Somebunny thinks this is pwehcious...

Tyler, can we get a bunny?
...for Ben and Zoe?
...so they can cuddle?

And we don't need a kitty cat, but this is awfuwy sweet too!


siwwy wabbit.

Tag, I'm it!

Good times. Volree tagged me for a picture post! The object of the picture tag is to:

1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer

2) Select the 4th picture in the folder

3) Explain the picture

4) Tag 4 people to do the same

So here's my picture.

We're waiting for our friends' Arlyn and Garren's wedding reception to start a couple of years ago, in our BB days. (Before Ben) Has to have been the shortest ceremony in history, but was also a really fun party. We are with Heather and Nathan - Tyler's roomate during college - who live in California. And I have bangs!

That's all I got. I tag Jess, Kelley, Sarah and Anca!

I'm not Voting for a Man...

I'm Voting for Generations of Children and their Right to Live.

That's the title of the blog that our pastor found that has made my non-political self brave enough to write a post concerning a political issue. I just can't not share this with as many people as possible. This article is written by a Christian, which I am, from the perspective that human life starts at conception, which I believe. Reading this has pushed me from the "I feel like I should vote for McCain, but I'm not really excited about it" party to the "I'm terrified of what will happen to millions of unborn children if Obama gets in" party.

So that makes me a single-issue voter, and some people may scoff at that. Which is another reason that, while I've always been prolife, during this campaign I've been trying hard (and often coming up short) to fully grasp the plans and platforms each candidate supports for healthcare, the economy, oil drilling, etc. so that I can make a nice Pros vs. Cons list to help me choose a candidate. But this article showed me that the results of the decisions made by the incoming president on those issues, while important, pale in comparison to the results of appointing prolife or prochoice Supreme Court judges and in signing the Freedom of Choice Act that Obama has promised to support.

A couple of the author's points that hit home to me (but the whole article is well worth the read):

Is the candidate’s stand on the issue of shedding innocent blood important enough to disqualify him as a candidate? Yes. While a single issue can’t qualify a candidate, it can disqualify him.
***
I don’t think someone is a good candidate just because he is prolife. But he cannot be a good candidate unless he is prolife. Personally, if he is committed to legalized child-killing, as a matter of conscience I must vote against him.
***
I say OF COURSE THERE ARE OTHER ISSUES. I don't minimize them. All I can say is the differences between the candidates on those issues don't stack up, even cumulatively, to the legalized killing of human beings.
***
It's a matter of relative importance, not just a number of issues. A man who is a good husband in most respects, but who beats his wife, is not a good husband. That issue outweighs all the others.
***
I've heard other prolife people say "I don't like either candidate, so I'm not voting at all." Well, ask yourself who you're willing to punish by not voting. If it's political parties who will pay, fine, I really don't care about them. Sure, it would be better not to vote than to vote against God's children's right to live. But if instead of abstaining you have a chance to vote for God's children's right to live, why would you not do that?
***
Don't vote for the man, vote for generations of children who will have a chance to live if he's elected, even if he's just a mediocre president in other areas.
***
Today is Ben's 9-month birthday (fun post to come, promise!). Nine months. That's how long he lived inside of me as he was "knitted together" by our Creator. He has developed, has grown, but he is the same person today as he was nine months ago and as he was becoming nine months before that.

a beating heartwith DNA all his own
a child of God

To me, that's one issue worth voting to protect.

Have you seen this?!

It's been circulating for a few days now, but I just watched it. Turn up your speaker and get the tissues ready. (in a good way) It's embarrassing to cry in the office, but your co-workers will understand if they watch it too.

I don't know how to upload a utube video just yet, but this link should work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adYbFQFXG0U

So amazing!

technical difficulties...please stand by

I'm changing my password.

And not telling my husband what it is.

tagged!

Not a relevant picture, but the post just seems incomplete without a picture of Ben.

I also don't know what the deal is with the font color and formatting. But it is waay past my betime, so it will have to stay as is. For now.

As a blogging newbie, I'm honored to have been tagged by Kelley to answer some questions that I have now spent way too much time thinking about! Here goes...

What was I doing 10 years ago?
I'd just graduated high school and moved from Nashville to Chattanooga to start a summer class at Southern Adventist University. My oh-so-helpful dad had also set me up with a cool on-campus job in the student finance office that fortunately started right away. (no lack of sarcasm in that sentence!) But everything happens for a reason as 10 years ago this summer, I was also meeting my future husband!
5 things on my to do list today:

1. make a dreaded trip to Walmart on Lakeshore. (the black sheep of the Walmart family)
2. get four hours of work done.
3. make a grocery list for my family's visit this weekend.
   do laundry.
4. mail party invitations!

5 snacks that I enjoy:
(should've asked for 5 that I don't enjoy - that would be easier)

1. trail mix - which I've had to ban, due to portion distortion
2. chips and salsa
3. Ritz crackers and peanut butter
4. Cheese: cubed, sliced, melted, in cracker form - anything except blue!
5. a toss up between fresh cut fruit, carrot sticks and chocolate chip cookies

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire:

1. Tithe and be happy knowing that the investment was far better spent then I could ever manage to do on my own!
2. Quit my job. Don't get me wrong - it's a good job. But when would I have the time to work with all the traveling and shopping I'd be doing?! (see how I snuck two other things into this one?)
3. Buy a private jet and hire a pilot so that we could see our families and friends at a moment's notice.
4. Wipe out debt from struggling women's and children's organizations.
5. Buy organic groceries.

5 Bad Habits:

1. snacking. See previous question. I could go without full meals in lieu of just snacking...but of course, I don't!
2. picking. I have a tactile obsession of attacking skin abnormalities/imperfections of my loved ones. So if I try to scrape off your blackhead, consider it a compliment!
3. comparing myself to others.
4. celebrity gossip. Who cares if Tom and Katie are planning for a little brother or sister for Suri? Me, that's who!\
5. being late. It's always been a problem, but has only been compounded since Ben was born. If I ever tell you I'm going to try to get there early, plan on me arriving almost on time.

5 places I have lived:

1. Nashville, TN (specifically the 'burbs of West Nashville, Brentwood, Hendersonville)
2. Chattanooga, TN during and after college
3. Bracknell, England during a semester abroad
4. Birmingham, AL since 2004
5. The big question! Wherever we settle down after Tyler completes his residency in 2010...

5 jobs I have had:

1. Server at The Cooker and American Cafe
2. Camp counselor, lifeguard and kitchen staff (gotta start somewhere!)
3. Communications Technician for McKee Foods, maker of Little Debbie products
4. Marketing Assistant for a billing and practice management company
5. Member Services director for UAB's Campus Recreation Center

I want to know more about (you're tagged):

1. Angie Davis
2. Kirsten Radnoti
3. Deanna Prentice
   

prayers needed

Some good friends, Dona Lisa and Gene Conklin, are desperately in need of prayer. Their son, Amyas, was born three weeks early on January 31, weighing 4 lbs, 12 oz. Since then, he has experienced several seizures and is being cared for at a local children's hospital in California. The prognosis from the doctors is bleak: severe brain damage and possible blindness/deafness. To make matters worse, their insurance won't cover the mounting hospital bills.

This world is far from fair, and this sweet couple deserves a healthy child as much as anyone else. There aren't words to console these parents, and we can't even scratch the surface of Amyas's medical bills, but hopefully our prayers will give them peace, hope and strength when they can't find it on their own. Please take just a minute to pray for a miraculous healing and that by trusting in the Lord, Lisa and Gene can find new strength. If you have encouraging words and/or scripture that I could pass along to them, please post or email me. Thanks!