I absolutely do not have time to blog right now, but I uploaded these pictures this morning and I want to get them posted. This past weekend was the annual Reid family trip to the mountains, wherever that may be. This year we went to Lake Cumberland, KY. We had a fabulously lazy weekend playing Scrabble, making S'mores, watching football and hiking in the woods.

Here are Bailey and my nephew Cooper taking in one of God's very best blessings, the ultimate S'more!

Bryant loved the Corn Toss game. He was actually a pretty good shot from a close range. :)

Here Bailey and Bradley are pretending to be a tree. The camoflauge would have worked a little better had they been standing in front of the woods. Like perhaps the next picture...

Out of 497 pictures, this is the best I could get of all four of them. Okay, maybe just 8, but it felt like 497.No caption necessary!

Cooper proudly proclaimed at this point in the journey, "Now we're REALLY walking in the woods!" Indeed we were. And they were gorgeous. If you look closely, you can see the water in the background from Lake Cumberland. It was so beautiful, even if it was down about 50 feet from it's normal level. That just gave us a chance to walk along the "bottom of the lake."

I absolutely can't resist making a spiritual connection here. This week I've been studying God the Father. What a perfect illustration here of how God holds our hand and leads us through the wilderness. If we keep our eyes on Him, we stay on the path. There is strength there, and blessed protection. And boundless, infinite love. Just like between these two guys, only infinitely greater than we can ever understand.

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure.
That He should give His only Son,
To make a wretch His treasure.

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away.
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory.

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders.
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers.

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished.
His dying breath has brought me life.
I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything,
No gifts, no power, no wisdom.
But I will boast in Jesus Christ,
His death and resurrection.

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer.
But this I know with all my heart,
His wounds have paid my ransom.

Random Thoughts:

I just heard Charlie Gibson discussing the fires with Michael Chertoff, the Director of Homeland Security. He said, "I bet the one thing going through your head over and over is 'Not another Katrina! Not another Katrina!'" Mr. Chertoff said, "Actually, what's going through my head is the overwhelming destruction that I've been a witness to all day." After a few more questions, Charlie was thanking him for his time and he said, "Nobody likes to see the government struggle." Really? I've heard some pretty giddy reporters dish on "struggling government" more times than I can count. Or does it just depend on which government we're talking about? I just thought it was a bizarre comment, and it gave me something to think about.

My children and I were almost in that wreck today on I-65. I had just gotten on the interstate at Cool Springs and it happened right beside me. I saw the car spinning around and watched a car crash right into the side of it. Everyone in my lane and the lane next to me shifted over to the right to avoid it. Had he spun in a different direction or ended up more in my lane, I would have been the one slamming into him, and there would have been absolutely nothing I could have done about it. I was shaking for an hour. Later I heard on the news that the interstate was shut down and it was a 10-car pile-up. But hearing that someone died in the crash completely stopped me in my tracks. Just a reminder that we aren't promised tomorrow. Hug your loved ones tight.

My children are delighting me and driving me crazy all at the same time. In the week that we've been homeschooling, they've memorized Psalm 1 (to music, of course), and Bailey has demonstrated that she knows a lot more than I think she does. Her reading has made some great strides. But she struggles terribly with the, this and that. It frustrates me to no end when she can read it in one sentence, and completely stall on it in the next. I'm not sure how to get this to stick in her head. But I'm loving the chance to try. They started swimming with a homeschool swim team at the rec center, and that's a lot of fun. The water's a little cold for them, but they think it's pretty cool to be able to swim in the off season. Bradley started piano lessons this morning. I love that he'll be able to practice as part of his school day.

Does anyone else wonder how many times we'll be required to watch Marie Osmond faint before this story goes away? I was really hoping she'd get voted off (does that make me evil?) but they let go of the bazillionaire instead. Marie apparently has some seriously devoted fans out there. That and a really big family.

Christmas is nine weeks from today.

I did a survey where you put in how you feel about political issues and then they match you up with the candidate you most closely identify with. I came up with Duncan Hunter. Yeah... who is that? But my next most closest candidate is Fred Thompson, which makes me feel better about the bumper sticker on the back of my van.

That's all for now. Tonight I'm thankful that I can go upstairs and get in bed with my husband down the hall from my three adorable babies (they're always adorable when they are asleep, aren't they?) I can't imagine going to bed in a stadium wondering if my house is still standing. But it's a reminder that most of what we cling to for security is vapor. It can be gone in an instant. It's the love we have for each other and our God that lasts. Cultivate it. Cherish it. Who knows what tomorrow holds?

