Life Together

Lazy Man's Toast

2008-08-31T06:46:00.002Z

Are we seriously so lazy that we can't even put bread in a toaster? Seriously! Today as I was meandering the grocery isles I stumbled upon what must be the most ridiculous item I've ever seen on store shelves...yes, toast! For only $3.49 you can purchase toast; looked like about 12-14 slices. OK, so you don't own a toaster? It's Vegas people; you live in the desert! Leave your bread out for about 45 seconds and viola! Toast. Do people really buy this?

Know your parental rights!

2008-07-16T20:12:00.002Z

Please take a few minutes to look over the website, www.parentalrights.org. You will be amazed at some of the rulings judges in this country have made regarding parental rights. Parents need to stand up and protect not only our children but generations to come. Take special care to read how international law is creeping into our courtrooms.

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Parental Rights Amendment Introduced!
Contact your Representative today and urge them to support the Parental Rights Amendment.

The Parental Rights Constitutional Amendment bill has just been introduced in the House of Representatives! Our bill number is H. J. Res 97. Rep. Pete Hoekstra introduced the proposed constitutional amendment which is designed to preserve and protect parental rights from future erosion. Preserving parental rights for generations to come is an issue that concerns every parent across this nation. That’s why now is the time to get your Congressperson to support this vital bill.

The introduction of the Parental Rights Amendment signals the opening of an important discussion in Congress. So we encourage you to begin engaging Congress on the issue of parental rights today.

TAKE ACTION NOW!

You can contact your member of Congress here.

Write, call or email with a short message urging your member of Congress to stand in support of H. J. Res 97, the Parental Rights Constitutional Amendment. Encourage them to contact Rep. Pete Hoekstra to add their name to a list of potential Co-Sponsors.

And look for more updates as we move forward with this vital effort!

Sincerely,

Kristin Wright
Deputy Director
ParentalRights.org

Friends

2008-07-01T22:20:00.003Z

This past week I was able to visit with many friends. I stayed with my Las Vegas friend who is now living right where I grew up. That was kinda weird but very fun. While staying with Deb I was able to see Jenn. Then over the weekend I had my 20 year high school reunion. Many memories were shared; much fun was had!

Mary Mary Quite Contrary...

2008-05-29T05:51:00.003Z

Here's my new (not quite finished) garden. My "loves-to-landscape" husband can take all the credit! Stay tuned for some fresh veggies, grapes and berries!

Hmmmmm

2008-05-25T03:14:00.001Z

May 24, 2008
Las Vegas, Nevada
60 degrees and falling

Global Warming?

Show Me the Money!

2008-05-09T20:58:00.002Z

Fox News reports.....
If a stay-at-home mom could be compensated in dollars rather than personal satisfaction and unconditional love, she'd rake in a nifty sum of nearly $117,000 a year.

Where do I pick up my check?

This is all so confusing

2008-05-02T05:02:00.004Z

SAN ANTONIO — A judge ordered that the baby boy born to a teenager taken from a polygamist sect's ranch in West Texas be placed in state custody, according to documents released Thursday. and get this...they only SUSPECT she's under 18! But they took her baby anyway!...."The girl has claimed to be 18 and based on a bishop's record used during the custody hearing two weeks ago, she would be 18 now. But officials believe she is younger and placed her in foster care with other children taken from the ranch."

So now I guess CPS will go around to every under-aged mother in the state of Texas and take her baby if her baby's daddy is over the age of 18. This all just seems a little crazy to me? I guess I just don't understand why all these mothers are being punished. My heart aches for these woman who have had their children ripped away from them.

I understand that something should be done if their are crimes being committed. But this all seems a little crazy to me. How about remove the men from the compound, let the women and children remain and then sort it all out. Why are the women and children loosing their homes? I realize they live differently from the rest of the United States but that's not a crime.

Some Texas Facts:

In Texas it is legal to get married (with parent permission) at 16. It is not illegal to have sex with your wife, even if she is under the age of consent.

I was born in San Angelo, Texas.

Dying Chicken?

2008-02-25T22:46:00.002Z

So I'm sitting here in my room and I hear this noise which makes me think one my chickens is in trouble. I turn my T.V. off for a better listen only to realize that....it's Andy's music! Yeeks!

2008-02-04T19:48:00.001Z

Read Along..

2007-12-13T06:12:00.000Z

I just finished The Shack and I know that there are others out there reading it. I would love to have conversation about it. If you haven't read it, get busy! I will start by posting one of my (many, many) favorite quotes in the book. Mack (the main character) is having a conversation with God about who God is. Here is God's response:

"The problem is that some folks try to grasp some sense of who I am by taking the best version of themselves, projecting that to the nth degree, factoring in all the goodness they can perceive, which ofter isn't much, and then call that God. And while it may seem like a noble effort, the truth is that it falls pitifully short of who I really am. I'm not merely the best version of you that you can think of. I am far more than that, above and beyond all that you can ask or think"

If you would like to read the book, you can find it at www.theshackbook.com

Nary A Dull Moment

2007-10-27T07:08:00.000Z

So it's midnight and I'm trying to finish some things on the computer and I hear this squawking somewhere in the distance. Next thing I see is our Great Dane puppy chasing a chicken around my kitchen. I think everyone needs to get into their OWN cage and I need to go to sleep! That poor chicken will never lay eggs*!

*For you city people...stressed chickens won't lay eggs. Can you blame them?

The Myth of the Teen Brain

2007-09-08T20:03:00.000Z

This weekend I read the article that Sherry mentioned on her blog regarding teenagers. It's very interesting and a great source of information for parents, teachers, and just about everyone else. Here is the link to an interview with the author of the article: The Myth of the Teen Brain. Unfortunately they were not able to post the article online because it was originally printed by another publisher. If you are interested in reading the article, let me know and I will let you borrow my magazine.

And So It Begins....

2007-08-30T08:15:00.000Z

Our children should not have to fear for their lives while trying to gain an education.

Aug 29, 2007 09:02 PM
Build Your Own Newscast
Gun Fired Near Elementary School, Students Arrested

Security at an elementary school was increased after a gun was fired near the campus Tuesday afternoon.

Police say seven students between 13 and 16 years old got into a fight near Hewetson Elementary School. One of the students had a gun and fired a shot into the air.

Two students at the center of the fight were arrested. But police say they did not recover a weapon.

While no one was injured after the gun was fired, police could clearly be seen patrolling the Hewetson Elementary campus all day Wednesday.

Last year CCSD police confiscated 54 guns and 200 knives on campuses throughout the school district. But already on the third day of school, campus police were on high alert after the first gun scare of the year on the second day of classes.

School police could be seen on just about every campus the department says had some link to Tuesday's shooting.

At Roy Martin Middle School, Metro patrolled the area while school police walked the campus going from classroom to classroom. Police believe a stabbing last school year near Martin Middle School is what led to the gun being fire Tuesday afternoon.

Lieutenant Ken Young with school district police credits the department's relationship with Metro as way to cut down on campus violence.

"We've strengthened our relationship with all the outside entities. Our detectives work with their detectives and that quickly bringing closure to incidents like yesterdays," Lt. Young said.

