These sections simply restate the Supreme Court’s long-standing rules on the constitutional, fundamental rights of parents.

Section Three: No treaty may be adopted nor shall any source of international law be employed to supersede, modify, interpret, or apply to the rights guaranteed by this article.

Geofroy v. Riggs (1890) – “The treaty power, as expressed in the Constitution, is in terms unlimited except by those restraints which are found in that instrument against the action of the government or its departments, and those arising from the nature of the government itself and of that of the States.”
Reid v. Covert (1957) – “To the extent that the United States can validly make treaties, the people and the States have delegated their power to the National Government and the Tenth Amendment is no barrier.” It was not the intent of the writers of our Constitution that domestic law be passed under the treaty power.

Section Three of the proposed Parental Rights Amendment merely protects parents and the States from unintended consequences arising from Article VI as it stands in today’s international world.

The proposed Parental Rights Amendment will preserve the time-honored principles of parental rights in the actual text of the Constitution, just as the Bill of Rights preserves other fundamental rights.

Do you agree with the Supreme Court’s traditional standard that parental rights
are a fundamental constitutional right?

Do you agree that it is valid to put into the text of the Constitution those rights
that run the risk of being eroded in the near future?

Do you agree it will be wiser to protect parental rights in the early stages of erosion than to wait until they’re “on the brink”? We cannot afford to wait until parental rights are being violated on a wide scale before we protect them. We must exercise the foresight of our forefathers by protecting these rights and our sovereignty now!

This is exactly the reasoning and wisdom behind the inclusion of the Bill of Rights in 1791. Today,
parental rights are at risk as well.

Domestic concerns:
In Troxel v. Granville (2000), the Supreme Court issued a fragmented six-way decision in which
only Justice Thomas used the “strict scrutiny” test to reach his decision. Justice Scalia held that because parental rights are ‘implied rights,’ they are not afforded judicial protection at all.
In the wake of this confusion, lower courts routinely fail to accord to parental rights the same high legal standard applied to other fundamental rights. There exists the real possibility that the next parental rights case to reach the Supreme Court could result in a decision even further removed from our heritage of protecting these liberties.

International concerns:
If ratified, the proposed UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) would override all state
law in the area of family law, based on Article VI of our Constitution (the Supremacy Clause).
Since nearly all U.S. family law is state law, this would constitute a massive power shift from
the state to the federal level, ultimately under the authority of a U.N. committee. More importantly, the entire tradition of fundamental rights outlined above would be over-turned
for a system where government is obligated to interfere in any family decision in order to ensure
“the best interest of the child.” ‘Implied rights,’ such as those found to be implied in the Fourteenth Amendment, would not hold up to a ratified treaty. (“The treaty power, as expressed in the Constitution, is in terms unlimited except by those restraints which are found in that instrument against the action of the government or its departments, and those arising from the nature of the government itself and of that of the States.” – Geofroy v. Riggs (1890), emphasis added.) Even if this treaty is defeated now, it or another like it can be brought up at any time for ratification. Only Section Three of the proposed Amendment permanently removes this threat to fundamental parental rights. Many judges in federal and state courts already cite “customary international law” to justify applying international standards to domestic cases. This allows our nation to be bound by the CRC even if we don’t ratify it.

“Liberty once lost is lost forever.” -President John Adams

The Birthday Queen

2010-01-25T19:21:00.001-08:00

Tuesday I am the birthday Queen.

It only happens once a year, and I indulge every moment of it. The biggest difference this year is that I am going to be 39.

Yes, dear reader, I am entering into my last year of childhood. I am told that next year I am expected to grow up. Be an adult. Live responsibly, etc. etc. etc.

So, since I have one year of youth left in me, I've made a list of things to accomplish this year, and you can keep track of my progress.

1. I will run in (and finish) at least one 5K race this year.

2. I will learn how to Kayak, and take Brian (and maybe some others) out to a lake.

3. I will go camping this year with at least one of my children (don't promise all of them).

4. I will attempt to keep at least one room clean in my house for an entire month (may not hold me to this).

5. I will hit my goal weight (8 more pounds to go) and stay there until my next birthday (and beyond). I'm going to get my skinny picture soon....

Ok, that's enough. There are many other things I WANT to do, such as take a trip with the kids along the eastern seaboard, Creation Museum, National Parks, but I think this is the most do-able for the moment.

Just wait until I hit 40. Watch out world......

Confessions of an Insane Woman

2009-11-07T19:21:00.000-08:00

What is it that drives a person to compel oneself onto a large rotating band of rubber while staring out a window for 30 minutes?

I am, of course referring to the insane pursuit of jogging. Some call it running, some call it just plain stupid. I was one of the latter until recently.

To be exact, just 3 short weeks ago, I was fantasizing about running down a beach in slow motion, hair beads flying back and forth.....oh! Wrong picture...

Actually, I was wishing I had what it takes to be a runner. I have always wanted to get past the "I hate this, when can I stop" stage and reach the euphoria that so many of my friends have reached.

Now I am part of the pack.

Well, more like I am in the back of the pack. So far back you can't really see me unless you use a telescope. But trust me, I am there.

I haven't hit that magic point when I can say that I actually love it, but I like it a lot more than I ever thought I would. In fact, I ran for 3 straight minutes today.

Don't laugh!! I know you're laughing out there...

But just 2 weeks ago, I couldn't even run for 60 seconds.

Now if I can just live through my training sessions, I'll be ready to run 5K races in the spring. I have no idea where I'll be in the pack at that point, but again, I'll be there.

Sick Day

2009-10-15T06:24:00.000-07:00

Today we are taking a sick day.

O.K. so we're actually taking a "Mommy feels like she's been hit by a truck" day. We have canceled all "fun" activities this week, and are hunkering down at home with hot tea, crackers and a few movies the kids can watch while Mommy lies comatose on the couch praying that nobody asks her for anything they can't get for themselves.

I noticed with some guilt this morning that I'm not so sympathetic when my kids are sick.

"Just because you have pneumonia, doesn't mean you can't do long division!" feels a bit cheep at the moment. Well, to be fair, it wasn't pneumonia, just a cold. But I bet it felt like it to her.

I know that when the kids are sick, I expect them to do a little bit of what they usually do, even if it isn't up to the same standard. But when I'm sick all I want to do is lie in bed and to be left alone. Don't talk to me, ask me for anything, and whatever you do DO NOT ARGUE!

When Hubby was sick last week, he came home from work, and took a nap. When I'm sick, I can't stay home from work.There is something not right about that!

I know I am whining. I am so blessed to be at home with with my four wonderful children that I adore more than life. I wouldn't trade my life for anything!

But can I just take a nap?

New Obama care

2009-07-29T10:39:00.001-07:00

Here is an excellent article I came across that discloses exactly why I am against the health care reform. It is not because I am better off than anyone else, or because I am a conservative. It is because of the same reason that I wouldn't have my "female exams" done by my doctor employer. There are some things that should remain private!

article at Morningstar Ministries.

Happy reading,
Brandie

Which One Are You?

2009-06-28T18:24:00.000-07:00

Something very interesting happened today. The drought is finally over in Georgia (yeah!) and with the temperatures soaring, it felt like a sauna. Yuck! So I had a choice. Take my four kids (three of which cannot swim on their own) to the pool or let them run in the sprinklers. Hmmm...

So I'm turning on the sprinklers by hand because the wires going to the timer aren't working (long story, all about a rat. I'll tell you sometime). Then I spy movement in the hole.

Now, you have to understand, I'm extremely afraid of putting my hand down dark holes in the ground to begin with. Black widow spiders abound around here, no need to say more. But I didn't expect to see what I saw.

A snake.

Yes, a snake. Not very big, but a snake none the less! I was poking my stick in the hole trying to weed out any potential spiders when I saw movement in the bottom. We just stared at each other, too surprised by the other's presence to do anything.

It was at this moment that I thought about who I resemble more: Steve Irwin or Jeff Corwin?

Steve Irwin (RIP) was known to take crazy chances and grab the snake by the tail with his hand. He was spit on, bit and squeezed purple on more than one occasion.

Jeff Corwin, on the other hand, always uses a snake stick. Jeff is much more careful and calculated.

Both can be flashy and daring, but one is planned and one could be careless.

My husband is definitely Jeff Corwin. He is calculated, logical and careful. He has an immaculate driving record (and is handsome to boot).

I, on the other hand, tend to be impulsive and shoot from the hip. Yes, I'm lots of fun and can be very entertaining, and the two personalities can compliment each other very well, but I'm not very logical at times!!!

So what do you think I did?

Well, I'm also a homeschooling mom, so I yelled for my kids to come out and see the cool snake. They all came and got to witness it going deeper into the hole away from the likes of us. Then I did my Steve Irwin thing and turned on the sprinklers (yes, I put my hand down the hole and turned it on by hand).

Fortunately, it was just a rat snake. I didn't know what it was at first, but I knew it wasn't poisonous.

Sometimes, I just gotta be me!

Still two handed,
Brandie

P.S. Remind me next time to tell you the story about the rat that I blame for having to turn on the sprinklers by hand in the first place.

Interesting article

2009-06-08T18:04:00.000-07:00

I have posted a letter here from Newt Gingrich regarding the Supreme Court Nominee Sotomayor. I know that Newt spoke very quickly in calling her a racist, and he even admits this in his letter. I found it to be very fair in dealing with the questions arising from this nomination. You read below and then decide.

June 3, 2009 | Vol. 4, No. 22

Supreme Court Nominee Sotomayor:
You Read, You Decide

by Newt Gingrich

Shortly after President Obama nominated her to a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court, I read Judge Sonia Sotomayor's now famous words:

"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

My initial reaction was strong and direct - perhaps too strong and too direct. The sentiment struck me as racist and I said so. Since then, some who want to have an open and honest consideration of Judge Sotomayor's fitness to serve on the nation's highest court have been critical of my word choice.

With these critics who want to have an honest conversation, I agree. The word "racist" should not have been applied to Judge Sotomayor as a person, even if her words themselves are unacceptable (a fact which both President Obama and his Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, have since admitted).

So it is to her words - the ones quoted above and others - to which we should turn, for they show that the issue here is not racial identity politics. Sotomayor's words reveal a betrayal of a fundamental principle of the American system - that everyone is equal before the law.

The Central Question: Is American Justice No Longer Blindfolded?

The fundamental issue at stake in the Sotomayor discussion or nomination is not her background or her gender but an issue that has implications far beyond this judge and this nomination: Is judicial impartiality no longer a quality we can and should demand from our Supreme Court Justices?

