A tribute to Simone

Simone Alisa Reinhard

September 7, 2005-May 29, 2008

Memorial Day

Mondays with Michael

Today is Memorial Day. Schools are closed. I don't have to go to work. Families have picnics. For many of us, that's all Memorial Day is. But in reality, Memorial Day is so much more than that. It is a day to honor the brave men and women who died fighting for our country. As we heard in church yesterday, they gave up their todays, so we could have our tomorrows. Without their sacrifice, we wouldn't have the freedoms we enjoy today. So today while you are home from work going out for a picnic with your children who are off of school, remember the men and women who made that possible. And not only the soldiers who have died fighting for us, but also remember the veterans who did make it home. And remember the men and women who are still fighting for us. Remember Zachery Boyd who was asleep in his quarters last week, when his base was attacked by Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. He grabbed his gun, his helmet and his vest and joined his platoon in the fight. An AP photographer was there to take a picture of him fighting the Taliban in pink "I love New York" boxers. I wanted to attach the picture, but I'm not sure about copyright laws, so here is a link to an article with the picture attached: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090522/ap_on_re_us/us_media_pink_boxers

Here are 2 songs by Ray Boltz that also help me realize the significance of today:






Make it a great Monday! God bless America!

Field Trip

We decided to take a 'field trip' to the Ft.Wayne Children's Zoo today. . . .

Well, so did all the other surrounding schools within a 50 miles radius!! No, it wasn't that bad, but it was definitely busy!

This was all 'our boys' before our day at the zoo

Deacon Crew Emitt Carter & Mason

Deacon and Mason looking at the Sea Lions!

We ate lunch in the Rainforest at the Dairy Queen. Things were going so well for not having a normal meal (eating lunch while sitting in their strollers).

But, as lunch was coming to an end, they all started to become tired and antsy (they had all been soooooo good the whole time). Here's me trying to feed Deacon the last of his lunch as he 'sat' in his stroller.

I guess he was looking for food he may have dropped. . . .

We decided we better begin our trek home, but before we left we had to take an 'after' picture.

Mason & Carter Emitt (sleeping) Crew (sleeping) Deacon

We had such a wonderful time of spending time with our boys, and also eachother as friends, and the boys had fun together, too!

For your viewing pleasure...

I recently came across the "100 Most Iconic Internet Videos." Many of them aren't worth sharing. Some of the good ones are several minutes long and I didn't think anyone wanted to spend 45 minutes watching videos. So, I picked out a few of my favorite short videos to share with you today. Enjoy!

#11. Numa Numa-This guy really gets into it as he is lip-syncing.

#10. Sneezing Baby Panda-For all you animal lovers out there, how cute is this?

#3. Grape Lady Falls-The lady on the left is a reporter learning how to stomp grapes. She tries to cheat and it doesn't work out so well for her.

And the #1 Video - Star Wars Kid-This kid recorded himself acting out his favorite Star Wars scenes using his trusted lightsaber.

Someone got creative with the video above and created the following clip.

Make it a great Monday!

DD 4 UPDATE #2

Well, after much fun, many hours, and a few extra pounds (we had to try out some of these good recipes!) we have finally submitted the DD 4!! I guess I should rephrase, that it isn't going to the printing press quite yet, but we are a BIG step closer. Fast Print has it in their hands, and will be getting us a couple hard copies to look over next week. So, after we look over those and give them the 'ok', they will print and it should be about 6 weeks from there!! Jess and I have had so much fun and our families have been so supportive and helpful (Michael even made us his dad's crepe recipe one night!! They are so good, watch for the recipe in the DD 4!) It has been such a blessing to be doing this work for the Lord! Thanks for your continued prayers that all will be successful! *NOTE: You may pre-order your book (pass that info along). The books will be $15 and you can make the check out to Jess or I and send it in the mail!

Mother's Day

Yesterday was Mother's Day. Jane and I have so much to be thankful for. We are thankful for our mothers: Pam & Julie. We are thankful for our grandmothers: Irene, Mary Jane, Ellen & Gloria. We are thankful that Jane has the opportunity to be a mother. And Deacon and I are so thankful for her!


For most of us, yesterday was a fun day to be with family and express our love and appreciation to our mothers or to be pampered by our husband and children. For most of us, yesterday was a great day.


For some of us though, yesterday was a tough day, a bittersweet day at best. Some have lost their mothers. We pray for you. Some have lost a child. We pray for you. Some have lost a spouse (she's not there to spoil, he's not there to tell me how much he loves me and what a great job I'm doing with the kids). We pray for you. Some want so desperately to become a mother, but for whatever reason, it hasn't happened yet. We pray for you. Some have given their babies up for adoption. We pray for you.


Father, we pray for all of those who are hurting, for all who had a difficult day yesterday whatever the reason may be. Wrap Your loving arms around them. Fill them with comfort and peace. Amen.

"Confessions"

When I was just a little girl
My mother once confessed,
Of all us kids (and there were five)
My mother liked me best.

I never told my brother
Though he always was a pest
Of all us kids (and there were five)
My mother liked me best.

I never told my sisters
Cause they might become distressed
Of all us kids (and there were five)
My mother liked me best.

All five of us are almost grown
I mentioned it in jest
Of all us kids (and there were five)
My mother liked me best.

The smiles across their faces
Told the story I had guessed
She had, of course, to each of us
Identically confessed.
-Linda Sultan


Love you, Mom! Happy Mother's Day!

"The more we get together. . . ."

Ahhh. . . .

An evening being with the 'boy' cousins. Deacon just isn't quite used to all the commotion that 2 other little boys add to the pot. Lucas wanted Uncle Michael's help builing the Lincoln Log Fort, but they had 2 'destructos' trying very hard to, um, help.

