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May 11, 2008
Celebrating Down syndrome - a Mother's Day photo album

Last year I unveiled a very special Mother's Day photo album, which has continued to grow this year - now with 95 mother/child portraits:

You can see the photos and read the moms comments at Our Little Extras - A Mother's Day Down Syndrome Celebration.

Or watch the slideshow:

Please send me yours if you'd like to be included! The more, the merrier!

Posted by barbara at 9:11 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Happy Mother's Day!

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The Hand That Rocks The Cradle
Is the Hand That Rules the World

Blessings on the hand of women!
Angels guard its strength and grace,
In the palace, cottage, hovel,
Oh, no matter where the place;
Would that never storms assailed it,
Rainbows ever gently curled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Infancy's the tender fountain,
Power may with beauty flow,
Mother's first to guide the streamlets,
From them souls unresting grow--
Grow on for the good or evil,
Sunshine streamed or evil hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Woman, how divine your mission
Here upon our natal sod!
Keep, oh, keep the young heart open
Always to the breath of God!
All true trophies of the ages
Are from mother-love impearled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Blessings on the hand of women!
Fathers, sons, and daughters cry,
And the sacred song is mingled
With the worship in the sky--
Mingles where no tempest darkens,
Rainbows evermore are hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

William Ross Wallace (1819-1881)

