Obama asked, "Am I my Brother's Keeper?"

Have you felt like you have talked too much and frustrated after a conversation you had with your friend who came with an entirely different perspective? I have. And I wish that I just kept silent and let her bloviate what she thinks is right. However, is it really right to just let them dominate the conversations and indoctrinate others of their pervert views?

This was what happened... we were talking about the Presidential candidates. When it was her turn to speak, she said, "Obama is not pro-abortion! He just wants to give the freedom to women what they want to do with their bodies. And I like that!" What? I know that the same line is spoken by all other pro-choice advocates. Okay, here is my version of that line, "Obama wants to go to heaven but he supports a policy that will send women to hell!" If he knows the devastating consequences of abortion and if he really cares about the people, wouldn't he, in his power, stop women from doing abortion? And the least he can do is to not support it. Obama, like all of us, have been given a responsibility by God to be our brother's keeper. The tragedy that we don't want to happen to ourselves, we sincerily don't want it to happen to any one. And that is why we warn those who are sinning to stop and enter into the Kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. We are to snatch them from the coming judgement. We are our brother's keeper!

One more thing, many of those who have conservative views have been complaining how the elite media is making Obama shine. Well, they are the ones speaking loudly and so they are the ones being heard by those who don't have the ability to hear the "still small voice". I believe that God, oftentimes, doesn't want His people to shut up and just say a quiet prayer. Here is what Mordecai said to Esther, "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?"

Catching the Fall in the Twin Cities

Last Saturday, my family went driving to the western suburb of the Twin Cities. We want to "catch the Fall" before all the leaves fall to the ground. It was a beautiful day, perfect for sightseeing and dining out. We had our "other" kids, Hope and Hannah with us. That made the day more exciting especially for Izzy. We thank God for Fall! Everything is indeed beautiful in its time!

Scenic Sunday

Fall into Autumn in Minnesota!

Dr. Dobson and Sarah Palin

On Monday, October 20, Sarah Palin was interviewed by Dr. Dobson of the Focus on the Family. It is wonderful to hear from such a candidate who is clear on her stance and unafraid to tell the whole nation that her Christian faith is her life's foundation. To listen to the interview, click here... http://www.citizenlink.org/clspecialalert/A000008476.cfm

Also, to join the thousands of people committed to pray for Sarah Palin, click here... http://www.prayforsarahpalin.com/

Christmas Cards

What do you think of that Christmas card? If you think it's pretty, it's because I handcrafted it! I know it is easy to find cheap greeting cards at Walmart and other stores but wouldn't it be nice if you could give a card that has a personal touch in it? I treasure every card given to me. And I definitely cherish those that have personal touch in them. It makes me feel special when those who write me cards spend a little bit more money and time to write on them. If you are like me, then you must click this link... http://dinamartenscreations.blogspot.com/
Happy card browsing!

120 Things About Isabelle Before She Turned 2

We'll see who will take time to read this one... :)

1. She is much taller than most of her 2-year-old girlfriends.

2. Her feet are one size bigger than her friends.

3. When asked what her name is, she says, "Isabew Moutens." (for Isabelle Martens)

4. When asked how old she is, she says, "2" but shows 1 finger. She can't hold her two fingers higher than the rest of her fingers. I tried to teach her how to make the "2" finger sign but she has a hard time doing it.

