Wednesday, October 18, 2006

FIESTA!

Our family attended the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta on Friday, October 13. This annual festival, the largest of its kind in the world, is held for ten days in early October. People from all over the world come, and it is truly a sight to see! We were able to go on a day featuring special shapes balloons. We were fortunate enough to have family in town visiting during the balloon fiesta (We're so glad you could come with us, Papa and Lynne!), and we all had a great time - check it out:


Many balloons started blowing up around 7:00 A.M.




We got to walk right up to the balloons.


That same balloon later...










Touching a balloon








That same balloon later...
Papa and Lynne



My monkey


My sweet, little girl enjoying the balloons



My other sweet, little girl trying to stay warm
More balloons...










Saturday, October 14, 2006

Eliana's 1st Haircut!

Eliana got her first haircut on Monday, October 9th. We took her to Kids Jungle Cuts, and we all had a great time!

Before...
(Getting ready to go)





After...
(She is signing "tree" in the first picture.)



Saturday, October 07, 2006

Defending the Defenseless


There is currently a major battle being fought in America over the legality of elective abortions. The battlefield is South Dakota, where Gov. Mike Rounds (R) signed a bill, the Women's Health and Human Life Protection Act (HB 1215), into law this past March that places a broad ban on abortion. Opponents of the ban successfully put the law on hold until a November 7 referendum decides its future. You can read a Washington Post article on the issue here.

According to VoteYesForLife.com, a coalition of pro-life organizations and individuals in South Dakota who are supporting the Women’s Health and Human Life Protection Act, there is a pro-abortion television ad in South Dakota that would have the public believe that there would be no options for victims of rape and incest after the passage of the law, called Referred Law 6, even though emergency contraceptives would be allowed up until a pregnancy is capable of being detected. And since when were parenting and adoption placement not valid options? I don't dismiss the difficulty in making those decisions, but they most certainly should be presented as options. This same ad is also said to falsely accuse the law of leaving no options for mothers whose health would be seriously threatened by continuing their pregnancies. In actuality, under Referred Law 6, the unborn child's life and health are to be considered when making medical care decisions, but in the event that the mother's life is at stake abortion is allowed.

Unless you are a South Dakota resident you obviously won't be able to vote on this, but don't let that stop you from taking action. South Dakota voters need to make an informed decision based upon TRUTH. VoteYesForLife.com is dedicated to getting the facts out to South Dakota voters about Referred Law 6. You can visit their website to read more about the law and ways you can help. There's even a blog to help keep you up-to-date with what's going on. Those of us who value the sanctity of human life need to help them get their message out. Most of all, I would ask you to pray for this very important fight for the unborn.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

A Noteworthy Week

These last three days have all been noteworthy, and for different reasons, so I'm going to say a little about each.

Tuesday, October 3 - I started an American Sign Language (ASL) class on this day. It meets every Tuesday evening for 8 weeks. I'm in the Beginner Advanced class, which, for a "beginner" class, is quite advanced indeed! Our instructor uttered not a single word. She signed everything, fingerspelling words that resulted in blank stares all around, and would very rarely make a small note on the board. My feelings constantly shifted between excitement (for learning something new and for all my aspirations tied up in learning this language), embarrassment (when I struggled to keep up), pride (for understanding as much as I did) and inadequacy (for understanding as little as I did). I cannot tell you how delighted I am to have this opportunity!

Wednesday, October 4 - This day marked the one-year anniversary of our arrival in Albuquerque. I can't believe we've already been here an entire year! We really do love it here, and I'm quite content to stay for now.

Thursday, October 5 - Our little Evangeline is 3-months-old today. Can you believe it?! I'm convinced that time is actually moving faster these days. It is such a joy and a privilege to be the mother of this precious child. It is so amazing to see her personality come out more and more with each passing day. We call her "Princess Evangeline" because that's exactly what she is! Happy quarter-of-a-year-day, my sweet girl!