21 years ago today.
18 years ago tomorrow at 2:39 am.I am blessed!!
Monday, July 28, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Last night we took part in one of the things that I love about Iowa, the county fair parade. We were walking for our favorite candidate www.adamvandall.com. The closer we got to town, the darker the clouds were getting and we were seeing lightening. Ever the optimist, we parked and headed for our spot in the parade.
We had a good group walking with us. My mom is in the middle!
We were visited by Ronald McDonald. He's a great guy!!
The rain held off and we were able to take part in the parade. The crowd wasn't as big as most years, but I'm sure those threatening clouds kept quite a few people at home.
Kim Schmett, our candidate for the federal legislature was also walking.
We were also celebrating the 2nd anniversary of when Adam and E were introduced (by me--I asked her to walk for him, she agreed, and the rest is history!!). He couldn't remember her name, and since we were so hot and kept discussing ice cream and her love of the confection, he kept calling her the "ice cream girl". In just the last few months, they've become quite serious--well, the relationship is serious, they are anything but!!
After the parade, Adam and Em had their ice cream toast and then we were off to the fair. I got to see several people that I haven't seen in awhile and got to enjoy a black cherry snocone and a corndog!! It was a late night (after a long, electricity free day due to the storms on early Monday).
We had a good group walking with us. My mom is in the middle!
We were visited by Ronald McDonald. He's a great guy!!
The rain held off and we were able to take part in the parade. The crowd wasn't as big as most years, but I'm sure those threatening clouds kept quite a few people at home.
Kim Schmett, our candidate for the federal legislature was also walking.
We were also celebrating the 2nd anniversary of when Adam and E were introduced (by me--I asked her to walk for him, she agreed, and the rest is history!!). He couldn't remember her name, and since we were so hot and kept discussing ice cream and her love of the confection, he kept calling her the "ice cream girl". In just the last few months, they've become quite serious--well, the relationship is serious, they are anything but!!
After the parade, Adam and Em had their ice cream toast and then we were off to the fair. I got to see several people that I haven't seen in awhile and got to enjoy a black cherry snocone and a corndog!! It was a late night (after a long, electricity free day due to the storms on early Monday).
Sunday, July 13, 2008
It's been a weekend of exhilaration and deep sadness.
The weekend began with the first night of our Republican State Convention. It was the first time that I had gone on Friday night and I was not sure what to expect. I had agreed to lobby for the slate of delegates, alternate delegates, nominating committee members and presidential elector (the person who goes to D.C. and actually votes in the electoral college).
Republican politics in the state of Iowa have been a bit contentious for awhile now, given that we no longer hold a majority in either the House or the Senate and we have a democrat in the governor's office. Many are them quite satisfied to continue with the status quo, many of us are not (myself included). Many of them are quite satisfied to compromise, not stir the pot, give them what they want because we might get something in return (HA! HA!), many of us are not! Many of them see the platform as just as bunch of guidelines, many of us see the platform as the statement of the grassroots that defines our beliefs, ideals, and political philosophy.
So, being very impressed with the hard work and dedication of Steve Scheffler and Kim Lehman, the ICA and the Iowa Right to Life, I agreed to help to pass the slate that many like-minded conservatives came up with. Mind you, these are not just "right-wing, radical, evangelical, conservative Christians", but they were a group of individuals from different backgrounds, they had supported different candidates, they are very conservative and believe in our platform, and they were highly qualified. We were able to get the entire slate passed!
On Saturday morning I lobbied for Steve and Kim for National Committeeman and National Committewoman. It made for an early morning, but I enjoyed it.
The convention was a bit unorganized. There were not enough seats for delegates in some counties and some counties didn't have any seats at all. They finally got that figured out and we were able to get into the meat of the convention. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it did get contentious occasionally. There was one particular rule that created a ruckus, we were told that it would. There was a near knock-down drag out over one of the at-large delegates for national convention which included what seemed to me to be a pretty personal smear against someone. I was later to find out that this person was someone who attended a private meeting with "less than honorable purposes".
So, after a long Friday night and Saturday night, I came home to what I hoped would be peace and quiet. Instead, my best friend called with a prayer request. The father of her ring bearer had died that afternoon in an ATV accident. She later called back to give me more details and we found out that hubby's first cousin was also involved in an ATV accident prior to the fatal one. He is currently in ICU and fighting for his life. His story is long and complicated and that truly complicates his current situation. Then I later found out that my pastor's son and his friend performed CPR on the man that died and that he died in my pastor's son's arms. It was a head injury, so it was pretty awful.
Sunday was spent enjoying my favorite candidate's (www.adamvandall.com) baptism! After the baptism we went over to our pastor's home for dinner to celebrate and spent most of the afternoon there. We had a wonderful time. It had been a long time since we'd spent time with Pastor and the family in a purely recreational way. It reminded me again why I love them all so!
