The Elder - Update!

Many of you are aware that about this time last year, the Elder was deployed to Afghanistan. Well friends, I couldn't be more thrilled to report that he is back home with TSC and Wiggleworm! I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet...I think he MORE than deserves to have some time alone with his wife and son. I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the prayers and good wishes y'all threw out in the past year. I'm certain that played a part in getting him through his first deployment relatively unscathed. HOPEFULLY I won't have to ask for prayers to keep him safe through another deployment anytime soon!

2 Years Old?

My Precious Wiggleworm,

I simply cannot believe that you are 2 years old today. Time can't possibly be going that quickly. Of course, it may have something to do with the fact that I haven't seen you since you were six months old. This is what you looked like the last time I saw you.

This is what you look like now.

Listen buddy - I asked you in this post to take care of your Mom while Daddy is gone. Sweetheart - you've done an AWESOME job! You make your mommy SOOOOO happy. And that makes all of us happy. Your Daddy is SO proud of you, and so am I. And your Mommy has been incredible during this time as well. I can't wait to see you and hold you. It seems like a LOOOONG time, but I'm sure it will fly. Well, to you and mommy and daddy anyway! It can't come soon enough for me.

I love you sweetheart. And I love your Mommy and Daddy too. I'm SO grateful you will all be together again soon.

Happy 2nd Birthday Wiggleworm. I love you.

Celebrate Walker and Media Bias

I had the pleasure of attending the Celebrate Walker rally in Wauwatosa yesterday with a friend of mine. Now, if you rely on the mainstream media for your news, I was one of the "hundreds" who attended. Ummm - not exactly.

It never ceases to amaze me how the lamestream media tilts something as benign as a rally to fit their agenda. I understand that they despise the fact that those of us who support our governor are willing to come out in droves on a cold January day, but honestly, can't you get the number a LITTLE closer? Hundreds? More like hundreds...and hundreds...and hundreds. The energy from the crowd was amazing and the speakers really fired everyone up. Of course, the paid thugs protesters had to infiltrate and attempt to shake things up. The police promptly escorted them out. However, I did find it amusing that our crowd started yelling "shame shame shame" to the point it was echoing throughout the park. Heh.

Speaking of the protesters, if you look at the pictures provided by the MSM, one would think that they had quite a showing. Ummm - again - not so much.

I'll admit that we left early - I had another engagement I had to attend. However, it seems that we left at the perfect time. As we were leaving, who should we run in to??

Yep - a good time was had by all.

The Marines and the Taliban

I've been holding my tongue on this one so far, but then I figured - why the hell did I start this blog? To vent, to rant, to voice my opinions. So here goes.

Much has been made about the images of four Marines desecrating the bodies of dead members of the Taliban. While I most certainly DO NOT condone this behavior, let's look into this a little further, shall we? Were the Marines cutting off body parts? No. Were they posing the bodies? No. Were they taking pictures that were MEANT to be disseminated for all to see? No. They were urinating on the bodies. I can't emphasize enough that I don't agree with what they did, but why don't we look at it from their perspective.

I've heard from folks on the ground what it's really like over there. Chris Kyle, the most prolific sniper in history, refers to the Taliban in his book "American Sniper" as Savages. Folks - these are people who want us dead and will do anything to achieve that goal. These are people who use women and CHILDREN to kill Americans. And when they do, they celebrate. Loud and Proud. Disgusting. It doesn't matter whether or not you agree with the war...the fact is that we have our brave armed forces facing death every day from these savages. IEDs, snipers, suicide bombers...one never knows over there. I've only heard a very small portion of what the Elder has seen and faced and it breaks my heart and infuriates me at the same time.

The fact that these Marines may be facing charges demonstrates how PC this country has become. I think Allen West is SPOT ON when he says:

“The Marines were wrong. Give them a maximum punishment under field grade level Article 15 (non-judicial punishment), place a General Officer level letter of reprimand in their personnel file, and have them in full dress uniform stand before their Battalion, each personally apologize to God, Country, and Corps videotaped and conclude by singing the full US Marine Corps Hymn without a teleprompter.

“As for everyone else, unless you have been shot at by the Taliban, shut your mouth, war is hell.”

I highly recommend you read the whole thing at the link above.

The Marines:

Does that really compare with the Taliban?

