anti walmart???

So I saw this website on the news today. Not sure what they were talking about, but it stood out in my mind. I think it is interesting, you should check it out. Then I got on babycenter and read this post (I'll sum it up underneath, its kinda long, but wanted you to have the whole story if you were interested):

"So I am shopping at Walmart and getting some diapers and some cleaning supplies and such. I had my 4 year old with me and he had a splinter. I grabbed some tweezers off of the shelf, opened them up and got the splinter out of his finger since he kept complaining about it. I set the little wrapper thing in my cart so they could scan it later when I checked out.

I paid for everything and the bill was about 80 something dollars. On my way out I get stopped by two men who tell me that they are from the loss prevention department and that they want the tweezers back. I was shocked! I had completely forgoten about the little platic thing they came in because it was right by my BIG purse. I was carrying a large purse and did not even see it.

I apologized and told them I would pay for them right away. They would not let me. They escorted me to the back and were yelling at me telling me that I am setting a horrible example for my son and that they should take me to jail to teach me a lesson. My son was scared, I was scared and I had no idea what to do because I was so flustered. I told them that it was an honest mistake, but they said they did not believe me because they were opened and the tweezers were in my purse. I admit, that was not the smartest thing to do, but I honestly had every intention of paying for them. I asked them why I would pay for everything in my cart and not a pair of 1 dollar tweezers and they said I was copping an attitude and that they were calling the police. The police were in the front of the building by that time. I had no idea what to do.

Long story short, they took my picture, took down all of my info and told me that I am never allowed inside walmart ever again. They said I would get a fine in the mail and that I was lucky I did not go to jail. I just cannot believe this happened to me. It was an honest mistake. My husband said that I should have argued with them because it was only a buck and they could not do anything and that I should not have signed any papers, but I did because my son was scared. They kept talking to him and telling him how I was a horrible person. It was awful. The funny thing is that I rarely ever shop in Walmart because I am just not a big fan of Walmart, but I just wanted to hurry and get it done before my older son got out of school so I went there instead of Target. So now this place has all my social info and DL number and my house address and I am apparently a criminal. I am just at a loss for words. I can understand that it might have looked bad that I opened them and used them, but I just dont understand why they would not let me pay for them and leave and why they needed to cause such a horrible scene like I was a bad person. I cried and was in tears. This is just awful and now I guess I have a big fine to pay along the lines of 100-500 dollars or something. SIGH...I just needed to vent. I cannot believe I am banned from Walmart for something I didnt even mean to do over a stupid DOLLAR pair of tweezers"

Basically she was shopping at Walmart, and her kid got/had a splinter. She opened a pair of tweezers (not something I would do, but people do things like this. Justin often drinks something and then takes the empty bottle to the check-out) and took the splinter out of her sons hand. Then put the tweezers in her purse and the package in her cart so they could scan it when she checked out. (she bought over $80 of other items) She forgot about it and as she was leaving was taken aside and accused of shoplifting. She tried to explain and they argued with her and proceeded to tell her son what a bad mom she is. She is banned from Walmarts and will have to pay a big fine for her $1 tweezers.
So, yes technically she didn't pay for them and it was right of them to pull her aside. But when she explained it to them they should have been understanding. Now I don't know her or what her life is like, but that story really irritated me.
I've never been a big fan of Walmart. I prefer Fred Meyer for the atmosphere and the quality of their food. But, living off of one income it is much more affordable to buy as much from Walmart as possible.
I don't like the way Walmart comes into small towns and puts all the small businesses out of business. Remember Sprouse (sp?), Ben Franklin, and numerous other small businesses that used to be here?
I would rather support local businesses such as Lumbermans or Toziers for our "hardware" needs than Walmart. But they are much more expensive.
So, I don't know what to do. I know I'm not going to hold a "ANTI-WALMART" sign in the street and encourage everyone to make the same decision as me. But I might boycott them on my own. I think it is worth it to pay a little bit more money and in doing so stand up for what I believe is right. Why support a business that I don't agree with their standards?
I'm not trying to get you to boycott Walmart, just trying to process all of this. Thoughts anyone???

Beach 2007

This weekend was beach retreat and Judah's first camping trip. I think both went great. I thought this retreat felt like it was "lacking" in some way. Most retreats have a night with a invitation to Jesus and a chance to rededicate your life to Jesus. It is usually a very emotional night for everyone that is involved. I think this is often the spiritual high that the high schoolers go home with.
So...this retreat didn't have that kind of a night. The youth that went are regular attenders at youth church. Justin didn't feel the need to have a "altar" call, as most/all of the kids are already pretty far into their spiritual journey.
This weekend was full of great small group and large group discussions, and great bonding as a group since it was a smaller group.
So my question is: what is more effective
1. A spiritual high that will have them going stronger than usual for a (usually) limited amount of time.
or
2. No spiritual high, but good bonding time and teaching that is full of life-long truth.
I think both have their benefits. Spiritual highs often result in action that may not happen usually. They are bolder about their faith and more likely to reach out to others. This is a good thing. But, bonding and good teaching is also important. Especially teaching that is geared towards where they are at in their walk.
Does one outweigh the other?
...I guess I don't know.



