Meal planing=Complete frustration!

So I don't know about you, but thinking of what to make my family everyday, for every meal is driving me crazy! I enjoy cooking. I enjoy making my family wholesome, healthy, delicious foods. I even enjoy going to the grocery store (most of the time), but making the menu plan is anything but a pleasant experience for me. I don't know if it is because I am not creative enough, but my mind just goes completely blank and I end up spending hours and coming up with a pretty pathetic list.

What is a girl to do? I've got to do something. I dread it so much, that I finally just stopped doing it. Which my friends was not a good choice, since it has made my groc bill increase and the health value of my families food decrease...that's bad. I have to get back to the plan! How to do it without poking out my own eyes? That is the question.

One idea that T and I have been tossing around is a menu swap. Several of us could just email each other some of our favorite recipes and that would add a few more ideas for what to make. The thing is, it has to be more intentional than that. The problem lies not only in the ideas for what to make, but also in the compiling/finding of recipes and in the shopping list. (You have to write down what you want to make, find the recipe, make your shopping list, and then go shopping. No Thanks.)

I think that there needs to be a recipe swap, but also a database of some sort. A way of organizing your favorite meals with the menu for the week or month, and keeping the recipes and shopping list together. This sounds easy. In fact, I almost feel silly saying all of this, but do any of you do it? If so, please give me you secret!

Also, want to be a part of our menu swap? We should make one of those FB clubs...hmmm...I'll have to figure that out...unless you know how to do it. Then you can share with me that secret as well. :)

Ooh, what shall we name this club?

Bed head to the max

Now I know I have posted a few pics of this nature in the past (or maybe Ry has) but these are too funny not to share!

Please do not judge her, sometimes a girl's hair looks a little tussled when she first gets up...

What my sweet baby's hair usually looks like...

And sometimes a girl really enjoys her tomato soup...again...no judging! :)

A garden in in our future

We FINALLY got our garden started today! I am so excited. I have been dreaming all winter long about fresh veggies picked straight from our garden. There is just something different between produce in the summer/fall and produce in the winter. I find it so much easier to eat healthy when the garden is full and the farmer's market is open. I have visions of my little family playing outside in the sunshine and stopping to help themselves to a handful of green beans or a big cucumber! (We'll to be honest I can only really see Jones doing this...Indi not as much. That girl pretty much only loves dairy products and meat! Who's child is she?? I am hoping that getting to be involved with the growing process and the ability to choose and pick her own vegetables might help her start to be a little more interested in them. We shall see!)

Amazing things to be found at Goodwill...

Yesterday I was at Goodwill when I saw it...

That's right. A copy of "Chicken Soup For The Horse Lover's Soul II".

Wha...What? You know that this means two things, right? Someone had to have purchased this book to begin with for it to even be at Goodwill. And not only that...someone had to have purchased the first edition of this book causing them to want to make another!!!

I should have bought it. Maybe it would have been a good read?

Some things that Jones has said that past couple weeks: (for those of you that don't know, Jones is my 3 year old, he is his own person and i love him for it, but he does keep me very busy!)

J: Dad, I was going to go to Africa and shoot some gorillas with my gun, but gorillas are endangered species...did you know that dad?
R: yes i did
J: I think I will go to Africa and shoot and kill the AIDS Crisis instead. Maybe I will also adopt a little boy too!
R: that is a great idea.

Scene: Jones wants to do something and I am not letting him. We have been discussing it for a while:
J: Mom I just don't like your protest to me!
Me: What?
J: I just don't like when you protest against me!

J: Mommy I just peed out of my anus!
Me: your anus is your bottom hole Jones
J: Oh right. I just peed out my urethra
Me: Glad to hear that Jones

J: daddy what did they cut your testicles open with when you had your surgery?

Scene: TT (Tara) sent Jones and Indi some cuffs and Jones was very excited. He wore them non stop (even to bed) for almost a week.

