LENT

I love Lent. There is something truly beautiful about reconnecting with God, reminding yourself constantly of the need for sacrifice, for action, and for Christ-centered lives. I love the readings at Mass during Lent, I love the exercise of purging my vices, I love the expectation of Easter!

I give up cola every year. This year I also gave up Facebook & chocolate. In addition, I am joining the movement to choose something to fast of until abortion ends, and I am giving up drive-thorough burgers and sandwiches. I have already boycotted some businesses which donate to abortion providers/advocacies. Namely, Walmart, Starbucks and Coca-cola.

With all of these seeming restrictions on my life, it would be easy to assume that things are getting difficult and tight around our household. Quite the opposite is, in fact, true. Lent seems to have freed up a great deal of joy! :) By choosing to exercise our willpower, we in the Hastings household are finding it comes more naturally to sacrifice of our personal desires/concepts for how things should go, and are re-discovering the joys of giving for the sheer love of another!

God gifts us in such mysterious and wondrous ways!

While Planned Parenthood Launches Retraining, Live Action Releases More Footage

This morning, Live Action released another video of a Planned Parenthood worker willing to aid a self-described sex trafficker to obtain testing, birth control, and abortion for his sex slaves. The Planned Parenthood worker informed the actor that he could pose as a guardian for sex workers as young as 14 (actually, she went one further and said 13) but that it wasn't necessary because in the grand ol' state of New York, girls 13 & up could receive all services without any parental notification.

Meanwhile, Albermarle police Sgt. Darrell Byers informs News Virginian, "he knew of no one in his department who received information about the “fake patient.” He said it was possible the workers could have called but that no report was made," despite Planned Parenthood's assurance that the Charlottesville Planned Parenthood clinic had called local police as soon as the man they believed to be a pimp had left.

Although Planned Parenthood officials continue to maintain the moral integrity of most employees caught on tape aiding a self-identified sex trafficker, they meanwhile have informed the New York Times of their plans to retrain staff members nationwide. Erik Ekholm of the NYT writes, "When the retraining is completed in April, 'termination of employment is the only possible action' when staff members do not report potential abuses of minors, the federation said in a statement."

David Schmidt at LiveAction has this response,

Planned Parenthood is on the ropes and it knows that the public is watching. If they admit to too many problems, they will face further investigation and loss of public support. If they ignore the problem, they will be seen as not taking child sex abuse seriously. Planned Parenthood isn’t being guided by a moral principal to do the right thing (they would have done the right thing on tape if that is who they were) but rather a public relationship strategy to save their organization in the face of shocking video evidence.

Generally Significant Happenings

Keep an eye out for news regarding the "Protect Life Act" introduced by Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA) Wednesday, Feb 9 especially. On Wednesday, there will be a hearing on the bill. This bill does two extremely important things for the pro-life cause. The first, to remove all federal funding of abortion from the new health care law. The second, to provide a conscience clause for all workers in the health care field, protecting them from having to perform or refer for abortions. See here for information on how to tell the Catholic Health Association to support the bill.

Pro-lifers in Ohio are introducing the "Heartbeat Bill," which would extend legal protection to all humans after a heartbeat can be detected (18-24 days into development). Kellie Copeland, NARAL's executive director, had this to say about the bill, "This legislation is launching a full-scale attack on women’s reproductive rights in this state instead of fixing the economy."  A little tweaking to reveal the real message, and we get Copeland's complaint, 'This legislation is launching an aggressive attack on women's rights to kill their babies which, if passed, will drastically reduce my paycheck. We need to focus on making more jobs, preferably in the abortion industry where I and my colleagues can profit from the desperation of pregnant women!" If only Copeland knew what a full-scale attack on prenatal homicide looked like... See Tom Crowe's response at CatholicVote here.


After a few tumultuous days wherein the pro-life community questioned the CDC under the Obama Administration for their reported decision to stop releasing annual abortion statistics beginning in 2010. Erick Erickson at RedState began raising questions when he noticed that the report normally posted in November was M.I.A. on the CDC's website. He states, "While not comprehensive, the CDC report provided the best single estimate of abortions in the US, as well as providing detailed breakdowns: the age of the baby at the time of abortion, age of the mother, number of abortions the mother had previous to the current one, etc. People on both sides of the abortion debate have cited these statistics to make their points."

