Laura, Author at | Page 59 of 101

{Kreature-Triple-Feature}: A Mixed Post

February 3, 2010 By Laura 10 Comments

We’ve got a few brief things to share today, and we hope for your comments & thoughts on any or all of it!

First up, is an amusing little story:

You know the stories you’ve heard, of instances when a baby has been left on someone’s home doorstep, or at a hospital? Especially since the ‘Safe Haven Law’ went into effect, there have been numerous stories of such cases in the news. But most of us have heard similar stories, going way back before the law was enacted. (Starting with Moses in the basket, floating along the river, in hopes someone would find him, and keep him safe and loved.)

Well, something QUITE similar happened, not at our home, ….. but our church!

And it wasn’t a baby that was left…. but a lop-eared bunny!

HE (it’s been guessed) was found inside our empty church on Saturday, by one of the Knights of Columbus! He was left there, in her big, clean cage, supplied with fresh food, fresh hay and full bottle of water.
–

There was a note, that simply stated that he was not being taken cared for well enough anymore, and that was it!
–

He’s just beautiful. BIG, SO SOFT, such a gorgeous gray coat, and very handler friendly.

And get this…..

HE’S POTTY TRAINED!

We had heard the story after Mass on Sunday, and went right over to the parish center to see him.

Yesterday, we just had to go back, so I could get some photos of him. I was right on time, because a parishioner was there and had him out of him cage, trimming the his nails. This guy is really good with animals, and seemed to know a few things about rabbits.

Look at him, checking out his reflection in the window.
–

And there is nothing cuter, than watching him wash his face, with his paws. We just about melted.
–

Surprisingly, our pastor fell quite smitten with the bunny, and decided that if no one claims him as a joke or something, the church is keeping him!! He already named him, ‘Kreature’. (Borrowed from the story of ‘Kreature’ from Harry Potter, I guess…which we’re not familiar with.)

He’ll be living at the parish center, where he will get PLENTY of LOVE and ATTENTION, from our huge parish family.

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

I considered several different activities, in the couple of days prior, to do in light of Candlemas. (Light…lol…no pun intended. ; ) But, nothing was really appealing to me enough. In the end, we just decided to have a ‘circle breakfast’, representing the solar system and light, and talk about again, all of the meaningful events, that are tied into Candlemas.

For those of you who have never heard of Candlemas, I would be happy to link you to information, but would never be able to CHOOSE exactly what to link you too. It’s a complex day, honoring several events, that interestingly, can be said to be all tied to one another in some way. So, may I be so nervy as to suggest you just Google ‘Candlemas’ yourself, see the abundance of links, and click on one or 3, that draw your attention.

It’s all worthy of a little celebration. But knowing the days will grow longer and longer with daylight, certainly makes us happy.

……………………………………………………………………………………..

In our day to day life, I think any one who really knows us, will tell you that I am one of THE most protective mothers out there. Some say, ‘over-protective’, even – which sits quite fine with me.

As parents, most all of us go to certain extents also, when using the web, to protect our children.

As a professional child-photographer, I do all I possibly can do, to protect the identity of my subjects. While I use their photos online, on marketing material, and in displays, all with legally-signed permission from the parents, I never ever use the children’s names, or give out any other information relevant to their location or safety. I am actually more of an advocate about that, than most of my parents even seem to care about. After all, what harm can come of anyone seeing a photo of a child online, and knowing their first name?

Which brings me to the point of this post, in relation to OUR life, specifically. Like so many parents do with their own blogs, etc., I have used a substitute of sorts, for our own children’s names. Some parents come up with fun nick-names, etc., that represent their children. Everyone has different circumstances, and there is also a wide variation of feelings and comfort levels on the matter. Which I respect 100%.

So this post is in no way an argument about the relevance or importance of doing so for any family in part, or as a whole, but more directly about US, in particular.

From the beginning, we have opted to use our children’s initials, inside of brackets. When we started this blog, I didn’t have very strong feelings on making an effort to protect our children’s online identity, per sey. Naturally, as a child-photographer, I’m all about photographing children. And as a mother who is in love with her children, and of which this blog revolves around, I definitely was going to be posting TONS of photos of our own children. (Their Dad is quite fine with it as well, by the way.) But in using their names, I was sort of ….undecided. I couldn’t really think of a single reason, in OUR life circumstances, how using their names would jeopardize their safety, on any given day. But just in case I thought of something later, I embarked on this blogging journey, using the bracketed initials.

