wordless wednesday

Here are some more protest pictures

I think (actually I know) I'm glad that I didn't post anything while the protests were going on. Why? Well, because I think I might have blown up on the blog. . . I really don't want to offend anyone, but I DO feel it's important to be able to have and state an opinion. There were many a conversation had that included topics around friends and family not talking because of the differences in opinion. I really don't want to be that way! What I have been continually asking myself throughout these past few months is "Who benefits from this bill?" I surely know who will be hurt with the passing of this bill and it will be millions of people.




I feel my blood boiling just a bit remembering all the media talking about all of the "union thugs" that have been living high off the hog in WI. HELLO!! Okay, I'll stop, get off the soap box, remember I don't want to offend anyone~ Keep calm. . . .




In short, I think the 14 DEMS did a damn good thing leaving the state and camping out in Illinois so that this bill could explode and be brought out into the public the way it was. This is what my tax dollars are spent on and believe well spent! Here is a video that I took (I did take many, just not all turned out the greatest) from one evening at the capital. (I've tried twice to upload video without success! I'll try again after school)



I'll post some more great pictures tomorrow from when the 14 dems came back to the capital. The crowds were 100,000+ people! And not ONE incident!

This is how we spent February

We protested at the capital. Yes, the capital building in Madison, Wisconsin with thousands of others who were outraged by the new Governor's bill. . . Here are some pictures~







This is our crew in the car on our way to Madison.









This is inside the capital. I have quite a few of these~





















Mine and Bobbie's girls exercising their rights to protest the injustice!

feel like a poll

but don't know what to do a poll on? share some of your ideas . . .

lost my mind

and forgot to post Saturday! I hope no one holds it against me! Between conferencing, driving home and spending time with the family I totally forgot! Sorry. . . .

Today is our local crop walk, I'll have some nice pictures to post afterward! I'll make sure I do . . Until then, off to church!

what to write about??

So today I am in Chicagoland for a Therapeutic Listening conference with a co-worker. We are having a great time. We learned lots at the conference, then went to IKEA, Sephora for the girls haircare and then the Cheesecake Factory. Carrot cake cheese cake, YUM YUM. Day two is tomorrow and we are going to learn more about specific protocols, modulated music, and of course more ear anatomy! WOOHOO. . .

Taxes = check = done

TAXES ARE DONE!! HOORAY!!
We always wait until the last minute. . . . and yes, I know we shouldn't but that seems to be our mode of operation since the girls have been home for a ton of reasons that I would prefer not to share at this moment in time. . .

So, we are NOT waiting to the very last minute, which is good, but still pretty late~ A little more printing to do, envelopes to address, stamps to stick and take em' to the post office. . . ALL DONE! Thanks be to God!

wicked wednesday

didn't have time to make a great post, way too busy. . . .too much work for this public school employee to do after work today in addition to worship and the other great things we do in our family! Tomorrow taxes! YIKES!!

To Blog or not to Blog?

That is the question?

Why Blog?
Blog is defined as:
(a blend of the term web log) is a type of website or part of a website. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. Blog can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

Most blogs are interactive, allowing visitors to leave comments and even message each other via widgets on the blogs and it is this interactivity that distinguishes them from other static websites.

Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (art blog), photographs (photoblog), videos (video blogging), music (MP3 blog), and audio (podcasting). Microblogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts.

As of 16 February 2011, there were over 156 million public blogs in existence. Citation is most reliable: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog, Retrieved on April 12, 2010.

In the beginning I had a blog because I wanted to share our adoption journey with our family and well. . . our family was farther away than we cared for, so this was a way to share the story. It was private, only invited people could access it. My girls and our process was private way back then. Then the girls came home and well. . . it became public. I thought the girls are home, everything is legal and well, why not let others view "the blog". I'm not really a political blogger, I don't have a particular style to blogging. I pretty much use the blog as an online diary of some sort. To share snapshots of our family with others that know us and that well. . . we don't know, since IT IS public. I hope that some people reading feel as though they could adopt children from another country and that it's not a far away, non achievable goal. I hope that for some, the blog is just funny at times. I hope for some it's taken serious as some of the posts are, serious that is. . . .

I find it interesting that somedays I really want to share the random thoughts that float throughout my dura matter and other days I want to be quiet and not share. Before I post, I always ask myself is this something I will regret sometime in the future or even after I hit the "Publish Post" button.

I wish I knew more of my visitors. I know some of them by their locations and others by their email or FB posts. . . I know my husband claims to be a contributor of the blog, but rarely posts although does read often :-). Sometimes this is how he knows what's on my mind!

So I guess I blog to remember certain specific things, other times I blog because I have to put something together like a PPT or a short video clip and I know I'll keep those as keepsakes. I hope that someday my girls will publish a post about something random. That would be cool . . . For now, I'll just keep rambling and hopefully someone will find some meaning in it. For now, I say good-bye!

Happy Monday

It was one of THOSE days and I was happy to come home. . . Not that I'm not happy to come home after work, but today was really really happy! I did manage a run after work, but think the sun needs to come out soon. The cloudy days are NOT helping.

