Everything Old Is New Again

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Changefest '09 - Obama's Inaugural Speech

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

One Lovely Blog Award

I love "lovely", so I'm loving this award from Daja over at in other words.... Thank you, Dear Lovely Daughter!







There weren't any rules given with it, so I will just pass it along to a few others.



Lallee of Lallee's Cottage Decorating, crocheting, precious pets, and a lovely studio

Kim of Dear Daisy Cottage Wonderful, glorious color! Every inch of Daisy Cottage is pure loveliness.

Maryjane of The Beehive Cottage Pink, vintage, and a cowgirl...how fabulously lovely is that?

Hmmmm......I think we have a Lovely Cottage theme here!

Inaugural Ball Gowns

Apparently, the world has been waiting for a peek at Michelle Obama's Inaugural Ballgown. I'm not sure about what anyone else thought, but I think there might have been just a tad of disappointment after its debut. No one was ooh-ing and ah-ing. Oh, well.

It did, however, spark my interest to check out a few other other gowns from the past. Here are Eleanor Roosevelt and LadyBird Johnson posing in their finery. I wonder if Michelle did the same.



To test your First Lady Ballgown knowledge, take this little fun quiz. I only got 4 out of 8, though if I would have gone with my first instincts, I would have done much better! Let me know how well you do!

Pink Laundry

I'm home.

Spent all day putting away Christmas.

I usually put away all the decorations on January 7.

This year, in anticipation of a new baby,

I had cleared the house of all Christmas-y decor

except for the living room.

I figured we only needed one room to celebrate Epiphany.

But, since little Saraa decided to make her

princess entrance on that day,

the decor has stayed -- just waiting for me to come home.

Now after a good day's work,

I'm sitting here thinking about that precious little angel

(pictured here with both her Mommy and Nana

on her first day going to church)

and missing

cute little piles of pink laundry.

Goodnight Warrior

Diego received a new bedtime devotional for Christmas. To say he likes it is an understatement.

Dressed for battle.

Vanquished foe.

Definitely more than a conqueror.

An Ode to Saraa Ann Misheel

An Ode to Saraa Ann Misheel

January 6, 2009

Today is Epiphany, the Festival of Lights;

Today you were born and made my family right.

Sorry, I was not present, to see you come into the world;

But let it be known, that you are Papa's little girl.

We have waited for you a long, long while;

You are the essence of beauty, the one who makes everyone smile.

You are a gift from heaven and the Father above;
You are filled with godliness, grace, and His precious love.

You play a major part in the Abdelaziz clan;

No wonder they named you Saraa Ann.

I hear you are lovely and born with such charm;

I can't wait to kiss your little face and hold you in my arms.

I can envision your laugh and your cute little giggle;

I can't wait to hear your coo and see your little wiggle.

Princesses, there have always been three;

Now there is another who holds the key.

The princesses three there will be no more;

My newest little princess makes it four.

May God cuddle you close to His loving chest,

Especially as you lay warm on your mother's breast.

I know there is a call on our little girl;

I have no doubt that you will impact your world.

So, I pray this simple little prayer over your precious life.

May you be a peace maker and help end the strife,

May the hand of God rest upon you,

May the blessings of God not be a few,

May the mercies of God be yours everyday,

May the miracles of God be your normal way,

May you know Jesus as a young, young girl,

May you live and walk in a Spirit-filled world,

May the anointing of God never, never cease,

As you constantly live in our Father's peace.

I love you,

Papa

Lucas turned 5!

Saraa's older brother, Lucas, turned 5 the day after she was born. It might not have been the big birthday event turning a whole *5* might warrant, but he asked for so little that he had a great birthday indeed.

His TiTi and Nana basically let him call the shots for most of the day's doings. Like getting to go to the grocery store with TiTi. You know, big things like that.

Since baking was not on anyone's tired agenda, he chose some brilliant blue cupcakes with Spiderman picks in them. (Isn't brilliant blue such an appetizing color?) He was quite pleased with his choice.


Having siblings AND a couple cousins there made a nice-sized little party.

He received a wallet for his birthday, which he is quite proud of. Along with some other great gifts, he also received three money gifts. With no clue that his "3 dollars" was really $45, he was still very excited!

He then got to go to the movies with Daddy and his siblings. The "cheap theatre", as they call it, was also having $1 hot dogs which proved a very good thing, as that is what he asked to have for his birthday dinner. All in all, he had a very good day.

