Sierra Slopes

(I have been blessed to enjoy the friendship of Anna Seymour. She is a sweet girl and a great skiier!)

This winter we have enjoyed some skiing up at Sierra Summit! It was wonderful to enjoy a day with Daniel, which was a blast, and some days with a few home-school families.
We brought Anna and Joseph Seymour, and Cameron Pool with us this time, and finally took out the camera to snap some pictures. :-) Skiing/snowboarding has turned into a family hobby now, that almost everyone enjoys; thanks to the prices of the school program up at Sierra Summit!


Lunch break!


Jeremy enjoying himself. :-)


Up we go!



Come on Simon!

A view from the top



Simon taking some air . . . :-)



After a horrible encounter with the "slow" sign that tore up his chin, Simon decided to play it safe this time and wear his biking helmet with the mouth protector. It's fun for us both to keep up with Mom now!

Abortion 101

Earlier this year, I joined the speaking team for our local Right to Life organization. Last Tuesday (13th) was my first engagement. The presentation entitled "Abortion 101" was delivered to a confirmation class at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Fresno. There were about 35 people present, the majority being in their mid teens. Other than some technical problems in the beginning (which we were able to fix), the talk went well.
The speaking coordinator is wanting to give each speaker 20 - 30 presentations per year. I'm greatly looking forward to it, and would appreciate your prayer support.
Thank you, Sally, for coming with me, helping me set up and tear down, shooting the photos, and being a big support.

No, I'm not scratching my stomach. Nor am I dancing with an imaginary partner.

Did you know almost 70% of abortions in the U.S. come from catholics and protestants?

"Objective" Science

Recently I came across an article announcing that:

"Creationists defeated in Kansas school vote on science teaching"

You can find the full article via the link at the bottom of this post. Now, pardon me while I indulge in a bit of satire. Here are some quotes:

"School authorities in the American heartland state of Kansas have delivered a rebuff to subscribers to the notion of intelligent design by voting to banish language challenging evolution from new science guidelines.

In a 6-4 vote on Tuesday night, the Kansas state board of education deleted language from teaching guidelines that challenged the validity of evolutionary theory, and approved new phrasing in line with mainstream science" [1].

Our "experts" have decided they have reached the apex of scientific theo...(ahem) fact. We are so sure of ourselves that we don't want our teachers planting any seeds of opposition in our young kid's minds. After all, since we kicked God out the door decades ago, isn't it about time we have earned some infallibility? What? You say this smells a bit like the squelching of Galileo? Fear not. Galileo was hushed by the Church, and we all know that the Church is ignorant in matters of science. And besides, their ancient theories were obviously flawed. Indeed, they were flawed because they were ancient. Ours are neither ancient nor flawed. Take my word for it.

"In redrafting guidelines for science teaching, the board removed language suggesting that key concepts such as a common origin for all life on Earth and for species change were seen as controversial by the scientific community."

Yes, indeed, we believe in teaching only what is commonly agreed on by the experts of that field. That is why we teach subjects like science, psychology, philosophy, etc...

"They have really been on a rollercoaster for the last 10 years in Kansas," said Glenn Branch, deputy director of the National Centre for Science Education. "This isn't really good for the state of science education in Kansas for the treatment of evolution to be in such flux. It probably does have the effect of encouraging creationism in the local classroom."

Isn't it horrible? Think about it, why let opposing views into the educational realm when we know they are not true? Everyone knows that the the best way to prove the verity of an idea is to isolate it from opposing views. Why can't everybody just relax and let the truth stand on its own without having to test it all the time?

[1] http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2013263,00.html

Breaking News! Lilly Renames a Family Member!

Just to make sure everyone knows...Lillyann, for reasons known only to herself, has renamed one member of the family.

The new name is...MUNT. Yes...that's right...MUNT.

Now, can you guess who THAT is? Clues have been provided in previous posts/comments.

Dad

Pigtail Party

While Mom took the other children to story-time at our local library, Lillyann and I had a pigtail party! :-) Her hair is finally long enough to play with a little, and pigtails are the favorite right now. While we were enjoying a snack together, I took advantage of the time and snapped some photos. She is so much fun!