Lexann’s blog

For the wife who says, “It’s hot dogs tonight.”

Because she is home with me and not out with someone else.

For the husband who is on the sofa being a couch potato,

Because he is home with me and not out at the bars.

For the teenager who is complaining about doing the dishes,

Because it means she is at home, not on the streets.

For the taxes I pay,

Because it means I am employed.

For the mess to clean after a party,

Because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

For the clothes that fit a little too snug,

Because it means I have enough to eat.

For my shadow that watches me work, 

Because it means I am out in the sunshine.

For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing,

Because it means I have a home.

For all the complaining I hear about the government,

Because it means we have freedom of speech.

For the parking spot I found at the far end of the parking lot,

Because it means I am capable of walking, and I have been blessed with transportation.

For my huge heating bill,

Because it means I am warm.

For the lady behind me in church who sings off key,

Because it means I can hear.

For the pile of laundry and ironing,

Because it means I have clothes to wear.

For too much e-mail,

Because it means I have lots of friends who are thinking about me.

For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day,

Because it means I have been capable of working hard.

For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours,

Because it means that I am ALIVE!

COOL!

I know what I'm going to go see over the Christmas holiday!

This video is long (1 hour 20 minutes), but is worth watching.  It is also a couple years old.  The Kyoto Treaty is dead, and we have a new President.  But the new President's Global Government agenda is even more radical than past Presidents, and I have no doubt that he will sign the Copenhagen Treaty which is 10 times worse for the US than the Kyoto treaty was.  Please be diligent.  Do not allow your Senator to ratify the Copenhagen Treaty in December of this year!  Call him/her!  Stay on them!  Stop them from destroying our country and our freedom through global warming propaganda!  Please share this information with everyone you can!

Another good reference for arming yourself against the GW radicals is this: Not Evil Just Wrong.  It is an excellent and informative video about the true human cost of this hysteria.  It was created by two former liberals who believed the Green-Peace-type environmental hype, until while making a documentary on the "evils" of mining and free enterprise they saw the actual devistation brought to poor communities by the activism of radical environmentalists.

You have to have seen the Will Farrell "Healthcare Reform PSA" to really appreciate this.  It's hilarious!

And one more...(PJTV.com, ya'll!  You gotta check it out!)

If you haven't visited Pajamas TV (www.pjtv.com) you should.  There are some great pundits, including my personal favorite, AlfonZo Rachel ("Zo") at ZoNation (formerly known as "MachoSauce" on YouTube).  They have some free videos like:  this and this and this which are hilarious and full of wit & sarcasm.  But it's worth the $5/month subscription to support one of the few anti-MSM news and commentary sites out there.

I've posted Easter pictures to Vox since I joined, how could I have forgotten this year?  My profile picture is Xander's 1st Easter!  Plus, I got a ton of great ones this year.  But, better late than never...

I've been looking for dress shoes for my boys since Easter.  I've looked everywhere...okay, not everywhere.  I've not checked specialty shops, like Straussburg.  I'm not paying $75 dollars for a pair of shoes they will wear on Sunday for 3 months, and then outgrow.  But I've checked all the usual places, Famous Footwear, The Shoe Dept., Payless, Walmart, Target, Kohl's and a few kids shoe stores in the mall.  Nobody has boys summer dress shoes.  My boys are still wearing their winter shoes on Sunday, because I can't find any summer ones.  I went to one store and asked the sales lady for boys dress shoes.  She showed me what they had...two pair of black winter shoes.  "Don't you have penny loafers?" I asked.  You should have seen the confused look on her face..."What?"

I've been puzzled by this strange phenomenom.  Why (not even around Easter) is no store carrying dress shoes?  Sandles? Sure.  Tennis shoes?  By the boat load.  Dress shoes?  Nada.  And of course, the answer finally came to me like a flash.  It's because people don't dress up anymore.  Boys don't wear ties (another delimma I've had for my 5 & 2 year old), girls don't wear dresses, unless it's some micro-mini sexy/sleazy completely-inappropriate-to-wear-anywhere type dress.  Stores don't offer what doesn't sell.  Dress shoes don't sell.  Noone buys them; noone wears them, not even to church.

