Heavenly Home for a Bunny

Today was a sad, sad day. When I woke up my husband told me that the rabbit had died.

“What! No! How!” I exclaimed in horror.

“It got really cold last night. It must have frozen.”

I felt really, really terrible. Every day I check the weather to make sure it is safe for Peach to stay in its outdoor cage. If a thunderstorm is predicted, or temperature under 40 degrees, we bring her in to its cage in the garage. In really cold weather, the cage gets brought into the laundry room.

That one day we did not check the weather, and there was a sudden cold snap. It was so warm today – I was outside in a t-shirt – that it seamed really unbelievable that it could have happened.

But it did, and I just dreaded having to tell the children, especially my eldest. She had been distraught after the death of Hoppity, and Peach had been a great solace to her.

Someone suggested waiting until tomorrow – but that just would not be right. We could not just leave her out there for another day and night. They had a right to know.

I put off visiting the cage until after noon. Knowing I would have no stomach to eat afterwards, I made myself eat lunch. I put the baby in for a nap and got out a nice shoebox. I went to the shed for a shovel.

Peach was still soft and fluffy, and I hoped she had died in her sleep and felt no pain in her hypothermia. I dug a hole for later and tried to lose myself in the swing set construction project for a while.

Later, I called my friend with whom we had plans to trick-or-treat. “Not to put a damper on your day, but I just wanted you to know my kids might be a little sad when we come over later…” I asked her to say a little prayer for us around the time my kids were to get home.

As they got off the bus, I greeted them at the door. Their bright and smiling faces ripped through my heart. They were looking forward to some fun trick-or-treating with friends. How much worse would their disappointment be when expecting something good?

I directed them all into the living room and they knew something was up. I had my eldest sit next to me. When I got to the part about there being a “cold snap”, her eyes widened in realization of what I was getting to. The other two needed it spelled out for them. Then there were shrieks and tears and running outside to check and then up the stairs and a locking of doors.

I left them in peace for twenty minutes. My eldest came to me and said she never wanted another rabbit again. She let me hug her. I keyed myself into my nine-year-old’s room and found her still crying on her bed. I put my arms around her.

I asked the girls if they were ready to go outside and say goodbye. They were and we went. I told my toddler the bunny was sleeping.

“Bunny weeping,” she repeated.

Using a small towel, I picked up the rabbit and placed it in its box. They all petted it. I said a prayer. I waited until they were ready before I closed the box. Then we carried it to the corner garden where I had dug the hole, next to where Hoppity lay. I placed it in the hole and covered it up.

“Where’d bunny go?” asked my toddler.

“Bunny went to heaven,” I told her.

“Bunny gone,” she said.

“Do you still want to go trick-or-treating?” I asked.

“Yes,” they all said unanimously.

So we went, and they had a surprisingly good time.

But after we had eaten loads of candy and it was time for bed, they became very sad again. We read “Home for a Bunny”, by Margaret Wise Brown. In the story, a bunny is looking for a home. He finally finds it with another bunny, in a burrow under the ground. The picture reminded us of Hoppity and Peach, who are now sleeping together under the ground. My nine-year-old read it to the baby, replacing “the bunny” with “Peach”, and in the context of Peach finding its home in Heaven along with Hoppity.

The Halloween Tax

Halloween Costumes for the Frugal

My sewing machine is broken and I refuse to spend valuable time and resources on a fake “holiday” like Halloween. I try to focus on the positives of this day, like creativity and resourcefulness. How much mental capacity does it take to go to a store and plunk down good money for a prefabricated costume?

For the past week, my kids have been wondering what they were going to dress up as. Not wanting to take time away from all of my outdoor projects, I told them they were smart enough to come up with something. I had a ladybug costume for my toddler that someone had given me secondhand – I am not averse to recycling costumes and this one is cute and warm. That’s one down.

Walking with an old homeschooling friend on Tuesday, I discovered that she had taken the same tack with her children. The oldest daughter is helping the other three come up with costumes, and my friend really had no idea what they were going to be. She trusted they would dress up as something good and wholesome. As in our family, it is understood that the horrific or occult are off-limits on all days. My daughter later reported that my friend’s daughters are all going to be American Girls.

Their ideas have come together. My son is going to be a baseball star. That is no big stretch for him. He has several baseball uniforms from past years, and aims to be a baseball star when he grows up.

