Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad

Tomorrow is my parents' 45th anniversary. I think. I thought it was last year and wrote "happy 45th" in their card, only to be corrected that this year would be #45. :-) Five years ago or so, they started taking an overnight trip over to Ohio's Amish country, and this past Thursday and Friday was the days they took off for that.

No parent is perfect, but I am thankful that mine stuck with it, never even came close to separating - as far as I know. We kids never wanted for anything. We never lived an extravagant lifestyle, but had all we needed. They sacrificed to send us to a Christian school our our lives, even though for the first 6 1/2 years they were not Christians. They always celebrated birthdays and Christmas, trying to give us kids what they didn't have growing up.

Church attendance was sporadic until they became Christians, but then we were there for every service, and on time, unless we were sick. They were faithful to the same church for years, until the time we all felt we needed to leave, and even then, they did it quietly, and did not try to take others with them.

Mom was always home when we kids got home from school. We were all there for supper. Dad worked hard to support his family, and we never had to worry otherwise. We were disciplined when we needed it, spanked when necessary, which isn't popular anymore, even among Christians.

They taught us to work, to pick up after ourselves, to respect others, and be polite, and most of all, they taught us that the most important thing in life is not to have a successful career, but to make it to Heaven.

No parent is perfect, and they all make mistakes, but I am thankful for the ones I have, who even now have let me stay with them as I try to get on my feet and get my own place. Happy 45th anniversary, Mom & Dad, and hope you have many more.

What's Wrong With People

I read a disgusting news story this evening that causes me to wonder how people get so off course. PETA (People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals) have sent a letter to the owners of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, asking them to replace the cow's milk they use in their ice cream with human breast milk. No kidding. http://www.wnbc.com/news/17539627/detail.html



How sad for our nation that we have so many people caught up in protecting animals to this extreme, that they try to get an ice cream company to use human breast milk instead of cows milk? Maybe it is because I was a bottle-fed baby, but the idea about nauseates me. And how ridiculous of an idea! Where would they ever get enough human milk for that? I won't even go there.



I am not for animal cruelty. I hate dogs, though puppies are ok.....but don't advocate being mean to them. (I also don't advocate letting them slobber all over oneself..... ) I love meat. If we didn't use animals for meat, we would soon be run over with them. I myself am not a hunter, and can't see why guys enjoy it so much. Been there, tried it, bored, and got lost, but I love the results of others who hunt. Bring on the venison! And rabbit, squirrel, and moose! (never had moose, but if its good for Sarah Palin, its good for me!)



I digress. Anyway, if deer were not hunted and killed for meat, there would most likely be 100's more car/deer accidents than there already are.



Ironically, from what I have seen and read, PETA people are most often pro-abortion, so although they find it wrong to even drink milk from an animal, much less eat meat, they have no problem with an innocent baby being torn apart in its mother's womb. Wonder how they would feel about abortions on animals..........

People like causes. There have always been, and will always be, people who go overboard with causes: anti-war, animal rights, environment. Sadly, it seems more people go overboard for causes that don't matter as much in the light of eternity. We should care about how animals are treated, but more than that, we should care about the value of human life, and it seems most animal rights people are more worried about animals than human life.

I hope the day never comes that because of PETA, that killing animals is illegal. Another reason we need to be careful who we elect to public office.

Christian School Advantages

When I decided to use my right to free speech to blog about my concerns & issues with homeschooling, I expected I might get a few comments disagreeing with me. What I didn't expect was the vicious tone and wording of some of those comments. A friend of mine who is not a home school enthusiast was reading my blog and emailed me "man, those home school moms are vicious!". I emailed some comments that I didn't publish to another friend, including one by Buckeye Mom (who I think I have run into on another site) - in it she told me I needed to be more Christ-like. My friend's response to me was it sounded like she was the one that was having the problem - he saw her comments I didn't publish.

Why this vicious attack on someone for pointing out weaknesses in home schooling? I fully admit there are places in Christian Schools that could use improvement, why can't they face the same thing about home schooling? I jokingly referred to it as almost a "cult", so someone of course replied that Christian schools are a cult. Funny.