Belinda Rosas has children who attend Hewetson Elementary. "I was petrified, scared for my children. When my daughter got home she told us they told the teachers to lock the doors and not to let anybody out," she said.

She lives across the street from the campus and saw the whole thing unfold.

Police are still trying to determine if the students had the gun on campus all day before the shooting, and what campus each student was attending.

Again, two students were arrested. No other arrests have been made at this time.

Police are calling this a gang-related incident.

How old are we?

2007-07-12T06:54:00.000Z

This weekend Dave and I will be attending his 20 year high school reunion. WoW, 20 years! It really just doesn't seem that long ago. I am very excited to see everyone but this has totally stressed me out! 20 years! It's been longer since we've been in high school than we spent in school. There is this weird balance when you get to our age between staying young yet not looking like you are trying to re-capture your 20 something youth.

I'll have to let you know next week how it all panned out....the skinny ones, the fat ones, the bald ones, the mullets, the spiral perms, the concert t-shirts, the bar flys, the blue eye shadow, the NASCAR golf shirts.......

Smart

2007-05-31T19:27:00.000Z

I think this will be the smartest thing I will read all day...maybe all week.

Re: Global Warming
Quoted from: NASA Admistrator Michael D. Griffin

"To assume that it is a problem is to assume that the state of Earth's climate today is the optimal climate, the best climate that we could have or ever have had and that we need to take steps to make sure that it doesn't change," Griffin said.

"First of all, I don't think it's within the power of human beings to assure that the climate does not change, as millions of years of history have shown," he continued. "And second of all, I guess I would ask which human beings — where and when — are to be accorded the privilege of deciding that this particular climate that we have right here today, right now is the best climate for all other human beings. I think that's a rather arrogant position for people to take."

Get off the roads people....

2007-03-30T07:50:00.000Z

Sphinx Moth

2007-03-27T08:53:00.000Z

I like to think that I take pretty good pictures. I must say I impressed myself with this one. I hope you enjoy it...

Christmas music

2006-12-14T03:25:00.000Z

I love Christmas music! I get so excited the day after Thanksgiving when Sunny 106.5 starts playing Christmas music 24 hours a day!! But...If I hear Trans Siberian Orchestra one more time I'm going to poke my eye out with a reindeer antler! The worst part is I haven't heard Joan Jett sing Little Drummer Boy not even one time this season!

Merry Christmas to all...

Happy Retirement!

2006-11-01T18:47:00.000Z

Today is my Dad's first day of retirement from Butler Tech. I hope he slept in and enjoyed his day. Tomorrow he can start packing for the move!! Congratulations Dad!!

Flags of Our Fathers

2006-10-21T19:37:00.000Z

Last night Dave and I went to see Flags of Our Fathers. I usually don't go see war movies but this was a special occasion because it was filmed on the beaches of Iceland while we were there. They used a bunch of the military guys as extras and we wanted to see if we could catch a glimpse of any of our friends. Well, most of the war scenes had a lot of action with lots of sand flying. We saw a quick glimpse of a pilot friend and heard the voice of one of Jake's friend's dad but best of all our friend Jeremy had such a large part the he made the credits!!! Pretty cool. I think he should win an Oscar for best extra.

Zion

2006-10-20T05:48:00.000Z

Thanks to everyone who made the retreat this past weekend a success! Click here to view some of the pictures from this wonderful time together.

Do you know your rights?

2006-10-11T07:22:00.000Z

I was reading an article today that I think most people will find interesting. It seems as if the (federal) courts have ruled that once your child crosses the threshold of a public school you have no control over what they learn or the things they are exposed to. I had no idea! I can't believe that if I choose to use the public education system that I, being the public, have no control over what my kids are learning. This is huge! Here are a couple of quotes from the article. To read the complete article click here.

The Ninth Circuit held:

"Although the parents are legitimately concerned with the subject of sexuality, there is no constitutional reason to distinguish that concern from any of the countless moral, religious, or philosophical objections that parents might have to other decisions of the School DistrictÂwhether those objections regard information concerning guns, violence, the military, gay marriage, racial equality, slavery, the dissection of animals, or the teaching of scientifically-validated theories of the origins of life. Schools cannot be expected to accommodate the personal, moral or religious concerns of every parent. Such an obligation would not only contravene the educational mission of the public schools, but also would be impossible to satisfy.

The court went on to make it entirely explicit that once children are left at the public schoolÂs front door, all parental control over the childÂs education ceases."

"The First Circuit Court of Appeals made a similar outlandish ruling in Brown v. Hot, Sexy and Safer Productions, Inc. (1995). This case involved a mandatory, school-wide assembly that contained offensive and suggestive sexual material. The First Circuit said that while parents have the right to choose alternative forms of schooling, they have no constitutional right to direct their childÂs education inside the public school."

This is crazy! When you send your kids to public school do you have to sign a waiver giving all rights over to the government? Seriously? Is there a sign that says, "Once your children walk through these doors they are no longer yours for the next 7 hours, don't ask questions it's the law?" Why aren't there people protesting in the streets? I just don't get it.

Puppet?

2006-09-25T23:49:00.000Z

The last couple of months we have been raising chickens. Last week one of the little chicks became very ill and we needed to put it down. Jessi decided the best way to do it would be to start the car and put the chick in a cup and place it in the tailpile. So the chicken quietly went to sleep. They brought the chick back in and Jessi began preparing to bury it. Eliza was very sad about loosing the chicken until she suddenly perked up and said. "Ok, time to make a puppet!"

I wasn't in the room when all this was going on so when I later asked her if she wanted to gut that chick and make a puppet she said, "No, I was going to tie strings to it's feet and wings."

This picture is NOT the dead chick. It's one that Eliza has trained to lay like a baby.

Buy This House

2006-09-22T20:18:00.000Z

We have this wonderful house for sale. If you or anyone you know is looking to buy a house please click here to check out the virtual tour.

Of course, if you aren't interested in the house, Adam has many other properties that he would love to show you.

Ruff Ruff

2006-09-14T04:50:00.000Z

Most of you know that Dave and I have wanted to retire and be guest ranchers for some time now. I'm not so sure about that now. I really think I would rather be Beth and The Dog.

Welcome Home....I think

2006-08-14T07:32:00.000Z

Warning, this could become a very long blog!

We are back in Vegas all fat and happy. Much work has been done to our house and much is yet to come. Our rental house still has not sold, so our work will be at a standstill soon for lack of funds. We have promised ourselves to only pay cash. So if you know anyone looking for a house in Vegas at a killer deal, let me know.

Since I have been back in the States I’ve had some crazy encounters with baggers. Yes baggers…the people who bag your groceries. The first came while we were in Ohio. It seems that Kroger hires those less fortunate to bag groceries, but they have not really given them any training in people skills. Every time I went to the store these sweet people had to analyze EVERYTHING I bought. It took forever to get out of the store. They were not quiet about it either. I’m just glad I wasn’t buying anything too intimate!

