Mood:  chillin'

No, this isn't a commentary on all of the shootings that have taken place around our country this past week. However, my heart and prayers go out to all of the families and individuals involved. If you were to ask me what this post is about, I really couldn't give you a definite answer. It's kind of general, it's kind of about my family, and it's kind of political, but since I couldn't fit all three in the Topic line above, I just put Family. After all, this blog is primarily about the family and how to strengthen it and my family is a priority.

I am forever joining email lists...freebies lists, political lists, homeschool lists, you name it, I am a member. Sarah gets super irritated with me because our email box is so full, I rarely get around to cleaning it out. Recently I subscribed to an email newsletter titled "The Shooting Wire". It was suggested to me by the people at Bend of the River where Joshua and John Allen shoot. The following Herbert Hoover quote was contained in the newsletter:

"We have overworked the word 'new.' The practical thing, if we want to make the world over, is to try out the word 'old' for a while. Some old things made this country. Some old things are slipping and if they slip too far, the light will go out of America - old virtues, old religious faith, whole truth, integrity, honor in public office, economy in government, individual liberty, willingness to sacrifice. Our greatest danger is not from invasion by foreign armies. Rather our great danger is suicide by compliance with evil."

Whether you think Herbert Hoover was a good president or not (read his Wikipedia biography, it's fascinating),  I think the above quote speaks volumes when compared to our countries' situation today. This isn't a commentary against or for anyone in particular. There are good and bad people and good and bad actions being taken on both sides of the aisle. This is, however, something to read and "chew upon". That is my political contribution for the day.

Now for my family contribution. Two weekends ago, March 28, was the pre-state shooting match and both John Allen and Joshua did great. Pre-states is a preparatory match that any shooting club can attend that prepares the shooters for the upcoming state match. Joshua, for a first time shooter, shot well. Better than John Allen did at his first pre-state match. John Allen ended up doing much better than anyone expected and shattered his personal best record. He qualified for the shoot-off where the top 8 shooters compete head to head in the standing position and ended up placing 6th overall! He was in the top 10 in three out of four positions, and placed 2nd in the test portion (check out the results here)! After the competition, his coach sent an email saying that John Allen "had improved his chances greatly for going to internationals". John Allen is really pumped, and we have been traveling to Bend of the River during the week for extra practices. Last Saturday, however, wasn't one of his better practices, but everyone is entitled to one bad day, and this Saturday is a new practice and a new chance to improve. April 18 is the official state match and I will let you all know what happens. Thanks for all of your support and prayers.

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