Letter.....

So a dear friend of mine sent this to me...and I loved it...and agree with the author...and I felt like posting it. So here it is.......

Email :
All-I received this email from a friend. I hope you will take the time to read it as it's one of THE best letters I've read yet. Granted, I don't know "Joe Porter" from "Joe Blow," (although I did research and found a Joe Porter in Cham.,IL)BUT either way--it's a great letter with great points, well written, and everyone should read...Enjoy! -CbD~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dear Friends:My name is Joe Porter. I live in Champaign, Illinois. I'm 46 years old, a born-again Christian, a husband, a father, a small business owner, a veteran, and a homeowner. I don't consider myself to be either conservative or liberal, and I vote for the person, not Republican or Democrat. I don't believe there are "two Americas" - but that every person in this country can be whomever and whatever they want to be if they'll just work to get there -and nowhere else on earth can they find such opportunities. I believe our government should help those who are legitimately downtrodden, and should always put the interests of America first.
The purpose of this message is that I'm concerned about the future of this great nation. I'm worried that the silent majority of honest, hard-working, tax-paying people in this country have been passive for too long. Most folks I know choose not to involve themselves in politics. They go about their daily lives, paying their bills, raising their kids, and doing what they can to maintain the good life. They vote and consider doing so to be a sacred trust. They shake their heads at the political pundits and so-called "news", thinking that what they hear is always spun by whomever is reporting it. They can't understand how elected officials can regularly violate the public trust with pork barrel spending. They don't want government handouts. They want the government to protect them, not raise their taxes for more government programs.
We are in the unique position in this country of electing our leaders. It's a privilege to do so. I've never found a candidate in any election with whom I agreed on everything. I'll wager that most of us don't even agree with our families or spouses 100% of the time. So when I step into that voting booth, I always try to look at the big picture and cast my vote for the man or woman who is best qualified for the job. I've hired a lot of people in my lifetime, and essentially that's what an election is - a hiring process. Who has the credentials? Whom do I want working for me? Whom can I trust to do the job right?
I'm concerned that a growing number of voters in this country simply don't get it. They are caught up in a fervor they can't explain, and calling it "change"."Change what?," I ask."Well, we're going to change America," they say."In what way?", I query."We want someone new and fresh in the White House," they exclaim."So, someone who's not a politician?" I press.
"Uh, well, no, we just want a lot of stuff changed, so we're voting for Obama," they state."So the current system, the system of freedom and democracy that has enableda man to grow up in this great country, get a fine education, raise incredible amounts of money and dominate the news and win his party's nomination for the White House - that system's all wrong?" I say."No, no, that part of the system's okay - we just need a lot of change."
And so it goes. "Change we can believe in." Quite frankly, I don't believe that vague proclamations of change hold any promise for me. In recent months, I've been asking virtually everyone I encounter how they're voting. I live in Illinois, so most folks tell me they're voting for Barack Obama. But no one can really tell me why - only that he's going to change a lot of stuff. Change, change, change. I have yet to find one single person who can tell me distinctly and convincingly why this man is qualified to be President and Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful nation on earth - other than the fact that he claims he's going to implement a lot of change.
We've all seen the emails about Obama's genealogy, his upbringing, his Muslim background, and his church affiliations. Let's ignore this for a moment. Put it all aside. Then ask yourself, what qualifies this man to be my president? That he's a brilliant orator and talks about change?
CHANGE WHAT?
Friends, I'll be forthright with you - I believe the American voters who aresupporting Barack Obama don't have a clue what they're doing, as evidencedby the fact that not one of them - NOT ONE of them I've spoken to can spellout his qualifications. Not even the most liberal media can explain why he should be elected. Political experience? Negligible. Foreign relations? Non-existent. Achievements? Name one. Someone who wants to unite the country? If you haven't read his wife's thesis from Princeton, look it up onhe web. This is who's lining up to be our next First Lady? The only thing I can glean from Obama's constant harping about change is that we're in for a lot of new taxes. For me, the choice is clear. I've looked carefully at the two leading applicants for the job, and I've made my choice.
Here's a question - where were you five and a half years ago? Around Christmas, 2002. You've had five or six birthdays in that time. My son has grown from a sixth grade child to a high school graduate. Five and a half years is a good chunk of time. About 2,000 days. 2,000 nights of sleep. 6,000 meals, give or take. John McCain spent that amount of time, from 1967 to 1973, in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp. When offered early release, he refused it. He considered this offer to be a public relations stunt by his captors, and insisted that those held longer than he should be released first. Did you get that part? He was offered his freedom, and he turned it down. A regimen of beatings and torture began.
Do you possess such strength of character? Locked in a filthy cell in a foreign country, would you turn down your own freedom in favor of your fellow man? I submit that's a quality of character that is rarely found, and for me, this singular act defines John McCain.
Unlike several presidential candidates in recent years whose military service is questionable or non-existent, you will not find anyone to denigrate the integrity and moral courage of this man. A graduate of Annapolis, during his Naval service he received the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. His own son is now serving in the Marine Corps in Iraq. Barack Obama is fond of saying "We honor John McCain's service.BUT.", which to me is condescending and offensive - because what I hear is, "Let's forget this man's sacrifice for his country and his proven leadership abilities, and talk some more about change."
I don't agree with John McCain on everything - but I am utterly convinced that he is qualified to be our next President, and I trust him to do what's right. I know in my heart that he has the best interests of our country in mind. He doesn't simply want to be President - he wants to lead America, and there's a huge difference. Factually, there is simply no comparison between the two candidates. A man of questionable background and motives who prattles on about change can't hold a candle to a man who has devoted his life in public service to this nation, retiring from the Navy in 1981 and elected to Congress in 1982.
Perhaps Obama's supporters are taking a stance between old and new. Maybethey don't care about McCain's service or his strength of character, or his unblemished qualifications to be President. Maybe "likeability" is a higher priority for them than "trust". Being a prisoner of war is not what qualifies John McCain to be President of the United States of America - but his demonstrated leadership certainly DOES.
Dear friends, it is time for us to stand. It is time for thinking Americans to say, "Enough." It is time for people of all parties to stop following the party line. It is time for anyone who wants to keep America first, who wants the right man leading their nation, to start a dialogue with all their friends and neighbors and ask who they're voting for, and why.
There's a lot of evil in this world. That should be readily apparent to all of us by now. And when faced with that evil as we are now, I want a man who knows the cost of war on his troops and on his citizens. I want a man who puts my family's interests before any foreign country. I want a President who's qualified to lead.I want my country back, and I'm voting for John McCain.

