Defending True Liberty-Editorial

As this Saturday is our nation’s Independence day, we are reminded of the sacrifices of those who came before us. We are reminded of what our true liberties are and that we are free to take care of our families, live in our own home, work at a place of employment without harm and spend time with friends and our families.

I read The Declaration of Independence this morning and as I did, it reminded me of how those earlier delegates felt about the true liberty of our budding nation at the time. One of the world’s best-known statements declared was that “all men are created equal… endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” We need to remember the words of our forefathers.

The news of what our government wants to accomplish in the next few years is devastating because slowly but surely we are being stripped of these Rights. When all is said and done, the privileges we have been enjoying in the past will be gone, true Liberty will no longer exist and our Happiness will be gone forever.

From one of our ecclesiastical leaders in the past, David O. McKay said: “True liberty in individuals consist of the enjoying of every right that will contribute to one’s peace and happiness, so long as the exercise of such a privilege does not interfere with the same privilege in others. It consists not in doing what one likes to do but in doing what one ought to do. It is the right of each individual to be master of his own time and actions consistent with fairness and justice to his fellow men and with harmony with the laws of God. It is freedom of choice, a divine gift, an essential virtue in a peaceful society.”

The fight to keep our liberties is going to be a strong one in the coming months and we have to be vigilant in watching what national leaders’ intend to do with our freedoms. We need to watch what bills are passed. We need to make our voice known to Congress that we will not accept any laws passed which are unconstitutional and take our liberties away. This is what we ought do.

We have so much to fight for living in this free nation. We owe it to those who came before us. Just as Thomas Jefferson wrote in his closing statement of our Declaration, I leave you these words: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

Remember these words and have a happy, healthy and safe Fourth of July.

Day Camp in June

This past month has been a very busy month. I worked full time at a day camp at the Loxley Civic Center and it has ended on Friday. It was a fun job. I was responsible for 10 children from 5-8 years old and they were fun.

This picture to the left is the whole group in the last week. There were 14 to 15 older children 9-12 years old. We started our day every morning at 8am with a walk on the 1/2 mile track and an hour play time on the playground or playing kickball, football or baseball. Once 9:30 hit, it was way too hot to stay out any longer so everyone went in for a cool down and snack. Then we would do a craft activity, play games or read stories. On Tuesdays, we would visit the local theater for a summer flick and then come back. Friday afternoon would be water time with slip and slides, sprinklers and a small pool. Every noon would be lunch time and then after lunch we would either watch a fun movie, do another craft, play pool in the pool room or just play games. It was fun for me as well because I was allowed to take Moses and Henry with me to participate. We also had a CPR class, a babysitting class, sun safety class, and the local firemen came to teach fire safety bringing their "smoke house". Our day ended at 3pm every day and it was a test of endurance by Friday afternoon.

Now that I'm done with being a camp counselor, I am free for the rest of the summer. One skill I did learn at day camp was how to "hair wrap". It is a macrema skill which allows you to put colorful embroidery thread around a small section of hair. You can also add beads. I started making the wraps without the hair for an idea I had to sell on the beach. Normally hair wraps stay on your head for a week or more but the hair grows out, you have to sleep on it and it sometimes gives you a headache. My idea is that with a hair clip you can wear your hair wrap whenever you want and not have to cut it off your head when it gets old. I'll be trying out my idea this week when I go to the beach to sell them.

Fourth of July is coming up so I'm hoping that I can do well. Maybe sell 50 or 60 of them in a weekend. At ten or 12 dollars a pop that would be great.

The Birth of Arthur

I am so very late in announcing this but Arthur Reed Morris, son of Matt and Tasha Morris arrived on Wednesday, June 17th at 5:45 pm. I was lucky enough to be in the room as Tasha asked me to be there. It was pretty nerve wracking to watch but very exciting. I actually watched my very first grandson come into the world. He weighed in at 8 pounds and 4 oz. and was 21 1/2 inches long

He is a cute little boy (of course Grandma's are always right) and we were able to visit with Matt's family who waited through most of it in the waiting room at Women's and Children's hospital in Mobile.

