Bump Watch

I thought I'd post a couple pictures of the baby bump since I don't get to see everyone on a regular basis. I was told today that I'm barely showing for being almost 6 months. I guess I'm just lucky that I have a long torso so there's plenty of room for him to grow! I felt him move - when touching my stomach - for the first time yesterday, but every time I'd try to get Chad to feel him, he'd stop moving. Haha Tristan's being difficult already! I took both pictures at 22 weeks.

I finally bought some more maternity pants yesterday. The belly band on the new ones is much softer and thinner material so it doesn't show under my clothes like the ones I have on the pictures. Which I much prefer!

100 Things All About Me

So I recently read a list of 100 things about my friend on her blog and thought it would be an interesting challenge. Can I really come up with 100 things all about me? Guess we're about to find out huh? Hmm maybe I'll just start with the easy stuff and go from there.

1. I've been happily married to Chad for almost 4 years.
2. Pretty much every anniversary we have has happened on the 14th of the month: Our first date was Valentine's Day, we were engaged 3 months later on May 14th and married 3 months after that on August 14th. We miscarried on January 14th and then miraculously conceived again one month later on (I'm 99% positive) on February 14th.
3. This is my 2nd marriage. I married my "high school sweetheart" when I was 19 and then divorced him at 21. Not a good 2 years but I learned a lot about myself and how strong I can be.
4. I don't think I have, but most everyone I know thinks I've moved around a lot. I was born in Minnesota, lived there until I was 4. Moved to South Dakota and lived there until I was 16 when my family moved to Arizona. I lived there until I was 22 and then moved here to Utah.
5. If you count all the different houses I've lived in, then yes I've moved... way too much. MN: 2 houses. SD: 1 (and a half if you count the house we lived for a couple months). AZ: 7 houses/apts. UT: 6 houses/apts. For a grand total of 16. :P
6. When I was younger, I would write skits and plays and make my siblings help perform them.
7. We also came up with great games that only we know, such as the "Plunger Game". :) If you want explanation on that, you'll have to ask.
8. I've always been content just being by myself. My mom tells me I've been that way since I was a baby. If I've had several days in a row with people constantly around, I crave my alone time.
9. I've always wanted a pet snake or lizard. But since I apparently married a sissy (love you Chad), I'm never allowed to have one.
10. I blame my mom for my love of all animals, both warm and cold blooded. She used to catch gardener snakes in our backyard and let us hold them. She even kept one for a few days in a glass bowl in our garage until it escaped.
11. Because of my mom's love of animals, we could pretty much sucker her into letting us bring animals home. They ended up with a dog and a cat because they "followed us home".
12. The dog that "followed" us home, I actually stole. :) I smile because I stole him and 3 of his brothers and sisters because they were being abused by their owners. We kept Odie, gave 2 to neighbor families and donated one to the Children's Miracle Network to be auctioned off for charity. My parents still had Odie until about a month ago when they finally had to put him to sleep, he was almost 15 years old, pretty good for a black lab.
13. Though I love animals, bugs pretty much creep me out. I'm not afraid to kill them but they still give me the willies! The only bug I make Chad kill is earwigs... I just can't bring myself to get near them.
14. I was never scared of bugs or spiders when I was younger. We used to collect the pill bugs and millipedes on the playground and put them in wet paper towels. I'm not sure why! I remember putting them on the desk of a substitute once though.
15. I used to hate my name. I remember always changing it to something new when I was in 2nd grade. :) My teacher never said a word though. The only 2 I remember for sure was Virginia (ugh, I can't believe I liked that name!) and Tiffany.
16. I was in Girl Scouts from kindergarten through 5th grade but always thought the Boy Scouts would be better. They always got to do the fun stuff and get dirty!
17. I've never been girly (my sisters cornered the market on that one) and it took me until I was in my 20's to even be able to curl my own hair. I think I've found a healthy mix now between girly and tom-boyish.
18. I'm glad to be having a little boy because little girls scare me. One, because I'm afraid I'll end up with a girly-girl and won't know what to do with her. And two, because I was a horrible teenager and I'm afraid of retribution for how I was toward my parents!
19. Having this baby both excites me and scares the bejebus out of me! As mentioned previously in #8, I enjoy my alone time and I'm afraid I may go crazy if I don't get that every once in a while. I also worry that I will totally screw up and be lost as to what to do.
20. I'm quite a voracious reader. I love books... especially history. And it drives me crazy when people tell me they hate to read. I just want to smack them in the forehead like on those V-8 commercials. :P
21. I failed Word Processing in high school but can now type about 100 words per minute. I didn't fail because I couldn't type, I just had a crazy teacher.
22. I had horrible grades in school, not because I didn't know the info but because I didn't care and quite often didn't turn in my homework. Chad doesn't understand how anyone can be like that.
23. I failed Geometry twice because my brain just does not work that way! But I used to drive my teacher crazy because I would sit and draw my "optical illusions" in class and they are quite geometric in nature.
24. I finally went back to school at 26 and love it and worry about my grades. I'm quite proud of the fact that I have a 3.6 gpa and was asked to join the International Honor Society.
25. I've never ditched (or sluffed for you Utah people) school. My parents basically put the fear of God in me about ditching.