President Obama apparently thinks so. Other presidents, Republican and Democrat, have considered race and gender in making judicial appointments in the past. But none have explicitly advocated the notion that judges should substitute their personal experiences for impartiality in deciding cases. And certainly none have asserted that their ethnicity, race or gender would make them a better judge over a judge from a different background.

Here is how President Obama explained his criteria for appointing judges earlier this year:

"We need somebody who's got the heart, the empathy, to recognize what it's like to be a young teenage mom, the empathy to understand what it's like to be poor or African-American or gay or disabled or old - and that's the criterion by which I'll be selecting my judges."

No Group Has Benefited More From Impartial Justice Than the Less Fortunate

With these words, President Obama is cleverly inviting his critics to come out swinging against empathy for the less fortunate among us. But Americans are smarter than this.

We understand that the job of a justice is to enforce the law, not the rule of empathy. And we understand that when a judge substitutes his or her personal experiences for the law, the law becomes what he or she wants it to be, not what the people, through their elected representatives, have decided it should be.

Most tragically, it is this principle of judicial impartiality - of justice, not just for the rich and the powerful, but for all - that has most benefited the vulnerable and the downtrodden in America.

No group has needed or continues to need justice - that can't be predetermined by wealth or privilege - as much as the less privileged. President Obama doesn't seem to grasp that, by weakening judges' adherence to the rule of law, he is also weakening the very foundation of equal justice for the less fortunate Americans he wants to help.

The "Court of Appeals is Where Policy Is Made"

How does Judge Sotomayor come down on the issue of a judge's fidelity to the law?

Here is what she told a Duke University Law School audience in 2005 (emphasis mine):

"All of the legal defense funds out there, they're looking for people with Court of Appeals experience. Because it is - Court of Appeals is where policy is made. And I know, and I know, that this is on tape, and I should never say that. Because we don't 'make law,' I know. [laughter] Okay, I know. I know. I'm not promoting it, and I'm not advocating it. I'm, you know. [laughter] Having said that, the Court of Appeals is where, before the Supreme Court makes the final decision, the law is percolating."

Is Judge Sotomayor Being Quoted Out of Context? You Read, You Decide

If Judge Sotomayor, by her own words, believes the judge's bench is "where policy is made," what kind of law can we expect her to make as a Supreme Court Justice?

The Berkeley Law School speech in which Judge Sotomayor made the comments that I quoted at the outset of this newsletter - that a "wise Latina" would make a better judge than a white male - has been widely cited.

The White House is now claiming that critics are taking Judge Sotomayor's comments in that speech out of context. So in the spirit of "you read, you decide" I am linking here to Judge Sotomayor's speech in full.

As you read it, see if you agree with those respected legal scholars who have concluded that the speech as a whole isn't as damaging as the Judge's "wise Latina" comment - it's worse.

"Our Gender and National Origins May and
Will Make a Difference in Our Judging"

Here are some excerpts from the speech (emphasis mine):

"I further accept that our experiences as women and people of color affect our decisions. The aspiration to impartiality is just that."

"Whether born from experience or inherent psychological or cultural differences...our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging."

"Justice O'Connor has often been cited as saying that a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases....I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

Again, you read, you decide. Read Judge Sotomayor's speech in full here. Then let me know what you think at Newt.org.

"Equal Justice Under Law" Is Chiseled in Stone on the Supreme Court

The central principle of American justice - and perhaps the single, great idea of America - is equal justice before the law.

This idea is expressed in the words "all men (and today we would say all men and women) are created equal." It means that Americans stand before the law, not as members of groups, but as individuals.

"Equal justice under law" is in fact chiseled in stone on the front of the Supreme Court building - and for good reason.

When a judge disregards the rule of law and applies a different standard to certain groups - or, as the President would say, shows "empathy" - he or she violates this central American principle.

One Group's "Empathy" is Another Group's Injustice. Ask Frank Ricci.

When a judge views Americans as members of groups and not individuals, one group's "empathy" becomes another group's injustice.

Nowhere is the injustice that results from judging Americans as members of groups and not as individuals more evident than in Judge Sotomayor's ruling in the case involving Frank Ricci, a New Haven, Conn., firefighter.

Ricci quit his second job and studied 13 hours a day in 2003 for a civil service exam he hoped would earn him a promotion to lieutenant in the New Haven Fire Department. And when Ricci took the exam, all his hard work seemed to pay off. He got one of the highest scores. But because no African-Americans scored high enough on the exam to be promoted, the city of New Haven threw out the results of the test and promoted no one.

Frank Ricci, 16 other white firefighters, and one Hispanic firefighter sued the city, claiming they were denied promotions on the basis of their race. A district judge dismissed the case, and a three- judge panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal. One of those judges was Judge Sotomayor.

An Opportunity to Have a Debate About
Equal Justice for Americans Like Frank Ricci

The Supreme Court is currently hearing the Ricci case, and a ruling is expected next month, likely in the midst of hearings on Judge Sotomayor's nomination.

Legal experts expect the Supreme Court to reverse Judge Sotomayor's ruling. But however the high court rules, this is a moment for America to have a full, honest and open debate, not just about the impartiality of our judges, but about equal justice before the law for Americans like Frank Ricci.

Which Judge Sotomayor Will Show Up on the Supreme Court?

In fairness to the judge, many of her rulings as a court of appeals judge do not match the radicalism of her speeches and statements. She has shown more caution and moderation in her rulings than in her words.

So the question we need to ask ourselves in considering Judge Sotomayor's confirmation is this: Which judge will show up on the Supreme Court, the radical from her speeches or the convention liberal from her rulings?

It's no small question. Judge Sotomayor is 54 years old. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is 89. Judge Sotomayor has the potential to spend more than 30 years on the Supreme Court. There, unlike on the court of appeals, she will have no reason to show caution. On the high court, Judge Sotomayor will not have to worry about a higher court overturning her rulings. As a Supreme Court Justice, she will do the overturning.

The stakes are very high with this nomination. Has President Obama nominated a conventionally liberal judge to a lifetime tenure on our highest court? Or a radical liberal activist who will cast aside the rule of law in favor of the narrow, divisive politics of race and gender identity?

You read, you decide.

Joel Rosenberg Part 2

2009-06-08T17:48:00.000-07:00

By Joel C. Rosenberg

(Washington, D.C., June 8, 2009) -- To be honest, it's taken me several days to process President Obama's speech in Cairo. But let me offer a bit of analysis now that I've had a little more time to think about it carefully.

First, the good news:

* It was important for the President of the United States to reach out to moderate Muslims -- to the Reformers, as I describe them in Inside The Revolution -- and explain America's desire to understand them, encourage them, and help them succeed. The vast, vast majority of the world's 1.3 billion-plus Muslims are not Radicals. They may not necessarily love the U.S., or Israel or the West, but they are not jihadists. They don't want their children to be suicide bombers. They don't believe in genocide. They want to live in peace and freedom. They want the opportunity to carve out a better life for themselves and their children. This is empirically true. And it should be acknowledged by President Obama as it was repeatedly by President Bush.

* It was important for the President of the United States to speak out on religious freedom and the fundamental human right for all people everywhere to be free to choose their religion for themselves. He did so, and it was good.

* It was also important for the President of the United States -- especially one now openly acknowledging his Muslim roots and his upbringing in the Muslim world -- to stand before a Muslim audience in an Arab capital and defend Israel's right to exist and explain the horrors of the Holocaust. He did so. And then, of course, he went on to the Nazi death camp at Buchenwald with Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to denounce such evil against Jews and against humanity, and vow never to let it happen again. "We've seen genocide," President Obama said at Buchenwald, a speech that was written as a corollary to Cairo. "We've seen mass graves and the ashes of villages burned to the ground; children used as soldiers and rape used as a weapon of war. This places teaches us that we must be ever vigilant about the spread of evil in our own time, that we must reject the false comfort that others' suffering is not our problem and commit ourselves to resisting those who would subjugate others to serve their own interests." This was good.

Now, the bad news....

[To read the rest of this analysis of the President's Cairo speech -- as well as to read analysis of yesterday's elections in Lebanon -- please go to the weblog by clicking here.]

Interesting Political Quote

2009-06-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

From Joel Rosenberg, author of, "The Last Jihad." This is from his flash traffic email. Click here for the entire article.

"The Saudis -- home of the Sunni brand of Islam -- are absolutely terrified at the prospect of Iranian Shia Muslims (whom they consider heretics) going nuclear. They don't believe the U.S. has the will to stop Tehran in time, or perhaps even the true desire. They fear the White House may have made the calculation that a nuclear Iran is inevitable (like North Korea) and maybe not so bad after all. They are not alone. Egyptian leaders and numerous Gulf state leaders feel the same way. They are nearly panic-stricken that the U.S. will cut them loose and allow a nuclear-armed Persia, their historic enemy, to dominate the epicenter. Interestingly, there is an historic and unprecedented convergence of self-interest forming between Israel, Egypt, the Saudis and the Gulf state Arabs against Iran. They want Washington on their side against the apocalyptic, genocidal death cult that is currently running Iran. But thus far, President Obama appears to be convinced that he can sit down with the Iranian leadership, have a few carmel lattes with them, and convince them to give up their atomic ambitions. That's what worries these Arab leaders, as it should. Should be an interesting week."

Interesting in deed!

Islam Day?

2009-05-06T20:23:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, Hawaii's State Senate overwhelming approved a bill to celebrate "Islam Day" on September 24th.

Hmmm...

Is it just me, or does this seem bizarre? My own beliefs notwithstanding, I don't understand why any state entity would approve a day to celebrate one particular religion over another, especially given the furor over so-called "separation of church and state" that seems to only be applied to Christianity.

I mean, you would never hear of a "Christian Day" or "Jewish Day" or "Buddhist Day". What about "Voodoo Day", or "Hindu Day"? I could go on, but I think you get the point.

The bill seeks to recognize "the rich religious, scientific, cultural and artistic contributions" that Islam and the Islamic world have made. It does not call for any spending or organized celebration of Islam Day.

Then what's the point?

People generally get all bent out of shape and inside out over the idea that we are a Christian nation with Christian foundations. They argue that government shouldn't have anything to do with religion.

Apparently not Hawaii.

Get Yours Today

2009-04-28T12:46:00.000-07:00

In my hands I hold two of the greatest statements of human liberty ever written: The Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.

