Less Than a Week?

My due date is on Sunday!

I can hardly believe it... seems like it went by SOOOOO quickly. I didn't keep good notes (I'm not a "journaling" type) except for a symptoms list! Funny, those are the things I will probably remember without jotting them down. A lot of them came butted up against each other at the end (thank goodness).

I remember when my nephew Eli - now almost 13 -was born. And my nephew Connor (I was in the bathroom in my dorm washing dishes when I got the phone call!). My niece Maia arrived in the summer, to my adoring sister and brother-in-law. Lastly, nephew Joe was early.. born two weeks shy of his due date, but the biggest baby of all of them (even though he looked absolutely tiny in pictures).

I heard stories of Aidan's birth before I even met his mother and father. We got a phone call that Amelie was being born and started getting ready to head over... only to get another call a half hour later saying "It's over!" Juliette had a fanfare of her own, being born into her dad's arms, just like her sister was - although Juliette wasn't in quite as much of a hurry.

Now... Eli is almost 13, Connor 8, Maia 5, Aidan 5, Amelie almost 3, and the babies are one and almost one, respectively. People always say time flies with kids, and so many days go by without your being able to recollect them later.

I have great memories of my cousins as we grew up, and my nephews and nieces are all uniquely special to me. We have painted pictures together, stomped in the mud, read stories, played Legos, investigated the outdoors and enjoyed dinners together. I have so many good memories of them; it makes me sad that distance now dictates I see my sisters' kids only a few times a year. I still don't want to miss anything. Thank goodness for pictures, video calls and e-mail.

What will my own kids be like? I don't know very much about this baby so far. What I do know is that he/she doesn't startle easily (in fact, not at all), is very active (still), is on the "small side of normal" (about 6 lbs right now, maybe a smidgen more), likes every kind of food I like and is a little stubborn (at least as far as getting settled in a comfy position goes).

But what else? None of these things I mention are personality. Nothing about what he/she looks like, or will behave like. What will he/she like to do? To think about?

I suppose all that comes in the far future. I'll soon enough be lamenting the days of sleepy, snuggly nap and feeding times, with the greatest cares he/she has are being warm and well fed.

None of this captures what I'm feeling about the whole thing. I'm not a very emotional person.. my mom wasn't nor hers before... Or maybe I just don't know how to express it correctly? I thought writing it down would make it easier but.. it's not. The closest I can come to describing it is being a jumble of anticipation, nervousness, curiosity, excitement, joy, fear, wistfulness and calm. On any given day, at any given moment, the proportions of those feelings change.

And I don't think that's going to go away any time soon.
But I am looking forward so much to meeting this little person face-to-face.

Pray it all goes well.. it's very uncertain still how it will transpire... isn't it always?... Pray for all three of us, if you would. We would greatly appreciate it.

Beginning at the End

Fall marks the end of summer, but it's also a time of beginnings.

The air begins to chill, the leaves begin to fall, the animals begin a flurry of activity that will help them during the winter months.

For me, fall means my birthday and - coincidentally - the birth of my first child, too. Talk about beginnings! What a blessed one to have this time of year. To be honest, I wanted my wedding to be in the fall and, when it happened in the dead of summer, I was slightly disappointed. But a baby is a wonderful fall celebration!

I have been doing a lot in preparation for the little butterbean's arrival.. and just because fall makes me extra crafty. Here are the fall projects in photo:

Painting the bassinet

The finished product

Pousse thinks it looks pretty cozy, too

Personalizing some onesies

Iron-on transfers came from etsy

I love birds!

Made new linens for the bed

And put up favorite Van Goghs.. in miniature

Finally sewed a bedskirt! (long overdue)

My favorite yellow chair/reading corner

Taking glamour shots of Nic on his new scooter

Enjoying subtle fall sunsets

And fall colors

And the company of these lovely ladies!

White Horse Inn will be in Palos Hills, IL on 9/24 and 9/25!

Don't miss this RARE opportunity to see all four White Horse Inn hosts within driving distance!

Mike Horton, Rod Rosenbladt, Ken Jones, and Kim Riddlebarger will be recording a live White Horse Inn episode followed by a live Q & A session on Friday, Sept 24, in Palos Heights, IL. On Saturday, Sept 25, you will have the rare opportunity to hear from each host individually (see schedule below).

• There is still plenty of seating; the Chicago Christian High School Auditorium seats 600.
• Registration is only $30.00. (Groups of 6 or more only $25.00 and children under 10 are free)
• This is a RARE opportunity to see all four hosts so close to home - so organize a group of people to head out.

REGISTER ONLINE NOW (scroll down the page to see the White Horse Inn icon) or by phone at (708) 403-3404


THE SUFFICIENCY OF SCRIPTURE LIVE TAPING AND CONFERENCE DETAILS:

When - Friday and Saturday, September 24-25, 2010
Who - Mike Horton, Rod Rosenbladt, Ken Jones, and Kim Riddlebarger (ALL FOUR HOSTS)
What - The Sufficiency of Scripture live taping and
conference: designed to enhance our understanding of what the Sufficiency of Scripture means and doesn't mean; how it is sufficient for doctrine, life, worship, and outreach.

