Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Abortion

Check out this old school photo of me back in my going-by-my-maiden-name pro-life activist days! Look at that slightly androgynous hippy chic awesomeness I exude! Ohhh yeah.

So I was looking over some of my old conservative / pro-life / First Amendment opinion columns and thought I’d repost some of them here on my Domestic Geek Girl blog from time to time. I mean, my random articles and commentaries are currently splattered randomly on the interwebs, but they’re not really located all in one place on the web ever since I retired from full time activism and have instead settled into attending the occasional right-wing brouhaha from time to time.

This blog is, and most likely primarily always will be all about babies, domestic duties, health, home, generic wellness and my budding green living lifestyle and, as always, random acts of geekery. But you all know I’m a hopeless bitter clinger, so expect the occasional “Politics & Patriotism” post from time to time, especially as I flesh out my blog with some old school rabble rousing goodness.

Anyhoo. Here’s a piece I wrote for The Examiner back in January of 2011. ^_^

What with the delusions of deity and supremacy running rampant in Washington, I figured I’d like to brush up on some good ol’ Constitutional and Declarational 101 amidst all the Obama administration shenanigans. So let’s just cut to the chase:

The role of the government is to protect life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And in that order.

The now-famous “right to privacy” which secured the “right to abortion” in the Roe vs. Wade trial is not actually in the Constitution or the Declaration. When it was worked into the document to validate legalized child slaughter, the “right to privacy” actually fell under the category of “the right to happiness”.

Now. Let’s go over our numbers again. In the scale of rights, life is first. Liberty is second. And happiness comes last of all the fundamental rights.

This is why stalkers aren’t free to pursue their happiness of stalking, murderers aren’t free to pursue their happiness of murdering and – logic would dictate – abortionists should not be free to pursue whatever twisted happiness they derive from violently dismembering thrashing babies in the womb.

The right to life is superior to the right to privacy; therefore a fetus’ right to live supersedes a woman’s right to privacy. I’m not going to exhaust myself doubling the length of this article with biological facts and common sense tidbits that indisputably prove the life and humanity of the fetus. I’ll just assume that everyone reading this has an elementary school level of education and continue on.

The hierarchy of rights is really very simple, and well established in our nation. This is why registered sex offenders right to privacy is overshadowed by the rights of the people to be safe from Pedro the Candy Peddler. Sex offenders have lost their right to privacy, because they have violated the superior rights of someone else.

This is also why – to the dismay of many of Planned Parenthoods male supporters – child pornography is prohibited on private computers. (Planned Parenthood still has trouble grasping this one as well, judging by their proposal to the 2010 U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, where they pushed for the “right” of children to be able to “express themselves sexually” – including being participants in pornography and prostitution.) But, no matter how wistfully PP may salivate over a world where every 8 year old is a kinky little slut and all 12 year olds are veterans to the abortion stirrups, the Constitution is still abundantly clear: Even in the privacy of your own home, you can’t view children being sexually exploited because the child’s right supersedes the adults’ right to privacy. (This comes as a crushing blow to David Ogden, Obama’s hand-picked Deputy Attorney General, who is adamantly pro-child pornography. Hm. Constitutional retardation must run in the party?)

No matter how private the abortion clinic may be, no matter how private the abortion chair is and no matter how private the sex life of the mother, no amount of “privacy and / or happiness” supersedes a child’s right to not be decapitated and raped with a giant suction tube.

If we are to apply Constitutional law in its entirety and preserve the documents that ensure our God-given rights as Americans, we must insist that the government do its duty in protecting children in the womb, just as it is the government’s duty to protect children from being molested, women from being raped, or any other violation of unalienable rights.

Petulant feminazis don’t realize that when they rail against the government potentially taking away “their abortions” by enforcing the Constitution, they are joining the ranks of those who railed against “their slaves” being taken away by that same pesky document. No one has or has ever had an inalienable right to harm another human being. To do so is un-Constitutional, lawless, selfish, and in the case of abortion – cold blooded murder.

Come on people. These truths are “self-evident”. (That’s Founding Fathers speak for “no duh”.)

Thanksgiving 2013 – Counting My Blessings

I’m going to take an opposite approach to Thanksgiving this year. Instead of focusing on what I DO HAVE I’m going to focus on what I DON’T HAVE.

