PLEASE PRAY BEFORE VOTING!

UPDATED NOTE: To Jill and others that have asked if you could post this graphic on your blogs or pass on through emails. My response is ABSOLUTELY! I created it because I believe a visual may help people realize how our country, the greatest nation in the world, truly disregards the value of human life. Very sad. Especially when you know that over 1,000,000 (ONE MILLION!) babies are aborted killed annually in the U.S. alone!

"The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That's the first thing that I'd do." -- Senator Barack Obama, speaking to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, July 17, 2007.

"With respect to partial-birth abortion, I am completely supportive of a ban on late-term abortions, partial-birth or otherwise, as long as there's an exception for the mother's health and life, and this did not contain that exception..." - Senator Barack Obama during the 3rd Presidential 2008 elections debate defending his stance on why he did NOT vote against banning partial birth abortions.

Please don't get me started. The thought that we, as human beings with a conscience, can allow a 24+ week old child to be murdered after it has been partially delivered tears my insides apart.

The thought that my 14 year old daughter has the legal power to walk into an abortion clinic and have an abortion without parental consent or knowledge is mind boggling to me. Yet, she is not allowed to take an aspirin for a headache at school without written permission.

As a side-walk counselor at an abortion clinic, I met girls who were killing their babies for reasons of convenience. One young mother in her early twenties told me that she had paid for a vacation a year prior and that there was no way she was going to miss out on it because she got pregnant. That day, her baby was killed. This happens every day to thousands and thousands of innocent babies.

The overwhelming number of abortions in the US are done for convenience. As the State of California reported, ". . .abortions for medical reasons are extremely rare ..." http://www.os.dhhs.gov/dab/decisions/dab665.txt

Who is to blame for this? Society and lack of education. Please let me make it very clear that in no way do I judge these women, but I firmly believe that if they are properly informed of the effects of abortion they would think twice.

I do NOT want Planned Parenthood in my children's school telling them that it is "ok to have sex because it's a natural act, but that they must use protection." It should NOT be the school's position to distribute birth control/condoms in school clinics. That's outrageous! We've taken God out of schools and now we are infiltrating our children's minds with what today's society feels is politically and morally correct. This is a parent's job! Not a schools!

During my time at the abortion clinics, several girls asked to see pictures of what an actual abortion in process is like. An abortion clinic does not allow the woman to watch the ultrasound monitor while the abortion is taking place. Why? Because they will see a beating heart. They will realize that it's a child inside of them. It's also a multi-billion dollar business. As one abortionist callously told me, it takes him 9 months to deliver a child and to get paid. Why would he do that when he has a "family to feed" and he could make the same amount of money in 3 days by performing abortions.

I know that many of you are praying and I also know that we serve a sovereign, omnipotent and merciful God. Therefore, we need to continue to lay it at the foot of the cross and pray that it be His will that these atrocities cease from happening in our own backyards. If Mr. Obama does indeed become the leader of our nation, may God have mercy on us all!

And all I came on here for was to say that yes, you could use my graphics. Whew!

Guilt Ridden Bliss!

My very sweet friend, Sara, over at Wendt's Words did something horrible! She blogged about the world's easiest peanut butter cookie recipe. Guess what? Peanut butter cookies are my absolute favorite. Yes friends, in the midst of my diet, I decided to take a walk on the wild side.

Do you have ANY idea how many calories/fat grams/carbs/and Weight Watcher Points are in peanut butter cookies? Umm....when you eat 10 of them in one sitting?!!!! Yep. (picture head hanging low) That was me! I just cannot enjoy them in moderation. I was going to wait till "Not Me! Monday" to not confess about it, but I couldn't hold myself back.

Erring the side of caution, I must warn you. These cookies are only for that elite group that can achieve disciplined self-control. Unless you're like me and want to throw caution to the wind, Go ahead. Whatever category you fall in, you just have to go HERE and try these cookies out with a glass of cold milk! Oh, and that glass of cold milk? Good grief! Make sure it's whole milk and none of the skim stuff I've been drinking. That's what I did!

Sara, I love you, but I have to be honest. Those extra 45 minutes I had to stay on the treadmill were not fun! The cookies were to die for, though. YUMMERS! And because you're a Mama in waiting, both my hips and I forgive you. Now make up for it and let me hear your LOA is finally in!

PSSSTTTT......

Guess who ever-so-quietly stood next to me last night and very softly (almost so I could not hear) said, "I lub you, Mama" then quickly walked away??!!

