On a lighter note....

Monday was Co-op again. Everyone was sick except for us and Christie's family. So, it was a small group. My friend Carrie had sent me some wonderful links about making nature T-shirts, so we decided to give it a try. Christie has a beautiful pond on her property. We did some exploring, found some beautiful leaves, and made some really cool t-shirts. Check it out. 

Heartbreak

I have had the baby bug all week. Several friends of mine are in the middle of breastfeeding. It sometimes feels like "I should be". I know that I can't say that. Nothing is absolute, and my baby was always "supposed" to be in heaven, but it feels like I should be breastfeeding too.  

 Yesterday a friend of mine sent me this link. I keep saying that I want God to just show me the child or children that I am supposed to have.

I want this one. I'm not saying I heard God's voice saying "This is the one for you." I'm just saying that she reached out her tiny little hand and touched me. Her name is Gifty. She has no parents. She needs someone to love her. She needs a permanent home. She needs someone with good medical insurance because she needs a liver transplant. The part that breaks my heart is that in order for her to live, some other baby has to die. That is just cruel. I want her to live. That doesn't mean I want some other baby to die. How do you make that balance? How do you make that work in your deepest parts? I think my heart just broke. 

 

4 pounds of sin

I have been in and out of different doctor's offices all summer. They have mostly been specialists, so rather than actually measure and weigh me, they have merely asked "How tall are you?" and "How much do you weigh?". I have given a fairly accurate answer. I say 5'4", when in all actuality, I am 5 feet 3 and 3/4 inches tall. I don't think anyone really cares about that last quarter inch except me. In fact, I am probably boring you... 

 (Let me preface this with, "until this week, I haven't owned a scale".) When they ask how much I weigh, I gave a generalized idea of how much I hoped I weighed. It was still about 4 lbs more than I wanted to weigh, but I had weighed that at one point in time at a doctors appt. so I figured it was still true. Well, last week I went to a doctors appt. where they actually weighed me and the number was 4 pounds more! That is never something a woman wants to hear, so I was complaining to my friend about it. She just laughed at me. I believe her exact quote was "Bethany, go cut your hair. You'll probably lose 4 lbs right there."

  For some reason, that has stuck with me all week. Four pounds can look very different to different people. She has lost more than four pounds this year, and has a lot of be proud of. My four pounds, quite rightly, seemed silly to her. My four pounds are everything to me, but only to me. They are nothing to her. 

 I have been thinking about perception this week. My perception, my friend's perceptions, and most importantly, God's perception. My four pounds look exactly the same to God as someone else's 40 pounds. In fact, they look exactly the same as 400 pounds. Can you tell I'm not actually talking about physical weight anymore? 

 Sin hangs over our head like a weight. It is extra pounds that we carry around with us. We look at the people around us and we see their sin. That murderer in jail has 4000 pounds of fat hanging on him - disgusting. The cheating husband is obviously ugly - at least 40 lbs overweight. My little white lie to make myself look better - surely that is only a pound or two, right? 

 I might see sin in degrees. You might see sin in levels. But God doesn't. In His eyes, sin is sin. End of story. All sin separates us from his holiness. He sees it exactly the same when a Jihadist blows up an entire village in His name, or a minister damns someone to hell for hearing God differently then them, or when I grumble and complain that Andy has left his socks inside out, yet again, in the laundry. "Holy war", unholy judgement, bad attitude - I would see them as different. Obese, Overweight, Needs a quick work out. God sees them all exactly the same. 

 4 lbs. 40 lbs. 400 lbs. It's all the same. Sin is Sin. The only thing you can do with it is give it to Him.

 

Could it be Larryboy's demise??? dum dum dum...

Canaan and Zion have had a new favorite food lately. Ever time they ask for one, I think to myself, "I should take a picture of that". Today when they asked (for their Sat. morning breakfast, and yes, that is popcorn in the background too... what can I say, it was 9:30 on a Sat.) I actually remembered to take the picture. Can you tell what it is? We call them "deep south popsicles".

A few pictures from our bread making adventure~

These aren't quite in order... but grind the grain, mix the dough, knead the dough, let it rise, shape it into rolls, bake it, then eat it all up! 

The grain grinder is LOUD! 

  Yummy Bread! 

A couple of things to think about...