5. When daddy is not home and asked where he is, she answers, "work, painting."

6. When asked what her daddy's name is, she answers, "Paw" (for Paul)

7. When asked what her mommy's name is, she says, "Dina" in perfect pronunciation.

8. She loves to look at Grampa and Gramma's photo and point and name them.

9. When asked where her Grampa and Gramma are, she says "Anona" for Winona.

10. She can name all of her cousins in her daddy's side of the family.

11. When asked where Payton lives, she says, "Otonnana" for Owatonna.

12. When asked where Rachel lives, she says, "Eagan" in perfect pronunciation.

13. When asked where her lolo and lola live, she says, "Eyippines" for Philippines.

14. She constantly amazes me and her daddy with her wide vocabulary.

15. She has more books than toys.

16. She loves to read all of her books. She constantly asks us, "Read a book?"

17. She can identify a circle, square, triangle, rectangle, oval, star and heart.

18. She can write a circle.

19. She loves to scribble and name what she thought she was drawing. E. g. "Mommy, yook! I draw a airplane."

20. She can count 1-10.

21. She can identify 1, 2, 3, 4.

22. She can write number 1.

23. She can and love to sing the ABCD song.

24. She can identify A, B, C and D.

25. She can identify at least 20 kinds of animals and can make their sounds.

26. She can identify at least 50 things in the house.

27. She can identify and say/use about 30 things we do. Example: cleaning, eating, ironing, washing clothes, taking a bubble bath, having a shower, driving, talking, sleeping, shopping, reading, marching, bouncing, dancing, singing, swimming, running, taking a walk, playing, brushing teeth, making the bed, doing the dishes and etc..

28. She can sing about 20 children's songs. NOt in perfect pronunciation though.

29. She can sing Happy Birthday to you perfectly.

30. She loves to listen to her music.

31. Her favorite songs are I'll Fly Away Oh Glory, The Wheels on the Bus, Jesus loves Me, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Itchy Bitchy Spider.

32. She sings around the house.

33. She uses the handle of our dustpan as her microphone.

34. She has favorite songs she wants me to play for her over and over.

35. She acts the "feelings" on command. Example: She acts happy when I said "happy!", excited, sad, cry, tired, sleepy, silly, funny and etc..

36. She says "Daddy funny." over and over again when daddy tries to be silly to her.

37. She laughs when mommy laughs.

38. When mommy or daddy looks sad, she asks, "MOmmy (or Daddy) tired?" If I don't answer her, she asks, "Why, mommy, why?"

39. When she wakes up in the morning, she doesn't like to get up immediately but calls me to join her in bed and says, "mommy, I tired."

40. She is really good at being courteous. When she needs something, she always says, "Please, mommy please." and "Dorsie, dorsie!" (for excuse me, excuse me), "Oh, tet you, mommy tet you" (for thank you, mommy thank you.)

41. She thinks that if we kiss any of her "aweees" (pain) that the pain goes away.

42. When she has an "aweee" and I am too busy to kiss the pain away, she kisses it herself.

43. It is very cute of her to sometimes tell me that she has an awee but that she is fine and that the pain will go away. She says, "I fine, mommy, awee go away."

44. When I give her instructions or warn her, she says, "okay."

45. Lil' Gaither, Veggie Tales and The Swan Princess Series are her favorite videos.

46. She asks me to play her Bible Stories on CD almost every day.

47. She has memorized the lines of the stories of Noah, David and Joseph from her Bible Story CD.

48. She loves Hope and Hannah Samuelson.

49. She looks forward to be with Laynie at church every Sunday.

50. When we say that we are going to church, she says, "Laynie or Kassi."

51. Tricia is one of her favorite people. She says, "Auntie Tricia a lot".

52. She brushes her own teeth before she Bible story and prayer time.

53. She closes her eyes and concentrate when we pray.

54. She follows our prayer word for word.

55. She looks at me when I talk to her.

56. She loves rice and bread.

57. She loves shrimp.

58. She loves fried dried fish.

59. She loves ham.

60. She loves all kinds of fruit except for kiwi.

61. She started eating brocolli after we memorized the theme song of veggie tales.

62. She likes carrots.

63. She can name at least 10 different kinds of food. Example: pizza, steak...

64. She loves to talk to daddy on the phone.

65. She pretends to call and talk to grandpa on the phone almost everyday.

66. She calls, "hon, honey!" loudly over and over when she looks for daddy around the house.

67. When she enjoys reading her picture books and doesn't want me to bug her, she says, "mommy, go there... go..."

68. Her expressions are "OH!", "Oh, man!"

69. She knows how to tease me or daddy.

70. She loves to run and climb.

71. She often asks for a big hug or a kiss and says, "mommy (or daddy) big hug (or Kiss)?"

72. She is still nursing.

73. She still sleeps with us in our bed for a few hours every night.

74. She learned to be scared touching sharp things like knife and scissors.

75. Her legs are still too short to rest on the pedal of her pink bike.

76. She is a clean freak. She doesn't like it when there is a mess on her hands or fingers. She asks me to clean them immediately.

