"No, YOU Move."

Doesn't matter what the press says. Doesn't matter what the politicians or the mobs say. Doesn't matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right.

This nation was founded on one principle above all else: The requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences.

When the mob and the press and the whole world tell you to move, your job is to plant yourself like a tree beside the river of truth, and tell the whole world--

--"No, you move."

~Captain America (in the Amazing Spider-Man #537)

Making the House Official

It's amazing what little things make a house a home. It's also funny to see the difference in what makes a home for me and what makes a home for my kids. For example, I apparently made our house official yesterday by doing one simple thing.

I hung up our coocoo-clock.

As I was doing this simple thing, Emma came up stairs, paused when she saw what I was doing, and said, "Is this our new home?" A few minutes later, Rebekah came upstairs, saw the clock and said, "The coocoo-clock! The coocoo-clock! It's our home again!"

Apparently, that clock is something the kids (especially the younger ones) really identify with our home.

What a Month!

March is always crazy in our family each year. When you add in a new house that is in various stages of being remodeled, a car trip to Minnesota, and various other little doo-dads, you can find me on the brink of insanity.

I actually do have a digital camera now and pictures of the new house, but since the computer at home hasn't been unpacked yet, I don't have access to them. While it has been a stressfull and sometimes aggrevating process, things are finally starting to take shape. There are still lots of little things to do, but only a few big ones left, and no vital ones. It just has been hard trying to find the motivation to work on the house after I get home from work...especially since we aren't unpacked yet and things are still very chaotic.

Still, it's home.

Written in Stone

Break out the stone tablets and the chisel and the hammer. We're signing all the paperwork for our new home on Wednesday. And after my arm goes numb from signing my name on every scrap of paper they push at me, the REAL work begins.

Egads! What have I done?

Two Quotes

Just two quotes that I just came across that I want to remember:

"America is unique in the history of the world. In the history of the world, whenever there's been conflict, the nation that wins takes land from the nation that loses. One nation in history, and this during the last century, laid down hundreds of thousands of lives and took no land: no land from Germany, no land from Korea, no land from Japan. America is unique in the sacrifice it has made for liberty, for itself and for freedom-loving people around the world."

~Shimon Peres (French Prime Minister)

"The only land we took after the last great conflict was enough land to bury our dead."

~Colin Powell (United States Army General)

Oh Give Me a Home (Sans Buffalos)

We have started house hunting with a Realtor. As we've gone through several houses we realized that we are not going to get everything we want (at this point anyway). There are too many neighborhoods around here that I just don't want to raise kids in, and others in which the houses are way too expensive for what they are. I'm sure we could raise our maximum buying price, but I refuse to get into a house payment that might get me into trouble down the road. So, we compromise.

There are a few we are going to walk through this coming weekend. One house in particular, while it is on a main arterial road, has caught my eye and I have high hopes for it. (Link Removed) I'm only going to keep that link on this blog for a little while, then I'll be deleting it. So, if you're interested, look at it now.

Sea Monkeys and Other Drivel

Something I forgot to mention: I joke a lot about Sea Monkeys at work, so my co-workers bought me some for Christmas. So now my desk proudly displays a small tank of water bugs. Yea me! They are actually rather ugly little critters. They are still quite small but growing. I don't have to lean real close and squint any more.

ING.com...good stuff.

I haven't posted any Gleemax stuff to this particular blog in awhile, but it is still going...well, maybe not strong, but it is still going.

The House Hunting should begin soon. Updates to follow...someday...

So..Umm...2008...Yeah

All in all, a fairly unremarkable day. Well, at least it is a paid day off.

As for the past year...well, it was perhaps slightly better than the one before, so that is something at least. I imagine this next one will be slightly better still, especially when considering a home purchase will most likely occur at some point in this year. Huzzah! When it does happen, I plan on hanging a plaque in the entryway with the following inscription:

This home is dedicated as a place where the Spirit of the Lord may dwell, where our children, Mary, Isaiah, Rebekah, Emma, and Benjamin may learn to love God and serve others, and where friends may feel welcome.

In memory of Margaret and Walter Schroeder.