Chances?

"The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."

-President Barack H. Obama

I must ask, then, when is the exact moment that someone is given the chance to be equal - the chance to be free - and the chance to pursue their full measure of happiness?

I think conception would be a pretty sweet moment to have that chance be given...let's go with that, Mr. President.

obama cookies...

As I was grocery shopping in my local Dominick's my eyes caught a section of tables decorated in red, white, and blue at the front entrance of the store. There were cakes, cupcakes, cake-top decorations, confetti, party hats, and other party paraphernalia for tomorrow's inauguration. I guess people are still celebrating among these economic hard times. However, as I tried to ignore the display and keep my head held high - I noticed "Obama Cookies" - Obama's face had been imprinted on several sugar cookies. I guess that's a level of fame that I certainly do not want to reach.

In other news - today is Martin* Luther King Jr. Day (observed) and it made me think of one of his quotes that is often not associated with him on this day - but is still incredibly powerful.

"Many people fear nothing more terribly than to take a position which stands out sharply and clearly from the prevailing opinion. The tendency of most is to adopt a view that it is so ambiguous that it will include every thing, and so popular that it will include everybody. Not a few men who cherish lofty and noble ideals hide them under a bushel for fear of being called different."

Now, there are many ways that I have read this quote and considering what tomorrow will be for our country - I truly hope and pray that our new president - who campaigned on bringing change to this nation...will not fear of being called different. That he will not fear of being the first democrat to look to his opposing side and see the good that it stands for and the good that it can bring to our country. I wonder what our world would be like if we could take the good parts from each side of the aisle and work to make those things happen instead of debating them.

Yesterday, I joined about 100 other Chicago pro-lifers on Michigan Avenue for a rally for life. While it was small it was nice to have that feeling of camaraderie here in Chicago even though many were strangers. Fox News - Chicago covered it here.

Tomorrow will be about change...I just hope that change includes some warmer weather here in the Windy City.

-mitzi

*Thank you to my editor...

living the moment...

Happy 2009! I'm currently enjoying my last day of vacation until April (minus 2 federal holidays) and I am still enjoying life in Kansas and the benefits of being at home to wake up to the two things that I enjoyed about being home: coffee already made and a licking dog.

As I (and the family) get older and families continue to grow - you learn to enjoy the little moments a bit more and savor the memories of being together for another time - not quite knowing when another time will come.

I arrived a week prior to Christmas to help Mom and Dad prepare the house. Dad and I made a trip to Mrs. Baker's farm once again to find the perfect cedar for our living room - we managed to get it to stand straight after 2 failures and it's still standing to this day.

I had better luck with the fudge production - producing 3 near-perfect batches:

Christmas Eve and Day were chaotically wonderful as my whole family came to Lawrence for a traditional "Keel" Christmas...we even all made it to church on time and were able to snap a family photo - the first since the Buschelman wedding...

Christmas morning was filled with excitement as my niece, Mary Ann, exclaimed that Santa shops at Costco...she's quite smart and loves the spirit of Christmas and her god-mother:


A trip to Free State Brewery was a highlight for the entire family on the 26th...the Buschelmans posed for another family shot courtesy of 'Hund Photography':

Then it was off to the Hickory Grove to celebrate with Oma and the St. Louis Keels. Oma got to meet her 5th and 6th great-grandchildren. Here she is with William:
I was able to meet up with my high school friends, "The Clarinets", for our annual get-together. We've being reuniting every year for 8 years now. This year, Laura could not make it but we called her to catch up!
And finally as 2008 closed - I celebrated with some dear friends from St. Lawrence:

2009 will be busy as soon as I head back to Chicago...we have just 5 months to get an institute ready to open!

May the new year bring you many blessings!

Much love,
Mitzi