What I got

“But in my distress I cried out to the Lord: yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears.”- Psalms 18:6 NLT

If you’re my friend on Facebook, you may have been annoyed by noticed all my posts about resources for storm victims and volunteers. Some people need to cry, some people need to sleep, some people need to talk, some people need to work and I need to info share. There is so much help out there that I want everyone to be aware of it in case they know someone who can use specific assistance.

I’m going to make an effort to slow down on all the “share” button clicking (no promises) so I wanted to put all the best links here so they can be found quickly. I’m going to try to provide info that may not be obvious. Of course, you can always go to the web sites of the governmental agencies and charitable organizations to see what they have to say.

In case you aren’t my friend on FB, I am available to babysit, transport items or give people rides. I have Jack with me so I can’t go shovel  rubble but I can do this stuff. Also, my home is open if anyone needs a place to hang out and watch tv, do laundry or take a shower. Whatever. If I can help you, I will. We’ve been extremely blessed because tornadoes on both Sunday and Monday were close enough that we stayed in the cellar for about an hour each time and when we emerged, not a shingle was out of place.

I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want to watch it on TV. We actually avoided it last night but I’m slowly able to take in a little at a time today. I know some people do want to talk about it. But, there’s nothing for me to say that doesn’t sound totally inadequate and get me choked up. So, I’m not answering my phone to chat. You can text me if you  need me.

I was pretty much over the “Keep calm and blah blah on” paraphernalia two years ago but I love this one. This one that I stole from my friend, Chip, is awesome because it turns Oklahoma into a verb. Which is what we’ve really always been. Oklahoma on, everybody.

 

SHARE-WORTHY INFO:

• Lumber Liquidators is giving away free tarps.
• A friend who lost a home in a tornado once asks us to help individuals directly when possible rather than donating to the Red Cross
• Yvette Fees is offering horse boarding. She will assist in loading and transporting them in her trailer. 589-0883 yvettefees@aol.com
• Area casinos are holding blood drives all week: Riverwind Casino on Wednesday from 10am-6pm, Saltcreek Casino on Thursday from 1pm-6pm, Remington Park on Friday from 12-5pm and at Newcastle Casino on Saturday from 12pm-4:30pm.
• Some have suggested donating to Moore-area funeral homes to help pay for the burial of victims. One specific one is called John Ireland and I know the body of a little girl named Emily will be there.
• Lighthouse Medical Clinic (2801 S. Robinson, OKC) is offering free medical help for tornado victims and those involved in relief efforts.
• Convoy of Hope disaster response
• Many churches and police stations around Oklahoma and in neighboring states are taking donations. The list I have is too long but if you are looking for somewhere local to you and need help, just holler at me.
• There are several groups selling relief tee-shirts with the proceeds going to help victims. This is a great thing if you find a group you trust because you can donate money but also show support for months to come by wearing the shirt!
• charging stations, hot meals, coffee, restrooms. Highland Baptist. 4th & Sunnylane
• Uhaul is offering free storage to tornado victims. 1-800-gouhaul
• This group has a lot of helpful info
• Dr. Ken Guthrie will be doing free eye exams for victims who lost glasses, contacts or had eye injuries. 405-753-9006. All Eyemart Express locations will be making and donating glasses.
• Anyone assisting with relief & recovery – are invited to pick up a free box lunch at McAlister’s Deli 931 SW 25th St in Moore
• The CVS on SW 19th & Santa Fe is open 24 hrs and will assist anyone with prescriptions lost in the tornado
• A mobile phone charging station is available at Best Buy on I-35 and S. 19th
• often the survivors and communities are forgotten just months after the shock is over. If you are interested in contributing to long-term recovery and rebuilding efforts for the community, consider a gift to the OKC Tornado Recovery Fund. www.occf.org/tornadorecoveryfund
• Probably the most helpful link would be to the Oklahoma Nation FB

Why I haven’t said squat about Gosnell

A few people have been wondering why I haven’t been raging commenting on the Kermit Gosnell trial. I would’ve if the media had continued to ignore it as per their original plan. But, we hollered enough that they had to cover it. So, what is there for me to say about it?

Get this: If you think what Kermit Gosnell was convicted of murder for is actually murder, then there’s no logical way for you to think that abortion isn’t murder. If you know that abortion is murder and you are fine with it, then I have nothing to say. I probably should but I have only so much energy.

Gosnell was snipping the backs of the necks of babies born alive during an abortion. And he got in trouble for it. I don’t really get it. The lady goes in there to have her baby killed. Which is fine with America. The baby comes out and it’s not all the way dead so they finish the job after it is all the way out. This is not fine with America? It’s the same thing, people.

