Emily was Wonder Woman and Charlotte was a monkey. Emily didn't wear the wig while trick-or-treating because she thought she looked "dumb." Charlotte didn't actually wear the costume because she didn't have a very good day (just didn't like the holiday or something!). She spent trick-or-treating time curled up in Dad's arms - sleeping. Regardless, she got a lot of sympathy candy. :)
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Every year, Gardner Villiage puts up witches all through the little shopping areas. They are placed in all kinds of creative places. Emily and her friend Sienna sat by this witch and we had to take a shot of it.
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The framers were busy this week! We have a house now. Jill and I walked through it, but we were unable to make it into the basement of the house (there are no stairs yet). The picture above is standing inside our living room and taking the shot looking back toward the end of the house. That fiberglass shower sitting in the garage is for the guest / girls bathroom. Right now, we are waiting on the electrician to come in and the plumber to bring all the rough plumbing in. Then, we will see drywall being put up! We will upload more pictures in the near future.
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An Open Letter to the Conservative Members of the United States Congress
11:34 PM Thursday, October 20, 2005Conservative Members of the United States Congress,
Where are you? And what happened to that for which we elected you?
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita are devestating events in the lives of many good and unfortunate Americans. Let us all open our hearts to them. Leave no question that my intentions in writing this letter are not to rebuild New Orleans, or the rest of the 90, 000 square miles of gulf coast, on the backs of the poor. My intentions are not to forsake those that are in need. My intentions are, simply, to save as much of the taxpayers hard stolen money for future needs.
Conservatives have long stood for principles of limited government. We have long stood for fiscal responsibility even in the face of humiliation. At times, it is necessary for the government to step in and provide necessary welfare for its citizens, but we must hold fast to the purse strings. Ronald Reagan once said that if something the administration was doing wasn't popular it was because he wasn't communicating it right. I would argue that you are not communicating what is most important to us - helping save our people - to us.
Let us be giving and kind. Let us be responsible and offer charity. Let us love our fellow citizens. But, let us also tighten the belt at a time when tightening is necessary. You must cut spending to pay for this effort. Monies must be dispersed to the victims of natural disasters - but you must cut the pork out to do it. Americans will understand. Citizens of this country will understand that it will be a time for giving and surviving on our own for a little while. Pay for this disaster (as we should) with taxpayer money, but find a way to make it work without 1) increasing taxes, 2) cuting defense spending or 3) pouring money into corrupt state and local governments.
Finally, I remind you that one of the most potent images of the late 20th century is one of President Clinton standing before a national audience and writing a big zero on a white board entitled National Budget Deficiet. It took a spend thrift party to do what the conservative party preeched for so long that they should have done.
Now is a season to step into the refiner's fire and become something better than you are. I also urge the President to stand for something conservative in these the wayning days of his dismal presidency. I urge the President to veto spending bills that don't cut pork barrel spending or needless waste. I urge members of the Conservative movement to request the same from their President.
The ballot boxes of 2006 and 2008 are not that far away. Don't waste time trying to figure out how to make the votes add up. Fight for your causes. Fight for the things that will define a new contract with America. Fight for the people that have fought for you.
Sincerely,
Wm. John Knotwell III
Proud Citizen of the United States of America
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How can you not want to post these pictures! She's such a good natured little girl. We were worried that she might be impacted by the warm water. Nope, she enjoyed ever minute of it. As long as she wasn't too far from Mom and Dad, she was having a good time. In case you are wondering... the small birth mark on her left leg will most likely remain there for the rest of her life. It's just a little kiss from our Heavenly Father. The day after these pictures were taken, she had the flu. We think that's why she is a little "spacey" in the pictures.
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10:17 PM Sunday, October 16, 2005
Here are the most recent pictures of our home. We are so excited to be moving into this in the next few months! The basement framing is done. The three pictures are looking at are three images of our framed basement. The bottom picture is standing at the corner of our porch and looking down. The cloest framing that you see is the stairwell. The floor joists are sitting behind the home in the final picture. They will be put on this week and then we will walk on the "finished" portion of our home. Exciting news!
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She rolled over!
9:28 PM Thursday, October 13, 2005Our little Charlotte rolled over today. We were so excited for her. She's been trying to roll over now for several weeks, but today she finally did it without any help from mom and dad.
At the same time, she was so excited for herself. You could tell that she knew she did something pretty neat. She was so tired from trying to roll over that she fell asleep early tonight.
What a little doll!
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Those that know me, know my political pursuasion. In this era of judicial activism and elitist politics, there is no exception that Harriet Meirs fills a void in the court - that of a person that comes from an "everyday" person lifestyle. She has never been a Washington elitist and has only been part of the establishment for 6 months. That being said, I have to stongly echo the sentiments of Charles Krauthammer in his op-ed for the Washington Post - remove this nomination.
Harriet Meirs has produced the largest uprising in the Republican party since President Bush betrayed the party by signing the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform bill in 2002. Gee, was that a political move to win seats in the midterm elections?
President Bush needs to find a female John Roberts, or even a minority non-female John Roberts. There is no question that his political weight with the conservative wing of the party is floundering. Bush must be loyal to the base which elected him and will push to elect his replacement.
Harriet Meirs may have the effervescent feel of a conservative candidate, but she lacks the necessary legal backbone from which the Senate may draw on for advice and consent. Certainly, liberals and conservatives alike can see that this nominee has prima facia status, but she lacks the de facto credentials necessary to act in the mold of Scalia or Thomas.
We must also consider the position for which she is replacing. Justice Sandra Day O'Conner has never been considered a hard line conservative (nor do I think Reagan intended her to be when she was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1981). Instead, she brought with her mainstream value America, that same American that led Reagan to capture so many Reagan Democrats in 1984. Bush has not considered the O'Conner factor when appointing Meirs. She doesn't come from the West, she comes from the land of Oil, Business, Big Business and even bigger Business.
So, we come back to where we began. Does Meirs have the understanding necessary to convince the majority United States Senate that she is the woman for the job? Can she really get to the bottom of judicial activism, bench legislation, and decide on the side of the Constitution (not her social agenda) when deciding on cases that will come before the High Court? Can Harriet Meirs, who has never been the judge in any case ever, decide what is right based on her sound legal reasoning and "years" of experience of Constitutional Studies?
This conservative thinks no. Mr. Bush - withdraw this nomination. Choose a Janice Rogers Brown (could have been the first black female Supreme Court Justice) or an Edith Brown Clement, or an Edith Hollan Jones or someone else that has already demonstrated through many years of legal rulings that they will act in the mold of Scalia or Thomas. Mr. President - pick someone that will show some bright spot to your dismal presidential legacy. Choose a conservative that can prove that he or she is a conservative in the LAW.
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This is our most recent family picture. We thought we would add it for all of you. Make comments. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
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Since blogging has become the journaling and free speech of choice for the last several months, we thought it would be fun to actually start our own. Blogger (from Google) is free. They give you picture space and as many posts as you would like. Have fun here and let us know how you're doing from time to time.
John, Jill, Emily, and Charlotte
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