Samantha Pierce

Today I am thankful for/that: A little bit of summer time for a little while. No one got sunburned frolicking for they were worth in the unusually warm weather. Bird song. Children's voices raised in song. Even if they are off key. Sophia's pre-school music teacher. She did a great job of generations of kids to love learning and music. She will be missed. Hubby got job he wasn't even looking for. Spectacular hard working teachers. When they're good they're gold. All of the stuff I was gonna write about but have now forgotten. Remember one. The delicate yellow green fuzz on the trees. What are you thankful for?

A reader of the blog (can I call you a groupie? I really want a groupie) sent this to me. First thoughts: [ Embarrassed silence. ] Umm, what? Second thoughts: Are you kidding me? Jesus Obama is not your home boy! He is the President of the United States of America! Act like you know. Third thoughts: This is worthy of broadcast because why? Politically incorrect? Not really. Painfully silly? Yeah you betcha. Fourth thoughts: I am so glad that I have other options for getting news. CNN is painful to behold. Like watching teenage girls giggle and whisper behind their hands about the cute boys. Except that you cut those girls some slack because they are young and will, eventually, grow up. I don't know what the deal with CNN is. UpDate: Hope and Change. Swagga used to end with "er" and used to be a bad thing . Now that'schange you can believe in.

There is intriguing news out about of some of the latest research into the genetic origins of autism. The research out of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has identified several changes in genes involved with brain function that occur in autistic individuals and the general population (thanks to hubby for doing most on the leg work for this). CHOP, Penn research points to genetic link in autism By analyzing DNA from more than 2,000 autistic children, researchers have uncovered the best evidence yet for genetic links to the disorder - all tied to the way brain cells form and dissolve connections. The research effort, led by Hakon Hakonarson at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, used much larger samples than had been analyzed before to identify genetic differences between autistic subjects and controls. The CHOP group collaborated with Penn, UCLA, and other institutions, announcing their findings in two papers in today's issue of the journal Nature. One paper reveale...

Philippians 4:8-9 (English Standard Version) 8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

All swine all flu all the time. I think most of the media coverage so far has been of the "if it bleeds it leads" variety but I did find a few things worth noting. For a bit of perspective on the potential pandemic consider, Well up until WWII and the development of antibiotics and mass vaccinations, our forbearers suffered through plague after plague of such scale that they make even AIDS look trivial by comparison. After discussing the yellow fever outbreak that devastated Memphis, Tennessee in the 1870s the blogger notes, So yeah, Swine flu can be fairly nasty, and yeah it can spread fast thanks to modern transportation, but our forbearers wouldn’t even have noticed it as an annoyance. We should all be grateful we live in an age when such a minor communicable disease causes us concern. A bit more perspective, Swine flu: nothing new As of this writing, 80 people in Mexico have succumbed to swine flu. By comparison, the CDC estimates that 36,000 people in the United States...

Jim Carey says, The Judgment on Vaccines Is In??? Because I don't feel like repeating myself, Fire Marshall Bill discusses vaccines and autism on The Huffington Post . Anybody remember his Vera di Milo character from In Living Color? I won't post pictures. He used to be funny. Ah well.

Today I am thankful for/that: Little garden helpers even if all they really want to do is dig holes in the flower beds. Warm sunshine. A smooth CSE meeting for Isaiah. Modern medicine. New life, particularly all of the cute babies born to friends so far this year. "You're awesome mommy!" I'll file that away for when they are teenagers and suddenly think I know nothing about the world. The men and women who serve and sacrifice to defend this nation and the families that they leave behind to do so. What are you thankful for?

The following amusing exchange took place in the garden this morning. Sophia: Mommy what's that? Me: That's a grub dear. Sophia: What's it doing? Me: Probably eating roots. Sophia: It's so cute! Can we name it? She named the two we found while forking over a flower bed Elisabeth (Jewel's middle name which she also gave to the new fish) and Julia (her cousin's name). She did not, however, name the slug we found nor the numerous earth worms that wriggled out of our way. A little later on she asked, Sophia: What's a grup? [ Not a typo. ] Me: It's a baby beetle. Sophia: A baby beetle! This was apparently one of the most incredible things she's ever heard.

