We have a new heater. We have central air on three floors. We have new pipes carrying untainted water to our faucets. We had our amp service changed from 100 to 200 and other miscellaneous electrical work done. We have removed the not so nice carpet in the living room and our bedroom. We are starting to replace window sash cords with chains. We have ripped out unruly plants that have overgrown our walk. We have purchased a new couch, dining room table, ceiling fans, and a dining room light. We are searching for rugs to grace our nice hardwood floors.

We are making progress.

I awoke this morning at around 7:00 am to the ridiculous report that there were fans already at the stadium for the Eagles home opener. The game didn't start for at least six hours. I am sure the stadium didn't open that early, so those fans would be sitting in the parking lot for most of that time. I find that absurd. (The Eagles didn't even win.)

My husband took me to an Eagles game once. I vowed never to go again. Football fans are not that nice of a group of people, when all together in one place. Especially when their team is losing. When my husband left to go get us food, I was actually scared being by myself in a sea of pumped up testosterone. I don't need that experience again. If I watch the game at all, the TV does just fine.

Baseball is what I like to watch - the Phillies. Even though the Phillies aren't always the best or even near the top. But I still would never show up for a game six hours before the first pitch.

I guess some people have nothing better to do.

G and I have tried to have yardsale twice in our married life. Both times it rained. Yes this morning dawned wet with precipitation. We thought we might try anyway, seeing how we have a covered porch. But really only the diehard yardsalers come out on rainy days. So, we have to live with our junk another week. And to rub it in, the weather thought it would actually get sunny and nice in the afternoon.

Although no yardsale occurred, I did get a few hours to myself. G went to pick up a cedar chest from his grandmother and took E with him. I was able to read my Bible and just have some time to myself.

Those hours were forgotten though, when later in the day our darling girl thought she might not take a nap. And her tiredness was compounded because she had gotten to bed after 10:00 last night and awoke early this morning. The girl was running on much less sleep than she requires. She was not a compliant child. And making matters worse, dinner was very late. We were at my parents and G was helping my dad put up dry wall on the kitchen ceiling. Since the kitchen was a mess, dinner was held up.

After we finally ate, I had the bright idea of giving her a bath. Normally I would have held off, but she needed one. Many screams and one clean girl later, we headed home glad to get our child to bed.

Tonight was our first choir practice. I am going to sing at least till my baby is born in November. Then I'll have to see how things go. For a year after E was born, I didn't sing in the choir. Inevitably she would be hungry right in the middle of the church service.

It is good to sing in a group again , though. I think I will try to make it work this time.
At least still sing the Christmas Cantata.

My legs were much better yesterday and today, though I have already ordered those stylish and trendy compression stockings.

We are having a yard sale this Saturday, and I still have to get organized for it. We also need some tables on which to put stuff. My sister (J) is raising money for a marathon she is participating in for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and much of what we earn is going to that. She has also been making jewelry to sell to raise money. If you'd like to donate, email me, and I'll give you her information.

Our kitten is very, very, very,very close to losing her claws.

My legs remind me of relief maps. I am 30 weeks pregnant, and my legs have looked quite blue for a while now. The veins are just popping to the surface to show their ugly selves.

Until this weekend they didn't hurt me. They pained me yesterday and today. I wore my sneakers, which helped immensely, although my feet much prefer flip-flops. I usually spend my summer in them. But I acquiesced to my aching legs and put on my sneakers.

Yesterday was a family reunion filled with people whom I don't much remember. But nonetheless, I feel it important to go to family reunions. Saturday evening was spent walking the main street of Lansdale for Bike Night. Motorcycles everywhere. Four times as many people. I would like to own a motorcycle. But I don't know how to drive one and being in the family way, it is not recommended for me to learn anytime soon. But just you wait until my son is born.

Today, we had my husband's (G) work picnic. We went to a golf recreation place. We received lunch, arcade tokens, batting cage tokens, a round of miniature golf, and two go cart rides. With me being pregnant, G made out pretty well. He got one of my batting tokens and both my go cart rides. We had our daughter (E) with us for lunch, but my mother (B) came to pick E up for us. Miss E really needed to get her nap in today, because yesterday she only got about 15 minutes while in the car. Naps are important things for two-year-olds.

Our plan was to go to Lowes between the picnic the covered dish dinner at church. We didn't make it to Lowes, and we were late for dinner. Though we were not late enough to miss out on the food. Following the dinner was a time when those who went on mission trips could tell us about their experience. E ate enough to get dessert, a rarity for her. Everything was very tasty. The program was too long for E's attention span, and we ended up listening over the speakers in the toddler room, while she played.

We had a very busy weekend and the next two months of weekends are all filled up as well. It is a busy Fall.

There was another article about the child getting hurt by the cat. I need to go back and read the other article, because my husband only skimmed it, which means he didn't quite get all the facts correct., which was evident when I read the second article.

The owner of the cat was actually the girl's mother's boyfriend, not her father. The girl wasn't hurt as badly as I thought, though she did require some staples for her scratch. The mother apparently suggested the cat be killed, to which the owner complied. I did find out how the cat was killed but will leave that detail out.

The man plead guilty to cruelty to animals, and the woman plead guilty to conspiracy to commit cruelty to animals. After having more facts, I now feel what happened to them fits what they did.

One thing did still make me shake my head in sadness. The Assistant District Attorney made this remark, "This kind of depraved act against a defenseless animal shows a level of cruelty which we hope wouldn't exist in a civilized society. We take these cases very seriously." Is he not aware of the depraved acts that occur everyday in a "civilized" society to unborn humans, which are far more defenseless than cats with claws? How serously does he take the ending of unborn human life?

After my last posting I decided to do a search on google for pro-life groups in my area to see what I could do.

I stumbled upon a quote by Mother Teresa. "It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."

I think she said it all.

My husband was telling me of a story he read in our local paper. I haven't read the article, so I am only going by what he told me.

The story told of a man who was arrested and now sits in jail for killing the family cat, because it had seriously hurt his young daughter. I don't know how he did it or any other details. When pets hurt people aren't they usually put to sleep? Personally, I think that he should have taken the cat to the vet to be put to sleep, instead of taking care of it himself. But I also think that jail time seems a bit steep with these circumstances. A fine seems more in order.

But it brings to mind one wrong I have always been against. Abortion. That man sits in jail for killing his cat, who seriously hurt his child, but his wife could have killed their child before she was born. Doesn't something seem wrong there?

Another wrong . . . there is a very high penalty for killing unborn eagles . . .

. . . but millions of mothers are killing their unborn children every day. How is it that animals are protected but a child is expendable?

Why is it that unborn children are not held as more important that animals? How can people fight for the rights of unborn eagles and not even blink an eye when a woman walks into a clinic pregnant and walks out not pregnant? Why does that child not have rights too? Than I wonder what am I doing about it? And I realized that I am not doing much at all, besides voting for pro-life advocates. This realization bothers me. I need to be doing something more.

Another thought I came across was from my pastor during a sermon awhile back. American pets have better health care than most children in the world. I never considered this, but I know it to be true. This is also troubling to me. Again, what am I doing about it? My husband and I sponsor two children, from Nigeria and Ethiopia, through World Vision. But again, is it enough?

How am I changing this world? What am I doing to right the wrongs I see?