Thursday, December 22, 2011

New Furniture

I love how blessings sometimes come so unexpectedly. 

August said the other day she wanted a desk for her room. She has started getting into scrapbooking and she also likes to do quilting and wanted a place to be able to work in her room. 

Kiley has needed a dresser and bedside table since we moved in here earlier this year. She and August used to share a room and a dresser but when we moved here and they got their own rooms, Kiley was left without a dresser. She has been using two small 3 drawer things on wheels and it wasn't enough space for her clothes. 

On this past Sunday our next door neighbor told Adam they were giving away a girls bedroom set, and would we be interested. When Adam got home from work tonight he went next door to bring it all over. A desk, a dresser, and a bedside table. What a wonderful blessing. God is so good.

It's beautiful too and matches a bedside table that August already had. It's a good quality vintage 50's or 60's set made from real wood, not particle board. Our neighbor said we are the 4th family to have the set and it's over 50 years old. 


Here is August's new desk and bedside table. Kiley took the matching bedside table that August had because it's a little bigger and wouldn't fit next to the desk. Isn't this just wonderful? 


I really love this dresser. I am such a sucker for vintage stuff. I tried to trade Kiley for my dresser but she wasn't going for it. She is so happy. 

God knows our needs and these types of blessings always remind me that he cares about little details in our lives. 

Merry Christmas. 

Monday, December 19, 2011

Christmas Countdown

Christmas is coming.....

I made each of the girls an advent calendar this year. These were fun to make, the girls are enjoying them each morning.I filled them with candy, cute ornaments and little prizes like chap stick, Christmas erasers etc. 



Haley's was the first. Hers is made with cardboard favor boxes glued together in a pyramid. I used my large hole punch and some Christmassy scrapbook paper to make the circles and then sticker numbers for the dates. I decided to mix up the dates on the calendars to give he girls a little extra challenge in finding their prize each day. 


 Emily is next. For hers I wrapped two paper grocery bags in Christmas wrapping paper. I glued little red and green paper bags on the front and added velvety red bows from the dollar store. I had to hole punch the top and bottom of each piece and connect them with ribbon. 


For Kiley's I had planned on making paper tree cones and having them sit up with prizes underneath each one. I ended up stringing some twine and using clothespins to string the cones up on our wall instead. I used the pattern from Family Fun Magazine

I modified their largest cone and made it bigger. Their large wasn't large enough for me.  Their small ones were also too small for what I needed them for so I didn't use that size. 


Julia's calendar is the only loose laying one. I made hers from toilet paper rolls. I cut scrapbook paper to the size of a toilet paper roll, glued it on and folded in the sides to make pillow boxes. I added a ribbon to tie them shut and of course each has a date so she can find her prize. 



Finally, August. Hers is very simple and not what I was originally intending to do, but it turned out great in spite of that. I added pretty paper to brown lunch bags  and clothes pinned them to ribbon hung on our stairs. 


The house looks really cute with the calendars as extra decorations. I look forward to doing this again for them next year. 


Also on our craft list....


The girls put together a Gingerbread house. We picked one up while shopping at Trader Joe's the other day. I really liked this kit, it didn't have pre-made yucky icing, instead it has you mix your own royal icing. The gingerbread pieces appear to be real and the candies are all dye and chemical free. 


Sorry it's a little blurry, I've been using my phone to take pictures. 

And lastly, I made some ornaments this year. I found this super cute tutorial on a craft blog I was looking at. These glitter mittens were so very easy and turned out so adorable. I used some of my great-grandmothers vintage buttons. 


We have a lot to do still to get ready for Christmas. I'm hosting Christmas Eve at our home this year. I'm both excited and nervous. 

Merry Christmas and God Bless You!

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Pillowcases finished

For the last 3 days I've spent a lot of time stuck in my bedroom sewing gifts for my children as well as nieces and nephews.

I am making pillowcases and homemade play dough for my niece and nephews this year. I used a pattern from the One Million Pillowcase challenge - I used this easy roll up pattern.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

MIA

Wow! I can't believe how long it's been since I've blogged. I tend to use facebook more since it's faster and easier to upload pictures and say what I want to say. However, facebook seems to be doing some creepy things lately, leading me to want to use my blog for that stuff instead.

