2500

JP and I are watching a show on TLC about sex in America.
They just showed a statistic that says that 2500 TEENS get pregnant in America everyday.
Let me repeat that for you: 2500 TEENS get pregnant in the US E.V.E.R.Y.D.A.Y. That is unbelievable!
And to top it off, it costs the American tax payers 9 billion dollars a year.
WOW!
My jaw is on the ground. How has this happened?

The show is blaming the school system - Of course! It's always the schools' fault. Their stance is that public schools wait until 9th grade to teach kids about sex, and by that point, it is too late.
I do agree with one part of that - waiting to talk to your child about sex until they are in 9th grade is a mistake.
Children need to hear the FACTS about sex way before that point, but they also need to hear that sex is an act that takes place between two married people.

Now, before I have people attacking me for saying that 'sex is for married people,' please let me explain. I did not always make the right choices in my life. In fact, before I became a Christian (almost 3 years ago), I made A LOT of choices that were not right. But I can no longer dwell on that. I made the decision to accept Christ as my Lord & Savior, I was baptized, and my sins were washed away - that is still hard to totally grasp! What an amazing gift I was given.

Anyways, back to my original topic - the out of control teen pregnancy/sex thing. I DO NOT feel that it is the public schools' responsibility to teach children about sex.
PARENTS - WAKE UP!!!!!
WE need to educate our children about sex, AND how important it is to wait until they are married to have sex!
It's no different than how we teach our kids to clean their rooms, or say please and thank you, or be kind & respectful to others.
It's a part of being a parent!

Another side being taken on the show is that churches are wrong for teaching abstinence. Several teens are saying that they feel their churches should have a program in place that teaches about safe sex. It should teach them about their options. Again, my jaw is on the ground.
Saying that is like saying that churches should not teach monogamy in a marriage. Instead, they should just teach safe sex when you cheat on your spouse.
OR, that churches should not teach about forgiveness. Instead, just teach how to be safe when you take revenge and/or kill a person who has wronged you.
OR, that churches should not teach about being honest. Instead, they should just teach you how to be safe when you committ robbery.
The Bible is very clear on these topics.
There is no room for discussion.
You can live your life one of two ways:
THE RIGHT WAY or the wrong way.

olympic gold medalist in the making

I know that many of you are confused by this title. And you will be even more confused when I tell you that I am the gold medalist in the making. My 'sport' isn't part of the Olympics YET, but I plan to share my ideas with the Olympic committee for the upcoming 2012 summer Olympics.
Does anyone know if they are open to suggestions?
Anyways, as a new mom, I've learned many new skills. Because some of these skills take a lot of practice AND cause me to break a sweat, I feel that it is only fair that they be classified as a sport.
And since they are a sport, they should be a part of the Olympics. I mean if ping pong table tennis is a part of the Olympics, then my new sports should be added, no questions asked!
* No disrespect meant to table tennis players*

So, do you want to know what my new 'sports' are?
Drum roll please!

Sport 1: Diaper Changing of a mobile child
AND
Sport 2: Snot sucking of a mobile child

Winners would be determined by whoever completes them the fastest and with the most accuracy.
All babies used in the contests will be required to be very mobile and very active - over the age of nine months.
Disclaimer: No babies will be harmed in the participation of these sports.

So what do you think?
Any takers?
I'm just warning you that I am a master at both sports, and I fully plan to take gold in both events.
London 2012 here I come!

a different kind of dance

so, becca has added a new word to her vocabulary! make sure you turn up your volume so you can hear what she has to say!

i'm pretty sure she's a genius:)

is an ear infection too much to ask for?

So, I was mistaken when I posted Monday that the Stomach bug had struck our house again.  I assumed it was the stomach bug since Becca threw up, but come to find out, I was wrong.  Tuesday she was fine and even went back to Nat’s, but early Wednesday morning she woke up screaming and was running a temperature of 103.  I called the doctor, and we went in for our appointment at 11:15.  Dr. G came in and did her examination, but couldn’t ‘see’ anything wrong, so she wanted to run some tests.  First, we did a strep test and that came back negative.  The next test was to see if Becca had a UTI, and just in case you don’t know, the only way to test for this is by getting a sterile urine sample.  What does that mean for an 11 month old?  Being catheterized!!!

This was horrible.  I was not emotionally or mentally prepared for this, and my sweet girl certainly didn’t enjoy it either.  The nurse was wonderful and it was over in less than a minute, but Becca was so upset.  I got her calmed down and fed her a snack while we waited on the results. 

When Dr. G came back in, I could tell immediately that something was wrong.  She started by telling me that Becca did in fact have a UTI.  She then went on to explain what ALL we have to do now.

First, we had to get a rocephin shot – two actually because they had to break the dosage into two shots.  One in each thigh:(  Then, as long as her fever went away (which it did) we could start on oral antibiotics today.

That didn’t seem so bad, but I wasn’t prepared for what she had to say next. Because of her age and the fact that she has a UTI, we now have to have tests run at Children’s Hospital to make sure she doesn’t have VUR - vesicoureteral reflux.  In layman’s terms, this is when your urine backs up into your ureter and/or kidneys. 

What tests are required to diagnose this?  An ultrasound of the kidneys and a VCUG - voiding cystourethrogram.  The first test is pretty self explanatory, but the second one, not so much.  The VCUG is where they catheterize the baby and then insert dye into their bladder.  Once they have done this, they take x-rays to see if the urine is going backwards – back into the kidneys.  Just the sound of this horrified me!  Dr. G told me not to worry about this yet, but I can’t help it.  I’ve been home with Becca the past two days, so I’ve had a lot of time to think about it.  I can’t read about it online anymore because the stories are horrific!

