Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Being Thankful . . . Again . . .

As Thanksgiving Day looms over the horizon, I am reminded once again of things that I need to remember daily to thank God for. We need to take a step back and remember to be thankful ALWAYS - not just one day a year. Here's my list of what I'm thankful for . . .

I am thankful . . .

. . . For my God and my Savior
. . . For my wonderful husband
. . . For my amazing children - all four of them
. . . For family and friends
. . . For computers and internet
. . . For television and Dish Network
. . . For food on my table and clothes on my back
. . . For a roof over my head
. . . That Ronnie is able to work and has a job
. . . That I am able to continue my education
. . . That I am not a turkey, cranberry, green bean, or potato this time of year
. . . That I can love
. . . That I AM loved
. . . For cell phones
. . . For puppies and kittens
. . . For Jeff Dunham (Jefah-fah Dun-Haaam . . . dot coommmm)
. . . To be alive and healthy

Love to you all.
Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!!!

Friday, November 21, 2008

Two Years . . . and counting!

I ment to post this the other day, but life (as usual) has been crazy!!:

Just over three years ago, I met a wonderful man. He had two children, didn't mind that I had a child, and was a musician. We started talking, and became friends. Briefly. Then, he and I met face to face for the first time. The next day, we had lunch. The night after that, we had our first date - and our first kiss. I felt butterflies in my stomach that I had never felt before. From that day forward, we were almost inseperable. We saw each other almost every day after that - and didn't spend more than two days away from each other. Three months later we were engaged.

Two years ago, on the anniversary of our first date, my father walked me down the aisle to meet this man face-to-face. Well, pulled is a more accurate description. I remember how handsome I thought he looked in his black suit. And how cute and nervous he looked. I remember thinking how much I loved him and was so thankful for him. And how I couldn't wait to be his wife.

As we took our vows, I was close to tears. I had resigned myself years before to the fact that I may be alone for the rest of my life. I focused on my daughter and my education. I never thought God had someone in mind for me. But He did. And I stood before him in awe of my love for him and his for me. When he took my hand to put the ring on my finger, I felt the same butterflies in my stomache from our first kiss. I loved him so much - more than I had ever loved any man I had ever known.

Almost a year later, we welcomed the birth of our child together. We now had four children - our family was complete. And I looked at him as he held our son for the first time, and the butterflies were back.

Now, it's been two years since our wedding day and just over a year since our son was born. I looked at him the other night - our anniversary - and felt those silly butterflies again. I snuggled into him as we sat on the couch watching TV. Thanking God for him.

I love my husband so much. And I praise God every day for bringing him to me!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

"A change gon' come . . . "

One of my favorite songs of all times says "It's been a long time comin', but a change gon' come". It's a beautifully lyricked song that rips your soul out and stomps on it. We (this country) has been in need of a change for eight long years. We have delt with an incompetent president whose kneejerk reaction is to shoot first, ask questions later. He was so focused on war and being the bigger and better nuclear-equipped country, that he forgot what was REALLY important - his American people. In his mind, sending thousands of innocent men and women overseas to die was justified - it was for the safety of American soil. But he forgot that safty doesn't always mean fighting the bad guy. Sometimes it means that everyone has enough money to eat on or buy a tank of gas with. Granted, in the last stint of his presidency, Bush sent everyone money. This was supposed to up the economy - but it failed poorly. It just wasn't enough. It's not enough to say "Whoops, my bad" and send a check for a quarter (or less) of what we REALLY needed to bring up the economy.


John McCain had the potential to bring us out of Bush's mistakes. He would have helped the economy drastically by doing what Bush (well, and all politicians, really) was afraid to do - taxes. While right now people think that taxes will be the downfall of the economy, the truth is, right now there's just not enough in the government to help the economy. We have to help ourselves first. I believe that McCain would have brought the American government up to Regan's standards and we would have been better off (after two years) than we have been in a long time.

Now, I'm not economist, but if I'm not mistaken, there is no quick-fix to an economic downfall, so why would Bush think there would be?

But I digress . . .

Let's talk about last night. November 4, 2008 was the most historical presidential election in American history. For the first time ever, a black man was voted into office as president of the United States. I did not vote for Barack Obama. Not because he's black - I am actually thrilled to have a black man in office - it's proof positive of how far this country has come in the last 100 years. Not because of the rumors in regards to his Muslim lineage and potential Muslim beliefs. I think that a Muslim has every potential to be a good president as any Christian (now granted, if religion were the ONLY deciding factor between candidates, I would of course vote the Christian, hands down, but that's another blog).

I did not vote for Obama because I simply felt that HE IS NOT READY FOR THE PRESIDENCY. He truly has the potential to be a good president - some day. And the oval office is not a training center. Let's face it, he's a classy guy. When asked about his opinion on Sarah Palin's daughter, his response was "We decided that family is off limits." That takes class. And he has some wonderful ideas in regards to health care and social security. But I am not sure he has the capabilities to clean up the mess Bush has left behind. McCain admonished Bush publically on more than one occasion - I KNOW he was unhappy with the Bush administration and had already gone through the motions of trying to pick up some of the pieces - even before the announcement of the candidates for the caucus. Obama, on the other hand, well . . . I'm not sure he's ready to lead the troops out of Pakistan and Iraq. Let's not forget the faux pas he made when visiting the troops (didn't even shake the hands of the soldiers and stayed hidden in the captain's tent the whole time .. . tisk tisk tisk - and in an ELECTION year Barak . . .). He's been very verbal about his stand against even BEING there. He'll probably pull them all home at once, and then the Middle East will crumble horribly.

On that note, I prayed that McCain would win this election - God chose to put Obama in office in stead. So I guess all we can do now is sit back, relax, and pray that he doesn't get us bombed . . .