shutdown avoided... for now

I'm not gonna blog about this. Just sayin'...why did it take until 23:59:59 to come to a conclusion? Big fat stinkin' Good Grief!!!

how the gov't shutdown will affect our family

1. Half pay. HALF PAY!! But Congress gets paid.
2. Military commissaries (grocery stores) shut down
3. Military medical treatment facilities shut down except for ER care, if you are lucky enough to live near a medical facility even with ER
4. No referrals via TriCare for medical treatment, because TriCare appointment line will be shut down
5. Offices devoid of civilian employees; Mr. BikeMan's office is over half-staffed with civilians

This is what I could think of off of the top of my head. I'm sure there will be more.

I'm fuming right now.

happy spring!

Not sure what else to say this morning other than, "Happy Spring." I'm NOT thrilled about the events in Washington, DC yesterday, but I refuse to be brought down by the passage of nationalized health care. I'm not disengaging myself from politics, but I'm refusing to wallow in anger and frustration. Abortion policy aside (that's a whole other HUGE PROBLEM), my concern lies in the fact that this legislation is a breach of States' rights. Further, money is being spent that DOESN'T exist. Our country is going deeper and deeper into debt. I'm worried that the hands of doctors will be tied. Finally, I don't trust the Executive Order prohibiting federal funding of abortion. I'm no attorney, but there has to be a loophole somewhere. This President is TOO pro-abortion to have not left a window open.

Let's just hope that individual States grow a collective backbone, and challenge the constitutionality of healthcare legislation.

Keep looking up, fix your eyes on Christ. Remember heaven is your home, your citizenship is not here. We have not been promised an easy road. And Happy Spring.

Psalm 42:11

Why are you down cast, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

mcdonald's rant

Okay, no flack about MickeyD's please -- we went as a special treat for the girls today. Anyway, I got the girls Happy Meals. Now, I'm no big fan of the commercialization of childhood as you all know, with so much children's stuff having tie-ins to characters, but the occasional My Little Pony or Hello Kitty isn't the end of the world. But, what in the world? AVATAR themed Happy Meals? Isn't that movie rated PG-13? Now, Chad and I would love to see that movie...it looks exciting and well made. But for 3 year olds and up? Good grief!

think outside of the box

Today I'm calling our local cable provider to turn off our cable for a month. We know we should just go cold turkey, but hey, it's forty year old habit. I'm sure it will be like walking through molasses to get through the millions of sales pitches and irresistible offers that the C*x Rep will throw at me. Our goal is to be cable-free. I don't believe we will be purchasing a digital antenna, either. Our goal is to utilize streaming Netflix and DVDs. We're not anti-entertainment, just for anti-force-fed media. We already get most of our news from the web anyway, and we stay informed.

For several years now, I've recommended a book by Juliet B. Schor, Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture about the unethical marketing practices corporations are using, aiming as young as infancy. Today, John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute wrote an amazing commentary about this very thing. Please take the time to read it, even if you can't devote the time to the Schor book. Here's a link to the Whitehead commentary, and an excerpt:

Children are in greater physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual danger now than at any other time during the life of this nation--and the threat is coming from a multi-billion dollar industry that is using the latest advances in psychology, anthropology, and neuroscience to transform children into profitable consumers from cradle to grave.

It's no surprise that the pre-teen demographic has become a major draw for marketers and big business. There are presently 52 million kids under the age of 12 in the United States. These kids spend $40 billion of their own money on everything from clothes and music to toys and electronics annually, but more importantly, they influence an additional $700 billion in parental spending.

consumer products safety improvement act -- AACKK!

One of my favorite toy manufacturers, Selecta will no longer be selling in the US due to the high cost of doing business under the upcoming changes to the CPSIA (Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act). It's a honkin' big shame, too.

http://www.playthings.com/article/CA6620437.html

http://www.unplugyourkids.com/2008/12/09/auf-wiedersehen-selecta/#comment-5261

We're throwing the baby out with the bathwater. I'll post pictures of the Selecta toys we have soon.

tall

Yesterday I measured the girls. Ilsa, 2 1/2 years old, is as tall right now as Ingrid was on her 3rd birthday. And Ingrid has grown 1 1/2 inches since her 4th birthday. This makes them both taller than 93% of other kids their ages, respectively.

I'm wearing a green shirt today that Ingrid really likes for some reason. It's just green, nothing special. But today she asked if she could wear it when she is big enough. I have a feeling that's going to be sooner rather than later.


Ingrid has also been commenting on clothes A LOT lately. Unfortunately, she's commenting on styles that Chad and I just don't approve of. I think clothing is going to be a matter of prayer for our family in relation to Ingrid. She likes anything that is glitzy and fancy, or shows shoulders and back. It's that princess syndrome again. Arghhh!!!! Belle's yellow dress (from Disney's Beauty and the Beast) is her favorite Disney Princess ball gown. Yes, there's a heirarchy of ball gowns. And Jasmine's "Arabian Nights" outfit (my description) is her favorite "everyday outfit" worn by a Disney Princess. (Jasmine is from Aladdin.) It's not the most modest thing in the world. She is begging me to "make her a Jasmine costume" for Halloween. Not gonna happen.


