Happy Easter To All My Loves

I want to wish everyone a very Happy Easter. And I want to tell the 17 most important people in my life how much I love them and hope they have a very Happy Easter.

Son Vance with wife Heather, daughter Gemma, and baking in the oven is our 4th grandchild!

Juli with her husband Kelly and kids Beckham and Aubryn

Granddaughter Gemma

Grand kids Aubryn and Beckham

And my very own dozen!! You guys are my whole life. Always have been and always will be!! I love you all tons and tons!

A Thought From Thomas Jefferson

"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson never ceases to amaze me. I was thinking about this quote by him and I can't even imagine what his thinking was to even come up with a statement such as this. Imagine that, retaining the right to keep and bear arms to protect ourselves against the tyranny found in our government. Who would have thought? Here are are, hundreds of years later and you can almost "taste" the truth of what he spoke.

He goes on to say~~"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms...disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed one." Link HERE

Our Island Story~Moving In

Not too often does anyone enjoy moving. Especially where there are many children. That means stuff! And usually a lot of it. This is what it was like. Unload the van and trailer, load it to the boat, being careful not to put too much weight in at once. Drive the boat over to the house, unload the boat and move things into the house. This is how it works, groceries, kids, everything. You can't just unload and load once!!

Well, as if moving in wasn't enough of a job. Think about doing it twice in one week! That's what we did. Shortly after our 6th child was born we were ready to move. We found a house in town, rented it, and moved in. Well, almost! We were enjoying our last night of our island home as we had mostly everything moved over into the rented house. The next day we would wrap up the move with the last load of our belongings. At least that's what we thought. That night, while laying there in the quiet of the night we realized we were wrong. What, are we crazy? We must have been. So the next day we informed our landlord that we wouldn't be renting his house after all that we were moving back onto the island. And that's exactly what we did. I suppose some people just like to move. Packing, unpacking, hauling heavy loads and all that must be something we enjoyed. But oh we were happy campers to be back and we stayed for another year and a half!!

Happy Birthday Mom and Kim

Kim, Makenzie, and Janai enjoying a 'sister moment'

I don't have many pictures of Kim scanned into the computer when she was younger but here is one of our island pictures where she is holding a sleeping Christie while on a boat ride.

This month we celebrated 2 birthdays in our house. I had mine on the 3rd and my Kimmy girl had hers on the 27th. She turned 23!! Crazy is all I can say about how fast time flies. Kim is our 3rd. child born in Glenwood Springs, CO. She was/is such a delight. Stubborn for sure, but also very sweet, loving, and considerate. She's also 100% daddy's girl. Happy Birthday my dear girl, I love you tons!!

Our Island Story~Dangerous Midnight Swim

Well, it could have been if my hubby weren't a good swimmer. The story goes like this:

For a week or two we had been arguing over this and that. Not sure exactly what anymore so I suppose it wasn't all bad. But at the time, things between us were getting heated and then one afternoon we were at it again and he decided he needed time away. (must have been heavy because never in 10 years of marriage did he ever walk out until that day.) So he packed a few things intending to stay at his parents over the weekend. At the time he was on swing shift working until 11pm. So off to work he goes that afternoon and I got myself an idea.

See I always had the pontoon boat while he always had his little john boat. He rowed on over to go to work and when he left the landing I took the pontoon over and hauled his boat home. Not sure why I did that but it must have made me feel better knowing that if he changed his mind not to stay at his parents' home he would have a hard time getting back to our home!!

Well, he did change his mind. I didn't know it though. I had turned off the phone, stole away with his boat and all was well. I was safe and sound on our little island and I didn't have to worry about squabbling for a few days. NOT SO!! Around midnight I was reading upstairs and I hear this banging on the back door. Kind of scary considering nobody lived around me. I quietly snuck down to the kitchen, put my ear to the door and asked in a whisper, "who's there?" And the answer that came back was NOT in a whisper but in a loud, "What'd you take my boat for?"

Okay, I was a 'bit' surprised to hear his voice on the other side of the door but not totally surprised. The time had come to face up to what I did and I knew I couldn't run and hide so I unlocked the door and there he was, shivering from cold, dripping wet, with a towel in hand drying himself off. Our back porch was a mudroom/bathroom with a shower making the drying off and washing up process easy. Living on the river like there was always someone dripping with water or covered in mud so it was nice to be able to shower and clean up before coming into the rest of the house. At this point I thought I'd better start talking~~

"Uhhhh, how'd you get here hon?"

"How'd I get here, I swam, that's how I got here. Do you have any idea how cold that river is at the end of October and how dark it is at midnight?" (It wasn't a short swim either, there is quite a bit of river between our house and the landing.)

I got the impression real quick it wasn't exactly how he intended to spend his evening. But he was a trooper as always and eventually forgave me! Which I am very grateful for.

