Today is a very special day in history, Cameron. Our 44th President is taking office today, Barack Obama. While I did not vote for him, I am excited to see all the festivities and hear his innaugural speech. He is a very eloquent speaker (here is the transcript from his recent speech in Baltimore), very much focused on change and progress. He certainly has a lot to deal with right off the bat - unemployment, the housing market, the war in Iraq, the banking industry meltdown... I think most Americans have realistic expectations that these things will take time to address. But he has made big promises to unite the government and work together to make things better for all Americans. We spent some time praying for him and all the new leaders that will be part of his administration this Sunday in church. Our pastor is a firm believer that whether or not you agree with all the politics, that our national leaders deserve respect and support in prayer. Today I hope that President Obama will cherish this moment with his family and face the future with the confidence that God has appointed him for this season to lead our country, and that he will guide him and protect him.
And P.S., I just found this very interesting article written by a Barack supporter that details why he is thankful that Bush won the last two elections...
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
It's all about the O's
You are all cuddled up in your cupcake jammies and we are trying out Mommy's sling for the first time. So glad you could help me out on this blog post! Yesterday will always be a historic day for multiple reasons:
1. Your cousin Owen was born in Mineral Wells around 1:00 am. I believe he weighed in at 7 lbs. 5 oz. and was 20 inches long. So similar to you! His daddy Brent sent your daddy a picture on his cell phone and we hear that he is adorable. We can't wait for you guys to get together over the holidays! We will be praying for him, his mommy Desiree, and Brent that they will get lots of good rest and be in great health as they head home soon.
2. You had your first major barf on mommy. After feeding you an early dinner, you seemed to be a bit uncomfortable and I thought your tummy was feeling a little bit hard. We did some tummy exercises where you bend and straighten your legs to sort of force the gas out, but then I made the mistake of turning you onto your tummy on my chest. OOPS! You threw up all down my shirt, and it was a seriously gooey mess. Not liquidy at all! The problem was that I only had one small burp cloth, so I had to holler for Daddy to run and get more, and as soon as he saw me, we both started laughing so hard that my stomach muscles are still sore today. The more we laughed, the funnier it seemed that he was leaving me stranded and only wanted to clean you off! I don't want to imagine how I would have stood up to take care of it if he wasn't here...
3. And finally, the biggest reason people will remember yesterday is that we elected Barack Obama to be our next President. I really enjoyed this blog post from Beth Moore about the historic day. Especially this scripture, Daniel 2:21, "God sets up kings and deposes them and gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning." God is not surprised by the outcome, and God has plans and purposes already in the works for our nation. I think in my heart, I knew he would win, but could not bring myself to vote for someone that supported partial-birth abortion. I know that it is not the biggest issue that most Americans are dealing with, and I don't really think that McCain would have made huge leaps in eliminating abortions either. I truly hope and pray that Obama will start to make changes that positively affect our economy, our international relations, and a better living situation for people across our country. Every leader of our nation deserves respect and prayer, and that is what we will give him.
1. Your cousin Owen was born in Mineral Wells around 1:00 am. I believe he weighed in at 7 lbs. 5 oz. and was 20 inches long. So similar to you! His daddy Brent sent your daddy a picture on his cell phone and we hear that he is adorable. We can't wait for you guys to get together over the holidays! We will be praying for him, his mommy Desiree, and Brent that they will get lots of good rest and be in great health as they head home soon.
2. You had your first major barf on mommy. After feeding you an early dinner, you seemed to be a bit uncomfortable and I thought your tummy was feeling a little bit hard. We did some tummy exercises where you bend and straighten your legs to sort of force the gas out, but then I made the mistake of turning you onto your tummy on my chest. OOPS! You threw up all down my shirt, and it was a seriously gooey mess. Not liquidy at all! The problem was that I only had one small burp cloth, so I had to holler for Daddy to run and get more, and as soon as he saw me, we both started laughing so hard that my stomach muscles are still sore today. The more we laughed, the funnier it seemed that he was leaving me stranded and only wanted to clean you off! I don't want to imagine how I would have stood up to take care of it if he wasn't here...