Romans 8:27-29 (English Standard Version) 27And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. We had Isaiah's CSE meeting this morning. I'm always thankful that they turn out so well given the stories that I've heard told about these kinds of meetings.

Mother Pleas For African-Americans To Donate Marrow . There is a perennial lack of involvement by minorities in bone marrow donation to their own detriment. Whatever excuses one may make for this fall flat when one stops to consider that people die because of it. For information on being a marrow donor, call (800) 627-7692 or visit www.marrow.org . I wrote this back in December 2005 about then Bolivian presidential candidate Evo Morales, "If it makes you feel better to blame the US for all of your problems have at. It's not like we haven't heard it all before." And then there was this sighting of the devil of at the UN. In 2007 I wrote this about Hugo Chavez, "This from a man who lost an election last week and said that he had reached too far in trying to set himself up as dictator for life. Chavez planning to over turn the recent election results is just about what we've come to expect." Last month there was this , Venezuela's Chavez calls Oba...

Today I am thankful for/that: A safe and relatively uneventful trip down to NYC. The kids seem to be finally getting the hang of it. The baby is slowly learning that the world doesn't come crashing down when she's not attached to my hip. Grandma has been working her magic this week. Four generations in one room. Spring time lushness. All of the unexpected slightly wild green spaces in NYC. Long suffering grandma and grandpa who, while firm when necessary, allow themselves to be wrapped around the grandkids' little fingers. Time to rest. Freedom. What are you thankful for?

But it's a smug teary eyed kind of speechless. A you go girl kind of speechless. A you sure did put them in their place speechless. A the world doesn't deserve people like this kind of speechless. A God is good to let us have people like this with us kind of speechless. A don't the rest of y'all feel dumb for writing her off kind of speechless. Susan Boyle rocks the world. Britain's Got Talent: Singing sensation Susan Boyle sang to escape the bullies Susan Boyle, Superstar

John 19 The Death of Jesus 28After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now(AL) finished, said ((AM) to fulfill the Scripture), (AN) "I thirst." 29A jar full of sour wine stood there,(AO) so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, (AP) "It is finished," and he bowed his head and(AQ) gave up his spirit. John 20 The Resurrection 1(A) Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that(B) the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple,(C) the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and(D) we do not know where they have laid him." 3(E) So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ...

I was very pleased to arrive in NYC yesterday evening and see this story being reported in the news. I had every confidence that a few well placed snipers could make a quick end of the pirate stand off. The part of me that wants to wonder why this wasn't done days ago will wait until next week to fuss about it. For now I bask in the knowledge the America still has a bit of the thug let in it. The Maersk Alabama arrived safely in Kenya on Saturday , three days after Somali pirates stormed the ship, failed to hijack it, and fled in a lifeboat with the captain. "The FBI has informed us that this ship is a crime scene," John Reinhart, president of Maersk Shipping Line said Saturday, explaining why crew members cannot immediately leave the ship. "It has moved from the rescue to investigation," he said. "After the investigation, we then move to repatriation, which is bringing our heroes home. That whole declaring the ship a crime scene thing was...interesting. S...

I know I said I probably wouldn't do this but it was just so easy, so tempting, and I am so very weak. Some days I fear for the survival of humanity because we seem hell bent on self destruction. Since when did having an autistic kid entitle one to abandon sound reason and critical thinking in favour of conspiracy theories and instinct. Holly Robinson: Amanda Peet is 'Fearmongering' As a parent of an autistic child, Holly Robinson Peete has been a staunch advocate for children living with the disease and their parents. You know autistic children grow up right? Some people seem to not be aware of that fact. Autism is not a disease. Call it a neurological disorder, call it a different way of being, call it extreme maleness, but please do not call it a disease. That doesn't even come close to describing autism properly. Now, the actress, whose 11-year-old son developed autism after receiving vaccinations when he was just two-and-a-half years old, serves as the first Afri...

