June 29, 2007
More Camp Pictures - Girls Camp 2007
My daughters arrived home from camp this morning. Sounds like they had a fabulous time. Shelly, as a 7 year camper finished up her last year. If she goes again it will be as an adult leader. Allison really enjoyed her 4th year. That was my favorite year as well. We had so much fun!
One story from my camping days. My friend Jennifer and I quickly developed a reputation as trouble makers (Running a row of adult leader bras up the flag pole will do that do ya), and later in the week, when one girl who had been terrorized in the woods had to go home everyone assumed that it was Jennifer and I who had wore the Hockey mask and went running after that girl with a hatchet. She was so freaked out that they sent her home. We did not do it, another 4th year girl had, but everyone assumed that we had. So when they went looking for the perpetrator, the adults ran over to our cabin where they innocently found us playing that addictive card game, B*** S***.
Good times.
Luckily, our stake allows no pranks at camp and the girls spend the week doing kind things for each other.
Here are a few pictures:
I asked Shelly why she did not show up in any shots and she said it was because she took all of the pics. I'll try and bum a couple pictures of her from friends.
Here is beautiful Bailey Colorado:
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 4:49 PM
June 28, 2007
Camping!!
My three oldest teens are at camp this week. Allison is a fourth year camper and Shelly is a 7th year Youth Camp Leader.
Jeff is down at the sand dunes with his scout troop. Today they were going to hike up a 13'er, a thirteen thousand ft. high mountain. His scout master is a semi professional mountain climber, so I'm sure they are having a great time.
Allison went on her 4th year hike early this week, and the guy who was in charge sent a couple pics to the parents this morning. I thought I would share one because it showed the majesty of the Colorado Mountains. This is a far cry from my own camping days in michigan, when the mosquitos were fierce and the hike was simply to get in our miles before we headed to the lake for a swim.
The girls hiked for miles and then landed at the camp site in Bailey Colorado, which is one of the most beautiful places in the world.
I'm excited to have Shelly, Allison, and Jeff home tomorow. It has been awfully quiet around our house this past week. I told Paul that if they all leave home at 18, in five years it could just be he and I and our two youngest sons. Very weird to think about.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 8:13 AM
June 22, 2007
My friend Kirsten
My friend Kirsten stopped by this morning and we had a lovely chat and took the boys over to the park for an hour of play on the toys and picnic lunch.
She moved to New Mexico four years ago, and we have stayed in touch by email a little. It was so good to have a chance to catch up in person and meet her little son. She is also seven months pregnant and it was fun to hear her plans of a home birth and years of attachment parenting.
I just love talking with friends who share my same mothering style. It makes connecting with them so much easier. She gave me permission to share these photos here on my blog. As a home birthing mother, she is a beautiful and intelligent addition to the home birth community. She told me this morning that our friendship was the main reason she felt comfortable having her first baby at home. Observing my pregnancy with Ben and then seeing the outcome really helped her and her husband make the decision to give birth to Matthew at home. That warmed my heart!
Here are some photos of Ben and Matthew, they were instant friends!
I love watching little boys play. They are so cute.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 9:35 PM
May 22, 2007
Unassisted Childbirth and Thieves Essential Oils Blend are the answer for plagues of any kind!
I have been taking a blogging break for the month of May, just too busy, but a headline announcing plague at the denver zoo caught my eye yesterday and I thought I would repost an entry I did in September about the Thieves Blend of Essential Oils. It is below:
Here are a couple of highlights from the past few weeks.
Paul and I were part of the Denver WestWord Article on Unassisted Childbirth last week. Here is the link.
Laura Shanley has a round up of the various Unassisted Childbirth Media Stories from the past few weeks on her blog. Go Here.
And Here are the Links to all of the Freebirth articles: (This outpouring of Media Interest in UC Birth has been extremely gratifying to those of us who have been promoting it for many years!)
The Independent 3-20-07 (UK) - Oh, baby!
Guardian 5-9-07 (UK) - Going it alone
Marie Claire 5-10-07 (UK) - The women having 'extreme births'
Globe and Mail (Canada) - 5-15-07 - DIY delivery
Channel 2 News (Alaska) - 5-15-07 - Great Expectations This video clip contains the UC Birth of Twins at home alone, one was a footling breech.
Reuters - 5-22-07 (UK - London)- Freebirthers dismiss fear and bring babies home
The Age - 5-27-07(Australia) - No doctor, no midwife — women go it alone
Same family, different story from Australia - A 'relaxed, beautiful' entry for Carter
And here are the links to the various online versions of the many UC Birth articles that have been written in the past month: Bornfree web site.
And here is a quick overview of some headlines for parents, so many different voices and opinions. Mothers and Fathers really need to just follow their hearts and not listen to all of the fear mongering about babies.
Having large families is an "eco crime"
Vegans sentenced for starving their baby
Stay-at-home mother's work worth $138,095 a year
Navelgazing Midwife - Oh, The Homebirth Debate Blog - Insights into the psyche of the fraud named Amy Tuteur MD (Pseudonym for a couple PR guys from Eli Lilly out to destroy and shut down the debate around home birth with statistics!!!). Go Here
Marsden Wagner's new book Born in the USA: How a Broken Maternity System Must Be Fixed to Put Women and Children First - Go Here
Unassisted Childbirth forum at Mothering - Go Here
Here are a couple of links used in the various debates that I engaged in at Salon and the NHS Blog Doctors comment sections.
The website of the Pre and Peri Natal Psychologists - Go Here
A Declaration of the Rights of Childbearing Women
Monty Python Birth Sketch: And people wonder why we don't want to have a hospital birth?
I have also participated in two online chats at blogs where Unassisted Childbirth was being discussed. Go Here and Here.
Here is a link to a synopsis of my comments at Salon: Go Here
And my Comments at the NHS Doctors Blog starts with this one: Go Here
I posted quite a few entries on that blog, so keep scrolling down for the rest of my comments.
I tend to let myself go when debating with medical people, they are just so full of themselves.
The chats are filled with lots of rage against those of us who birth alone, but I want to take the chance to testify right here on this entry, that I believe bubonic plague is very much tied to unassisted childbirth.
If the hospitals are overun with patients hacking and dying from plague and/or any other disease (certain forms of staph infection only exist in hospitals!), it is the last place in the world a healthy woman should be giving birth to a healthy child. Preparing for a quiet home birth is the best investment a healthy mom can make to insure the safe arrival of her child, despite what those individuals with MDs after their names have say about it. And they have plenty to say, I've been talking to some of them all week!
Speaking of prepration, I was asked to do the Food Basics booth at our Church Preparedness Fair last saturday! It was really fun and I was thrilled to be a part of it.
A little video:
My dear friend Esther baked twenty loaves of bread for the booth. All but one and a half loaves were chowed down by the people who attended. We teach a bread class for young moms to learn how to make this amazing bread which only costs 25 cents a loaf to make from scratch.
I also recorded this version of Be Still My Soul a few sundays ago:
Here is a link to the plague article at Reuters:
I'll start blogging again when Allison and I get back from New York. Too busy right now with rehearsals for our Faure Requiem performance next week with Colorado Repertory Singers. Michelle is graduating and we have a boatload of activities to attend around her commencement from high school. She has decided to accept the scholarship from her Dads alma mater, so each moment we get to share with her until she leaves home is very precious. I'll start blogging again when and if things slow down.
Thieves blog entry:
With Cold and Flu season just around the corner, I am really excited about this new line of products from Young Living. I have been a Young Living Essential Oils Enthusiast for ten years, and have actively worked a business on and off (mostly off) for some years now. I absolutely love these new products. My favorites are the toothpaste, lozenges, and the oil blend.
Recently I started cleaning everything with the Thieves household soap - it does it all - toilets, hardwood floors, etc... Here is a run down of all of the products. A great place to start would be to order the Thieves Kit, which contains a variety of products from the Thieves line.
All are available on my Young Living Web Site
Thieves Kit - Code # 3173
How to use:
Thieves® Essential Oil Blend: For dietary, aromatic, or topical use. When using as a supplement, dilute one drop in 4 fl. oz. of liquid such as goat's or rice milk. Diffuse for short periods of time (1/2 hour or less) in the work or home environment. Possible skin sensitivity. If pregnant or under a doctor's care, consult your physician. Always dilute before applying to the skin or taking internally. Keep out of reach of children.
Thieves® Hard Lozenges: Dissolve one lozenge in mouth, as needed. Swallowing lozenges whole may cause choking. Keep out of reach of children and do not expose to excessive heat or direct sunlight.
Thieves® Spray: Spray on any surfaces that you feel need to be cleansed, such as kitchen and bathroom counters. Not for use on infants or on sensitive areas of the body.
Thieves® Bar Soap: Use as any regular bar soap. For external use only. Store in a cool, dry place. Keep out of direct sunlight and away from ultraviolet radiation sources.
Thieves® Dentarome Ultra Toothpaste: Brush teeth and gums thoroughly morning and night.
Thieves® Fresh Essence Plus Mouthwash: Rinse mouth with one tablespoon or capful of Fresh Essence Plus Mouthwash for 30 - 60 seconds or as needed.
The Thieves Products are also available individually for purchase:
Thieves Hard Lozenges - Code # 3282
Thieves® Hard Lozenges are a soothing, therapeutic blend of 7 natural essential oils and will refresh you mouth and breath. Lightly sweetened with stevioside and the low-gylcemic sugar maltitol, these lozenges deliver the power of Thieves®, the university-tested essential oil blend, along with the flavor of natural peppermint and lemon essential oils. For fresher breath and relief, try these lozenges.