But, Papa wasn't there. And Nana hadn't brought anything with her (so short-sighted of her!), so when Papa came down to see his new granddaughter, Papa and Nana took Luc to the store -- both to buy his birthday present and to let him spend a bit of his birthday cash. We walked up and down the Target aisles. Then we did it again. And then again. Basically, he scoped out the place first. Then he went back to take a second look at his favorite finds. Then he chose. (Anybody ever been shopping with his Daddy? Yeah, kind of like that.)

I'm not sure if you can see what he has in the bag. With a small portion of his money, he bought 20 dinosaurs in a canister. Papa and Nana bought him a SP.A.R.C. -- a Special Action Remote Controlled TARANTULA!! He looks pleased. As any newly-turned five year old boy would.

With a tip of Papa's hat, he says goodbye.

Saraa Ann Misheel

I didn't blog yesterday because I was a little busy......

I was awakened at 7:20 with THE phone call. We rushed down to Pasadena. Arrived at about noon. My twelfth grandchild, my third granddaughter was born at home at 2:10. She is named after her TiTi (Sarah), but with a Mongolian spelling. Saraa is "moon" in Mongolian. Her first middle name is my middle name. Misheel is "smile" in Mongolian. Apparently, she is either a smiley moon or a moonlit smile!

She weighed 8 lbs. 6 oz. and is 21 inches long. She is perfectly adorable.



I will be staying here to help out for awhile. If I can find time between washing dishes, laundry, and hugging six children, I will be popping in to let you know about the joys in my life!

Field of Daffodil Dreams

Sometimes you find the most delightful things in the most obscure places.

I've been spending a great deal of time at the Veterans Hospital. It is where my father sees his personal physician and due to some severe health problems, has recently been hospitalized. We did make the four-hour round trip again yesterday and so I was reminded of THE daffodils. A few visits ago, we went behind a door where we have not been before. They sat us off to the side in a corner where you could tell was not usual sitting. From that corner we got a special look behind some booths. I had to sneak out my camera.


My special kind of Field of Dreams....

Smooth Lines

"...I think I'd miss you even if we never met."

"I'd rather fight with you than make love with anyone else."

The Wedding Date (2005)

Premio Dardos Award

Thank you to Homespun Simplicity for honoring me with this award! This award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his/her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary and personal values every day. I am honored to be the recipient!

I truly am honored, but I do have to confess that this award completely slipped by me. I found it the other day in my inbox. Karen gave this award to me on October 29! I have apologized to her, but it still seems fitting that I make my apology public. I am sorry. I hope it doesn't reflect any disrespect on my part. I am flattered and appreciative. Thank you.

The rules to follow are:

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person that has granted the award and his or her blog link.

2) Pass the award to other 15 blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment. Remember to contact each of them to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Fifteen? Wow. I'll try. Here goes:

1. Daja at in other words... -- for cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values

2. Serena at And By The Way -- definitely for her personal values!

3. Bonnie at Extended Hope -- for cultural and ethical values

4. Josh at Death Becomes Me -- for cultural (or anti-cultural), ethical, and personal values

5. Karin at Yesterday, Today, Forever- for literary and personal values

6. Leona at OUT of my brain -- for ethical and personal values

7. Serven Clan -- for cultural and literary values

8. Ruthann at Warm Pie, Happy Home -- for cultural and personal values

9. Sandy at 4 Reluctant Entertainers -- for cultural and personal values

10. Mrs. June Fuentes at A Wise Woman Builds Her Home -- for cultural and personal values

11. Jenny at little jenny wren -- for cultural and literary values

12. Ann at Holy Experience -- for cultural and personal values

13. Vicki at Best Posts of the Week -- for helping us all find those posts with value!

14. Lady Lydia at Home Living -- for cultural values

15. Rhonda Jean at down to earth -- for cultural and ethical values

Whew! I did it! Please, do not confuse this list with "my favorite blogs". That list would be quite long and would definitely include you. Nor is it a list of the top fifteen. These are in no way in any prioritized order. Whether within the list itself or from my massive bloglines list.

Our Christmas Party

Last year we threw a 60's Retro Christmas Party. This year, the theme was "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas." Complete with Bing crooning in the background.

And Irving Berlin's White Christmas playing silently on the television, Rachel Ray style.

I decorated white on white. White lights, white tree, white everything. My favorite was the tree. The picture doesn't do it justice. Unfortunately, most of the ornaments don't show up through the lens of the camera.

But, it was still a pretty photo-op.

Snowflakes and white doilies showed up everywhere...

Fake poinsettias...

...and real paperwhites.

Many guests dressed in white....

And JOY was a prominent theme the whole evening...