Take a look at my Santa Clara Design blog to check out my latest freebies! Enjoy!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Free stuff coming soon...
Starting Monday, I am going to start up a new weekly post on my Santa Clara Design Blog! "Monday Freebies" - hopefully I'll come up with a better name by then. It'll be anything from free fonts that are really great to, free graphics, tutorials, photos, etc... I even plan to post some of my own work for free...
Anyway, I hope to post cool free stuff each Monday, so stay tuned!
Anyway, I hope to post cool free stuff each Monday, so stay tuned!
Katherine, the philosopher
This morning, Katherine is walking around the house saying,
"I is a person!"
"I is a person!"
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
St. Mary's Dedication Mass
Click this photo to go to my flickr page. There are more St. Mary's pics there. It was a beautiful Mass, with 2 Bishops, tons of priests and 4 rather rowdy children (not MINE, of course!).
The Church looked awesome. We even got to see them dedicate the altar, place relics of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Dominic. Then Bishop Aymond took his time smearing the new altar with a whole pitcher (I'm sure there is a fancier name for is) full of Chrism oil.
Go Aggie Catholics! Check out their site to see what's new: www.aggiecatholic.org
The Church looked awesome. We even got to see them dedicate the altar, place relics of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Dominic. Then Bishop Aymond took his time smearing the new altar with a whole pitcher (I'm sure there is a fancier name for is) full of Chrism oil.
Go Aggie Catholics! Check out their site to see what's new: www.aggiecatholic.org
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
first day of school 2008, two weeks late.
Aren't they CUTE!? And BIG!?
I have seen articles on "blog etiquette". I have purposely NOT read them, because I am sure it says something about not posting 3 blog posts in one day.
If I didn't post all these at once, they'd never get up!
So, you'll have to put up with me!! :)
I have seen articles on "blog etiquette". I have purposely NOT read them, because I am sure it says something about not posting 3 blog posts in one day.
If I didn't post all these at once, they'd never get up!
So, you'll have to put up with me!! :)
Katherine watching elephants in the back yard.
Thankfully the elephants didn't notice that her shirt was on backwards! You can't really tell here, but when you see the little buttons and bow on her back, it's pretty obvious.
She said there were elephants playing on our swing set. So, we watched them.
She said there were elephants playing on our swing set. So, we watched them.
real life funnies
Setting: Car, on the way to a doctor appointment on Labor Day. Kids squealing, poking each other, getting in each other's "space", etc... Lots of NOISE.
Katherine, in her little, sweet, high pitched voice: "I don't like ANYBODY in this car!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Later that day...
Setting: Making a pie with Emelie while everyone else is sleeping or otherwise occupied.
I have light corn syrup on the counter with the other ingredients.
Emelie: "Mom, is this that high ferocious corn syrup? I hear that's really bad for you!"
I bet so!!
Katherine, in her little, sweet, high pitched voice: "I don't like ANYBODY in this car!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Later that day...
Setting: Making a pie with Emelie while everyone else is sleeping or otherwise occupied.
I have light corn syrup on the counter with the other ingredients.
Emelie: "Mom, is this that high ferocious corn syrup? I hear that's really bad for you!"
I bet so!!
Gig 'em!
Curt took Jonathan to his first Aggie football game on Saturday (thanks for the tickets, Joe!) they had fantastic seats from which to watch our beloved Aggies make fools of themselves. But, being 6, Jonathan didn't seem to mind one bit!
Jonathan has had a hard time sleeping lately. His buddy at school told him that mummies are walking around Houston, TX. His friend thought this was funny. Jonathan, with his active imagination, is picturing them walking on over from Houston and into our neighborhood here in C.S. Poor guy!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Colleen - 5 months
"When wild flowers wake from their slumbers,
And shake the bright dew from each breast;
And Robin pours forth his sweet numbers,
To mate tucked away in her nest;
What form noiseless trips o'er the clover,
With step and with grace of a queen.
The neighbors all know her and love her.
My dear little Irish Colleen."
~Old Irish Folk Song
If only I knew how to sing it!
