Okay, it’s been five days since I’ve posted and I deserve a slap on the wrist. My bad, dog. My bad.

    I haven’t been on for awhile for good reason: I’ve been writing my life story. When I  realize what I’m doing, I give the pen back to God and say: “Here Lord. I give my life to you. Write my life story. I trust in you.” And when things stop going the way I think they should, I take back the pen. Situations have arisen in my life over the last week which have made me SERIOUSLY question  what God’s plan in my life is.  I keep thinking He doesn’t know what He’s doing. I stress, I worry, I wonder. The plans I had set up for the next few years began to unravel before me  and I grasped at them like a slew of lightening bugs, desperate to keep it all together.
                                 If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans.
 
 Now I’m in the recovery phase. It took a few days for me to relinquish, but I’ve finally sat back and said, “Take it Lord. It’s in your hands.” It’s been  more than 24 hours now and I’m still stressed by the outcome of my upcoming situation, but I trust that God’s hand is on my shoulder. I have no idea what I’m going to do or how to handle it, but I know that God is with me and I’ve got to trust him. It’s a darn shame  He won’t let me see just a little bit of what his plan is. It’s a darn shame I’m so nosey. It’s a darn shame I freak out over schedules and “plans”.  It’s a darn shame I’ve began the last 4 sentences the same way. How redundant.
 There’ll be more of an update on this situation in a week or two and you’ll see why I’m pretty freaked out.  Until then, I need to just relax and let life happen. As my ever so wise mother-in-law is famous for saying: “It is what it is. If you can’t change it,  then just sit back and let it be.”

 Before I get going, let me say, Happy Independence
day!

In the past three weeks, I’ve gotten to go to two different concerts and was suprised at how  good they were. If you get the opportunity to  see the Oak Ridge Boys or The Charlie Daniels Band, it’s worth the money.

Oak Ridge Boys:

Charlie Daniels Band:

The concert I *really* wanted to see *cough*Michael Bolton*cough* was too far away for me to drive and there’s no way in hell Derek would go see it with me.  So I just made him listen to the old CD’s with me. Since I lost my old MB cassette tapes to “the great flood” my mom went out and mailed me some brand spankin new CD’s. New millenium, here I come! (my husband does NOT like you right now, mom.)

We got to see “Get Smart” at a Drive-In last night. The drive-in idea was just a novelty (and hella cheaper than a theater) but the movie was phenomenal. Who doesn’t appreciate a movie with that cute asian kid from Heroes, action, wit and a Chuck Norris joke?

 On the food frontier, our organic kick seems to be going well. I’ve talked to some of my family about it and there appears to be a lot of misconceptions about eating organics. It does NOT mean I’m a vegan. (Oh God no…) I love my beef. It just means the food we eat has no preservatives, pesticides or irradiation. Also, there’s been an influx in the use of sewage sludge in place of fetilizers. Think about *that* the next time you eat that Taco Bell  tomato covered chalupa. (And people are wondering why there have been so many salmonella outbreaks.) Organic eating also means that almost everything has to be prepared from scratch.  I love LOVE love to cook so this isn’t a problem for me. It’s also a great excuse to help my husband eat a little healthier. Tomorrow I’m going to try my hand at baking fresh bread. ^_^

Since this is such a boring post, enjoy a video of my kid running into a wall with a bag on her head:

Before you go to bed, vote for Ritzy (PurplePixiePoo) at this site! It’s a good old fashioned beauty contest and she’s a good old fashioned beauty. I’ve already messaged a good percentage of you. The stalking will not cease!

Everyone has a different point of view.  Even you and your best friend will think of things differently. My mom is one of my best friends. So is my husband. So is my grandmother.  And although we all have so much in common, we have so many varying points of view. Tonight, I was speaking with one of my many friends about pro-life vs pro-choice. (Yes, here we go again. Hurry, switch pages before she gets serious!)   I realized we all have different points of view on this. As I’ve read so many of your pages, I implore you to read this. If your convictions are strong enough, you have nothing to fear, I won’t change your opinions. But if you’re teetering on the edge, I might just help to plant your feet firmly on one side.

 Do you still think abortion is a right and not a choice? I just learned about the overwhelming number of babies who were aborted while breathing and screaming  as they lay in the trash can.  Did you know that a child can be aborted even in the last three months of pregnancy? I don’t know the last week a baby can be aborted in the United States, it’s 24 weeks in Europe, but babies have been born breathing and surviving at 16 weeks.  Some doctors have taken the living baby after it’s (failed)abortion to  be adopted. Other doctors stick needles in the child’s heart so the mother won’t have to suffer the trauma of listening to her baby scream for her to help it.

