These photos were all taking inside The National Museum for Natural History inside a room devoted to the famous King of Ethiopia.

God waving Hello.

I was recently reminded thru story that God waves hello to us thru nature. Wow! The beauty of the mountains on our drive this past Thursday night into Alexandria Virginia. God was definitely waving hello.

We arrived at our hotel @ 330 am. We got up the next day and took the hotel bus to the metro station. We took the metro into DC. We started our day in the Capital City @ The Museum of the American Indian.

Then on to The Air and Space Museum. I thought the boys would enjoy that one the most, but I was wrong. It seemed their least favorite. Then we went to The African Art Museum, this was Derara's favorite. We went to the National Museum of Natural History and really could have spent the whole day there. My favorite part of that museum was the room devoted to Hallie Selassie.

From their it was over to the National Archives. We stopped for a quick bite to eat from a street vendor and ate on the steps of the Environmental Protection Agency. Then we went on a foot tour of DC. We walked past the Washington Monument, The Vietnam Memorial, The World War II Memorial, waved at the White House and ended at the Lincoln Monument. We had a hilarious guide who was full of little nuggets of information. He and Noah did a skit acting out two of the presidents. We took the Metro back to Pentagon City, ate at the Mall and made it back to our hotel room @ 10ish. Great, Great day. We made a lot of memories and shared a lot of laughter.

AGREE WITH HIM OR NOT, THINK ABOUT IT

Monday, September 29th, 2008The Rich Are Staging a Coup This Morning ...a message from Michael Moore
Friends,
Let me cut to the chase. The biggest robbery in the history of this country is taking place as you read this. Though no guns are being used, 300 million hostages are being taken. Make no mistake about it: After stealing a half trillion dollars to line the pockets of their war-profiteering backers for the past five years, after lining the pockets of their fellow oilmen to the tune of over a hundred billion dollars in just the last two years, Bush and his cronies -- who must soon vacate the White House -- are looting the U.S. Treasury of every dollar they can grab. They are swiping as much of the silverware as they can on their way out the door.
No matter what they say, no matter how many scare words they use, they are up to their old tricks of creating fear and confusion in order to make and keep themselves and the upper one percent filthy rich. Just read the first four paragraphs of the lead story in last Monday's New York Times and you can see what the real deal is:
"Even as policy makers worked on details of a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry, Wall Street began looking for ways to profit from it. "Financial firms were lobbying to have all manner of troubled investments covered, not just those related to mortgages. "At the same time, investment firms were jockeying to oversee all the assets that Treasury plans to take off the books of financial institutions, a role that could earn them hundreds of millions of dollars a year in fees. "Nobody wants to be left out of Treasury's proposal to buy up bad assets of financial institutions."
Unbelievable. Wall Street and its backers created this mess and now they are going to clean up like bandits. Even Rudy Giuliani is lobbying for his firm to be hired (and paid) to "consult" in the bailout.
The problem is, nobody truly knows what this "collapse" is all about. Even Treasury Secretary Paulson admitted he doesn't know the exact amount that is needed (he just picked the $700 billion number out of his head!). The head of the congressional budget office said he can't figure it out nor can he explain it to anyone.
And yet, they are screeching about how the end is near! Panic! Recession! The Great Depression! Y2K! Bird flu! Killer bees! We must pass the bailout bill today!! The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
Falling for whom? NOTHING in this "bailout" package will lower the price of the gas you have to put in your car to get to work. NOTHING in this bill will protect you from losing your home. NOTHING in this bill will give you health insurance.
Health insurance? Mike, why are you bringing this up? What's this got to do with the Wall Street collapse?
It has everything to do with it. This so-called "collapse" was triggered by the massive defaulting and foreclosures going on with people's home mortgages. Do you know why so many Americans are losing their homes? To hear the Republicans describe it, it's because too many working class idiots were given mortgages that they really couldn't afford. Here's the truth: The number one cause of people declaring bankruptcy is because of medical bills. Let me state this simply: If we had had universal health coverage, this mortgage "crisis" may never have happened.
This bailout's mission is to protect the obscene amount of wealth that has been accumulated in the last eight years. It's to protect the top shareholders who own and control corporate America. It's to make sure their yachts and mansions and "way of life" go uninterrupted while the rest of America suffers and struggles to pay the bills. Let the rich suffer for once. Let them pay for the bailout. We are spending 400 million dollars a day on the war in Iraq. Let them end the war immediately and save us all another half-trillion dollars!
I have to stop writing this and you have to stop reading it. They are staging a financial coup this morning in our country. They are hoping Congress will act fast before they stop to think, before we have a chance to stop them ourselves. So stop reading this and do something -- NOW! Here's what you can do immediately:
1. Call or e-mail Senator Obama. Tell him he does not need to be sitting there trying to help prop up Bush and Cheney and the mess they've made. Tell him we know he has the smarts to slow this thing down and figure out what's the best route to take. Tell him the rich have to pay for whatever help is offered. Use the leverage we have now to insist on a moratorium on home foreclosures, to insist on a move to universal health coverage, and tell him that we the people need to be in charge of the economic decisions that affect our lives, not the barons of Wall Street.
2. Take to the streets. Participate in one of the hundreds of quickly-called demonstrations that are taking place all over the country (especially those near Wall Street and DC).
3. Call your Representative in Congress and your Senators. (click here to find their phone numbers). Tell them what you told Senator Obama.
When you screw up in life, there is hell to pay. Each and every one of you reading this knows that basic lesson and has paid the consequences of your actions at some point. In this great democracy, we cannot let there be one set of rules for the vast majority of hard-working citizens, and another set of rules for the elite, who, when they screw up, are handed one more gift on a silver platter. No more! Not again!
Yours,Michael MooreMMFlint@aol.comMichaelMoore.com
P.S. Having read further the details of this bailout bill, you need to know you are being lied to. They talk about how they will prevent golden parachutes. It says NOTHING about what these executives and fat cats will make in SALARY. According to Rep. Brad Sherman of California, these top managers will continue to receive million-dollar-a-month paychecks under this new bill. There is no direct ownership given to the American people for the money being handed over. Foreign banks and investors will be allowed to receive billion-dollar handouts. A large chunk of this $700 billion is going to be given directly to Chinese and Middle Eastern banks. There is NO guarantee of ever seeing that money again.
P.P.S. From talking to people I know in DC, they say the reason so many Dems are behind this is because Wall Street this weekend put a gun to their heads and said either turn over the $700 billion or the first thing we'll start blowing up are the pension funds and 401(k)s of your middle class constituents. The Dems are scared they may make good on their threat. But this is not the time to back down or act like the typical Democrat we have witnessed for the last eight years. The Dems handed a stolen election over to Bush. The Dems gave Bush the votes he needed to invade a sovereign country. Once they took over Congress in 2007, they refused to pull the plug on the war. And now they have been cowered into being accomplices in the crime of the century. You have to call them now and say "NO!" If we let them do this, just imagine how hard it will be to get anything good done when President Obama is in the White House. THESE DEMOCRATS ARE ONLY AS STRONG AS THE BACKBONE WE GIVE THEM. CALL CONGRESS NOW.