J: Look at my fancy cuffs! I am so fancy...I am a rockstar!
Me: you are fancy?
J: yeah rockstars are fancy

Jones and I are talking together
J:mom are you joking? Are you joking my serious?
Me: What?
J: Are you joking my serious?
Me: I guess so, becasue you look very serious and I am really joking.
J: I thought you were

Jones walks up to me and randomly says
J: mommy, my face is always just being me.
Me: (unsure of what to say) Yes Jones
He continuest o look at me for an akward 10 seconds or so and then he walks off. I am still unsure what that one meant.

Soup

I need a few good soup recipes. Any kind really...I just want to change things up in my soup department.

Here is the criteria:

It must not contain-
noodles or other glutenous matter (unlike the picture above)
cream bases if they include dairy
dairy at all actually

It can include-
any lentil or bean your heart desires
lots and any blend of veggies
meat, but probably not pork

Please suggest away!

Vaccine part 1

So here is my first vaccination post. It is by no means all inclusive or even really touching the tip of the iceberg. I really am just beginning my own research in this very well covered epidemic that our country has found itself in the middle of (hmmm…that seems to be a reoccurring theme these days). I do also want to point out that almost none of this is my own words. (ok they are mostly all my own words, but it is all information that I have gotten from reading attending some classes, and personal dialog with people both in the medical profession and not) I will try and list as many references as possible and also supply you with a couple of links and reading suggestions at the end of this post. Please let me know what you think and ask any questions. It will help me in my next post to give it a little direction. There is so much out there, narrowing it down was HARD! Oh and I have to tell you that many of that facts that I have used in writing this I have gotten from Neil Z. Miller's book "Vaccine Safety manual for concerned families and health practitioners". An excellent book I recommend for any parent wanting to know more about this issue

A few little facts and things to explore:

Vaccine manufacturing is a multi-billion dollar corporation. One that has been outed by many health care professionals as having admitted to the fact they knew children's brains and their development were being injured by vaccinations, but that the vaccine program was more important. It is also known that the vaccine companies do much of the research done on their own vaccinations, often by doctors who are paid to convince people of the validity of the vaccine or one who have stock in the company. Not only do they use doctors tainted by money, but they also use false evidence or unethical scientific research. For example not using a "placebo' drug when testing patients. If you give an aluminum filled vaccine to one patient and then aluminum to another patient, wont the data be a little screwed? (Check out Neil Z. Millers book, PG 19)

Scare tactics are used by these companies to get loving parents to vaccinate their children without question. Most of the number they feed us ( For example they will tell us a huge number of children die every year from rotavirus, but they don't tell us those are all children in third world countries that are malnourished, not average healthy children ) are not based on scientific fact, are from previous historical times (that's right, from before sanitation and refrigeration!) or are from third world countries! If you scare parents though, they wont ask questions! Creepy.

Did you know that the number of adverse reactions to Vaccines is extremely high, but you just never really hear about them? "Every year more than 12,000 adverse reaction reports are filed with the federal government. These include emergency hospitalizations, irreversible injuries, and deaths. Still these numbers maybe grossly underreported because the FDA estimates that 90 percent of doctors do not report reactions. a confidential study conducted by Connaught Laboratories, a vaccine manufacturer, indicated that "a fifty-fold under reporting of adverse events" is likely. yet event his figure may be conservative. According to Dr. David kessler, former director of the FDA, "only about one percent of serious events [Adverse drug reactions] are reported." (Neil Miller Pg 25) Gross right? I think it is amazing that power and money can corrupt people like it does sometimes. People become the mass or just number and no longer are human beings with lives, purpose, and value. Sad. Actually it is such a well known fact (to the high up people...for fun, lets call him the man...then we can all feel like hippies.) that congress passed a "hazard" tax on childhood vaccines. When you pay your doctor for your children's shots a portion of that money goes to this tax fund and then when a child gets injured or dies they can pay to compensate that. In the last couple years the amount has been around 1 billion that has been payed out to thousands of injured and affected families. These children suffered things from seizures to SIDS. (thank you again Neil Zimmer Pg 25...seems to be a good page. Also, I would like to point out the amazing increase in SIDS at the same time as the increase in vaccines. Russel Blaylock MD, has several articles on this "freak coincidence" (much like the freak coincidence between vaccine and autism rises being so simultaneous), that would be well worth your time to read. He goes in depth into the immune system and how it is negatively triggered by repeated vaccines being given to small children)

