March 18, 2012

why was this a crime?

There is a heartbreaking article in the Washington Post by Gene Weingarten on a child that was accidentally left in a hot car and died. This and other horrible accidents happen with children every year and he reminds us that it could have been us. When this story came out there was a lot of ugliness by people saying things like the mother should be locked up and forgotten or she doesn't deserve to live. I so agree with his explanation below of people's hate-filled and judgmental comments.

 "If the ugliness seems puzzling to you, it doesn't to psychologists who have examined this phenomenon. It’s a form of denial, they say: Deep down, people understand that all lives are fragile, that we are all capable of momentary mistakes or misjudgments that could destroy us. We don’t want to face this terrifying fact. So we must convince ourselves that the people to whom it happens are unlike us. To sustain our delusion of safety, we must make them monsters."

March 9, 2012

show hope



This is such a moving video! It is the story of Issac who has Spina Bifida and the wonderful couple that adopted him.  Show Hope is a charity that cares for orphans and provides adoption aid.

via: flythroughourwindow

March 8, 2012

charities

Girls celebrating their new nets which will ensure the single most effective way to 
prevent malaria is available to them.

The last few days there has been a huge firestorm over the Kony 2012 campaign about children in Uganda {you can read about it here}. A huge learning curve to understand all the issues. The positive part is, this whole controversy led me to do some searching and I found one of the top rated charities that will save the lives of a lot more African children with our donations. Humanitarians all agree that the most effective way to save lives in Africa is by stopping Malaria. Last year alone it caused 665,000 deaths, mostly African children. Against Malaria Foundation gives 100% of your money to buy the Malaria Nets that have been proven over and over again to save lives. Also to find out about other charities you are interested in it was recommended that you check the site Give Well. It does a rigorous review process to determine the most effective ones. Ironically this is all happening while my daughter Danielle is traveling to guess where.....Uganda! She started her trips to Africa as an exchange student when she was 19 and did her graduate work in African studies also. She works with governments in using financial aid effectively to improve the lives of their people. Can't wait to get her opinion on all this when she gets home. Lastly, but most important I wanted to listen to the what the African people have to say about all this. I learned the most from reading their thoughts on this controversy. The idea they keep coming back too is community based organizations are the most effective so the people have a say in improving their own lives.

source: here
photo: here

March 5, 2012

Emeri's monthly photos

Wow, I'm behind posting Emeri's monthly photos. Luckily Britt has been religious about taking them on time. The last one I put up was her 3 month old one. So here is 4,5,6 and 7. One little note on how quick she is growing up. I was in Target the other day looking at the baby clothes. On one of the ends they had a display with the My First Easter clothes. When I saw them it just hit me this is the last holiday of My First Clothes for Emeri. I almost started crying right there in the store. How could this be already! The only thing left to do was put that cute little My First Easter outfit in my cart and savor every last minute of this time in her life.