What has the world come to?

Below is an article I read on Mormon Times. It is by
Thomas Sowell a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
I think it really makes a good point. I hope you take the time to read it.

The Right To Win

Among the many new "rights" being conjured out of thin air, a new one seems to be a "right" to win.

Americans have long had the right to put their candidates and their ideas to a vote. Now there seems to be a sense that your rights have been trampled on if you don't win.

Hillary Clinton's supporters were not merely disappointed, but outraged, when she lost the Democrats' nomination to Barack Obama. Some took it as a sign that, while racial barriers had come down, the "glass ceiling" holding down women was still in place.

Apparently, if you don't win, somebody has put up a barrier or a ceiling. The more obvious explanation of the nomination outcome was that Obama ran a better campaign than Hillary. There is not the slightest reason to doubt that she would have been the nominee if the votes in the primaries had come out her way.

See related column Affirmative Action and Gay 'Marriage'As the election approached, pundits warned that, if Obama lost, there would be riots in the ghetto. We will never know. But since when does any candidate have a right to win any office, much less the White House?

The worst of all the reactions from people who act as if they have a right to win have come from gay activists in the wake of voter rejection of so-called "gay marriage," which is to say, redefining what marriage has meant for centuries.

Blacks and Mormons have been the main targets of the gay activists' anger. Seventy percent of blacks voted against gay marriage in California, so racial epithets were hurled at blacks in Los Angeles -- not in black neighborhoods, by the way.

Blacks who just happened to be driving through Westwood, near UCLA, were accosted in their cars and, in addition to being denounced, were warned, "You better watch your back."

Even blacks who were carrying signs in favor of gay marriage were denounced with racial epithets.

In Michigan, an evangelical church service was invaded and disrupted by gay activists, who also set off a fire alarm, because evangelicals had dared to exercise their right to express their opinions at the polls.

In Oakland, California, a mob gathered outside a Mormon temple in such numbers that officials shut down a nearby freeway exit for more than three hours.

In their midst was a San Francisco Supervisor who said "The Mormon church has had to rely on our tolerance in the past, to be able to express their beliefs." He added, "This is a huge mistake for them. It looks like they've forgotten some lessons."

Apparently Mormons don't have the same rights as other Americans, at least not if they don't vote the way gay activists want them to vote.

There was another gay activist mob gathered outside a Mormon temple in Orange County, California.

In the past, gay activists have disrupted Catholic services and their "gay pride" parades in San Francisco have crudely mocked nuns.

While demanding tolerance from others, gay activists apparently feel no need to show any themselves.

How did we get to this kind of situation?

With all the various groups who act as if they have a right to win, we got to the present situation over the years, going back to the 1960s, where the idea started gaining acceptance that people who felt aggrieved don't have to follow the rules or even the law.

''No justice, no peace!" was a slogan that found resonance.

Like so many slogans, it sounds good if you don't stop and think -- and awful if you do.

Almost by definition, everybody thinks their cause is just. Does that mean that nobody has to obey the rules? That is called anarchy.

Nobody is in favor of anarchy. But some people want everybody else to obey the rules, while they don't have to.

What they want is not decisive, however. It is what other people are willing to tolerate that determines how far any group can go.

When the majority of the people become like sheep, who will tolerate intolerance rather than make a fuss, then there is no limit to how far any group will go.



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Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

New Tires. yipee. (can you feel excitment?)

So because of a little incident that wasn't completely my fault we had to buy new tires for our rig. We didn't want the really cool 22's that came on it so we got new rims and tires instead of just new tires. It only cost about 100.00 more. At least the rig will have a smoother ride and the tires will last longer. we are going to sell the old rims on Craig's list to recoup the cost. So actually doing it this way is better. What do you think Dad are our cheapy rims fly?

A new Button on my blog

So I just added a new button to my blog. Its called c me read c jane. I first heard about this blog from a news article published in the Deseret news. Jane and her family are members that live in Utah. Jane's sister Stephanie and her husband Christian along with a flight instructor were in a private plane crash in August in Arizona. The flight instructor was killed, Christian has burns over 30% of his body and Stephani has burns over 80% of her body. This couple has 4 children. Their story has been picked up on the national news. When I read about them my heart went out to them and I wanted to hear more of their story. I have really enjoyed reading about this wonderful family and how they are dealing with tragedy. It has brought The Gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to national attention and really illustrates what we are all about -Faith and Family. This family is like so many others in the gospel. It makes me grateful for the gospel in our lives how it can lift you up and sustain you in your time of need. I hope you will read her blog and join with thousands of others in offering at least one prayer for this family.

Updating finally!