Organize for Victory~Free Give Away

I have 3 copies of this book I would like to give away to my blog readers entitled Organize for Victory written by my father-in-law G. Vance Smith and his good friend Tom Gow. To enter simply leave at least one sentence in the comments section of what you love best about AMERICA. The winner will be chosen the old fashioned way by putting names into a bowl and one of the children drawing out 2 names. This is a wonderful informative book that should be on every American Patriots book shelf. Hurry, contest ends Friday, April 2nd., and winner will be announced on April 3rd.

Here are the first two paragraphs from the forward written by Don Fotheringham.

At no time in history has victory ever come to a disorganized army. But small numbers of warriors-when organized-have won great battles. And many such battles have been won in the final hours of war in the face of terrifying odds. That is what this book is all about.

The hour is late. The odds are enormous; the stakes are monumental. The enemy has a 200-year head-start undermining the foundations of our country and weakening the moral character of our people. We face not the beginning of a long, difficult war, but we actually in it's final stages. It seems far too late to say, "Let's get organized," for who on earth could rally a nationwide body of citizens and lead them to victory against a deeply entrenched, cleverly invisible enemy?

For more information visit FREEDOM FIRST SOCIETY

Dear Mothers of America

This post was written by Mrs. June Fuentes from A Wise Woman Builds Her Home and it is a wonderful post. I received permission from her to post it here. It is a wonderful and timely message applicable to mothers everywhere!

Dear Mothers of America,

As our nation arises this morning from a sound sleep I would like the opportunity to awaken us all from another type of 'sound sleep' that is subtle, dangerous and destroys.

We, as 21st century families and mothers, have been lulled to sleep by...

-government propaganda that desires to control our homes, right down to how worship and educate and raise our children

-feminists theories that whisper from us from the magazines and books on the racks that falsely dictate what home and family life for us should be like and what our 'rights' are

-consumerism that threatens and robs us of our financial and future well-being

-entertainment that blinds us and permeates practically every fiber of our being as we run from our plasma TV's to our laptops to our cell phones, ipods and Wii's.

-worldly philosophy that turns our hearts away from home and God, dictating that buying more 'stuff' for our children than our parents bought for us somehow makes us successful parents. (In turn we neglect teaching them about God because we are too busy making the money to buy them the all 'stuff' they don't need and end up taking for granted anyway. Really though-- why bother, isn't that the youth pastors job anyway?)

The alarm is sounding....

WILL YOU WAKE UP?

or will you join the millions of woman who have bought the lies of this century--which are not new but have been whispered from the very beginning of time in a garden called Eden?

The alarm is sounding...

WILL YOU SAVE YOUR FAMILY?

or will you mindlessly continue to run the rat-race? You know, the one where you allow others to dictate your life to you, and you change what you know your heart is leading you to do because you begin to follow someone else's prescription for your life?

WILL YOU SAVE YOUR CHILDREN?

or will you let others raise them and disciple them to the worlds glory and not the Lord's? To serve a humanistic pagan agenda instead of seeking first the kingdom of God? Look well to ways of your household, mothers,and do not eat the bread of idleness, lest your children be stolen from you.

WILL YOU SAVE YOUR MARRIAGE?

because this takes courage. You cannot be easily swayed or influenced by a magazine article, TV show or unruly, critical girlfriend or family member. You have to grow a spine of steel because you understand your calling. You understand that if you are going to take part in the reformation of history and culture that it will take faithful steadfastness and a bold spirit of courage.

The alarm is sounding...

WILL YOU WAKE UP?

.................................

WILL THEY WAKE UP?

.................................

or


will it be----



too late?

The Mozart Effect for Children

I've been reading this book that came highly recommend to me by my daughter in law Heather and wow, is it ever informative! I'm not very far in it yet but found it so interesting I just had to share! Without doubt, I've already ordered some Mozart cd's from the library and have been playing them everyday. I found several specifically geared for children! Here is an excerpt from the inside cover.

In The Mozart Effect for Children, author Don Campbell shows that music is the perfect tool to improve children's language, movement, and emotional skills at home, school, and play. He presents a wealth of dynamic, inventive ways for parents and teachers to invigorate a child's imagination with music, sounds, and songs, supplying simple exercises and fun activities tailored for each age group and stage of development, from prenatal through age the. Campbell offers ideas and exercises to bond with their newborns to tips on fostering good study habits and stress reduction for elementary school students.

Our Island Story Part 10~Just Random

I found some random photos from our island home that really don't flow together in a post but each has it's own little story.

As you can see by dad's face and by our boy's face who the happier fella is!! Dad faked his sadness for the sake of the photo to act like he was so bummed out at the fact that his boy caught the bigger fish!! But later, the frown came for real when overnight, the boy's fish somehow got the better of dad's and it was dead by morning. Not sure what happened there! It either died on it's own or got beat up!

These girls sure had an imagination. Not sure how far they can row on land!