As a practical matter, the Declaration of Independence, adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776, publicly announced to the world the unanimous decision of the American colonies to declare themselves free and independent states, absolved from any allegiance to Great Britain. Yet it is also the definitive American statement of the conditions of legitimate political authority, the ends of government, and the sovereignty of the people. James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, called it "the fundamental Act of Union of these States."

To this day, some 200+ years after the American revolution, the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution serve not only as powerful beacons to all those who strive for liberty and seek to vindicate the principles of self-government, but also as a warning to tyrants and despots everywhere. They are the highest achievements of our political tradition; they still define us as a people and a nation. Taken together, these great documents represent the heritage of our Country.

taken from the forward of the "Pocket Constitution" from the Heritage Foundation. Get your free copy here.

Freedom isn't free.

Quiet Time

2009-04-11T06:37:00.000-07:00

What is quiet time, you say? Well, it's supposed to be a time to wind down during the day. A time when the chaos dims, when you can reconnect with God or just plain take a nap.

Needless to say, that doesn't happen very often around here. Here's what quiet time looks like at my house.

Stage 1. When my kids are too young to climb out of the crib, I can just put them in bed and walk away. That works well until the inevitable day when I hear a "thump" and wailing coming from the baby monitor. They have learned how to climb out of the crib but have not learned about gravity yet. We then progress to stage 2.

Stage 2. I let them play in their rooms and shut the door. Of course I have to do damage control in their rooms which takes all the next day until quiet time again...*sigh*... Now, I can keep them in there until they learn how to turn the knob on the door, or until they can dismantle a baby gate, whichever comes first. Then they come down every five minutes asking me if they can get up yet. That's when we get to stage 3.

Stage 3. At this point, I give them the remote control and tell them I'm going to take a nap. This works well because They have a pre-determined list of shows they can watch, and I get a little sleep. Of course by the time I get to this point it's time to get up and make dinner...

This is my Life

2009-04-01T20:54:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a long time since I've posted, and I'm not really posting here, just giving you Todd Wilson's latest post from his web site, familymanweb.com

I have so much to catch you all up on, dear readers. It's been so hectic around here since the holidays. hubby's been layed off, I'm going back to school.

*sigh*

There just isn't enough time in the day to chronicle everything right now, so it will have to wait.

In the meantime, enjoy Todd's latest post. It's very near and dear to my heart.

Ann Landers Meets Her Match
March 21, 2009

Trying to bring order and harmony to the Wilson home, I decided it was time to consult Ann Landers about the problem. Here is her answer:

If you open it, close it.
If you turn it on, turn it off.
If you unlock it, lock it up.
If you break it, admit it.
If you can’t fix it, call someone who can.
If you borrow it, return it.
If you value it, take care of it.
If you make a mess, clean it up.
If you move it, put it back.
If it belongs to someone else, get permission to use it.
If you don’t know how to operate it, leave it alone.

NOT Bad…but not want I wanted, so I decided to write my own. So here is the Familyman List designed to bring order to your home:

If it looks like you could break it, cut it, or rip it, don’t TRY to break it, cut it, or rip it.

If it’s shiny, don’t touch it.

If it’s growing in the yard, don’t cut it down.

If the family room floor is cover in toys, don’t bring out more.

Throwing a wrapper on the floor is not the same as throwing it in the trash.

If you’ve eaten the last waffle, Pop-tart, or slice of bread don’t put the box or wrapper back in the pantry…don’t leave it on the counter…don’t drop it in the floor…go crazy, and throw it away!!!!

If it needs a key to start it, open it, or use it, back away from it slowly.

If the game has more than two pieces, don’t play with it.

Just because MY computer has a keyboard doesn’t mean you should touch it.

When in doubt…go to your room.

An Old Draft I Thought Worth Rehashing

2009-02-21T13:04:00.000-08:00

I may have won the battle, but I think I'm losing the war.

Remember my first post? I thought I was being a sensitive mother who decided to love my kid rather than the "thing" (her wall). She had drawn all over it, and being the sensitive mother that I was, I didn't chastise her for her "creativity". Instead I chose to overlook an offense, and talk to her about it later.

Well, I did that and felt very good at the time. Unfortunately, I don't think I made that much of an impression on her.

Since then she has drawn on her dresser, her sister's bed and the back of her door. So I take away all forms of writing implements and I think I've won.

Not in the least! The next time I caught her in her closet with a jar full of honey. The day after, it was a bottle of baby powder (I didn't even know we had baby powder).

I have tried every approach I can think of to get her to stop being destructive. I have tried loving, chastising, lecturing, hugging, even a techniques I have heard called "tomato staking" (long story).

Nothing!

She seems bent on living "wild and free" as it were. Then when I finally think I got through to her, littlest one started. We are still in the midst of trying to reign in all the artistic creativity in this house...

The End of a Nation

2009-02-13T17:58:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a while, but I wanted to give everybody a chance to enter in my book giveaway.

I will also say that I never intended this blog to be political and, therefore, I will try to keep my political commentary short here. Here is a wonderful quote that a friend of mine posted on his Facebook page. It bears thinking about.

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation.

