Sportsmanship (Or My Lack Of It)

As someone who has enjoyed sports & games her entire life, sportsmanship was something that my parents worked very hard to instill into my attitude at a very young age (That and how to be humble, but I'm still working the humble part!). Of course, it was easy being a good winner, what was hard was taking a loss and having a good attitude, and not dwelling on it to the point of never getting over it (again, I'm still working on that part).

I have to be honest, I'm got the good sportsmanship down. It's been a long time since I've played a sport, but the last time I lost I do remember making a point of going over and congratulating the winner. When I'm in a show ring with my goats and someone else ends up first I do my best to at least tell them well done. (Sometimes there's not a chance due to either one of us rushing to get the next goat in the ring.) And as a coach for little league you have to have good sportsmanship. You have to line up and congratulate the other players, no matter the age, the team, the winner, even if you don't feel like it.

But the one place where I have the hardest time for good sportsmanship is bound to get a laugh from everyone....The time when I have the hardest time showing a "Conduct and attitude considered as befitting participants in sports, especially fair play, courtesy, striving spirit, and grace in losing." is when it comes to the Houston Astros.

Ask me what happened in the 2005 NLCS and I can tell you the plays that led up to Pujols' home run, that caused us to lose. Then there's that home run that was hit by the Astros in 2001 that the ump called a ground rule double because he saw it land in front of one fence, and missed the second fence in the bull pen.

And I can't forget today when he could call a strike to save his life and threw Roy Oswalt out in the third inning. In what could very well be Roy O's last game here as an Astros.

Yeah, I know the number one rule in baseball is not to argue with the ump, but then the ump has rules he should follow as well, and this one didn't seem like he could. But then it could just be my unsportsmanlike conduct showing, and it showed again a few minutes later when an Astros hit a pop up and I muttered, "Oh good!! Hit the ump in the head...Get on base AND take out this ump!!" Yes, I know it was both an unchristian and unsportsmanlike attitude, but at that point all I cared about is that we were down by four runs, the ump had just thrown out my favorite pitcher and it just might well be the last time I would see him in an Astros' jersey.

Yes, I know as the eldest child & a coach to many impressionable young children it's not an attitude I should have. It's one of the MANY areas in my life I am working on. And at this rate I think it will be one of those areas that will take many prayers and years to accomplish.

So, there's your warning. If ever you go to a Major League Baseball game be well prepared for me to not only cheer my team on, but to also yell at the other players (nothing bad I promise!) and to argue with the ump.

"Trust and Obey"

"Trust and Obey"

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

Refrain

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.

Refrain

Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey.

Refrain

But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.

Refrain

Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet.
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way.
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.

Refrain

"Katie Weirdness"

For years now when ever black eyes were mentioned or one of my siblings got a black eye there was bound to be one person who would light up and want to see it, while there would would be at least one other person who would shake their head and mumble something along the lines of...."Crazy girl wants a black eye, well I can help her with that!!".

Who was that crazy person who would light up and want to see the black eye? Why me of course! And who would the person be who would do the muttering? Any of the older girls, from Emma to Christin or one of my parents. Why?

Ever since I was a little tyke, I thought black eyes were the coolest thing. Don't ask me why I don't know , but I did. My mom thought I was weird and my dad thought it might have had something to do with my love of baseball. My sisters? Well, truthfully sometimes are all to happy to help me with my wish for a black eye.

I spent many hours walking into doors or running towards a mirror every time a toddler socked me good and hard while rough housing. It took months of walking into doors, years of rough housing, and one episode of being dragged by a 150 pound dog into a lamp post. To realize I do not bruise easily.

How did I figure that out? Well, when the dog dragged me into the lamp post I only bruised slight, never got a black eye, & was in an amazing amount of pain for the lack of bruising I had. Dad who watched it was surprised that it wasn't bruised more then it showed.

I have to laugh.....even with flipping a 4-wheeler, wrestling with 150+ pound goats, and being in more then my fair share of wrestling matches pitting me vs. three boys has yet to get me a black eye. I've even been elbowed in the eye once and only ended up with a headache!!

There have many many times where my big sister, know it all attitude, or bossiness has gotten so under their skin that my siblings offered to help my "dream come true".

Please don't ask what the fascinate with a black eye is about, as I wouldn't be able to give you answer other then "Well, it looked neat!". I don't know what I started wanting a black eye, I think it might have been when I was eight and two sisters had a nice shiner as well as two friends having one as well.

My mom chalked it up to being a "fad" and thought I would out grow it. She's still hoping that one day I will grow up and stop wishing for a black eye. Until then, if your ever around my family and here someone ask me "You want help with that black eye dream?" or "I can help with that goal Katie!" you know what their talking about and you can add one more thing to the every growing list of "Katie Weirdness".

O.K. so I lacked something better to write. (as if you couldn't guess) I'm having a combination of writers block and VERY busy week! Enjoy your Memorial day!

"Christ, The Lord, is Risen Today"

"Christ, The Lord, is Risen Today"

Christ, the Lord, is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply, Alleluia!

Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Lo! the Sun’s eclipse is over, Alleluia!
Lo! He sets in blood no more, Alleluia!

