Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Merry Christmas, Everyone!
I know it's been a while since I've posted Jude pics. I promise that more are coming soon!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Baby Mamas (Put a Sling On 'Em)
I like this version of this song WAAAAAY better than the original:-)
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The Santa Problem
I thought this gentleman did an excellent job of dealing with the Santa problem:
Raising Modern Day Josephs
I don't see any problem with having harmless fun, but I do see a problem in lying to your kids when they flat out ask.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
A Whole Lot to Be Thankful For!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Dr. Dobson's Newsletter: November 2009
I am going to repost Dr. James Dobson's latest newsletter here today because after reading it, I wonder how many other people are as blissfully unaware as I was about the goings on in our Nation's capital. I hate to say it, because I was really praying that things would begin looking up for our country, but the more I read of this newsletter, the more I began to see a lot of likeness to Huxley's Brave New World. At the time we were assinged that book in high school, I wondered what relevance it could ever have to my life. Now I see.
Anyway, enough from me. Here's Dr. Dobson's news letter:
Dear Friends:
I'm sure many of you are aware of the assault on the sanctity of human life that is taking place in our nation's capitol. It involves outrageous attempts by President Obama and liberals in Congress to force the American people to pay for abortions with our tax dollars. This very well may occur under the guise of health care, despite the fact that in a recent Gallup survey, 51 percent of our citizens called themselves "pro-life," the highest number in 15 years.1 More to the point, 67 percent say they do not favor tax-payer funded abortions being included in the proposed health care reform.2 Their views don't seem to matter. Our politicians appear ready to cram their "culture of death" down our throats.
If direct funding for abortion becomes the law of the land, it will mean countless more babies will be killed and human life itself will be further cheapened. History shows that anything Washington pays for is almost certain to increase in frequency. All that is necessary to verify that fact is to "follow the money."
You may also have heard that the President said in his speech to a Joint Session of Congress on Sept. 9 that "no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions."3 We suspected at the time that Mr. Obama's assurance to the American people was not valid and indeed, that suspicion has now been confirmed. Almost all of the health care proposals put forward so far include public funding for abortion. On multiple occasions, pro-life members in the House and Senate have tried to strip those provisions from bills being considered, but they were voted down by pro-abortion legislators in every instance. As currently proposed, the bills most likely to pass do cover abortions and will mandate federal subsidies to pay for them.
Also in that speech to Congress, the President promised there would be a "conscience clause" that would protect medical personnel from being forced to perform abortions.4 It was another sham. The proposals in Congress do not contain sufficient conscience protections for health care professionals.
That brings us to the second assault on the sanctity of human life by our government. As of this writing, the health care proposals having the most congressional support call for as much as $500 billion to be struck from the Medicare budget.5 That's half-a-trillion dollars that will not be available to treat the elderly. It will inevitably result in a rationing of medical care and consequently, many of our senior citizens will be allowed to die. Newsweek addressed this likelihood in its cover story of Sept. 21 entitled, "The Case for Killing Granny: Curbing Excessive End-of-Life Care Is Good for America."6 What this means is, if it becomes law as written, many of the sick and old will be denied desperately needed care. Furthermore, Medicare is rapidly going bankrupt with no solution in sight! What kind of country will this be if the weak, infirm and helpless receive no compassion from those in positions of power? And as seniors depart from this life, what responsibility will we bear if we have remained silent in response to their misery?
Jesus said in Matthew 25: 40-45 (KJV),
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee and hungered, or thirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
I shudder to think of the divine judgment that could befall us if we allow our politicians, to begin forcing the American people to pay for the killing of babies while they are turning their backs on the elderly! God forgive us for this wickedness.
Sadly, this radical shift away from scriptural principles is occurring in government at all levels. Here's another disturbing development by our leaders. In Washington and elsewhere, personnel is policy. The President enjoys tremendous latitude and power in making appointments to high-level positions within his administration. Many of them, called "czars," are radicals who have quietly assumed power beyond the gaze of the general public. Lately, however, a dozen or more of them have made headlines because of their extreme views.
