A Special Note from Ben

It’s not often that I have a “guest writer” on my blog, so it is with great pleasure that I welcome my husband Ben to my blog.

Dear family and friends,
As an Ob/Gyn I witness the miracle of life almost daily and work tirelessly to promote the safety of a baby in the womb. Then I hear from Barack Obama who thinks these very precious lives are not worth saving. He wants to “spread the wealth” to everyone – but wants to kill babies. AND, he wants you to pay for it -- Obama endorses spending taxpayer money (YOUR money) on abortions.

When we talk about the treatment of the “less fortunate,” let’s not forget to include the most vulnerable group -- unborn children, who do not yet have a voice of their own. Just four weeks after conception (just as a woman discovers she is pregnant) a baby has a beating heart. It is truly unthinkable for me to interrupt the safe environment of a woman’s womb yet Barack Obama wants to do just that – he wants to stop that little beating heart.

It’s NOT OK to kill unborn children. Why would you, by your vote, want to endorse a man who stands up for and supports this form of holocaust? Abortion is not some small issue like some want you to believe; it has a powerful bearing on the whole future of our country. When you vote for a pro-choice candidate, you are voting for abortion.

Please, when you go to the polls to vote, remember that, as my sister-in-law Teressa put it, “we cannot lose sight of the fact that there is much more to the presidency than the economy.” A human’s life is on the line and the littlest citizens of all are counting on you.

Ben

Jeremiah 1:5"Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart for my holy purpose.”

We're NOT Moving

To those of you who may not have heard, the White family is NOT moving to Reno, Nevada. Sigh! That's my big sigh of relief that we're staying in Toledo. Who would have ever thought I'd be happy to stay in TOLEDO?!

Here's what happened to our Reno plans:
When two of the local Toledo hospitals discovered Ben was interested in changing employers, they called with offers trying to get him to stay here. We still weren't sure what to do, until things started to fall apart with the hospital in Reno. For example, when Ben first interviewed in Reno, they told him he would be sharing "in-house" days (when Ben would be in the hospital for a 24-hour shift) with five other docs. Then when the final contract came, Reno executives said it might only be three other docs on the "in-house" schedule. That meant Ben would be living in the hospital for two or three days/week (24-hour shifts) and it's an EXTREMELY busy obstetrical hospital. Then after the in-house days, he'd still have to do his regular work: patient office visits and surgeries. All of this seemed like it would only make Ben's stress level worse, not better.

So now we're staying in the house we love and near family, friends and our church. And to our Montana family: you are being so nice about all of this; I know you're disappointed we're not moving closer to you guys. And truth be told, I was kind of excited about a big move and living out West (with no humidity), but it would have been so difficult for us to leave here. Ultimately, this was a decision that Ben made with his gut and through a lot of prayer. I'm just thankful Ben has had so many options and opportunities available to him. I'm also grateful for Ben's education, his work ethic and his character. But I'm most grateful that I don't have to pack up this house!

(For the original post about us moving to Reno, click here:
http://whitehouse5.blogspot.com/2008/05/were-moving.html)

Pumpkin Farm Field Trip

Oh, it's that time of year again -- time to head out to the pumpkin farm. It seems every year I find a better one than the year before; this year we went to Trabbic Pumpkin Farm in Michigan with Evan's preschool (Joel was at school and Ben was at work so they didn't get to join us). It was a wonderful place and the owner/farmer told all the children how he and his family get up every morning at 3:30 a.m. and pray for every visitor. Isn't that cool?Evan and Drew's favorite activity was playing in the hay maze -- they played in this thing for over an hour! Then I spent an hour digging hay out of sweatshirts and shoes.

The boys also loved the pumpkin train -- isn't this the funniest looking thing? When the train driver told me the pumpkin spins while the train moves forward, I decided moms aren't allowed on the train, only kids. Ugh!

We also enjoyed seeing lots of animals, picking some field corn and warming up with hot cider. If you're looking for a great pumpkin farm (or just for a fun way to spend an afternoon) I'd highly recommend this place.

Extreme Dune Buggy

I have three boys, ages 8, 4 1/2 and 3, but it's the youngest of the three who figures out how to ride the dune buggy BACKWARDS. Oh what my future holds with this one.

Joel's Cardboard Testimony

Recently at our church our pastor talked about life before Christ and life after we invite Jesus into our hearts and our lives -- Jesus makes all the difference. At the end of the sermon, he had people from our congregation give their "cardboard testimonies." Joel was asked to be a part of this since he is a "miracle baby," born 3 months early at 2 lbs. 7 oz. The video is kind of long, 6 minutes, but I hope you take the time to watch it.

Note: the sound is pretty bad because I just used my digital camera to record it -- it really didn't sound that bad at church. :-)

Note 2: Joel comes in the video at the 4 minute and 45 second mark.

Click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nECPqKgMIxg

Peanut Crusts and Fevers

Yesterday Drew was eating a bowl of peanuts in the shell and wanted an additional bowl for the "crusts." (a.k.a. the shells!) haha

Just so you can feel sorry for me, I have been stuck at home for almost a week straight because of two sick kids! Evan had a high fever for 4 days straight and then two days after his was gone, Drew came down with the same thing. It's awful because the boys have gotten SO HOT (I don't know exactly how hot -- I'm a third-time mom so I never take temperatures -- I just throw ibuprofen down their throats) and at its worst, they just shiver. With Drew, as soon as the medicine hits his system, his fever breaks and then he soaks his clothes. Two nights in a row I've had to completely change his pajamas and put a towel on his bed because it was so wet.

The little guys' fever has also been accompanied by bad dreams. Drew dreamt that a "green guy with no hair srew (threw) me into a zolcano" (volcano).

Now for the "bad mom" part of me -- I kind of like it when they are sick (without puking) because they are so sweet, lethargic and cuddly. It's not often that they want to sit on mom's lap and just cuddle so I'm enjoying that part of the "sick bay" at the White House.

When you grow up…

Me: What are you going to do for a job when you get older?

Evan: I wanna work at Bob Evan’s cause they get lots of money. People eat slow but it’s still fast. (???)

Me: Do you want to cook the food or serve the food?

Evan: I want to be the man at the end because he gets the money (the cashier).

Me: What are you going to do with your money?

Evan: When I’m a man I will buy dishes for my mom.

Me: For me?

Evan: (funny look on face)

Me: Do you mean you will buy dishes for your wife?

Evan: Yeah. Dishes and forks.

Watch out Mrs. Evan -- you’re going to be gettin’ some great Christmas gifts. Haha. I found it so sweet that he wasn’t going to buy things for himself, but for his wife.