We scored big time. A guy in our ward GAVE us this great sink that he had laying around in his garage. So for Christmas we bought ourselves the faucet to go with it. It's so nice not to have an "apartment sink" in our kitchen. I love it. Oh! And yes, those veggies in the window were grown by me. The first produce that actually survived my black thumb. Can't wait for next year. 
Close up of the tomatoe!
You have GOT to go to this new website: asamom.org.
If you feel like me and are frustrated with what is going on in our country and are concerned for your children's future - come join the site. I just did.
I recently watched an episode of Glen Beck where he had a panel of concerned moms. Moms that are concerned about their children's future. They discussed things like What the schools are teaching, the taxes that the next generations will be paying, loss of freedom, etc. I loved it. All these women came from different backgrounds and different parts of the country with the same concerns that I have. My own conversations with some mothers led me to believe that maybe I was the only one with these concerns. So many that I have spoken with are so complacent and don't see any problems or even a reason to be concerned. After watching the show I realized I was not alone. Every single topic that was brought up I completely related with.
About a week later, Glen had a few more women on again. One woman started a website after watching the same show I had the week before. She felt so compelled to help all of the mothers in the country come together and have a place where we can gain support and strength. Come join the site and find other mom's in your own area to converse with. Here's the website again: asamom.org. See you there.
Yesterday, Tim informed me of a headline he saw in the newspaper. (I think he likes to tell me these things to see how high my blood pressure will get.) The paper said that now in NC it is illegal to throw away a plastic bottle. WHAT? ILLEGAL? I am now being told what I can and can't throw away?
Now, before I get all the comments about the environment and how we need to save the planet, this message is NOT about "Going Green". However if it was, I would have to say that our Heavenly Father is in control of what will happen to this earth, whether we spend our lives trying to "save" it or not. What we should be spending our lives doing is saving souls, not the planet.
Back to the subject at hand, I am getting pretty fed up with the government telling me what I can and can't do. Why is it that these politicians think it is their responsibility to tell me what kind of light bulb I can have in my home, what kind of toilet I can have and when and how often I need to give my child shots? Who do they think they are?
I remember when the seat belt law first came out. It was taught at school about the importance of wearing a seat belt. I remember one day we were picking up my older brother from high school and I was wearing my seat belt. I thought, oh, Dave is not going to want to put his seatbelt on right here in front of all his friends. That would be so uncool. I was obviously a child and my concerns were very shallow. As time went on, the law was reinforced and I heard it told over and over again that we needed to "buckle up" for our safety. One day, I heard someone comment that this law is a terrible thing. It's taking away our rights and what will they come up with next to control us. I didn't understand, I just remember thinking that I couldn't believe that someone wouldn't want to be safe. It was years later and many laws passed when I finally figured out that it wasn't about the seat belt at all.
It saddens me to think that there are people who are fooled by the idea that socialized medicine, government health care, or what ever you want to call it would be good for this country. I can't believe that people don't see it for what it really is, a way for the government to control us. They are trying their hardest to spend money like crazy and get our country into so much debt so that it will ruin our lives and we will all be dependent on the government to take care of us. Sick, I tell you.
I have recently heard that Mr. Obama wants the government to take over all student loans. The only way to get a student loan is through the government. If they take control of that, will they next be telling us what we can and can't study in school? Will they say there isn't enough money in one subject or another? If this healthcare passes and doctors decided to quit practicing will they force people to become doctors? Where will it end?
Like I said, the plastic bottle isn't about the environment, just like health care isn't about everyone having health care. It's all about the control the government wants to have over us. I have to say I am grateful for those that are standing up and trying to do something to save our country. We can NOT be complacent anymore.
I can't believe that I am going to have to tell my children, "Don't throw that plastic bottle away, you might get arrested!"
