There Must Be Some Mistake

I went to vote in the Sheenazing awards, over at A Knotted Life.

I saw that my blog -- MY BLOG -- was nominated for one of the categories.

Specifically, the Smartest Blog category.



All I can think is that it must be some sort of mistake. Maybe I was nominated for "Least Updated" Blog or "Most Banal and Uninteresting Quick Takes" Blog or "Occasionally Goes off on Long-Winded Rants" Blog or "Spends Too Much Time on Facebook and Not Enough Time Blogging" Blog, and somehow got stuck in the wrong category.

Anyway, go vote (and not necessarily for me, because every single other blog in that category blows me out of the water).

7 Quick Takes Friday - January 25, 2013


--- 1 ---

I can't attend the March for Life, but I'm there in spirit. Yesterday, I made a donation to Americans United for Life in honor of all the marchers. 



--- 2 ---



--- 3 ---

Saw this on Facebook this morning:





--- 4 ---

WOW.

h/t Catholic Sistas, on Facebook
And yet the media ignores this. Unbelievable.

--- 5 ---

Please join me in praying for the unborn.


Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life,
And for the lives of all my brothers and sisters.
I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion,
Yet I rejoice that you have conquered death
by the Resurrection of Your Son.
I am ready to do my part in ending abortion.
Today I commit myself
Never to be silent,
Never to be passive,
Never to be forgetful of the unborn.
I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement,
And never to stop defending life
Until all my brothers and sisters are protected,
And our nation once again becomes
A nation with liberty and justice
Not just for some, but for all,
Through Christ our Lord. Amen!


--- 6 ---

Please check out the new website Catholic Stand! I've been asked to be a contributor and will post once per month (my first article will be up on 2/6/13).

--- 7 ---

Please pray for a family I know. They are travelling to Russia on the 30th to fight for their son, even though Russia's adoption ban makes it extremely unlikely that they will be granted custody of him. They will no doubt have to tell the boy they love that they can't take him home. I can't even conceive of their heartbreak, or his. They have court on February 6 and I will post another prayer request on that day.


St. Michael the Archangel, 
defend us in battle. 
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. 
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, 
and do thou, 
O Prince of the heavenly hosts, 
by the power of God, 
thrust into hell Satan, 
and all the evil spirits, 
who prowl about the world 
seeking the ruin of souls.
 Amen.


The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18).

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!



Is That What They Mean By "Choice"?


Did you see the story that was all over the news a few weeks ago? The one about the pro-choice advocate who was arrested in a child sex sting?

Oh, you didn't? It's because the MSM ignored the story. If you Google "Scott Richard Swirling," none of the results are from mainstream media sources, but rather from pro-life ones. 

Swirling is the former director of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association. Their mission statement is as follows:

The National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), founded in 1971, is a non-profit membership organization established to assure access to voluntary, comprehensive, and culturally sensitive family planning and reproductive health care services and to support reproductive freedom for all.
This is the current face of their website:


If you search the site for Swirling's name, there are no results. Guess they didn't waste any time removing any mention of their former director, and they didn't bother to issue a press release decrying his actions, either. How can they, when their organization was an excellent training ground for pedophiles seeking to end a victim's pregnancy?

They seem to be very friendly with other pro-choice organizations, as well. Take a gander at some of the names on their Board of Directors (I counted four from Planned Parenthood), as well as the list of resources they provide on their page about abortion (NARAL, NAF, Planned Parenthood, Guttmacher, etc.).

So, it's safe to say that Swirling was a dedicated and committed advocate of "choice," but he's not a man that pro-choice advocates are currently eager to claim as one of their own right now.

According to the article,   
Swirling answered an online advertisement on Monday that had been placed by a task force made up of D.C. police officers and FBI agents.

The detective wrote that he was a "taboo dad" with a "12-year-old girl, very perverted."

Swirling, using the screen name "squiggles 12353," responded, "Kindered [sic] spirts." [Apparently, NFPRHA had no qualms about having a director who hadn't yet mastered third-grade spelling words.]