Vain the stone, the watch, the seal, Alleluia!
Christ hath burst the gates of hell, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids His rise, Alleluia!
Christ hath opened paradise, Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

Hail, the Lord of earth and Heaven, Alleluia!
Praise to Thee by both be given, Alleluia!
Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia!
Hail, the resurrection, thou, Alleluia!

King of glory, Soul of bliss, Alleluia!
Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!
Thee to know, Thy power to prove, Alleluia!
Thus to sing and thus to love, Alleluia!

Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
Unto Christ, our heavenly King, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!

But the pains that He endured, Alleluia!
Our salvation have procured, Alleluia!
Now above the sky He’s King, Alleluia!
Where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!

Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!
Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
Suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!

Have You Ever....

Heard about a famous person that died and you thought, "Oh, I'm sorry for his family!", remembered something that he did and then moved on with your life? You knew about this person, but you didn't know them, only a few things that they had done in their life. Yes, I'm sure you have, we all have. I know I have esp. with watching baseball & politics I hear about people dying, but I never really think more beyond the first thought of I'm really sorry for their family.

Now, have you ever heard of a famous person (or not so famous person) and you were really saddened by their death? Not because you knew that person. But from what you knew or saw of that person? You remember the things they did how that person acted in the news, etc. and the fact that you would never see then in the news or on the field again saddened you?

Well, that's how I feel right now. Sunday morning Jose Lime died at the age of 37. As if the fact that he died wasn't enough it's his age that gets to me. Shoot, that's in 16 years for me, by the time Dixie is driving!

Jose Lima was a pitcher for the Astros from 1997-2001. I started my years of baseball watching watching Lima pitch. He was in my top three for favorite players--Yes, right there with Bagwell & Biggio--in 1999 when I went to 21 games, my dad made a point when buying tickets to get those games in which Jose Lima was pitching, of those 21 games I went to I believe that Lima pitched 10 of them.

No, he wasn't famous, unless you were watching the team that he was playing for. No, he did nothing great. In fact if you look at his career stats you would wonder what did he do. He had more loses then wins and in a sport where ERA means the lower the better....Well, he failed in that as well.

But he made the game enjoyable to watch even when your team was losing or he was in a slump. He was the type of person that you watched and knew he was playing for the love of the game and not for the money he would get. (A point proven in the past few years where he played for $2,000 a month.)

He was the one man I wanted to get an autograph from--All most more so then Bags or Biggio--and the one man who would sit for hours on end giving autographs, if he had the time to do so, he was always signing before and after games--even when the Astros lost--and always made a point to get the kids first.

I remember the day that the Astros traded him (I still have the newspaper clippings) I walked out to get my coffee before church (yes, I was drinking coffee at the age of 13!) and dad called me over, sits me in his lap and says "Katie, I have some bad baseball news for you." And lets it hang for a few seconds while he takes a sip of his coffee, leaving me to think that the ballpark had blown up, the Astros were out of the play-offs for good, or someone had died, "The Astros traded Jose Lima." O.K. I think, not as bad as I thought, but it ranks pretty high up there!

My dad sent me an e-mail telling me that he had died (I was milking for someone else and he knows I like to read obituaries). As I'm reading the title mom says "Oh, yeah Katie Lima died." and not two minutes later dad comes in to tell me "I'm sorry Katie, but Lima died.". To my sisters they had no idea, to me he was the guy that I remember when I think about those men who are in it just for the money.

After the Astros traded him, I continued to watch him, he might be the only person who I have ever done that for. I'm more a team type of person. I am a person who watches the game to enjoy it and see how the team works together, even if I can tell you each person's stats, weakness, and advantages on the field. Unless it was Jose Lime, well then those days I watched the game to watch him and it was tons of fun watching "Lima Time"!

I'm sure that there are very few people (if any) who are reading this who have any idea what I am talking about. But again, this goes back to being my blog and talking about what's on my mind. :D

Lima will be missed, there aren't all that many people now a days who play like he did and who show that they enjoyed the game like he did. But I still watch the game and enjoy it.

Just Wondering....

When your at a restaurant and you order iced tea how does it come to you?
Sweetened or unsweetened?
And those who live in Texas this does not count for you to answer. :D

Today Was.....

Was Dixie's first Major League game, Astros vs. Rays. No it wasn't her first baseball game as she has been to both Noah & Timothy's games.

The Tampa Bay Rays for reasons that partly make sense and partly don't are my mom's team. While the Astros for all the obvious reasons--I've only lived in the greater Houston area for 21 years & watched the Astros for 12 years--are my team. :D

Of course I had to sit through the entire game listening to my sisters back mom up & my dad crack jokes about how horrid the Astros are. After all "the team that is going to win the World Series is playing the worst team in baseball."

To top it all of the Astros had to lose a lead and let the Rays win. I'm not sure how much Dixie enjoyed the game (and no she doesn't win the medal for being the youngest Carlson to go to a game), as she slept through most of the game, but I do know that the boys enjoyed it.

I'm sure that there are very few people reading this who care about baseball, but it's one thing that I love and enjoy talking about it, plus I've waited 6 months to watch the Rays & Carl Crawford steal bases like Biggio used to, and to top it all off I couldn't think of anything else to talk about.

Y'all enjoy your week, while we on the farm work at getting ready for some major farm tours, summer, more birthdays, along with normal life. :D

I am NOT....

Your typical female (or so I'm told). If you didn't know that, well then I guess your going to learn more about me in this post. :D If you already knew that, well then congratulations you know me as well as some of my 'real life' friends know me.

