The Third Prayer

Because I have absolutely no time to write, but wanted to share something…

I read the below post on the blog, Reflections of a Paralytic (thanks Meredith!)  Check out her website sometime.  She is a beautiful, Catholic woman, who is 100% pro-life.

After reading her post today, I am just disgusted in the world we live in today.  That we have resorted to these measures to protect.  

[DailyMail] Extra small condoms for boys as young as 12 could soon be on our shelves.

The Hotshot condoms are going on sale in Switzerland after research found that not enough 12 to 14-year-old boys were having protected sex.

The condoms are likely to end up on sale in Britain, said their manufacturer Lamprecht AG.

A spokesman said the UK would be ‘top priority’ if the company expanded abroad, considering it had the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe.

Nysse Norballe said: ‘At the moment we are only producing the Hotshot in Switzerland.

‘But the UK is certainly a very attractive market since there is a very high rate of underage conception.’

Seriously?  How scary is that?  Just thinking about a 12 year old “needing” condoms freaks me out.  So young to understand the act of making love, so young to understand what can happen if the pure act of making love will make a baby.  So young.  Where are the parents?

Frank thinks that when I read something I instantly jump on it and believe it is true.  Well, that is not true.  When I first read of the disturbing ingredients used to make some of the vaccines I couldn’t accept it.  There was no way that the source was accurate.  So I dug deeper, and deeper, and deeper, and unfortunately, every place I looked pointed in the same direction.  I am so disturbed to know that Mary Rene may have received up to six separate vaccines that included human tissues from an aborted baby.  Yes, from an aborted baby.  I really could not believe that when I first read it because it seemed too far out there.  I mean, really, a vaccine from an aborted baby?  If embryonic stem cell research caused such an uproar then how have vaccines slide under the rug?  I just couldn’t make sense of it.  But it is true.

Along with Stephanie Cave’s book, “What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Vaccinations,” there are many websites that have pointed out this fact.  I even found a list of all the vaccines that did contain the aborted baby online.  That is when I realized Mary Rene could have gotten six of the vaccines.  Ignorance is bliss.

So I dug even deeper to see what my church had to say about this.  I mean, if we are so against abortion and embryonic stem cell research then where do we stand with vaccinations?  The Vatican released a statement in June 2005 addressing this issue in Medicina e Morale by the Center fro Bioethics of Catholic University in Rome, titled: Moral Reflections on Vaccines Prepared From Cells Derived From Aborted Human Foetuses.  It is an eight page document regarding vaccinations using aborted babies and this is how they summarize it:

• There is a grave responsibility to use alternative vaccines and to make a conscientious objection with regard to those which have moral problems;
• As regards the vaccines without an alternative, the need to contest so that others may be prepared must be reaffirmed, as should be the lawfulness of using the former in the meantime insomuch as is necessary in order to avoid a serious risk not only for one’s own children but also, and perhaps more specifically, for the health conditions of the population as a whole-especially for pregnant women;
• The lawfulness of the use of these vaccines should not be misinterpreted as a declaration of the lawfulness of their production, marketing and use, but is to be understood as being a passive material cooperation and, in its mildest and remotest sense, also active, morally justified as an extrema ratio due to the necessity to provide for the good of one’s children and of the people who come in contact with the children (pregnant women);
• Such cooperation occurs in a context of moral coercion of the conscience of parents, who are forced to choose to act against their conscience or otherwise, to put the health of their children and of the population as a whole at risk.  This is an unjust alternative choice, which must be eliminated as soon as possible

I did some more research and it turns out that every vaccinations that Mary Rene received with aborted babies had an alternative option but the MMR.  Measles and Mumps separately are available without the aborted babies but Rubella is not.  Since the MMR is only offered as a trio, then we will not be giving this vaccinations to Sweet Pea.  As far as Polio, Chickenpox, and Hep. A are concerned, we will only be giving Sweet Pea these vaccinations if the alternative is available.  We feel that it is our moral duty to do this.

Interestingly, the CDC website does not list aborted baby on their website as an ingredients.  They actually only address a few ingredients and then vaguely mentioned that other combinations of ingredients are used.

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 Besides tissues from an aborted baby, there are more offensive ingredients in vaccinations.  You can go to this website and read the entire list of crazy ingredients or just scan the list below that I took from their website.