Since I made a bunch of dragon breathing carnal women so ticked off with home schooling comments, I am now going to address some advantages of Christian Schools. All you haters don't have to read this. :-)

I feel it gives them more discipline and structure. They have to get up, get dressed, and go to a school building 180 days, approximately 8 hours a day. Yes, in some schools, they don't work all day, whether because of study halls, or due to ACE (which I am not a big fan of) - but they are there under someone elses' authority other than their parents. It helps them learn to respect authority and realize there are other people in the world they have to obey (unless the parents are the type to always take their kids' part).

It gives them some social structure. They are around other kids than just their siblings. They have to learn to get along with other kids besides the ones they live with.

Chapel services. Sure, there is religious training in the home, but I have seen and known of many times in Christian schools that young kids sought God in a chapel service, something that might not happen as quickly at home.

Field trips. I know, parents can still do this, and some may even get with other groupies and do it, but for the most part, I don't believe most home school kids get as good of an experience in that area.

Homework. A nasty word, but it is all part of school, and it sounds like most home schoolers don't have much, or any, in some cases.

Then the extra stuff. Like the school picnic the other night. That was fun for adults and kids, but especially the kids. Christmas programs. Thanksgiving banquets. Gift exchanges and Christmas parties at school. A normal graduation. Awards banquets. PTA meetings for the parents.

I really think parents are robbing their children of some important things they will miss out on my staying home all day with Mom. They can try to substitute and make excuses, but home schooling is a poor imitation of the real thing.

One last advantage that may not hit until the kids are grown, but personally speaking, it has made me appreciate all the years my parents sacrificed to send us kids to a Christian School. I am sure it wasn't always easy. Public school or home school would have been cheaper, more convenient. Some years, it required my mom driving us a few miles to meet a ride to school, then picking us up in the afternoon, but for 18 years, they sacrificed so we could get a good Christian education at an actual school. And it isn't over. I know my parents help out with my nieces' tuition and other school expenses. (Joey's is paid by his church since he is the pastor's kid).

I have said it before: I was picked on a lot and bullied in school, but still would go back and pick going to a Christian school. If I could change anything, I would fight back, and would not have made myself an easy target. Thank God for the Christian School, and for those who have sacrificed to make them possible.

School Picnic & Johnny Appleseed

Last night my nieces' school had a picnic for the school families, and whoever else from the church wanted to come. Obviously, the families that don't have their kids in the school didn't show, and they would have enjoyed it, I am sure.


I didn't want to go that badly, mainly because I have been feeling anti-social lately, but am glad I went. There was a lot of good food, and a lot of desserts. After we ate, a lot of the older kids and the adults were playing tennis and volleyball, and the younger kids played on the playground. I just sat and chatted with the people that stayed at the pavilion, and kept hitting the dessert table. :-)

My nieces all love their teachers this year. It is kind of neat: the young lady who is teaching both Katie & Allie is someone we watched grow up and went to the same church for years. What is cool though, is her mother taught Vicki (and I a little) and now her daughter is teaching Vicki's kids. Her mother also has my oldest nephew for a class or two at his school. Stephanie has Lori Lavan, and really likes her. She didn't want to leave the park last night because she was having too much fun playing tennis with Lori.


The girls stayed here last night and the electric being shut down at bedtime didn't seem to bother them - yes, we are on day 7 of no electric, and of using the generator. It is really getting ridiculous. Nice thing is, when the girls stay here, they want a good breakfast, so we had french toast and sausage. :-)


This week-end Lisbon shut down most of the town for the Johnny Appleseed Festival. They used to have it on the main street of town, then moved it to the fairgrounds for a few years, now it is back to being on the main street of town, spilling onto a couple of other streets. It is a cool little festival. There are rides set up, food, people selling things, a lot of things to do with apples. They had a parade today, so we took the girls down to it. Here are some pictures I took:


















This was close to where we watched the parade from - some people making apple butter. It actually didn't look too great when I looked at it, but it wasn't even the right color yet.














