Politics Smolitics

Ron Paul: A New Hope




You may have noticed on the blog that I support Ron Paul for president. I know...I know...don't start in on the politics. But you know, there are some important things in life that are worth speaking up about. You know... the so-called hot topics that people avoid to remain congenial, namely politics and religion. I'll get on my soap box about religion later :) Have you ever asked yourself...What is REALLY important in this life? These ARE the issues that make life worth living. I'm tired of being complacent and going about my life mostly thinking of the insignificant trivial things. I want to make a difference. I don't want to shove anything down any one's throat but.... you have come to my blog on your own freewill so... I am writing about what is important to me. And of course I would like to persuade you to join the Ron Paul Revolution!!!!

I think the first time I heard of Ron Paul was when I heard part of one of the presidential debates. He mentioned how he was for bringing the troops home ASAP. I thought...wow...none of the other candidates talk like that. Especially none of the republican candidates. I have always considered myself a conservative republican. Mainly because of moral issues such as abortion. I guess I have just blindly followed the evangelical right end of the spectrum when it came to other issues. Just thinking they are godly people so they must be right. But you know...the older I have gotten I have come to realize that I have to think for myself on ALL the issues.

I remember when we were invading Iraq and all the sermons I heard on "just wars." It seemed like all the conservatives that I heard thought it was the right thing to do. But now I think we all have seen what a mistake it has been. But do they admit their mistakes? No, no, no.... they keep going down the same path to destruction. Ron Paul's views are such a breath of fresh air. Before I even heard of him I have thought to myself, "Why does America have to be the policemen to the whole world? Why are we invading other countries when our own borders are not properly secured? Why are we spending so much money in this war and other international affairs when we can not even take care of our own people? Why don't the conservatives see this?"

As I read more about what Ron Paul stands for I was overjoyed because he is SO different from all the others. He has always stood for what he believes in and has NEVER been influenced by lobbyist. He really wants to get rid of all the government's wasteful spending and focus on what is important to us, securing our borders and helping Americans take care of themselves. He wants to stop our dependency on foreign governments. He wants to give us the freedom back that has slowly been chipped away. And for the icing on the cake: he is a Christian pro-life conservative who actually thinks for himself AND he is very pro-homeschooling!

I invite you to learn more about Ron Paul and join with me in making a difference. Before you label him as "kooky" because his ideas ARE that radical, imagine what our country could be like if he was elected. His message is spreading like wildfire and he CAN win! If you agree with him, do all you can: donate to his campaign and join your local Ron Paul Meetup group!!

See his Jay Leno interview from last night!

Kids say the funniest things......

"I love my baby brother so much...as big as an elephant!" -James

After hearing my Aunt praying with a lady on the phone Callie replied, "You can't talk to God on the Phone!"

While riding his bicycle the other day, James was bothered by a wedgie. After trying to pull it out he replied, "If you can't fix it I'll just have to ride my bike naked!"

We go to a health food store that has a dog groomer on one side and a beauty shop on the other. Last time we went Callie looked at the beauty shop and said, "Hey mom, there's a human groomer shop, you know where they make you pretty like the dogs."

"Mom, I'm soooo glad I learned to wipe myself....but I'm not glad the dinosaurs are extinct."-James

"I like how Pawpaw calls me 'little buddy', when I grow up and have a grandson, I'm going to call him 'little buddy' too" -James

While eating lunch the other day.....James said, "I think Memaw Fagan is missing me right now...She loves me soooooo much!"

They keep me in stitches!!!

An Island Story

Wow, I am so excited to see the different places popping up on my hit map. You can see it on the left side of the page. Hello there in the United Kingdom....or is it The Republic of Ireland? It is hard to tell. But it's neat to have you view my page! I hope to come visit your countries one day.

This year we are reading a book called, An Island Story by H.E. Marshall. It tells the history of Great Britian. It's supposed to have been written for children, but I am learning so much from it too. You can also listen to it online here.

You might be wondering why we are learning about Great Britian's history first. Well, first of all it is on my Ambleside Online book list. :) I believe the reasoning is that since our country came out of England then it is our "mother country" so to speak.

Fire Station & Cookies

"I want to be a fireman when I grow up!"

On Friday it was a beautiful cool day. We headed out at 10:00 to a field trip with one of our homeschooling groups to the oldest fire station in town. It's the only one that still has the classic sliding pole! As you can see they are fascinated by it. The kids had a wonderful time! We had a tour of the fire house and got to see where the fire fighters sleep, eat, and relax.

Check out the neat fire hat flag pole.

I thought it was very interesting that mostly all of the fire fighters are also EMTs or Paramedics. In our town if 911 is called it is the fire dept. that comes to call! They do so much more than fight fires. We got to see one of the firemen put on his fire equipment and we heard the siren that wakes them up. Then the kids got to crawl around on a REAL fire engine. How cool is that?

Then later that afternoon we made one of our favorite recipes: Soft gingersnaps!

Yum yum to my tum tum!

Goodness Gracious

September 28th...a day that I will never live down the rest of my life! The day I brought home a kitten knowing full well my husband and I have a history of feline allergy. Knowing my husband *HATES* cats. What possessed me to do such a thing?!?

