My Message to NBC

I sent an email to NBC today. It was a ridiculously small action considering how angry I still am about the incident, but still, I guess it was the only thing tangible I could do about it today. I offer no apologies if this offends you; at least then you'll know where I stand. Below was my message:

While channel surfing last night, I stopped for just a few moments on Last Comic Standing and was completely disgusted and appalled by what I saw. One of the female contestants was making jokes about the topic of abortion, having had an abortion, and saying that she is "pro-life" - for her own life, that is.

Shocked is not even a strong enough word to express the outrage and disgust that I felt. It is one thing that other disgusting issues like pornography and masturbation have become the topics of commonplace jokes on television, but to joke about abortion just goes beyond any sense of decency for network television. In case you haven't noticed, NBC, abortion is a deeply divisive issue in this country, and to those of us who believe that it constitutes the mass murder of children, in my mind her jokes were as awful, horrifying, and inappropriate as someone to joke about the Holocaust of World War II.

Is this what we are reduced as a society to laughing at? The murder of children? Are your programmers and writers so starved for something original that they must resort to such low-life inhumane tactics such as a "talent search" for truly talentless individuals?

Even as I recall this incident last night, I am filled with horror to think that my son has to grow up in a world where the value of human life is so cheap. Please, NBC, use a little sense next time. Why put such trash on network television? Can't you find something else for us to laugh at instead of topics that fill me with nausea at the thought of what they are implying?

As a side note, I also happen to be five months pregnant - and the little movements inside of me that I feel every day are a constant reminder of the life that is growing there: life that even though it is contained inside my body for the time being, should never, ever be treated so casually.

First Trip to the Zoo!

Last Saturday we took a fun trip to the Atlanta Zoo. We went on a morning that was cool and overcast, but we knew the weather was supposed to clear up that day. It actually worked out really well, because it was very pleasant when we got there and by the time the temperature was really heating up, we had seen just about everything we came to see!

I couldn't tell you if Jack had a favorite animal or not - he did seem intrigued by the otters because they moved so fast - but I really think he enjoyed just watching all the other children walking around and riding in strollers as much as any of the animals! He was quite the people watcher that day.

Here are some of our favorite moments...

Mother's Day

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." - Psalm 139:13

As you can probably imagine, Mother's Day for me is very bittersweet. It's so ironic that days designated to celebrate something specific can often bring joy to many and pain to some. Take Valentine's Day, for example. If you happen to be single, on Valentine's Day you feel single, but even more so. Boy, do I vividly remember those days!

But this entry isn't a pity party for me. As much as I'd love to call my mom up and wish her a cheery "Happy Mother's Day" this afternoon, I know there are many, many others out there who ache today far more than I do: the countless women who would love to become moms but so far cannot, or the mothers out there who have lost a child.

Yes, this is not just about me, this is intended to be an encouragement to anyone out there who thinks God might have forgotten them today. Here's a story for you:

This is the fifth Mother's Day I am celebrating in my mom's absence here on earth, but I must say, the first one without her was by far the hardest. I was living in Boston at the time and just about to finish my Master's Degree. I was in the final stages of school and was working hard to finish my thesis. I was tired from school and planning a wedding, and I was ready to go back to Virginia. And I missed my family and Lyle. So I walked that morning to church - Mother's Day of 2006 - with a heavy heart. I didn't want to be celebrating anything that day - the pain was just too raw.

In the middle of the second set of hymns that morning at Christ the King Presbyterian in Cambridge, MA, as soon as I heard the opening chords of "Great is thy Faithfulness" the tears just began to slide down my cheeks. Some of you might remember that this is a song that has very special meaning to me: it's the one I sang at Mom's funeral. I felt then and there in church that God was whispering to me that He loved me and He hadn't forgotten about me at all. And what a beautiful way to deliver the message through that hymn! It was such a gift to hear that song on that day, and what made the gift even more unique was that in the previous 8 months I had been attending that church, we had never once sung that particular hymn. I don't know who or why someone there picked that song for Mother's Day, but I do know with all my heart I believe God had His hand in their decision, just because He wanted to give me a special gift and let me know how loved I am.