77. She is scared of hair in the bathtub.

78. She always demands to eat her yogurt with TV on.

79. She eats her food always with a fork.

80. She is still wearing a diaper.

81. She goes to the corner or under our dining table and gets very quiet when she does "number 2" in her diaper. And when asked if she is pooping, she gets mad and gives me a dirty look and says, "NO!"

82. She knows that potty means doing "number 1" or "number 2" or both but when asked if she wants to use the potty, she would say "NO!"

83. She points to herself and says, "right here." when asked this question, "who is mommy's baby?". And when asks who is baby's mommy (daddy), she points at me or daddy.

84. She wipes her own boogers. :)

85. She sees even the farthest airplane and exclaims, "airpane! airpane!"

86. When we are skywatching, she likes to name every thing she sees up there like, clouds, sun, moon, stars.

87. She loves to play with sand.

88. She loves swimming.

89. At a mention of bubble bath, she starts undressing herself to get ready for it.

90. She understands the concept of fast and slow.

91. She loves to wear hats.

92. Seeing a starbucks logo, she says, "coffee!"

93. Seeing a Vikings logo, she says, "Bikings!"

94. When she sees an american flag on tv, on daddy's shirt or on the road, she says, "USA! USA! USA!" and "ameyican flag"

95. She tries to name the thing that makes the sound she hears.

96. She made her first card for daddy when she learned to put paint on her palm and stamp it on a paper.

97. She loves jigsaw puzzles!

98. She is known to be the kindest toddler at church.

99. She has never grabbed other toys from other kids except from Cy (my friend's 2 year old son.)

100. She can name and identify a car, truck, bike, motorcycle, boat, airplane, train and ambulance.

101. The number in her savings account is much more than what her mommy has in hers.

102. When asked if she wants coffee, she says, "NO, it's hot!"

103. When asked if she wants to eat pickle cucumber, she says "No, it's sour!"

104. She understand the concept of hot and cold.

105. She has been good at throwing garbage to where it belongs.

106. She knows the concept of heavy.

107. She touches a carpet and a teddy bear and says, "soft, mommy, soft."

108. She kisses with a "mwah" sound but now has also learned to do the normal smooches.

109. She doesn't usually enjoy shopping time, especially for clothes. She only enjoys shopping for fruit and veggies because she gets to play a name game with them.

110. She has not learned to stop herself from opening the cupboards that she is not supposed to open.

111. She says, "baby" for smaller things and "daddy" or "mommy" for bigger things. Example: When she wants to eat strawberries, she has to have two of them, one daddy strawberry and one baby strawberry.

112. She never wears a night overall that covers her feet. And never cover her feet with a blanket while she is sleeping because after a minute she kicks it away anyway.

113. When fussy, just play her cd of funny songs and her face lights up.

114. She eats very slowwww... (Wonder why? Well, his daddy is known to be the slowest eater in the family.)

115. She knows what paper money and coins are.

116. When asked a hard question, she makes up strange sentences and start by "uhhmmm..."

117. When having "REM" while sleeping, her butt is in the air.

118. While putting on my make up, she usually watches me and says, "some please..." meaning she wants some of my make on hers too.

119. She loves digging into my purse and calls everything in there hers. She says, "my cameya" "my listick", "my purse", "my money" and etc..

120. She poses for the camera and says, "cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeese!"

International Weekend

Paul and I are definitely globetrotter wannabes. But over the weekend we didn't have to take flights to be with international people. Six countries came to our house! No kidding! Seven international students from Mongolia, Guyana, India, Russia, China and Burma came with Orgil from Concordia College for a little vacation. We definitely had a great time with them. We fought so hard to prove that we know a little better than these students who are exceptionally bright kids. Honestly though, they still are smarter than us even though Paul beat them all in geography. We enjoyed talking to them! We covered a lot of topics including politics of course. It surely was a very interesting and exciting week. We love them all and looking forward to have them visit us again.

Friday night, we had a bonfire at our firepit after we ate at Atlantic Buffet.

