29.4.07

~Justin and Stephanie's Wedding~



The wedding party came down through the grape arbour




"Mr. and Mrs. Justin Gerhart!"




Definitely the best cake I have ever tasted in my life!




The happy groom




Those buttons are real - no zippers





Of course, there would be pictures of the baby!


Going...




...going...




...gone!

26.4.07

Good old fashioned fun!

25.4.07

A Baby's Cry

***If you read nothing else on this blog today, read this***

A Baby's Cry
Upholding the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act

April 20, 2007

Eleven years ago, when U.S. senators were in the midst of a fierce debate over partial-birth abortion, the proceedings were abruptly interrupted by a baby's cry.

I was there that day and will never forget that electrifying moment, a reminder of what we were fighting for: nothing less than the lives of innocent babies.

I thought of that baby's cry this week when the Supreme Court upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. It took thirty-four years to get from Roe v. Wade to the first significant prescription of so-called "abortion rights." It's a reminder that when it comes to eradicating social ills, we must never give up.

That lesson was taught to us more than two hundred years ago by the British Parliamentarian William Wilberforce, a man who fought another great social evil: slavery. Wilberforce knew what a fight it would be because the British Empire depended heavily on the slave trade. So he learned all about slavery and the conditions on the slave ships. And he and his allies organized government inquiries into the horrors of the slave trade, exposing them to a horrified public.

The first victory was a small one, but it proved that the slave industry was vulnerable. A vote in 1788 restricted the number of slaves that a ship could be allowed to carry based on the ship's tonnage.

For the next nineteen years, Wilberforce introduced bills banning the slave trade. Year after year, his opponents found ways to defeat them, often playing dirty. But after nearly two decades of hard work, in 1807, the House of Commons voted by an overwhelming majority to abolish the slave trade. It took another quarter century to abolish slavery outright.

Despite repeated losses, you see, Wilberforce kept working. By God's grace, he made incremental gains. He didn't demand all or nothing, but eventually he carried the day.

Like Wilberforce, pro-lifers are learning to seek small, incremental victories: parental notice; informed consent; the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act; and now, of course, the biggest yet: banning the barbaric form of abortion, crushing the skull of a baby inches from birth, which rightly sickened most Americans.

Christian conservatives have often over recent years despaired when they have lost a vote in Congress or an election. And many have said lately, "Why are we bothering with politics? We're not getting anything from these politicians we elect." Wrong.

Jim Dobson and I talked about this issue with President Bush when he was first elected. He stood strong, and we ought to all be grateful to him. Not only did he push this law, he also appointed nothing but strict constructionist judges, including Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito, who cast the deciding vote this week.

Jim and I and others have worked hard to get those judges confirmed, and pro-life senators led the fight. I hope this decision by the Court will silence those who say we have gotten nothing for our efforts and cause us all to renew our commitment to continue the fight until, just like slavery, this abominable evil is ended in this country.

Never despair. It's a sin, because it denies the sovereignty of God.

Copyright (c) 2007 Prison Fellowship

Something Horribly Wrong

In case you can't tell, I have been reading the many e-mails that have accumulated in the past week and posting the best ones here. I get weekly or daily e-mails from great Christian worldview resources like, Breakpoint, Focus on the the Family, and Probe.

This one was very good. It talks about evil - specifically the VA Tech shootings - and how we as a society try to dismiss it's presence because it makes us feel uncomfortable.

One more thing. If I've posted an article on my blog, it's because I think it is especially important or it impacts me in some specific way. You don't have to read them all, of course, but I think it will be worth your while.

Student Sent Home for Protest of Gay Day of Silence

At issue: A piece of tape on his shirt that read, 'I'm straight.'

Door-to-door matchmakers

Japan's Population Problem

April 25, 2007

A defining characteristic of modern life is how much you can do without leaving the house: You can work, bank, buy groceries, and even shop for a new home without setting foot outside your present one.

And now in Japan, you can add "find a mate" to the list.

There, elderly women go door-to-door, armed with pictures of local single people, hoping to set them up with other local singles.

What makes these women different from traditional matchmakers or contemporary dating services is that the singles have not solicited their assistance. As Reuters put it, the two hundred members of an older women's group in Fukui prefecture—Japan's equivalent of a state—are "proud to be busybody matchmakers."

