A Snowy March for Life

Praising God that I am home from a whirlwind trip to Washington, DC, for the annual March for Life with some American Heritage Girls during the biggest storm of the century!

Our girls have wanted to make this trip for over a year, and it has been in the plans since October. The weather can always be unpredictable in January, but you can imagine the alarm at the dire weather forecasts for the past week or so!

Thankfully, our departure was scheduled for Thursday, the day before the storm started in DC, and we were on a charter bus with a church group, so we had no ability to cancel and get our money back. Individuals may have backed out, but the bus was going.  We arrived in Washington in good time to take the Metro to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for a beautiful Mass for Life. We didn't lose ourselves or any girls on the subway thanks to our experienced host and matching red hats!

Well-bundled and excited girls headed out Friday morning to meet with Senate staffers at the Senate building before a brief walking tour on the way to the rally at the Washington Monument. It was awesome to see so many religious sisters and priests and brothers in their habits on the way to the rally!

The snow began precisely at one with the beginning of the March, and it was snowing heavily by the time we reached the Supreme Court. No one cared about the snow; the atmosphere was joyful and determined to end the scourge of abortion in our country because life is truly beautiful in all its forms.

Saturday we awoke to about 20" of snow, closed Metro, and no sightseeing to do. That was sad, but our snow-starved Georgia girls did play in the snow for a while before taking a walk through Georgetown. Fortunately, blizzard force winds didn't begin until around three, so we had all the time outside that we wanted! We had a couple of group meetings in the lobby that were very beneficial, discussing the March and our impressions, and then meeting the founder of PATH (Post abortion Treatment and Healing). That was very informative for the girls---and her, too, since she didn't know about AHG!

Leaving on time on Sunday was very much in the air, and we ended up leaving at noon instead of 8 a.m. giving us a verrry long day! It was a great trip and I am so happy and proud that we didn't cancel and we were part of the smaller-than-usual, but determined crowd. There were approximately 50,000 marchers while there are normally 500,000-800,000! (Not that you would know that from watching network, mainstream news. They steadfastly ignore the March or show tight shots without giving any hint of the true size of the peaceful, loving demonstration!)

I hope you know that marching and hoping to repeal Roe v. Wade is not an indictment of post-abortive women. We love them and want the best for them, and we want to create a culture where life (and the amazing, unique ability of women to GIVE life) is respected. We don't want more women to experience the pain of abortion and its aftermath; we want them to give life to their children, and if they can't raise them, to give them to one of the millions of loving couples experiencing infertility.

A couple of other good reads for you: The Remedy for Legal Abortion at Like Mother, Like Daughter, and what to do if you Can't Make the #Marchforlife

^And this girl is beautiful! She was so excited about the snow and spent her 14th birthday on a bus. Bless her little heart! 

7 Quick Takes with Links!

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This is a great article on why the world doesn't take the Catholic Church seriously.   The press continues to talk about "the Catholic vote" at election time, but why bother?  Most Catholics vote the same as everyone else, but the fact that they still talk about means that we used to, and probably should still since Church teachings haven't changed in 2000 years.

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The Radical Life starts here!

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Abby Johnson on how she's no different than Kermit Gosnell.   

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The Anonymous SAHM.  I'm still an anonymous SAHM.  Not a doctor staying home, not a writer, just a mom, and except for a brief period in high school where I wanted to be a lawyer, that's about all I've ever wanted to be.

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Conveniently, 3 Takes left for videos from Tom's piano recital last night! 

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Join the fun at Jen's for more 7 Quick Takes!

The March for Life is Respecting Women

Tragically, humanity has habitually lost sight of the true gifts we are to one another, and the treasure of maternity was rarely appreciated as the blessing it is, until Jesus; the savior of all was born of a woman.

The lovely Pat Gohn who gives us the Among Women podcast has a piece in the Washington Post today, the sad 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.   Stop by and read it, and then leave her some comment love.  There are so many people who just don't get it,  (I think they don't want to get it) and so they remain enslaved to the false promise of sexual freedom instead of being free to be the beautiful, whole woman that God intended them to be.  We are so much more than those ridiculous pink costumes, and no matter what feminists say about being equal to men, their cause has reduced womanhood to exactly that:  sex objects.