Does this sound like someone who genuinely cares about women? Or does it sound like someone who is accustomed to living and acting as though children, especially girls, are objects to be used for his own pleasure and discarded when inconvenient?
Over several hours, the two men traded emails discussing their interests in underage girls and traded photos of young girls, including that of the detective's purported 12-year-old daughter.

The undercover detective offered to have Swirling meet the girl in Northwest Washington after she got home from school.

Swirling agreed but backed off that evening. "I am sure you can imagine that I am a bit concerned about a sting," he wrote. [Bolding mine.]
No expression of hesitation about the morality of his act. Only concern over whether or not he might get caught by an undercover operation. That sounds awfully familiar.
[Swirling] asked the detective to send another picture of his daughter, this time with her holding a piece of paper with his name and that day's date so that he could be sure he was not being set up by police.

The law enforcement officer then emailed a photo of the purported child holding a piece of paper that read, "Hi Scott, January 8, see ya soon."

Swirling then agreed to meet at the arranged location and was arrested when he showed up[.]
It seems like Swirling has had experience before in testing whether or not an encounter was a possible sting operation. It's chilling to think that this was only the first encounter in which he was caught.

Doubtless, there have been other encounters. And what does he do if he gets his victim pregnant? Why, he just takes her to Planned Parenthood, of course, and they'll take care of the problem, no questions asked. His experience with NFPRHA likely taught him that Planned Parenthood has no qualms about covering for pedophiles, rapists, or pimps


This is what legalized abortion has done for our country. For forty years, since Roe v. Wade, abortion advocates have kept chipping away at abortion restrictions in any way they can, in the name of "choice" and "access to reproductive health care." They push for elimination of parental notification laws and age restrictions. Any attempt by pro-life individuals or even moderate pro-choice individuals to place reasonable restrictions on abortion has been met with accusations of a "war on women." But when free and easy access to abortion leads to pedophiles being able to easily "destroy the evidence" of their crimes, who exactly is waging a war on women?

Swirling didn't care about "reproductive freedom"; he cared about getting caught. He didn't care about the health of young women; he wanted to rape without consequences. His experience as a director of NFPRHA didn't teach him that Planned Parenthood was a fearless crusader in the fight to expose rapists and pedophiles; it taught him that they are willing accomplices in a very profitable enterprise ($87 million last year,with net assets of more than $1.2 billion).

I don't need to ask Scott Richard Swirling what he means by "choice," because I already know. To Swirling, "choice" means "a convenient means to cover up and perpetuate the rape of children." How many children were victimized, first by him, and then again by Planned Parenthood, over the years? We may never know.

As long as pro-choice advocates -- including our current President -- get their way, abortion will remain an available, easy option for rapists and pedophiles to skirt the law and hide their misdeeds. Is that what they mean by "choice"?

7 Quick Takes Friday - January 18, 2013


--- 1 ---

Elanor turned eight years old on Sunday (January 13)! It seems like just a short time ago she was born (but at the same time, it seems like a hundred years ago).

The days are long, but the years are short.

--- 2 ---

Her favorite gift was a set of dollhouse furniture from my mom. Specifically, she got a nursery set! Her baby girl doll approved:



--- 3 ---

For her birthday, she wanted to go to the local library/nature center, so that's what we did last Saturday. She got to see the snakes being fed (ew ew ew), and we told her we'd buy her any stuffed animal she liked from the gift shop. She picked out a mama mountain goat and a baby mountain goat. Afterwards, we went to Dillon's BBQ at the local zoo to eat, and were seated right next to the shark tank!



--- 4 ---

Daddy had to work on her actual birthday, so we spent the day running errands. We went to Kohl's so she could spend a Christmas gift card, and she bought a Princess Belle doll. The older three got haircuts, and both Gabriel and Violet had a ton of fun playing in the toy kitchen while waiting for Elanor and William to get done:



--- 5 ---

Later that evening, I made Muffin Pan Pizza for supper, at Elanor's request. (When I first asked her what she wanted for her birthday supper, do you know what she said? Ramen noodles. I managed to persuade her to go with something a little less ghetto.)

I made her a cake using my new Bundt pan, and it turned out very well! I love this pan! She picked out the cake mix herself, Fudge Truffle, and it was delicious.