3. And finally, the biggest reason people will remember yesterday is that we elected Barack Obama to be our next President. I really enjoyed this blog post from Beth Moore about the historic day. Especially this scripture, Daniel 2:21, "God sets up kings and deposes them and gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning." God is not surprised by the outcome, and God has plans and purposes already in the works for our nation. I think in my heart, I knew he would win, but could not bring myself to vote for someone that supported partial-birth abortion. I know that it is not the biggest issue that most Americans are dealing with, and I don't really think that McCain would have made huge leaps in eliminating abortions either. I truly hope and pray that Obama will start to make changes that positively affect our economy, our international relations, and a better living situation for people across our country. Every leader of our nation deserves respect and prayer, and that is what we will give him.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
I'm Learning You
Sweet Girl,
We are so madly in love with you. I could just stare at you for hours. We are learning little funny things about you every day. You have become quite the Houdini and always manage to wriggle your little arms free. You constantly want to have them up near your face, but you don't seem to scratch yourself or hurt anything. We just cave in and let them hang loose as long as your legs stayed wrapped up nice and tight. You really love to sleep on your tummy, but we are paranoid since we read that you are only supposed to sleep on your back. Sometimes Daddy and I like to let you rest on our chest, and that "skin to skin" time is our favorite thing in the world. You curl your little feel up and seem to wrap your arms wide around us in a big hug. It's too cute for words.
You seem to be a really happy baby, easy to console and not too fussy. We are trying to learn your signals to figure out what you need right away. Once you eat or get your diaper changed, you just stare up at us with those big gorgeous eyes and sigh a little sigh of contentment. You seem to be a really good eater, but we haven't quite gotten into a really consistent pattern. I think we should get better as the weeks go by, but it is a tricky thing - this breastfeeding. I wish I had some sort of setting that I could program so that I would make just enough milk to feed you and that it would somehow magically get to your tummy at a perfectly scheduled time. You know, like a Milk DVR!
We have been so blessed to have friends come to visit us in the evenings and bring dinner. I never really understood how much of a wonderful gift it is to new parents, since I can't drive anywhere and am not really feeling up to cooking much. Sunday night we were visited by the Pools, and last night a friend from Daddy's work came and dropped off a yummy casserole. I must confess that I was previously a picky eater, but now am so thankful for leftovers. The hours seem to go by so quickly since all we are thinking about is you! Usually, I realize about 1:00 that we have to eat too, and then we scarf it down as fast as possible. Today, your daddy spent the afternoon with you (playing Wii College Football) so that I could take a nice long shower and fix my hair. Oh, the little joys. And in true romance style, he vacuumed the floor. I love that guy.
Well, time to get you up and going again. Who knows when I will get a chance to sit down and do this again? We are in a bit of a bubble. It's even Election Day and we haven't cared a bit. We decided to vote early since we didn't know when you would make your arrival. This will be quite the historic election, and we wanted you to see that having a voice in the government is always important. Something tells me that having an opinion will never be difficult for you!
We are so madly in love with you. I could just stare at you for hours. We are learning little funny things about you every day. You have become quite the Houdini and always manage to wriggle your little arms free. You constantly want to have them up near your face, but you don't seem to scratch yourself or hurt anything. We just cave in and let them hang loose as long as your legs stayed wrapped up nice and tight. You really love to sleep on your tummy, but we are paranoid since we read that you are only supposed to sleep on your back. Sometimes Daddy and I like to let you rest on our chest, and that "skin to skin" time is our favorite thing in the world. You curl your little feel up and seem to wrap your arms wide around us in a big hug. It's too cute for words.
You seem to be a really happy baby, easy to console and not too fussy. We are trying to learn your signals to figure out what you need right away. Once you eat or get your diaper changed, you just stare up at us with those big gorgeous eyes and sigh a little sigh of contentment. You seem to be a really good eater, but we haven't quite gotten into a really consistent pattern. I think we should get better as the weeks go by, but it is a tricky thing - this breastfeeding. I wish I had some sort of setting that I could program so that I would make just enough milk to feed you and that it would somehow magically get to your tummy at a perfectly scheduled time. You know, like a Milk DVR!
