B-day/christmas list

Great! Now grandma is giving me assignments. When will school end!?!?!? Well I guess this one is fun so, grandma gave me the assignment to send her my b-day wish or put it on the blog. So every one knows I'm putting it on the blog. A lot of this stuff I'm not going to get I'm positive about that. I'll get started.



1. Laptop computer. ( I don't think I'm going to get it though.)

2. Cellphone. (If I do get this I won't be able to call anyone. Why cant my mom just let me?!)

3. C.D player ( The one aunt Michelle gave me when I was 10 went bye bye )

4. The 39 Clues cards. (We have the book but need more cards )

5. I-pod.

6. Digital Camera

7. Football Cards. ( Got to beat J-Bird. )



I got my stuff down. Other than that, money will work too.

Quotes from Reagan

It seems to me that both sides of the political aisle talk greatly of Ronald Reagan. So I thought I'd share a few quotes from the former president. All great quotes. It's amazing how this is so applicable today

All great change in America begins at the dinner table.

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.

I don't believe in a government that protects us from ourselves.

Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.

Man is not free unless government is limited.

The problem is not that people are taxed too little, the problem is that government spends too much.

The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'

Happy Birthday!

it is daddy's birthday to day i just want to say how happy i am to have my daddy if i had the choice i wouldn't want to have any other daddy in the world things
10. good things about my dad
1. he is patient
2. he teaches me about the bible
3. he loves me very much and he wouldn't want any thing to happen to me
4. he teaches me stuff i need to now when I'm a grown up
5. he brings me on the rout to introduce me to the real world (tho i don't like it)
6. he does thing with us just to be with us
7. he helps me with math if i don't get it
8. he cheers me up when i feel sad
9. he kind of has his own language for me
10. when I'm doing stuff wrong he corrects me
these are just a few things about him that are great happy birthday dad

Homeschool Memoirs- Timely Facts

Since I skipped last weeks homeschool memoirs (That assignment was hard!) I figured I needed to get back in the saddle and actually do the assignment this week. So here goes...

THEME
This is our 10th Homeschool Memoirs so this week it’s going to be about 10 timely facts about you! Write 10 interesting, crazy, weird, fun facts about you! Include facts about you as a woman, a wife, a mommy, a homeschooler, a homekeeper, a taxi-driver, a cook, etc . I only put 10 facts because I didn’t want to overwhelm you, but you’re welcome to do more!

1. I am almost 8 years younger than my husband. That makes me feel pretty young today.

2. We have hundreds of books. Our own library, plus our "school library" which has easily 400 books on it's own. Next school year my school list has a couple hundred books on it, and I have a wish list of probably 200 books on top of that. I love books. And I love to have them at my fingertips.

3. I would love to have a place in the country where I can grow and raise most of our own food. I would have apples, pears, berries (strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries), garden, chickens, beef cow, pig and probably some other stuff. That is one of my dreams.

4. I am not willing to go into great debt for my dream, therefore I will probably stay in town.

5. I made a pumpkin pie from a can for the first time on Sunday. We had a can of pumpkin so we thought we'd try it. We didn't' like it as well. We will stick to using the pumpkin we bake down.

6. We use the barter system, a lot. The items we trade for the most is corn, bread, and milk. But it is not limited to that at all. We will also trade for chips, soda, firewood, maple syrup, auto repairs, or whatever anyone is willing to trade with us that we can use.

7. I don't like driving. I will do it without hesitation, but I prefer not to be in a car. I guess I prefer the destination over the journey to get there.

8. My favorite subject is history. I love learning about the past, but I couldn't care less about exact dates. I want to learn from history, but I don't see the point in having to know if something happened in 1843 or 1844.

9. I am the spender of the family. Sort of. I tend to spend a little more in daily life, but when Knight wants to take a vacation, get a new car, or something that is more substantial I can't see the point. Our cars run. I don't need a different one. So what if it has 283,000 miles on it (it really does). We don't spend much on repairs, and it starts when I want to drive.

10. I am the one who talked Knight into getting a Wii. He didn't think we'd really use it. I pushed and won. I am the only one who doesn't play it. I will play if I absolutely have to because someone made me feel guilty. I don't remember the last time I played. But Knight LOVES it.

Happy Birthday!

Knight turns 40 today. For some reason this seems weird to me. Not because I think 40 is old, but it just seems more... grownup. Good thing that I'm younger than he is or I might have to grow up too!

Happy Birthday Darlin'!

Warning--Politics in the house

This came in an email. Some really great points. Just as a side note, I went to Snopes.com to check out if this was real. Mr Brown has a note there on why he wrote the email and how he feels about it being sent world wide. Again, some good points and worth the read. Sad that he is receiving hate mail for this.