Thieves Fresh Essence Mouthwash - Code # 3683
Thieves® Fresh Essence Plus Mouthwash contains a special formulation of essential oils that gives you incredibly fresh breath. The unique liposome technology (using soy-derived lecithin) binds the essential oils to the mucous membrane inside the mouth for longer-lasting effects on teeth and gums.
Thieves Essential Oil - Code # 3423
Thieves® was created based on research about four thieves in France who protected themselves with cloves, rosemary, and other aromatics while robbing plague victims. The proprietary Thieves® oil blend was university tested and found to be highly effective in supporting the immune system and good health.
Thieves® oil blend is an integral ingredient in Thieves® Household Cleaner, Thieves® Spray, Thieves® Wipes, Thieves® Lozenges, Thieves® Dentarome Plus and Thieves® Dentarome Ultra toothpastes, and Thieves® Fresh Essence Plus Mouthwash.
Thieves Cleansing Soap - Code # 3679
Thieves® Cleansing Soap is fragrant with the rich aroma of naturally antiseptic Thieves® essential oil blend. Moisturizing plant oils and botanical extracts help promote healthy, smooth skin. A natural soap for sensitive skin. How to use: Use as any regular bar soap. For external use only. Store in a cool, dry place. Keep out of direct sunlight and away from ultraviolet radiation sources.
Ingredients: Saponified Elaeis Guineensis (Palm) Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, and Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil; Vegetable Glycerin; Syzygium Aromaticum Flower Bud Oil; Lycium Barbarum Seed Oil, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Meal, Simmondsia shinensis (jojoba) Seed Oil, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Peel Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Cinnamomum Verum Bark Oil, Eucalyptus Radiata Leaf Oil, Rosemarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract. 100% pure therapeutic-grade essential oil Organically grown in accordance with the California Organic Foods Act of 1990.
Thieves Spray - Code # 3265
The Thieves® Spray is ideal for use on door handles, toilet seats, and any surface that needs cleaning. The small one ounce bottle is also the perfect size for any kind of traveling. How to use: Spray on any surfaces that you feel need to be cleansed, such as kitchen and bathroom counters. Not for use on infants or on sensitive areas of the body.
Ingredients: Pure grain alcohol, deionized water, Thieves® essential oil blend, fractionated coconut oil and soy lecithin. 100% pure therapeutic-grade essential oil.
Thieves Wipes - Code # 3756
Tired of using dirty sponges you have used a hundred times, only to spread the dirt around on the surfaces in your home? Try our Thieves® Wipes! They are ideal for use on door handles, toilet seats, and any surface that needs cleaning. Simply use and throw away. How to use: Wipe on any surfaces that you feel need to be cleansed, such as kitchen and bathroom counters. Not for use on infants or on sensitive areas of the body.
Ingredients: Pure grain alcohol, deionized water, Thieves® essential oil blend, fractionated coconut oil and soy lecithin. 100% pure therapeutic-grade essential oil.
Dentarome Plus Toothpaste! Code # 3738
Thieves® Dentarome Plus Toothpaste contains well-proven ingredients-thymol and eucalyptol-found in clove and thyme essential oils, along with gentle, odor-absorbing baking soda. Also contains the powerful oil blend of Thieves®, which was the subject of research published in the Jornal of Essential Oil Research. Dentarom Plus is usually preferred by adults. How to use: Brush teeth and gums thoroughly morning and night.
Ingredients: Baking soda, deionized water, vegetable glycerine, xanthan gum, ionic trace minerals, thymol, eugenol, steviocide (Stevia rebaudiana), the essential oils of wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens), peppermint (Mentha piperita), and the blend of Thieves [clove (Syzygium aromaticum), lemon (Citrus limon), cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus radiata), and rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)]. 100% pure therapeutic-grade essential oil.
Dentarome Ultra Toothpaste - Code # 3744
New Thieves® Dentarome Ultra Toothpaste is an advanced formula of all-natural ingredients that gently clean your teeth and freshen your breath while harnessing the powerful action of pure, therapeutic-grade Thieves® essential oil for fresh breath. How to use: Brush teeth and gums thoroughly morning and night.
Ingredients: Calcium carbonate, essential oil concentrate containing peppermint essential oil, Thieves® essential oil blend (a powerful blend of clove, cinammon bark, lemon, Eucalyptus radiata, and rosemary, zinc oxide, deionized water with papain, xylitol, vegetable glycerine, essential oil base (thymol from Thymus vulgaris), Eucalyptus globulus, and methyl salycilate from wintergreen, xanthum gum, zinc citrate, and stevioside. 100% pure therapeutic-grade essential oil.
All You Ever Wanted To Know About THIEVES HOUSEHOLD CLEANER
Ordering Information: All are available on my Young Living Web Site
Thieves Household Cleaner - Code 3743, 14.4 oz.
Wholesale/Distributor: $21.50
Preferred Customer/Autoship: $24.89
Retail Customer: $28.29
Dilution Proportions for Thieves Cleaner - NOTE: one capful cleaner = ½ tablespoon
Light degreasing (1:60)
1 capful cleaner : 3.75 cups water
1 bottle makes 30 quarts of light degreaser (.32/quart)
Med. degreasing (1:30)
1 capful cleaner : a little less than 2 cups water
1 bottle makes 15 quarts of medium degreaser (.64/quart)
Heavy degreasing (1:15)
1 capful cleaner : a little less than 1 cup water
1 bottle makes 71/2 quarts of heaver degreaser (1.27/quart)
Pots & Pans (1:100) ½ capful cleaner : 3+ cups water
1 bottles makes 50 quarts of dishwashing liquid (.19/quart)
Hand Cleaner (1:1) ½ cup cleaner : ½ cup water
1 bottle makes 1 quart of hand cleaner ($19/quart)
Floors ( 1:100) 1 capful cleaner : 6.25 cups water
1 bottle makes 50 quarts of floor cleaner (.19/quart)
Walls ( 1:30) 1 capful cleaner: a little less than 2 cups water
Fabrics, Carpet spotting, etc. (1:40)
1 capful cleaner : 2 cups water
Carpet (1:100) 1 capful cleaner : 6.25 cups water
Glass ( 1:320) -1 capful cleaner: 5 quarts water
All are available on my Young Living Web Site
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 6:32 AM
April 19, 2007
Jeff Hatch Age 13
Our oldest son Jeffrey turned 13 today. We now have three teens in the house and the hormones are raging. We only celebrate even birthdays with a big party. On odd birthdays we have a small family party and the children are encouraged to invite one close friend. Jeff invited his friend Jacob and we had a nice couple of hours doing what we usually do at boy birthday parties. We eat cake and ice cream, launch water balloons, and always end the evening with a wild water fight.
Jacob brought two new super soakers to the party, so we had guns for all, and the boys had a blast dousing each other with water. A long streak of water and mud went from my kitchen out to the front lawn as the boys ran in and out refilling guns.
It was a good time!
Because this blog is dedicated to the promotion of home birth, I think it would appropriate to share Jeff's birth story, at least the condensed version, here on his birthday entry.
Jeffs birth was the event that convinced me I could never give birth in a hospital again. It was during his pregnancy that I discovered prenatal care was a waste of my time, and finally put all the pieces together in terms of understanding that the point of all those blood pressure, urine, and weight checks was to monitor for Toxemia. I had come to believe that Toxemia was a disease of pregnancy that was caused by malnutrition, and decided that it did not make any sense for me, as a well nourished woman, to submit to those tests and the fear mongering around protein spills in the urine, rapid weight gain, and high blood pressure. Even when those signs of malnutrition were observed, the treatment ranged from bed rest to low salt, low protein diets, which were the absolute worst way to treat a malnourished state.
Currently the "answer" for women who have toxemia is to deliver the babe by c-section and then let them grow in the NICU. The Medical Profession is so full of itself that I doubt they will ever admit or accept the true cause of the disease, even when presented with compelling evidence.
For this reason, or for the basic fact that I believe prenatal care is dangerous and deadly for the baby, I have weaned myself completely from the medical profession in regards to pregnancy and birth.
Here is the video Paul took of Jeff blowing out his candles.
Jeffs pregnancy was a gentle time for us as a family. We were settled in our little two bedroom apartment in Boulder Colorado. Paul was busy working for EDS and serving as the Young Mens' President at Church is a ward filled with teens. I did not see him much that year. It just felt like he was always gone. I was wrapped up in my life as a home maker, a Bradley Childbirth teacher, and kept busy taking care of our two little girls.
I had tried to wean Allison, and spent considerable time researching Tandem Nursing, and breastfeeding through pregnancy. I was not sure if it was even possible to breastfeed through a pregnancy, but Allison would go nuts whenever I told her she needed to stop nursing and it finally just became easier to nurse her than not.
Instead I focused on eating for three, and upped my protein to 150 - 170 grams a day, and tried to eat upwards of 4,000 calories a day, and always salted my food to taste, and stayed well hydrated. I also tried to listen to my appetite, and just ate as much food as my body wanted. Many, many times I would awaken in the middle of the night to eat, and often left a plate of buttery brown rice and cold sweet potatoes waiting in the kitchen, so I could quickly eat and get back to sleep.
