What I'm Thankful For

I'm thankful for many MANY things. God has blessed me so abundantly. Although I try to always be thankful, this season causes me to to truly realize how much I'm blessed.

What I'm thankful for:
1. I'm redeemed. I am a sinner, but because Christ loved me, he has called me one of his children and I am his.
2. My husband. He is amazing. He is a perfect partner. I not only love him, but I live each day because he walks beside me. I could never be who I am without him.
3. My children. They give complete joy to my life. Everyday, Erik and I look at each other and smile because of something they did. They've taught me patience (especially Quinlin), what it means to love unconditionally, and not to sweat the small stuff....after all, what is really important?
4. My childhood. I grew up in a fairly poor military family. We didn't have much, sometimes not much to eat. We moved all the time so having friends beyond acquaintances was nearly impossible. But I had parents who loved and protected me. We didn't get much by the way of "things" but they always found money if it was for an experience. They taught me to be honest, to work hard, and love God. I truly believe my life is wonderful because of my parents.

There are many MANY other things I am blessed with, my extended family, my church family, friends, Erik's job, HEALTHY children, great neighborhood and schools. I have many people in my life that love me and I love them.

Thanksgiving Myth

I don't know if many of you have heard, but the Seattle schools are teaching something new this year regarding thanksgiving. They are teaching that Thanksgiving is a time of mourning because the Indians have nothing to give thanks for today.

From Fox News:

Seattle public schools want a side of political correctness served on your Thanksgiving table.

Washington state's largest school district sent letters to teachers and other employees suggesting Thanksgiving should be "a time of mourning" for its Native American students.

The memo, from Caprice Hollins, the district's director of Equity, Race & Learning Support, included an attachment to a paper titled "Deconstructing the Myths of 'The First Thanksgiving.'"

It includes 11 "myths" disputing everything from what was served at the first Thanksgiving (no mashed potatoes or cranberries) and who provided the food to the nature of the Pilgrims themselves: Myth No. 3 calls the colonists "rigid fundamentalists" who came to the New World "fully intending to take the land away from its native inhabitants."

But what got the Internet abuzz was Myth No. 11: "Thanksgiving is a happy time." It was followed by "Fact: For many Indian people, 'Thanksgiving' is a time of mourning ... a bitter reminder of 500 years of betrayal returned for friendship."

Hollins would not defend her letter, but David Tucker, a spokesman for the district, said it was an effort to be sensitive to minorities in Seattle schools.

"One of the core elements in education is not just understanding your own life history but also those of others," he said.

But one Seattle-area tribe says Thanksgiving is not somber on the reservation but a time to see friends and family, as it is for other Americans.

Native Americans in the Northwest celebrate the holiday with turkey and salmon, said Daryl Williams of the Tulalip Tribes. Before the period of bitter and violent relationships between natives and their culturally European counterparts, they worked together to survive, he said.

"The spirit of Thanksgiving, of people working together to help each other, is the spirit I think that needs to grow in this country, because this country has gotten very divisive," he said.

Nationally syndicated talk show host Michael Medved was more blunt.

"The notion that now you have a major school system sending out a message that, no, rather than expressing thanks we should emphasize guilt on this holiday — that is sick, it is destructive and it is anti-American."

The real story:

From Rush 24/7 Wed, Nov. 21st.
One of the great myths of Thanksgiving is that we swindled the Indians when we bought Manhattan Island from them, we swindled them. Twenty-four bucks is the equivalent. It turns out, according to a book about Teddy Roosevelt, that that's not true. It turns out that the Indians are the ones that ran the real estate scam when they sold Manhattan. It's a book on Teddy Roosevelt, Commissioner Roosevelt: The Story of Theodore Roosevelt and the New York City Police, 1895-1897, by H. Paul Jeffers. Here are the relevant paragraphs about this. "A persuasive case can be made that the city of New York began with a swindle. For generations school children have been taught that a slick trick was played on unsuspecting Indians by the director of the Dutch West India Company, Peter Minuit. In 1626 he purchased the island of 'Manna-hatin' for sixty gilders worth of trinkets, about twenty-four dollars. What Minuit did not know at the time, however, was that his masterful real estate deal had been struck with the Canarsie tribe, residents of Long Island; they held no title to the land they sold to the Dutch. In due course, the intruders from Amsterdam who thought they had pulled a sharp one on the locals were forced into negotiating a second, more costly deal with the true landlords of Manna-hatin," which is what it was called, Manna-hatin.

chocolate

This song has more to do with a chocolate drink, but I like to sing it when I think of chocolate, regardless of the form. After all, when it comes to chocolate, what's not to sing about?

Bate, bate, chocolate,
Tu nariz de cacahuate.
Uno, dos, tres, CHO!
Uno, dos, tres, CO!
Uno, dos, tres, LA!
Uno, dos, tres, TE!
Chocolate, chocolate!
Bate, bate, chocolate!
Bate, bate, bate, bate,
Bate, bate, CHOCOLATE!

Chocolate

Stir, stir, chocolate,
Your nose is a peanut.
One, two, three, CHO!
One, two, three, CO!
One, two, three, LA!
One, two, three, TE!
Chocolate, chocolate!
Stir, stir, the chocolate!
Stir, stir, stir, stir,
Stir, stir, CHOCOLATE!

Halloween

Our church does a really fun night around Halloween called Trunk or Treat. We always have great time with the games, costumes, treats, etc. This year we ALL dressed up as Frogs!
















When Max was born, he was accompanied by two other sweet girls Shelbie, born the day before, and Justice, born a week later. Every year we get the babies pics together. Aren't they cute.

Pumpkin Patch

Last month (so I'm weeks behind) we went to a local pumpkin patch. It had poured ALL morning long and although it had quit while we were there, the place was covered in mud....by the end of the day, so were our kids!

Max and Quinlin loved exploring the place and didn't care that there was mud...in fact, I'm sure that made it even more fun. Max took a header early on and had mud not only on his clothes, but on his face. Of course everyone stopped to check out that cute muddy blue eyed blond. We even had Japanese tourist (in snohomish wa? go figure) who asked to take pictures.

It was a fun day with a hay maze, hay ride, animal watching, corn eating, and of course we went home with pumpkins.