Don't even think they are all Paul and my shoes. For one, I only have one pair of sneakers and I barely use them.

We all walked to our church on Sunday morning. The weather was perfect for that short walk.

We all posed with our Pastor inside the church building.

Our little fashionista attracted the nations!

Walking back home!

Before exploring the MOA and the Twin Cities downtown, they got to enjoy the chocolate fountain right on the center aisle of our kitchen led by little Izzy!

Scenic Sunday

Sunset at Crystal Lake, Lakeville MN, 5 minutes drive from us.

Joe the Plumber Exposes O's Economic Plan

It was such a timely thing that Joe the Plumber appeared on public before the election day. Thanks to him, Obama's Economic plan at its best was unmasked. O's plan sounds really heroic when you hear it for the first time. Unfortunately though, if you seriously analyze it you will see the socialistic principle in it. In such a crucial time as this, economically, it is imperative that the American people look at O's plan with an intention of understanding what he is really saying instead of accepting it at its face value.

O's Economic plan focuses on raising the already high tax rate of those businesses with an annual income of $250-$300. He plans on taxing these said growing small companies 35%- 39%. Why is this bad? Joe the Plumber wants to buy the plumbing business that he has been working for for 10 years. He wants to buy it for the purpose of fulfilling his American dream and that's to earn more money than what he is already earning now. That's to put it in very simple terms. Now, in O's plan once his plumbing business earns $250- $300 annually, the government (if O wins) imposes a very high tax rate of 35-39%. The high taxes that Joe would be paying the government will basically help subsidize those who are not earning as much as he, who also are going to be granted tax cuts. Now, why is this wrong? Let's face this squarely. First of all, it is unfair for Joe the Plumber to end up paying for what others (of lower income) are not able to pay. I'm sure that Joe wants his earning to benefit himself and his family. Second of all, high tax rates dissuade small business entrepreneurs. None of the small businesses would want themselves to grow in that condition. However, if the government lowers the taxes of the small businesses, many of them would be motivated to grow and provide more jobs to the public. So then what is good about O's plan? Is it because it sounds like it encourages people to share their wealth with others of lower income? It definitely sounds very generous, but what makes it a rotten idea is that it forces people of higher income to share their wealth with those in the lower income bracket. Like what I've said before, it is one thing to share our wealth to the poor (through charity and NGO's) freely and it's an absolutely a different thing if the government enforces them to do so.

Being that we have a family business that my husband has been working so hard to grow for almost 10 years, I can easily identify Joe the Plumber's concern. My husband would have been motivated to grow it bigger had it not been for the high taxes that the government is already imposing on businesses right now. See, if our business is bigger we could have created more jobs and so help lower the unemployment rate in the country. Not that the employment rate is bad because the fact is, it is very low compared to other countries. The point is give these small businesses a motivation to grow by lowering their taxes. In return, they would be able to fulfill their American dreams and create more jobs.

"Spread the Wealth" Economic Theory and Etc.

At the final Presidential Debate tonight, one of the vital points that really caught my attention was the issue of Joe the plumber. This issue has really raised a red flag against Obama because it is socialism in its simplest form. When Obama told Joe the plumber in Ohio that he wants to raise the man's taxes in order to "spread the wealth" to the lower-income Americans, he was basically saying that he is going to resurrect socialism, which was long been dead and condemned, in this nation. It is one thing to ask the rich Americans to share their wealth freely to the poor but it is socialism to have the government enforce it on them by increasing their already high tax rate. Seriously, Obama is really up to taking some of Joe the plumber's money and give it to the poor. Sounds like Robin Hood! Weeks ago, he said the health care is every American's "right". Tonight, he said that one of his highest priorities in his administration would be health care for everyone. Wonderful! But if he forces the wealthy to pay for the health care of every single American, (Does it also include the health care of the illegal immigrants? I wonder.) then it is awful! For one, what constitution states that health care is a "right"? Not in the American constitution, that's for sure. I agree with McCain when he said that it is a "responsibility".