We have been so blessed to have friends come to visit us in the evenings and bring dinner. I never really understood how much of a wonderful gift it is to new parents, since I can't drive anywhere and am not really feeling up to cooking much. Sunday night we were visited by the Pools, and last night a friend from Daddy's work came and dropped off a yummy casserole. I must confess that I was previously a picky eater, but now am so thankful for leftovers. The hours seem to go by so quickly since all we are thinking about is you! Usually, I realize about 1:00 that we have to eat too, and then we scarf it down as fast as possible. Today, your daddy spent the afternoon with you (playing Wii College Football) so that I could take a nice long shower and fix my hair. Oh, the little joys. And in true romance style, he vacuumed the floor. I love that guy.
Well, time to get you up and going again. Who knows when I will get a chance to sit down and do this again? We are in a bit of a bubble. It's even Election Day and we haven't cared a bit. We decided to vote early since we didn't know when you would make your arrival. This will be quite the historic election, and we wanted you to see that having a voice in the government is always important. Something tells me that having an opinion will never be difficult for you!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Just Weeks Away!
Cameron,
For most of the country, September has not been a great month. The hurricane season has been horrible this year, wiping out tons of homes on the gulf states. Galveston was one of the worst, and people there will be rebuilding and trying to put their lives back together for a very long time. We don't really know anyone personally that was affected, but friends and family members of our friends were. (Later addition: This is a great blog entry from Living Proof Ministries based out of Houston.) And then this week, the economy has just dropped off into a pit. The bank systems are finally dealing with all the bad mortgage debt that they took on and I am afraid that a lot of people are going to lose their jobs and a lot of money too. The government is still trying to work on their plan to help by handing over a huge ($700 BILLION) influx of cash to the industry, but it is not looking good. Please don't even mention the stock market to your Grammy - she worries enough as it is.
But the truth is that you are the thing that consumed my thoughts for this month, and most of the past few as well. Just the other night, your daddy told me that he had the funny realization that all along, he has just had his mind set that you would be arriving on October 25th. That he didn't even consider that you could be here any day now... Of course, my doctor said that things are still progressing perfectly and that she didn't expect me to do "anything crazy" in the next few weeks, but the truth is that you are probably big enough and healthy enough to make it just fine out here in the big world.
Not that I am ready! You are definitely starting to seem more cramped, but you haven't kept me from going to work or getting a decent amount of sleep. I definitely love the part about eating for two, and I think you are hitting a growth spurt because I am finally able to eat a good dinner again. The funny thing lately is your hiccups. I have felt the little "bomp, bomp, bomp" that is so perfectly in time that I knew that had to be what it was. It is always on the bottom left side of my tummy, where I am pretty sure your back is laying most of the time. The doctor told me that hiccups are a good sign that you are doing well because it means you are swallowing more fluid and your lungs are preparing to breathe. It makes me smile to picture you in there hiccupping, because every time I take a drink of something carbonated, I have to hiccup too.
So we are down to just a few more weeks until you are officially here. I started thinking today about what I would like your birth announcement to look like and that I should get the list ready now for all the people we want to mail it to. It's gonna be a long list - so many people are anxious to see what you look like! And we just ordered the new upholstery for your stroller. We accidentally put that task on the back burner and are hoping that it makes it here soon. We can't exactly haul you around without a stroller! But the little things are easy to check off. I think preparing ourselves for the responsibility, the change that is coming is what will take the most work. All this excitement and nervousness! We love you and think about you all the time, and I can't even comprehend how those feelings will be a thousand times stronger when you are really here.
For most of the country, September has not been a great month. The hurricane season has been horrible this year, wiping out tons of homes on the gulf states. Galveston was one of the worst, and people there will be rebuilding and trying to put their lives back together for a very long time. We don't really know anyone personally that was affected, but friends and family members of our friends were. (Later addition: This is a great blog entry from Living Proof Ministries based out of Houston.) And then this week, the economy has just dropped off into a pit. The bank systems are finally dealing with all the bad mortgage debt that they took on and I am afraid that a lot of people are going to lose their jobs and a lot of money too. The government is still trying to work on their plan to help by handing over a huge ($700 BILLION) influx of cash to the industry, but it is not looking good. Please don't even mention the stock market to your Grammy - she worries enough as it is.