"You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

~~~ The late Dr. Adrian Rogers , 1931 to 2005 ~~~

If "con" is the opposite of "pro", then is congress the opposite of progress?

I say this because I have been watching CNN on occasion (I was forced), and saw how hypocritical many members of congress are being. For instance:

I watched as a female congress woman (don't know who) called the executives on Wall Street "Idiots" (those were her exact words) that couldn't handle money and didn't have any character with the funds that were given to them.

This is the same congress that voted themselves raises this year, despite the massive economic slow down.

I also watched a bit of the congressional hearing where a question was posed to the bank execs, asking them which companies owned or leased private planes. All hands went up except for one.

Let it be known by all that Nancy Pelosi has her own private jet.

Hypocrisy is acting in a manner contradictory to one's professed beliefs and feelings, or conversely, expressing false beliefs and opinions in order to conceal one's real feelings or motives.

And by the way, does it not bother anyone that the President's appointees all evade their taxes?

Am I alone in being concerned about this?

One last thought. Here is an excellent and timely article written in a biography about Davey Crockett when he served in congress. A very good read.

Mid-Winter Blues and Book Giveaway Reminder

2009-02-04T18:20:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder that if you want to receive a free copy of my new book, you have one week left to enter the drawing. If you refer someone to the site and they tell me you referred them, you'll be entered twice!

Now, who out there is having the mid-year winter blues? I'm not talking about the emotional condition that is commonly associated with the season we are in. I am talking about the "it's too cold to send the kids outside to play and they're jumping off the walls" kind of attitude.

Now, I live in Georgia. Many of the wonderful nature readers and storybooks we read to the kids refer to my state as the "Sunny Southland".

Yes, it was sunny this morning.

19 degrees.

A few flakes of snow.

My apologies to all you Yankees, I know it's a bit frigid up there. But it's not supposed to be here!!

It's supposed to be cold, but glory be! People from up North move down here to get away from the cold! Not drive into it!!

...Sigh...

The real reason I'm tired of the cold is I want to send the children outside. But as we wimpy homeschoolers down South have no parkas, they cannot go outside. I have no desire to see my children turn blue from the cold. Strange, I know.

Two more months. I can do this!

In the meantime, make sure you get signed up for the giveaway!

God Bless,
Brandie

2009-01-20T20:36:00.000-08:00

OK. Time for a giveaway! Blogging is all about readership, and I want to increase mine, as well as get the word out about my new historical fiction novella, "The Time Has Come." You want to know more? Setting? Plot? Aha! Read on...

I have posted the first chapter in my other blog, where I am holding the giveaway. I want to hear what you think about it. If you post a comment on the other blog, you will be automatically entered into a drawing to receive a PDF copy of the whole book.

Increase your chances of winning by referring someone! (Reader must also post a comment and site your name to be eligible).

The deadline to enter will be February 13th at midnight. The winner will be chosen at random by monkey ninjas and announced on February 23rd.

Here's the link. Thanks!

Yes, Jesus Loves Me...

2009-01-11T17:33:00.000-08:00

This has been a hard weekend.

Hubby got laid off on Friday, and though I know in my head everything will be alright, it's been easy to be a bit nervous.

But as I was in church today, I was reminded a passage from one of one of my favorite books, "The Basket of Flowers."

"But God, who chastens even is best-loved children, will not suffer them to become too deeply attached to the things of earth. Afflictions (troubles) are sent to remind them that this world is not their rest-to wean their affections from earth, and fix them securely above."

In other words, God in His mercy allows to be taken away from us things that may distract us from depending on Him.

Things like a job.

Then at dinner, I was tidying and watching Lady bug, who is almost two, play after getting down from the table. She started singing:

"Yes, Jesus loves me. The bible tells me so."

Yes, Lord, I hear You. These words from my toddler hit home and I remember that You are in control.

Hubby's work is not my anchor or my security.

You are.

Thank you.

Good Things Come in Small Packages

2009-01-04T17:36:00.000-08:00

Superhero is an enigma.

On one hand, he is a super-kinetic ball of energy that tends to use the walls in the house to change his trajectory, rather than slowing down.

The other day I was trimming his nails, and he wouldn't quit moving. I cautioned him several times to hold still or he was going to get hurt, but he just couldn't do it. Finally I raised my voice so he knew I was very serious, and he managed to keep his body still.

However, all his energy went out his mouth. He babbled almost incomprehensibly the entire time he was still. As soon as I gave him the OK to move, his mouth closed and the never-ending movement started again.

But that's not what I came here to tell you.

On the other hand, there is another side to him that frankly freaks me out a bit. I've been told it's a boy thing, and I hope so.

Superhero is completely obsessed with all things villain. The only acceptable hero for him at the moment is the dark knight, and he doesn't even know what that is!! He's never seen the movie, heck I've never seen the movie, but it's dark and therefore somehow cool!!!

But that's not what I came here to tell you either.

On the other hand (yes, that's 3 hands), Superhero is the most generous, sweet and thoughtful person you could ever meet.

Tonight we were in the car and Princess asked what "shiny" meant. So we talked about the different things that were shiny, like metal, glass, gold, silver, the moon, sun, God, and then Superhero said, "Ponygirl's eyes are shiny. They light up when she smiles."

Well, that made more than Ponygirls's night. I was so touched, I just had to soak in the moment. It's so easy to get overwhelmed in day-to-day details of raising children that it's nice to experience a true heart exposure.

In reality, even though Superhero is rough, gruff and sometimes spiteful, he treasures his sisters. All of them. When he wants someone to play with, the first one he seeks out is Princess. He can be so gentle with Ladybug, and he dotes over her. He gets the "protection of sisters" thing with her.

And he adores his older sister. Truly.

One of my favorite songs has a chorus that says:
"I will look at You (God) and say it's gonna be worth it, it's gonna be worth it all."

It's worth it. It really is.

Open Letter to the President-Elect

2008-12-22T17:59:00.000-08:00

Dear Mr. Obama,

I understand your desire for young women to not to have to suffer the consequences of sometimes horrible mistakes or, even worse, acts of violence. I am thankful to know that you care deeply about American women.

Having said that, please stop supporting FOCA. This legislation is not about protecting the rights of women; it is about worshiping the gods of convenience and fear.

You yourself have said that you did not support "anti abortion" legislation in Illinois because there was already good legislation on record. If it is good legislation, don't change it by making federal laws that supersede state laws. Let the states decide for themselves what is best.

Besides, if you truly look at what the procedure entails, you would see that abortion is ripping living beings apart limb by limb into small pieces. These living beings have beating hearts, brain waves and can feel pain and fear. In some horrible circumstances, these living beings are killed after being partially born, their skulls imploded.

If this happened to puppies, the nation would be outraged! Why then, is it OK to do this to innocent children?

The day babies are born, everyone knows they are alive. What about the day before that? Or the day before that? How far back do you go before they are no longer alive? I mean the heart beats at 7 weeks.

If you use "being able to breath on their own" as a sign of life, what about the born babies, children and even adults that are on respirators? Are they not alive, even after they are born?

Why then is there such a discrepancy between when they are alive or not? I believe it is whether or not they are wanted by their mother.

Mr. Obama, these children have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness just as much as someone who who has been born but cannot breath, walk, talk or feed themselves.

I implore you to follow the logic of those who support FOCA. The logical conclusion is that it will eventually be OK to murder someone because you do not like them.

I know that you consider yourself a Christian, and I plead with you to read the book of Judges. All through the book, the history of the new nation of Israel (about our age, actually) states how they kept turning away from God. One of the things they kept doing was worshiping other gods and sacrificing their children to them. Are we not doing the same thing?

God removed His blessing from Israel, and so He has been removing His hand of blessing from us. The good news, however, is that they kept turning back to Him, and so can we.

I beg you to see the signs, the things happening right in front of you. You are an extremely intelligent man, and I know you can see it if you look.

Please look.

Everything hinges on what you do. The lives of thousands of children depend on you.

May God bless you and give you His wisdom,
Brandie Longoria

All Males Take Warning!!!

2008-12-21T17:41:00.000-08:00

I have a subject to discuss that many men may find squeamish, yet it is a profound truth that mommies of the world have pondered throughout the ages.

How do you explain the "feminine sanitary products" that are in your bathroom to preschoolers?

Ponygirl will be ten in a week and is old enough to have at least a modest knowledge of the products and how they are used. Superhero and Princess, on the other hand, would prefer to use them as building blocks, cannons and "special" napkins for the table.

What troubles me the most is that they ask you about them at times you are unprepared for, like when the mailman answers the door and out comes your charming son from the bathroom with a tampon ( I mean missile) sticking out of his nose. "Hey Mom, can I use this?"

Or remember those special napkins? Just be very careful when you ask your three year old to set the table when company is there. You may just be surprised when you sit down to a nice meal with your pastor and his wife.

**sigh**

Children.

Yes, my sisters, there is a God, and He has an incredible sense of humor.

Gingerbread House Part 1

2008-12-15T19:02:00.000-08:00

Usually I'm a really laid back sort of gal. But not when it comes to making gingerbread houses.

I have always loved making these wonderful little things, although I make them a bit differently. I usually use graham crackers. I just find them easier to build with, and one less item I have to do from scratch. Yea, you can get those kits from the store, but then it's pre-made and you don't have any say about what it's going to look like, etc.

Well this year I decided to let my kids each have their own house to decorate. They can each do whatever they want with it, and I don't care if they all look goofy. However, not wanting ladybug to feel deprived I decided to "help" her with hers (alright, I'm doing it for her).

So last night I got out the graham crackers, selected a house shape and started to work a brick pattern around the house.

I didn't have any frosting...out came the glue gun! (I can hear Tim Allen in the background making gorilla noises)

The edges weren't neat and tidy so I started mitering them.

Yes! I admit it! I mitered the edges of my graham cracker house!!

I feel so much better now. I can go make frosting for the Necco roof (they make great roof tiles).

In volume 2, I will discuss the difficulties of making chimneys with Hershey's kisses, and hopefully have a completed house to photograph.

Little Old Lady from...the dish department

2008-12-13T21:55:00.000-08:00

I heard Todd Wilson talk about his book Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe at a homeschool expo a couple of years ago. He talked about this phenomenon of the husband loading the dishwasher wrong and getting in trouble for it. I laughed with everybody else, thinking how superior I am to all those moms who didn't get it.

Well, everyone...I've been humbled again.

Yes, God showed me my uptight and arrogant behavior in the dish washing department.

But in my defense, I will say I thought this was different! My husband isn't the culprit. It's a cute little old lady.

Yes, I have a cute little old (I can say old, she's 91) lady that lives with us and does our dishes. Now before you all stone me for elder abuse, she wants to do it. As a matter of fact, she demanded to be allowed to wash dishes when she moved in with us. That was almost eight years and two sets of dishes ago. She doesn't just wash the dishes, she breaks them too. I don't like the way she does the dishes. She pre-washes them, which is a good thing because if you saw the layers of dishes on the top rack alone, you would wonder how anything gets clean.

But I digress.

I didn't realize that I was just as guilty as the woman who won't let her husband help because he loads the dishes wrong.

So I confessed to the Lord that I am selfish in wanting things done, my way. I refuse to be pulled into the deception that I have control over my dishes anymore. They are just stuff, and she is 91.

I buy Corning Ware now. It hurts the pocket book a little less.

Heeeere's......... Lady Bug

2008-12-07T17:36:00.000-08:00