I keep getting an idea that Obama is playing a "big daddy" in his candidacy for the presidential office. He portrays someone who is so concern about each and every one in America. Well, I am not buying it. He would not even support the legislation providing medical care for the victims of botched abortions. He doesn't even call the baby in a woman's womb "life". In no way that he could be a true "big daddy".

It is sad that there are people who are so much into the "economy" issue. It only shows that many view money as more important than the lives of those thousands of babies being killed through Abortion. Economy is a big and complicated subject. The unstable economy of our country is not the fault of this present administration. President Bush has nothing to do with what is going on in the economy now. It is so uneducated to say that his administration is bad because of what happened in the stock market. Sure there are people to be blamed on this but President Bush is not one of them. I'm not an economist but according to my own economy principle, as long as you go to work, you eat. Only the lazy should stop eating! It is not the end of the world. People are still shopping, eating and living a normal life. Some people including Obama make it sound like we are already in great depression and that the Bush Administration is a complete failure. Come on now, let's be realistic here.

She must have thought that we celebrate our birthdays more than once each year. She was greeted "Happy Birthday" on 4 different days within one month- 1. on her party with Paul's side of the family; 2. on her party with her friends at our house; 3. on her actual birthday; 4. on her party with Cy and Jag. She blew 3 sets of candles. She opened 3 sets of birthday presents. Do you think she was confused? I do not. She is just maybe thinking that it's how birthdays are being celebrated- 4 times in a row. Well, we didn't intend to give her that idea. It's just that two of my Filipino friends have sons who were born a week after I gave birth to our little Izzy. We kind of started a tradition of celebrating their birthdays together with our Filipino-American group here in MN. That explains why we had another party last Saturday. We had it in Cannon Falls at a huge house on top of a hill. One of the birthday celebrants' family owns it. Here are the photos I took that day.

Pasta-lan!

I'd like to dedicate all of my food blog entries to my brother Dan. He is a special one, he loves to eat but never gets fat. I just can't figure that out. Anyway, it was my friend Tricia's birthday last Tuesday. We went to an Italian restaurant 5 minutes drive from our house with her whole family and one other guest. One of the dishes we got for ourselves was that pasta shells stuffed with chopped sausages with Marinara sauce. They liked it. I didn't. The flavor of the sausage reminded me of the smell at the beef market in Mongolia. It was a little spicy too. I took a photo of it because I thought the dish looked yummylicious. Well, I guess it is true that not all that glitter are gold!

Big House

Early this year, our company painted a huge house in Chaska, MN. It was a multi-million-dollar home. We got invited to it's "open house" the other week and all we could say was, "wow!" Paul and his workers for sure did a great job there. The decorator did a wonderful work there as well. She really knew what she was doing. The lighting, furniture and fixture were just perfect for the elegant cabin-like little mansion. It's got 12,000 square feet area. Some materials were imported from other countries, like the round timbers over the main entrance. The center aisle in the kitchen is humongoes! And the granite they used was double its thickness. But here is a funny observation I have of that house... The master's bedroom has a huge TV, two spacious walk-in closets (one for him and one for her), big bathroom with another huge TV and cute toilet with a cute TV! I think it's hilarious to have TV in every single room. But anyway, it is a very beautiful house! Too bad I didn't get to bring my camera. I used Paul's blackberry to take some photos.

In front of the house

Kitchen

Master's Bed

In front of the Master's Bed

The fire place in the family room on the main level. It's so high!

The Family room on the second level.

A collection of antique mirrors.

The beautiful owner of the house! (Kidding!)

Isabelle got to play the piano while being watched by a beholder, the grandson of the owners of the house.

Townhall Meeting for McCain

US Presidential candidate of the Republican party, John McCain, came back to Minnesota! Paul and I were among the 2000 people who were fortunate enough to get tickets for the event. The said event went well and I got to have a picture with Mary Pawlenty, the first lady of Minnesota. It was not my first time to see her in person because we used to go to the church that she and her husband, Gov. Pawlenty, are a part of. She teaches Bible in that church. She is also serving as one of the judges here in Minnesota.

Scenic Sunday

I took this photo on our trip to Omaha, Nebraska.