When I was about three months pregnant I made the decision to stop being a vegetarian. What I had decided was that IF I had a private chef, a nanny, and domestic help with cleaning and cooking and all I had to do was be pregnant, I could have easily found time to eat enough complex vegetable foods to build a baby and breastfeed through my pregnancy. But because I did that year of baby building while taking care of my two young daughters and all the chores around the house, I had to eat fast and concentrate my efforts and meat just made things easier. It takes condsiderable effort to eat that much protein from vegetarian sources.
I also spent some time working as a volunteer for my church. Serving as a visiting teacher and working with the babies in the nursery on sunday. I also sang in our ward choir and had rehearsals as well as a variety of solo singing peformances, and taught one childbirth class.
My growing network of friends, which were composed of dear hearts from La Leche League, church friends, as well as the association of Bradley Childbirth educators provided many social opportunities for me and the girls, and we had many happy bus rides to down town boulder for park day with our LLL friends. But the bulk of that year was spent cooking, cleaning, and napping whenever I could find a few minutes to lay down. I always tried to lay down for two hours a day, even if I did not fall asleep. This was my reading time, and I spent many hours researching VBAC, as I was determined not to have a repeat c-section. Allison had been born by C-section because she was breech two years before.
Here is a picture of Allison and Ben blowing up balloons for Jeff's party.
I had a low risk pregnancy, was always able to function well, and the final month of pregnancy started taking people up on their offers to help by letting them watch the girls in the mornings so I could rest.
The final month of pregnancy, I started to get really concerned about the post maturity issue. My mother had been notoriously late with her babies, I was three weeks late before I was born, and one brother was a whole month late. I did not want to be induced as I was concerned that if I was it would lead me quickly down the path to another c-section.
The week before Jeff was born I agreed to a non-stress test because I was one week overdue. The nurse told me I was in labor and that I should be admitted. I told her, no, I have been experiencing regular contractions like that since I was in my first trimester. Wether that was because of the breastfeeding or just a normal thing for me, I don't know, but I did have hundreds of hours of contractions during that pregnancy.
Allison and Jeff - Milk Sister and Brother. I tandem nursed Allison and Jeffrey together for two full years. They used to hold hands while they were nursing.
After the non-stress test I explained to my doctor that I did not want to be induced and would do just about anything to be left alone to give birth when the baby wanted to be born. She told me I could go until I was 42 weeks and then they would have to do something. A nurse midwife I contacted told me that if I was ready to go into labor, making love three times in a twelve hour span would kick it in.
It worked! I had good steady rhythmic contractions, strong enough that I could not sleep, but not strong enough to bring the baby, for the next three days!
It is difficult to put into words what that marathon of labor meant for Paul and I. We did it together. I had several friends who, like angels, helped with the girls, brought over food, and just supported us in any way possible. Our particular friends Pete and Sherry, gave the most help of all. They walked in the door with a hot turkey supper with all the trimmings. I chowed it down, and continued laboring non stop...contraction after contraction after contraction. Paul and I would walk, he rubbing my back with each contraction. And I took many many baths.
A couple of hours before we checked into the hospital we went over to Pete and Sherrys house to see the girls, and have some time with them. I just kept contracting through the whole visit. We prayed together and Paul and Pete gave me a priesthood blessing. I was feeling so nervous about being in the hospital and prayed that I would have angels to watch over me and help me achieve a good natural birth. We had an office visit with the partner of my doctor and he confirmed that I was at four centimeters dialated. I had not wanted to check in until I was at least five, but he said my cervix was really stretchy and everything looked good. I expressed to him my fears of having another C-section.
And bless him, he told me he had every confidence that I would be fine and all would be well. His words of confidence meant so much to me at the time. My doctor had been pushing me to just let her break my water and give birth (Soemthing I was determined NOT to do), and I was comforted knowing that at least one person in the practice was supportive of my desire not to have any interventions that would hurry things along.
We checked into the hospital about 6PM on a sunday night. April 18th 1994. As I was getting settled into my room, our angel of mercy showed up. The doctor who had checked me had gone down to the hospital (In the same building as his office) and requested that a certain nurse who had worked as a granny midwife in the Philippines was our nurse for the night. I did not find this out until later, but he knew that I was a Bradley Teacher and really wanted to have a natural birth and VBAC, and this little lady made it possible.
She was so hands off, and willing for me to do whatever I wanted during the birth. I kept requesting that she let me go into the huge birthing pool that they had at the hospital, but she said I could not until my doctor showed up at 8PM and gave me permission to labor in the tub.
I was frustrated by this and feel that the next few hours were defined simply by me waiting for the doctor to show up. I kept taking showers, Paul rubbed my back during contractions and I ate and drank to keep myself well hydrated. I had brought some raspberry juice and NuPlus, which is a Sunrider Herbal food for energy. I kept making sunrider shakes all night long and I'm convinced those NuPlus shakes gave me the energy to go one more night without sleep and then have the energy to push for an additional four hours before Jeff was born.
My doctor did not show up at 8PM, she showed up at 11PM and immediately requested that I let her break my water. I said "no way". I was only dialated to five, and felt that the chance of a prolapsed cord and/or my natural birth would be threatened by her hurrying things along. She threatened to send me home. When she tried to pull that little power trip, I just saw red. I had been waiting hours for "permission" to get into the birthing tub, and knew that if she broke my water they would not let me get into the tub.
She had just given birth to a baby six weeks before and I honestly believe she just wanted to hurry me along so that she could get home to her own baby. After she had told me she was going to send me home, she had left the room, and was down at the nurses station. I went storming down the hall after her in my nightgown. Paul ran after me and said, "Jenn, what are you going to do?" I told him that I had had just about enough of her power tripping ways, and that I was fed up with her care.
When I arrived at the nurses station, I confronted her, voice shaking, more angry than I can express. I told her she was fired. I told her that I had wanted to work with her, that I felt a real connection to her as a mother, but that I was enraged by her wanting to hurry my labor along when all I wanted to do was have a normal natural birth that was not hurried along. She did not say too much. I told her that I wanted her partner, the one who had checked me into the hospital, to take over my birth. She said "He is on call". I told her, "I know he is on call, please call him and I do not want to see you again while I am in labor."
All of the nurses at the station were just staring at me, including my little midwife nurse.
I stormed back to my room and immediately got into the shower. When my nurse showed up, she did not mention the confrontation, but the attitude she expressed to me was, "lets put that behind us and get this child born!" I once again requested that I be allowed to get into the birthing tub. She called the doctor and he told her that I could do whatever I wanted. So I jumpted into that huge whirlpool. Paul put on his swim trunks and we had three glorious hours of labor in the tub. I was able to make great progress and Paul and I enjoyed our alone time during the midnight to two am time frame. Then we got out and went back to our room. Our labor support showed up and for the next three hours I experienced a three hour transition.
At the time I had never heard about anyone having three hours of transition, but since then have talked to several moms who had a successful VBAC, and they said they too had a Long hard transition. During this time I went into an altered state where I was crying, upset, facing all of my demons. I was very afraid about having another surgery, and felt extreme hormonal ups and downs as my body just went to the place where it needed to work through some major energy and fears. Towards the end of it, I was in the shower, crying, and Paul asked me what he could do for me. I asked him to sing to me....Primary songs, and so he sang to me for an hour.
He sang, I am a child of God, and a few other quiet songs, and then he gave me another priesthood blessing. Those were the final things I needed to get me through that time. I stayed in the shower alone for a few more minutes, and when I came out Paul, Pete, and Sherry were all sprawled in our room asleep. I had to laugh because we were all working so hard to get our baby born, but they just could not stay awake. I had a few minutes alone with two dozen roses that Sherry had bought for me. I was standing up, dancing, and kept going over and sniffing those roses while I labored alone. It was perfect, me, God, and those Roses.
Then a wave of sleepiness came over me, and I climed into bed and just fell asleep.
This part of the labor was so key. Think about it, I had been up for three nights. No sleep whatsover. I had that ugly confrontation with my doctor, and then a three hour transition. I was totally exhausted. But bless my nurse. Paul told me later that she had poked her head in the door and when she heard I was asleep, she just quietly shut the door and left me alone for an hour. I woke up clear headed and ready to do the work of pushing my son into the world. My contractions had completely stopped when I was asleep, but I got up to see if I could get them going again.
It was about six am, and I went back into the shower to see if I felt pushy at all. The contractions started again, and at the peak of each one, I squatted down and tried to push a little bit to see if that would move Jeff down more into the birth canal. Paul helped by handing me washcloths that were covered in olive oil to help me stretch.
At 7AM a new nurse came into our room. She was the head of the birthing classes, and we had met a few days earlier when she did my non-stress test. I had told her about my plans to have a natural VBAC the week before, and we gave her a copy of my birth plan when she showed up in the room that morning of Jeff's birth. The contrast between her and the other nurse was startling. I am convinced that if she had been my nurse during the night that I would have had another c-section.
She was so interventionist minded, and kept saying that she wanted to break my water and put in an internal fetal monitor. She wanted me to be continuously monitored by the electronic fetal monitor, and did not feel comfortable with my getting up and using the bathroom and shower as I had been all night long. We butted heads over a couple of issues, and I finally agreed that she could monitor me twenty minutes on the hour. When she would leave the room I would take off the monitor, go back into the shower and push. I did not tell her I was pushing however. I knew that if she was aware that I had been pushing since 6am that she would use that as an excuse to give me the whole arsenal of tricks they have up their sleeves to get the baby out.
