Saturday, February 28, 2009

My Daily Domestic Diigolet 02/28/2009

  • tags: obama, current, events, finance

    • Let me be very clear on the economics of President Obama’s State of the Union speech and his budget.

      He is declaring war on investors, entrepreneurs, small businesses, large corporations, and private-equity and venture-capital funds.

      That is the meaning of his anti-growth tax-hike proposals, which make absolutely no sense at all — either for this recession or from the standpoint of expanding our economy’s long-run potential to grow.

    • Study after study over the past several decades has shown how countries that spend more produce less, while nations that tax less produce more. Obama is doing it wrong on both counts.
    • Noteworthy up here on Wall Street, a great many Obama supporters — especially hedge-fund types who voted for “change” — are becoming disillusioned with the performances of Obama and Treasury man Geithner.

      There is a growing sense of buyer’s remorse.

      Well then, do conservatives dare say: We told you so?

  • For the Catholics who "voted for change" are you sorry yet?

    tags: abortion, obama

    • WASHINGTON — Taking another step into the abortion debate, the Obama administration Friday will move to rescind a controversial rule that allows health-care workers to deny abortion counseling or other family-planning services if doing so would violate their moral beliefs, according to administration officials.



      The rollback of the "conscience rule" comes just two months after the Bush administration announced it last year in one of its final policy initiatives.
    • Last month, without ceremony Obama overturned a ban on U.S. funding for international aid groups that provide abortion services.
    • For more than 30 years, federal law has allowed doctors and nurses to decline to provide abortion services as a matter of conscience, a protection that is not subject to rulemaking.
  • tags: politics, current, events, finance

    • prosperity.


      These fixes
      are based on the false belief that the free-market economy has failed.
      But it is not the market that has failed. It is intervention into
      the market that has failed. The Federal Reserve and its manipulation
      of money and interest rates have failed. None of this can be blamed
      on the free market, but that isn’t stopping newspaper columnists
      from doing so anyway.


      Keynesian
      so-called economists, led by Paul Krugman, are vainly reaching into
      their usual bag of tricks to try to solve the problems of intervention
      with more intervention, and nothing is working. But they are persistent.
      They’ll keep scrounging around in that bag all throughout the Obama
      administration. The slump will continue, since none of these tricks
      has the slightest thing to do with the underlying problems in the
      economy. All we’ll have to show for them is an empty Keynesian bag
      and lot more unpayable debt.


      Meanwhile,
      who’s being ignored during this crisis? The free-market economists
      of the Austrian School of economic thought, the very people who
      predicted not only the Great Depression, but also the calamity we’re
      dealing with today
      . The good news is that Austrian School economists
      are gaining more acceptance every day, and have a greater chance
      of influencing our future than they’ve had for a long time. I’m
      told that Google searches for "Austrian economics" are
      off the charts.

  • Now we know exactly who President Obama is, and how he intends to govern.

    tags: obama, politics

    • …President Obama’s speech Tuesday night should put to rest the argument as to who he really is. He revealed plans so sweeping and so expensive that, if they came to pass, we would permanently refashion the role of the federal government in the lives of every American.During the campaign certain Republicans and libertarians tried to convince us Obama was a moderate, a sort of Bill Clinton “third way” reformer — and certainly no radical as conservatives claimed. Conservatives remained skeptical. Then during the transition, the debate as to Obama’s political philosophy continued. He sprinkled his cabinet with sober figures and experienced economic gurus. So perhaps he was moderate in outlook and restrained in ambition.


      Next came the stimulus plan. Yes, he delegated the entire enterprise to Nancy Pelosi and the liberal draftsmen in Congress. But perhaps this was an error in judgment, a departure from what he “really” wanted in order to achieve a stimulus plan.


      Well, the mystery has been solved. Obama is an unalloyed and extreme liberal. He does not intend merely to slay the recession. He intends to remake the country’s education, health care, and energy policies, with a hugely expanded and enormously powerful federal government directing vast swatches of American life and industry.


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Friday, February 27, 2009

7- Quick Takes Friday

Join Jen and the other Quicktakers over at the Conversion Diary.

1. Calvin's new job as an EMT might have some unexpected results. It seems that most of his time during the day involved transporting elderly patients to and from the nursing homes and the hospital. I think seeing these folks is giving him a bit more empathy for his own grandmother's situation. Maybe he is developing a tenderness for the elderly?