Loving America

Growing up, I dreamed of someday coming to America when my cousin married an American guy. I thought it was an out-of-this-world dream and that it would never happen. I imagined this country as a land overflowing with milk and honey. The Lord God granted my dream and I have been here for three years on the 20th of this month. And as to the overflowing-milk-and-honey thing, I am right!

Almost every girl I know in Asian countries wishes to someday come and live in this country. When I was in Mongolia, literally, every girl I met worked so hard to learn to speak English so they could fly here. Their families were so willing to sell their properties and even resorted to availing loans from the banks so they could fund their kids' trip to America. A very good Mongolian friend of mine, who is now receiving a full college scholarship in Japan, said to me when she visited us a couple months ago that she so wants to come and live in America. According to her, she has never been to a country where you could feel so much freedom. She was right in. Strangers here talk about their uncles and aunts to each other as oppose to don't-even-look-at-strangers cultures. American people smile and greet each other as if they are all friends. People are wearing relax fashion contrary to you-have-to-wear-suits-to-be-respected kind of rules. There is so much freedom here. When you go to a coffee shop, you'll see how many options they have for you. You don't have to have what latte flavor I am having. There is tons to choose from.

I love America. I've been to many countries, but there is no country as beautiful, prosperous and free country as the USA. Those people who have not been proud of this country (e.g. Michelle Obama and her likes) and those who have always been grumbling about high gas price, should definitely need to live for at least a year in another country. I suggest, the Philippines. Why not also try to live in the Middle East. Seriously, I'm asking them to live in the Middle East for at least a year. Or China. It is sickening to hear Americans, especially these politicians who have made complaining about the government their careers, bellyaching about the system of this country. It is disgusting to hear Hillary Clinton and Obama deliver speeches painting this country like it is an under-develop countries. I also get bummed by people complaining about gas price when they are overspending on clothes, restaurants, movies, all kinds of tools and gadgets, appliances, expensive cars and etc.. There is really no reason to complain here, because as long as you go to work, you will surely eat and more. And even those people who are unable and too lazy to work and earn their food, the government provides them food. There are so many government programs, like the Food Drive that my husband is leading, that help feed those who do not have food.

I just pray that one day all these murmurers and anti-America Americans will shut their mouths up and be thankful what they are enjoying right now. And how about this, if they don't like living here they would move to another countries so that those people around the world who love America will have lots of space in this land. How about that?

Fireproof

I gave Fireproof a standing O after it made me cry at the Atlantis movie theater the other night. It was quite a movie. It was nice to finally go to this huge movie theater just 5 minutes away from us. We saw it built and was hoping we could see what's inside the building. My husband and I don't watch a lot of movies. We can't stand the garbage talk in Hollywood movies. All those cursing and the vain use of God's name are just disgusting to us. For three years, we have only been to the movie theater a few times. That's for the Chronicles of the Narnia, One Night with the King, Horton (Izzy's first big screen experience), Facing the Giants and those documentary movies. Besides, we thought that going to movies is a little too much when we have a few televisions at home. I don't see it romantic for me and Paul to go to the movies for our dates. But with Fireproof, watching a movie became a perfect date for us and our friends, Jeff and Tricia. We had Jeff and Tricia's daughter, Angel, baby sat Isabelle while the four of us cried together and fell in love with our spouses all over again.

Fireproof is the second movie of the Kendrick Brothers, who also made the Facing the Giants. You would never think it was not a Hollywood produced movie because it was very well made- excellent casting, great script and the overall cinematography was not bad at all. More importantly, it was God-centered! The movie is about what many of the American marriages is going through today- on the brink of divorce. Kirk Cameron, the Hollywood actor turned Evangelist, and Erin Bethea played the role of a normal working couple in the movie. Their problem was as common as what all other normal marriages is going through- wife feeling unloved and husband feeling disrespected. Cameron took on the role as a captain of a firefighting team. Everyday, he directs his team as together they save lives from the fire. He thought of himself as an honorable man and so thought his wife was nuts for not giving him the same respect. Bethea played the role of Cameron's wife, who is so disgusted with her husband's addiction to pornography and not helping her do things around the house. Her husband's appetite for pornography has made her feel so unattractive and unloved. She filed for divorce. He thought he had enough of her "unbelievable" attitude and that divorce will give him peace. Before the divorce was finalized, he eventually learned how to love.