We sort of kept going the rounds, and finally she told me that the baby was have decels in heart rate and she simply had to break my water and get an internal monitor going. I told her that I would only allow that if my doctor confirmed it. She was mad about that, but I would not budge.
Then about 8:30 the doctor showed up and he said I was fully dialated and could push at my leisure. We set up the bed with the pushing bar, I got into the full squatting position and went for it.
Shelly and Allison had been a Sherrys house and I had Paul call our friend Kinde to see if she would be willing to pick them up and bring them over to the hospital. We had taken a sibling birth class at the hospital and they had watched birth movies from the time they were toddlers, so we felt they were fully prepared to see the birth, however Shelly told me that she did not want to watch Jeff be born because she didn't like to see all that "fluid" as she called it. I had asked Kinde to watch the girls out in the waiting room and then bring them in right after the birth. When Allison showed up she wanted to see Paul and I, and she arrived right as Jeff was being born and so she was at the birth.
Shelly came into the room right after.
My water broke on the second to last push, but Jeffs head was so low that only a little bit came out. The cord was wrapped around his head, and the doctor easily looped it over just before his body was born. I was able to breastfeed him right away, and we had a joyous hour right after the birth.
I am so grateful for a kind doctor who understood how important it was to me not to have the cascade of interventions right at the end of our birth. I did not tear and he did not perform an episiotomy, which made my recovery so much better. He was also supportive of our choice to not vaccinate and did not pass out when Allison jumped up on the delivery table and started to nurse right next to Jeff.
When my milk came in a few days later, Allison got one taste of it, jumped off the bed and went running down the hall of our apartment yelling in a sing song voice..."the milk is back, the milk is back!!!"
While I was so grateful for the wonder of experiencing a VBAC, and reclaiming my rights by standing up for my right to give birth how and with who I wanted, Jeffs birth was a defining moment. At the moment of birth we had over twenty people in the room. A couple of nurses had come down from the station, our three friends, daughters, etc etc...and I just felt so stressed by the loss of sleep and the final hours of fighting with the nurse over what to do.
In the months that followed I became increasingly concerned about our plans to have a large family. I just was not sure I could advocate for myself while in labor again, and was angry that I even had to. I also discovered Laura Shanleys book about this same time, and after reading I just knew that UC birth was the route I wanted to go to welcome our next babies into our home.
Jeff has been a joy to mother. He was such a fun little child, always full of mischief, and playing practical jokes on his siblings. He is a good friend, and watches out for his two younger brothers. He loves to camp and as a thirteen year old has almost completed the requirements for his eagle scout. He loves scouting, sports, and is a very good student.
He is planning to serve a mission for the LDS church when he is nineteen and has been a good roll model for his friends and family. I really enjoy talking to him about politics and he has good spiritual insights when we talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It has been an honor for me to be his mother and I love him with all my heart.
A Clip from Jeffs Birth. Pete had brought his video camera to the hospital. I had asked him to tape the girls meeting Jeff for the first time, but he went ahead and filmed the birth for us. It is our only birth that we have on video and each year that passes it becomes more precious. I only included the few minutes from right after the birth.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 7:58 PM
April 15, 2007
A Prophet Seer and Revelator Speaks on Politics
During the fifty five years that have passed since this talk was given, the level of propaganda and lies told about America has exponentially grown to the point where our citizens, if they are not rabid anti-americans, they are definitely on the fence about whether or not to feel good about our nation and our Godly heritage.
I know for me, the final bit of ambivalence I had about our history, especially our history around the Viet Nam war, was completely wiped away when I read this interview found at Front Page Magazine. I remember that as I read it for the first time a couple years ago, I was hitting the monitor of my computer, and when I finished it, I rammed my hand down on the computer desk, because I was so floored by what Mr. Pacepa had said.
Here is the interview, followed by Ezra Taft Bensons talk given at General Conference 55 years ago.
Member Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles (Please note, this talk was given in April of 1952 at General Conference)
"Beloved brethren and sisters, in humility I invoke the inspiration of the Lord and seek an interest in your faith and prayers as I stand for a few moments in this pulpit. I should like, if the Lord will bless me, to give vent to some thoughts that have been deeply impressed upon my mind for several weeks now. I hope I shall not be misunderstood. It seems to me that the day in which we live demands a frank and forthright consideration of some of the problems which face us not only as a Church but also as a great Christian nation.
With you I thrilled at the opening address of our great leader, President McKay. As I have thought of his remarks regarding this land of America, its achievements, and its needs, I have felt that I could characterize best what he said in two words: Spiritual Statesmanship. With you I love this land in which we live. I am proud of our heritage; I am grateful for the American tradition; I am thankful that the Lord has given through his prophets information regarding this great nation.
However, it seems to me that there are certain tendencies, trends, and practices which endanger very greatly our way of life and strike at the very foundation of much that we hold dear as a great Christian nation. Of course, the conditions of the world generally give us cause for concern. We seem to live in a world of conflict, insecurity, uncertainty, and almost bewilderment. We appear to be groping blindly, aimlessly, unable to find the way. Were it not for our faith in the prophecies of God I fear sometimes we would almost be tempted to give up.
We are in the midst of continuing international crises. The outlook for world peace and security is dark indeed. The gravity of the world situation, it appears, is increasing almost daily. The United Nations seems unable to settle the troubles of the world. In truth we are faced with the hard fact that the United Nations, it seems, has largely failed in its purpose. Yes, the days ahead are sobering and challenging ones. We might well ask,
America-what of the future?
I never travel across this great land and note its broad, fruitful farms, its humming factories and gleaming cities but what I am impressed with the marvels of this great nation. Yes, we have made unequaled material progress. We have become the greatest and the richest nation in all the world.
This has been done on about 6% of the land area of the world by a relatively small group of people, only 7% of the world's population. Yet it is reported that this small group of people produce today approximately half of the world's total wealth in usable form to satisfy human needs.
It is reported that in the year 1950 almost half of the food and fiber of the world was produced here in the United States. Our productivity has increased one-fifth every ten years since 1850. Through the use of machines much of the drudgery and toil so common in many other nations has disappeared.
Our engineers have estimated that the average worker today has the equivalent of 99 mechanical slaves working for him. The Twentieth Century Fud recently predicted that by 1960, 96% of all the energy going into physical work in America would be performed by machines, 1% by horses, and 3% by men. The average American worker has an output per hour six times his output in 1850. Yes, we have made unprecedented achievements in material things.
The prophets of God foreshadowed these achievements when they predicted that this would be a land choice above all other lands and that it would be preserved for a righteous people. Those who were to dwell here, if they served the God of the land, should be free from bondage and captivity.
Lehi, who led the second colony which came to this great land, was told that he was leading that colony to a land of promise and that none should come here save those who would come here under the influence of heaven.
This land would be consecrated unto those whom the Lord would guide here. It would be a land of liberty. Lehi's son, Jacob, said there should be no kings upon this land, that the God of heaven would be their king that this land would be fortified against all other nations, and that he who would fight against Zion should perish.
Reference has been made by President Young to the coming of Columbus. The scriptures tell us that the Spirit wrought upon Columbus, and upon those who followed him, and that they came here under the inspiration of heaven. Nephi predicted that when they arrived, they would humble themselves before God, that the power of the Lord would be with them, and that they would prosper.
Our history clearly records that the early peoples who did come were humble, God- fearing men and women. Bradford records that their first act upon arriving here upon American soil was to go upon their knees in humble prayer and bless the God of heaven.
The impelling force in their hearts it seems to me, was a love for basic ideals and principles, which were dearer to them than life itself. Among these were their love of God, faith in his divine purposes, their love of freedom industry, thrift, decency, and honor. Yes, this nation had its beginning in a high-minded manner.
The rules of conduct established by the early colonists and our founding fathers were taken from the scriptures. They were embodied in the Decalogue and in the gospel. The Sabbath was set aside as a sacred day. Profanity and other vices were condemned, and gambling was forbidden. People were encouraged to keep good company and to repeat no grievances. They emphasized the spiritual virtues.
Washington but echoed the general feeling of the early colonists when he acknowledged God's direction and emphasized the importance of spirituality honor, and moral courage. He said:
No people can be found to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.
Then as to the place of religion and morality, the Father of our country stated:
Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports . . . Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.
His successors spoke in similar vein. Lincoln emphasized the same thought when he acknowledged that "God rules this world," and that "It is the duty of nations as well as men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow...., " and then quoting from the scriptures, "and to recognize the sublime truth that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord." Yes, my brethren and sisters, they spoke of self-evident truths-inalienable rights.
When the Prophet Joseph came upon the scene to open a new gospel dispensation, he shed even further light upon the establishment of this great nation and the coming forth of the Constitution, which he stated was a glorious standard, founded in the wisdom of God.
Through revelation the Lord said to him, as was quoted by Brother Moyle yesterday,
Therefore, it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another.
And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood. (D. & C. 101:79-80.)
We have enjoyed divine favor through much of our history, but what of the future? It seems to me, my brethren and sisters, that the lessons of history, many of them very sobering, ought to be turned to during this hour of our great achievement because I feel in my own heart that during the hour of our success is our greatest danger.
I feel firmly that even during the hour of great prosperity, a nation may sow the seeds of its own destruction. This may happen even during a period of great income, relatively full employment, and high business activity. History reveals that rarely is a great civilization conquered from without until it has weakened or destroyed itself within.