I remember several years ago having a conversation about this with a friend at work.  She didn't even own a dress.  She made the comment, "I'm not going to dress up like those snobs at church that are just there to show off their clothes."  (Or something to that effect.)  I've heard this attitude and similar statements from a lot a people.  They think the reason people dress up for church is out of arrogance or to please other people.  They've completely missed the point.  Worship isn't about YOU!  Worship is about GOD!  Dressing in your "Sunday best" is about respect for God.  This is the King of the Universe!  The Savior of the World!  Are you gonna just throw on your old comfy jeans and ratty T-shirt for the Almight Creator?  Look at it this way, regardless of your political convictions, if you were invited to the White House to meet the President of the United States, would you just throw on any old thing?  Of course not!  You'd put on your best clothes!  You'd probably even go out and get something new.  You'd want to look your best out of respect for the office...he's the President!  Yet every week, when you go to church you come before the the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Holy of Holies...you are in His presence...and you wear shorts?  Or your holey jeans?  Think about it: what are you saying to God by your appearance?

"The Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silent before Him." --Hab. 2:20

"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?...for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple." --I Cor. 3:16,17b.

"But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all that you do; for it is written, 'Be holy because I am holy'." --I Pet. 1:15-16

Last night I watched "Jon & Kate Plus 8" on TLC.  I've only ever watched this show twice before.  I didn't like it; both times I found Kate to be snippy and emasculating to her husband.  She wouldn't give him a word in edge-wise, and took every opportunity to take verbal "shots" at the guy.  Not that he's so great a husband, but a man can only take that kind of abuse so long.  Now, they are everywhere in the tabloids.  He is apparently having an affair...surprise, surprise.  So, yes, I took the media bait and tuned in for the season 5 premiere. 

It was really depressing.  Although Jon denies the affair, stating instead that he made "some poor choices" (whatever that means), their relationship is obviously on the rocks.  They did everything seperately.  The episode was about the sextuplets 5th birthday, and Kate shopped by herself with the kids.  Jon came to the party in a seperate car, after being gone (noone says where) all weekend.  His little girl (I forget which one) tells him, "I missed you Daddy.  Don't go away again."  The two of them only speak to each other when necessary at the party.  Even during the narrative sequences, which have in past seasons always been with the two of them on the couch together, they were seperate in most of those scenes.  There is one moment where Kate starts to break down, saying she was glad they got a family picture because she thinks it might be their last one.  The mood and the strain between them effects the whole family.  It's heartbreaking to watch.

Right after that came the show about the Duggar family "18 and counting".  I also don't usually watch that show, but I was already depressed...so what's one more family drama?  It was such a different show, it is amazing.  The Duggars have 10 more kids than the Gosslins, so they should have 10 times as much trouble and stress, right?  Nope.  Jim Bob & Michelle are really down home folk.  They are loving and kind to everyone, but most especially to each other.  That is the key, I believe.  They have such a happy family, because they are happy.  And they are happy because they treat each other with mutual repect and love. 

I noticed a couple of other things the Duggars have that the Gosslins don't.  Most importantly they are devoted to God.  They are obviously Christians, though the show has never talked about their religion, they live their Christianity, and it makes all the difference.  I also saw (on a previous show) that although they married young (just like the Gosslins) they were married 4 years before they had their first child.  They were a couple first before they were parents.  I really believe that foundation is so important to the longevity of a marriage.  Finally, I noticed that Michelle, although she runs the household, she doesn't run her husband.  She allows him to make leadership decisions without degrading him or nagging.  I'm sure that there are time that the two of them disagree, it's only natural, but they must discuss it behind closed doors.  They do not parade their arguments in front of their family or the world.  They never use deroggatory language or tone with one another or their children.  Nor do they yell at their children (which is really amazing considering how many of them there are.) 