This movie is so full of emotions. Kirk Cameron's acting was definitely plausible. In the movie he was supposed to kiss Erin Bethea, but he wouldn't kiss any woman except his own wife. So they had to have his wife, actress Chelsea Noble, do the extra scene. Nobody could tell that it was a different woman he kissed even though Noble and Bethea don't look alike. I've seen Noble in one of the Left Behind movies. She is also an outstanding actress. Apparently, Cameron didn't want her to play the role of his wife in Fireproof because he didn't want to yell or despise her even in the movie.

The movie came 4th in the box office on its first week of release. One the second week, it came 8th. It garnered more than 12 million dollars within 2 weeks.

Go and watch this movie, if you haven't yet. Be blessed and fall in love with your spouse all over again.

Here's the movie trailer... have fun!

Scenic Sunday

Aerial view of Manhattan, NY. We took this one from the top of the Empire State Building when we last visited NY.

Another Homerun for my Sarah Palin

My sleep last night was sweet after watching TV. Nice. I'm not trying to promote that watching TV before going to bed helps us achieve sweet sleep or better yet, "REM" (Rapid Eye Movement). There is more to that line. What actually happened was that I felt so satisfied with how Sarah Palin did at her first and only debate with her contender for the Vice Presidential race. She was definitely fabulous! I would say that she was able to erase the negative reputation that the media has written on her forehead the past couple weeks. She debated a veteran senator who is an experienced debater in the US legislative body with so much grace, articulation, authenticity, wisdom and valor. It was definitely her night! It amazed me how she could carry her energy up to the very end of the debate. In fact, she had shown more and more grit and self-confidence as the debate progressed. I love her strategy of putting her opponent in a defensive position rather than the other way around. And that is not all, she also did a great job of defending the McCain/Palin ticket. This time, she has proven that she could not only deliver a great inspiring speech but that she could also be very factual. Funny how it was Biden who messed up (again, as if we are not used to it) with his facts. One of them was the mention of article 1 as referred to by Biden as the article that describes the executive branch of the government. Wrong. Article 1 of the Constitution describes the legislative branch. How laughable that is! But again, this mess was from Biden's mouth, so it's not surprising. In fairness though, Biden wasn't mean to Palin. He was a gentleman. He kept his promise to be a fair debater to Palin when he was interviewed at Fox last week. I just wish he could at least be a little accurate with his facts. I wonder if he has a serious problem remembering events. Because if he does, it could be really dangerous to the country. What if, he would, one day, forget that he is running with Obama and not with McCain? Obama is not one he wants to mess up with, or else, he would CHANGE his mind and fire him and hire Hillary before the elections time. Okay, I'm not being sobersided already.

Overall, the debate was fair. In spite of the apprehensions of the people if the moderator would do a fair job being that she seemed to endorse Obama when she wrote a book about the guy. If she truly adores Obama, then I did not see that in her last night. Biden was a gentleman and looked knowledgeable (not necessarily true). But Palin shined! She connected well to the mainstream audience. She was very understandable because she doesn't know how to bloviate like other career politicians. That's absolutely a big plus.

Well, wonder why she did well? At least 2,000 committed pray-ers, including me and my hubby, prayed for her.

Odd?

I thought it was funny how our family photo taken in Chicago ended up in Rockefeller Center, NY. It was my sister who created this one. I like it.

Sarah Palin's First Debate

Sarah Palin faces Joe Biden tonight in their first Vice Presidential debate. Surprisingly, I am not tensed. I know that whatever is the outcome of this debate that life still goes on. The earth would definitely not stop revolving around the sun just for this debate. While it is imperative to hear what our candidates say, it is also important to know that Palin is not a "talker" but a "doer". We will be disappointed if we have expected Palin to be all-knowing. Not in the history of man that we can find such an individual. Bear in mind that Clinton had a zero knowledge on foreign policy when he ran for President. I know that Palin had failed to answer those out-and-in-of-this-world questions thrown at her in her recent interviews but that absolutely didn't disqualify her from the Vice-Presidential race. She is still the most qualified among them all. I am almost positive that Biden and the moderator, who has a questionable integrity, would try to pin her down at the debate tonight. But hey, at least 2,ooo people are praying for Palin tonight. Check this out... http://www.prayforsarahpalin.com/ Oh, what a relief it is to know that even when Palin is in the lion's den that she is protected by prayers. I encourage you to join this team of pray-ers for Sarah. Bless Sarah Palin tonight, Lord God.