Go see what Pat (and the Catholic Church) has to say about the beauty and dignity of women...

What did Mourdock mean?

I awoke early yesterday morning with this Bible verse running through my head, over, and over, again:

For I know well the plans I have in mind for you—oracle of the LORD—plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope. 

Jeremiah 29:11

I commented on another blog last week about the unfortunate comments of Richard Mourdock who said that  "I think that even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen."   I suggested that he probably meant that the child itself was conceived as a gift from God.  It seems like a cruel joke to inflict on a woman who has been raped, but another verse was running through my head yesterday, too.

No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it.  

1 Corinthians 10:13

God does not cause evil, but He knows what is going to happen, and perhaps the child is the "way out" for the victim.  Obviously, in our fallen, anti-life society many of these babies are simply aborted as a way of forgetting the pain.   I don't know any survivors of rape (or if I do, they haven't told me), but I wonder how many who carry their babies to term are sorry that they did so.  I'm sure that the babies are often given up for adoption, but the mother has the satisfaction of knowing that she didn't compound the evil done to her.  And the mothers who keep their babies---do those children end up bringing joy to their wounded moms?  Maybe at some point, the mom will be able to say that while a terrible crime was perpetrated on her, she's okay because she has a precious child that wouldn't have existed otherwise.  I can't imagine any woman who kept her child regretting that decision!  

Every child is a gift.  You hear that all the time in the abortion debate.  It's true, but probably even more so in the case of a rape.

Fortnight for Freedom

Maybe you like birth control and you think everyone should have free access to it.  Fine. The HHS mandate at it's core is not about that.  It's about religious freedom, the freedom to follow God's laws and not be forced to break them because your government made another law.

If you're an American, you ought to have learned that America was founded on religious freedom.  So many of the original settlers fled Europe to escape persecution and to be able to practice their faith freely.  Many were Catholics, but many more were Protestants.  Freedom of Relgion is one of the primary reasons that America is the great country it is today.

If the HHS mandate is not overturned, we will lose so much more than schools and hospitals.  So much more.

7 Quick Takes

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I was just going to listen to a podcast while I write my Quick Takes, figuring this is an easy post, but I'm learning that I can't multi-task as much as I would like!  The brain doesn't function well doing too many things of that nature.  I do wonder how teens manage to do their homework with music blasting in their ears all the time.  I don't think I ever did that, nor could I now.  They claim that it helps them focus.  What do you think?

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My baby is turning 10 next week.  Double Digits.  The reality of that keeps hitting me in the face.  I look at the bookshelf and there are so many books that she hasn't read, or had read to her!  There are PBS shows that the other kids grew up watching that she's not familiar with! Wishbone, anyone?  I feel like I'm running out of time.  At the same time, I'm getting to do more for myself than I have in years.  I'm torn, but I do try to remind myself that in many ways she (and Pip) get more of me than the others did.  

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I am doing a little multi-tasking this morning....not NOW, but a few minutes ago....I was knitting while reading blogs.  I'm trying to get a little progress done on Meg's birthay slippers which look like they might not get finished.  It's a gazillion rows of garter stitch (constant, plain knittting, that is) to be sewn together and felted, so I can do it without looking, and I have my handy little counter on my phone to keep track for me.  It even has a little alarm that goes off when I hit the "change color" row!

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Yesterday I was reading a post at Mark's Daily Apple on contraception.  Mark did a pretty decent article on laying out the problems with oral contraceptives, but then I made the mistake of reading the comments (or a lot of them anyway).  A couple of people made a case for NFP, but they were pretty much shot down simply because people do occasionally get pregnant while using it.  No one mentioned the unintended pregnancies from contraception. Or the possibility that the users were improperly instructed or ill-informed.  STILL no one seems to understand the difference between "Vatican Roulette" the Rhythm Method and modern, well-instructed, NFP that is the Sympto-Thermal Method.  I find it very frustrating.

