The Patriots Blood is the seed of Freedoms Tree - Memorial Day

Today is memorial day, today is a day meant to commemorate the fallen soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we as Americans often take for granted. We are the "entitled" nation that often forgets how we became free in the first place. From the revolutionary war that declared us to be free people, to the world wars, Vietnam and even the war we are still fighting today... our liberties and freedoms have come at a great cost. Freedom is not free, in fact freedom is quite the opposite. The cost is not monetary, it is far more significant and absolutely valueless. The cost is life itself, the cost of our liberties is measured by a vast number of lives who have been lost or affected by the ravages of our wars. 

More often these days I feel like our most significant holidays have become commercialized and twisted into something that devalues the true meaning of the day. This day has become an official "beginning" of summer and cookouts. It represents to most simply a day off from work,  barbecues, swimming and leisure. However great it may be that summer is finally here, it is important that we appreciate our friends and loved ones, but also we absolutely can not forget the true meaning of this day. In countless houses across this nation, families are gathering mourning the loss of loved ones, servicemen who died serving our country. Many families are still missing loved ones who have not returned from over seas, because they are still sacrificing their own liberties so that we may sit here with our hot dogs and beer. 

Being a military brat, I have a devout appreciation for those who stand up and are willing to serve our nation. Although I may not agree with the agenda's and purpose of these wars, American men and women, our soldiers have stood united to protect us. They are standing their ground and serving their country because it is their job. They are men and women with minds of their own that signed up to protect and serve, regardless of their marching orders they do as they are told because it is their duty to honor and obey. Today and most days I spend a great amount of time teaching my children about the value of freedom and what sacrifices are made so that we may be different from other countries. We've discussed in detail incidents like the Tiananmen Square massacre, and how in many places across the globe simply speaking out or standing your ground protesting something you believe in, is grounds to be brutally murdered. This day is a day to give thanks to those who have protected us, it is a day to be whole-heartedly grateful for what we have. Today is about remembering every one of our fallen soldiers, every man and woman who served this nation for a greater good, every child who lost a parent, for every soldier who remembers a brother or sister they lost in combat. I urge everyone to reach out and educate your children about what today really means. Today is a day to give thanks to all of those who have served our country. Thank You! 

"The patriot's blood is the seed of Freedom's tree. " 

- Thomas Campbell

Arlo Guthrie, When A soldier Makes It Home

Patriots are Men Of Action: Forgetting Our Rights, Losing Our Freedoms, teaching the next generation to think for themselves.

Things have been insane around here. I really was hoping to regularly update however sometimes like with schooling and everything else "planned," life just gets in the way. Day to day I'm often just struggling not to go insane. We are doing our work regularly, some days are just easier than others. Riley is doing absolutely wonderful though. We have off and on points. One week he's a complete head case, the next he sits and shows absolutely insane improvements. He's reading and writing with great improvement and some days he has the most miraculous light bulb moments. I can not be more proud of him. He's thriving and doing so wonderful, day after day he impresses me.  I completed the homeschooling portfolio and had it evaluated by a state certified teacher, the next step is actually submitting it to the school district. I was lucky to have a decent evaluator, she seemed really  nice and down to earth. That alone was a great comfort because frankly I'm increasingly infuriated  by this entire process. Its sad that we pay among the highest taxes in the nation and I not only have to pay for an evaluator, but I also have to purchase all of the curriculum. Its an outrage that the government charges people such ridiculous taxes in the first place, the fact that I have to pay, pay, pay and jump through flaming hoops on top of it just pisses me off. 

I feel absolutely violated by the government more and more each day, and I know other people do as well. I've always felt that the two things you never air publicly are your opinions of religion and politics. Its like calling someones kid ugly, you just don't want to insult something so personal. I've kind of had enough with that though. I think that this new wave of government is destroying what used to be a great country. Communists. We once stood as a united country that stood for the right to be different and now we're bending everyone over and robbing them blind. Practically numbering our population to make them look alike, think alike, walk, talk and eat alike. Everyones pushing socialism because it makes sense on paper. The idea of everyone living and loving in a happy healthy world sounds great, but where does this money come from? It comes from taxes and is just ridiculous to me that I'm supposed to bend over for it. I was raised to be an individual and I find that cause and effect is a life lesson every child should learn. You work so that you may live, working hard and having whats yours taken from you is awfully unfair and even children get that. You earn your allowance, Here's $5. Now I'm taking 50% of it and giving it to that kid over there... "but he didn't clean my room, I did". Yup, thats taxes buddy. Being a single income family the laws really do not favor us. We choose to have a traditional family, I chose to be with my children over working and I can't help but to feel I'm being punished for doing what I feel is the right thing. I'm educating my children at home in spite of the challenges, over coming the challenges is a learning experience for us all and hopefully it will only make us stronger as a family. 

Our forefathers would be outraged at what this country has become, its a disgrace to what this country once represented. Look at us now...  "Shared Prosperity", warantless searches?  The taxes we're paying for what? The FDA to try to outlaw people eating raw meat? To pay for people who don't even want to bother trying to get a job? Or to the increasing debt that they just keep pushing? When I'm in debt I don't go and extend my credit limit...I stop spending. It seems like common sense but I guess D.C didn't learn that lesson, they have magical wands they wave that makes it all better. Oh no wait, they just keep increasing taxes because they don't know how to control themselves. Where will it end? It seems more and more that our "freedoms" are taken for granted and becoming non-existent. We can not consume un-pastuerized milk but we can eat fast food that comes from a factory slaughter house that fortifies meat with ammonia. (Not only is it gross, but its whats in school lunches) We can not do many things however, we can inject botulism into our face. Its all just ridiculous and ass backwards.

"Patriots are men of action"

I can only hope that more and more people feel the same way, we need a revolution to fix this mess and all the "change". Our kids deserve to live in the America that was intended, not this wreckage. Shared prosperity is not teaching our children to stand up and be responsible, its teaching them that they can have someone else pay their way if they fall on their face. Charity is good in theory but forced charity is theft. The idea of socialism is just bad for teaching life lessons . Government needs to butt out, and put my wallet down. I honestly do not give two -ishes about half the stuff people stand up and complain about, but my wallet and my belly... I deserve the right to eat and live. "My Rights End Where Your Nose Begins." I really don't care what others do as long as it does not affect me or my families well being. At what point will people say "you don't have the right to steal from me", or "you do not have the right to tell me what I put into my body." Or how about the right to privacy? Warantless searches? Where will they stop? Its scary. If people don't stand up for it, we'll all continue to be prisoners of someone elses ridiculous agenda's. The moral of the story is that more and more each day  I'm very glad that my kids are here with me. As much as I'd like to say "believe because I say so" I make an honest effort to really encourage them to think for themselves and form their own opinions. When Riley was in public school I felt like he was invisible and treated like a number, discouraged from being different and thinking differently, encouraged to be just like everyone else. I'm very glad that we have the opportunity to teach our children to be individuals, maybe one day he can change the world and make it a better place... Maybe.

"The heart of a fool is in his mouth, the mouth of a wise man is in his heart"- Benjamin Franklin