The Tale of Two Houses

This one is very true. http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/house.asp

I do wish this kind of stuff would make the news, but it won’t!


HOUSE # 1: This house has 20-rooms (not including 8 bathrooms) and is heated by natural gas. In addition, there is a pool (and a pool house) and a separate
guest house all heated by gas. In an average month, this house consumes
more energy than the average American household in an average year.

The average bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2,400 per month.
In natural gas alone, this property consumes more than 20 times the national
average for an American home. This house is not in a northern or Midwestern
"snow belt". It's in the South.

HOUSE # 2: Designed by an architecture professor, this house incorporates every "green" feature current home construction can provide. The house contains only 4,000 square feet (4 bed rooms) and is nestled on arid high prairie in the
American southwest. A central closet in the house holds geothermal heat
pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground.
The water (usually 67 degrees F.) heats the house in winter and cools it in
summer. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas, and it
consumes 25% of the electricity required for a conventional heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000 gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the house. Native flowers and shrubs native to the area blend the property into the surrounding rural landscape.

HOUSE #1 is outside of Nashville, Tennessee. It is the private residence of Al Gore.
HOUSE # 2 is near Crawford, Texas. It is the private residence of George W. Bush

Army Extending Deployments from 12 to 15 Months

Gates announces longer tours in Iraq - Yahoo! News

Top News- Pentagon Extends Army Tours to 15 Months - AOL News

I'm saddened, frustrated, and angry over this. It's not effecting us immediately but it will in less than 12 months. We have so many friends here and from other posts that are being effected or about to be effected. What's absolutely the most frustrating to me is the fact that this is ONLY effecting the Army. I'd assumed for a long time that the Marine's deployed for 12 months as well, but their average deployment is 7 months, now they are only home for 7 months too, but....either way at this point we're doing 15 months now.

I look at the average AF deployment being 3-4 months, Navy the majority of them don't go to Iraq or Afganistan...again this is AVERAGE not all by any means and I know there's exceptions. I just cried tonight though. Cried for the fact that when Chad does leave he's going to be 15 months with our children, 12 months has been hard enough. I look at some friends who have NEVER been through a deployment or who's spouses when they do deploy never leave the comforts of their base camps. I accept that War is part of our life. I support it. I support our President. Most of all I support my husband and his JOB. He believes in what he's fighting for. Doesn't mean it's easy or that he likes having to do it, but this is the point of a military...to fight wars. No one likes war, but they're part of life, and always have been.

These soldiers who are currently in Iraq and Afganistan need our prayers as do their families as they face an additional 3 months and the soldiers who are about to deploy need our prayers as they prepared for 12 and now have to go there with the realization that it's 15 months instead. A lot of our friends who are about to deploy are currently on block leave and many of them are in area's that they probably have not even heard of this new news and it saddens me that when they come home this is what they'll be facing.

I just really don't understand why the other branches can't extend the additional 3 months, they'd still fall short of the Army's 12 months....but well we will just suck it up and go with it. We have no other choice. I have to remember and remind myself God knew this was going to happen and that it's all in his hands, nothing happens without his permission. Oh how easily I forget that God's got this, oh he's got this.

Keep our soldiers in your prayers.

ABC's of Jesus

ABC'S OF JESUS
Abiding Vine - John 15:4
Bridegroom - Ephesians 5:32
Creator - Colossians 1:16
Deity - John 10:30
Everlasting Life - John 3:16
Faithful Friend - 1 Corinthians 1:9
Good Shepherd - John 10:11
Hiding Place - Psalm 32:7
Image of the Invisible God - Colossians 1:15
Joy Unspeakable - 1 Peter 1:8
King of Kings - 1 Timothy 6:15
Lord of Glory - 1 Corinthians 2:8
Merciful Mediator - Hebrews 2:17
Never ending love - Jeremiah 31:3
Omnipotent One - Revelation 19:6
Prince of Peace - Isaiah 9:6
Quieter of Fears - Proverbs 1:33
Rock of Salvation - 1 Corinthians 10:4
Sacrificial Lamb - John 1:29
The Truth - John 14:6
Understanding Guide - Proverbs 3:5,6
Victorious Warrior - 1 John 5:4
Word of Life - 1 John 1:1
Exalted name above all names - Philippians 2:9
Your only Hope - Ephesians 2:12
Zion's Messiah - Isaiah 55:11

Christ Has Risen!

