Yes, BackWoodsArcher got another new toy...and it's alot of fun :D

We just washed it so it's actually clean here!  lol  I doubt that will last long though. hehe ;)

Yep, it's the time of year for The Community Well's speech day!

Everyone had quite lovely speeches and we danced afterwards :D

Rachel talking about birds

Eli talked about Bigfoot

Austyn :)

Garrett also spoke about birds

Jacob's speech was on morse code

Ethan and "The Journey of Milk"

Kayla (xxpatrioticxx)  had a lovely story :)

blury Katie :P

BackWoodsArcher ladies and gentlemen :P   hehe

Yes, it's finally spring here in Okie Dokie Acres country.

Yes, even dandylions are a part of my beautiful spring :)

I love my doggie, Ol'Roy :)

Jamie the guard goat ;)

Yes, I'm excited it's spring, but I'm also excited about my new camera!  :D  look at the wonderful pix it takes :D

Yay!  Finally something worth blogging about! 

Sunday, my partner and I placed first over all in a shoot-off to determine the winner of the Adult Winter Legue at PIFA.  We received nice plaques for winning the first half of the legue and will be receiving champion jackets. (as soon as I decide on a color :P lol)  Anyway, if you want to see pix of the plaques, take a look at my photo album by clicking on my profile first or at www.homeschoolblogger.com/albums/iRhomeskoold  Hopefully, I'll put pix of the jackets up when we get them.

Lots of love,

Emilie :D

            Should guns be illegal in the United States?  Allow me to create this visual for you:

            She could hear someone beating at the door.  Not as if they wanted to be let in, but as though they were going to let themselves in.  What should she do?  She reached into the desk drawer for her licensed handgun that she had been training with at the local gun club.  She loaded it and crouched down.  “Stop right there,” she yelled at the top of her lungs to be sure that the would-be intruder heard her, “I have a gun!”  Just then the door splintered, and a masked man burst into the room.  He had a gun.  She fired a warning shot before he could raise it.  The intruder dropped his own gun and put his hands up.  “Don't move,” she said as she reached for her cell phone to call the police.

            Now, imagine if gun control was established, making it harder, or even impossible, for citizens to own guns, and she didn’t have any means to protect herself:

            She could hear someone beating at the door.  Not as if they wanted to be let in, but as though they were going to let themselves in.  What should she do?  She groped in the dark for her cell phone and dialed 911.  The door splintered into pieces just as someone received her call.  She began to panic.  The masked man in front of her raised a gun.  “Guns are illegal,” she thought for one frightened moment.  She had barely enough time to scream before he fired off three shots, and all was black.  No one could save her now.

            The effect that banning guns has in America, or anywhere for that matter, could be disastrous.  Not only are they trying to take away our heritage and our means of protection, but also our freedom.  Some people claim that it will make the world safer.  But, is that really the case?  Let’s take a look at the facts.

"Gun control? It's the best thing you can do for crooks and gangsters. I want you to have nothing. If I'm a bad guy, I'm always gonna have a gun.”  — Sammy "the Bull" Gravano

Mr. Gravano has made a very good point.  If you outlaw guns, the outlaws are going to be the ones with them.  Just because a new law is passed, that doesn’t automatically mean everyone, including the criminals, are going to follow it.  They could care less what is legal or illegal.

            For example, in 1920, the Prohibition Amendment was passed.  This amendment made it illegal to sell liquor anywhere in the United States.  Though I do not think liquor is by any means a good thing, it is very wrong to make it illegal.  It is your decision.  If you want to drink poison, the Constitution originally had nothing against it.

            Prohibition did not solve the problems that were bountiful with liquor, however.  It merely created more.  Now that it was outlawed, the outlaws were the ones doing it.  They were called “bootleggers” and they got very rich from selling liquor illegally.  A well-known saying among gun owners is: “Gun control is like trying to reduce drunk driving by making it tougher for sober people to own cars.”  It sums up the point very well.  Make something illegal, and the only people it’s going to stop are the law-abiding citizens.

            "Both oligarch and tyrants mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of their arms." – Aristotle 

“The Communist party must control the guns."  — Mao Tse-tung 

As we see from these two quotes, in dictatorships and other tyrannical ways of ruling countries, the “arms” and “guns” are the first things to be controlled or, put quite blatantly, taken away.  In America, and as Americans, we have always strongly professed freedom.  Many of our forefathers fought for freedom, some of them on battlefields and others in courtrooms.  People often view these as very separate things.  But, they are very much the same.  Whether they are fought about diplomatically or with force they still very much have to do with what defines freedom and bondage.