Erickson describes his communications with the CDC,

After several attempts, we finally received confirmation from Rhonda Smith at the CDC’s press office in Atlanta that the report has been buried indefinitely; the CDC “will not have stats available at any time in the near future” and there “are no plans for them to come out any time soon.” This call took place on Jan. 27th, and we asked Ms. Smith for a reason that the report wouldn’t be issued anymore. She promised to check around and find out if there was any reason given and get back to us – as of the date of this posting [02/03/11], we have received no further communication from her office.

When RedState, Steven Ertelt, Jill Stanek, and others picked up the story, the CDC began to respond. Steven Ertelt of LifeNews.com explains,

Today, Tom Skinner, the Senior Public Affairs Officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told LifeNews.com that he anticipates publishing the abortion totals later this month and that delays have been a result of trouble gathering information — not pressure from Obama officials.
“Due to delays in collecting some of the population data needed to complete the MMWR Abortion Surveillance Summary, the report did not come out in November as it usually does,” he told LifeNews.com. “But it is tentatively scheduled for publication on February 24 and will be posted to the CDC website around noon on that day.”

The FUN in DeFUNding Planned Parenthood

Pro-Life News of the Day addresses the Expose Planned Parenthood webcast and where to go from here with the videos of abortion providers' complete ambivalence to the matter of statutory rape and sexual servitude.

Two important things to note:
1) Under current law, Title X money cannot directly fund abortions. However, indirect funding occurs when the same organization provides both legitimate family planning services and abortion. Mike Pence, the bill's sponsor, put it this way:

Now, in fairness, Planned Parenthood will be quick to say, well, you can't use Title X funding to provide abortion services, and I'm sure they technically comply with that. I think we're all adults; we understand that money is fungible. And to the extent that Planned Parenthood can use public resources to subsidize a Title X clinic, that frees up other of their resources, other streams of income, to subsidize their abortion clinic, which in many cases is in the same building-- sometimes it's right down the hallway.

2) The Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act does not reduce the amount of funding for family planning. Planned Parenthood's supporters are attacking this as an anti-women's-health measure. The truth is that any money that would have gone to Planned Parenthood will simply be diverted to other organizations, such as local health departments; you know, places that don't have a record of covering up sex trafficking and statutory rape, lying to patients, and killing millions of unborn babies.

Yet More Live Action Videos Released

As Planned Parenthood and defenders try to face the barrage of questions over Perth Amboy (ex)manager Amy Woodruff and her unscrupulous behavior towards 2 actors posing as a pimp and prostitute looking for advice with a sex trafficking operation, Live Action has released 3 more videos of Planned Parenthood employees offering advice to the duo.

See the Roanoke, VA, Falls Church, VA and Charlottesville, VA videos on blip.tv following the Youtube threat to remove prior videos citing privacy concerns.

The striking issue in these videos is not, as in the Perth Amboy video, the complete lack of scruples over offering advice so much as it is the lack of regard for who it is they are talking about; that is to say, underage sex workers! In this political atmosphere, concerns over the terminology used in HR#3 referring to "forcible rape" must be addressed in a timely fashion. One has to wonder where is the concern over Planned Parenthood's willingness to aid in the operations of a man who purports to profit from young girls being raped daily. Perhaps the rhetoric has so completely engulfed employees that they have forgotten that statutory rape is still rape, but recent events in politics make it clear that the rest of the U.S. has not.

Of course, none of these videos quite live up to the infamy of Amy Woodruff's advice to get back to work, "from the waist up." Nonetheless, Lila Rose and Live Action have written to Virginia Attorney General Cuccinelli requesting that he open an investigation into VA Planned Parenthood affiliates over the evidence of clinics aiding and abetting criminal activities.

New Name, New Look, Re-new Us!

Well, you may or may not recognize that the blog which once was Hastings at Home is now Catholic We're Made. It seems that the Lord is calling me to write less about the home and more about the world, and developments of His design. So I am retitling and reworking this blog. Perhaps Hastings at Home will reemerge in small ways later, but as this is plenty time-consuming, I am hijacking my old blog and turning it into a new sort of media. Friends, I cannot help myself.

Webcast to Address Planned Parenthood Protection of Sex Traffickers

A little added bonus to round off my day, exposeplannedparenthood.com will be streaming a webcast devoted to the subject of Planned Parenthood's protection of sex trafficking as exposed by Lila Rose and Live Action. According to Expose Planned Parenthood's website, speakers will include:

• LILA ROSE, Live Action
• MARJORIE DANNENFELSER, Susan B. Anthony List
• TONY PERKINS, Family Research Council
• DAVID BEREIT, 40 Days for Life
• ABBY JOHNSON, Former Planned Parenthood Director, Now Pro-Life Activist and Author
• DR. ALVEDA KING, Priests for Life
• WENDY WRIGHT, Concerned Women for America
• CHARMAINE YOEST, Americans United for Life Action
• STEVE WAGNER, The Renewal Forum

 (M note, Dr. King happens to be Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s niece)
Log in on Thursday, February 3 at 8:30pm Eastern time.