So to anyone needing encouragement - know you are loved by Almighty God who knit you together in your mother's womb. He loves you way too much to forget about you, today or any other day.

I can hear Jack upstairs waking up from his nap, so it's time to close. Motherly duties call!

Finally Feeling Better!

It is amazing how much brighter the world seems when you get to feeling well after a long illness. Not that I should really categorize the past 2 months as a "long illness" in the strictest sense, but boy, it sure feels like it!

Beginning in March, we kept going around and around with series of colds, ear infections, sinus infections, and then after that about 3 weeks ago Jack and I both caught a virus that literally knocked us flat for over a week. I learned that taking care of a sick toddler while being sick yourself was just about the toughest thing I've done for a while. There was one morning where instead of making my typical "to do" list, I just told myself..."All you have to do today is survive. That's it." And of course, we did.

We have finally started to fully recover, and in the mean time we're trying to get out and get back in contact with the outside world again. I feel like we fell off the face of the earth there for a while. We are having a good week, though. The weather has been beautiful here in Georgia lately - not too hot and humid yet - and Lyle, Jack, and I are back into our regular routines with work and daycare.

Speaking of daycare, Jack has recently moved from the baby class up to the "big boy" class. That's been quite a milestone. He's finally adjusting there, I think, and he seems to like all the activity, but it was a tough transition there for a while. There were a few mornings when I brought him into the class, stood him up on the floor, and he would just cling to my leg and cry. Is there really a worse feeling in the world than leaving your toddler when they're screaming, and all they want is YOU? I know they stop crying after a few minutes - those short attention spans really are good for something - but, oh, what a horrible way to start the day!

So I'm glad we're past that phase now, too. In a nutshell, March and April I would not want to repeat, although we did get some surprising good news during the month of March. But I shall save that for a future blog!

Jack's First Birthday - Party #1

This is called Party #1, because there were officially three days of celebration over the event of Jack's first birthday. The partying began on Thursday, February 25, a day before his actual birthday, and ended on Saturday when Aunt Sarah, Uncle Nathan, Cousin Lauren, and Cousin Benjamin could come to our house for a celebration.

Party #1 was in Jack's class at daycare. He was rather grumpy that day, unfortunately, and kept crawling away from me when I would approach him with a birthday hat. (Maybe he feels like with his helmet, that's the most hats he can wear at one time!)

We took pictures with his little classmates - Christina, Lauren, and Dane - then ate some lunch, but then the REAL partying began when we brought out the cupcakes. They were the tiny cupcakes that it takes an adult two bites to finish...or they can take Jack just one handful! He had the entire cupcake in his mouth before we'd even finished singing Happy Birthday!

The most memorable event was when the boy in the highchair next to him, Dane, was holding a cupcake in his hand, not quite sure what to do with it. Quick as a wink, Jack grabbed Dane's cupcake and put that one in his mouth, too! The moms all got a kick out of that one.

That's our Jack - the boy sure does like to eat.

Too Many Excuses...

...But most of them are really worth going into as far as why I have not published a recent blog.

Maybe I should try a "New Year's Resolution" to blog more, although with the current pace we've been keeping, I honestly don't think it will help!

Part of the reason why we've had our hands full recently, as you'll see in this video, is that Jack has suddenly gone from being our baby (who we could sit in the middle of the floor and he would play contentedly), to "Now I'm a pre-toddler, and I'm into everything!"

This new phase of crawling, pulling up, pulling things over, climbing up stairs, and just generally wreaking havoc around the house (he broke a lamp today, for example) certainly has its challenges. But it also has its joys. Jack is such a happy little boy. He loves to laugh, and we love to laugh with him. He's obsessed with Roscoe and thinks that the doggie is so funny! To give you an idea how much he likes Roscoe, the three words he can definitely say now are Dada, Mama, and Doga.

Here are Jack and Roscoe in action. Be sure to turn up the volume so you can hear the cute "baby laugh." I'll try and post more soon - this is just to get me back in the habit, so to speak.