Fast-forward one week….. I’m back in Vegas and Dave sends me to Lowes to get two 5-gallon buckets of paint. Of course, I can’t lift them so the checker asks this nice, young cart boy (AKA bagger) to help me out. He smiles and says hi, I say hi and we head out the door. As soon as we are out the door the kid looks at me and says, “Do you like clowns?” I say sure. Then he says, “I like Swedish circus clowns, the girl kind.” And for the next five minutes he fills me in on how much he likes Swedish circus girls because they don’t get fat when they get old like other circus girls. He went on about how he bought a Swedish circus girl a beer; “a Mexican beer because he’s Mexican”. But just so you know. He told me you don’t mess with Mexican circus girls because they have Mexican boyfriends and they’ll beat you up.

Fast-forward one more week. I’m at the grocery for the first time since we’ve been back in town and I bought a cart FULL of groceries. For some reason this bagger kid could not fit them back into one cart? So now I have two carts and he insists on helping me out. I finally agree. The doors of Albertson’s open and 105 degrees hits me in the face the same time this kid says, “My dad won’t let me in his house.” Trying not to make much conversation I just say, “Oh.” Then he tells me that his dad doesn’t like his religion. I’m thinking, oh great he’s going to tell me how he’s Mormon or Jehovah’s Witness and try to convert me. But no, he continues to tell me how his religion is “Black Magic”. He speaks the language! He just kept unloading my bags telling me how he has 800 year old memories and how is going to learn to be a Samurai for the “worlds only last living Samurai.” I honestly have to say I was at a complete loss for words.

I always thought bagging would be a good part-time job for my kids. Mabye not.

The Perfect Collision

2006-07-25T07:47:00.000Z

Two of my favorite things came together tonight. A hot night in Vegas and a cold bottle of Icelandic water... Oh Yeah! They sell Icelandic water at Cost Plus on Rainbow. Buy one today! It will be the best 99 cents you've ever spent.

Through the Tube

2006-06-17T23:52:00.000Z

Two days ago I saw the Queen of England! She waved, I waved; we had a moment.

London is a lot of work. I just can't imagine being a commuter there every day. Both days we went there was trouble with the Underground (subway). Yesterday it took us about 3 hours to make a 45 minute trip! Did you know it's the second most expensive city in the world, only behind Tokyo? Yeah, so plan well and don't waste your time on the Tube!

The English countryside is beautiful. Crazy big, old houses everywhere. Today we saw a huge old cathedral in Ely (pronounced ee lee, just like in Nevada).

I'll post some pictures as soon as I can get them downloaded.

Home!

2006-04-26T20:33:00.000Z

As you all know from a previous post, the base here in Keflavik, Iceland is closing down. After many weeks of wondering where we will live, the big new is....Europe is out and we're coming HOME!!! See you all in July!

PS Jessi wants to keep this a secret from Caitlin. So please do the best you can not to spill the beans around her. Thanks from Jessi

Weekend trip

2006-04-25T16:32:00.000Z

This weekedend we took a wonderful trip with our friends the Gidlows. We stayed near a town called Kirkjubæjarklaustur in cabins at a farm named Horgsland. Here is a link to some of the pictures I took.

Baby Update

2006-04-20T00:43:00.000Z

Tonight we welcomed Joshua Caleb Bittle into this world. Jason called me at 6pm, we headed to the hospital at 6:30 and he was born (screaming) at 9:09pm. Lisa had a very smooth natural delivery. Congratulations Bittle family!

With the latest arrival, I thought I would update my "friends having babies" list.

Charlene P. (delivered: Hope in Nov)
Krissi R. (adopted: boy in Nov)
Sara M.(delivered: Noi, Dec 20th.)
Jules C. (delivered: Caleb, Jan. 18th)
Jessie M. (delivered: Carter Steven, Feb. 7th)
Jenn C. (delivered: Julia Gayle, March 11th)
Tamara G. (delivered: Jacob, March 11th)
Lisa B. (delivered: Joshua Caleb, April 19th)
Becky B. (delivered: Boy, March)
Nicole S. (delivered: Owen James, March 25th)
Melina H. (delivered: Isabella, March)
Jill R.
Ashley M.
Alisha B.
Jenn P.
Elissa W.
Charlie A.
Kristin I.

Weather tracking

2006-04-03T15:10:00.000Z

I just got back taking some kids to Chess Club, 1 mile from home, and it went something like this.
• 2:54:00 got in the car- gray sky, light breeze
• 2:55:00 pick up first set of kids, two building over- gray sky, light snow
• 2:55:30 picked up second kid, same building- gray sky, hail
• 2:56:30 1 block down the road- gray sky, heavy snow
• 2:57:15 pulled into chapel parking lot- gray sky no snow, light wind
• 3:00 back in my parking lot- sunshine, no wind, no precipitation

Now every place I’ve lived people always say, don’t like the weather, just wait around a few minutes and it’ll change” Those people have NEVER been to Iceland!

Where's the pops?

2006-03-24T21:07:00.000Z

Tonight I was flipping through the channels and happened upon "That 70's Show". I had to stop and look for a second because I believe the guy was eating a Pudding Pop. Where'd they get that! I haven't seen Pudding Pops in years. Dave and I used to eat them by the Sam's Club box full. Man, I'd love to have one right now even with the 29 degrees and 30 mph winds.

We still don't know where we will be going but I believe it's between England and Italy. We are all praying hard for Italy. They probably don't have Pudding Pops but I'd think I could get over it. I'll let you all know as soon as I find anything out.

Peace and Love

Please Pray

2006-03-19T20:33:00.000Z

Please keep my extended family in your prayers. My Uncle Russ was killed in a car accident late Friday night. He's my mom's baby brother. My cousin was also in the car, but he is doing fine.

Hamilton Man Killed In Morgan Twp. Accident

Reported by: 9News
Web produced by: Neil Relyea
Photographed by: 9News
First posted: 3/18/2006 6:01:21 PM
Last Updated: 3/18/2006 9:15:07 PM

A Hamilton man died after a one-car crash in Morgan Township just before midnight Friday night.

The Butler County sheriff's office says 48-year-old Fred "Russ" Bush was killed when the car he was riding in went off State Route-73, struck several small trees and a large drainage pipe before turning over.

Another occupant of the car, 28-year-old Ryan Lambertson, of Hamilton, was taken to University Hospital with serious injuries to his face.

The cause of that crash remains under investigation.

We're moving....

2006-03-17T20:18:00.000Z

It's been a crazy couple of days. News came down the pipe yesterday that the U.S. is pulling out of Iceland. The Air Force (that's us) will be gone (yes totally gone) by the end of June. We're still not sure how it will work or what it means for us. Our squadron is going to be moved to Europe somewhere. It looks like Dave will be following the squadron to set up its new home. So, it looks like the Carder clan is moving to Europe! I'll keep you posted! So, if you were looking to come to Iceland you better hurry.

The picture in the last post is drying Cod. Yep fish! If you want some, I'll send you a pack! Mmmm, fish jerky.

This picture is of the "Shaped Mall" in Reykjavik. You don't need to post a guess. I think we all can see why they call it the "Shaped Mall."

Guess

2006-03-12T23:13:00.000Z

Guess this picture. I will post the answer in a few days. No help from Sara!

Jay Leno worthy

2006-03-01T16:19:00.000Z

It's not like me to blog three days in a row but I had to share. This is a headline in the Icleand Review_Online at www.icelandreview.com. I think it's way funny.

