Very Very Grateful

Thanksgiving this year was very good. It had a few rocky moments with family tension at the in-laws, but other than that, it was a great day. I did a lot of cooking and baking. I really enjoy cooking for people. There is still a hole were Momma would have been, especially when I made her famous frozen cranberry salad. My sweet in-laws invited Brady and Dad to come over so I did not have to choose where to be for the day. That made it a lot easier. It would still be really hard not to spend the day with my family, but luckily Brandon's family is kind enough to include everyone. Here are a few pictures from our day...

Brandon and Me



There is nothing cuter than two people still in love after being together 50 years.



The entire Juneau Fam! (my in laws) Getting this picture was a little stressful since some members of the family were fussy (not the two year old unbelievably) but I think that it came out great. We wanted to do this for Gama and Papa for Christmas.



My sweet boys. It is hard to call this a family photo without Momma in it. This was probably the hardest moment of the day to take a picture together. I am glad we did though, I am very grateful for all of the wonderful men in my life.



Gama and Papa and their Grandkids, Brandon's sister Stephanie and her husband, Chris, and Brandon and I

A quote I thought you all might enjoy!

President Bush talked about Obama in an interview on November 11th. Here is a tidbit from that article that was posted on CNN.com:

Bush described the atmosphere in his Oval Office meeting with Obama as relaxed and said he offered the future president advice on the transition process. Bush also said Obama was specifically interested in how his two young daughters would adjust to life in the White House.
"It was interesting to watch him go upstairs," Bush said. "He wanted to see where his little girls were going to sleep. Clearly, this guy is going to bring a sense of family to the White House, and I hope Laura and I did the same thing. But I believe he will, and I know his girls are on his mind and he wants to make sure that first and foremost, he is a good dad. And I think that's going to be an important part of his presidency."

I cannot tell you how excited I am to have a president that is a loving and involved father. I know I preached a long sermon the other day on here, so I won't get back on that soap box, but I just wanted to share this tidbit with you guys, especially those that are upset with Obama. Maybe this will shed a little light for you onto our president-elect's family values. Maybe because it is coming from Bush it will hold a little more value than coming from others. Maybe all this Obama talk will stop you from reading my blog (I sure hope not). But maybe, just maybe, it will help you see that Obama is a person, just like the rest of us, that has his family as a top priority, and that maybe he should be treated like one.


Link to full article by Alexander Mooney on CNN.com


A couple of pictures I found that I thought fit the quote!

Tagged again... look at all the posts lately!!!!

TYPE ONLY ONE WORD FOR EACH ANSWER. IT'S HARDER THAN YOU THINK!!!
1. Where is your cell phone? desk
2. Your significant other? working
3. Your hair? frizzy
4. Your mother? missed
5. Your father? Hard-working
6. Your favorite thing? family
7. Your dream last night? strange
8. Your favorite drink? Diet rite
9. Your dream/goal? baby
10. The room you're in? office
11. Your fear? loss
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? House
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? awake
15. Muffins/donuts? donuts
16. One of your wish list items? clothes
17. Where you grew up? Rowlett
18. The last thing you did? emails
19. What are you wearing? clothes
20. Your TV? At home
21. Your pet? loving
22. Your computer? work
23. Your life? hopeful
24. Your mood? interested
25. Missing someone? yes
26. Favorite pastime? reading
27. Something you're not wearing? watch
28. Favorite Store? Target
29. Your summer? Summer?
30. Your favorite color? pink
31. When is the last time you laughed? today
32. Last time you cried? recently
33. Who will/would re-post this? Dunno (look at me using bad grammar to get one word answers)
34. Four places I go over and over? Wal-Mart, Target, Work, home
35. Four people who e-mail me? Brandon, Davita, Vicki, Dad
36. Four of my favorite foods? mac n cheese, chicken, pizza, pasta
37. Four places I would like to be right nw? on a cruise, with my husband, with friends, did I mention a cruise
38. Four people I tag? I will let this one go without tagging… I have tagged people recently, but feel free to do it, it was a fun one!

A new face in the White House

We have a new president elect. Whether you voted for him or not, Obama won over this country decidedly. He won over people of all backgrounds, nationalities, religions, and races. He won them over with talks of change, and a forthright attitude. I am proud that there will be more diversity in our government. I have never felt such an overwhelming emotion as I did watching Obama on Tuesday night as he graciously accepted McCain’s concession. I was touched by the crowd shots. Older people, young people, every race was represented. There were men and women in suits and kids in t shirts. It was a great example of the make-up of our country. I loved how he interacted with his wife and children. He was loving towards his mother-in-law and exteded family. It was a touching scene.

