They're Just Looking Out for Us

This makes me so mad.

U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., is hoping to pass a firearm-licensing bill that will significantly rewrite gun-ownership laws in America.

Among the more controversial provisions of the bill are requirements that all handgun owners submit to the federal government a photo, thumb print and mental heath records. Further, the bill would order the attorney general to establish a database of every handgun sale, transfer and owner's address in America.

The bill claims its purpose is "to protect the public against the unreasonable risk of injury and death associated with the unrecorded sale or transfer of firearms to criminals and youth."

It seems that in May, 2007 a young man was shot and killed on a public bus when he used his body as a shield to protect a young lady after a criminal boarded the bus and opened fire. You can read the whole article at the link above.

That's terrible. I agree that this was a crime that ought not to have happened. This young man is a hero, he died saving another, but I agree that this was highly preventable. Rep. Rush thinks that the answer to preventing more crimes like this in the future is to make it more difficult and onerous for law abiding citizens to own guns. The fact seems to have escaped him that criminals, by their very nature, do not abide by such laws.

It seems to me that the obvious frequently escapes such protectors of our "safety". For instance, if the young man who intended to board the bus and open fire had a reasonable assurance that there would be several armed persons aboard the bus, would he have been as inclined to pursue that particular course of action? And if he had, perhaps he would have been shot before the innocent young man lost his life.

It makes far more sense to me to require that all adults carry a firearm and be trained in how to use it. It seems to me a more likely deterrent of violent crime. Those who desire weapons to do harm will always find a way to obtain them. The only thing bills like the one proposed by Rep. Rush accomplish is seeing to it that no one can do anything to protect themselves. I believe the biggest deterrent to crimes like these is the gunman knowing that any time he pulls his weapon, he is likely to be staring down the barrel of another.

I also believe we have a responsibility to protect ourselves and our loved ones. I think this school district in Texas got it right.

PS: I don't think gun ownership should actually be required. I just think that if you are going to make laws concerning the owning of guns, that's a more sensible one. I do think gun ownership should be encouraged though.

Building Skills

For Christmas we gave the boys a pile of wood and some basic woodworking tools in a toolbox. They have been happily creating ever since. Eli is pretty proud of his first project and wanted to show everyone the cool box he made to hold his "stuff".
Not bad, eh!

I'm Geographically Challenged

The oldest child's knack for getting lost is a long standing family joke. I like to think I'm a bit more aware of my surroundings. But maybe not. Last night I was coming home from shopping in Bakersfield with all of the children. I think that children part is important. In my defense I had a couple that were having an especially trying day. I was tired. Yea, that's it. Really, really tired :)

So anyway, I missed the spot where I was supposed to move from one freeway to another. Not inconceivable. Could happen to anyone. The thing that is really disturbing is that I didn't notice. I'm just cruising along, talking to the girls, and feeling like Bakersfield is really a lot further from us now than San Antonio was from our previous home. In fact, that's what we started talking about, how long it seemed to take to get home. Then I look at the clock and realize it's almost 7:45. Hmmm, what time did I leave Bakersfield?? Then come the fast food restaurants that I don't recognize and I take a good look around and realize I'm really in trouble.

I should have been home by 7:10 at the latest and now it is almost 8 and I am in Santa Clarita. NICE. I didn't get home until around 9:30, out of gas and out of patience. Titus spent a good part of the trip screaming, Eli sniffing, and Ezra doing various and sundry misdeads.

My husband can get anywhere he has ever been before. I can't get home from a trip I make at least twice a month :0

Sledding

Some final pictures of the great snow in. The white stuff is all gone now, and we can get up and down the hill with very little trouble. Looking at the pictures it even looks fun :)

Next time it snows we hope to be a little better prepared. We traded the BMW for a 4 WD so we think that Mike will be able to get to work, and perhaps the rest of us can shuttle down the hill to the van. It seems you never have so many places to go as when it is impossible to leave :)

But I'm not complaining. Really. The snow in and the Christmas power outage pointed out some serious holes in our "preparedness." And that's a good thing. Perhaps we can plug the holes before preparedness is more serious.

Take a good look at Ethan sledding down the hill. Terror, pure terror :)

Ticker Time

Does my new ticker look a little girlie?? That's because the sonogram says...IT'S A GIRL! The tech says she's quite certain, so we are going to go with it. We may have a little boy in pink a few months from now, but for now, WE HAVE A GIRL!

Hit Those Resale Shops Now

You might have heard me mention the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) that goes into effect on Feb 10, 2009. I (and many others) was hopeful that there might be some amendment when Congress met to hear it on Dec. 10, but the hearing was cancelled and it doesn't appear that there will be any sort of change before the law takes effect.

The CPSIA requires testing of all products intended for children under 12 for the presence of lead and/or phthalates. ALL PRODUCTS. This includes books, toys, clothes, car seats, strollers, slings... Anything designed to be used by children. And there is no exclusion for used items, or for existing inventory. Childrens resale shops? Gone. 1/2 of Goodwill, gone. 1/2 of eBay, gone. You get the picture.

This is just another example of government run amok. Lead is bad. I want it out of things that I buy for my children. But the way that this law is written will decimate resale and specialty markets. Every lot in every color of everything will have to be tested. Even if every component has been certified, the end product must still be tested. So, for one-of-a-kind items, that means every one of them. And the testing is very expensive. It's estimated to be $4,000 for toys, $150-$500 for clothes. The little guy, with little lots, or the resaler, just wont be able to comply. Just what we need in an economy barely breathing.

