The Dark Side

I realize that I tell you very often about how wonderful Tate is...and he is. But, in case I had you fooled into thinking that he's all angel and no devil, I present to you the "I want to be fed immediately and don't you dare put me to bed" face...

This is also the new "You are a stranger (or grandma, or grandpa, or neighbor, or friend) outside of my immediate family, so don't even think about looking at me" face. That's going over well.

Answers in Genesis

If you have not ever listened to Ken Ham with Answers in Genesis, you are missing out. He talks about the inerrancy of the Bible and how it relates to Genesis and creation, etc. It is really so much more than that, but you'll just have to listen to it for yourself. He is really easy to listen to and so informative and entertaining. Just turn it on while you are busy doing something around the house, and you will be enthralled. Here are two that I have listened to recently. I cannot recommend them highly enough...

Genesis: The Key to Reclaiming Culture

Six Days and the Eisegesis Problem

Picture Update

Here is just an overdue picture update, with a couple of short videos thrown in at the end...

Seriously, does it get any cuter?

The neighbors behind us are getting a pool put in. So, Jake decided he needed a front row seat to watch the cement truck.

Preparing for Easter - Our Passover Dinner and Communion (The kids think that getting to drink grape juice is pretty much the best part of the whole thing.)

If it seems to you as if Tate is always in the same clothes, well, you are right about that. I bought three sets of the same "sleeper" (or, in our case, the "24 hour a day-er"), and I pretty much just rotate him between the three. I do at least have two different colors though. They are soft, comfy, organic cotton that I got for a good price at Costco, and I figure, "Why wear anything else?" Don't expect to see a change anytime soon either because I bought them in the next size up as well!

Pretty Girl

Jake and Addi continue to smother Tate every chance they get, but he handles it pretty well most of the time.

Our family room has been converted into a giant fort that the kids created. They are sleeping in it for the second time tonight, but...it's coming down tomorrow. All good things must come to and end.

Easter service at the Fairgrounds

Thought you might enjoy seeing the back of my head. Ha! Addi was the cameraman here, but at least you can hear the giggles. Maybe it's just me, but I seriously cannot get enough of those giggles.

Take Me Away!

I'm sure that nobody will actually read this post, but I can't help it...I have to get this off my chest...

If you know me, you know that I am not any sort of activist or politician. Conflict makes me uncomfortable and I avoid it like the plague, and when it comes to politics, I could hardly give you the names of the people running for President. That does not mean that I don't feel strongly about things and have some extreme convictions. I just don't expect that my convictions are going to change anybody else's mind, and I don't usually attempt to. Because much of what we do is not the mainstream way of doing things though, people sometimes think we're crazy and often times have no problem telling us so. Fortunately, I am not very easily offended. I do wish though that people actually understood why we do some of the things we do. Most importantly, I want people to share our faith because I want salvation for them. On a smaller scale, I want them to know what we know regarding food and health because I want to help them improve their quality of life. I would love for people to understand better why we homeschool and that it is not because we refuse to expose our children to other viewpoints. As long as I am free to make the choices for my family that I know are best though, I usually don't try to "fix" anybody else's thinking (until they specifically ask for my advice...then they might not get me to shut up).

However, if I feel that my children and my family are threatened in any way, that's when I will be up in arms. And I am feeling threatened. I continue to hear stories of parental rights being taken away time and time again - a family in court fighting against being forced to give their son additional rounds of chemotherapy, despite the fact that his cancer is in full remission; parents whose newborn was taken from them by a social worker when they refused the Hep B vaccine at birth (even though it is perfectly legal to refuse the vaccine), and given the vaccine against their wishes; a father who was arrested and spent the night in jail for "trespassing" because he would not leave his KINDERGARTNER'S school until someone would speak to him about being notified in advance when sexual material was going to be taught in the KINDERGARTEN classroom so that he could opt his child out of that material. The ruling was upheld in court and those parents were denied the right to opt their child out of material that they found offensive, or even to be notified. I am sickened when I hear about more and more of these stories and realize that we are losing the right to raise our children how we feel is right. The government is gradually taking that away from us.

