Let's Be One Nation Under God

I've heard so many people who are truly and utterly upset that McCain lost the election.  I don't mean disappointed, but I mean in anger and thoughts of fear that this country is going to hell in a handbag.  I can't imagine being that extreme.  I guess some might say it's passionate, I still say extreme.  I would have been a little let down if Obama had lost, but far from angry.  I figured whomever won, it was part of God's plan for us all....this world, this country.  I realize we all have free will, but do you think anyone other than God could compell us all to vote a certain way for any other reason.  I hope this election taught everyone something.  1.  Don't sit by idly and let things happen.  Get involved.  Know your reps and voice your opinion to them.  2.  Our votes count...all of them. 

I hope that we see some real changes.  Not just for today, but for tomorrow.  It would be nice to see some actual changes in the way politics are run and Washington functions.  That's a tall order though.

Anyways, here's a great link I found and enjoyed.  It's from people who voted on both sides and just want us to be one.

http://www.zefrank.com/from52to48withlove/index.html

I guess this is it....a new President?

I guess, they've pretty much, officially, called it since McCain gave his concession speech.  I didn't expect it to be this early.  I expected an unexpected tight race.  Tighter than what they were thinking with the unofficial polls.  Judging by the people around us, I figured we'd be a minority voting the way we did, but that's okay.  I'm okay with my vote.  I read and educated myself.  I made the best decision I could and he is now our President-elect.  I know some family are probably not happy with me, but I am an adult and as long as I have tried to educate myself you can't fault someone for an opinion they've made based on their best educated judgement. 

I pray that those that did not vote for Senator Obama and were vehemently against him find their fears unfounded.  There is nothing wrong voting either way.  I never vote Republican OR Democrat.  But, now that we have a new President, he needs to be supported.   And I pray he truly earns that support as I hoped he would as I voted for him.  I pray that some barriers of racism fade some.  I pray my children do not have to deal with racism and that this important event in history changes that.  We're all scared of change, but sometimes that change can be some of the best unexpected things to occur  in our lives. 

I have to say that I'm happy to see our country slowly changing.  We are seeing interacial families, couples and now a biracial President.  I try my hardest to make sure my children never believe any person, trying to be a good person, is any less than anyone else.  They have too many times brought home questions about something said at school that I would have never anticipated coming.  You have to know some of these comments are not thought of by these children, but brought on by the people around them.  My children are not caucasian in the sense some people assume.  They are a great example of this country and the melting pot it was meant to be.  My children are Korean-American, and a mixture of German, Irish, Native-American, English and Spanish.  I love that about my children.  They are perfectly beautiful...all four.  And I would not have these perfectly beautiful children without this country being exactly as it is and going through the times it has encountered.  I love going somewhere and people are all so different.  I can't remember the teacher now, but when I was in elementary school, I remember a teacher telling us that it would be such a boring place if we all acted alike and looked alike.  And she was right.  You can see so many beautiful people walking down the street in just about any city in America.  They're not one race.  They're many.

I think a lot of great things can come out of this.  Either way that was possible.  I think people are very disenchanted with Washington as a whole and pray that the recent events and turns of the economy are enough for all in Washington to take the people supporting them serious and make things fair on all sides.  Make folks skirting the laws and policies (rich or poor) accountable for what they do.  And not reward people for bad decisions made without due diligence.  I pray God is watching out for our new President-elect and all of the folks in Washington.  I would have that prayer regardless of who got in.  Things need to change and I pray God guides them appropriately and they listen.

It's a new world now.  I hope it's a great one!

Must be doing something right

Yesterday, after nap, I asked Chelsi if she folded her blankie back up since she got out of bed on her own.  She said yes.  I asked her again and she said yes again.  I then said "Chelsi are you lying to me"...to which she said "yes".  :)  So I went in her room and asked her to fold it.  Not a big deal, we just want them to get used to doing little things the best they can.  They all have little chores after they turn 3.  This is hers. 

I left her room and went to my room to get ready to go somewhere.  She comes in and says "mommy, I'm sorry.  I lied to you in the living room and I folded my blanket now."  A couple of seconds later she was still apologizing for lying.  She was serious.  I thought for sure her dad had sent her in to do that, but he hadn't.  She knew she was wrong to lie.  At age 3...she knew she was wrong to lie.  What a great girl!

BOOOO!!!

Happy Halloween!!

The kids got ready by carving pumpkins.  They didn't turn out quite like we'd hoped.  They were hard as a rock.  I guess all the rain this year made them nice and strong.  I had to hammer the knife into them to cut the tops off, so they didn't have great designs like the kids wanted...just plain old faces and one puking pumpkin.  Imagine that, it was Cole's.

For Halloween, Cole hung out with his friend Layne.  The girls were rockstars and Chase was their bodyguard.  They had a great time.  Got tons of candy.