I also want everyone to think about when YOU believe a baby has been born. I’m not saying go Google the definition. Use your brain and decide. Is it when the whole head is out? The top half of the body? The whole body? What if it’s a breech birth and the feet come out first? When the umbilical cord is cut? Once he or she has had the mucus suctioned out of his or her nostrils? Would it have been okay with you if the baby was just crowning and Gosnell stabbed it in the top of the head rather than snipping its neck? How about if it was in the birth canal and he stabbed it in there? How do you think abortions are performed? Where is the dividing line between murdering a baby and emptying/discarding uterine contents? Don’t you think every person could feasibly have a different idea of when that is?

Please, please, please stop trying to be “nice” by refusing to condemn abortion because you know someone who had one. Please stop blindly assuming the position that your political party tells you to. Please stop being ignorant of the human body and believing that an unborn baby is a female reproductive organ. Please, just use your brain and think about this. You either think it’s wrong to murder people or you don’t. Own that.

The Whole30 comes to town

Okay, everybody! Guess what I’m fixing to do- I’m about to embark on the healthiest thirty days of my life! I have been planning this for about a month and my month is almost up. And I’m kinda scared. Because the Whole30 ain’t no joke, y’all.

It sounds simple enough on the surface. For thirty days, all you eat is fruit, vegetables and meat. When I heard that I thought it would be no problem for me to avoid sweets and bread for thirty days. But, then, when I started planning, my eyes were opened. For my entire life, I have been BLIND to what I’ve been eating. When I started thinking about ingredients and reading labels, I realized what I was really getting into. No dairy (uh, yeah, that includes cheese!), no grains (including pseudo grains like quinoa), no added sugar, no legumes, no soy and while they aren’t forbidden, corn and potatoes are discouraged because they can feed into a sugar addiction. Now, start reading the labels on the food you buy. Yeah. Everything has sulfites, sugar, MSG, carageenan or soy. It’s redic.

So now even though I see that it’s going to be super hard (mainly when I’m not home), I really want to do it. The point is to basically rid your system of all the processed junk and to do it for long enough that your brain has a chance to become unaddicted to the sugar and chemicals. The point is to change the way you look at food. I haven’t even started yet and it’s working. Even though I’ve still been eating normally, I have been thinking about what’s in everything.

This takes a lot of planning because you can still have a few substitute-type things like extra-virgin olive oil, coconut milk and ghee. So, I went to Whole Foods the other day to get some pantry items. Unfortunately it was packed in there and we had Jack and my niece with us so I gave up and left half-way through. I’m starting on Monday so hopefully I have a chance to get back over there this week. I’m going to do some meal-planning and prep some things and put them in the freezer so that I’m not having to cook every single meal on the fly.

After the 30 days you are supposed to introduce the banned food groups back in one at a time so that you find out how each one affects you. It’s a great way to uncover any food sensitivities! I am planning to still eat cheese and grains once it’s over (as long as I don’t notice any adverse reaction) and have a treat now and then but I think this will really help me learn about healthy eating for life!

If any of you have done a Whole30, please share your experience! I’ll post about it once we get going and maybe share some recipes. Whoo-hoo!

If anybody else wants to learn about it, check out the Whole30 site. There are even shopping lists to help you get started! There is also a forum on the site and you can google recipes. Let me know if you decide to do the challenge with me!

 

Right Unchained

Last night we watched “Django Unchained.” If you haven’t seen it, I won’t spoil it but basically it’s about a slave who is bought by a bounty hunter to help him with his job. The bounty hunter and Django formulate a scheme to rescue Django’s enslaved wife. So, throughout the movie, you see slaves being mistreated (okay, they are being mistreated just by being enslaved, no matter how “nice” their master was to them. But I didn’t know how else to put it.) and it made me feel so angry and sad for them because even though it’s a movie, that stuff did really happen. And Spencer and I are sitting there feeling very uncomfortable after a scene where dogs are released to rip to shreds a runaway slave.

You feel like you need to say something in a moment like that. I don’t know why. I avert my eyes because it’s just so sickening and I can feel Spencer’s eyes on me. I don’t know why. You feel the need to acknowledge how wrong it is. I don’t know why. Just so everyone knows that you find it just horrendous? Isn’t that so obvious that we shouldn’t have to make eye contact or say anything at all? I don’t know. So I just didn’t look at him. But I still felt the urge. And I don’t know why.

But what I kept thinking in those moments is how every time us modern day white folks watch or read about slavery, we like to think we would’ve done something about it.  We would’ve done something. But, the reality is, most of us wouldn’t have. Let that sink in and really think about it. Imagine you lived in the south back then. Imagine about 1 in 3 of your friends owned slaves or were related to someone who did. Imagine that some of your friends said that they would never own a slave themselves but that they didn’t mind if others did. And imagine your government said slavery was totally cool. What would you do? Not look when the slaves were being whipped? Encourage people not to whip their slaves and make sure they were fed? Maybe pray about it? But most of us wouldn’t DO anything. For one thing, we wouldn’t know what we could do and for another, we would be afraid people would get mad at us if we vocalized our feelings about how wrong slavery is. So, yeah, we would preoccupy ourselves with other evils of our age and turn a blind eye to the biggest one happening right in our backyards. And when we were old and slavery had been abolished our grandkids might ask us if we helped fight against slavery with hope in their voices. And we would be ASHAMED of ourselves when we said “Well, I never owned a slave.” Or, “Well, I wrote a letter to the local slave owners and asked them not to whip their slaves.” Or, “Our church prayed about it one Sunday every year.” And we should be ashamed. And we should cry out for forgiveness. If we lived back then.