I tried not to jump out of my seat get too excited so that it wouldn't trigger anything negative in her. Instead, I nonchalantly whispered back as she was leaving, "I love you, too". ::sigh::

Ooohh....how I love this boy!

Had you asked me a year and half ago, I might have confessed my fears that Kai would never speak well enough to be understood. I've mentioned often about the severity of his open palate. He came home at 22 months uttering mere sounds. Thankfully, those fears are now dissipating.

It's been a long road. A lot of speech therapy with a lot more to go. But he's come such a long way! He's got to be the most resilient, spirited little person I know. He's a trooper that just does not stop fighting and working so hard to get his point across. His heart is huge and the love he shows is immeasurable. He's no doubt a big-time Mama's boy and I'm lovin' every minute of it! I thank God every day for this blessing!

The clip below was taken last week when he finally was able (after working so hard for so long) to pronounce the "K" in his name, Kai. I showed his Daddy this clip last night and it just melted my heart as Scott's eyes filled with tears while he watched. We are so very proud of our sweet son and love him so much! We both agree that it is so sad that we no longer qualify to adopt from China. We'd go back in a heartbeat for another cleft baby.

(Please remember to turn off the background music first.)

Guess what today is?

I wasn't real sure if I was going to do the "Not Me! Monday" this week since last week was pretty rough with the hair deal and all.

I also thought of not doing it, because maybe my image was being tarnished from all the Not Me's. What image you ask? You know the one. Don't you think I'm like the June Cleaver type? heh! (Yes, someone did actually tell me that once! Scott almost fell over laughing when I told him.) I was just hopin' that everyone thought that I cooked everything from scratch and sweet husband would come home to the smell of apple pies cooling on the window sill, my house looking pristine and me polishing my halo every evening. Ummm....guess not, huh? Oh well. Here goes my "Not Me! Monday". Have fun!

• I did not drive aout 40 miles this morning to 3 different places looking for a McCain/Palin yard sign so I could give my neighbors something to talk about. I know that wasn't me because gas is too expensive for me to waste it on such silly things. And then, I didn't drive another 40 miles to drop one off for my sister and one for my Mom. :)

This is not a "borrowed" sign!


• While driving those 40 miles, I absolutely did not for one split second think about "borrowing" one from the side of the road. I would never do something like that.


• 
  I did not spend the last 3 days enticing Scott to eat everything that he shouldn't on his diet because I hate to be a loser and he's lost double of what I have! That would be mean and selfish and my sweet husband knows how very proud I am of his hard efforts! (By the way, he definitely did not take the bait!)


• 
  I positively did not leave my cell phone in the car while I was having lunch with AJ today and the school and Scott were trying incessantly to get ahold of me because Kai had fallen and needed stitches. No. I really am responsible. I am well aware that the reason I have a cell phone is in case of emergencies and not to chit-chat when I am bored in traffic.

Poor little guy lucked out and instead of getting 3 stitches, they were able to hold it together with Steri-strips.

• 
  I definitely did not stand in a fire ant pile, while the ants were biting and crawling up my legs. although I desperately wanted to scream and jump. I also did not try to play it off and act cool because I was in front of all the young Moms in the new playgroup I just joined. That would be just ridiculous. I am a mature, woman who does not need to look "cool" in front of the Moms in their 20's with babies the same age as mine.


• 
  I did not smile *big* when I saw my number go up on the Follow Me tab in the sidebar. Those figures mean nothing and it's just plain silly to want to have people following the craziness in your life.

For those that missed it: Sweet husband ratted me out and left this comment:

Your Husband Who Loves You has left a new comment on your post "Guess what today is?":

You did what? I knew it! I knew something evil was going on everytime you came at me with those slices of pizza, and that birthday cake!Hey! I have a NOT ME also! It wasn't me who went along with my wife who said, " Let's go to Outback Steakhouse for dinner "! And it wasn't me again who changed his mind about eating grilled shrimp and a salad, to a Blooming Onion and 1/2 rack of ribs and a salad, which was ok. UNTIL YESTERDAY! It WASN'T ME, "Mr. Atkins Dieter", Mr. " Only 25 grams of carbohydrates a day ", that went online to find out that a BLOOMING ONION WAS 296 grams!!! AAAUGHHH!!! For my diet that's 9 days worth of food! NOT ME NOT ME! Please say it wasn't meeeeeee!