But lately, I have been asking myself WHY we do that, and what harm could possibly come of using their names?

I’m just starting to feel a little…..silly, I suppose, using their bracketed initials. Silly, when I consider the following facts:

In home schooling our children, they are pretty much under our wing at all times. They don’t take a bus, walk to or from anywhere on their own, nor are they ever really anywhere without us. They know full well, anyway, that just because someone knows their name, does not mean that they KNOW them, nor should they trust them. We have a safety plan in place & in practice for everything. Even just playing in the yard. These are things that we talk about frequently, and they are tested on them as well.
Our whole family was on national television, for goodness sake, and their faces and names were used. That show has aired a gazillion times, and probably will continue to for some time.
Between our 2 home-based businesses and 2 sets of growing clientel, in and around the surroundings areas, many people know us because of our lines of work.
Then of course there is also the blog here, which is gaining a growing audience all of the time. For those local to us, they know our names anyway! For those who aren’t local, what harm could they be when they are not even in close proximity to us?
We end up communicating with many visitors of this blog. We really enjoy communicating and networking with so many of you. I am willing to bet that many of you, reading this right now, KNOW what our children’s names are anyway. Do YOU?
The kids are also involved in activities or programs here and there, and we are also out about the world a lot. We don’t live in a bubble, and our crew seems to attract attention every where we go. In part because 1/2 of our family is seemingly the exact same size.
In our REAL LIFE, people see their face, and learn their names, whether on a personal or casual basis. So what is the difference?

So, I guess I’m just thinking out loud, in a way, and asking you to share your thoughts on this matter for US. In our particular situation. Not a general opinion on the matter, because again, I feel everyone’s situation is different, and it IS up to the respected discretion of each and every parent/family. But maybe point out something we haven’t thought of, or share the notion that you really see no risk in it either. Generally speaking, I am thinking more of the now 7 year olds. Our oldest is more independent and grown up enough to keep herself safe. She has a different set of safety rules. I think I stopped worrying about her physical safety as much, right around the time I realized she is WAY bigger than I am! Still,…..I will always be protective of my children, and instruct them on safety.

Somehow, I thought this was going to be a brief question for you. But I guess a little background might be helpful, for you to offer your thoughts, if you will, on the use of our children’s names on this blog. I don’t know what our final decision would be, but I would love YOUR food for thought, and consideration. To help us ‘think outside the box’ on this one.

We value your comments (on anything), as well as your respectful opinion!

UPDATE-2016: I continued refer to the kids using their initials in brackets for years. Just because I started out doing so, even though I wasn’t all that uncomfortable with their first names being out there, with their photos on the blog. As they got older and continues blogging, in time, I just using their names, and do so today when blogging. So in full disclosure for this very old post now, here are their names:

{A} – Alexis….more formally know as Alexis Grace – the oldest girl
And the triplets:
{J} – JackMichael
{O} – Olivia (Faith)
{S} – Shane (Jacob)

Save

Fan Pulls: for Winter and February

January 29, 2010 By Laura 9 Comments

I have found I enjoy making fan pulls for our home decor, to go with various seasons or holidays. But it was almost the end of January, when I put up our winter-themed fan pull. Reasons being, I had to make it first! Next year, they will all be up right on time, because they’ll all already be made. But for this little craft-session, I also made February’s. A LOVE theme of course.

We’ll look at the winter one first. This one we’ll probably use maybe in late November, if it has snowed, and maybe the first week or so of December. But then we’ll be having our Christmas fan pull up for the rest of December. The winter one here will go back up for the month of January, and maybe early March until it feels like spring. Unless of course I make a St.Patrick’s Day one, although we’re not Irish. But I suppose that’s not St. Patrick’s fault. lol

I’d like to take this opportunity to say . . . fan pulls are very hard to photograph! Maybe I’m not using the right lens, that I don’t have. : ) But I just can’t seem to capture beauty of the fan pulls, in relation to the room, if that makes any sense. So…I do the best I can for you. They are also difficult to crop, being a very thin piece straight down so – forgive me for some of the tall vertical photos that require extra-scrolling. I did get into the photo taking because, they have beautiful detail. So the extra photos are just some art-fun I was having, that I hope you’ll appreciate.

The winter fan pull was easy to make, because I found little snowflakes, already on a chain! So I bought 2 of them, and just connected them. I used 26 gauge wire at the very top and like last time, just sort of balled it, to slip into the catch from the actual fan chain higher up.