26. I have however, ditched plenty of seminary. I basically went once a week the whole 2nd semester of my junior year and 1st semester of my senior year. I often went home and hung out with my mom though and she was okay with it because I had a horrible teacher. I still graduated with 4 years of seminary though!
27. A lot of "Utah" words drive me crazy... Sluff being one of them. The Utah accent also drives me crazy.
28. I think Utah is beautiful but really worry about raising my kids here. I think that being surrounded by "the church" and a high population of members is actually detrimental to gaining a testimony.
29. I've been baptised twice. I was sprinkled as a baby and then dunked when I was 8.
30. My parents are converts to the LDS church and both are amazing examples to me of what it means to have a testimony.
31. I love to learn about pretty much everything and retain quite a bit of information. A girl I used to work with called me Rainman because I remember the most random stuff.
32. I have a complex about eating in restaurants by myself... I just can't do it. I blame it on the fact that I had no friends in 9th grade and ate by myself every day in a lunch room packed with people.
33. I used to be very shy and quiet and usually let people walk all over me just so that I had "friends".
34. Moving to Arizona was the best thing that could have happened to me because it made me break out of my shell and become more outgoing.
35. They call me the mean one at work because I'll tell it like it is and won't hold back.
36. I'm much more protective of my friends and family than I am of myself.
37. I often forgive people repeatedly and let them back in my life no matter how badly they may have hurt me or screwed me over in the past. It's a flaw but I'd rather be more forgiving than bitter and angry.
38. I have an insatiable need to "fix" people. My parents used to call my friends the stray of the month club because they were usually very screwed up in one way or another and I would try to help them.
39. The only people that I'm still friends with from when I was a child are my sisters and brother. Chad finds that weird because his group of friends has not changed and most of them are like family.
40. My absolute favorite song is Pachelbel's Canon. I heard it at a symphony when I was 7 and I've loved it ever since. If I'm ever upset, sad, scared, etc. all I have to do is turn on that song and it calms me down... works every time!
41. I love all kinds of music. Chad calls me a human juke box because I know most songs that come on the radio.
42. I love to sing and must say I don't have a bad voice. My mom made sure all her kids took choir and music classes and we all enjoy singing.
43. I played the flute from 5th grade through high school. I've lost a lot of my ability but can still play the scales pretty well.
44. I marched in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1994 with my high school band (yes, I was a band geek).
45. I've never been very good at sports. I usually went off in a daydream (much like JD from Scrubs) and was oblivious to what was going on around me.
46. I scored a goal for the other team - twice - when I played soccer when I was 6. I was more interested in doing cartwheels on the field.
47. Even though I sucked at organized sports, I rocked at 4 square! Haha probably had something to do with the fact that I was almost always the tallest kid playing.
48. I'm between 5'10" and 5'11". My height used to make me really self conscious and I would slouch horribly to appear shorter. I love it now and confidently wear heels that make me as tall as my husband (6'3").
49. My mom is 5'1" and my dad is 6'3" so you know where I get my height from.
50. Hallelujah, I'm half way done. I should really be working right now but it's very slow and this is keeping me entertained.
51. I have 2 dogs, Kallie and Rocky. Rocky thinks she's my child and will whine if she doesn't get her daily cuddle time.
52. I love to just go for drives. Though the mountains are pretty here, I miss being able to go out driving in the Arizona desert in the middle of the night.
53. My friends and I used to drive to the Denny's in Payson, Arizona (about 45 minute drive from Mesa) in the middle of the night even though there was a Denny's less than a mile from our house.
54. I love to people watch. I always wonder what their story is and love to hear about my friends lives and their families.
55. Genealogy is so interesting to me. My family is related to Jesse James and the Younger Gang and Chad's great-great-great Grandfather was one of the people that rowed Joseph Smith across the Mississippi river to escape Nauvoo right before he was arrested and put in Carthage jail where he was killed.
56. Though I sometimes get burned out with working, I love my job. I'm so grateful that I can work at home now and still do my job. Though most people think the hours are crazy, I really don't mind.
57. I take pride in my work ethic. One of my biggest pet-peeves are people who flit from job to job and don't do their best when at those jobs.
58. I was laid off of a job for being "too fast and efficient". No joke! They told me I worked too hard and was too fast at what I was doing (graphic design) and they just couldn't keep me busy.
59. I think I'm a good listener and a good shoulder to cry on. I'll happily sit and listen to my friends vent for hours if they need it.
60. I've been referred to countless times as not normal for a mormon. And I'm quite proud of that living in Utah. I love that my opinions and my beliefs on a range of topics differ from the masses.
61. One of those opinions: I'm all for gay rights and was very happy when California passed the law saying that gay couples could marry.
62. I hate when people judge others because of their lifestyle, religion, race, etc. I try very hard to be accepting of everyone and hope I can pass that on to my children.
63. I have very strong opinions on things but hate to argue with someone who disagrees. I love to have discussions with anyone on their opinions but I will usually sit back if someone starts telling me what I believe or should believe. I fully believe that everyone has a right to their opinion and beliefs and no one should try and force theirs on another person.
64. I wish I was more comfortable in my own skin. I'm envious of people who don't have to struggle with losing weight or keeping it off.