I read recently volume three of that monumental work by Will Durant, The Story of Civilization. This volume entitled Caesar and Christ, covers the rise and fall of the Roman Empire and the coming forth of Christianity. It covers a period of 1125 years, from 800 B.C. to 325 A.D. At the end of this six-hundred-page volume, the author writes an epilogue under the caption "Why Rome Fell."
It is generally agreed that not infrequently history repeats itself. The author lists the major causes why this great civilization fell apart. I wonder if there is anything in what he says for us to take note of today. As a read this volume I was caused to reflect on the similarity of conditions and practices then and now. May I give you briefly his summary:
The first group of causes he termed biological, and no doubt most fundamental. They had to do with the limitation of families, the deferment and avoidance of marriage, the refusal of men and women to shoulder the great responsibilities, God-ordained, of honorable parenthood.
He mentioned that sexual excesses were indulged in commonly, both in and outside the marriage covenant.
The operation of contraception and abortion was common. This, together with other things, resulted in reduced fertility. Sex ran riot, and moral decay resulted.
He mentioned as another cause of Rome's decay, the waste of natural resources in mining, deforestation, erosion, the neglect of irrigation canals but most important of all, the negligence of harassed and discouraged men the failure to teach high moral principles so necessary for the building of real character.
Then he lists with great emphasis the rising costs of government because of armies, doles, public works, expanding bureaucracy, a parasitic court, depreciation of currency, absorption of investment capital by confiscatory taxation.
Is there anything suggestive in this summary?
May I give you the following figures on this last grouping particularly, taken from what seem to be reliable sources? According to projected estimates, our federal government will spend during the coming fiscal years, 1952-53, more than the total income of all the people west of the Mississippi River-22 states. The federal payroll in 1952 will top 22 billion-4 billion above last year and 16 times the 1929 total.
Nearly one out of every four adult Americans is receiving regularly federal checks. At the present rate, by 1953 the government will be spending approximately 38% of the national income. During only three of the last twenty years has our federal budget been balanced. It requires today approximately 2 1/2 million civilians to staff the federal bureaucracy.
In the matter of the depreciation of the currency, it is reported that the present dollar is worth only 38 cents compared to the 1913 dollar, and that the dollar today will purchase only about half as much as it did in 1935-39.
As to taxation, the federal government took in taxes during all past administrations up to six years ago-156 years-248 billion dollars.
In the last six years we have taken in taxes 260 billion, and still we seem not to have enough to pay our current bills. With a debt of over one- quarter of a trillion dollars the annual interest payment is 6 billion dollars plus, more than all government expenditures in 1933.
Now, my brethren and sisters this author lists other causes. Political causes, he says, were rooted in one fact that through centralized control and the increasing despotism of the state, the citizens' civic sense was destroyed and dried up, thus destroying statesmanship at its source.
Men felt powerless to express themselves and lost interest in government. Yet, I presume, Rome has had no equal in the art of government. She achieved a democracy of free men and then destroyed it with corruption and violence.
With you, I love this great land in which we live.
I pray for the chief executive and his cabinet and the legislative and judicial branches, the officials of our states and our cities. But I wonder sometimes, my brethren and sisters, what our founding fathers, our pioneer fathers, would do and say if they were here today.
I'm sure they would give serious reflection to present conditions. I wonder if they would not recognize that our liberties have already been abridged, that there has been too much of a tendency for us to call upon our federal government every time we felt the need for the accomplishment of any particular objective.
I wonder if we haven't had a tendency to call for help for those things which our forefathers would have done willingly for themselves.
Yes, I presume as a people we are to blame, but I feel that if they were here today, they would apply some very definite tests before any new service or new program were approved. May I just mention three:
First, I think they would ask the question: Can this service, assuming it is needed, be done more efficiently, more effectively by our federal government or should we do it ourselves on the local level? They believed that government is best which governs least.
Government seems to be inherently wasteful and inefficient. Possibly it is because the profit motive and competition-the very life of private enterprise-are largely absent.
Second, How will it affect the morale and the character of the people? This seems to me to be of great importance. They were interested in the building of character. They recognized that character, not wealth or power or position, is of prime consideration.
Third, they would possibly ask: How will it affect our free institutions-the church, the school, the home, and our local form of government?
I believe if they were here, they would look for the answers to the decline of public morals.
As they looked searchingly for the answers, they would probably observe evidence of weak and vacillating leadership in many places, not confined to one group or one party.
They would find a tendency for men in high places to place political expediency ahead of principle. They would be concerned with the alarming growth of a something-for-nothing philosophy, a failure of people to stand on their own feet.
They would probably find bad examples by unscrupulous politicians and by delinquent parents, and possibly a weakening of religious training, and the substitution therefore of a faith-destroying materialism.
I think, my brethren and sisters, as Latter-day Saints, and as American citizens, we need to rouse ourselves to the problems that confront us as a great Christian nation. We need to recognize that these fundamental, basic principles, moral and spiritual, lay at the very foundation of our achievements in the past.
If we are to continue to enjoy our present blessings, we must have a return to these basic and fundamental principles.
Economics and morals are both parts of one inseparable body of truth, and they must be in harmony.
We need to square our actions and our policies with these eternal principles.
I wonder if we have forgotten the counsel of the prophets, the founding fathers, and our great statesmen. Surely we need a nationwide return to these fundamentals. We need a nationwide repentance to rid this land of corruption. We must return to the fundamental virtues that have made this nation great.
There is a force in the universe which no mortal can alter. This nation does have a spiritual foundation. It has been established in keeping with great spiritual and moral principles, but there seems to be a tendency for us to lose our sense of uprightness and to do wilfully those things which we must know to be wrong. This cannot be done with impunity.
God help us to raise our sights beyond the dollar sign, beyond material things. May we have the courage to stand up and be counted, to stand for principle, for those principles and ideals which guided the founding fathers in the establishment of this great land. Thank God for the promises that have been made regarding the future of America.
I hope and pray we shall realize the fulfillment of these promises because we merit their fulfillment.
I am grateful that the Lord has said through his prophets that this nation unto the righteous shall be blessed forever, and that he will be a light unto them forever that hear his words."
PACEPA INTERVIEW AT FRONT PAGE MAGAZINE
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 7:01 PM
Joseph Albert Mangus
We attended Joe's Viewing today at the funeral home. I talked to his brother and he told me that the whole family wrote his obituary for the Local Paper, The Daily Camera in Boulder.
And the text:
Joseph Albert Mangus, 36, died unexpectedly in Louisville early Tuesday morning. April 10, 2007.
He was born July 26th 1970, in Leadville CO. to Gerald Hoffman and Ruth (Fillerup) Mangus. He graduated from Centaurus high school in 1989. He enlisted in the Army in 1990 and is a veteran of the first Gulf war, Desert Shield. He had recently returned home from his second tour in Iraq with B Company 2/300 Field Artillery battalion of the Wyoming National Guard. He had volunteered for his second tour in Iraq because he strongly believed that the people in Iraq deserved the same freedoms he had.
He was a deputy for the Fremont County Sheriff's department in Lander, Wyoming
Joseph married Rhonda Bring 1990 and they had two children, they later divorced. He was later married and subsequently divorced from Karla Davis.
He is survived by his daughter Ashley L. Mangus, of Tucson, Arizona. His mother Ruth F. Mangus, of Louisville, CO, and his siblings, Ruth Anne Merrick, Gerald Mangus, Vennie Mangus, and Camilla Moyer. He was a hero and their "copper soldier" for his nieces and nephews, Charlotte, Frederick, Orion, Cheyenne, Danille, and Sean and a step-son Nick. Joseph also was survived by numerous aunts, uncle and cousins.
He was preceded in death by his father Gerald H. Mangus and his son Allen R. Mangus.
There will be a public viewing at the Darrell Howe Mortuary, Lafayette CO. on Sunday April 15th from 4pm-6pm., funeral services will be held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Louisville CO. at 10am Monday April 16th, with a viewing from 9 to 9:45.
Burial will be in the Penrose Cemetery, Lovell, Wyoming beside his father.
Wyoming services are pending.
Contributions may be made to the Wyoming Wild Mustang Rescue or to the charity of your choice in honor of his memory.
Published in the Daily Camera on 4/13/2007.
Paul and I rehearsed our song this afternoon. We are going to sing Jesus Lover of my Soul for the funeral tomorow.
Here is the text of the hymn: Charles Wesley wrote it
Reverently
31243, Hymns, Jesus, Lover of My Soul, no. 102
1. Jesus, lover of my soul,
Let me to thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide,
Till the storm of life is past.
Safe into the haven guide;
Oh, receive my soul at last.
2. Other refuge have I none;
Hangs my helpless soul on thee.
Leave, oh, leave me not alone;
Still support and comfort me.
All my trust on thee is stayed;
All my help from thee I bring.
Cover my defenseless head
With the shadow of thy wing.
Text: Charles Wesley, 1707–1788
Music: Joseph P. Holbrook, 1822–1888
I asked our daughter Michelle to come out and take a video of our last run through of the song. We have decided to sing it acapella. Here is the clip:
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 6:35 PM
April 11, 2007
Joseph Mangus
My friend Joe, who arrived home from Iraq last week, is dead.
He was found by his mother on monday evening, dead in his basement. I have not yet heard the results of the autopsy report, all I know is that my friend, our adopted uncle has moved on to the next life.
These past few hours since we heard of Joe's Death have been a whirlwind of emotion.
Last sunday he came walking into church with his mom Ruth, who is a dear friend, and his siblings and nephew. He looked so happy, and just gave me this grin when he noticed me up on the stand. I lead the singing in sacrament meeting.