You will find I am showing lots of seemingly similar photos in this post, because I want to show you the various displays of color that these throw when the light hits them. BEAUTIFUL hanging there on a sunny day.

See here….blues, purples….
–

… and here….oranges and pinks!
So as it spins or swings some, it’s just lovely with the colors changing rapidly.
–

Here is a closer up of the snowflakes on the chain.

Yesterday when I was making them, it was snowing out!

But it’s gone today. It’ll snow again though.

The gorgeous big snowflake on the bottom, I found separately at the craft store, and added to the snowflake chains.
Love the colors in this one above.

Now look at this! Same big snowflake from a different angle. See?
It’s glass or crystal I think. I’m not sure.
–

Here is the snow flake chain laying on the table.
It is SO much easier for me to photograph them this way, than them hanging in the middle of the room.
Pretty though, huh?

So these are more what they look like hanging up. It’s just hard to photograph that way.

I couldn’t stop taking photos. lol

So…..that’s for winter.

For February, the month of love, here is what I did….

…which again, the photo just doesn’t do it justice. I do want to mention that this one IS threaded beads all the way. And, unlike using 26 gauge wire all the way through as I did for December’s, I found that heavy fishing line works great! I did double it for extra strength, just in case. And THEN, I used the wire to attach at the top. It’s one of those things, like with anything new, you learn a little bit every time, and do better next time. If you recall, December’s has a little swagger, from the wire through the beads. It didn’t hang straight. I SAID I liked it, and thought it gave it character. But I just didn’t want to do it over. ; ) I like the slinky flexibility of heavy fishing line, much better.

So here is a much better and closer look. Red beads in 2 different sizes, some little silver bars, and some diamond-like studded squares. I LOVE them. They did not come with the red beads….I put them all together. They were all cheap-cheap.

But the big heart at the bottom….not so much!! When I found it, it was SO PERFECT and JUST what I was looking for for the bottom of this fan pull. So I looked to see how much it was. $15.00!! It was a cubic zirconia. I almost cried. I mean….I just don’t spend money on such frivolous things. We can’t!! But I REALLY wanted it! Most all of the beads were on sale….so I was thinking, somehow, this one must be too. It was with all of the beads. So {A} brought it to the register to have them price check it. But guess what? It was really and truly $15.00.

I just stood in the aisle…frozen. I couldn’t spend that on it, and I couldn’t leave with out it. So there was nothing else to do, but just stand there. With my whole family around me, who were losing their patience.

So, Michael finally said, “Oh just get it!!. Gosh….every time I pull that fan chain, I’m going to say, “$15.00!! $15.00!!” He really would too. Trust me. Not that I would ever forget myself….but the joy of seeing the beauty of it would help me get past it, in time. But not Michael. Well, I already felt guilty enough. That little announcement would surely tarnish that ‘love’ feeling I would have had going on through-out the month of February. So….when I got to the register, I did what I would recommend YOU ALL DO, whenever you can. I begged for a coupon or a discount! I said, “Please….do you have a coupon hanging around I can use?” And she said promptly answered, “No I don’t. Sorry.” (For the record, she didn’t really sound sorry.) So I said, “But my husband said he is going to say “$15.00″ every time he pulls the fan pull chain!”. THEN she said….“Actually, I guess I do have this 40% off one item coupon in my drawer here.”

See? : ) So then I did the happy dance, let out a “YA-HOOOO!!” through out the whole store, the kids said, “MAMAAAA!“, and then I thanked her profusely, of course.

She said I was welcome, and I believed her that time.

Oohh….Be still my heart! (No pun intended. lol)

It’s a gorgeous piece, is it not?

I think the whole fan pull, is just beautiful. Classy. Gorgeous. It twinkles!

And every time Michael pulls that chain to turn the fan on and off, he can smile and say…

“40% off!”.

“40% off!”

Well Folks, that’s it for this edition of ‘Fan Pulls’!

I hope you found that my crafting, and shopping tips, inspired you!

Save

Creatures Great and Small | A Custom Christmas Photo Shoot and Card Design | Photography

January 28, 2010 By Laura 5 Comments

I promised I would share the 2 previous years of working with these 2 sweet little girls. I decided I would work backwards from the most recent that I already shared, so this post is the photo shoot and card designed for 2008. The theme I came up with was ‘Creatures Great and Small’, because we had a creatures great and small, and all beautiful, to work with!

