I Just LOVE These Babies...

The Terri Shiavo Story

The American Family Association has now released Terri's story on DVD.

Flight 1549 Out of New York...

Some have referred to it as the Miracle on the Hudson. My husband sent this to me and it's pretty cool to see. It's a computer animation of what took place during the flight coupled with the actual flight recordings. It's really amazing! I have to give mad props to the flight captain as well as the air traffic controllers. They all kept their cool and that, no doubt, was a major factor in the survival of all the passengers. Well, that and a lot of prayers that I'm sure were being sent heavenward from inside the plane!

Petition Against HHS Appointment Sebelius

I picked this information up from Pro-Life Blogs.

Petition Against HHS Appointment of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (emphasis mine)

President Obama's appointment of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius for Health and Human Services Secretary is rock solid proof our new president has no concern for the health of Americans. Rather, Obama's modus operandi has and will continue to be full-scale attack on the personhood of the weak, disabled and preborn. Kathleen Sebelius, Obama's pick to lead the nation's chief agency for health care, has made no secret of her radical support for the abortion movement. Indeed she has praised, defended and treated to dinner at the governor's mansion the notorious Dr. George Tiller - set to stand trial for performing illegal late term abortions.

Sebelius, an alleged Catholic, has been repeatedly rebuked by her archbishop for her pro-abortion work. In fact Archbishop Joseph Naumann has asked Sebelius not to receive Holy Communion in his archdiocese for her flagrant support for the intrinsic evil of abortion.
Appointing Gov. Sebelius to HHS Secretary is like appointing Dr. Jack Kevorkian as Surgeon General. Kathleen Sebelius poses a huge threat
to the health and well-being of every single American, particularly those marginalized by the culture of death.

We the undersigned demand that our Senators, as our elected representatives, reject Obama's recommended appointment of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to Health and Human Services Secretary.

You can sign the petition at the American Life League.

Fr. Frank Pavone on Sebelius nomination

Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, commented as follows on the nomination of Kathleen Sebelius for Secretary of Health and Human Services (emphasis mine):

"It is not appropriate that an individual who supports abortion occupy
this post. Abortion has nothing to do with health. There is no disease that abortion cures and there is no medical benefit to the procedure. Both Kathleen Sebelius and Barack Obama should know better."

Bear With Me...

This made me laugh... thanks to my friend Angela for sending it along....

The Photo below captures a disturbing trend beginning to affect U.S. Wildlife...

Formerly self-sufficient animals now show signs of mimicking human behavior too closely. This Montana Black Bear no longer forages for food but waits impatiently for the delivery of a government issued picnic basket - commonly referred to by rangers as a "Bearack stimulus package".

wah-wah-waaaahhhhh.... : )

Doctor Visits for Your Older Children

I know most of my children are still very small, but my oldest son is soon to be 13 and I have given thought as to what happens at a doctors visit as they grow older.... For my sons, but probably more so for my daughters... ESPECIALLY with the OVERKILL of secular society's push of everything from condoms, to IUD's, to the after math fallout push of meds for herpes of every type to "methods" of "dealing with" unwanted pregnancies... It seems as though it's just so "unusual" to teach kids self esteem and self respect. Abstinence and chastity are STILL options... Even well intentioned Christian and Catholic doctors are clueless as evidenced by this article from Patrick Madrids Blog.... As parents WE are the ones first and foremost to protect and instruct our children and unfortunately we must be vigilant and aware at every turn... and for the record, I don't think I would EVER leave the exam room of my minor child at the request of the doctor... that request would send chills down my spine, and I really like our long time pediatrician....

Demographic Winter

This movie was brought to my attention by a friend and it really brings to light what so many of these pro-abort politicians don't stop to think about. They are so set on making sure that their own agenda is put in to place do they really think of the long term?.... What is the purpose of saving the planet when we are exterminating ourselves...? And with families so much smaller these days, compared to the family size of say, 30 years ago, are we REALLY in danger of over-population?...

I Was Wondering if it Was Just Me...

If I was being overly "sensitive", or if this new administration was really going out of it's way to appoint pro-abortion Catholics to office....?

Well, I still don't know if I'm just being overly sensitive, but I at least know that I'm NOT the ONLY one seeing this... From the Catholic League president Bill Donahue:

“Last week, President Obama called Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan to congratulate him on his appointment as the new archbishop of New York, effective
April 15. That was a nice statement. But it didn’t cost him anything. His
appointment of Kathleen Sebelius—one of the most extreme pro-abortion zealots in
the nation—to head HHS was not a nice statement. And it will cost him.