For some strange reason, I had taken my digital camera to church on sunday, just grabbed it as we walked out the door. I took picture of the beautiful flowers on the stand, but when I saw Joe walk in, I decided to get some footage of our reunion.
Benjamin, our four year old, has had a year of praying for Joe. Almost every time I heard him pray, for family prayer, his evening prayers, and even our blessings on the food, he has prayed for Joe, that Heavenly Father would keep him "safe and strong".
I snapped the above picture of Joe and Ben at church right after the sacrament program, and made a little movie clip of Ben seeing Joe for the first time.
We had invited Joe to come over for family home evening on monday night at six O'clock.
I cooked a wonderful supper, and the boys went out to the front sidewalk and using chalk wrote "welcome home Joe" on the cement. We waited and waited for him to show up, but he never arrived.
The next morning Paul and I took the boys and our dog for a walk to the park, and when we arrived home he checked his email. I was out in the kitchen making lunch, and he started to cry and yell "no, no". I ran over and read the email from our Bishop informing us that Joe was dead, found by his mom Ruth late monday evening.
I feel such a jumble of emotions.
Ben kept saying...."who is dead mom? Is it our Joe, Our JOE??!??"
I had lovely concern showed to our family by my visiting teachers and a member of our relief society. But my biggest concern is for Joes brother and sisters, and his mother Ruth. I love her so much, she has really mothered me these past few months, and I feel such a connection to her and ache for the loss of Joe, her oldest son.
Here are some blog entries that mentioned Joe's service and how excited he was to come home. That to me is the biggest irony of all. We prayed him home safe, and now he is gone.
An Eagle is on his way home....email from Joe Mangus
Denver Anti War Rally March 17th Noon at the Capitol
Pictures from Joe Mangus in Iraq
Press Conference by the President
Iraq: Three year Anniversary of the War
God be with you till me meet again Joe!
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 7:01 AM
April 6, 2007
Oprah Winfreys Autism Show April 5th, 2007 - Vaccines MENTIONED!!!
UPDATE:
More on the World Bank Situation:
From Huff Po Writer Steve Clemons
"One other tidbit about Wolfowitz that I have confirmed is less dramatic than securing his girlfriend a nearly $200,000 salary -- but still quite fascinating.
I now know from a second source -- as my first would only discuss this matter firmly off the record -- that Wolfowitz and Kevin Kellems had dinner at the Aquarelle Restaurant at the Watergate Hotel last year with a very prominent member of Washington's journalistic community.
The journalist in question had not met Wolfowitz previously and Kellems played a "relationship-brokering" role. What is interesting about this particular meeting -- as far as I understand the details of it -- is that the journalist in question, who I cannot name but can attest for his solid reputation as a serious writer, assumed that the topic of discussion at dinner would be Wolfowitz's global economic development agenda, his view of how to make the World Bank relevant to 21st century security and economic challenges, and so on.
Instead, Wolfowitz -- as recently as one year ago -- was still manically obsessed with the connection between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda. Wolfowitz reportedly brought with him to dinner an enormous binder of materials, articles, essays, reports, intelligence, etc. -- arguing that the connection between Hussein and bin Laden's operation was real and robust.
I can't report on the journalist's reaction to the dinner -- other than to say he was "surprised."
If Wolfowitz has been spending time hiring people like Robin Cleveland and Kevin Kellems -- as well as pushing the career of his girl friend "illegally" -- and obsessing about validating his bad decisions in the build-up to the Iraq War, then he has not been attentive to his real and fundamental responsibilites at the World Bank.
If all the rumors about his resignation tomorrow are untrue, Paul Wolfowitz should make them true as soon as possible."
My long time readers know that I am a Neo-Con and completely supported and continue to support the invasion of Iraq and the taking down of Sadaam Hussein. I also understand why Mr. Wolfowitz would want to validate and justify his actions and promotion of the War in Iraq.
What I would like to know is how much money Vaccine manufacturers had tied to this decision to yell and scream about Weapons of Mass Destruction the past six years. Don't get me wrong, I know those weapons are real and are a big threat. What I question is how much the Government has been influenced by Big Pharma to push it in the Media to soften up the populace into welcoming the idea that Vaccines are the answer to all of those threats?
I believe we all need to watch this very closely, and understand that our soldiers are being used as Gunea Pigs by being shot up with all the vaccines for WMD (Anthrax etc) The fact that our soldiers who have refused vaccines go to prison tells me how powerful the drug lobby has been in relation to these major decisions around weapons of mass destruction.
I am all for American Imperialism if it means freeing nations from despotic rule. But if American Imperialism boils down to hype to make more money for pharmaceutical companies, then I believe it is time for those particular frauds to be exposed!
Perhaps this World Band scandal will help open up the records and we can understand just exactly who has profited from the war in this sicko fashion.
UPDATE:
Given the brewing scandal at the world bank around Wolfowitz's girlfriend, and the fact that they are meeting this week in America, perhaps it is time for them to acknowledge the roll they have played in the Vaccine scandals.
WAPO via Austin Bay:
"His acknowledgment, though cryptic, was a major new development in an unfolding scandal at the global lending institution, which seeks to help the world’s poorest countries. With annual meetings of the the bank and the International Monetary Fund convening in Washington this week, the World Bank’s executive board is discussing Wolfowitz’s future."
After watching Dr. Ayoub talk about the world bank and how they are "helping" the poorest nations on the earth, I have to question just about everything the world bank does and stands for.
Wolfowitz should be fired and the world bank exposed for the frauds around the vaccine controversys.
UPDATE:
www.robodoonproductions.com
1 hr 31 min 16 sec - Aug 15, 2006
www.radioliberty.com
David Ayoub, M.D. goes through the relations of Mercury to Autism as well its connections to “National Security Study Memorandum 200”; for ... all » population control. Showing its shocking connections to today’s G.A.V.I. Are powerful forces really trying to help the poor people or could it be for another agenda; the sterilization of the poor? This is an upsetting video, so brace yourself.
When you have a couple of hours to yourself, take the time to review this movie.
UPDATE:
Many parents are praying right now that Oprahs Autism show will open up the floodgates and allow true debate on the number of vaccines and how they are impacting our children negatively to come out more fully in our national debate on childrens health.
Here is a link to a health overview that I typed up a couple months ago. It includes my suggestions for possible environmental triggers that could cause autism. When a child has all of these triggers, at the same time that he is being systematically doused with toxins from Vaccines and Dental amalgams (more mercury), it is no wonder that many of these children show signs of mercury toxicity.
UPDATE:
The mommy chat rooms and Bloggers on the web are all talking about Oprahs show....
This video is a much better quality than my amatuerish atempt, I found the descriptive information on this video to be very good.
"Oprah brings up the vaccine issue - DR says NO it's been refuted, then Oprah lets one of the moms have her say ... LOVE IT!
THANK YOU OPRAH!
Katie (THE MOM) was told by the producers before the show was filmed that if she mentioned vaccines she would be off the show.
While taping, the pediatrician made the misstatement about vaccines and autism (that whole "no connection" reassuring bullshit), and, during break, Katie appealed directly to Oprah to let her respond, as you saw on the show.
However, Oprah's response to Katie about "opening the can of worms" and the audience's applause after what she said was actually based on a much longer exchange, all of which was edited out of the final cut of the show.
After the part you heard Katie say, Katie went on to say that the preservatives in the vaccines made her son sick and that the combination vaccines and the vaccine schedule were grossly unsafe.
Everyone's favorite pediatrician then jumped in and said that if the schedule were changed there would epidemics. Katie responded by saying there already is an epidemic and that our kids are not disposable so the CDC can perpetuate irrational fears of the measles and the flu.
I think this highlights a number of things:
- The censorship most media outlets give to this issue is very high. My personal opinion is that this is due entirely to the power of pharma advertising and to the fact that the media outlets hear directly from pharma in advance of these shows and get warned. The fact that the daughter of NBC's FORMER CEO must be deeply troubling for pharma because this is going to be one very tough person to shut up.
- Oprah over-ruled the directive Katie was given because she is Oprah and appears to have strong moral fiber. If Don Imus is a 10, I give Oprah a 5, which makes her second-best for national personalities dealing honestly about our kids, although it is almost incomprehensible to me that this is Oprah's first show on autism.
- The lame doctor saying "if the schedule were changed there would be epidemics" has no idea what she is talking about. It is unbelievable that it is NEVER reported that in the mid-1980s there were 10 vaccines on the schedule and today its 36. We were not having massive epidemics in the 1980s and the schedule has more than tripled due to money and recklessness, with no monitoring system that could ever catch a delayed-onset condition like autism.
- Katie is a true warrior for her son and all of our kids. She said so much more than America got to hear. (FORWARDED - WRITTEN BY JB)"
Medical school students were also chatting about Oprahs show and the larger issue of how to deal with parents who do not want to vaccinate:
Original Post:
Oprah Winfrey made me cry yesterday when I watched her show on Autism.
Autism Speaks Web Site - Be Informed
Autism Speaks web site search string for vaccines.
Here are three video clips from the show with my commentary.
Natural Family Blog Posts on Vaccines and Autism - Go Here And Here And Here
And this is the first of many commentaries of her show:
Thank You Oprah, for giving the Autism Community a lift
THANK YOU OPRAH!!!
