Election night ramblings

I loved this book by Beth Moore. Her first novel!
There was mystery, humor, redemption and hope. -Not to mention Beth has the cutest southern phrases sprinkled throughout.

I read this last weekend and loved it. (if you don't count the way it ended!)  ;)
Gotta love a book that includes a discussion on Mr. Darcy and gives high praise to Little Women.

I am watching The Crown on Netflix, which is not nearly as fun as Downton Abbey but it is growing on me. And I dearly love This is Us, on NBC. It has got to be the sweetest show on television.

I didn't expect the election to be this close!

I may have to find out who is going to be in the White House in the morning, but I can always go to bed knowing Who is on the throne!  : )

Florida, please be red!

Yawning and jealous of the Pacific time zone!
~Becky

My experience as a poll worker

I'm sure you can imagine the stress of being a new poll worker for this election!The poll I worked at had people lining up at 6:00 AM and waiting an hour and half to vote.

I was a SO nervous. There were so many scenarios we had to learn for what to do if: people didn't have a valid photo or a signature i.d. or needed assistance to vote, or had a change of address, or were at the wrong poll, or voted absentee and forgot (WHO does that?!) or requested to vote absentee and never did etc...

But guess what? 

Everyone was friendly, most were excited about their right to vote, and most of them had their driver's license, (hooray!) which made it a piece of cake. At one point during the 14 hour day, I even got a chance to 'rest' and be the lady passing out the stickers. : )

I congratulated the first time voters (who were older than I am, to my surprise). We all cheered for the first timer who was 18. I was happy an angry homeless woman was able to vote. I was in awe of a woman who looked to be on death's doorstep, who brought her almost blind son, to assist her in voting. I rejoiced with a man who made it out of the hospital, and came straight over to vote. I mourned with another man whose wife was in the hospital and couldn't. I laughed with the man who asked for two ballots.

There was a poll watcher in blue that we weren't allowed to speak to and since my party didn't have one, I secretly appointed myself for the job. ; )
 -No voter fraud at our poll! I was very impressed with procedures on all sides. During the time that I was, what we called 'Sticker Girl,' our ballot machine reached it's maximum capacity. I happened to be standing beside it as the clerk took all the ballots out and put them in the ballot-luggage-holder and then locked every zipper with official zip ties and the SOE official took it away. (that was another moment of awe)

Our poll didn't get a last minute rush like we expected. After the poll closed we started counting up the signatures (of those who'd voted) in each of our registers and then switched registers to check the counts of the other poll workers. Counting isn't usually hard but this was at the end of a very long day and we were SO tired by then, if anyone said a number out loud, then we'd tell each other to 'shhh!' so we didn't loose count and have to start over. It also did not help me when the poll watcher decided to stand right over me while I counted. 

I had a great team to work with and we truly enjoyed spending the day working together. A few were sweet retirees, one was a dry-wall guy and one young woman, who loved the voting/election process even more than I do. It was a great experience and I enjoyed meeting and serving ALL types of people who came to cast their vote for the next leader of the free world. Maybe I'll do it again in four years. The only problem was that I couldn't stay awake after having been up since 4:00 AM to actually see the results! 

But, then I didn't like the results anyway...

But, I do love the process! 

May God bless America!

~Becky

On this post election day

This verse came to mind today:

"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
But when a wicked man rules, the people groan." ~Prov. 29:2

I've done lots of 'groaning' this morning, but then...

This song also came to mind and I'm choosing to put my focus here:

"My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name."

AMEN!

Really glad we did our part though!

~Becky

For the love of voting

Since I LOVE the right to vote and the whole democratic process and this is such an important election, I thought it would be fun to be a poll worker! Not to mention, it seemed like a well paying job for one's day work and we have a purity ring to buy. : ) (little did I know what was involved!)

When I was 18, I voted for the first time at a poll down the street from my house in someone's garage. (do they still use resident's garages for polls these days? I doubt it)

I used to love to bring my kids with me to the poll when they were little. One year they were given ballots with a bunch of past presidents to choose from like Theodore Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington and they had their own ballot box. Too cute. Now I have an 18 year old who is going to vote in his first presidential election and a 17 year old, who will miss getting to vote by 5 weeks.

