Random Thoughts by Pina

I am so glad that people who are better writers than me such as, Paul, Laurie, and Aaron are writing against the Pearls and their "ministry." I often just feel like what I want to say sounds great in my head but I cant get the words to paper. Anyways, Paul and Laurie are quoted in a great article from salon.com. Here is the link. http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2010/02/22/no_greater_joy/index.html There are also links to Paul and Laurie's blogs on my right side bar. Go, read, and speak out if you can. Friends...this cannot not go on. No more kids should be killed while receiving "christian chastisment."

Ok...I realize that to most people this is a no big deal thing however, it made me feel like a super wife. I, Pina Marie, unclogged the toilet!!! So, here is some personal background. I come from a family with amazing men. My father took out the trash, fixed everything on the cars (even checked the oil for me) and ALWAYS unclogged the toilet. If there was a clog and my dad was not home, no problem! Just close the lid and use the master bathroom until my dad came home from work and give the gross task to him after a long day of working at a job he disliked to provide for us. He is the dad, that is what they do right? So, when I moved out of my parents house, before I got married, I took it upon myself to take out the trash and check the oil on my car...but I have never used a plunger. Today, my usual friday babysitting gig was canceled so I am home all day. And the toilet was clogged. My first instinct to close the toilet, and wait until my hard working, stayed up all night last night s...

If you know me well, you know that I am obsessed with birth. If you sit down and talk to me for longer than 10 minutes you will hear more than you ever wanted to know about birth, home birth, midwifery...and the list goes on. Seriously, sometimes I embarrass myself. I will find myself talking about different kinds of birthing positions that will prevent tearing or an episiotomy with men...single men from church... I have a problem. The only way I can cure it is to actually become a midwife. Which is my ultimate dream, besides being a mother of course. Anyways, I thought this article was interesting. It is from a midwifery newsletter that I get every month. It is about the risks of prenatal ultrasounds. Enjoy! "One challenge that ultrasound operators face is keeping the transducer positioned over the part of the fetus the operator is trying to visualize. When fetuses move away from the stream of high-frequency sound waves, they may be feeling vibrations, heat or both. As the FDA wa...

Here is a link to the local news here. They have linked the murder with the Pearl's web site. I am so heart broken by this situation. http://www.khsltv.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=10755@khsl.dayport.com

I just wanted to say that I feel like I was a bit harsh in my last post. I dont want to impart judgment upon people for using the methods of the Pearls. I just am so rocked by the recent tragedy in our town that I cant help but express my opinion in this manner. I just wanted to clarify that.

I am not a parent so I obviously don't know as much as some. However, I do believe I have a little more experience with kids than most people I know who are my age without kids. I have been babysitting for a long time now. About 12 years to be exact. I have witnessed families with incredible parenting, horrible parenting, alternative parenting, and really strange parenting. I have realized that it really doesn't matter what form of discipline or training you use. Consistency is the key. I was once given a copy of the book, "To train up a child," by Micheal and Debbi pearl. I was about 19 years old when I started reading this book and to be honest I had to put it down after the first chapter. I was sickened. They start out by comparing children to military personal. Here is a passage from the first chapter. " When headstrong young men join the military, they are first taught to stand still. The many hours of close-order-drill are simply to teach and reinforce su...