Home Again Home Again

We arrived home last night from our vacation in Colorado. We had so much fun! It was relaxing and wonderful to enjoy each other and God's creation in the gorgeous Estes Park area. I think all the kids loved it, too--with, perhaps, the exception of the killer western Kansas/eastern Colorado drive. The case can be made, I think, that all of that boring flatland makes the mountains even more breathtaking. What a contrast! One note I've made to myself: Next time, bring more Adventures in Odyssey cd's! :)

Here are a few pictures. I'll try not to bore you with too many...

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

I haven't blogged much lately, 'cause I don't feel like I've had too much to say...and it's been a really busy week. Now that my morning sickness has subsided, I'm scrambling to get back 'on top' of all of the things I fell off of! My house needs serious attention, there is currently little in my fridge, and the laundry...well; we won't even go there. I'm not complaining; I'm actually really so very excited to feel well again and just need to discipline myself to keep pluggin' away at stuff. We're leaving Monday for vacation, so I have to throw packing and meal planning/shopping in the mix.

Last night we went to a Royals game and had a great time. There have been lots of renovations to the stadium since last year and some of the new additions include a really cool place for kids to play. The older five kids and I spend most of our time, actually, playing instead of watching the game...but it was no loss. Or should I say, it was a loss? Poor Royals.

I had a couple of scary minutes when I lost Joe when the kids were playing on the playground. Thankfully, we found him pretty quickly. He'd wandered off and was about to enter the main 'walking' area. He didn't look scared at all when I found him; I honestly think he just saw something interesting and went that direction. The really frightening part is that I was being vigilant about watching the kids. I was circling the play area like a hawk, trying to keep eyes on everyone, and yet he still managed to get away without me seeing. I think the only thing I could've done differently was to have a talk with all the kids about not leaving an area without me. Anyway, we're all safe and sound and I thank God for that.

Stop the Energy Tax

If you haven't done so already, please visit AmericanSolutions.com and sign the petition to stop the proposed "energy tax" under the guise of Cap and Trade legislation.

The National Debt Road Trip

When I was young and foolish I bought a motorcycle (for you guys reading this it was a Honda Hurricane-CBR 600). This was the kind of bike that was so fast that it would literally overheat if it wasn't moving. Anyway, at the time, I worked at an old converted Air Force base that was about 11 miles outside of town. It was located off of a highway that had long stretches of road that were perfectly straight and flat. Perfect for finding out how fast my bike would go... Needless to say (Mom you should stop reading here), I got my bike up to speeds in excess of 120 MPH. I was going so fast that the cars in front of me appeared to be traveling backwards!

That was about 18 years ago. I knew better. Thankfully God spared my life and I'm here today to share this story with you. Obama's fiscal policies are just as irresponsible. In fact, if he doesn't put the brakes on his spending our country will die. And not just economically. The bible clearly states that the borrower is slave to the lender. Are we living in a time similar to Israel prior to the Bablylonian captivity? Like the demise of any of the great civilizations before us, we are being conquered from within. If we won't conform to God's law and be self-governed we will be ruled by tyranny (cf. 1 Sam. 7:1-7). May God have mercy on our nation!

I Crack Myself Up

Some Bookish Thoughts

Over the past four months or so, I've begun several books... Foxe's Book of Martyrs, The Pursuit of Holiness... and my non-committal style has begun to get on my own nerves. So, I've decided to actually finish some books. Here are a couple I've just read that are worth recommending.


Children of the Promise: The Biblical Case for Infant Baptism

This one has taken me about eight months to complete, partly because I didn't want to read it. Coming from a Baptistic understanding of baptism, i.e. "believer's baptism only", and now being a part of a wonderful Presbyterian church, this topic has been one that I've had to work hard to keep an open mind about. This book really helped me understand the biblical reasoning for infant baptism, and I quickly realized that I had some very shallow--and incorrect--presuppositions about why people baptize their infants and children. If you are curious about how anyone could justify/believe in paedobaptism, you should get your hands on a copy of this book.

