um...

so I guess I should be labeled an extremist by the new administration...
I'm against abortions, I dont believe in same-sex marriage, I dont think illegal immigrants should be given any favors and I think we should be allowed to own guns. yeah, I'm a bad bad person.
I didnt vote for him and I'm very happy to say that!
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=490400

*sigh*

its hard to be cheerful when two people who I've been going through this
pg with have just lost their babies over this last week. both due to
genetic abnormalities that would have prevented them from surviving the
pregnancies, but still...
one I only knew vaguely through my OL group, but the other has been an
OL friend of mine since we both had our earlier babies (Garrett) within
the same 2 month pg group, so over 2 years now. She just lost her baby
girl on Tuesday night.
it breaks my heart like crazy.
my friend hadn't had an ultrasound (by choice) so didn't realize
anything was wrong, but the other had and knew it was coming.
I think I would want to know of something imminent like that. some kind
of way to prepare at least. not that much can prepare you for losing a
child, no matter if its before they're born.
It makes me so thankful to know I've seen baby Faith and as far as we
know, things are fine. I know nothing can guarantee any future, but I've
done what I can to 'know'. as she's wiggles and squirmed inside me
today, I tell her in my heart that I'm so thankful to know she's
healthy and with me.
I really dont know how I would handle losing a baby this far along. :_(
I'm just so heartbroken for my friends.

postcards for soldiers!

This is true because I did it myself. :)

Something cool that Xerox is doing

If you go to this web site,   www.letssaythanks.com , you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services.

How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! Please send a card!!

It is FREE and it only takes a second   and please forward to your friends.  

update to previous post

found on Snopes:

Although the Walter Reed Army Medical Center is not accepting holiday cards for recovering soldiers, the American Red Cross has said that small gifts may be sent to patients in that facility through them:

The Walter Reed Army Medical Center is ONLY accepting phone cards, CDs, individual small packets of candy, things like that; which they will distribute among the soldiers (as they have a lot of in and out patients). They are not accepting Holiday Cards, as they don't have the human resources to distribute them.

You may send your packets to:

American Red Cross
Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20307-5000

Christmas cards for soldiers!

Someone sent this to me yesterday and I thought I would pass it on to
you.

This request came from the wife of one of our heroic vets...

When doing your Christmas cards this year, take one card and send it to
this address. If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of
how many cards these wonderful special people who have sacrificed so
much would get.

A Great Idea!!!

When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, please
include the following:

A Recovering American soldier

c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center

6900 Georgia Avenue, NW

Washington , D.C. 20307-5001

If you approve of the idea, please pass it on to your e-mail list.


_

Movie Alert!

I looked this up on www.snopes.com and the link is below. We need to pass the word to as many as we can for people to NOT see this movie.

You may already know about this, but I just learned about a kids movie coming out in December starring Nicole Kidman. It's called The Golden Compass, and while it will be a watered down version, it is based on a series of children's books about killing God (It is the anti-Narnia). Please follow this link, and then pass it on. From what I understand, the hope is to get alot of kids to see the movie - which won't seem too bad - and then get the parents to buy the books for their kids for Christmas. The quotes from the author sum it all up. I'm going to tell everyone about this movie.

http://snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp

For Dody

I'm so sorry for the loss of your big sister. It breaks my heart that
you have to go through this. She put up a strong fight through the years
she battled breast cancer and through your updates, I could see that
just like I remembered her, she was full of life.
So many prayers go out to you, your entire family and every person she
touched, for comfort through this time. I wish I could be there to give
you a real hug and give you a shoulder to lay your head on.
She is one of my heroes now, along with my husband's mother, that even
though they lost the battle, they didn't lose the war because they will
never be forgotten for all that they were.
Love to you my dear friend.