Formaldehyde. “Pungent gas: a colorless gas with a distinctive smell. Use: manufacture of resins and fertilizers, preservation of organic specimens.”

Mercury. “Liquid metallic element: a poisonous heavy silver-white metallic element that is liquid at room temperature.”

Antifreeze  “A liquid causing low freezing point: a substance added to a liquid to lower its freezing point.  An antifreeze such as ethylene glycol is added to or substituted for the water in a vehicle’s radiator to stop it from freezing in winter.”

Yuck.  And that’s all I have to say for now until I read the Dr. Sears book.

I got this pamphlet in the mail and would like to share some interesting facts:

Number of Days/Weeks After Conception

18 Days: A baby’s heart begins to beat

43 Days: Brain coordinates movement

8 Weeks: All organs are functioning

9 Weeks: Has permanent, individual fingerprints

10 Weeks: Sense of touch (comfort/pain)

12 Weeks: A baby can smile, suck his/her thumb, and make a fist

So right now, my little Sweet Pea has his/her own unique fingerprints!  WOW!  Already, and only the size of a blueberry.  Right now, my little Sweet Pea, can feel my love and can feel pain. 

If it is legal to abort a baby, and a woman aborts a baby at 10 weeks or later, that little baby can feel it happen.  That little baby can feel the pain that is inflicted on him or her.  The baby can feel.

But that is only believed if you believe it is a baby.  So when do you believe that life begins?

Ignorance is bliss.  I know there are many women who opt for an abortion who don’t have the knowledge that it is a baby, and not “fatty tissue.”  It would be so nice if we could arm every woman with this incredible truth before they make such a life changing decision.

This is Part III in the series on Natural Family Planning.  You can see Part II by clicking here.

The Pill

The wonderful birth control pill.  The pill that was invented to make so many women feel liberated.  So many women have the freedom to do what they want.  The pill to fix physical problems.  The magic pill.  Oh little did we know.

Two weeks ago I mentioned how: Days before ovulation occurs, the woman’s body produces mucus.  The basic purpose of mucus is to line the walls of the uterus so a fertilize egg can attach and grow into a baby!  Isn’t that incredible??? Talk about God designing the woman’s body for the purpose of carrying a child. 

 Regardless of your faith, if you are pro-life and using the pill, you should know how the pill really works.  When we learned NFP years ago, I mentioned  to the nurse how I used to take the pill. (I will focus on my pill use in another week’s post.)  At that point she described to me how it worked.  Basically, the hormones in the pill dries a woman out so she doesn’t produce mucus.  Mucus is needed so an embryo can attach to the uterus wall and grow into a baby.  When there is no mucus, where does the baby go?  You guessed it, see you later, bye-bye.  Basically, when you are on the pill, you can still ovulate and produce an egg.  That egg can still be fertilized by sperm.  That egg and sperm, creating a baby, can still move down your fallopian tubes and descent to your uterus.  Unfortunately that baby has no where to grow so it just dispenses from your body.  So really, the pill allows you to get pregnant.  It just keeps you from staying pregnant.  And in the United States, that is legal.

If you didn’t read that last paragraph, you can just watch this video instead.  It states the fact better than I can ever articulate.  I found this great video on the Natural Family Planning blog.  If you are interested in learning more about NFP from people who are more experienced than I’ll ever be, check out their blog.

There are many women that are told by their physicians that the pill will help fix their female problems.  But really, the pill just acts like a band-aid.  The pill doesn’t fix any female problems at all.  It just stops up your system.  And when you later decide to get off the pill, you still have the problem to fix.  Most times, a combination of diet and exercise can help ease the problem.  Which is so much cheaper, and safer, then the pill.

This amazingly, beautiful, well-crafted pro-life ad will appear on American Idol tonight.

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This past Saturday, Frank, Mary Rene and I went to a little petting zoo with our Parents as Teachers program.  Mary Rene was too young to do most of the activities so we only stayed for about 10 minutes.  But there were baby chicks and our PAT educator was holding one and let Mary Rene pet it.  Mary Rene was very focused as she stared at the chick and started touching it.  Of course you know that babies don’t know how to be gentle and pet yet.  So she grabbed the chick and wouldn’t let go.  I was so scared she was going to kill it.

