More Birthday Pics

Molly with Aunt Lisa.













Paul, Margaret, Myles and Lisa.

Happy Birthday Mike!

Today Mike turned 34! We celebrated at Spring Creek in Grapevine, and everyone got to come. I did some math (which I am notoriously horrible at), and this is the 14th birthday I've celebrated with him. I hope that God blesses our family with many more happy birthdays.

Jack made this cake for Mike.








All the cousins in camo!














Nicole and I matched!
Jack and Daddy.

A Funny thing happened on the way to my blog name

I found out freethinking is linked with atheism. YIKES. How did I miss that? I am obviously not an atheist. I do want to promote free thinking in relation to religion, in that I refuse to accept norms just because someone says they are Biblical; however, and I repeat, I believe in God and Jesus! So, I changed my blog name. And, if you want to pick a blog name, stay away from free thinking...evidently it is related to seeing the world through a science lens. YIKES!

Scary Stuff

To me, this is scarier than anything I have heard in a few months. It is about how Russia is persecuting the Protestant Church. The language used by the priests sounds a lot like Nazi Germany's discourse on Judiasm. I am actually really alarmed at this. Here is a link. Check it out and tell me what you think.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/world/europe/24church.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Done!

Finished all of my paper today except for the conclusion, bibliography and notes, which I can do this week...YEAH! It literally feels like a weight has been lifted off of me.

One funny story from the kiddo front, the other day I was sitting with Molly Ann while she ate her cereal. She said, "Matty is not smiling at me." I said, that's right, she's not. Then, Molly said "That's cause dogs can't smile. How do I know that? I'm just smart I guess". I laughed and laughed. She is so funny now. We went to a very crowded zoo on Friday, and one older boy had a meltdown. I asked Jack if the boy was being bad, and he said, yes, but look mommy, so many kids are being good. Kids are good. I looked around and he was right. Jack is my eternal optimist.

Here is a link to a website I joined about Darfur. It is a multireligious site. It seems to be on the up. Please check it out. www.savedarfur.org.
Hope your weekend is great!

Very Busy Blogger

This month, the end of April through the beginning of May, is crazy for me. I am finishing up my paper for my Feminist Theory class and ending up my writing classes at TCC. I am writing my paper about a few theorists and utopia, or an impulse for an ideal world that is common to humanity. I am not sure it is working, but I am plodding a long very slowly. Mike took the kids to Winters to give me some time at home to write. IT was the first time I've been alone in my home for the night in five years or more! Being alone after so many years as a full time care taker was exhilarating and scary. I actually enjoyed the silence, which was nice. I did miss the kids so much, though. I kept the nursery at church on Saturday night and on Sunday morning, and just having those kiddos close to me helped quite a bit. I learned a lot this weekend alone in the house, and the main thing I learned is how desperately in love with my family I am. In the grind of sippy cups and spilled milk and laundry, it is easy to forget how precious they are. I am so blessed.
At the same time as I feel thankful for my family, my feminist theory class has been challenging me. I would say that many Christians have a false impression of feminism, because it has been so demonized by right wing conseratives who love to take swings at the feminists (just think of jerry falwell, who credited feminists and gays with the 9/11 attacks). To be honest, much feminist theory is thinking globally, about female genital mutilation, rape in darfur, the war in Iraq, Abu Gharib, poverty among women, having access to contraceptives for women and individuals we would deem children in third world countries, and environmental issues like creating a cleaner earth. I can't help but wonder why on earth the church doesn't intervene and discuss things like genocide in darfur or other things. My teacher (who is not a Christian) pointed out that in our society, it is difficult to imagine action outside of donating money. I totally agree with her. Because I believe so deeply that many Christians and empathetic, kind and truly care about women's issues, I will be posting some websites that you can visit if you are inclined to become aware of world issues. Although it has been very challenging, and I haven't agreed with every idea the class has put forward, I am very grateful for being informed on issues that I have mentioned. IT is easy to forget in our safe, beautiful homes with our sweet children that many women aren't as lucky/blessed as we are. I believe it is our duty as Christians to be aware of the poor and oppressed. We are supposed to be God's agents here on earth, and a big part of that is being aware of your neighbors in the suburbs as well as our neighbors overseas. I pray that God will continue to convict my heart and point out ways that I can improve to be more like Jesus, especially in light of atrocities and injustices abroad.