December 7th: Chris and I worshiped in the Mesa Temple and saw the beautiful lights around the grounds.
It started with exercise at 6 (OK, 6:18!I pushed the snooze button) . The muffins went in at 6:45am, quick cool down and the kids were up, scriptures read and ready to leave for the bus stop by 7:45. At 8am I was feeding Ashley and then dressing Mackay for preschool, and trying to fit a shower in. With Mackay off to preschool at 8:45am, I moped, smiled at Ashley and got her ready for her visit with Mom and Dad. As she left D came while his foster parents went to a meeting to discuss D's future. Picked up Mackay at 10:45 just before my case worker came for her monthly visit. (We're still on track as foster parents, whew!) 12:13pm re-moped floor after D tracked poop in from back yard. 12:30 Molly B. came. Lunch (Left over spaghetti squash with sauce, new favorite I'd tried with Molly). 1:00pm, Ashley came back from successful visit with Mom and Dad (Keep praying for them). 1:20 Ashley, Molly and Mackay went down for a nap. Make dinner for tonight just to be ready. Chicken Pot Pie(See Proof above. I tried to show the time on the stove but alas) 2:30 D leaves. 2:30 I blog. I need proof that this day was real. I will regroup for 30 minutes and get the kids at 3:08 from the bus. Then Hailey's Ballet at 4:15, Molly leaves at 5. Grant has scouts at 5 and and I will pick Hailey up from Ballet after dropping Grant off. (Pray that Chris will finish Training and be home soon!) Pick up Grant at 6 and take him and Jack to karate. 6-8 Scentsy party for my sister-in-law Tori Robinson. 8:30 baths, stories, prayers and kids will go to bed! 8:33-Look for hidden carb stash and sit down with my husband.
I am the proud parent of a Foster Baby! Ashley was born August 22nd, addicted to Meth. She is cute as a button and a true angle with very little withdraw symptoms. Its been a dream of mine to foster and we are love the experience so far. Our family has taken to her easily and now even our boxer feels protective of her. We are asked often if we plan to adopt her, but I tell people; "I am not in charge of her future, so I don't make plans for her." I am just in charge of loving and caring for her and that is enough. Our greatest source of info is my sister-in-law Stephanie, who has fostered several children and adopted three. She reminds us that Jesus know what her future should be and where she will end up, and so we trust that he will protect her and guide her life. We're just lucky enough to be able to give her a good start. She has a concerned team of case workers and while the system isn't perfect, at least she had people looking out for her. We've never seen the bio parents so we can only dream of what she will look like- but angel is a good description of her so far.
Fresh, organic eggs from our chickens. The brown is from a Rhode Island Red named Camilla and the blue is from an Americana named Pepper. The white are from a chicken named dairy section. Our chickens make great pets and great eggs (and great fertilizer for the compost bin).
This is Chris, Jenny's husband for those who don't know. Pursuant to recent questions by family and non-family members about Arizona’s recent immigration bill, SB 1070 and the recent addendum of HB 2162, Jenny gave me permission to post an explanation about my understanding of the new law(s) and their impact on her public website. Follow the links above to read the laws themselves.In red are the direct criticisms and in blue are excerpts from the law itself:
#1) “The bill requires immigrants to carry their alien registration documents at all times and requires police to question people if there is reason to suspect that they're in the United States illegally.” (http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/04/23/obama.immigration/index.html)
The law requires people to prove lawful presence in the US when applying for state or local benefits. Immigration documents are not required if the person has a driver’s license or state-issued ID card:
A. Notwithstanding any other state law and to the extent permitted by federal law, any agency of this state or a political subdivision of this state that administers any state or local public benefit shall require each natural person who applies for the state or local public benefit to submit at least one of the following documents to the entity that administers the state or local public benefit demonstrating lawful presence in the United States:
1. An Arizona driver license issued after 1996 or an Arizona nonoperating identification license.
2. A birth certificate or delayed birth certificate issued in any state, territory or possession of the United States.
3. A United States certificate of birth abroad.
4. A United States passport.
5. A foreign passport with a United States visa.
6. An I-94 form with a photograph.
7. A United States citizenship and immigration services employment authorization document or refugee travel document.
8. A United States certificate of naturalization.
9. A United States certificate of citizenship.
10. A tribal certificate of Indian blood.
11. A tribal or bureau of Indian affairs affidavit of birth.
The above has nothing to do with police officers. At any rate, law enforcement officers already ask people for their “papers” in the form of a driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance. However, the law states officers have to have reasonable suspicion or probable cause of a crime or traffic violation in order to detain someone in the first placel. Meaning, they have to be able to articulate how a reasonable officer might believe them to be in violation of the law. (For example, witnessing a traffic violation or another citizen witnessing someone shoplift then leave the scene in a specific vehicle. Both are reasonable and Constitutionally-valid reasons to stop someone.) This law already exists in the form of the US Constitution, which no state law can override. Read the language of the bill itself (italics added):
For any lawful stop, detention or arrest made by a law enforcement official or a law enforcement agency of this state or a law enforcement official or a law enforcement agency of a county, city, town or other political subdivision of this state in the enforcement of any other law or ordinance of a county, city or town or this state where reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien and is unlawfully present in the United States, a reasonable attempt shall be made, when practicable, to determine the immigration status of the person, except if the determination may hinder or obstruct an investigation.
The law requires another lawful reason for detaining someone, not merely contacting them on the street because they are Hispanic. I can tell you personally, most officers have no desire to threaten their careers by violating someone’s civil rights. It’s just not worth it. Besides, police officers in Arizona are increasingly short-handed and becoming overwhelmed with the increase in violent crime across the state. I think this will only make officers busier and might increase violence against police (although I think this will be due to the false information, rather than the law itself). Funny how protesters vilify the police on this subject, when they didn't write the thing.
The above also addresses another criticism, that the law will prevent those in the country illegally from reporting crimes. When someone is the victim of or witness to a crime, an officer cannot ask about their residency status (and, frankly, would not want to). As it is now, an unlawful immigrant can receive a temporary visa (a U Visa, I believe - ask Vic or Joy) when they are a victim or witness. This remains unchanged.
#2.) President Obama criticized the bill, calling it “misguided” and stated it threatened “to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and our communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe.” (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/24/us/politics/24immig.html)
#3.) Mexico's President Felipe Calderon has issued a travel advisory to it's citizens entering the United States [illegally?], saying, "It must be assumed that every Mexican citizen may be harassed and questioned without further cause at any time."
(http://us-state-policy.suite101.com/article.cfm/razing-arizona-senate-bill-1070)
Again, here’s the language of the bill:
A law enforcement official or agency of this state or a county, city, town or other political subdivision of this state may not consider race, color or national origin in implementing the requirements of this subsection except to the extent permitted by the United States or Arizona Constitution. A person is presumed to not be an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States if the person provides to the law enforcement officer or agency any of the following:
1. A valid Arizona driver license.
2. A valid Arizona nonoperating identification license.
3. A valid tribal enrollment card or other form of tribal identification.
I personally feel it was unnecessary to put this language in the bill, because it implies it was not already being done. It reminds me of the Equal Rights Act, which allegedly gave women the same status as men. Doesn’t that presume they did not have it in the first place? Again, ridiculous. Granted, there are certainly some officers who already racially profile, (although I do not believe I have met any). This law does not provide more opportunity or validation to do so. It was wrong, it is still wrong.
Ultimately, the law states:
E. In the implementation of this section, an alien's immigration status may be determined by:
1. A law enforcement officer who is authorized by the federal government to verify or ascertain an alien's immigration status.
2. The United States immigration and customs enforcement or the United States customs and border protection pursuant to 8 United States Code section 1373(c).