Calm down. I’m not talking about in a materialistic way.

To properly approach Thanksgiving Day, I think we need to always keep in mind what the actual living conditions of the Pilgrims were. They had landed in the middle of a New England winter in a strange new land, intent on serving the One True God. For their faith and their freedom they faced harsh circumstances in an epic way. We don’t need to describe in gory detail the privation they endured because the statistics tell it all:

By the time spring came, only 47 of the original 102 colonists were alive. And of those alive, only seven were strong enough to function and had to take care of the rest.

With these heartbreaking, intense hardships, they still chose to praise God for his provision and were truly thankful that they had harvested enough food so that they would not become extinct in their second winter in the New World. They were thankful simply to eat and be able to live in a world with nothing but cold, work, and nights without light. In the words of Edward Winslow, one of the survivors who wrote an account of their experience the first year,

“And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.”

In light of those circumstances, they still looked to their Creator and said, “Thank you, God. You are good.” Looking at the God-centered gratitude offered up by these brave souls, I feel humbled and blessed. Beyond blessed. Jeez, I don’t even know if there’s a word to describe blessed beyond blessed. Uber blessed?

So, that said, I am focusing on what I DON’T have this Thanksgiving.

I don’t have want in my life.

I don’t have hunger.

I don’t have sickness.

I don’t have death or loss.

I don’t have fear.

But when I do, (not if, but when) the ultimate blessing comes in know that it won’t change a thing. GOD IS STILL SOVEREIGN. God is still good. Whatever my lot, it is well with my soul. And that’s where the true “thanks giving” comes in. It reminds me of the quote I posted above:

Some people are so poor, all they have is money.

I am rich and I am blessed and it has nothing to do with my car, or my home, or my cosplays, or my book collection, or the plants on my patio (though those ARE things to gives thanks for). When I think of my many blessings, I think of my handsome husband – my hearts brother, my best friend, my hunka hunka lovin’ man. I think of my precious baby girl – my baby world, my little koala cuddles, my pretty princess. MY FAMILY. Dear God, how did I ever get to be so blessed?! It boggles my brain. But with all these blessings, what is even more amazing?

The realization that the heart of my happiness is the intangible blessings that come from knowing and loving the Creator of every good thing.

I may have more next year. I may have less. But through it all, I know God is good. And that is more than enough for me. Happy Thanksgiving everyone,  and God Bless!

Good Tidings and Great Joy by Sarah Palin – Book Review

First off, Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas isn’t about politics. It’s solidly and solely about keeping Christ in Christmas, protecting our rights as Christians and asserting our freedom of religion. It’s a book by a Christian, for a Christian.

Sarah Palin’s basic message is, “If you don’t want to celebrate Christmas, don’t. We respect that. But don’t try to impose your beliefs on me and my family and don’t infringe on our right to celebrate our religious holiday the way we choose.” Really. That’s pretty much it. A live and let live message. One of tolerance – that elusive concept that liberals claim to so admire.

Normally, if someone were to write a Christian book about a Christian holiday, with a little American constitutional law thrown in, non-Christians wouldn’t really give a rip – unless, of course, they were exceptionally sad and bitter with nothing better to do with their time than attack a peaceful religion during a joyous time of the year.

But this isn’t just ANY book on Christianity. It’s a book on Christianity written by SARAH PALIN. Bum bum bum BUMMMM!!

So, of course, if you plan on reading it in public, or posting on your Twitter or Facebook page that you’ve read it, expect some liberals with a hard on for hating Sarah that have never even so much as cracked open a book by Palin to come out of the woodwork and roll their eyes, scoff, or say ignorant things that they think make them sound “cool”. Yeah, cuz saying misogynistic and sexist things about a woman makes you such a strong manly man. (Or for the women, proves that you’re a real lady.)

I’ve long come to terms with the fact that nothing angers an insecure liberal man or an unconfident morally confused liberal girl more than a strong , intelligent, beautiful conservative woman.