Doctors aren't really to blame for this. I know my pediatrician whom I trust and love in all for vaccinations. They just don't have time to research everything! In fact just like with Cigarettes (You know the things that cause lung cancer, but Dr’s use to recommend smoking them to help with nerves, make pregnant mothers have smaller babies and to clear the lungs before sports.) doctors are educated to give out vaccinations without question and almost all of their education about them is given to them by the Vaccination companies who are profiting. Also, most doctors (Unless one is a specialist in something like Neurology) get barely any training on immunology or neurology, two of the things that are most attacked by vaccinations.(I will try to go into depth more on the effects and toxins that are in a person's brain after vaccinations in a later post, but it really needs a post all to itself.)

Sorry if this seems like I am rambling. I am just trying to give you a few snapshots...ready for some more?

Children in the US have a vaccination schedule that consists of nearly 80 different vaccinations by the time they are grown. Babies alone have a schedule that includes, “one vaccine at birth, 8 vaccines at two months, 8 vaccines at four months, nine vaccines at six months, and ten additional vaccines between 12 and 18 months.”Some of those are given all at the same time, like the MMR. Which at first when Jones was getting his shots at 2 months old I was grateful for, one less poke for my sweet infant, but since then I have questioned that. And rightfully so, I might add. There have been little or no studies done of the effects of giving children multiple drugs all at the same time. (I usually don't make it a habit of taking 6-8 drugs at the same time, at least not without expecting something bad to happen!)

The united states has more vaccines than any other country and one would think that would cause us to have a high infant success rate. Actually we have one of the Worst infant mortality rates of any industrialized nation. One would also think that maybe each time the amount of vaccines given to babies was raised that rate would lower, the opposite is true. Each time the us adds recommended vaccines the child mortality rate goes higher. According to the CDC (check out CDC and infant mortality rates and international rankings) by 1998 the US had dropped to 28th place in Infant Mortality rates and by 2006 our nation was down to 42nd that is right above Croatia. (health and human services U.S.)

According to studies done of numerous manufacturers 60 % of vaccines contain at least one contaminating organism, including (but not limited to) things like SIV ( due to things like growing the virus on monkey kidneys and other animal parts), Pestivirus, and SV-40(this is a nasty one that studies have shown people have passed down to their children, have caused thousands of cancers, and contaminated tons of polio vaccines!).

Something else to think about is that vaccinations not only contain strands of a virus (which may only be a single or a several, but not all strands of a virus. Polio has something like 70 (??) strands and only about 4 of them are in the polio vaccination. And that is not considering any that have been mutated by being in our bodies for years. But that is for another post!), but also contain things like preservatives, themerisol, spermicide, formaldehyde, antifreeze, and animal organ tissue and blood. (To name a few) Many vaccinations openly contain amount of aluminum that are toxic to humans. There have been many studies showing links between Alzheimer’s, MS, and other diseases and aluminum in vaccinations.(it causes deformation of the neurotubes, which are microscopic tubes in our neurons and are essential to their function. This deformity is alarmingly high in Alzheimer patients.) The way aluminum goes to your brain, is that it attaches itself onto things (just two examples) like florid or glutamate (Common in our drinking water and food) and is easily absorbed in the body (i.e. the brain). An example of how toxic this can be? Some studies have shown the people who have had all three rounds of their HEP B shot (known to contain aluminum) have a 300% higher chance of developing MS.

The HERD immunity theory is one that has been used when talking about vaccinations (Thank you Erica for bringing this one up, as I was wondering about the "greater good" when I stopped vaccinating my own children"), let me explain why many people think this is actually just that a theory and one that is not well backed up by science. The way it supposedly works is that if most people have been vaccinated then everyone in a community is essentially not at risk because of the disease practically being gone. What percentage of people need to be vaccinated? Well the companies that manufacture it use to say around 68%, now they are saying they need 90-100% vaccination rates. Also they are finding that the amount of time that a person is presumed immune to a virus is for about 5-10 years after the vaccine has been administered. So, all of those diseases that were supposedly stopped by mass vaccinations given to baby boomers...they no longer work and the most vast age group in our nation is now no longer immune and hasn't been for over 50 years. this is just one argument against this theory.

