1.20.2010

Wake-up Call

Well, the Republican won in Massachusetts. Wow. I appreciated Scott Brown's comment that this was a "win for Independents". That's my thought, too. I'm sure there will be plenty of Republicans gloating over this win, but they are missing the bigger picture. This was not only a wake-up call for the Dems, but for the Republicans also.

People are tired, angry, and frustrated at the way things work in Washington. The Congress has had the lowest approval ratings for months. Yet, they continue to ignore the outcry and conduct business as usual.

Even if you're not very political it's easy for your voice to be heard - you can vote. Mid-term elections will be held in November. You can be prepared by paying attention to who's running for what in your state. Get to know the candidates; it's never been easier than it is now with the Internet. Vote for the person who most matches your belief system. Don't fall into the trap of thinking your vote doesn't count. I don't care if your spouse/family/friend votes for the exact opposite of you; that doesn't cancel your vote. EVERY vote counts.

2010 is going to be a fascinating year! Make sure you play an active role in deciding our futures.

1.19.2010

It's Election Day! (and misc. items)

1. Today is the special election in Massachusetts to replace the late Senator Ted Kennedy. It is going to be an exciting election, and could well set the tone for the 2010 Election Cycle.

I am a political junky (plus I'm addicted to the news in general), so the fact that it's time for the mid-terms is exciting for me. I have long been a proponent of more than two political parties. The first time I could vote for President, I voted for the independent candidate. I am registered as a Republican, but I'm very independent and tend to vote for the person, not the party.

This year, I'm watching the Tea Party candidates with interest. In my opinion, they have the best shot of any group (in my lifetime) of becoming a true third party choice. At this point, regardless of who wins in Massachusetts, this race has been a referendum on health care reform.

It remains to be seen if anyone in Washington, DC is listening...

2. I am so thrilled! Four people have contacted me regarding donations for the orphanage in Haiti. This weekend we're going to the 99 cent store to buy baby shampoo, etc. I plan to call the office in CO before I ship to confirm their needs and shipping instructions.

3. It rained here yesterday, and there is a chance of rain every day this week. Yippee! They are forecasting that we may get up to 3 inches from this series of storms. That's more rain than we had the entire year of 2009. I plan to soak up (no pun intended) these cloudy days, they are so rare here.

1.18.2010

Martin Luther King, Jr Day

I thought today would be a good time to revisit the "I Have a Dream" speech given by Martin Luther King, Jr on August 28, 1963. This is a good time to take out the yardstick and measure the improvements in civil rights, as well as ways we continue to need improvement.

"I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

1.17.2010

Help for Orphanage in Haiti

It may be a drop in the bucket, but I want to send supplies to God’s Littlest Angels Orphanage in Haiti. I learned of this orphanage when I used to watch “Adoption Stories” on TLC. When the earthquake struck, they were the first thing I thought of.

I get overwhelmed when I watch the earthquake coverage on the news. There are so many stories that I don’t hear the resolution to. It is heartbreaking. I know there are many organizations we can give money to, but I find it more manageable to think about helping one specific place. Also, sometimes it’s easier for us to give things rather than cash. GLA is an independent, non-denominational ministry founded to care for premature, malnourished, and abandoned children in Haiti. GLA is a faith mission relying on God to provide funding and other needs through churches and donors throughout North American and Europe.

I’m getting together supplies to send to this orphanage. They normally have a list of items they need on their website and of items they don’t need. Because of the earthquake, and the devastation around them, they are collecting almost everything to distribute in their community. If you live in the Phoenix Metropolitan area and want to donate, you can bring your items to my house or contact me, and Dan or I will try to come get them. If you live outside of the Phoenix area and want to help, I will include the contact information at the bottom of this post.

The items I’m collecting are:
Powdered formula
diapers
baby wipes
baby cereal
infant Tylenol
infant/children’s vitamins
Baby care items (lotion, powder, baby shampoo)
clothing for all sizes
hygiene items (soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste)
Blankets
towels

If you can help with any of this, just get it to me. Beth Ryall & I will be packing it and shipping it to Colorado Springs. They will get it on to the orphanage. Please have the items to me by Monday, 1/25/2010. Please forward this email to anyone you think would be interested in helping.

Contact information for the orphanage
http://glahaiti.org/
http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/

God’s Littlest Angels
2085 Crystal River Dr.
Colorado Springs, CO 80915

Thank you to everyone who can help. I’m not sure why this has touched my heart so, but it has. I’ve never done anything like this in my life. I just want to help.
Thanks!

1.16.2010

I'm Compelled to Help, Will You Join Me?

I have decided to try something I've never done before, I'm going to organize relief for the God's Littlest Angels Orphanage in Haiti.

Tomorrow I will post a list of items they need on my blog. I also plan to email this opportunity to my friends and family.

My friend, Beth, has offered to help me box up the supplies so we can mail them.

After I post the list, you may drop your items off at my house, or Dan or I will come and pick them up. I will also include a list of what they DON'T need. I will post their Colorado address so that those of you outside of Arizona can mail your own items.

I hope you'll join me. As I stated yesterday, I just get so overwhelmed with the partial stories I hear and see on the news. I want to donate to a specific place, where I know what they need and how they're going to use it. Plus, in these difficult times, it's often easier to donate items rather than cash.

The details will be up tomorrow!

1.15.2010

Another Update on God's Littlest Angels Orphanage


I've posted a link to a blog for the orphanage in the "My Blog list" section on the right side of this page. I am so distressed over the conditions in Haiti, and I'm trying to find a way to help that is concentrated to a specific need. I'm hoping to come up with a plan by Monday, and I will let you know then.

In the meantime, it's overwhelming to watch the stories out of Haiti on the news. There are too many stories, and too many times we don't know the resolution of a situation highlighted in the news segments. That's why I'm so focused on this orphanage. I can get up-to-the-minute information by reading this blog or Dixie's blog on the main website. They are posting clear information about what they need, why they need it, and what they plan to do with donations.

Please join me in continuing to pray for the people of Haiti, and the workers and children at God's Littlest Angels Orphanage.

1.14.2010

Winter Gala

We experienced another "grandparent moment" yesterday. Katie's daycare hosted their first annual "Winter Gala". When Katie called to invite us, I was thinking, "what in the world can a 7-month old do?" But, of course, we were happy to accept her invitation.

Each class in the school "sang" 1-3 songs. Each class. It started with the infants. They were brought in by their teachers in costume. The audience sang "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" to them. It was precious. Yes, we took pictures, however, we did not wave.

Each class in turn came in, sang (actually the teachers sang til we got to the older two year olds). Some of the kids were terrified of the audience, some of them were hams, all of them were cute! I saved two programs so I can scrapbook them.

Actually, the high point for me, was hearing the director of the center praising my daughter, Katie, the assistant director. I've seen Katie in action at work, and she is a terrific administrator. It was neat to hear it from her boss.

I texted Katie last night and told her "Now we've been to the Harvest Festival & the Winter Gala, we can't wait for the Spring Fling!" ha ha ha

Entering "the stage"

More interested in Mama than in the audience singing

Waving at Grammy & Gramps

Katie's determined that this child will have pigtails!

Proud Gramps with the pooped performer