I had a couple of hours in the afternoon, and the Adam and his girl came out to do some formal photos and just hang out. It was a beautiful evening to be out and liberty enjoyed the time!
Yesterday, my bestest buddy and I took a 3 1/2 hour trip to visit a dear friend who lost her 2nd baby in under 9 months. She was in Kentucky the first time and we were unable to do what friends do and this time, there was no stopping us!! It was a beautiful day and the trip went well. It was awesome to get to spend time with our friend, I had missed her so much! Please pray for their family as they seek God's wisdom in regards to the situation.
Today, I've slept!
Something that struck me tonight, though, that while I love summer, there are things about summer that I'm not so fond of. I really dislike summer tv. I like my shows. I like to watch repeats. They give me a sense of normalcy when summer doesn't feel normal. There are so many different things we do in the summer that we don't do the rest of the year and that throws me off sometimes. I'm not sure how to explain, but just let me say, I was glad NCIS was on this evening!!
Now, I'm off to get started on the other half of my niece's wedding stole.
The weekend began with the first night of our Republican State Convention. It was the first time that I had gone on Friday night and I was not sure what to expect. I had agreed to lobby for the slate of delegates, alternate delegates, nominating committee members and presidential elector (the person who goes to D.C. and actually votes in the electoral college).
Republican politics in the state of Iowa have been a bit contentious for awhile now, given that we no longer hold a majority in either the House or the Senate and we have a democrat in the governor's office. Many are them quite satisfied to continue with the status quo, many of us are not (myself included). Many of them are quite satisfied to compromise, not stir the pot, give them what they want because we might get something in return (HA! HA!), many of us are not! Many of them see the platform as just as bunch of guidelines, many of us see the platform as the statement of the grassroots that defines our beliefs, ideals, and political philosophy.
So, being very impressed with the hard work and dedication of Steve Scheffler and Kim Lehman, the ICA and the Iowa Right to Life, I agreed to help to pass the slate that many like-minded conservatives came up with. Mind you, these are not just "right-wing, radical, evangelical, conservative Christians", but they were a group of individuals from different backgrounds, they had supported different candidates, they are very conservative and believe in our platform, and they were highly qualified. We were able to get the entire slate passed!
On Saturday morning I lobbied for Steve and Kim for National Committeeman and National Committewoman. It made for an early morning, but I enjoyed it.
The convention was a bit unorganized. There were not enough seats for delegates in some counties and some counties didn't have any seats at all. They finally got that figured out and we were able to get into the meat of the convention. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it did get contentious occasionally. There was one particular rule that created a ruckus, we were told that it would. There was a near knock-down drag out over one of the at-large delegates for national convention which included what seemed to me to be a pretty personal smear against someone. I was later to find out that this person was someone who attended a private meeting with "less than honorable purposes".
So, after a long Friday night and Saturday night, I came home to what I hoped would be peace and quiet. Instead, my best friend called with a prayer request. The father of her ring bearer had died that afternoon in an ATV accident. She later called back to give me more details and we found out that hubby's first cousin was also involved in an ATV accident prior to the fatal one. He is currently in ICU and fighting for his life. His story is long and complicated and that truly complicates his current situation. Then I later found out that my pastor's son and his friend performed CPR on the man that died and that he died in my pastor's son's arms. It was a head injury, so it was pretty awful.
Sunday was spent enjoying my favorite candidate's (www.adamvandall.com) baptism! After the baptism we went over to our pastor's home for dinner to celebrate and spent most of the afternoon there. We had a wonderful time. It had been a long time since we'd spent time with Pastor and the family in a purely recreational way. It reminded me again why I love them all so!
I had a couple of hours in the afternoon, and the Adam and his girl came out to do some formal photos and just hang out. It was a beautiful evening to be out and liberty enjoyed the time!
Yesterday, my bestest buddy and I took a 3 1/2 hour trip to visit a dear friend who lost her 2nd baby in under 9 months. She was in Kentucky the first time and we were unable to do what friends do and this time, there was no stopping us!! It was a beautiful day and the trip went well. It was awesome to get to spend time with our friend, I had missed her so much! Please pray for their family as they seek God's wisdom in regards to the situation.
Today, I've slept!
Something that struck me tonight, though, that while I love summer, there are things about summer that I'm not so fond of. I really dislike summer tv. I like my shows. I like to watch repeats. They give me a sense of normalcy when summer doesn't feel normal. There are so many different things we do in the summer that we don't do the rest of the year and that throws me off sometimes. I'm not sure how to explain, but just let me say, I was glad NCIS was on this evening!!
Now, I'm off to get started on the other half of my niece's wedding stole.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
My life continues to be somewhat of an emotional rollercoaster. Some have suggested peri-menopause, which is highly likely since my mom was the same age when she started into it. I have also had a couple of broken blood vessels in my hand in recent months, which could be linked to my thyroid, which has always been a possibility. Now, maybe they'll take me a bit more seriously.