I almost forgot! No Kara you do not have to have your child vaccinated to get into school. That is another scare tactic that is used. You have legal rights as a parent to sign a wavier saying you are apposed to (for either philosophical, religious, or medical reasons) against vaccinations and they have to let your children in. I had to sign one here (for pre-school) in the northwest and you will have to sign one in Texas. The only rub is that you will have to remove your child from school if there is an outbreak (like you wouldn't already if meningococcal was rampant through your elementary school!)

Ok now I am tired and have been typing for a long time! I am going to bed. I hope this was a little informatory. I also hope that any parents out there that read this know that this is my decision for my babies and I do not assume that if I do it, you have to as well. I just think that it is healthy to have information and then make whatever choice you decide for your family.

Peace to you.

http://www.momvaccines.org/
http://www.thinktwice.com/
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2001/08/18/vaccine-myths.aspx This one is very good and basic
http://marytocco.com/
Here are just a few. Read that book I mentioned above also...it's really good. (I will post more soon.)

A little update...

I think most of you have heard that Jones has been super sick. He has been running a temp of between 102-104 for about 16 days now. (He has had many other things wrong too, but this is the most worrisome part). Good news...Yesterday and today his fever was on and off and I don't think it ever got over 103.5! I think we are on the other side of this illness. Finally. Thank you Jesus!

The interesting thing is that while they have not fully figured out what was completely wrong with him, they do know that he has Influenza (which I never really knew was worse than a flu bug) and pneumonia at the same time. I was telling someone that today and they asked me "well didn't he get vaccinated for that?" I told them no and they looked at me kind of irritated and said "oh well, that is too bad." I just smiled and said it is too bad when our children get sick.

The thing is, it is really hard being a parent and always having to make the decisions about your child's health. And while I know it is not true, I feel like it is even more hard when you are slightly educated and then have to make your own decisions not solely based on only one person's opinion (i.e. your doctor's) It is even harder when your decision is different than the cultural norm (Oh how I know that!). Sometimes it makes a girl want to just give up and take everything at face value and not search for real truth...right answers are sometimes hard to come by and usually even harder to follow through with.

I really believe that God made us with perfectly designed bodies. Ones that he created with a way of working and that way is so amazing that it blows my mind. I know that my children's immune systems are being formed right now for the rest of their lives and that from now until they are around 7 every illness is actually an odd sort of blessing. I know that fevers are meant to naturally destroy bad things like bacteria and I know that fighting off things on their own is only going to make them stronger. But it is still really hard to watch happen. Even though I know what fevers do I am still tempted to give them Tylenol to ease the discomfort. I know about children's bodies fighting things and how antibiotics usually are more harmful than helpful, but it sure does sound more appealing and like a much quicker and easier fix.

I have to make decisions based on what I know. Sometimes though it is hard when you are in the middle of something painful (watching your child be miserable) to hold out for the long term goal. When your child is sick for 15 days it is hard to look toward their adult life and says "wow you sure are going to thank me someday when you have an immune system of iron!" Tough. That's what being a parent is...wonderful and tough.

(By the way, I am not judging anyone. I have to do what I think is best for my family, just like you have to do what is best for yours. I may not vaccinate and try not to use many antibiotics, you may be ok with both. Whatever the case, can we agree not to judge?)

Oh and I didn't just let Jones lay there being sick. I did take him to the Doctor and chiropractor lots of times. I also treated him with lots of homeopathic things and gave him baths and smoothies and all that. I even tried an antibiotic ( I can only take so much peer pressure!), but said no to a second. I am not heartless!!

Collage Time

For my mom's birthday I am going to make her some sort of picture collage of my kids for her office. She has a pretty bare and boring office and so while I do not want to make a massive collage, I do have a little bit of space to do pretty much whatever I want. So...do you have any creative ideas? Any cleaver material to use? Please do share...

Killer Spider Part 2

As I am sitting here in the bedroom, not doing much of anything (except waiting for a knock at my door and a giant man size killer beetle to walk through), I have had a few realizations about what has transpired at my house in the past 30 mins.

