100 posts?

Really? I have posted 100 times? Huh. I'm a regular sitcom in and of myself.

Well in honor of my having posted 100 times, I thought I would share a few pictures that Cindy took of the girls...it's been awhile since I posted any. I have shared before in one of my 100 posts that I'm the worlds lamest photographer, so anytime someone else snaps a shot, I like to share it!






And this last one is typical of a day with the two of them, Lily being man-handled by Joei and her crazy face!

Out of the blue

I love the out of the blue statements Joei makes, this is one that I don't want to forget. We were just sitting there with Lily and Joei said, "the other day, when we were watching the new President, the people didn't clap for the old President. They clapped for the other Presidents, but not the old one. That made him feel sad."

Um, ok. For one, how in the world did she pick up on the fact that nobody clapped for President Bush? Sure, some people did, but I heard that people actually boo'd at him. I was not paying that close of attention when he was introduced, though it was on and I saw it, I just don't recall the booing or lack of clapping. As the previous Presidents were being introduced, I was trying to explain to Joei that they were not the new President and what not. So the fact that she could totally pick up on that, just shocks me! Kids are so perceptive.

Prime example of why we need to pray

For President Obama that is. The following article was on Yahoo just now...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama plans to sign an executive order ending the ban on federal funds for international groups that promote or perform abortions, officials told The Associated Press on Friday.

The move, long expected in the Democratic president's first week in office, will be welcomed by liberals and criticized by abortion rights foes.

The policy bans U.S. taxpayer money, usually in the form of U.S. Agency for International Development funds, from going to international family planning groups that either offer abortions or provide information, counseling or referrals about abortion. It is also known as the "global gag rule," because it prohibits taxpayer funding for groups that even talk about abortion if there is an unplanned pregnancy.

Also known as the "Mexico City policy," it has been reinstated and then reversed by Republican and Democratic presidents since GOP President Ronald Reagan established it in 1984. President Bill Clinton ended the ban in 1993, but President George W. Bush re-instituted it in 2001 as one of his first acts in office.

The Democratic official and senior U.S. official who disclosed the plans did so on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to pre-empt Obama's announcement.

Obama was expected to sign the executive order at a low-key event, one day after the 36th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion.

The move was not a surprise as both Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who will oversee foreign aid, had promised to do away with the gag rule during the presidential campaign. Clinton is to visit the U.S. Agency for International Development, through which much U.S. foreign aid is disbursed, later on Friday.

Obama has spent his first days in office systematically signing executive orders reversing Bush administration policies on issues ranging from foreign policy to government operations. But, save for ending the ban, Obama has largely refrained from wading into ideological issues, perhaps to avoid being tagged a traditional partisan from the outset after his campaign promises to change "business as usual" in the often partisan-gridlocked capital.

Rather, Obama has chosen to focus initially on issues in which there is consensus across the political spectrum and support from the public, such as closing the prison camp for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to making government documents more accessible.

Organizations that had pressed Obama to make the abortion-ban change were jubilant.

"Women's health has been severely impacted by the cutoff of assistance. President Obama's actions will help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, abortions and women dying from high-risk pregnancies because they don't have access to family planning," said Tod Preston, a spokesman for Population Action International, an advocacy group.

Prayer request

So I know only a few folks follow this blog however the Bible says that where two or more are gathered, that He is there to meet the need...so I will take all two of you!

Please pray for my friend's Paul & Lisa. Their little girl Abby, she's 4, has Scarlet Fever & Strep Throat. It appears she has developed quite a bit of junk in her lungs so please pray for a quick recovery and strength for her parents. Also pray that her little brother Gabe does not get it.

Thanks!