Catching up...

What a month it has been....yes...already....craziness with work....qtr end always is nuts...and of course we've been on the go as usual! Skylar attended her first Wolfpack game against William and Mary on September 6th. A little late posting about that.....but anyhow...she loved it. She was very much into the game....clapped at the appropriate times....and let the guys know...to "run that way...and catch the ball!!".....Maybe she should be O'Brien's little helper...lol...they could use it! But of course....mommy would rather see her in Tarheel Blue ;-) Ok....Fast forward.....and new topic....Skylar has show n tell on Fridays. Well she hasn't really been too interested in taking any particular item to share with the class. Everyday she has some sort of stuffed animal with her that she takes for naptime....but nothing other than that. Sooo..the other day I asked her..."What did you show the class on Friday for show n' tell." Without missing a beat...she looks and me and says..." I showed them my shoes!" ....Yes...she is her mother's child...and I'm pretty sure she was wearing flip-flops that day. :-) Another funny...Aunt Kate and baby Lily came over for dinner the other night...Skylar sits down in front of 6 month old Lily and says..."Sooo......What's up Lily?"....I cracked up. That may be one of those "you had to be there" situations, but it was REALLY funny. Later on Lily was fussy and Skylar cocks her head and wrinkles her eyebrows, throws her hands up in the air.... and says, "Lily...WHAT IN DA WORLD??"....YEAH...that had us all laughing at the dinner table. She just makes us laugh all the time...brightens our days...you Never know what's coming out of that little mouth. Lately she's been learning the days of the week...and she's learned that Saturday and Sunday she doesn't have school and "stays with mommy and daddy"....she loves school but I think she looks forward to the weekends just as much we do!