Oh, Twins!

I couldn't even watch them when they had that tiebreaker game with the Chicago White Socks. It was too intense for me. I was down right scared thinking that they might not make it to the play offs. It is such a bummer that in that game, not even Morneau is making sense. It just doesn't make sense to me why both he and Mauer and even Gomez didn't score at all! I wanted for them to be at the play offs so badly. Plus, I was a little tired of my husband's "for Pete's sakes" line said over and over again that I won't be surprise when one day we hear it from our little Izzy baby.

But seriously, the game they had with the White Socks before the tiebreaker one, was the most exciting game I've ever watched of them. I don't think I've heard "for Pete's sakes" from my husbands mouth that night. It was just a perfect game. Joe Nathan is and will always be my guy in the Twins. He is the savior in the team, according to my wide knowledge on Baseball. I just love the way he handles pressures. I can't believe how he could sleep well having this role of saving a game most of the time. Do you think he is at all tensed when he is out there with a purpose of striking out the batters in such a critical time? Oh, I don't know anymore. They were so close to be at the play offs! I was so looking forward to it. But I guess I can't really get too emotional about Baseball. It's just a game.

Canning

I've been really wanting to can fruit and vegetables with my MOL since one of my SIL's mentioned it me in Mountain Lake, MN. She came with the idea when she saw a huge collection of canning jars in grandma's basement after her burial. I got excited about it but didn't really get a chance to get together with them for that purpose. Yesterday, Isabelle and I are over to my friend Tricia's house to can two 4-gallon buckets of pears. They have a pear tree in front of their house and before they rot we thought they have to be canned. We went to Fleet farm to buy our supplies and started our long day of canning pears. We have a couple recipes we tried and they both turned out super yummy! Thankfully, Isabelle was in her most wonderful mood ever! She was just playing with Tricia's kids' toys by herself, watching the Veggie Tales movies and eating surprisingly well. She was content. I had all the freedom to work on our canning thing. We started at 12 noon and finished at 8 in the evening. Well, we could have really finished it much earlier than that, like before 5, but you know how it is when two super talkative, full-of-emotions and beautiful young ladies are doing something together. Anyway, we found canning to be really fun. Now we are planning to call my friend who have an apple orchard in Northfield and asked her if we could pick some apples and we will can them. Exciting!

Mixing chunks of pears in the honey-spiced juice we made.

The first batch of our canned Pear Honey. It is so yummy on plain bread or on ice cream.

Praying Cat?

Isabelle and I were in my craft room yesterday when she surprised me what she thought about this cat. I was making thank you cards for those who gave her birthday gifts and she was reading her books. When she got to this page of her cat book, she said, "Mommy, yook! Kitty prayin'." She said it over and over again and didn't turn the page until I looked at her eyes and agreed with her.

Birthday Again

Exactly 2 years ago yesterday, Isabelle was born a big baby- 9 pounds 7 ounces at that! I can still remember how pink her skin was. She had a lot of curly hair. And her lips were so define. When I saw her the first time, I thought what in the world! How did I end up having a big baby with a curly hair? Both Paul and I always have straight hair. We definitely don't need a hair re-bond. But Isabelle... she had curly hair and I loved it so much!

Yesterday, she officially turned two. She followed my prayer thanking God that she is 2 and that she has been really healthy, except for mild colds and fever once in several months. We told her it was her birthday and as usual at the mention of the word, she sang the Happy Birthday song and talked about how she blew the candles and ate the cake. We didn't want to do anything big because she already had two parties and one more is coming up with our Filipino-American friends. But her daddy got home with flowers and a balloon for her. She has a special love for balloons, so she was so excited to see a big one yesterday. Then we had cookies and cream ice cream.