I was sent a link to this free rice page over a year ago, and played the game a lot for awhile. I had forgotten about it until I saw it on a friends page again a few days ago. I wanted to pass the link along. Please check it out. You can increase your vocabulary and help feed the world's hungry, just by clicking your mouse. What do you have to lose? 

 Secondly, it is time for Operation Christmas Child again. I have packed a shoe box for years now. It is very simple. It doesn't take much time. It doesn't take much money. It does have the potential to make a huge difference. For some of these children, this will be the only Christmas present they receive. Please, pray about it. Have your children pray about it. Then give with an open heart. 

Kindergarten

I know that it is supposed to be wordless Wednesday, but I cannot stay silent. I have to brag just a little bit before I go to bed. I am just so proud. My 5 year old finished his kindergarten level "Hooked on Phonics" today. As in "finito", done with,  completed! That is just cool. I guess we will start first grade tomorrow. (Thank you F. grandparents for buying K, 1st and 2nd in advance)  The last line of the last book he read was a fitting moral for us all. "To get a pal you need to be a pal." I love that they threw that in as a conclusion. Hooked on Phonics not only teaches letters and sounds, sight words and letter blends, but they throw in a moral lesson too! Friend is too hard of a word for the kindergarten level, but pal is right on their level. So, be a pal. 

 I have tried not to be a strict, pushy teacher. I want to be a freedom loving, laid back, hippie of sorts. But, I LOVE TO READ! It is a requirement that Canaan learn how to read. So, this feels like success, like justification that I am doing something right.  Yeah Canaan!!! Yeah me! Now, onward ho ~~~

 

Wordless Wednesday

So much to say...

... so little cooperation from the internet.

 For some reason the internet and my house do not seem to be on very friendly terms right now. Some moments they get along okay, but slowly, but for most of the day yesterday and today they have refused to have anything to do with each other at all. 

 Of course this occurs when I am full, almost bursting, with thoughts, emotions and stories. But I am lacking in pictures right now, so those will have to wait anyway. 

 We had our second homeschool co-op meeting yesterday, and it was a blast, if I do say so myself! I read the story of the Little Red Hen, which follows a seed of wheat all the way from being planted to being made into bread and eaten. We didn't go quite that far back.

 I was afraid we wouldn't have enough time for everything, so I had pre-mixed a batch of bread and had it rising before the children got here. I let them see and touch the whole wheat, watch it (or rather, hear it) get ground into flour, mix it into dough, knead it, then I let them shape the dough that had already risen. They made some very interesting shapes which baked into some amazingly delicious rolls. I turned the dough they mixed into a pizza crust for our lunch after they all left, and it turned out really good. I was afraid they might have over kneaded, but I think that they just gave it extra love. 

 Mary took some great pictures, but I forgot to get them from her before she left. Hopefully I will get them soon and post some amazing flour covered pictures of our adventures in baking. I can't remember the title of the other book we read, and we never even got around to the other books that Christy picked out... Why is it that there is just never enough time?  

 Hopefully the internet will work for a few minutes. 

Where babies come from...

A few nights ago during prayer time I asked my boys to pray for their Auntie Em. She really wants a baby and is working very hard at getting pregnant. You can read her blog about it (and everything else in the world), and I know she would welcome any prayers you would care to pass along. 

 Anyway, when I told Canaan that Emilee was trying to get pregnant he said, "To have a baby, you have to get fat." I agreed with him that yes, you do get "fat" when you have a baby in your belly. His advice was, "Well, chips make you fat. Maybe Emie should eat lots of chips."

 So, I guess in his logic, potato chips give you a baby. I just thought that was hilarious and wanted to share. 

A Proud Moment

Last night, Andy graduated from Airman Leadership School (ALS). That means he is now officially a Staff Sergeant. They had a fancy dinner, with lots of very high ranking people there 

to celebrate the graduation of 32 people. It was exciting for me, because I am almost never around high ranking people. I am almost never around anyone military at all, except for a few spouses, and Andy. Side note... look Kelsey. I wore the bridesmaid dress. It was perfect! This picture was taken at the end of the evening, picking up the boys at the neighbors house.
This is a classic Andy pose. He was pretty stressed out all evening, with all the "big brass" around. By the time we got home, he was very ready to just chill out and be silly. Plus, he was in a very good mood because.....
he won the Distinguished Graduate Award!!! There were 5 awards in all, out of 32 people. His was based on "objective testing, performance appraisals, demonstrated leadership and followership" (whatever that means?). His wasn't the highest award you could get, but it means he was in the top 10 percent of his class. (top 10% of 32 people is top 3, right?) That is pretty dog-gone cool if you ask me, considering he was also taking two college classes, raising two boys, and putting up with a migraine crazed diabetic wife all at the same time!

