Not cool, Mr. President, not cool.

But, I’m not surprised.  He has proven himself, in my opinion, to be exactly what I thought he was from the beginning;  Just not ready to be president of the United States.  He just doesn’t have what it takes.  Oh and I’m sure his wife was just thrilled to see this little snap.  (No pun intended.)  He’s the president, you’d think he’d be a little more in control of his “natural tendencies” don’t you think?

While the rest of us are left struggling with the current health crisis of H1N1, the health care reform crisis, a war in Afghanistan, a war in Iraq, a housing crisis, a plummeting economy, a sky-rocketing unemployment rate and a host of other things, Mr. Obama is out fund raising for the democratic party in Jacksonville, FL (10/26), rallying support for democratic candidate Creigh Deeds in Norfolk, VA, (10/27) and attending a commemorative tree planting (10/28).

In the mean time, his daughters, ages 8 and 11, got their H1N1 flu shots last week.  We’re still waiting here.  Now, a little background that I’ve learned about this shot.  For kids under 10, it is recommended that a booster is given 21-30 days after the first one.  That’s so their young bodies can work up a whole bunch of antibodies to this horrible virus.  Here in Rhode Island, the shots are being given out through the school clinics.  You can’t get them from your private physician (much like the Obama girls did) because the state wants to ensure that all school aged children have the opportunity to get it.  It’s being done lottery fashion, with a computerized system to randomly place clinic locations on the list.  Fair enough.  Trouble is, the second shot.  It, too, will be done in school clinics, presumably randomly selected as well.  The expectation is that it won’t be available until sometime in January.  Um, that’s about a month too late for my daughter and the other kids at her school.  But, according to the health officials, at least she’ll have one.

So, Mr. President, will your daughters be getting the booster?  And if so, will they be getting it in time?  Or, do you not know because you are off raising money, or rallying up the democrats in a state that’s pretty much turned it’s back on you…

I’m just askin….

Amazing

Sometimes the wisest words come from children.  Listen.

Whirl-Wind Weekend

Wow.  Where do I begin?  Yesterday, October 10, was our one year anniversary of our adoption of Mary.  We wanted to let her celebrate it somehow, and what we decided on was to allow her to invite a friend or two to go to the movies.  It ended up being only one friend, but I don’t think she could have picked a better friend.  She invited Kaitlyn, who she has been friends with since she moved in with us.  Kaitlyn and Mary were in the same first and second grade classes, and the two are in the same Brownie troop.  So, I took the girls to Providence to see Coudy, With a Chance of Meatballs in iMax 3D.  It was quite amazing.  The girls got to “shop” for a while, (Claire’s, of course).  Then, they found their way to Build-A-Bear, where each girl got a bear.

They had a tremendous amount of fun, picking out the bears, dressing them, naming them.  What was really funny was the stress the girls put on themselves over the choices of clothes!  Neither girl ended up with the the bear they originally chose!  Mary picked a brown dog, and dressed it to match what she was wearing. Kaitlyn left with a polar bear, dressed in an outfit that roughly matched what she was wearing.

Kaitlyn’s mom and little sister joined us at the mall, and then we all headed over to “Waterfire Place” in down town Providence for one of the last Waterfire events of the year.  Waterfire is a unique event that the city puts on every summer.  From their website:  “WaterFire centers on a series of 100 bonfires that blaze just above the surface of the three rivers that pass through the middle of downtown Providence.” About twice a month the fires are lit.  They are sponsored by different organizations, and last night it was the  Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Research Foundation.  It was a spectacular event, with torches carried from the state house steps to the river by hundreds of breast cancer survivors.  The torch bearers were assembled on the steps in the shape of the ribbon.  As they were gathering, Mary asked me who they all were.  I asked around and learned they were all survivors, or battling the disease.  She wanted to know when she could be “up there”.  I didn’t know how to answer her, except to say again, that those were all people who had the disease.  She said “Yeah, but my mom…”  I said, “Sweety, I know, but unfortunately, it was too late for your mom.”  I don’t know why that answer came out.  But it did.  I hugged her, as she wiped away her tears.  Then, she went on to find Kaitlyn.  At one point, I looked over at them to see the two girls, standing close, Kaitlyn with her arm around Mary’s shoulders.  I saw her explain to another little girl, who was about the same age, that Mary was a little sad because her mom died of breast cancer.  The other girl, whom Mary had just met, offered her condolences to Mary.  This girl, too, knew of breast cancer since her own mom had fought it and survived.  I couldn’t help but marvel at these children, comforting one another, sharing a common monster.  Kaitlyn’s grandmothers are both breast cancer survivors.  And so there, standing in front of me, were 3 girls, all with good reason to be there, where hope is the focus.   As the torch bearers walked to the river, the song “My Heart Will Go On” sung by Celine Dion was played over the sound system.  I fell apart.  I couldn’t help it.  Jayne was my friend, and in spite of all that happened with regard to Mary, I still felt the sting of her untimely death.  And the irony of the date, and the gift she gave me,  couldn’t be missed. 