 So in a nation that’s poised on the edge of their seats just *waiting* to hear whom the next president will be, what has abortion got to do with politics? I mean, we don’t have to see the baby and it’s clearly a taboo  to talk about it. I know more than 25% of my readers will make it through the first paragraph before writing me off as a pro-life radicalist  and hit the “Back” button on their browser. Some of you will have no stomache for the words I say. Be glad I didn’t post the pictures again. (For those of you who are brave enough to see how America’s innocent are brutally murdered, check out the unbiased pictures and info on abortion at : http://www.lifesitenews.com/abortiontypes )

Again, Life_By_Us, what has this got to do with politics? You usually bore us with your politics! Stop being gross and change the subject to something boring, damnit! Well, let’s look at our two presidential candidates.
One says he wants “Change! It’s time for a CHANGE!” Change what?  I dunno, it made a good bumper sticker slogan.
“Look, I got two daughters — 9 years old and 6 years old,” he said. “I am going
to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don’t
want them punished with a baby.”
 Alright Mr. Obama, currently, they won’t be punished with a baby. In fact, they could be 12 and having babies aborted and you won’t ever even have to hear about it due to privacy laws. So follow your campaign slogan. Make a change in the pro-life world. Or would you prefer these living breathing babies continue to lay crying and thrashing in a trash can filled with body parts? Well, we’ve heard you say you think America is primarily evil so I guess bumping them off one by one is a great way to start the change.

The other candidate is overwhelmingly concerned with the environment.  He supports global warming research and encourages all to do their part in cutting greenhouse gas emissions. That’s wonderful. I think you’re a greenie beanie nut job but I support the fact that the Earth would be cleaner by your new ideas.  So tell me Mr. McCain- what will you do about cleaning up the emissions put out by Planned Parenthood? Perhaps they aren’t  causing carbon  footprints, but they’re certainly doing away with the pitter patter of little footprints.  You claim to be pro-life but you’re one of the most liberal conservatives I’ve ever met.  Your voting record shows you support pro-life causes to a certain degree, but  it doesn’t say what you’ll do in the future. Are you afraid you won’t get as many votes if you speak your mind? Are you afraid of doing what’s right in place of what’s popular? Does your mind not need to be spoken because Mr. Obama has already said all the things your heart feels about abortion?  You irritate me sir. You’ve waffled and flip flopped on so many issues that I don’t feel I can trust your standings on abortion. Okay, cool, you’re gonna save the polar bears. But what about the babies?

I mean, this baby is only 27 weeks gestation and it’s a baby. Granted, it’s premature, but it’s parents actually wanted it so it’s considered a baby. Any other situation and it would only be considered a blob of cells or a “fetus”. (which is simply Latin for “baby”)

This baby is 30 weeks gestation.

It’s more fully formed than the preemie baby but it’s not considered a
human yet. It can still be legally aborted through partial birth abortion.
(which involves sucking out the brain during the birthing process.)
So when is it not a baby? When does it become one of “us”? When can we call it an American or a Texan or a future CEO? When we want it vs when it’s just an inconvenience?

 If the government thinks it’s their place to tell us how to get our healthcare, how to plan our retirement, how to raise our children, can they please tell us when our baby is considered “real?”

I’m not at my own computer right now, so pictures will ensue at a later date. However,  we’re back in Ohio for  a few weeks. We’ve been working in Indy on rebuilding and cleaning up after the flood. My fingers are all banged up and my legs are covered in bruises.  But I feel MANLY!!! There’s just no describing the sensation of testosterone coursing through your body as you swing a sledgehammer.  Go to your local hardware store right now and pick one up. Give that bad boy a swing. Don’t you feel awesome? Now you should probably run because it’s illegal to  swing sledgehammers in  hardware stores.

  So the Mississippi is still swelling and moving more south along it’s line and flooding the  surrounding cities. Guess where that river ends up? New Orleans, baby! So all of you who just rebuilt after Katrina better watch out. There’s a good possibility you’ll be getting hosed again here pretty soon.

 My kids are doing great after being shuffled from place to place while we help rebuild. We’ve had a great set of sitters while we spend our days working. BTW, I’m a germaphobe and the water and mud that covers everything is partially sewage water. SO GROSS. There is not enough Purell in the world right now. I slather it on my hands at a manic rate and would probably swim in it if I could.