My sincere hope is that anyone who read yesterday's blog will also read today's. I need to make a retraction.

The Lord wouldn't let me go to sleep last night until he dealt with me on a few things. Not the least of which was calling the Senate majority leader a blithering idiot. At the point in my day when I blogged yesterday, I wasn't feeling very charitable towards my fellow man, and I wish that I hadn't posted my immediate thoughts.

While I am still amazed that Senator Reid made such an error in judgement, I realize that he was trying to save face, and that apparently seemed like the best way to go about it. I still think it was a huge mistake, but I need to apologize for treating him with such disrespect. He still is an elected official of this country, and deserves to have me praying for him rather than disparaging him. It was the radical teaching of Christ to love our enemies, and I don't think our perception of their intelligence allows for an exception to that rule. If anything, I should extend him even more grace.

Last night I watched the last part of "God's Christian Warriors," that I had recorded off of CNN several weeks ago. I haven't yet watched "God's Jewish Warriors" and "God's Muslim Warriors." But I wanted to see what they had to see about Christians first. It is a fascinating look at Christianity in America today, and I must admit that some of it made me really uncomfortable.

The question about how involved in politics the church should be is becoming a pretty divisive one. There are some who say that it is the duty of a Christian to work the system as hard as they can and encourage everyone to vote to try and change the moral stance of our country through the ballot box. Jerry Falwell's legacy is a university and law school dedicated to educating young adults and sending them out on the front lines of the Christian Right to try and legislate morality. It really struck me that this is no different than the other side trying to impose their values on me through the courts. I don't think that this is necessarily the best choice.

The current trend of legislating behavior is really disturbing to me. Tennessee just passed a law banning smoking in all restaurants. Most people I know were pretty pleased with this because we don't like to sit next to smokers while we eat. However, now there is an attempt to ban smoking, a legal behavior, from outside parks. There are places in California that have banned it from private homes and vehicles. That is extremely troublesome to me.

Smoking happens to be the first target because it was a behavior many people find distasteful. But what about behaviors that seem detestable by some but perfectly normal to others, particularly when religious beliefs are in play? This is an extremely slippery slope, and any time we invite the Courts to determine our freedom, we are moving closer and closer to a Big Brother society. It really makes me nervous.

So, I have truly digressed, but my original point is that I'm feeling convicted that my political nature may not bring out my best characteristics. I am the most judgmental when I am thinking in political mode. So perhaps I should step back for a while and pay less attention to what battles are being fought in the capital, and work more on a local level to try and further the cause of Christ by helping those in need. He saved souls one person at a time. He didn't try to work the political system. And I don't remember him calling Pontius Pilate a blithering idiot.

In my quest to be more like Christ, I'm going to have to re-examine my priorities a little bit, and attempt to pray for those I disagree with rather than call them names. At least, I think, it's a good place to start.

I have no idea if this current once-a-week blog trend will continue, but it's the best I can do for now. Life is just way too busy at the moment. I'm really hoping it will slow down a little, but so far, not so much.

Last Saturday was great fun for us. My long-time buddy Ty and his wife Tanya and their three kids came to see us when they were in town for a wedding. We had a great time hanging out watching some football. I can't believe we have six kids between us. Life takes some crazy turns. Their intent was to leave after the LSU/Kentucky game, but none of us had any idea that it would last 4 1/2 hours! What a crazy fun game that was to watch. They got home later than they had planned, but there was no way to leave without knowing the turnout.

Obviously, being ranked in college football this year is the kiss of death. Poor South Florida. I was really kind of rooting for them. How bizarre would it have been for Kentucky and South Florida to play in the national championship game?! Perhaps this year will FINALLY convince some of the powers that be to seriously consider moving to playoffs. It's just ridiculous this way.

Our first week of homeschooling has gone really well. We took Monday and Tuesday off for Fall Break along with the rest of the county. So Wednesday was our first day. It was a little hectic, just trying to figure out some kind of routine. Bryant is not so sure that he is ready to share me all day with his big bro and sis, but he's going to have to get over it. His eyes are blue, but they sure seem green right now!

Yesterday we joined the BBC homeschooling group for a field trip. We went to Traveller's Rest, the plantation home of Judge John Overton back in the early 1800's. I didn't know it before yesterday, but Judge Overton was a close personal friend of Andrew Jackson, and also served as his campaign manager. It was fascinating to walk through his house and realize that just a couple hundred years ago, a former president of the USA was hanging out there quite a bit. It's hard to get your brain around those kinds of things.

