Oh how important it is for us to protect such a sweet thing as Liberty

“Is life so dear and peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains an slavery? Forbid it Almighty God! I know not what coarse others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death.” Patrick Henry

“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people there is Liberty.” Thomas Jefferson


“Anyone who trades liberty for security, deserves nether liberty or security." Benjamin Franklin

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

The late Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931 – 2005

the monkey commercial

here is Maggie's favorite commercial...and where she got the idea of Pinkie

the test

About two weeks ago we had another test in karate.

~Group picture
here is a picture of almost everybody at the dojo


~Erik doing Kesa gatame, to one of his buddies

~Everyone in their claimed corner getting ready for the test

~the kids class testing

~the adult class testing

pastors camp

Last Saturday Papa had the opportunity to go to a pastors camp in Tennessee. He said that he had a very nice time.
~ Papa and Pinkie at the pastors camp
Maggie has a favorite commercial of a father going on a business trip and his little girl wanted him to take a little stuffed monkey along and take pictures of it. So now Maggie's pink pig, Pinkie, goes with Papa on all his trips and gets it's picture taken at different spots along the way, and we get the pictures emailed back to us :o)

~the guys sitting around talking

~The road leading up to the camp

I love this picture it just looks so peaceful

our tower of cans...

...my artistic abilities

back at the beginning of February when my parents the most of the other couples from our church went away to a couples camp, we (the Strand kids) decided to start saving all of the cans we used to see how big of a can tower we could make before the got back. And yes it does look like a lot of cans but split it up between 7 (8 'cuz tom d. came over one night) it really isn't ")