Skylar also recently learned how to ride her bike a bit better....she's known for quite sometime....and would ride periodically....but just didn't quite have the pedal thing down pat....boy has she got it now!! .....But wouldn't you know it,...she only likes going downhill....girl likes the speed...."I go fast Daddy!!! Mommy!! I going fast!".....I'm no fan of pedalling uphill either...but hey..comes with territory!!..Dance is going well. She gets excited on Thursdays b/c she knows that is dance night and she gets to stomp around a huge room in tap shoes ....and twirl around in her little ballet shoes to fun music. I'm pretty sure it's more entertaining for the parents than anything...but she does love it!

We're off to another fun/busy weekend....ECU/NCSU game...then to a double bday party...Noah's 1st bday and Ashley's 30th! church on Sunday.....and at some point cleaning and doing laundry....but that's not included on the "fun" list....it's more on the "required" list....not a fan...just not a fan.....LOL....I'm ready for the weekend to begin now!!!!!!! Have a good one!

Remembering....praying...sharing....

Thought this may be an appropriate day to share.......

Tap tap tap....

Our little ballerina tapped and twirled last night at her first Tap/Ballet class. She started dance last spring, but it was a mommy n' me class, so I was in there with her. Now she goes in the class without me and does tap and ballet. We watch the class through windows where the kids can't see us but we can see them. I thought she may be a little hesitant about it, but since she had the same teacher she had previously, and loves her, she went right in and tapped away!! Then came time to switch shoes, and the moms/dads come in and help then go back out. That was a smooth transition as well suprisingly. Skylar kept saying "Mommy, you watching me through the glass??" She thought that was so cool. There were a few toddlers who were less than thrilled with dancing and had to have their mommies....and that's to be expected....but Skylar just looked at them like..."what's your deal?" ....and kept on trucking! It was rather funny....b/c we all know...those who've met me...and/or my child....she's got some looks....Now let's just hope and pray it stays that way and she continues to enjoy her dancing time. When we got home she ran through the door looking for her Daddy to tell him all about her dancing.........

I'm hoping we get the same excitement out of her when she starts soccer or t-ball ;-)

On a lighter note....

Skylar sported her new UNC outfit on Friday....as any devoted football watching toddler would...for some pre-game inspiration. And luckily it worked!...I'm pretty sure Dah loved the outfit.....I know I did, and she certainly did....however, she was a little confused at first....When she put it on, she said "GO COWBOYS!!"....LOL...I had to tell her, YES HONEY, exactly right...we do love our Cowboys...but this outfit is for the tarheels....and the she says...ok.."Go Carolina!!" .....That's my girl! :-) I'm pretty sure Randy is hoping for a better outcome for the Wolfpack this weekend and he'll have Skylar wearing the Pack colors of course!! Yes, I know...poor child....she'll be confused for life in the ACC world....Anyhow...It will be her first Wolfpack game this weekend...if Hanna doesn't come through and mess it all up!....

We had a fabulous Labor Day weekend, complete with family, friends, amazing weather, awesome food, and tons of fun! Celebrating the typically "end of summer" weekend....we had The Crocker Family, The Urban Fam, The White Fam, and of course, Randy, Skylar, myself and Nana Jan...all at the lake house. We also got to spend a little time with some of the Cooper family and that's always a welcomed addition to our boating fun! Even the doggies all had a good time! Gizmo, Caffrey, & Toby....ran all over the place, enjoyed the water, and tried chasing the bocci balls a few times....(mostly Caffrey) We had to discourage that....and encourage more tennis ball chasing instead. We ended the weekend with a fantastic dinner with my folks in H-town and then rolled back to Raleigh to get ready for the short work week.....it's been a busy week too....Skylar starts back with dance class tonight....this time it's not a mommy&me class but a pre-ballet/tap class....I'm sure my floors will never be the same after she gets those shoes....should I be re-thinking this???!! :-) Updates to come......have a happy Thursday.....