Right now I'm in crazy cram mode. I have 5 stockings I'm frantically trying to sew for the girls' as their Christmas Eve gifts, (usually it's jammies). I'm also making some ornaments, and crocheting 2 blankets and some dishcloths. Each day seems to be flowing by like it's on fast forward. I am also hosting Christmas Eve dinner at our new home this year and I've not even begun to think about preparing for that. I've decided to not send out our annual family picture and Christmas card this year, because I have no picture and no cards, and I can't see where I'm going to fit it in.

Kiley, August and Haley are all playing extended season soccer this year and it's keeping us busier than usual for this time of year.

I have many other things and pictures to share, and I'll try to get that up as soon as possible.

Merry Christmas.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Eureka!


Monday, I took all of the girls on a field trip to Columbia Historic State Park. It's an old gold rush town about an hour and a half from us. We aren't studying CA history this year but we needed to get out and do something fun.

The old Main Street makes you feel like you are walking around back in the 1800's. They have the original Wells Fargo Bank along with the shipping station. The character of the shops have been maintained well. Some of the sidewalks were still wooden. The shop owners all wore costumes specific to that era.



They had a dress up room for children 
This was an old bowling lane with 3 small heavy  balls and wooden pins. 



Old 2 story school house. There was one room on each story

 
The school before it was restored


infamous dunce cap


The headstones in the cemetery were interesting. The old ones from the 1800's didn't have birthdates, but years aged instead. This one said this person was murdered. The headstones for small children didn't bear the child's name only son or daughter of the parents names. 





We are planning on going back again to do some gold panning. It was a fun trip and a nice day.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Starting Back to School

We started back to school on the 15th. August and Kiley started 8th grade, Haley 6th grade and my little babies are big Kindergartner's now. Oh where has the time gone? I was nervous about our homeschool days and how it would go helping Kiley and August and also doing Kindergarten with the little ones, but it has worked out fine.

Julia and Emily in their new 1st day of school clothes, with their new binders.
Big sisters drew Mario Brothers characters for them. 
Kiley and August, 1st day of 8th grade, Pre Algebra
All set to work. They are learning to their whole names.
 They are using flour in a cookie sheet to help them learn to write the letters.
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August and Kiley are working on their Advanced Physical Science forces lesson.
They are building motorized electric racers.
Our first week back in school mode was tiring but exciting too. The girls were all ready to start learning again. I had an 8th grade reading list all ready to go; it included 20 different novels. Considering the public schools only read 4 a year, I figured 20 would be good. They have already read close to 5 of the books. I guess we will be expanding our list some. I have abandoned the text book thing this year, except for math. The books last year were so boring. We are doing a lot more reading with non fiction documentary books we find at the library. This provides a lot more detail into the things we are studying. 

Right now Kiley and August are learning about the Declaration of Independence. They have each chosen one of the signers and are researching and writing a report on that man. August chose John Adams and Kiley Chose John Hancock. Did you know that both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on July 4th? Neato huh? 

Our little kitty Nora is doing well, she is growing so quickly. We are trying to get her litter box trained, which she does fairly well. I am using a small aluminum cake pan because she is much too small to get into a full size one. She is still drinking formula from a bottle but I'm hoping to get her eating real food by next week. She is having fun being a kitten and is very playful now. She's such a cutie. The other day her brother came over for a play date. They were playing together liked they missed one another. 


Nora and Chino
This is Garf our big boy checking out little Nora

It's late. I'll write more soon. Good night and God bless.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Comment Questions

I have received a lot of comments containing questions lately. Thank you so much for all of your interest. I will go through and answer your questions in the comments sections. I have been terribly busy with getting back into school mode.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Teeny tiny kitten

Last Saturday we were given a tiny baby kitten. We estimated her age at about 2-3 weeks. Her little eyes were open but she couldn't walk very well or eat on her own. There were 3 kittens found and the people who found them couldn't keep them. After the girls, who's dad is wrapped around their fingers, were able to convince him we needed a 3rd cat, we went and picked her up.

Here is our little Nora with August. This was in the car after we picked her up on our way to Wal-Mart to get her some kitten formula.

 We made her a little shoe box bed to sleep in. Emily and Julia gave her their Beanie Baby Lamb which she loves to snuggle with. She has to be bottle fed with special kitten formula for the next couple of weeks. Feedings happen around the clock.


Trying to show hot teeny she is, here she is curled up in Adam's hand.   


She spent her first few days sleeping in this little box, except for when she was being held, which is about 80% of the time. We were worried about her getting too cold without her mommy and we wanted to keep her next to our warm bodies. I made her a sock filled with uncooked rice (not pictured) to warm in the microwave, she loves it and cuddles right up next to it for her naps. 