This article is from Huntley Brown - he is a fabulous concert pianist, man
of God and is a black man. I appreciate so much his reasoning for not
voting for Obama. I would like to see this article published or spread out via
Email to as many as possible. It's good stuff!

Why I Can't Vote For Obama By Huntley Brown

Dear Friends,

A few months ago I was asked for my perspective on Obama, I sent out an
email with a few points. With the election just around the corner I decided to
complete my perspective. Those of you on my e-list have seen some of this before
but it's worth repeating...

First I must say whoever wins the election will have my prayer support. Obama needs to be commended for his accomplishments but I need to explain why I will not be voting for him.

Many of my friends process their identity through their blackness. I process my identity through Christ. Being a Christian (a Christ follower) means He leads, I follow. I can't dictate the terms, He does because He is the leader.

I can't vote black because I am black; I have to vote Christian because that's who I am. Christian first, black second. Neither should anyone from other ethnic groups vote because of ethnicity. 200 years from now I won't be asked if I was black or white. I will be asked if I knew Jesus and accepted Him as Lord and Savior.

In an election there are many issues to consider but when a society gets abortion, same-sex marriage, embryonic stem-cell research, human cloning - to name a few, then wrong economic concerns will soon not matter.

We need to follow Martin Luther King's words, "don't judge someone by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." I don't know Obama, so all I can go on is his voting record. His voting record earned him the title of the most liberal senator in the US Senate in 2007.
<http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/>
NATIONAL JOURNAL: Obama: Most Liberal Senator in 2007 (01/31/2008)

To beat Ted Kennedy and Hilary Clinton as the most liberal senator, takes some doing. Obama accomplished this feat in 2 short years. I wonder what would happen to America if he had four years to work with.

There is a reason Planned Parenthood gives him a 100 % rating. There is a reason the homosexual community supports him. There is a reason Ahmadinejad, Chavez, Castro, Hamas etc. love him. There is a reason he said he would nominate liberal judges to the Supreme Court. There is a reason he voted against the infanticide bill. There is a reason he voted "No" on the constitutional ban of same-sex marriage. There is a reason he voted "No" on banning partial birth abortion. There is a reason he voted "No" on confirming Justices Roberts and Alito. These two judges are conservatives and they have since overturned partial birth abortion. The same practice Obama wanted to continue.

Let's take a look at the practice he wanted to continue. The 5 Step Partial Birth Abortion procedures:
A. Guided by ultrasound, the abortionist grabs the baby's leg with forceps.(Remember this is a live baby)
B. The baby's leg is pulled out into the birth canal.
C. The abortionist delivers the baby's entire body, except for the head.
D. The abortionist jams scissors into the baby's skull. The scissors are then opened to enlarge the hole.
E. The scissors are removed and a suction catheter is inserted. The child's brains are sucked out, causing the skull to collapse. The dead baby is then removed.

God help him.

There is a reason Obama opposed the parental notification law.

Think about this: You cannot give a child an aspirin without parental notification but that same child can have an abortion without parental notification. This is insane.

There is a reason Obama went to Jeremiah Wright's church for 20 years.

Obama tells us he has good judgment, but he sat under Jeremiah Wright's teaching for 20 years. Now he is condemning Wright's sermons. I wonder why now?

Obama said Jeremiah Wright led him to the Lord and discipled him. A disciple is one in training. Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19 - 20 "Go and make disciples of all nations." This means reproduce yourself. Teach people to think like you, walk like you; talk like you believe what you believe etc. The question I have is what did Jeremiah Wright teach him?
Would you support a White President who went to a church which has tenets that said they have a...
1. Commitment to the White Community
2. Commitment to the White Family
3. Adherence to the White Work Ethic
4. Pledge to make the fruits of all developing and acquired skills available to the White Community.
5. Pledge to Allocate Regularly, a Portion of Personal Resources for Strengthening and Supporting White Institutions
6. Pledge allegiance to all White leadership who espouse and embrace the White Value System
7. Personal commitment to embracement of the White Value System.

Would you support a President who went to a church like that?

Just change the word from white to black and you have the tenets of Obama's former church. If President Bush was a member of a church like this, he would be called a racist. Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton would have been marching outside.

This kind of church is a racist church. Obama did not wake up after 20 years and just discover he'd been going to a racist church. The TRUE church can't be about race. Jesus did not come for any particular race. He came for the whole world.

A church can't have a value system based on race. The churches value system has to be based on biblical mandates. It does not matter if it's a white church or a black church based on racial values, it's still wrong. Anyone from either race that attends a church like this would never get my vote.

Obama's former Pastor Jeremiah Wright is a disciple of liberal theologian James Cone, author of the 1970 book "The Goals of the Black Community". "If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him."