How am I different? Well....I hate shoes, I hate shopping, and I don't wear makeup. :D

I firmly believe that shoes are part of the fall. I am sure that Adam and Eve did not have to deal with these troublesome things called shoes that are supposed to protect our feet and that from what I've heard most females love to have many pairs of. Me? I own my two pairs of crocs, one for the farm & one for church & two pairs of cowboy boots, both for off the farm (and both of which are sitting in my closet waiting to be resoled yet again.)

I think one reason I don't like shoes is that I have the worst time finding shoes that fit well, having long narrow feet is a curse. Tennis shoes don't last me four months (and haven't for the past decade), cowboy boots need to be resoled every 12-14 months, and church shoes? Well, they have the life span of a pair of clothes on Judah at the farm.

Shopping, I don't enjoy it to much unless I have oodles of money (which doesn't happen all that often...As in never!) or if I am shopping for gifts. If I have a list, I don't mind it to much, get in, buy needed supplies, and get out. Now gifts are a totally different matter, I can spend HOURS trying to find the right gifts, because what's in my mind doesn't match up with what I am finding in the stores or online. And if I had oodles of money? Well, I wouldn't mind shopping in the least, but I sure wouldn't be doing it everyday of my life!

Makeup? Yes, I buy makeup. No, I do not wear it. When would I have the time to put it on? While I'm helping with farm life, family life, or business life? Oh, wait I could do it early in the morning, but then that might cut into my reading and coffee time. Ummm...I'm not going there! lol

So, if I don't wear it, why do I buy it? For the simple reason to torment my siblings. When they are peaceful sleeping with "visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads". I sneak into their room and put the makeup on them just to see how they and the family react in the morning. I've had a sister (who shall go nameless) go half the morning without knowing that lipstick was smeared all over her face and trying to figure out why none of us could keep a straight face or have a decent conversation with her in that time frame. It was WAY to funny!! lol

Oh yeah other ways I'm not 'normal'...I still live with my family, I don't go to movies, I am not dating, and I'm loving every minute of it!

Yes, I am mean. No I am not your typical female. But that's who I am and my family lives with me. Even though there are days when I know they would just love to send me packing with my tricks and book reading ways.

Meet Jack Norwoth

"Katie Casey was base ball mad.
Had the fever and had it bad;"

Every herd this before? I didn't think so, neither had I until a few years back. :D What's this have to do with Jack Norworth? Well, he wrote this, it's part of a song. A song that every American has at least herd, if not know it...Rather know the chorus to it. Have you ever sung "Shine on Harvest Moon"? Then you have sung another of Jack Norworth's songs.

Yeah, I'm sure at this point I really have you confused, I'm good at that! lol Jack Norworth was a songwriter & vaudeville performer in the early 1900s. While riding a trolley to work one day in 1908 he saw a sign that read "Baseball Today at the Polo Grounds". Hespent the next 15 minutes writing a song that would been sung thousands of times every year for the next century (or more).

The interesting thing about this is that this song was written about a sport that Jack had never seen and would not get to enjoy for another three decades. He wrote two versions of this song, leaving only the chorus the same in both versions, the chorus the part of the song that everyone sings and thinks is the entirety of the song.

Do I have you really confused now or are you just dying to find out what song I'm talking about? (Or have you all ready Goggled the Katie Casey part and know the answer?) I promise you I did not make any of this up! Look it up yourself if you don't believe me. :D

1908 version of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game"

Katie Casey was baseball mad,
Had the fever and had it bad.
Just to root for the home town crew,
Ev'ry sou
Katie blew.
On a Saturday her young beau
Called to see if she'd like to go
To see a show, but Miss Kate said "No,
I'll tell you what you can do:"

[Chorus]
Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd;
Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don't care if I never get back.
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don't win, it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,
At the old ball game.

Katie Casey saw all the games,
Knew the players by their first names.
Told the umpire he was wrong,
All along,
Good and strong.
When the score was just two to two,
Katie Casey knew what to do,
Just to cheer up the boys she knew,
She made the gang sing this song:

[Chorus]

All Creatures Of Our God and King

All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
Thou silver moon with softer gleam!

Refrain

O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou rushing wind that art so strong
Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice,
Ye lights of evening, find a voice!

Refrain

Thou flowing water, pure and clear,
Make music for thy Lord to hear,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou fire so masterful and bright,
That givest man both warmth and light.

Refrain

Dear mother earth, who day by day
Unfoldest blessings on our way,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
The flowers and fruits that in thee grow,
Let them His glory also show.

Refrain

And all ye men of tender heart,
Forgiving others, take your part,
O sing ye! Alleluia!
Ye who long pain and sorrow bear,
Praise God and on Him cast your care!

Refrain

And thou most kind and gentle Death,
Waiting to hush our latest breath,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou leadest home the child of God,
And Christ our Lord the way hath trod.

Refrain

Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, Three in One!

Refrain

Meet My Family.....

Just in case you missed it I have now introduced you to my entire family. Yes there are fourteen members in my family. Yes we are all the same family. No there are no twins (though two girls share a birthday).

Just in case you missed...