So, I think you know where I’m going with this one. When our grandkids are watching a movie about abortion and they are seeing how babies are LITERALLY RIPPED LIMB FROM LIMB or POISONED WITH SALINE or CUT OFF FROM THE UMBILICAL CORD which obviously causes them to die from a lack of nutrition and oxygen, they are going to be horrified. And they are going to ask us what we did to help the defenseless. And we are going to give a real answer that says we tried everything we could or we are going to avoid eye contact as we tell them that we voted pro-life or that we participated in Sanctity of Life Sunday at our church. I’m dead stinkin’ serious, friends. Maybe you’ll say, “Well, I was too busy working on human trafficking.” Human trafficking is horrible. I know it. But here’s why I don’t think we can sacrifice abortion for trafficking: Mainly because trafficking is illegal and abortion is not. Yes, it still happens but at least our government isn’t condoning, even advocating, it. At least we can all agree that trafficking is bad. Abortion needs a lot of help and publicity to get to trafficking status. I’m not saying don’t help end human trafficking. I’m saying don’t do that instead.

If you don’t even know how babies are killed in an abortion, you need to read this. It explains the different methods. In case you thought it was civilized murder. Don’t be like the neighbor who thought the plantation owner’s slaves were just a part of the family and happy to be such. Don’t be so afraid of hurting the slave owner’s feelings or making him feel guilty that you let people die.

29 whole years

People. I am now 29 years old. A lot happens in 29 years. I have been a bit reflecty this morning and so I wanted to write a few things down about life on the front-side of 30. You know I love a good list so here’s my most epic list of all time. It’s my autobiography.

Year 1: I can’t for the life of me remember one single thing from this year but from what I hear, it was a pretty crazy one. Took my first breath, ate my first meal, learned to walk and talk, got some teeth and was basically the cutest thing anyone had ever seen. Born in Shawnee and lived in Cromwell.

Year 2: The only thing I remember about this year is the swinging saloon doors in our kitchen. Sorry, sister. I know you were born this year but apparently it didn’t make too big an impression on me at the time.

Year 3 (yes, this is going to go on for 26 more years so feel free to skip to the end. I would.): I remember eating breakfast with my dad at the bar in our kitchen before he left for work. It was white rice with butter and sugar and I was talking to him and getting irritated because he wasn’t paying attention to me. I was trying to have a convo about how the rice “tries to get away from ya” when you’re chasing it with your spoon and he was giving me the ‘ole “uh-huh” treatment. I still don’t like that, just ask Spencer! I need attention! Haha I’m pretty sure we moved to Ponca City at some point this year. We lived in a trailer park next to a gay couple who had explosive fights with the one who had a lisp always calling the other a “thtupid thon of a b*tch.” They gave me fun-sized Snickers bars all the time and I thought that was fabulous.

Year 4: My bubba is born! I remember my parents arguing in the hospital anout what to name him (they thought he was going to be a girl). My dad wanted Montana and my mom didn’t. Brother is Justin Montana. We moved out to Red Rock Ranch this year, too. I went to pre-school at a church in Ponca and I was very disappointed when my boyfriend, Andy, learned to write his name before I did. My mom assured me it was only because my name was longer.

Year 5: Real school starts at Frontier and so begins my 13 year aggravation with being forced to attend school except for when I faked being sick. I cried when my mom left me there the first morning. The first afternoon, I had no idea which bus to get onto when school got out, so I walked to each one with a girl who lived near me, asking the driver if they were going to my house. I eventually made it home somehow.

Years 6-9: I got some school awards, got to be in some plays and learned cursive. Not a bad period of life. Except that one time when I got in trouble for drawing Dolly Parton’s boobs in second grade. I decided to become a Christian (probably after the boob drawing).

Year 10: Not the best ever. Parents got a divorce and the siblings and I moved with our mama to Purcell. I was sad a lot of that time and I’ll spare myself and you from typing out those memories.

Year 11: Dad remarries and Mom goes to work waiting tables at a truck stop. Summers were so much fun because she worked 6am to 2pm so we would sleep late, eat lunch, pick up the house and she would take us to the pool every single day when she got home. We had three friends who were my mom’s bff’s kids who went with us. We were very tan and we ate pizza almost every day. We lived in a two-bedroom house and we rotated who got to sleep in mom’s room with her.
I met some of my good life-long friends when I started school at Purcell. The Murrah Building was bombed one day when I was playing hooky from school.