Where - Chicago Christian High School, 12001 S. Oak Park Avenue, Palos Heights, IL
Sponsor - Covenant OPC, 9340 West 147th Street, Orland Park, IL 60462 ph. (708) 403-3404

THE SUFFICIENCY OF SCRIPTURE LIVE TAPING AND CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:

Friday, September 24, 2010

5:30 - 7:30 PM
Registration & Book Table open

7:30 - 7:35 PM
Introductory Remarks
Rev. Iain Wright

7:35 - 8:30 PM
A live recording of the White Horse Inn,
featuring a discussion of "The Sufficiency of Scripture"
Usual Cast of Characters

8:30 - 9:00 PM
Audience Q & A
Usual Cast of Characters

Saturday, September 25, 2010

7:30 - 8:30 AM
Registration and Book Table

8:30 - 9:20 AM
Session 1: The Sufficiency of Scripture: What it does and doesn't mean.
Sola scriptura (by Scripture alone) isn't solo scriptura (scripture alone). In other words, the sufficiency of Scripture doesn't exclude the teachings of the church (such as the creeds). Nor does it mean that Scripture is sufficient for everything in life regardless of whether it actually addresses everything or not. What it does mean is that only in Scripture do we find the authoritative teaching of God's law and gospel.
Rev. Dr. Rod Rosenbladt

9:30 - 10:20 AM
Session 2: Sufficient for Doctrine and Life
Churches of the Reformation teach the value of creeds and confessions not because they’re on a par with Scripture, but because they summarize Scripture. They stand under God’s Word. While other people and institutions communicate truth and oblige us to obey their commands, the church cannot go beyond Scripture in its doctrinal and moral teachings and the believer must refuse all authorities that add to or take away from God’s Word.
Rev. Ken Jones

10:20 - 11:00 AM
Beverage & Light Snacks, Book Table, Book Signing & Meet and Greet the Hosts

11:00 - 11:50 AM
Session 3: Sufficient for Worship
Many churches still use God's Word in worship, but do we believe that God's Word is sufficient for defining the public services? Or do we think that we can worship God however we like as long as we're sincere?
Dr. Kim Riddlebarger

12:00 PM - 12:50 PM
Session 4: Sufficient for Outreach
Methods for evangelism and outreach are always changing, we're told, to make the gospel more relevant to particular times and places. Of course, there is appropriate sensitivity to our context, but is Scripture sufficient for determining not only what we say to the world but how we say it?
Dr. Michael Horton

Three Weeks to Thirty

I turn 30 this October 8th. And I have no idea how to think about that.

As a teenager I so very much looked forward to this milestone birthday. In my mind, a thirty-year-old was so many things: a woman, an adult, a married person, potentially a mother and someone who is fulfilled. It was the stereotypical idea of "having it all."

It wasn't until after college that, looking at the wayward direction of my life, that milestone started to look a little less attractive. And by the time I was 26, I developed a full-on dread of the upcoming bday.

Becoming a Christian staid that fear, which was a very welcome change of mind. But a few challenging years went by and the "newness" of that renewal sort of wore off. [Which is probably a sign that my initial conversion, wasn't (or at least that it wasn't regenerative).] Moving four times, holding several different jobs and not having much time to make friends along the way didn't help matters. Presently, being isolated in Madison with no friends or family for 100 miles plus, isn't helping to assuage my worry about not knowing who I am.

I started writing the post below several months ago, I think before I knew I was pregnant. I went back and finished it today. It's just a jumble of thoughts about identity; who we think we are, should be, and/or how to understand when those expectations don't materialize on time. Let me know what you think in the comments. If you're willing, think back to the eve of your own 30th birthday (or even before that) and who you wanted to be. What would you tell the younger you about her worries?

***************************************************

After watching "Julie/Julia" last night, I feel even more convinced that I don't know who I am.

To tell you the truth I didn't care much for the movie. Maybe that's because I thought I would LOVE it and I only liked it. I found the scenes with Julie boring and her cloying. I know I'm supposed to identify with her but I just didn't. Funny, because I'm sure I fit the exact profile they were aiming at - almost thirty, a rag-tag existence, no goals, a half-written career in authorship. Of course my "foodie by night" self really wanted to identify with her, and share in the joy of cooking. But it's hard to look at a semi-fictitious life (the movie is based on a real person's story) which bears so much resemblance to one's own, to see its success and not recognize the obvious: my life is nothing like this.

This has happened to me before. There are a few movies in which I have seen similarity between the main character and myself so much that I almost lost it. Here are the movies, the character and the reasons why I identify.


* Lost in Translation - Charlotte

She's a recent philosophy B.A. grad (I have a Phil. BA also) who moves to Tokyo with her husband of two years while he pursues a dream of photography. But she just can't hang with the sensorally-overloaded Japanese culture, doesn't speak the language and doesn't have any goals. She meets a middle-aged man who is semi-famous (or once was), he befriends her and pays her a lot of attention. She feels mature in his presence, and they share intimate conversation about being married and being confused by it and life in general. It's nothing gross; the most sordid thing that happens is he kisses her on the cheek goodbye. He whispers some advice in her ear and she cries, but she ends up pretty much where she started, lost.


* Lost - Kate

Kate is a criminal in her past, yet has found a way to rationalize it to herself. She leaves family, towns, jobs and men with a sort of unequivocal ease of mind. She's torn about it, but not too much. At least not enough to stop behaving in her own self-interest while ignoring everyone else. She's even kidnapped a child and pretended it's hers. Kate loves Patsy Cline in an ironic way; she imagines that she (Kate) is the one being left behind. We know different.


* Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Clementine

This grown-up girl seems to love her gyspy-like existence, flitting from haircolor to haircolor (or job to job) with wild abandon. She lives in the moment. She's a dreamer. But does she have any real thoughts, or are they just vapid, semi-sarcastic observations about a world she really doesn't understand?

Clem meets Joel, a depressed and needy man who needs to be drawn out of his shell but is satisfied to live vicariously through someone else who has no shell. That, predictably, is Clementine, who shows him an amazing, exciting world... with no real substance. After a year or so they realize they have nothing to talk about, and both end up erasing each other from their memories. Joel, however, decides mid-procedure that he wants to remember her. When asked later, Clementine simply explains erasing him with the comment that she's "impulsive," as if that is an excuse for being heartless.



* Fight Club - Marla

Truly a piece of post-modern work, Marla is simply trying to destroy herself one element at a time. In her effort to feign illness - not to get attention, because she actually wishes she was terminally ill, and this is an important distinction - she meets Jack, a man who joined groups just so people would listen to his ideas.