My dad--Tim Sr.
My mom--LeeAnne

My sisters--
Christin, Grace,
Sara, Linnea,
Emma Joy, Liberty Faith,
Dixie LeeAnne

My brothers--
Tim Jr., Noah,
Judah, Seth,

Yes, as I wrote this and the posts were published online I did have at least one person come up and say "You know when you said ____ about me on your blog post about me? Well do I really do that?" or "I think you exaggerated when you said ____." and the one that almost everyone said "I hate that picture that you used for me!"

And then there was my dad who didn't know I was doing these post until we were in the hospital for mom to have Dixie and he asked me what I was doing "Introducing my family to the blog world, don't you think it's time?" was my answer. He replied with "Everyone? How long have you been doing this? Have you done me yet?" "Ahh, yeah first, WAY back in February!"

When I live with my family everyday as I do it doesn't seem like there is that many people here. Now as had happened in the last few months is when I meet up with the family and see them as the rest of the world sees them (minus one person of course). It's overwhelming and I tend to stand there for a few seconds thinking "I can NOT believe there are that many of us! It looks like a small army!" and then of course I walk up and ask them "Do y'all know what we look like? I know why people stare at us!"

"I am NOT The Mom!"

I love coaching, I have since the first time I did it four years ago. It was Tim's first year playing & dad's first year to coach and I was there right along with them, telling the kids that it's more important to watch the ball then the bugs, I promise!!

There's nothing like passing along the joy of baseball. The only catch was always reminding them to watch the game and not the clouds. It was also tons of fun to walk up to the field and have all the kids run up to me shouting "Look Miss. Katie, see how far I can throw the ball?!?" Or swing the bat, or run, etc. I missed not coaching the following year, but felt a wee bit of my knowledge level.

When I helped dad coach Tim's team I was 17, it was great, I was old enough for the kids to listen but young enough for them to relax around me & have fun.

Now this time around I am helping to coach Noah's team (yes, it is his first year). And again loving it. I still don't know how I got the job, but I am thankful that dad thought we could make the time for me to do so and to sign me up for it.

There is one thing that has changed this go around, that I never even thought about...I'm four years older & to these young children of five I seem a lot older then that. Old enough for them to think Noah is MY child!!

I keep getting "WOW! Look at what your son just did!" or "Your son is using my bat!". It took me a while to realize they were talking to me and not one of the other coaches. "Ummm....I'm not his mother." "Oh, you not? What are you then?" "His older sister." "Oh, ummm...." as they walk off at least a slight bit confused.

I wonder if I will ever get it across to them, or if it is all that important. It gives me a good laugh to see their face when I tell them that and I think it's even funnier to see Noah as he tells them that I am not his mom rather his sister.

At least they still listen to me and I am still able to pass on the joy of baseball to them. Even if I am still telling them to pay more attention to the ball then the bugs and that they really out to keep out of the dirt and tag the runner.

Keepers of the Springs

For the past couple years, O.K. for the past few years (as in the past 7-10 years) dad will read this sermon from Peter Marshall to us as we are all gathered around the table for dinner on Mother's Day, he's read it enough that we all have our parts we know and the older children all have a section that the know and like or that really gets them thinking.

Keepers of the Springs
By Peter Marshall

Once upon a time, a certain town grew up at the foot of a mountain range. It was sheltered in the lee of the protecting heights, so that the wind that shuddered at the doors and flung handfuls of sleet against the window panes was a wind whose fury was spent. High up in the hills, a strange and quiet forest dweller took it upon himself to be the Keeper of the Springs. He patrolled the hills and wherever he found a spring, he cleaned its brown pool of silt and fallen leaves, of mud and mold and took away from the spring all foreign matter, so that the water which bubbled up through the sand ran down clean and cold and pure. It leaped sparkling over rocks and dropped joyously in crystal cascades until, swollen by other streams, it became a river of life to the busy town. Millwheels were whirled by its rush. Gardens were refreshed by its waters. Fountains threw it like diamonds into the air. Swans sailed on its limpid surface, and children laughed as they played on its banks in the sunshine.

But the City Council was a group of hard-headed, hard-boiled businessmen. They scanned the civic budget and found in it the salary of a Keeper of the Springs. Said the Keeper of the Purse: "Why should we pay this romance ranger? We never see him; he is not necessary to our town's work life. If we build a reservoir just above the town, we can dispense with his services and save his salary." Therefore, the City Council voted to dispense with the unnecessary cost of a Keeper of the Springs, and to build a cement reservoir.

So the Keeper of the Springs no longer visited the brown pools but watched from the heights while they built the reservoir. When it was finished, it soon filled up with water, to be sure, but the water did not seem to be the same. It did not seem to be as clean, and a green scum soon befouled its stagnant surface. There were constant troubles with the delicate machinery of the mills, for it was often clogged with slime, and the swans found another home above the town. At last, an epidemic raged, and the clammy, yellow fingers of sickness reached into every home in every street and lane.

The City Council met again. Sorrowfully, it faced the city's plight, and frankly it acknowledged the mistake of the dismissal of the Keeper of the Springs. They sought him out of his hermit hut high in the hills, and begged him to return to his former joyous labor. Gladly he agreed, and began once more to make his rounds. It was not long until pure water came lilting down under tunnels of ferns and mosses and to sparkle in the cleansed reservoir. Millwheels turned again as of old. Stenches disappeared. Sickness waned and convalescent children playing in the sun laughed again because the swans had come back.

