Ron Paul American Pie by aravoth

The more I see about Ron Paul the more I am convinced that he would be the right man for president. This is a really cool little tidbit. One of the other things that REALLY impresses me about this man is that he is absolutely pro-life. His voting record lines up with what he says. Unheard of things for a politician. Is he actually an example of a statesman? I do pray for a man like Wilberforce to rise to power. He was a man that no one thought would abolish the slave trade. We are enslaved to the voting-for-the-lesser-of-two-evils mindset just because real men that stand by what they say are not electable. It is time to stand up and take a chance. Maybe God will yet deliver our nation from its ungodliness and spilling innocent blood.

Guess who I am hanging out with.

Yup, Tiny Tim and I are again up late surfing the web. She is just a late nighter. I hope she will outgrow this phase soon. Until then I guess I have plenty of alone time to read, pray and update our blog.

Lies a Homeschool Mom Believes

This is isn't just general. I keep finding that I believe more lies than I ever thought I had. Why is that? Well, because I am a sinner and in need of saving. R.C. Sproul makes the distinction that we aren't sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners. Some how I keep forgetting that I may be in Christ, but I have a horrible tendency to trip and fall face first in the mud.

I have a great book of homeschooling cartoons by Todd Wilson.One of these cartoons portrays one homeschool mom running into another homeschool mom in public. The second homeschool mom has 8 children all lined up in matching outfits. The first has one child with his finger crammed up his nose. The caption reads something like: Betty hoped Jane wouldn't see her. Jane's children always say, "Yes, Mom," speak fluent Latin and play three instruments. Betty's son hasn't changed his underwear in 6 days. I had xeroxed this cartoon and colored. I then had it on my refrigerator. It wore off:( I should replace it.

I need to remember that I am not doing things on my own. I am dependent on God. People often say to me, "How do you do it all? I only have two and they drive me crazy." I guess I seem more serene than I am. Some of it is that I feel it is hard to share my true feelings for fear of being seen as a "desperate housewife." I am desperate, but not to escape my family and live in Tahiti with a new man (or something equally lame). I am desperate to know that I am accepted and loved for who I am not for what I do. Now my husband and children are good at telling me I am wonderful. Unfortunately for everyone involved I need to rest in my acceptance by God. I fail and fall short. My husband and children fail and fall short. Some how, though, I seem to forget that and expect that we will be perfect some how. That we will all live "happily ever after."

Part of the problem too is that I care so much about what other people say. I wish I didn't. My friend,Bucca, is such an example to me in this area. She doesn't really care what other people think. Oh I wish to be free of this sin of man-pleasing. It doesn't matter what people think of my clean laundry stacked up. I want my children to look back on their childhood with good memories. I want them to remember that we had fun, that we danced stupid dances in the living room, that they were more important than being able to eat off the floor. DISCLAIMER: Notice I said ABLE to eat off the floor as in clean. I did not say that my children didn't eat off the floor. They do. I just don't consider it clean enough to do so.

I am not making a resolution. I am simply starting to pray that God would graciously help me to relax and enjoy the family He has given me. There are wonderful truths that God hits us with even from movies (gasp!). The mom in the modern Yours, Mine and Ours said, "Home is for self-expression not for good impressions." Lord, help me remember that.

A child not a choice.

I don't think I will ever forget our first ultrasound. I know I will never forget the first one I had with our third daughter. As the wand went over my abdomen we saw an image of two perfect little feet pressed against the wall of my womb. I was eleven weeks pregnant and yet here was a perfectly formed person residing inside. What a blessing!

Thirty-five years ago Roe vs. Wade paved the way to where we are today. Those precious individuals are now only a woman's choice. If she happens to "want" that child there are no ends of the ways to pamper the pregnant woman. You can form your own pregnancy calendars on the web. You can be part of yoga classes designed especially for expecting moms. The list goes on and on. Unfortuntely, if the woman doesn't "want" that child he or she becomes an it that is easily disposed of. The range of options is equally as wide as the pampering options. A woman can take RU-486in the privacy of her own home to "terminating her pregnancy" all the way to right before her due date.