Here is little Julia holding the kitten on her first day with us.


Yesterday she really started wanting to explore more. She has outgrown her little shoe box already. She learned how to climb out of it and I decided it was no longer safe. She now is sleeping in a clothes basket with some warm blankets. She is teething and likes to gnaw on our fingers, a habit we will have to break before she bites hard enough to hurt. Her wobbly legs are getting stronger and we have let her explore a little more. Already, she is sleeping less and starting to act like a bigger kitten. Next week we are going to have to litter box train her and start to wean her from the bottle. 


Isn't she darling? I was laughing with my husband the other day. I mentioned to him that when I was asking God to bless us with a new baby, this isn't exactly what I had in mind. Perhaps I should have prayed for a human baby? 

Monday, August 1, 2011

Bucket List


I was thinking the other day about certain things I really want to do in my life before die. Some are silly and some very important. Here are a few of those.

1. Solve the Rubik's Cube
2. Sew a Quilt
3. Learn a different language
4. Memorize the book of Ruth
5. Bowl a perfect game
6. See Ireland and Germany (where my ancestors come from)
7. Volunteer in a Nursing Home
8. See my family saved
9. Write a "don't open until I'm dead" letter to each of my children
10. Have a son
11. Live in a different state
12. Drive across the country with my husband, after our children are gone

Monday, July 25, 2011

From Our Babies in Heaven

I found this poem today on a forum I joined. I was having a rough day. I would have been 33 weeks today, and my heart aches for my little one. I hope that God sees fit to allow us another child. I know it's in his hands, but the unknown can be hard sometimes.

A message from our angel babies.......

I have not turned my back on you 
So there is no need to cry.
I'm watching you from heaven
Just beyond the morning sky.

I've seen you almost fall apart
When you could barely stand.
I asked an angel to comfort you
And watched her take your hand.

She told me you are in more pain
Than I could ever be.
She wiped her eyes and swallowed hard
Then gave your hand to me.

Although you may not feel my touch
Or see me by your side.
I've whispered that I love you
While I wiped each tear you cried.

So please try not to ache for me
We'll meet again one day.
Beyond the dark and stormy sky
A rainbow lights the way.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

It's My Birthday!


Today is my 32nd birthday. While I’m still in shock at being in my 30’s, I am so thankful for all of those years. Each and every day of life is a wonderful gift.  I realize that there are people who don’t get to live to 32. Despite life’s challenges, I love where I am and who I’m with. I hope the Lord allows me another 32 years.

Here are 32 things about me 

  1. Each morning when my alarm goes off I think of ways to not have to get up.
  2. I love hot chocolate and Shirley Temple movies on a cold rainy day.
  3. I don’t like to wear shoes.
  4. I love crème brulee and wish I had a kit with the blow torch.
  5. I share my birthday with my brother in law and I love that.
  6. I despise blue jeans (always have), they have never fit me right, not even when I was skinny. I can happily go the rest of my life without ever having to try another pair on.
  7. My life has ended up in a completely different direction than I originally set out for. I’m so happy about that.
  8. My parents had to put me into a religious group home when I was a teenager because I was totally out of control. This saved my life.
  9. I met my husband (in the group home) when I was 15 and we hated each other. If you would have told me then that one day I’d be married to him, I would have laughed myself silly.
  10. I found out I was pregnant with twins a few short months after graduating High School. 
  11. I started smoking cigarettes when I was 13 years old, it took me until I was 29 to be able to quit for good. I quit cold turkey March 1, 2009. It’s embarrassing to admit. It’s such a horribly strong addiction and nearly impossible to quit. Without the support and encouragement of my husband, and lots of prayer, I don’t think I ever could have.
  12. I have a hard time finishing things that I start. I tend to get really excited about something and then the excitement dies off and it falls by the wayside. For this reason alone, I will never attempt scrapbooking.
  13. Sewing and crafting are relaxing to me. 
  14. I love loud yelling preaching.
  15. I wish I would have played an instrument when I was a child. 
  16. I love cooking for my family. My husband and kids are the best people to cook for. Every night at dinner they tell me how good the food is. This makes me want to cook for them again.
  17. I never ever thought I was the SAHM type. I set out with a career and thought that is what was best. God had a different plan for me. Being home these last 4 years have been the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.
  18. I have great parents. My mom stayed home with us during the day, and worked at night. I never even realized she was a SAHM until I was an adult. My dad, even though he didn’t live with us, still saw us 4 or 5 days a week.
  19. I am addicted to reusable shopping bags. I have to refrain from buying them at every store I go to. My favorites are the ones from Trader Joe's with the surf boards on them.
  20. I think Rice Crispy Treats are the grossest thing ever made. Just the thought of them makes  gag.
  21. My favorite period of adolescence was 7th and 8th grade. I’m not sure why, but I can remember that part of childhood better than any other part.
  22. There are many things that I’ve done in my life that I hope my children never find out about. I would be devastated if I disappointed them.
  23. I am eternally grateful to my friend who led me to the Lord.
  24. I act like a big silly dork with my kids. They love it.
  25. Disneyland is one of my favorite places. I love how friendly and clean it is. I love it so much I spent my 30th birthday there with my husband and no kids. ;)
  26. Being married is more wonderful and more challenging than I ever would have thought. There are things I’ve learned about humbleness and love that I never could have learned otherwise. I can’t imagine living life without Adam, he is my best friend.
  27. I dislike my handwriting and am guilty of trying to change it constantly.
  28. I am the queen of biting off more than I can chew.
  29. I want so badly to have another child. I love babies, and I wish I could have 10.
  30. I don’t have eyebrows. Well, I do have them, but they are so blonde you can’t see them. This makes my forehead huge, so I dye them a light color brown so that they are visible.
  31. I have a terrible habit of talking before I think.
  32. My favorite dinner is white people tacos; I could eat them every night.