Years 12-14: middle school. What can I say? I didn’t make the cheer leading squad and I hated band. Also not so much on the sports. My cross-country coach eventually gave up and just let me hang out on the bus with him. My grandma passed away and we moved to a nice brick house that my mom built with the help of some inheritance. She now worked as an administrative assistant in Moore.

Year 15: I care about NOTHING but driving. I worked for my dad at his deer farm during the summer. I loved taking care of the baby deer. I started babysitting a couple of kids in my neighborhood every day after school in order to afford to go to rodeos and eat roast beef sandwiches from Loves.

Year 16: My dad comes through on the deal we made and buys me a sweet 1994 Pontiac Grand Prix, two-doored red beauty. I was obsessed with it. He paid $4300 for it and it’s funny how many cars I’ve had since then that were cheaper than my first one (at least 3). What freedom! I love my mom so much for always letting me have my independence. This year we moved in with my grandpa whose mental state had declined after my grandma died. We were once again in a two-bedroom house. My poor mother shared a bedroom with her two teenage daughters. I know. I got my first cell phone. Sweet Nokia brick. I worked at a bank.

Year 17: what happens when you’re 17? I don’t remember. I was active in FFA and drama. I got to serve as a page in the State House and I loved it. My grandpa passed away and we stayed in his house.

Year 18: I graduated high school! This was a moment I dreamed of all my life. I was basically in charge of my own life finally! Despite scholarship offers, I stayed in Purcell and attended OKCCC. I was too scared I couldn’t afford to live away from home. I was a little sad when my friends visited from college and I didn’t have any of those experiences but I got over it.

Year 19: I move to Norman with a friend from vo-tech. Oh yeah, jr year I took cosmetology at vo-tech. I was in my second year at OKCCC getting an Associates degree in poli-sci (yeah, I know,I know…) and the partying begins. I never drank in high school (besides maybe a wine cooler now and then to try to look cool) but the girl I moved in with was pretty wild. I’m not proud of it but it is what it is. I went to a lot of red dirt concerts.

Year 20: At one point this year I was in school full-time and working three jobs. Pretty busy. But not too busy to make some really poor choices and decide to get married.

Year 21: Living in Wayne, hanging out at my mom’s a lot, working at the bank again. This is when I got Smokey the Wonder Dog. My ex was working for his mom and step-dad selling insurance and his pay checks were always bouncing. We decided to move away from them and he wanted to go to Stillwater so that’s what we did.

Year 22: Life was pretty miserable but there were good things. My sister moved to Stillwater too so that helped a lot. I met a lot of great friends at the credit union where I worked. I kept myself out of the house as much as possible and played outside raising chickens, guineas, pigs and killing a garden. After two years, I caught him lying and cheating so I had a good excuse to escape. Chalk it up to being young and dumb and roll on down the road.

Year 23: I couldn’t afford to keep living where I was and I wanted my mama. So, I moved back in with her. I bought a horse which was weird because I was always pretty scared of horses but we had a great time competing in and losing at team sortings. I was depressed and embarrassed and I started drinking to escape. I realized what a pathetic path I was on so after six months back home I decided to go back to college.

Year 24: Back to Stillwater! Ag comm degree. I don’t recommend it in today’s job market but it was easy and fun. Back to waiting tables! I started praying hard and often about my life’s direction and the man for me. I met Spencer.

Year 25: Spencer and I dated off and on. He had moved to Tulsa soon after we met. I knew he was the one. It took a long time to convince him of it, though. I decided to drop some lbs.

Year 26: Spencer has figured it out. He got laid off and moved back to Stillwater and decided to finish his engineering degree. I graduated and couldn’t find steady work. I did temporary work in the student bookstore and cleaned houses and cars.

Year 27: I got my two favorite jobs ever this year. I worked at the feedmill for half a year and I became best pals with a middle-aged Mexican who was half my size. Ramon and I appreciated each others work ethic and he would cut me in and let me help out with his side jobs. Then I got the dream job. I was hired as a lobbyist! I learned so much and my bosses were so good to me.

Year 28: Spencer and I wed, bought a house and we got pregnant. I spent the whole summer alternately cleaning and floating in the pool. It was so luxurious!

Year 29: This was the craziest, hardest, best year yet. Little Jack joined us. Now we are watching him do all the stuff I did in year 1. : ) Smokey’s still around.

Plans for year 30: Health overhaul! I’m going to detox my body of junk and sugar next month and hopefully Jack will be down for some pool time this summer.

Killin’ Time

Who misses Clint Black? Raise your hand! I do, I do!

In case you were wondering, I’m super awesome at taking care of a baby. It’s really sweet around here. I just carry him around in one arm singing charming little lullabies while vacuuming in kitten heels.

