The New Guy

I think almost everyone knows by now, but I will blog it anyway. I had my baby boy on September 26th, at our house in Highwood Montana. (again. Yes, we moved back here) Everything went fine. In total, it was about 7 hours of labor and 2 minutes of pushing. (Gideon was 24 hours of labor!) It was a really busy day.
Caleb was not even out of bed to get ready for work yet. I came into the bedroom around 9:30 and said he might not go in to work today, I think today might be the day! He didn't quite agree, but when I stood up from his side of the bed, my water broke! My contractions started a while later. We called the midwife and she drove out to the boonies here in Highwood. It was a rapid bout of labor; in my last hour I dilated 3 centimeters and started pushing! It was insanely painful and fast, though it felt like forever.
Victor Thomas O'Leary was born at 4:44pm, 8 lbs 7 oz, 21 inches. :)


On another note, my Mom is here visiting for a week. She drove up from Utah to pretty much clean my house for me. Also, she has fixed my dishwasher and bought me groceries. She's so swell. Gideon loves the new baby. He acts like every time he sees Victor is the first. "Ah! Baby! Is he so tute? Yeah he's tute." He loves to pet Victor's head and rub his face on his head too.
I was hoping to make up some birth announcements this week, but our printer is not working. So I don't know if that will ever happen. Oh poo. Now all that's left is to post some photos of him. Here I go.

The Pattern

It is something I have come to call the "Double Boy Legacy". Kathi, Kristi, Roni, and Justin all had two boys born in a row. Also, my mother had two boys in a row; and even Caleb's mom had two boys in a row, three times! And now I am another step in that legacy. I am about 5 months along with another boy, Gideon's little brother. I am hoping to get a midwife soon, but that is a problem that leads to the next topic...
Another pattern we are following is moving to Montana. :P Caleb is taking an EMT intermediate class here in Cedar City, and afterward he is planning to move back to Great Falls to get an EMT job there. He says there are far more EMT opportunities in Montana than in Utah.
We are not sure whether to get a midwife here in Utah, or wait til we go back to Montana. They charge the same amount in either place, but that price includes all check-ups and delivery. We're not sure yet where we will be delivering this baby.
That's all that is new with us. Over and out.

It's not just me!

Posted: March 19, 2010
9:21 pm Eastern

Written by Joe Kovacs

© 2010 WorldNetDaily

"Easter" is such a pretty-sounding word, isn't it?

It instantly makes many people think of a variety of joyous images such as springtime, sunshine, blooming flowers, pretty dresses and bonnets, colored eggs, cute baby chicks and adorable, little bunny rabbits.


New outfits, colored eggs and flowers are among the popular annual traditions associated with Easter.

It also brings to mind for countless millions the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave.

They say this is the holiest time of the year, because yes, the Creator of the universe, Jesus Christ, is alive on His heavenly throne after spending three days and three nights completely dead.

I could not agree more with people becoming aware of the story of Jesus' death and return to life. It shows us the path to becoming born into the actual Family of God, as the Bible indicates many sons and daughters will be brought to glory as the immortal "children of God."

Yes, the Bible is completely true, but you may never have heard the spectacular, ultimate destiny God has in store for you. It's far more glorious than just floating around on clouds in heaven! Find out what you've never been told, direct from your very own Bible!

But brace yourself, because there's a very dark side to this centuries-old tradition, and it has to do with the famous Ten Commandments of God.

The very first commandment of the Big Ten is perhaps one of the most overlooked in everyday life.

In just eight words, it states: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3)

Sounds simple enough. Christians would never put another god in front of the true God who made the universe – right?

Wrong.

Most Christians, whether knowingly or unknowingly, violate this very first commandment of God each year by placing before God the actual name of a pagan goddess of fertility and the dawn.

In case you haven't figured it out by now, her name is – believe it or not – "Easter."

That's correct, folks. The word Easter is actually the name of an ancient, heathen goddess who represents fertility, springtime and the dawn.

Some of her symbols are flowers, bunnies, eggs, the sun and the moon. Who'da thunk?
If you don't believe me, go ahead and Google it. Or simply open up an encyclopedia or a dictionary to probe the pagan origins. Feel free to ask your preacher. An honest one will have to admit it.

In different languages and through a variety of cultures, the name of this deity – who in reality does not even exist – is spelled different ways, including Ishtar, Astarte, Ostara, Eostre and Eastre.

Even in the Bible itself, many of God's own chosen people actually followed the customs of numerous Easter goddesses, with her name spelled in the King James Bible as "Ashtaroth" and "Ashtoreth."

For those who have never seen Easter in this light before, take a look at what Scripture itself has to say. I'm adding emphasis with the modern word in parentheses so you can see what God is really telling you:

* "And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth (Easter)." (Judges 2:13)

* "And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth (Easter)" (Judges 10:6)

* "And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth (Easter) from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." (1 Samuel 7:3)

* "And they cried unto the LORD, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth (Easter)" (1 Samuel 12:10)

* "For Solomon went after Ashtoreth (Easter) the goddess of the Zidonians" (1 Kings 11:5)

* "And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth (Easter) the abomination of the Zidonians ..." (2 Kings 23:13)

While Easter may sound like a pretty word, just look again in that list above at some of the terms God associates with Easter and her customs: "corruption," "sin," "abomination" and "evil."


Many Christians remain unaware that Easter is actually a pagan goddess known by a variety of other names including Ostara, often depicted with her springtime fertility symbols such as flowers, the sun, rabbits and decorated eggs.

And here's a Bible newsflash for you. We're not even supposed to be saying the E-word.