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More than frustrating, I find it incredibly sad that people are so blase about children and the gift that they are.  So many people either have "absolutely no interest in ever having children" or feel they deserve one on their timetable.

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In case you were wondering, the non-hormonal, copper IUD seems to win out as the contraceptive of choice for healthy people that want to do everything as naturally as possible for their bodies.  Real food.  Functional fitness.  No babies.  Makes perfect sense to me. (NOT)

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And on that note, I will go awaken my 2 darling, still-at-home children so we can spend our rainy day together, doing schoolwork and curled up by the fire reading books.  Maybe watching a little essential, vintage PBS.

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Join the fun at Jen's for more 7 Quick Takes!

Pro-Life 180Movie

One of my homeschooling friends sent this out to the group last week.  I watched it and had one of my teens watch it.  It's very profound.  Take the time to watch it and see these people make a 180 degree turn in their thinking  on abortion!

I was near tears, very disturbed, at the beginning of the movie, not because they were pro-choice, but because no one knew who Adolphe Hitler was!  I don't see how he can be forgotten so quickly, especially when it's so important that we remember the atrocities he committed.  All the eugenics experiments that they performed in the concentration camp are not very far removed from acceptable practices today!  Even more disturbing is the idea that he may have gotten his ideas from us!




Watch it, and tell me what you think.

Abby Johnson & Girl Scouts

In this great blog post Abby Johnson, former Planned Parenthood director, and author of the book Unplanned, speaks out about Girl Scouts USA and their partnership with Planned Parenthood.  She makes exactly the same points that I feel strongly about.

I didn't know until very recently that PP actually has brochures with Girl Scout logo on them---brochures about having sex, not abstaining from sex.  PP is in the business of getting people pregnant so they can profit from the abortions, and they are marketing this garbage to young girls who should be playing with dolls, not learning how to make babies!

I am saddened and shocked by good Catholic women, who claim to be pro-life, who insist that none of that bad stuff goes on in their troop.  This is the very same point that Abby makes.  Somewhere along the way, though, she (that Catholic Girl Scout leader) is going to send her daughter to a camp where the curriculum is diametrically opposed to what she would teach her child at home.  Even if by some miracle that never happens, the bottom line is that every. single. box. of. cookies. sold supports the national GSUSA agenda and furthers the relationship with PP.  Those cookies that sweet, little, innocent girls sell, and that you buy (because, what the heck, it's just a box of cookies!), support the production of disgusting brochures that teach girls things they don't need to know, and summer camps that do the same thing.

Go visit Girl Scouts Why Not?.  I like the Comparison Chart between American Heritage Girls and Girl Scouts, personally.

I could go on with the rant that's in my head.  Or I can stop.  Ranting doesn't change anyone's mind.  Read the facts for yourself.  I can't change anyone else or convert anyone; all I can do is change myself and try to have the courage of my convictions.  It wasn't easy, but that's why I pulled my oldest daughter out of Girl Scouts 12 years ago, and why I now find myself in the very unlikely position of being an American Heritage Girls Troop Coordinator.  It's a hard job.  It wears me out sometimes.  It makes me crazy frequently, but I know it has great value for my 2nd little girl and all the beautiful girls in our troop.

As an American Heritage Girl I will be:

Compassionate

Helpful

Honest

Loyal

Perseverant

Pure

Resourceful

Respectful

Responsible

Reverent

52 Weeks---Vol. 3

52 weeks of daily life in pictures: trials and celebrations, the extraordinary and mundane -- whatever is unique to the week.   Visit Barbara for more!

Marching for life on Friday.

Every Baby is a Gift!

Baby Gianna Part I

Baby Gianna Part II

Not a "Botched Abortion"

It was a birth...the baby that was born alive was callously put in a plastic hazardous waste bag and thrown in the trash! Dear God, help this country come to it's senses!