Over the past few weeks we have all had an emotional rollercoaster while watching the election. I doubt that anyone escaped politics at one point in time or another. I tend to lean to the left when it comes to politics, and I will proudly admit that I voted for Obama. I realize that this is different and maybe even offensive to my “church going” “ACU attending” or “Texas living” friends. I am not a democrat. I do not align myself with a certain party, but most of the time, I prefer the policies of the Democratic party rather than the Republican’s. This election was no different. Why are my political beliefs so different from the majority of my peers? My political views shifted dramatically when I worked for the state. When I figured out that who was put into office would benefit or challenge my job of protecting children (I was a CPS investigator), I started paying a lot closer attention. So when this year’s debates started I read policy and knew how I would vote. I never mentioned it on here or anywhere because it did not really matter. Especially here in Texas, and especially amongst my peers.

Recently, though, I have been reading others blogs, and I have felt like I needed to stand up for what I believe. I realize that this may make others uncomfortable, and it may even make some angry but I feel like it is important. Now I am not going to debate politics, even though it would be fun. I am not going to get into policy, although I think some people need to better educate themselves instead of just going along with the crowd. I will offer that I do not agree with all that Obama stands for, although I do agree with the majority of it. What I want to talk about, and what I have been so caught off guard by is the way that many have reacted to Obama being elected. There have been many people that have been downright ugly about Obama. His faith and relationship with the Lord have been questioned and attacked. He has been called the anti-Christ, and one blog I read devoted a whole section to comparing him to what the Bible says about the anti-Christ. I blogged recently about the book, The Shack, and that it moved me to be a better person. It convicted me to not judge other people. Not at all, not even a little. I cannot imagine the thought process that thinks that you can call someone who says that they are a believer the anti-Christ. Obama and his family attend church. He refers to his faith often. He is a loving husband and father. Yet some people think that they are in a position to judge that. My sweet and incredibly wise husband told me that he does not know why people who are believers think that our God is not strong enough to use Obama, with his flaws, to govern our nation. Why are Christians saying that they are fearful? We all have flaws. We all hold beliefs that do not align perfectly with the Lord’s ways because none of us are perfect. I am sure that I have never heard Obama claim to be perfect. He has admitted that he is not. He alone will have to stand up to the Lord and be judged for what he did. We aren’t into a position to judge him.

My answer to all of this is that we need to understand that Obama is going to be our next president. We need to pray for him. We need to pray for the decisions that he makes, and the people that he chooses to bring into the White House with him. Let’s pray for his wife and his family. For their protection. For their relationships. Let’s not sit around and wonder if we are a better Christian than Obama. Let’s not sit around and treat him like he is anything less than we are: a flawed imperfect person trying to do the best that we can with what the Lord has given us. Let’s learn from this. Let’s learn that God can work through all of us, any of us, and that includes Obama.

RULES:*Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog
*Share seven random and/or weird facts about yourself
*Tag seven other people at the end of your post and link to their blogs
*Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

I was tagged by Brooke.

1. I have started collecting lamb things (not the breathing kind) and snowmen. They remind me of my mother for multiple reasons.

2. I went to three different high schools. It was a trip. I spent my freshman year at Dallas Christian, I spent my sophomore year at Garland High School, and my junior and senior years at Rowlett High School. No, I was not kicked out of any of them. It just happened that way, and I enjoyed each one. I kind of forget about my year at Garland High School though, I made a few friends there that I wish I would have kept up better with.

3. I have a tattoo. Lots of people wouldn’t believe that about me. I really like it. It is hidden most of the time. It is an icthus (Christian fish). I figure that if a tattoo is a sin, at least I went with good intentions.

4. My husband and I have lived in 5 houses in the two and a half years we have been married. We are currently temporarily living with my dad and all of my stuff is in a barn. It is a very nice barn, but it is a barn.

5. I have visited about 90% of the continental United States, mostly by car. I love
traveling. Especially in a car. I know, it is sick, but I love a car trip. I really good long one! With my cute hubby. He is the best driver ever.

6. I am adopted. I was placed with my parents at birth through a private adoption placement. I have had email correspondence with my birthmother. I imagine that one day I will meet her. I love to talk about adoption. Watch out, it can be a hot button topic for me though!

7. I later worked for the same agency that I was placed through. I enjoyed my job and I learned so much about everyone involved in an adoption. Especially birthmothers. I have such a respect for the decision that they are making.

I don’t necessarily have 7 people to tag, but I will tag Davita, Melody, Brandon (who I kept wanting to use things about him for mine, so I know that he has plenty of interesting things), Lauren, and Kylie. Y'all don't have too, but I had fun!