Liberals go into a veritable frenzy when it comes to Palin. They attack her children, say grotesquely sexist things about her, embrace wacky conspiracy theories about her life, take comedians exaggerated “quotes” and ignorantly believe they came straight from her mouth, and insult every woman in America when they suggest that Palin can’t be a good mother and a politician, too. As John Hawkins of Townhall News says, it would be understandable if Sarah Palin were President and produced this type of reaction, but the former governor of Alaska? Most people couldn’t even name half a dozen governors, much less obsess over what they’re doing.

Sarah Palin represents a totally different style of woman: the conservative feminist. She’s had a successful career, raised a big family, and has done it all without aborting an “inconvenient” child or carping about men keeping her down. A true enemy to the liberal feminist ideal. But I digress!

More on this book! It is extremely short. It’s not overly profound or ground breaking in its observations and facts. For the news and current event savvy conservative it’s just old news polished and repackaged with a shiny new Christmas bow on top. So really, it’s either a good Christmas 101 for new believers or a good casual read for the Palin fans. Nothing more or less.

Not to diminish the topic at all, because the information is relevant and vital. The fact is, our environment is increasingly becoming hostile to Christians and Christmas. That’s no joke. And Palin gives some basic tips on how to keep the Christmas spirit, and how to keep it well.

Plus, it’s fun when read in Palin’s voice. She’s cute, she’s witty, she puts her opposition down in that adorably innocent way you’d expect a soccer mom to when having a dispute in front of the kids.

If not written by Palin, I’d say it’s simply a good short read for a Christian seeking to focus on the reason for the season. But because it’s written by Palin, I’d say it’s a MUST READ…. What? So, I have a crush on her, what of it?

Best part of this book? GETTING TO MEET SARAH PALIN ON HER BOOK SIGNING TOUR, WHEEEEEE!!!!!!!! *runs around in circles* Check out the photo that got posted to Sarah Palin’s Facebook wall of my handsome hubby and gorgeous baby girl getting Palin’s autograph… awwwww, yeah!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, YA’LL!

Sarah Palin Book Tour in Pensacola, Florida

Guess who has two thumbs and got Sarah Palin’s autograph… IN PERSON?!?! Yeeeeah, that’s right. THIS GIRL!

The gorgeous Governor of Alaska was in Pensacola, Florida yesterday on her book tour for her newest work, “Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas”. I finished reading it just in time for the autograph signing event. I don’t think you guys understand the importance of that. One of my biggest, biggest and I mean BIGGEST pet peeves is getting into the Christmas spirit before Thanksgiving. DON’T YOU ENCROACH ON MY FALL TIME SANTA.

So reading a book that is just chock full of warm and fuzzies for the holidays shows just how much I adore Sarah Palin.

My husband had duty on the base and it looked like he wasn’t going to be able to make it.. buuuut! He asked for permission to ditch out long enough to get the book signed, and against all odds the big wigs on the base said okay! So I picked him up from work at the very last minute, we ran to Books a Million, and we joined the 1000+ people crowding the building to meet the lovely lady herself (along with her family – Todd, Piper and Bristol).

I’m told she signed 894 books last night! And we’re but one itty bitty stop on her massive tour. Poor lady better have a hot bath and a masseuse on hand, amiright?!

So. There we were, a young mother, a young man in military uniform and a tiny newborn baby in a tiny little sailor suit, mingling among a crowd of what I’m willing to bet were 99.9% Christian conservatives. Jonathan was stopped and thanked for his service countless times. And the reaction to a Navy man with a tiny baby in his arms? PRICELESS. It was like a constant surround sound track of oooohhhs and ahhhhhs and “how old?” and “whats her name?” and “she’s so precious!”

They made us leave our phones and cameras outside of the autograph area, but Palin had her own photography crew there taking pictures. When Jonathan approached the table with tiny Tessa in tow, we just KNEW we’d be seeing that image again soon. And lo and behold, the very next morning, what do we find on Sarah Palin’s personal Facebook page:

Awwww yeah. That’s my sexy family. I am such a proud mommy and wife. I wasn’t in the picture because they were pushing us along single file and after my book was signed, they ushered me away. I turned around to see Jonathan chatting it up with Palin. I tried to walk back to the table but the Books a Million gal stopped me like I was some crazed wacko trying to go back to lick the pretty lady. (In her defense, the thought had crossed my mind. I’VE GOT SUCH A CRUSH ON HER!)