 He had today off to recover, which has been fabulous. Funny thing though.... he has weekend duty this weekend, so he has to go to work tomorrow. Isn't that just the way it works? 

 I am just so proud. Give him a high five if you see him, okay? 

Clarification

First, a confession. After I wrote that last blog about books, I thought about it and I have had to admit to myself that I lied. I do cry over books. A lot. Way more then I would like to say. So, please just pretend that I didn't say that before. 

 Secondly, I really liked the series, but it is in no way a Christian series. It is fairly "clean" since it is teen fiction (ie, there is no sex) but there is also no God, no hope for eternity, etc. It is set at the turn of the century, and is very woman empowering - shed your corsets, fight for the right to vote, woman can be more than just pretty faces and baby makers. Read at your own discretion, but I enjoyed them. 

Books, books and more books

 I have sort of disappeared the last few days on here. I would apologize, but I'm not really sorry, so it might be pointless. I have been caught up in a wonderful/terrible series of books. They are called the Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray. They were wonderful because they were fascinating, and historical and inspiring and mystical. (I am definitely one of those Christians who can cheerfully read about magical worlds with witches and elves and such without being threatened AT ALL) At the same time, the books were horrible because I could not put them down, and they did not end how I wanted them too. Actually, when it first ended, I spent about 2 hours seriously considering finding the author and smacking her. Seriously. Then, my wonderful husband came home. I got to hug him, and kiss him, and actually cried just a little bit (and books almost never make me cry) and I felt much better. I really shouldn't read so much. I relate to the characters entirely too much. I went back and re-read the last 2 pages again, after I had calmed down and was able to see the tiny bit of hope the author had inserted into the end. The main character was going to carry on without her love. She was going to change the world, do good things, maybe even love again someday. Hope is contagious. 

 Anyway... that is where I have been, in case you wondered. 

 And while we are speaking of books, I found this really great blog about children's books. When I was a teacher, I tried my hardest to explore the libraries, check out new things, be adventuress with books. I am so glad now that I had that chance. What fun books are. I hope with all my heart that my children inherit the LOVE of reading from me. 

 For now, I am going to go and read to my children. Something without twaddle. And if you don't know what that means... read the blog. 

Miracle meds

I try not to talk about my health on here too much. I would hate to bore my "faithful readers" (all 10 of you) However, I would just like to say that my meds must be doing something. Because.... I forgot to take them yesterday. Both doses. Don't ask.

 I have paid dearly for it today. It is amazing how quickly you forget how miserable you have been, when you are no longer that way. And being miserable again is, well, miserable. Just one day without the medicine in my system has already completely thrown my entire system out of whack. So, even though Topamax is not a complete miracle, and does not get rid of every symptom, I can say that I much much much prefer life ON it to life OFF of it! 

 I guess this is my "shout out" to the wonderful creators of migraine medicine, and to the neurologists who prescribe it, especially the one who took the time to diagnose me, (the lady with only a minor headache, but with every other strange and fascinating symptom you can find, and some that I have never read about any where else) with migraines! 

Someone needs to hear from God...

Andy talked to his mom this weekend, as usual, and after hearing all the drama from "home" he was complaining about one of his uncles. This uncle has continually made unwise decisions throughout his life, and usually leaves someone else to pick up the pieces. Canaan (little man with the big ears) was listening intently, of course. After a few minutes of Andy ranting, Canaan innocently asked, "Didn't anyone read him his God stories when he was little?" I had to reply "Yes honey. I just don't think he was listening." 

 I just think it is pretty amazing that my five year old already associates bad decisions by a grown up with a lack of God's word in their life. 

 Now if I can just get him to listen attentively, without yawning and fidgeting, when it is his turn to listen! 

Our cross

This was my devotional reading several weeks ago, and I put a bookmark at that page. I keep coming back to it, and now I would like to share it with you. Remember that your cross is never carried alone. 