unexpected damages

ya know, being a home owner is a great thing. it really is! you get to fix up your own place, be in charge and create your own home environment how you envision.
but there are those other times when you really wish someone else could take care of things. :)
a couple nights ago, I noticed the water wasnt getting hot like it was supposed to. it was still more than warm, but not hot. I chalked it up to my weird pregnancy horomones and took my shower.
then night before last when giving the boys a bath, Gavin hopped in and told me "gosh mom! its cold! cant we get some hot water?" (now Hunter had already been in the bath the whole time I was running the water and never said anything!) but sure enough, that water was just lukewarm. Brrrrrrr!!!
Thank God though, my wonderful hubby came home for a day and a half this week. he'd been working out of town and they got a free partial weekend, so he came home for that time before heading back to where he was.
we cleared out the end of the closet (as this is where we had to access the water heater *roll eyes at such smart engineers who did that*) and then I discovered that ~gasp~ there was some leaking water from under the wall the water heater was behind. oh gosh.
so much for hoping it was just an element that needed replacing.
turns out the tank got a hole in it somehow and no, when the house was built they did not put a pan under the tank, but thankfully it was a small leak and caught in plenty of time before doing damage!
so my wonderful Jack-of-all-trades hubby has spent his partial weekend "off" taking out a busted water heater, creating a new access panel in a more convenient place, buying a new water heater (we bought one that has a lifetime warranty) and installing said water heater.
we do have water again, but not hot water. during the process, he discovered that building codes have changed since our house was built 10 years ago and the wiring to the WH is no longer using a 12 gauge wire, its a 10 gauge wire. *sigh* so that means I'm calling an electrician in the morning to have someone come out and have that part switched out. (dh could do it technically, but doesnt have the tools to do the job right). oy.
yeah, some things ya just wish someone else could be in charge of. LOL!
it could have been much worse though, so I'm just very thankful that he came home for this day and a half! yep, the mess would have been much worse otherwise!

Don't Even!

I wasn't going to post this, but I just need to make something clear:
I am EVER so THANKFUL for EVERY single one of our kids! Not a SINGLE one of our children were "accidents" and not a single one of them were EVER thought of as "too much" or not wanted!

We have been through our share of heartache trying to have children. We have spent YEARS trying to conceive during our parenthood. We've lost 2 babies on that journey and they STILL mean so much to me, a part of my heart that will always be there. I think of them on their "birthdays", wondering who they'd look like or what their personality would be.

I have many friends in real life and online who either have fertility problems, lost babies, genetic problems, or have been told they can't have children. I've been there to hug them or pray for them and I do mean every bit of what I feel. I pray so much that every couple/person that wants a child could be blessed with them. It grieves my heart that those that want children sometimes can't have them and too many times, people that don't want them do.

BUT, don't you DARE come into MY "house" and tell me this:
"Please forgive me for being so bitter.
For those of us who are unable to be blessed w/the joy of a child, it hurts deeply to see what you've been given.
After 4 miscarriages & being told that you'll never be able to conceive....think about what this does to women like myself. I wasn't looking for your site..I just stumbled upon it. Forgive me."

You don't know me, you don't know my family or my history. You have NO idea what we have been through or how we feel. We do NOT take the fact that we've been so wonderfully blessed lightly. I thank God ALL the time for my kids and my husband and family, they are my world and without them my world would be dark.

I do forgive you, but I think you should look into your heart. I know that feeling of wanting a child so bad it hurts and to cry every day and want to scream your frustration at a system that lets innocent children be hurt by negligent parents. I was there when we first started trying, it was a long 14 months that first time and the subsequent times it didn't feel any different. And no, I don't say that to make light of your situation, at all!

I think I'm a good mom, and my husband a good father (actually, I'd say GREAT, but that's IMO). We love ALL of our children with all our hearts and our children are happy! They are well provided for and we give them all the 'perks' we can. We don't abuse our kids EVER and I think they'll grow up with GREAT memories of their childhood.

So YOU should forgive yourself for being bitter of a family that is doing their BEST for their kids! YOU should forgive yourself for begrudging someone else a blessing! YOU should forgive yourself for EVER thinking bad thoughts on another family that LOVES their children, no matter your situation.

Yes, children are a blessing and a bigger blessing are those children who are born into a home where they get all the love, hugs and education they could ever want. You should be thankful for that and be hurt by the many instances where children are left to hurt and a need for love.

DON'T try to make me feel bad for my blessings, EVER!!

petition for children

If you have a moment, please go to the link and read over the petition. A good OL friend is helping her friend to pass this around because her 3 year old was killed this year by a TV that toppled over. Many children are injured or killed each year due to the same thing, this is to urge a law that requires anchoring devices be made available on items with toppling potential and to put warning labels to alert parents/guardians.
http://www.petitiononline.com/HR1861/petition.html