For example, President Obama has appointed Kevin Jennings as the head of the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools. He has been called the "Safe Schools Czar."7 What hypocrisy! Jennings is the founder of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), the largest advocacy group in the nation dedicated entirely to the promotion of homosexuality to students as young as kindergarten age. He has written five books advocating homosexual teaching in the schools and elsewhere, as well as the foreword to a widely publicized book titled Queering Elementary Education.8
Under Jennings' leadership, his group, GLSEN, has advanced the view that if "a lesbian attends a house of worship that preaches homosexuality as a sin," she will have encountered "community oppression."9 In his book titled One Teacher in Ten, Jennings also tells the story of counseling a 15-year-old boy [he later said the boy was 16] who was having sexual relations with an older man whom he had met in a Boston bus stop restroom. Instead of informing authorities of the incident, which was illegal under Massachusetts law, Jennings advised the boy to use a condom.10
Our new education/safe-schools czar also once said that the late Harry Hay, a homosexual Communist and advocate of NAMBLA (North American Man-Boy Love Association) was his inspiration.11 Hay's vile and wicked support for child abuse was summed up in 1983 when he said, "If the parents and friends of gays are truly friends of gays, they would know from their gay kids that the relationship with an older man is precisely what 13-, 14- and 15-year-old kids need more than anything else in the world."12
Here's another quote from the memoir of America's new Safe Schools Czar. He said, "I got stoned more often and went out to the beach at Bellows overlooking Honolulu Harbor and the lights of the city, to drink with my buddies on Friday and Saturday nights, spending hours watching the planes take off and land at the airport, which is actually quite fascinating when you are drunk and stoned."13
As this letter was going to print, I learned of yet another appalling discovery relevant to Mr. Jennings. My great friend in Washington, Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, reported that Jennings, just this year, sponsored a pornographic AIDS activist exhibit at Harvard University. "Believe it or not," Tony reports, "the man in charge of protecting our schools has endorsed a celebration of perversion that includes video pornography, religious defamation, photos of genitalia, and stories of child pornography, cross-dressing, and sadomasochism."14
By his own admission, Kevin Jennings' views do not represent the beliefs of millions of American parents who have entrusted their children's education to our public school system. He said, "Many of the values I hold are alien to my students. I am startled and often surprised at their frequently conservative and rigid remarks regarding sex, recreational drug use, sexuality, and other 'moral' issues."15 How arrogant and bold he is in contradicting the nation's moral underpinnings!
Does it concern you to know that Jennings works at the White House and has the ear of the most powerful man on earth, despite the fact that he was never vetted or confirmed by the Senate? Unfortunately, he has many "fellow czars" in the Administration who share his leftist agenda. One of them is Van Jones, the "Green Jobs Czar," who was forced to resign for his extreme views and writings, having described himself as a "communist" and a "revolutionary" in 1992.16
The beat goes on. President Obama recently appointed Chai Feldblum to serve as one of five commissioners of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC]. Ms. Feldblum is currently a professor of law [gay studies] at Georgetown University. Among her many liberal perspectives, she publicly supported polygamy!17
Another radical, Mark Lloyd, has been appointed as the "diversity czar" to the Federal Communications Commission. Last year, he applauded Venezuelan president and dictator Hugo Chavez's media reform, suggesting that he had directed "really an incredible revolution--a democratic revolution." This newly appointed "czar" favors ending freedom of speech on talk radio and imposing ruinous fines on radio stations that do not comply with his policies.18 If he is successful in censoring talk radio, that could mark the end of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and, yes, perhaps James Dobson.
As if it couldn't get any worse, President Obama's White House communications director, Anita Dunn, once said that Mao Tse-tung was one of her "favorite political philosophers."19 The late Chinese communist dictator killed untold millions of his own citizens during his 30-year reign.
Ron Bloom, the administration's manufacturing czar, also appears to be a fan of murderer Mao. Last year, as an executive of the United Steelworkers Union, Mr. Bloom spoke to a forum on the union role in bankruptcy and said, "We kind of agree with Mao that political power comes largely from the barrel of a gun ..."20
Are you hearing this information for the first time? If so, it is because the mainstream media will not report the "czar story" to the public. They prefer that you remain uninformed and oblivious.
Here's a final development that you should know. President Obama spoke recently at a fund-raising event for the Human Rights Campaign and made numerous promises to a crowd of cheering homosexual activists. In his speech that night was a promise to pass so-called "hate crimes" legislation which has passed both chambers of Congress. He also pledged to work toward the overturn of the Defense of Marriage Act and to end the military policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." He also urged Congress to pass a law extending benefits to domestic partners of federal employees. Finally, in an apparent reference to the nearly 50 percent of Americans who still believe homosexuality is morally wrong, the President articulated, "There's still laws to change and there's still hearts to open.''21
Those of us who disagree with these radical changes in national policy are treated like enemies of the state. We are subjected to distortions and lies by the liberal elites who are determined to reconstruct this nation once and for all.