McCain / Palin

Now, I'm not usually one to get extremely vocal about politics. But I've about had it with Obama's fluff and call for change, when the changes he wants to make.....well let's see....he's for an increase in taxes.....(yes..he is)including payroll, property, and death taxes,.....(likely to fund more programs for those who choose to sit on their rear ends waiting for government handouts...rather than work...)compromise the security of our nation....keep us dependant on foreign oil/gas....we'll that's just not the change I'm looking for. How about you??? And really...can you be "Comander in Chief" without ever having put on a uniform and fighting for troops that you want to command???? Let me put it in laymen's terms...Do you want a boss at your job, who knows nothing about the job you do?? We'll I for one,....not so much. In fact...I'd be inclined to quit that job quite honestly. I'll tell you, if you're a mother...one thing should tick you off about Obama if nothing else....he's "Undecided on whether life begins at conception. " I don't know about you....but I KNOW life begins at conception....and I'm going to leave it at that for the mere fact the more I think about that statement, the more my blood boils....
Republican or democrat....listen to the speeches....weed out the crap and meaningless fluff....and let's get down to the real issues facing our nation. I've even posted a link here for ya starting with Palin's speech.
http://www.wral.com/news/local/politics/video/3480630/

I'm sick and tired of people who are jumping on the Obama bandwagon without knowing a freaking thing about what he actually stands for.....or what he DOES NOT stand for I should add.....Just don't be one of those people. Do the research, read on the issues and make an informed decision in November. And if you aren't a registered voter, I'll be happy to help you get registered.....as long as you're voting McCain/Palin ;-)
I'll even give you this link.....to help you read up on where the candidates stand on issues....from various sources....... http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm
I encourage you to read it. Understand it. If you need more information, find it....but do the right thing....and be an educated voter. We can all swing the words of candidates in our favor or with our opinions...but lets dig deeper and find out who our future leaders should really be....
I think Palin said it best when she said "For a season a gifted speaker can inspire with his words, but for a lifetime John McCain has inspired with his deeeds." McCain/Palin.....if you really want change.

Where to begin...

Have you all missed me? Likely not...but I like to think you did anyway!! It's been quite a month for the Hodges family. Where did I leave off last time???......Ummm ok so, begining of August Randy and I celebrated our fifth year of marital bliss ;-) ....complete with a wine tasting, lunch at a fav. Irish pub, a movie, and an awesome dinner at 18 Seaboard. If you've never been....I highly reccomend it. Moving right along...the following weekend was spent visiting both my grandmother's in the hospital. After much prayer and some quality time with them, they are both out of the hospital now but still recovering some....and to a point...will always be in the recovering stages....it's hard to see them in the shape they are in...one is worse off than than other...but I'm thankful I can spend the time with them now that I can spend and give back to them for all the love and support they've given me throughout my life. Many days...I wish I lived closer so that I could see them more.....or help out more.....but we love our home and we've made a wonderful life together here....and until I move east....aka...to the water....I'm not seeing us leaving the Raleigh area. So I'll continue to visit as much as I can, and hope they know how much we love them....Anyhow, while in H-town on Sunday....Randy bought Skylar a new princess fishing rod to keep at Dah and Grand-C's house....(they have a pond right beside them.) We'll Skylar has learned how to cast her own rod and can reel it in too....so Randy, Dah, and I took Skylar to the pond to go catch a fish.....she's was rather excited about the worms they were using for bait...was pretty funny...well there were tons of little fishies just waiting for a tastey worm....and Skylar caught her very first fish on her own!!! However, as she handed the rod to Randy to grab the line ....and get the fish....she fell right into the mud at the edge of the pond....and boy she was less than thrilled about that. She immediately wanted the clothes off and to get in the bath tub....and so ended the fishing trip...but that was about five minutes of fun we can laugh about for some time...not to mention her first catch all on her own! (See tiny fish on hook to the left...and Skylar all muddy!)