Mothers are making a difference!!!

~~~~~~~~~~Art Notes:

Painting by Charles Edward Wilson. Twixt Sleeping and Waking, 1903. I love the gaze betwen mother and child - and the expression on the mother's face, which seems full of understanding that raising a child is a responsibility beyond measure.

Posted by barbara at 6:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

May 10, 2008
Laura Ingraham adopts a daughter from Guatemala

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Laura Ingraham is a radio talk host worth listening to with her sharp insights intot he state of politics, culture and faith. She is an outspoken Roman Catholic and defender of the pro-life movement. Also a survivor of breast cancer. After years of waiting for the Guatemala adoption process - which her listeners id not know of - she is now a mother.

Click here to hear Laura's announcement of her adoption!

Posted by barbara at 8:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

California effort to stop Planned Parenthood/abortion funding

California citizens, reeling under their state government's rapid financial slide, are looking at Planned Parenthood's bloated budget and recently documented abuse of our federal and state ~~grants~~ abortion industry handouts and saying Enough is Enough.

As a 30-7ear resident of California (I returned to Virginia in 2002), I can verify the truth of the saying "As goes California so goes the nation." While this has always meant a destructive slide, some citizens of California are determined that this budget crisis may be perfect timing for finally overthrowing Planned Parenthood's grip on state finances.

Following is the beginning of an email I received last week from the Coalition to Eliminate Abortion Funding.

During this state budget crisis, when our family healthcare services and children's school programs are experiencing drastic spending cuts, California taxpayers request the Elimination of Abortion Funding, especially from Planned Parenthood, from our state budget.
The abortion industry does not need our tax dollars. As the nation's largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, reported $1 billion in income on its 2006-07 annual financial disclosure, with $114.8 million in profit and $1.12 billion in total assets (source: Planned Parenthood). One in four abortions is done by Planned Parenthood and this organization is very politically vulnerable due to several recent newsworthy concerns.

Planned Parenthood enjoys $336.7 million in government grants and contracts, representing one-third of their annual budget (American Life League). Planned Parenthood Federation President, Cecile Richards, receives nearly $1 million annual compensation (Washington Times) while teachers and librarians are being laid-off, music programs are being cut, and families go without healthcare!

Additionally, Planned Parenthood affiliates here in California, allegedly over-charged our state by at least $180 million dollars as described in this recent LA Times article. According to Victor Gonzalez, former vice president of finance and administration of the Los Angeles affiliate, he was fired for questioning Planned Parenthood's "illegal accounting, billing and donation practices". Planned Parenthood bought contraceptives at a discounted rate and then billed the state Medi-Cal program for 12 or more times the purchase price. An audit of the San Diego/Riverside Planned Parenthood clinic found $5 million in over billing charges in just two years. Very clearly, Planned Parenthood does not deserve our hard-earned taxpayer dollars!

You can read the rest of this position paper - plus draft amendment proposals - by contacting Wynette Sills at esills(at)earthlink(dot)net to be added to their mailing list.

Important dates:
Wednesday , May 14 - CEAF planning meeting
June 16 or 17 Stop Abortion Funding rally at State Capitol.

Please contact Wynette to let her know of your support!

Posted by barbara at 8:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Snowflake adoption - founders/first family interview

First Snowflake Family by Devon Williams, associate editor
'God's plan was well in place for these embryos, and that was a plan of adoption instead of destruction.'

After years of infertility and being diagnosed with premature ovarian failure, Marlene Strege of California began to explore adoption. Her doctor recommended embryo adoption, and she and her husband, John, posed the idea to longtime friend Ron Stoddart, executive director of Nightlight Christian Adoptions. Stoddart investigated the idea and eventually created the Snowflakes Embryo Adoption program.

After prayer and research, the Streges adopted a frozen embryo, and on Dec. 31, 1998, they became the proud parents of the world's first snowflake baby, Hannah.

Ten years after her first Mother's Day, Marlene Strege spoke with CitizenLink about the adoption of their little snowflake.

Read interview here.

Click banner below for more information on Snowflakes Adoption.

Posted by barbara at 8:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Duggar Family expecting #18

Michelle and Jim Duggar have just announced their 18th - due on New Year's Day.

You can learn more about the Duggar family - and even enter a contest to name their next baby - with 17 beginning with J, they're running out of ideas - here.

Michelle has been pregnant 135 months of her life.

Posted by barbara at 8:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Harvard prof says children bring unhappiness

From yesterday's UK Telegraph - a Harvard professor declares that children ruin our chances at happiness:

Marriage without children the key to bliss
By Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent
May 9, 2008
Married life is the key to happiness, but having children can ruin it all, an international conference has been told.

Couples only recover their former blissful existence once their offspring have left the nest, according to an expert on what creates joy.

Daniel Gilbert, professor of psychology at Harvard University, said studies across America and Europe had shown that while feelings of happiness spike during the early years of marriage, they fall heavily after having children.

He told a Happiness and its Causes conference in Sydney that parents' desire to get a return on the time and money they have invested in their children is part of the reason they persuade themselves that their offspring are enhancing their lives.

Read entire article here. I am happy the writer strove for balance by ending with this:

But some experts believe that it not having children itself which breed the discontent.
Richard Tunney, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Nottingham, said: "From an evolutionary point of view we are programmed to procreate.

"It would not make sense for having children to make us unhappy.

"However, in countries like Britain having children is hard - your finances are hit, childcare in this country is appalling and for women especially, their careers suffer.

"That is not the fault of having children per se, but of society."

He added that "of course" couples were less happy after having children than in the early years of their marriage, when they were "in the first flushes of romantic love and had more money".

But the two feelings could not be compared, he said, "they are two different types of emotion".

This hasn't hit the U.S. print media yet. But what ironic timing - two days before Mother's Day.

You can count on some encouragement here in what I plan to post today and tomorrow.

Posted by barbara at 8:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Call for photos: Down syndrome on Times Square

Dear Friend:
Celebrate the Buddy Walk's 14th anniversary by entering the Times Square Video Contest. The video, which showcases individuals with Down syndrome from all over the world, will air on the Panasonic News Corporation Astrovision screen in Times Square on September 28 at 10:30 a.m. The New York City Buddy Walk™ will immediately follow the video at the Great Hill in Central Park.

Each year, NDSS receives thousands of photo submissions for the Times Square Video Contest. Because the Buddy Walk™ promotes acceptance and inclusion of individuals with Down syndrome, the winning photographs feature children, teens and adults with Down syndrome working, playing and learning with friends and family. Please limit photos to no more than three per individual with Down syndrome. If more than three pictures are received, only the first three will be considered.

For more information, or to submit a photo, please click here. The deadline for submitting photos is July 18, 2008.

Click here to view the 2007 Times Square Video.

We will notify you ONLY if we accept your photograph for the video, and we are unable to return any photos.

For further questions about the contest, contact me at timessquarevideo@ndss.org or 877-526-0270.

Posted by barbara at 8:05 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

May 9, 2008
Vitae Caring Foundation's Bottom Line

Carl Landwehr, founder and president of the Vitae Caring Foundation, saw a need for a way to reach more people concerning abortion. So he filled it with his foundation.

"You've got to tell the story," Landwehr said to a group of pro-life supporters in West Chester, Pa., last Saturday evening. The mass media was a natural fit, he said, because "advertising changes the way people think and the way people behave."

To ensure effective -- life saving -- advertising, the Vitae Caring Foundation invested in research that helped group members "learn how to speak to pregnant women," said Landwehr. They also realized that "one message does not fit all," that addressing abortion "was more complicated than sharing information."

The group's goal is to encourage pregnant women with unplanned pregnancies, who "feel alone and desperate," to turn to pregnancy centers for help, Landwehr said. There's no "finger pointing, no relying for help from legislators or the president," simply a Vitae bottom line that says "I saved a life."

Vitae takes its ads into the toughest markets, places with skyrocketing abortion rates. It counts successes, saved lives or lower abortion rates, in New York City, Dallas and Atlanta, among other areas, said Landwehr.

The powerful, award-winning ads, here, speak for themselves.

Advertising is expensive. In order to keep those commercials coming, the Vitae Caring Foundation would welcome your support.

See more of my posts at http://www.mothermayibeborn.com

Posted by marybeth at 5:43 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

May 7, 2008
New Stanek WND column, "Is Brownback betraying pro-lifers?"

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On April 24, KS pro-life U.S. Sens. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts issued a press release endorsing Steve Howe for Johnson County district attorney.
The release called the position an "open seat."

It is not.
Phill Kline is currently the appointed district attorney and has been urged to reconsider his decision not to run to retain his seat in November....

Kline is the only DA in the country with a pending criminal case against a Planned
Parenthood....

Brownback knows pro-lifers are encouraging Kline to stay... because many influential pro-lifers called him and asked him to wait for Kline to decide before endorsing. There was no hurry. The filing deadline is still over a month away....

But Brownback... endorsed Howe anyway....

The question is whose help does Brownback want?

RINOS and hacks want the Planned Parenthood investigation ended. They fear a run by Kline will stir more Democrats to vote than might otherwise.

They also consider the Johnson County DA position a launching pad to a bigger and better thing: The AG's office.

Was Brownback enticed to support Howe for a promise of support in his gubernatorial bid by non-conservative Republicans?

Or perhaps he fears sharing the ticket with Kline in 2010?

Last Thursday a group of Kansas pro-life leaders paid Brownback a surprise visit in his
Washington, D.C., office....