Today I am thankful for/that: Those who put themselves in harms way to keep others safe. The changing of the seasons. Play time with the kids. All of those modern technologies (like electricity, refrigeration, central heating, etc.) that make being a housewife a little bit easier. What are you thankful for?

Clinton Seeks End to 'Scourge' of Piracy as U.S. Navy Races to Hijacked American Ship Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Wednesday for world action to end the "scourge" of piracy as U.S. warships raced to the scene where a U.S.-flagged ship was hijacked off the coast of Somalia. American crew members aboard the ship hijacked were able to regain control of the vessel Wednesday, but the ship's captain is still being held hostage, FOX News confirms. *** Wednesday's incident was the first such hostage-taking involving U.S. citizens in 200 years. In December 2008, Somali pirates chased and shot at a U.S. cruise ship with more than 1,000 people on board but failed to hijack the vessel. I'd say it's time that they be reminded why it's been 200 years since this kind of thing has happened to an American ship. Call me a blood thirsty warmonger if you like but I think these pirates need to be dealt with with extreme prejudice. Take them out on the wa...

Proverbs 25 (English Standard Version) 26Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked. This one kind of leaped out at me with the world's response to North Korea's missile launch still fresh in my mind.

As a "stay at home" mom I really wonder how on earth "working" moms go out and work for some one else and do their work with the families as well. My one job as mom takes pretty much everything I've got. Tin ear. That has been a thought often in my mind of late particularly when contemplating the people who insist that vaccines cause autism. I was at a focus group this weekend to discuss priorities for the National Vaccine Plan sitting at a table with a couple of people who were clearly in the vaccines are evil camp. Lets just say that the fact that they were sitting face to face with someone who has actual intimate knowledge of autism and no animosity whatsoever towards vaccines (other than the fact that my last flu shot hurt more than I had expected but I had to be brave for the kids) did not compute. God have mercy on us miserable sinners. Shooting your kids, somebody else's kids, the cops, random old people, or random immigrants is not the way to solve y...

Medical blogger Whitecoat Tales wades into the blogging world at Beyond the Short Coat and goes right for the hard stuff. Check out the first post in the series, Hard Conversations: Vaccines and Autism, Part 1

Today I am thankful for/that: The new couch delivered yesterday. I've only has a few minutes to sit on it since we got it but it is such an improvement over the old one. Sunshine! Green growing things. The seeds in the seed flat are sprouting and the daffodils will bloom any day now. I've only been thrown up on once in the last 24 hours. I think the baby is pretty much recovered now. No one else in the family has started throwing up. Learning how to use Isaiah's communication device. His teacher will be dropping it off today (after showing other teachers and staff at the school how to use it) so I can tweak it some more and let Isaiah practice using it at home. What are you thankful for?

I'm in the 270th Christian Carnival this week. Check it out.

Today, April Fool's Day, marks the beginning of "autism awareness" month. How appropriate. I was composing a somewhat snarcastic post bemoaning the complete lack of awareness of autism that is consistently demonstrated during this month of awareness but I just didn't have it in me. I hate repeating myself so this will likely be the extent of my autism awareness month special blogging unless Jenny McCarthy, Andrew Wakefield and the other usual fear mongering suspects say something more foolish than usual. Long and short of it: vaccines do not cause autism no matter how fervently some believe that it must be so. All those pricey therapies that people are pedaling are worthless. Save your money for your kid's college education. Autistic individuals are not lost, stolen, poisoned, damaged, broken or any other such thing. They are people worthy of the respect and consideration due them as human beings made in the image of God. Here's some linky love of some stuff I...