Home

I was listening to Bob Lonsberry this morning while I was driving kids to school and he started reading the lyrics to a song called The House that Built Me and started talking about family homes and putting roots down. He said "I think homes are almost made sacred by the things that take place there, and by the memories that are shared there." I couldn't agree more and it got me really thinking about the first place that Rob and I called home as we began our family. When we were first married we rented an old farm house only about a half a mile from the home that he grew up in. The house was built in the 1920's I believe. It was old, worn looking, it had almost no insulation, old paint and carpet, we frequently had cow poop in our yard and driveway, but from October 2001 through January 2004 it was all ours and we fell in love with it.

Recently, I was out shopping and Rob called to tell me that this house had been torn down. It knocked the wind out of our sails. We haven't lived in that home for more than six years, but it was devestating news. It sounds a little silly to be so upset about a house, and so I've tried not to make too big of a deal out of it. But maybe listening to Bob this morning validated my feelings a little for me. That house was a home for us. It did become sacred. This was where we spent our first night after our honeymoon with only: a bed, bowls, spoons, a box of cereal and a package of top ramen. I can remember walking into our bedroom in that home at 5:00am one morning to tell Rob that I was pregnant with Megan. I can still smell the freshly tilled soil of the big garden that Rob loved to work in during the summer evenings. I can hear the creaks of the funny, old fashioned closets and picture the little nooks that made that house so special. I can still feel the pain of Rob driving his little remote controlled car across that kitchen floor into my bare feet while I was cooking dinner. I can picture in my mind the corner of the living room where we put our Christmas tree. I remember another corner of the living room where I spent hours rocking little baby Megan. I remember the wash room where Rob first buzzed his head in support of a coworker's son who had been diagnosed with cancer.

Hopefully this helps explain why it is really sad now to drive by and see a big empty lot, and I'm sure it will also make me sad to see the new home that will be built there one day. Time marches on and new memories are made in new homes, and that's as it should be. But this morning the sentimental part of me couldn't resist picking up a brick that was once part of my first home with my sweetheart, the place where we became a family, after all it truly was a sacred dwelling. I hope somewhere we have a picture of that cute little house, if I find one to scan in I'll add it to this post later. For now I just have pictures of it as it is today.

My big fat opinion

Honestly, I do try really hard to keep my opinions to myself sometimes, and sometimes I am better able to keep quiet than others.... I try very hard to be diplomatic when it comes to politics. I appreciate very much that I am able to express my views and opinions and feel very fortunate to live in a country where I am free to do so. While enjoying that freedom though, I also remember that everyone else is afforded that same right and they get to express their views and opinions no matter what they may be. That's one of the things that make this country so great.
Now with that being said- I need to get a few things off my chest because I have been biting holes in my tongue with some things I have heard people saying lately,so watch out because here it comes:
First, it is really hard for me to accept that honest, intelligent, hard-working americans are buying the bull that is for sell right now. I know there aren't as many as there were before, but how can there be people out there who don't see the current administration for who they really are? If members of the federal government went around to people's homes and physically pulled money out of their pockets to give to others so they could "re-distribute the wealth fairly" they would be called thieves and be locked up. But because their robbery is disguised in congressional bills and taxes and sold to the public by people in nice suits who keep reminding us that they are only trying to help the poor little children, it is somehow not breaking the law. A thief is a thief. Although I do have to say that if I were confronted with one who had a gun to my head demanding that I empty my purse I would be much less afraid of him than a thief who calls his robbery a good deed for the public interest.
It has really been bothering me that so many people think that those of us who are against this health care bill are cold-hearted jerks who don't care about poor sick children. I can't speak for everyone, but I know for most of us that is just not true. I am all for helping out others who genuinely need help. There is so much need. I believe it is our christian duty to help out others where we can and I have been so touched by the generosity that I have seen on numerous occassions when good people came together to raise funds for a deserving party. But I do not believe it is the right of the government to force that assistance. They do not have the right to steal money out of one person's hand and give it to another. Wrong is never right, it doesn't matter how you package it up. It's stealing, it's dishonest, and it's wrong.
The federal government has no money. Anything "free" that comes from the federal government came out of someone's pocket. Nothing is free. Someone always pays. There are no unicorns, pots of gold at the end of rainbows, and there is no money tree growing in the backyard at the White House.
What the heck happened to the American dream? When did it become a bad thing to work your tail off with a sound business plan, possibly some good fortune, and help from others and make it big? Why are we getting stuck on words like, fairness and equality. There are only a couple of places that I believe those words belong- when we are talking about civil rights, humanity demands that there be equality. Nobody deserves to be treated with less dignity and worth because of physical appearance, beliefs, lifestyle, etc. I am not the least bit tolerant of any type of discrimination, so please do not mistake my next statement. Life is not fair. We aren't all going to get the same size piece of pie, most of us may not get much more than a lick of the fork. It stinks, it's unfair, cry about it, wish it were different, and then move on. But don't ever justify taking something away from someone else because they have more than you.
Rob works a full time job and countless side jobs. He is always looking for different ways he can make extra money to provide for his family. This is rewarding for him and other hard-working husbands like him to break their backs bringing home the bacon, but what's going to be the point when most of their earnings are stolen away by the federal government? What will be their motivation when they aren't being rewarded for their efforts? The way Obama is trying to make everything "fair" means that the lazy bum who hardly shows up to work is going to be compensated "fairly" with the guy who shows up early and hardly sits down to take a break all day. Can't people see how this ruins the entire system? What's the motivation to work harder and be better and do more if the federal goverment is just going to take it away and give it to others? Personal integrity will be the only remaining reason to put in an honest days work anymore.
Lastly, I have to say that it should speak VOLUMES to all Americans when the majority speaks loud and clear telling their government that they don't want something and their government says "we know what you need better than you do" or "we don't give a crap what you want, we're doing it anyway". This should frighten us all and should move us into action. It doesn't matter whether you wanted the health care bill to pass or not, this behavior of our elected leaders is unacceptable. We need to be very involved in making sure that we get as many slimeballs out of power as we possibly can this November. We (all american people) need to send the message loud and clear, reminding the government that they work for us, and we will not elect leaders who disregard their constituents. It is our duty to be informed and involved in the process of selecting candidates and studying issues so that we can cast well informed ballots and let the majority speak and then unite on whatever that decision is. If we vote in more Pelosi's and Obama's after we've seen what they will do, it's our own fault and we have no business crying when they fool us twice, or thrice, or wherever the count is now....
Become informed, get involved, support good, honest candidates, take full advantage of your right to vote or shut up and don't complain when you don't like what happens.
Thanks for letting me share some of my big fat opinion on politics lately. I promise my next post will be much more cheerful and positive.