Political Peril & Other Opinions

Well, it's been a while since I posted about anything politic. This week just has me both doubled over in laughter and shaking my head in shame.

Who's got me laughing? Why, none other than that preposterous speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi. She's getting called out in a bad way! Like a little kid with her hand in the cookie jar and melted chocolate on her cheeks, she stands before us and swears she "DIDN'T KNOW!" about the interrogation procedures. The chocolate on her face? The numerous briefings and CIA memo's now surfacing, letting us know exactly who knew what and when.

Now she's getting nervous. Going to a press conference flustered and out of whack. Like her golden boy, Obama, who flubs the darn words right in front of him on the teleprompter, Pelosi can't find her own darn statement in her own darn notes. It was hilarious, but at the same time sad. Ever watch the "falling" videos on America's Funniest Home Videos? You gasp at the beginning of each fall and then end up laughing your hiney off! That's Pelosi..she's falling. How bad will it be?

Shaking my head in shame? At Notre Dame and (this oxymoron) pro-choice Catholics. President Obama gets his honorary degree (what's that about anyway? Can anyone get one of those? I'd like one, please) this weekend from Notre Dame. Founded in honor of Our Lady by Father Sorin of the Congregation of The Holy Cross back in 1842, Notre Dame has always been a place of learning and religious activity. One of the few truly named Catholic universities left in America. Presenting President Obama with an honorary degree and inviting him to speak at commencement is, actually, quite normal. He is the President of the United States after all. What is not normal at all, is the disparity within the Catholic Faith. Between those who defend life in all forms and stages, and those who don't.

This is not even a matter of "Catholic" morality. This is an issue that should concern all peoples. Christian or not. Taking a life, whether defenseless in the womb or on the streets of NYC, should not be encouraged, tolerated, or made politically correct for any reason.

My opinion is this, If you cannot "afford" to take care of child, then don't have sex. If you're "too young" to take care of a child, then don't have sex. If you're just not "mentally ready" then don't have sex. It's as easy as that. Society will tell you that you are crazy! Have sex and more sex and even more sex. Go crazy with sex. It's better than any drug! (But take them too if it makes you feel good, we'll just start taxing them) Too old to have sex? Never! We've got the cure! Worried about responsibility? Never! Use condoms and gels and foams and odd shaped cups to catch that dirty little sperm. Use the patch and pill or let us implant you with this nifty little device that could possibly wreak havoc on your body, but it's all for the good! You'll be able to have unlimited sex!!! Oh, and you won't get acne or have that nasty little (normal) body function every month. All enabling you to have more and frequent sex.

Failure, you say!? Oh, there is no failure! There's a Planned Parenthood near you! For only $300-400 you can eliminate failure! Enabling you to continue to have more and more of that self indulgent sex.

Sex*! It does a body good!

*Serious side effects may occur. Patients who have unlimited sex may suffer from HIV/AIDS, gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes and/or syphilis. See your doctor if you are having sex and experiencing a burning sensation at urination or lesions of any type. Symptoms may vary.

Wow, I feel like I just did an infomercial.

Just my opinion folks.

Great Rosary Giveaway!

JOT over at Ora et Labora is giving away a Divine Mercy Shrine booklet and a car rosary that she made herself. Let me tell ya, I've seen her work over the years and she makes beautiful rosaries! So go on over and enter to win! Oh, and say Dawn sent you! Blessings!

What a Beautiful Day!

Mr. Pinch received The Lord on Saturday! Thanks be to God! She was such a beauty. Part of her veil was worn by her older sister at Baptism. Thanks for Grandma's who can put all that together.


Big brother goofs with Mr. Pinch before we head to Mass.


Thanking Jesus after Mass.


We love Mr. Pinch! It was so nice to have my mom and dad in town. Talk about a surprise! Thanks be to God! We miss them already.

Then my hubby spent all day on Sunday in the kitchen making steaks, roasted vegetable with potatoes and provided us with such a good meal. He cleaned the house, did all the laundry (and I mean ALL of it) and didn't let me do anything but enjoy my day. God Bless him always!

Thank You, Gov. Perdue!

Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue gave military kids a great boost yesterday afternoon.

From the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

In a visit to Fort Benning on Thursday, Perdue also signed a separate bill that allows children of soldiers stationed in Georgia to qualify for Georgia’s HOPE scholarship. The new law waives the one-year HOPE residency requirement for children of active-duty military personnel.

Georgia's HOPE Program

HOPE — Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally — is Georgia's unique scholarship and grant program that rewards students with financial assistance in degree, diploma, and certificate programs at eligible Georgia public and private colleges and universities, and public technical colleges. HOPE is funded entirely by the Georgia Lottery for Education, which also funds Georgia's statewide prekindergarten program. Since the HOPE Program began in 1993, over $3.8 billion in HOPE funds have been awarded to more than 1.1 million students attending Georgia's colleges, universities, and technical colleges. You can benefit from HOPE in several ways. If you are interested in the HOPE Teacher Scholarship Loan for individuals pursuing a masters, specialist or doctorate degree in education in a critical shortage teaching field, or the PROMISE Teacher Scholarship Loan for undergraduate education majors, click here.