I'm sure this title intrigued you all as you know we only have daughters. But as Tim reminds everyone he is both a father and a son. This year Tim decided to go to the overnighter. Which meant that I was at home with the girls and not much different than how our life is normally. The girls and I decided to invite a few friends that were going to be home also just with the moms and daughters. We made pizza, ate, and then the girls were upstairs playing their hearts out which left us moms to sit and visit for a few hours. It was so much fun for me, so much fun for the girls and Tim loved getting some guy time. His first remark coming home: "I forgot how crude boys can be."
While we visited these girls formed a band! (Livie is the bodyguard.)
McKenna and her little friend Bianca (McKenna calls her Wonka.
Here they are, ready for the first day of school. This year is so different. Alexa is now in 6th grade, which around here is the first year of middle school. Not to mention that her school is in downtown Winston Salem. She is attending Hanes which is a Magnet school. And yes, they wear uniforms and I am LOVING it! We heard such great things about it, did some research and found that we know a few families in our ward that have children that go there also. Logistically it's great because Tim works about 2 minutes away. We now have a new morning routine around this house and it is working well for us. Everyone is out the door on time and very little stress (except for when Maya can't find her shoes, which happens every other morning.) We've stayed on track for a month now so hopefully we can keep up the momentum for the rest of the year. My two other darlings are in 1st and 3rd grade now. They are loving their teachers and so far so good. 
Little Miss McKenna is enjoying the quiet around the house. I was afraid she would be lonely without her playmates but she must be like her momma and enjoys her alone time (as long as it she's in the same room with me.) Here she is taking care of her "babies". She's my only daughter that REALLY plays with her babies.
Before we left, we asked many of our friends for suggestions of things to do on our trip. The most popular thing was to take a carriage ride. I didn't know how I would feel about it. Was it going to be worth the money? Were the kids going to enjoy it? It turned out to be my favorite activity. We got to see so much of downtown. Beautiful OLD homes with so much history. The only problem is for some reason we were so into listening to the guide and looking we didn't hardly take any pictures (not to mention that McKenna was tired and didn't want to sit still.) If you ever make it to Charleston - take a carriage ride. I can't wait to go back and experience it again. Here are our very few pictures of the ride:
Check out the cobblestone streets. AWESOME!
(See Abuela was here after all.)
Thanks Abuela and Grumps for such a fun trip. But more importantly, thanks for visiting us and sharing memories with us and our children.
Our first adventure out in Charleston, we took a boat over to Fort Sumter. It was where the Civil War began. The first battle started there. It was impressive. The girls loved the boat ride and enjoyed climbing all around and exploring the fort.
What kind of fort would it be without cannons?
The boat trip back!
Alexa and Grumps - check out their glasses!
Grumps and McKenna
View of the fort from the boat!
I promise Abuela was there, I don't know how she escaped the photo shoots!We LOVE the south. We love the history. We love the people, We love the beautiful plants and green, green grass. We even love the weather (when it's not too humid.) We LOVE how much we can see in a day's drive and even a few hours drive. So when Tim's parents called and said they were coming to see us and wanted to take us some place, we jumped at the chance. We chose Charleston. We were only there a few days and I know there is soo much more to see. I can't wait to go back. Here are a few photos from our first day.
I found a few pictures that I thought I'd share. Poor little McKenna. After the protest in Raleigh, we hit the road with my nephews. We stopped to get a few groceries and climbed back in the car. I am sure I was a sight with 6 kids following me through the store. We drove almost the entire way home when all of a sudden (2 miles from our exit) McKenna threw up. Not just a little, either. Since we were so close I just drove straight home. I pulled McKenna out, took her to the backyard along with her car seat and started hosing everything off (including McKenna.) I ran up stairs gave her a bath and dress her in some clean clothes. Then back down stairs to unload the groceries and all the kids bags, started laundry from the girls being gone, started some dinner and tried to keep the kids outside so I could complete my tasks. While I was starting dinner I realized that I hadn't heard McKenna and had this fear that she had thrown up someplace. I headed upstairs to find the little darling asleep right on the floor. Poor girl. What a day!
