Play

Last night I was reminded why I keep having babies. Kids are fun! :D

After church, me, hubby, and seven of the kids went to the park across from the church to wait for Kyla to get done with choir practice. We had so much fun.

There is not a more joyous sound in the world than a child's laughter. Or hearing your 3 year old say, "This is amazing!" when push her high on the swing.

It is great to see my husband running a race with his kids. Or him trying to show up his boys by climbing to the top of the swings! Now that was funny! LOL

Kids are fun, and people who don't like kids are just... weird! Having kids is the best of life. I need to remember that more often. :D

Because I recently made some people mad over this...

Military does not equal soldiers.

Soldiers make up our military, but the military is not the soldiers. I dislike the military, but I respect the individual soldier. Those who because of duty (a misplaced one IMO) to their country sign up to, "...support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.", I respect that. I know they mean well.

However, the military as a whole carries out the killing of many innocents and destruction of property. The military follows orders that are wrong and unconstitutional. I cannot respect that. A wise man once said, "The liberties of a people are in danger from a large standing army, not only because the rulers may employ them for the purposes of supporting themselves in any usurpations of power, which they may see proper to exercise, but there is great hazard, that an army will subvert the forms of the government, under whose authority, they are raised, and establish one, according to the pleasure of their leader." Brutus (no not the one from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar).

A standing army as we have here in America is a dangerous thing.

I have too many friends or family who have served or are serving in the military to believe that those in the military are evil. Those who give them orders (and I don't mean the POTUS), however, often are. The designs of those in charge are not righteous. The reasoning they provide for the carnage they order our soldiers to commit is not sound. They lie, because the truth would outrage the citizenry that they must keep in the dark to maintain power.

I appreciate the soldiers, but I do not, will not, support our military or the wars they are currently engaged in.

I hope that clarifies my position and will assuage any damaged feelings.

The Bible Isn't Everything

Some time ago my eldest daughter was told in a discussion that she shouldn't waste her time studying anything except the Bible. What a ridiculous thing to say! Do they really think that? Really?!

Seriously, the Bible has nothing in it about algebra, physics, US history (or much world history), carpentry, electricity, and I could go on and on. Is knowing about those things pointless?

God created the human mind with an incredible capacity to learn and an insatiable curiosity. Did he really give us that so we could only learn Bible verses? Can anyone honestly believe there is no value in learning about the world around us, how it works, its history, its present, and its future?

There is so much to learn and know. And I am very glad that the electrician who works on my house read something besides the Bible. I'm so thankful that the doctor who performed my surgery studied something besides the Bible.

And even if I don't need the knowledge for a career choice, what is wrong with just learning it just because I want to know? What if I just want to know about microbiology? Do you not think it pleases God that I am interested in his creation? What creator of art or technology doesn't like his creation to be admired?

Yes, the Bible is sufficient for matters of faith; but there is so much more to the world. So much to be learned and explored.

Parental Rights

A parent should be able to make decisions about healthcare and treatment for their children. Should I even have to reiterate that? Apparently so.

A friend of mine recently had a baby. This baby, S, was slightly jaundiced. The pediatrician on call ordered the baby to have phototherapy and mom and dad said no. They did not believe, and rightly, that the baby's condition warranted that. There are side effects to phototherapy and it would interrupt breastfeeding. The baby was in no imminent danger. So a social worker speaks to mom in the hospital and tells her that refusing the treatment is neglect.

Thankfully, mom stood her ground and fired back at them with the AAP's recommendation that phototherapy wasn't indicated for S. She was told that as long as they took S to the follow up the next day CPS would not be involved and she was free to leave the hospital with S.

Well, two days after being home, and making the follow up appointment for S, CPS shows up at her door!

I have heard about and seen so many cases like the above where some do-gooder called CPS on parents over nothing. Simply because they parent differently, or they had a bad day. What makes me so angry is that CPS harasses innocent parents and then lets others go when there were so many serious warning signs and kids end up dead.

It is truly frightening to me as a parent to see how much power government organizations have when it comes to my children. CPS can force their way into my house and forcibly remove my children without any evidence other than an anonymous 'tip'. The burden of proof rests on the parent, and not the state as it should. Innocent until proven guilty and all that. That is out the window though.

Why is it that total strangers think that they care more for children than the children's parents do? Why do these busybodies sic the state on anyone who makes parenting decisions that are different from the ones they would make? Why does the state believe that it owns our children? Why do we let the state get away with this?

http://www.parentalrights.org/

"Constitutional" Rights

I am seriously beginning to hate that phrase.


Let us be clear. The Constitution does not grant rights to the people. It was not written for the people, but to restrain the government. We have the rights of free speech, press, association, bearing arms, religion, etc, because we are human, not because we live in America. Jefferson said it perfectly, "...all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights..." The Constitution specifically enumerates the powers of the federal government and they are very limited. It was not intended to confer rights upon the people, only to acknowledge that the people had those rights inherently.


So please, stop claiming your 'constitutional' rights, and just claim your rights.