The first nice day of the year! Temperature wise that is~

I so love it when the weather guessers are right! It was in the 80's here today and it was beautiful outside. I couldn't have asked for a better day on the weekend. The family went for a 6.5 mile bike ride today. The girls got new bikes last week and have been itching to go and ride, so today we did! The weather was threatening to be stormy, but was nice all day. . . as I write the thunderstorms are coming so I thought I'd better post before I have to turn off the computer for the night. We took out the grill and made brats (a great traditional Wisconsin feast, ha ha). The girls watched a movie before bed and all is well in the H. Household. . .

This beautiful weather makes me itch for summer. I already have the countdown in my calendar for how many days of school left before break! I don't want it to go too fast though, I have lots to do before June. . . So here's hoping for a somewhat spring like week. The weather guessers are guessing a high of 54 degrees for tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to that :-(

Signs of Spring

Many signs of spring were here today! First it was 65 degrees and we were outside for most of the day. DH cleaning the garage and me and Ms. B the van, vacuuming, armor-alling, and a car wash. It was a lovely day. We have some purple flowers peeking from the dirt and the grass is getting greener, not so brown. I'm liking the newness of the spring season. It's refreshing. Even Fenric got to be outside with his people for a while this afternoon. Can't wait until we take down the storms and put in the screens. Perhaps tomorrow as the weather forcast is teasing us with the temperatures in the 80's. We'll see :-)

Monopoly 101

We've had a Monopoly game in the house sitting in the wrapper since the girls have been home and yes that would be almost three years!! But really, we couldn't play it with them way back when, no counting skills, buying and selling property, houses, wheeling and dealing. . . . the list goes on. . . so last Sunday we pull out the game, set it up and begin playing. . . we stopped after about 90 minutes as it was creeping up on bedtime. Tonight we resume play and after the last property was sold the dealing began. "I'll trade you this place for that place and an additional $500.00 bucks" So on and so forth. . . the girls get to count money, albeit it fake, it's still cool. I mean really, when does the bank ever give you $1500.00 start up cash for nothing? So, in tonights game houses and hotels were purchased and lots of rent was paid. It got a little scary for Miss Kidist, she took it a little too seriously. Mr. B just sold me his stuff and became the girls financial manager. Then Kidist went out and the game went on a little longer between Miss B and me. We sold back houses, mortgaged properties and eventually the game came to an end and the Queen, that would be me, took over the neighborhood. It was done in fun and we had a really good time. It's nice to be able to play some of the more sophisticated games with the girls now that they have some good solid language, counting/money skills and well frankly some really good bargaining skills!

My political rantings. . .

It's early and before work, but I thought I would try to write now instead of later when my brain seems to be really tired. So the Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice election is over and it seems that Kloppenburg has claimed victory. I must say that I am happy about this as I don't want to see everyone's collective bargaining rights taken away. It's scary enough that the budget repair bill has eliminated tooooo many jobs and is forcing people to pay thousands of dollars each year for their pension and healthcare when they haven't planned for it. There has to be a better or different way. I'm a public employee, work for a school district, serving little kids who have disabilities, and I'll tell you it's not just 5 days a week for about 36 weeks. I bring my work home. . . .ok, see I can feel my blood boil a bit . . . . calm calm. . . .what I am afraid of is the millions of people old, young, middle class whose lifestyles will change drastically. . . perhaps losing their home, losing their job, losing their insurance. . . the list goes on and on. It really feels like the rich will be getting richer and the poor? Well, really who cares about them? (That's total sarcasm!) I've had people tell me that this whole budget thing isn't going to affect them!! REALLY!! How can it not affect you? I don't care who you are, it'll affect you. The school district I work in has a 97% poverty rate, the city I live in has a 57% poverty rate. It's going to affect us. . . .the students, the teachers, the custodians. . . . This morning's headlines said that the school board has approved 130 job cuts from our school district. That's disastrous!! Public education is the last place that children can raise themselves out of poverty and become productive citizens in society! And now that is disappearing. . . I'm afraid for Wisconsin and afraid for what will happen in other states as a result. . . Lot's on my mind. . . .

fun stuff

This would be me and Miss B. playing with the new macbook pro. . . talking silly pictures with the camera in the laptop. . .
fun halloween pictures. . .

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!

Short post today as it is my birthday and I've had an exhausting day and well, I'm tired. . . . So thank you to everyone who has wished me a happy day and for my dear beloved husband and beautiful girls who have made my special day even more special. I love you all!

Sprouting some love. . .

or at least trying to! So I like Jesus, like everything he stands for and would love to be able to love the world like he did in his day! I struggle with talking about Jesus and walking like Jesus. . . I really don't talk loudly about my faith, I'd rather be busy doing my faith walk. . .I don't know if that is a good or bad thing, it just is. . .My wonderful DH is a pastor and we are very involved in the doings of the church, church life, trying to make the world a better place for those who are in it and for those who have a difficult time in it, advocating for those who don't know how to advocate or just plain can't. I see so many blogs and websites that are so out there. . . in their faith walk and am envious (sometimes). . .I'm often times afraid to "go ahead" with something, or "put myself out there". . . I believe that my DH and I were called to adopt the girls and that is part of our witness in the world and a great leap/walk/jump in our faith journey. . . I love my girls and I see Jesus in them everyday, (even when I'm cranky). . .

