Propositiopn 8 Ruling

Prop 8 Ruling a Blow to All MinoritiesBy Joel P. Engardiowriter, documentary filmmaker

Religious supporters of Proposition 8, the voter initiative that banned same-sex marriages in California, might feel good now that the state's Supreme Court has ruled that the measure can stand. But will those religious groups that are celebrating Prop 8 today regret it later when they consider the precedent that's been set?

Prop 8 has made it a lot easier in California for a simple majority of voters to strip away the rights of an unpopular minority. What happens when it's your time to be the unpopular minority?

History is unkind and too often repeats itself. Members of the Mormon Church, who were major supporters of Prop 8, have ancestors who experienced some of the worst religious discrimination ever faced in the United States. In the mid-19th Century they were driven by mobs from Illinois to Missouri and across the Wild West to Utah. It was wrong then to persecute Mormons for what they believed, just as it would be wrong now to try to force Mormons to accept members or marriages in their church they deem unworthy. There is freedom of religion in America for good reason. But that and other freedoms have been watered down in California thanks to Prop 8. The court now has less power to fulfill the purpose for which it was created: keep the tyranny of the majority from trampling the rights of the minority. Anyone can be a minority if enough people don't like the way you live, worship or think.

My mother is one of Jehovah's Witnesses, an unpopular religion that was persecuted in the U.S. and abroad. They faced mob violence in 40 states when refusing to salute the flag during World War II. In Germany, they were put in the concentration camps for refusing to give the Nazi salute. Like Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses vehemently oppose same-sex marriage on moral and Biblical grounds. Gays are not allowed to be Witnesses unless they live celibate and single lives?? (note: they can marry someone of the opposite sex). Members who insist on being in a same-sex relationship are shunned by the congregation. But none of the million Jehovah's Witnesses in the U.S. supported Prop 8 because the religion mandates staying out of politics and culture wars.

Jehovah's Witnesses proselytize door-to-door advocating a religious point of view just as Mormons do. But the choice to accept or not ends at the front door for the Witnesses. They don't amend the constitution to force everyone to live their way. State laws are not needed to legitimize their moral views. Witnesses don't see the state as an enforcer of a moral code. That's the Bible's job, they say. If you want to be in God's Kingdom, simply live the code yourself - it's not the Witnesses' mission to enact laws to stop gays from marrying.

When Jehovah's Witnesses were persecuted they fought for their First Amendment rights at the U.S. Supreme Court a record 62 times, winning 50 cases. With each win, rights were expanded for everyone. The Witnesses know it's in their best interest that the rights apply to all, even for groups they disagree with. Now in California the opposite is happening.

Some religious organizations are celebrating a restriction of rights for a minority they disagree with - making themselves the future target of an equally discriminatory people's amendment. Because Prop 8 diminished the court's protective role, there will be nothing they can do other than realize they should have been more careful about what they wished for.

Our thrifty yard is coming along!!

So, we have been incredibly busy in the last few weeks. We now have a fully functional gym in our basement and I love it. I worked out for 40 minutes last night when the kids were in bed, it was AWESOME!!. It was so calming and stress relieving... quiet. Made hubby feel guilty as he watched TV the whole time, lol. We like pushing each other. He's been working out too :)

Our yard is coming along pretty nicely. We are suppose to get flagstone delivered late this afternoon and we'll hopefully start laying it out on the path this weekend.

Here is a picture of our patio table and umbrella.

I wanted to post this picture to show that it doesn't take much money to make your yard look great. Let me explain. I don't think I have shared this before, but I am a great back alley shopper, deal finder.... you name it.

The key? Swallow your pride. You might wonder why I say this. We grew up poor and we at different times had to ask for help from people around us, and we had to wear things that were NOT of the latest fashion, we had to make do, or re purpose things. We had to accept things from people and we had to not be affraid to ask for help. Matt 7:7

When I was in I think grade 5 or so, I had found some good shoes in a garbage and wore them to school. My husband laughs at this and it IS funny now that I look back, but I got teased for so long for wearing these shoes and I DIDN'T care. They worked, they were comfortable. Whoever threw them out simply didn't want them, doesn't mean I couldn't make use of them. Not everything in the garbage is garbage.

So back to the patio set.

I was driving down along a rich street with river frontage, when I noticed moving trucks in front of a house. I parked, asked the moving crew where the owner was and then asked him if he was getting rid of anything (MOST people in the middle of a move will love to have you take things off their hands as they are so busy with the move). The man said, as a matter of fact, I have this patio set and BBQ that I was gonna bring to the dump.

I couldn't believe it, TO THE DUMP!!!! People these days!!!!

So here it is now in our backyard a very pretty/functional patio set with umbrella, base, 4 chairs and 2 swivel chairs, table and Broil King BBQ... ALL FOR FREE...just because I asked.

