Happy Birthday Grandpa!

We spent the weekend in Austin to celebrate Grandpa Milder's 65th birthday. We ahd lots of fun hanging out with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Robyn and friends!

Birthday Blessings,

Leslie

Halloween!

Last night was Halloween. We had a great time Trick or Treating. This was the first year Mandy really "got it." She had a great time until the Sleeping Beauty lite-up slippers started to rub blisters on her feet!

They all combined their loot when they came back. This morning they had it sorted in to piles according to variety all over the living room floor!

Halloween Blessings,

Leslie

Last week...

We had crazy hair day on Tuesday. Thomas just spiked his with gel, but Grace decided that multiple pigtails were in order! I think we had four total...

Mandy had her Fall Party at Mother's day out on Thursday. She wore the Halloween skirt Gigi made her and she was so proud of her new boots!On Friday, 2nd Grade had a Fairytale Tea to conclude their unit on fairytales. They had to dress up as a fairytale character so Grace chose to be a Queen.

Grace with her friend Gretta....Grace with her friend Emmi...They were all so cute! They had a parade around the school for all the other grades to see and then ended in the cafeteria for snacks!

Blessings,

Leslie

History Lesson/Lecture!

Do you recognize this woman???

Her name was Alice Paul and without her I would not have been able to vote yesterday.

Alice Paul was the leader of the National Women's Party in 1917. For years, she had lobbied Congress for Women's Suffrage. In 1917 she organized the "Silent Sentinels" that stood outside the White House holding banners inscribed with phrases directed toward President Wilson.

The president initially treated the picketers with bemused condescension, tipping his hat to them as he passed by; however, his attitude changed when the United States entered World War I in 1917. Many saw the suffragists' wartime protests as unpatriotic, and the sentinels, including Alice Paul, were attacked by angry mobs. The picketers began to be arrested on the trumped up charge of "obstructing traffic," and were jailed when they refused to pay the imposed fine. To pay the fine would be admitting guilt and they had done nothing wrong.

Despite the danger of bodily harm and imprisonment, the suffragists continued their demonstrations for freedom unabated.

The arrested suffragists were sent to Occoquan Workhouse, a prison in Virginia. Paul and her compatriots demanded to be treated as political prisoners and staged hunger strikes. Their demands were met with brutality as suffragists, including frail, older women, were beaten, pushed and thrown into cold, unsanitary, and rat-infested cells. Arrests continued and conditions at the prison deteriorated. For staging hunger strikes, Paul and several other suffragists were forcibly fed in a tortuous method. Prison officials removed Paul to a sanitarium in hopes of getting her declared insane. When news of the prison conditions and hunger strikes became known, the press, some politicians, and the public began demanding the women’s release; sympathy for the prisoners brought many to support the cause of women's suffrage.

The following is a clip from the movie Iron Jawed Angels. Hillary Swank played Alice Paul. It's a long clip 8 or so minutes, but it's worth the time. It's a short amount of time to learn a little something about what these women went through so that we are no longer deprived of liberty. Caution: It definitely explains the "suffer" in suffrage.

I promise you that scene above, will ensure that I never again blow off my right to vote because it's raining, I've got to work, the line is too long......



Go vote ladies. Teach your daughters to vote.



By the way...because I don't like to leave any history lesson unfinished....



In 1917, in response to public outcry about the prison abuse of suffragists, President Wilson reversed his position and announced his support for a suffrage amendment, calling it a "war measure." In 1919, both the House and Senate passed the 19th Amendment and the battle for state ratification commenced. Three-fourths of the states were needed to ratify the amendment. The battle for ratification came down to the state of Tennessee in the summer of 1920; if a majority of the state legislature voted for the amendment, it would become law. The deciding vote was cast by twenty-four year-old Harry Burn, the youngest member of the Tennessee assembly. Originally intending to vote “no,” Burn changed his vote after receiving a telegram from his mother asking him to support women’s suffrage. On August 18, 1920, Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment. Six days later, Secretary of State Colby certified the ratification, and, with the stroke of his pen, American women gained the right to vote after a seventy-two year battle. August 26th is now celebrated as Women's Equality Day in the United States.