Anyway, I took part in a meeting last night in gearing up for the Republican State Convention this weekend. It could be very interesting. It's interesting to note just how grassroots the effort to come up with our state platform has been. Many would argue that the platform is irrelevant. I would beg to differ. That's where the "little guy" gets to set some policy and tell their leadership what it is they expect out of them. When we held our caucuses in January, we had the largest turnout ever. The rooms for each of the precincts were overflowing. People were volunteering for the conventions, people were contributing planks for the platform. The enthusiasm continued at each convention. People want change, but it isn't the kind of change the Democrats are touting.
They want accountability, they want limited government, they want moral values upheld and championed. They are tired of compromise, of apologies, and of wishy-washy leadership. From the tiniest of precincts, they want something new, something better, something different.
It's time to give it to them!
Anyway, I took part in a meeting last night in gearing up for the Republican State Convention this weekend. It could be very interesting. It's interesting to note just how grassroots the effort to come up with our state platform has been. Many would argue that the platform is irrelevant. I would beg to differ. That's where the "little guy" gets to set some policy and tell their leadership what it is they expect out of them. When we held our caucuses in January, we had the largest turnout ever. The rooms for each of the precincts were overflowing. People were volunteering for the conventions, people were contributing planks for the platform. The enthusiasm continued at each convention. People want change, but it isn't the kind of change the Democrats are touting.
They want accountability, they want limited government, they want moral values upheld and championed. They are tired of compromise, of apologies, and of wishy-washy leadership. From the tiniest of precincts, they want something new, something better, something different.
It's time to give it to them!
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Despite the roller coaster ride of emotions in the last couple of months (especially the last couple of weeks) our 4th of July was a fun day spent with friends and family, beautiful weather, and lots of love!!
The day began with our local parade. Our family marched for our favorite candidate, Adam Vandall. We had a great turnout for him this year, although the rest of the republicans went to Sully.
After the parade, we came home and had a quiet afternoon. The kids went to J's girlfriend's family get together and so I was able to spend some quiet time. I wavered between joy and tears, but I'm actually feeling much better today. I know that God is good. I know that He knows the pain I've been feeling. I know that I am loved. Who could ask for more!!
Mom, Pops, and Uncle came out for supper, as well as the kids returning home, and my best friend and her kids coming out. We had lots of good 4th of July food! Pops grilled up the burgers and hot dogs and we threw some other things together and ate ourselves silly! (Well, not me, I'm trying to get a handle on my appetites again!).
After that, we headed into the fireworks. We always sit at my best friends house, which is a little farther away than works well for pictures, but it's just about perfect in every other way. I tried out the "fireworks" setting on my new camera.
This morning dawned bright, cool, and absolutely perfect for a summer Saturday morning. Hubby went out to do chores and came back to tell me the local hot air balloon was up. It was the first time we'd seen it this year, so I went out to watch. There is something so calming and glorious about a hot air balloon rising over the summer countryside. Everything is so lush right now. It's my favorite time of summer. The greens are so intense. Everything just seems so alive.
Harry the llama and the sheep weren't too interested. They seemed to think they needed hay.
One more shot of the hot air balloon.
Some days I feel so blessed, I could just burst.
Psalm 103:1 (NIV)
1 Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
The day began with our local parade. Our family marched for our favorite candidate, Adam Vandall. We had a great turnout for him this year, although the rest of the republicans went to Sully.
After the parade, we came home and had a quiet afternoon. The kids went to J's girlfriend's family get together and so I was able to spend some quiet time. I wavered between joy and tears, but I'm actually feeling much better today. I know that God is good. I know that He knows the pain I've been feeling. I know that I am loved. Who could ask for more!!
Mom, Pops, and Uncle came out for supper, as well as the kids returning home, and my best friend and her kids coming out. We had lots of good 4th of July food! Pops grilled up the burgers and hot dogs and we threw some other things together and ate ourselves silly! (Well, not me, I'm trying to get a handle on my appetites again!).
After that, we headed into the fireworks. We always sit at my best friends house, which is a little farther away than works well for pictures, but it's just about perfect in every other way. I tried out the "fireworks" setting on my new camera.
This morning dawned bright, cool, and absolutely perfect for a summer Saturday morning. Hubby went out to do chores and came back to tell me the local hot air balloon was up. It was the first time we'd seen it this year, so I went out to watch. There is something so calming and glorious about a hot air balloon rising over the summer countryside. Everything is so lush right now. It's my favorite time of summer. The greens are so intense. Everything just seems so alive.
Harry the llama and the sheep weren't too interested. They seemed to think they needed hay.
One more shot of the hot air balloon.
Some days I feel so blessed, I could just burst.Psalm 103:1 (NIV)
1 Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
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