It's a really BIG deal

She came out of the bathroom pretty much beside herself with pride. Five years and three weeks was all it took for her perfect her craft...the towel wrap. I don't think she has ever had a bath or shower and NOT gotten out immediately asking me to do her towel just like "moms" on her head. Bless her heart, she was three before she had hair, but it didn't matter, only the towel mattered. Now, this is yet one more thing to check of the, "I'm a BIG girl" list.

I just told Jeff last night, that I am not ready for her to loose a tooth. That seemed to be the rite of passage with each our boys, and I am guessing the same with her. But, then again, what if the towel wrap is the girl's rite of passage?

Internet Filters...you gotta get one

If you do not have an Internet filter on your family computer, let me encourage you to get one. I know that there are a lot of options out there, some costing a pretty penny and most of the free ones are not worth your time. BUT, I have found one that we have used the last two years that has everything we were looking for: FREE, customizable, and secure. If you are interested in keeping all the nasty stuff out of your house, you should try K-9. Within about 5 minutes you can have your family computer free from unwanted content and websites.

Now, the funny thing about filters is that sometimes they block content that is not inherently raunchy, but may contain words that are categorized as explicit. For example, last week I posted a response to an Anonymous comment in which assumptions were made about my belief system, and I felt like I wanted to set the record straight. Well, my sister, who works from home using a company computer(which uses some type of filter, but not K-9), just informed me that MY BLOG IS BEING BLOCKED FOR SEXUAL CONTENT!!!! How hilarious is that!!! I know that is must be due to the content of the previously mentioned post.

I love how, in my defense of Godly intimacy, I am now grouped within the raunchy sub-culture that is so prevalent on the web.

I think I will go back and re-word my post to see if I can change my new found rating...but come on...give me a break...I have walked a lot lines in my life...but this one takes the cake!!!!

Dear Anonymous.....

The following comment was made today...and I just wanted to respond.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "To
kill or not to kill, that is the question.":

Let me guess.....you're one of those Left Coast, Gun hating, Gay loving, Tree hugging, Oprah praising, Woman rights Liberals.

Sorry to disappoint Anonymous but, not only have you nailed the wrong woman, you also failed to leave me your opinion, which is what I asked for.

No need to guess, I will shoot(pun intended) straight with you.

"Left Coast"...not hardly. Although, I am in my soul a West Coast Girl, I am most certainly NOT a Left Coast Girl. I am as "RIGHT" as they come, actually.

"Gun hating"...I am neither gun hating nor gun loving. We own guns, I like to shoot them, and I would not like to have my right to gun ownership taken away BUT, I "hate" how easily accessible guns are in today's market.

"Gay Loving"...well this is the toughest one by far. Can I plead both guilty and innocent as charged??? I believe that ALL SEX outside of marriage is sin. Period. Having said that, I also define marriage as between one woman and one man. Furthermore, I do my best to love all people regardless of race, creed, religious affiliation, or sexual orientation. I believe we can love someone purely, without judgement, even if our beliefs are vastly different. And most importantly, I am no different than the worst of sinners, for I am one.

On a side note, nothing burns me up more than the "rightest of the right" condemning the homosexual lifestyle and then turning a blind eye to all the adulterous heterosexual activities that are equally prevalent within our society. SEX IS SEX, and if it isn't within God ordained marriage, than I take issue with IT.

"Tree hugging", that one made me laugh my arse off!!!! I haven't hugged a tree in a really long time, as a matter of fact the only time I recall ever attempting to hug a tree was when I was surround by the HUGE California Redwoods...and that was only cause it was impossible!!! No, but really, I don't recycle glass and plastic, or drive a hybrid. But I do compost our food waste so that I can have it for my summer garden. More to save me money than to save the earth. I do buy and drink bottled water, although we also fill our own water bottles as well. The only real energy conservation that I actively do is turn out lights and hang out our laundry, once again for the economic benefits more than for the earth. So, I guess you missed that one as well, sorry.

"Oprah Praising" well, you should read this and maybe it will take care of that one.

"Women's rights liberals" Women's EQUAL rights, yes. Right to life, yes. Right to choose, yes...choose to use protection, choose to end a LIFE, no.
Liberal....come on...have you never read this blog or this one?

Anyway, thanks for the comment Anonymous, but what about the turtle???

To kill or not to kill, that is the question.

So, here is the deal.
We live in the south and are not ashamed of hunting and fishing. I am all for frying up some fresh caught catfish, or grilling some fresh deer tenderloin. For me, I have no issue with being an animal killing than eating individual. And I would not think twice of killing anything that I felt was trying to cause me or my family harm.
But, lately my boys have been wanting to kill-as in shoot- the turtles in the pond because they keep stealing their bait. Now, I should clarify, that they did not come to the "let's shoot 'em" philosophy by themselves. It is widely practiced here, to bring your BB gun with you to the fishin' hole to take care of 'em turtles. As a matter of fact, a lot of people I love and respect do this too.
But I can not get over the killing for killing sake.
As I type, my boys have a HUGE turtle in our backyard. I mean HUGE like probably 24inches across. This picture does not do him justice, believe me...he is HUGE!!! He is currently in a 33 gallon trash can, of which he takes up the whole bottom.

His fate awaits.

