An Emotional Day

I didn't expect it at all, but from the moment the Obamas emerged from the White House after coffee with the Bushes, my tears didn't stop. I love that our country has such a peaceful transition of power. I love the dignity and grace with which the Bush's welcomed the Obamas into the White House. My heart went out to President Bush as he left the White House for the last time -- thinking of all the eight years of toil and shortcomings, and being unappreciated and unpopular by the majority of his country's citizens.

I felt excited for the Obamas and thought how overwhelmed they must be at the prospect of their new life of challenges and burdens. I thought of those beautiful, innocent girls who have so much to learn and experience.

I thought of the hundreds of thousands of people who sacrificed to come to Washington, who stood for hours in freezing temperatures, who stood shoulder to shoulder with strangers to sing, to celebrate, to stand in support of our new leader.

I was especially touched by the letter Jenna and Barbara Bush wrote to the Obama girls, which was published in the Wall Street Journal today. It was heartfelt and filled with wisdom, wit and and sincere goodwill and a touch of humor.

My prayers are with each and every one of them -- Mr. and Mrs. Bush as they spend their first night as regular citizens; President and Mrs. Obama as the begin to shoulder the awesome responsability of the First Couple, and all the citizens from every walk of life who have expressed their hope and their support for a man who has inspired our hope and our dreams for a better tomorrow for all people in all nations. God bless the President; God bless America; and God bless all our brothers and sisters on earth.

A Few More Pre Inaugural Photos

Pre Inaugural Peek!

I just couldn't stand the thought of living so close to the Nation's capitol without seeing the Inaugural preparations with my own eyes so I woke up Kate at 8:00 this morning and asked her if she wanted to ride the metro downtown to see the preparations. Always up for an adventure, she said "yes"! It was a mere 27 degrees outside and so we dawned our warmest clothes, grabbed our cameras and headed out.

The metro parking lot was practically empty, and so that was a good sign. The subway soon filled with excited groups who were headed in the same direction. We sat by a group of teenagers from Arkansas who were here with their teacher to witness this historical inauguration. It seemed like Christmas -- everyone was filled with goodwill and laughter -- and it started snowing!

We got out at Union Station and started our trek around the Capitol. The first thing we noticed were the protesters out in front of Union Station. The next thing we noticed were the countless rows of porta-potties. We heard there will be over 5,000. That sounds like a lot, but if you consider there will be over 1,000,000 people, it doesn't seem like nearly enough!

We saw a lot of camera crews wandering around, groups of people from other countries, security guards with bomb dogs, and groups of national guards. We saw all the signs that will direct all the people tomorrow. We saw all the red, white, and blue bunting and flags, and we saw the platform and chairs set up on the west side of the capitol. We saw the flags lining Pennsylvania Avenue. We even heard them trying out the sound system -- and it sounded GREAT!

We snapped a few photos, eavesdropped on a few conversations, and got ourselves back to Union Station to get warm -- but not before we saw the fife and drum musicians playing their songs.

Once inside Union Station, we grabbed a hot chai and croissant. We were so happy we made the effort to go downtown today -- and are very happy we won't be there tomorrow with a million people. All that standing around in the freezing cold weather -- and waiting in a seemingly endless line for the porta potty!

I'm Back!

After my hiatus, I am back and ready to blog. I've got a post pending, but have to wait for the pics to be ready to post. I missed blogging!

Taking a Break

Time to take a break from writing. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with much joy, love and adventure!

Cookies, Anyone?

A cookie-lover's dream -- Emily, Pam and Leah's annual cookie exchange! Each person (and there were over 20) brings six dozen of her favorite cookies and after a wonderful lunch, we each get a tin, line up, and start taking cookies from each pile. Oh, there were delicious cookies! Lots of chocolate ones this year, along with hazelnut filled chocolate cookies, peanut butter bars, molasses crinkles, white chocolate pumpkin, Linzers, and snickerdoodles! I was too full from lunch to try any of the cookies.

Today I fasted and once I got home from church and Kate's concert, I was starving! I dashed to the kitchen to sink my teeth into an assortment of delicious cookies, but what to my disheartened eyes did appear but three tupperware dishes filled with bits and pieces of what used to be cookies! My cookies were clearly violated!!

Now, I'm guilty of biting into chocolates to see what's inside, but really? Taking a bite out of a cookie? Can't you sort of get the hang of it by just looking at it? Can't you see that it has nuts in it? Can't you tell it's made of chocolate? That it looks like a gingersnap?

Well, disheartened and disappointed -- but not totally discouraged -- I grabbed the tupperware filled with cookie pieces and a Diet Coke and sprawled on the couch and ate bits of 2o different kinds of cookies.

My Favorite Nativity Depiction

Ahh, it's all there -- the true story of the night of Jesus' birth. I imagine this is between the visit from the shepards and the wise men.

You see throngs, and I do mean throngs, of angels absolutely crowding each other, pushing, yearning to see a glimpse of Jesus, stretching and leaning. There are dozens of them -- all ages and races and sexes. Can't you just imagine their comments, "Oh, I do think he has Mary's eyes." "He's so much smaller and sweeter than I thought the Savior would look like." Well, I know Joseph's not the real father, but there is some similarity, don't you think?" "Oh, just look at those eyes, will you?" "And what about his tiny hands... and his dark hair." " I'm sure Mary is so proud." "Oh, I think she just be overwhelmed and exhausted. She's had all those strange visitors all night long -- and those animals." "The baby has sure been a good little thing. You know, pretty quiet through all the commotion." " If some angels would just take a look and then move on, we could all take a look at the baby." "He's so fragile and tiny that it's hard to believe he'll have to save all humankind."

And then you'll notice Joseph. Does he look happy? No. He looks like he's about to lose it! "Okay, God, you told me about this woman and that I'd need to accept her, love her and trust her 'cause she's on your side, but did she have to bring all these people? How did they find our little manger (cave) so fast? I think the singing and harp playing and 'ooohs' and 'aaahhs' are giving me a headache."

And Mary. She just looks really worn out and pensive. -- most likely thinking of her huge responsibilities in raising this young God. She's a first time mother. she's a new wife, a woman of very limited experience and she is so crazy in love with this little, innocent, perfect creature who has finally been born, suckled, cried a bit, burped and fallen asleep.

And of course -- and this is the sweetest part of all -- Mary's best friends are there! They were probably in Bethlehem paying their taxes, too. And when they finally found Mary and Joseph in the manger, they said, "We've been looking all over for you! We just knew tonight was the night. We felt it in our bones." How perfect. Best friends know how to make you feel good. They know the right words, they bring the right food and drink. They know when you need a break from a kid, or a nap, or a or just a good long massage. They're there to give her moral support and tell her what a great mom is and not to worry -- there will always be people in the family who will be here to help. Good thing, too, because it looks like Joseph needs to pull his act together and nab some buddies to come help him celebrate. And of course there's the dog (and her pups). The faithful canine who will stay with the holy family and love them to pieces no matter what crazy things they may do.