Ask and you shall receive!

Well, I had barely moved on from posting about Lila Rose & Live Action's undercover sting on a NJ Planned Parenthood affiliate and my prediction of more to come when I hopped onto Jill Stanek's blog and was met with this article.

According to Lila Rose at BigGovernment.com, "The visual evidence speaks for itself. And there’s more to come. PP is scrambling to silence our story and evidence. But in the end, the truth will get out." In a press release today, Rose stated, "Soon, we will be releasing more evidence to law enforcement officials and the public showing that Planned Parenthood is willing to aid and abet sexual exploitation of minors and young women.  As our research and evidence will show, this is not only a problem for one clinic in New Jersey — it is much broader and more endemic."

So what is Planned Parenthood's response? After initially calling the video falsified, using words like "edited tape" to imply that Rose had manipulated the video, they have backpedaled a bit and fired Amy Woodruff, the (now-former) manager of the Perth Amboy abortion mill in New Jersey. PP Central NJ CEO Phyllis Kinsler called Woodruff's behavior, "repugnant manner that is inconsistent with our standards of care and is completely unacceptable."

Stuart Schear calls it, "Completely inconsistent with Planned Parenthood's guidelines," and goes on to say, "The organization that is coming in and is secretly taping [...] are not concerned about women [...] they have a very extreme political agenda." He further states that this manner of playing fast and loose with the law and women's safety is, "Not indicative of a systemic problem."

Watch Schear repeatedly assert that this is not a problem of Planned Parenthood's, but of the employees below.

 Seems Cecile Richards 'stepped in it' big time. By bringing in the press in her attempt to control the playing field, she has brought the media attention to Live Action's video. And now, instead of one isolated incident... or at least, of this manner... Planned Parenthood is looking at multiple stings, multiple videos, and multiple examples of Planned Parenthood employees working to circumnavigate the law.

Lila Rose's Undercover Videos Released

Well, I mentioned Lila Rose & LiveAction's sex trafficking sting on Planned Parenthood recently. For roughly a week, there has been discussion about whether or not there was anything to the videos. Turns out, there was.

Specifically, LiveAction exposes these laws being broken/manipulated:

1. Sexual Abuse Cover up
2. Aiding and abetting statutory rape
3. Aiding and abetting minor prostitution
4. Aiding and abetting human trafficking
5. RICO/conspiracy/racketeering

 Planned Parenthood supporters cite the FBI report filed by PP only days before LiveAction released their full video. So, a few questions:
-If PP did indeed have a problem with the supposed sex trafficking, why wait to file a report? Even so long as to inform the FBI that they believed it was a sting.
-If PP suspected foul play, why wait until yesterday to suspend & then terminate Amy Woodcomb, the manager depicted in these videos?
-If this is not, in fact, condoned by Planned Parenthood as a whole, what is attracting all these people to Planned Parenthood positions? (Note: those are 3 different links each to pages with multiple videos & employees)

Cecile Richards, Planned Parenthood CEO, brought the press into this last week, when they filed the report. According to VP for communications, Stuart Schear, Planned Parenthood's investigation found that the purported sex trafficker worked for LiveAction. One must, therefore, wonder why PP's investigation found no wrongdoing on their part prior to yesterday morning, when LiveAction released this video.

I wonder if we will be seeing similar videos from LiveAction hit the blogosphere in the next few days. While I'd rather believe that most counselors, at PP and otherwise, would turn these folks away, I would also really like to see Planned Parenthood bring about their own demise. For now, perhaps this story will be enough for some expectation of greater enforcement at PP clinics. And perhaps better auditing....

Where is the Outrage?

It has already been an eventful year for the pro-abortion crowd in the States, from the revelation of Kermit "the Fraud" Gosnell's heinous practice to Planned Parenthood's sex trafficking escapades.

Through all of this, I have waited to hear abortion advocates' outcry, not exactly forthcoming, and wondering what it is about the pro-abortion movement that prevents the sort of vocal outrage that one might expect at these atrocities. Certainly, if an Ob-gyn were caught sabotaging his patients in some way, there would be uproar. When Acorn was caught in a similar sting operation by James O'Keefe, it made at least some upset in the media.
 So what is it about abortion advocates that they refuse to take a firm stance against this sort of degradation?