Fortunately, social conservatives who support traditional morality and values are not alone. There is a powerful movement developing in this country that will not remain silent. The "tea party" phenomenon, for example, has been led by citizens of all persuasions and faiths, and they are gaining in strength and numbers. I am convinced that a significant percentage of these activists are Christians who feel that the Washington establishment has lost touch with their beliefs and concerns. Ultra-liberal minds in Congress and White House operatives intend to keep them quarantined and marginalized. Please join me in praying that God's people will continue to make their voices heard for the sake of our nation, for the welfare of future generations, and for the propagation of the Gospel.
Although I have shared some disturbing trends in this letter about the direction our culture is moving, there is reason for hope for a return to sanity in our public and private lives. The Lord would not want us to despair. Instead, let's use our voices to support biblical truth at the ballot box and throughout the culture at large. We must defend our children against those, such as Kevin Jennings, who would warp their impressionable minds. We cannot allow ourselves to become like lepers huddled around the fringes of society. We are an integral part of the government whom Abraham Lincoln described as being "of the people, by the people, and for the people." That is us, and may we never forget it.
Finally, we must preserve our own family integrity against all the forces allied against it. A good place to start this month is by celebrating a meaningful Thanksgiving Day around a holiday table, where prayer is led before eating and children are honored and loved. We will be doing that in the Dobson household again this year, and I hope you will join us in that spirit.
May the peace of Jesus be upon you and yours.
Sincerely,
James C. Dobson, Ph.D.
Founder and Chairman Emeritus
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Where am I?
If all goes well, by next Monday (not the one following today), I will be a certified natural child birth instructor. In January (need to wait until after the holidays) I'll start with one class a week and see if there are any students out there to be instructed;-) If all goes well, then I might move up to two classes. But one step at a time.
If you're a praying person, I would love prayer over this. I have not taken an exam in over 8 years! It's a little intimidating.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Go with it. . .
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Body after baby
Remember that I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was going to be participating in the Body After Baby challenge? Then I never said another word about it again?
Well, I've been doing the WORK (watching portions, getting more exercise, and thanks to Jude's maturing sleep habits, getting more sleep. Yep. Sleep has something to do with weight loss!), just not the work (logging points for the weekly challenges, doing weekly weigh ins and posting about progress).
And, DrUmRoLl please. . . in one month. . . I have lost. . . 8 POUNDS!!!!!
Go me.
Pretty soon, this will be me!
Well, except I won't be a man;-)
Monday, November 16, 2009
Favorite!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The God of Slim Chances
Click here to see the interview with Stellan's parents after the surgery that saved his life.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Biggest fan
It is amazing the things that someone so small, that some people want to say is just a bunch of cells, will remember. The first time we took a long car trip (for our 6 week midwife appointment) Jude started wailing. I was alone with him because Jeff was at work. Out of desperation, I turned on the Comatose CD and he quieted right down.
Well, apparently his favor of this band stuck. I have seen him rock back and forth and shake his head for other songs, but nothing like this:
Eat your heart out John Cooper. I think you have some future competition;-)
Saturday, November 7, 2009
"My Husband Rocks!" Friday
But, none the less, Jeff still rocks! I wanted to take a picture of all the leaves he will be cleaning up from the yard (from only two trees! Two very, large trees, but still, only two trees!) but it was too dark when we got home tonight. (Grr! Day light savings!)
During this time of year, trying to keep the leaves out of the yard is like trying to hold 100 ping pong balls under water. As soon as you get some of them cleaned up, there are just as many on the ground again. And on the roof. And in the gutters. And in the elderly neighbor's driveway. You get it.
So, in additon to everything Jeff has to keep up with on his off days around here, now we are in leaf season. Fall is kind of a love/hate thing. But my rockin' husband never complains. He just does what needs to be done.
Yeay, Jeff!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Oh, be careful little teeth. . .
Well, these days these little choppers are hearing the phrase, "NO biting!" a LOT. A WHOLE LOT!