Yesterday was Trade Day, so there were all kinds of folks there doing colonial crafts, such as long-hunting, doll-making, spinning and lace-making, just to name a few. You can't tell by the looks on their faces in this pic, but the kids were quite taken with this potter. He was extremely engaging, and it's just amazing to watch the clay take shape under a skillful hand. It was a great time for me to reflect on how I'm like that clay and the Lord is ever shaping and molding me into His will. I have so many imperfections, but He's able to just smooth and blend my mistakes into a work of art. One day I'll be a masterpiece, but I think we'll have to wait for Heaven to see that come to be!

Here Bradley is trying his hand at grinding corn. The stick didn't reach all the way around, so it was a little difficult, but he gave it a good shot.

The last thing we did was pick out baby pumpkins. There were tables set up for painting them. Bradley painted a mean and scary face on his. Bailey's was very pretty, but she ended up wiping it off and leaving it plain. So now her original pumpkin has a baby sister and they both sleep in bed with her at night. Again I say, we must get a pet.

Politics this week has been pretty amusing, what I've been able to watch of it. If you aren't aware, Rush Limbaugh auctioned off the letter that Harry Reid and 41 other Democrats sent to the president of ClearChannel asking for him to be reprimanded for his comments about "phony soldiers." Rush offered to match the winning bid and tried to get Harry Reid to do the same. The auction ended today at a little over $2 million. So over $4 million is now going to the Marine Corps - Law Enforcement Fund, a charity that offers college scholarships to kids who lose a parent in the line of duty. What an amazing chess move this was. Absolutely brilliant!

But Harry Reid went to the floor of the Senate today and actually tried to share the credit for this. He made a HUGE fool out of himself by saying how great this was, and that he never thought a letter from the Senate would raise that kind of money. He was encouraging people to bid on it. I can't believe that he is that stupid. Does he not realize that people were paying for proof of the absolute absurd incompetency of the Democrats in the Senate? What a blithering idiot. I'm truly astounded at his ignorance. But it's also made for a pretty good laugh.

On a not-so-funny note, during the SCHIP debate yesterday, Rep. Pete Stark from California made the following statement: "You don't have money to fund the war or children. But you're going to spend it to blow up innocent people if we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the President's amusement." House Republican Leader John Boehner called for a retraction and apology to the President, but I'm unaware of one being issued. I would be shocked if one came.

There's lots of other stuff going on, but I just haven't had much time to investigate. Hopefully we will get in a rhythm soon and things will slow down a bit. I was thinking this morning about what I would be doing if the kids were in school. I thought about it for a couple of minutes, and realized that it really didn't matter. I am so happy we decided to do this. Already I feel so much more in tune with my kids after just three days. Morning are SO much more relaxed.

We are going to have hard days, no doubt. But for now, I'm sure we made the right choice. And I'm so grateful the Lord has given me this opportunity.

If you don't know these boys' fathers, you won't be as amused by this picture as I am. But if we could see a picture of Jeff and Brandon together as babies, this would be it! Logan came over last week to show off his new 'do. Looking pretty sharp, I think.

Today was the kindergarten field trip to the pumpkin patch. It was a tiny bit chilly, but otherwise perfect weather. I loved putting on a sweatshirt this morning!

Bailey spent the first part of the morning going through the hay maze, playing with corn and wheat in troughs, and going through a fun barn filled with all kinds of activities. Then we got to go on a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch and commence with the search for the perfect pumpkin.
The children were told to look for the yellow flowers that first bloom on the vine in the pumpkin infancy stage. Then they found the green pumpkins that still weren't ripe. They weren't supposed to pick anything off of a vine, but just look. Some of them had a hard time remembering that part.
Here's Bailey and RileyGrace on their quest. RG found one relatively quickly. Bailey made sure she looked at each and every one. When she found the perfect pumpkin, she named it Starly. She wanted to keep it the rest of the day, and was pretty upset when her teacher suggested the moms take them home for safe-keeping. She demanded that I promise not to forget to feed Starly lunch. Obviously, the child needs a pet.

This was Bailey's last day at public school. Bradley's class also took a road trip to see the downtown public library's rendition of Midsummer Night's Dream. How fun that they both got to go on field trips today.