65. It drives me up a wall when said people complain about being fat when they have absolutely no reason to think that. I usually think they are trying to get people to tell them they look great just so they feel good about themselves.
66. I was my mom's biggest baby at 9lbs, 4oz and 22 inches long. And as I stated in #49, my mom is a little lady just barely over 5 foot tall. I fear that I'm going to have a 15lbs baby just as payback for what I did to my mom.
67. I'm the oldest of 4 kids and often mother everyone whether I realize I'm doing it or not.
68. Though we often wanted to kill each other as kids, I love my sisters and brother and know that I can always count on them.
69. I love having inside jokes and stories whether it's with my friends or family. It just makes me feel like I have an unbreakable connection with that person.
70. I didn't realize it would take so much effort to find 100 things to say about myself but I'm impressed that I've been able to find at least 70 things!
71. I have 3 all time favorite books that I've read several times each. 1st is the Count of Monte Cristo (6 times), 2nd is Roots (13 or 14 times) and 3rd is Gone With the Wind (10 or more times).
72. I like the movies that were made for Count of Monte Cristo and Gone With the Wind but they do no justice to the stories themselves. And I just can't watch the mini-series for Roots because they changed the story so much!
73. I love to watch movies. We own around 500 DVD's and our family room is decorated with movie posters, only one of which is not a rated "R" movie.
74. I love working in our house and seeing rooms transformed. We've slowly changed most rooms in our house since we got married and I love it!
75. We're currently redoing our kitchen and downstairs bathroom and it drives me nuts that I can't help with the painting etc.
76. I'm an extremely independent person and hate asking for help when I know I can do something on my own. The girls I work with keep telling me to play the pregnancy card but it's just not in me to try and get out of doing something I know I'm perfectly capable of doing just because I'm prego.
77. I enjoy going on vacation but am always ready to come home after about a week. I'm more of a home-body than I ever thought I would be.
78. I've lived in Minnesota and Arizona and have never been to Mexico or Canada. In fact, I've never been out of the country.
79. If all goes as planned, I get to go to Prague next year for work and I'm so excited!
80. My life is not at all as I pictured it would be as a child and teenager but I wouldn't change any of it.
81. You never think you'll appreciate the trials in your life when you're going through them but I'm grateful for every single one I've been through. They've all molded me in one way or another.
82. I associate music with events in my life. It always fascinates me that I can hear a song from high school and instantly remember a person, or place or event and remember just how I felt then.
83. I can't believe how fast time goes once you graduate from high school. It's hard to believe that I graduated 10 years ago and I wish I could go back and tell my younger self to slow down and enjoy that time because it will be gone before you know it.
84. I hate people who are two-faced (who really likes people like that though?). Don't pretend you like me or that you're my friend and then talk smack the minute my back is turned. I'd much rather people were up front with me. If you don't like me, too bad. I know who my real friends are and I don't need fake people in my life.
85. Our baby's name will be Tristan. People ask me all the time what happens if he doesn't look like a Tristan and I just think that's silly. :) I think it was meant to be; Chad and I both decided a long time before we ever knew each other that we each wanted to have a son named Tristan. It's fate!
86. Though I didn't realize it at the time, I was pretty close to suicidal as a teenager. My mom tells me now that I had her really worried for a while. All the poetry and stories I would write were about suicide and being lonely. My journal is full of statements basically saying that I didn't want life to go on after death, I just wanted it to be over.
87. I realize how precious life is and how our behavior can affect others around us. I've tried very hard to show my young women how their actions affect their friends and enemies.
88. I'm not a secretive person... what you see is what you get and I have no problem sharing with most anyone.
89. I'm grateful for all the people that Heavenly Father has placed in my path, both good and bad.
90. I love my husband very much and am so happy he's never given up on me... I know it's been hard sometimes.
91. I'm excited for the next stage in our life with this coming baby and all the changes that will result because of him.
92. I have stacks and stacks of my drawings as well as a book full of them but I've never done anything with them. I wish there was an easy way to share my creativity (or insanity depending on how you look at it) with others and possibly make some money.
93. I can hear the boo's and hisses now but I don't really like Disney Land. Haha Chad hates it because he and his family love to go there.
94. I do love rollercoasters and thrill rides. I would much rather go to Six Flags and give myself whiplash from all the rollercoasters any day than go ride the teacups in Disney Land.
95. I've wanted to go sky diving for the longest time but I've never actually done it. Maybe I'll be that old lady on her 70th birthday finally jumping out of a plane. It's definitely on my "bucket list".
96. I love to buy foods that my mom never let us have as kids. Especially Kraft Singles and white bread. Haha they make the best grilled cheese sandwiches but my mom was always thinking of our health... blah!
97. I'm now craving a grilled cheese sandwich and am going to make one as soon as I can come up with 3 more things about myself.
98. I haven't had any weird cravings with my pregnancy. I've noticed more what things do not sound good... like Cafe Rio! Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love that place! This kid is crazy!
99. Haha he must know I'm talking about him because he suddenly started kicking me and moving around.
100. I now feel rather narcistic because I've been talking about myself so much... and yet, strangely satisfied.