--- 6 ---


Gabriel has figured out how to climb. God help me. He especially likes to climb up onto this child-size rocking chair we have, and he finds it hilarious to give me a heart attack by rocking it back and forth as hard as he can until I can run over and lift him down. I might have to put the chair into the garage until he realizes that falling backwards and smacking his head against the tile (he hasn't done it yet, thankfully) wouldn't be a great idea.




--- 7 ---

This was on my The Argyle Sweater desktop calendar the other day. Heh.



For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

"Abolish Human Abortion" and Anti-Catholicism

It's frustrating to "like" a pro-life Facebook page, only to later read a post that directly attacks my Church, my faith and my beliefs.

The first time this happened to me was the group "Pro-Life ROCKS!" One day, I checked my news feed and found this little tidbit:



When I and several other Catholics attempted to defend our faith, our posts were deleted.

Now it's happened again with the group Abolish Human Abortion. First, one of their page admins posted an anti-Catholic screed (as related by The Crescat). When many Catholics objected to this attack on their faith, the following open letter was posted.

The letter writer claims:
Those who call us "anti-Catholic" are entirely misled, and in using that label reveal that they have very little understanding of the actual issues at hand.

As a matter of fact, it shows that the letter writer (who identifies himself as "Rhology") has very little understanding as to what constitutes anti-Catholicism.

Rhology makes the following claims in his letter:
  • Our positions are fundamentally incompatible, and both sides accept that.
  • One of us has biblical justification for saying what we say, and the other does not. (Quick, someone better tell the folks at ScriptureCatholic to take their website down!)
  • We do not affirm the same gospel as the Roman Catholic Church.
  • We are not the first, nor will we be the last, people to be Gospel-focused and doing our best to proclaim the glorious Gospel of grace to people who by their own admission have a different Gospel

Et cetera.

The prefix "anti-" means "against," or "opposite of." Therefore, one who is "anti-Catholic" is against or opposed to Catholicism. Based on Rhology's statements above, he is indeed anti-Catholic. I honestly don't see how he can claim otherwise.

What frustrates me most in the entire letter is the following statement:

Being called "anti-Catholic" for proclaiming the Gospel, being evangelical, and arguing against various points of Roman theology is just wrong.
I'm frustrated because neither Rhology nor the author of the original screed (they may be the same person; I'm not certain) were doing any of that. Is it proclaiming the Gospel to call fellow Christians who love and serve Jesus Christ "satanic"?  Is it being evangelical to attack the very Church that Jesus established (as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew)? Is it really "arguing against various points of Roman theology" when one merely throws out baseless and fatuous claims that take only a few minutes on Google to prove completely false?

For example - Rhology talks about "Roman theology" and "Roman Catholicism." He completely ignores the other rites of the Catholic Church. Like so many anti-Catholics, he doesn't take the time to learn facts about the Church; he merely parrots Jack Chick tracts as though they were the word of God.

So, tell me, who exactly is preaching a false gospel?

I'm issuing a challenge here and now to Rhology and any AHA members who agree with him:

See for yourself what the Catholic Church teaches. Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Read the tracts at Catholic.com. Read the posts at Little Catholic Bubble. Contact me (either by leaving a comment on my blog, or via the links to my e-mail, Facebook page, or Twitter account, above) and start a discussion with me about any aspect of the Catholic faith.

But please, don't remain ignorant. If you are going to disagree with the Catholic Church, that's perfectly all right -- but have the courtesy to disagree with Her actual teachings instead of what you mistakenly think She teaches.




There is one thing Rhology and I can agree on:

While the above is a rebuke, yes, it is a rebuke offered in love. This fight is far from over and our friends in the pro-life movement have, we pray, plenty of time to take up the good fight, to retake up the best weapon in our arsenal - the Gospel of Jesus Christ - consistently, firmly, foundationally, and in the foremost position. Take it up, wield it, use it.
Amen, Rhology. And may you and those who think like you come to realize that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is fulfilled in the teachings of the Church that He established as the pillar and ground of truth (1 Tim 3:15).

7 Quick Takes Friday - January 11, 2013



--- 1 ---



It's blurry because they're all moving, but here's one of my favorite pictures of the week - cutest conga line ever!