Unfortunately for Marla, she's dim-witted and only knows how to attract bad men. Jack is one of those, though at times he can be quite deceiving! He is appropriately clever and charming, and smart enough to coordinate and train a worldwide group of terrorist cells. He is, to put it mildly, pretty self-deceived. Marla likes the most deceived part of him who, eventually, wins over the mastermind but destroys the greater portion of a major city in the process. Marla, however, does seem hopeful that this could be the re-beginning of their relationship.

P.S. I'm sorry if I just ruined the ending of "Fight Club" for you. However, the movie has been out for ten years and if you were going to see it, you probably would have by now. No loss to you if you haven't, in my opinion. Chuck Palahniuk stories are pretty course.

I don't have a clever wrap-up to this post. I'm closer now to my 30th than when I began writing this, and in the meantime have discovered another blogger who was going through a similar identity crisis and started her blog, "New Dress a Day," after being inspired by "Julie and Julia" to quit bitching and do something new. Which, predictably, made me feel like my own concerns were contrived (since someone else used the same pop culture referent to spark a renewal). Darn it, I'm not even original in the sources of my concerns!

Perhaps the problem is that I have found similarities in pop culture referents at all; as a Christian I should be seeing myself how Christ sees me, no? I gotta tell you, that is a lovely platitude but often statements like that fall flat in the face of daily challenges to how one sees herself. Not to mention the internal dialogue; I don't think one can honestly say that what you think about yourself doesn't matter at all. I admire people who say they "die daily," but I confess I haven't figured out how to do that yet.

Throw into this whole mix the fact I am having a baby right around my 30th birthday. Talk about complicating the issue! In some ways, that fact validates my previous feelings about "who I should be" by this age and, in others, it completely obliterates them. It's a classic paradigm of asking for something, then getting it and realizing the circumstances of the gift are not ideal (meaning, not what you were asking for). So, you're essentially just as surprised as you would've been getting something completely different than your request. Back to square one...

Not to get too epistemological here or anything but.. a huge part of my current self-confusion stems from not knowing how to think about what I think. Which are valid concerns and which are the product of a sinful nature? And, even if they are the product of sin, shouldn't they still be considered, in order to understand how I relate to Christ?

Here's what I've come up with so far in my thinking:

1. I am someone else in Christ, specifically someone new.
2. I should listen to/read as much as I can about Christ so I understand who He is.
3. I should try my hardest, despite internal objections, to remain hopeful that, some day, I will know "who I am."

I may come back to this topic over the next couple weeks, after the baby is born, and maybe also in a year or so. I am not advocating a "m.o.s." ("moral of the story") or "do something" attitude about this either. If one gains nothing else from learning Reformed theology, one should at least know that one cannot do anything for God; that He has done it all for us. That's the purpose of His work!

The Politics of Writing

Not that you asked, but I've always wanted to write a book.

In high school it was going to be poetry (eek, I'm so glad that didn't work out!).

In college, maybe only haiku. Or maybe a collection of interviews with the elderly on their
favorite memories (that's still not a bad idea).

Later on, still feeling the art influence in my bones, it was a narrative about how the art one produces is a malfunctioning expression of joy, which can only truly be felt within Christ's grasp. (Again, not a bad idea... please don't steal it!)

What stopped me? It's not a lack of interest. I clearly like writing (even if I am sporadic about it), I loved editing articles for my college newspaper. I love the English language and grammar - I have since grade school. It's not for lack of things to say. And plenty of people get published, since there are more small publishing houses and easy ways to promote your title. So what's the problem?

It's my inconsistency. I know what I want to say, but I struggle with staying on track and tend to bring in too much information at some points, too little on others.

I have scores of disorderly ideas sitting in spiral-bound notebooks, waiting patiently for good editing to pull them all together into a cohesive, meaningful piece of writing. Someday I hope to go through all of it and make something substantial enough to present to the public. Until then I'll hide on my blog, where no one can tell me I'm completely disillusioned as to having a clue what I'm talking about.

There is something utterly terrifying, though, about putting your own writing into the world-at-large, even if it's only the "blogosphere." One reason is that, unlike your friends and family, a stranger might actually critique you. Harshly. Fairly, but harshly. Another is that the thoughts you believe to be so trenchant might turn out to be... vapid. Worse, it may turn out that someone has already had them, and said them better. Worst: by the time you get around to putting them into writing they might be irrelevant! And to the non-fiction/social science/political publishing realm, relevance is key.

Which brings us to Meghan McCain's book, "Dirty, Sexy Politics."

Disclosure: I haven't read it myself; I don't plan to. I've heard enough of what comes out of her mouth via "The View" clips and her weekly Daily Beast column to know that she is pretty confused about how to advise the Republican party (which is, I think, what she strives to do, although in attempting to do so she meanders all over the board). Her youth and inexperience, combined with a (seeming) disregard for speaking in a clear, comprehensible way, come through in neon to anyone who's attempted to glean wisdom from her writing. She's damaging to the Republican party, as well as conservative voters and politicians, because she purports to know about that which she doesn't. Oh, and she's also not a conservative.

What's my purpose in mentioning her book then, if not to do a review? It's merely to point out that some people weren't meant to write books. Meghan McCain is one of them. And why?

She's too deep inside her own head to be careful about what she writes.* Meghan makes a lot of accusations which seem, almost all of the time, to be for the purpose of stirring the pot. But who's meant to be stirred? Why, moderate Republicans and conservatives of all types (but especially those with strong enough hard-line values to be ranked as "far right" by Meghan), of course. Meghan's main beef seems to be with anyone labeling themselves a 'Republican' who doesn't satisfy her own ideas about what that means. But.. they can't be too conservative or too moderate, because that makes them RINOS.