A Walk with Jane Austen

I felt the need for some lighthearted fare after reading (or starting to read! :) ) Several theological books. This was not a great book, but it was interesting; somewhat like reading someone's diary. The author spent a few weeks in England visiting places of importance in the life of Jane Austen. If you haven't read most of Austen's works, you'll probably feel like you're being left out of a lot of 'inside' jokes. The author is a Christian and writes very frankly and honestly about her questions and doubts, which was refreshing. The biggest thing I came away with, reading about the struggles of this 33-year-old woman with her singleness, was an overwhelming thankfulness that I am happily married. :)

Now, I am reading Home Alone America: The Hidden Toll of Daycare, Behavioral Drugs, and Other Parent Substitutes by Mary Eberstadt. So far I'm really enjoying this one. The author seems to be committed to following the data and not her own desired agenda.

And now, I think I'll go put my feet up and work on finishing another book.

The Law of the Family

Below is an excerpt from Law and Liberty, by R. J. Rushdoony, that I thought was particularly relevant to us today:

"Historically and Biblically, the family is the central institution in law and in society. Although we do not think of the family normally as a law-making body, the family is nonetheless the basic law-making body in all history…

"Procreation is a function of the family, and, in a healthy, Biblically oriented and governed family system, this function is preceded by an important fact that conditions birth. The parents marry because there is a bond of faith and love between them, a resolution to maintain for life a covenant under God. As a result, a heredity of faith and a unity in terms of it is established as a prior condition of birth, so that a child born into such a family has an inheritance that cannot be duplicated. The Biblical family cannot be rivaled by man’s science or imagination as the institution for the procreation and rearing of children.

"The family is man’s first and basic school…

"The family is also the first government in the life of the child, with the father as the God-ordained head of the household and his government under God as the child’s basic government…

"A basic function of the family is motivation and guidance. The child is provided with the best kind of guidance, because the family is most interested in him, and the child is, in the Christian family, given the highest kind of motivation for his own future and present development…

"The family also has a major economic function. The father provides for his family, not for strangers….The family as an economic unit has an excellent division of labor plan, whereby certain duties are required of the father, others of the mother, and still others of the children. There are mutual rights and duties, all of which are discharged with a greater degree of success and efficiency, despite all the problems, than in any other institution. The family, moreover, can withstand and survive more shock than any other institution – economic disasters, personal disagreements, social catastrophes, and the like…

"The state has extensively interfered in the family’s functions, and it has claimed vast areas that properly belong to the family. Does this mean that the family has been weakened? Does the future portend a decline in the importance of the family? On the contrary, the more the state has interfered, the more it has thereby underscored man’s need for the family. The incompetence of the state as family has made more obvious the competence of the family as a family. The prevalence of sickness does not make health obsolete, but only all the more urgently needed and desired. Historically, every period of statism is followed by an era of an intensely family-oriented society as men turn from sickness to health.

"We are today in an era of burgeoning statism. On every side, the family is under attack, and the state is assuming progressively more and more of the family’s functions, and progressively finding itself more and more prone to social disintegration and demoralization. More than ever before, the Biblical faith and law concerning the family, its functions, property, and faith, must be stressed and taught. The future does no belong to disease; it belongs to health. Because this is God’s world, it is God’s order that shall prevail. “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it” (Ps. 127:1)."

Still Here

Now that I'm spending a little less time hugging the potties here, I thought I'd post a couple of pictures and a quick update. Our 'vacation' month has begun fast and furious, but filled so far with lots of fun. My Mom came for five days last week and we had a great time with her, as we always do. We went to garage sales, to fast food places (a big treat around here!), and the pool. We enjoyed the Narnia exhibit at Union Station and the kids played and explored Science City. And Mom allowed me to abandon her for almost a whole day so I could focus on transforming my VBS room into a swamp...or something.

Hope you all are enjoying these first 'summer break' days!