And shake the bright dew from each breast;
And Robin pours forth his sweet numbers,
To mate tucked away in her nest;
What form noiseless trips o'er the clover,
With step and with grace of a queen.
The neighbors all know her and love her.
My dear little Irish Colleen."
~Old Irish Folk Song
If only I knew how to sing it!
she'll hate me for this someday!
But I couldn't resist. At least I didn't take any of her little chubby legs!
Doesn't she just make you SMILE?
I love Colleen!
Doesn't she just make you SMILE?
I love Colleen!
Colleen's favorite past time...
chewing on her hands. and smiling at her mommy. and playing with her feet. and grabbing everything. especially the phone, while I'm on it. Those on the other end can tell cause they can hear her little fingers scraping on the receiver.
This photo shows Colleen's healthy little baby self- nice and round and cute!
This photo shows Colleen's healthy little baby self- nice and round and cute!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Obama, McCain and Abortion
After years working in the Pro-Life movement, and admitting that I have sometimes become a bit "numb" to the issue, this current news topic once again brings the horror of abortion to the forefront of my mind. Talk about a slippery slope... the same legislation that allows one person to "eliminate a pregnancy" eventually leads to killing babies that have been BORN ALIVE.
In Obama's interview on Saturday night (while the rest of us were watching Phelphs swim into history) he was asked “When do babies get human rights?”
While all this is going on, McCain ponders a Pro-Choice VP. Helllllooooo? You've got to be kidding me! That would be a really BAD idea, Senator McCain. (because I know he is among the 5 people that read this blog!)
Just a little reminder (at least to myself) that we are dealing to real little people here. Not concepts, talking points or positions. PEOPLE. They at least deserve for us to really discuss this issue before the presidential election.
In Obama's interview on Saturday night (while the rest of us were watching Phelphs swim into history) he was asked “When do babies get human rights?”
The senator from Illinois responded:
“I think that whether you are looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade”
Fr. Jonathan Morris (my favorite priestly correspondant) wrote:
You go, Father!What I find disturbing is that while Senator Obama says he doesn’t know when babies get rights, he has always felt comfortable voting to refuse the right to life to all pre-born babies, even ones who are aborted outside of the womb, through partial birth abortion or, shockingly, even after a botched abortion.
Senator Obama doesn’t know if these babies have human rights, and still he is willing to vote in favor of letting them die?
You don’t have to be a theologian or a scientist to know that kind of moral thinking is deeply flawed. Ask a hunter. When a deer hunter sees something moving in the bushes, and he isn’t absolutely sure it is a deer, and not a fellow hunter, he cannot shoot. He must clear up his doubt before acting. Anyone, of any pay grade, knows when it comes to defending human life it is only just to err on the side of caution.
While all this is going on, McCain ponders a Pro-Choice VP. Helllllooooo? You've got to be kidding me! That would be a really BAD idea, Senator McCain. (because I know he is among the 5 people that read this blog!)
Just a little reminder (at least to myself) that we are dealing to real little people here. Not concepts, talking points or positions. PEOPLE. They at least deserve for us to really discuss this issue before the presidential election.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Pro-Lifer talks to Barak Obama today...
I just go an email from Brian Gibson, the director of Pro Life Action Ministries in St. Paul, Minnesota. They save many lives through their prolife work. I met him many moons ago when I was the director of the Coalition for Life. He was the man who taught me all there is to know about sidewalk counseling. He shared his organization's goals and objectives and the TRUE definition of peaceful pro-life activism. I based the Coalition's mission after what I learned from him. He is a great man!
This morning, he met and talked with Barak Obama. I honestly couldn't pick a better person to talk to a presidential candidate about abortion. Here is his email... it's worth reading! Pray for Barak!
This morning, he met and talked with Barak Obama. I honestly couldn't pick a better person to talk to a presidential candidate about abortion. Here is his email... it's worth reading! Pray for Barak!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Lauren,
As I was en route to our St. Paul office after my regular sidewalk counseling time at Planned Parenthood this morning, I came across a parked motorcade at the Copper Dome Restaurant. I surmised, with all the police and Secret Service types in the area, that it was Mr. Obama's motorcade. I parked quickly across the street and then proceeded to see if I could get close enough for him to hear me call out a plea fro the unborn. To my surprise, there were very few people there (with a small crowd starting to gather as word spread) and that I could easily walk right into the restaurant and see the Presidential candidate.
