And the people say, "Amen!"

I sit here with tears in my eyes having just watched the official swearing in of a president voted in this past November. I am overwhelmed. I do not think I ever watched an inauguration before. I will always remember this. Today was a day that proved anything can happen in this country. Anyone can dream and reach any goal they might have. I did not choose Barack Obama because he is a black man- I could not care less about that. I chose him because I felt he was the man for the job. That said, I am excited that he is a black man because it shows how far we, as Americans have come. Who would have ever thought that in my life time, an age where I grew up in a society where there was segregation and accepted prejudice, that we would get to a point where people can see beyond color, beyond race, beyond differences and look to the character of an individual and vote him in as president.  I am hopeful for our future. I am hopeful for change. And this hope does not rest just on the shoulders of Barack Obama but on the people of a nation that would vote him in. And the people say, "Amen!."

Happy Birthday MLK

Today many people had the day off. And many kids had no school. Why? To celebrate the birth of Martin Luther King. Our town does not give the kids off of school, all day the kids have Civil Rights education. I have to say I love this. I think that it honors him far more than a day of sleeping in and then hanging out watching tv. I was reading James Preller's blog (he is a children author who's blog I somehow came across and now love to read) and he wrote a bit about MLK. Here are some of the quotes he had and they just blew me away

Here’s a few relevant quotes from Dr. King:

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.”

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

“Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ But conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’ And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but because conscience tells one it is right.”

Amen Dr King, May we all learn from these words. 

Playing in the snow

On the weekend following Christmas Jay and I had a houseful of guests. For our southern nieces and nephew the opportunity to play in the snow provided too much of a temptation and out they went. My sisters got their hand in with the design of the snow woman and so she ended up with a mohawk,  pierced belly button, earrings and a set of the most lop-sided breasts before the thaw. While they were grooming the snow the kids were having a snow fight. Katie got Shelby good and after a while the two of them headed to make some snow angels. I just loved seeing all the kids have so much fun together in the snow.

Christophers of Nyack

Every year for Christmas my siblings and I buy just one gift for another sibling. We draw names out of a hat and this year Jay and I got Janet. She wanted a gift certificate to her favorite store, Christophers of Nyack an amazing shop that has something like 500 floors (I think it really is only 5) filled with beautiful antiques and decorative things for your home. It really is a magical place and I happened to have my camera with me when I went to pick up her certificate, which by the way is the best gift certificate ever, a poster sized drawing of the store, all outlines ready for coloring. Here are a few of the things I saw as I walked through that day...

Happy New Year!

Christmas is over, we even managed to get a tree (just 2 days before Christmas.) Then we had an ice dam and had to rip up the ceiling behind the tree... kind of gave it a real rustic look. Christmas is different with my kids being older now. No rush to wake up and look through the stockings and rip into the presents. Instead it was a sedate opening of a few gifts before a family breakfast and then off to church. More presents opened after church and then more when Kyle arrived from his apartment. Highlights? Kyle's box of bottle caps (an inside joke of a gift from me to him) and a kit to make root beer for Shelby. And also a noisy rubber chicken for our friend Karl. Then, the onslaught of visitors and a big dinner of prime riband macaroni and cheese. Then clean up, set up and ready ourselves for a visit from my sister and her daughters, big family meals, a Ferreira/Rebelo family party on Saturday and rest. I love being with family, my brother is out from California for a couple of weeks and having two of my sisters around along with a lot of Jay's family is a highlight of the holiday for me. Then a minor car accident (my poor little Prius needs a whole new passenger side) and a few crazy days at work and I was ready to ring in the new year (or actually sleep through it.) 

What am I looking forward to this year? Finding more ways to be of service to people, getting to Bangladesh and seeing Mt Everest and maybe even a tiger in the wild. Getting healthier- lose weight, move more, eat better (Maybe this is the year I will actually accomplish this.)I want to spend more time with family, less time with drama. I am looking forward to helping get Shelby ready for her new adventure of going to Saint Olaf College and seeing what being empty nesters will bring to Jay and me. I am hoping to build my Uppercase Living business up and find more ways of sharing this fun product with others. Reading more, playing less on Pogo, cooking more, eating out less and making peace on earth : )