 

 

 





And glowstick fun.

Alright, here's a brag

Mom's try not to do it often, but I have to say, my baby girl is SO smart!  We've always thought each one was special in their own way for one thing or another.  Cole studied everything and, despite heart surgery at 8 1/2 months, still fully walked by 10.  Chase was a laid back, go with the flow, lover baby.  He was always smarter than he let on.  Kaelin was little miss independence...still is.  She walked at 10 months and has been going non-stop ever since.  She's the one who laughs a lot, but is pretty sensitive.

Chelsi seems to have pieces of all 3 of her siblings rolled into one.  She's got a sweet, loving personality.  She's funny and laughs a lot.  She is incredibly bright!  This baby born 10 weeks early at 3 lbs is doing so much!  She is terribly coordinated, dances and sings.  She has a memory like a recorder.  If she hears it a couple of times, she remembers it.  She just turned 3 a month ago and knows more than any of the other 3, maybe even combined, at this age.  This weekend she started saying our phone number as loud as she could in the middle of Target.  I had no idea she knew it.  Apparently, Brian's been quizzing Kaelin occassionally on the way home so she knows it for school and now Chelsi knows it too.  She knows all of her letter and number...I can't remember how far she can count anymore because she goes on and on.  She recognizes all of her number to 10 and 90% of her letters and can tell you what word is associated with the letter.  She knows her shapes and colors and can speak extremely clear and articulated.  She knows exactly, in perfect English, how to get across what she wants to say to anyone and she very clearly does that.  She tells you exactly what she's thinking and you don't have to guess at what she's saying.  She uses proper English better than most school-aged kids.  She can sing so many songs.  I've lost count of everything she knows.  Then, a couple of weeks ago, we were sitting on the floor and she started reciting the Hail Mary.  Apparently, they pray that at daycare, but mil didn't think she could do it on her own.  I recorded it, so I'll put it below.  The light is aweful and she wasn't really in the mood to do it, so it's not as clear as she usually is.  She's such a big girl is such a teensy, young body.  My baby girl!

Score card for parenting?

Don't you wish there was one?  I mean something just to let you know you're on the right path with each child.  One to let you know you did the right thing in this situation and that.  As they get older, you seem to get thrown into more and more situations and it feels aweful to punish them so often.  I feel like we have done nothing but punish Cole lately.  I finally told him tonight that, though he might think we enjoy it, it would be so much easier to not do a thing and he could watch tv or listen to his MP3, not be bored, etc.  But, instead, we have to do what we feel he might learn a lesson from which causes us to have to stay on top of him to make sure he's adhering to the discipline. 

So for like the 3rd time in 2 weeks he has no screen privileges (tv, gameboy, MP3, etc.).  We also made him stay home from a Halloween party he was supposed to go to.  I was actually looking forward to getting to know the kids he hangs out with and some of their parents, but I didn't want him to think his actions were okay.  We couldn't figure out why he was already getting a D- in a class and he didn't know why either.  Uh huh.  He tells us this morning that he needs to write a paper after soccer.  It finally hits me that this paper is in the class he's getting a D in and he NEVER has weekend homework.  So I asked him and sure enough this paper was due FRIDAY.  Well, A....he lied...didn't know why he was getting a D.  And B....he procastinated and didn't complete homework that he had 4 days to work on.

We worked on it all day today.  I asked him if all of his Saturday was worth working on something he could have done in a couple of nights.  The answers was a big "this sucks, no way".  How else did you expect an 11 year old to answer you.  :)

Hopefully this is a score for the parentals.

Lisa

Wish you could pick your child's friends sometimes?

I do.  But, I know that will not work.  I try hard to sway our child and give them things to think about, but watching things happen is hard.  I'm sure as the girls get older it will be worse, 'cause girls are so catty, but boys have their own set of issues.

Cole had his MP3 player at school for a project on Monday.  He left it in the classroom (hidden from plain view) so he could use it again Tuesday.  Tuesday he found it to be gone.   He told his teacher and they looked everywhere for it.  He was mostly upset because the data cable that he had brought to hook it up to her computer was his dad's.  We'd told him very explicitly not to lose it since Cole couldn't find his own.  Finally, another student told the teacher they'd seen someone with an MP3 player on the bus that morning.  That child "found it" on Monday.  The teacher called to explain to me what had happened because Cole was so upset.  The cable was not found.  Last night Cole realized there was additional music downloaded on it an some of his songs were corrupted.  Funny, 'cause you can't download songs without that cable.  Well, the same kid "happened" to find the cable today in another area of the school.  ;0)  Uh huh.

This is one of his friends.  Can I insert the devil face here?  He doesn't see the problem because he doesn't know for sure this friend did it.  How to explain that one to an 11 year old??

Lisa