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Monday I was down in the City of St. Louis applying for a building permit and on the way home I had to drive by Planned Parenthood.  I noticed there was an area fenced off with a sign that said “DO NOT STAND ON GRASS.”  You can tell they just laid fresh grass over the entire front area.  This area happened to be the same place where the 40 Days For Life protesters stood.  So it was a good feeling to know that we not only saved 9 babies in the St. Louis area but we killed their grass along the way.  I went back to the office and was telling my co-worker Tabitha about it.  But she clearly pointed out that it was a shame they care more about their new grass then babies.

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Something I haven’t mentioned on here yet but will eventually is that Frank & I started clipping coupons.  I’ve been saving a lot of money (again I will talk about this in another post.)  But this week has been coupon crazy week at K-Mart.  Coupons under .75 are tripled and anything under $4 is doubled, automatically.  I’ve stocked up on so many items for the house and plan on going for another trip to K-Mart this weekend.  But my favorite deal was on diapers.  I had five coupons for the Little Swimmer diapers so I went and bought five bags.  I ended up getting 60 diapers for $25.  I saved $15!!! What a deal.  The sale ends the 25th so you still have time!

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I finished making my first taggie blanket.  But when I went to sew the final stitch my sewing machine broke.  My mom brought her machine over so I could finish it.  But I didn’t know how to do a reverse stitch on her machine so I had to overlap an edge. 

This one goes to Natalie who I will see tomorrow.  Don’t worry Jenn C & Michelle, I still am making your girls blankets.  But yours are purple which requires purple thread and right now I am in the middle of making a pink dress and a pink shopping cart cover.  Once I am done I will switch the thread and make your blankets.

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I am so very happy that spring has finally sprung.  Amen for nice weather!

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My co-worker Tabitha just bought a house and there was a Mary statue in the front yard.  Her husband is not a Mary fan so he wanted to get rid of it.  So I inherited a new, beautiful Mary statue for my front yard.  Of course I had to put my Marys together for a photo-op.

Our other Mary is in the back yard for now.  If anyone in my area doesn’t have a Mary statue and wants one let me know.

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Last but not least, Mary Rene is going on her first trip to the zoo today!  I can’t wait to see her reaction to all the animals!  She loves dogs and cats so I can’t imagine what she will do when she sees a big giraffe or the penguins.  I’ll post pictures, don’t worry!

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On top of having eczema and a slight case of rosacea, I now have a skin condition called seborrhea.  That’s why my eyelids and eyebrows were peeling and itching so bad around Christmas.  Which eventually spread to my mouth, chin and neck.  Although a lot of people thought the rash on my neck was a hickey (who has time to get one of those?)  I was itching like no other!  Luckily the cream works quick and most of my rash is gone.  I pray that Mary Rene gets Frank’s smooth, soft, disease-free skin.  Have I ever mentioned that my hubby has the softest hands I have ever felt?  They are soft as baby skin.

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There was a good deal going on at Babies R Us so we went ahead and purchased Mary Rene’s convertible car seat.  She still has plenty of time in her current car seat (5 more pounds) but there were savings we couldn’t pass up.  After the 15% discount, in store $10 coupon and our $75 gift certificate we got the car seat for $25.  Not bad. 

I’m so glad the weather is getting warmer and I don’t have to carry her in that car seat all the time.  It is getting heavier and heavier everyday.  With the warmer weather we can keep it in the car and just carry her to the car.  Hello spring!

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So much for not nursing Mary Rene to sleep anymore.  Sure the first night we took a go at it but every time since then we went back to our old ways.  She has a second tooth about to cut through and it is really bothering her.  She is so tired, rubbing her eyes and nose, for a nap but can’t get comfortable.  So all day yesterday (and so far today) I had to nurse her to nap.  And I eventually did it to get her to sleep at night. 

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Mary Rene wrote her first letter on the computer.  Here it is:

  N  nnnn V

 NBBBBBB                        

T MMMMMMMMMMMMM////////                                 NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNCCCCCCCCCKL BMB NNNB   //BBB V                      

You’ll notice that she hit Caps Lock twice!  She didn’t press “Enter” or “Return” to get to the next line though.  Her hand was stuck on the space bar.

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My mom bought Mary Rene a walker for an early Easter present.  I spent about 30 minutes putting it together yesterday.  I was so excited to get Mary Rene in it to see what she would do.  I set her in it and

she is too short.  She needs to grow at least another inch before she will be able to walk in it.  I don’t want her learning to walk on her tip toes so we won’t be using it for awhile.  So the present might actually become an “on-time” Easter present!

