Vote Educated or Vote Party Lines

This is my question.  How many people vote strictly because it's "their" party?  How many vote because this person is of the party that typically carries their views?  How many just educate/research and then vote for the better candidate or what seems to be at the time?  I say what seems to be at the time because they can all lead us to believe what they want.  That latter question is what is our moral obligation....in my opinion.

I'm STILL undecided.  I'm leaning, but I'm not there and won't be completely until November.  I'm latching onto everything I can read to compare the two sets and hopefully make a good decision.  I found this site http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/vote_menu_110_2.htm where I can read about their voting.  It seems they're both reaming each other about this, but with what I've read I've found they're both showing "not voting" about the same amount, so you can't go with that.  And when they do they "both" vote with their party.  So that's no a very good indication, now is it.

Ugghh....can't someone in power be their own person?

Lisa

Another day, another tooth

Well, Cole's molar makes tooth number 3 extracted this year.  Chase had two teeth, his fangs :), pulled last month to make room for two others that he lost in May and wouldn't come in due to room.  I'm still not clear how pulling those two and allowing the other two to come in will help.  Will the two that we pulled eventually come in if there's no room for them???

Anyways, Cole and his awesome brushing habits :( have worked him into a pretty bad cavity.  We've known about it since May, but the doc insisted we wait until that molar comes out at about age 12.  I kept telling him my kids are late at that and it wouldn't happen until at least 13.  :)  So anyways, it got bad enough this weekend to warrant getting it out.  I mean, not to be gross, but it was so big I stuck a toothpick through the rotten part.  EWE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And when doc pulled it he said those roots were in tact and had no plans of coming out anytime soon.  I could have told him that....oh wait I did.

Now the tooth is gone and so is the cavity!  Now the question is.  What does the tooth fairy pay for a rotten tooth.  Hmmm....maybe he should pay the tooth fairy.  I mean I wouldn't buy any rotten produce.  :)

Lisa

Happy Birthday Baby!!!

I CANNOT believe our youngest is 3!  It's just amazing really.  I don't remember any of the other 3 hitting me quite like my Chelsi. 

She didn't really get to celebrate yet 'cause everyone wanted to go to the football game last night.  She opened her gift from mom and dad at the game to keep her busy.  She got cell phone walkie talkies.  Tonight we'll have cake and ice cream and will post photos of that later.

Onto the sweet stuff.  Hmmm....what can I say.  This girl has all our love.  She is the one kid out of the 4 that took so much thought as to whether we wanted another child or not.  But, OH MY, could we never imagine any of our lives without her.  Her smile, her laughter, her sense of humor and cuddly sweetness.  She's always the one afraid of hurting someone else's feelings.  She won't say I love you if mom and dad are both there.  She says "I love mommy and daddy."  She would never leave the other one out.  Her heart's a good one.  She's terribly smart!  She knows her colors and numbers and is working on recognizing letters.  She can count to ten in English and Spanish...thanks to Dora the Explorer.  :)  She's just a great and amazing child and we're so thankful to God for getting the chance to be HER parents.  We are BLESSED!

Here are the photos I took this morning for her 3 year old portrait.

Does anyone else get tired of politics??

It's always, always, always the lesser or evils.  They all lie.  Some intentional, knowing they will not do what they say.  Some unintentional, after experience changes them...sometimes for the better sometimes for the worse.  The 2008 presidential elections is going to show true to be no different. 

I have watched bits and pieces of both conventions now.  I don't normally do that, but our world is a mess right now and I pray everyday things change and get better.  I want to try to know what I can and make an educated decision when I vote.    Here is some of my own observations and opinions taken away from these speeches and articles, etc.

Obama, I like.  I like that he talks to those of us that are "regular folk".  I like that he talks about how to change our economy and seems pretty focused on that.  It feels, at this point, it's time to focus on the middle-class that are being pushed further and further into poverty.  I don't like that he doesn't quite have the experience he probably needs.  Sometimes, that can be good.  I try to believe that.    Biden, has experience and lots of it, so that makes me feel good about it.  However, I'm a woman and I'm all for some "woman power", but Hillary ruined it.  Her speech was a bash more than a speech about why you should really vote for the candidates.  That always turns me.

Then there's McCain.  It's SOOOOOOOO hard to like someone that is so stinkin' rich that he actually doesn't think the economy is in trouble.  WHAT?!  And well, I shouldn't judge a book by their cover, but his wife just looks like the typical rich girl with everything she ever wanted...forget needed.  They don't know what need is.  Heck, I don't pretend that I truly know what need is, but there are so many in the United States that do, truly know need!  We make quite a bit under $100,000 annually (combined), raise a family of 6 and I'm saying we don't truly know what need is.  What about the people who are raising four kids, like us, and make far less?  Palin....I actually like.  She actually seems pretty well spoken and seems to have a decent head on her shoulders....which I think is why he chose her.  He NEEDS her to get the votes if he has a chance in you know where of winning.  I hope that her husband's job in the oil industry doesn't hurt her ability to make real decisions in Washington, should she go.  But, gosh, McCain just bugs me so much, he almost ruins it for her.  Then you have Giuliani.  Well, his speech SUCKED!  He wouldn't know how to talk to real families if he tried.  He's just the Hillary for the Republican party.  Let's bash the other party instead of talking about real issues.

What to do, what to do??  Does it matter?  I'm not one of those pushy people who insist that whomever I vote for is the ONLY way to go.  I'm neither Republican nor Democrat.  I just vote as I feel in my heart and gut.  I just pray that in the end, whomever that is that gets seated in that big white house in Washington, God leads them to make the right decisions.  The right decisions to help all of us.  To keep us all safe, alive and economically sound.  Economically sound for our governments and ourselves.  We still have families to take care of.  And I want to be able to do that.  Honestly, the one thing of Obama's, regardless of who gets in office, I'd like to see done, is to raise taxes on high, high incomes.  That's where the money is to be had.  Not those of us scraping by and keeping it honest.

Lisa

Here's my Cinderella

My smart girl

Okay, they’re both smart.  I mean, how many two year olds count in Spanish and English, knows all her colors and is recognizing letters.  She hears something once and gets it.  That’s Chelsi.

Kaelin has drive.  I always knew she was smart, but she wants it.  I knew she’d do well when she started school this year because she wanted it.  I asked her tonight if the teacher makes them work hard and she said “yes”.  I asked her if she liked that and she promptly said “I want to learn so I can know everything when I grow up”.  How awesome is that!

 Lisa

My baby got her hair CHOPPED!!!

for Locks of Love.

Kaelin’s been growing her hair for Locks of Love for the past year.  It started getting so long we’d thought about getting it cut, so I told her about this.  She grew it out for the donation.  I took her in tonight to get the ponytail cut and my it looks cute!  She looks so grown up.  Someone is now going to have her beautiful hair and she can always grow more if she wants.

Should I?







Here’s the ponytail.



Never really had a professional cut before, so enjoying the perks.  This is my favorite picture.  Why you ask?  Because her face, in this picture, looks so much like the face of the little girl we met in airport 6 1/2 years ago.  My, has it been that long?



Here’s the final do.  What a beautiful cut for her beautiful face.