Green news:

Our newest endevour is organic. I’ve decided to begin the slow road to only eating organic. When the first of the month’s big shopping trip comes around, we’ll start purchasing organic goods. I’d thought about it awhile ago but told myself it wouldn’t work out.  Then I watched Jon n Kate Plus 8. They have 8 kiddos and manage to only purchase organic, so I should be able to do the same.  We’ve also become a little more responsible about our garbage and recycling.

I’m not a “greenie beanie” by any stretch, but why shouldn’t I do  a little more in my daily routine to keep the Earth a bit tidier? I don’t believe in that Global Warming mumbo jumbo and don’t get me started on their bad data and flawed claims. Michael Chricton and I have been saying from the very beginning that it’s one of the biggest hoaxes of our time.  (Read the book State of Fear for a greast story as well as factual evidence disproving Global Warming.)  Also, sun spots are now being investigated  for their involvement in “climate change.”

Enough of my rants. I’ve missed you guys in my absence. How have you all been doing? Is anyone near the flood  areas safe? Had any damage? Do you like today’s song? (meheheheh)

*EDIT* Sorry gang, I had to change the Barney song. 12 hours was as long as I could stand.

Hey Gang, sorry about the hiatus.The entire midwest is getting pounded by this flooding. If you have a loved one in this area and you haven’t spoken to them lately, now might be a good time to reconnect. So many people have *nothing* left. Between Indiana, Iowa, parts of Illinois  and now Missouri, it’s a disaster area. 
 Every street corner  looks like it’s covered in a pile of thrift store rejects and the local neighborhood bulldozer goes from house to house trying to take some of the trash off of people’s yards.

Flooring is ripped up and wet /ruined appliances sit dejectedly in the street gutters. People have been so neighborly. Every day that we’ve worked, people have come from whatever church is feeding the town for the day with plates full of food and bottled water. The air conditioner works again which hinders the further growth of black mold.  Contractors and lumber companies are having a field day with all the work piling up.

 It’s funny. I always knew Texas was a friendly place because I grew up there. I saw people taking initiatives  to help others every day. But up here, I’d not witnessed it so much. Until the flood waters rose. As we pushed one car out of  waist deep water, the driver would hop out and help us push the next car out.  (By the way, pushing vehicles out of water makes you feel MANLY!)
 I really felt a swell of pride seeing so many wonderful strangers turned friends.  
That’s all the internet  time I have for now, but I should have access at least once every other day from now on.
I love you all.
God bless you and your families.

 So today, everyone’s trying to be nice to their dad and show him that he’s important. But I’m going to take a different approach. I’m going to show all of YOU GUYS why my dad is a badass. Not only is my dad an award winning shot with a rifle, but he’s also a skilled bowman.

That’s right, he killed a crazed  rattlesnake with a bow and arrow. Then he poked it with sticks with fun.

Chuck Norris, eat your heart out. 

Happy Father’s Day, Daddy. I love you forever without end.

WOOT! Life_by_us is back!

What a week. Let me start by saying that floods are much wetter in real life than they seem on TV. On Saturday of last week, we had scheduled the movers to be there at 9:30am. Except… it was pouring.We moved it all into the truck anyway. We attempted to set up a tarp but the rain was so heavy, the weight of the water collapsed our progress. So we were soaked to the bone :

 Fuuuuuuuuuuuuun……

 In the short two hours that we were  packing the truck, the water went from halfway through the park

 to inches from the driveway. 

(It raised more than a foot an hour.) By that time, we decided it was probably time to evacuate. We began to pull cars out of the driveway when a man’s van got caught in the street in front of the driveway and stalled.

My sister-in-law’s boyfriend, a neighbor down the street and I pushed him out. Halfway through  the rescue of his vehicle, another car tried driving through the SAME SPOT  as we were STILL PUSHING the first car out. We’re screaming and frantically waving to the woman to back up but she continued to plow through until her vehicle….. stalled. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuun………

So we finished with the man, he jumped out and helped us move the woman’s vehicle. By then, my family in law had loaded the vehicles up with the necessities, pets and kids. 

My car was already too deep in the water to be rescued so I left it in the driveway.  If I’d known  the water would cover it completely within hours, I’d have gotten my crap out first.

Alas, my poor car is now totaled. A shame too, it’s one of the best cars I’ve ever owned. It had awesome features before, now it has cooler features, such as mud covered leather seats,

a built in swimming pool 

and  a collection of water logged Michael Bolton cassette tapes.(Don’t poke fun, the Bolton ROCKS.)