A BIG thanks to Molly and Lauree for all their help with Judah. I definitely couldn't have done it without them!

meez

check out meez.com

i think its kinda cool...but then again i also love sims. you can make one and then post it to your myspace, blogs, or signatures in forums. lots of options for everyone.
i had fun!

sicko

This guy is a sicko.
Why are people like this still allowed to interact with society. He needs to be locked away for a long time/forever.
Something needs to change. We give people way too many rights.

marriage for 12 year olds???

Justin made reference to this in his blog.
I guess I better explain myself.

I do think that in our culture we get married too late in life. I think we should go back to getting married when we are 12 or 13. This is the average age that girls start their periods. I think if this were to happen our country would be a far better place. It would eliminate sex before marriage and unwed mothers. I guess mostly eliminate these things, there is always the exception. I think marriages would be more successful and the divorce rate would drastically lower.

I also think there is something that makes arranged marriages successful. While I was in India I was friends with Christian Indians who were choosing to let their parents arrange their marriages. They believed that arranged marriages lasted longer and that their parents could pick better mates for them than they could for themselves. They marry not for love, but for necessity. And with that necessity comes strong commitment. They all said that love comes later. Sounds pretty backwards to us huh? [read an article here.] The divorce rate in India is very low. Granted some women are in very abusive relationships that they need to get out off....I am not saying that people should stick with a relationship like that. But divorce is viewed as culturally unacceptable. For us it is a easy way out of a marriage when things get too "tough" If it wasn't acceptable in our culture don't you think people would think a lot harder about getting divorced and what the consequences of their actions would be? Where was I going with this? Oh, so I also think that these marriages should be arranged by the parents. Who at age 12 is capable of picking their mate for the rest of their life? Who would you have ended up married to at age 12 if you had gotten to pick?

I think it would force kids to grow up sooner (i know a lot of people think kids should stay kids longer). They would have the responsibility of providing for their family and making a home for themselves. I think it would lower the crime rate in teens because they would be busy doing other things.

I know this would never work in our culture today. Kids are in school, and that is important. To go back to this would be considered regressing in the eyes of most people.

But I can't help but look around at all the things that are happening in our country and wonder what the problem is.

If I had gotten married at age 12, it would not have been to Justin. I don't know who it would have been. And I believe that Justin is the best there is for me. So I am definitely not sure about this theory. I've just been thinking a lot about it. Don't shun me please!

mommyhood

So, sometimes being a mom is really difficult.
First the baby lives inside of you for nine months. Throwing up every morning, hot flashes, stretch marks, gaining weight, heartburn, food aversions, and all the other things that go along with being pregnant are not fun. Then birth...tramatic in all aspects. Then the sleepless nights and the crying that means something, but you don't know what. It is all really difficult.
But when Judah sees me across the room and smiles and then crawls over to me as fast as he can to be picked up, or when I get him out of his crib in the morning and he lays his head down on my shoulder, or when we're cuddling and he looks up at my face just to make sure i'm still there...this is what makes it all worthwhile.
For some reason when people talk about pregnancy or parenting, they only have negative things to say. Why don't people talk about the good moments? The good far outweights the bad.
I love being a mom. I love being pregnant. It is so worth it.
You all should have babies! (unless you're not married, then you should wait!)

Have I let myself go?

There is a Suave commercial out right now that shows a woman "letting herself go" and then "getting herself back". (tried to find the video to post, but can't. If you're interested in seeing it go to www.suave.com click on beauty, then click on full circle) I loved the commercial the first time I saw it, I think because it was a commercial I could actually relate to. But I've been wondering ever since then if I have let myself go? What is the appropriate amount of time after you've had a baby that you should be back to normal? I often don't take a shower until Justin gets home, rarely put on makeup or do my hair, haven't had my hair cut or dyed for months and months (that one is mostly a money issue), don't pluck my eyebrows, haven't lost my baby weight, and sometimes stay in sweats all day. But I honestly feel like I don't have time to do all those things. The rare moment that Judah is occupied by himself I either just want to sit down by myself or I have housework to do. So my question is...By 9 months after having a baby should I be back to normal? Or is it still within the appropriate amount of time to still be "frazzled"?
Really I only care what Justin thinks about me.
But I also don't want to be the woman that everyone whispers about because she has "let herself go".
Even if I really wanted to do all those things I don't know where I would find the time or energy. How do people do it?

First Blog

I don't even know where to start. I am still unsure about this whole blogging thing. Its a great way to let other people read what I'm thinking and whats going on in my life, but is it really just another step in us becoming a unpersonal culture? Will me blogging things stop me from talking to the people around me about the things that are important? Why talk to them about it if they can just read it here? I find that I read posts that Justin has made, and realize that I had no idea he was even pondering those things. If he didn't have a blog would he talk to me about those things? So all that to say I'm still unsure about this... but I am going to give it a try.