Yeah! I Went!

Did you go to Chick-Fil-A today? I did. Although, I must state it was not entirely intentional. I forgot it was "National Chick-Fil-A Day" and had already promised my girls that they could go and play. So we went at 5:00, and yeah it was crowded but it was worth it to get them to behave in Hobby Lobby. Plus, I love me some Chick-Fil-A!

However, I need to be clear. I did not go to support the belief that gay marriage is wrong: gay marriage does not bother me. I am not for it. I am not against it. Yes, I believe in the Bible and it states that marriage is between a man and a woman. But I also know that there are many things that the Bible teaches us that we choose to ignore when the situation suits us.

A sin is a sin. All of us live in sin everyday. Luckily, we do not have to rely on our actions to get into heaven. Jesus has paid our way for us. All we have to do is believe in him. And I do. And with that belief comes the knowledge that I am not in charge of pointing out the sins of others. Or judging others for their beliefs. If that was the case, then we would be in a world of trouble what with all of the drinking and cussing and smoking and adultery and anger and shame and blasphemy and tempting and ignoring of the hungry, the sick, and the needy....oh yeah, and the judging.

It is not my place to judge anyone for what they believe, be it that they believe in gay marriage or that they don't. The owner of CHick-Fil-A was asked his opinion:

In an interview with the Baptist Press and later on a Christian radio program, Mr. Cathy, whose father, the philanthropist Truett Cathy, founded the company, defended marriage between a man and a woman and when asked about the company's support of traditional marriage said, "Guilty as charged. We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit."

That was is it. He didn't stand up and saying, "You are going to hell if you are gay." He didn't say that Chick-Fil-A was firing all gay employees. He was asked his opinion about marriage and he gave it. Was it right? Not the opinion but his right to give his opinion? I thought that was a right that was guaranteed by the constitution under the heading of the First Amendment. 

By going to Chick-fil-A tonight, I was not saying that I am against gay marriage (because I am not), but I was saying that I am supporting our right to state what we believe in. I was supporting the fact that I believe in the family unit. Of course, I do! If I didn't, I wouldn't be married. Does that mean that I think it is wrong for a woman to marry a woman or a man to marry a man? No! 

In fact, I believe that gay couples who have committed their lives to each other should have the same rights my husband and I have. I have several very dear relatives who have loved someone of the same sex for most of their lives, and to see the struggles they have gone through when they are unable to have a say in the medical care or legal problems of their loved one is heart wrenching. 

I believe that the world is so full of hate that it needs more love. So stop hating. Stop hating. Stop hating people of a different color. Stop hating people of a different religion. Stop hating people who have a different beliefs in marriage than you do. Stop hating people who have a different opinions. And for goodness sake...stop hating Chick-Fil-A. Yeah! I went! Their sandwiches are delicious. And, by the way, I went to Disney the year that all the Christians boycotted it because of its pro stance on gay marriage, not because I agreed or disagreed but because I wanted to enjoy the Magic Kingdom...I mean, it's magical!

Our Olympic Opening

I love the Olympics. I mean, I freakin' LOVE the Olympics! I don't really know why...maybe it is the sports, maybe the camaraderie, maybe its the tradition, maybe it represents our hopes of peace for our world. Whatever it is, we are glued to it for the next 17 days. 

So we decided to make it a big deal at our house and have our own opening ceremonies: complete with decorations, events, medals, and international cuisine. We started by creating our decorations.  

We made a border of flags that I drew and the girls colored, and then created an Olympic flag. 

Next we had to plan the events. We left this up to my 8 year old. She likes to plan and is extremely organized, so she fit the bill of our Olympic Games captain! 

We started with the trampoline jump which included a high jump and trick section! Check out my toe touch!! Yeah, I still got it!

Then we moved to the track and field events, where we had one of the youngest Olympian ever participating!

Finally, before we were driven inside by the heat, the gnats (welcome to South Georgia!), and the mosquitoes we had the soccer shoot out.

When we got inside, there was gymnastics, a scavenger hunt, and Wii Fit events! Then we had a medal ceremony, where we used every medal and trophy we have ever received from Honor Rolls, gymnastic competitions, dance, and honors days! Check out who was the Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner!!! 

Speaking of dinner: we had the traditional English Fish and Chips and then I prepared an English trifle.

For the fish and chips:

5 white potatoes

3 flounder or other firm white fish fillets

Flour

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Salt

Seasoning Salt

Butter

Milk

Olive Oil

Canola Oil

Peel the potatoes and slice into thin strips. Place on baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil and toss. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, seasoning salt, and garlic salt and bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes. 

For the fish, cut the fillets into 1-2 inch strips. Drag through a butter and milk mixture. Coat in a flour mixture of flour, garlic salt, salt, and pepper. "Fry" in a skillet with about 2 tablespoons (just enough to coat the bottom) of canola oil. Cook until brown on both sides.

For the Traditional English Trifle:

2 pints of strawberries

1 pint of blueberries

4 bananas

1 cup of sugar

1 angel food cake (just buy it out of the bakery)

Vanilla pudding, prepared as instructed on the box

Cool Whip

Slice strawberries and toss with half of the sugar. Toss blueberries with the other half of sugar. Slice bananas. Prepare pudding. Get everything ready to layer.

Cube angel food cake and layer half of it on the bottom of a deep bowl. Then layer strawberries, blueberries, and then bananas. Next spread half of pudding on top of fruit. Repeat layers and then top with cool whip. It was light and delicious!

Lessons that Stick

In the news lately, there have been countless parents that have been publicized for their disciplining tactics.

There was the father in Texas whose daughter was stupid enough to post things on Facebook about how horrible her family was:

Then there was the mother who posted on her daughter's Facebook page:



And tonight on Facebook I saw this one:



We discipline our children in a pretty simple ways. We talk and explain. We then place in time out. If that doesn't work, we take things away. And if by some reason they continue the same offense or if there is an offense that is so bad and/or dangerous, we will (gasp) spank.

However, recently I found that none of my tactics were working, and I had to get creative. My oldest daughter has recently been having trouble remembering to flush the toilet. It has gotten so bad that my maid has complained, my mother, and even our occasional guest. I put her in timeout, made her write letters of apologies, took her Nintendo DS away, and, once because she repeatedly lied about it, I spanked her.

I came to my wits end, when after I found a present in the toilet left for me by my precious 8 year old, she lied to me again about it. This came after the day before we had been at my parents' house and the same thing happened. So I got extremely creative....creative and probably a little cruel according to some people and a lot cruel according to my daughter.

After making her flush, I made her clean the toilet. I gave her Clorox wipes, a scrub brush, and some toilet cleaner and made her clean from the top all the way into the bowl. She cried and cried and I almost gave in, but then I thought about her going to third grade in August and being made fun of for not flushing the toilet and I stuck to my guns (no pun intended).

She was mad at me for a while, but my job as a parent is to teach my children lessons to help them be better people: better, responsible, and considerate people. But my job is not only to help her learn lessons but also to make sure she remembers these lessons. Not just the little lessons about flushing the toilet but also the lessons about not doing drugs and being kind to others and waiting for true love before having sex.

So yes, I made my kid clean our toilet, but hopefully that lesson, along with all of the other lessons, will be a Lesson that Sticks.