Now we embark on our next chapter. I'm so thrilled that moments like this one won't be the exception anymore. :)

This is my friend Dana, competing in the Bassman Half Ironman triathlon in Tuckerton, New Jersey last weekend. She swam 1.2 miles, biked 56 miles, and then ran 13.1. I can't even begin to imagine doing that to my body, or what it would do to me if I tried. But I'm so impressed with her I just had to post her pic. Hope she doesn't mind! :)

It's been a week since my last post (Wow - that sounded kind of Catholic), so this one may be kind of long. It's not that I haven't been pontificating. Just no time to sit down and spew my thoughts.

I saw a bumper sticker yesterday that said, "It's a shame closed minds don't come with closed mouths." I was struck by how ridiculous that statement is. Because, isn't the common understanding of "open-mindedness" that everyone should be free to speak their views? I guarantee (based on the other bumper stickers the car was boasting) that the driver of that vehicle and I would agree on very few things. I'm sure they would consider me closed-minded because I disagree with them. Kind of hard to call yourself open-minded if you don't want to hear my side, isn't it? But that's logical, and there is no logic in liberalism.

When I was in the 10th grade, my history teacher assigned a project. We were to design our version of a Utopian state. Everyone was given the freedom to come up with whatever we thought would be the perfect society, write it up and map it out.

As a 15-year-old living in a very intellectually enlightened community, it didn’t take me long to figure this one out. I designed a community where everything was equal. Everyone worked a communal land, and everyone got an equal share. There were more details, but this was the basic gist of it.

A week or so after we turned in our projects, my teacher gave them back to us. He told us that we had all come up with pretty much the same ideas. Then he informed us that what we had just envisioned as the perfect society was at least socialism, if not downright communism.

I was stunned. It was 1988. Communists were not good people. How could I have come up with this?

As we began to study communism and why it doesn’t work, I realized that equality for all is a nice dream, but will never become reality on this planet. Inherent within communism is the inevitability that the elite few will become wealthy and powerful, while the masses will be left to misery and starvation. In order for socialism to work, everyone must produce on an equal level. If you get the same amount no matter how much you work, no one will be inspired to work hard. Apathy becomes the rule of law. Everyone is miserable.

The colonists tried this when they first got to our great land. Captain John Smith realized that the only way they would survive is for the people to have ownership over something so as to give them pride and a reason to produce. Thus, his famous "He who does not work, does not eat." This is what makes America great today. Anyone – ANYONE – who is willing to work really, really hard can pull themselves out of a situation of poverty and create a life for themselves.

Now, the left in this country would never agree to that sentiment. They believe that the only way for the poorest among us to survive is if we redistribute wealth. They want higher taxes from the working classes to subsidize government programs for the weak and downtrodden. The dirty secret is they rely on those weak and downtrodden to keep them in office. So the worst thing that could happen to them is for their voting base to achieve success.

Hillary Clinton wants national healthcare. As a matter of fact, all of the Democratic candidates want this. Even the Republicans are afraid to call it what it is. But the policies being put forth by the left are pure socialism, and they are doomed to failure. Unfortunately, they can not fail without putting our economic vitality in danger.

The latest program that the Dems and W. are fighting over is the SCHIP program. This is supposedly going to afford healthcare to our nation’s most vulnerable, the children. The problem is that the program as it was initiated was to be offered to poor families making all the way up to $85,000 a year. Our President found this excessive, thus, the veto.

Yes, I think healthcare costs in this country are out of control. I wish there was a way to return to some common sense. Spending the night in the hospital should not cost $500 to $1000 just for the nice linens and yummy dinner alone. But because of trial lawyers and insurance companies, this is the situation we are in today. Healthcare is a choice, just like anything else we buy. It should not be a government subsidy.

I guess I am just really troubled by the direction my liberal counterparts would have us go. Granted, I understand the idealism behind their policies, as I proved as a sophomore in high school. But I’ve learned enough over the past 20 years that I know idealism doesn’t necessarily make good policy.

Socialism and communism have been put to the test. There is clear, factual evidence that they are incredibly poor choices. Please let’s not put someone in office that wants to take us down that road. It would be a disaster of astronomic proportion to our great nation.

Well, I have done it. After three grueling weeks of debate, contemplation and much prayer, we've finally decided to homeschool again. I ordered my curriculum yesterday and am working on the paperwork this morning to get them registered under an umbrella program. Last night I e-mailed all the kids' teachers and the school secretary, so the ball is definitely rolling.

Because I was worried about pulling Bradley out due to the fact he had told me he would miss his friends, I approached him yesterday with a compromise. I told him that we had decided to homeschool the second nine weeks, meaning he won't go back after Fall Break next week. But I told him that at Christmas we would evaluate how it was going. If we both agreed that it wasn't working, then he could return to school in January.