My middle daughter is going to be a football player, padding her shoulders under one of Daddy’s RAIDERS jerseys, and wearing a baseball helmet with a protective face piece across the front. Again, this part is reflective of the example I have strived to show them, that girls can be strong and athletic.

My eldest daughter is going to be Joan of Arc, and I am so proud. When she showed me her outfit she had such a look of valiance. She beamed in the part of the female saint warrior and martyr.

Updated Report on UNICEF for this Halloween

"Life News - October 2008
HEALTH & SCIENCE
UNICEF
It’s that time of year again – those little
orange boxes carried by children or
positioned at the check-out line in the grocery store—
asking for donations to the United Nations Children’s
Fund (UNICEF). Years ago, UNICEF was created to
address the issues of poverty, clean water and education
for the world’s children. Today, the organization is heavily
involved in promoting abortion in developing countries.
A UN-sponsored conference was held last October in
London entitled “Women Deliver.” Out of the 98
scheduled sessions, 35 focused on abortion and 2
addressed newborn health. Each of the three daily opening
plenary sessions highlighted ‘reproductive rights’ with
leading abortion advocates. None of the sessions
addressed primary child health issues such as vaccine
availability, clean water, safe sanitation, availability of
basic nutritional supplementation, training for village
health workers in identifying calorie malnutrition, or
provisions of foodstuffs to combat protein calorie
malnutrition. Child mortality was minimally addressed as
well.

A 2004 United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
report acknowledged that the best way to reduce maternal
mortality was through the presence of skilled birth
attendants and emergency obstetrics. These issues were
minimally addressed at the October 2007 conference.
Caesarian births, peri- and post-natal care, stillbirths and
related complications were also downplayed at the
conference. Obstetric fistula, the subject of a UNFPA
awareness campaign, was only addressed twice.

Over the past few months, UNFPA and other UN
agencies have been pushing a new target of “universal
access to reproductive health by 2015.” In 2000, more
than 150 heads of state met and developed an agreement
consisting of eight broad goals (Millennium Development
Goals, MDGs) such as eliminating poverty and hunger,
achieving universal primary education and reducing child
mortality. None of these goals mentioned ‘reproductive
health’—a term that is used to promote abortion. The UN
General Assembly has never agreed to such a definition.

Prior to the five-year review of the MDGs in 2005,
pro-abortion advocates including the International Planned
Parenthood Federation and UNFPA launched an
aggressive campaign to adopt a new goal on ‘reproductive
health.’ This effort failed. A political declaration
endorsing ‘reproductive health’ was issued, but it is
non-binding and has no force in international law.
Abortion promoters have been trying since then to attach
‘reproductive health’ to the existing MDGs.

At the board meeting of UNICEF in June, 2008, the US
delegation took issue with the latest UNICEF report which
included a reference to a ‘reproductive health’ target under
the MDGs. US representative to UNICEF Bill Brisben
stated that the US is committed to achieving the core
MDGs agreed to in the Millennium Declaration and
reaffirmed the 2005 Outcome Document of the World
Summit. He continued, however, that the US “does not
support the addition of new goals, targets, or indicators to
the internationally-agreed Millennium Development
Goals…neither we nor other UN Member States have
agreed to the creation by the UN Secretariat of a new
MDG target on reproductive health.”

Last month, the US rejected an invitation to join a new
Danish campaign calling on governments to “accelerate
implementation of Millennium Development Goal 3”
calling for “gender equality and women’s empowerment.”
Many believe this campaign is intended to go beyond the
mandate and will be used to promote a new MDG on
reproductive health supported by abortion advocates. The
Danish government initiated the “Torch Campaign” to
encourage governments and society to “Do Something
Extra” to accelerate achievement of MDG 3. The
campaign calls on governments to ensure women’s
“sexual and reproductive health and rights” by claiming
that “access to services and information on sexual and
reproductive health will empower women to make their
own choices about the number of children they have, safe
pregnancy and delivery.”

Abortion advocates have been attempting to attach
‘reproductive health’ to MDG 5 which focuses on
improving maternal health. The Torch Campaign is
attempting to raise $500 million to improve the lives of
women through the Thematic Fund on Maternal Health. In
addition to focusing on the reduction of maternal death
and disability, this fund also addresses “adolescent sexual
and reproductive health and the prevention of unsafe
abortion and the management of its complications.”
UNICEF is one of the “torch bearers” in this campaign,
along with the World Health Organization and the United
Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).

