Girl Talk

Disclaimer: Okay, this post is going to be about girl stuff so Buford ya might just want to scroll on by.

I had my yearly exam today and am proud to say that I am very healthy. There are more indepth checks that I will have to endure soon because of my age (scoping and squishing will be involved) but today's visit went well. Blood pressure was 104/64 (I so totally ROCK!) Buford said he's seen corpses with higher blood pressures but he is just jealous!
I saw a new midwife (Tracy) because Dian (the midwife who delivered all 3 of my kiddos) had a very important meeting with some hospital bigwigs. Tracy was very cool - I especially liked how she said it was perfectly normal to gain a couple of pounds a year in "bone density". Yes, that's it precisely, I have very dense bones!
Even after all the good news about me, Tracy did give me some disturbing information and that's what this post is really about - not just a brag bag about my wonderful bp. When I told Tracy the age of my daughter, who is 9, she asked if I had considered getting Med the HPV vaccine. She says they begin giving it to girls as young as 8. And then she quoted the alarming statistic that 80% of sexually active girls between 13-18 have HPV. Oh, help me Jesus! I told her that we were Christians and are doing everything possible to promote purity in our kids so at this time, the vaccine isn't really a consideration. But I've just been thinking about that statistic all day. How do we protect our kids? By vaccinating them, getting them on the pill or teaching them safe sex practices??? How about instead we teach them that Jesus is crazy about them, that He gives them beauty and self-worth, that sex is a valuable gift created by God for married people. Can we teach them that it is okay to be different and okay to take a stand? This is such a hard topic for lots of parents to talk about with their kids - me included. But let me say that if you start out with lots of prayer, asking God to bring up the right opportunities and right words, He is happy to answer. It really does work! In the meantime, here are some resources that might help:
An article in Today's Christian Woman Mag about the HPV vaccine
http://www.christianitytoday.com/tcw/2007/julaug/2.30.html

Family Life Today Website has tons of information/articles as well as Passport to Purity which is a whole weekend to spend with your child.
http://www.familylife.com/

"And the Bride Wore White" by Dannah Gresch. I almost couldn't handle reading this book because it made me so sad that I didn't have something like this when I was a teenager.
http://www.amazon.com/Bride-Wore-White-Secrets-Sexual/dp/0802483445/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-6333197-0430818?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193278971&sr=8-1

And finally for younger girls: "The Princess and the Kiss". This is a beautiful storybook that even Min likes to read. It also has a companion workbook to do with your daughter.
http://www.amazon.com/Princess-Kiss-Story-Gods-Purity/dp/0871628686/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-6333197-0430818?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193279142&sr=1-1

If any of you have any other great ideas/books/programs etc. I love to hear about them in the comments!

Until then,
Keep it Pure,
Keep it Real,
Keep your blood pressure down,
And always keep it Semi-Homemade,
Cinde