Do not think me fanciful, too imaginiative or too extravagant in my language when I say that I think of women, and particularly of our mothers, as Keepers of the Springs. The phrase, while poetic, is true and descriptive. We feel its warmth...its softening influence...and however forgetful we have been...however much we have taken for granted life's precious gifts, we are conscious of wistful memories that surge out of the past--the sweet, tender, poignant fragrances of love. Nothing that has been said, nothing that could be said, or that ever will be said, would be eloquent enough, expressive enough, or adequate to make articulate that peculiar emotion we feel to our mothers. So I shall make my tribute a plea for Keepers of the Springs, who will be faithful to their tasks.

There never has been a time when there was a greater need for Keepers of the Springs, or when there were more polluted springs to be cleansed. If the home fails, the country is doomed. The breakdown of homelife and influence will mark the breakdown of the nation. If the Keepers of the Springs desert their posts or are unfaithful to their responsibilities, the future outlook of this country is black, indeed. This generation needs Keepers of the Springs who will be courageous enough to cleanse the springs that have been polluted. It is not an easy task--nor is it a popular one, but it must be done for the sake of the children, and the young women of today must do it.

The emancipation of womanhood began with Christianity, and it ends with Christianity. It had its beginning one night nineteen hundred years ago when there came to a woman named Mary a vision and a message from heaven. She saw the rifted clouds of glory and the hidden battlements of heaven. She heard an angelic annunciation of the almost incredible news that she, of all the women on earth...of all the Marys in history...was to be the only one who should ever wear entwined the red rose of maternity and the white rose of virginity. It was told her--and all Keepers of the Springs know how such messages come--that she should be the mother of the Savior of the world.

It was nineteen hundred years ago "when Jesus Himself a baby deigned to be and bathed in baby tears His deity"...and on that night, when that tiny Child lay in the straw of Bethlehem, began the emancipation of womanhood.

When He grew up and began to teach the way of life, He ushered woman into a new place in human relations. He accorded her a new dignity and crowned her with a new glory, so that wherever the Christian evangel has gone for nineteen centuries, the daughters of Mary have been respected, revered, remembered, and loved, f or men have recognized that womanhood is a sacred and a noble thing, that women are of finer clay...are more in touch with the angels of God and have the noblest function that life affords. Wherever Christianity has spread, for nineteen hundred years men have bowed and adored.

It remained for the twentieth century, in the name of progress, in the name of tolerance, in the name of broadmindedness, in the name of freedom, to pull her down from her throne and try to make her like a man.

She wanted equality. For nineteen hundred years she had not been equal--she had been superior. But now, they said, she wanted equality, and in order to obtain it, she had to step down. And so it is, that in the name of broadminded tolerance, a man's vices have now become a woman's.

Twentieth-century tolerance has won for woman the right to become intoxicated, the right to have an alcoholic breath, the right to smoke, to work like a man to act like a man--for is she not man's equal? Today they call it "progress"...but tomorrow,oh, you Keepers of the Springs, they must be made to see that it is not progress.

No nation has ever made any progress in a downward direction. No people ever became great by lowering their standards. No people ever became good by adopting a looser morality. It is not progress when the moral tone is lower than it was. It is not progress when purity is not as sweet. It is not progress when womanhood has lost its fragrance. Whatever else it is, it is not progress!

We need Keepers of the Springs who will realize that what is socially correct may not be morally right. Our country needs today women who will lead us back to an old-fashioned morality, to an old fashioned decency, to an old fashioned purity and sweetness for the sake of the next generation, if for no other reason.

This generation has seen an entirely new type of womanhood emerge from the bewildering confusion of ourtime. We have in the United States today a higher standard of living than in any other country, or at any other time in the world's history. We have more automobiles, more picture shows, more telephones, more money, more swing bands, more radios, more television sets, more nightclubs, more crime, and more divorce than any other nation in the world. Modern mothers want their children to enjoy the advantages of this new day. They want them, if possible, to have a college diploma to hang on their bedroom wall, and what many of them regard as equally important--a bid to a fraternity or a sorority. They are desperately anxious that their daughters will be popular, although the price of this popularity may not be considered until it is too late. In short, they want their children to succeed, but the usual definition of success, in keeping with the trend of our day, is largely materialistic.

The result of all this is that the modern child is brought up in a decent, cultured, comfortable, but thoroughly irreligious home. All around us, living in the very shadow of our large churches and beautiful cathedrals, children are growing up without a particle of religious training or influence. The parents of such children have usually completely given up the search for religious moorings. At first, they probably had some sort of vague idealism as to what their children should be taught. They recall something of the religious instruction received when they were children, and they feel that something like that ought to be passed on to the children today, but they can't do it, because the simple truth is that they have nothing to give. Our modern broadmindedness has taken religious education out of the day schools. Our modern way of living and our modern irreligion have taken it out of the homes.

There remains only one place where it may be obtained, and that is in the Sunday School, but it is no longer fashionable to attend Sunday School. The result is that there is very little religious education, and parents who lack it themselves are not able to give it to their children--so it is a case of "the blind leading the blind," and both children and parents will almost invariably end up in the ditch of uncertainty and irreligion.