02/28/2006 | 15:36

Midwife services threatened by labor dispute
Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, RÚV, reports that negotiations between the Association of Icelandic Mid-Wives and the State Social Security Institute, Tryggingstofnun, have ground to a standstill.

Snorristaðir

2006-03-01T00:25:00.000Z

This past weekend our family finally got a much needed break. Here is a link to the pictures from our trip to the farm this weekend. The weekend for us ended on Bun Day (as seen below) so we stopped by a great little bakery in Mosfellsbær and got in line for the little delights.

Bun Day!

2006-02-28T18:08:00.000Z

I can't believe my very best Icelandic friend neglected to tell me about Bun Day!! We missed out on this tradition last year, but we made up for it this year. We didn't know the whole tradition (see below) until last night so we missed out on the part where our kids beat us. But at least we got the cream puff part.

Bolludagur - Bun Day
On this day children, with colourful wands, try to wake up before their parents and spank the parents in their beds, saying "Bolla, bolla", (Bun, bun). The number of spanks being equal to the cream-buns they will receive during the day. Not a very old custom. Celebrated on Monday before Langafasta (Lent).

Copied from : http://www.simnet.is/gardarj/folk/days.htm#lang

How it is

2006-02-22T15:04:00.000Z

We now officially have less than a year to go before we can move from this miserable base. (Please let me clarify... Iceland is a very beautiful place. This prison of a base is the horrible part.) We are located on a very windy part of the island. This past week we have had more days than not with 35-50 mile per hour winds! The Navy, Air Force and Icelandic Government are all "negotiating" over whether or not we should even be here. The Navy runs the base but has no mission here so they are putting NO money into the place. The other day I was at the theater and there was no heat. Dave just got notification that the WC (restrooms) in his building are off limits. The commissary shelves have been half empty for weeks with notes hanging all over apologizing for late shipments. With other notifications saying that they will no longer carry Icelandic salmon or chicken. Now our only option for chicken is frozen Tyson unless we go downtown to the store. To top it all off the only part of the Olympics we have been shown is Curling!!! (To be honest I have seen a little Hockey and I think other events are shown in the middle of the night.) My goodness we are only like 2 time zones from the actual events and we have to see them replayed during Central time. Where's the love?

On the up side... we are planning to spend this weekend off the base and enjoy some of the better parts of Iceland. My friend Laura and her girls are coming to spend a week with me while Dave is gone to Germany next month. And we are planning two trips to Europe this year. One with kids and one without!!! I think we will take the kids to either London or Germany. It looks like Dave and I will be going to Bulgaria and Turkey or maybe just Greece. Susie will be keeping the kids while we are gone. (Of course it all is hinging on this base staying open for the next 10 months.)

Here are a few things we need everyone to keep in prayer:
-Dave is going TDY for 4 out of 5 weeks between March 6th and April 9th.
- Dave's Lt. Colonel Board meets next month. There are pros and cons to making this next rank… God knows what is best for our family.
-Dave needs to look for a job once he finds out if he makes Lt. Colonel and we would really like to get back to Vegas!
-Amy's sanity.

Welcome Baby Carter

2006-02-07T20:31:00.000Z

A very warm welcome to Carter Steven Miles, born Feb. 7th about 12:30am. He weighed in at 7 lbs 8 oz. Check John's blog soon for pictures. Mother and baby are doing great! Congratulations Jessie, John and Big Brother Luke!

Explain this....

2006-01-10T22:04:00.000Z

Maybe Sara can post a comment and explain this. Can you believe this is the picture on the back of our milk carton? There are little fairytale type stories on the back of milk cartons here in Iceland. Maybe we could play a little game and try to guess what this is all about.

Babies Everywhere

2006-01-06T14:01:00.000Z

I can't believe all the people I know who are pregnant or just had a baby! I thought I would jot them down just to see exactly how many there are. Help me out with those I've missed.

Charlene P. (delivered: Hope in Nov)
Krissi R. (adopted: boy in Nov)
Sara M.(delivered: Noi, Dec 22.)
Jules C. (delivered: Caleb Jan. 18)
Jessie M. (delivered: Carter Steven Feb. 7th)
Jenn C. (delivered: Julia Gayle March 11)
Tamara G. (delivered: Boy March 11)
Jill R.
Ashley M.
Lisa B.
Becky B.
Elissa W.
Nicole S.
Alisha B.
Jenn P.
Charlie A.
Melina H.

Quick! Buy stock in Babies R Us now!!

Worth a Thousand Words...

2006-01-04T23:44:00.000Z

Happy New Year

2006-01-01T21:56:00.000Z

We are back in the 'Land of Fire and Ice"! We left Las Vegas on the 30th about 11:30am and arrived in Iceland on the 31st about 6:30am. Iceland is 8 hours ahead of Las Vegas...you do the math. We got back to our Apartment and went straight to bed, waking up about 6pm.

We headed to Reykjavik about 7:30pm to hang out with our friends Agusta, Bjarni(Sara's parents) and their kids. They treated us to a great dinner and a traditional Icelandic New Year's Eve. After dinner we went a couple blocks away to a HUGE bonfire. They pile wooden construction waste up about 20 feet high and light it up. Very cool.

Next we headed back to the house for the Iceland variety show. It was pretty funny without even understanding the language. Basically they do a spoof on all the ridiculous things that took place during the year. Kind of a Saturday Night Live thing. People had been letting off fireworks all evening but at 10:30 when this show came on, the city fell silent. As soon as the show was over (11:30) the fireworks began again.

The fireworks are amazing. Everyone in the city buys professional fireworks. The sound is deafening and this show is like no other. I hope the pictures give you some idea. It was unbelievable!

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year's Eve!

Mr and Mr Pots??

2005-12-26T07:52:00.000Z

If you missed the party...here's what you missed. If you were here, you should enjoy these picutes.

Welcome Baby Noi

2005-12-26T07:34:00.000Z

Noi (pronounced Noah in the USA) Bjorn Matuszak was born December 20th at about 11:15pm. He is a beautiful 6 pounds 4 ounces. His mother did a wonderful job bringing him into the world!

This was Jessi's first experience at attending a birth. I think she really enjoyed it!

Party Update

2005-12-17T19:12:00.000Z

So the latest word on the street is that we are going to play "Dirty Santa" (or "White Elephant" whatever you want to call it) again this year. So if you want to participate, bring a $5 or $10 to the party. It was a lot of fun last year!

It's party time.

2005-12-13T07:22:00.000Z

As most of you know the Carders are in Vegas! So...when's the party? We are here to please! Friday, Dec. 23 around 6:30pm. We'll provide some BBQ...bring whatever else you might want. Hope to see you there!

Call or leave a comment if you have any questions.

Cellular

2005-12-01T12:34:00.000Z

The kids and I will arrive in Vegas on Saturday night. I would like to have a cell phone while I'm there. If anyone has an extra one or one of those pre-paid phones that I could borrow, I would greatly appreciate it. I will need it until December 30th.

What a sunset!