It happened.

Ladybug became a person.

In an instantaneous flash of time, she transformed from a toddler that laughed at the antics of others to a young child that generates laughter in everyone around her. On purpose.

Tonight, we were sitting around the kitchen table attempting to have a family devotion and hubby asked some questions related to the story. Without batting an eyelash, Ladybug raises her hand and shouts, "ME!" to get hubby to call on her for the answer.

Now, two things about this seem strange to me.

First, since we homeschool, rarely do any of my children raise their hands to answer a question, and Ladybug is too young to get this from her social groups. Keep in mind, she's not even 2 years old yet.

Second, this is a child that has many words, but has yet to formulate sentences.

Where does a 20-month-old child get the personality that makes an entire family, even cranky whiny people, smile, giggle and laugh so hard that we all need to excuse ourselves to the restroom?

I would like to take credit for this wonderful personality, say that she inherited it from me. And while it is true that one of my greatest desires in life is to make people laugh, I cannot take credit for this bundle of wonderfulness before me. She is entirely her own unique set of likes, dislikes, highs and lows.

For instance: The girl likes tofu, and doesn't care for meat. She seems to be turning out to be a natural vegetarian. I am a meat eater. This does not come from me.

Also, at 18 months old, this child could hold a writing utensil correctly and sit for hours drawing and "writing." Of course that would be great, but her "artistic" ability unfortunately is not limited to paper. She is not happy unless she and at least three other surfaces in the house contain marker, crayon or something else that refuses to be removed. This does not come from me. I think it's rather telling that my toddler has a longer attention span than me.

And that's just a couple examples. Looking at my children reaffirms my belief that God has a big sense of humor.

I know he laughs at Ladybug; He delights in her... and so do I.

Of Ponies and Pillows

2008-11-30T21:55:00.000-08:00

In a seemingly obscure book in the Bible, there is a little verse that caught my attention today. "The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy." Zephaniah 3:17.

It's interesting. One of my favorite songs is based on that verse. What caught me today is that God rejoices over us with shouts of joy.

Shouts of joy.

SHOUTS of joy!

Cool! Then it hit me.

I'm not so good about that with my own children lately! Ponygirl was sitting right next to me, and plain as day, I heard God tell me that just as He entered into our world to pursue us, I need to enter into Ponygirl's world and pursue her.

*sigh*

Those who know me know that I am not fond of horses. I don't dislike them, I mean I like to ride, but I'm not in love crazy about them. Not like Ponygirl, anyway...

Well, God told me to learn all the names of her model horses.

*sigh, again*

I told hubby about it quietly, and so he decided to join in my misery with me and try to memorize all her horses' names. Now, you have to understand how many she has. She only got a small sampling of horses (to make it easier on me), and it took me an hour and a half to go through all of them.

Hubby fell asleep.

But I'm proud to report that I made it through. Not sure if I remember them all, but it's a start. I want to pursue her with an intensity that reveals to her that:

She is my daughter, I love her. She pleases me.

Even if she does like horses...

Of Feasting and Shopping

2008-11-27T18:18:00.000-08:00

I am absolutely stuffed to the gills with food.

Once a year, Americans glorify gluttony and I apparently joined the group this time around. I haven't always gotten stuffed. I mean I grew up with the starving people in Ethiopia, so I have to feel guilty about consuming a huge amount of food, right?

Well, actually, this time I didn't feel guilty. I have seen all the stats that say if I own a car, have a TV, have access to a computer, etc. etc. then I am richer than 90% of the people in the world. This is supposed to make me eat all of my food or something like that. I have often said, when I was a child, that the Ethipoians could have it, if they came and got it. Besides, other than the fact that we can't get half eaten food to Ethiopia before it rots, it doesn't go to waste here. We eat it. Maybe it is too much for one night, but we eat it all over time.

We have leftover turkey and stuffing, turkey sandwiches, stuffing omelets, turkey smoothies, and other sundry leftovers until we are blue in the face. But the food does get eaten. That probably explains why we can only do this once a year. After a month of turkey, we can't even look at a live one without feeling a little nauseous.

Ah, yes, American traditions: turkey, football and shopping the day after. That is, however, one tradition of which I shall not partake thereof: The getting up at 4 in the morning to go shop in the mall. What are these people thinking?!!

What gets me is that for the most part, these are the very people who just spent all day yesterday on their feet preparing food, cleaning the dishes, getting to bed late, just to be at the mall by 5 am. This to me does not sound like a good idea.

Maybe it's some sort of penance for being gluttonous the day before. I'm sorry, but no sale is worth that!!

Maybe it's just the Tryptophan, but I'd rather sleep in tomorrow. Now, how do you get four balls of kinetic energy to sleep in???

God Bless and Happy Thanksgiving,
Brandie

The Saga of Playdates

2008-11-24T10:47:00.000-08:00

We just had a play date today, and I have to tell you, play dates are an interesting thing.

I think the modern play date is a recent invention to make mothers feel very inadequate. Think about it. You make a date on your calendar to get together with someone you don't get to see very often so your kids can get together and play, while you get to sit and chat. The point is really for them to entertain themselves so that you can have an adult conversation with another member of the human race.

Sounds great in theory. But needless to say, it never happens that way.

You stick two (or more) children together that haven't been around each other for a while and then expect them to behave as if they were adults, on their best behavior, and entertaining each other. One child always wants to play with one thing, or a different child than the first, and fighting, crying and general chaos result.

So, either I need to never have play dates with people I don't see everyday, or I need to relax my standards a bit!! I may never get to have a conversation with someone in the near future that does not include crayons, hair pulling, or watching TV, but I get to be with my friend.

So I suppose that parenting never goes on hold, even during play dates, but I get to do it with someone, rather than by myself, and that is the "date" part of play date...

Keeping it real,
Brandie

It was in the Stars

2008-11-21T21:24:00.000-08:00

Wow! I just watched a fascinating movie about whether or not the start of Bethlehem was real, and if so, what was it!. Here is the trailer to watch.

Go here to see the evidence and other information, as well as how to order the movie. In Atlanta, Atlas Piers is giving the movie away for free.

Tales of Trouble Makers

2008-11-21T10:55:00.000-08:00

My two middles are only 19 months apart from each other in age. Let's just say that supreme powers above were at work here, because having two children so close together was not my idea! But God certainly does have a sense of humor, and many times I think He has a lot of fun laughing at me.

Superhero is the older one at five years and, I might add, the combustion behind the engine. His little sister, Princess is right behind him in age, height and ability for destruction.

I call them my middles, but many times I think of them as the trouble makers. Now, I'm not saying that my other two don't get into hot water, but these two must have contests on who can make the most messes.

Take yesterday for example: I am sweeping the floor after an adventurous lunch. Next thing I know, I hear the two middles exclaim (in a whisper) "here she comes!" This is my clue to start sweating.

I went into the family room and lo, and behold, they have just dumped out an entire bottle of glitter. Well, I'm cleaning that up and I go back into the kitchen and the floor is messy again! And they haven't eaten anything!!!

How does this happen?

Well, I have figured out that there are secret gnomes that follow Superhero and Princess around the house knocking things over and generally making a mess. that's the only logical explanation to the constant state of general mayhem and disorder.

As I sit here and type, I have sent my oldest upstairs to spy on the middles because we both hear crashing (as if they are jumping off of furniture).

*sigh*

Next paycheck we are buying window bars too.

A Modern Day Parable

2008-11-09T18:13:00.000-08:00

There once was a father who had a son. Like most fathers, this one loved his son very much and wanted him to grow up with good character. He has was a good father and tried to teach his son and protect him from harm.

When the son was a toddler, he started acting like most toddlers do and wanted his own way in everything. "I want this toy!" and "I want that food!!"

It was enough to drive his father crazy. But the father was patient, and tried to instill wisdom in his son.

One day, the son was doing something very dangerous. He decided to walk on a tall rickety gate. His father tried to warn him that it was dangerous, but the son wouldn't listen to him.

And alas, the son fell.

When he got up, he looked right at his father and asked, "Why did you let that happen to me?!"

His father was flabbergasted! He had tried to warn his son about the dangers he was facing, and when his son hurt himself, he blamed him.

As this son grew a bit older, he started to do more dangerous things, including playing with fire. One day, he set on fire a garbage can that belonged to the neighborhood bully. The bully came around and tried to beat up the son, but the father came to defend him.

The father tried to get his son to see the error of his ways, and the son tried to act better.

For a while.

Then back to misbehaving went the son, no matter how hard the father tried to teach him about doing justly and loving mercy.

Finally, the son decided that he was not happy at home and decided to run away. He thought that his father was being too harsh with him, and that he wanted to have "more fun." So he took some of his father's money, sneaked out the window and went to the train station. He got on the first train headed south.

From then on, the son was on his own. No longer did he have his father's protection against the bullies of the world. No longer did he have his father to love him and protect him. His father still loved him, but could not protect him because he was not at home.

The father still watches for him every day. He still hopes that he'll return. And if he does, there will be a huge party.

Until then, he waits... and hopes.

God bless,
Brandie

Eleven Score and Twelve Years Ago

2008-11-02T17:05:00.000-08:00

politics.

*sigh*

So, when we declared independence 232 years ago (I checked- a score is 20 years), we were running from the tyranny of a King that wanted to rule us from afar.

But if you go back even further, say 401 years ago, pilgrims came to the "new world" to escape the king of the same country (though I agree with Thomas Paine that our parent country was not England but Europe in general).

Here is a link to the Declartion of Independence. It's good to read and not too long.

Our country was founded on the idea that we can do things ourselves, if left alone to do it. We were not asking for handouts, on the contrary! We limited our government to only govern the people where necessary. That is why the federal government was made to be limited. Let me say that again. The federal government was made to be limited.

*sigh*

Now, some in the government want us to go back to the European way of life, because they see a "fraternity", if you will, a group of buddies who work together to protect what they have. I think we have forgotten where we came from.

We won't mention that many of these European countries don't think very highly of us, and enjoy it when we suffer. Nor will we mention that many of these countries have been rescued by the United States at least once if not more.

Nor will I mention that their style of government has allowed the largest influx of terrorists in the world, ready to strike at a moment's notice. This population has also been allowed to infiltrate these same governments in such a way as to turn their ideology from fairness and tolerance of all views to intolerance of Jews and Christians. Just look at the news. It's on the record.

Now, before you send me hate mail, please don't. I am well aware of the "imperfections" of our own country. We spend more education money per student than anywhere else in the world, and we are still graduating high school seniors who don't know how to read. But don't you see? It's that same kind of thinking that has been leading us right to where we are.

I call it entitlement thinking. If we think we are entitled to anything, other than life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, than we get away from the root of who we are as a country. So many people, myself too I admit at times, get caught into thinking that "I am a victim who has no voice who is helpless. I have no hope."

Hence why Obama is so popular. His "hope" campaign feeds on the "pity" part of us who want something for nothing. Now, he wants to redistribute the wealth.

All that's fine and dandy, for those who have not worked hard for that money. It's another thing when you have sweated and toiled to make things work, and when they do, the government wants a third of your profit.

*sigh*