First: the thing that I noticed immediately after posting, was the fact that at the very moment I felt the urge (might I say strong survival need) to check on the creature behind me, was at the exact time he started to fly. Coincidence? I think not. Do you know why? Because anyone would have turned...I swear I could actually hear his mammoth wings as he took flight.

Second: Once you have lost a predator it is a bad idea to leave a room and turn off all the lights on your way...especially if you are going to have to go back into that room! (what can i say, it wastes energy to leave lights on! Just because that t bug has a nasty foot print, it doesn't mean I have to have one as well!)

Third: I blame my Christmas tree for all of this. I am never getting one again.

Fourth: Sometimes I am a little extreme and act out of impulse.

Fifth: I will more than likely get a Christmas tree again next year.

Sixth: The good news (besides Jesus and his kingdom of course...that's a given) is that Arwen is coming over to be with me (I had to be a brave mom and leave the room we were hiding in...Jones had to go to bed and I think I was bothering him) and she mentioned something about a sword. Well it is going to take one to slay this beast if he ever comes out of hiding.

To be continued....


I just found the bug....and I think he likes red...guess who is wearing a red head scarf?!

Killer Spider Part 1

I am not exaggerating when I tell you that there is a spider above my back door 9the one that sits by my chair and couch) the size of a golf ball! I am not joking. The worst part...I can see it crawling. worst part number 2....my husband is at work. This only leaves me two options: 1. to smash the beast or 2. wait till Ryan gets home to kill him. I will tell you right now that there is no way that I am killing that bug. Number two it is...wait for Ryan. The main proble

OH MY GOODNESS

While I was typing I turned around to keep an eye on the evil spider. AND HE WAS FLYING! He is not a spider, but a massive flying beetle thing with a giant stinger! I don't know which is worse....Actually I do...this thing can fly and now I don't know where it is!

Ok, I am writing the rest of this from my bedroom. Jones and I are are locked in here, because we lost the nasty creature. (don't judge me...You would be hiding too if you were trapped in a house with that thing, especially if you don't know where it went!) I will keep you updated. Think good thoughts for me, I am going on a mission out to the kitchen for rations. Apple juice has been requested and I don't think there will be rest till it is received.

1 baby + double ear infection


......................And......................


1 boy + pink eye


=

On the bright side I over heard Jones saying to India "Because that's how I roll India. That's how I roll!"

Yes, I know... It doesn't get any better than that.

True Story

Ok so here is the scene:

We (my little family) are all driving in the car. I am really frustrated about something (like a project I was working on kept messing up...I don't remember exactly.). I have been talking about it to Ryan for over 5 minutes when I say, "I am just so angry".

From the back seat Jones says, "you should talk to Jesus"
M: What Jones?
J: You should talk to Jesus.
M: That's a good idea
J:Mommy is your heart filled with anger?
M: Yes, i guess so.
J: is it filled with jealousy too?
M: Mostly anger.
J: You need to talk to Jesus and ask him to fill your heart. Fill it with Him and with love.
M: You are right. I should pray to Jesus about it.
J: You don't have to pray. Just have to talk to Him. Ok...
M: Right now?
J: Yes mommy, right now. Ask Jesus to fill your heart.
I then prayed in the car that Jesus would fill my heart with him and Love and take away my frustration. We then moved on to a theological discussion over if praying to God and talking to God are the same thing or not...I am not sure what we decided in the end. (In some discussions he (Jones) cannot be swayed. He still strongly insists that John Denver wrote Eleanor Rigby and the Beatles just covered it, no matter what evidence I show him!)

How precious and awkward all at the same time. It really is amazing though how simple most things with Jesus really are and how we forget sometimes he is right there to talk to. (you don't have to pray...duh.) I am glad that we have our children to teach us how to have a real relationship with God, one uninhibited by all our rules and independence.

Indi Jayne what crazy hair you have...