“Catholics do not expect that abortion-rights presidents will go out of their way to choose pro-life Catholics to be in their administration. But they also don’t expect them to go out of their way to offend them. Obama has done just that. As I said last night on the CBS Evening News, ‘She is the champion of abortion rights right through term, and for Obama to choose somebody who sews such division within the Catholic community to head HHS really is an insult to Catholics.’ Indeed, she has been publicly criticized by the last three archbishops of Kansas for her radical views on abortion.

“Sebelius is best friends with Dr. George Tiller, one of the most radical abortion doctors in American history. She has wined and dined him, and has accepted money from him. The fact that he has performed more than 60,000 abortions doesn’t faze her. None of which bodes well given her duties at HHS. Moreover, she has worked against the health-care rights of women: she refused to license abortion clinics in
Kansas. “Sebelius once signed a law that calls for the killer of a pregnant
woman to be charged with two murders. Someone should ask her who the other
person is.”

I feel so sad for these politicians that make a point of making sure everyone knows they are Catholic, but don't take the time or effort to really know or understand their Faith...

In Case You Were Wondering....

...how Roger Cardinal Mahoney's Religious Ed Conference went this year, Fr. Z can fill you in...

On Friday, February 27, 2009 [NB: There is a
typo on their site indicating "2008", but this is a 2009 chat, from the 2009 Religious Education Congress.] , at 11:15 a.m. PST, ChurchWerks.com hosted an online chat session with Cardinal Mahony, live from the main Exhibit Hall at the Religious Education Congress in Anaheim, Calif.

Ann Scolari: What are your thoughts on the Trindentine mass?

CardinalMahony: Ann: The Tridentine Mass was meant for those who
could not make the transition from Latin to English [or other languages] after the Council. But there is no participation by the people, and I don’t believe that instills the spirit of Christ among us.

It's only a small part, but it gives you an idea of where the Cardinal is coming from when planning the annual event. What's even more amazing to me is that we have a local priest that was in the same seminary class as the Cardinal and he offers the Mass of the Latin Rite every Sunday for our area.... And though I understand that the Latin mass is not for everyone, I RESPECT it as part of our Church's history and I believe that it should be respected and experienced at least once if at all possible.... IF you think about it, When the Latin Mass was all there was, that made our connection to other Catholics, world wide even MORE connected. It didn't matter where you came from or what language you spoke, in Mass, everyone understood.... sort of like the first Pentecost... coincidence?... I think not...

New Chickens!!

Hubby brought me two new chickens yesterday! : ) Very pretty colorings but I have NO idea what kind they are. And I'm still thinking of some good names... As expected, my other hens aren't too enthused with the new arrivals, but hopefully, in time, they will get used to them... And little Hercules couldn't be prouder! lol!! He was crowing more than ever THIS morning, waking up to a house FULL of hens : ) Yep. I have pets that will make me breakfast every morning! : )

Warning: President Obama is NOT God...

Denver's Arch Bishop Charles Chaput says it so much better than I ever could!

Chaput, who has written a book on his views, "Render Unto Caesar," noted that even before Obama was elected, he considered the now-president "the most committed 'abortion-rights' presidential candidate … since the Roe v. Wade abortion decision in 1973." He said Obama's campaign "removed any suggestion that killing an unborn child might be a regrettable thing." The result, he said, is that members of the church "owe no leader any submission or cooperation in the pursuit of grave evil." "In fact, we have the duty to change bad laws and resist grave evil in our public life, both by our words and our non-violent
actions," he said. "Second, in democracies, we elect public servants, not
messiahs. It's worth recalling that despite two ugly wars, an unpopular
Republican president, a fractured Republican party, the support of most of the American news media and massively out-spending his opponent, our new president actually trailed in the election polls the week before the economic meltdown."

I'm finding it SO HARD to even WATCH the news past the weather forecast... To read the entire article at World Net Daily go here.

Baby's First Doctor Visit...