My mother told me that as a baby I had one of the worst immediate reactions to my vaccines of all of her eight children. I have had to wonder over the years if there was any direct relation to my own asthma, deadly food allergies, skin rashes, and immune deficiency problems. I have worked tirelessly cleansing my body at the core level for many years, and while some success has happened, I still struggle with certain chronic conditions.
Early in our marriage I was training to become a Bradley Childbirth Teacher and read Robert Mendelsohns book, How to raise a healthy child in spite of your doctor as part of the curriculum for teachers. What an eye opening book for a new mom to read! That book and materials like it armed me for the vaccine battles that were to define my life for the next ten years. The battles were mostly with my husband, but also with a variety of family members, neighbors, friends at church, strangers, and especially members of the medical community as we interfaced with them during our first three births, and in a variety of situations over the years. The most frightening situations were always around Emergency Room visits. Whenever they asked the inevitable "is she/he up to date on her/his shots?" I would always look the nurse right in the eye and say "we are philisophically opposed to vaccines". Fortunately no one ever used this as an excuse to call social services, but we do live in Colorado, which has some of the lowest rates of vaccination in the country, and a very educated populace and healthy alternative healing communities who are supportive of our lifestyle choices.
We never had any trouble enrolling our kids in school, and have experienced a few raised eyebrows around camping and sport situations, but never have been excluded from an event for not vaccinating.
This has not been the case for all families however. Some have had children taken by social services for not vaccinating, and recently I heard a story of a young mom who wanted to selectively vaccinate, but who was told that if she did that, she would have to find another pediatric practice to work with. The bullying and strong arm tactics of some health professionals is really sickening, when parents are just trying to keep toxic chemicals out of their childrens bodies.
Again, I have to applaud Oprah for opening that can, what a great step forward in helping to expose this whole fraud.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 6:34 PM
April 3, 2007
HuffPo: Leslie Benetts: The Feminine Mistake
Bleech!
"I wrote The Feminine Mistake: Are We Giving Up Too Much? because the typical reporting on the job-versus-family issue was so biased and incomplete. The media gave lots of coverage to women who quit the labor force to become full-time mothers, but they treated this decision as if it were simply a lifestyle choice. They never seemed to mention the risks of economic dependency -- or the myriad benefits of work. As a result, women were being lulled into a dangerous sense of complacency about relinquishing their financial autonomy. Why wasn't anyone telling the truth about how much they were sacrificing -- or what the consequences could be?
When I researched the subject myself, my findings made it all too clear how false that sense of security really is. Over time, most stay-at-home wives are likely to face major hardships as a result of divorce, widowhood, a spouse's unemployment or illness, or any number of other challenges. Women who abandon their careers and become financially dependent on their husbands often look back on that decision as the biggest mistake of their lives -- even women in stable, enduring marriages. I interviewed women all over the country, of every age, socio-economic level and background, but many used the exact same words to ask an angry question: "Why didn't anybody tell me what a mistake this was?""
And man, isn't our society lucky to have such a sage in Leslie Benetts, that she is here to let us know how big of a mistake we are making when we marry and become financially dependent on our men.
A few thoughts....I have not read this womans book, just her piece at Huff Po, so maybe it is wrong to even comment on her piece without her full argument being reviewed.
That being said, the very title of her essay, calling this choice to become dependent on our husbands a MISTAKE, sets the tone of the debate.
I suppose in Ms.Benetts ideal world all women attend college until they are 32, then accept a job from some "empowered" she-male, and then gets artificially inseminated to give birth to one child, you know, just for the experience, and because that time clock is ticking, and the second the baby turns four weeks old, shoves it into the care of someone else while momma stays "independent and financially stable", and thus saves herself the trouble of having to ask that ANGRY and hopeless question...."Why didn't anybody tell me what a mistake this was???"
In Ms. Benetts ideal world womyn have no need to mess with the rather untidy life of the stay at home mother, and no worries about the future. Momma as breadwinner means womyn will never have to bow down to any patriarchal system, and can stay nice and healthy, financially and otherwise, and never ever have any problems, whatsoever. Because everyone knows that the only women who have problems are those who get married young and rely on a man to provide their food, clothing, and shelter.
Sorry Ms. Benett, your whole premise stinks.
I am completely aware of how dependent I am on my husband. I like to think of us an an interdependent team. However, I choose not to wallow in "what iffing" about the future. Should some unforseen situation present itself where I am the sole breadwinner for my family, I trust that as a smart, intelligent woman, I have the capacity to take care of the children who would then be dependent on me for the basics to survive.
I don't have a degree. Outside of stints working as an actor, waitress, medical assistant, maid at a hotel, house cleaner, health club dance instructor, and various network marketing businesses, as well as childbirth teacher, I have never had what others would term an ideal "career".
I have spent the past ten years writing books that few people are interested in reading, promoting natural childbirth in an epidural world, and blogging about natural family living. Endeavors that are not exactly tied to financial freedom.
I suppose if I wanted to make some money at blogging, I could promote sickness on my Blog and then the various sick culture big money machines would come calling, but for now promotion of healthy family life is not a cash cow for our family budget.
Truth be known, without my husbands support I could never have written my E-books, set up my web sites, or even considered blogging. As a computer genius specializing in web connections and fire walls, Paul has been most supportive of my Blogging adventures. Perhaps it would have been better for me to hire a web expert, just so I could say that I was an independent womyn not guilty of making any goofball feminine mistakes like depending on my husbands generousity of spirit while helping me blog.
He installed Movable Type on my site and has helped me in a thousand different ways to be a better online writer. As my in house "free" tech support, he has been the reason I've been able to share my words, pictures, and videos on the web. Perhaps your next book should be titled - "The Male Mistake; hard realities for the husband whose wife spend every spare second blogging."
I am fully aware of the difficulties that COULD happen if my husband were unable to work for some reason. Yet I continue to take my children to the park, spend my time cooking, cleaning, and raising our five children, and call myself most blessed among women for the luxury of this amazing lifestyle where I have the freedom to be queen of my own little castle.
And, I get to choose how I will schedule my free time without worrying about providing food, clothing, and shelter for our brood.
Every time we go out into the sunshine to play, I feel this overwhelming gratefullness in my heart for a man who is willing to work hard every day to provide for me and our children. And I trust and have complete faith that should my husband be called home to heaven, that a kind FATHER In Heaven, the ultimate Patriarch, will be as aware of me as the Lilies of the field, and will help me to know how to feed, shelter, and clothe my family as a single woman.
Don't call my life choice a mistake.
And don't assume that I am some idiot who has no ability to prepare for the future, or understand that my husband being gone will mean major adjustments to our lifestyle. I am well aware of how quickly things could change, but that does not mean I am going to put my children into the care of someone else and go start working on a career.
I am engaged in the most fulfilling career any woman could desire.....writing living epistles as we partner with God in the creation of something eternal and holy....A Family.
As I read this essay I was reminded of the play Pippen, which I performed over forty times during summer stock theatre in 1987. The main character in the play is a young man who wants to find meaning in his life, and so he experiments with a variety of lifestyle choices, running from war to politics to womanizing to family life in search of the ultimate happiness and fulfillment. At the end of this musical, he learns that being committed to a family is what will bring him the most fulfillment, and admits that he is "trapped, but happy".
Here is a clip from the final performance of the cast of 87 in West Yellowstone Montana at the Playmill Theatre. I included our curtain call, as well as the tradition of "street greeting" that we did after the final show of the evening. This particular audience was made up of many friends, family members as well as members of our church congregation in town and former players from previous casts. So alot of hugging was going on as we said our goodbyes.
I am dressed in light blue, and show up here and there in the clip.
Sometime in the future I will share a bunch of clips from this play, it is a profound and wonderful commentary about what brings true happiness and fulfillment in life.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 9:03 AM
March 31, 2007
Day at the Park
We have been deep cleaning and organizing the house this week for Spring Break. This afternoon we told the children if they would help deep clean the inside of the car, that we would take them to the park for the hour between sessions of conference. So we cleaned the car:
And then we went to the park. Ben wanted to have his first official Easter Egg hunt, so we brought all the eggs and his basket. Paul, Jeff, and Allison were only interested in playing soccer and basketball:
Here come the leaves!
Jenny Hatch - Picture taken by Ben just before our Easter Egg hunt.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 7:25 PM
March 30, 2007
Trip to Denver Zoo 2007
Paul took Ben, Jeff, and Andy down to the Zoo the other day. Ben said his favorite animals were the Spiders.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 12:41 PM
March 13, 2007
Four Seasons in Colorado
All Photos Orginal Work by Jenny Hatch
All Rights Reserved
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 5:50 AM
Allisons first Varsity Soccer Game
Allison played her first High School Soccer game yesterday and the coach decided during the second half to put the JV players in. She was able to play most of the second half. The varsity girls had already racheted up a seven to zero lead, and they were able to get one more goal before the end of the game. Here is some footage from the very end of the game. I had gone grocery shopping and came to pick everyone up and was able to get some good pictures:
Ben playing football with Jeff and Shelly after the Soccer Game:
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 5:13 AM
March 12, 2007
Music
Church of the Holy Ghost in Denver
I sang in a concert yesterday at the Catholic Church of the Holy Ghost in Denver. We performed a couple of songs from our upcoming concert this weekend, and I sang the solo in Down by the Riverside. Here is the clip of my solo:
And here is a short clip of our finale: Shelter your name:
And the final clip of Shelter your name:
When the director asked us to snap and do a little leaning at the end of the song, I joked to those around me that we would look like Steve Martin in the Jerk trying to snap to the blues. A couple of sopranos were laughing so hard we were crying.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 6:03 AM
March 9, 2007
Chatauqua Park in Boulder
Paul and I took Ben, Jeff and our Puppy up to the mountains today for some fresh air and sunshine. I took a bunch of pictures, and this little movie:
We found the first flowers of the season while hiking around Chatauqua Park:
Paul took the day off, and Jeff was home from school because he was not feeling well. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and I've heard on the news that it is going to be even better tomorow. With the wind blowing really good, I was wishing we had brought our kite. Maybe next time.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 7:30 PM
March 6, 2007
Raising and nurturing children: Live and Let Live
Paul and I spent our 19th anniversary in the Emergency Room. Ben was hit in the head with a metal golf club at the park last night and he needed some stitches.