Blessings,
Kimmie

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Tossing Time Again

We have been in our new home for nearly 6 months. In a few short months we went from 900 sq ft to 800 sq ft and then to 1550 sq ft. The final move was so exciting, almost like moving into a mansion with all of this fantastic space. However, it also has somehow caused our "stuff" to increase. Slowly our extra space is diminishing. As I look around I wonder how on earth we fit all of this stuff in our previous home. It's definitely time to get back to declutter mode. I don’t know about you, but too much stuff around makes me grumpy, full of anxiety and extremely stressed out.

 It was around this time last year that I was blogging about my, Operation Declutter, to rid our home of 500lbs of clutter. I didn't quite meet this goal but I did make a huge dent, and it felt amazingly better. I'm brushing off my declutter skills and attacking our house before it gets too far out of control. I'm not sure if I'll be weighing the clutter this time (I don't have a scale). I do plan to start in the very top corner of the upstairs (my bathroom) and then work my way down to the very bottom opposite side of the downstairs (the bottom bathroom). I will be going through each and every drawer and closet to toss, toss, toss. 

Declutter Plan
  • To leave no drawer/closet/under bed untouched
  • Sort all items into one of four categories.
1.     Throw away
2.     Give away
3.     Sell
4.     Keep - Reorganize

This is one of the best times of year for me to get rid of a huge quantity of "stuff". Our church holds its annual Christmas in July Rummage Sale on the last Saturday of the month. This is the end of our Missionary Month where the focus is on the Missionaries that our church supports. All of the proceeds (except for the youth snack booth) are divided up and sent to our 10 Missionary Families. I will be donating some things there and also holding a garage sale of my own. I will also be selling some things online through Etsy, Amazon and eBay. 

Today is my starting day, and I'm hoping to just work work work and get this done in a couple of days and not drag it on. The longer it takes the less motivated I become. It also is the kids' summer vacation and I want them to enjoy their time off of school, we have only 4 short weeks left. 

And into the chaos I go....

Kimmie



Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Getting Ready for the Next School Year

This weekend I've been working on all of our lesson plans for the upcoming school year. We will start back in full swing on August 15th. I am almost finished with our Kindergarten plans through the end of September. I will post more on that later when I'm finished.

For Kiley and August's 8th grade year I have just finished the outline for their US History. I am not going to be using one main textbook this year because they are very limited in information and are pretty boring to read. I have not decided on all of the books we will use yet, but we will be utilizing our public library and the wonderful world of the internet. Here is the outline for this year, this is just the minimum that we must cover.



8th Grade US History

1.       End of 7th Grade Review and Magna Carta

2.       Declaration of Independence 1776

3.       Lincoln’s presidency: Gettysburg Address 1863, Emancipation Proclamation 1863, Inaugural address and second inaugural address 1865

4.       Lives of leaders and soldiers on both sides of the war. War Department General Order 143: Creation of the U.S. Colored Troops 1863.

5.       Developments and events in the war, General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. Surrender of Fort Sumter via telegram 1861 Articles of Agreement – surrender of the Army of Northern 1865 Virginia.