This is why abortion has to be stopped---because it produces an inhuman disregard for all human life! It's not because we don't care about women that pro-lifers are so anti-abortion---it's because we do care about them and their babies!

The "choice" about whether or not to have a baby comes before the life is conceived. Not after. Save sex for marriage and we won't have this problem.

A Lovely Award

Thanks to Shelly, I have more love to share.
So, I'm sharing with
1. Carol, whose blog is all about her love for her kids!
2. Fawndear, who can make lovely things! and
3. Sara S., who writes lovely poems and prayers!

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I'm up waaaaay too late tonight working on the last fish hat----and I do mean "The Last". Friends today at the March for Life saw them and wanted me to make some for them, but really, I'm sick of them. I have other plans for my frantic fingers!

It has been a long, yet lovely, day today with schoolwork this morning and then a trip downtown by Marta to go to the March for Life. I really wanted to stay home and get things done that needed to be done, but the kids wanted to go and I was not at peace with the decision to stay home, so I knew it was the wrong one. We had a snack and headed out the door. It was a very smooth trip---not too many weirdos on the train---we didn't get lost downtown leaving the station---we saw wonderful friends that we don't see enough of before the walk began---dh came over from the office and joined us---we prayed a whole rosary while we walked and it made the walk, and the rosary very short (one of the most contemplative rosaries I have prayed in a while!).

I expected it to take so much more out of my day, but we got our critical schoolwork done; I got the laundry done (well, dh folded it!); got dinner made and made it to my American Heritage Girls Board Meeting in plenty of time.

All in all, an awesome day. All because I've been praying more and trying to find out, and more importantly, DO God's will in my day??? Maybe.

I'll have to try again tomorrow because tomorrow is day that definitely requires prayer to get through.

FOCA Novena Starts Today---1/11

Please join in 9 days of prayer and fasting to stop President-elect Barack Obama from signing the Freedom of Choice Act as soon as he takes office. Or ever.

Even if you believe that a woman has a right to abortion, I don't believe you would want your daughter to go through the whole procedure without your consent or knowledge.

This bill will take away all restrictions on abortion. It will not be good for our country, or women.

If you are opposed to abortion then there is bad news on the horizon.
For those of you who do not know, the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) is
set to be signed if congress passes it on January 21-22 of 2009. The
FOCA is the next sick chapter in the book of abortion. If made a law
then all limitations on abortion will be lifted which will result in
the following:

1) All hospitals, including Catholic hospitals will be
required to perform abortions upon request. If this happens Bishops
vow to close down all Catholic hospitals, more then 30% of all
hospitals in the United States.

2) Partial birth abortions would be legal and have no
limitations.

3) All U.S. tax payers would be funding abortions.

4) Parental notification will no longer be required.

5) The number of abortions will increase by a minimum of
100,000 annually.

Perhaps most importantly the government will now have
control in the issue of abortion. This could result in a future
amendment that would force women by law to have abortions in certain
situations (rape, down syndrome babies, etc) and could even regulate
how many children women are allowed to have.

Needless to say this information is disturbing, but sadly
true. As Catholics, as Christians, as anyone who is against the
needless killing of innocent children, we must stand as one. We must
stop this horrific act before it becomes a law.

The Plan :

To say a novena ( 9 days of prayer ) along with fasting
starting on January 11th. For Catholics, the prayer of choice will be
the rosary with intentions to stop the FOCA. For non Catholics I
encourage you to pray your strongest prayers with the same intentions,
also for nine consecutive days. The hope is that this will branch and
blossom as to become a global effort with maximum impact. We have very
little time so we all must act fast. Just do three things:

1) Pass this letter to 5 or more people

2) Do it in three days or less

3) Start the novena on January 11th and pray for nine
consecutive days.

(Please also fast for at least two days during the novena)

Remember that with God all things are possible and the
power of prayer is undeniable. If you are against the senseless
killing of defenseless children then the time is now to do something
about it!

Please pray. If you are Catholic, please pray the rosary daily. If not, pray however you like, just pray.