Hilliary Comes to Town

Mike has been working for the Obama campaign and got a chance today to meet Hilliary Clinton on her visit to Grand Ledge. Although I don't share his politics, I am glad he is becoming so politically aware.

Tonight's Debate

I watched the Presidential debate tonight with true interest. Since I was not a McCain fan, my Republican soul was uneasy. I certainly was not an Obama fan and that didn't leave me much choice. It was now the time to listen to the two candidates and decide if I really could just vote for McCain and keep my party loyalty or if I should just stay home in November.

My phone rang at 8:45 and Michael reminded me to watch. He is busy working at Obama headquarters and wanted to be sure I was armed to argue the results. Yeah, yeah, yeah! My deepest fear was that McCain would be humiliated. I do think Obama presents himself well and I admit I have listened to more of his sound bites than McCain's.

My opinion is official. McCain showed used his maturity to his advantage as he continued to refer to his wealth of experience, his accomplishments and back up what he intended to do with examples of his past. As one blogger put it tonight "He made Obama look like a Jr Senator". Yes, he did.

I don't know if either candidate can take on the financial mess this country is in and fix it, but I pray we elect the right man.

Birthday Weekend

Birthday weekend began on Friday night at the game and continued until our Sunday family dinner where Andy and Sam smeared cake on each other's faces. It wasn't a wedding, guys!



Alexis and Daniel enjoyed the visit, complete with living room gymnastics with Catie.



We had a really nice family weekend between our Saturday dinner with Shelby, Dan and Ruby (Tacos cooked by Joe), the whole family working at the Wrestling Club golf outing, with Justin and Andy soliciting cash from the golfers to support the wrestlers and finally hitting the bed by 9:30 pm on Sunday....we were tired!

Happy 17th Birthday Andy!

As Samantha (above) informed the crowd, it was #15's birthday. Andy was on the football field, as he is every Friday night. He had his new football cleats on for luck and had a good amount of play time. It was looking good for ER. Eaton Rapids was winning throughout the game until the final minute of the last quarter when Ionia scored. The game went into overtime as Ionia tied the game. Ionia won 20-14 in overtime. Oh, so close....maybe next week?

Who wants Oreo?

The kids named him "Oreo" for obvious reasons last spring when he came around, hungry and meowing at the door. Of course, we fed him and he never left. He lives in our backyard. I told Catie "NO!" day after day when she begged to let him inside and now that winter is coming she is worried. With the recent rain, he is at the back door begging to be let in.

We cannot have another animal! I had her take a portable crate outside so he had shelter from the rain, he is welcome in the garage and there is always food for Oreo, but he is not getting in! PLEASE...SOMEONE TAKE OREO!

Eaton Rapids FLOODS!

Island Park is no longer visible, with the Grand River running over it. Catie and I toured downtown today to see what everyone was talking about. We found the ballfield looking like a small lake, sandbags at the doors of downtown businesses and after talking to neighbors whose houses were filling, checked our crawl space to find water had soaked half the contents. So much for being the "only house in the neighborhood that was dry".

Rain, Rain GO AWAY!

Although it isn't Hurricane Ike, it has been raining a bit too long. School was closed due to flooding, people were gathering downtown to fill sandbags and the neighbors basements were filling with water. I was feeling lucky that we only had a small lake in our yard.

Joe returned to work today, after a month of being ill, only to find the nap he was looking forward to after work, was not going to happen. He decided to check on our boat to make sure it had not taken on too much water.

It was completely UNDER water, except for the bow, which was sticking up and proving the Bayliner claim that it won't sink. When he called me to come to the dock, he said I should bring buckets. Buckets? You have to be kidding!

My back would not handle the job and I am sure we would still be there. I headed for Home Depot and returned with a large pump, hoses, 100 ft extension cord and Andy! The pump said it would put out 3650 gallons per hour. Joe and Andy pumped it for at least an hour before it was empty and floating again.

According to reports, the river will peak by Thursday. Can't wait!

Friday Night Lights in ER

Hey, Mom! Do you or Dad want to wear my Jersey to tonight's game?"

Ok, Andy, that is enough to choke a Mom up, bring a tear to the eye and make me dying to go to the football game.


Today is Friday and although I have always said "I hate football", I am looking forward to the game. Yes, Eaton Rapids has a reputation for losing games and yes, we know that hasn't changed so far, but I am learning that there is more to this "football thing" than winning games.

Every night after school the boys practice until 6pm, watch game videos and come home tired and hungry. Every week, we sit in the stands and cheer and groan as they try to break that losing streak. They want to be the team that did it.

Thursday night Team Dinners bring unity as they gather to bond with each other and parents who serve them. They come home with stories of the best plays, the coaches lessons and team decisions. Homework is getting done on time. You can't play sports with bad grades.

Finally, Andy is a bit of a scrapper. I am not talking about his wrestling, but when he perceives someone is being treated unfairly he gets mad and is the first to stand up for them. Last week it was the annual fight between the "Rednecks and Mexican kids" that he chose to help break up, instead of join. Fighters get suspended and can't play football. Yesterday someone insulted his girlfriend and the coach and his football buddies persuaded him not to put the kid's lights out. After their "discussion", I don't think the kid will be mean to her ever again.

I guess I don't hate football any more.

Almost done.....

Everyone knows I have taken up knitting and I am much better at starting projects than finishing them. My friend tells me I am a "Process Knitter". What is that? It means I enjoy the process, not the product. She is right. However lately I am starting to actually finish things!

I had a sweater for Alexis down to the last inch on the sleeve when I checked with Laura and found that our little darling has a long body. Sooooo, it WAS finished (that should count, right?) until I found out I have to make it longer. I WILL have it done to wear this season.

I figured out that if I just finish all the partial projects I have in my stash, I will have gifts for everyone ready for Christmas....and everyone thought I was just giving up on them. I had a plan all along.

Catie Isn't Stupid

She has important things to do, like cheerleading, choir, talk on the phone and get on myspace, so she has to make sure that homework is done quickly and efficiently. That is why she came home from school and advised me that WE have a fun project to do!

Since the assignment was to write a paper on a famous historical person, Catie immediately suggested to her partner, Nicole, that they choose Abraham Lincoln. "My grandma knows all about him!" Nicole's response was "OUR project will ROCK!"

Now I do have to say that Catie immediately suggested a trip to Barnes and Noble to buy some new books on Lincoln that "we" could read. Then she asked me if I wanted to tell her all about the one I just finished, so "we" could use it. I don't have any dumb babies!