            More government is not a good thing, and that is exactly what people for gun control are trying to force upon us.  Though many do not see it and it is often very well hidden, that is essentially what gun control is.  The government, by trying to control one more thing, is forcing one more element of bondage.

            Many people try to write it off as just something little.  But it is not.  Every “little thing” that the government tries to force upon us is an obstruction of freedom.  That is extremely unconstitutional.  The Second Amendment clearly states, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”  I fear for the future of America if that right is infringed.  Our forefathers did not write the Constitution and make the amendments without purpose and great meaning.             

The spirit and inspiration behind the Second Amendment was to give the American people protection not only from people around them who intended them harm, but also from the government itself.  If the government gained too much control the people would be able to put it back in its place.  Now the government is trying to take away our right to do this.  That is very similar to what a dictatorship would do.  The loss of gun rights is an infringement on our basic rights that, if allowed, would soon have more freedom depredations to follow.

In conclusion, I believe gun control is wrong.  It is an invasion of our God-given rights, it goes against the second amendment of our constitution, and it is leaving law-abiding Americans without ways to protect themselves and their families.  If the government continues down this path of freedom deductions it will lead to oppression and bondage, and the America that was so bravely established by our forefathers will not be here for our grandchildren to enjoy and flourish in.

This blog post is dedicated to someone who got on my case about not posting in over a month ;). 

In the past month...hmmm...  Well we'll start with something major which happened just last Sunday.  My mom, due to some complications from her appendicidice a few years back, had some sort of hernia.  She went into the hospital on Sunday and because of many prayers, was able to come out on Wednesday.  She is still rather weak and won't be able to lift, push, or pull anything for the next 6 weeks!  So, I'll still be running the household for a while.  I don't mind, but I'm not getting a whole lot of school done :P.

I'm shooting an adult legue every Sunday.  So far, my partner and I are in first place...but I'm not sure as to how long that will last. lol

We have had incredibly cold conditions in the past month and we have to be careful not to get frost bite.  It's warming up now, however, and everything is really icy.  NOT FUN!  Ice is not your friend.

Last night, I was so excited that I would be able to go out with friends and it was not work related.  Knock on wood.  Low and behold, I got called for babysitting last minute.  I was still able to go to dinner, but we had to leave early to drop me off at my babysitting gig.  That's ok, I love those kids.  Even if Roni talks nonstop :P.  They're all adorable and bedtime came without too many problems. lol

Well, I suppose that wraps up my month roughly.  Not very exciting, I know.  But this isn't exactly a busy season for us.  So, I will ttyl in (hopefully) near future. :D

"I don't know what's down this road, I'm just walking" - Taylor Swift

Shalom, go with God.

It is so cold today!  Really, really cold!  I am finally starting to thaw out after going out to feed calves and sheep.  We run the heater in the kitchen almost constantly during the day.  Although we are not doing school this week, last week you would normally find me and my brothers all huddled on the couch together doing school.  We take advantage of body heat as much as possible.   Other interesting ways we have found to keep warm are including and not limited to the following...Bouncing and spinning around at the same time.  While we have found this to be quite warming, be sure that there is a bed close by that you can actually land on.  You will appreciate it the next day...Coffee is a good way to warm up in the morning.  Although, please note, that too much coffee can be bad for you and it does have side effects.  We have recently switched my little brother to hot chocolate after running out of decaf...Along those same lines, hot chocolate is a great way to warm up.  Although, again, we must note that too many marshmellows (aka: as many as my dad adds) can have the same side effects as up to 10 cups of coffee...If you are stuck out in the element and your cuddle options are between a llama and a skunk, I would go with that handy dandy portable heater.  I must be sure to mentions though, that these heaters are not to be used for drying stinky wet socks. *coughbencough* And also that they can and WILL smoke out the tent...Another way that you may be able to keep warm is around my computer tower.  Even though it's kind of loud, as long as you don't have to carry on a conversation with anyone, it does give off enough heat to keep the average human being warm.  It's also good for thawing out pork chops...These are just a few ideas that we've had and I have to say that most of them work pretty well.  So, have a safe winter and stay warm!

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart 
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art 
Thou my best thought, by day or by night 
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light 

Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true word 
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord 
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son 
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one 

High King of Heaven, my victory won 
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's sun 
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall 
Still be my vision, O ruler of all 

Thou and Thou only, first in my heart 
High King of Heaven, my treasure Thou art

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.

I'm sorry about the last post.  The pix aren't coming up and I can't figure out how to fix them.  But, if I do, I'll be sure to go back and do it.