Step ladder please.

I have to apologize for my comment on democrats not being Christians... they're very well intentioned Christians... I guess I was thinking of Barack.. he just seems all over the map as far as beliefs. I understand he has many well intentioned ideas of how to bring America back around and I hope God blesses those ideas. I'm horrible with politics but I do know what works for me. I don't want to sound judgemental. That's what makes America great.. all these people working, living, and loving all in the same country.

poverty check, please!

eternal utopia.... no, it's not going to be in the next 4 years with our new president. Actually, I am very interested in knowing what in Obama's name he's going to do. What do I expect from a president who's name is Barak Hussain Obama? Yikes. I'm still cringing. Seriously, those of you who are reading this and have supported Obama, who are happy he's our first black president and that's the only reason why...O.K. That's all I'm going to say because he is now our president and I can't do anything about it. I'm praying he will do what our country needs. That's all I expect from a president. I'm not very happy with some of the things I've heard about him... Actions speak louder than words for me and he hasn't done much. I am a republican. I grew up on a 40-head dairy farm, enough to give us clothes and food. We never expected a hand out and never wondered why we didn't have more. As I'm sitting in my small town urban house, I LONG for a farm, animals and an acre garden of my own. I feel sorry for others who don't know this life. It was all about action. If you didn't get something, it was your fault or God was letting you know who is really in charge. I have a hard time believing Democrats are Christians. The bottom line is helping others and sharing the wealth. (If I'm wrong, PLEASE correct me.. But PLEASE keep it to two sentenses) It sounds absolutely wonderful at first breath. However, if you look at it down the road, people start to depend on hand outs. Look at the animal kingdom. What is the cardinal rule at zoos and wildlife preserves? DON'T FEED THE ANIMALS Why? Bears mauling people and their backpacks. Elk stampedes. The animals become used to being fed and forget to find their own food. Or get sick from preservatives in human food. Humans are a little more intelligent than animals, but they are just as lazy. To put my belief in simple terms... to become strong, a body needs to exercise. To build muscle and bone, the muscle needs to pull at the bone and tear a little to build the muscle and strengthen the bone. I will gladly go through many pulls and tears to become the best I can be. I have said generosity is wonderful. We have been given so much. We have also given much which is paying it forward. It is given to people and has been given to us without knowledge. Therein lies the difference. I will gladly take a mediocre salary to the lottery as it will always keep my priorities in check.

Coolest house in the neighborhood

Check this out... new and improved from last year... a sledding ramp from our deck. We were told we have envious neighbors...cars have stopped to check it out. However, we need to be careful not to push the kids too hard at the top otherwise they'll speed down the ramp and jump the 1foot snow shoveled barrier to run into or go underneath the neighbor's car... like what Ethan did today... where is the video camera when you need it.

Live on, 2009!!!

Happy New Year!!! We've got new fitness equipment (found the floor useful for sit-ups, my husband made push up bars out of pipe conduit and black velco, the fuzzy side; and my 8 month old son who looks like a 19month old is a great added weight for doing squats... feel the burn.) And since my husband works for a fitness company, he won a great elliptical!! In 5 days, I've used it 2 times... that's actually great!! I have found I can almost do an 8 minute mile (we'll see what it's like in real pavement time) My cousin has reminded me of Buffalo, MN soft triathalon in June... I think I'll have to make up my mind by April. On the other side of fitness, my kids and I have started a new New Year's Day tradition... making ravioli! It was so much fun. We started at 10am and the kitchen was finally cleaned by 4pm. Boy, was it good... I made the traditional spaghetti sauce for the kids and mine was butternut squash with sage... It was supposed to have browned sage butter drizzled over it... It really didn't need it. I used the rest of the butternut squash filling as a soup... just as good and healthier. I wish I had pictures of the ravioli and the process of eating it... my 8 month old included. He was head to navel red with chunks. I made the dough in my bread maker. I hate kneading dough and it came out perfect... very stretchy... my 6 year old filled as my 3 year old rolled out the dough and made circles. My kids actually stayed through until it was time to boil them. I froze the other half of the dough and used it a few days later in chicken soup... can't get anymore rustic than that. I was proud to give it to a new mom... welcome to the world, Caleb Dallas born New Year's Eve at 10:38pm. Now that I think of it... I've come a long way... I never would have dreamed about making ravioli with my kids. It wasn't even a second thought. Is this how my year is going to be? It'd be great. Suprising myself with what I can accomplish without analyzing things before I do it...more of trusting my instincts because I'm better than what I think. Hmmm. I'll leave it at that... It'll take the suprise out of everything. Anyways, I'm not alone in this. I'm only who I am because God made me this way. Live on.