Knowing that I was too naive and loose with my worldview is what kept me from writing a book years ago. And I recognize that I'm still not ready to do that, because I'm not discerning enough to see through all the bs in politics and form a valid and valuable overview to disseminate to others. I'm merely at the point of seeing everything that's going on - but not able to put it all together a lot of the time, let alone draw insightful conclusions. Yet Meghan McCain went straight from college to "professional blogging," probably due in no small part to name recognition, but more so to her willingness to ride the "I'm not your typical conservative" bus until the wheels fall off.

But not only does she not seem like a "typical conservative" (whatever that even means), she doesn't seem like much of a conservative at all. The only issue I've heard her mention often is gay rights. She will start sentences with, "If Reagan were alive, he would..." without validating her opinions with any facts, and never questions her own commentary on any subject.

Yet, she is now a published author and I'm still not. Oh well. I'd rather be an unpublished, self-aware, non-pro blogger who can comfortably assert my conservative allegiance than anything less.

*I know what you're thinking... "Um, couldn't you say the same about yourself?" Yes, but that's why I stick to blogging, instead of imagining my opinions to be so important that someone should pay money to read them.

Because I'm happy to give credit when someone says it better than me, here is an excellent book review of "Dirty, Sexy Politics." And yes, he did actually read the book first. Poor fellow.

http://newledger.com/2010/09/review-meghan-mccains-dirty-sexy-politics/

I Feel For You

I distinctly saw a foot poke out of my stomach the other night.

Or, maybe I distinctly saw an elbow. In any case, it was pretty interesting. So I poked at it a little and it definitely felt like... something.

Not much of a baby update, I know: "I saw/felt something, but I don't know what it was."

How about some random pictures from this last month, too?

Big up Angela for the loaner clothes!!

Pousse and Nic face off. Pousse has already decided the bassinet is his new bed - BAD IDEA. Anyone have tips on how to keep a cat out of a baby bed? I should remind people that this cat has jumped to the top of a twin-size mattress on occasion. For real.

When they're not makin' lazy circles in the sky, we have lots of hawks near us (since we're adjacent to a community garden and a lake) that drop down to scare the crap out of the house finches. Eventually a big flock of little birds will get the gumption to chase the hawks out of the area. We snapped this pic just before one got booted.

Talk About a Bad Egg...

This is not a political post. It's about actual eggs, not eggheads in our government!

There is a massive recall going on for eggs distributed out of Wright County. The recall includes many states, brands and distributors (even Trader Joe's has some bad eggs stocked). Please check out the following link, which lists every distributor and brand of eggs involved in the recall.

Protect your health and your family's - throw out the bad eggs.

Here is the link to the egg recall list

El Disparar en Algún Otro*

Must be nice to travel to Espańa on someone else's dime... Me gusto! Where do I sign up? Oh, right, my husband has to authorize taxpayer money for it.

Maldígalo. +

I'm just happy knowing the First Lady gets to vacation for free. Oops! The article I read did say she's paying for her own "personal expenses." Then again, she's not currently employed so...

Seventeen states have employment over 10%. And that's not including anyone who is employed part-time, self-employed or underemployed. Funny how those type of stats seem to get counted in the healthcare debate (i.e. "there is such and such amount of uninsured, including the underinsured," etc.), but don't seem important to the President when he mentions unemployment.

So while most of us are wondering how the next month of rent is going to be paid (and, for some of us, how the newest addition is going to be taken care of) Mrs. Obama gets to jaunt off on an unofficial (meaning, no diplomatic meetings involved) vacay with her daughter.

Remember when we were told to "use less gas" over the summer in order to conserve it? I wonder how much gas it takes to fly Air Force One to and from Spain. I also wonder how much it costs to employ, house and feed the secret service who accompany Mrs. Obama and her daughter. I wonder how much Michelle is going to spend on Balenciaga, Blahnik and Paco Rabanne while she's there. I checked; there is no Target in Spain.

Vergüenza en Sra. Obama.~


link to article, click here


*"Tripping on someone else"
+ Damn it
~ Shame on Mrs. Obama

What are you DOING in there?

At the first flutter of movement the baby has, it's hard to tell what you're even feeling. When the baby really gets moving you think, "This is so cool!" because you can imagine it kicking out a tiny elbow, or turning over. The "every once in a while" nature of the movement is so novel and so interesting!

I'm at the point where I'm wondering, what in the world is he/she doing in there?!

A while back I read something that said, "You'll think you're carrying a baby octopus the way it can poke out in all different directions!" I'm not into the whole animorphic thing, but I understand the sentiment now. Moreover I've started imagining what he/she could be doing that requires 18-20 hours a day of constant movement.

Pulling taffy? This activity would reasonably explain the long amount of time he/she likes to stretch all the way out on both sides.

Knitting a sweater? That would explain the elbows that poke out in a fairly consistant rhythm.

Training for the Olympics? Depending on what event it's for, this could work to explain the rolling over at a sometimes alarming rate.

Building a birdhouse? Now I'm just being silly. =)


The one nice thing about the activity? The baby sleeps at night! During the day, forget about it. But at night he/she settles down and I am able to get some (uncomfortable, abdomen-stretched, knees-aching) sound sleep.

Now let's just see if little miss/monsieur wonderful is a night sleeper in the outside world!

Six Months and Counting Down...

I thought some or all of you might want to see these. Can you believe I am 29 weeks along? Yeah, me either. Trust me, even though I've known the longest, it's still a shock to me most of all.

Even though I've been enjoying the little one kicking around, I have to wonder... will it ever stop kicking around? I will be eating these words later but... I need it to grow a lot bigger so it can't move so much in there!

Somewhat regrettably, I have only a couple other pictures of my belly from earlier on. Then again, my stomach seemed to pop out overnight - as it does for a lot of women - and until then it just looked like I had put on 7 or so extra pounds in the form of a muffin top. Um, can you say "not photo worthy?"

But I like these pictures. I usually don't like recording myself, or seeing myself in photos or video.. Grandma Frey said pregnancy was becoming on me. I think I agree. I really don't mind the new shape so much anymore. At first it was hard to get used to, as I've always been pretty small (a testament to the power of healthy diet and regular exercise). Never had the flat, muscular abs but, eh, who cares. Now they've disappeared completely, but I know they're still there somewhere!