Paul took our three boys and some friends over to the park to practice golfing for the Golf Merit Badge for scouts.
Ben ran in front of one of the boys right when he was taking a swing. Jeff ran home to get me and really riled me up by claiming that Ben's scalp was showing, so much blood, and he was completely upset and crying. I ripped over to the park in our van and then Shelly drove us to the ER while Paul and I held Ben in the back seat. As we drove I was applying Trauma Life Essential Oil blend to Bens toes, three drops each foot, and praying to know how to help him. Paul gave him a blessing and then we arrived.
I was thinking....Brain Injury, Concussion, Surgery, etc etc while we drove and was totally freaked out by the time the first nurse walked into the waiting room. The Male Nurse immediately did a brain injury analysis by having Ben answer some questions and get up and walk. It was then that I saw his cut for the first time, and the relief I felt was tangible. I truly was afraid that the golf club had crushed his skull, based on what Jeff had said, but quickly realized that the cut, although a deep gash that required layers of stitching, was not so bad, and that he would be fine.
Ben this morning in his Daddys arms.
Ironically this is the point where I truly lost it emotionally. I started shaking and was overwhelmed by the adrenaline rush. Ben was a champ, he never screamed, just whimpered a little each time the needle went into his skin and today we took him to our chiropractor to get his cranium adjusted. His eye is all swollen and he has the beginnings of a nasty black eye, but we have not observed any evidence of a concussion, although we are watching for it.
It is funny to me that because we have chosen to give birth to our last two babies at home that some friends assume that we have given up on allopathic medicine altogether.
Not True.
I was so grateful for the professionalism and skill of the doctor and nurse we worked with. These two men were so kind to our son, and so tuned it to his needs as a four year old. They truly did an amazing job, always concious of his pain and his needs, bringing him juice and stickers and a coloring book. A volunteer at the hospital offered to get us drinks, and a nurse (a dear friend from church) helped me get a cup of peppermint herbal tea, and offered much love and emotional support.
I spend so much time bashing the allopathic medical machine here on my blog that it was a good reminder to interface with the medical people and be reminded once again of the wonderful work they do with emergencies and injuries.
Yesterday I was reading some of the links from Pajamas Media and found these two posts:
First I read a rant from the Advice Goddess, who tends to use alot of profanity. She was upset about kids sleeping in the same beds with their parents.
Then I read Dr. Helen talking about Moms who get together and drink wine while the kids play. She was questioning child led everything and even encouraged the moms to go ahead and drink. I don't drink at all, so it is not anything I would do in the first place, but I did have to question women driving a van full of children after partying with friends. I wondered about the mommy guilt if one of those women were to get into an auto accident, but then I thought, "well, live and let live".
Then the upsetting and useless conversation I had with a Blogger named Stupidity Tracker who had linked to my Lotus Birth Picture Gallery and claimed this lifestyle choice was not only stupid, but disgusting. We had a chat in his comment section and it was nasty evidence that some people in our society are not willing to live and let live. But must use profane and intolerant words to describe some of the lifestyle choices Paul and I chosen. (Huge profanity alert for this blogger)
It's ironic that Ann Coulter is currently being skewered in the press and in the blogosphere for her use of a supposedly anti-gay slur. When I watched her on Hannity last night she explained her words the way that I had interpreted them, as a joke about political correctness, using a schoolyard taunt that she interpreted as the equivalent of calling someone a wuss. I wholeheartedly agree with her that John Edwards is a wuss, and while I would not use the F word the way she did, I still support her decision to use whatever words she feels are appropriate to share her message of conservatism and in satirizing liberals.
I'm not offended or angry that the Advice Goddess thinks our choice of having a family bed is crazy, or that someone called the stupidity tracker thinks I am an idiot. Cathy Seipp compared my lifestyle to witch doctoring last year and I had a fun debate with her regular commenters that ended where it always does, with name calling and me moving on to some more productive way to spend my time.
I wish we could all do a better job of living and let live. But for some reason Paul and I making this decision to live mostly out of the realm of medicine seems to bring up some intensely angry responses from those who learn of our lifestyle choices.
We all have to make choices for and in behalf of our children until they are old enough to choose for themselves how they will live. I like to think that the choices we have made have given them a foundation of wellness and health that they will be able to reap from for many years to come.
Ben has gradually been weaning from our Attached Parenting that the Advice Goddess has such a problem with. Paul and I have been encouraging him to sleep in his own bed for months now. He has a toddler bed in his brothers room. Most nights he will fall asleep in our bed and then we will carry him in to his own bed. But the past few weeks this has led to him complaining and whining in the mornings, angry at supposedly being betrayed by us not honoring his wishes. Paul has tried to reason with and encourage him for the past few days especially that he needs to be in his own room.
This morning when I woke up Paul was curled up in a ball with our little boy snuggled safely in his arms. When he awoke I asked him what time Ben came in to our bed. He chuckled and then sheepishly said that he had woke up at 5am and gone in to check on Ben, then picked him up and took him into our bed to make sure he was safe. I started to cry, so happy that my husband has such a tender heart and was so concerned about our little guy.
Often it takes an accident to put things into perspective about what is truly important when raising our children. Paul completely blamed himself for Ben's accident, "I should have been watching him more closely, etc..." was what he said to me last night. I just reassured him that accidents do happen, and that we should be grateful that the golf club did not smack him in the eye or in his temple. It could have been so much worse.
I know on this blog that I am actively campaigning for mothers and fathers to live a more holistic lifestyle, but I would like to take the opportunity to emphasize that I support all parents making whatever choices they feel will give their own child the best life, and am very willing to live and let live....and pray that in learning how to tolerate each others life choices, we can have a bit of compassion for each other and not get lost in the emotion that seems to come up when people make choices that are the complete opposite of what we ourselves would make.
As for using derogatory cliche's in describing political opponants beliefs. I do confess to enjoying that sort of judgement, and feel that a "fight fire with fire" approach is appropriate and justified for conservatives in politics. I try to keep my comments focused on blasting the ideologies of those I oppose, but sometimes do get into name calling, as in calling Mr. Edwards a wuss (and I was thinking specifically of his tolerance and wobbly response to his degenerate bloggers and his using the Coulter incident to raise money for his campaign).
One of the dudes at Free Republic suggested that everyone donate one red cent in Ann's name to his campaign with a credit card and thus make him pay for the transaction. His victim status does have its privledges for now, but no way is he going to be the democrat candidate.
I am willing to live and let live in regards to family life, but for politics, well, that is when I take my gloves off and start pasting the other side with the toughest words I can comfortably use. Street fighting sometimes is the only way to deal with what is at stake in terms of our freedoms. And I have deep concerns that if we conservatives don't get off our bums and fight hard, we will lose everything that is precious to us.
Hope that clarifys things somewhat for my readers.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 2:59 PM
March 5, 2007
Happy Anniversary - 19 years ago today!
Paul and I were married 19 years ago today.
Here is the video clip of us walking out of the temple ten minutes after we were married:
Here is a picture my mom took while Paul and I were engaged. In the photo album I titled it "Paul and Jenny respond to our first kiss".
For those of you readers who have no sense of humor and have not quite found the joke, that was in fact supposed to be funny.
The first time Paul kissed me we were laying on the floor of his apartment watching Saturday Night Live. I was lying on my back and he was on his stomach and our heads were close together. As he was kissing me I started to laugh because it was an upside down kiss. We properly righted ourselves and as he kissed me I felt like I had just arrived home after 19 years of homlessness as I wandered around searching for him.
We set the goal to make it to our wedding day as virgins. And happily achieved that goal. I believe Michelle was conceived right on our wedding day, as I gave birth to her exactly nine months later.
The feeling of being safe at home in the arms of my lover and best friend has continued to this day. Paul is the nicest guy I have ever known, and I don't know what I did to deserve him, but it continues to astound to me that I married such a gentle man.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 11:37 AM
March 3, 2007
Glenn Reynolds: THE HIGH COST OF RAISING A KID:
Glenn Reynolds has some interesting insights, read his essay linked from TCS Daily
THE HIGH COST OF RAISING A KID:
And Here is a link to a talk by Elder Neil A. Maxwell who spoke eloquently about raising children in a 1994 conference address to the LDS People.
“Take Especial Care of Your Family”
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 10:24 PM
March 1, 2007
Cutting Carbon: Al Gore Hypocrisy
"THE Oscar win for Al Gore's documentary An Inconvenient Truth has touched off a minor firestorm over the Green Giant's own energy usage policies:"
Paul and I consider ourselves Crunchy Conservatives and I thought I would use this post to share some of the lifestyle choices we have made to live more green and teach our children a quieter lifestyle that is more eco-friendly.
1. We have used c