I'm sorry, I just get frustrated at the thought of turning the world's greatest country into "one of the gang." I don't mean any offense to Europe, but we were founded on a different set of principles, one that has lead to some of the best innovations in the world, and lead to the quick rise of power and leadership of the US. Why do we, then, want to go back to where we came from?

Because some in the world view our flag as a symbol of oppression? I am truly sorry if some think so, for that has never been our intention. But then, most of those that do are the very ones that want to kill all of us. Men, women, children... the more the better!

I guess I better lay off the caffeine, eh?

May God Bless the USA,
Brandie

P.S. Make sure you vote on Tuesday if you haven't already -- but only if you're voting for McCain! ;-)

The Time Has Come

2008-10-29T22:24:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not going to make a political speech, though I could.

No, I'm concerned about matters of much greater importance than who will be our next president:

Yes, you guessed it. Ladybug has learned how to say, "no!"

Oh, sure it's cute now, she shakes her adorable cheeks, and declares in a sing-songy voice that dreaded word I was hoping to never hear.

I ask her if she wants to go to bed...."NooOoh!" Do you want to eat some more? "NooOoh!" Do you always say no? "NooOoh"

*sigh*

Here we go. Number four is starting the defiance stage, and I'm still breaking in number 3 on first time obedience. (note: haven't done that well with 1-3 yet. Will try some more)

The funniest part is when she can't make up her mind what she wants to answer. If I ask her if she wants, say, a Popsicle, then that messes up her response. She does wants one, but she's not nearly as adept at saying "yes" yet. So, she just tries to nod, and shake her head at the same time.

I suppose that if Ladybug is starting the "no" stage, that means I'm that much closer to getting out of diapers, right?

And I'll need all that extra cash if my wealth is going to be re-distributed anyway....(oops! did I get political? Sorry!)

Thoughts from the Rocking Chair

2008-10-24T21:19:00.000-07:00

So, I sat and rocked, sat and rocked.
Sat and rocked, sat and rocked.
Sat and rocked, sat and rocked.

Poor ladybug came down with croup, and she is miserable. She wanted her Mommy, and just wanted to be cuddled, wanted to be held, wanted to be rocked.

So I did.

Now, I admit that I don't like to rock my children to sleep. I got caught in that trap with the first one, then had a heck of a time trying to teach her later how to fall asleep on her own. So with the others, I loved them, kissed them and put them down to bed.

Worked like a charm.

Until they get sick.

And to be honest, I'm a sucker for a sickie. When they feel puny, I feel powerful. They know that only Mommy can stop the hurt, and if Mommy can't, then she'll stick with you until it does stop hurting.

What they don't know is all the things that go through my mind, all the projects that go undone, and the chores that need to be finished. I'm thinking about the floor needing to be swept, email to be answered, dishes to be done. It is in these moments that I realize what a hard time it is for me to be still. I guess I'm a Martha at heart, and it's not natural for me to just sit.

But I did tonight. I fought the demons of industry and just sat and rocked. With God's help I did it for her.

Ladybug was finally ready for bed and asked to get into it. I had tried earlier, but she just wasn't ready and fussed. So I picked her back up and rocked.

I sat and rocked, sat and rocked.

It feels good to do the right thing. At least I get it right from time to time

Blessings,
Brandie

His Royal Highness

2008-10-08T14:10:00.000-07:00

I like to party.

Probably not what you're thinking, however. I don't go out and have drunken brawls. No, I like to give parties.

For kids.

Superman turned five in August, and he has yet to have a real big birthday bash. Big sister had them every birthday from the time she was one! But as most parents, I realized my insanity when I had more kids and was not able to keep up that pace.

But it stinks for the younger kids, so I thought I would do one big bash for Superhero. We had an all out knights in armor party, and even "hired" a local teen to be the royal herald to help with the events.

We had jousting, sword fights, and even slayed a dragon (not an easy task to locate dragons).

At Castle Longoria, the Lord and Lady were decked out in their finery and I wanted to share some of the festivities with you all (y'all in the south). Notice the tights on the king!!

Call Him Lazarus

2008-09-24T19:27:00.000-07:00

So, we had a friend visiting from out of town, and you know the drill. The kids climb, hop, skip and jump on the floor, walls, ceiling, etc. in order to impress "Uncle Bob."

Superhero decided to play dead.

Uncle Bob: "Uh-oh, I see we have a dead person in the road. I wonder if he's just playing possum."

Superhero doesn't move.

UB: "I guess I'll have to step on him."

SH: still doesn't move (which is very brave; Uncle Bob is a full grown man).

Uncle Bob pretends to step on Superhero who still does not move a muscle. Then after Uncle Bob sits back down, he begins to get up.

UB: "I see he's alive after all."

SH: "It's by God's power!"

Now, that's living faith!!!

Surprise Down Under?

2008-09-17T19:54:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to a swanky art reception.

Everybody got dressed up. The kids were dressed well, (even Ladybug) and we all went to attend an important party to celebrate the artistic talents of my mother and sister.

Things were going well, for the most part. Mine were the only children there, and they managed to keep the chaos to a dull roar.

Princess told my mom that she had to go to the bathroom, and as she is a wonderful Grandma (Draa), off they went. This is what I was told transpired while in the bathroom:

Draa (pulling up the fancy dress): Princess, you don't have any panties on!

Princess: I don't got some.

Draa: Does Mommy know you don't have any on?

Princess: (with a cute smile) No, it's a surprise!

Well, my mom thought she would end up peeing right there she was laughing so hard. And then she proceeded to tell everybody at the reception that my daughter had no underwear!!!

Sheesh! You'd think she was a grandma or something!

By the way, they both won awards!! Click here to see their artwork. Nikki and Shannon

Ups and Downs

2008-09-15T20:58:00.000-07:00

This is an incredible video a family member sent me. It's a European film that I hope I get to watch when it comes out. It's called "Most-the Bridge"

Hurry Up and Wait

2008-09-12T07:16:00.000-07:00

To borrow a phrase from one of my favorite bloggers, " I'm a great Mom. Except when I'm not."

I blew it again.

Yesterday I was in a hurry. I don't even remember why at the moment, but I needed to go somewhere, and go now. I didn't have a large time window.

Princess was pushing my buttons that day, and I wanted to give her an opportunity to redeem herself. That in of itself would have been fine.

But I told her to go tot the bathroom.

Alone.

Without supervision.

Now, Princess is 3 1/2 years old and she is perfectly able to go potty. But, she has a tendency to forget details. Like wiping, flushing or washing her hands.

So, someone needs to remind her to do those things.

But I was busy and in the car, trying to get all of the huge balls of kinetic energy (read children) into their seats and strapped in. Princess was taking too long, so I went to the basement stairs and shouted up the stairs to her what was taking so long. Then I saw her.

Completely naked from the waist down. One shoe and sock on, one off. It seems that she forgot to put the toilet seat down when she went to wash her hands and stepped into the toilet (don't worry, it was clean).

In hind sight it was hilarious! But I didn't laugh. I got angry.

I was inconvenienced, by having to interrupt my almighty schedule for a short person. So I stomped upstairs, get her new clothes, and generally let her know that I was not happy with her.

She got the point. She cried and said, "Sorry, Mommy"

So, how many times do we hurry our children, demand that they conform to our schedules and then we get irritated when they can't keep up?

In my own selfishness, I forget that my children are little people that need to be loved and not herded like cattle from one event to the next.

A great quote from Lorrie Fleming of Teach Magazine states, "The Bible shows us over and over again that the greatest enemy of God's will and God's best is often impatience."

It's o.k. I made up with Princess. I have learned long ago to not let my mistakes slip past me when possible. I apologize to my children when I mess up, and they are gracious enough to forgive me.

Again.

The Amazing Aventures of.......

2008-08-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

There is a reason I call him Superhero.

He just turned 5 and for his birthday he received dress up costumes galore. Buzz Lightyear (although he's never seen the movie), Spiderman (ditto), police man, astronaut, fire man and soldier. He loves to dress up, and we only allow him to be "the good guy". I will tell you, however, that he is tempted by the dark side. I don't know if it's a boy thing, or a danger thing, but he wants to grow up to be Darth Vader (again, never saw the movie).....sigh.....

But anyway, this boy loves to dress up, and is always thinking about new characters, so imagine my surprise when Superhero walks down stairs in his tighty whities and a cape.

He is Catpain Underpants!

Now, he can barely read and has never even seen Captain Underpants. Where does he get these ideas?

I'm just thanking the good Lord that he didn't dress up as "Adam" again.

How hot is your chili?

2008-08-25T20:48:00.000-07:00

Princess didn’t start out as “Princess”. As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I knew what gender and what her name was. I can’t tell you that God spoke in an audible voice, but it was definite. Before she was born, she would move around like crazy, and we started to call her “Chili Pepper”. It might have had something to do with all the heartburn she gave me as well.

Well, her birthday came and she was born a chili pepper. She came out kicking and screaming and wanted to go back in. She has had an opinion ever since. Princess has evolved into her name because of her desire to be extremely “girly”, but do not be mistaken. She is still a chili pepper.

Today has been a hard day for her. She woke up happy but must have fallen out of bed or something, because the chili in the pepper has become an habanero today. It’s wearing a little thin. You see, I homeschool my children and I’m around them 24/7. Now, I know you are thinking, “wait! She homeschools. Her kids are supposed to be perfect!” Let me explain:

There seems to be an incorrect assumption that if you homeschool your children, then they will be well behaved in any public situation. People see the family with stair stepped children, in coordinating jumper dresses and leggings, long hair that has never been cut, and all the children are meek and mild. Never do they touch anything they shouldn’t, and their parents never have to chastise them in public.

My children have never fit this mold, and frankly, I’m glad. Because the stereotype of homeschoolers is false. Our children can be just as obnoxious as anyone else’s kids. They can (and do) have their own distinct opinions, and they can (and do) let everyone around them know it.

That stereotype is false, because it’s not real. I know families who have children that look like that, and while they are real, the myth that they’re perfect is not. Here is a video that makes a me laugh because the comedian (Tim Hawkins) is poking fun of all of the stereotypes of homeschooling.

So, Princess may be a princess, but she is a chili pepper too. The level of spice depends on the day and the mood, but she livens up the house!!!

Of Little Boys and Lumpy Pillows

2008-08-24T17:16:00.000-07:00

I know it seems I talk about my children all the time, and you're probably thinking, "this woman has no life," but there is so much material here, I just have to share it.

I have said before that Superhero is a ball of super kinetic energy. He seems to sizzle and spark if left standing in one place too long. One thing he cannot tolerate is "quiet time."

Yes, quiet time. That blessed event that happens here rain or shine, day in, day out, 365 days a year.

Well, mostly.

Every day at my house from 2-4 p.m., I have the children go to quiet time. I don't care whether they nap or not (at least the oldest ones) but they must be quiet, or incur my wrath. And I'm serious. This is the only time of peace I get all day, and I'm gonna enjoy it, even if it kills me!!

So, since Superhero has a hard time with the "quiet" part of quiet time, I try to give him specific directions of what he can do. He can read (yes, my five-year-old is reading... a little), color in his coloring books, lay down, or play with his cars, etc. until 4 o'clock.

Sometimes it works well, other times... well... let's just say sometimes it's not so easy.

One day, when he had gotten quiet, I assumed he had fallen asleep, since he still had been taking a nap from time to time. I had a friend over for tea and was listening to the baby monitors in his and his sister's rooms to make sure everything was OK. Then suddenly I heard loud banging on my front door and jumped about 6 feet in the air. I peeked around the corner and saw a strange man at the door. Now, I don't know about you, but when I see a strange man banging on the door and no husband around, I get a little nervous. But then he started to scream that a boy was coming out of his window on the second floor.

Have you ever had one of those nightmares where you can't run down the hallway fast enough and the hallway keeps getting longer and longer? Well, that happened at that moment in my home. I could not run up the stairs fast enough. I ran up to his room, threw open the door, and witnessed my then three-year-old son half out of his second-story window onto the porch roof. Somehow I manged to grab his legs and yank him in the room without banging him into anything, and all was well. I thanked God for the angel He sent to protect my little boy, and that was the last time I ever assumed he was sleeping when I couldn't hear him on the monitor.