Anyway... I'm rambling now... before I ruin the whole thing, here's the photos!

NOM Marriage Tour

Just a quick update for you on the traditional marriage front...

The National Organization for Marriage has been touring around the country this summer, holding rallies in what seem to be hotspots of pro-gay marriage activity. After seeing some documentation of Providence, RI protestors actually shouting in the face of Brian Brown (president, NOM) while he tried to speak to his crowd, I wondered if maybe they would be visiting Wisconsin?

You'd think Wisconsin in general would pretty much be a conservative state. After all, we have tons of farmers, rural blue-collar businesses and older generation voters. We even manage quite a few state reps with conservative values, or at least Republican ties.

But the city of Madison is just as you'd expect it - a decently-sized, university-centered little metropolis, a city haven for all the hippies, pro-choicers and green living (gag) folks in the state. I mean, it's either here or Milwaukee and everyone knows there are poor people and crime there! Ah, so here the hippies stay.

Which explains why we have a co-op, aka communist grocery store (and another one opening soon... wait, a chain of co-ops? Quite a contradiction going on there, but we'll leave that for now), tons of humanistic/relativistic "churches" and dreadlocks galore. Oh, and drum circles. No joke, there is a scheduled drum circle at the university housing once per week. Uuuuuggh.

So I was thinking about Madison and all the pro-gay sentiment that undoubtedly finds a home here, and wondered if NOM is stopping? I think our capital would make a great location for a traditional marriage rally, don't you?

And guess what? They ARE having one! And it's on Tuesday! Which means... I probably can't go because I'll be at work. But maybe I can swing it for part of my lunch hour or something. The point is, there will be lots of coverage of it and I can't wait.

Is there a NOM stop in your city? Check this link to find out.
Support marriage!

Summer in the South

Last Thanksgiving I was fortunate to be able to visit my family in North Carolina, where my sister and her husband had recently bought a house. He is serving in the military - as an officer in the Army - and she is studying at UNC to be a dietician. Over the fourth of July holiday weekend I got to visit them again and, as their home has become a meeting-ground for all of us, my other sister and her two kids came from Virginia, and my parents drove my nephews down from Minnesota with them.

They live in a very woodsy and beautiful area just outside of Sanford which is debatably the most attractive looking area, including the town itself. Unless you like breaded and gravy-smothered pork chops, in which case the locally-owned "Biscuitville" restaurant just might be heaven to your eyes. But not for mine, thank you!

Other than "The Wal-Mart," as it is referred to in the south, there aren't many attractions in Sanford, but we managed to have tons of fun anyway. This time it was easier with a trip to see a nearby town's triple A baseball team (the Fayetteville Swampdogs), the downtown Sanford ice cream shop that's been around over 100 years, plenty of sparklers and playing with all the animals that live in and around the house.

And we weren't resting much, either. We visited both the neighborhood and country club pools, worked out in the gym, held a wii dance competition and went for a two hour-long hike to see a quartz quarry. Throw in several games of baggo and some fun-loving neighbors of theirs (and two more kids) and you've got yourself a nonstop four days of southern hospitality. Never mind that my sister is from the north; she's southern at heart. And did I mention all the great food?

As with every vacation, it flies by and is only captured truly in the photos and memories. I didn't even mention my niece and nephew. Maia is such a joy, truly sweet. The first thing she said, no, whispered to me was "So, I heard you are going to have a baaa-by! Can you make it a girl?" Precious! Check out the photo of her in the kerchief as we drove down for ice cream in my sister's convertible. Adorable.

Oh, and Joe, my littlest nephew? He's old enough to crawl, but since he likes to hang onto things while he travels, he sort of scoots along instead. Fittingly, we have dubbed him Scooter. His little leg gets so dirty from pushing off the floor all day! But what better way to clean that off than a dip in the big corn pot (we all used to get baths in a similar one at my grandpa's lake cottage)? He's got the cutest little sideways grin, too.

As I said, the pictures tell the story, too. Regrettably, I didn't get one of my other sister Lea and I, or my Mom. But there's Christmas for that. Maybe they'll be willing to come up north to see the baby, huh? I sure hope so.




P.S. You may have noticed I posted a video of these pics instead of just individual ones. Did I mention I got a brand new laptop?? It is so slick and easy to use. Of course, it's another piece of electronics I have to learn about (like my camera, whose manual I still haven't read - shame on me!). But it's so much fun and what a relief to not have to bang on it just to get it to turn on, like the old one.
Hmm.. perhaps that's why it broke, huh? =)

Announcement

Hello everyone,

As you may have noticed, I have been (even more noticeably) absent from my blog as of late. The reason being I've been TOTALLY preoccupied with my personal life, way too much so to be commenting about all the craziness in Washington!

I figured I owed you an explanation but I couldn't because there were people who read my blog who didn't know my info yet.

So... without further adieu...

I'm having a foot.

And, presumably, there is more baby attached.
Oh wait! I have another photo:

This is confirmed - I am having (at least) one foot, one head and one body!
Due in October. I'll keep you posted.

I can't believe people are calling this guy...

..a hero. Really? How is he nothing more then a criminal? A smirking, self-interested criminal?

Maybe they call him a hero because people think heroes are so scarce these days that we have to settle for so much less? Or is it because his fans are just stupid youth, enamored with the idea of someone giving a middle finger to the law?

This guy has a facebook fan page (with 80,000 fans, no less) on which someone says, romanticizing this criminal's decisions, "They can never imprison a mind like yours." What is his mind like, aside from lacking in self-control and relishing in instant gratification? It doesn't take a genius to steal. In fact, though it does require one to be careful to not get caught, it's not exactly a brain surgery-like profession.