Crack open your own Bible and read it for yourself:

* "Make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth." (Exodus 23:13)
Certainly, Christians today who celebrate Easter don't do so with the intention of worshipping another god besides the true God, and I'm not saying or even implying that. But the fact of the matter is many are bringing the name of a pagan, nonexistent goddess before Him, violating the very first commandment.

Additionally, it's more than just the name that bothers God. He specifically warned His people not to worship Him using heathen customs:

* "Be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, 'How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.' You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates." (Deuteronomy 12:30-31, NIV)

Perhaps if the springtime holiday were called "Hitler Sunday" or even "Satan Sunday" instead of Easter, people might have an easier time understanding the problem of attaching evil to God. Would people decorate swastikas instead of eggs and hold goose-stepping contests, all the while claiming such customs were now Christianized?

For those who might wonder why the King James Bible mentions Easter in Acts 12:4, keep in mind the Bible was not initially written in English. The word in its original language of Greek is "Pascha," meaning "Passover" and translated as Passover in every other instance, some 28 times. Bibles published since 1611 have corrected this glaring error.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's way past time to dump all this fertility-goddess nonsense when it comes to honoring the true Creator.

Enough with the name of Easter, the coloring of eggs, the Easter egg hunts, baby bunnies and fluffy little chicks. These are all symbols of reproduction which have been associated with the heathen fertility goddess for millennia now.

The apostles did not find a basket of eggs or a chocolate bunny rabbit in Jesus' empty tomb, and they certainly didn't go Easter-egg-hunting while spreading the good news of the kingdom of God.

The maker of all things, Jesus Christ, is offering all of us a spectacular, glorious future as an immortal child of God who will be judging angels and the citizens of the world, reigning alongside Him for eternity.

God not only wants to be worshipped in spirit and in truth, but He wants absolutely nothing to do with this phony baloney goddess.

Is it really worth offending your Maker for the pretty-sounding, colorful lie of the nonexistent, evil chick called Easter?

Posted: March 19, 2010
9:21 pm Eastern

© 2010 WorldNetDaily

Oh Em Jee

Man oh man I can't believe I still had this blog rotting in a corner, forgotten. I will do a quick and lazy update.
Gideon turned one in August. He can do all sorts of things; walk, dance, say a few choice words, throw stuff, slap me in the face...
He is tons o' fun and I love him a lot. He gets shuffled around on weekdays as my sisters watch him for me in the mornings so I can go to work. They say they love watching him, so I hope that's true.
Oh duh, I forgot the biggest thing. We are living in Cedar City now, for anyone that didn't already know that. We're mooching off of my mom and living in her house! A grown, married couple with a baby, moving back in with my, uh, unusual mother. "living the dream" as I like to say.
Caleb works at Sears and is taking an EMT training course at SUU three nights a week. And two nights a week he goes to the gym to try and make valid that membership I told him not to sign up for. So I don't see him a whole lot.
I work at the Hogi Yogi for my lovely sister Shasta and her dashing husband Jesse. I am there about 3-4 hours a day making 300 or so lunches for spoiled kids at some school in Enoch. Awesome.
I am home a lot with the Gid, but I am a lousy homemaker. Susan is hardly ever around and Caleb is well, not any help. Gideon is a fantastic mess-maker. Plus I am pretty lazy I guess. Better get off my duff and go clean something.

Giddy Onion

Thirsty

Man oh man. I can't sleep right now, it's 3:30 in the am. I wish I could cause I'm so tired. Gideon makes sure to wake me up at least 5 times each night. Right now he's in the bed, rolling around and bothering Caleb. Gideon does this thing where he'll be perfectly quiet and then start screaming loud for no reason in his sleep... scares the puke out of me every time.
Gid has a tooth! And he's so grumpy about it. I've read that it's not really possible at such a young age, but he is a very spoiled baby. He whines about EVERYthing. He'll cry if someone is near him but not paying him enough attention. Or if someone he likes leaves the room. Or if you have food he wants, if you don't pick him up when he wants, if the solar system is not aligned the way he wants, if the dust in the room is not arranged the way he wants. You get the picture. Speaking of dust, a few weeks ago he did this hilarious thing in the car. The sun was shining so you could see all the little dust specks flying around and it entranced him. He started gingerly reaching for each one and slowly trying to grasp his little fist around it. But I digress...
Hey do you'z guyz remember my friend Allison from years ago? She told me this week that she is pregnant! My reaction to that news was...mixed. If you know Allison, your's will be too.
I miss Cedar City. What a cute town. Caleb thinks it's a dump for some reason. I was looking at photos of it online and it makes me so sad and homesick. I wish I had a teleporter so I could visit there every day. I'm depressed and hungry. I wish I could fall asleep. Even if I fell asleep right now, the baby would wake me up in a few minutes. I might as well never go to bed again, it's useless to try and get a good amount of sleep.
I think I've rambled on enough.

Another One Bites The Dust

Well well well. Here we are again. Yesterday we moved back into the in-laws'. We tried that other house and ranch job for about 3 weeks and it didn't work out. The ranch manager who hired Caleb was a pretty nice guy, and he quit shortly after we moved in. He said the owners of the ranch were unprofessional, dishonest people. It turned out to be true.
Caleb and I are disappointed, but at least we didn't get all the way moved in. We got all our stuff out in one day. I am not surprised. This seems to be the trend of our lives. In the 3 years we've been married, we've moved about 8 times. Ridiculous. Frankly I think it's a sign that we should try out a living in Utah. Caleb said he wouldn't do that unless he got a direct message from God, haha. Either everyone in Montana are total jerks, or there's something wrong with Caleb and I. We just can't catch a break.