Your Vote Counts!

Last Thursday, after flying from SLC back to Iowa, I went to the Iowa Caucus. It was quite an interesting experience. I really didn't know how the process worked, but it is nothing like a regular election where you show up at your polling place sometime throughout the day, vote, and then you are out of there. Caucusing is nothing like that at all. Everyone shows up at your polling place at the same time. I was assigned to the Jr. high school and when I got there 15 minutes before 7 pm, the parking lot and side streets were packed! I had to park in the back of the school where the snow had not been plowed, I almost thought about going back home because it was a little bit frustrating and freezing, but thinking of my Cousin Daniel, who wanted a full report, I had to move forward. Once you get inside, there was a room designated for Republicans or Democrats. We all just sat in our room, but not in different areas for each campaign. I was handed a few pieces of scratch paper for voting purposes. After a representative from each campaign spoke for two minutes about why you should vote for that particular person, then we wrote down our vote and then the votes were counted. We never broke into the different groups and tried to persuade the people to vote for another person. They just took our votes and said they would call them in to the state caucus in Des Moines. Our precinct had 28 votes for Romney, 17 for Thompson, and 10 for Huckabee; the others didn't have the 15% of votes to move on. I am glad that I was able to have this experience. What is interesting about it is that it takes the anonymity out of the voting process. Typically you go in to your little booth, fill in your bubbles and walk away and nobody knows who you voted for. This is quite different because you stand in a room with all of your neighbors and everyone sees who everyone is supporting. Everyone had stickers, or met with a person that was in charge of a certain campaign within our precinct, so everyone knew who your support was for. After we were done, I wasn't stuck in the snow behind the school, and I gave my neighbors a ride home. Some would say that this was a pretty uneventful evening, but I was glad I experienced the Iowa Caucus....the beginning of the campaign for the 2008 Presidential election. Sorry Daniel, no pictures.

Book Club

Have I told you that I love reading? I have always been a reader. It all started when my older sister went to Kindergarten and learned to read. She came home and taught me to read when I was 4...I haven't stopped. Right now I have too many books that are on my list. I saw this picture in a magazine and had to post it, especially since my camera is being fixed and I can't take any cute pictures. This inspired me...I would love to have this many books to decorate my house with. And I could make this display to keep track of my book club. We are having our 10th anniversary this year. There are thirteen woman, thirteen amazing women. Well, I am getting off the subject...what are you reading right now?

Eat, Pray, Love

New Moon, then Eclipse

On the list:

Left To Tell

The Silver Donkey (Christian and I are going to read this together)

A Thousand Splendid Suns

It Passes All My Understanding...

I took the 6 am flight to Atlanta. About an hour into the flight, I was amazed by a sight that looked something like this.

I took out my camera to get a picture and I had left my battery at home. I thought of Grandpa during the entire flight. Since he loved taking pictures of sunrises and sunsets, I thought he would have liked this one also. While I sat in awe of this breathtaking sight, I thought of a song by Cherie Call.

I was sitting on a southbound plane,

I was buried in a magazine

When the man in the next seat over

Wanted to talk to me

He talked about the universe,

He talked about Saturn's rings

He said, "I might be an atheist,

Except for just one thing:

It passes all my understanding

How it all worked out just right

The distance that we live from the sun,

The stars that shine at night

We may prove that it was just an accident

But how did it begin?

It passes all my understanding."

I told him, "You are a scholar;

You know things that I don't know

But I believe a God in heaven

Made everything below

And I know we are his children;

I've known it since I was two

But when it comes to being struck with awe,

I'm just like you

It passes all my understanding,

All the beauty we have here

From the majesty of the canyons

To a tiny baby's ear

And even when I can't believe it,

He still believes in me

It passes all my understanding"

We watched the sun set through the clouds

In a tiny little airplane window

With people sleeping all around

And I thought of how we just expect this world to be

And when the flight attendant passed me by

I threw away my magazine

It passes all my understanding,

That the Lord knows both our names

And that He made this world for everyone

That was sitting on that plane

And in spite of all of man's distractions

He offers us His peace

That passes all my understanding

When Grandpa heard something he loved, he would document it. When dad was cleaning out his house, he found poems, words to songs, talks, etc. that Grandpa wanted to remember...maybe I have inherited his desire to remember. I am always writing things down...