He is now over two weeks old and doing well. We are all happy everything went well and he is healthy. Happy Birthday Arthur!!!

June Is Here Already

We are half way through the year already. Time is just flying by. I submitted my latest writing to Covenant Book. Of One Heart: Being Single in the Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints will hopefully be published by next Spring. We can only hope.

This picture is of us at the homeschool co-op we did during the school year every Monday morning. It ended last month and won't start again until the end of August. We accomplished a lot through this program and it kept us on track for school.
Last month Moses, Henry and I went to Colonial Times at Fort Conde in Mobile. The people of Mobile sponsor this festival of the life and times of the Colonial Days. It was a great time with a petting zoo, butter churning, candle making, writing with quill pens, dressing in costumes, games and of course a chance to run through the Fort. The highlight of the day is when "Captain Jack Sparrow" and his pirate associate gave a great demonstration of sword fighting and posed for a picture with us. It was a great day.

Tasha is about due to pop. Her due date is June 24 and her nursery is just about done. Both Matt and Tasha are very excited. He will be the first male born to Matt's side of the family.

Boy Scout camp is coming up for Moses. It will be his first experience going to Mabella Camp. Eliot was going to go but couldn't get off work.

I started a new job this week. Our little town sponsors a day camp at the civic center every summer and I am one of the camp counselors. I get to take Moses and Henry with me and we get a nutritous lunch as well. This will last for 4 weeks.

Jim is working for Walmart and does not have a lot of hours. He is hoping to transfer to another store to get on permanent full time and move up. It's mostly nights, which makes it difficult but we are hanging in there.

Our garden is growing so well. We are getting sweet peas, zuchinni and peppers. The tomatoes and cucumbers are not ready yet. It has been a great blessing.

How Far Right Is Too Far?-Editorial

Since the election last November, there have been confusing reports about the foundation of the Republican Party. For a while it seemed that both Democrats and Republicans were representing the same ideals. Even our best representative for the Republican Party, Sarah Palin, was under attack from her own party constituents for standing up to the beliefs of what the Republican Party represents: less government, strong family ties and military and lower taxes.
Then Sunday, Colin Powell was interviewed on Face the Nation and said, “The Republican Party needs to stop being controlled by the ‘right wing’ if it is going to expand and become a viable national party again.” I didn’t think the Republican Party was being controlled by the right wing. The Republican Party had ideals which were supported by what Colin Powell calls the “right wing” but not controlled. We need a Party that is in opposition to the Democrats so we all have an opportunity to align ourselves with our own ideals. Over all, Republicans certainly don’t want government controlling banks, the auto industry, health care and other facets of our private lives. Republicans don’t want enough debt to last past our grandchildren.

Enter Michael Steele, the new Chairman of the National Republican Committee. He was voted in last week and gave an excellent speech explaining all that should be accomplished by the Republicans to be a viable party for the future. His points are not too far to the right; they are not too far to the left. They are sensible ideals which all Americans should adopt and encourage their congressmen to adopt in their political views:
1. “You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.”
2. “You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.” 3. “You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.” 4. “You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred.” 5. “You cannot establish security by borrowing money.” 6. “You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.” 7. “You cannot build character and courage by taking away one’s initiative and incentive.” 8. “You cannot help individuals permanently by doing for them what they should do for themselves.”

These ideals are the basis for every American who lives in this country. Although it’s not perfect, the past 220 years since the Constitution has been adopted in 1789, has been successful for the most part in governing our lives to move in the right direction. Our freedoms to own property and business have kept this country going to the point of prosperity that it is. What is considered the far right is just an accusation to do it the Democrats’ way. We cannot give in to their criticisms. Michael Steele will make sure of that.