He has also been called a "modern day Robin Hood," yet he has only once given money he stole away - to an animal hospital. That's hardly grounds for comparing him to one who risked his own freedom to help others obtain basic necessities, most of which were stolen from them first (*revealing the soft spot in my heart for R.H., which mostly stems from the Disney cartoon version).

Critics say that those who are fawning over him aren't "looking any deeper than the surface." But, even on the surface, this guy is just a degenerate thief, who has taken pleasure in pilfering stores and peoples' homes since the age of 12. He moved on to stealing high-priced planes and crash-landing them in fields of mud. He has a disregard for other peoples' property; does that qualify him to hero status? Lots of people have the idea that any damage is fine, so long as it's done to someone else. Hardly seems special or worthy of noting.

The CNN article queries whether he is merely a "common thief" or a "folk hero." The main argument for his crimes being "folksy?" That he committed many of them while not wearing shoes. No, I am not making this up. My guess is the editors of the story are only slightly older than the criminal himself. How else to explain their

Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill and Johnny Appleseed are folk legends. They are remembered (as real or imagined people) as having done great things which had an impact on others, but not necessarily in a negative or positive way.

Casey Jones, Daniel Boone and Robin Hood are folk heroes. They risked their own lives to give to other people things that which would benefit them - property, safety and well-being.

Bonnie and Clyde, Jesse James and the kid in the article are criminals. They committed acts that only benefitted themselves and, in the process, harmed many others.

If you don't understand the distinction, well... then this kid is going to be the best hero you ever have. And you're missing out on so much if he is.

Tuesday Twofer - Chicago Politics

Two items featuring the Windy City this week -


The first is the Supreme Court's ruling against the banning of guns in Chicago. Makes sense to me; when guns are outlawed, only the outlaws retain their guns while the law-abiding citizens are left to protect themselves with less effective weapons.

Click below for the story:
Court strikes down Chicago gun ban


The second story is about our beloved President's beloved old "pastor" (I always have to put that in quotes because this man does not embody that title), Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Speaking at Chicago Theological Seminary during a seminar this past week, Wright had these nuggets of wisdom to share with his audience:

"White folk done took this country. You're in their home and they're going to let you know it."

"You are not now, nor have you ever been, nor will you ever be a brother to white folk," he said. "And if you do not realize that, you are in serious trouble."

He also explained that the civil rights movement "was always about becoming white" (whatever that means).


Absence makes the heart grow fonder, the saying goes. I'd say that Wright hasn't been out of the public eye long enough for me to miss him yet. And he probably never will!

Curing Blindness with Adult Stem Cells!

This is really something to celebrate. Imagine, people being able to see after 60 + years of living in a darkened, shapeless world! And the best part? The Italian scientists are curing them with adult stem cells. Add this to the ever-growing list of maladies that have been cured or put into remission by the use of these non-controversial cells. Praise God!

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Stem cells reverse blindness caused by burns
By ALICIA CHANG, AP Science Writer Alicia Chang, Ap Science Writer
Wed Jun 23, 7:29 pm ET

LOS ANGELES – Dozens of people who were blinded or otherwise suffered severe eye damage when they were splashed with caustic chemicals had their sight restored with transplants of their own stem cells — a stunning success for the burgeoning cell-therapy field, Italian researchers reported Wednesday.

The treatment worked completely in 82 of 107 eyes and partially in 14 others, with benefits lasting up to a decade so far. One man whose eyes were severely damaged more than 60 years ago now has near-normal vision.

"This is a roaring success," said ophthalmologist Dr. Ivan Schwab of the University of California, Davis, who had no role in the study — the longest and largest of its kind.

Stem cell transplants offer hope to the thousands of people worldwide every year who suffer chemical burns on their corneas from heavy-duty cleansers or other substances at work or at home.

The approach would not help people with damage to the optic nerve or macular degeneration, which involves the retina. Nor would it work in people who are completely blind in both eyes, because doctors need at least some healthy tissue that they can transplant.

In the study, published online by the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers took a small number of stem cells from a patient's healthy eye, multiplied them in the lab and placed them into the burned eye, where they were able to grow new corneal tissue to replace what had been damaged. Since the stem cells are from their own bodies, the patients do not need to take anti-rejection drugs.

Adult stem cells have been used for decades to cure blood cancers such as leukemia and diseases like sickle cell anemia. But fixing a problem like damaged eyes is a relatively new use. Researchers have been studying cell therapy for a host of other diseases, including diabetes and heart failure, with limited success.

Adult stem cells, which are found around the body, are different from embryonic stem cells, which come from human embryos and have stirred ethical concerns because removing the cells requires destroying the embryos.

Currently, people with eye burns can get an artificial cornea, a procedure that carries such complications as infection and glaucoma, or they can receive a transplant using stem cells from a cadaver, but that requires taking drugs to prevent rejection.

The Italian study involved 106 patients treated between 1998 and 2007. Most had extensive damage in one eye, and some had such limited vision that they could only sense light, count fingers or perceive hand motions. Many had been blind for years and had had unsuccessful operations to restore their vision.

The cells were taken from the limbus, the rim around the cornea, the clear window that covers the colored part of the eye. In a normal eye, stem cells in the limbus are like factories, churning out new cells to replace dead corneal cells. When an injury kills off the stem cells, scar tissue forms over the cornea, clouding vision and causing blindness.

In the Italian study, the doctors removed scar tissue over the cornea and glued the laboratory-grown stem cells over the injured eye. In cases where both eyes were damaged by burns, cells were taken from an unaffected part of the limbus.

Researchers followed the patients for an average of three years and some as long as a decade. More than three-quarters regained sight after the transplant. An additional 13 percent were considered a partial success. Though their vision improved, they still had some cloudiness in the cornea.

Patients with superficial damage were able to see within one to two months. Those with more extensive injuries took several months longer.

"They were incredibly happy. Some said it was a miracle," said one of the study leaders, Graziella Pellegrini of the University of Modena's Center for Regenerative Medicine in Italy. "It was not a miracle. It was simply a technique."