Baby girl loves to practice walking though.  When I hold her hands while she is standing she actually moves her feet forward.  And she loves to stand against the couch.  She can do it without me holding on to her but she falls back quick.  I think she might be walking before crawling.

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Three weeks ago, we were on our way home from a sporting event downtown and we drove by the local Planned Parenthood.  I pointed it out to Frank and told him about the time I was running with my friends and we ran by it when we got lost.  There was a group of protesters outside with very disturbing signs.  Those images never left my head.  I told him how our church does prayer vigils outside the clinic occasionally and I wish I could participate sometime.  Well the next day in the bulletin they had an announcement that for the 40 Days for Life campaign our church would be praying the rosary outside of the clinic today.  So I took it as a sign from God that he wanted me to participate.  Later this afternoon, my mother-in-law, Mary Rene and myself will be praying the rosary outside of the clinic.  This is completely out of my comfort level but I feel called to do this.  So please pray for us as we pray for them!

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I call this last thought-Adventures with the Sippy Cup.  My mother-in-law had some extra milk that Mary Rene didn’t drink while I was at work so she gave it to me.  No way was I going to let it go to waste (although most of it did.)  Instead I  let Mary Rene play with the milk in the sippy cup.

Today is the 36th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade being passed.  Take time out of your day to say a prayer for these little babies.  Also pray for pregnant women who are thinking about abortion.  Let the Lord open their hearts and minds.  May they realize there are other options out there.  There are groups to support them during this difficult time.  They can give their child life.  A gift we all deserve.

President-elect Barack Obama has already stated that one of the first things he will do if elected president is get the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) passed.  I know I have already stated what FOCA is but I am going to do it again just to bring this issue to light:

1. FOCA will make abortion a “right” throughout the nine months of pregnancy
2. No government body can deny the right to abortion
3. Women would NOT need to be told the risk of abortion
4. Parents would NOT need to be informed of their minor’s abortion
5. Conscience protection laws would end
6. Abortions would NOT have to be performed by a licensed physician
7. Partial-birth abortion would be legal again
8. We, as taxpayers, would have to pay for abortions
9. Licensed physicians would have to perform an abortion if requested
10. Faith-based hospitals would have to perform abortions (1 in 9 hospitals in the US is faith based.)

That sums it up.  But read #7 again.  All the points are wrong but #7 is the worst.  We just can’t allow this to be legal again.

And really doesn’t this so called “Freedom of Choice Act” strip us of our choice?  We would HAVE to pay for abortions regardless if we are pro-life or pro-choice.  A doctor would HAVE to perform an abortion regardless of his/her religious beliefs.  Who’s ‘choice’ is this bill referring to anyways?

If you oppose FOCA then you really need to consider signing the Fight FOCA petition.  If you are an Obama supporter but are pro-life you still should sign the petition.  We all have our flaws and as much as you may love our president-elect, FOCA would be a huge mistake for this country.  Please think hard about this and pray about it. 

Here is the Fight FOCA website where you can sign the petition.

Gianna Jessen is living proof that babies are miracles, if they are given the chance.  When Gianna’s birth mother was 7 1/2 months pregnant she tried to abort Gianna.  The doctor chose to abort Gianna with saline.  For 18 hours, saline was swirling around in her mother’s womb in an attempt to kill her.  But Gianna was a fighter.  The doctor suspected that she would be “born” dead around 9 a.m. so he wasn’t in the office when she made her arrival at 6 a.m.  When Gianna was born alive an amazing nurse called the paramedics and Gianna was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors worked very hard to save her life.  Their attempt worked and Gianna survived.  That was 31 years ago.  In her lifetime she has met 12 other people who have survived abortions. 

It almost is a double negative when you say “survived an abortion.”  When an abortion is meant to kill but you can survive.  I guess that just shows you how cruel and unusual some of the abortion procedures can be.  Even though the Born Alive Infant Protection Act was passed in 2002 there are still clinics that practice this type of abortion.  It was recently noted that a Planned Parenthood Clinic in the east coast was still performing this method.  Some babies who are meant to be aborted actually come out alive.  There is no statistic showing how many survive and are still alive today to talk about it.  And there is no statistic that shows how many survive but die shortly after because they are not cared for properly.

How scary does that sound?