The girls’ mom has a horse, and she has had him for many years, so I asked if we could do the Christmas photo shoot with him. She LOVED that idea, because she really wanted photos of her horse with her girls anyway. Incidentally, a couple of months after this photo shoot, our oldest daughter {A}, received horse riding lessons from us for Christmas at these stables, where my clients horse is boarded, and so happened to ride this very horse every time for her lessons. {A} was really excited about that, because she was assisting me at this photo shoot, and so was familiar with this horse already. His name is Wellington, and he is a BEAUTY!

Now, I didn’t really have a ‘theme’ going in my head yet, for the Christmas card itself, except that it would have photos of the girls and Wellington. But, I had faith in myself that I would come up with something. Somehow, I would MAKE it work. lol

Meet Wellington.

As usual for my work-style, I DID have visions in my head for the photos I wanted to take of the girls with the horse. But when I got to the stables and talked to Wellington’s ‘trainer’, I realized I was going to have to come up with other ideas, real quick. I wanted to take the horse and the girls out in the field, and put the girls on him, for one. But, she said she would only allow the girls on him if he was IN the stall. Bummer!! Then she said the girls really should wear helmets. LOL!! Ok…I’m all for safety, but really. That was going to kind of ruin my photos. I talked her out of that little bit. So….needless to say, all of the shooting was done in this DARK stall, with ‘dappled sun’ coming in through the windows, which always bugs me in portraits in most cases. (Like this one! lol)
Talk about feeling creatively challenged at every turn.

Just so you know….it is VERY hard for me to ‘let go of my visions’, once they are in my head. I can get downright, uummmm….ornery, about it. (No, really!). So….I was really feeling like my little dreams were crushed, but I had no time to pout. (Again…bummer!). I had to ‘make do’. I don’t like ‘making do’!

Ok….done complaining.

So here is one photo of a small handful of shots of the girls on Wellington’s bare back. It was not an easy shot, because the little one wasn’t comfortable, saying her sister was ‘smooshing’ her. lol. I was sure not to let the oldest one really put her weight on the little one, but….I wanted this shot, and I was going to get it!

–

I took this shot with absolute purpose. You’ll see soon enough. ; ) lol.

Oh!! About the plan for clothing for this session. I had suggested the mom find winter capes and boots, for the girls. But she was unable to find any capes. She found these beautiful coats with matching hats though, and I was thrilled with them as an alternative!!

In the doorway of the stall. Which is 1 of a several stall in a row. These stalls are so cool.
You’ll see, it’s like a long house, with a farmer’s porch! I just love it.

–

The little one, and Wellington, having a moment.

–

And the oldest with him too. She has been around Wellington more, being the oldest.

–

I really love this shot at the porch of the stall. Don’t they just look beautiful and classy!?

And look at these 2 beautiful faces. Such gorgeous brown eyes.

As I said, the mom chooses all of the photos to be used on the card, and then orders those in prints along with lots of others from the photo shoots. This shot above isn’t the close-up shot of them together that she used for the card, but I chose it for this post because I just love the little ones expression, again. She cracks me up.

–

Here is a better look at the style of the outdoor stalls. I just love the old feel to it all, with the porch with worn spindles, and gorgeous old wood split-doors! Look at the rocking chairs off to the side. But back to the girls, you’ll notice that the little one doesn’t have her hat on anymore. Wellington kept nipping at it, and he pulled it off.! lol. She threw a little fit. So….Wellington got another peppermint candy to keep his mouth busy, and the little one got one, too. Both of the girls were doing a really good job, and I knew the photos were going to be great. As I said before, it just takes a little more time and patience with little ones sometimes.

Besides what you’ve seen here, there were other photos I took and the mom bought too, including some of the boarding owner’s Clydesdale horse, Baron. My client bought photos of him too, to give as a gift to the owner.

I was so excited to get the photos edited, and show them to the mom–who was over the moon again! Once she chose which ones she wanted me to work with, I got to work on the card – and here is how it came out. She LOVED that also. And so did I! I blurred out the names, per usual.

These cards were 5×7, and were printed on a beautiful linen stock. And I did think of appropriate text for the card – which for me, is the fun of the creative process.
**Again – Please ignore the necessary watermark, for the web. Naturally they were not part of the card or images.

FRONT of the card.

They opened up vertically, so this is the INSIDE SPREAD.

The BACK of the card…..which I thought was a riot.

Again, I love that this client let’s me have so much fun on the back of cards. She lets me do whatever I want with everything, and naturally, I can really get along with someone like that!