Please pray for us and the decisions we’re going to have to make soon.  Pray that Becca will be healed by the antibiotics, and that we will make the decisions that are right for her.  Pray that I can be strong for her.  Just pray!

the stomach bug strikes again

So, for those of you who don’t know, Becca had the stomach bug for the first time.  It was last Friday night, and other than being a little fussy at Elaine’s birthday dinner, she seemed fine.  Well, that and she didn’t want to eat any cake – alarm bells should have been going off.

Anyways, we were literally 30 seconds from the house when she started coughing.  I turned around to check on her (JP was driving) and she had thrown up EVERYWHERE!  Ahhhhh!

We got her home, and I took the car seat apart while she got a bath.  She seemed to be feeling better, so we thought maybe something just didn’t settle in her tummy, until she threw up again ALL OVER JP.  Obviously this was the stomach bug!

After another bath, throwing up some more, and then another bath, I got into bed with her to try and get some sleep.  She slept ok – only waking to throw up a few times.  I, of course, was up most of the night because she wouldn’t wake up when she got sick, and I was terrified that she was going to choke.

The next morning, other than a fever, she seemed to be feeling fine.  She didn’t really want much to eat, and she slept a lot, but played the rest of the day! 

I was glad it was short lived because there is not much more pitiful than watching your baby throw up!

And everything was fine, until we got home from church last night!  We eat dinner after church with our Sunday School class, and again, Becca was a little fussy and not wanting to eat, but we attributed that to her being overly tired.  She fell asleep in the car on the way home, so we tried to move her inside without waking her up.  As soon as we got to the kitchen, she sat up and again, threw up all over JP. 

Are you noticing a pattern here?

I put her in the bathtub while JP cleaned up the kitchen.  I then tried to lay down with her, but she wanted to play, so I ended up putting her in her bed.  She went right to sleep, so I was hopeful that we might get a good nights sleep. Ha!  Wishful thinking!

She was up around midnight, and while she never threw up again, she was very restless.  I’m assuming her tummy was hurting because it was like she couldn’t get comfortable.  I ended up putting her in the bed with us and she went back to sleep.  She tossed and turned most of the night, and by 3:00 AM she was running a fever.  I ended up holding her a lot of the time – which was fine by me!

I’m staying home with her today, and so far, so good.  I’m pretty sure she’s still running a little fever, but right now she’s playing, so I’m hoping we’re on the mend.

Here are some pictures I’ve taken over the past few weeks just in case you’ve forgotten what she looks like!

Here she is showing off one her new skills – standing and clapping!

Don’t you wish you were this talented?

My happy, happy girl!

want out?

yesterday, i was going through the mail, and i found one of those val-pak envelopes.
you know the one - they're blue and filled with a bunch of worthless coupons and ads.
anyways, i always go through them in hopes of finding an 'out of this world' coupon that is going to save me a million dollars on something i don't need!
as i was quickly flipping through, one of them in particular caught my eye. at the top it said:
Want Out?
i, like i'm sure you just did, thought 'want out of what?'
the answer as i found by reading the next line: your marriage.
yes, you heard read me right!
it was a company advertising their services to help you get out of your marriage.
WHAT?

disclaimer: i am a christian who has very strong beliefs about marriage. if you don't, please don't read any further as i am likely to offend you.

i was shocked!
i was speechless!
i was immediately talking out loud to myself because i was simply appalled.
maybe this is what is wrong with our society - offers to help you get divorced are now being delivered right to your mailbox.

does anyone take their marriage vows seriously anymore?
you promised to love, honor, and cherish your spouse (not love, live with, and divorce them) - IN FRONT OF GOD AND ALL OF THOSE WITNESSES!
how can you break a promise you made before God?
how would you feel if God broke His promises to you?

marriage is serious stuff. it's not a decision to be made lightly.
if you find yourself miserable in your marriage, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

the more and more i look around, the more and more i find people who just get tired of it all.
well, duh! of coarse you are tired. marriage is extremely hard work. i would be concerned if you weren't tired. when you get tired of work or your family or your dog, you don't just get rid of them - you work it out. you find a way to be happy again!

for those of you who don't know, i am married to quite possibly the most wonderful man on the face of this earth (seriously), but do you think that there aren't days where i ask myself 'why did we get married?'
YES - I DO THAT AND I'M MARRIED TO MR. PERFECT!
even mr. perfect gets on my nerves sometimes, but it doesn't mean we give up.
we talk, argue, yell, whatever we need to do to get our point across, and then we get over it.
if i'm not living up to his expectations then he tells me, and providing it's a reasonable expectation, i make the necessary changes, as does he.

and since i'm very clearly not the authority on marriage, let's see what the authority - the Bible - has to say about divorce!
IT very clearly says that when two people are married, they become one flesh and they are not to be separated by man.
IT also says that other than adultery, two people are not to divorce. if they do and remarry, then they are committing adultery.
And, if you'd like to read it for yourself, here are some of the scriptures:
Matthew 19:3-9
Mark 10:2-12
Luke 16:18

i am not perfect.
i am not without sin.
i am guilty, just like the rest of the world, however, i do my best to live my life by the word of God and in His word, are commands for how WE are all to live.
and they are just that, commands.
not suggestions.
not opinions.

it saddens me that so many people water down the Bible in order to make it fit their lifestyle.
that's not how it works, folks!
remember that our time here on earth is short compared to the time we will spend in eternity - our decisions we make now determine heaven or hell.

i really don't want to leave this post on a bad note.
i'm not judging people who are divorced, or who are getting divorced, i am just sharing my knowledge, my beliefs, my Father!

Dancing Queen

you can dance, you can jive,
having the time of your life.
see that girl, watch that scene,
diggin' the dancing queen.

ha, i LOVE that song, and when i watch this video, that is exactly what i want to sing.



just in case you needed to learn some new moves!

oh, she makes me smile:)