Why is it that when something heinous happens, there aren't a ton of liberal feminists screaming their outrage at the Kermit Gosnells of the world? Why don't they want Cecile Richards to explain herself and STOP her organization from helping sex traffickers to hide their illegal, oppressive and downright evil behaviors? For that matter, why isn't there any upset among those who want to empower women over past Planned Parenthood stings that revealed PP employees pointedly lying to women in crisis?

Why is it that, in the effort to shelter abortion rights groups from the big bad threat of "anti-choicers," abortion advocates have managed to completely sell out some of their most basic principles? Why is it that we don't see more women's liberation groups incensed over the mistreatment of women, the lies, the obvious objectification and usury of not only women, but young girls as well?


Abortion is a business that preys on the fear, the desolation, and the insecurities of women experiencing dilemma. And in order to propagate that business, advocacy groups would go to some deplorable measures to deceive and use the women they are supposed to be empowering. Is that the choice you desire?

N's very difficult week

Ever have one of those weeks when you feel like your kids are falling apart on you?

Well, I've seen it happen before, but this is my first time truly experiencing it as a mommy.

I mentioned that N got a dog bite (really, it was a nip gone bad) on Friday the 7th. That night, when we put him down to bed, I called the advice nurse and actually felt really good about things when the night ended. However, the wound got infected almost immediately, and on Saturday morning, we brought N into the doctor's office with a swollen face and a low-grade fever.

The on-call pediatrician looked at the bite area and sent us to the ER, where they drained the infection and then admitted us into the Pediatrics ward. D stayed overnight with N, and we got to go home on Sunday afternoon.

N kept a low-grade fever which concerned me until Monday night. I kept in contact with the advice nurse (for any mommies out there who don't utilize the advice line, I would strongly recommend saving it in your contacts. It's free for patients and it's so nice to have the peace of mind!)...

On Tuesday, N went in for a follow-up appointment. The doctor told us that the diaper rash he was developing was a result of the diarrhea he had from the Augmentin (the oral antibiotic routine they put him on) and we got him probiotics to help regulate his digestion.

The diaper rash got much worse and I called the advice nurse again Saturday evening. She said it was just a result of the Augmentin, and apparently antibiotics often cause yeast infections in children, so I should get antifungal for his diaper area and let him hang out sans diaper as much as possible.

Monday morning, his diaper rash wasn't much better, and he had a full-body rash which looked like Roseola. Concerned, I brought him in to see the pediatrician who told us that N's rash was a reaction (not a true allergy because it didn't bother him, but a reaction) to the amoxicillin in the Augmentin. Apparently it's related to a penicillin allergy, so we need to watch out for that.

The pics are of him AFTER we stopped the antibiotics.

So, in the past week and a half, my little guy has had a bite, an infection, a fever, a diaper rash/yeast infection, and a full-body rash. I brought him out of the doctor's office with a splotchy red face, a scab on his chin (where the bite was), and a big red painful diaper rash (we're talking chemical burn bad, and it developed in under 24 hours).

That said, ever since he stopped taking the antibiotics, his rash has gone waaaay down, his diaper rash has gotten MUCH better, his diarrhea is gone, and the bite still appears to be healing and the fever hasn't come back.

I'm not sure I knew anything about parenthood before these last 2 weeks, really!

Photos of DMN's funeral

It's taken way too long for me to post these, but here are lots of photos of the funeral:

 

My dad helped lower the casket into the grave

 

We were all given the opportunity to cover her grave; here are some of the photos from that.

All the children were given balloons to release in symbolism of DMN's soul going to Heaven. Green for St. Patrick's Day and pink for her.

DMN, we love you.

Sharing a giveaway

 Oh, I almost don't want to share this with you...

...but I'm sure there are others out there who would value this gorgeous painting as much as I.

The giveaway is here, and while you're there, please check out Melanie's blog.

Blessings

In times of greatest trial and tribulation, it is only necessary to open your heart and submit, and God reveals himself most openly.

I am in North Carolina right now; the Knights of Colombus at the Air Force Academy paid for N, T, and me to fly out here on 03/16 to be at the funeral of my baby sister, who was stillborn at 8 1/2 months of gestation. Hearts in my family break for the loss of DMN, who we were excited to meet and welcome fully into our lives. Grandma M went in on Th, 03/11 after noticing a lack of movement, and was told that she experienced something called placenta abruptio in which the placenta implodes, sometimes resulting in the death of the unborn child. Unfortunately, DMN was below the placenta and when the blood from the implosion pooled, my mom didn't know because the baby blocked the blood from escaping.

