Mommy: "Let me see... it looks like a goat."
Kate: "No! It's a fratanian."
Mommy: ????????????
(FYI -- I still don't know what a fratanian is.)
See? No fratanians.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
A "Kate" Moment
Kate (holding up an animal cracker): "Mommy, do you know what animal this is?"
Mommy: "Let me see... it looks like a goat."
Kate: "No! It's a fratanian."
Mommy: ????????????
(FYI -- I still don't know what a fratanian is.)
See? No fratanians.
Mommy: "Let me see... it looks like a goat."
Kate: "No! It's a fratanian."
Mommy: ????????????
(FYI -- I still don't know what a fratanian is.)
See? No fratanians.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Newest Kid Pics
Madeline Jane (2/09)
Noah mans a gun at the Battleship Texas (winter '08)
Madeline, Noah, and Kate at Grandma's house, getting ready to head off to church (2/09)
A brief moment of sibling sweetness (2/09)
Kate, MJ, and Noah (12/09) -- all dressed up and nowhere to go
Another Milestone
Noah's first adult tooth came in without pushing out the baby tooth in its place, so the dentist "helped" the first two baby teeth come out to make room for the adult teeth. Here are the before and after pictures:
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Deadly Intentions
by Ken Connor
The poison peddled by the euthanasia movement here in the United States continues to take its toll. Assisted suicide was legalized in Oregon in 1997, and pro-death advocates are now pushing hard to make it legal in the State of Washington. Initiative 1000 would allow any competent adult suffering from a terminal illness to make a written request for medication that the patient may self-administer to end his or her life.
The average reader would interpret Initiative 1000 as helping terminal patients commit suicide, plain and simple. But the euthanasia movement has tried to mask that plain truth with soothing euphemisms. Rather than acknowledging that the initiative promotes assisted suicide, the text states the "request" will allow the patient to end their life "in a humane and dignified manner." Then, in a classic example of double speak, the text goes on to state, "Actions taken in accordance with this chapter do not, for any purpose, constitute suicide, assisted suicide, mercy killing, or homicide, under the law. State reports shall not refer to practice under this chapter as 'suicide' or 'assisted suicide.'" Funny, these "actions" sound just like the dictionary definition of suicide: "the act or an instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally especially by a person of years of discretion and of sound mind."
If passed this November, Initiative 1000 will transform the legal landscape of the State of Washington. The change would parallel Oregon's decade-long acceptance of assisted suicide, a practice that has given rise to a myriad of problems. According to a fact sheet from National Right to Life, Oregon "conducts no independent reviews of assisted suicide deaths." Further, physicians who prescribe lethal drugs "only file required reports about 80.2% of the time." Incredibly, in "76.1% of these cases, physicians said that they had not perceived their act as the ending of life."
Not surprisingly, stories of abuse abound.
In 1998, an Oregonian psychologist decided that 85-year-old Kate Cheney was "cognitively impaired" because she suffered from dementia and, therefore, was not qualified to pursue assisted suicide. Her family then found another psychologist who authorized the suicide. That psychologist did so despite noting the undue influence of Cheney''s family on the decision and that Cheney was so mentally impaired she did not even realize she had cancer.
In 2007, two nurses in Oregon gave Wendy Melcher a lethal overdose. Though this was illegal (Oregon only allows physicians to prescribe lethal drugs), one of the nurses said she provided the overdose "because she believed [Melcher] to be in uncontrollable pain." However, the nurse had never noted such pain prior to the day she administered the overdose.
Recently, 64-year-old Barbara Wagner was suffering from cancer, but the Oregon Heath Plan would not cover a $4000 drug that could have helped her. Instead it offered her comfort care, including assisted suicide through drugs that would cost the state far less money than those requested by Ms.Wagner. As the only state that "both allows assisted suicide and tries to ration health care," the state's motivations in this case are highly suspect.
The truth is that the euthanasia movement's ultimate goal is death on demand for everyone. "A dignified death for the terminally ill" is just the first step towards this goal. Philip Nitschke, a well known pro-euthanasia leader and President of the Voluntary Euthanasia Research Foundation in Australia, said in a 2001 interview, "My personal position is that if we believe that there is a right to life, then we must accept that people have a right to dispose of that life whenever they want." Nitschke's view is typical of pro-death advocates. Their belief in a right to commit suicide is based on a hyper-individualism that sees every person as completely autonomous. They ignore any duties a person has to society or to their family as well as the wider social impact of such low regard for human life.
