Homeschool Day at the Capital

Our state homeschool group, Georgia Home Educators Association (GHEA) coordinated a day at the capital for homeschoolers.
Several from our local group went "together" (we signed up as a group and did stuff together).
We were supposed to take a picture with the governor at 10 am. We all hurried to get there. We waited around. We watched other groups (of adults who could have waited!!!) get their picture made. We, those of us who could see over a few shoulders and heads, saw the governor bustled in and out of the area for each picture.  And finally at nearly 11 am, it was our turn (well, the kids turn).
So ALL those homeschoolers hurried to find a place on the grand staircase. And wait.

Left: Kids waiting on the Governor
Top Right: close-up of kids waiting - mine are in there
Bottom right: I was tickled by all the parents with their cameras and phones in the air to get a picture
(I was one of them and was standing on the base of a column to see better - something I had just told the children not to do).

And finally, before we hardly realized he was there, there was Governor Nathan Deal.

And then he was gone again.

Then we took a tour. 

Clock wise from top left: Our tour guide, Paul Smith,
Baptist minister and Religious Freedom Lobbyist;
The sign;
In the governors outer office;
Bust of Oglethorpe

Then we had lunch where I was reminded that taking 8 children through a cafeteria, especially children who don't know if they want a chicken sandwich or chicken nuggets, might give me gray hair, creates a line where there hadn't been one, and requires way to much irritation. There are no pictures.

Then we were supposed to go to a legislative class at the Presbyterian church across from the capital. We caught the end of it - then we got to visit the supreme court of Georgia and learn about laws and court and how Jesus is our advocate. 

Left: In the church
Top right: Kids in the church
Bottom right: In the Supreme Court

The wall over where the judges sit says, "Fiat justitia ruat caelum."
That means, "Let justice be done though the heavens fall."

After that I had a short conversation with that lady up there with the yellowish scarf. She is the leader of the new National Right to Life (NRLC) group in Georgia. Georgia Right to Life (GRTL), of which I am a part and strongly support, is no longer affiliated with NRLC. 
The difference, in a nutshell, is that NRLC support exceptions* to pro-life legislation, they are all about politics and media. GRTL believes that ultimately this pro-life/personhood issue is a Heart issue. We may change a few minds but only God can change hearts. We hold to NO exceptions*, and while we do support being involved politically, that isn't the end all of everything - but answering to God is.

At last we explored the capital on our own.
We saw lots of doors, old flags, bust of dead guys, and the museum on the 4th floor. The children were very interested in the historical things in the cases (AT LAST!!)
We learned the difference between the Senate and the House of Representatives; the size and the color of the carpet (Senate = smaller & blue; House = bigger and red).

And here are those kids!

We stopped on the way home to kiss and hug Grandmother. Then came home where the children fell out in the living room watching Daniel Boone and the Mama crashed in bed and SLEPT soundly until Daddy came home. Then she went to back to bed after tucking in the littles.

It was a fun day!



*exceptions = saying abortion is okay in cases of rape, incest and life of the mother. 
These are NOT good reason to have an abortion. 
"Rape" and "incest" refer to the manner in which a child is conceived, the child is innocent and should not have to pay for the sins of it's father. Also, how a child is conceived has no bearing on how/when/if that child feels pain. These children are just as worthy of protection as any other.
"Life of the mother" is a VERY broad term to cover a multitude of issues in the mother's life. She may think (or have been told) that she can't afford a baby, that a baby would "mess up" her life/career/studies . . . not just her physical life. AND I can't think of any cases in which a mothers life is actually in danger because of a baby (with the exception of a tubal pregnancy which could take the life of the mother and child). I know mothers who have had chemo during pregnancy with no ill effects to the child. I know mothers who benefited by the stem cells passed naturally to them from the baby. Life of the mother is NOT an excuse. We would support "physical life of the mother - in the case where death WOULD occur naturally for the mother and/or child if the child remains in utero." BUT this is so rare! - and if the child is for some strange reason a threat to the mother life, it would be less traumatic, for the mother and the child, if the baby was delivered and every effort was made to save the child's life as well as the mothers.