My sweet baby has soft fluffy curly hair. Some days it is has precious ringlets and other days it resembles Richard Simmons. One thing that is true though...no mater how tight the ringlets or how fluffy the puff, she always has a wad in the back that is tangled. Her she is in all her glory. Christmas tree hunting

Reading with Arwen

Sneaking into the bath before her clothes were removed

Just waking up from a nap...such lovely hair

Half way between puff and ringlets

Again, just gotten up from nap

Doesn't quite show it...almost a good ringlet shot

Plans of mice and men

Lots of changes in all the plans that I have been making over the pat couple of months. I don't know if you remember the plans for the foster baby? Well, if you haven't guessed they are on hold. With Ryan intending to go back to school, we felt like adding another baby to the mix would be a little much. We were also advised by some past foster parents to maybe wait until our children get a few years older. I do know there will always be the need and really do look forward to when we will be able to care for a little baby until their parents become equipped and desire to do so. Moving on...

(Hey Ashtin, I tried to call you tonight. Do you not have an answering machine hooked up yet?)

I am sure, if you have been reading Ryan's blog at all you know we are in the middle of fund raising for this next year. i don't know what my deal is this year...usually things like fund raising make me excited and anticipating, watching what God will do and really expecting that He will do something great. But this year I have been quite the downer. I am anxious about the whole thing...strangely stressed and not really invested or wanting to hear updates or keep up with anything. And it seems as though instead of praying and seeking God, I am trying to figure out solutions on my own. How can I make money? Or thinking maybe we should look into different jobs. I have even found myself being angry with Ryan and wishing he would have just been a normal minister in a church that pays him, instead of after over three years of work, just having a one year long part time salary...that we had to raise. The problem with this anger is that (besides that fact that one should not be angry at their husbands...in general) WE chose this ministry, not just him. Anyway, I have been in a really down place about this all.

I have been trying to put a finger on what it is that is causing this shift. This frustration and general lack of faith. I have come up with a couple of possibilities. One might be that this last year was rough financially. Not like "my marriage and all of life is barely hanging on" rough, but more "living several thousand dollars below the poverty level in a expensive city is really hard" rough. The thing is that i think my family has actually been blessed through this and most of the time I don't even view myself as someone who is poor...I feel I make sacrifices, but never poor. I think we have gained a healthy view of materialism and finding happiness without having an excess of things (although we do have a lot). But at the same time I really do have pity parties and get in a place where I think..."seriously a girl sometimes would like anything new that fits or not have to feel guilty over spending $2 dollars on a coffee with a friend." Usually I do not dwell in this place long, because God humbles me and brings my heart around, reminding me that I have it SO much better than millions of other people. This time though I think I have been in this spot a little longer and maybe it's because I am looking at another year of this same very simplified living and maybe it is because of the season. It has been so much easier for me to stop wanting so much by just stopping to shop all together. But now with the Christmas shopping it reminds me of "what I don't have" or the fact that "my clothes are no longer in style". (this would be an interesting thing to explore deeper in the future...how, when we are not in a place to compare with others and their things, is everyone more happy? if we stopped putting ourselves in places that told us we want more, would we not want it anymore? i think so...) Isn't it interesting that something can bless us so much and be so hard at the same time. I wish that our nature wasn't such that we had to continually put our hearts in check. Wouldn't it be easier if we could just make a decision and have a conviction and stick to it without having to continuously rededicate. So this might be one reason.

Another reason is that I have ideas of how things should go. I really feel that I have good ideas and plans...wouldn't it be best if God would just align himself with them? \In the past I don't think I really grasped the extent of how God's plans are usually much different than ours. I have always know this, but this year in obedience to him i experienced it. Man it is hard sometimes...but would I have changed it? i think true faith that requires us to actually trust that God loves us more than we love ourselves and that he really does know and want better for us is so hard. I have discovered though that hard living in God's plan is peaceful and blessed and beautiful...living a little easier in the present, but not in God's will may seem easier to bare, but you miss out on so many blessings and your life can never be as truly beautiful. Even after saying all this and really believing it, I am at the place right now of having to follow what I believe even though i don't really want to. Hard.

Sorry if it feels as though I am dumping, i really think it is just refreshing when Christ followers will be real and open about the journey that faith actually takes and I always want to be honest with you.