List of things he has bitten:
* Mommy's shirt
* The couch cushion
* The clip on mommy's nursing tank
* Mommy's cell phone
* Mommy's digital camera (and scratched the screen)
* Mommy
* Daddy
Thankfully he has NOT bitten the dog. Poor Daisy. She already has to deal with him grabbing handfuls of fur when he passes her.
Sooooo, what did you do to break the biting habit? (I DO NOT want to hear bite back. All that really does is show that you can bite if you are bigger.) To be honestly, I am so shocked that biting begins this early. He's not being malicious. As a matter of fact, you can tell that he just thinks it's plain old funny. Someone told me to pinch by the diaper line as soon as he bites. We shall see. I am going to try a couple more weeks of "NO biting!" first.
Friday, October 30, 2009
"My Husband Rocks!" Friday
So, all of that to say that I have been missing from MHR for the last few weeks. But never fear! My husband does still rock! I mean, gee, he rocks simply for turning around 4 days after a 13 hour car tirp home to drive us 11 hours back in the same direction to go to Chicago. He rocks for supporting me through my grandmother's funeral. He rocks because even though my nephew hasn't seen him in 5 years (because they just moved back to the States from a 4 year station in Japan) you can still see how said nephew adores him.
He also rocks for passing along his awesome genes to our little man. Jeff's so laid back and I see that characteristic ALL OVER Jude. Jeff smiles all the time. Jude smiles all the time. Jeff even had Jude laughing less than one minute after his HIB vaccination this morning. Of course, my son rocks because he never acts like shots even phase him. (A HUGE answer to prayer! Mama freaks out about such things.)
P.S. This is an aviation display at The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. We did NOT fly to Chicago. We both WISH we did, but it was more cost effective to drive. . .
If you want to participate in MHR, see Katy Lin's blog, The Great Adventure, to see how it started and what to do. Happy Friday:-)
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
If I participated in Wordless Wednesday. . .
He just has the most perfect expression. It is so full of what is the norm for this guy. He is always either just peaceful and content, or smiley and laughing up. He makes complete strangers smile all the time. Today at lunch he waved at every single person who left the restaurant (because we were by the door so everyone had to walk by us).
Don't get me wrong. Especially as of late, he has an angry side. Most often it is related to having his diaper or his clothes changed. If it were up to him, I think he would just prefer to run around naked or wear the same clothes for 6 months at a time.
But for the most part, this is our ever happy boy. Makes me fearful to have another kid. How could any baby be as easy as this one?!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
OLD!
First, did you know that it was so easy to steal other people's photos off of FB?
Second, my dad is wearing overalls. White overalls. Niiiiice.
Third, my mom has a 70s perm. Um, probably because it was the 70s.
And fourth, I think that my two cousins that are in this photo are not old enough to be drinking here. But maybe the laws were different in the 70s.
Gotta love vintage.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Chicago: Part 1
This was Jude precisely 22 seconds after we left the funeral home.
That poor boy was wiped out! Probably has nothing to do with going to bed wAAAAAAAAAAy past bed time last night (4 hours past!) getting up at normal time, and then only taking one hour and a half nap instead of two.
Considering all of that, he held it together really well today until daddy let him clunk his head on a chair in the hotel restaurant:-(
Here's another fav from today: All of "my boys!" My husband, my son, and my nephew, Caleb.
Caleb's pretty hot stuff, huh? I haven't seen him since he was 5! A lot has happened in that time. And I am not kidding about hot stuff. He's already done a Honda commercial and modeled for Gap. Pretty impressive resume for a 10 year old! But he hasn't let "fame" go to his head. He is still just as sweet as ever. And boy! Does he love his cousin, Jude. They played together all.day.long! (along with a little play time with 4th cousin, Lauren.) I have to get some pic of that in the next couple of days because I didn't think it would be too cool to start snapping photos in a funeral home.
Speaking of funeral home. . . yep. As I anticipated, I lost it there. I held it together all through the last few days, until I walked in that room. That is always how it goes with me. The mortician did a fantastic job, but that was not the great grandma I remembered. My Great-aunt said that in the last several months she lost more than 30 pounds. She always kept her hair dyed red and it was grey, and since she is with the angels, her face had no expression to it. I'd rather remember her as she was when I last saw her. Consequently, that was her (7th!) wedding day several years ago. But I am so glad that she is not suffering anymore like the way she suffered this last few months with the cancer. If nothing else, today I saw a face at peace.