Alice Paul unfurling the ratification banner over the railing of the National Woman's Party headquarters on August 26, 1920 -- the day the 19th Amendment was ratified. The banner was one of the most important to the NWP. For every state that ratified suffrage, the members sewed on a star. When Tennessee ratified the amendment, the final star was sewn on.

VOTE!!!

Patriotic Blessings,

Leslie

Halloween Party!

Saturday night we had our annual Halloween party. I think we had about 40 people total! 20 of them were kids!

Uncle Nick came up from base for the party and helped Thomas get completely decked out as a soldier. Nick sewed the patches he brought him onto his uniform and painted his face in official sniper face paint!

He thought he was so cool! Of course, it took half a bottle of makeup remover to get him clean!

Grace was Sharpay from High School Musical and Mandy was Sleeping Beauty...

Dr. Sonnen read The Raven to all the kids...Tony Romo (aka Pastor Paul)...

Halloween Blessings,

Leslie

Pumpkin Patch

After school on Friday we headed to the pumpkin patch with the Honeycutt's. Everyone had a great time playing in the hay maze and searching for the perfect pumpkin!

Pumpkin blessings,

Leslie

Alazan

Last weekend we went with our friends the Sonnen's to their cabin at Alazan. We all had a great time! Our friends the Zwerneman's went too and the kids all had the best time playing together. The were so dirty that once when Mandy was crying she had mud streaks down her face!

The weather was awesome and perfect for fishing, shooting and playing in the big tree swing. At night we had a fire and toasted marshmallows for smores. I did this kind of thing with my dad as a kid and I love passing that kids of weekend on to my kids!

Fall Blessings,

Leslie

Honor Before Victory!

A couple of weeks ago we had our first ever cross-town rivalry here in Rockwall. The Rockwall Yellowjackets played the Rockwall Heath Hawks for the first time ever. So, since we have 3 future Yellowjackets in our house we decided that we should not miss this historical event. I have been to LOTS of high school football games. As a member of my H.S. drill team and then as a high school teacher...we're talking countless games. I also have experienced that rivalry at it's worst. When I was in high school at Lakeview our big rival was South Garland. One year as the drill team was lined up on their side of the field waiting for half time, they threw live mice on us. Then, as a teacher I taught at both North Mesquite and Mesquite High Schools whose rivalry began with a real horse's head run up the flag pole. So, I have seen up close how nasty those games can be.

I was absolutely blown away by the exceptional way this inaugural event was handled in Rockwall ISD. They had shirts made that had the helmet of each team on the front and the date of the game, but on the back it simply said, "Honor before Victory." They showed a pre-game video of interviews of kids from each school, players, school board members, administrators, etc. explaining what "Honor Before Victory" meant to them. The cheerleaders from both schools did cheers together before and during the game, performed to each side. The competition and rivalry was kept strictly on the field. It was amazing. My hats off to the many who worked so hard to establish a tradition of HONOR for our schools, our community and most important all those little Yellowjackets and Hawks that were watching!

Football Blessings,

Leslie

State Fair of Texas

This year we did the fair the night before the kids actual fair day. It was so much fun. We went with our friends the Shale's and the Braddock's. It was an all girls trip this year, as Thomas elected not to go, but to hang out with Honeycutt boys instead. The girls all had the best time riding the rides...

We also did a little farming...We fed the animals...

At the laser light show they played a little High School Musical, much to the enjoyment of all the girls....

We had a great time and the fair was awesome this year. If you haven't been yet, you need to go! This was a HUGE improvement over my fair experience last year when I got sick and rushed to the "fair ER" on the golf cart ambulance!

Blessings,

Leslie