Anyhoo, I’ll follow up with a book review soon enough. MERRY CHRISTMAS YA’LL!!

Jericho March Around the Pensacola Abortion Clinic

To wrap up the 40 Days For Life campaign, a large group of Christ followers – my sweet little Tessa and myself included – participated in a Jericho March around the one remaining abortion clinic in Pensacola, Florida.

The Christians attending were made up of Catholics and Protestants of various denominations, and it was an amazing time of fellowship and Biblical based action. The majority attending were Catholic, (I’m a non-denominational Christian myself), so while I was left to pray quietly among the Hail Mary’s, it was still nice joining hands with my apocrypha-toting brethren. As I’ve always said, in the pro-life party, nobody parties like a Catholic.

Anyhoo, the Jericho March is based on Scripture from the book of Joshua, Chapter 6. The Israelites were able to take down a fortress by peacefully walking around the city walls of Jericho. And in reenacting a peaceful Jericho March around an abortion clinic, we are stating in our actions that we have faith that the same God that caused the walls of Jericho to come crashing down, can and will do the same to the spiritual fortress of sin that resides in an abortion mill.

Now, in my years of activism I tend to NOT identify myself as a Christian while approaching people on the subject of abortion. I am like a ninja Christian in that respect. I prefer the James Bond-esque approach of pro-life activism – booking abortions so I can get into the waiting room to loudly peruse over fetal development charts with the other girls considering abortion, and sitting through abortion counseling to get a better grasp of what lies are being peddled to naïve girls alone and scared with a new pregnancy. I do this because I strongly feel that you do not need to be a Christian to see that butchering babies is wrong.

Too many women take the easy out and sacrifice their intellect with the Christian faith as their scapegoat. The second they spot your cross necklace, or hear you quote Scripture, they try to justify their intentional ignorance by shoehorning common sense into the realm of “Christian faith” and “attacks on women’s health” that they, as non-Christians, don’t have to subject themselves to.

The fact is, it requires far more faith to believe that abortion DOESN’T kill an innocent human!

Medical textbooks and scientific reference works consistently agree that human life begins at conception. This means that the moment an egg is fertilized by a sperm, it brings into existence a zygote, which is a genetically distinct human being. This isn’t biased information. These are basic, indisputable biological facts that have been affirmed by medical professionals worldwide for decades. If you had a zygote on a medical slide in an elementary biology class and answered that it’s anything BUT a human being, you’d be flunked out of the class.

Pointing out the medically establish humanity of the preborn is no more an attack on women’s health than challenging the flat earth theory is an attack on nautical travel.

We would do well to remind our pro-abort friends who hold God’s word in contempt and love to paint themselves as the picture of modern progression, that to ignore the advance of modern medical science is archaic, antediluvian, and (dare we say it?) intolerant.

For a group of people who love to discredit their opposition by claiming to be above uninformed, religious opinion, it’s amazing to watch their persistent ignorance to the basic biological and medical facts of prenatal development. Who would have thought that in the 21st century, fairly intelligent individuals would persist in rejecting science, in the face of strong evidence, so that they can sit back comfortably in their subjective, faith-based worldview that killing a child is the equivalent of pulling a tooth?

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the definition of ‘Faith’ is, ‘Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.’ Since the statement, ‘a fetus isn’t a child’ is not based on any tangible data, and in fact goes contrary to all established evidence – it is quite literally a faith statement. It is an opinion. It is not grounded in reality.

When you listen to pro-aborts sputtering out nonsense about ‘a fetus is just a formless blob’, ‘it’s the woman’s body’, etc… you are listening to faith statements that directly oppose the most fundamental precepts of medical knowledge. You must willingly adopt ignorance and become intellectually retarded to believe the faith statements dehumanizing the fetus. And they call us the extremists?

The abortion clinic in Pensacola. Seriously, who would take their vagina into that shady looking butcher shop?

The question of when life begins isn’t relative. It is clearly definable in terms of science. To keep a belief grounded in the elusive playground of ‘what’s right for me’ is not progressive. It does not help women. It hurts women.

