On Tuesday night we did our annual Christmas with the Abbotts. Except this year instead of having a nice dinner and leisurely enjoying each other's company for the night, we were able to squeeze it in between 7:30 and 9:00 on a school night. Life has changed. We all acknowledge that we are far too busy to enjoy the season, but who is able to actually do anything about it? But I digress...

So this year instead of toys, I found these great purple bath towels and had the girls' names embroidered on in lime green in this really cool font to match their bathroom. This seemed like a great idea at the time of purchase. See, there is a store that I love down here called Polka Dots where I buy lots of gifts for myself and others. Unfortunately, the owner told me that she may have to close unless she has a really good Christmas. So I was trying to do my part by buying as many gifts there as I could. Hence the monogrammed bath towels.

Now Darlene has done an incredible job of teaching her girls how to react when they open a present that may not completely thrill their soul. McKenzie will always act like it's the best thing she's ever opened and will try to come up with something special to say about it. So when they opened their towels, it was pretty hard for me to tell what she really thought. Sweet Riley Grace, on the other hand, just sat there looking at it with an almost puzzled look on her face. It was at this moment that it occurred to me that 8 and 5 year old girls don't really get excited about bath towels for Christmas.

Meanwhile, my son opens up his super cool exo-force lego robot and grabs McKenzie to run off to his room and start putting it together. Bailey opens up her Polly Pockets Limosene, and because I have done such a fine job of raising her, says (with a slight tone of disgust) "I already have this one."

Because I'm embarassed by her reaction, I lean down and do the Mommy whisper, "That is not what you say when someone gives you a gift. Do you understand me?! You say, 'Thank you very much,' no matter whether you have it already or not."

So Bailey starts crying because she's embarassed that I got on to her. So I say, "You know what, Bailey? If you already have this one, it's no big deal to take it back and swap it."

Moment of truth for Riley Grace: "Sure, Bailey, you can swap it with me!"

You have to love the honesty of kids. Merry Christmas to you and yours. :)

I apologize for the long blogging hiatus. I realize that this has been hard for those millions of you who can't get through your day without checking in to see if I've had any words of wisdom, so I'll try not to be gone so long again. Thanks for your patience.

Last week was a week from hell. Every day, either I or one or more of my children were at the doctor for one ailment or another. Bryant had 3 shots, Bradley had spacers put in and I had a CT Scan. Those are the highlights.

As for my ringing ear, since my CT scan showed crystal clear sinus cavaties, the ENT is now going to test me for a couple of inner ear issues, one of them being Meniere's Disease. He reduced me to 2000 mg of sodium per day and told me to cut out caffeine and stress. I'm working on the caffeine.

So, what to blog about on my first day back? How about this:

What does a picture of Dennis Haysbert have to do with Senator Barack Obama, Democrat, Illinois? I think a lot. Because Dennis Haysbert is best known for his role on the hit show 24 as first Senator and then President David Palmer.

Now, I know that the ABC show Commander in Chief, starring Geena Davis, was a trial balloon to see how the country would react to a woman president, clearly in hopes of preparing us for a President Hillary Clinton. Well, for whatever reason, the show bombed. And things aren't looking too bright for Senator Clinton's presidential aspirations either.

However, the new rising star of the Democrat party is this man, Senator Barack Hussein Obama. He is extremely well-spoken, obviously intelligent, and just seemingly a pleasant guy to be around. Democrats are swooning over his potential, and I've heard more than one Republican show some interest in him as well.

My theory is that 24 did for the country unintentionally what Commander in Chief attempted but failed to do, get us ready for the first non-white male president. Look at the similarities: both are attractive, charismatic African-American family men with two kids, both senators (and senators normally do not become president - the last one was JFK in 1960. And for another wild hare - if TV were real, that would be quite the cooincidence seeing as how they were both assassinated by a sniper. But we all know TV isn't real, even if sometimes our friends have to remind us.)

Where was I? Oh, both democrats, both articulate and comfortable in their own skin. Interestingly, David Palmer was strong on terrorism, something democrats aren't real well known for. So will this be a subliminal message to the country that Obama would be hard on terrorists too?

What makes it even more interesting to me is that 24 is a show loved by conservatives. I'm sure that the hard line against terrorism isn't all that appealing to a liberal democrat. So if Obama does get the Democratic nod, it will be really interesting to see how many Republicans jump on the bandwagon.

Sadly, I feel that Mr. Obama is just another liberal. Consider the statement he made last week when he was asked if he thought some people wouldn't vote for him because of his race. His answer was yes, he thought that there surely were people who wouldn't vote for him because of his race. But then he added that those are probably the same people who wouldn't vote for him because of his politics. Translation: Republicans are racist, Liberal talking point #13.