Again a common theme in our lives: she was exposed to something, that we didn't want her to be exposed to, outside of our home. And we're not for cloistering. I love that she loves princesses...I love to see her femininity developing. But it KILLS ME that we have to teach her this lesson at 4! Why is she even thinking about this? She is constantly asking me about the princess' "womanly forms" in relation to modesty knowing full well what I'm going to say, yet she loves that "look".


I have always wanted my children to look like children, not little adults. I don't think the little adult thing is cute at all. Yet she is constantly drawn to adult-style clothing. At FOUR. I won't go so far as to call us victims, but we are targets of media bombardment. And we must continue to teach her discernment from a very young age.

shelter from the storm

Okay, I'm frustrated...Ingy is begging to see Spiderman and Batman. She's 4 1/2. Frankly, other than the picture of the yellow and black bat logo and Spidey's face, I don't know that she even knows what she's talking about.

But I'm frustrated that these icons are even in her psyche. I'm frustrated that the parents of kids in her 4's and 5's class at church let their kids see these films. I'm frustrated that she thinks we are keeping her "out of the loop". We have explained over and over that there are some things that although not necessarily bad are just not for her due to her age, etc. She understands...and accepts this...until the next time a little buddy at church brings it up.

I knew we would never be able to shelter her completely, but I didn't realize just how pervasive the culture at large would be down to her little level. It makes me MAD! We work hard to "edit" what our girls are exposed to. We have kept the princess thing to a minimum (princesses are great, but can be all-consuming for many little girls); we have avoided Barbie (and hope to continue to avoid plastic dolls similar to her); books are still their favorite thing; they still love blocks and stuffed animals and coloring. We are determined to continue to filter their entertainment and the cultural influences that touch them.

Facebook Rant

I've been on Facebook for about 3 weeks now. I have found people I have not seen in 20 years; some very good friends I had unintentionally lost contact with; and 95% of my current social circle has shown up on FB as well.

But...I feel like the mode of communication is so superficial. Yeah, it's fun to send plants for your friend's greenpatch. It's interesting to take the compatibility quizzes. It's kind of fun to set up a "flair" pinboard showing (off) ones (heightened sense of) taste and (superiorily intellectual) interests.

I can't help thinking that although I know where people have ended up, and seen a few pictures of their families, and know where they work, I don't know them any more than I did pre-FB. In fact, I have found that the quality of contact with my current social circle (all of whom I love dearly) has declined. While not as good as face-to-face contact, I did send meaningful e-mails to my friends before FB.

I'm not giving up Facebook. It is FUN. But it is not meaningful. Therefore, I won't be spending much time time on it henceforth...

I'd welcome comments. Anyone? Anyone? If anyone is out there reading my blog?

The Olympics

Countdown: 6 days until the Olympics. I've been a fan since the 1972 Winter Games in Sapporo Japan. My parents woke me up in the middle of the night so I could watch the women's figure skating finals. I still remember Janet Lynn skating. (Photo credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Lynn).


The 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, NY (Scott Hamilton, Tai & Randy, downhill skiing), and the 1984 Summer Games in LA (gymnastics, swimming, in America!!!, Carl Lewis, the Evil Empire boycott) are tied as my favorite. 2002 Salt Lake games will always be special because we lived in Utah at the time, and we got to go to three events: Austria vs. Latvia men's hockey, curling, and the Men's figure skating final -- that was amazing, even though we were in the top balcony, 3rd row from the top and could really only watch via jumbotron. Sarajevo 1984 holds bittersweet memories - the Games were great, but the country crumbled afterwards. I watched the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France from a reclined position following my ACL replacement. I don't think I missed a minute; good timing! Clearly, I'm an Olympics nut.


So here comes Beijing on 8/8/08 (that was smart marketing guys). China has a horrible human rights record. The head of their "FDA" was executed after a series of food and drug safety scandals: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/09/AR2007070900689_pf.html. Read more about China's execution policy here: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Sky-News-Archive/Article/20082851236184. Amnesty International even charges China with tying execution policy to organ harvesting: http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-06-14-death-van_x.htm. Forced abortion is still taking place: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9766870. Religion is "allowed", as long as one worships in a State-approved facility and manner. Voice of the Martyrs often has documented reports of persecution: http://www.persecution.com/.

While not on the par with their human rights record, China is in the process of damming up the beautiful Yangtze river (anyone remember "The Story About Ping"? Yep - that river. (photo credit: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?r=1&ISBN=9780670672233&ourl=The%2DStory%2DAbout%2DPing%2FMarjorie%2DFlack) Villages and towns have been flooded, ruining livlihoods and homes, affecting millions of people. Read more: http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/china/three-gorges-dam.

And does anyone AT ALL remember Tienamen Square?

(Photo credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_protests_of_1989)

The New And Improved China unveils itself to the World: documentaries "From the Inside" on PBS and NatGeo channels. "We've changed!" "We love the West!" ("WE LOVE YOUR MONEY".)



I love the Olympics, and I'll watch...with one eye closed hating to admit that I'm watching them and loving them, and sharing the experience with my girls, because this will probably be Ingrid's first memory of the Olympics, and feeling horribly guilty for supporting them...and still loving them. Hopefully remembering that there are people who can't watch them from inside their prison cells because they spoke out about the horror of Tienamen Square and were bold enough to proclaim their love for Christ outside of the parameters of a State-approved venue.