 The water filled the entire basement of my family’s house, up to  three feet of the first floor. All of our items that were in the basement are wasted and  all of the kids toys are gone. The water was mixed with the overflowing sewer water and infested with E.colli so items can only be saved if they’ve been bleached and not everything can be bleached. After the flooding was over, 3 were dead and 30 were missing.  We tried to rescue whomever we could and offered help to everyone we could see. Derek’s aunt and uncle had a bed and breakfast on a lower area of the flood plain that got completely destroyed. FEMA is now here,as well as the Red Cross and they’re sorting through the houses, declaring them as safe or condemned. Black mold is running rampant and people are exhausted.

Fortunately, neighborly love is running high and friends have been made out of strangers. Also, rafts have been made out of doors:

 Derek came home on  Monday and was embarrassed by the poster we made for him:

(SCORE!) After all the weight I’ve lost (35 pounds) he said I’m too damn skinny  and not to lose any more weight. My husband isn’t great at giving compliments. Oh well. =)

 We played with toys all morning,

ate a meal as a family for the first time in months, (she got more on her face than in her mouth.)

then fell asleep, exhausted from the past week’s worth of events. 

 The hotel  we’re in for this weekend has internet, but we won’t have it again for the next week. So forgive me, my friends. I’ll be out of touch again for a few more days. Don’t forget me and  please keep your prayers with the people  here. So many of them were without flood insurance and have nothing left. And while some did have flood insurance, it still doesn’t cover your possessions, just your structural damage to the house. So when a bed is soaked in E.Colli water and grows black mold, you have no place to sleep and no money to replace it with. Bear with me, dear readers. I haven’t abandoned you, I’m just trying to help out where I can. I wish I could do more…. By the way, as I write this, it’s raining again and the creek is again rising.  If you’re in a drought area  and you’ve been praying for rain, STOP IT. (damn Texans.)

Amanda’s Mom again.  She asked me to let everyone know what has been happing.  Amanda will not have internet until June 20th.  She says that sucks because she misses a you Xangans.

Amanda’s car stayed behind at her In-laws while they moved her stuff to Ohio.  Of course, that was during the flood.  Her car was under water with only a small part of the roof showing.  Needless to say, it was totaled.  She is so disappointed.  She loved that car, and of course, it was paid off. Now she has to look for a replacement.  At least they still have the truck, but with 2 little children and high gas prices, the truck is not the greatest.

They did get the beagle puppies they wanted.  They got 2 little girls, Daisy and Miley. (no they did not name the puppy after Miley Cyrus) They just liked the name.

Anyway, as soon as Amanda gets internet again, she will update he page and visit all her friends.

@ Circeo and OM – good luck on your adventure in OKC.  We’ll miss you.

@ Michy & Boulat – Congrats on the baby

Amanda’s Mom Here.  Amanda wanted me to post to let everyone know that she will probably not be able to post for a week or more.  It turns out that all that rain and flooding in the midwest hit Franklin, Indiana real hard.  That is where she has been staying with her In-Laws. On Saturday, they had to evacuate Franklin. Luckily, they were helping Amanda move all of her stuff back to Ohio and they had a place to stay.  Unluckily, while gone, the flood waters were at very high levels and there was 3 ft of water in their house.  Furniture, clothes, shoes, etc. are ruined. They had just finished redoing all of the floors and of course, thats ruined too.  Keep them and all of the residents of flooded areas in your prayers.  Amanda is going to be in Franklin helping with the clean up effort.

One happy note – Hubby arrived home safely this morning from his tour in the desert.  God Bless!

I’ve applied to be a certified Xangsta.  It’s a tough job, but I think I’m up to the challenge. Here’s my application:

If accepted, I’ll get a neat little badge and even better: *status.*

Tomorrow we’re moving and it’s currently POURING rain.  The tornado sirens are going off right now and I’m worried about  whether or not my storage unit will *BE* there in the morning. I suppose if it wasn’t there’d be less work for me to do, eh? Good thing I’m insured….

It’s going to be a busy few days  coming up. Derek returns home from deployment early on Monday morning.  I’ve made him a huge banner to greet him and everyone’s signed the back of it.

Also, look at what we’re getting:

We’ve been looking at dogs online for awhile now and we’ve finally decided on a beagle pup. So amongst the husband’s return, moving into a new house,lack of internet and a new puppy- I won’t be posting for a few days. See you all soon and God bless.