september in pictures

the birthday girl and her new cat(cuz I secretly wanted a fourth thing to take care of!)

the gang keeping busy post hurricane

the "bad bunny" joy

Shake Yo Booty!

I haven't been a huge fan of Dancing with the Stars in the past, but this season I LOVE IT! As I'm watching tonight, I'm wondering..

- are the Jonas Brothers the next Beatles?
- do I have the same haircut as that middle brother? (I think he's the oldest)
- will Susan Lucci make it to the next round?

Oh how I love Susan Lucci! Growing up, I spent lots of time with that woman. My single mom was at work, and my crazy grandma was busy in the kitchen, making dishes that were not quite American, not quite Hungarian. sigh. But Erica Kane, now she taught me some serious life lessons. How to fall off a cliff and live, survive in an avalanche, slap a man (or woman if the situation calls for it)and always look FABULOUS! If la la Lucci doesn't make it very far, my next favorite is Warren Sapp. Ted McGinley - my husband reminded me this guy has killed every show he's ever been on. You can judge me if you like, I know you have better things to do than read my brainless tv post. But if by chance you are still reading, watch with me won't you? Because I'm tired of watching swimsuit model types eat bugs on Survivor, tired of watching House diagnose THE MOST RIDICULOUS DISEASES EVER, tired of watching them practice little or no medicine on Grey's. So this will be my one show of the season. In case you are concerned, I am in bible study at the moment, and still tending to my children. Ten points for anyone that can name Toni Braxton's medical condition....

You know there's been a hurricane when...

- The local newscaster's hair is ratty from having been on the air for the past 12 hours..
- You begin to use phrases like "cone of uncertainty" with total confidence
- Suddenly every standing tree is a sign of life!
- There are lots of toothless people on tv (apparently hurricane force winds also blow out teeth)
- Candles become nite lites, bottled water flushes toilets.
- You become even more aware of God's sovreingty, and even more thankful for everyday conveniences.
- You find posts like this one on craigslist (you know how I feel about birds)

When the person that "wears the pants" in the family is a size 2T

These are wise and borrowed words from another blog..

What concerns me is that I see too many children raised in Christian families who are not taught and expected to obey. They are allowed to dishonor their parents with their yelling, tantrums, and emotional displays. They are allowed to intentionally and brazenly disobey their parents, without repercussions of any kind. They are encouraged in selfishness and materialism by parents who don’t set limits and stand by them. They are outright rude to siblings, guests and adults, and it goes uncorrected.

We have less children than any generation before us, and more parenting advice at our fingertips, and yet we parent them worse.

If you think I'm calling you out, I'm not. In fact, I'm calling myself out! My kids are not bad kids; they can be taken out in public and all 3 know how to sit properly and enjoy a saturday lunch at a restaurant. But when I look at how I'm doing in the above areas, I am falling drastically short!

So my kids are not bad kids, but they do have bad hearts. And faulty wiring AND sinful natures caused by the fall of man. TV is not the enemy. Fast food, and plastic bottles and public school are not the enemy. I am my child's worst enemy if I don't CORRECT their behavior and let them down the path of foolishness. Frankly, most days I don't know HOW, but I'm going to look to my God and savior to help me. I'm going to teach thankfulness using the example of what the Lord has done for us, and for this world. I'm going to teach them how to honor and obey by how well I honor and obey and spend time in the Bible and in prayer. Even if I have to yell above a tantrum, or take away a webkinz or keep a 6 yr old indoors because she is grounded. Hmmmm, go figure that teaching my kids THE BIBLE might actually be the way to go?!

Reasons I like Palin.

1. More programs for special needs. I don't claim to know much about special needs. I have a dear friend who knows all about it through the life and testimony of her son. She rarely complains, but I have to imagine the task of parenting with special needs in the household is beyond HARD. If there is just ONE program that can make just ONE aspect of these incredible people's lives a little bit easier, let's do it. I believe Palin, as a parent directly affected by this, WILL DO IT.

2. A voice for the voiceless. I was confused how Hillary (during the Dem. Convention) kept referring to her party as the ones looking out for the "invisible". Aren't the most invisible, the most voiceless, the unborn children? If anyone can clear this up, I'd be interested to know how you reconcile the two.

3. Let parents decide how to educate their own children - specifically in the area of sex ed. The media is having a field day with the fact that Palin is against sex ed in the schools, which MUST be why her teenage daughter got pregnant.. But if you look at statistics, the teen pregnancy rate has risen, despite the 20 years that sex ed has been taught in the schools. So I don't see that sex ed is some deterent for teen pregnancy. Another area of confusion for me - let's keep kids from having sex by showing them EXACTLY HOW TO DO IT, with a banana and a condom. Eeeewww. I still have nightmares from the 8th grade.

4. Creationism taught in public schools along with Darwinism. Brilliant!!

5. And last, a bit of humor. I like that she has 5 kids. I'm intrigued that some of her toughest critics have been other women (ladies, haven't we learned yet that we can't feel better about ourselves by passing judgement on others?) The world is not kind to large families. With just 3 children myself, I have received comments from total strangers that either make me feel like a breeding machine, or assume my children are there to terrorize their place of business. Neither is the case. Now, next time I walk into a restaurant, and I get that snoooty look of "oh dear, here comes a loud, obnoxious family with lots of children" I am going to yell "back off people, the VP has 5 kids, can kill a moose and dunk a basketball, YOU can deal with my 3 kids". And then I will order an Awesome Blossom.

side note - many commentators have questioned whether she is ready for the 24/7 job of VP. I would like to say she already has such a job, IT'S CALLED BEING A MOM!