Think About It

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Annual CPC Banquet

Last Sunday was the big CPC Fundraiser Banquet.  I always look forward to it!  And, now that I'm working with them, there were a lot more people I knew this time. :-)  

The banquet is very formal, and so of course the tables are, too.  All the food was very elegant (which usually equals not filling....for me anyway...) and the tables are so full of settings and coffee pots and silverware that I'm always afraid I'm going to knock something over. :-)  But, I didn't. 

Dessert was a delicious chocolate-cherry type of cake.....scrumptious....

John Tabor, the director of the Crisis Pregnancy Centers for Tucson, introduced the program and showed a few videos....it is always saddening to see the number of abortions since Roe v. Wade.   But also motivating, to think that the women that come into our centers have life growing inside of them, and we are here to do everything we can to protect that life.  

Yours truly.

 This was our church's table. :-) 

Scott Klusendorf was the main speaker; ironically enough, I had already heard him at Summit last August. :-)  His talk was wonderful, as it was last time; he introduced the SLED method of defending your pro-life stand (size, level of development, environment, degree of dependancy).  He's also a very engaging speaker, so it was interesting and humurous at the same time. :-)  After the banquet, I went up and told him that I had heard him at Summit - of course he wanted to know which session, etc.  And then, just because I was a Summit grad, he gave me a free, signed copy of his book, The Case for Life!   That was cool! (And totally unexpected!)

The two Rachel's of our church.....Rachael Radtke and me. :-)  We do spell our names differently so that's how you keep track, lol!

It was a wonderful time and just another boost to keep on with my training as a Client Advocate.  I am getting close to being ready to take my own clients - nervewracking but also kind of exciting. :-)

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Allergies, Babysitting, Crazy Busy, etc.

The only person in our family that has horrible allergies is David....he gets allergy shots for it.  I don't have allergies, but it does seem that every year when the allergy season reaches it's peak, I start to feel it a little. I feel like I've been walking around with a sore throat for the last month.  But I love it that it is not a cold!!  There's just somethinga different about having a true sore throat that tops a mere allergic reaction to plants.  Yuck.

Some dear friends of ours just had their second baby yesterday!  Since we live less than a mile away, I got to go over at 5 am to baby sit their 18 month-old while they rushed to the hospital....unfortunately they had some complications, but thankfully mom and baby are doing well now.  I stayed the night with Calvin and then brought him over to our house this morning to play with Isaac and Josh.  They love playing with him! 

On top of that, I finally got a job! I am now doing nannying for a family twice a week....a two year old girl who is cute but is really not well behaved ~ so I have to pull out my cajoling/pleading card with her.  Which is so against my nature.  Two year olds should not get to decide every minute of their day's routine.  Her mom and dad are very into "positive parenting" and "choices".  Fun fun fun.  But it is money so whatever works!

So this week has been pretty busy for me.  And interesting.  Hey, when your four year old brother substitutes different letters in different words  for fun and ends up saying a swear word very distinctly....well, that keeps things from being boring around here.  (And no he didn't learn it from any of us!!  He was saying truck....and then putting different letters in front of that word....and...well, there you go.  Just had to clarify.)

Made pumpkin cookies today.  Excited for the CPC banquet tomorrow.  Huge amounnts of piano to do today.  SAT still coming along.  A trip to see friends in CA coming up.  And finally, finally, some (sort of) fall weather around here.  Windows open all day long!

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Awkward and Awesome Thursday

Awkward:

1) Being stared at.  It's just.....creepy.  It seems like every time I turn around in a store or anywhere out in public people stare holes through me.  Is it my thin hair?  Gosh I didn't think it was that noticeable....

2) Having to always explain to people why I am taking the SAT at 19 (cause that's kind of a mid-highschool thing).  "I graduated a year late, um, I was homeschooled you see, and um, well I kind of never got around to taking it then, so I'm taking it now, and, well, yeah."  *cough* 

3) Telling the receptionist at the CPC that I needed to make an "appointment" for next week.......yeah. Poor choice of words. They were like, "um, I hope not!"!!  And then stuttering beyond belief trying to make another "appointment" with them on the phone today.  What do I call my training days there?  Training days I guess? 

4) Explaining to yet another person why our church meets in the evening.  When I said the word "evening" they immediately replied "Oh!  Is yours that Mormon church?"  Uh, no ma'am.  We're not a cult....just have scheduling issues with the building we rent.

5) Reading World Magazine while blow-drying my hair this morning......think magazine on the bathroom counter, hair upside down, and finally an oppertunity to read an entire article.  It was on cuurent political campaign lies and relativism.  Very good.