As you think of your own mother, remembering her with love and gratitude--in wishful yearning, or lonely longing, I am quite sure that the memories that warm and soften your heart are not at all like the memories the children of today will have... For you are, no doubt, remembering the smell of fresh starch in your mother's apron or the smell of a newly ironed blouse, the smell of newly baked bread, the fragrance of the violets she had pinned on her breast. It would be such a pity if all that one could remember would be the aroma of toasted tobacco or nicotine and the odor of beer on the breath!

The challenge of the twentieth-century motherhood is as old as motherhood itself. Although the average American mother has advantages that pioneer women never knew--material advantages: education, culture, advances made by science and medicine; although the modern mother knows a great deal more about sterilization, diets, health, calories, germs, drugs, medicines and vitamins, than her mother did, there is one subject about which she does not know as much--and that is God.

The modern challenge to motherhood is the eternal challenge--that of being a godly woman. The very phrase sounds strange in our ears. We never hear it now. We hear about every other kind of women--beautiful women, smart women, sophisticated women, career woman, talented women, divorced women, but so seldom do we hear of a godly woman--or of a godly man either, for that matter.

I believe women come nearer fulfilling their God-given function in the home than anywhere else. It is a much nobler thing to be a good wife than to be Miss America. It is a greater achievement to establish a Christian home than it is to produce a second-rate novel filled with filth. It is a far, far better thing in the realm of morals to be old-fashioned than to be ultramodern. The world has enough women who know how to hold their cocktails, who have lost all their illusions and their faith. The world has enough women who know how to be smart. It needs women who are willing to be simple. The world has enough women who know how to be brilliant. It needs some who will be brave. The world has enough women who are popular. It needs more who are pure. We need woman, and men, too, who would rather be morally right that socially correct.

Let us not fool ourselves--without Christianity, without Christian education, without the principles of Christ inculcated into young life, we are simply rearing pagans. Physically, they will be perfect. Intellectually, they will be brilliant. But spiritually, they will be pagan. Let us not fool ourselves. The school is making no attempt to teach the principles of Christ. The Church alone cannot do it. They can never be taught to a child unless the mother herself knows them and practices them every day.

If you have no prayer life yourself, it is rather a useless gesture to make your child say his prayers every night. If you never enter a church it is rather futile to send your child to Sunday school. If you make a practice of telling social lies, it will be difficult to teach your child to be truthful. If you say cutting things about your neighbors and about fellow members in the church, it will be hard for your child to learn the meaning of kindness.

The twentieth-century challenge to motherhood--when it is all boiled down--is that mothers will have an experience of God...a reality which they can pass on to their children. For the newest of the sciences is beginning to realize, after a study of the teachings of Christ from the standpoint of psychology, that only as human beings discover and follow these inexorable spiritual laws will they find the happiness and contentment which we all seek.

A minister tells of going to a hospital to visit a mother whose first child had been born. She was a distinctly modern girl. Her home was about average for young married people. "When I came into the room she was propped up in bed writing. 'Come in,' she said, smiling. 'I'm in the midst of housecleaning, and I want your help.' I had never heard of a woman housecleaning while in a hospital bed. Her smile was contagious--she seemed to have found a new and jolly idea. "'I've had a wonderful chance to think here,' she began, 'and it may help me to get things straightened out in my mind if I can talk to you.' She put down her pencil and pad, and folded her hands. Then she took a long breath and started: 'Ever since I was a little girl, I hated any sort of restraint. I always wanted to be free. When I finished high school, I took a business course and got a job--not because I needed the money--but because I wanted to be on my own. Before Joe and I were married, we used to say that we would not be slaves to each other. And after we married, our apartment became headquarters for a crowd just like us. We weren't really bad--but we did just what we pleased.' She stopped for a minute and smiled ruefully. 'God didn't mean much to us--we ignored Him. None of us wanted children--or we thought we didn't. And when I knew I was going to have a baby, I was afraid.' She stopped again and looked puzzled. 'Isn't it funny, the things you used to think? She had almost forgotten I was there--she was speaking to the old girl she had been before her great adventure. Then remembering me suddenly--she went on: 'Where was I? Oh, yes, well, things are different now. I'm not free any more and I don't want to be. And the first thing I must do is to clean house.' Here she picked up the sheet of paper lying on the counterpane. 'That's my housecleaning list. You see, when I take Betty home from the hospital with me--our apartment will be her home--not just mine and Joe's. And it isn't fit for her now. Certain things will have to go--for Betty's sake. And I've got to houseclean my heart and mind. I'm not just myself--I'm Betty's mother. And that means I need God. I can't do my job without Him. Won't you pray for Betty and me and Joe, and for our new home?' And I saw in her all the mothers of today--mothers in tiny apartments and on lonely farms...Mothers in great houses and in suburban cottages, who are meeting the age-old challenge--' that of bringing up their children to the love and knowledge of God.' And I seemed to see our Savior--with His arms full of children of far-away Judea--saying to that mother and to all mothers--the old invitation so much needed in these times: 'Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God.'"

I believe that this generation of young people has courage enough to face the challenging future. I believe that their idealism is not dead. I believe that they have the same bravery and the same devotion to the things worthwhile that their grandmothers had. I have every confidence that they are anxious to preserve the best of our heritage, and God knows if we lose it here in this country, it is forever gone. I believe that the women of today will not be unmindful of their responsibilities; that is why I have dared to speak so honestly. Keepers of the Springs, we salute you!