All right I guess I should finally update my blog. I lost interest in blogging over the summer (okay maybe before the summer) but I'm back and I'm really glad to post that SCHOOL HAS STARTED!!!! YIPEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!! We have 5 kids in school this year. Yes you read that right 5! Cloey is the newest Karcher kid to start school. Her birthday was on the first day of school! We brought cupcakes for her class and she got a special birthday crown from her teacher. She is in pre-k this year. Lilly is in Kindergarten. Skylar is in 1st grade. Sadie is in 3rd grade and Ariana is in 4th grade! Abbie is the only one I have at home during the day and she is loving it! She asks about the other kids occasionally but for the most part she thinks it should of been just her and mom all along! She truly is the "youngest" and takes full advantage of it. According to her she should be the center of attention at all times. Especially those times that are most inconvenient (like when I'm on the phone or in the shower or heaven forbid holding one of the other kids!) We are enjoying our quiet time during the day. Abbie's favorite thing to do is go and see her partner in crime Libbi. (Darci's youngest) They are quite the pair. You mess with one you mess with both. It's really funny to watch. They are the two youngest of a large crowed of kids when we all get together so they look out for each other. Even if it means taking down one of the big kids. They are there for each other and they fight dirty! We are busy remodeling as usual. We switched rooms last Sunday. We lost track of time and ended up missing church because of it. Actually if the truth be told it would help if I could tell time! I looked at the clock wrong and by the time I realized my mistake we were already 30min late and no one was any where near ready. But we got the rooms switched. Ariana, Sadie, Lilly, and Cloey are now in the master bedroom, Skylar is in Ariana and Sadies old room and Mark and I are in Skylars old room. It has worked out really well. Every one has a lot more space and there is room enough for all our stuff. Maybe some day I'll post some picts. Maybe.

Private Blog

So I decided to make this a private blog for a couple of reasons. Sorry for the inconvenience. I know the three people who actually read this won't mind. So now that it is private maybe I will post more. Probably not. But anyway y'all love me enough to log in to read my blog. So no whining! Just kidding (kind of) That means you Lamb!

Here are some Pictures from San Antonio

This is for you Steve!

I just added music to our Blog! How fun is that! The first song "Duke of Earl" I am dedicating to my older Brother Steve and the rest of the Lamb kids all grown up. We had so much fun with this song and a couple others on the play list dancing around the house and singing at the top of our lungs. Even now I dare you to listen to them not get up and dance. I know I can't resist! My kids probably think I'm crazy but it sure is fun! Enjoy!

Updating Finally!

Hey y'all!
I know I know I haven't posted in forever! But Here I am finally updating. So much has happened it will take forever to get caught up. I want to post some pictures from Sadies baptism and other recent events but who knows when that will happen! After 3 and a half years of begging pleading ad scheming Darci finally moved here! Yipeeeeeeeeeee! We are having so much fun it's ridiculous! We had the missionaries over last night and laughed so much they probably think we are crazy! We have started playing company again (a card game for those who don't know) and are teaching it to the next generation! Ariana played yesterday for the first time. It was so much fun! The first thing we schooled her on was the illustrious position of janitor and what her duties were. Of course we started out with the all important "Licka my boots" she didn't get it but we had a good laugh. In updating our blog some of our pictures got deleted and since it will take forever to download them all again I probably won't. I will try to be better in posting but I'll make no guarantees. When all the fam gets here this summer I'll be so busy having fun I doubt I'll get around to it.
I'll be seeing you soon!

Take me out to the ball game......

Take me out to the crowd! Skylar had his first game on Monday night! It was so much fun! He did really well. The boys have three tries to hit the ball the coach pitches if they don't succeed they get to hit it off a tee. Skylar whacked it a good one on the second pitch! He looks so cute in his uniform. He was assigned to second base this game and did a great job. This game was so much fun to watch! Every one gets a chance to hit and no one gets out. They don't even keep score. There was great sportsmanship on both teams. One little boy on the opposing team who was playing second helped the runner on his base by telling him it was time to run! He put his hand on his back and gently pushed while excitedly yelling "you get to run now!" I'm so glad Skylar has this opportunity! It's so funny to see the whole team run from where ever they are on the field to get the ball! It usually resulted in a pile up....and then one little hand would emerge triumphantly from somewhere near the bottom of the pile with the ball tightly clenched in his little hand....the excited little fellow flushed form the excitement then trots up to the coach and ceremoniously places it in his hand! It was LOL funny. Often times in the rush to get the ball the players on the field way lay the runner before he gets to first base..... not to tag him mind you but to jump on the ball. One little fellow hit the ball from the tee and then ran after it...he was so excited that he got the ball that it took a great deal of effort to get him to give it up and run! We are greatly looking forward to more games! Enjoy the pictures!