HOPE Scholarship

If you are a Georgia resident enrolling in a degree program at an eligible Georgia public or private college, university, or public technical college, you may be eligible for the HOPE Scholarship. Recipients must demonstrate academic achievement. The award at public institutions covers tuition, HOPE-approved mandatory fees, and a book allowance. If you wish to enroll in a Georgia private institution, you may be eligible for a $3,500 per academic year scholarship for full-time study or $1,750 for half-time study (6-11 hours). Click here for a history of the HOPE program and HOPE facts and figures.

HOPE Grant

If you are a Georgia resident enrolling in a technical certificate or diploma program at an eligible Georgia public college, university, or public technical college, you may be eligible for the HOPE Grant regardless of high school graduation dates or grade point averages. The HOPE Grant covers tuition, HOPE-approved mandatory fees, and a book allowance.

This is great news for military families who have high schoolers who would like to attend GA State schools!

Now it's up to the kids to keep their grades up!

We've Gone and Done IT!

We have decided to buy a house! Crazy! Scary and absolutely frustrating. I have a ton of things to do today and my hubby is off the mid. I won't be able to get any paperwork signed until he's up from his sleep.

We decided to go with the new house in our budget. We loved the idea of land but we just can't afford it right now. I did speak with some ladies at Church who gave me some great ideas for the garden I want to start. I can do all of that in my back yard with pots and bins. I've done the container gardening before and loved it. I am very much looking forward to my own planting again.

JMJ, funny you mentioned no chickens allowed in the neighborhood. We actually thought about that because it was a project we were wanting to do with the kids. Sadly, it may have to wait. The kids are not sad, they won't have to clean up after the chickens. :)

We have a closing date of June 8th. It's time to get packing. Lots and lots to do. I can't believe it! We are buying a house! Please keep us in your prayers as we go through this process. Pray for our builders that their eyes and hands are true and their product solid.
Thanks prayer warriors! Blessings!

It's Decision Time

As I mentioned in my previous post we visited the house on 2.2 acres today. The entire front yard is a horse pasture. Apparently the family loves and owned at least 3-4 horses. The home itself, was nice. Well kept, needs some minor exterior work that we could see. Beautiful large front rocking chair porch. Swimming pool, although the pool had been neglected for some time. Not sure what kind of condition it is in once the algae and dirt are removed. Overall a very nice home on a nice plot of land. The only negative, the price. Close to 300,000. It is at the very high end of our budget. The owner just reduced the price and is not willing to go any lower at this point. So after we walked around for about an hour, we decided to go home and think about the numbers.

On our way home we get a call from the realtor. She has just spoken with another realtor who has just begun selling a new neighborhood right outside of Fort Gordon.
Homes in the 150-250,000 range. This is more like it, we think. Still yearning for land and not keen on house upon house living, we decided to give it a look. Turns out the homes are absolutely beautiful. It is a very brand new neighborhood with a builder from Atlanta. The builder is offering closing costs and very generous upgrades. We looked at a plan called the Catherine, 3343 square feet, 5 bedrooms and 3 baths. The best thing about the house...the laundry room is upstairs! I love it. The lot we are looking at backs to green space and has a buffer zone on one side.
The other good thing, the price..only 215,000! It is well within our budget. Stone, brick, hardwood, granite counter tops. 10 year home warranty. Energy efficient appliances.

So we are considering both homes at this point. I am leaning toward the new home in our budget. He is back and forth. He really wants land, but the price on the newer home is more our speed.

Here is a pic of the new house, this picture is of one being built now. Our home will have stone accents and a front porch.


Here's the floor planClick on the Catherine.

and a link to the horse farm.

Here's our dilemma, new vs. older. Land vs landscaped. Top ramen for dinner or hamburgers on the grill.
Ach!!!!!!! I like hamburgers.

This business called Life...

In case you didn't know we are currently in the process of looking for a house to purchase. We have also discovered that we will be expecting a new arrival in December. That changed things on the house front. We went from looking at 4 bedrooms to 5 bedrooms. Big difference in stock and price.

In this new world of nuclear families with 1.2 kids, homes with over 4 bedrooms are very hard to come by and very expensive when you do find one. We are headed out tomorrow to look at a 4 bedroom, 2 bath home. It's 2800 square feet and we are hoping that the rooms are big enough to fit the kids if they double up. This house has a pool in the back yard and sits on 2.2 acres. It's in the country but not so far from work that gas would kill us. We are headed out there today to take a preview look at the area.

I really don't want to buy a four bedroom. We live in one now. Why move? Well, we don't own this one. We are renters at this point and we do want to own our own home. But, like I said, it's so difficult to find a 5 bedroom home in our price range. Perhaps with a four bedroom on it's own land, no "neighborhood fees" etc, we could add on in the future.

I am tired of looking at this point. I have placed it in God's hands and I know He will lead us to the right place if that is His will for us. The looking is tiring though. It is consuming and now I find myself dreaming about all the homes we have looked at.

Prayer warriors, please pray for us that we are able to let this truly be in God's hands and that He will guide us always along the path of His will.

Thanks so much friend!