I've Been Tagged

Well, I've been tagged twice and since I've been a spoil sport with previous tags, I decided to do these tags. Esp since my siblings told me I was a spoil sport, stick in the mud, or any other such fiddle, faddle, & rot when I skipped over the last tags. So this post is to prove to them that they are wrong. :D

I'm to list 5 random things about myself
1) I do not like milk, not one little bit. And it's been that way since I was weened.
2) I am queen of getting words mixed up. It's been very embarrassing sometimes how my mouth goes faster then my brain.
3) My mom sometimes thinks I will never grow up as I am always crawling through windows and jumping in puddles.
4) When I leave the property I always carry a book with me, no matter where I'm going or for how long I will be gone, because you never know what's going to happen.
5) I twist my hair, have since I had hair. I've been know to twist the kid's hair when they are sitting in my lap and the only reason I have bangs is thanks to this little habit of mine.

These questions go with this tag....

1. Apples, oranges, or bananas?
Oranges, anytime and every time!

2. How many siblings do you have?
Eleven

3. How old are you?
21 I think or was that last year? Yeah, I'm that old for now.

4. Do you live on Prairie, woodland, swamp, city, or other?
Wooded, country

5. Scissors or glue?
Neither! Duct tape

6. Describe your dream house:
I ummm...Er ummm...Truth be told never really thought about a dream house, always wanted to keep my option open in case God had me living in a hut rather then a house.

7. Is your room clean?
The living & bed room part yes, the dinning part not really. It's more an organized mess and that's only counting my stuff, not the sister with whom I share a room with.

8. If you could be a movie character for a day who would you be?
Ummmm....Elizabeth from "Pride & Prejudice" probably, never really thought about it.

9. Italy, Greece, France, Spain, or England?
England, as I love it's history. But then that's hard as I also enjoy Greece's & France's history as well.

10. What denomination are you?
PCA

11. Do you sleep with a stuffed toy?
No, who needs to when you have siblings sleeping with you?

12. Gum, Chocolate, or Jelly Beans?
CHOCOLATE! All the time, every time!! What else?

13. What is your favorite book?
Ummmm....."Pride & Prejudice", No, it's "Emma", Oh, wait! It might "The Complete Guide to History". Oh, forget it! Trying to pinpoint my favorite book is about like trying to hold a moonbeam in my hand.

14. Favorite ice cream flavor?
Java Chocolate Chunk

15. If you had to pick one type of food to eat for two weeks, what would it be?
Mexican

16. What is your favorite Olympic sport?
Winter: What ever is on when I'm watching it unless it's ice skating or dancing.
Summer: Used to be baseball, now that that's out it would probably be swimming.

17. If you woke up and discovered you were Miley Cyrus for the day what would you do?
Scream & go back to sleep until it passed

18. Describe yourself in three words:
The eldest child

19. What chore do you positively hate?
Raking the goat area after it's rained or washing dishes, it all depends.

20. If Elmo came into your room with a gun, what would you do?
Laugh and tell the person who was in the outfit to get out & get to work.

There I completed the tags. :D

Meet My Family--The Baby

Meet Dixie LeeAnne!

Born Monday evening at 7:06, weighing in at 7 pounds and 11 ounces and measuring out to be 21 inches long. Emma, Liberty & myself were there with our parents to welcome her to the world.

I've already told my mom that I think I might start praying to be out of the house by the time she hits three as, she will be spoiled rotten & I don't want to be around 24/7 to see that. lol In truth I would love to be here to see her grow up, so it's not something I'm hurrying up to start praying about, even if she's ends up being more spoiled then Liberty.

At the grand age of four days old I do believe that this poor child has already worn more pink then I have in my entire 21 years. (Oh, wait I'm the oldest and was a girl, hmmm....Forget that though!) Even though I am trying to even her out a wee bit by bringing a gift for her in the hospital..A baseball, And I will be teaching her the ins and outs of baseball. As well as when I dress her it will NOT be in pink! Pastel colors? Yes! Pink? No!

Meet My Family--Noah, Judah, & Seth

Meet the three younger boys, Noah (hiding behind his brother), Judah (Hanging upside down), & Seth (Below, The one on a saddle being a ham). No, they do not get their own post, you have to group them all together, as that is how they live their lives currently.

For two years Noah and Judah were the dynamic duo, now the combo of three boys is the terrible three. Who are bound & determined to break any & all ER trip records, give me gray hair & be oh so cute all at the same time.

Noah's the one that by the age of two had all ready been to the ER four times & sent his brother their once, while Judah had been there twice & sent Noah there once as well. So far Seth has not gone to the ER for an injury, only for going for pneumonia.

Where ever Noah is, then you shall find Judah & where ever Noah & Judah are thou shalt find Seth. The hang around each other and play with each other like nobodies business. You can tell from the way that they act they LOVE each other & wouldn't know what to do without out them. (Seth was a wee bit lost while in the Hospital a month or so back.)

These boys are so caring & giving. Always giving gifts and trying to help mom, dad, Chris, Grace or myself. On the other hand it seems like they are always teasing or picking a fight with Emma on down.

When Seth was born & there were three boys under the age of three I thought for sure I would go crazy, (no comment from the peanut gallery PLEASE!!) and though I have found a few gray hairs and I have lost some sleep thanks to them and their always wanting to sleep with "K K". I am so grateful that God has blessed my life with them & I can't even imagine life without them!!