So, yesterday I finally got the baby to a doctor's appointment. You see, I took him in the week after he was born to have him circumcised and then made an appointment for his one month check up. Well, when I went in for the one month, there was a screw up with the insurance, and he had not yet been put on it, so I had to go home, straighten out the insurance mess, but never got around to scheduling him back with the Doctor. Now he is 4 months old and so I figured I better get him down. He really is such a "mellow-jello" baby. Very happy go lucky and easy to take care of. Not fussy-cussy at all, so I just didn't think about taking him to the doctor. Anyway, when we get there, they ask if there are any problems [no] and then tell me that they will just do a "well baby" check up. Sounds good! : )

So could someone PLEASE tell me WHY, when you take a perfectly healthy, happy baby in to see the doctor, they tell you that he's "behind" 10 shots that they say he "needs" and call it a "well baby check up"?... TEN SHOTS!! No exaggeration!! I about fell over! I said, "He's ONLY 4 months old!! What in the world is the necessity of giving him TEN shots?!!" For PETE's SAKE!! The doctor told me about some kind of "roto-virus..." something or other oral immunization. He said that it was the "easiest" to give, because they just put it in his mouth... Well, sorry, Doc, but JUST BECAUSE it's "easy" doesn't mean it's necessary... It wasn't to eliminate the chance of stomach flu, but to keep it from getting to the point of dehydration and hospitalization... Well, since my baby is ONLY breast fed right now, we home school and so is not exposed to the usual "muck" and he is baby #5 and I have NEVER had stomach flu in my house to the extent of hospitalization even being warranted with ANY of my kids, I think I'll pass... sheesh...

It is SO frustrating, because you want to trust your doctor to do what's best for your children to keep them healthy, but gosh! IT seems that every year they ADD to the list of "immunizations" to give children, and I'm sorry, but all that extra "Stuff" put in to an already healthy baby just doesn't seem right... *Sigh* I allowed four of the 10.. for now... and even THAT leaves me feeling a bit of guilt... I honestly don't know too much about these things... Poor baby... He is SO ticklish, there he was laughing and cooing and giggling, as the nurse was rubbing alcohol on his little chubby, thunder-thighs when his face suddenly froze in fear and pain as he felt the "stick"... it's enough to break a mommy's heart.... We're supposed to go back in a month....

Fat Tuesday...

I have been giving a lot of thought to this up coming Lent... I'm actually looking forward to it.... Life has been so cluttered with LIFE; with kids, with family and finances, with happiness, frustrations, highs and lows... life has just been so cluttered with, well... me...

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. This is the time of year where I put forth that extra effort to put aside my own wants and needs, my SELF and to focus MORE on The only ONE that I need... We will all get up early tomorrow morning to attend early Mass (6:30am) together as a family, before hubby heads off to work and the kids go to their enrichment classes and then the babies I head to my mothers to clean her house. I will try to remain focused on the words spoken as the ashes are placed upon my forehead (Remember Man that thou art dust and to dust you shall return....) Without God in my life, I am NOTHING... I am but a noisy gong, clanging for no one but myself... all of my good "deeds", chores, accomplishments, whatever, should not be done for recognition, or compliments or even appreciation of others, but for the love of God. God sees, hears and knows all that I do, and in what mindset that I do them. God is LOVE and I should do these things out of LOVE for Him!

In whatever state of life I am in, whatever I am doing, wherever I am at, whoever I am with, my quest this lent is to do out of love for God who has given me this life to live in order to Love, honor and serve Him so that I might be with Him forever in the next... Simple, right?... : )

I wish you all a beautiful and faith filled lent. I pray that all who call on Him will draw closer to Him and all that He has to offer us. I pray that Our Blessed Mother be our guide as no one follows Him more closely than she... I pray that I may talk with more kindness, listen with more patience, tell my family "I love you" more often and see others only as God sees them... and when I fall, I pray that I have the strength, grace and courage to rise, take up my cross again, and continue forward... God Bless!

A Mini Vacation

So, hubby and I decided that we wanted to take advantage of the nice weather predicted for the weekend (low 70's with clear skies) and take an impromptu trip North to the Zoo and the Metropolitan Museum. Now while the weather wasn't as clear as we had thought it would be, there was no rain on Saturday while we were at the zoo (yippee!!) and though we woke to rain on Sunday, the museum was inside, so no harm, no foul : ) We had a great little get away and came home to find FIVE eggs from my chickens! woo hoo! We have 5 hens, so one from each! They must have missed me! : ) Here are some pictures from our adventures! We really had a great time! The first one reminded me of the AT&T commercials that advertise "More bars in more places..." lol...

The only disappointment was not being able to meet up with an old priest friend of ours at Mass on Saturday evening. We learned at the beginning of mass that he had taken suddenly ill and was not able to attend. Being the only priest at his parish, reminded us of the need to continue to pray for more men to hear their calling to the priesthood....

Hubby and I were also reminded that it is important to take advantage of these simple moments with our children. They grow so fast... These pictures show me, especially how my 12, soon to be 13 year old son is going to be out and on his own before we know it, and probably before I'M ready! So I'm thankful we had this opportunity. God is good!