I still only have to walk down the street to vote, but now my poll is a 100 year old church. I love the run-down-but-sweet look of the old building as you open the door and the kind, elderly poll workers who crack jokes when you arrive and then make you feel like a million dollars for voting. That is why I have never wanted to vote by mail before. But this year, I had to. Being a poll worker means that I won't have time to and I'm not working at my poll. -Wow, was voting by mail ever convenient! I might have to stop being sentimental do that every year. ; )

Back to the pay...
When you realize that you have to go to a 2 hour orientation class and then a 3 hour poll worker training class, study your manual, help set up the poll on Monday night and work at least 13 hours on Election day...it doesn't seem to pay as well as I thought. ; )  My hubby has been teasing me that I will probably make about $3 an hour when it is all said and done. LOL Oh well. I'll just have to keep remembering that I LOVE the election process and hope that I still think it is 'fun' 7:00 PM Tuesday night! (or quite possible 10:00 PM)

We, of course, have to be totally impartial that day and cannot discuss anything related to the election or even speak the candidates names, which I totally agree with. But TODAY, on the day BEFORE the election....
my teens (and one borrowed kiddo) and I went to help out at Romney's campaign office!!!! Whoo-hoo! A very exciting place to be on the day before the election! They had us making phone calls. -Phone calls to people who are VERY tired of being called! Oh, do my kids have some stories to tell about those calls!!!
Our county is so important to the vote in FL that people from other states were there to help make calls. Amazing.

Lots of memories made today. Not to mention, a TV camera recorded Andrew making one of his calls and I got my picture taken for our newspaper. Then to our surprise, Connie Mack, who is running for Senator, stopped by to encourage us and give a speech. Our kids met him and had him sign their campaign poster and have their picture taken with him.

I was assigned to a poll in well, the slums, actually, and my hubby exercised his right to veto me working there. I was, thankfully, reassigned to a poll in a great neighborhood with a fun team of workers who are meeting for breakfast at 5:30 AM and who are all bringing various casseroles to insure that we don't starve. (we are not allowed to leave the poll all day/night) I'm off to study my manual and get to bed early.

Be sure to go and exercise your right to vote! It's a close race!
Go Romney!

~Becky

A night to remember

Andrew got his wish! Mitt Romney came back to our area again and we were able to go. Whoohoo!
(this was the only 'field trip' Andrew wanted to do this year and it had not worked out for us to go 3 other times) Love when God gives my children the 'desires of the their heart.'

We got stuck in an absolute sea of traffic and finally decided to ditch our van and walk a mile! Best decision ever!

My hubby's boss' daughter was asked to sing the National Anthem and she did a fabulous job!

It was a gorgeous night to be outside looking into a beautiful sunset

on a high school football field hearing (hopefully) the next leader of the free world speak about his hopes for this great country!

~Becky

My quota for wildlife

Here are some pictures from the kayaking trip:

It was a beautiful morning to be out on a river with our beautiful, sweet, girl!

I'm glad she's also a VERY patient girl because she was behind me in the kayak and I ended up accidentally splashing her with my paddle just about the whole trip! Poor thing.

We were shown a map and some pictures of land marks and given a phone number for emergencies and the pick up times and sent on our way down the river alone.

The scenery was lovely. We had to love the fact that we were going DOWN stream!

In some places there was only about a foot of space for us to get our kayak between logs and fallen trees.

Here's a blue heron!

Why did all those logs in the water have to look like they had eyes and make me nervous about alligators?

Our favorite creatures were the turtles! Although I did spot a baby alligator at one point, I wasn't worried about one that size. Then Joy reminded me that a baby alligator meant there was a mama somewhere nearby and she told me to 'get paddling!' She didn't have to tell me twice!

Here is her 'half way point happy dance!' It was time to land and have lunch! Also time to rest our sore arms.

Not long after this I spotted something that was NOT a log with eyes and it was HUGE and the eyes were real. It had me beat in size. And as I tried to paddle and not panic, something else dove under our kayak which freaked us both out a little and we paddled for all we were worth.

Seeing this sign and taking that left turn meant we made it without getting lost!
 Now to find the landing spot from the photo they showed us....hmmmm

We were 45 minutes early for the pick up time (maybe due to the alligator induced paddling) and also unsure if we were at the landing spot that we were shown a picture of two hours ago. Everything was a blur in our minds by this time. So, we pulled up to a spot we thought was right and walked around the deserted state park. That was then that I realized that I didn't have a signal on my phone and that we were completely alone in the middle of pretty much nowhere. I couldn't phone the canoe company to make sure we were in the right spot. I couldn't call anyone. And then my over active imagination went a little wild with possibly dangerous sceneros which would require me trying to defend us with only my car keys or my rubber paddle should some crazy guy visiting the state park find the two of us alone...

So, we got back in our happy little kayak to wait in the water which seemed safer, (despite the mama gator) where I kept watching the time (and praying). As you can imagine, I was beyond happy to see a rickety old school bus with the canoe company's name on it coming down the dirt trail 40 minutes later. Praise the Lord!

When you add this to shark dissecting I'm pretty sure I've experienced enough nature for one week. ; )

When I got home, I found out that our heavenly home improvement angel had come to visit! (thank you Carlos!) What a blessing to have a friend who comes over and fixes everything that is broken in your whole house! Amazing! He knocked out my hubby's 'honey do' list in no time flat. Now we are all ready for my hubby's brother to arrive and for care-giving adventure # 3 to start.