Meet My Family--Liberty

Meet Liberty the former youngest girl in our family

Over seven years ago God blessed us with a wonderful addition to our family. There was only one drawback--she didn't want to be born on my birthday, it was as if she was telling us she wanted to be different and her own little person.

After just having two years of getting used to a boy in the house, it took a little getting used to when we had another girl, but we were VERY happy to have another girl. Little did we know that she would grow up for the next seven years as the youngest girl. In our house it's not the youngest that gets spoiled it's the youngest girl. :D Libby is the youngest and boy does she know it! She thinks she can flash a smile on that cute chubby, freckled covered face of hers and get whatever she wants. And most of the time she is correct. lol All she needs to ask is "Mommy, I want these pony tails because they are pretty can I have them?" with a cute smile and she's got them. lol Or "Daddy, if I get one more quarter I can buy coffee the next time we go to Central Market, can I go get some from your car?" with a kiss, it's hers.

Even with being on the edge of being spoiled rotten she is a very loving and caring girl. When ever someone is hurt, upset, way to busy to do anything, or even angry, she is there to help you in what ever way she can. To make your life easier and more enjoyable. What ever you need doing to get it there she will do. If it's scrub the bathroom she'll do it, if it's watch the toddlers she'll do it. It it's to just sit there and hug ask her and it's done. She is a blessing and sometimes shames me greatly by showing me what I should do and how I should be treating my siblings. I sometimes think she should be in my spot as the oldest, because she does a much better job of it at the age of almost eight then I do at after 20 years of being the oldest!

What we also didn't know before she was born was that pink and frogs can mix wonderfully, at least they can for Liberty. The idea that if you kiss a frog and he will turn in to a prince has been proven a myth time and time again, because princess Liberty has tried many a time with her frogs and has yet to come up with one true prince. (Maybe it's an age thing.) Be that as it may she still loves her frogs. Ask her about frogs and she will give you an ear full! Be careful after a hard rain or you might end up with a frog in your face and a demand to kiss it! And if you are ever visiting you will make her week if you bring her some frogs (Ask some good friends of ours!).

She loves her animals to death (if you didn't already catch that with the frogs) she will help you tend the animals almost any time it is needed with no questions asked. She loves her goats with a passion and again will one day better me in another area--Goat keeping. Even now she is great with showing, milking, feeding, and enjoying them. She loves them and is truly a farm girl!

Truth be told, even with frogs being stuffed in my face (thankfully, I have yet to find them in my bed!) and her getting neigh unto everything she wants, I am thankful that God blessed us with her, I don't know what life would be like without her, she is a blessing in more than one way and I enjoy sharing my days with her. :D

Meet My Family--Timothy

Meet Timothy, just in case you missed it he's the first boy in the family. Mom had six girls before he was born and to be totally honest I thought that is that there would be for siblings--Sisters!! (And no I'm not complaining!!)

I was a grand age of 11 years old when we were blessed with him. Up to that point I was really the only child who cared about baseball and was oh so happy to have someone with the potential to pass on the love of baseball to. And I have, he's in his third year of little league & loving it, he collects baseball cards right along side me (when I let him) and he's started keeping track or players in the majors. It's tons of fun watching him growing up loving baseball.

He also like Emma is a great mimic, not as good as Emma but good enough to be Scary! lol Also he's the "class clown". Not like we have a proper class room, but I know if he was in a class room he would be the class clown. Though I do I think I've heard stories about him in Sunday School & as one of his former teachers I can vouch that at the wonderful age of three he was a nut.

Living on ten acres without a lawn mower can be a little difficult. At least it was until Timothy decided that he enjoyed mowing the lawn and begs to do it (that is when he's not playing baseball). I do enjoy having him do as I get the smell of fresh cut grass without having to do the work!

Timothy loves being outside whenever and however long he can be. But he also enjoys learning, and like the rest of us history is his favorite subject, right along with math.


Timothy is a wonderful big brother, he loves taking care of and playing with his brothers and does a very good job of protecting Liberty. Now being a younger brother he does have his days of being annoying. (Don't' they all?) But he's still lovable and great to have around!

Meet My Family--Emma

When I saw Emma the first time ten years ago, I never thought that she would be the comedian of the family. Now mind you when I was holding her for the first time as she screamed her head off at that wonderful age of five minutes old I wasn't thinking about all that much other then that she was really cute & really loud! lol

Little did I know that that little bundle of joy would hang on me for the next four years. Choosing me as one of her favorite people in her life. She wouldn't let ANYONE but those four people hold her and if you got a smile and weren't of of those favored for it was a big deal. It was with Emma where people started asking if the child I was holding was mine.

Emma's my helper when I butcher & do necropsys. She has to see everything and would do the entire job herself if I would let her. Her dream is to be a butcher and Dr when she grows up, one thing for sure is though I love her greatly I will never be visiting her for medical advice. lol

This girl can mimic anything and everything down to a tee. It's kind of scary, You walk in on her imitating someone, watch her for three minutes or less and if you know the person she's imitating then you know who it is, no ifs, ands, or buts about it!

She's also one of the three people in our family who is addict to health shows. Mom or I will turn it on while folding laundry she comes & parks herself there watching it right along with her. Her favorite show being "Untold Stories of the ER".