History is made

I've never been much into politics, however I find myself mesmerized at all the Inaugural happenings today. Watching the masses of people that just hoped to hear President Obama speak to them in person, that was pretty astounding. The first African American President. What a wonderful thing for the country, I can only imagine the pride that must be felt from every hardworking African American. Or from the older generation that saw slavery first hand. Amazing. Although, his race was never an issue to me, at all. Though unfortunately I'm sure it was for many other Americans, and that's why this day is so historic. Personally, I did not vote for him for other reasons, things that I don't agree with...however, gotta love the "howevers" in life don't ya. However, God has called us to pray for our leaders, and that's what I will do.

I was trying to explain to Joei this morning about the President, and what his job is. I told her that we needed to pray for him to make wise decisions. So when she saw Obama on the screen for the first time, she asked if that was the new president and I said yes. And she said, "oh he's just some guy from the news!" Well ya, he's been on the news but my darling, yes indeed, he is our president...and we need to pray for him. She said, "no we don't, he has not made bad decisions." So there ya have it, while Joei may have faith in our new President, many don't. That being said, it's not up to us as Christians to criticize and argue the political views surrounding President Obama; rather it is up to us to lift him up in prayer. No, of course we don't have to agree with everything, or keep silent. There is a time and a place for that though, but for now, I hope that we can just pray for President Obama, and his family.

1 Timothy 2:1-3
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade

I'm not sure what kind of a dork I have become since having kids, but apparently I'm more of one than I thought.

I left Lily in her room, sitting on the floor and playing with toys. Joei was in there as well, in the chair, stuffing things in her guitar. I was doing my daily blog reading and I heard Lily fussing, Joei was oblivious to her fussing, still shoving things in her guitar. By this time, Lily was flat on her back, mad at the world because she can't sit herself up on her own. Rather than roll over and grab a toy and just play with it that way, she laid there, whining for me to come fix her situation. Of course, as her mom, I am happy to do that...but I found myself saying to both girls, "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade." I have no idea where that came from, I can't recall the last time I heard that. It must be my inner dorkdom coming out or something!

It's true though! When crappy things happen, it is much easier to lay there and wait for someone to fix it, or at least to tell us how to fix it. Like Lily, I would rather flop around like a fish than muster up the energy to roll over and do something about it on my own. But how much more rewarding is it when you take that lemon, and you make lemonade?

I did not have a great life as a kid, I have shared that before...but at the age of 14, I accepted the Lord. From then on, I made lemonade. Yes, it was hard, very hard. I had to learn to forgive people, I had to realize that I was the only one that held responsibility for my happiness. Sure, it is still an ongoing process; it's not like all of a sudden sun rays beamed down from heaven and a thousand person choir was behind me singing "LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" and all was honky dory (if that's even a word!) It was a process. It is a process. We continually will get lemons, sometimes more often than other times. And you may have a season that you get to go without the sour little suckers. But when you get the lemon, make lemonade. Sure it may have seeds, sure it may still need more sugar, but doggonit, it's lemonade.

I'm not just referring to huge obstacles in life, we get little lemons all the time as well. What do we do with them? The car breaks down, there is not enough money to pay the mortgage, you have a falling out with someone...really the list goes on and on. Or you have the lemons that are not big problems in the scheme of life, but they still affect you. I really want to get Joei into some Pre-K before she starts Kindergarten, but we have not been able to afford it. Well, to me, that's a lemon. So what am I going to do with that? Not sure yet. We might be able to swing a few days a week now, hopefully. But if not, I will just have to look around and try to teach her some things on my own, and hope she gets her social end of school from church. See, that's not a big issue in the scheme of things, AT ALL. But to me, it is. Just like you may have a nagging situation that to the regular bear, aint no big thang. But to you, it is. Lemons are lemons. It's what we do with them that makes all the diff.

Well I have kept your ear longer than one should so I'm signing off with one last thought, Pink Lemonade is the best! Taco Bell and Miguels (a Mexican restaurant here) have the best. Just in case you wanted to know!

Joei is going to now watch her new Little Mermaid movie since, "she is wearing Ariel pajama's so she feels like a mermaid."