Wesley J. Smith points out in a National Review article, "[Nitschke] has not limited his 'death counseling' to the terminally ill. A case in point involved Nancy Crick who made headlines when she announced on Australian television that she would commit assisted suicide because she had terminal cancer. When her autopsy showed she was cancer free, however, Nitschke admitted that he and Crick had known all along that she wasn't dying. Nevertheless, he deemed that medical fact 'irrelevant' because she wanted to die."
Acceptance of euthanasia in select cases leads inevitably to an ever-expanding circle of those considered "killable." In 30 years of unpunished (and eventually legalized) assisted suicide in the Netherlands, the circle of accepted killings has been broadened to include the depressed, the disabled, and infants born with birth defects. Once a society accepts the right to commit suicide to prevent suffering, the right to kill to prevent suffering follows.
The euthanasia movement's callous disregard for life needs to be unmasked. Behind euphemisms like "death with dignity" and "end of life choices" lies an insidious assault on the sanctity of human life. Euthanasia advocates view "choice" as the ultimate virtue and "freedom of choice" as the ultimate freedom. Stripped of its gloss, however, their position is that unless one has the freedom to kill himself, he isn't really free. That's a perverse view of freedom and a sad view of life.
http://townhall.com/columnists/KenConnor/2008/08/31/deadly_intentions?comments=true#comments
The poison peddled by the euthanasia movement here in the United States continues to take its toll. Assisted suicide was legalized in Oregon in 1997, and pro-death advocates are now pushing hard to make it legal in the State of Washington. Initiative 1000 would allow any competent adult suffering from a terminal illness to make a written request for medication that the patient may self-administer to end his or her life.
The average reader would interpret Initiative 1000 as helping terminal patients commit suicide, plain and simple. But the euthanasia movement has tried to mask that plain truth with soothing euphemisms. Rather than acknowledging that the initiative promotes assisted suicide, the text states the "request" will allow the patient to end their life "in a humane and dignified manner." Then, in a classic example of double speak, the text goes on to state, "Actions taken in accordance with this chapter do not, for any purpose, constitute suicide, assisted suicide, mercy killing, or homicide, under the law. State reports shall not refer to practice under this chapter as 'suicide' or 'assisted suicide.'" Funny, these "actions" sound just like the dictionary definition of suicide: "the act or an instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally especially by a person of years of discretion and of sound mind."
If passed this November, Initiative 1000 will transform the legal landscape of the State of Washington. The change would parallel Oregon's decade-long acceptance of assisted suicide, a practice that has given rise to a myriad of problems. According to a fact sheet from National Right to Life, Oregon "conducts no independent reviews of assisted suicide deaths." Further, physicians who prescribe lethal drugs "only file required reports about 80.2% of the time." Incredibly, in "76.1% of these cases, physicians said that they had not perceived their act as the ending of life."
Not surprisingly, stories of abuse abound.
In 1998, an Oregonian psychologist decided that 85-year-old Kate Cheney was "cognitively impaired" because she suffered from dementia and, therefore, was not qualified to pursue assisted suicide. Her family then found another psychologist who authorized the suicide. That psychologist did so despite noting the undue influence of Cheney''s family on the decision and that Cheney was so mentally impaired she did not even realize she had cancer.
In 2007, two nurses in Oregon gave Wendy Melcher a lethal overdose. Though this was illegal (Oregon only allows physicians to prescribe lethal drugs), one of the nurses said she provided the overdose "because she believed [Melcher] to be in uncontrollable pain." However, the nurse had never noted such pain prior to the day she administered the overdose.
Recently, 64-year-old Barbara Wagner was suffering from cancer, but the Oregon Heath Plan would not cover a $4000 drug that could have helped her. Instead it offered her comfort care, including assisted suicide through drugs that would cost the state far less money than those requested by Ms.Wagner. As the only state that "both allows assisted suicide and tries to ration health care," the state's motivations in this case are highly suspect.
The truth is that the euthanasia movement's ultimate goal is death on demand for everyone. "A dignified death for the terminally ill" is just the first step towards this goal. Philip Nitschke, a well known pro-euthanasia leader and President of the Voluntary Euthanasia Research Foundation in Australia, said in a 2001 interview, "My personal position is that if we believe that there is a right to life, then we must accept that people have a right to dispose of that life whenever they want." Nitschke's view is typical of pro-death advocates. Their belief in a right to commit suicide is based on a hyper-individualism that sees every person as completely autonomous. They ignore any duties a person has to society or to their family as well as the wider social impact of such low regard for human life.