Make that "government-sanctioned busybody matchmakers": The group is subsidized by the prefecture's government. Last year, it helped "50 couples tie the knot" and helped make the prefecture the only one of Japan's forty-seven prefectures to see a rise in its birth rate.

Then again, rise is a relative term: Even after aggressive measures like this one, Fukui's birth rate is far below replacement level...

Somebody's Eyes

This is what happens after you give teenagers ice cream!

Cousins In Bathing Suits


22.4.07

Where have i seen this sort of thing before?

21.4.07

And that is called a dr. Pepper float! A little cup of paradise. :-)

20.4.07

Happy Birthday Josiah!

Josiah David Morris was born yesterday afternoon.
Congratulations Johnny & Audra & Alyssa!

Also, a belated happy birthday to Everet Nelson Zapata :)

14.4.07

Ben and Keri playing with mama's b-day present...A wii

13.4.07

Cam and i out and about in Knoxville

Matrix Ping Pong

I found this on someone elses blog. (I really don't spend much time ever on Youtube, contrary to evidence otherwise)

12.4.07

Day at Dollywood

I spent the day at Dollywood with my mommy and sister.
Kat and I had a great time riding the new roller coaster (3 times) which is fun because it's in the dark and has a 95 degree drop. But my favorite is still the wooden one because it's fast!!!
I also got to play a bodhran; that's an irish hand drum.

11.4.07

Rosamund - from Nate the Great


This picture is in color, and she looks rather evil and piggish. I remember Rosamund in black and white drawings with long black hair wearing a long dark shirt and long, skinny, dark pants and pulling a wagon filled with her 4 cats and being very strange.
(Do you have any idea how long it took me to find a single picture of Rosamund?)

Word of the Day

I have been on a quest this afternoon to discover the meaning of the word "scurrilous." And though I asked several people, no one knew the answer. (Of course, it didn't help that I mistakenly thought the word was "scrivulous") But no, the word is scurrilous, and hear is what it means:


Main Entry: scurrilous
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: vulgar
Synonyms: abusive, coarse, contumelious, defamatory, dirty, filthy, foul, foul-mouthed, gross, indecent, infamous, insulting, invective, lewd, low, nasty, obscene, offending, offensive, opprobrious, outrageous, raunchy, ribald, salacious, scabrous, scandalous, shameless, slanderous, smutty*, truculent, vituperative, vituperatory, vituperrious
Source: Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.3.1)
Copyright © 2007 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

* = informal or slang

10.4.07

things that make me happy

When I started this post in my head, I was walking out of the library and the title of it was "2 things that make me happy." Within about 30 seconds it had changed to "4 things that make me happy," and now, it just is.

Things that make me happy today:
  1. Our new library is so beautiful, inside and out.
  2. I found our new library the first time I tried.
  3. Our new library has a roundabout! The only one in Franklin that I know of.
  4. I checked out almost more books than I could carry - and I only explored half of the new building.
  5. I have the rest of the week to look over my wonderfully new checked-out books (for those curious about what I got, see the list below)
  6. The weather is beautiful
  7. There is a happy bird singing so sweetly outside, that I had to open the window so I could hear him better.
  8. There is a great picture and article of our girls at the gym in the news paper (except it doesn't say "coached by April Makinson")
  9. 2 of Camila's boxes came today. (not sure why that makes me happy, but it does!)
  10. Where's the Girl
(to quote a reviewer from Amazon, "I would change my name to Maguerite if it meant that Terrence Mann would sing me Where's the Girl")

I'll stop at 10. :)

Books I checker out today:

  1. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds
  2. The Backyard Bird Feeder's Bible
  3. Outwitting Squirrels
  4. Lady Molly of Scotland - by Baroness Orczy
  5. Thrones, Dominations - by Dorothy Sayers
  6. Whose Body? - by Dorothy Sayers
  7. Have His Carcase - by Dorothy Sayers
  8. Audrey Hepburn (a biography)
  9. Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirit - by her son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer

A Camila Debate


There has been some talk recently about how young Camila is. Some have been shocked to discover her real age. Well, in this picture, she could easily be 16!

West Monroe woman charged with self abortion

"A 24-year-old West Monroe woman is facing a charge of second-degree self abortion, a misdemeanor, and is accused of trying to kill her unborn baby, Oswego County Sheriff's deputies said.