The picture above is just a view of the part of the main street that has been shut down for the food stands to set up. That is about half of the main street of Lisbon you are looking at - big place huh? :-)







This was a float I thought was cool. It was done by an area church, and I think it is their pastor dressed up as Johnny Appleseed.

I took this one because I thought the little Johnny Appleseed was a cute little guy dressed up like that.

One of many older or classic vehicles in the parade. This one was one that I thought was really cool.










And lastly, a horse-drawn entry. Pretty cool.











Before the parade started, I walked down to the library book sale. I ended up with one book for myself, and several Nancy Drew books for my oldest niece. Then to combat the Obama signs being handed out, we walked down to the Republican Headquarters, but they were out of signs, but we met a nice lady and young guy who were working it, and the guy and I exchanged shaving head tips. :-)


After the parade, we wandered around a bit, got some funnel cakes, and I got some awesome chicken fried rice - why is is so good at places like that? And expensive! We also watched the dunking tank, which really intrigued my nieces. They were dunking the football team, but later were going to be putting up some of the many political people who were in the parade. Stephanie was bummed out we didn't stay longer - there was a woman she wanted to see get dunked. :-)


All in all, it was a fun day. The last time I saw a Johnny Appleseed parade was when it was at the fairgrounds, and believe me, when you can see the whole parade at one glance, it isn't too exciting, so this was a welcome change.



And a closing "hello" to "Buckeye Mom". I know who you are.................... :-)

The Race Issue

There has suddenly been several articles and people talking about the race issue in this campaign. The left is insisting that the only reason Obama is not further ahead of McCain in the polls is because America is full of racists who will not vote for a black man for president.

Oddly enough, race has not been mentioned by conservatives/Republicans. All of the race comments are coming from Obama himself, or his supporters.

Is race an issue? Due to the fact that the Klu Klux Klan still exists in America, I am sure there are people in America who will not vote for Obama simply because he is black. But, I believe most people who are voting for McCain are not doing so out of racism, but because they are against Obama's policies and what he will do to America. That is my reason. If a black person was running that I agreed with on most of his policies, I would vote for that person, but Obama scares me to death. If he wins, I think change will come, but not the kind of change we will want to live with.

Most black people will vote for Obama because he is black. They don't care what he stands for - all they care is one of "their own" could be the first black president of the USA. That is 100% racism right there. If I voted for a white guy just because he was the same color as I am, I would be branded a racist, so why is it ok for blacks to do the same thing?

I think one reason Obama has as large of a following as he does, is the media has stoked the Bush hatred so much, that they want nothing close to Bush, and they view McCain as cu from the same mold.

This is outside the subject of my blog, but what has Bush done that is so evil? When 911 happened, everyone wanted to go after Iraq. He was a hero. That has been turned around, and he is evil for going into Iraq, even though 99% of the US wanted him to. Everyone was sure there would be another attack on America, but there hasn't been. Thanks to his efforts to keep America safe, there has been no attacks. Yes, the economy is bad, but it was heading that way when Clinton left office - he just inherited it. And the gasoline prices have gone up during a Democratic controlled Congress. The same Democrats that refuse to drill, because it won't help soon enough - something they have been saying for 10 years. Had they drilled when it was first brought up, we wouldn't be where we are today.

We received a DVD called "Obama hype" in the mail, so I popped it in my computer and watched all 95 minutes of it. It was rather enlightening, and made me wonder just how many people know what he stands for, who his buddies are, and what kind of changes he wants to do. I learned things I didn't know.

Here are a few reasons in a nutshell I am not voting for Obama: he wants to raise taxes, he wants to raise the minimum wage (sounds good, but the higher it goes, the higher prices go everywhere to make up for it), he is the most pro-abortion candidate to ever run, even opposing care for aborted babies who survive an abortion, he is very pro-gay, and wants to do much for those supporters.