This really is an intellectual war, as well as a spiritual one. You have to realize that people coming into an abortion clinic are essentially made up of two groups: Those who are uninformed or misinformed when it comes to the medical facts of personhood, and those who remain willfully ignorant of the medical facts of personhood. One group is deceiving and one group is being deceived.

Our jobs as activists taking a stand for life is to clear the fog. Tell it like it is.

Be blunt. Be bold.

Like toddler and adolescent, the terms embryo and fetus do not refer to nonhumans, but to humans at particular stages of development. And stage of development does not alter human worth. The pre-born are undeniably human and as such deserve equal rights. It really is that simple!

As pro-life activists, we’re up against a behemoth of lies and we are called to dispel them with truth and simple undeniable facts.

As Christians, we’re up against a behemoth of lies. But we know who the Father of Lies is (John 8:22). As a liar and a murderer from the beginning, he has made his stronghold in the abortion mills that deal in wholesale murder and lies. As much as I emphasize appealing to the intellectual side of individuals, that alone is not enough. The fog of moral confusion is more than just a self-imposed ignorance of a select few. It is a very real spiritual fog of confusion and deceit that oozes from the foothold Satan has in his stronghold of the abortion industry. Thankfully, we serve a powerful God that can, has and WILL act through his faithful children to bring the walls of Satan’s stronghold crashing down.

Hence, the Jericho March. Just like the pompous peas in Veggie Tales, I can just hear the clouded minds of the abortion mill workers… “Keep walking, but you won’t knock down our wall, keep walking, but she isn’t gonna fall…” But we know that the wall WILL fall. The fog WILL lift.

Just keep walking. ^_^

Emerald Coast Coalition for Life Fundraiser

This past weekend Jonathan and I attended a fundraising event for the Emerald Coast Coalition for Life. This group is a non-profit organization that is highly active in the pro-life community here in Pensacola, Florida – organizing outreach events, educating the public on abortion and offering abortion alternatives.

The theme for the fundraiser was a starfish, inspired by Loren Eisley’s “Starfish Story”:

One day a young man was walking along the beach, when he noticed a boy hurriedly picking up and gently throwing things into the ocean.

Approaching the boy he asked, “Young man, what are you doing?”

The boy replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

The man laughed and said, “Don’t you realize, there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make any difference!”

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it into the surf. Then, smiling at the man he said, “I made a difference to that one.”

And the Emerald Coast Coalition for Life (ECCL) is making a difference… one life at a time.

After Dr. Ernie Cyr, the Executive Director for ECCL (and a spitting image of Greg Gutfeld from Fox News), gave the ministry update and offered the pledge challenge, we all had the privilege of listening to the touching story of the nights keynote speaker, Mr. Chad Judice.

And by touching story, I mean a frikkin’ TEAR JERKER. A “I-can’t-see-to-take-pictures-because-my-lens-is-somehow-all-blurry” story. Chad Judice is the author of Waiting For Eli: A Father’s Journey from Fear to Faith and Eli’s Reach. Both books outline the story of his son Eli, born with spina bifida, a condition that moves over 80% of mothers to abort their babies that suffer from it. Choosing to ignore the advice and the social pressure of a world without morals urging them to kill their baby, they walked in faith and prayerfully welcomed their son into this world, where he is a source of joy and inspiration to many.

It never ceases to amaze me that we live in a world that supports, protects and draws hope from children with special needs – cheering for the Special Olympics, recoiling in horror at those who would pick on or harm a kid with special needs – yet if those same children were to be brutally dismembered in the womb, many would see it as a “responsible” or “acceptable” thing to do. The same child that brings joy and hope to the world, would be left floating in a bloody abortionists bowl if many pro-choicers had their way.

This is why groups like ECCL are so vital to the health of our community. When the pro-death crowd is pushing for the relentless slaughter of babies – healthy or handicapped – those children in danger of “choice” need an advocate. Whether that means standing outside of an abortion mill to counsel confused young women, or lending financial support to those who have the time to reach out. While there will always be people in this world that seek to harm children, if you can say, “I made a difference to that one”, you have truly left this world different than when you came in. What higher calling?

Infant Male Circumcision: Unnecessary Child Abuse

I would never even consider circumcision for my daughter Tessa. Why would I consider circumcision if I have a boy next?