Our Trip to the Zoo

He's Home! He's Home! He's Home!

That's right after 14 long months our Solider is finally home! He got in at 4 am on Christmas morning! The kids were so surprised! It didn't last long though. The presents under the tree were calling their names! The kids are having fun picking on him and playing with him. Especially Abbie. She's such a teaser. Marks been eating allot of Taco Bell and sleeping as much as possible. Thanks to all who sent care packages packed with goodies we had to buy a whole new wardrobe for him! LOL Of course he says he didn't get bigger the clothes got smaller. He already went hunting. He was only home for 3 days before he couldn't resist. I thought we would have at least a month before it started but oh-well. I made him take Skylar. Next time I'm going to try to sneak in two kids! We went fishing yesterday. Actually the kids fished and we untangled lines and baited hooks. The dock where we went had some very friendly wild life. The ducks wouldn't leave us alone. They were only 5 or 6 inches from us. The big one tried to eat my toes! They kept swimming across the lines and getting them tangled up or wrapped around their legs. Cloey tried to "shoo" them away it was really cute. I'll post some more pics later.

A Nephite Christmas!

Our ward's Christmas Social was a Nephite Christmas. The kids all got to dress up like Lamanites/Nephites and for us Karcherites. It was alot of fun! I'm so glad we didn't have a Santa there! If you ask my kids if they believe in Santa they will say "No, we don't believe in Santa. We believe in Christ." (hopefully that's what they will say, I've been stressing this alot the last couple of years)I feel very strongly that Santa is "an incorrect tradition handed down from generation to generation" They talk alot about incorrect traditions in the scriptures. I too use to celebrate the birth of our Savior with Santa. But in recent years I have had some experiences that made me really ponder about where Santa fits in. I have always told the kids that I would never lie to them. Well when Ariana was 5 she asked me "Mom Is Santa really real? I want the real truth." I paused not sure if I should keep up the ruse or if I should tell her. I could see that she was in earnest so I said "No he's not real" She immediately started yelling and crying " you Lied! You said you would never Lie!" That was the first time I really paused and thought "What am I teaching my kids?" The next time came when a friend of another faith who doesn't respect religions other than her own made the comment when asked why she was celebrating Christmas when it wasn't part of her faith "Santa is no one's religion." Needles to say I stood there staring at her with my mouth agape and had to agree. And finally when I was pondering what to do about Santa I was reading the scriptures in one of the Nephi's I don't remember 1st 2nd third...? And it was talking about these incorrect traditions and it struck me so clearly that this was a incorrect tradition. Santa completely over shadows Christ. Is this a ploy by the adversary? I believe so. I've tried to figure out if I can have my cake and eat it too. That is can we have Santa and Christ in the same celebration? And the conclusion I have come to is NO we can't. It's confusing for the kids. Some have tried to make me feel bad about giving up Santa. They say it will ruin Christmas for the children. I disagree. I as a mother feel much better about my children being excited about Christ's birth and exclaiming "I can't wait only ___ # of day's until Christ's Birth! I would much rather hear that then "I can't wait for Santa to come give me stuff!" I know I am opening a whole can of worms here and I'm going to hear all sorts of arguments against this train of thought. I can just see some reading this with the quiet shake of the head as they can't believe I would dare cut Santa out of Christmas... but truth is where is Santa in CHRISTmas?. I'm still working the bugs out of the way in which we will celebrate Christmas. Where to draw the line so to say. But.... I'm hopeful. I think we can make this work. Eradicating Santa from our home completely will take time. But I'm on the right path.

WHY GOD MADE MOMS

Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the
following questions:

Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.



How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just
used bigger parts



What ingredients are mothers made of ?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and
everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men 's bones. Then
they mostly use string, I think.



Why did God give you your mother and not some other Mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's
moms like me.



What kind of little girl was your Mom?
1. My Mom has always been my Mom and none of that other
stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess
would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.



What did Mom need to know about dad before she married
him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook?
Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to
drugs and YES to chores?



Why did your Mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my
Mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap
on.



Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because
dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the
stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to
do than dad.



What's the difference between moms &dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to
work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring
them.
3. Dads are taller &stronger, but moms have all the real
power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to
sleep over at your friend's.
4. Moms have magic; they make you f eel better without
medicine.



What does your Mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.



What would it take to make your Mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think
some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Dye it. You know her hair. I'd dye it, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your Mom, what would
it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room
clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my Mom smarter. Then she would know it was my
sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible
eyes on the back of her head.

What Are Sister's For?

