Progress? and Happy Birthday! Happy Birthday!

Today my husband sent me a YouTube link to watch. It was a video pro-McCain. It was a good video done by an Iraq war veteran. Watch it, Dear Mr. Obama.

As I watched the video I saw another video of Obama, while he spoke he was heckled by a group of pro-lifers. I watched that video, then I saw another video of Gianna Jessen, a saline abortion survivor. She speaks for giving babes the right to live. I watched her interview and then saw another which I was actually afraid to watch, but I did. It is a video done by Gynecologist Dr. Bill Lile and he demonstrates how a partial-birth abortion is done.

Oh my word! I knew that these procedures were awful, but to actually see how it is performed has me shuddering for the future of America! American women!!

Those little, helpless ones are our babies! We must at every time we can - stand up for the oppressed. Our defenseless, unborn babies are being quietly oppressed ...and because of our personal rights to happiness?. Is having the right to kill our babies progress for women? If so, it is the wrong way to progress! I can't understand how a person (doctor) who has gone through so much schooling to learn how to protect life can actually stand there long enough to snuff life away like that!

The late 60's and early 70's were the days when our women were becoming liberated, ha! I remember enough of those days to know that I felt guilty for being "just a stay-at-home Mom" then. I agree that many women were kept under the thumb of men before being "liberated" and that is not right either.

Today, as I watched Dr. Lile I wondered, is this women's progress? Has women's progress given us the liberation, the freedom to kill our babies while they struggle to live 90% outside of our bodies? Is that progress? No, it's not!

Babies are a blessing! Don't let the evil one sway you to believe otherwise! Women, you can have your liberation ---by keeping the choice to prevent being impregnated, but the liberation to kill what life has already come from poor choices - that is not a right we should claim. We must protect and nurture our babies, they are depending on us!

Today we celebrate our twins birthdays. What a blessing they have been for Doug and I. I was a new 20-year-old Mom when they were born. When friends would ask - "How did you do it? Two babies at once?" I answer that I didn't know any better. If I ever thought that it was difficult I probably put off as -this was as it was for all women down through the ages and I will just have to do it too. ha! Two years after having twins our third daughter Kim was born. Her birthday is September 12th, in just a few days too.

I realize now when I look back on the early 70's that I remember hardly anything of what went on in the world during those years! I was oblivious to anything other than caring for babies --- for years!

I've said this before when speaking of my babies: My children are the greatest accomplishments of hard work in my life today, and I pray that they are also our greatest contributions to the world's good today! I wonder how many blessings have been taken from the USA by women's liberation?

My heart goes out to any woman that may be reading this with regrets. What an incredible God we have that forgives through Jesus Christ's sacrifice. God gave His own Son to die for any and all sins that we have committed, knowingly or unknowingly. Seek Him for comforting your heart. Jesus Christ gave His own life - willingly, nobody killed Him against His will, He did it willingly so that we could claim Him as the reason we can stand with a clear conscience before God. "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." John 3 READ IT!

Happy birthday Marie and Karla, and happy birthday Kim. We love you.

(L to R: Kim, Karla, Marie)

Marriage Monday-Why Romance Matters

Picture is of Doug and I before we got married.

It's Marriage Monday with e-Mom today. Join us for this months topic "Why Romance Matters."

Consider writing about your favorite restaurant, your favorite song, or the little things you do for one another throughout the week. What tones down the tension, and tunes up the tenderness? How do you encourage your husband to nurture the romantic side of your marriage? I want to know! C H R Y S A L I S

Doug is my fantastic husband and if you've been reading along at my blog you have probably already picked that up. Doug is a man of integrity, hard-working, a great Dad and Grandpa that is loved, conscientious in all aspects of married life and work, dedicated to our family, loves God with his whole heart - but I've noticed that he needs some help in the romance department!

When I was young.. that was a problem. Because when I was young I did not value the more important character traits my husband was developing as a married man! As time happened I realized, oh my word... what a splendid husband my God has blessed me with!

With time, I have valued my relationship with Doug above others and found that I must work to protect it from ruin. Previously, at times I became disgruntled and ungrateful and began to keep track of those things that were not in our marriage such as... romance! Long walks on beaches, lingering glances over candlelit dinners, quiet moments alone, etc., etc., while they can be fun the other more important aspects of marriage should be valued more than those movie-style romantic encounters.

What ever in the world is romance anyway? My idea of romance (and it's absence in our marriage) was triggered by the worlds movies; TV shows; even advertisements. Those ideas did not build up our relationship but made me feel like something was missing in it. Romance is elusive and when I think we have something like romance it just makes me giggle and feel silly.