2. My nephew was riding to Ash Wednesday mass with Mr. Pete this week and on the way back they had a good conversation. Our nephew told Mr. Pete that he could not decide if he was Protestant or Catholic (long story). Mr. Pete, who is also this boys godfather, told him that he couldn't tell him which to be, but he could tell him why he has chosen to remain Catholic. A discussion of the Eucharist ensued. I know Mr. Pete enjoyed having the opportunity to share this type of moment with his Godson. Those types of moments don't happy very often!

3. We have been very stretched financially this month to the point of a little anxiety. But in church on Wednesday I told God I was going to take it day by day, hour by hour if I had to. And it's funny how God answers those kinds of prayers! For example, I was a little stressed about paying for Sam's guitar lesson and voila! the teacher called and canceled this week! Just little things like that fill me with wonder.

4. Of course I wonder how I can pass on those types of little moments to help bolster the strength of others. One of Sam's friends has completely lost her Christian faith. I would like to find a nonthreatening way to witness to her, or at least give her some food for thought. This is going to require a lot of prayer.

5. My old friend and new Facebook buddy let me know that our old dancing teacher passed away last week. She was 82. I have such warm memories of that time in my life (even though the lack of technique and training there didn't help me very much when I wanted to pursue dance more seriously). I remember that my teacher let me choreograph and dance a solo and that my grandmother made a skirt for me to wear for the performance. I remember the cute little dance outfits she wore and how up beat she always seemed to me, and the huge dance recital productions, and that I do not remember her ever losing her temper, and how she paid me when I became a teacher at her studio and how she took a bunch of us kids to a dance convention in Columbus once and we had the time of our lives. I remember how much we looked up to the older girls in the studio and wanted to be like them. I remember some tragedies in that studio as well, like the times a student was seriously injured and another one of the teachers was killed in two separate car accidents. Learning of my former teacher's death has made me remember all of these things. And then egads I just realized that I am older now than she was when I was her student!

6. Candy Brauer took her Keepingthehome.com blog down and implied that she was too busy to keep it up. But it's back today. So I'm sure Visits to Candyland will remain necessary for the foreseeable future.

7. It looks like we might actually be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with my father's estate and my EFC. Turns out that stealing from a trust is a crime!




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This is another small weekly meme to keep us moms motivated.

It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we’ll do exactly that.To participate, just write up a list of 3 of your recent Small Successes and post it on your blog along with the Small Successes button

1. I have two of my sons very excited about a book! We are reading Bud, Not Buddy the story of a 10-year-old orphan boy trying to get by in Flint, Michigan during the depression years. The boys want to read this all the time and although we have enjoyed many good books this year, this one has really captured their imaginations.

2. Was able to find the time to watch Fireproof with my husband. It was nice to have a little quality "we" time! And it's a very good movie - more on that to come.

3. Got my house, mostly ready for lent - even made it to Ash Wednesday mass with most of my children (except the odlest and the youngest) and my nephew! I enjoy spending these special holy days with family.








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My Daily Domestic Diigolet 02/27/2009


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Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Works for Me Wednesday- A craft for extra men's neck ties



This is my first WFMW post at its new home over at We are THAT Family so I'm very excited about that!

A couple of weeks ago, I reconnected with an old friend of mine on Facebook. She was in the middle of big sewing projected. Her father-in-law, had recently passed away. He had been a business man and when he passed he left behind many really nice neckties. My friend, Brenda, wanted to do something to honor his memory and give something beautiful to those who loved him, and so she created these beautiful pillows made out of his left over neck ties.

First she made a basic pillow. Then she used the ties to make the cover over the pillow. They are gorgeous!



This would be a good sewing project for new sewers, and maybe a good group project for homeschoolers.

Works for Me!







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My Daily Domestic Diigolet 02/25/2009


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Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Rosie LOVES Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday!

Rosie, loving mardi gras!



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1966

1966grad

I was just messing around on the internet today and happened to Google my grandpa! And got a hit! This is him, first one on the left, receiving a certificate for completing a plumbing course. He would have been 56 years old! I would have been about 7 or 8. This is how I remember him in my mind's eye!