This is Jack tipping over whilst I try to take a cute bathtub hair pic. Don’t worry,  he caught himself before getting a face full of water. I’m teaching him independence. HAHA By the way, this pic helped me notice how nasty the caulking in our guest bath is. I can’t clean it off, so should I just caulk over it or what? Help a sista out!

Speaking of that little toot, he has currently been napping for 2.5 hours when his normal morning nap is about 40 minutes. This is a very good sign. Every time this has happened, he has gone into a sleeping through the night for a week or two phase. *fingers crossed*! But, I’ve pretty much wasted the whole nap time because I keep expecting it to be over so I don’t want to start a workout or a shower, etc. Dang! I guess I’ll write a blog, right?

Also, we had a big family get together here at the house for Easter. It went really well and was fun to have everybody in one spot. We missed those who couldn’t make it but that’s the way it goes! The only bad news is that the house stunk to high heaven because something is going on with our oven. My grandpa insisted the rolls were on fire, Spencer insisted our propane always makes the oven smell that way and my grandma mentioned (she doesn’t usually insist) that once her oven smelled like that and there was mouse pee by the pilot light. So, if you ate a roll at my house on Easter…Sorry. It might’ve been from a mouse pee oven.

Next random topic: The Whole 30 diet. I want to do it but I’m scared. It’s pretty much like a Paleo diet. If you have any info on it, you should share it with me. If you want more info, we need to read the book It all Starts with Food and peruse these websites: Whole9 and Grit and Glamour. My wonderful husband agreed that he would stick to it when he was around me so that I wouldn’t be unnecessarily tempted. The authors really make you feel guilty about waiting to start or putting it off but within the next thirty days are my birthday, one of my best friends’ bachelorette party and her wedding. I mean, I’m not going to take a sack lunch to a wedding. I know there will always be excuses but I don’t have anything planned for the thirty days after their wedding so I think I will plan on starting my 30 days on May 13. Plus I really, really, really want to stick to it 100% without cheating one single sip (like wedding champagne) or bite (like wedding cake).  I’m hoping that it will permanently change my eating and I will only reintroduce reasonable things like some grains, legumes and potatoes as well as probably allowing one cheat day per week. We will see. I will be studying up between now and then!

Okay, I think that’s all I have to share.

P.S. I could’ve done a workout, showered and cleaned my house by now if I had started at the beginning of this nap rather than sitting around waiting on him to wake up so we could go to the gym!

Why I oppose gay marriage (hint: it’s not for the reasons supporters are claiming)

Well, here I get to tick everyone off at me again. Yippee. Boy, I must love being hated. Either that or I just stick to my guns whether others like it or not. Yeah, it’s the second one.

I’m not a bigot, so let’s just get that out there. Now, the obligatory “I have gay friends so that means I’m not homophobic.” Seriously, I do. But, it’s kind of a dumb thing to say. I don’t know why. It feels the same as saying “I have black friends so that means I’m not racist.”  But really, I don’t dislike gay people for being gay. I dislike gay marriage for real reasons. And guess what…it’s actually  intolerant to call people names and demonize them for having a different view than you. This is honestly a really tough issue for Christians today. We don’t want people to think we are hateful! It is painful to be so misunderstood. Please read my side of the story and agree or disagree, there is no reason for you to call names or hate me. Mature, civilized discussion is always more productive but it seems like most who disagree with me just shut me out or ignore me. I kind of don’t get to the point until the end, so hang with me.

The secular left are brilliant at stigmatizing the mainstream, traditional beliefs of moderate people and peer pressuring them into believing they are hateful extremists who should change. Or at least scaring them into not standing up for their own beliefs. But Christians, please do not let a fear of men overpower a fear of God’s Word.

One result of leftist aggression combined with Christian silence (or laziness or self-centeredness- not sure which) is abortion on demand.  Soon another result will be gay marriage. I know that I will be on the wrong side of history on this. But I’m cool with that because I will still be on the right side of right. I hate to be a fatalist, but it’s pretty apparent that gay marriage is coming. But, before it does, I just want to let everybody know why I’m against it, not just that I am.

I know you have a right to disagree with me on this issue. That’s totally fine. I know that supporting gay marriage seems like the nice thing to do on the surface. I know it seems like it won’t affect others (“Don’t like gay marriage? Don’t get gay-married.” ) However, there are a lot of deeper consequences that many have not considered. I’m not here to change your mind. I’m just here to explain my position with really real reasons because many who oppose gay marriage are just opposing it without telling others why. And that’s always a bad idea, my friends.