The Gosslins are the opposite in every respect.  I've never seen them even mention religion, much less God.  Jon stated in last night's episode that he was "married at 22, had kids at 23, and had 8 kids by the time he was 27."  It seems that Jon & Kate never got to be just Jon & Kate before they were plus 2 or plus 8.  Finally, they are not loving towards each other nor mutually respectful.  I already mentioned the "snippy" attitude that exudes from Kate toward her husband, but she is equally disrespectful to her own children.  In last night's episode, I saw Kate yell at one of her 5 year olds to get his shoes on, while he was crying to her because his brothers were picking on him (they had been physically punching and kicking him in the other room.  Jon thought that was funny..."they're boys".)  Then a few scenes later, she's yelling through the house "I'm leaving!  If you're not at the car, I'm leaving you!"  She then sends her 5 year old into the den to drag the other kids off the couch where they are watching TV.  Does that sound like respectful treatment of your kids?

And now they seem surprised that their marriage is falling apart.  They don't know what to do, how they got into their current problems, or how to fix them.  In one of their few mutual scenes, when asked what the future holds for them, they remained silent, and Jon just shrugged.  But it is obvious to anyone watching where this family is headed.  I'm sure that outside observation is more clear than inside, but I just have to ask, why won't they save themselves?  Why won't they save their family?

Have you heard the GOP's latest adventure to "revitalize" the party?  It is the National Council for a New America (NCNA).  According to the website this is their mission:

"The NCNA will bring together citizens from across the country to begin a dialogue with the American people through a series of forums, town halls, and an online effort that will engage people in a discussion to meet our common challenges and build a stronger country through common-sense ideas…The NCNA will be a dynamic, forward-looking organization that will amplify the common-sense and wisdom of our fellow citizens through a grassroots dialogue with Republican leaders."

A dialogue with the American people?  Have they not be listening?  Have they not been watching?  Were they blind to the Tea Parties?  Why exactly does the GOP need "revitalizing" anyway?  Why do we need a "New America".  I really liked the old one.  You know the one founded on the Constitution?  Perhaps the need for this revitalization is that we've had too many RINOs and too many Republican representatives who get to Washington and start acting like Democrats.  Too many McCains "reaching across the aisle", instead of Reagans who never compromise principles.

Does anyone remember "New Coke"?  In the 80's Pepsi was running a great ad campaign: the taste test.  Malls everywhere had little booths with two cups, one with Pepsi, one with Coke.  You would blindly taste these two products and tell the Pepsi employee which one you liked best.  Amazingly, it always turned out to be Pepsi!  Taste testing "proved" it, their ad said, everybody liked Pepsi better than Coke!  This was such a good campaign that every body believed it, including Coca-cola!  Coke was actually losing market share.  So, what do they do?  Improve their marketing?  Agressive advertising?  Have Michael Jackson endorse their product?  Give coupons or discounts to their current customers to increase sales?  Nope, none of that.  Instead, they completely do away with their founding product!  They replace it with "New Coke", which tastes like Pepsi.  Coke customers hate it.  Coke loses more customers than ever, and their old customers actually picket their plants & headquarters!  Result?  Six months later, they introduce "Coca-cola classic".  It's the same old product, just repackaged.  People love it.  Sales soar.  New Coke?  Gone the way of the Dodo bird.

This "National Council for a New America" is like "New Coke"; it is a group of Republicans trying to turn the GOP into "Democrat lite", instead of saying, "hey, maybe the reason we lost, and continue to lose is because we don't stick to our principles and we alienate our base!"  The GOP "product" has always been (and should remain) the conservative mantra: Smaller Government, More Freedom, Less Taxes, Private Charity instead of Welfare, Pro-Life, etc. There is nothing wrong with the old product...it just needs new packaging and better marketing, it doesn't need to be changed to bring in more "moderates".  You would dump 58 million conservatives to grab a handful of "moderates" who's principles sway with the changing of the wind?  WAKE UP CONSERVATIVES!  The problem isn't the party, the problem is our leadership (or rather lack thereof).  We need Reagans, not McCains!