The study was partly funded by the Italian government.

Researchers in the United States have been testing a different way to use self-supplied stem cells, but that work is preliminary.

One of the successful transplants in the Italian study involved a man who had severe damage in both eyes as a result of a chemical burn in 1948. Doctors grafted stem cells from a small section of his left eye to both eyes. His vision is now close to normal.

In 2008, there were 2,850 work-related chemical burns to the eyes in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Schwab of UC Davis said stem cell transplants would not help those blinded by burns in both eyes because doctors need stem cells to do the procedure.

"I don't want to give the false hope that this will answer their prayers," he said.

Dr. Sophie Deng, a cornea expert at the UCLA's Jules Stein Eye Institute, said the biggest advantage was that the Italian doctors were able to expand the number of stem cells in the lab. This technique is less invasive than taking a large tissue sample from the eye and lowers the chance of an eye injury.

"The key is whether you can find a good stem cell population and expand it," she said.

___

Online:

New England Journal: http://www.nejm.org

"Creepy" and "Predatory" Marketing?

Parent readers of this blog,

Is it up to lawmakers to determine what foods are available to your children at privately-owned restaurants? In my opinion, the fact that these foods are available in the world is perfectly acceptable. Parents decide what their kids eat, and eating junky food some of the time is not a sin. It's the overindulgence to those kinds of foods, with a disregard to healthy eating practices, that concerns me. However, as maddening and saddening as it is to see fat seven-year-olds (and it is very, very sad for all the implications), it's none of my business to enforce healthy eating onto those kids and their parents.

You want to affect families' eating habits in a personal, highly-successful way? Employ yourself as a caregiver to kids and/or young adults. You are immediately given the duties of role modeling good eating behaviors and highlighting the importance of exercise. In fact, you're expected to encourage these things and are paid to do just that.

You'd be shocked at how incomplete peoples' information about how different foods get processed in our bodies, and what kind of results they bring when metabolized is. Many people simply do not even know what vitamins are, where to find them, why they're important, what too much fat, sugar and salt do to your body (including your brain, thus your behavior, mood and sensitivities) and why exercise and water are the greatest combatants.

Censoring what foods are simply available - fast food, vending machines, at ball games, etc. - is yet another misguided "solution" to the liberal notion of "caring for others." They don't care; caring takes time and involvement. They just want to control.

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Unhappy Meals: McDonald's to be sued for 'enticing children with toys'

By Sean Poulter, Consumer Affairs Editor
Last updated at 9:37 PM on 23rd June 2010
www.dailymail.co.uk


As far as many children are concerned, they are the most appealing things on the menu.

But not everyone is so keen on the merchandising toys used by McDonald's to entice youngsters to buy its Happy Meals.

A powerful American consumer group is threatening a lawsuit and has given the chain 30 days to drop the 'creepy and predatory' ploy it says undermines the efforts of parents to encourage a healthy diet.

The merchandise, which is also given to customers in Britain, includes toys related to the latest Shrek movie. Earlier this year it also had tie-ups with Alvin and the Chipmunks and Scooby Doo.

The Centre for Science in the Public Interest says using the items to promote its Happy Meals is 'unfair, deceptive and illegal' under American state laws.

McDonald's insists it uses toys and popular characters to promote healthy options such as fruit, carrot sticks and organic milk.

However, the CSPI says the reality is 93 per cent of children who have a Happy Meal walk out with a portion of fries alongside products such as burgers and chicken nuggets.

"McDonald's is the stranger in the playground handing out candy to children," said the CSPI litigation director Stephen Gardner.

"McDonald's use of toys undercuts parental authority and exploits young children's developmental immaturity - all this to induce children to prefer foods that may harm their health.

It's a creepy and predatory practice that warrants an injunction."

The CSPI said that of the 24 possible Happy Meal combinations that McDonald's describes on its U.S. website, all exceed 430 calories, which is one third of the 1,300 recommended daily intake for children aged four to eight*.

The figures will be similar in the UK.

A Happy Meal of a cheeseburger, French fries and Sprite has half a day's calories and saturated fat. It also has around two days of sugar at 35g.

McDonald's in the UK accused the CSPI of misrepresenting its food. A spokesman said: "McDonald's is committed to a responsible approach to our menu, and our Happy Meal offerings. We have added more choice and variety than ever before, a fact that has been widely reported and recognised. We couldn't disagree more with the misrepresentation of our food and marketing practices made by the CSPI."

Kathryn Montgomery, professor of communication at American University in Washington, said: "We know from scientific research that young children - and even older ones - do not have the ability to understand how marketing has been designed to influence them. In the era of digital marketing, these vulnerabilities are magnified even further. McDonald's use of these techniques raises troubling questions, for health professionals, parents, and policy makers."


*So what? A third of the day's calories is one meal's worth.

FMLA for Gay "Partners?"

Expansion of Gay Benefits Threatens Private Sector
by Kim Trobee, editor - citizenlink.org


The Labor Department is set to announce on Wednesday that the government will extend benefits to gay couples under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). FMLA allows private and public employees to take extended absences for serious medical conditions, including pregnancy, or to care for family members.

The move is significant, because to date, the administration has only looked at benefits for federal employees.

Peter Sprigg, senior fellow for policy studies at the Family Research Council, said the latest plan may cause trouble for private employers.

"This action with the Family and Medical Leave Act is a huge leap beyond anything he's done before because he is imposing an obligation upon private employers," he said. "He's not the chief executive of every private employer in the country, and yet, he is telling them that they have to offer benefits to homosexual couples."

The latest announcement is part of a series of incremental steps that started a year and a half ago. The Obama administration has expanded benefits for the partners of gay federal workers to include long-term health insurance, access to day care, Federal Housing Authority loans and federal child-care subsidies.