Well, they, (Lucas and Michael) finally suceeded!

We were at my mom and dad's tonight and were outside playing and we hear that familiar summer song in the air. If you grew up in town, you know what I am talking about. . . .

Yep-the ice-cream truck!

Well, Lucas was pretty disappointed when my mom told him he could just 'wave to the nice man as he passes by'. Aww. . . .

So dad, being the softie he is, and always has been, said, "Let's go to Dairy Queen for ice cream."

A fun time was had by all and we are looking forward to cousin Lucas coming and staying with us for the 2 weeks of Bible School! Love you guys!

A Political Post

Mondays with Michael

"Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them." - Frederick Douglass

I find it interesting that this quote, said by a former slave, is probably more applicable today to the conservative Christian. When Mr. Douglass said this, black men, women and children were being bought and sold, beaten and tortured. Today, we have an African-American president. To be honest, I'm proud of how far our nation has come. I find it very appropriate to have a black man as the "Leader of the Free World". However, I'm not so thrilled about some of this particular man's policies.

At the time of Frederick Douglass, our nation was dealing with the severe problem of slavery. At the time of President Barack Obama, our nation is dealing with other severe problems. I'm going to focus on two.

1). Homosexuality - This is a practice that is becoming more and more widely accepted. Not only is it disgusting and repulsive, it's also disgusting and biblically wrong. It's a disgusting sin. Did I mention it's disgusting? The debate gained media attention again last week at the Miss USA pageant. A quick recap: A homosexual judge, Perez Hilton, asked Miss California if she thought every state should legalize same-sex marriages. She said "...in my country and in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there. But that's how I was raised and that's how I think that it should be between a man and a woman." The audience responded with a mix of cheers and boos. Miss California didn't win. "The way miss California answered her question lost her the crown, without a doubt!" The judge said after the pageant. "Never before that I'm aware of has a contestant been booed at Miss USA." But if you watch the clip on Youtube, clearly the majority of the audience is applauding her answer. What if Miss California had answered differently? What if she said she thought that anyone should be able to get married? There would have still been boos, but she would have won the crown. The media would have praised her. I think we all need to be more like Carrie Prejean and let our nation know that we do not accept same-sex marriages.

2). Abortion - Allow me to provide you with some statistics. Every 24 seconds, a baby dies from an abortion. That's 3,600 babies each day, 1.3 million babies each year. Nearly half (46%) of all abortions are performed on women who chose to use abortion as their only means of birth control. The overwhelming majority (95%) are done as a means of birth control or to eliminate an unplanned pregnancy. Just 21 days after conception, the baby's heart is beating. At 6 weeks, brain waves can be measured. At 8 weeks, the stomach, liver, kidneys and brain are functioning and fingerprints have formed. More than 500,000 abortions are done each year in America after the 8th week of pregnancy. At 11 weeks, all of the baby's organs are present and functioning. The baby breathes, swallows, digest, sleeps, dreams, wakes, and has developed all the body parts required to experience pain. All the child needs is time and nourishment to become a healthy newborn. 36 abortions a day are performed on women carrying a child 5 months or older. Only about 24,000 American babies are placed for adoption each year. Approximately 2,000,000 families in America are currently ready and waiting to adopt. The average abortion procedure takes 5-10 minutes. The average wait for adoption is several years.

I'm sick of quietly submitting. It's time we stand up for those who cannot fight for themselves. We need to let it be known that we will not tolerate infanticide.

*All of the abortion facts I quoted, I received from a flyer printed by Dayton Right to Life out of Dayton, Ohio.

** Sorry for getting so political.

***There are a lot of negative ways to get your point across. I'm not encouraging "gay-bashing" or blowing up abortion clinics. Yesterday in Sunday school, I had to tell some kids to stop telling gay jokes. (Right before I jumped in, the kid that was hearing the joke asked, "What does gay mean?" I stopped them before his friend could explain.) Last Sunday, I had to stop some Obama jokes. I would encourage finding more positive ways to make a point.

After a post like this, "Make it a great Monday" seems pretty lame.

Signs Summer is Coming. . . . .

#1. GARAGE SALES!!

I just love garage sales! That is how Deacon and I have been spending our Friday mornings. We drop Michael off at work, go garage saleing, grocery shop, and before we know it, it is time to pick Michael up for lunch! Well, today was the Neighborhood Garage Sales out in our part of Wells county, and I was driving down a country road in Amish Country and I go zipping by and here sits this CUTE, black, Chihuahua-looking dog right in the middle of the road. So I do what any real animal lover would do-I stop in my tracks, look behind me to make sure no one is coming, and whip it into Reverse and back up to see the dog. I open the door and he jumped right up into my lap-(ok, ok, maybe there was a little coaxing, but I could tell he was scared!) He did not have a collar and appeared to be lost so I HAD to help him. So I went to the nearest house and asked if it was their dog and they said that it was the 'Wiky's' dog and that they live a couple miles away and that the dog always lays in the road and that I should just ask if I can have it! So, I drive to the 'Wiky's' and am greeted by a lady with her children. Well, it was their dog, and I don't think they wanted to part with it. I was starting to get attached in those couple of miles that he sat on my lap as I drove. But I guess it just wasn't meant to be, and if I brought a dog home from garage saleing, that would probably be the last time I went garage saleing for awhile! Anyway, we had a garage sale at Mom and Dad Reinhard's last Saturday and will be at it again this Saturday. So come on out-we have something for everyone! Mom and Dad finally cleaned out their attic after almost 30 years, so there are definatly treasures to be found!