Shame, shame shame!!

Just came across this editorial in the Washington Times. Well worth the read, check it out here: Editorial: Shame on Planned Parenthood.

My thoughts:
If women are having to make difficult choices between putting food on the table and gas in the car versus getting the health care they need, they should be checking out state supported Medicare programs. There are lots of options for health care out there, Planned Parenthood is not the answer.

PP has an agenda, enough said.

The "gift of death"? Absolutely, see above comment.

I love this sentence:

More importantly, contraception and abortion are not forms of "health care": They are lifestyle choices with life-altering consequences.

Amen!! Life-altering consequences for both the mother seeking the abortion AND the child who is unwillingly losing their life.

And finally, I agree with the statements at the end of the editorial. Support life centers!! Support those centers who have no agenda!! There are many, many options for women who are dealing with an unplanned pregnancy. There may be unplanned pregnancies but there are NEVER any unwanted children. All children are precious gifts from God.

There are many life centers or pregnancies help centers who need support. The end of the year is coming soon and many of us are donating money to charities at this time of year. There are many pregnancy help centers who offer non-biased counseling and support for women during and after their pregnancies. One such organization that I have supported is Birthright. There are also homes for women who can have support during their pregnancies, help finding jobs, continuing their education, learning how to budget finances, and so much more, all to help prepare them for the birth of their child and success in their lives. One such home is up the road from me in Louisville, KY and I know many more exist.

I'll be helping to support a local pregnancy center this Christmas when I attend a UK Student's for Life Christmas gathering next week. We'll be gathering donations of baby shampoo, diapers, bottles, and other baby needs for a mother in need who sought help from this local pregnancy center.

Find out what you can do too. It is the season of giving afterall!!

Quick (?) Update

It's been a while since I posted something personal on this blog. So I thought it was a good idea to at least try a quick update. Hopefully, I can keep it quick or brief.

So, as you may have figured out by now, if you follow my Facebook page or have looked at the top of the blog lately, yes, I am expecting!! I am now 16 weeks along and all seems to be going really well. Had an appointment today and the heartbeat was steady and strong at about 138-140 bpm. We're very excited! The due date is May 15. Oh, and we'll be having our BIG ultrasound December 16. Can't wait, but don'e ask about the gender, we're not finding out!

Chris and I went to Atlanta to visit my family for Thanksgiving. We had a good time spending time with everyone. Thanksgiving Day was really nice with lots of good food and good company. On Friday we visited the Georgia Aquarium with my sister and her family which was a lot of fun. My little niece had a great time seeing the fishes. I also got many of my sister's maternity clothes while I was home, so it was a great trip overall.

In other pregnancy news, there will be FOUR new babies in Chris' family next year. I have three sisters-in law also due in 2009. So we'll have three more nieces or nephews by the end of July next year. Due dates are May 4 (SIL in Bardstown), May 15 (me), July 4 (SIL in Bardstown), and July 12 (SIL in Birmingham). So next summer will be a busy one in our family.

We're starting into the daycare investigation at the moment. I visited two childcare facilities just before Thanskgiving. It's an interesting process. I have at least one more to visit that I've already talked to on the phone. I also have a list of 4-5 other places to still call and visit. So far, I feel lucky that wait lists are either short or nonexistant!

Work is going fine. Nothing major to report there, busy as always.

Coming up for me:

1. Another band concert in a few weeks. I can't wait for this concert to be over with! It's basically an all Wagner concert. You just got to love orchestral transcriptions for clarinet (i.e. lots of violin work and no breaks!). I don't want to see any more Wagner for a very long time!


2. It looks like Chris and I will be traveling to Washington, D.C. near the end of January for the annual March for Life. We'll traveling via bus with a group from the Lexington Diocese. It'll be fun to meet other people in the diocese and to be in D.C. for this awesome event.


3. Sometime in here I'll have to register for baby stuff. I'll squeeze that in somewhere!!


4. My last trip probably for a while will be in February when I head to Chicago for the Music OCLC Users Group and Music Library Association conferences. Hopefully by then I'll look pregnant and not just like I need to lose weight!

On a more simple, smaller scale: I'm hoping to learn to knit sometime soon. I never seem to have time and by the time I finish what I want to do each night it's already 11 or later and no time to do any knitting! Writing has also been on my mind lately. I hear that pregnancy can inspire more creativity in some women, so I'm tempted to try out a few ideas that I've been thinking of lately. It's been a very long time since I did any writing. Lastly, I need to make a Christmas list for my family gift exchange this year. So far I have one item (a book) on the list. I need five ... by Friday! Any suggestions are welcome!

That's the report for now. Hope everyone is doing well!!