The Little Knight Takes Up a Cause

I’m in trouble, right?

Musings

I heard a great take on “doubting Thomas” the other night.  It’s been on my mind since.

Justin McRoberts was at Lifepath on Sunday.  He gave a great message about Compassion Int. and then he did a show in the evening.  During the show, he told us a story about himself and some friends.  It was at a time when 2 very important people in his life passed away.  He was still learning about Christ, and his friends were aware of this.  They questioned him on how he could still have faith in God after what had happened.  Justin explained to us that as we look at the story of Thomas, there is an interesting fact that is often overlooked.  Thomas needed to see and feel the wounds on Jesus before he would believe that Jesus had in fact risen.  And so Jesus, wounds and all, appeared to Thomas and allowed him to touch and and feel the wounds.  …touch and feel the wounds….of the risen Christ.  The RISEN CHRIST BORE THE SCARS OF THE WOUNDS THAT KILLED HIM.  That’s the part we overlook.  He took the wounds with him.  They were not completely healed.  It was through these scars that Thomas could believe

What does this mean to me?  It means that if I am “wounded”, and who among us isn’t, and I seek healing but don’t receive the healing I desire, it may just be that through MY wounds, MY faith will shine for someone else.  My wounds then become a doorway by which someone who is unbelieving, or doubting, may pass.

“You see the question isn’t are you gonna die, you’re gonna die.  But will you be done living when you do?” Justin McRoberts

It is what it is…

An example of Christ’s heart working in the lives of this couple.  What would you do?

The dreaded vacuum cleaner

I have to vacuum frequently.  I have 3 dogs and a sandy yard for them to play in.  It’s difficult to keep up with it. 

One of my dogs, Spirit, is really afraid of the vacuum cleaner.  I have never ever terrorized my dogs with it, nor have I ever encouraged them to play with it.  Neither of those things helps to create a stable dog.  I would sometimes vacuum around her crate when she was in it, just so that she had a level of security, but never in a threatening way.  She’s just not comfortable with this big, noisy, smelly, vibrating thing near her.  She will follow me around, at a comfortable distance, always keeping an eye on where it is.  When necessary, she will dart away into another room, or even sometimes be brave enough to leap over the monster or the monster’s tail (the cord) to safety.

I was thinking about this as I was vacuuming a little while ago.  The purpose of the vacuum cleaner is to pick up the dust, dirt and debris that is tracked into our homes.  It leaves the surface clean.  Not sparkling clean, but clean.  Sometimes I think God wants to do that within me.  He wants to just get into my spirit and clean up the dust, dirt and debris that has been tracked in from the world; the internet, the TV, radio–life in general.  Sometimes I run from it.  Sometimes I am just not comfortable with the thought of exposing and then cleaning.  I want to sweep it under the rug, and hopefully forget about it.  I don’t let God put that spiritual vacuum cleaner to work…

Ahhhhhh…those were the days!

PROUD AUNTIE RETURNS!!

I love these kids!!

You know, sometimes life throws you curve balls.  These two have had plenty of those.  But look how beautiful they are!  I’m so proud to be their Auntie.  Never has there been an aunt more proud of the accomplishments of two kids than me.  My only regret is that we don’t live closer…