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Calvin's first day

Calvin, first day as an EMT

Yesterday was Calvin's first day as an EMT and it was a long one! He reported at 8 a.m. and didn't get home until almost midnight! But seems that he had a good time and enjoyed it. He is hoping to keep his other job as well. He is going to be one busy young man!




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The penitential season of Lent is the period of forty week-days beginning on Ash Wednesday. It is a season of the Church year that commemorates the forty days Jesus fasted and prayed in the wilderness before He began His public ministry of preaching for repentance. Six Sundays are within the season; the last, Passion Sunday, marks the beginning of Holy Week. Holy Thursday begins the Triduum (three days) before Easter day, which includes Good Friday and Holy Saturday.

The Church has devoted a period of time to prayer and fasting as a preparation for the liturgical comemmoration of the Passion of Christ and the celebrations of the feast of the Resurrection, Easter Day, since very early times. In 604 Pope Gregory I defined Lent as "The spiritual tithing of the year", a time of solemn spiritual and physical preparation for our own acceptance of salvation through Christ's sacrifice. (Ordinary tithing meant to give a tenth part ­ a tithe ­ of one's goods to God. Lent's forty days represents about a tenth of the year.)

The word "Lent" comes from the Anglo-Saxon word "lencten", referring to the lengthening of days in the Spring. Lent, of course, is an English word. In Latin, still the official language of the the Catholic Church, the entire season is known as Quadrigesima, or "forty".

The season of Lent calls Christians to imitate the forty days of prayer and fasting of Jesus. The period of forty days is significant. When God punished the sinfulness of mankind by the Flood, the rain lasted forty days and forty nights. Moses led the Hebrew people out of bondage in Egypt, but they wandered forty years in the desert before reaching the promised land. Elijah fasted and sought God's will on Mount Horeb for forty days. Jonah prophesied the destruction of Nineveh in forty days.

The Code of Canon Law states that Fridays throughout the year and in the time of Lent are penitential days for the entire Church. Although fasting usually refers to any practice of restricting food, there is a distinction, in the Church, between fast (limiting food to one full meal a day, with two smaller meals allowed) and abstinence (abstaining from eating meat.) Abstinence from meat on Fridays as the universal form of penance on all Fridays is no longer mandatory. We may choose another way of observing the Church's requirement for acts of penance on Fridays, but we are not to neglect it, either.

Since the change in the abstinence rules, some people have become confused about the requirement to observe penitential days. As a result, the discipline of fasting (or abstaining from meat) or any form of regular penance has all but disappeared. Confession, or the Sacrament of Penance (or Reconciliation) has sharply declined, as well.

Both fast and abstinence are required on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. For the record, rules of the Church in the United States about fasting and abstinence in effect since 1966 state that:

"Catholics in the United States are obliged to abstain from the eating of meat on Ash Wednesday and on all Fridays during the season of Lent. They are also obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday and on Good Friday. Self-imposed observance of fasting on all weekdays of Lent is strongly recommended. Abstinence from flesh meat on all Fridays of the year [excluding solemnities like Christmas which may fall on Friday] is especially recommended to individuals and to the Catholic community as a whole." (ref. Canons 1249-1253, Code of Canon Law)
(See also Fast and Abstinence page for more information on the practice.)

Fasting and abstinence, which foster self-discipline and self-denial and other beneficial spiritual exercises, are strongly encouraged as voluntary practices at any time of the year. But it will be the responsibility of families, as the "domestic Church", to foster this spiritually energizing practice, not only during the required Lenten days, but at other times as well. To fast willingly, in reparation for our own sins and for others, can transform not only our own lives, but the life and vitality of the larger community.

As Pope Leo I stressed in the 5th century, the purpose of fasting is to foster pure, holy, and spiritual activity. It is an act of solidarity that joins us to Christ ­ an act of self-donation in imitation of His total self-sacrifice. Fasting can heighten our understanding of Christ's Mystical Body, the Church, and of our total dependence on His love and mercy.

Lots of Del.icio.us Lenten Links here!