--- 2 ---



Here is Gabriel Keith with his Grandpa Keith!



--- 3 ---



We met up with Joe, Luisa, and family on Saturday for our Hobby Lobby shopping trip, so I got to snuggle with baby Monica.



She makes my ovaries sit up and beg.

--- 4 ---



I am having a hard time fathoming the fact that my firstborn turns eight years old on Sunday.

--- 5 ---



We are seriously considering a road trip to North Dakota this summer, probably in early July after my sister has her twins. Still in the very early planning stages, of course, especially given that gas prices are supposed to be sky-high this summer... but I'm actually feeling a little excited about a potential 27-hour (one-way) road trip with four kids in a minivan. Perhaps I should seek professional help.

--- 6 ---



I met up with Delta Flute this weekend and we saw Les Miserables together! (Long story short, Collin and I couldn't work out a way to see it together so we had to divide and conquer.) The movie was FANTASTIC (go and see it!!!), and afterwards we went out to get a bite to eat and talked for probably two hours. I had such a great time!

--- 7 ---



Please say an extra prayer for all those searching for work. I have a good friend who is trying to find a job, but isn't having much luck. He had two interviews (for the same job) last week but didn't get it. It's so difficult in today's economy.

Lord, there are many people in our nation who are in need of a steady job with sufficient wages to care for themselves and their families. Help these people remain diligent in their job search. Give them the confidence they need to succeed and the perseverance to continue on when they become discouraged. Teach me to encourage those seeking employment and to offer them whatever assistance I can give. For all the unemployed in our nation, I offer my prayer that they might find productive work that enables them to use and develop their talents and skills and to meet their economic needs. Amen.


For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

I Just Can't Win

Elanor: "What are we having for supper?"

Me: "I'm not sure yet. I need to double-check my ingredients."

Elanor: "No! I don't like them! I want a supper without ingredients!"




Later that same evening...

William: "Mommy, do we have any apples?"

Me: "No, but we have bananas."

William: "I don't want bananas! I want fruit!"

Me: "Bananas are fruit."

William: "No, they're not. Only apples are fruit."




On the up side, Collin called Sunday night's supper, Pork Chops with Sweet Potatoes and Apples, "everything great about pork in a single dish."  At least someone around here appreciates my cooking.

7 Quick Takes Friday - January 4, 2013



--- 1 ---

Ongoing prayers for Jen! I hope her recovery is swift.

--- 2 ---

We are shopping at Hobby Lobby on Saturday! Afterwards, we are going to lunch at Chik-fil-a. Then we're going to Mass tomorrow afternoon as well. It's the Hater Trifecta! :D

--- 3 ---

Say a quick prayer for Collin, please? Stress is mounting due to a variety of factors - financial, work, etc. - and he's struggling.

--- 4 ---

My Christmas present this year was repainting our bedroom! I was so sick of the peach walls, and have hated them since we moved in. We now have "Warm Buff" walls with "Wild Basil" accents (beige and green to match our new palm-tree-themed bedding, which was my birthday gift). I'm very pleased with how it turned out, especially considering neither of us had ever painted a room before. It's still not entirely done, as we have some touch-ups to do and some furniture to rearrange, so I'll post pictures once it's completely ready.

--- 5 ---

Here's a video of Elanor, William, and Candyce (my niece) helping us paint! (We primed the walls first, which is why they are whitish instead of the hideous peach color.)



--- 6 ---

I received some exciting news a few days ago - I have a new niece or nephew coming this summer, times TWO! My sister is pregnant with twins!

--- 7 ---

I'm still praying for a positive resolution to the ban on adoptions recently enacted in Russia. This affects several of my friends, and I hope and pray that this horrible ruling will be reversed or amended. 


For more Quick Takes, visit Moxie Wife!

2012 in 12 Photos



 






  

 

 

The 2012 in 12 Photos link-up is here

And introducing my patron saint for the year 2013, courtesy of Jennifer Fulwiler's Saint Generator:

Welcome to The Catholic Working Mother

Click here to order The Catholic Working Mom’s Guide to Life , released May 28, 2019 by Our Sunday Visitor Press. My blog,  The Catholic ...