"There is a poem called "The Changed Cross." It represents a weary one who thought that her cross was surely heavier than those of others whom she saw about her, and she wished that she might choose another instead of her own. She slept, and in her dream she was led to a place where many crosses lay, crosses of different shapes and sizes. There was a little one most beauteous to behold, set in jewels and gold. "Ah, this I can wear with comfort," she said. So she took it up, but her weak form shook beneath it. The jewels and the gold were beautiful, but the were far too heavy for her. 

 Next she saw a lovely cross with fair flowers entwined around its sculptured form. Surely that was the one for her. She lifted it, but beneath the flowers were piercing thorns which tore her flesh. 

 At last, as she went on, she came to a plain cross, without jewels, without carvings, with only a few words of love inscribed upon it. This she took up and it proved the best of all, the easiest to be borne. And as she looked upon it, bathed in the radiance that fell from heaven, she recognized her own old cross. She had found it again, and it was the best of all, and lightest for her. 

 God knows best what cross we need to bear. We do not know how heavy other people's crosses are. We envy someone who is rich; his is a golden cross set with jewels, but we do not know how heavy it is. Here is another whose life seems very lovely. She bears a cross twined with flowers. If we could try all the other crosses that we think lighter that our own, we would at last find that not one of them suited us so well as our own." 

                                                                                       From Glimpses through Life's Windows

Nature as a teacher

A homeschool friend of mine sent me this link, and I thought this woman was very informative. She uses nature as her class room so much, and I really admire that. I want to try to do that more often. I need to learn more about nature myself. I guess I can learn it along with Canaan, right? Speaking of nature... we spent Friday afternoon at a homeschool friend's house. They live on several acres, with some beautiful land. It was super hot and humid, but we toughed it up and went for a walk around their pond, looking for some nature ourselves. There was nothing too exciting, but we did see a blue heron (I think), some raccoon footprints, ate some wild muscadines, (sp?) and made plans for some future projects when this dreadful south GA heat lets up a little. Late that afternoon when I was leaving, as I was pulling out of their driveway I happened to look over and saw a HUGE rattlesnake right next to the road. It was probably about four feet long, super fat, and only about 10 feet away from her mailbox. I took a picture on my phone, but I haven't ever tried to upload from my phone to the computer. I will see if I can figure that out sometime this week. 

 In the meantime, check out the link above, and, like me, learn something new about God's beautiful creation. 

OCD??

I remember my mom telling a story about when I was a little girl. She was "encouraging" me to organize the dishes and silverware in my little pretend kitchen. Forks go together, spoons just so, plates stacked, then bowls, etc. Later she worried that she might be making me a little OCD. Sure enough, here I am 25 years later with a neatly organized silverware drawer, and color coordinated and folded underwear. (don't worry Mom, I am not blaming you for this, nor do I consider this a bad thing... don't start having a guilt trip. Call me if you need therapy!) Anyway, I remembered this story when I had children of my own, so I tried, without much success, but I tried, NOT to make my children too OCD. Obviously, as shown by the pictures to the left, I failed. 

 We got a package in the mail today

from my Mom which contained two new "CARS" vehicles. The boys got out their collection and played with them for awhile. When I checked on them, this is what I found. Neat rows, organized by color. 

 I should probably be ashamed, but I not. I am so proud!!! Aren't they adorable? I did not give them this idea... Canaan came up with it completely on his own, carried it out by himself. All I did was walk in, see it, and take a picture. Of course, now that I have taken the picture, he is going to do it constantly.... oh well! 

 

Just a cute story...

We were reading about the Pilgrims in Canaan's history yesterday, and when we finished, I asked him a few questions, to see how well he had been listening. He knew why they left England (because they wanted to pick their own church) why they were called pilgrims (it means "people who wander from place to place") and how Squanto helped them (gave them corn) When I asked him what what the name of their ship was, he responded, with complete assurance, "The Cauliflower!" 

 I almost hated to correct him! 

Politics

I just wanted to point out the quotes of the week. Those sum up why, although I love a democratic society, and the freedom of speech, I must say that over all, I hate an election year. When my time comes, and it is my turn to run for election, I am asking you all to hold me accountable. I will run a clean election. I will not bash the person I am running against. I think that surely it is possible to win by pointing out the good things about yourself, the things you are strong in, rather than by bashing your opponent. Surely?!? 