Now, fast forward a little while and it happens again. No, not climbing out the window. We got that window taken care of. Not that.

He got quiet.

Now I notice it. As soon as he doesn't say anything for a few minutes, I get suspicious. One day not long ago, he got quiet.

Too quiet.

I went quietly up to his room in case he had fallen asleep, but too nervous about what he could be getting into not to check and I found this.

Cute huh? How on earth he ever fit into his pillowcase I'll never know, but I prefer that to the window...

Before I was "Mommy"

2008-08-21T10:17:00.000-07:00

I just received this in my in-box as a chain email letter, and thought it was pretty cute. So much of it is true (especially the peeing part)

Before I was "Mommy,"
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was "Mommy,"
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was "Mommy,"
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was "Mommy,"
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was "Mommy,"
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so Important and happy.

Before I was "Mommy,"
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to
make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,
The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a mother.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was "Mommy."

A Rainbow of Love

2008-08-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

Long before I became a parent, I read a children's book that changed my life. It's called, "I love You the Purplest," by Barbara M. Joosse. It was so profound that I have remembered it 10+ years later.

It goes something like this: Mom is fishing with her sons when they ask her whom she loves the most. She goes on to explain her love to them in colors, rather than degrees.

This so changed my thinking, that I could not wait to become a parent and tell my children how intensely I loved them in their color scheme.

Ponygirl is the pinkest. Hers came one evening after we had just moved across the country. Hubby and I were getting out for a much deserved date, and as we were driving, I looked up to see the most incredible sunset I had ever witnessed in my entire life. Pink with orange and yellow swirling around the clouds like cotton candy on fair day. Quickly I called Ponygirl on my cell phone and told her to go out on the porch and look at the sunset. "That's how much I love you," I said. All she said was, "wow!"

Superhero was easy. Blue. He was blue from the day I found out he was a boy. I describe his blue to him as the azurite rock we have in our rock collection. The most intense blue you can think of. It's electric. Or I say the brightest blue of the sky at the start of the day. Intense and cool. It's refreshing. He likes that.

Princess has wanted her color changed, but she has been yellow to me from day one. A bright hot sunny yellow, with the intensity of the sun and the joy of a sunflower lifting its face to God. She is pure summer with flowers, bees and the smell of nectar (when she's had a bath, anyway).

Lady bug is shaping up to be a green. She is fresh, and new like the new spring leaves lifting their tiny heads above the dirt. She is sweet and happy like the newness of the season, and brings promise of life and happiness to our family.

Now, the children are not content to be the only ones with colors, so they have demanded that hubby and I claim our own patch of the rainbow.

Hubby to me is red with all the passion and hoo-rahs the part calls for.

The kids say I am white. Not sure where that comes from, except that maybe they still think I'm perfect (hah!), but for whatever the reason, I appreciate their desire to love me back.

Loving the gold at the end of the rainbow,
Brandie

What did you say??!!!

2008-08-16T06:32:00.000-07:00

Children can say the "darndest" things!

It was a crazy week. Between working at Born Again Blessings (watch video here), my mother-in-law visiting and getting ready to start school, I didn't have a lot of time for my children, and Superhero felt it the most.

I started out the day explaining to them why Mommy was going to be in the basement. I put Ponygirl in charge of immediate supervision and went to work. Of course, I was still within ear shot and available for emergencies, but I had to iron, hang and tag items, oh my!!

I could have predicted it, had I used my brain. The inevitable screaming from Princess and Superhero meant that they were fighting... again. They are only 19 months apart in age, so they play and fight with each other intensely.

I brought Superhero down in the basement with me to separate the two "middles" and went on my merry way to iron, hang and tag... iron, hang and tag... rinse and repeat.

Well, Superhero was doing everything he could to push my buttons – playing with things he knew he shouldn't, jumping around and all together being an active child who was being cooped up too much.

I never stopped to see the warning signs, nor did I even look up at him when I corrected him.

Then, out of the blue (to my thinking), Superhero started crying and said, "Mommy, it seems like you don't like me today!"

He might have just as well taken a knife, cut my chest open and ripped out my heart. I think I even gasped, I was so surprised.

Of course, in hindsight, I see now why he said that. The chaos level in the house was so high the last week getting ready for three different events that I just haven't been there. Yes, I was in the house, at least my body was there, but my mind was in a million other places.

So, what did I do?

I put down the iron (unplugged it, too), sat down on the couch and brought Superhero onto my lap. I wrapped my arms around him and told him how much I like him. I also told him that I love him, but he needed to know that I liked him too. He needed to know that I don't just love him, but I enjoy him and his company. That I choose to be around him, not just tolerate him.

I hate that it had to come to that, but my heart is soaring as well, because he shared his heart with me. My newly 5-year-old was able to express what was in his heart. He never even accused me (which would have been easier to refute), he just told me how he felt.

All in all, it was a fairly sweet moment.

After I got over the guilt, anyway...

Tea Revolution

2008-08-09T04:21:00.000-07:00

I used to be a coffee drinker. I would go pretty much cold turkey whenever I found out I was pregnant. I know one can usually get away with one cup of coffee a day, but my ob/gyn was a stickler about it. Of course, I didn't always follow his advice (he also said no chocolate), but for the most part, I was a good girl.

Then, one of my girlfriends (yes, I do have more than one) introduced me to tea. You see, she grew up in a different country where they drink tea all the time, and if I wanted to entertain her, I needed to have my own stash of tea. Now, I had tried tea before, but for the most part dismissed it as an occasional fruity concoction that I would have with a scone or something. I never realized how serious tea was.

Or how addicted I would become.

I had never really had unflavored black tea before, but my friend showed me that with a little milk and sugar, it was quite tasty. Then it happened, quite unexpectedly.

I had chai.

Never before had I tasted anything so incredibly... incredible! The spices, the milk, the tea.

The strong tea. I was in heaven. I was hooked, and I have never looked back.

Yes, I do still have my coffeemaker in my house for the infidels in my life who still prefer coffee, but for my part, I want to share with you five good reasons to drink tea over coffee.

Tea is so much easier to make than coffee. It takes less time, and you don't have to grind anything.
You can make just one cup. I know there are single serving coffeemakers out there, but for the most part, they still take a bit of time.
You can make chai. Not the same with coffee. At all. I've tried it.
Afternoon coffee and afternoon tea mean totally different things. If you've never had afternoon tea, I am so sorry...
Although tea does stimulate you, it relaxes you at the same time. It doesn't affect you like coffee does. Also, it doesn't have as much caffeine, so if you're counting mg's of caffeine, you can have 2 1/2 cups of tea to equal one cup of coffee.

Now, I have to say that loose leaf tea is a lot of fun to drink, a lot like coffee in how you make it. My usual throughout the day, though, is bagged tea (sorry, Mari). For special occasions, I make my secret special chai tea, and I always use loose leaf tea. You can check out Tea and Traditions, and peruse their site, if you wish.

Now I will tell you how to make the most incredible chai in the world. I have had many willing guinea pigs tell me this is way better than what Starbucks offers.

First, you need about 4-5 cups of really strong black tea.

Then... Ah, if you want the rest of the recipe, make a comment, and I will send it to you. After all, it is a secret!

Ode to the Grocery cart

2008-08-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed that our children are kind of like grocery carts? When a child is born, they are all shiny and clean, and will go where ever we want them to go. But somewhere along the way, say around two years old, the grocery cart starts to get a little wobbly. Something happens to one wheel. I don’t know if they bump over something that makes them do that, or what, but all of a sudden you are struggling to go in the right direction. The entire time you are in the store, you are fighting with that darn cart to get it where you want it to go. You are wanting to go to the butter and cheese, and suddenly you find yourself in the canned peas!* The funny thing is, all grocery carts are like that. You can never find one that doesn’t go bad on you!

Well, unfortunately, that tendency doesn’t go away as adults. As the apostle Paul put it:
“What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary. But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?” (Romans 7:15-24)

So we push that grocery cart all round the store, hoping that the wheel will fix itself, and it never does. Even if we have money and fame, we can’t seem to get that wheel fixed. So, how do we fix our grocery carts?

Read the rest of Romans. You’ll get it.

Fighting my broken wheel,
Brandie

*Thank you to Tom Tanner and Mark Nysewander of Riverstone Church for inspiration.

Rug rats and crumb snatchers

2008-08-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

I have four children, and each of them have had their unique personalities and quirks. My first child (the cautious one) never had the desire to look inside the kitchen cabinets, so I never had to baby proof the kitchen. She looked at a plug once with a screwdriver, and that’s as far as it went. Then came Superhero, a bundle of super kinetic energy disguised as a boy. I had to baby proof the kitchen after all. Chilipepper we have dubbed, “Me too!”, because everything her brother does, she has to copy. But never have I ever had a child obsessively put things into their mouth as Ladybug does.

When she was crawling, it made sense. She was closer to the floor. I tried to be good about keeping the floor swept and vacuumed, but she seemed to grab the dust out of the air and compress it into bunny shapes. Now she’s walking, or rather, running, around the house and at the same time, without slowing down mind you, picking up everything she can get her little paws on.

I try to be so good and careful, but invariably, I will see her out of the corner of my eye, reaching for the prize on the floor. I look at her, she looks at me. She smiles. She puts her hand to her mouth as I am getting up and flies in the opposite direction I want her to go. It goes so fast, but at the same time it’s all in slow motion, like a nightmare when you can’t get down the hall.

I have to say, though, she’s getting better. Now she’s coming to me and taking it out of her mouth and giving it to me. She’ll even come over and say, “mmm” (as in yummy), so I know she’s guilty.

Sigh.

Fortunately, God has thus far spared me the ordeal my mother went through when I was little. Apparently when I was two years old, I drank a bottle of kerosene and lived to tell about it.

Did I mention Ladybug is a mini-me?

This is how I have managed to lose weight, by running after a crumb snatcher all day.

I think I need some chocolate,
Brandie

Down with Housework!!

2008-08-02T17:48:00.000-07:00

I need to confess something.

I am domestically challenged. I don’t mean cooking, for I can cook and bake circles around many. I mean I stink at housework. Yes, though I’m sure in every other aspect of my life my husband believes that I am practically perfect in every way, I just can’t seem to get a handle on the housework thing. Housework seems to be a never-ending cycle of picking up after vertically challenged people that follow me around and take out precisely what I just put away.

Now I have heard the old adage that goes, “a perfectly kept house is a house where the children are bored”, or something to that effect. If that is indeed true, then my children should not be complaining that they are bored! There is a Bible verse that says, “Without oxen a stall is clean, but great is the increase by the power of the ox.” (Proverbs 14:4) In other words, the oxen is worth the labor it causes, but it makes a big stinky mess.

O.K., so they are really useful oxen…no people…I mean, well, I know I need to relax and enjoy this time, because that’s what all my “older” friends tell me I need to do, and they’ve been there. They all assure me that I’m going to blink and I will be wishing for all of this back. They’ll be gone and I won’t have anyone to pick up after. They tell me I’ll miss it.