Here comes Tristan!!!!

Well he's definitely a boy! And quite proud of the fact as well! This is the first shot we got as soon as the Ultra Sound tech put the wand on my belly.

Just in case you are not proficient in reading ultrasounds the important part is that little thing sticking out of the crescent moon shape. Haha and I just realized that referring to it as a little thing could be seen as offensive to him later in life! Sorry the pictures aren't very good, I took them off the U.S. with my phone because my scanner isn't working at the moment. Here's another good one of him waving (he did that a lot).

He kept showing us his hands. The tech said that it's pretty rare that they stretch out their fingers like he was doing, I guess they normally keep their hands in fists. He wasn't being very cooperative about showing us his profile though. He kept looking right at us so we have a couple "Skeletor" type pictures but not a very clear profile shot. If he's being this stubborn already I'm in trouble!

In case you can't tell, that's his face in the upper right corner with his hands on either side. haha he's playing peek-a-boo already! Just a little creepy but still very cool.

Chad and I went and worked on some registry stuff today. It was fun being able to pick out the boy stuff. Chad was enjoying himself getting "his boy" all kinds of sports stuff. Very sweet! This is going to be so much fun!

Drum Roll Please

I know you've all been waiting for the verdict and I've been horrible about blogging so.... the doctor is 90% sure we're having a little boy!!! :) When we went in for our ultrasound 2 weeks ago it was actually too early for them to do the full medical check through the ultrasound so they told us no go. We were pissed! And not just because we were so excited to find out the sex but because they didn't let us know until we were at the doctor's office for the appointment. Our doctor felt bad because it was her adding error that had us come in too early so she suckered the ultrasound tech into doing a quick (and free) ultrasound to see if we could see if the baby was a boy or girl. First off, he was sleeping and he is definitely my child. When the U.S. Tech pushed the wand on my stomach trying to get the baby to move, he threw his arm up like "Leave me alone!" haha Soooo my child! I've been calling the baby he/him/Tristan since the appointment so it would be pretty funny if we went in on Thursday and they said, just kidding, it's a girl. He wasn't being very cooperative but the tech was able to get him to move enough that she said she's almost certain it's a boy. So we go back this Thursday for the "official" ultrasound. They'll do all the health stuff they need to to make sure the baby is good and healthy and we'll get pictures then. Chad was disappointed for maybe half a second that they didn't say girl but now he's super excited. I am too.I must admit that I think I'll do better with a boy then I would with a girl... especially once they reach the dreaded teenage years! Looks like I'll be changing my page to something with blue.