Be prepared, because once Christmas is over, the 2008 race to the presidency will be underway. It's going to get ugly out there. While my stomach doesn't lurch and convulse at the thought of President Obama quite as much as it does at the sound of having to say President Clinton again (or would it be President Rodham?) I still shudder to think about the course of our country under a liberal commander in chief. Mr. Obama would be a formidable opponent for any candidate.

Let's pray that a strong conservative steps up to the plate. Soon.

Have we mentioned that this is our accident-waiting-to-happen child?

Apparently these things don't just happen to the First Lady.

For the past couple of days, I've spent a lot of time thinking about what's going on right now in our country and the world. I'm so disturbed by this ridiculous Iraq Study Group report and the ever-increasing consensus among Americans that defeat in Iraq is inevitable and our only hope is to try and cut our losses and get out of there as soon as we can. I'm amazed that so many people in this country don't seem to understand what's going on. I can actually understand why average Americans, going about their daily business, not really paying attention to the news, wouldn't want to go to war with Iran. I get that. But people in Washington who are in a position to make decisions that affect the course of our nation's future - what is going on up there? My mind is literally blown, and yet numb at the same time.

The only conclusion that I can reach is that we are a nation beset by spiritual blindness. The reason that we seem to be abandoning Israel is because it was foretold that we would do so. The Bible clearly predicts that she will be alone in the end. I've always found it so hard to imagine the US not sticking by her, but isn't that exactly what Mr. Baker is proposing in this report? What exactly is he expecting to accomplish by having Israel give up the Golan Heights? Are we honestly assigning blame to Israel over the situation in Iraq? Last I checked, they aren't involved. And how interesting that Mr. Baker doesn't want to invite Israel to the regional conference. That is scary, scary stuff.

As usual, Joel Rosenberg discussed this quite eloquently this morning, so I highly recommend clicking on the link to his blog and reading his observations.

What is the most disturbing to me of anything is that this "defeat" in Iraq was caused by Americans. We have defeated ourselves. If our national media hadn't done everything that it could to turn Americans against our efforts there, had reported all of the positive things such as schools, power lines, water and electricity reaching places it hadn't been for decades, if ever, the fact that Iraqi citizens don't want us to leave and are terrified of what will happen if we do, along with many other things they could have been reporting instead of the death count that they are always so eager to update, we would be in a completely different place right now. So many people in this country have seemingly forgotten what happened here on 9/11, not realizing that it is precisely our military efforts at home and abroad that have kept another attack from coming our way. So many politicians have used Iraq as an issue to be won rather than a very real war that we are engaged in. They should be held accountable for doing everything they can to divide this country rather than fight our real enemies.

On Tuesday, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned the West that any nation who tries in any way to stop Iran's pursuit of a nuclear program will be considered hostile, and that Iran would "reconsider its relations" with that country. Subtle threat? I think not.

If I sound hopeless, I'm sorry for the downer. It would definitely be easier not to pay attention to what is going on out there. But Ahmadinejad is gaining encouragement on a daily basis from the wacked out policy coming out of this nation and those of our allies. One exception is that of John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia. That guy is amazing. I wish he would remind GW and Tony Blair that it's okay to talk tough and be tough when dealing with your enemies. Any concession will be seen as weakness. Consider how the animal kingdom deals with weakness. Does a cheetah avoid the struggling gazelle because it feels sorry for it? Does it appreciate that the gazelle just wants to get along? Or does it go in for the ruthless kill?

Our radical Islamic enemies will only be satisfied when everyone on the face of the planet either converts to Islam or dies. They really don't have a preference. They are totally invested in our defeat. And sadly, it appears, so are we.

Is anybody else missing the tool bar that allows you to switch back and forth between HTML and regular and post pictures and stuff? Mine has disappeared into cyberspace for some bizarre reason.

The Kid Makes Me Laugh

Two Bradley quotes of the day:

Brad: Mom, I know I'm just a kid, but McKenzie and I have already decided that we're going to get married.
Me: You have?
Brad: Yeah. I asked her and she asked me.
Me: Well, what if when you get older you decide you want to marry somebody else?
Brad: No, she'd get mad. I've seen her mad, and it's not a pretty picture.


Brad: Mom, that street we were just on was called Blood Drive!
Me: Huh?
Brad: That street we were on - gross! It's called Blood Drive.
Me: What are you talking about?
Brad: Didn't you see that sign? It said, "Blood Drive, 5:00 - 9:00"