5) This picture?  Does it look awkward to you?  I'm not engaged, just so you know.  :-) It was one of those perfect-lighting moments and I always love those ring/piano shots at weddings....my purity ring worked beautifully.....

Awesome:

1) The fact that my hair FINALLY stopped falling out about a month ago.  Finally.  It's been a long time comin'.  I don't necessarily know that pre-natals "fixed" the problem.....but they certainly can't do any harm so I am still taking them daily!  And working with the nurses at the CPC I now know that they are actually something every woman should be taking...pregnant or not.  So now I'm just on the three year journey to get all my hair back, lol. :-)

2) CLUE. As in, the board game.  I love. That game.  We haven't had it for years but I remember playing huge rounds of it, just us big kids, ages ago.  I finally just went out and bought it myself the other day. :-)  Though now there aren't as many "big kids" to play it with these days.....but hoping Courtney will be interested in a few games when she comes for Christmas break in December.

3) Lavendar Carpet Fresh.  Call me weird....but I love carpet fresh.  I have always said that our house stinks like corn chips or something - but good ol' carpet fresh does the trick every time. :-) That and citrus furniture polish, pumpkin candles, and freshly made cream cheese brownies can really spruce up the smell factor around here....

4) Feeling like I'm making progress on SAT study.  I'm doing much better than when I first started.  There is a definent knack to the thinking behind the problems.  You just have to follow their logic. 

5) Playing worship music with my pastor at a different church on Sunday morning (remember I said our church meets in the evening :-).  I just love it.  "Professional" or not.  It's just fun.

6) Getting a job, finally!  It's nothing big, just a part time nannying job for a nearby family.  One two year old girl, twice a week.  No biggie - just some extra cash. :-)  With all the stuff going on I don't think I could handle a full time job.

Pizza is awesome, too - Costco variety, of course. :-) 

Dear Josh with his beloved Henry and Mudge books.  That and the Mr. Putter series have held both boys captive recently.  I tried reading out on the trampoline recently and nearly melted.  Apparently it's not fall yet.

So, what's been awkward or awesome about your week?

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Thankful for Life

Next Sunday is the Crisis Pregnancy Center's annual Fall Fundraiser Banquet.  (So excited!)  Working with the CPC has really opened my eyes to how valuable and precious life is.....at any stage.  One of the main arguements "pro-choicers" will use is that a fetus in the early stages of development is not a viable human, because "it" cannot survive outside of the mother's womb.  This points to the obvious: is a one year old any "less" human than a ten year old, simply because it cannot survive without constant adult care? 

We simply see life at different stages, regardless of how "independant" that life currently is.

I've had the privilege of observing several really godly women counsel various clients that come in to the center.  And it does seem that this issue of "viability" is a recurring theme.  One woman in particular was very adament that she had to know how big her baby was  (she was 12 weeks) because, if it was "actually live, like a real human", that would be the deciding factor in whether or not she was going to abort.  

Showing her a model of a 12 week fetus made all the difference.....she was shocked that it had fingers and toes already.

 When I look at what pro-abortionists would call "real humans", like my sweet brother above.....it's mind blowing to think that they were once in that category of debatable viability.  That process of becoming who they are today, the "weaving together in the womb" as Psalm 139 calls it, does not invalidate the reality of life - that Isaac was just as real and alive at five weeks as he is today.  Or four weeks for that matter.  At conception. Honestly what is the difference?   

 Stages.  Life comes in stages.  But it's all life. Good and precious, the way God created it to be.

And that stands true even beyond the pro-life world.  Because life (literally and figuratively) does come in stages.  Seasons come and seasons go.  There are parts of it I love and parts I really dislike.  But it is still life.  And every day is a precious gift from God....whether I realize it or not.

"There is a time for everything,and a season for every activity under the heavens:  a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh...."

~Ecclesiastes 3

There are times where life is not very fun!  There are depressing moments.  But there are also many wonderful times in life....the moments where you wish time would just stand still.   Cozy evening family times that include board games and chocolate covered blueberries.  Warm afternoons blowing bubbles and watching your little brother go nuts trying to catch them in the grass.  Enjoying peaceful solitude and a glowing sunset during the 45 minute drive home from errands.   Chocolate chip frappes and quiet Bible reading. 

 In either context, life is precious.  Whether it's a ten-week fetus (google it!) or a newborn baby.....good moments in life and not-so-good moments....life is precious. At all stages. In fact, the "good old days" should simply be the continuing story of our lives.  Because there are many, many "good new days" to be had.   Sweet memories in the making.

Life goes by so quickly.  Parts of it aren't pleasant, but they are all good.  God has given me a wonderful life....it's a learning process for me to be thankful for every aspect of that life.  But it's all life.  And it's all good.

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