Having sisters is the best thing on earth! Just ask Abbie and Cloey. I thought this was so sweet and so funny. A sister is a prize possession one to be cherished forever! They got this idea from Sadie and Ariana. Sadie would allow Ariana to step on her back to unlock the front door top lock. Now that's team work and problem solving! I'm glad they are so bright and creative....however that kind of ingenuity could get them into some very sticky situations! Hopefully they use their talents wisely. Unlike some of us who as children used their talents of persuasion, creativity, and a good measure of enthusiasm to no good end. Enough said. I hope they always can depend on each other in their time of need like they did in this picture! Enjoy!

Sadie, Sadie, Sadie

Well here we are again another trip to the ER. On Thanks Giving we were at Ty and Tricia's. Their new house has stairs. Need I say more? Sadie tried to jump from the sixth stair to the bottom. She didn't make it. It's so hard to tell if kids are really hurt or if they like the attention. Sadie has been dying to use the pair of crutches we have. Well here's her chance. The Doc said her ankle is sprained but that there is an area of suspicion on the x-ray and that if the swelling doesn't go down or if it still hurts by next week we have to bring her back. They didn't have the right size boot for her so the one she is wearing is 2 sizes to big. Well three kids down. Just three more to go and all of them have been to the ER this year. Of course Skylar has been enough times for all of them. Any ways with six kids all the spitting image of Mr. Mark Karcher what could you expect? So far I think we've gotten off easy. Just wait until they are all teenagers! We'll be in for it then. I should put the triage nurse on speed dial. Maybe we can speed up the check-in process when we visit next.

Holiday Greetings!

Happy Thanks Giving to All!

And special thanks giving wishes for our soldier in Iraq! We love you and miss you soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much! We hope you have a great day! To all our family and friends near and far we say we love you and are very greatful for each one of you in our lives! We have much to be grateful for. We are blessed in so many ways big and small. Thanks Giving always makes me think of the religous freedom we enjoy in this great land thaks to some very brave pioneers. Best wishes to all and a special welcome to Anne soon to be the newest member of the Karcher clan. We look forward to meeting you and getting to know the girl that finally won Matthews heart!
Love, The Texas Karchers

Silly Girl!

This is Abbie and she's asleep. When I took this picture it was about 6:40 AM. I got up to get the kids ready for school and shortly there after Abbie got up and plopped herself on the chair but not before grabbing the bag of skittles. I don't know if she was trying to hide with them so she could eat them or what. She fell asleep before she had any. It was really funny to walk into the living room and see her sitting there like that. When I lifted a corner of the blanket and saw that she was asleep it was even funnier! She didn't even notice when I took the skittles. She's always up to something. Whether it's sneaking (or trying to)treats or teasing the other kids she's always in the middle of something. Just recently she decided that she wants to go on the potty like Cloey. Every time I turn around she has her diaper off and is either sitting on the potty or trying to put on panties. So far she has peed on the bathroom floor a couple of times but as far as I know has not succeeded in using the potty. She is determined to potty train herself and that is just fine with me. We plan to have a no-more-diapers party when Abbie is potty trained. That Will be a great day.

Favorite Time of Year

The Fall/Winter is my favorite time of year. The weather turns cooler, the leaves change color, the kids are all in school. It inspiers me to bake. I'm going to make some srumptious home made cookies. I haven't decided what kind but biting into a warm moist chewy cookie sounds like heaven. I think I'll bake some home made yeast rolls to top it off. Yummmmmmmo. I love scented candles especially the ones that smell like various home made confections. I think I'll light a couple. I enjoy Thanks Giving but I can't wait for Christmas music. Usually the first Saturday in December is when we put up the tree and other decorations. But this year with Mark comming home so soon after Christmas we're going to put the tree up about a week before the big day and then leave it up until he gets home. We don't have a date yet for his arrival. Actually we don't even have an approximate. All we know is that it will be some time in January. It would be nice if he were here for Skylar's B-day but thats not likely. Poor Skylar is drowning in a sea of estregen. He needs another man in the house. He's home sick today. Hopefully he will be better tomarrow and will be able to go to school. I need to do some grocery shopping. We have two birthday parties to go to and a bridal shower this saturday. I am also doing visitng teaching interviews which overlap with one of the birthday parties. I wonder if I can be in two places at once? Hmmmmmmmmm. I'll figure something out. I decided to make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. They are baking right now. They smell sooooo good. Well I better get I don't want to be on this thing when the munchkins get home from school it causes chaos. Ciao

It's Fixed!

It's official the vehicle is fixed. I took it for a drive around town- we even went to the store. And here"s the best part we didn't have to walk home or get pushed home! We're going to buy Toyota next time. If we can afford it. Knock on wood. Any ways gotta go!