Now, for today, we don't know what God has in store for us in 18 days, when our funding is essentially gone. We don't know where God is wanting Ryan to go to school or how we will pay for it. We are unsure where we will be living after February or weather or not i will be working. But I do now that the last sure thing we did know is His calling for us here working for renovatus. I know that he loves us and following Him will ultimately bring lives of beauty that we ourselves could not have composed. I know that God provides for and blesses his children in more ways then they can understand. And I am choosing to live out of that in faith...weather or not my heart feels up to the challenge. Pray for me that I will step out in faith again everyday.

So...

Guess who wrote a 8 paragraph blog post update?

Guess who's husband erased it while reading it before it was posted?

Guess who is never going to write another post again?

Boo

Big Pharmer

You all know that some of my beliefs are a little different than a lot of "main-stream" beliefs. One of these differences is concerning vaccinations. While this blog is not about all the reasons why I think vaccinating children is not the way to make them healthy, (in fact I think it does just the opposite) I do want to bring one small piece of the big business out for you all to think about.

Many of us know that vaccinations are grown on dead animal tissues right? Viruses cannot grow on healthy tissue, so they use monkey, hamster and other dead animals to grow some of the ingredients. One of the downfalls to this is that any disease the animals have (such as monkey viruses) are then injected into our children (sadly these aren't even the worst things that are in there). Some people (I don't know why...please hear my sarcasm) are having a problem with this and so the big pharmacy companies have a solution.

They are growing many of the vaccinations now on aborted baby fetuses. So much better right? I mean now our living children can be injected with tissue from other dead babies instead of gross animals. And not to mention it gives the abortion clinics a way to make money off all the dead babies they have lying around right?

Gross. I am most definitely against abortion. I don't think that just outlawing it will make it stop, it might slow it down, but that isn't even the real issue. Our system, the cycle we have gotten ourselves into, and the way we care for our unwed mothers (not to mention things like the need for people to know the love of Jesus) are all part of the issue. I am unsure of what would be the best way to stop the abortion epidemic we have in our country...but I do know one thing. Giving the abortion clinics and Dr.'s a way to make money off the dead babies is never good. Pairing abortion and big business even more than they have is very bad and very unethical.

It is sad how much we are blind to what we don't care to research ourselves. Sad how much money and power corrupts good things like Dr's, health care, and protecting women.

Just reason number one why my kids are no longer getting vaccinations. Want to know more?

Guess who's cell phone died a tragic death which included randomly calling people 10-15 times in a row? Guess who miraculously was up for a new free phone which a contract renewal? And guess who got a new sweet red Centro palm phone for adding in a few extra bucks?

That's right...ME!

I love my new red phone. (I think the only person who can understand my deep love for this perfect red phone might be Sarah Davis. We are red loving soul mates!)



What a beauty!

A confession

So I haven't started the "sticking it to her" part of the bedtime routine yet. I am just so tired! But i think you all will be happy to know that we have pretty much gotten rid of the car seat and last night India slept from Midnight until 6 without waking up once! I am going to be honest...it was like heaven.

I will try again in the next couple of days to really make India stay in bed. I just have to tell myself it is worth staying actively awake for a potentially long time.

I wanted to share the excitement with you...

Part 1: Today for the first time in her entire life India Jayne ate 3 meals! Actual, real food (not maybe took a bite or two...if that) meals. In fact she even ate a few snacks in between! It's like she is a real 1 year old (or actually, with the amount, a real 8 month old...but still...one can't be too picky right?). Yeah for a baby that eats food!

Now if only she would start sleeping for more than 2-3 hour chunks...which brings me to...



Part 2: Tonight is the night. Poor India is getting the harsh treatment, no more night time feedings, no more sleeping in her car seat. That is right...her car seat. My child's favorite and almost only place she will sleep is her INFANT carrier. I believe this stems from her spending a large amount of her first several months of life in it. She had respiratory and reflux problems and so needed the "propped-up angle" the carrier provided...but still, the time has come. Ryan and I decided last week to start it tonight...I needed this time to become mentally prepared because there is a very real chance that she may scream all night. Months ago we tried sticking it to her and she screamed...no joke...6 hours straight...two nights in a row!! So now we are trying again. Lord help us!







And last I leave you with this...And your welcome...








This is the trimmed 'stach Ryan grew during our road trip to PAPA Fest. Yummy.