Well it's Easter here in Germany!! I'm still up at 2 am...grrr. I wish I wasn't. I fell asleep on the couch tonight and got a nap, then woke up and cleaned up the house a little bit so it'll look good for pictures in the morning!! :) I am finally starting to feel tired, so after this I'm heading to bed.


In the morning the boys will wake up and find their easter buckets, overload on candy, and then my friend's going to drop her dog off while they go on to Garmisch for a few days during block leave. Her hubby's getting ready to deploy soon. We'll then get all dressed up in our Easter clothes and off to church we go. We'll then head over to the CAC (community Activity Center) and have the boys picture taken...once we get it back, I'll scan it. Once we get home we're going to dye eggs.................... Once we get done with that Daddy's going to take them outside and hide the eggs and then I'm going to take the boys out and let them find the eggs! They love it. Once they're done we'll hopefully be having dinner soon after! I love cooking holiday meals! I'm planning on making a turkey breast, home made noodles, home made bread, mashed potatoes, and we'll have cranberry sauce that the boys LOVE! Mmmm! I love this meal! :)

Before bed we're going to read the bible and discuss Christ dying for us, how he rose, and how much he loves us. Thankfully the boys love Jesus and both love being read to. One of the things I'm wanting to do as a family is start a bible study together, one that's on the boys level...so that Chad and I both feel that they're learning about God, learning about why Jesus came to Earth, lived, and died for us. Jacob gets quite a bit of this and although Jack's young and doesn't get all of it...they both are always full of questions. They're both so inquisitive.

I want Easter to be focused on Jesus, not on candy, not on The Easter Bunny, not on Eggs....but on JESUS.

Have a wonderful Easter. Remember the reason for this day.

God Bless

We're Having A..................

GIRL!!!!!!
My due date also moved up a week, it's now August 16, so the week before that she should be making her entrance into the world!!! We couldn't be more thrilled! I started shaking and crying I was so happy! I prayed and prayed and told God this was the desire of my heart before we EVER started even trying and after we started I continued to tell him and kept up until last night when I poured out my heart to him once again. He knew the desires and I truly believe that God gives us what our family needs, had this baby been a boy it would have been fine. I would have been happy and loved him with all my heart. I would have known a boy was what was meant for our family at this time. I'm thrilled that God saw it fit that a daughter is what is needed for our family at this time.
We will NOT be sharing the names we're discussing and we will not announce what her name is once we've picked it until she's born!

Linda, I'll email you the picture of her foot that my dr printed off for me today!

God Bless!

Why You Should Let Your Children Play In Dirt!

I just came across it! I'm a huge advocate for just letting kids be kids. Dirt washes off and now there's a good possibility that it actually is GOOD for kids! I've never been one to stop the kids from getting dirty when we go to the park, track, etc. We spend most of our spring, summer, and fall days at the park. The boys are normally full of sand in ever crevise that it can possibly get into, their heads are ususally full of it, shoes always have to be emptied on the steps before going inside and normally a shoe full of sand falls out lol...but they're happy, tired, and dirty little boys. Staying clean happens when we're adults. Too many parents are worried about germs and dirt...when the fact is a little is good. How are our immune systems supposed to get stronger if they're never exposed? We rarely do hand sanitizers, we're non antibacterial soap family. They wash before eating and when dirt is visible on their hands after coming inside...otherwise they're fine. A little dirt isn't going to hurt them. They don't have compromised immune systems so why act like they do?!

Jacob and Jack don't know how to get a little dirty...they know how to get REALLY dirty and they're happier because of it!

Here's the link tot he article:
http://www.parentdish.com/2007/04/03/why-you-should-let-your-children-play-in-the-dirt/

Here's the article:

Nolan loves dirt. He loves to smear his little fingers in whatever gooey muck he can get his little fingers into, if there is a puddle he will splash in it, if there's a chunk of thick brown soil he will attempt to insert his limbs as far as they will go. And up till now, I have stopped him: Nolan, yuck. That's dirty.

But he might just know exactly what he's doing. This recent BBC article claims that exposure to dirt might lift mood as well as the immune system. Apparently, seratonin, a key ingredient in the brown gunk, may restore a healthy immune function in people who are depressed and prone to infection.

More study is needed, caution experts, but in the meantime, I guess it wouldn't hurt all of us to learn from our kids and smear a little mud.

Update on Jillian

Jessica sent the website. Please visit it and keep praying as they make their decisions. I ask you to not put any requests on them (asking them what they need, etc) they have a lot on their plate already.

www.caringbridge.com/visit/joyfuljillian

God Bless and Thank you