Huge photo print order. Huge Christmas card order. Happy client. Happy photographer/designer.

The next session I show with this family, will be the very first time we worked together, 2007.

Hope you are enjoying this series. : )

Save

Chicken Chili | Slow Cooker Recipe

January 28, 2010 By Laura 9 Comments

The other night, my husband said he was making his chili and cornbread for dinner. The whole house bursted out in cheer, except for me. I am TIRED of that. I said so. He said, “Have you got any better ideas?” And I said, “Not yet, but I’ll get one!” I found a fine variation that would give me something new, yet keep the family happy with something similar. Chicken Chili! It was a HUGE, huge hit. There was plenty left over too, so I loudly announced, “The leftovers are mine until they’re gone! Called it!” ; ) I’m fast like that.

This is SO easy to make!! Especially if you can get your husband to cut up the raw chicken for you first. I can. ; )

Chicken Chili

1 pound Raw Chicken Breasts, cut into small pieces
1 whole Large Onion, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin (We didn’t have any-I skipped it.)
1/2 Teaspoon Salt (I don’t measure stuff like that.)
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper (Or that.)
1 can 28 Oz. Can Diced Tomatoes
1 can (15 Oz. Can) Tomato Sauce
3-4 Jalapeno Peppers, Chopped. (I used 3.)
1 can (15 Oz. Can) Black Beans, Rinsed and Drained
1 can (15 Oz. Can) Pinto Beans, Rinsed and Drained

Preparation Instructions

Cook chicken, onion and garlic in hot oil in a large saucepan over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Add the cumin, salt, and pepper; cook and stir for 1 minute more.

Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce and jalapeno peppers. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add beans; heat through. Ladle into bowl, and sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top. Add a big dollop of sour cream. Serve with tortilla chips.

*Edited to Add (in light of my friend, Paula’s comment: Even if you don’t like chili, this one may really surprise you. There is not even chili powder in it. It’s not spicy at all-perhaps because we skipped the cumin? But I suppose if you don’t like beans, there might be a problem. But they are soooo good for you!

My kids really LOVE this Chicken Chili, and when I think of the good stuff packed in 1 bowl, I feel GOOD. It is just loaded with protein, fiber, anti-oxidants, and so much more. It’s a bowl of health, for sure.

**UPDATE: Some 6+ years later since the posting of this recipe, I can tell you that this is a meal we have fallen back on over and over, through the years! Especially during the cold winter months, when we have busy sports schedules and whatnot. It’s so easy to throw together, and it’s a delicious hot meal all ready when we get home.

Save

Thoughts on LIFE.

January 26, 2010 By Laura 9 Comments

We’ve got a pretty great pastor at our parish. He has lots of admirable qualities as a person, and a pastor of our parish. But if there is one thing that really hits me about this man, time and time again, it’s his gift in giving great homilies. Every homily I have ever heard him give, has been beyond impressive to me. For every time that I have ‘come to’, sitting their in our usual church pew, from the place that I had been while listening to his homily, I find myself wishing that I could have recorded that for our blog. His homilies paint vivid pictures. They are well thought out. Stumble-free. Notes-free. Full of expression. Fact filled. They come full circle, without ever knowing of the constant curve you were taking, and pack a punch in the end. Every one just leaves me longing for a good chunk of time, to ‘just sit there with that’, and ponder it longer.

So with such effective presentation, I hesitate to even attempt to restate it. I will definitely fail in repeating it, in the amazing manner he did. But I do want to share with you the gist of it.

In part, the object of his homily, was to give us a better grasp, on the large numbers, in terms of death tolls that come of tragedies we are all too familiar with. He spoke of 9/11 in 2001, and how in the end, the finale death toll totaled in excess of 3,000 lives lost in that terrorist attack on our country. He spoke of the tsunami in Indonesia in 2004, when it was estimated to be around 250,000 people who had lost their lives. And most recently on everyone’s minds, the earthquake in Haiti, where at that time on Sunday, it was last reported that 120,000 lives were ended.

To think of exactly how many lives that is, is difficult, at best. Each and every life, is of great value! They are human beings, who were loved by somebody, if not many. They were each created, one by one, by the hand of God. Each unique and specially designed….like no other. So to really fully comprehend lives lost, in the numbers of thousands, is near impossible. The media focuses as best they can, on the individual life stories of people, families, heart-ache, grief, and the rescues that bring that little bit of hope back to all of us. And to those still looking for their loved ones. So that we GET IT. But to imagine the magnitude of tragic deaths, with such high tolls, is so great, we just can’t adequately wrap our brains around it.