But the truth is that you are the thing that consumed my thoughts for this month, and most of the past few as well. Just the other night, your daddy told me that he had the funny realization that all along, he has just had his mind set that you would be arriving on October 25th. That he didn't even consider that you could be here any day now... Of course, my doctor said that things are still progressing perfectly and that she didn't expect me to do "anything crazy" in the next few weeks, but the truth is that you are probably big enough and healthy enough to make it just fine out here in the big world.
Not that I am ready! You are definitely starting to seem more cramped, but you haven't kept me from going to work or getting a decent amount of sleep. I definitely love the part about eating for two, and I think you are hitting a growth spurt because I am finally able to eat a good dinner again. The funny thing lately is your hiccups. I have felt the little "bomp, bomp, bomp" that is so perfectly in time that I knew that had to be what it was. It is always on the bottom left side of my tummy, where I am pretty sure your back is laying most of the time. The doctor told me that hiccups are a good sign that you are doing well because it means you are swallowing more fluid and your lungs are preparing to breathe. It makes me smile to picture you in there hiccupping, because every time I take a drink of something carbonated, I have to hiccup too.
So we are down to just a few more weeks until you are officially here. I started thinking today about what I would like your birth announcement to look like and that I should get the list ready now for all the people we want to mail it to. It's gonna be a long list - so many people are anxious to see what you look like! And we just ordered the new upholstery for your stroller. We accidentally put that task on the back burner and are hoping that it makes it here soon. We can't exactly haul you around without a stroller! But the little things are easy to check off. I think preparing ourselves for the responsibility, the change that is coming is what will take the most work. All this excitement and nervousness! We love you and think about you all the time, and I can't even comprehend how those feelings will be a thousand times stronger when you are really here.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Let This Be a Warning
I say right on to this judge in New Zealand that decided you can only go so far when it comes to giving your child a weird name. He took a rather interesting course of action to save this poor girl from her obviously insane parents.
I am all for creativity, but "Talula Does the Hula from Hawaii" does seem to be setting her up for a lifetime of ridicule. Cameron seems quite normal, doesn't it?
I am all for creativity, but "Talula Does the Hula from Hawaii" does seem to be setting her up for a lifetime of ridicule. Cameron seems quite normal, doesn't it?
Friday, May 2, 2008
Surprises are Blessings Too
Just another reason I am not a big fan of Barack Obama:
From one of his rally speeches in Pennsylvania this past month as reported by Slate Magazine-
Obama said that when providing information about sex to his own daughters, "I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby." (http://www.slate.com/id/2190285/pagenum/2/)
I don't ever want my child to hear that some babies are a punishment to their mothers. Every child should be seen as a blessing, as a gift from God. I get a daily email devotional, and today's scripture was Psalm 127:3, "Children are a gift from the Lord, they are a reward from him. (NLT)"
Every new life is a reminder of God's love and graciousness to us. A chance to begin again and see the innocence of life, the kindness and goodness that he intends for all of us to show eachother. There is no child born that was a mistake. There are certainly children born into horrible circumstances, but that does not make THEM horrible. There are families all over the world that wish they had a chance to love a child of their own, and I am sure they are just as disgusted as I was to hear the Senator's comment.
From one of his rally speeches in Pennsylvania this past month as reported by Slate Magazine-
Obama said that when providing information about sex to his own daughters, "I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby." (http://www.slate.com/id/2190285/pagenum/2/)
I don't ever want my child to hear that some babies are a punishment to their mothers. Every child should be seen as a blessing, as a gift from God. I get a daily email devotional, and today's scripture was Psalm 127:3, "Children are a gift from the Lord, they are a reward from him. (NLT)"
Every new life is a reminder of God's love and graciousness to us. A chance to begin again and see the innocence of life, the kindness and goodness that he intends for all of us to show eachother. There is no child born that was a mistake. There are certainly children born into horrible circumstances, but that does not make THEM horrible. There are families all over the world that wish they had a chance to love a child of their own, and I am sure they are just as disgusted as I was to hear the Senator's comment.
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