I also started my new shift last week. It's not horrible but it's not easy yet either. It is currently 4:35 a.m. and I'm trying to stay awake. I'm good as long as I stay busy but if I let up I get drowsy. And it's not like I haven't gotten enough sleep because I definitely did yesterday... I think my body is still on my old schedule and it's going to take a couple more weeks before this feels normal. Monday's are pretty much always going to be hellish because I have to get back up at 9 a.m. for a meeting with my team. I don't have to go in or anything, it's just over the phone but a lot of the time it's kind of pointless and I'd much rather be sleeping. Today/Yesterday was horrible: I worked my normal shift, so 11pm to 7am and then one of our sales people set up a phone conference with one of my clients from 7 to 8 and by the time that was over, there wasn't any point in me trying to get some sleep before the meeting so I just stayed up. I didn't end up getting to sleep until around 10:30 or so. This poor baby is going to be so confused! Oh well... it's all worth it in the end!

Update on our baby

I guess it's time to update on OUR baby. :) He or she is in there and doing well. We heard the heartbeat a couple weeks ago at the doctor which was very cool. I relaxed quite a bit after that as well. I will be 15 weeks tomorrow and am actually starting to feel pregnant. Haha, my pants no longer fit. I can button them still but it's so not comfortable with the little bump popping out. So I went and bought a couple pairs of maternity pants last night. My problem now is that I'm in between sizes so the pants are a little bit baggier than I would have liked but I'll probably grow into them. At this point I haven't gained any weight... in fact I've lost weight every time I've gone to the doctor. I'm not complaining though since I know I've got some extra to lose. The doctor hasn't said anything about it yet either so I'm not worried. I'm trying to be good about eating veggies and not overdoing it with other foods which actually isn't that difficult since I fill up so fast.
My appointment for the ultrasound is on May 29th. Any votes on if it will be a boy or a girl? Chad has his fingers still tightly crossed for a girl and I think it may be. :) But I think that's probably because I know how much he's hoping for a little girl and I want him to be happy (not that he wouldn't be if it was a boy). Only 2 more weeks but the suspense is killing me! I apparently need to still work on this whole having patience thing!

Newest Member of the Family

My sister had her beautiful little boy last night. His name is Justice Kyng Brathwaite. He was 6lbs 13oz and 20 inches long. So little! Of course as tiny as Caitlin was, he probably didn't have much room to grow! It's so weird to think that my little sister is a mommy now and so exciting!

Here are a couple of pictures of the newest addition to the clan:

This is Caitlin and her new little boy.

And this is Justice (he looks just like his mom!)

Sorry, they're a little blurry since they are camera phone pictures.

I get to go to Scottsdale to visit her in May. My mom will also be there so I'll get to see both of them. It's going to be bloody hot but it will be fun to see her since it's been almost a year since we saw each other last.

Change of Schedule

Chad and I have been worrying about what we're going to do once the baby is here for daycare. Chad's sister had originally told us she would watch him/her but her plans have since changed. So we've been stressing a bit, even though it is a little early to worry too much. We've been considering all kinds of options. Ideally I'd like to be able to just quit and stay home but with the housing market the way it has been lately, that's not really possible. (For those of you who don't know, Chad owns his own company designing homes.) So for a while at least, I have to keep working. The company I work for is an IT Research firm and we have many international clients. The only way we're allowed to work at home is by doing the European shift which is at night. They were also thinking of adding a shift for our Australia/Asia clients but not for a while. Last Thursday morning my boss asked me if I would possibly be interested in doing a second European shift. He said it wouldn't be for a while but he just wanted to know if I was interested. I told him yes and went back to work. A couple hours later he called our whole team to his office and said that Dawn, our European Client Rep. has decided to stay home with her kids and we would be needing a new CR for that time shift. I took it! Granted it's happening a whole lot sooner than I expected but hopefully that will help me get used to the schedule before the baby is born. Starting on May 19th I will be working from 11pm to 7am. The time sounds daunting but I have worked nights before and actually loved it. So now I get to stay home. It was definitely an answer to our prayers. The worst is going to be getting used to that schedule since I'm falling asleep about 10 o'clock. It will probably take me a good month but then I'll be fine! I'm actually pretty excited. Not only do I get to be home but since I'm the European CR I will be the one to go to our annual European conference. This year I won't be able to since it's in October and I will be 8 months pregnant but next year for sure!