The woman was arrested Monday. Deputies say that on April 4 the woman ingested several over-the-counter and prescription medications. Deputies say the woman was in her 13th week of the pregnancy at the time."


Oh, the irony.

9.4.07

A great weekend

I had a great time this weekend in Knoxville with Ben & Keri, Keri's parents, and the rest of my family. Our original plan was to grill out in the park Sunday after church, but the weather made that idea rather ridiculous. So we went out to eat instead. Saturday night we all sat around talking about how Ben and Keri met and what each of them were thinking at different stages in their relationship. Having both sides there plus both sets of parents made for a very interesting time - much more enlightening and funny then having only one side of the story.

This week the gym is closed for spring break, and I am planning out what I want to do with the rest of my free time. I think I will be in Franklin for about half of the time, but I want to go see Hairspray and my family is taking a trip to Dollywood this week, plus there is a d: concert in the area and some other things I might do.

Of course, today I am lounging around and cleaning...more of the first than the latter so far, but I have all day. ;)

7.4.07

It's Snowing!!!

There are gigantic flurries falling outside my window! Right now the tempertature is 23, and the high this weekend is 50 - which will mean a chilly cookout! I hope we change our plans!!!

(Boy, am I glad I haven't packed up all my warm winter clothes. 3 weeks of 70's and 80's will make you want to!)

6.4.07

We Both Reached for the Cup

Someone had way too much fun with this!

3.4.07

I remember doing something like this when I was 9 in Florida!

Tuesdays

I like Tuesday's, but they are the longest and busiest day of the week! I am at the gym by 11:00am and then coach 5 different classes for 7 hours. In theory, I should be able to do alot of other things before going to work at 11:00, but somehow that never seems to work out. ;)
Tuesday's are fun because I teach just about every kind of class imaginable: 18 month olds with their parents, 3&4 year olds, competitive team, 6-9 year old hotshots (pre-team) and 9-15 year olds. So it's quite the spread and the variety is nice.

I seem to be on a walking-at-night spree. This is the second night that I've enjoyed late night strolls in the moonlight. Tonight was a little cooler but the breeze was warm - as if to promise the coming of summer.

A walk in the moonlight

Last night I had the most lovely walk down harrison and main street. The weather was just absolutely perfect - the perfect degree of coolness, but I never felt cold - and you could see the starts and a big silvery moon hanging in the sky.

I stopped on the way to see the baby, and arrived just in time to give Ric his bath. As you can see from the pictures, we had alot of fun!

2.4.07

And the winner is...!

Yea!!! We have a show! We will be doing The Scarlet Pimpernel (based on one of my favorite books) in early August. I am so pleased!

Happy Anniversary, Andrew and Anneke!

...as we danced in the remains of lost airplanes, I explained:
I don't dance, but I'm dancing with you.
I don't dance, but I'm dancing with you.
I guess you change when you find what's true, so I'm dancing with you...

1.4.07

A different kind of Sunday

I woke up at 11:20 this morning, so I didn't make it to church today, or to Cathy Makinson's surprise birthday luncheon. (Happy early birthday, Cathy!) But I did clean the house and claim back my room from the boxes and bags of things that I needed to sort through leftover from the 30 Hour Famine. And I melted a Fresh Mint candle tart that smells great on a rainy day, which it is today. And I read some more of The Scarlet Letter - a book I have never read before and don't know how it ends, so don't tell me. Altogether it was perfect and relaxing day.

This is the disappointment I was talking about

This week things have been tossed up in the air so many times (click here to read about it). But now that decisions have been made, everything is looking much better. I am excited to see what show we end up doing!

ahhhhh

Me on caffeing at 3 in the morning, playing with my phone when i should be sleeping! If I'm not at church tomorrow, they'll know why. (I don't know who they are.)

A glitch

I just realized that my time stamp on my posts is an hour off. I checked, and I have the right time zone selected. I guess Blogger wasn't prepared for the earlier daylight savings time...
...yes...I am still awake...

When will I learn?

It's 2:45am. I am not asleep. I have not been asleep. I am just barely sleepy. I had 2 Dr. Peppers at my parents' house this afternoon!!! (The positive side is, my drive back from Seneca was very enjoyable as I blasted Tom Conlon's new cd and sang loudly. Very loudly.)