That night Andrew's dream came true. We were able to attend a Mitt Romney rally! Whoo-hoo! But that was another adventure all together and a post for another day which doesn't include any wildlife. (unless you count 5 protesters who were under the age of 18) ; )
~Becky

Apparently we are hard to please

Our friends want to come over and watch the second presidential debate with us and they wanted to bring a pie. I'm sure they greatly regret asking us what kind to buy now because they received a text from Nathan that went like this:

"Just took a huge vote and all of us have a favorite we all love but one of us hates it.
We all love pumpkin but my dad hates it.
They all love cherry but I hate it.
We all love pecan but Mom hates it,
We all love key lime but Andy hates it,
Therefore, we have all decided to settle for apple." LOL

~And they texted back that it took us so long to decide they got

a coffee cake! bahahaha

~Becky

Political happenings

This is one ironic campaign poster  LOL! We do 'owe' A LOT, Mr. President!
Did you watch the presidential debate on Wednesday night? We did.
I was kind of heart broken that I was not at church because a German woman was speaking to our girls class and telling her story about living in Berlin during the time of Hitler!!! How awesome is that?! -Especially if you just read a biography of Bonhoeffer! I was sooo excited.
But our van started breaking down on the way and we had to turn around. So, I comforted myself with the fact that I was not stuck by the side of the road and that I got to watch the whole debate! (Yay! Romney!)
If Joy did not have a dance class to teach today with 14 girls counting on her, we would be seeing Romney at a rally this very afternoon, a bonus of living in a battleground state.
Our youngest, Andrew, is absolutely positive that he has been on every worthwhile field trip possible and cannot be convinced to go on any more. Not a one. Not even to the science museum where they will be climbing a ropes course 36 feet in the air! Or snorkeling at the beach and then dissecting a shark! -How many kids get to do that in a day? Nope, not going. Which makes me wonder 'Where is my son and what have you done with him?!' ; ) I guess his home educated mom burned him out on field trips.

But we must have started something with this one

when we went to hear John McCain speak!

Zac

Nathan, Andrew and Joy

because the ONLY event he wants to go to is a rally for Romney!

There have been 3 in our area, but so far it hasn't worked out...  : (
But here's another bonus to living in a battleground state, we are all going to this:

which he will hopefully enjoy. I know his dad sure is excited!

~Becky

The Mexico City Policy and Horton

As we watched Horton Hears a Who tonight,

and heard that sweet elephant declaring that "A person's a person no matter how small,"





I couldn't help thinking about abortion.
Obama has only been in office a few days and now our tax dollars are going to fund abortions in other countries! How frustrating.
I guess he "said what he meant and meant what he said."

Isn't it SAD!?

-Especially as a nation, that we haven't been "faithful, one hundred percent."

~Becky

It passed!

Amendment 2 passed! Whoo-hoo!!!!!!!!
PTL!

Do a "small something!"

This sign is VERY disturbing and misleading and unfortunately there are a bunch of them in my neighborhood.

This might sound crazy but I had this very vivid dream the other night.

Maybe it was because I am a home school mom studying the Declaration of Independence with my kids...but (I kid you not!) I dreamt that one of our nation's Founding Father's saw what was going on in America today and he had something profound to say about it! What he said really touched my heart. Weird, huh?

I woke up knowing that I had to find a way to get involved in Amendment 2, even though I didn't have a CLUE what amendment 2 was even about and had only seen all those "hurting Florida's Families" signs in my neighborhood...

Well, I know what it's all about now!

And I'm glad I had that dream.

Amendment 2 makes marriage between a man and woman part of our constitution so that it can never be overturned by a liberal judge.

That is all it does.

The other side is telling people that a "YES" vote on this amendment will take away "health care insurance, hospital visitation, and medical decision making from all unmarried couples. It will permanently ban civil unions and dismantle domestic partner benefits that seniors, teachers, police officers and firefighters rely on." (hence the "hurting families")

That is NOT true.

Their claims are scare tactics.

On November 4th you can decide what you think will 'hurt Florida's families.'

I am voting YES! Yes to Marriage being between a man and woman.

If you don't live in Florida, and the definition of marriage is hanging in the balance in your state, be sure to vote and you can still find a way to get involved because doing something on Nov. 4th is not too late.

I've never been involved in an election in any way before other than the casting of my vote, but we are going to do a "small something" for this election.

My kiddos and I are going to place "Yes on 2" signs at voting sites. It will be easy! It's just one way to help although I think it's going to take some donut-bribery to get them up early enough to place signs around town by 7:00 AM. ; )

I want to be able to look back and remember that if "all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is good men to do nothing" (Edward Burke) then at least I did a very "small something."

That's a privilege we can thank the Founding Father's for.

~Becky