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Monroe on a Budget » Blog Archive » Family-friendly Lent food on a budget

Monroe on a Budget » Blog Archive » Family-friendly Lent food on a budget

Season of Lent

40 Ways to Get the Most out of Lent | Lenten Resources, Ideas, Activities, Devotions, Themes -Welcome to The Crossroads Initiative

40 Ways to Get the Most out of Lent | Lenten Resources, Ideas, Activities, Devotions, Themes -Welcome to The Crossroads Initiative





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Castle of the Immaculate: Lent with the Children

Castle of the Immaculate: Lent with the Children


http://thesefortydays.blogspot.com/

My Daily Domestic Diigolet 02/24/2009


Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Saint Polycarp

Polycarp is one of my favorite saints because he is such a good example of a complete life in Christ. I love the fact that he actually learned from St. John too - my favorite apostle.

Today we started our homeschool day reading about St. Polycarp's life and discussing his bravery. I don't see much honor in killing an old man, and it's ironic that instead of silencing him, his death brought even more to the new Christian faith.






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Age doesn't necessarily matter to predators.

A few years ago, after the Catholic sex scandal broke,  I took the mandated diocesan Virtus training for anyone working with children and youth at the parish level. You can read about my experiences with Virtus here, and some articles here.

What I still remember about the program is the insidiousness patience that seems to be the hallmark of a successful perpetrator. Successful molesters will try to become part of the family by being around a lot,putting extra effort and attention into helping with the children, giving gifts and gaining trust. And then once the perpetrator has the trust of the child and the parents, the abuse starts.

Some of the things I learned in that course reminded me a lot of what happened in my family with the opposite end of the age spectrum - my aging parents.

As a little background, my parents reunited after many years of separation, to give their marriage a second chance. My mother moved to the other side of the country to be with my dad. At first she seemed happy and healthy. Reports from other family and friends who visited my parents thought everything seemed fine. And I was pleased with that. I was focused on my own growing family with 5 children under the age of 9 at the time.

Then my mom started talking about my cousin who was always there and always helpful. I felt a little uncomfortable about that, but thought maybe I was just feeling a tad jealous that my cousin could be there while I could not. And when my mom escalated the rhetoric to, "she's just like my third daughter," I really felt uncomfortable, but again I chalked it up to my own pettiness instead of taking a look at the situation more objectively.

Because the truth was that my cousin (affectionately known on this blog as EFC) was following the pattern I had learned in my Virtus training. She had come from the outside and made herself part of the family. My parents had grown  to love and to trust her. And essentially because they lived in such a rural area, she quite literally had then secluded, all to herself. 

And while I can't prove abuse or neglect, (although I have good reason to suspect there was both) there was theft. And now more then four years after my father's passing, we are still trying to straighten it all out.

While Mr. Pete was gone last week trying to unravel some of this, I happened to pick up this book, Remembering Margo: A Triumphant Life, a Tragic Death, And Life's Greatest Deception. This is the true story of domestic abuse and the murder of Dr. Margo Prade as told by one of her best friends.  During the course of the story, another person comes into the family, becomes fast friends with the doctor  and then starts to take advantage of the situation.  Dr. Prade was only in her early 40s at the time of her murder.

In a way, when this happens to adults it can be even more insidious than when it happens to kids, because kids don't have the experience to know what is happening to them. But adults, like my parents and apparently like Dr. Prade, have the free will to choose to let these people into their lives, which makes it more difficult for adult children and true friends to be able to put a stop to it.

As a Catholic, when it was happening to my parents, I was always confronting my own guilt for not being able to help my parents myself, and then being afraid that I was feeling jealous because someone else had stepped into my role. And I know that our perpetrator used that as control over me to keep me at arms length out of the situation.

I wish at the time, I had been able to look objectively at the situation, because if I had, I would have realized that my feelings of discomfort weren't guilt or jealousy, they were common sense. And while it might be too late in my family, I hope that by blogging about it, maybe someone else can avoid the same problem.

If I were going to give tips I would say:
1.  Be wary of outsiders  or people on the fringe of the family unit who suddenly seem to become enmeshed wtih the family.
2.  Be on guard when outsiders suddenly become privy to family business, medical issues and money matters.
3.  If older parents start referring to an outsider as "like a son or like a daughter" that could be a potential problem.
4.  Make sure that assets, trusts, certificates of deposite etc are ni a safe place, like a safety depisit box.






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Simple Woman



Outside my window...
Still a winter sky, but clear with no snow - I am so OVER winter!!

I am thinking...
About Calvin who starts his first day as an EMT today! After three months he will have full medical, dental and vision which will be a real blessing for our family. He will also only have to work three days a week (12 to 14 hour shifts) to be considered full time - so he wants to hold on to his job as a lifeguard as well. It's just very exciting for me to watch him take those first steps out into the adult world.