The Meat Dilemma

Lately I've been having struggles with eating meat... the thought of putting meat in my mouth and chewing makes me gag. Even just writing about it! Last night I made this yummy chicken dish that Chad and I have had before. First of all, he had to put the chicken in the pan because I just can't bring myself to touch the raw meat. When we pulled it out of the oven it looked and smelled quite tasty but the second I cut into the chicken I about lost it. I thought huh, that's interesting and tried again and about ran to the bathroom. So I told chad just to eat the chicken and I'd make something else and eat some of the rice that I'd made with the chicken. I took one bite of the rice and gagged because it had touched the chicken and that's all I could picture! Haha! It was awful! I ended up making some grilled cheese sandwiches and had some chips and a smoothy I made.
So I have a bit of a dilemma. I know I need to be eating some meat for the protein for the baby, but at this point it's just not happening. Hamburger seems to be about the only thing I can handle without gagging and even that is iffy at times. Has anyone else had this problem when they were/are pregnant? Any suggestions of things I could eat to compensate for not eating the meat?
I'll be 12 weeks tomorrow and for the most part the nausea I've been experiencing (only at night) is abating but now is when I start feeling like I might really get sick. It's pretty funny! I thought it was supposed to be easier after 12 weeks but it seems harder now! Alright, enough complaining! Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

40th Anniversary

Today is the 40th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's assassination so in honor of him I thought I would post a video of one of his most famous speeches. As well as a paper I wrote recently on the feelings I had after first really viewing and listening to his words.



I was brought to tears by reading and watching the, “I Have a Dream”, speech given by Martin Luther King Jr. on August 28, 1963 in front of the Lincoln Memorial. I could feel the emotion in the words. King truly believed what he was preaching. His speech was not just his hopes and dreams for the future, but also a warning to people of what could happen if they went too far in the other direction. He warned them not to let themselves be absorbed with hate. He warned them not to resort to violence because there was already enough violence against them. He warned white America that they were not going to just lie down and take it anymore. It was time for a change, time to pay on a long overdue debt.
“It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.” I love this section of the speech because he is telling the whole world that, “We are here and we deserve as much any white man, and we refuse to back down”. It is an inspiration to me that they could stand up to such adversity and praise God for what they had and what they hoped to one day have.
While watching the speech, I was in awe of how many people were there. It was a really incredible thing to see. I was honestly surprised at how many white people were in attendance. I think we are often taught that black people were alone and had to struggle against all of white America, when in fact they had support and even white individuals fighting in the trenches with them. Many Americans probably had the same hopes and dreams for the future that Martin Luther King had. My grandparents taught my parents to respect everyone, and that no woman or man is better than another because of the color of their skin or for any other reason. They may not have been on the front lines with the African Americans but they had begun to change beliefs in their own homes.
King dreamed that one day his children would be able to live in a world that was just and treated them as equals. Have we reached that point? I believe that we have come closer to the end but we still have quite a bit of work left to do. There is still racism in our country and barriers that keep individuals back from realizing their dreams. We as Americans need to continue or to start teaching our children to love instead of hate. The best way to do this is by our example. We must watch how we treat other people, what we say and do in our homes will be reflected in our children.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream is still alive today and the struggle continues. May we choose to follow the outline of his speech; to “work together, to pray together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day”, to become the great nation that he describes.

I Wish You Enough

My friend sent me this story in an email the other day and I just loved it... thought I would share.

Recently I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure. Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the mother said, "I love you and I wish you enough". The daughter replied, "Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Mom". They kissed and the daughter left. The mother walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see she wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on her privacy but she welcomed me in by asking, "Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?". "Yes, I have," I replied. "Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?".
"I am old and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral," she said. "When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough'. May I ask what that means?". She began to smile. "That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone". She paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail and she smiled even more. "When we said , 'I wish you enough', we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them". Then turning toward me, she shared the following as if she were reciting it from memory:
I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.
She then began to cry and walked away.
They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them but then an entire life to forget them.