To look at the combined lives lost in these 3 tragic events, is in excess of 370,000 lives. LIVES. PEOPLE. Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends, daughters, sons. Children. Babies, who had their whole lives ahead of them.

So imagine this.

Since Roe vs. Wade was put into effect 37 years ago (as of this year of 2010), over 500,000,000 lives, have been ended. 500 MILLION! That is over 36 Million PER YEAR!! Wrap your brain around THAT. The senselessness of each and every one, brings me to my knees. While again, EVERY SINGLE LIFE is INVALUABLE, that number of abortions performed far, far exceeds even the total of the combined tragic events discussed here.

Fr. Ken then shared a story, from his early years of priesthood, and his assignment in working with Project Rachel. For those of you who do not know, Project Rachel is an outreach program for those suffering the usually inevitable grief and guilt associated with the previous act, or ‘choice’ of abortions. He said 1=one woman’s story struck him so profoundly, he never forgot it:

It was the story of a woman, who was in her college years, and found herself pregnant. She was pressured, by everyone around her, that this baby would ruin her life. That her dreams would be destroyed, and impossible to accomplish, with a child. She said that although she knew in the back of her mind it was wrong, she was scared, and had the abortion.

The years that followed were filled with days that haunted her. She wondered what her child would have been like. Was it a girl or a boy? What would he or she have looked like? She would notice children everywhere, that were about the age her child would have been. She would see and hear children running, laughing, playing on a playground, and feel such pain and grief in her heart.

She eventually married, and had a family. But there was a hole inside her that she could not fill, no matter how hard she tried. She wanted to forget. To at least let go of the weight of guilt and loss she felt. But there it was, every morning when she opened her eyes. She hadn’t even been able to bring herself to tell her husband of the burden she carried. She feared he would leave her. After all, who could love someone, who would kill their own child? She couldn’t even forgive or love herself, for what she had done.

She carried that secret around, alone, for 15 years. Until one day, she was reading a fictional book. A made up story, that happened to have a character, who went to Confession, to seek forgiveness. And she knew in that moment, what she needed. What she wanted, more than anything. Forgiveness from God. She knew that was was exactly all she needed. So that she could forgive herself, and finally find peace, and be free.

There was one small problem. She wasn’t even Catholic. But that was not enough to stop her from what her heart so desperately needed. So took the steps she needed, went through the entire months long process, got all of the instruction, and did indeed become a Catholic, all so that she could receive the Sacrament of Penance. And she did, the very moment that she could. It was all the healing her heart needed. She knew God had forgiven her. She knew that her child, too, had forgiven her. And so, despite her sadness over the choice that she made, she was able to forgive herself, and find that peace for her heart she had wanted and needed for so many years.

Fr. Ken circled us back to the tragedies that have taken so many lives, and changed forever, the lives of so many others. He spoke of how beautiful it is, that when things of such devastating nature occur, people come together. People generally come together in forces, to make a difference. To relieve the suffering, give to the needy, and work together to get the jobs done. People volunteer. People donate. Celebrities of all kinds use their faces for good, working themselves to make a difference, and encouraging others to do the same. People pray. People go. People give. People sacrifice. People offer any useful tools of use they may have, to make a difference in any way they can. It is indeed, a beautiful, amazing, and powerful force, when people’s compassion rises above all else, and comes together. As miracles come to light, faith, bit by bit, is restored. As is LOVE, for all people. Each and every single rescue gives us reason to celebrate LIFE. And thank God for it.

As Fr. Ken ended his homily, on a note of such hope, I thought about those numbers. I thought about all of the people that HAVE come together in the wake of such tragedies. Our armed forces. The Red Cross. Emergency personnel. Celebrities. Missionary workers. Ordinary people, like you and me. All of those people, that together by the thousands, do anything they can, to SAVE people, to RESCUE even as much as ONE LIFE. Because every life is invaluable. One life, IS worth saving. It’s the truth. Many of us thank God, that so many come forth to help, for the sake of lives on the line.

And I wondered: Out of all of these millions of people who have given anything and everything they can, in a great effort to rescue others in these heart-breaking and horrific disasters, and give them back the opportunity to live their life…..How many are pro-choice?

Save

“40% off!”

Chicken Chili

Preparation Instructions

Amazon Affiliates