On Ash Wednesday, the Pastor, my DH, asked the gathered crowd sitting in the pews to write all the things that hold me (us) back from being what God wants me (us) to be. At the top of the list for me was FEAR! Imagine that!! . . .FEAR. . . Fear of rejection, fear of being wrong, fear of being made fun of, the list goes on with the FEAR. . . there were other things as well, but FEAR is really what holds me back and probably what holds many people back from being all that God wants us to be. . .

What exactly am I afraid of? Some things I can name, others I can feel but are unable to name and well, there are those things out there that I just have not come to realize yet. . . I know that as I get older and have more experiences in the world, read more about the social issues of the world, etc. I am becoming less afraid of talking about issues, advocating, asking for monetary gifts for ministry. THIS IS GOOD!!

What does God expect of me as a follower of Jesus? I'm still trying to figure that out and attempt to everyday. I remember hearing about The Great Commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself and the Great Commission: Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them. . . many many times. Given that these are the essential parts of the faith, how does one put them into action??

During our social ministry team meeting this evening and discussed some of the ways to become more socially aware of our neighbors. Members in our group are giving prayful consideration to a commitment of 30 weeks of 2.5 hour meetings to development a community of socially minded people and how we can be a more present powerful voice for those who are not able to. I think this is a good start. . .

Sprouting A Greater Fiscal Awareness

What to talk about in regard to sprout, sprouting, growing, to emerge and grow rapidly? I am current watching a documentary regarding the $$ crisis is the USA. It’s called I.O.U.S.A. and it’s quite an eye opener, especially about the Federal Government’s Deficit and how it came to be since the beginning of time, George Washington. In lieu of all the great political stuff going on here in the great state of Wisconsin, being fiscally aware is really really important right now. I’d be smart to take an economics class now, and I might actually pass it because it’ll make sense to me now. My knowledge of the current day economic concerns is causing my brain cells to come forth and grow (the noun use of the word sprout). Is capitalism the best thing for this world? Consume, consume, consume. . . How do we stop buying more than we can afford, and I’m not just talking individually, but collectively? The program I am watching is discussing the future of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, the three largest programs that will cost more than the monies coming in to the government offices. What do we do?? How can I be more responsible individually?

So yes, I live in Wisconsin and I work in public education. Our governor is trying to make life very difficult for many millions of people. A summary of Senate Bill 11 can be viewed here. (Note: Governor Walker’s plan will make no difference to the looming national debt crisis.)
The population in Wisconsin is approximately 5.7 million people as of today. I am personally struggling with the millions of people who will lose their health care, their homes, and many other things for the sake of a “balanced budget”. Private sector workers versus public sector workers, pitting one against the other, the fighting between the middle class “haves” and “have nots”.

Living beyond your means. Live within your means. Live well within your means and put some $$ away for your future!

I know I’m rambling, but this is the stuff that is on my great mind these days. . . Being responsible, socially, financially and a whole lotta other ways. . .

sprouting minds. . .

This morning we went to church at 6:00 am to help serve breakfast at our local rotating mens shelter. All of us went. We made some hearty oatmeal with lots of stuff to put in it like raisins, craisins, brown/white sugar, blueberries, and fruit cocktail. It was quite good I must say. . .

The girls like to help at church, serving food, communion, helping for Sunday School, helping Bond and I with whatever project we have. I like that their minds are working, thinking about social issues and concerns for other human beings. Their questions are questions of a 7 & 9 year old, but I'm glad that they are asking questions. This morning we had many questions about why people are homeless and how come they don't have anywhere to go, how come they can't find a job or somewhere to live, why don't they have a family, etc. I tell you, good questions for 7 & 9 years old. So we attempted to answer them the best we could and then we colored. . . yes colored pictures. . . of our family and our neighborhood surroundings. I'm glad the girls feel secure enough to ask of those kinds of questions but also recognize the good things that have been made available to them and can express those blessings in pictures. . .

Sprout

Sprout: can be used as a noun or a verb. Here are some definitions.

Verb
1. To begin to grow; give off shoots or buds.
2. To emerge and develop rapidly.
3. To cause to come forth and grow.
Noun
1. Young plant growth, such as a bud or shoot.
2. Something resembling or suggestive of a sprout, as in rapid growth: "a tall blond sprout of a boy" (Anne Tyler).
3. sprouts
a. The young shoots of plants such as alfalfa and soybean, usually eaten raw.
b. Brussels sprouts.

Today I think I will use the word as a noun and a verb. This morning I will be going to Miss B's classroom to talk about adoption and there are many many young sprouts in her classroom. Bayat has shared some of her adoption story already, and we've had many conversations about what to share and perhaps what not to share, that is PRIVATE stuff. . . .not everyone needs to know stuff. . . ok, so today I will be bombarded by questions by 1st graders I'm sure and I'm also sure that I'll be developing some sprouting minds by the time we are done talking about adoption.