***Since the week is now over and I am removing the quotes, I thought I should add them here instead***

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." Mother Theresa

"Use soft words and hard arguments" English Proverb

"If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all" Thumper, from Bambi

"Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say ONLY what helps, each word a gift." Eph. 4:29

(The Message) 

yet again... the opposite of a lazy Sunday afternoon

My weekend has not gone as planned, but I have some pictures to show some of the amazing things that were accomplished, so I can't complain too much! 

 First of all, yesterday was the one year anniversary of us buying this house. In honor of that monumental occasion, we hung curtains and pictures in our bedroom. Yes, one year after move in, we finally settled in. If had been left completely up to me, it still wouldn't be done. My Mom bought the curtains. Andy bought the curtain rods and hung them. The only thing I did was tell him how high I wanted them! Here are some pictures.

Once the "handiness" had begun, it just didn't stop. Since we were hanging stuff, we decided to clean too. The book corner had been getting a lot of evil glares lately... so it got a redesign. I don't know if you can see it very well in the picture, it is kind of dark, but all my book are neatly organized in a basket now. It is pretty impressive. (they didn't actually all fit, some got secretly stuffed under the bed, and some have been returned to the library since the other picture was taken, and still others have been added to the stash) Also, Andy had been complaining about the curtains on the front and back door being too long - they always get caught in the door when you close it. So, I found some old ones in my cedar trunk, cut them down, turned them upside down, and sewed a new hem. Quick fix. Since I had to get the ironing board out to iron the creases, I might as well iron a few shirts. And, since I had the sewing machine out, I might as well work on something else there too. Canaan wanted to help, of course, so he got a needle and thread and worked away. I actually threw his creation away - I am a bad mom - but then I did let him help with the quilts too, so he gets some credit for those. He is so enthusiastic about everything. What an encouraging little blessing he is. 

  Anyway, this doesn't even include the parts of the weekend in which we went to the mall, bought nasty disgusting crickets, I felt like my intestines exploded, Andy was a total jerk, Andy made up for being a total jerk, I slept until 9am and missed church (this was after the intestinal episode) or we made homemade Curry Chicken and Chipati's! Wow - we were busy this weekend! 

Joy- a reminder

 I mentioned last week on here that I have let my joy slip a little. This is a new experience for me. Never before in my life have I had to fight so hard for joy. Life has not always been easy, and happiness has not always just fallen into my lap, but that deeper, truer JOY has always been my support. It is harder to find right now, and that completely and utterly freaks me out. I was telling Mary Faith last night that Joy has always been the one thing that I was good at. Who am I without that joy? What else am I good at? I was a "Pollyanna", and could find the bright side to every dark thing and the rainbow in every rain storm. I'm not saying that ability is gone. It is just SO MUCH HARDER then it has ever been before. That scares me.

 Thursday was bad. 

 Friday was a little better. 

 Today is a new day, a better day. I can feel it. And my God is faithful. 

 I have been reading a lot. I picked up "Streams in the Desert" when I was at Mom's last week. It is a compilation of excerpts and poems, originally published in 1925 and it is just full of bits of encouragement about God's faithfulness. I highly recommend it. 

 This was part of today's reading:

 When from my life the old-time joys have vanished, 

 Treasures once mine, I may no longer claim, 

 This truth may feed my hungry heart, and famished;

 Lord, THOU REMAINEST! Thou are still the same! 

 When streams have dried, those streams of glad refreshing - 

 Friendships so blest, so rich, so free;

 When sun-kissed skies give place to clouds depressing, 

 Lord, THOU REMAINEST! Still my heart hath Thee! 

 When strength hath failed, and feet, now worn and weary

 On gladsome errands may no longer go,

 Why should I sigh, or let the days be dreary?

 Lord, THOU REMAINEST! Could'st thou more bestow?

 Thus through life's days- whoe'er or what may fail me, 

 Friends, friendships, joys, in small or great degree, 

 Songs may be mine, no sadness need assail me, 

 Lord, THOU REMAINEST! Still my heart hath thee! 

  J. Danson Smith

The opposite of a lazy Sunday afternoon

I found my camera cord and uploaded the pictures from our weekend. Corey and Carrie drove the boys and I down to meet Andy in Macon. We were planning to play at the park, but it rained, so we improvised. We went to the Bass Pro Shop and browsed around, which was almost like going to the park. It had stopped raining when we first got there, so the kids (including the grown up ones) got to play on the outdoor displays for awhile and that was a blast. Someday, when our salary has doubled, I think Andy will be able to talk me into a boat. They were so beautiful! It has been a long time since I have been skiing, and I miss it. 