This passed in the House 424 to 1. Guess who the one was??? Ron Paul for president!!

LA Times wrote about it here, and Molly Orr has a couple of good posts on her blog if you scroll down a bit. Valerie talks about the changes coming to her book business. There are lots more if you google a bit.

More Snow

The skies are clear today and we have all decided that snow is a bit over rated :) Although if I had four wheel drive and a real coat, I might like it just fine.

Sledding was a big hit, and if there weren't horses to feed early in the morning and ice to be broken off of water, the girls would have found the snow a lot more enjoyable.
Eli thought eating the snow was a lot of fun.

Chloe looking pathetic
All of these pictures are from the first day of snow, when it looked melty and manageable.


But then it snowed most of the day, and all night. So yesterday, it looked like this. Less melty. The base was closed so Mike was home. He remembered we had chains from the old suburban and decided to try to get them on the van. I didn't really consider that we would be leaving, so I didn't prepare a list of the things yet to be acquired for Christmas.

But, he thought we could make it to town, and not knowing when we would make it again, thought we should go.

This is what we were taking the van through. Do you see where this is going??


As soon as we started down, we knew we weren't coming back up. I began wondering why I didn't wear tights...and a hat...and gloves... We got a little bit of inefficient shopping done (no list) and rushed through a quick meal to try to get back before dark, since we also didn't have a flashlight and Mike would need to put the chains back on.

With the help of a kind neighbor the chains were reapplied and we were on our way. We made it further than I feared we would, and only had to walk the last hill to the house.

It's a little bit sunny today, so maybe Mike will be able to get the van up tonight. Or tomorrow. There is no more snow predicted until Monday, so hopefully we can get the last of our preparations done and get all settled in for Christmas.

What's Going On At Our House

The kids have broken icicles off the eaves of the house and put them in cups. They are walking around the house sucking icicles.

Snow!

We awoke to snow this morning. Lot's of snow. Well, lot's of snow for us anyway. Mike couldn't get to work this morning, and took a nasty spill on his rear trying to get back up to the house. You know, after he abandoned the car at the bottom of the hill.

We had heard this was a possibility, so we took care of all the essentials. We.... Well, let's see. We.... Hmmm. Let's just say we like to learn our lessons the hard way around here :) We didn't buy a snow shovel. We are almost out of water. And the horses will likely be out of hay tonight. We do have hot chocolate though, so we probably won't notice.

About the water. I mean, there is water. It's just that it comes from the well instead of that fancy filter contraption in front of the Savemart. Ewww.

But hay, that's gonna be tricky.

Of course, it's only supposed to snow until Wednesday. And then the temp. should rise to 34 degrees and I'm sure it will all melt quickly away on this lovely southern slope :)

Hailey Turns 12!

It is hard to believe that Hailey has begun her 13th year. She has grown into quite a young lady, and frequently blesses us with her skill in the kitchen, her helpful hands, her beautiful music, and her ready smile.

Hailey really wanted P.F. Chang for her birthday, so we decided to forgo the standard breakfast and splurge on a yummy dinner. Just doing our part to boost the economy. We had pretty great breakfast anyway though, with eggs, hash browns and apple dumplings.


Daddy took her to the Kern County Museum where they had a great day together, but daddy forgot the camera, and the rest of us met them at the restaurant later on.

The chosen birthday dessert was vanilla pudding, so there were no candles. Just a big bowl to hold while we sang :)
We love you Hailey and we hope you had a great birthday!

That's Gonna Leave A Mark

In a desperate attempt not to be "it" Sierra and Eli raced through the gate together, determined that someone else would be tagged. And as they barreled through said gate, Eli's head was bumped into the latch. Leaving a nice chunk of his cheek behind. Not a cut mind you, a hole. A chunk of his cheek... gone.

And that is how he came to have stitches. For a second time.

Happy Birthday Ethan!

Well, the post is late but the celebrationg was on time :) It seems I am not a very good blogger, but better late than never, right? Right??


Ethan is 7. He's such a big boy, I can hardly believe so much time has passed. It's been nearly 3 1/2 years since his "Gotcha Day". Which means he's been a part of our family just about as long as he was missing.


Ethan loves to be a helper to both his mom and his dad, and whenever I am cooking he is right there asking what he can do. His smile is radiant, he's full of little boy mischief, and we love him lots. We are so glad God brought Ethan into our family.

In honor of Ethan's birthday, the whole family trekked into "the city" for a delicious breakfast at Mimi's. Later on, he and daddy went hiking. They were looking for a trail that daddy had heard much about. They didn't find the trail they were looking for, and ended up on a very narrow one, but had a great time.

They came home to a dinner of the birthday boy's request. Orange chicken, rice, and jello. Then a few presents and the seeking of God's blessing on Ethan's life by daddy.




Hailey made a yummy cake. It seems she's taken over baking duties lately. Yay! Ty thought the cake was excellent, he wanted to be sure to get every last drop. And it took Ethan 6 tries to blow out all the candles. Good thing we aren't superstitious :)


It was a great day, and we are grateful to the Lord for his many blessing. We love you Ethan, Happy Birthday!