We buried DMN on Wed, 03/17. The funeral was beautiful but heartbreaking. Her casket was tiny. The attendance was much greater than expected, and many friends and family members sent condolences and flowers. My sisters NN, 18, and EN, 14, were the pallbearers. NN is in the Air Force Academy and she wore her dress blues for the funeral.

The cemetary was far from the church, and as we followed the hearse, we discussed how surreal it all felt.... Grandma M put it very eloquently, "I feel numb, and then I want to say, 'Give me back that pain! I want that pain!'" The grave was tiny, and didn't seem terribly deep. It was hard to see. Grandpa D began covering her casket, and we then took turns covering her up... N helped Mommy when it was her turn.

Then the church invited the guests to a small reception which was very tastefully done. Tablecloths, flowers, small sandwiches, and a buffet of other general reception foods.

We've received gifts of many varieties, from homemade and purchased foods to flowers to financial gifts to donations made in honor of DMN... We have been shown great love by many many people. DMN was allowed into a cemetary that's all but impossible to get into, on the graces of the Abbot. NN's Academy friends rallied and gifted a sum of money that will be used for DMN's headstone. My Uncle R, Aunt K and cousin L sent a beautiful nightlight of the Blessed Mother holding the baby Jesus.

As Father Buettner pointed out, there are two primary realities in motherhood: the reality of bringing life into the world and caring for that life, and the reality of surrendering and trusting that life to God. Just...most mothers don't experience the second in the sense of their son's or daughter's life in this world being extinguished. I hurt for my mother, but I know that her strength and her faith in God will pull her through this, though it will never be entirely gone.

So now I am here until the 31st. We didn't want to waste the time and money spent on getting N,T, and me to the funeral, so we are staying to spend some quality time with the family. D couldn't get the time off of work, and we're sorry that he couldn't, but sometimes that is how things happen.

Hopefully I'll be able to blog while I'm here, but I am focusing on family right now.

Lord, please grant my family healing in our time of need. Be with us and continue to reveal yourself to your servants. Please give us peace and humility. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. DMN, pray for us.

Not much to say

I got some bad news recently, which is why I've been Missing in action. I will likely address this when I get back into the blogosphere, but right now, I'm going to keep it to myself.

Artwork Splurge

A while back, D and I decided that our house needed a little more wall decoration. As luck would have it, our timing couldn't have been better. There was a convention called, "The Starving Artists Sale" in town.

A number of local artists were selling reproductions of a number of famous paintings for a very reasonable cost.

We went, and were so thrilled by our purchases!

We actually got three reproductions, but one we gifted.

Aren't they perty?

Haircuts.. How do you?

We recently cut N's hair for the first time...

I had no idea what a time we were in for when we started!

I decided to do it at home. *BIG* mistake, given that our tools were...lacking.

First of all, N is an extremely curious child, and didn't want to sit still at all while I ran the clippers through his hair.

Add to that, he has incredibly fine hair which flows right through the guard without getting any shorter.

Mix in a nervous mommy.

Stir a bit and come up with...

An uneven head of hair...

So, how do you mommas do it? Cut hair at home? Bring them to a salon? Let Daddy worry about it? Share advice, stories, whatever. Let me know! :)

A little over a week

...until St. Patrick's Day.

How do you celebrate?

Every time I mention Corned Beef & Cabbage, at least one person tells me how they really don't like that dish. But my recipe just isn't a typical Corned Beef recipe.

Sweet Corned Beef & Cabbage

Ingredients:

*flat cut beef brisket with seasoning

*head of cabbage

*4-5 red russet potatoes

*1/4 cup brown sugar

*2 tsp cinnamon

*2 tbsp butter

Boil beef brisket in water to cover & seasoning packet for 3 hours or until tender.

Preheat oven to 300*F

Transfer beef to foil-lined cookie sheet.

Cut cabbage into quarters, removing center. Cut potatoes into thirds. Boil cabbage and potatoes in the water left over from the beef brisket. 

Meanwhile,

Patty butter around on top of beef, sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Cook until sugar glazes.

Serve hot

It isn't exactly the most healthy recipe. My corned beef is definitely a treat for special occasions. But it's absolutely delicious! :) I have yet to have anyone turn me down after they've tried it once... I do have to warn you, do not add salt until you've already tried it.

Do you have any fun/interesting St. Patty's Day recipes/traditions? Tell me about them!

Have you heard of this?

 

I just ran across this!

How exciting!

I'll be contacting my favorite CPC today, I do believe.

And then, of course, Grandma M.