I am thankful for...my husband and so happy that he made it back from his trip to the west last week. I really missed him.

From the learning rooms...Putting the finishing touches on CLEP test preparation for Sam. I am going to work on more writing skills with the other kids this week. It's funny how becoming good readers, doesn't necessarily equate to being good writers - although when I told the kids, "write something that you would like to read!" I saw a few light bulbs in their minds go off!

From the kitchen... Very low key this week with Ash Wednesday and then first Friday in Lent. I will say though Tuna Helper was on sale this week and when Mr. Pete saw it he snapped it up - he just loves that stuff!! We use low fat milk and margarine to mix it up so it's not that bad calorie wise and it tastes pretty good too - but I just chuckled because Mr. Pete was so happy with this find! I've got a tasty bean soup planned for Friday.


I am wearing...blue pants, a cream colored shirt with my big purple sweat shirt over it and my black bedroom slippers.

I am creating...memories for my children as we get ready to recognize the season of Lent.

I am going... to really work on that exercise program this week. I hope to incorporate a walk or two if the weather gets a little better.

I am reading...
How to Win Any Argument 
and
Bud, Not Buddy





I am hoping...that I can find the grave of that little baby this week.  I know where the baby is buried but with all the snow on the ground it is hard to find.  It could also have an unmarked grave.  I e-mailed back and forth with the lady who requested a picture of the grave.  She simply wants to track down her relatives. I hope that I can help her

As a side note, this little one died in 1918 which was the time of the great flu pandemic.  I wonder if she was one of the victims?

P1040949
I am hearing...my normal low ear buzz. and nothing else.

Around the house...Get ready for lent!  I have new purple table cloths!

A few plans for the rest of the week:Celebrate fat Tuesday! and then really get the kids into the spirit of lent

A picture I am sharing:
This is Sam practicing on Saturday for his Sunday Debut.  I'll be blogging more about that later. It was amazing to see how far he has come since starting organ lessons last August!  He actually plays the pedals with his feet - which is amazing to me anyway, but to watch his long size 15 feet fly over the pedals like that was really something to see.  I have new respect for organists - I think you have to have pretty strong ab muscles to be able to hold your body weight off of your legs to move your feet so fast!
Sam practicing the pipe organ








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My Daily Domestic Diigolet 02/23/2009


Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

7 Quicktakes- the late Saturday Edition

Join Jen and the other Quicktakers over at the Conversion Diary.

1. Mr. Pete was gone from Wednesday to late Friday night. He was out of state trying to salvage some of my father's estate from the hand of my EFC. How successful he was remains to be seen.

2. While he was away Mr. Pete got to meet many of my cousins. I know none of them as I did not grow up close to my father's family. But it seems to me, the more I learn about my father, he wasn't a very nice person. And I guess I sort of always knew that. We never got any child support growing up and I only saw him a handful of times. I knew that for him, it was never about my mom, and sister and me. It was always about trying to get more property, or trying to screw somebody else out of there's. I'm not sure why it took so long for me to get it.

3. I will have to die before Mr. Pete. Because if he goes first, I will never sleep soundly again. I really could not sleep much while he was away.

4. Sam plays the organ tomorrow for church for the very first time. He has a very short, very sweet, very challenging piece to play as a postlude. I watched him practice today and it is amazing to me how fast and accurate he is playing with his feet! And considering his feet are size 15's that is quite something to see!

5. Calvin stepped to the plate on Thursday and actually took his siblings to their music lessons and choir practice so that I could work while Mr. Pete was away. I think it was the first time that his ability to drive people places actually benefited his siblings in a good way. It was very nice.

6. Calvin starts his first EMT job on Monday.I am very proud of him. I hope this turns out to be just the experience he needs for this time in his life. I also scheduled him for a hepatitis vaccine on Thursday to continue his series.

7. I signed up to be a contributing photographer for the Find a Grave site. Besides finding the graves of famous people, Find A Grave also lets regular people place information and pictures about their own families and loved ones. So I got my first one on Friday and Izzy and I went out trying to find the grave of one Baby Jane Pealy. We weren't very successful though. Although I know the general area this little one is in, I could not find her headstone and it could be that she is in an unmarked grave. I am planning to go back when the snow melts. Isadora was quite enthusiastic about helping me!