The story goes like this: The kids and I went to the dairy to pick up milk for our milk co-op. As I was getting the milk we heard this loud continuous, "Meeeoooow, meeeooow..." Of course the kids went on an expedition to find the source of all the commotion. "Mommy, mommy there's a kitten in a hole under the barn....I have to get it out!" says Callie. She pulls the poor little thing out...dirty...pitiful...scared of the big dog that had chased it under there.

She hands it to me and it clings onto me for dear life with that constant meowing!! All I can think of is that it must be a hungry stray. "Mommy, can we keep it...can we...pleeeaaaase?!" No we can't possibly....then it looks into my eyes still clinging for dear life. I think..let me call the owner and ask him if it's his....I leave a message saying we found a cat, a stray, I think. We'll take it home and feed it and bring it back if it is his and if it's not I had every intention of taking it to the pound if Daddy absolutley said No. I just couldn't leave it. The kids are so excited as we drive away...a cat in the car.. still meowing continuously.

I'm thinking we could make it an outside cat! That would work wouldn't it? "What should we name it Mommy?" I was not sure if it was a boy or girl kitten at this point. After arriving home we feed it some fresh milk which it scarfs down quickly. It's lunch time.... I hear the garage door opening....reality sets in, "Daddy's home!" Quick, throw the kitten in the laundry room! Don't say anything about the cat kids. Let mommy handle it! Daddy walks in...."Meeeoooow!" GULP!

"What in the world were you thinking Cheryl?! #$%&*"!!!! Well to make a long story short.. Daddy now tolerates the cat. He actually remarked to me the other day, "You know...cats really are fun pets..AND... you must be keeping it really clean because my allergies are not bothering me." *SMILE* He's even been known to play with it once in a while!

I decided to name HIM Gracious. To remind all of us to show Grace to others when difficult situations come up...for instance when your wife brings home something your allergic to. "We also showed grace to him by rescuing him, Mommy!" Yes, that's right! Then I realized Gracious is a Gray kitten!! A (Gray + Precious) Kitten...... Providence I would say!

Gracious has been part of our family for 3 weeks now. He has one of the sweetest cat personalities I have ever seen. So playful and loving. And so smart...he is only about 2 mo. old and he has never had an accident and actually meows and scratches at the door if he needs to go to his litter box! That is amazing to me. I now remember how comforting and therapeutic it is to have a cat purring loudly in your lap! AND...I never thought in a million years I would ever hear my kids fighting over who would get to take the poop out of the litter box!!!

Why I Home School?

Happy blogday to me, happy blogday to me, happy blogday to Cheryl, happy blogday to me! Pass out the cigars....I have now been born into the world of blogging!

This blog is to record our wonderful homeschooling adventures as *WE* learn "out of the box." Emphasizing the fact that *I*, the mom, am included in the learning process. Learning along with the kids and loving every minute of it! The kids are bursting with creativity and I thought this would be a great place for them to express themselves and a place for me to record thoughts about my eagerness to seek out new knowledge and truths for myself.

I will give you a little background about why we decided to home school. It seems like I have wanted to home school my children forever. Ever since I heard of the concept of homeschooling it just seemed like I was meant to do it. I spent 5 years working in a public elementary school and 4 years in a private school (as a speech therapist) and the whole time planning to home school. It's not that I felt like the schools were bad. They were actually good schools, when it came to "book learning." Something inside of me just told me that was not for my family. I never talked about the fact that I wanted to home school with my colleagues at the public school because I felt like it was looked at unfavorably.

The main reason I feel the need to home school is because I feel like God has given *ME* the responsibility to teach and train my children. Why should I turn them over to state run institutions to school them just because that is what most people do? Our children are with us for such a short little while. Those crucial years while they are here should be a time not only for teaching the 3Rs, but also a time in which their most critical world view is shaped. A world view that knows what the true meaning of life is. That is, to have a personal relationship with Christ and to love their fellow man. To truly learn these important things it must be "caught and not taught." Modeled by a loving family on a consistent day to day basis. This is my hope and prayer. I know God was the perfect parent and Adam & Eve still rebelled! So we just have to do the BEST we can with whatever circumstances we find ourselves in.

I want to teach them so much more than what they would get from public or even private school. I want to give them a thirst for knowledge that I never had growing up. I want to teach them to think for themselves and not to just blindly follow what I or anyone else teaches them but to test everything against the standard of God's word. I want to build strong family bonds that will last a lifetime. I want to be there not only for the first word and first step, but also for the first time the word "butterfly" is read and for all the times I hear, "Mommy, mommy teach me how to......." This is music to my soul!

I also want to give them a broader education than what is given in traditional school. We use a curriculum called Ambleside Online which follows the philosophy of Charlotte Mason. In addition to our daily bible reading and 3RS, *WE* are also learning about the martyrs of the early church, the history of Great Britain, great literature, poetry, art and music study; as well as studying nature. Not bad for 1st grade? :)

We are a family of 5 with 3 little sponges constantly wanting to soak up everything that life has to offer! Daddy Justin, Momma Cheryl, "Sissy" Callie 6 1/2, James 4, and Joshey 17 mo.
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I would just like to add to this post that I know homeschooling is not for everyone. I don't want anyone to think that this is the only way to raise wonderful children. Every family is different and unique... this is just what is right for us!