Three Thought Thursday: Episode 6

1. I had a lot of fun watching the Super Bowl Sunday night. For once, I actually had a team I was cheering for and was thrilled when the Saints won! Mark's high school classmate and football team member plays for the Saints (#85, David Thomas) so we had to cheer for them! Yea, Saints!

But more so than cheering for the Saints, I was cheering for the Pro-Life Movement and the victory we had Sunday night. Unless you live under a rock, I'm sure you heard something about the "controversial" Focus on the Family ad that would be airing during the Super Bowl in the weeks leading up to the big game. Countless Pro-Choice groups across the country were completely up in arms over this supposed Pro-Life commercial starring Tim Tebow and his mother. From spots on the evening news to articles in numerous newspapers (it was front page of The Lubbock Avalanche Journal on Sunday morning...), there was some media supporting it, but mainly protesting it's running during the Super Bowl. The article in Lubbock's paper included quotes from Lubbock Pro-Choicers commenting on how they were essentially appalled that Focus on the Family was willing to drop an estimated $2.5 million on this ad when there were so many other "far more important issues" in the nation. Uh, hello!!! Another lady said she thought it was "crass" for them to "make light" of such a complex issue by putting it in a 30 second ad....

Did you see the controversial commercial??? Without all of the media attention leading up to the Super Bowl, there is no way I would have ever known that this commercial had anything to do with the Pro-Life Movement. Pam Tebow mentions, "He almost didn't make it into this world." Other than that, there was absolutely no reference to his birth, a recommendation given to her to abort the pregnancy, or anything else relating to abortion whatsoever. I loved it!

On Monday morning, I happened to turn on the TV to see what the unpredictable Lubbock weather would be doing that day and happened to catch a clip on Good Morning, America that was reviewing which Super Bowl ads were successes and which were failures. The woman doing the review mentioned that because of all the Pro-Choice protesting, the $2.5 million investment by Focus on the Family was worth far, far more than that, considering all the attention the ad received. I hate to have such a snooty attitude but I couldn't help but think ha, ha, ha! A movie line from a favorite childhood movie of mine, Major Payne, also came in to my head...One: Don't you feel dumb... Ok, ok, I know that's not the right attitude to have. Honestly though, I'm just marvelling at how God stepped in on this one and took the leap of faith that Focus on the Family chose to make and turned it in to something really special that gave tons of publicity to a cause that is so important to me. If you missed the ad, you can check it out on YouTube and I encourage you to go to the Focus on the Family website (www.focusonthefamily.com) and listen to the Tebow Family's full story about the creation of their awesome son.

"The thief comes only to kill, steal, and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly." - John 10:10

2. In the winter months, I love things that have a slightly nostalgic feel. Like my red tea pot. Mark does not seem to be quite the fan of it that I am. For the first two years of our marriage, I somehow managed to convince him to allow me to keep it on the stove top for "decoration" whether in use or not. With the addition of kiddos who have lots of "stuff," the kitchen quickly became a complete clutter zone so my beloved tea pot got exiled to a cabinet. But in the winter time when I'm craving a nice mug of cocoa, I bust it out to boil my water. No mind that the microwave is just a few feet away and could get the job done much quicker. There's just something about the warm whistling sound when the water is ready that makes me feel all comfy and cozy. I usually leave it out on the stove top till the afternoon when I put it away before Mark gets home. Maybe one day I'll have a open, airy kitchen where a tea pot on the stove will be perfectly appropriate.

3. We celebrated Reagan's birthday with a little party held at Mark's mom's house last Saturday and I couldn't resist attempting some cute little cupcakes for my little cutie. While I wish I could claim to have created these all on my own genius, I would be completely fibbing if I did. I got the idea for the circus animal themed cupcakes from an adorable book my Aunt Mimi gave me a few weeks before Christmas called Hello, Cupcake!: Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can Make. After receiving it, I flipped through and ear marked several adorable ideas I could see myself bringing to life. Without a reason to make cupcakes, the book just glared at me from my shelf of cookbooks in the laundry room each time I'd go in to do a load of wash. Reagan's party was the perfect excuse to give these a try and I certainly had a lot of fun making them. My faithful sous chef, Mark, helped me decorate the cupcakes the night before, despite his aching back from a long week of work. I think they came out great! I'm totally impressed with this fun cookbook and it's great, easy ideas for making darling cupcakes! They really are much easier than they look! ***My plan was to include a pic of the cupcakes, but I'm stuck here in Houston while my camera is in Lubbock. I was supposed to make it back today, but it looks like it will be at least tomorrow so I'll put one up whenever I make it home!