Pro-life UN watchers remain concerned that the
disproportionate focus on unsafe abortion based on
questionable maternal mortality figures detracts from
addressing the major health risks to pregnant women in
the developing world, including severe bleeding,
eclampsia and obstructed labor. A representative from a
pro-life NGO (Non-governmental organization) stated at
the 2007 conference in London, “If UNICEF and the other
organizers cared more about maternal and child health
they would focus on the top killers of women and
children. It is clear to us that this conference is more about
promoting abortion than it is about dealing with the issues
that most women face every day.”

Sources: www.lifesite.net 10/12/07, www.lifenews.com 10/4/07,
www.c-fam.org 7/10/08, 6/19/08
Regina Carbonaro—516-795-7568—reg5carb@aol.com

Reprinted with special permission from Life News - October 2008; publication of the Long Island Coalition for Life "

UNICEF this Halloween?

A reader commented on one of my UNICEF posts, which was a quote from LifeNews 2006, asking for evidence about the link between UNICEF and abortion providers. The most current report from LifeNews is still warning against giving to UNICEF. For more on this see my detailed comments on last year's post on this topic, which I have updated today in response to the reader. Thanks to a dear friend for her help in getting me the links for these reports.

"Parents Warned Against Giving to UNICEF this Halloween - UNICEF Still Promoting Abortion
By John-Henry Westen

TORONTO, October 30, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Halloween is here again, and with it the fundraising drive for UNICEF, the so-called children's fund of the United Nations, which has been mired in abortion support for the last twenty years. The organization has not learned from its past and continues to engage in the anti-life agenda. Earlier this month UNICEF joined Planned Parenthood International and the UN's population control arm UNFPA in sponsoring a women's conference, one thirds of which was dedicated to promoting abortion. (http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/oct/07101201.html )

UNICEF has been implicated in population control and "family planning" measures for many years as thoroughly documented in Winifride Prestwich's 1993 pamphlet UNICEF: Guilty as charged. The organization descended even further in 1995 when Carol Bellamy, a radical pro-abortion activist, became the executive director of the organization, a post she held till April 2005. From her elevated position, Bellamy turned UNICEF into a more direct force behind the promotion of abortion and abortifacient contraceptives working hand in hand with the notorious UN Population Fund (UNFPA) in such activities. (See LifeSiteNews.com's archive on such UNICEF activities: http://www.lifesite.net/waronfamily/unicef/ )

The change in focus at UNICEF quickly became apparent causing the Vatican's UN Mission to issue a press release in 1996 noting that it was withdrawing its symbolic donation of support to UNICEF. The release noted that UNICEF had "begun to divert some of its already scarce economic and human resources from the care of the most basic needs of children" to abortion supporting activities. (see the Vatican release: http://www.lifesite.net/waronfamily/unicef/vatican1196.html )

Jim Hughes, Vice President of International Right to Life Federation suggested that pro-lifers use the opportunity to give support to international aid organizations assisting mothers and children in the developing world, and at the same time respect the right to life.

Such organizations include:

MaterCare International
http://matercare.org/

Canadian Food for Children
http://www.canadianfoodforchildren.org/

The Holy Childhood Association
http://www.holychildhoodusa.org/

Pro-life supporters looking for a home for their donations can also send assistance to LifeSiteNews.com directly through our website: http://www.lifesite.net/contribute/
"

My Feelings about Halloween

I do not look forward to Halloween, and have seen my own participation as a reluctance concession to the Americanized version of this holiday. I have always stressed creativity as the one positive virtue my children could get out of it. They always have to dress up as something “good, of virtue, and of good report”, as St. Paul advises on the direction of our thoughts.

With over 100 families in our neighborhood, the doorbell continues ringing from 3:00 through 9:00, and for the past two years I have not answered the door. Otherwise, I would not be able to breastfeed, put dinner on the table, help with homework, and do all the other things I need to do for my children every evening. Instead, I put out a big pot with a nice sign on it. Generally, children have been respectful. I do not put out all the candy at once, but periodically refill it from my supplies. I am relieved when my husband comes home and takes over the responsibility of handing out candy.

There is a terrific guest post by Judith Mathieu-Conley on the blog "Cause of Our Joy", on the topic of the Catholic Origins of Halloween. It made me see the holiday in a more positive light. It is definitely worth a read.

Thank you for the patience of my diligent readers who continue to click over to my site. I have been so caught up with traveling for cross country meets and other family activities that I barely have time to turn on the computer these days. The running season is soon over, and I hope to have more time to devote to sharing my stories and thoughts.