Only the Federal Government can (still) determine if someone is illegal. This is no different than how things work now. If someone is arrested for DUI, for example, and they have no driver’s license, state ID card, social security number, they cannot state where they went to school and their reported birthday is January 1st or December 24th (both popular dates for some reason when someone was born in a small village and does not actually know their birth date – Vic and Joy can probably validate this), than a reasonable officer would guess that person is not in the country legally. They are booked into jail on the DUI and ICE would then determine their residency status at the jail. With this law, the only thing that changes is that now I would add a charge of Failure to Complete or Carry an Alien Registration Card (a class 1 misdemeanor).
Below is a sweeping criticism of the law, which summarizes the absurdities I’ve seen and heard in the media:
SB1070 is a radical anti-immigrant piece of legislation that will open the floodgates to racial profiling and abuses of civil liberties. The law will be challenged in court for both violating individual rights and being an illegal assertion of state authority given the federal government's primary responsibility for border and immigration matters. But in the meantime, the effects of its implementation will be sweeping, since the law:
SB1070 Is a Product of a Racist, Anti-Immigrant National Network: The sweep of the law is hardly accidental, since it is the product of a national network of anti-immigrant groups tied to racist hate groups. (http://www.progressivestates.org/node/25081)
Pretty unreal, isn’t it? Even the US Attorney General condemned the law without reading it. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/14/AR2010051404231.html).
This is deja vu for those who remember the President condemned the actions of a police officer for arresting his friend as “acting stupidly” and then admitted he did not actually know what happened. It is clear truth is of no interest to many in the media and our federal government. Why, exactly?
That, my friends, is a question for you…
We have a great garden this year of sugar-snap peas, baby carrots and spinach. (keeping it simple) But the spinach is coming out our ears! My kids love to pick it, but eating it-not so much! We give it to neighbors, friends, teachers. Spinach Lasagna, spinach salad, frozen spinach! Spinach in everything I could think of and still it is growing! So I went to allrecipes.com and and typed in "more spinach than I can handle but my family loves bacon". Great search title. It gave me this yummy recipe. I made it with wild rice and even Jack liked it! (Joy, I would bring you a big plate of it, if it sounded any good to your pregnant tummy!) It went fast, which might just keep up with our supply.
Do you ever have those day's? Maybe the attack is on the outside from boss, kids, deadlines, etc. Or maybe the attack is on the inside from a voice that tells you not to try, your stupid, why bother! I know it's Satan's voice, but I assume it is his way of stopping some wonderful person from doing wonderful good in the world.
Today is Valentine's day in the classroom realm. Last night we were all a buzz, making valentine's and talking about who likes who. And my sons are very excited to have a special someone to give a special Valentine to. They worried that she might say no-or what if she said yes. I am just a bit surprised. I don't remember feeling this way in the 3rd or 4th grade. But I hoped the best for them and helped them prepare, pick out cloths to look their best, and have all their valentines ready. They wanted just the right bag for their valentines to go in. And Hailey was in on the whole thing with her Valentine for 'Ben'. She came in with a little pink bag she had found in my room. It said "Victoria Secret" with writing inside that said "give me sexy".
and who doesn't love nature. Volumes could be said on this subject, but I wont carry on here.
I've heard a lot of gripes about Valentine's Day. Some legit and some from grumpy souls who just don't think out side the box. So this is my week of love-all the kinds we really celebrate. The love of our parents, love for animals, and today, the love we have for our family. We got this shot of Mackay and Grant at the park with out them realizing it. I could blow it up and frame it! I love to see my kids getting along and I ache when they don't. I have a few regrets about lost years with siblings who are so much fun to be with now. I know I have missed out.
Mackay is having a fit in this picture. A good one! Mackay, I'm so sorry but Dad and I just laughed. Mackay, you're gonna have to do better than that. You have three older siblings, and a dramatic sister on top of that! We've weathered a lot of tantrums and come through relatively unscathed. So sorry you are experiencing the terrible twos, but really-get over it! Soon.