2005-11-28T18:16:00.000Z

Check out this incredible sunset last night in Iceland. The temperature was about 28 degrees and the sky was perfectly clear.

These pictures were taken about 2 hours north (more or less) from where we are living. We were on the trail to a famous waterfall called Glymur.

First Dance

2005-11-21T21:07:00.000Z

Jessi went to her winter formal a couple of nights ago. To see the pictures click here.

It's cold

2005-11-16T01:40:00.000Z

It's currently 1:40am. The temperature is 28 degrees F and the wind chill is 11. (It was the same at noon today.) Luckily the wind is only blowing at about 22 miles per hour. The sun is rising at 10am and setting about 4pm and the days are getting shorter at 6 minutes a day.

All this to say...in about 2 and a half weeks I won't care because I'll be in Vegas baby! Looks like the kids and I will be home either Dec. 3 or 4th and Dave will be home on Dec. 17h. We will all return to Iceland on the 29th. At this point the days will be getting longer at 6 minutes per day!! Shortest day--December 22.

If there is anything you need from Iceland (Sara) now is the time to speak up! Of course I'll be bringing home lots of incredibly delicious chocolate! They make their chocolate here with whole cream...it's the best ever!

Notes and Report Cards

2005-11-08T13:37:00.000Z

Yesterday Jessi needed a note to excuse her from missing the first half of school. It was the first one I had written since I was in high school. Very strange, I almost signed my dad's name to it.

Today we recieved Jessi's first report card. She did very well; two A+'s, four A's and 1 B. I shouldn't but I kind of feel like it's my report card considering we have been homeschooling for the last 7 years. I must be doing something right.
.

Oscar Goodman....always thinkin'

2005-11-04T00:26:00.000Z

Seems like our good mayor is always willing to take our city to the next level....

Las Vegas Mayor: Vandals Should Have Thumbs Cut Off
Thursday, November 03, 2005

RENO, Nev. — Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman (search) has suggested that those who deface freeways with graffiti should have their thumbs cut off on television.

Goodman, appearing Wednesday on the "Nevada Newsmakers (search)" television show, said, "In the old days in France, they had beheading of people who commit heinous crimes.

"You know, we have a beautiful highway landscaping redevelopment in our downtown. We have desert tortoises and beautiful paintings of flora and fauna. These punks come along and deface it.

"I'm saying maybe you put them on TV and cut off a thumb," the mayor added. "That may be the right thing to do."

The rest of the story can be found here.

Happy Birthday Jake

2005-11-01T01:32:00.000Z

Jake is now 10. He got his Military ID card today; it makes him 'legal' age to roam the base. He can't wait to make his first purchase at the department store on base. His dimples had already helped him make purchases from the cashiers at the grocery store!

Sunday Jake went to AWANAS at the little Baptist church off base with a friend. He wore this shirt. He came home and told us that they told him if he wanted to come back he would need to wear a shirt that was "appropriate for church". I guess this kind of goes along with Dave's post...WWJD?

Welcome Pap Miles

2005-10-27T15:51:00.000Z

My dad is now a blogger. You can check out Pap Miles Ponders at wmiles.blogspot.com. Please give him a warm welcome; I'm sure he'll have many insightful things to say.

I just did a spell check....Blogger spell check didn't have the word 'blogger' in it. What's up with that?

Today is 30 degrees, cloudy, and super windy.

I've started baking bread. It's something I'd like to get good at. So...I'm off to make cinnamon-raisin bread.

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign............

2005-10-19T20:52:00.000Z

Do you people really know how hard it is for me to have one kid in public school and two kids in a chapel youth group? I'm just having to smile and go to my happy place...

Last week Andy and Jessi went to the youth group here on base. It was the first meeting of the new year and a contest was given. The youth leader will pay $30 to the kid who brings the most visitors by the end of the month. They are pimpin' our kids out in the name of the Church! Not to happy about this one. Think about how the guest is going to feel when they realize a "bounty" was put on their heads. Then I think about the parent who is already bitter about the Church "only being out to get their money"..... We have had some really great conversations over this with our house church and our kids. Now we just need to pray about talking to the leadership about it. It really seems like the Chapel system is all about numbers. Numbers don't save souls and build relationships with Jesus.

Next subject....
Jessi was given 200 math problems in school today and had 30 minutes of class to do them and then was told to finish them for homework. Do you realize that at 1 minute per problem this is 3 and a half hours of math! These aren't simple problems either. This work was left for a substitute teacher to hand out. What the heck was this teacher thinking? I had her work for one hour on it and told her to forget about the rest. Come on...there is more to life than math. I mean really, she has some pimpin' for the Church to do.

And the sign said everybody welcome, come in, kneel down and pray
But when they passed around the plate at the end of it all,
I didn't have a penny to pay, so I got me a pen and a paper and I made up my own little sign
I said thank you Lord for thinking about me, I'm alive and doing fine

We Ate Willy!

2005-09-25T01:14:00.000Z

Ok, so we didn't eat Killer Whale, but we did eat a close cousin, the Minke Whale. It was a cultural experience and shall we say, well....it tasted like dog breath. But now we can say, "We ate whale in Iceland." I guess next is either puffin or rotten shark! I can't wait. Did I mention it was pretty much raw?

Snow White

2005-09-20T23:09:00.000Z

Today is Tuesday, September 20th and it SNOWED!!!!

'Nuff said.

History of a civilization and a hurricane

2005-09-10T16:26:00.000Z

Lately I have been thinking about this circle of a civilization thing I saw a few years back. Then yesterday while attending open house at Jessi's new school (yes Jessi is going to school this year...I'll tell all about that in another post.) her gym teacher, who is about 60 years old or so, made the comment that kids these days have no idea how to solve problems for themselves. That parents are too quick to come to their rescue therefore leaving them with no tools of their own to solve their own problems.

I really think we are quickly rolling into dependency on the following scale. Very scary! In light of recent events I think it gives us something to think about.

I searched around on the internet for the example of the circle and this is what I found.: www.worldnewsstand.net/today/articles/thehistorycircle.htm.

This memorable quotation is from Sir Alex Fraser Tytler (1742-1813). Scottish jurist and historian, he was widely known in his time and was professor of Universal History at Edinburgh University in the late 18th century.

The quotation is from the 1801 collection of his lectures.

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largess from the public treasury. From that time on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the results that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship."

That is why our forefathers founded the United States of America as a REPUBLIC, not a DEMOCRACY.

The average age of the world's great civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence:

       from bondage to spiritual faith;
       from spiritual faith to great courage;
       from courage to liberty;
       from liberty to abundance;
       from abundance to selfishness;
       from selfishness to complacency;
       from complacency to apathy;
       from apathy to dependency;
       from dependency back again to bondage.

Having read what Professor Tyler had to say, now read the following and see what Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, wrote about the 2000 Presidential election between Al Gore and George Bush.

Population of counties won by Gore 127 million -- by Bush 143 million. Square miles of country won by Gore 580,000 -- by Bush 2,427,000. States won by Gore 19 -- by Bush 29. Murder per 100,000 residents in counties won by Gore 13.2 -- by Bush 2.1 (not a typo.) Professor Olson adds: "The map of the territory Bush won was (mostly) the land owned by the people of this great country. NOT the citizens living in cities in tenements owned by the government and living off the government." Professor Olson thinks the US is now between the apathy and complacency phase of democracy although he believes that 40 percent of the nation's population has already reached the dependency phase.

