Happy New Year!

Happy 2013 to all of my friends and family. I am hoping to post more this year because I have only been using this blog as a tool to view my friends blogs. That makes a lot of sense right? And I am also hoping to spend more time with friends. Of course I have a resolution, but I am keeping it to myself this year so wish me luck and maybe I will share down the road.

Blast from my past. "Spookmite". I was pretty rockin' back in the day.

Dear God

Dear Beloved God in Heaven

Please give us a president that loves this country and everything it stands for.

Please give us a president who respects you as the one true God.

Please give us a president who will, with your help, restore this nation to its former glory, the way you created her.

Please help us to respect what you have given to us and not take anything for granted ever again.

Please God weaken the evil and strengthen the good both without and within.

May our eyes be opened.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

God Bless America

Ann Coulter

When are people going to get it? When is the use of this word going to stop? I hear it and it makes me cringe. I hear it and it makes me sick. I hear it and it makes me cry. STOP

An Open Letter to Ann Coulter

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Tim Shriver

John Franklin Stephens

The following is a guest post in the form of an open letter from Special Olympics athlete and global messenger John Franklin Stephens to Ann Coulter after this tweet during last night’s Presidential debate.
Dear Ann Coulter,
Come on Ms. Coulter, you aren’t dumb and you aren’t shallow. So why are you continually using a word like the R-word as an insult?
I’m a 30 year old man with Down syndrome who has struggled with the public’s perception that an intellectual disability means that I am dumb and shallow. I am not either of those things, but I do process information more slowly than the rest of you. In fact it has taken me all day to figure out how to respond to your use of the R-word last night.
I thought first of asking whether you meant to describe the President as someone who was bullied as a child by people like you, but rose above it to find a way to succeed in life as many of my fellow Special Olympians have.
Then I wondered if you meant to describe him as someone who has to struggle to be thoughtful about everything he says, as everyone else races from one snarkey sound bite to the next.
Finally, I wondered if you meant to degrade him as someone who is likely to receive bad health care, live in low grade housing with very little income and still manages to see life as a wonderful gift.
Because, Ms. Coulter, that is who we are – and much, much more.
After I saw your tweet, I realized you just wanted to belittle the President by linking him to people like me. You assumed that people would understand and accept that being linked to someone like me is an insult and you assumed you could get away with it and still appear on TV.
I have to wonder if you considered other hateful words but recoiled from the backlash.
Well, Ms. Coulter, you, and society, need to learn that being compared to people like me should be considered a badge of honor.
No one overcomes more than we do and still loves life so much.
Come join us someday at Special Olympics. See if you can walk away with your heart unchanged.


A friend you haven’t made yet,
John Franklin Stephens
Global Messenger
Special Olympics Virginia

EDITOR’S NOTE: John has previously written powerful opinion pieces on the R-word. Read one here.

We got married!

Barry and I got married this weekend! I have so many things to blog about, like my showers and other things leading up to our beautiful day. More to come.. but here are a couple of the images that the photographers have sent us so far.

Teenager, what??

We officially have a teenager in the house. Could someone please tell me how this happened? Yesterday she was turning eight, or at least that is what it feels like. She opted to have more party and less gift this year, SO she got a limo to take her and some of her friends to the movies! After the movie we got some yogurt and then her dad was the limo driver home in his car. I'm pretty sure a great time was had by all!

I made her a birthday tutu to celebrate in style (but someone chickened out and it never made it to the movies)

$1.00 per box (I took a very large purse)

Strike a pose!!!

She went to Worlds of Fun with her dad and grandparents on her actual birthday..I had a cupcake with a candle ready when they got home!

My posts are never daily, but the reason for them being even further apart lately is due to my photography business. Photography by Sarah Marie is hopefully growing. If you live in the Kansas City/Lawrence area and are looking to capture some memories, I am currently taking weekend and evening appointments. And  for every referral you send me that books & completes a session you will earn $25 in photo credit! I will also be doing a mini session this summer so keep visiting my photography blog for details...

photosbysarahmarie@gmail.com
http://www.photographybysarahmarie.com/

Barry

First of all let me start out with saying he is okay. Now with that said... His surgery was at 2 on Wednesday afternoon and was over at 4. The doctor came out and told me how great it was and everything went smoothly. THEN about 15 minutes later the anesthesiologist came out and informed me there was a complcation when he was coming out of his anesthsia. When he went to take a breath his vocal cord clamped shut but his lungs and muscles were still in full action, so... they decided to act like a sponge and absorb all of the water around them. They quickly went into action since his oxygen levels fell fast. A nurse came out a hour or so later to inform me they were still giving him medicine and oxygen. About an hour after that the anesthesiologist came back out and told me that they needed to keep him overnight. I got to finally see Barry around 7:30 and was a little frightened by what I saw. Swollen face, shortness of breath and it was very hard and labored. It is something that I don't want to see again.I knew he was in great hands but leaving him that night was not an easy thing to do.  My prayers are even stronger now for the people who experience this on a regular basis with their loved ones.

He is doing great  and recovery is on an upswing. Off to go take care of the patient!