Before you get your panties in a wad (too late?) I am not saying that homosexuality is a choice. I won’t argue about that because I don’t know what it feels like. I don’t doubt at all that people could be born with (or develop early on) homosexual tendencies. And, I have sympathy for that because I know it is difficult to come to terms with for most. Truly. But, homosexual activity is a choice. Just like all the sins I’ve committed have been a choice. And my sins are not lesser sins. So, if you were born homosexual and you want to act on that, then I would agree that you can do so. I do not advocate outlawing everything the Bible calls sin. (Everyone knows how to Google for all the Bible verses condemning homosexuality, right?) I know many people don’t believe the Bible and I agree that they should not be legally forced to follow its instruction. Should there be a law against lying? Against envy? Obviously not. So, I’m not saying that gays shouldn’t be allowed to be gay. But to redefine marriage is something totally different.

I used this pic to get you to look at my post.

Marriage is a legally-recognized romantic union between a man and a woman established by God. It truly is a Christian institution designed for the mutual benefit of the couple and for pro-creation (or the adoption of children). Now, are there plenty of non-Christian married couples? Of course. So, why did they decide to get married? My guess would be because the State (and insurance companies, financial institutions, etc.) bestow benefits for having that legal document (and because of societal pressures which are probably becoming less and less). Why does the state do that? Because it makes for a more stable and productive society to have committed couples raising children together (Obviously with our divorce rate, we are sucking at this but that doesn’t mean we should condemn marriage. It means we should do better at it.). Now, we can argue all day about whether or not it’s any of the State’s business if we’ve made a commitment before God and man to stay together, but that would be pointless because they aren’t going to get out of it, either way. But, if homosexual marriage is legal, then the definition of marriage totally changes. It starts to mean a legally-recognized romantic union between consenting adults, right? Doesn’t that open up the door for a whole lot of other things to be called marriage? So, at what point is marriage so diluted that it really means nothing at all?

(Sidebar: I think one problem we have with marriage being taken too lightly is that many pastors are just marrying anyone who can pay for their services instead of really helping the couple to realize what they are promising and making judgements as to whether they can do it or not. Personally, I think preachers should refuse to marry couples who they, with much prayer, believe are not prepared for marriage- mainly because I’m a divorcee and wish my preacher would’ve refused to marry an obviously doomed, young and stupid couple! haha but enough about my white trash past… Also, for it to be a Christian institution, I don’t think Justices of the Peace should be preforming marriages on the fly.)

I borrowed this whole section from here: “By legalizing same-sex “marriage,” the State becomes its official and active promoter. The State calls on public officials to officiate at the new civil ceremony, orders public schools to teach its acceptability to children, and punishes any state employee who expresses disapproval.

In the private sphere, objecting parents will see their children exposed more than ever to this new “morality,” businesses offering wedding services will be forced to provide them for same-sex unions, and rental property owners will have to agree to accept same-sex couples as tenants.

In every situation where marriage affects society, the State will expect Christians and all people of good will to betray their consciences by condoning, through silence or act, an attack on the natural order and Christian morality.”

So, you see, if this becomes legal, citizens will not be allowed to oppose it on moral grounds. And that’s not freedom, y’all. Not at all!

Now, if the State is going to bestow benefits (or allow companies to do so) based on marital status, then no, it’s not fair for homosexuals (or non-Christians or polygamists or whatever) to be excluded from receiving those benefits. So, that is why I am not against the idea of a civil union. This way, people could have the choice of being in a church-recognized marriage or in a secular civil union. Both would have the same legal status. Now, what’s wrong with that (plenty, I’m sure, since I thought this up in my own feeble brain)?

We are hearing the word “equality” a lot right now. But, really, the law is equal. Anyone can marry anyone else of the opposite sex. So, we aren’t lacking equality, but we may be lacking choice.

Okay, the kiddo is waking up so I gotta go, but here are a few links that say kind of the same thing but probably better.

Thanks for reading, friends.

Heart-wrenching.

This is an oldie but a goodie from Randy Alcorn

Op-Ed from the Chicago Tribune

Some mama stuffs

I have been doing a lot of reflecting here lately. Okay, I always do a lot of reflecting. But I feel a little looney because I haven’t had time to write any of it down. And my thoughts never make too much sense to me until I get them written down. It’s like when I’m thinking, I’m trying to connect concepts but it’s really hard to keep track of what I was thinking about the first one while I figure out the second one. So, if this thing seems a bit discombobulated, that’s because it is. Get it?! Okay, great! Moving on!

So, I don’t have a whole bunch of time to write about everything I’d like to write about right now because Spencer’s out of town and I’m in charge of everything for a few days. Which means I’m tired, basically. But, here are the high spots I wanted to hit, at least.

