Hunting Season

I recently had a discussion with someone about hunting..specifically deer hunting. She did not agree with the fact that I and my husbands family hunt and we are going to have our boys hunt as well if they want to. I brought up that if we did not hunt deer that they would become over populated end up starving and getting disease that could kill out the entire herd. Her response...overpopulation or being pushed out of their environment. Ignorant people really do bother me. I kind of got on my soapbox telling her that the area I and my family hunt is heavily wooded with very little development happening. The people in the area would never give up their hunting land to developers...that is how they feed themselves all year long. The DNR keeps an eye on the population of deer constantly..they decide how many permits to allow..they require registration of every deer that a hunter has gotten so they can keep as accurate a count as possible. There is also that time restriction for hunting...9 days for firearms hunting and that is it until next year. I asked her how she thought her ancestors fed themselves back when the United States was 'wild & untamed' when they could not just hop in their cars and go to the grocery store...I bet they weren't vegetarians... she then tells me that she is not a vegetarian either and that she enjoys venison.. I had to stop at that...I mean who eats venison then does not agree with deer hunting?

Obama

I read this response on a blog recently and thought I would share it..The poster is anonymous. This is political so if you don't like to hear negative things don't read on.

Will I support Obama???? This is the United States of America.... He is not the type of leader our forefathers and their families have sacrificed themselves for... He didn't use the Holy Bible when he was sworn into Offices... He will not say the pledge of allegiance... He and his wife are racist... In HIS book, he stated there was a very influential father figure in the early years of his manhood...This FIGURE happens to be a radical racial extremest... Obama has since denounced this figure once the media had an opportunity to interview this great influential man... (funny huh)... His father was a radical Muslim, and a US hater... His family members have financially supported Radical Muslim Extreme Groups... He attended a radical Muslim school while over seas... Recently he went overseas to visit our troops... (after a great deal of pressure from his supporters) He DIDN'T acknowledge any of the US SOLDIERS while exiting his plane!!! He did however play in a prearranged basketball game ... I will not let you know what ethnic background of the players and spectators were.... While boarding HIS leased plane (painted with the O Logo, nothing stating the USA, America or even the American Flag) he walked right past the soldiers and officers serving this GREAT COUNTRY, (so people like you and I can go through our so called rough lives) He didn't even share a glance with them... Our jobs are important, but nothing can hold a candle to the bigger PICTURE... We are in a great deal of trouble but nothing compared to what our kids will face and endure if people like you and I don't stand up... Is McCain the answer??? I don't think he is...but he is our best choice... how can anyone judge his loyalty to this county and its citizens... how many of us can say we understand what he went through while a POW!!!!! NOT ME... he is proud to serve and will do what is best for the USA.... Will our problems be mended overnight or in our lifetime??? No, but we need to take baby steps before we can walk.... Sorry to ramble on... but I'm sick of ..... non loyalty!!!! All the answers to your questions can be found with very little research.... I challenge all of us to do our own research and formulate our own opinions!!! Quit taking someone else's word and trust your own!!! What does it state in the Bible about the Anti-Christ???? Might sound a little familiar...OK OK I'm off my soap box...

Merry Christmas from Heaven

I still hear the songs
I still see the lights
I still feel your love
on cold wintry nights.

I still share your hopes
and all your cares
I’ll even remind you
to please say all your prayers.

I just want to tell you
you still make me proud
You stand head and shoulders
above all the crowd.

Keep trying each moment
to stay in His grace
I came here before you
to help set your place.

You don’t have to be
perfect all the time
He forgives you the slip
if you continue to climb.

To my family and friends
please be thankful today
I’m still close beside you
in a new special way.

I love you all dearly
now don’t shed a tear
cause I’m spending my
Christmas with Jesus this year.

Why Women Cry

A little boy asked his mother, 'Why are you crying?''
'Because I'm a woman,' she told him. 'I don't understand,' he said.
His Mom just hugged him and said,'And you never will.'
'Later the little boy asked his father, 'Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?''
'All women cry for no reason,' was all his dad could say.
The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry.
Finally he put in a call to God. When God got on the phone, he asked,
'God, why do women cry so easily?'
God said:'When I made the woman she had to be special.
I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world,
yet gentle enough to give comfort.
I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection
that many times comes from her children.
I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up,
and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue with out complaining.
I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances,
even when her child has hurt her very badly.
I gave her strength to carry her husband through his faults and
fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart.I gave her wisdom
to know that a good husband never hurts his wife,
but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfaltering.
Finally, I gave her a tear to shed.This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed.
''You see my son,' said God, 'the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears,
the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.
The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes,
because that is the doorway to her heart - the place where love resides.'

A SOLDIER'S CHRISTMAS

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE.
I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.
I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,

NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.
WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT CAME THROUGH MY MIND.
FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.
THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.
THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.
WAS THIS THE HERO OF WHOM I 'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,THE FLOOR FOR A BED?
I REALIZED THE FAMILIES THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.
SOON ROUND THE WORLD,THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.
THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.
I COULDN'T HELP WONDER HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.
THE VERY THOUGHT BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES AND STARTED TO CRY.
THE SOLDIER AWAKENED AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
'SANTA DON'T CRY,THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE';
I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,MY COUNTRY, MY HOME.
'THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,I CONTINUED TO WEEP.
I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.
I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR SO WILLING TO FIGHT.
THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,WHISPERED,
'CARRY ON SANTA,IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE.'
ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
'MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT.'

I wish you enough

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess .
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

When you are sending someone on a journey whether it be work, school or a trip send them off with an "I wish you enough" instead of good-bye

Holiday Horrors

It is the time of the year that I have grown to dread. Don't get me wrong I love Christmas and the meaning behind it, I just hate what it has become. The stores here have had Christmas in the aisles since September. I had a hard time getting Halloween costumes for my boys, because the shelves had been cleared for Christmas. There is so much commercialism this time of year that it can make a person ill.
I am not of the 'old mind set' mind you, but I do miss when people thought more about family and friends than what gifts they would get. My fondest memories are of going to Grand-Mum's on Christmas Eve and seeing all of the family in one place. I would catch up with family that I only saw once a year, we all had our roles in the meal preparation. My cousin and I were in charge of the shrimp salad. Now this salad was a green salad that just had shrimp in it, but by the time my cousin and I got the salad to the table the shrimp was gone lol. Every year we were in charge of it and every year the shrimp salad would be shrimp-less. I think it took Grand-Mum 2 years to finaly buy an extra can of shrimp. After the meal and caroling we would go look at Christmas lights, this was back when the houses didn't just take a string of lights and throw them in the trees. People took the time to get a ladder out and string the lights nicely. Nowadays you can't even go to the neighborhoods that were known for their lights and enjoy them. People just don't want to take the time to hang them any more.
So now as a parent I am trying to show my boys the way Christmas is meant to be celebrated, with Church Services and family gatherings. I limit how many gifts they get every year from me and other family. They get one gift from me, 2 from santa plus their stockings and anyone buying them gifts cannot go over a set limit. I think it is working so far, whenever my oldest is asked what he wants he says, I don't need anything, I already have my family and friends and that is enough. This year on his own he chose a little girl's name from the sharing tree and bought her an outfit and with my help a baby doll for her to cuddle. He used his entire paycheck on her gifts instead of buying something for himself. Now if only he would be that selfless the entire year.