NOTE: Both items above were verified through Google Internet Search.

THE QUESTION IS:

Where are we now?

REALITY CHECK

"Nations richer and more powerful in their day than we are in this, have been sabotaged, defeated, enslaved.

Babylon was the largest and richest nation of its time, but its lust for luxury made it an easy mark for the Medes and Persians who overran it, and divided its land and enslaved the people between them.

Rome was a greater military power than we ever were, but when free bread and circuses became more important to the people than hard work and patriotism, Rome was invaded and looted by the tougher Vandals.

The Incas were the most civilized, richest people in the Americas, but ruthless, better-armed invaders destroyed them as a nation, and looted everything they owned and had spent generations in creating.

In every case it was the self indulgent weakness of the victim which made victory of the invader easy.

Undoubtedly there were Babylonians, Romans, Incas who warned against overindulgence and weakness, who warned that each citizen is responsible for his nation, and that that responsibility cannot be shrugged off on officials. But to those who warned of impending trouble there was then as now the smug sneer, 'It can't happen here.'

But it did."

-Anonymous

I understand that there were old and handicapped people that needed to be dependant upon someone else to get them out of that mess. That's not what I'm talking about. It's much bigger than that. It's about a society that is dependant upon a machine; taking no responsibilty for themselves or those around them and then passing the blame.

Star Spangled Nascar

2005-09-04T03:46:00.000Z

Yesterday while waiting on a very long train, my parents and I thought it would be fun to sing. We sang BINGO, If You're Happy and You Know It..., along with other kid songs. Then for some reason Mom and I started singing the Star Spangled Banner. That's when William (our newly acquired son from Southern Ohio) said, "Why are you singing the song from Nascar" I think there's a redneck joke in there somewhere......

A Day to Remember

2005-09-03T04:32:00.000Z

Today, (technically yesterday; it's after midnight) sixteen years ago, I married my high school sweetheart. On the thirteenth of this month he will have been my boyfriend for twenty years! I'm in Ohio and he's in Bulgaria and he still managed to send me a dozen roses. I love him more than I did sixteen years ago...how much will I love him sixteen years from now?

Artic Wind

2005-08-07T11:44:00.000Z

I'm sad because I think our summer is ending and it never even got to 70 degrees! Today it is raining and the wind is blowing between 40-45 mph with gusts over 60 mph. The cars in our parking lot are rocking back and forth. It's probably only 50 degrees today. Seems like a good day for a soup and a nap.

Catching up

2005-07-28T11:29:00.000Z

I have been reading other’s blogs and thinking how I wished people would blog so I knew how they were doing. Then I realized I haven’t blogged in over a month. What a hypocrite! I guess it’s the whole speck and log thing.

Since I have last blogged we have; added a new child, the kids started swimming and baseball, David went to Turkey, my parents and grandpaw visited, David went to Romania (again) and I have started cooking dinner every Friday night (for the summer) for the single and unaccompanied military people. So needless to say, things have been busy.

The kids are all doing great. The sun finally came out last week so the kids have been outside all day. The temperature hasn’t been over about 67 degrees yet. One really bad thing about cold weather is this: cold weather equals more clothing equals more laundry! Shorts and t-shirts are much smaller and sandals equal no socks!

The visit with the family was great. We took them around to see many beautiful things. I think the highlight for me was whale watching! We saw lots of Minke whales and many birds including Puffins! I was very nervous about getting sea sick, but the bay was perfectly calm and the sun was beautiful!

I will post some pictures at Snapfish soon. When I do I will post the link.

The drier just went off, so I’m off to the laundry….

Love to all.

Thank you

2005-06-11T01:12:00.000Z

As of today we are no longer the Carder 6 we are the Carder 7. Thanks to all of you who have prayed for William and our family. Today when David's mom talked to him he said, "I won't have to worry anymore about drugs and alcohol." He's only seven.

Thanks again.

Link to pictures

2005-06-07T20:26:00.000Z

We took some pictures this weekend during a trip we took to south Iceland. Here is the link to Snapfish to view the pictures. They aren't all that great but our good camera broke and the new one hasn't arrived yet. I still think you will enjoy these. If this Snapfish thing works we will post more pictures there and give you the links.

http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=79271118175751561/l=50283028/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

2005-06-07T19:20:00.000Z

We saw this little old man driving this cow in his car on a highway in south Iceland. This car is about the size of a Yugo! The man looked like he was about 80 and like he came straight out of a storybook with his wool jacket and hat.

5 things to say

2005-06-02T13:48:00.000Z

1. William: It’s never over. We have a trial date set for next Thursday (June 9^th, 10am). It looks like it is between foster care and us. Of course the judge would much rather send him here, but we have a slight logistical problem when it comes to visitation. If the judge decides to continue working with the mom then I don’t see us getting him. If she decides the mom is finished then we have a good chance of getting him. Please pray for William, he has told everyone he wants to come live with us and I know he is praying. If he gets sent to a foster home I’m afraid he will see it as more rejection only this time from God.

2. I have wanted to mention a movie that we saw a few weeks ago. It’s called, “Because of Winn Dixie”. Call the family in and pop some popcorn! Even better pull your house church together and watch this one. While you’re watching it you will be thinking over and over again, “this is how the Church should be”. Nuff said—watch it and let me know what you thought.

3. The other day I said to Jessi, “Hey, **** is pregnant.” Her response was, “With what?” An hour later I said, “Hey Andy, **** is pregnant.” He said, “With what?” Now I know Dave had the talk with them but what in the world did he tell them!! They both said they meant boy or girl? Whew, I thought we had a huge problem on our hands!

4. I have decided that Eve was actually 11 years, 11 months old when she ate the fruit. That way when she turned 12 she would have been guaranteed to know as much as her father!

5. Miss you all!

Please Pray

2005-05-16T16:36:00.000Z

Tuesday May 17th is the next custody hearing for Dave's cousin. Please pray for the best to happen for him. We really aren't sure what the outcome will be. I'll let you know. His name is William.

Missing Apex

2005-05-16T11:21:00.000Z

I just want everyone to know how much we wished we could be at Apex last night (5/15). I'm sure it was a crying mess! We even talked about calling during the service but we didn't want to interrupt Rob rockin' the house. Did anyone do video or pictures?

It's hard knowing people we love are leaving and we aren't the one's having the good-bye party. I hope our community wishes you all well in a proper way. We miss you all.

Just a Snack

2005-05-09T22:04:00.000Z

Eliza just got out of bed and said to me. "Mama, can I have a little snack like a drink of water or something the size of my bellybutton?"

Can you say no to a request like that?

Happy Mother's Day

2005-05-09T00:40:00.000Z

Today for Mother's Day I decided we would go for a ride. The whole famn damily! I wanted to go see Iceland's south coast. It is beautiful!! But here are a few things I learned.