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My Daily Domestic Diigolet 02/21/2009


Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Friday, February 20, 2009

My Daily Domestic Diigolet 02/20/2009

  • This simply appalls me. There is no wonder at life any more. We are becoming a society that oders up babies like we order a hamburger!! And when mistakes are made we send it back? How sickening.

    tags: abortion

    • The woman, who is in her 20s, aborted the pregnancy when she was told of the potential mix-up at the government-run hospital in Kagawa prefecture, about 330 miles (530 kilometers) southwest of Tokyo.


      She is now suing the local government for 20 million yen ($222,000), according to news reports.


      Hospital officials apologized for the mistake at a news conference Thursday.


      "She was very happy after undergoing such a difficult procedure and becoming pregnant, but unfortunately a mistake had been made," said Yuzo Matsumoto, director of the Kagawa Prefectural Central Hospital.

  • Charming Catholic Wooden Dolls!

    tags: fun, art, Catholic, homeschooling, Saints


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Thursday, February 19, 2009



Well this was enlightening. This is a video circa 1975 of my old high school. It was really emotional for me to see some of my old teachers and class mates. I know Mr. Pete, my sister, BFF and I were somewhere in the band clips, but I couldn't see any of us. There's a nice close up of my BIL though with the sousaphone, and of a fella I was good friends with who has since passed on. It was great to see my old band director too!

But, in watching this clip, would you EVER guess this was a Catholic School? There is a 3 second shot of a nun in a habit, but it looks like she might have just wandered in off the street or something.

Interestingly, I remember that our motto was "Different Where it Counts." And somehow in my mind I thought the difference was our Catholic Faith - but that doesn't get mentioned once. Jesus isn't mentioned once. Apparently the difference was the people, the activities, and the fun!

I don't think it's any wonder that we floundered in our early adult years after graduation from this place.

It was still a great clip though.





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Rick Santelli's Tea Party`

The Conservatives rally. Rick Santelli rocks!



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Bristol Palin

Bristol Palin was interviewed by Greta VanSustern earlier this week about life as a teenage mom. This one little sentence is getting a lot of notice.


Van Susteren then did ask her, in a roundabout way, about whether she had a religious or philosophical objection to contraception. Bristol said, 'No, I don't want to get into detail about that.' And then came the line that would come to stand in for the whole interview: 'Everyone should be abstinent or whatever, but it's not realistic at all.'"


This might surprise some readers, but I DO believe in telling kids about birth control and artificial contraception.

However I believe IN FULL DISCLOSURE!
So when I discuss condoms with my boys I discuss the failure rate and then I smugly mention that if a spermatazoa can escape the latex boundaries of a condom, why do we expect it to prevent the much smaller AIDS virus from getting through?

I discuss the problems with the IUD including infection, hemorrhage and perforation as well as the problems with other hormonal methods including blood clots, embolisms and death.

Like I said, I'm all about full disclosure.

And then we talk a lot about NFP from the health, medical, philosophical and religious standpoints and how wonderfully well it all works within the bounds of marriage!

And frankly I think if more parents and Catholic schools did this, we could make a difference in what was "realistic" or not. Those of us who made it to the altar with our virginity intact know that it can be done! But it has to be encouraged by parents, the church, Catholic schools and in the peer group.





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FaithButton

1. Last week, for the first time in three years, Mr. Pete and I did our Pre-Cana talk on Marriage as a Sacrament. In 2007 and 2008 I did the talk by myself because he was on a business trip. From 2003 through 2006 we did the speech and it went okay, but we rarely got mentioned on the evaluations by the couples, unless it was the occasional bad evaluation! I chalked some of that to our inexperience but also some of it to being the last speaker just before lunch!

Well it seems we have finally hit on the right combination! We were speaking together as a couple, and we were the last speakers of the day! But besides that, after seven years, tweaking the talk and perfecting it, we finally had one that seemed to be reaching the engaged couples - and that was a nice feeling!!

My favorite was: "Marriage as a sacrament- excellent talk with personal stories, very good to end the day with"

2. My husband left for a few days this week and I didn't stress out! After almost 30 years of marriage I am getting better at this!

3. I managed to get all my transcription done, homeschool, make all the meals, do all the chauffeuring all by myself for three days! This always amazes me.



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