Matt Barber, associate dean for career and professional development at Liberty University School of Law, said the president is acting on behalf of gay activists.

"He's really running roughshod," Barber said, "over the express language of the FMLA and is definitely violating the clear language of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)."

DOMA defines marriage for federal purposes as the union of one man and one woman.

"It is not within the power or authority of the president to effect a de facto repeal simply by these little regulations, one regulation at a time," Sprigg said. "The president is going beyond his constitutional and legal authority. If he wants to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, he needs to persuade Congress to repeal it."

The presidential proclamation for Father's Day exemplified the administration's changing rhetoric on the issue. It asserted that "nurturing families come in many forms," including "two fathers."

Jenny Tyree, marriage analyst for CitizenLink, said the president has been talking out of both sides of his mouth.

"He's been a supporter of married mothers and fathers in name only," she told The Washington Post. "He speaks very passionately and touchingly about how he grew up without a father. And yet there is this huge disconnect in how he's undermining that same opportunity for other children."

Quote of the Day

“It is a sad day in America when the rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution are trampled upon under the color of law and authority,” said LAUSD (Los Angeles United School District) Board Member Martinez. “Everyone, regardless of their status in the United States, has the right to equal protection under our laws. These Arizona laws are nothing but a knee-jerk backlash resulting from the lack of a comprehensive and well thought out immigration reform policy.”


In this statement you have the key elements of misguided liberal political thought:

1. Complete ignorance of who is protected under the U.S. Constitution and state laws. According to the LA school district, illegal aliens and legal citizens alike are entitled to all the rights, benefits and protections provided by the U.S. laws.

2. Insistance that those who support enforcing laws against people who are not legal in this country are "sad," a.k.a. bigots, racist, xenophobic, themselves ignorant.

3. The posturing that the creation - and subsequent modification to exclude racial profiling - of the Arizona immigration law is not, in fact, a reasonable part of immigration reform, but simply a "knee-jerk" reaction. This is to say it was not "well thought-out," even though it was modified after the profiling option became obvious.

Opposite Day in Ottawa

Opposite day, wherein the opposite of the expected result is the preferred result. In this case it means that when you win a game of soccer, you actually lose. Thus, if you were the loser (by point earned), you automatically win. Oh, Canada!

The article is pretty straightforward, if you consider liberal parents getting a rule like this established in the name of "fairness" straightforward. I think of it as more subversive than upfront, but whatever. They're obviously pushing an agenda - that the world isn't "fair," and that it should be, on every level, including within sports.

Call me crazy but doesn't leveling the teams, forcing handicaps on their best players and allowing the losing team to be declared the winner for an arbitrary scoring system make the effort of playing sports - nay, the entire objective of sports - superfluous? If the point isn't to win, and to learn from both winning and losing, then what is the point?

Check out where the Gloucester club director emphatically states that paying a registration fee doesn't entitle parents to criticizing the club. But it apparently does entitle parents to push their agenda onto everyone for the sake of their losing-team kids' self-esteem.

Here's a tip to all future Olympians: if the games are in Canada, don't bother attending. You're guarenteed to lose.

*******************************************************

Win a soccer game by more than five points and you lose, Ottawa league says

By Terrine Friday June 1, 2010 – 6:05 am

In yet another nod to the protection of fledgling self-esteem, an Ottawa children’s soccer league has introduced a rule that says any team that wins a game by more than five points will lose by default.

The Gloucester Dragons Recreational Soccer league’s newly implemented edict is intended to dissuade a runaway game in favour of sportsmanship. The rule replaces its five-point mercy regulation, whereby any points scored beyond a five-point differential would not be registered.

Kevin Cappon said he first heard about the rule on May 20 — right after he had scored his team’s last allowable goal. His team then tossed the ball around for fear of losing the game.

He said if anything, the league’s new rule will coddle sore losers.

“They should be saying anything is possible. If we can get five goals really fast, well, so can the other team,” said Kevin, 17, who has played in the league for five years. “People grow in adversity, they don’t really get worse…. I think you’ll see more leadership skills being used if a losing team tries to recuperate than if they never got into that situation at all.”

Kevin’s father, Bruce Cappon, called the rule ludicrous.

“I couldn’t find anywhere in the world, even in a communist country, where that rule is enforced,” he said.

Mr. Cappon said the organization is trying to “reinvent the wheel” by fostering a non-competitive environment. The league has 3,000 children enrolled ranging in age from four to 18 years old.

“Everybody wants a close game, nobody wants blowouts, but we don’t want to go by those farcical rules that they come up with,” he said. “Heaven forbid when these kids get into the real world. They won’t be prepared to deal with the competition out there.”

Paul Cholmsky, whose four- and six-year-old boys play in the league, said the intended goal of a default-lose rule might backfire in teaching life skills.

“If there’s one team that’s consistenly dominant and one team that’s not, well, that’s life,” he said.

Mr. Cholmsky said he would be in favour of temporarily handicapping a team, for example reducing the number of players on the field, over ensuring a team loss for a high score differential.

According to the league’s new rules, coaches of stronger teams are encouraged to deter runaway games by rotating players out of their usual positions, ensuring players pass the ball around, asking players to kick with the weaker foot, taking players off the field and encouraging players to score from farther away.

Club director Sean Cale said he is disappointed a few parents are making the new soccer rule overshadow the community involvement and organizing the Gloucester club does.

“The registration fee, regardless of the sport, does not give a parent the right to insult or belittle the organization,” he said. “It gives you a uniform, it gives you a team.”

Mr. Cale said the league’s 12-person board of directors is not trying to take the fun out of the game, they are simply trying to make it fair. The new rule, suggested by “involved parents,” is a temporary measure that will be replaced by a pre-season skill assessment to make fair teams.

“The board is completely volunteer-run and we do the best that we can to provide a good, clean, fun soccer experience for everyone,” he said.

Although parents are fuming, he said the commotion is coming from “about 1% of the parents.”


First printed in the National Post