I am sure that I will miss seven people’s worth of laundry, dishes, toys, etc. all over the house. At least that’s what they tell me.

Sometimes I think they may be crazy….but then…..

I suppose I can see a little of this phenomenon at work in my house right now. Ladybug is 16 months old, and she is so cute, I want o bite her. But I do miss the times she wasn’t so mobile or able to put every living and non living thing, dust bunny, popcorn kernel, or crayon in her mouth (more on that later). I do miss the peaceful times of nursing my first child in the quiet of the moment.

So maybe they do have a point. That doesn’t make the present any easier to keep clean, but at least the oxen are all well fed…..

Being real,
Brandie

Are you a shag or berber?

2008-07-31T20:09:00.000-07:00

I think that there are two basic kinds of people. There are the people that walk on the carpets in their homes, and those that don’t. The other day, I walked into my friend’s house to see her new baby, and almost forgot to take off my shoes. She has lived in her house for a few years, and her carpet is immaculate! That wouldn’t necessarily be remarkable, except that she has four children. One reason her carpet is so nice, is because she doesn’t walk on it with shoes. They always take their shoes off before coming inside.

I think relationships are like carpet. They start out all nice and squeaky clean smelling of new chemicals, and you’re pretty careful for a while not to soil anything. Then, one day you can become careless and spill something, or drag in the garbage from the garden, and bam! There’s a stain. Oh, sure, you can use spot remover, but that doesn’t always get the stain out. Sometimes people have to live with that stain for a long time.

Or have it steam cleaned. God is the steam cleaner, and his prices can’t be beat!!

So, I have to ask myself. Have I walked on the carpets of people’s hearts? Have I forgotten to take off my shoes? Have I dragged my past baggage into new relationships and left a messy environment behind me? Too many times the answer is, ”yes”, especially those that I love the most, like my husband.

What about my children’s hearts? Sometimes in haste it can be easy to forget that their hearts are still like clean carpets that have been unblemished by age, spills or wear and tear. I need the Lord to remind me to take off my shoes and tread lightly around those that I love. I need to leave the mud and the slime outside.

So, how do we “take our shoes off”?, you ask. Well, I think it’s by being intentional about it. So many hurtful actions and words can slip out when we are distracted by ourselves. I like to use this self test at the end of the day to remind myself what went wrong, and what went right.

Are my words loving, encouraging and uplifting? (Eph. 4:29) trustworthy and self controlled (Proverbs 11:13), pure (Eph. 5:4), peaceful (Proverbs 17:1), the words God wants me to speak (1Peter 4:11) and a reflection of God’s righteousness (Psalms 17:3b).

Not that I have arrived by any sense of the word, but again, this is not about being perfect, it’s about being intentional with our words and actions. It’s about taking the time to think about someone else, other than ourselves. I have said many times that the root of all sin is selfishness. So, tomorrow, try to be intentional with your husband, children, or whomever you come into contact, and keep their carpet clean.

Taking off my shoes,
Brandie

Homeshool Heaven

2008-07-24T20:32:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I get to go to the local homeschool expo, and I’m as giddy as a….well, as a schoolgirl! This time of year always thrills me. I get to look down the long aisles of people wanting to sell me things. Things I need, things I don’t, and things I thought I didn’t but now that I see them I know I must have them and how on earth did I ever get along without them??????

Breathe in , and out….

I love homeschooling. Yes, it’s harder than anything else I have ever done in my life, yes, it can be like pulling teeth at times when my nine year old wants to do ANYTHING other than her school work. No, it isn’t easy trying to balance a 4th grader, kindergartner, a preschooler and a baby toddling around. Yes, sometimes we eat McDonald’s just to get out of the house, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

I remember the moment Ponygirl learned how to read. We were going through a phonics book, because she wanted to learn. Mind you, she wasn’t even four yet…but SHE wanted to learn.

So she put together the sounds “r” “a” “n”.

I saw it click

“RAN!!!!!” she screamed at the top of her lungs while running around in circles as fast as her little legs would carry her.

I wouldn’t trade that for the world.

Yes, we have to sacrifice and go without, many times. Yes, I would like to have new couches (ones without springs coming out the back), or vacations, or going out to eat more. But this is what I am called to do. This is what I was meant for.

So I stay at home to raise and educate my children in a world that can be hostile, even violent. I want to make not only productive citizens, but movers and shakers, those willing to sacrifice for the good of other people.

As I type, I am hearing the Battle Hymn of the Republic playing in the background…

Back to reality.

It’s hard. Very hard. But I love it. I get to see the “firsts” and I get to see the light bulbs go off. I get to see the gleam in Superhero’s eyes when he understands that when a knight has three apples and a dragon rips off his head then eats one apple, there are two apples left.

So tomorrow I get to look at eye candy, all the gleaming new books, smell the unused paper, listen to people tell me how to organize my home (hah! More on that later), and have lunch with my friends drooling over the cool curriculum they just got.

Ahhh….I love expo time.

For Such a Time as This

2008-07-21T19:28:00.000-07:00

Fear is a funny thing.

Have you ever read the story of Esther in the Bible? It’s a cool story about a beautiful Jewish girl named Hadassah who lived in Persia during the reign of King Xerxes. She was basically kidnapped and taken into the king’s harem. She was chosen by the king to be his queen. He had just sent his previous queen packing for defying him. Hadassah’s uncle, Mordecai, had warned her not to tell anyone she was Jewish, since the political climate at the time was a bit anti-Semitic, and her life could be in danger if the wrong people knew. Therefore, he told her to go by Esther, a name common in the Persian empire.

Well, time goes by and behold! Haman, the king’s right-hand man, comes to hate Mordecai, and now wants to annihilate the Jews. So he convinces the king that it’s a good idea to wipe them out. Now, there was a rule in the kingdom that you NEVER went into the king’s presence without being summoned. If you did, and the King didn’t make an exception, you were dead. Literally.

So Mordachai goes to tell Esther what has happened and that she has the power to stop this genocide by going to talk to the king. But she doesn’t want to go because the king hadn’t summoned her for a month. Who would want to go?! I wouldn’t!! Even if the king did make an exception for her (a politically dangerous thing for him to do for a woman), why would he believe her over Haman, who had the king’s favor? So she would not only have to go without being summoned, but also tell him (and Haman) that she was a Jew. So she told Mordachai, “No, find someone else!”

This is the clincher for me. Mordecai told her, “Do not think that you alone will escape the fate of everyone else, just because you’re the queen. If you keep silent, deliverance will come from somewhere else. But who knows, perhaps you have come to this position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13-15 paraphrase, mine)

If you don’t know the rest of the story, go look it up. It’s a thriller, and I don’t want to ruin the plot. Actually, Hollywood made a pretty decent movie about it called, “One night with the King.”

Anyway, the point of the whole story is that fear seems so much bigger when we focus on it. When we focus on ourselves, we will always be paralyzed with fear. When we focus on God’s ability, His power lives through us victoriously.

Sounds good as an adult, but I am trying to get that across to a nine-year-old girl afraid of anything in the insect world. I can’t say that I blame her. Georgia has some BIG insects, much bigger than the West coast, and the wasps here can get a bit grumpy. But that fear paralyzes her to the point where she won’t go outside to water the plants if she sees a wasp.

Sigh…

So, I keep on praying that God’s power to overcome fear will live through her. His plans for us are so much bigger than our own plans, even mine. I want her to live without fear. He wants so much more...

In the thick of it right along with you.

God Bless,
Brandie

P.S. Thank you to Cory Hallett of Riverstone Church and to Big Idea Productions for inspiration for this blog.

Little Kids are so cute!

2008-07-19T20:23:00.000-07:00

Ladybug is in what I call a "chewy" phase.

Generally speaking, when one of my children turns 6 months old, they become so cute, I want to chew on them. I don't care what I eat: feet, fingers, knees, even the occasional tushy. As a parent, I have an overwhelming desire to consume my children.

This "chewiness" lasts for about a year or until the word "no" escapes their mouth for the first time. Then the cuteness factor goes down a bit, and I find that I actually have to work at this parenting thing.

So, Ladybug is only 15 months old; I have a few more good months before the dreaded vocabulary starts. Actually, probably longer than that, since she doesn't have a lot to say. In reality, being child number four, there is not a lot of speaking that she needs to do. Everybody does it for her, at her, around her and above her. There is rarely a quiet moment in our house!

So she points, gestures, and every once in a while she humors me and signs "milk" or "more" or something else adorably cute.

Actually, I think God did that on purpose. I was discussing this with a friend tonight. Everything is cute as a baby. Well, maybe not warthogs, but most everything. I think God made them so chewy so that as parents we would remember how cute they were when the going gets tough.

Just a thought to ponder...

Chocolate, weight loss and testosterone

2008-07-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

I just want to be on record as stating the obvious. Chocolate and weight loss, should go hand in hand. I mean, chocolate is made from the cocoa bean, right? Isn't that a vegetable? Or a legume? Or something other than "fat"? When I was first married, I was working for a national weight loss program in their customer service phone department. We were convinced that if you ate chocolate on weekends and holidays, it didn't count. Is this wrong? But alas, the injustice of it all.....sigh.

On a completely different topic, I've been pondering the testosterone in my house. I have one son (Superhero) who is about to turn 5. He is surrounded by 3 sisters, one older and two younger. We like to think of ourselves as kinder, gentler people by nature. We tend not to be very "macho", but consider ourselves more intellectuals. How on earth, then, did this child come to our house? Everything this boy does exudes testosterone. His favorite current pastime is dressing up in costumes, and since we have so many girls, there are a lot of "girly" costumes around the house. So, being a man of invention, he makes do. Having said that, he makes even a fairy look burly. Notice the lumberjack shirt, flannel pants and hiking shoes.

I have enjoyed seeing the manhood emerge in this child without even trying. He adores his father, and from an early age has tried to copy everything his daddy does. Even when Daddy is away at work, he manages to be "utterly boy". He makes sticks into guns, and when I take them away for shooting his sisters, he simply makes his fingers into AK-47s and goes into secret operations mode.

He has never seen shooting, killing or overt violence in any movie or the few TV shows we allow him to watch, yet the desire to conquer, overtake and annihilate anything in his path is overpowering for him. And for me at times!

We have tried to impress the idea of chivalry upon him, and have encouraged dressing up as a knight, etc. thinking that this would appease his need to be "dangerous". But, most of the time the knight "accidentally" slays the fair maidens, instead of the dragon. I know this is normal. I know this is good. I just can't help thinking of a video I saw on you tube talking about the difference between male and female brains. Ponder that.

Until later, I, a fair maiden (and Queen Mum), am going to pursue my little knight (or G.I. Joe, Superman, Spiderman, Batman, whatever the superhero of the moment is) and try to let him be a rough tough and "dangerous" boy.

Hello world!!

2008-07-17T19:41:00.000-07:00

O.K. So, I'm supposed to type in what I want to blog about. I am drawing a blank, then suddenly I look over to a picture on my desk of my four pumpkin doodles. I think, life is too funny not to share. I am a stay at home mom to four ever increasingly active monkeys that I homeschool in my spare time (or is that the other way around?). We are busy, exciting, and NEVER dull.

For instance, tonight I get back from a meeting and go to "tuck" 3 year old Princess into bed, when she shared with me her "painting" on the wall. Yes, you guessed it, a brand new, huge portrait of.....something.....in crayon all over her beautifully hand painted mural wall that my mom laboriously fashioned herself. Oops! But she was so proud of this "work of art"!

I was so stunned at first, I just stared. Then I caught her face out of the corner of my eye, the lip starting to quiver...you know the rest, how could I be upset with such a sensitive artist? If I said anything, she might never draw again! As Todd Wilson says in his column this week, respect can come another day, maybe tomorrow, maybe not. Tonight I'll go to bed knowing that I "loved" Princess more than the beautiful wall...sigh...that's real.