Dear Lauren,
As I was en route to our St. Paul office after my regular sidewalk counseling time at Planned Parenthood this morning, I came across a parked motorcade at the Copper Dome Restaurant. I surmised, with all the police and Secret Service types in the area, that it was Mr. Obama's motorcade. I parked quickly across the street and then proceeded to see if I could get close enough for him to hear me call out a plea fro the unborn. To my surprise, there were very few people there (with a small crowd starting to gather as word spread) and that I could easily walk right into the restaurant and see the Presidential candidate.
I quickly began to pray for the right words and the right boldness to be a good witness for the babies that Mr. Obama has forsaken in his political career. Once in the restaurant, I learned that I could not get in far enough to see him and that I would have to go outside as he departed the building. A Divine appointment took over and I found myself at the very front of the crowd where Mr. Obama was going to shake hands and interact.
As he came out, many in the small crowd reacted as if Mr. Obama were Hollywood celebrity. He walked directly toward me and reached out to shake the hand of the woman next to me. At this point I was praying diligently for the right approach and the right words. I think these came to me.
Mr. Obama reached for my hand and came in close enough that I could speak directly to him in his ear. I told him that he needed to change his beliefs and political response to the unborn. That they, like us, are human beings. He reacted with both a willingness to listen and a bit of a shock that he was being challenged. I continued, with Mr. Obama responding that he knew it was a difficult subject and so forth. But we continued to hold the handshake I spoke again and we conversed for several minutes, many times longer than he spoke to anyone on the sidewalk this morning. Our conversation ended with me letting him know that I had just come from Planned Parenthood trying to save lives and that abortion is killing a much higher percentage of black children than any other race.
The encounter was polite, not the way I have had encounters with politicians who are pro-abortion in the past. This, I believe, was the work of the Holy Spirit. I don't even think any of those around us had a clue as to what our conversation was. But, for this unusual moment, my audience was not those within hearing or the media, but a Presidential candidate. And I know he heard the truth, which he acknowledged. He thanked me for my approach and I pressed him to honestly pray and change his position. Whatever we think of Mr. Obama, we all can pray for a deep change of heart toward the unborn.
In other news: 40 Days for Life Twin Cities first planning meeting will be held on August 28, from 11 AM - 1 PM at Bethlehem Baptist Church, downtown Minneapolis (near the Metrodome). All interested in learning more or helping with the organizing of this important campaign can go to www.40daysforlife.com/twincities for more information and the link to the church for directions.
Call Brian Walker at Pro-Life Action Ministries 651-771-1500 ext. 211 or send him a message at Brian.Walker@plam.org to RSVP for this meeting.
A very good video is available to view at HTTP://www.40daysforlife.com/show.cfm regarding the whole 40 Days for Life Campaign.
Sincerely in Christ,
Brian Gibson
Executive Director
Pro-Life Action Ministries
http://www.plam.org
Sincerely in Christ,
Brian Gibson
Executive Director
Pro-Life Action Ministries
http://www.plam.org
If you remain indifferent in time of adversity, your strength will depart from you. Rescue those who are being dragged to death, and from those tottering to execution withdraw not If you say, "I know not this man!" does not he who tests hearts perceive it? He who guards your life knows it, and he will repay each one according to his deeds. Proverbs 24:10-12
P.S. Summer has long been a "slow" time for donations to our ministry. Add to this "slow" time an increase in life-saving activities and the associated costs, increases in all expense (just like everyone else), and the costs involved in this upcoming 40 Days for Life Campaign have left us in dire need. Please help us with a generous donation today. Your gifts keep us on the front lines of this abortion battle, saving lives today and taking on the giant abortion industry. Donations may be made over the internet at www.plam.org and by clicking on the "Donate" link. Certainly, you are welcome to donate via postal mail at P.O. Box 75368, St. Paul, MN 55175-0368.
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