Juli running the boat and Kim peeking out from behind her!

We had a swing hung from the balcony in our living room for the littles. Here Robyn is enjoying her turn. In the photos below my "unorganized-challenged" daughter is busy organizing her books in a most peculiar way! I remember it so well. Suddenly it dawned on me that Robyn was being way too quiet so we decided to check on her and this what we found. I should take a lesson from this daughter of mine and learn some organization skills.

Daddy, Christie, and Robyn on the front porch!

I'm not sure where Christie thought she was going to go! But daddy got her attention in a hurry. The photo below was snapped just seconds after she got her love tap. The reason I remember is she hopped to the other side of the boat pretending to climb over again until we called her name with a serious tone of voice. She turned and looked at us with this precious grin as if she were trying to tease! She still does that!!

The imagination of children. At times they got to steer the boat (under supervision) but I'm sure they wish they could drive it.

Vance Jr. Pays a Visit

It's been a fun filled week for our family. Our son Vance JR. and family came from AZ to pay us a visit. It was so much fun having them here. Really does let me know how much I miss them. It was hard letting them leave. As you can see Heather is expecting a baby. She is due in June to have a boy. It will be 2 for them.

The many faces of Gemma!! Our little grand-dumpling. Oh did my girls have a blast with this little one. I'm sure they plum tuckered her out by the time they left. After all, how many mama's does one baby need? Isn't she just a Gem? Just like her name.

My 3, big, bad, boys. I am amazed how quickly children grow up. No matter how much we desire them to stay little! These boys had quite a time playing game cube together this week as well as many other adventures!

How would you like to have a slide like THIS in your backyard? It's not exactly in OUR backyard but when we visit it the kids have a great time!

I suppose all the fun and busyness of the week took their toll on my little Mary! She couldn't even wait for bedtime to crash for the night!

Our Island Story Part 9~Yes, Mama Lived on the Island Too

I'm usually the one behind the camera and that's why there aren't too many photos of me. (I do prefer it that way!) But there are those times when I do get in front of it rather than behind it.

Mom holding Robyn and daddy holding Kimmy

Could this be a "family photo?" Mama and her 5 troopers

Mom, Christie, and daddy

It wasn't unusual for Christie to fall asleep on some of our boat rides!

Juli and mom (That poofie hair is scaring me!)

Okay, don't look too close!! Yep, baby number 6 is safely tucked away in my tummy! I am not wearing a life jacket here but judging by the size of my middle I'm sure I would float if I fell in.

The inside of the house had a balcony that went around all 4 sides of the house and looked down into the livingroom. Okay, I can read your thoughts; yes, my children have jumped from this onto the sofa below a time or two but of course they've only recently admitted to it!! There was a time when we debated on putting the trampoline in the livingroom but never ended up doing it!!

Our Island Story Part 8~Having Fun IN and ON the Water

Yes, I said ON. That would be my rebel husband being a really good role model to his kids!! This is what happens when spring comes and daddy finds chunks of ice to go "ice surfing." (WARNING~Do Not Try This Alone!) When he asked what I would do if he fell in all I could say was, "I will laugh and laugh until the cows come home!" What's interesting about ice chucks breaking away is they can be very dangerous. Especially where there are 20x more as you see in this photo. This time of year, when there are many broken off pieces we only had our john boat for transportation and dodging all these pieces while crossing the river could sometimes prove to be a challenge!! Hitting on could tip the boat easily!

The Heart of True Education

Marily Howshall is well known in the homeschooling community for her insight and great wisdom on teaching children. In the past I've read her work but have since passed on the books. I've been thinking about re-reading some of her work and after searching the web I was able to land upon quite a bit of "wisdom." Here are some links that can take you to more links! Hope you can gain as much insight as I have. I feel very blessed to have found her teachings!

The Heart of True Education~Lifestyle of Learning

Walking by the Spirit

The Biblical S.A.T.'s of Learning

Review of Wisdom's Way of Learning~Bev Kruger

Review of Wisdom's Way of Learning~Barb Shelton

Excerpts from Marilyn's writings

Testimony from a Homeschool Mom

Lifestyle of Learning email list

Our Island Story Part 7~Fun in the Flood

This post is NOT what it looks like!! You will see the children playing in the high waters but it isn't like the water that comes to mind when we think of "flooding!" It isn't the disgusting, dangerous, toxin infested waters that would accompany a flood created by a storm. It is simply high water that overflowed into our yard because of spring melting. All of these pictures were taken "in the yard!"

Here the girls can play safely rowing the john boat around in the shallow water in our yard.

My clothes line is normally in my backyard but obviously it was out of commission for a while!

Now this is what I call fishing. Vance didn't even have to leave the porch to catch this little fish!! If memory serves correctly, he caught it up out of the water near to the porch! Not sure why he's trying to make eye contact though!!