The topic of infant male circumcision came up in conversation with a good friend a couple of days back. This is another one of the many issues that I am passionate about. Just call me an old-fashioned wahoo, but it pisses me the f*ck off when people needlessly hurt children – whether it’s savage dismemberment in the womb or barbaric genital mutilation shortly after birth.

It never ceases to amaze me that so many people just go along with the cultural norms of the day unquestioningly, to the extent of binding little girl’s feet,  mutilating a girl’s clitoris and labia, or chopping off the most pleasurable part of a little boys penis. Unquestioningly. Unthinkingly. And all because society says it’s okay.

Once confronted with the facts of male circumcision, most women who ignorantly subjected their sons to this vile act get defensive and aggressive, born out of guilt. And a lot of guys, confronted with the injustice dealt them, get defensive and protective of their manhood and ferociously assert that they are “just fine”. (Despite the fact that 70% of their erogenous nerve endings on their sex organ is gone.)

The good news is, more and more men and women are waking up to the facts and choosing to NOT mutilate theirs son’s genitals for social conformity. To date, only about 30% of baby boys leave the hospital with butchered winkles. And the number is daily dwindling. By the time I have a boy, his generation will be overwhelmingly intact and the archaic parents who insist on perpetuating a sick tradition will have boys with partial penises wondering why THEY are different.

Since there’s tons of info that can and has been relayed, discussed and hammered out (there’s was a mini firestorm on my blog for posting the above meme, haha)) here are some circumcision memes I’ve found to enlighten and entertain. Enjoy. ^_^

And this is just for giggles:

Jonathan’s Graduation from Navy Boot Camp

My husband is now a United States Navy Sailor. I am proud beyond words. No, really, beyond words. I have started and stopped typing at this blank screen for a good 15 minutes now, and I just can’t find a way to express the pride and the joy and the excitement I feel. Or just how amazing Friday, August 2, 2013 was. So. I’ll just let the pictures share what my words cannot. Because really guys, I don’t even know what to say.

Things to Bring to Navy Graduation (PIR) Checklist

I’m leaving tomorrow morning for Chicago to see my handsome husband graduate Navy Boot Camp as a United States Sailor. I’m going insane with last minute packing and with my preggo brain, I’m terrified that I’ll forget something vital to pack… hence this super long and largely common sense list that I’ve compiled. As I have personally never attended a Navy PIR, this is all info I’ve gleaned from seasoned Navy wives and mothers, and things that I’ve found that I personally would like to bring or include.

Since I’ve thoroughly raped this checklist in my Word documents, I thought I might as well share it with the blogosphere. I hope someone out there finds it helpful, haha!

THINGS TO BRING TO NAVY GRADUATION (PIR)

Plane tickets, hotel reservations and car rental information – Have all of your important travel reservations and documents handy, along with phone numbers and street addresses of hotel, car pick up / drop off locations, the Meet and Greet and the Great Lakes military base.

Phone, laptop and chargers – These are essentials for me when it comes to travel. I usually don’t forget the actual phone or laptop, it’s the chargers that I have a tendency to forget.

Camera, lenses, batteries, charger, memory card and uploading cord – One of my worst nightmares is the thought of forgetting my camera right before an important event, or just as awful, any one of the elements of my camera that are required for photography. I literally have nightmares before major happenings – my honeymoon, a vacation, a graduation – so I’ve gotten really anal about checking and double checking this part of the list. And just last week a gal on the 900 division Facebook group reported having to take photos on her iPhone because she forgot her camera’s SD cards! It happens. So make sure you have your camera, your lenses (standard and telephoto), your batteries, your cameras charger and an uploading cord for getting your photos safely stored onto your laptop ASAP.

Your toiletries and medications – I could go on an even greater checklist with this little category (and my unabridged checklist on my iPhone notebook does just that), but for brevities sake – toiletries and medications. You know what you need / want.

Make up with waterproof mascara – Emphasis on the waterproof mascara. Don’t forget to pack make-up remover wipes as well. (Or better yet, don’t wear any makeup on PIR day, to avoid smudging the Navy whites.)

Outfit for the Meet and Greet – From what I can tell, the attire is casual. I plan on wearing a nice-ish top and leggings, with comfortable pumps.