Cone is the man Obama's mentor looks up to. Does Obama believe this?

So what does all this mean for the nation?

In the past when the Lord brought someone with the beliefs of Obama to lead a nation it meant one thing - judgment.

Read 1 Samuel 8 when Israel asked for a king. First God says in 1 Samuel 1:9 "Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."

Then God says

1 Samuel 1:18 " When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day." 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles." 21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king."

Here is what we know for sure.

God is not schizophrenic

He would not tell one person to vote for Obama and one to vote for McCain. As the scripture says, a city divided against itself cannot stand, so obviously many people are not hearing from God. Maybe I am the one not hearing but I know God does not change and Obama contradicts many things I read in scripture so I doubt it.

For all my friends who are voting for Obama can you really look God in the face and say; Father ,based on your word, I am voting for Obama even though I know he will continue the genocidal practice of partial birth abortion. He might have to nominate three or four Supreme Court justices, and I am sure he will be nominating liberal judges who will be making laws that are against you. I also know he will continue to push for homosexual rights, even though you destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for this. I know I can look the other way because of the economy.

I could not see Jesus agreeing with many of Obama's positions. Finally I have two questions for all my liberal friends.

Since we know someone's value system has to be placed on the nation,
1. Whose value system should be placed on the nation.
2. Who should determine that this is the right value system for the nation?

Blessings,
Huntley Brown

A different view of taxes

I just got this in an email and thought it worth sharing...

BAR STOOL ECONOMICS
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve."
Since you are all such good customers," he said,"I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by$20."Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share?'

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up
being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.


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

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

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

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

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

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

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

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

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

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.Professor of Economics University of Georgia

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

Church Carnival 2008

Last night was the annual church carnival. Great times had by all in attendence, and some awesome new games.

*Jen--I have a disk of all the pictures for you

Homeschool Memoirs- Study Spot

THEME:
This week share your favourite spot to study with your kids. There are many places you can sit down to teach, learn, and work, but where do you prefer and why? You’re welcome to include a photo of your study spot! Looking forward to seeing everyone’s!

We live in an old house in northern Wisconsin. Most of our school year is during the cold season. What am I saying, most of our life is in the cold season! Our study spots reflect our house and the season. We do school in the living room except for the times someone is on the computers in the "classroom". Art history, Spanish, Typing, and research is on the computers. Other than that the most coveted study area is next to the pellet stove, or laying in front of the pellet stove. We covet heat in this house. I will normally sit on a couch and work with whoever needs help while the rest are working independently. I do have TV trays that the kids can use as a table if they desire, but most of the time they just use their laps. It's one of the best things about homeschooling. We can be comfortable while we work.

He's 8!!!!

No more car seats in my vehicles. The last evidence of the little kid stage is no more. My baby turned 8 today. Am I crying cause I don't have a little one anymore? Nope. Not at all. I have enjoyed getting to know J-Bird for the last 8 years. It is great fun watching him grow and learn. He is a joy and I am lucky to call him my son. Happy Birthday Jay.

More Conversations

As we were innocently driving to the apple orchard we passed some cows in a field that that reminded the kids about the dancing cows they saw at this years corn roast. The farmer that throws the corn roast raises heifers. Thousands of heifers. The kids have talked about the dancing cows before, but this kept going on and on and on.

It went basically like this...

Kids...
I wonder if those cows dance like the other cows at the corn roast?
Sometimes one of them would put their hooves on the back of the other one and dance.
Sometimes the one on the bottom would run away when one wanted to dance.
Would you call that dancing?

Dad...
Um...no

Kids...
Well, what would you call it?

Burning Down The House: What Caused Our Economic Crisis?

A customer of mine told me about this video. It's very interesting. Keep your finger on the pause button so you can read it all.
~Knight

Homeschool Memoirs- Snacks

Theme:

There are so many different kinds of snack foods, store-bought and homemade, and I would like to invite you to share what snack foods your family usually snacks on throughout the week. You’re welcome to make season lists too. I know there are different meals we eat during the colder seasons than we do in the warmer ones, and I imagine there are also seasonal snack foods as well.

We are not big snackers in this house. Our kids are allowed one sweet snack a day, normally being a Little Debbie snack. Knight thinks that I shouldn't be able to completely ban them since that is how we pay our bills. I would not go and buy LD's but since we have the out dates, my kids are allowed one a day.

Beyond that, they can have any fruit in the house. We canned peaches, pears, and applesauce and froze strawberries and blueberries in addition to any fresh stuff we have that week.

We also will make strawberry julius, or pop some popcorn in the air popper at times. We also drink hot chocolate in the colder months that work well as a snack and takes the chill out of the bones.