Just because the road is on the map marked with a highway sign doesn't mean it's more that one lane, paved, or smooth.
Don't pass out bottles of Coke while riding down an Icelandic "highway".
Don't stop on an Icelandic "highway" when a child opens said Coke and it starts exploding (that's how bumpy the road is) unless you have 4 wheel drive to get you the rest of the way up the hill!
Don't take 13 year old boys on these roads after they have eaten 6 sausage links, 5 pieces of bacon and 2 pieced of french toast!
Next time anyone who wants stay home will be allowed. Oh, they weren't fighting; in fact, they were getting along all to well. When this happens the volume in the car multiplies about 200 fold.

The joy is in the journey and we are making plenty of memories.

2005-05-09T00:39:00.000Z

Iceland Highway 427

Hafnir, Iceland

2005-05-02T12:46:00.001Z

Here is a picture Dave took of a small (probably Lutheran) church in Hafnir, Iceland. Hafnir is a very small fishing village about 5 minutes from the base. It's a very cute little village with colorful houses and in the center is this little church surrounded by a cemetary. Dave is going to post another picture he took of it on his blog.

2005-05-02T12:46:00.000Z

Hafnir, Iceland

Welcome Dave

2005-04-06T11:09:00.000Z

I would like to welcome Dave into our community.

Please welcome him at www.dconceinawhile.blogspot.com

Welcome Dave.

She was born in Vegas...

2005-04-05T13:04:00.000Z

Today Eliza walks up to me and says, "Mom, I need some way to make money".

About half an hour later she comes back to me, tosses a basket with a nickel in it onto the floor and begins to sing and dance. I threw a coin in that I had in my pocket, she said thanks and was on her way.

What was her thought process on that?

Older

2005-03-24T21:44:00.000Z

I am now closer to 40 than I am 30. I can either get depressed or I can embrace it.... I think it's time for a good old fashioned bra burning!

2005-03-22T23:59:00.000Z

Sign on the bridge between North America and European tectonic plates.

2005-03-22T23:58:00.000Z

Eliza on the line.

2005-03-22T23:57:00.000Z

Looking out to the ocean.

Mid-Point

2005-03-22T23:43:00.000Z

Today we visited something you can only see if you visit Iceland. It is a place where you will see the North American and the European tectonic plates splitting. They are moving apart at the rate of 2 cm per year. Ok, I don't think you'll see anything move while your standing there, but it is really cool to think about.

You can look right down this gorge to the ocean. But of course it was too hazy to come out in the picture. So, you'll just have to imagine seeing the ocean between the land and the sky.

A first

2005-03-20T19:37:00.000Z

Yesterday I went shopping all by myself in a foreign country. I feel so cosmopolitan.

Today....Lunch and shopping at IKEA. I'm feeling a little better.

Thanks for all your encouragement.

Here I am....

2005-03-15T23:39:00.000Z

So here I am in Iceland. I don't have a lot to tell you about Iceland because I haven't seen that much of it yet. We just got our car last week but haven't been able to go anywhere because we also got our household goods and spent the weekend unpacking. I think this weekend we will go shopping in Reykjavik. David and I also hope to get to the Blue Lagoon (www.bluelagoon.com) this weekend, too.

I'm really not enjoying this place. I'm sure there is a reason why God sent us here, I'm just waiting patiently for the answer. It's not like I'm so miserable and depressed that I cry everyday or don't want to get out of bed. I just want my friends to be here with me. These people here aren't my people and from the looks of things they won't ever by my people. I'm just praying that God will give us a place. I really don't need any friends; I have plenty (and I have a Las Vegas number to call them on). There are plenty of ways to "get involved" here, but you know me; I'm not much for the casual "get involved". Blah, blah blah.... that’s enough of my whining. It’s late and I'm not making sense.

So I'll make a list of things I like so far:
My kids have a lot of independence!!!
The yogurt and cheese are amazing!!!
I can see the bay from my window!!!
Dave can come home for lunch most days!!!
It's great to have Sara's parents close by!!!
ummmmm
My calendar is wide open!!!
I can use the pottery wheel!!!
My Vonage phone line!!!

The Negatives...
One Car,
No late nights with the girls,
Ok, I quit...I just made myself cry and this is not productive.

I'm going to bed. Love you all. I'll write more when I'm feeling happy.

Bless (that's bye in Icelandic)

2005-03-05T16:19:00.000Z

final

2005-03-05T16:18:00.000Z

2005-03-05T16:11:00.000Z

Window view. One view is with the playground in view, the other ones are zoomed past the playground.

Iceland

2005-03-05T15:47:00.000Z

Here are a few pictures of the view out our living room/kitchen/dining room windows.

We just got internet in our apartment so I will update our blog soon. We have a new phone number where our friends in Vegas can call and it is local!! Email me for the number or call John and Jessie. We'd love to hear from you all.

All for now, love,
Amy

2005-01-18T21:55:00.000Z

Well, the movers are here and the stress level is beginning to diminish. My biggest worry now is trying to fit all of our luggage into the back of our Excursion. It would be much easier if we were going some place warm; our clothes would be a third of the size they are for Iceland!

We have four more days in this beautiful state and I'm pretty sad. Eliza and I aren't as excited as the rest of the family. If you would like to say good-bye, some friends are having a party for us on Friday at 6:30pm. No need to rsvp just show up and bring a dish to share. The party is at our house.

We will leave Las Vegas on Sunday the 23rd and to go Albuquerque for three days so that David can attend a refresher school. After that we will drive to Little Rock to visit the Adcock family. We plan on visiting Washington DC for a few days and them head to Norfolk, VA where we put our truck on a barge and we will get on a plane and head to Iceland.

I'll try to keep the blog updated whle we're on the road.

Much love and thanks for the prayers.

Get Bloggin'

2004-11-19T09:00:00.000Z

Hi, my name is Amy and I too am a lazy blogger. Thanks to Cheryl for starting this support group.

Well, things are starting to get busy around the Carder house. We have exactly eight more weeks to enjoy friends, family and beautiful weather before heading out to the Artic (literally). I am spending my days now going through the house deciding what we take, what we store and what we get rid of. Moving really gets me organized. Even if you aren’t going to move, you should pretend to about once every three years.

In addition to the move I’ve also been stressed about getting custody of Dave’s cousin. Please be praying for this child. I only want what’s best for him but it seems that the “system” is more about the mom than the child. He now has a different caseworker that won’t give me any information. I get a sinking feeling that the mom is going to half ass her way through rehab…just enough to get her meal ticket back. I just want to shake them all and say, “ This is a child we are talking about”! Please pray.

On a much happier note, we are going to have a Christmas party! Before I post the information let me clarify one thing. “Dirty Santa” is a gift exchange game played much like the “White Elephant” game most of you are familiar with. Dave said that being in Vegas I should not have put that this was an adult only party and we are playing Dirty Santa. I say you all need to GET YOU MINDS OUT OF THE GUTTER; IT’S CHRISTMAS ALREADY!

Come Celebrate the Birth of the King!
Sunday, December 12th, 5pm

At The Carder Ranch
4337 N. Conough Ln.
395-9125
carderd@earthlink.net

Please bring a dish to share and a $10 or under gift to play Dirty Santa. Sorry, we’re leaving the kids out this time, this one’s for adults only!