There was a time in our relationship when Doug and I seemed to co-exist. Do we all go through such times as that? I believe we both took our marriage for granted, and we did not realized it needs to be protected. We both did things that jeopardized our continuing marriage relationship. In my own case, and without realizing the consequences of developing my own friendships, my faithfulness was tested. The evil one works to destroy all that God has called good. He called our marriage good and the evil one worked hard to destroy it while I made relationships outside of my marriage too important. I am happy today to say that both Doug and I realize the value of each other and our marriage relationship. I am thankful and grateful that God protected us from evil - when we needed to be protected.

My advise today is that we, as couples, must value the relationship we have with each other above the silly notions of romance. There is nothing better away from each other, there is just more of the same. We need to keep on building on what attracted us to each other and made us get married in the first place. And there are more important things in a relationship than romance.

Yes, romance does matter, and a bit of it can bring happiness... but we also need to examine what we think is romance and whether or not we are letting this notion interfere with the wonderful marriage we may already be blessed with!

I've helped my husband with romance by buying roses for myself and then telling him what a wonderful guy he is to think of buying me roses! He loves it. He says that I make him look so good! Then we have a good laugh together and I get to enjoy the beautiful roses while they last. When our children see the roses and ask, "Who are the roses for and for what?" For me, just because... from Dad." They giggle and say, "Ahhhh Dad, how romantic!"

This week... he brought roses home for me all on his own, for no reason at all!

That is romance, isn't it? I love you, Doug.

I also love the verses that e-Mom posted and post them now again for you.
"There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a maiden." Prov 30:18-19

Alaska's Own Sweetheart

Baby Palin and her Mom. (Picture found online.)

Alaska's Governor Sarah Palin.

As we watched Sarah give her VP acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention - we could not help but be touched many times. Maybe because we know her, maybe because she is one of Alaska's own, or maybe just because of the sweetheart that she is ---we all feel a close bond to McCain's choice for a running mate tonight.

I was especially touched when she spoke of her special needs baby -Trig- and the connection that having had a baby born with Downs syndrome created -to all those in the USA who also have a special needs child. We all laughed when her youngest daughter Piper rubbed on Trig's hair after licking her own hand, and then we wondered where Piper had learned to straighten Trig's hair that way - Mom? Dad? We wiped away tears when she spoke of and to Tom Moe, blowing him a thank-you kiss. Tom Moe, the POW in North Vietnam who McCain would smile at then give the thumbs-up sign to before passing his cell after his daily interrogations.

As the story is told, "When McCain shuffled back from torturous interrogations, he would turn toward Moe's door and flash a grin and thumbs up" - as if to say, "We're going to pull through this." My fellow Americans, that is the kind of man America needs to see us through these next four years.

My family and myself continue to be impressed with our beautiful, hometown girl getting nominated to go all the way down to Washington D.C.! Her speech today was great.

e-Mom emailed to ask me a few questions about Sarah. Visit her site if you would like to read that interview.

Check out Meghan McCain's blog here!

Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men. Proverbs 22:29

Useless Chasing

Picture of ChewChew with fall seeds in his fur.

Chevy has been chasing after little critters with big teeth. I take him, Chewy and Moto for a walk and when we go down by the dock he hears those beavers slap their tails in the lake. He runs, jumps in and swims and swims until I get worried he won't have the strength to return to shore!

Those beaver appear to be working together to tire him out. One critter will swim out in front of him, then veer off so that he follows, then slap his tail and dive. That seems to excite Chevy so he swims faster. He swims in a circle and sniffs the water. A second beaver, which is a ways off, will slap and Chevy swims off in that direction. When he gets closer the second beaver slaps its' tail and dives. Chevy swims in a frenzy again. Back and forth, back and forth. Today I learned there are not only two of them, there are four beaver!

Doesn't this tree seem to be keeping an eye on you?

These beaver have been cutting down trees in earnest! I told them to leave and not come back if they want to know what is good for themselves. But... they haven't yet. So - when their fur get just right and thick from the cold winter, they shall be no more.

Fall colors were fantastic!

As I watched Chevy today I thought to myself, we people do that too. We all chase after things that bring no lasting - anything! Chevy isn't even happy in the process! He sounds like he is sucking down water more and more as he gets tired out. It's not necessary for life that he chase after those elusive beaver! But he runs to chase everytime they slap their tails. I've watched him jump up from the deck, leap over the edge of the hill, and race down to the lake and jump in - ker-plosh! Then he'll come home later all tired out and barely moving - with nothing to show for all that effort. I don't know, maybe it's fun... in a dog sort of way.

Doug and I went out riding trails this past Labor Day weekend. We had fun together. We saw (before hunting season opened) one bull, one cow with two calves. After opening day - nothing! But we had a great time out there, together, riding.

Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled; and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun. Ecclesiastes 2:11.