Here is the twist, the faded umbrella fabric wasn't so nice, so a couple of weeks ago, while back alley shopping, I found this pumpkin colored one on another umbrella on top of a garbage can. I took the fabric and brought it home and it fit perfectly. I just love the splash of color now.

When I was younger, I use to spend my entire summers in the preaching work, but sometimes I would worry about activities I was missing out on or material things I didn't have. My parents always encouraged me with verses such as Matt. 10:29-31 where Jesus reminds us that our Creator will provide for us as he does for all his creatures or Matt. 7:7. Wouldn't you know it, I would come home and a bag of clothes had been dropped off by a friend or another friend would invite me over to spend the evening at her place in the pool... Jehovah ALWAYS provided what I needed and with little extras ;).

Swallow your pride and look for the good gifts and blessings that might be right under your nose!

Does L look like Grampa or what !?!

Ok, so this is really not a good picture of my dad, he was just goofing around ;) but soooo often we cath ourselves saying that L looks like my dad. I know there is one other picture I am thinking of where my dad is making another goofy face (he's always goofing around) and THAT one looks a lot like L, but I can't seem to find that pic right now.

Little update

Our cute lil munchkin is now 11 weeks old and weighs 13 lbs 9 1/2 oz

and measures 23 1/2 inches. He is growing so fast!!!

Blueberry Oats Muffins - Hmmmmm

I just got this recipe from my friend's mom. My son has been stuffing these muffins in his mouth like there is no tomorrow. I think he likes them even more than the Banana Chocolate chip muffins. Better than chocolate!!

They are very simple, not very sweet, but just enough. I actually love them with tea.

Some people like them with cinnamon, but we aren't big cinnamon fans around here.

• 1 cup rolled oats (works with instant oats as well)
• 1cup sour milk (1 cup milk + 1 tbs vinegar, let sit for 5 min.)
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 cup wholewheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking sod
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup blueberries

1. Smaller bowl, mix oats and sour milk.
2. Add egg and melted butter. Mix well.
3. Bigger bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, brow sugar and blueberries*. Mix well.
4. Add smaller bowl to bigger bowl, all at once.
5. Stir until just moistened.
6. Fill muffins cups 3/4 full.
7. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes.

*Tip: Don't want your muffins to turn blue? If you are using frozen blueberries like I am, thaw them out, rinse them and flour them properly when mixing them in with the flour mix, make sure they are all covered.

Enjoy!

Blogland

We have been so busy!

I just haven't been able to write anything.... I've actually had lots to write about, but no time to do so. We are attempting to do everything at once and we all know that doesn't really work. It's really hard to prioritize. Since it is now May and planting season starts soon, we are trying to give a big push on finishing up our yard projects, so we can finally ENJOY our yard for once.

Things to be done:

• Finish small retaining wall that goes around the garden and the pond.
• Finish our flagstone pathway.
• Build the pond.
• Clear/sort/clean out the garage.
• Plant.

All these things each include many steps and most likely many setbacks and things never go as you planned.

When it comes to house projects, here they are:

• Make our newly acquired basement a bit more livable(tenants just moved out and we've taken over :D ).
• Rip out the upstairs hardwood floors and sub floor,
• Then insulate, put new sub floors and new hardwood.
• Re-do ceilings in living room and three bedrooms.
• Finish bathroom counter top.
• Build concrete counter top to mach the kitchen's counter tops for our new bar cabinets.

There are many smaller projects intertwined in there...

Then we will have lots and lots of cleaning to do after all the work and dust and so on.

And THEN, maybe we'll be able to enjoy our summer.

All of this will be in addition to trying to keep up with our spiritual obligations.

I dunno how we are going to do it. We have to figure out how to prioritize. The house is now in more chaos than ever (Although I should mention that the basement is coming along nicely). We've been spending a lot of time outside now the weather is finally starting to warm up. This makes for a lot of going in and out of the house for food and clothing, while wearing dirty shoes. We are really bad at not cleaning up after ourselves after eating or anything else, as we are just anxious to get back out there and keep working.

Hubby HAS completed the rabbit pen. It is soo great!! He has put so much work into it, but we think it was worth it. We love it and so does D. He is now able to walk right in and play with the rabbit. I'll have to tell you our rabbit's story one day. Quite amazing, he is such a nice rabbit. He keeps running in circles around D's feet. So cute!

We were able to go to the zoo last week, myself and the kids that is. It was Friday, so T was working. I had registered D at a Homeschooling Toddler Bird Show. I'll tell you more about it soon. It was so nice for him. He really enjoyed it.

Today I really really need to catch up on all our laundry and clean up the house. It is a disaster. As soon as T comes home from work, I will take the baby and go run some errands and pick up some groceries.

Have a great day too!!

P.S.: I just put both boys to sleep and now the youngest is crying.... And I thought I might have time to myself to clean !!!!!! Yeah right. ;)

Oh and did I mention all 4 of us are coming down with a cold?!