"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

2004-11-02T07:32:00.000Z

Just learning how to share pictures with you all and I thought I would start with Luke and his "Unca Day".

Oh how time flies

2004-11-02T06:38:00.000Z

Since I last blogged:
One child turned 13….plus
One child turned 9….plus
One child has blasted into puberty….plus
One filling, one crown and one root canal---all on the same tooth….equals
One stressed crazy woman.

It's a Party..Yee Haw

2004-10-19T23:24:00.000Z

What: Hayride—Bonfire---Food
When: Saturday, October 23rd, 5pm—Whenever
Where: Carder Ranch, 4337 Conough Lane

Bring: Finger foods or Drinks.
We are going to have hotdogs, s’mores, hot chocolate, apple cider, and finger foods. (If you want to know something specific to bring, give me a call.)

Bonus!! We are going to try to do pony rides with Jessi’s horse. Don’t get your kids all excited about it incase we can’t do it, but you might want to bring your camera!

Dave and Amy
395.9125

Halloween on Sunday.....What????

2004-10-17T18:27:00.000Z

I just read the most unbelievable story on cnn.com. Reading this, I now know that those people on Jerry Springer are NOT acting. Check out these quotes from an article titled "Halloween on Sunday Troubles Some Southerners".

"It's a day for the good Lord, not for the devil," said Barbara Braswell, who plans to send her 4-year-old granddaughter Maliyah out trick-or-treating in a princess costume on Saturday instead.

"Moving it, that's like celebrating Christmas a week early," said Veronica Wright, who bought a Power Rangers costume for her son in Newnan. "It's just a kid thing. It's not for real."

And the best of all...

"You just don't do it on Sunday," said Sandra Hulsey of Greenville, Georgia. "That's Christ's day. You go to church on Sunday, you don't go out and celebrate the devil. That'll confuse a child."

People just don't get it. Maybe I don't get it.

Rain and more

2004-10-05T06:59:00.000Z

Just a few random thoughts....

It rained tonight, but only in our front yard. I know that it has to end somewhere, but that was just totally weird. The sad thing is our back yard needs it more than the front.

We went to an awesome poker/Birthday party Friday night! Thanks to all who were there, you know who you are.

Life is going pretty good here. We have about 3 months left in this terrific weather before we move across the world to freeze our booties off. Why doesn't the Air Force have a base in the Bahamas?

My brother and his family are well settled in. John is still looking for permanent employment but I’m sure something will happen soon. I am enjoying living with them. My nephew is so pickin’ cute! Living with them has been so easy. John and I have yet to fight—that’s amazing!

Well, now you’re caught up. If there is anyone out there (who actually reads this) who could tell me how to add my friends’ blogs to my page, I would appreciate it.

Three more months

2004-09-18T20:47:00.000Z

As some of you know, we are petitioning for custody of Dave’s six-year-old cousin. His parents are divorced, the mother had custody of him and has lost it do to drug abuse. The father (Dave’s uncle) is voluntarily giving us custody. If we don’t take him (and he is removed permanently from the mother) he will go to foster care forever and loose his extended family.

Dave attended court on Wednesday (in Ohio) and what we hoped would be the end, isn’t. The judge gave the mother three more months to show improvement in a residential drug treatment program. It’s very frustrating. She has been given a year to get off drugs and lost custody of her son in June. Isn’t that enough? I don’t really understand what three more months will do. So on December 14th she will go to court again. This time, if she hasn’t shown “improvement” the mother will loose permanent custody and our lawyer will (again) state that we are willing to take him. Showing how much faith the judge has in this mother; she has set a temporary date in February for a custody hearing.

Is it horrible to pray that if the mother were going to fail, she would do it sooner than later? I don’t want her to do just what she needs to do to slide by and get the kid back only to go through this again in another year. The older this kids gets that harder it will be on everyone. It would also be nice to get the child before we go to Iceland.

Please pray. I do have peace about this and know that it’s all in God’s timing.

Girls' Night Out

2004-09-15T05:38:00.000Z

Tera, Meghann, Natalie, Jessie, Hallie, Sara, Nicki, Sam and Stacy; Thanks for a great night on Friday! I think much fun was had by all. Maybe we should form our own bowling league. :) Or not.

To the rest of you; I hope to see you next time around. You missed a great time.

What's all the fuss?

2004-09-07T03:33:00.000Z

It seems that a lot has been said about homeschooling over the past few weeks. We all have our opinions but you know what they say about opinions…. It all boils down to the fact that as Christian parents God has made us responsible for our children’s education. He didn’t tell us to homeschool or to send our kids to private or public school. He just wants us to be in charge, not anyone else. Of course I am passionate about homeschooling, I feel that it’s where God has called me. My prayer is that whatever method you choose, you do so because you feel that it’s where God has called your family to be.

We could argue all day about good verses bad experiences. There are some things that I enjoyed in public school that my children will miss. But, there are also tons of things that my kids get to do that I could have never experienced because I had to be in school. These arguments are not valid. This is just how life works, we get one chance and there’s not enough time to do it all.

If you have participated in this discussion because you feel passionate about where your family is then I think that’s great. If you have participated because you feel like you must defend yourself, then please look closely at why you are doing what you’re doing. Please don’t get so stubborn about your position that you close God out of your decision making process. No matter what form of education you choose, please remember that these are precious souls we’re dealing with. It’s not about our politics or us.

I had a wonderful public school experience, so did Dave and I’m sure my kids could get by just fine there. We have just chosen (been called to) a different route. I like to compare it to something that most of you are familiar with, Church. Some need and enjoy the programmed route, some like the more organic, house Church route. We have chosen the more organic route. It’s where God wants us. I love my friends who go to Big Church and I love my friends who public school.

(For those of you who only have kindergarten, first or second graders, I would love to have this conversation again when your kids are 13.)

Vapor

2004-08-21T04:20:00.000Z

Amy's out of town and I just couldn't pass up posting this .

There's a storm over Vegas tonight. I sat in the rain on
the bridge in the front yard and watched the lightning.
This storm, according to NEXRAD, is 43,000 feet tall! At
House Church this week I used a big storm as an object lesson
for the wonder of God. As I look up and realize the power
contained in this huge storm, I'm reminded that it's just
vapor -- tiny droplets of water somehow suspended in the air!
The Spirit is like a vapor. He envelopes all and is light
enough to hover in the tiniest spot, yet contains all the power
of the universe. The sky is completely overcast as the storm
sweeps through the desert valley, but as I look up I see a hole
in the cloud deck, maybe a quarter-mile wide and in the center
of it, a star. The light from this distant sun has reached me
through the clouds and through the storm. It traveled maybe a
million miles (?) to shine down on me through this tiny little
hole. For Vegas, this is a big storm, but really it's nothing.
Compared to Charley or Hugo or Andrew or Camille. Even T.S.
Bonnie last week was bigger than this single-cell storm that
has impressed me so much tonight. God is greater still.

Please pray for Beth (she's been given 1, maybe 2 months to live).
And for J&L, J&J, and for Amy and the kids while they travel. Pray
also that God allows each of us to see how pungent our sin is and
to see how big and mighty HE is!