Centerpiece and place cards for the Meet and Greet – Division families are encouraged to show support for their divisions by creating centerpieces for the tables at Sarge’s Meet and Greet. It’s obviously not a requirement, but our division group is so tight knit and ambitious, we went all out and plan to take the Meet and Greet by storm. In a fit of Martha Stewart-esque craftiness I decided I’d make personalized origami boat place cards for all the people in our group and ensure that we can all sit together.

Gifts for fellow division families at the Meet and Greet – If you were lucky enough to find an amazing support group of fellow Navy families from your sailors division through Facebook that you plan to meet up with, show your appreciation for their company and support with a small gift, candy, cards, whatever (if you’d like, it’s certainly not mandatory)! In the first few weeks of discovering my new online friends, I decided to make up a batch of patriotic lapel pins as gifts. The group has since grown to a number that exceeds the lapel pins I made, so my generosity and act of friendship is only extending to the 938 Facebook old-timers. (Classy, I know, lol.)

Parking passes, base pass and IDs – Make sure you have all of this printed out and set aside prior to leaving for Great Lakes. These guys don’t mess around. If you don’t have the appropriate documents, you won’t be getting in to see the graduation.

Outfit for the PIR – The going consensus is that the attire is business casual, though there is currently no enforced dress code, so jeans and a tee are welcomed. But really? Jeans and a tee for a NAVY GRADUATION? Come on. I’m planning on wearing a nice navy blue knee length day dress. I was agonizing trying to find the perfect dress to show off my baby bump to my husband, and had planned on wearing a 1950’s style circle skirt with an empire waist, but finally decided to opt for something simple, comfortable and classy.

Comfortable walking shoes – Make sure you plan to wear comfortable walking shoes – if your sailor wants to go out on the town, you may be spending the day in whatever you are wearing.

Support ribbons or attire – Don’t forget to pack any ribbons or other support trinkets if you are planning on sporting them to the PIR.

Jacket or wrap – I have been hearing rumors that the PIR room is pretty cold. A lot of gals online are advising bringing something warm to cover up with, like a light jacket or a wrap.

Tissues – If you’re not crying like a baby, you’re a robot. Or a monster. Or a robotic monster. Anyway, make sure you bring something to sob into when you see your sailor on the PIR floor. And when you hear liberty call. And, you know, for the whole weekend.

Graduation gifts for your sailor – I got my husband the Performance Division’s Ship 2 Challenge Coin, and a leather Burberry bomber jacket that I found pre-used for an AMAZING deal. I am going to wrap them and bring them in my checked luggage, but as I have had wrapped gifts unwrapped by TSA before, I’m bringing extra paper just in case I need to re-wrap.

Sailors cell phone and charger, and other electronics. – Your sailor will be able to take these things with them to A School, but they have to be handed off at the airport after their day of leave. I’m going to make sure I have Jonathan’s phone charged and activated during his free time after graduation though, as I’m sure he’d enjoy checking his phone, logging onto Facebook or Google searching random things throughout the day.

Sailors rings and personal jewelry – I’ve been wearing Jonathan’s wedding ring and his Aragorn ring on a necklace since he left for Boot Camp. I can’t wait to see them back on his fingers, and I’m sure his hands have felt naked without them.

Change of clothes for your sailor – If you plan on spending any time in your hotel room, give your sailor the option of changing our of their sailor uniform and into some comfortable and familiar clothes. I’m planning on bring my husband some pajamas, an actual outfit (jeans a tee shirt), and one of his favorite loose hoodies so he has a choice of what to wear / change into.

Your sailors favorite cologne, deodorant or shampoo – While Jonathan isn’t big on cologne, he does love him his Axe brand shampoos and deodorants. People talk about how much their sons / husbands loved returning to their familiar and personalized scents and grooming products. I don’t know how much the gesture will be one that Jonathan delights in, but I’d rather have that option open to him if it would make him feel that much more “at home”.

Lingerie and massage oil – This is for the wifey’s (obviously). I don’t know when / if we’ll have time to ditch the in-laws and indulge in some, uh, quiet time – but in the off chance that we do, I am planning on bringing my classy honeymoon lingerie as a sweet surprise (Don’t look at me like I’m some kinky temptress, it cover more than the average swimsuit. I wore this for my 30 week maternity photos), and some massage oil, and I’m hoping to give my honey a long, relaxing, peaceful massage. Hey, he’s earned it!

