It's not about the gun

In light of yet another school shooting, I feel the need to remind people, it's not about the gun!

Whenever a tragedy hits, we immediately see, hear and read people talk about our gun laws and how we need more gun restrictions and tighter regulations. 

What I see is the human behind the gun...typically a teenager who is clearly in need of help.  If the old proverb is true, that it takes a village to raise a child, than our village (society) is clearly failing.  That human pulled the trigger; that human caused the tragedy; that human was crying out for help-not the gun.

Of course, we can go ahead and take away the guns however that doesn't change the fact that we have people out there hurting and unable to connect with someone for help.  That hurting person will go on to find another way to escape; drugs, drinking, driving under the influence, etc... and will likely continue to hurt themselves and others. 

We can continue to try to remove everything that could possibly be a problem or we could find a way to help those who are hurting.  Instead of gun activists shouting louder after a time of crisis, I would love to see mental health professionals helping people like me learn how to better connect with the kids who need me the most. 

Parents, church leaders, scout leaders, teachers, coaches and other adults can all play an important role in these kids lives.  There is clearly a disconnect within our society.  We have people who are hurting and all we want to do is take away the guns.

I think it's time to stop focusing on the inannimate object and being focusing on the human race again.

It's not about the gun

Baby Shower and more!

On Saturday, my best friend, Alex, hosted a FANTASTIC baby shower for me.  She nailed the theme perfectly and didn't miss a single detail!  Between Mickey banner decorations, Mickey table confetti and scrapbook paper, Mickey Mouse head table decorations, Mickey Mouse cupcakes, red and yellow (strawberry and pineapple) fruit skewers, licorice, M&M's, red plates, Mickey napkins and many other special touches-including lots of great friends and family!  Moments like these is when you know you have a life long friendship!

Banner made from extra invitations

Mickey Mouse Cupcakes

Table Decorations...mickey pots, scrapbook paper and confetti

Lots of yummy food; with lots of classic red and yellow touches

Party favors, guest book (plate) and game

Small felt Mickey Diapers for game

Guest 'book'

Gender Guess Game

Final Result: Minnie 6, Mickey 9

Between this shower and my work shower earlier in the week, we definitely made a haul.  Grandma always said, "You're not spoiled, you're just well loved".  Well, in this case, our little one will be VERY well loved!

Spike is also ready to share the news!  He's getting a new brother ;)
Looks like most predictions were true!

Peanut Update: 1/2 Mark

Anyone who knows me knows 2 very important things:

1. I am not one that follows the "in thing".
2. It is rare for me to miss an opportunity for cake

Surprise

On Monday, Matt and I went in for another ultrasound and doctor appointment.  Everything checked out great! During the ultrasound they were able to get 75 pictures to determine that our little peanut has 2 arms, 2 legs, lots of fingers and toes, 2 eyes, 2 ears, 2 lungs, working kidneys and a heart with 4 chambers.

Peanut Profile

Alien Peanut (look carefully and you can see 2 eye sockets and a nose)

Peanuts' left foot

Our Peanut is wiggling like crazy, although I'm not feeling it yet. It seems to be right on track according to the doctor.  They are pleased I am having a 'boring' pregnancy.

Best Part?!?!  During the ultrasound they wanted baby to turn over for two more pictures of the heart.  They were pushing on me to get a response.  After about 4 pokes, baby's arm shoots straight up and shakes it's fist at the monitor.  They called it a day at that point =) 

So, what did we fill our 'reveal' cake with..................????

Chocolate fudge, because clearly we are having a stubborn little 'shit'.
But, then again, it's part Rubrecht and part Kay, so it seems very fitting =)

As you can see we chose not to find out the gender.  We will be doing a Mickey Mouse theme for our nursery and we have names for both genders.  We are excited and hope to continue with the boring pregnancy!