He said, "And then I could come back home for 4th grade?"

"No. If it doesn't work this time, I don't think we'll try again."

He thought a second and said, "Oh. Well, I hope it works then, because I LOVE homeschool!"

I couldn't believe it. I had spent the last five days agonizing over whether he would resent me for pulling him out, and this was his comment. Just one more confirmation from the Lord that I'm hearing Him correctly.

There are many reasons for this decision, but it all pretty much boils down to the same thing. I've not been at peace with my kids being in the system this year. One thing after another has led me down the road of rethinking our schooling choice. And the Lord has been so faithful to patiently lay it all out in front of me and make it abundantly clear that this is what he's calling our family to do. Yes, I believe homeschooling is a calling. No, it's not for everyone. But I do believe it is a privilege, and I'm grateful that this is what He's calling us to.

I'm scared to death of the logistics. Homeschooling around the Peanut Destroyer, as we so affectionately call Bryant, will be a challenge. I foresee lots of schooling being done during nap time. But I'm excited about what the days ahead will bring. I'm so thankful for this opportunity to have more time to invest in my kids. Because I think they're pretty cool. But I covet your prayers, because I have no illusions that this will be an easy task.

As my best buddy, Darlene, and I worked this out when we went separate ways in Kindergarten, the same applies today. I gave her permission to complain about school without feeling like I was going to try and talk her into bringing her child home. She gave me permission to complain about homeschooling without me feeling like she was thinking I should just put mine in school. It worked then, and I'm looking forward to it working now.

Now, as for the news. I'm sure many of you have heard about the newest Rush Limbaugh scandal where he supposedly called soldiers who disagree with the war "phony soldiers." I'm not going to spend a lot of time defending Rush because he is more than capable of defending himself, and he has three hours a day to do so to anyone who cares to listen. My anger over this story has little to do with Rush, and a LOT to do with our nation's pathetic excuse for Congressmen.

If you have only heard this story from the mainstream media, I'm sure you are under the misconception that Rush said all soldiers who are against the war in Iraq are phony soldiers. He's been deliberately taken out of context so as to provoke another scandal. Now, I happen to listen to Rush on a regular basis, and was listening that day. This is so not what he was talking about.

Last week, a true "phony soldier" named Jesse Macbeth was sentenced to five months in jail with three months probation for falsifying a Department of Veterans Affairs claim and his Army discharge record. This guy claimed to have been a soldier in Iraq. He claimed to have witnessed ungodly atrocities committed by American soldiers. His words were translated into Arabic and broadcast all over the Middle East. He is a traitor.

Not only is he a traitor, but it turns out he only spent 44 days in the Army before washing out of boot camp. He is not an Army Ranger. He didn't witness anything. But he has been held up by the anti-war crowd as a hero.

This is the man Rush was talking about. He was referring to Jesse Macbeth and the fake accounts The New Republic was publishing, and the half-dozen other cases where this has occurred. If you want to read the full text of Rush's self-defense, it's on his website. But that's all I'm going to say about that.

The thing that is completely blowing my mind about this is the fact that Harry Reid and some of his cohorts took to the Senate floor to castigate Rush for his remarks and challenge his patriotism. Can we just stop and think about this? What is the purpose? United States Senators are taking up time and tax dollars to bring the words (free speech, anyone?) of a private citizen in the free marketplace before the American people.

If you have ever listened to Rush, which they are counting on the fact that you haven't, you would know that challenging his patriotism is about as ridiculous as challenging the Pope's Catholicism. He is tireless in his efforts to support our troops. They call in very frequently thanking him for supporting them. They know they have limited support from their government, and need someone with a platform like Rush's to stand up for them. The very idea is absurd.

But who is the messenger? Harry Reid? You have got to be kidding me. These guys have done NOTHING to build up troop morale; in fact, quite the opposite. How many measures have they proposed to defund the war and pull out in defeat? Dick Durbin compared our troops on the Senate floor to the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. Jack Murtha - I can't even say his name without a visceral growl in my throat. These pathetic excuses for representatives of our country have spit on our troops over and over again, and they have the audacity to come to the floor and challenge ANYONE's patriotism?

Again, do we or do we not have free speech in this country? Suppose they hadn't taken Rush out of context and he actually had called the war-hating soldiers phony. What business is that of the United States Senate? He is not a government official. He is a TALK RADIO HOST!!! Give me a break.

Rush has challenged Harry Reid to come on his show and discuss this like a man. I'm sure he'll step right up to do that. As soon as pigs fly through a frozen hell.