 After the Bass pro shop we went to Barnes and Noble and let the kids play with the train set while we browsed the books. That is one of my favorite stores of all time, since reading is my all time favorite past time. Last, but not least, we went to Cheddar's to eat. DELICIOUS! 

 Overall, it was a fabulous Sunday. If it had to be spent on the road, this was the way to spend it! With great friends, delicious food and fun activities! 

Hippie me

So, this is totally my vanity, but please add yourself to my followers link so I can know who my faithful readers are. Thank you.

 Enough about that....

  After 8 years out of college, I have recently decided to try to return to my "hippie" roots. I have continued to recycle faithfully, buy organic when I can afford it, dry my clothes on a line, eat fresh and natural produce as often as possible, grind my own grain into flour for home made bread and I still have my bell- bottoms and peasant blouses (yes, the same ones I wore in college, at least, some of them) But, I must admit that over the years my addiction to Diet Dr. Pepper has only gotten stronger and stronger. Diet. Dr. P is absolutely, nothing, and in no way natural, healthy or good for the environment, or my body. So, I have given it up. Quit cold turkey. 

 I figured, I already have a headache, which pretty much never goes away. Why not have a caffeine withdrawal headache at the same time, and get it all over with at the same time? 

 Andy gave up caffeine several weeks ago. (side note, if you know someone who would like some delicious coffee that is just sitting in our freezer, let me know!) So, we have decided to keep all carbonated beverages away from our home, at least for the time being. Instead, we bought some delicious decaffeinated green tea, and blueberry and chai and made some awesome ice tea mixtures. And I don't even have a caffeine headache anymore. Isn't life good? 

 I am going to go make an apple pie. 

 I feel so very hippie. 

 Now if only Andy would let me have my own chickens! 

A cool quote

I found this quote on another AF wife/homeschool mother's blog and thought it was fabulous. Just wanted to share it. 

"The Bible calls debt a curse and children a blessing; but in our culture, we apply for a curse and reject blessings. Something is wrong with this picture." ~ Doug Phillips

Canaan's Wordless Wednesday

I had some really cute ones from this weekend that I wanted to add to this slideshow, but I can't find my camera cord to upload them. Sorry!

An odd sound, all things considered.

I was browsing the internet, reading my E-mail, leaving comments on blogs, etc earlier today when I realized that it was strangely quiet. That is never a good sign. So I stopped typing and got up to explore. I could hear the sound of the television in the other room as I got closer. No one had asked for permission to turn it on, so I was prepared to give the "stern face" as I rounded the corner. But the sight that greeted me blew that plan out of the water. Actually, it blew that plan off the planet and out of the solar system. My five year old and two year old were quietly sitting and playing lego's together while watching C-span. Something about politics. ?!?!?!?! 

 At this exact moment they are rolling around on the floor behind me, and making sounds like frogs. No, change that. In the time it took to type that, they have climbed onto the chair with me and are in an argument saying "My momma", "No, my Momma". Those are the actions and sounds I am use to. C-span while quietly playing Lego's TOGETHER are completely shocking. 

 I just wanted to share that. 

A little political humor

So, this forward has been making the rounds, but I have to put it out there too. I would first like to say that I do not specifically claim a political party myself. I am just someone who loves Jesus, the humans he created in his image (especially the defenseless ones) and the world he created for us to care for. IN THAT ORDER. I try to vote with those things in mind. With that being said, I thought this was very very funny. 

Welcome to the Party... this is not my story- got it in an email....

I was talking to a friend of mine's little girl the other day. I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up and she replied, 'I want to be President!' Both of her parents are liberal Democrats and were standing there. So then I asked her, 'If you were President what would be the first thing you would do?' 

She replied, 'I'd give houses to all the homeless people.' 

'Wow - what a worthy goal.' I told her, 'You don't have to wait until you're President to do that. You can come over to my house and mow, pull weeds, and sweep my yard, and I'll pay you $50. Then I'll take you over to the grocery store where this homeless guy hangs out, and you can give him the $50 to use toward a new house.' 

Since she is only 6, she thought that over for a few seconds. While her Mom glared at me, she looked me straight in the eye and asked, 'Why doesn't the homeless guy come over and do the work, and you can just pay him the $50?' 

And I said, 'Welcome to the Republican Party.' 

Her folks still aren't talking to me.