Sooo the following week we celebrated Papa Joe's 60th birthday with an awesome dinner and cake at their house. Skylar always enjoys singing the happy birthday song and she of course helped Papa Joe blow out his candles! ......After yummy cake and ice cream....we headed home and straight to bed........For the weekend following...Randy had golf with the guys and Skylar played "golf" with me....in our hallway and living room....because she needed to play since her daddy was playing.....Saturday evening...we all went to a cookout at Tracy's to celebrate Stephanie's completion of her Masters Degree!! Yayyy..MSW...now! Skylar enjoyed playing cornhole for the first time....got the bean bag in the hole on her first try!! It was great visiting with everyone I hadn't seen in quite a while. Had church on Sunday.....and then...Sunday afternoon we spent at the pool with the ...(I think)...unless my days are running together...which quite possibly could be the case....that may have been earlier in the month.....anyhow...we were at the pool at some point this month with people.....lol...Is this what happen's when you turn 30?? The memory is the first to go?? gggeezzz...does that mean I can get away with turning 30 AGAIN this year in October rather than 32?? One can hope.....Anyhow...that brings me to this past weekend. Our 2 1/2 year old attended her first concert...POP GO THE WIGGLES....at the RBC....when the lights went down, and the "pre-show" started...she starts yelling I want to go home!!! they turned off the lights!!" "Turn the lights on!"".....my first thought was...oh great..this should be fun......so Randy took her out to the lobby...which was well-lit...and she was fine...Then she hears "Toot toot chugga chugga big red car" and she was ready to come back in for the show. She LOVED it....she sang and danced....as did all the kids AND parents....the silly things we do for our kids...it's truly amazing to me....she knew most of the songs....and Randy and I sang along too....sad that we knew all those songs....but Skylar had a blast and we are really glad we were able to take her to the concert. She, however, DID NOT care for the big balloon version of Murray on the stage....she keeps saying "Murray balloon needs to go away...." So we explained that the Murray balloon is now in the trash :-) Her favorite Wiggle is actually Jeff...hence the purple attire for the show...and the Wiggle "light" pictured above....wise investment....seriously.... ;-)

Saturday began with a breakfast out at Pam's farmhouse...then shopping at the NCSU bookstore for Skylar's attire for her first Wolfpack game in September...All her father's doings....Not mine...but I suppose I started it with my purchase of some UNC attire for my blue-eyed baby girl...;-) Blue IS her color afterall...lol...she'll be cute nontheless...of course. (Notice her shirt says..."It's the SMILE that keeps me out of trouble." )....Look at her expression...I couldn't resist this pic.....anyhow..After naptime we celebrated our neighbor's bday with friends and some other kids. Skylar had a ball playing with the older kids there....and of course spent some couch time with baby Lily...she does love Lily....We had a fantastic dinner and lots of fun. Sunday morning we went to church, then lunch with Randy's parents, uncle and Granny and then came home for nap-time. After nap, we loaded up and went to the Riffle's awesome new house. We enjoyed some pool time and a wonderful dinner and the girls (Katelyn and Skylar) had a fantastic time playing together, dancing, and singing. They were just too cute. As Skylar said her prayers last night....as she often does...she says..."Thank you for God....my family..."...(rather than thank you God for my family)....so she continues..."Thank for God...all my friends...... "Thank you for God...Katelyn...and Jesus Loves Me...AMEN!" that last sentence...all in one breath...it was really sweet. It was a perfect ending to a spectacular Sunday........have a happy week and thank Jesus for loving you too!! :-)