I still believe he has Muslim ties, and we all know how the Muslims feel about us. I believe he hates whites: he said in his book that he felt oppressed by the whites - if he feels that way, what might he do if he is president. He wants to do away with our nuclear power, and do other things that will make us more vulnerable to other countries. The idea of him in charge of our military is a very scary thing.

Not to mention his ties to the racist freak who was his pastor - how could he be so close and not have the same ideas - and the guy who has bombed places in America - if McCain or Palin had ties to people like that, the media would crucify them.

John McCain doesn't represent what I believe 100%. There are things I wish he were stronger on, but he stands for more of what I believe than Obama, who doesn't stand for anything I am for. May God have mercy on America and not give us what we deserve - Obama as president.

And though I am not a racist, I am so against Obama becoming president, and fearful of what could happen to us as a nation, I really don't care why people don't vote for him, as long as they don't.

I will close with a hello to a big fan of mine - Buckeye Mom. ;-)

Just Like The Amish

Man, I don't know how the Amish do it. It is 7:30 pm, and we have been without electric for at least 24 hours, and it isn't any fun. Rumor has it that the electric could be out until Thursday. How exciting. Most of Lisbon seems to be without, a lot of Salem, Leetonia, and who knows where else. My nieces didn't have school today because the electric was still out there, but I think it is on now. Vicki and Steve are fortunate enough to not have lost theirs. My friends Kimmy and Kevin are out in Leetonia.


We are fortunate here. There are a couple of big trees, and they weathered the wind pretty well. The yard was covered with small branches and twigs, but nothing like I saw in other people's yards where whole trees and huge limbs are down. The neighbor lady had a fairly large tree go completely down - nice it fell in the direction it did, or it would have fallen across Mom and Dad's garden. And thankfully we have the generator, though it will be shut down at bedtime.




My friend, the generator. Only thing is, it uses gasoline, and we all know how much that costs nowadays..........





















View #1 of the downed tree. Oh well, the neighbor lady sells firewood and seems to love cutting it up.

























Close-up of the tree. OK, I was bored!




















Final view of the tree. Looks like she has her work cut out for her.

























And here is what the covered over creek looks like now. Grass is starting to sprout up. I guess September is the best month to plant grass seed, so it should do well.

Booth Brothers & Power

Congrats to my favorite group, The Booth Brothers. They walked away with their share of awards at the National Quartet Convention last week. They got favorite artist, trio, album (Carry On), song (Look For Me), favorite lead (Ronnie Booth), and tenor (Michael Booth).

The Hoppers, another favorite of mine, got the favorite group award, Kim Hopper of the Hoppers, took the favorite female award, and Sheri Easter received favorite alto.

Speaking of the Booth Brothers and the Hoppers, I will be going to see those 2 groups November 15th, God willing. They will be at Fisher Auditorium in Wooster, Ohio. I am looking forward to it. :-)

Winds from the hurricane that has done so much damage came our way last night. The power went out in church shortly after the preacher got up to preach. He was encouraged to go ahead and preach - had I had a vote, I would have been for leaving then - nothing against the preacher, but it was dark and hot. He did keep it brief, and we came home to find we had no power. We still don't, as of 2:43 pm on Monday. Thankfully, Dad has a generator. He ran it for a while last night, then shut it down overnight - figured we didn't need power while we slept. I slept horribly - I had taken a nice nap in the afternoon, went to bed earlier than normal, as I couldn't read or do anything online, and I couldn't sleep with a fan on - something I am used to doing. It was too quiet!

I drove up to Salem to cash my long overdue rent deposit check, and was amazed at the damage around here just from the winds. Trees, limbs, and wires down all over. I think Salem, 10 miles away, was hit worse than we were here in Lisbon. I saw a few people carrying big bags of ice. Makes me very thankful I was as far away from the actual hurricane as I was. I cannot imagine being in one.

Supper could be interesting. In spite of the generator running, Mom can't seem to get the oven to work. Wouldn't work last night either, and meat loaf was going to be supper. Oh well. Hope it doesn't stay off til Thursday, which I guess is a possibility.