Wesley J. Smith points out in a National Review article, "[Nitschke] has not limited his 'death counseling' to the terminally ill. A case in point involved Nancy Crick who made headlines when she announced on Australian television that she would commit assisted suicide because she had terminal cancer. When her autopsy showed she was cancer free, however, Nitschke admitted that he and Crick had known all along that she wasn't dying. Nevertheless, he deemed that medical fact 'irrelevant' because she wanted to die."
Acceptance of euthanasia in select cases leads inevitably to an ever-expanding circle of those considered "killable." In 30 years of unpunished (and eventually legalized) assisted suicide in the Netherlands, the circle of accepted killings has been broadened to include the depressed, the disabled, and infants born with birth defects. Once a society accepts the right to commit suicide to prevent suffering, the right to kill to prevent suffering follows.
The euthanasia movement's callous disregard for life needs to be unmasked. Behind euphemisms like "death with dignity" and "end of life choices" lies an insidious assault on the sanctity of human life. Euthanasia advocates view "choice" as the ultimate virtue and "freedom of choice" as the ultimate freedom. Stripped of its gloss, however, their position is that unless one has the freedom to kill himself, he isn't really free. That's a perverse view of freedom and a sad view of life.
http://townhall.com/columnists/KenConnor/2008/08/31/deadly_intentions?comments=true#comments
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Travelin' Fever
You know when the sunlight starts to turn "autumn-y" and the first cool front feels so good you have to stop and thank God you're alive? That's when it seems my wanderlust is most irresistible. A drive to anywhere. And the song in my head is "Here comes the sun, here comes the sun. And I say it's alright..."
(special thanks to the Beatles, to my parents who taught me that "playing hooky" once in a while is a good thing, and to God for the promise of soon relief from Texas summer heat)
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Tips from Mom
Things You Can't Afford NOT to Do:
1. Find good slow-cooker recipes. The time it takes to find them and try them will come back to you a thousand times over. Throw it in the pot in the morning, and dinner-time will feel like you're on vacation!
2. Purge the excess. Excess breeds chaos. If you don't use it regularly or if it doesn't fit, set it free. Donate it to charity or make a few bucks off of it at a resale shop. The extra space you'll have will make your home (even the closets) a place of peace -- a place you actually want to be.
3. Manage your household; don't let it manage you. It usually takes LESS time than you think to tidy up, unload the dishwasher, purge the closets, etc. If you let it go, the work will pile up so high you won't know where to start. And starting IS the hardest part. Imagine you have company coming over in 15 minutes -- and then zoom through as much housework as you can. (Chances are, if you get up a good momentum, you'll want to keep going!)
4. Have the kids clean and de-clutter with you. Impress upon your children the feeling of satisfaction that comes with having a clean, orderly space and with giving to those less fortunate. If you do this, they will learn to be good stewards, to be organized, to be charitable, to value "things" less than people, and to keep a loose grip on the material "stuff" of life. After all, you can't take it with you.
5. Plan your meals for the week and grocery shop accordingly. It will save you time wondering what to make each evening and running out to the store for one more ingredient, AND it will save you money in keeping you from the "need" to order in or pick up restaurant food.
6. (On a more serious note...) Plan for eternity. Today could be your last. Don't make the tragic mistake of thinking it can be dealt with later because "later" may never come.
1. Find good slow-cooker recipes. The time it takes to find them and try them will come back to you a thousand times over. Throw it in the pot in the morning, and dinner-time will feel like you're on vacation!
2. Purge the excess. Excess breeds chaos. If you don't use it regularly or if it doesn't fit, set it free. Donate it to charity or make a few bucks off of it at a resale shop. The extra space you'll have will make your home (even the closets) a place of peace -- a place you actually want to be.
3. Manage your household; don't let it manage you. It usually takes LESS time than you think to tidy up, unload the dishwasher, purge the closets, etc. If you let it go, the work will pile up so high you won't know where to start. And starting IS the hardest part. Imagine you have company coming over in 15 minutes -- and then zoom through as much housework as you can. (Chances are, if you get up a good momentum, you'll want to keep going!)
4. Have the kids clean and de-clutter with you. Impress upon your children the feeling of satisfaction that comes with having a clean, orderly space and with giving to those less fortunate. If you do this, they will learn to be good stewards, to be organized, to be charitable, to value "things" less than people, and to keep a loose grip on the material "stuff" of life. After all, you can't take it with you.
5. Plan your meals for the week and grocery shop accordingly. It will save you time wondering what to make each evening and running out to the store for one more ingredient, AND it will save you money in keeping you from the "need" to order in or pick up restaurant food.
6. (On a more serious note...) Plan for eternity. Today could be your last. Don't make the tragic mistake of thinking it can be dealt with later because "later" may never come.
(Acts 16:25-31) But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here."Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household."
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