Coming soon, Chicago: Part 2. . . The Journey
Friday, October 16, 2009
Where's this kid's mom?
Note to self. . . don't leave the candy pumpkins in the boy's reach and then assume he is o.k. just because he sounds happy. Then, when I went in to retrieve said pumpkin, that little rascal had two stuffed in there!
P.S. My husband rocks because when he came home, he thought this was as funny as I did. I WILL get back to MHR posts on Fridays after things settle down here. Right now we just got home from Wisconsin, which took 13 hours each way only to find that we need to go to Chicago this week, a 10 hour trip each way. Pray for my family during this time as we mourn the loss of my great grandmother to lung cancer.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Heroes and Monsters and Skillet
The latest video out is Hero. The first time I heard this song, I wasn't sure I liked it. But since seeing the video, it is growing on me. I really like the concept with the soldier, the surgeon, and the cop (fire fighter?). And that one line is the song, "A hero lives inside of me," while it took me off guard, really moves me. I have really never thought of Jesus as a hero, but if you look at the definition of a hero, Jesus is the ultimate Hero.
I am especially impressed with the new drummer, Jenn (well, new since Jan '08). She really holds her own. I can't believe she is only 19. That voice is awesome! But, I really hope that it doesn't mean that Kory won't sing with her husband as much. Her voice is different, not as strong, but I like it.
I am also liking their new video for Monster, but it's a lot heavier, so I won't post it here. (You can click to it if you want.) But I must confess that I have no idea what either the song or the video is getting at. I do love the last scene where John takes Kory's hand. I think it is awesome for a husband and wife to work together so much and have such awesome chemistry. I was really excited to hear this on a VERY secular station last week. They could easily reach people who listen to that genre of hard rock music. Sort of like Stryper in the late 80s. (Mmmmm. Spandex. . .)
Soooooo sad that I have to miss the concert this year because it falls on the same day as my Bradley instructor training.
Wisconsin
Well, o.k. He fussed once, about 40 miles from our destination of Ooostburg, WI. But I was ready to fuss after that long in the car, too! But really, mostly this is what we saw:
He had fun hanging out with Grandma at a rest stop. . .
We hung out at Lake Michigan (but not for too long because it was COLD!). . .
Jude hung out with Grandpa's brothers and their wives.
Uncle Wayne and Aunt Char:
Uncle Jim and Aunt Renee:
And once again, we had the cutest pumpkin in the patch!
We also traveled to Sun Prairie and Madison to visit with Grandma's brother and sister in law and their girls for a couple of days. It was the coldest then, even snowing for about an hour and a half. We didn't care for that cold too much. Then it was time to hit the road again to come home to our own beds, where Jude slept the whole night through - 12 hours. What else would you expect from such a busy boy?!
Saturday, October 10, 2009
One
One year ago, I posted our birth story here. I still think back quite fondly on our home birth, and can NOT believe that a year has slipped by so quickly.
A fun time was had by all at the birthday party, except for maybe not by the Fagans who spent most of the party searching the park for Jenn's glasses (which they found at the end of the party at the rec's lost and found).
We were blessed by my dear, long time friend Emily with this great cake.
Another blessing was that Jude's grandparents and great-grandparents drove all the way up from Florida! Between my parents' 31 years of marriage, Jeff's parents' 40 years of marriage, and my grandparents' 50 years of marriage, there was over 120 collective years of marriage experience present.
Here's Jude having fun with his great grandma.
And here he is, not really getting that we wanted him to do something with this cake, despite all of Aunt Vickie's best coaching!
O.k. Maybe he is getting it now?
And here's Jude's favorite part. Playing with the gift bags, that is!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Vacationing
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Busy, Busy, Busy!
Maybe we wouldn't have found these pictures so funny last night if we had known what was going to happen this morning when he threw up for the first time. I don't know who was more traumatized, him or me! But he was back to himself by lunch time.
I realized it's been a while since I've posted any good Jude pics, so lets see what he's been up to. Jude has been a very busy boy!
Demolishing the DVDs
Bye bye DVDs. Enjoy your temporary new home.
Reading
Um, guess he doesn't like to be disturbed when he is reading!
Drinking from a sippy cup on his own
Drinking from a straw with mommy or daddy's help
Doing yoga
Balancing on the stability ball
Poking his fingers in the VCR
Playing with his big toys!
Spending time deep in thought
Cruising
And did I mention reading?
Who is this big kid?