I’ve been thinking A LOT about stay-at-home-mommying recently. Mainly because a childless person I know recently told me I “clearly have too much time on my hands.” HAHAHA So clueless. Everyone who has a kid knows what a ridiculous statement that is, whether they stay home or not. I don’t blame the people without kids for not “getting it.” Not too long ago, I was one and I didn’t get it, either. But, there are also some moms who work away from home who seem to think staying at home is a cakewalk. I get that, too. I know that working moms have to take care of stuff at home AND be gone to work all day. I don’t know what that’s like but I can guess that it’s pretty hectic and tiring. So maybe my life isn’t as hectic. But, it’s not like Jack just plays quietly by himself while I do housework. Seriously, if keeping kids were easy, daycare would be a lot cheaper (BTW, you couldn’t pay me enough money to run a daycare so props to those childcare workers with that special gift!) Yep, I sure do stay in my PJs half the day. But, do you know why that is? Because it’s pointless to put on decent clothes when no adult is going to see you and you know you’re going to end up with puke, poop and food on you before too long anyway. And do I sit around watching the Today show while drinking my coffee? Um, no. I do have the Today show on just to hear some conversation and I did make coffee for Spencer but I’m probably not going to get to sit down and drink it all at once. I kinda just take big swigs when I pass my cup which has to stay on an out-of-reach surface so the little guy doesn’t get burned.

Yes, a baby is climbing up my leg while I pee, but I think the bigger question is, why did I have my phone so handy while peeing?!

Listen, I’m by no means complaining about being a stay-at-home mom. But it’s no walk in the park for me (Maybe for some mamas who are naturally home-bodies and have nurturing, selfless personalities it is super fun but I bet it’s still not easy). There have been lots of days when I really, really, really wanted to have a job to go to. I want to talk about important things with grown ups. I want to wear nice clothes. I want to be able to stop at a convenience store and be able to go in without having to wake a baby up. Seriously. I have been jealous of Spencer for some crazy things. I envy his lunch hour. I remember those. I envy his ability to stop anywhere he wants between here and work. I envy his quiet drive to and from work- and I hate driving. I envy the fact that since he has a job, he is the one who gets to stay in bed when the baby’s up six nights per week (he gives me Friday nights off so that I don’t flee the country). He is on a work trip to Dallas right now and I’m jealous of that. Honestly, who would wish they could go to a sales meeting in Dallas? This girl would! But it’s okay. Because that’s not the deal. And I could get a job if that’s what I wanted to do. But when I weigh the pros and cons, being home with Jack wins. And it always will as long as I’m fortunate enough to have the choice. But all I’m saying is, no mom who is doing a good job has it easy (I’m also not saying Spencer has it easy. I know he busts his tail at a stressful job to keep us all in shoes). Do some have it easier than others? No doubt. But trust me when I say my life was comparatively stressless and carefree before I had a baby. Including being pregnant.

Maybe our generation is just poorly prepared for mommy-hood, especially those of us who got old and set in our own selfish ways before we started having kids. I mean, I’m sure our mothers would laugh at how baffling this has all been for me. But we were raised to expect to have our cake and eat it to. We were brought up thinking that we could have a high-powered career, a Martha Stewartesque home, a tight little behind and be great moms all at the same time. Maybe some women can. I can’t. But that’s what I’ve been striving for all this time. The impossible. And that’s what I have to wrap my head around from time to time. Sacrifice. Let it sink in. I can’t have EVERYTHING. That’s all there is to it. What a novel idea.  God is teaching this lady some lessons these days, let me tell ya. I just hope I learn ‘em.

So, with all that being said, here are a few things you should check out.

In this letter, Dear Mom on the iPhone, this lady says what many appear to be thinking. Thanks for the guilt-trip, but mind your own business. No, really. Do. The gal over at Fried Okra agrees. So do about a million others if you care to Google it.

I’ve got a friend who has three adopted boys. The oldest is about 2 1/2, I think, and the other two are like, five months and one month or something really close to that. So, yeah. Her life is like, basically, psycho. I mean, the younger two aren’t even like having twins because they are probably just far enough apart that they don’t have similar schedules. WHEW. Anyway, she wrote this post recently which touched my heart. Then her sister shared this post which made me feel relieved and I really wanted to high-five the author.

My kid is eating dirt daily. And I only have one. Wow.

And then on a different note, my sister shared this post today which made me so super glad that I am not the only one who feels this way. It’s about raising daughters in a world that tells them their main goal in life is to be sexy. And even though I don’t have a daughter, I am one. And I know what it’s like. And I know how so many times young men do not realize the emotional effect they can have on a girl and how vulnerable she may be. They may not realize how different sex is for men and for women, especially when they are young and reckless. Ladies, even if you never gave a piece of yourself away because you thought it would make him love you, I bet you have friends who did. So, mothers of daughters, yes, teach your girls how to treat themselves and their sisters. And mothers of sons, let’s teach them how to respect young ladies. And dads, you have a major role in this one, too. MAJOR. Maybe even more major than mom’s role for the girls because the relationship you have with your daughter will shape her relationships with other men as she gets older.

Alright, my head feels much more empty and peaceful now, how about yours?! I think that’s all I have to say about that. Love ya, mean it!