6.       Reconstruction and effects on political and social structures of different regions.

7.       Wade-Davis Bill 1864

8.       13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery 1865

9.       14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights  1868

10.   15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Voting Rights  1870

11.   Dawes Act 1887

12.   Sherman Anti-Trust Act 1890

13.   Keating-Owen Child Labor Act 1916

14.   Inventors: Thomas Edison-Light Bulb 1880

15.   Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. Declaration of Independence 1776, Articles of Confederation 1777, Constitution of the US 1787

16.   Federalist Papers, No. 10 & No. 51  1787

17.   Powers of government set forth in Constitution, Fundamental liberties ensured by the Bill of Rights. Constitution of US 1777, Bill of Rights 1791

18.   Ordinances of 1785 and 1787.  Northwest Ordinance 1787

19.   Interstate Commerce Act 1887

20.   Alien and Sedition Acts 1789: conflicts between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton/emergence of two political parties

21.   Basic law making process. Constitutional provision for citizens to participate in political process, monitoring and influence on government.

22.   US Physical Landscapes, political divisions and territorial expansion during terms of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison. Louisiana Purchase Treaty 1803, Jefferson’s Secret Message to Congress – Lewis & Clark Expedition 1803,

23.   Washington’s 1st Inaugural Speech 1789, Washington’s Farewell Address 1796

24.   Rise of capitalism. Jackson’s opposition to the National Bank. McCulloch v Maryland 1819, Gibbons v. Ogden 1824

25.   Political and economic causes and consequences of the War of 1812, major battles, leaders and events. Treaty of Ghent 1814

26.   Influence of the Monroe Doctrine 1823, westward expansion, and Mexican American War. Andrew Jackson’s Message to Congress  'On Indian Removal'  1830, Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 1848-

27.   Pacific Railway Act 1862

28.    Development of the agrarian economy in the South, significance of cotton and cotton gin. Patent for Cotton Gin 1794

29.   Election and presidency of Andrew Jackson (Lewis and Clark expedition and removal of Indians- Trail of Tears).

30.   Homestead Act  1862  Check for the Purchase of Alaska  1868

31.   Texas War for Independence, Mexican American War,(Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 1848)

32.   Northwestern Ordinance 1787  in education, banning of slavery in Northern States

33.   Slavery issues and annexation of Texas and California’s admission to the union as a free state. Compromise of 1850

34.   State’s Rights Doctrine, Missouri Compromise 1820, Kansas Nebraska Act 1854, Dred Scott v Sanford 1857, Lincoln Douglas debates.




Doesn't that look like so much fun?

Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy Independence Day

In Congress, July 4 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America 


When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.—That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it; and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.—Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their acts of pretended legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the Lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free People.
Nor have We been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.—
WE, THEREFORE, the REPRESENTATIVES of the UNITED STATES of AMERICA, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be FREE AND INDEPENDENT STATES; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.—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.
Signed by ORDER and in BEHALF of the CONGRESS,
JOHN HANCOCK, PRESIDENT.
ATTEST.
CHARLES THOMSON, SECRETARY.
PHILADELPHIA: PRINTED BY JOHN DUNLAP.The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:
Column 1
Georgia:
   Button Gwinnett
   Lyman Hall
   George Walton
Column 2
North Carolina:
   William Hooper
   Joseph Hewes
   John Penn
South Carolina:
   Edward Rutledge
   Thomas Heyward, Jr.
   Thomas Lynch, Jr.
   Arthur Middleton
Column 3
Massachusetts:
John Hancock
Maryland:
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Virginia:
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton
Column 4
Pennsylvania:
   Robert Morris
   Benjamin Rush
   Benjamin Franklin
   John Morton
   George Clymer
   James Smith
   George Taylor
   James Wilson
   George Ross
Delaware:
   Caesar Rodney
   George Read
   Thomas McKean
Column 5
New York:
   William Floyd
   Philip Livingston
   Francis Lewis
   Lewis Morris
New Jersey:
   Richard Stockton
   John Witherspoon
   Francis Hopkinson
   John Hart
   Abraham Clark
Column 6
New Hampshire:
   Josiah Bartlett
   William Whipple
Massachusetts:
   Samuel Adams
   John Adams
   Robert Treat Paine
   Elbridge Gerry
Rhode Island:
   Stephen Hopkins
   William Ellery
Connecticut:
   Roger Sherman
   Samuel Huntington
   William Williams
   Oliver Wolcott
New Hampshire:
   Matthew Thornton

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