Thursday, October 29, 2009

I'm a Slacker




Making lots of jewelry, having lots of parties, working lots and I am loving my little girls more every day :)

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Grace's Upcoming Baptism


We will have Grace baptised tomorrow and I'm happy that my Dad will be in attendance. Since my mother's death, he seems to be going through his own private metamorphosis, and I will be happy to sit down with him without the strain of a funeral or holidays to interfere. He took a solo trip up the east coast to visit family and friends and we are his final stop before heading home to St. Augustine.

Two years ago our dear friend Nancy made the girls' christening gown from my mother's wedding gown train -- a true sight to see. Well the day she brought this gorgeous thing to my house I realized Frannie was drooling so badly that we would have to put a bib on her and I didn't want to cover up all the gorgeous embellishment Nancy had around the neckline so Nancy showed up the following day with a bib, made from the same fabric, trimmed with mini pearls and lace, equally as dazzling as the little dress. I told her Frannie needed a bib for this bib because she would surely look like a marathon runner on mile 25 within the first 30 minutes of wearing it. Nancy, could you make some tear-away bibs for Grace for tomorrow? Let's make about 5 identical ones, from the same fabric and pearls so that when one gets sopped, I can just tear it off and she will have four more, layered underneath, okay?

Friday, October 16, 2009

Long Read, but Worth it -- Really

In a College classroom with a professor teaching a philosophy lesson....... 'Let me explain the problem science has with religion.' The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand.
'You're a Christian, aren't you, son?'
'Yes sir,' the student says.
'So you believe in God?'

'Absolutely.. '
'Is God good?'
'Sure! God's good.'

'Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?'

'Yes'
'Are you good or evil?'

'The Bible says I'm evil.'
The professor grins knowingly. 'Aha! The Bible! He considers for a moment. 'Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?'
'Yes sir, I would.'

'So you're good...!'
'I wouldn't say that.'
'But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't.' The student does not answer, so the professor continues. 'He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Can you answer that one?'
The student remains silent. 'No, you can't, can you?' the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax. 'Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?'
'Er..yes,' the student says.

'Is Satan good?'
The student doesn't hesitate on this one. 'No.'
'Then where does Satan come from?'

The student falters. 'From God'
'That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?'
'Yes, sir.'

'Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything, correct?'
'Yes' 'So who created evil?' The professor continued, 'If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil.'
Again, the student has no answer. 'Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?'
The student squirms on his feet. 'Yes.'
'So who created them?'

The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. 'Who created them?' There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized. 'Tell me,' he continues onto another student. 'Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?'

The student's voice betrays him and cracks. 'Yes, professor, I do.'
The old man stops pacing. 'Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?'

'No sir.. I've never seen Him.'
'Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?'

'No, sir, I have not.'
'Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?'
'No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't.'
'Yet you still believe in him?'
'Yes'
'According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?'
'Nothing,' the student replies. 'I only have my faith.'
'Yes, faith,' the professor repeats. 'And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith.'
The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of His own. 'Professor, is there such thing as heat?'
' Yes.
'And is there such a thing as cold?'

'Yes, son, there's cold too.'

'No sir, there isn't.'

The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain. 'You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit down to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.'
Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer.
'What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?'

'Yes,' the professor replies without hesitation. 'What is night if it isn't darkness?'

'You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word. In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?'

The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester. 'So what point are you making, young man?'
'Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed.'

The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. 'Flawed? Can you explain how?'
'You are working on the premise of duality,' the student explains.. 'You argue that there is life and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought.' 'It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it.' 'Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?'
'If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do.'
'Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?'
The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.
'Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?'
The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided. 'To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean.' The student looks around the room. 'Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?' The class breaks out into laughter. 'Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir.' 'So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?' Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable. Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. 'I Guess you'll have to take them on faith.'
'Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life,' the student continues. 'Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?' Now uncertain, the professor responds, 'Of course, there is. We see it Everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man.. It is in The multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.'

To this the student replied, 'Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light.'

PS: The student was Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein wrote a book titled God vs Science in 1921...

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Doctor's Visits, Work and Time Without Kevin





Kevin is back from baseball playoffs, but leaving again on Thursday for SEC football. Yeah, boo.

Grace went to the pediatric cardiologist and got TWO thumbs up for a job well done on the PDA repair. No need to visit him again unless something new happens. She has an ENT appt. tomorrow for an assessment to have tubes put in her ears while she is knocked out for her palate surgery. The palate appointment is next Friday. In the meantime, she is taking meds for a parasite and double ear infections! God bless the poor kid. She sure likes my chicken, though, as you can see!

I am back to work and wham - I caught some ailment which feels a lot like what I got in China. Good thing Kevin is home.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Making your Child Do Tricks for Entertainment



I'm sorry, but this cracked me up. I have a great picture of Danielle T. with these same glasses on and I can't help but think of Jerry Lewis imitating a Chinese guy with buck teeth and these very same glasses. She wanted to wear them, really.

Cheryl and I were just remarking how well Grace was doing, amazingly happy and sleeping so well. We shouldn't have said it, because she woke up last night at 12:30 SCREAMING for some reason and stayed up for more than 2 hours, crying the entire time. She got diagnosed with double ear infections a few days ago and despite the amoxicilin, she may not be getting better? She was also scratching a lot too so we may need to go back to the doctor and run a full allergy test. I am also going to buy some baby detergent today too. Hope she's not allergic to the dogs, yikes, that would be HORRIBLE.

The girls are at daycare today again and I am taking a breather, cleaning up and getting my hair done. What to do?

P.S. Why hasn't anyone invented a jet pack for every day use? That oatmeal commercial got me thinking -- it's got to be easy to invent and I promise I wouldn't run into power lines or anything. I just want to zip over to Publix for one or two things with my backpack and I think I should be able to use a jet pack.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

In case you were wondering

Kevin is working every single day until late October (out of town mostly for baseball playoffs), which reeks of two years ago. I KNOW he can't help it, but it STINKS anyway. He is trying to work hard and I'm trying to get acclimated to two children who are sometimes.... at odds. They get along mostly, as long as Gracie keeps her mits to herself and doesn't touch ANY of Frannie's goods. Not always easy. I may not answer phone calls right away, nor act very social, so I am sorry, alright? If you see me in Kroger with curlers in my hair and slippers on my feet, just walk the other way and pretend you don't know me.