New baby Colt (my nephew- not an actual colt)

Poor new baby Colt. His sister got so much attention being the first baby in the family. I even made a video of her first year. Actually poor Jack, too. Sorry kids. We love you just as much as we love Soph, we just have no time whatsoever anymore.

But, I figured the least I could do was give the little cutie his own blog post to introduce him to the world. So, here he is!

Don’t look at me. Look at the baby.

Colt Alexander. 7lb 9oz, 20in and born on 2/28/2013. He was born with a cleft lip and palate but no real health issues. He came with a bunch of dark hair! He gave his mama a rough time during pregnancy (nausea the whole time!) and she had a rough time after pregnancy and was sick for a few days. But, once she got the right medical treatment, she was good to go. He’s going for his lip surgery on May 1st!

Mel came down from Sand Springs to her Dr in Moore for her 38 week (I think) check up and they told her she was in labor and had to be admitted! They sent her to Children’s to deliver since they had better feeding capabilities for Colt. My brother and I left the hospital after awhile when we realized nothing was happening yet and came back to my house to sleep. She delivered him around 5am and we headed back to meet him once Jack woke up for the day.

We like baby Colt a lot. He is a snuggle buns. We can’t tell a lot about him yet, but so far he seems much calmer than Sophia was. She was a crazy baby! Speaking of that little goober, she loves her baby brother! Christmas with this fam is going to be a circus here in a couple years!

Jack attack numero tres (? I think?)

Watching Jack play this morning, I decided this is my favorite age (7.5 months) and I don’t want him to get any bigger. If he could just stay this adorable, that would be great. I’m glad to feel this way, actually. I always hear moms saying things like “Oh, I had to pack up the three-month sizes last night and it was so sad. He’s getting too big!” And I’m all like, “Grow baby, grow!” The main reason is probably that I figure at some point in his life he will have to start sleeping through the night consistently and that seems like it might be the best age, whatever age it is. But this week he’s done alright, only waking up once in the middle of the night, and I can handle that. Plus, no offense to any newborns who may be reading this, but babies are pretty boring before three months of age. They are sweet and snugly and all but I can only look at a baby just laying there for so long. 7.5 months is definitely much more exciting.

About two weeks ago we went through a Wonder Week (A week when a mental development happens and they are cranky, clingy and cry a lot because of being overwhelmed). It was in the top two worst ones he’s had. The other one was around three months, I think. But, we woke up one morning and he smiled and I knew the storm had passed. Hallelujah. My happy little buddy is back! In other baby book type information, he still has no teeth and loves every kind of food I have offered him which is pretty much everything.

It’s really amazing how quickly they learn. One day they can’t crawl and the next day they can. The other day I taught him how to clap and he was so excited. So was I, actually.

It was the first time that we had real, clear two-way communication that we both understood (other than when he sees a bottle and gets all excited or something).

I know this is a bad picture but I just want to prove to everyone how psycho about food this kid is. He is trying to get that bottle on the dresser.

It felt like I imagine it would feel if I lived with someone who spoke Japanese and all of a sudden I figured out what one of her words meant. We were pumped. Now I get why parents are all excited about the smallest things that their kids learn. It’s so funny to watch them figure out a new skill, even if it’s something as simple as learning to tilt the sippy cup all the way up to get a drink. But, let’s keep it rizzle- there’s a difference between being excited and bragging. Please, Lord, don’t ever let me be one of those people bragging about how their kid just found his pee-pee or something. But, go ahead and watch this video cause it’s cute, I don’t care who you are.

Clapping

Anyhoo. There are a few problems with a baby at this stage, of course. For a few weeks now, he’s been pulling up on everything in sight. And by everything, I mean Smokey’s face, the sliding glass door, dresser drawers, the dishwasher, his crib (back to the pack ‘n play- AGAIN), his pack ‘n play, my legs, blankets hanging off the couch and anything else he can get his grubby fingers on. Literally, his fingers are always disgusting from mashing his finger foods and then wiggling too much when I try to wash his hands so I don’t get them good enough. I thought this was real cute and fun the first time he did it but it’s actually a major headache. Literally. He busts his face or tips over backwards and bangs his head constantly. If he would just hang on it would be okay but he thinks since he can stand up that he should be able to walk. I’m sure that once he can walk, he will think he should be able to do double back hand-springs or something. He actually has his first shiner right now from pulling the baby monitor off my nightstand onto his eye. It’s plastic and super-light. I have no idea how it actually bruised him but let me tell ya, I expect a few stitches are in this kid’s future.

Also, his naps are just basically pointless. He takes about three that are 30-45 minutes long. Now, if we could condense those into one, we would be getting somewhere.

This morning I thought his foot (in his onesie pajamas) looked like it was a weird shape. I felt it and it felt like a weird shape. There was a SPOON in there. Why? How? I have not a clue.

His top three favorite foods: Paper, socks and leaves.