Yes, we have come a long way baby! In a hideous direction that robs women of their true God-given womanhood as well as dehumanizes those wonderful children. When I read the absolutely disgusting way human beings, made in the image of God, were treated under the slave trade and then how people are treated under the enslavement of abortion I can't help but see the links.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if a woman got pregnant under horrible circumstances and she was surrounded by incredibly strong, loving people that encouraged her to embrace her true feminine power and bring forth life? Instead of having people just tell her to get rid of that unwanted piece of flesh. Then turning their backs on her when she is stupid enough to ruin her life by keeping that little leech.

Children are a blessing. I am convicted to remember that pro-life doesn't stop with being anti-abortion. It is a way of life. The children in my womb are as precious as are the ones that old enough to help around the house. I have a couple of children that weren't conceived and born necessarily convenient for me. I couldn't dream of not having those children. I look at their sweet faces, their beautiful hands and sweet little feet and feel like weeping that I was so blessed with them. My heart breaks for those women that have bought the lie and the only thing their womb has held is death. On this anniversary (I am posting a day late) of Roe v. Wade I remember and encourage other pro-lifers to continue to pray and fight for the unborn. William Wilberforce did not give up fighting against the horrors of the slave trade and was one day triumphant. May God see fit to raise up such a leader to fight for the unborn and end the travesty. May we never grow weary of fighting for life.

Whining and Dining

I just had to get a picture of this. The Ole Daddy Rabbit bought some IBC Creme Soda when he went out shopping the other day. We enjoyed it as a treat last night. It was sooooooo good. I had to drink 2, one for me and one for our nursing baby. We looked like a bunch of beer-swillers (not that I am against drinking, but each child having their own bottle might be a little extreme:). We also are saving those bottles so when we make Root Beer we can use them. I always hope that our children have fun memories from growing up and I hope this is one of them.

I AM married to Mr. Incredible

Since we have a two and a half week old baby the Ole Daddy Rabbit did our once a month shopping yesterday. I made a list out. I tried to make it in order that the items are found in the stores. He successfully got everything on the list. He didn't make it home by one o'clock, but he made it home for dinner. He took our oldest daughter and they seemed to have a good time together:) I love that our girls are so loved by their daddy. When they got home everyone pitched in and we got all the groceries put away. Yesterday was just one example of how the Ole Daddy Rabbit has been incredible by leading and loving his family in the past couple of weeks.

Mr. Heath, you are my favorite husband and I am blessed that I am married to you. Don't give up! I know God is using you!

John Piper is Bad - extended video

Here is a really funny video on one of our favorite theologians.

What Next?

When you have children...okay...correct that...
Since I have been blessed with the children I have been life can be kind of exciting once and a while.

I had one lady remark on how incredibly calm I was as a mother. I have even had poison control thank me for being calm and acting quickly. I don't particularly think I am that calm. I just know that if I freaked out about everything I would have died from a heart attack long ago. It might, however, explain the gray hair:)

For example, one day last week the Fireball bloodied her nose. She was racing with her sister and ran face first into a wall partition. We iced it, stopped the bleeding from her nose and administered some Motrin pain reliever. I wish I could say that taught her to not run in the house, but alas I cannot. That same day our oldest son came shrieking in the house that his brother had been bitten by a raccoon. We have one sneaky, surviving raccoon in the vicinity. We had the victim come inside. He had indeed come across a raccoon. I was relieved to find out that the animal bit his rather too large rubber boot. It didn't get him hard enough to go through the boot. I have been told that raccoons are one of the worst rabies carriers. So twice in one day I had heart stopping incidents. Thankfully both without major trips to the ER necessary.

I know my children are keen on adventure, but some days boring is just fine. I probably would have darker hair. I still wouldn't trade any of them for the world or a bottle of Clairol.

New pictures and other odds and ends

Here are some cute pictures of the kiddos. Tiny Tim is adored by her brothers and sisters. They argue over who gets to hold her. They are all very helpful. They also got to play in the snow. It is getting to where only the big piles and remains of snow forts are left. All the children had fun (including the big ones:)

We had a quiet and uneventful New Year. After all of the adventures we have been having it is good to be boring for a bit. We hope everyone is having a great 2008 so far.