Just sayin'

A Mile in their Shoes

For all those bastards who decided they were in a position to judge Rick Santorum on how he and his family handled the death of their child, this is a must read. A woman who went through the same type of situation weighs in...

At first blush, the way Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum handled the death of his newborn son almost 16 years ago may seem a little bizarre to some.

But it’s not. I know because I’ve gone through it, too.

Nearly two and a half years ago, my world came crashing down.
...
One of the nurses swaddled my daughter and put her in my arms — an act for which I am eternally grateful. Despite our fears and trepidation, the nurse assured us that holding our baby daughter would help us through our ordeal. As painful as it might seem, it would help us heal.

Grace was beautiful. She had my husband’s lips and my big toe. We told her how much we loved her and how sorry we were. Our families got to see her, too, and a priest came to our hospital room to bless her.
...
Those precious moments with my daughter — the only time I ever got to see and hold her — are cherished ones. That single memory of holding Grace brings me much peace.
...
As Santorum did for his son, we had a funeral for Grace. She’s buried alongside her grandmother and her obituary ran in this newspaper.

And like Santorum, not a day goes by that I don’t think of her. My 12-year-old stepdaughter, meanwhile, wears a remembrance bracelet to honor the baby sister she never knew.

I was sickened this week when liberal pundits mocked Santorum as “weird” and “crazy,” and tried to use the tragedy to highlight his extreme right-wing views.

Some may not agree with Santorum’s ideology, but to ridicule a grief-stricken father for grappling with one of life’s most agonizing tragedies is the dirtiest of politics.

My hope is that none of his heartless critics will ever have to walk in his — or my — shoes.

You really should read the whole thing...it goes into far more detail.

As most of you know, there was a period of time after the Boy was born that we weren't sure whether or not he was going make it. Would I have done the same thing? I have NO idea. And that's the point - unless one has been through this, heaven only knows how one would react and what choices they would make.

What I DO know is no one has the right to judge this type of decision. NO ONE can say they know without a doubt what they would do in the face of such a tragic emotional event. Moreover, how DARE anyone make fun of or criticize a decision such as this. I, like the author, hope they never have to find out what they'd do in such a situation.

They should be ashamed of themselves, but since they have no shame we know that ain't gonna happen.

Reflections

Well, 2011 has been a helluva year, eh?

If you're my facebook friend (and if not, why not??), y'all already know that I'm starting 2012 in a new location...professionally speaking, that is. My law firm spent the last week of 2011 moving our offices to temporary quarters until our new building is completed, which we HOPE will be around June. I'm digging the idea of starting a new year in a new place.

Soooo, 2011. As many of you know, the year didn't start so well. I missed the infamous Groundhog Day Blizzard because I was up in Green Bay watching my father in law fight for his life. Thanks to the incredible support and the outpouring of prayers from y'all, he has completely recovered. He's even gone back to working out at the health club...something I should probably think about. Or not.

In 2011 I was also blessed with many new friendships. Some of these people have become a part of my every day life and for that I am grateful. I've also reconnected with some people from my past and they too have become an incredibly important part of my life. And of course, there are those friends who have been by my side for years. I thank you ALL for...well...putting up with me! ;)

The politics. Lord have mercy - I could go on for DAYS about Wisconsin politics in 2011. February saw Wisconsin thrown into the national spotlight when 14 senate democrats decided to act like a bunch of children who get angry because they don't like the rules, so they ran away from home. I was honestly waiting for them to hold their collective breaths until they turned blue...oh wait...they're about as blue as they can possibly get, aren't they? Contemporaneous to that was the sick outs. Teachers all over the state decided that because they didn't like the idea of joining the real world by having to contribute a bit more (but much less than those of us in the private sector) to their medical insurance and pensions, they would just walk off the job. This resulted in schools shutting down and parents having to scramble to find alternate care for the children who these teachers are SUPPOSED to care about. We also had thousands of former hippies, wannabes and union thugs destroying our capital...and many of them couldn't even explain why they were there. And that was only the BEGINNING of the year. All of this culminated in the perpetual recalls which continue to this day...as does the bill to the taxpayers.

With the presidential election coming up in 2012 along with the effort to recall Governor Walker, it promises to be a very interesting year in politics. As far as personally and professionally...well, I guess that remains to be seen!

My wish for all of you is a blessed and prosperous 2012.