In California, a bill has already been signed that allows medical professionals the right to give pre-teens the Gardasil vaccine without parental consent (a vaccine that has done serious damage to a lot of young women). Now, a bill has been introduced in California (AB2109) that, if passed, would require parents to obtain the signature of an MD or nurse (not a chiropractor or naturopath) before exercising their philosophical exemption to opt out of vaccinations for their children. Of course, we never hear about the results that show that unvaccinated children are healthier than vaccinated ones. There is too much money to be lost. In fact, those studies are rare because the drug industry certainly does not want to shed light on the fact that they are playing a role in our nation's health crisis and in things like the autism epidemic - up 78% in the last 10 years to 1 in 54 boys now, according to the CDC's most recent announcement. Instead, more and more vaccines continue to be added to the current crazy vaccine schedule. We are overloading our children with harmful substances that wreak havoc on their bodies and immune systems, and the pharmaceutical companies that make them don't care. It is all about the money. We actually have a very small-scale study going on right here in our own home as we have both vaccinated and unvaccinated children. And I can assure you, we would never go back to vaccinating again. I only wish that I had known 8 years ago the things that I know now. At the time though, I was naive enough to think that if doctors told me I should do something, I should do it. I had the freedom and the right, however, to make the decision that I thought was best for my children, whether that be to vaccinate or not. That right is now being threatened. I find it completely ludicrous that I am given the "right to choose" whether or not to take the life of an unborn child, but my right to choose how to care for the precious children I have been given is in jeopardy more and more.

Even my right to feed my children the way that I know is healthy is constantly at risk. The FDA has no problem if I want to feed them a steady diet of aspartame, msg, artificial colors, antifreeze, high fructose corn syrup, arsenic, and every chemical known to man...the typical American fare. Never mind that these things cause cancer, obesity, infertility, diabetes, etc.. The FDA has no real concern about dangerous foods though, and much of the "food" labeled safe by the FDA is not really even food but synthetic chemicals that more closely resemble plastics. But, if I want to feed my family an actual living, beneficial, healing food like raw milk, the way God has given it to us, they want to take away my freedom to choose to do that. Heaven forbid I support a small, local, organic farm and take money out of the pockets of companies like Monsanto - a company that is destroying our food supply and putting small farmers out of business who cannot afford to stand up to their unethical bullying. Of course, I can give my children drugs, vaccines, and medications that list pages of possible side effects and have unknown long-term effects, but they would like to take away my right to purchase supplements and vitamins. The FDA claims that if people think that the supplements are improving their health, they might not seek out the drugs that they really need.

"Products with unapproved disease claims are dangerous because they may cause consumers to delay or avoid legitimate treatments,” said Dara A. Corrigan, the FDA’s associate commissioner for regulatory affairs.

WHAT?!! This is insane. The truth is, if more and more people start wising up to the fact that drugs are killing them, and that whole foods and non-toxic living are making them healthy, where would the multi-billion dollar drug industry be?

The right to educate my own children is also continually threatened. Despite the fact that I know my children better than anyone else, love them more and are more concerned about their education than any teacher would be, and despite the fact that I can give them one-on-one attention and teach them according to their own learning styles, and despite the fact that studies show that homeschooled children consistently score "well above" their public school peers, the government is continually seeking some way to restrict or take that right away from me. After all, if my children don't fall in line on the "one-size-fits-all" conveyor belt of education, I might be more likely to produce children who actually think for themselves, and we certainly wouldn't want that.

My blood is at the boiling point and I feel helpless to do anything about it. I just want to disappear. I want to move out into the country, get ourselves a cow and some chickens and learn how to actually farm, and sustain ourselves with the food that God has given us in the way that He has given it to us...without that right being threatened. I want to educate my children the way I feel is best without that right being threatened. I want to be able to accept or refuse healthcare and vaccinations without that right being threatened. I heard Voddie Baucham, a pastor in Texas, once say, "I feel about my children the way I feel about my guns - the government can have them when they pry them from my cold, dead hands." I don't have any guns, but I agree with him on the sentiment. We will pick up our family and move to Nowhereville, Timbuktu, before we will give up our right to raise our children how we feel that God has called us to raise them.

Let's Eat!

Well, Tate is now 6 months old. Should I bother to mention that I really can't believe that he's already halfway to a year old, or is that pretty much a given? I haven't been in any hurry to start feeding him "solids," but now that he's 6 months, I figure it's about time. As you could probably guess though, I won't be following the current popular schedule for introducing foods to babies. We tend to do most things differently around here, from the way we eat, to the way we educate our kids, to our approach to health, to (hopefully) the way we live and spend our money. So, all that to say, no rice cereal for this kid! It's not a good first food, despite what we are usually told. Grains are difficult for anyone to digest when not properly prepared, and especially for babies. So, it's a nutrient rich diet of egg yolks and bananas for Tate's first foods! And so far, he's lovin' it!