Lint roller and tide pen – The sailors must wear their white uniforms in public at all times during PIR weekend, so if you are planning on going out and about, make their life easier and have a lint roller and tide pen to keep them neat and clean.

Dental floss, mint gum, chapstick – Keep some handy “just in case” essentials in your purse. This is not the weekend to be irritated and made uncomfortable by a pesky / stubborn piece of food stuck in your (or your sailors) teeth. Or chapped lips. Or a rank breath from the extra garlic on your deep dish Chicago pizza. Take extra steps to make the weekend a cheerful, joyous, stress free one for all!

Change / cash for toll booths – If you plan on driving in to the Chicago area at all, make sure you have loose change and cash on hand for parking, toll booths and various expenses.

Directions to places you may want to see in Chicago – In my experience, a GPS can get really spotty once you get into the downtown areas. So it’s a good idea to know where you are going, what the address is, and a the directions for getting there instead of embarking on a point by point Google maps excursion.

Letters for your sailor – I have been writing to my husband every single day since he departed for Navy Boot Camp two months ago. Even though I’ve had to stop sending letters with his PIR date approaching, I have not stopped writing them. I plan to bring the unsent letters for him to read on his plane trip to A School.

Book for your sailor to read on the plane – I have not gotten a clear response on whether sailors will have room for an extra book on their flight to A School, but I figure it wouldn’t hurt to bring my bookworm baby a novel just in case. If he can’t take it, I’ll just have to bring it to him when I follow him to A School later.

Centerpieces and Place Cards for Sarge’s Meet and Greet

So when Jonathan first shipped off for Navy Boot Camp and I first started networking with fellow Navy families on Facebook, I quickly learned about Sarge’s Meet and Greet – a casual gathering that takes place the night before Navy graduation (or PIR, Pass In Review).

Right off the bat I was planning on going, more as an outlet for nervous energy than from any real desire to meet up with a bunch of strangers I’d met off the Internet. That continued to be my mindset until over the weeks, those “strangers” slowly became my kooky, comforting, commiserating and crazy Navy family.

The Facebook group for my husband’s division, Ship 2 Division 938, is made up of an extremely fun and friendly bunch. And they have without question helped maintain my sanity over the past two months. Without them, I would have consumed far more tubs of Starbucks Mocha Chip ice cream whilst sobbing and hugging my cats in my pajamas and watching Gene Kelly tap dance routines in Anchors Aweigh on an infinite loop. (This was the plan, really, till Facebook happened.) I’m convinced that we have in 938 a unique group that is unlike the other divisions groups. This isn’t just blind patriotic team spirit (though maybe just a dash), but a valid observation from my expert trolling reconnaissance missions. If “boring, depressing and overly serious” had a tangible meter, they’d be maxing it out.

So now, I am eager for Sarge’s Meet and Greet, and anxious to meet my boot camp “family” and put faces to the names that I’ve come to eagerly anticipate in my Facebook feed. While all of the divisions were encouraged to make / bring centerpieces to show some division pride, our group went above and beyond in a concerted effort to make the Meet and Greet memorable and to celebrate our new United States Navy Sailors. Below is my centerpiece contribution. It’s all purchased goodies from Hobby Lobby, but I had fun piecing it together.

As there are so many of us that want to sit together, I’ve decided that in addition to the centerpieces, I’m going to grab individual seats for our 938 family using place cards. It’s the first time place cards have been used at the casual Meet and Greet (maybe we’re gonna raise the bar and start something for future divisons? Hehe!) but Sarge says we’re welcome to come early and carve out our own little space. When I was getting ready to print out some old fashioned folded card style place cards, I thought, “Why not have some fun with it?” Below are my first few mock ups of the origami boat place cards I’ll be making for all 49 of our 938ers. I got the idea after finding this blog post on Nifty Thrifty Things Blog. How cute will those look floating around the various tables?! I’m fairly certain Sarge’s Meet and Greet will be overrun my 938. It’s gonna be a fun night! Hooya NAVY!