***UPDATE***

Word on the streets is that this is prime eatin' as far as turtles go. And while I consider myself quite the adventurous cook...I can not EVEN go THERE!!! But, someone with an inclination for turtle soup just might be stopping by our house today to pick up him up for dinner. Rest assured though that if that does not work out, he has been given clemency and will be returned back to the pond.

What do you think about it?

Why I LOVE Our Friends and My Husband

First, let me fill you in a little. About 6 weeks ago, our Minivan went kaput. The transmission is shot, which is seriously one of my greatest nightmares since a previous minivan put us through the ringer with its transmission problems...so much so, that we traded it in and bought this one.
Well, since were not sure if we wanted to fix the van and sink more money into it or just cut our losses and get something else, we decided to be a one car family for a while.
Here is the good news: Jeff's Mom and Dad had a car that they were not using, so they let us use it while we decided what to do about the van.
It was such a HUGE BLESSING to not have to worry about a vehicle or repairs. And at the same time also have the luxury of staying a two car family. Well, at least that's what we thought. Here is the bad news: About two weeks after we got the "loaner car" the starter went out. (on a side note...this car has NEVER left the in laws on the side of the road or stranded...it has been a really great car for them) BUT, I guess no such luck for us. So much for not having to think about repairs right???? So we bit the bullet and got it fixed.
Fast forward two more weeks, to last Sunday, and part of the engine LITERALLY FELL OUT!!!! I am not even kidding you. It went...metal clanking metal loudness like a really bad nightmare...and chi-ching...there was the harmonic balancer lying in the middle of the driveway. I will say that I was glad that it decided to drop its load in the driveway and not on the highway, but really, was anyplace a good place to have parts fall out of your engine??? NO!!

That brings me to today. One of our dearest friends JR came over to assist Jeff with the repairs. (I should stop here and clarify that Jeff is REALLY great at fixing cars, and we actually very rarely have to take our vehicles in to a shop to get fixed) Anyway, they were out there working just fine, minding their own business when the SKY FELL OUT.
Now, let me clarify again. We do live in the south, and we are known for having random thunderstorms in the afternoons...but it has not rained in like 2 1/2 weeks....can't a guy get a break?!?!?!
But, since they are not faint of heart, they kept on working...in the RAIN!!!
Here are the pics to prove it(and it really was raining super hard like the watermelons I shared about a few weeks ago BUT I was a fraidy cat and did not want to get my camera drenched so I waited till it let up some before venturing outside to document the whole ordeal.)...only REALLY GREAT FRIENDS and a SUPER HUSBAND would stick with such an undertaking. I am so blessed.

More Birthday Pictures

A quick pose from the party girls.

Just FYI...that's LIPGLOSS from cheek to cheek and nose to chin!!!

The cupcake creations.

All ready for bed watching John and Kate Plus 8.

How I found them in the morning.

Breakfast of champions.

Saying goodbye!!!!

All in all I have to say that the Party was a HUGE success. The girls were all so sweet and so well behaved. Not one ugly moment all night!!!

Girl's Night Out - 5 Year Old Style

Tonight is Micah's Birthday Party...you should probably pray for since we will have 4 five and six year olds over for an all out Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana Girl's Night Out (actually Girl's Night In).

Our night includes:

Dress Up
Make-up
Manicures & Pedicures
Hair Stylin'
Cupcake decorating
Dancing
Chicken Strips & Fries
Best of Both World's Movie Marathon
and at least TWO POTS of Joe for this Hot Momma and my Hot Daddy.

Pics soon!!! ....Here they are...

These are the girl's goody baskets. They have light-up jump ropes, nail polish. lip gloss, pink dress up hair, and loads of Hannah Montana art stuff.

While waiting for the last friend to arrive, these three played doll house...without the doll house. They were so cute, and played so well together.

The Party table, which is all ready for cupcake decorating.

Finally the last friend arrives during the dance party and she strike a pose with the birthday girl.

Dinner time the menu is the super kid friendly, chicken nuggets and fries. Micah would have preferred something like shrimp and artichokes, but half of the invitees were not the adventurous type.

We had a fashion show...this was round one. They were so cute helping each other and telling what would look "so perfect".

In between round one and round two this is what our living room floor looked like.

Round two of the fashion show. So adorable.

Micah striking a pose.

Makeover time. If it was pink and sparkled they had it EVERYWHERE.

Wildlife

I often say that I live out in the "sticks", what I really mean is that I live 20 minutes from the nearest grocery store or fast food joint.  While, we are technically surrounded by wilderness, we also happen to live in a gated lake community.  So it is normal for us to find turtles, cranes, snakes,ducks, geese, raccoons, even armadillos on our property.  But this morning, I saw something that shocked me.  At the bottom of our driveway stood this....(this pic is after I grabbed my camera, and he/she had already made a run for it toward the back yard, only to have met with our beastly dog Bruno, so it quickly turned around)

I was trying to get my boys to come around and chase it out of the yard, but they were thinking CAPTURE not release, so it was not going so well.  The poor little booger kept running into the fence trying to escape, it broke my heart.  But not enough to keep me from snapping away with my camera. 

Finally, it found freedom.  My boys were crushed that Bambi, was not going to find a permanent home with us.  I was just glad it didn't go postal on us, and attack me.  That would have been some picture though.

Best shot of the night!!!!

I have a lot to say about the RNC last night, but I had to get this out there. It was my favorite shot of the night.