bucket list

My church is doing a series entitled “30 Days to Live”. It is not about dying it is about really living. Our Pastor has encouraged everyone to write a “Bucket List”, a list of things we would like to do before our “life” here on earth, runs out. Our prayer during this time comes from the Psalms. “Teach us to count our days, and teach us to make our days count. “
If I had 30 days left to live I would: (In no certain order.)
1. Go to Ethiopia and meet my son’s family. I’d treat them to a fabulous dinner, new clothes, and a warm shower. Then I tell them of their Creator’s great love for them. I would hold them and love them, as their dear mother did not live long enough to do so. Then…
2. I’d go to the Fistula Hospital in Addis Ababa. I’d pour into those women. I would tell them of their great value. I would also tell them they are beautiful and I know the one who RESTORES.
3. I’d love my DAD as his parents never did.
4. I’d play a family softball game in front of my grandmother’s old house. All my Mom’s living family would be there and we would have watermelon on the picnic table after the game.
5. I’d spend a night and day one on one with my children and tell them everything I have learned and everything I still desire to know. I would tell them, besides my salvation, they are my GREATEST gift.
6. I’d go on a trip with my husband to anywhere and tell him how much he means to me and all he has taught me.
7. I’d spend a weekend with my brother and his wife and laugh until my belly hurt.
8. I’d have a girls night out that might end in arrest.
9. I’d spend a quiet day beside a stream telling the Living Water how thankful I am.
10. I'd spend time laughing and crying with my Mother, my greatest friend.

I’m sure if I thought long enough, I’d come up with a list a mile long. But since I am already crying I’ll stop here and reflect. Reflect on the things that are not on my list, things that seem to matter in everyday life…material things did not make the cut. Food did not make the cut. Entertainment, not there either. People, that’s what made the list. People, the crown of creation, the reason for living well.

starbelliedsneaths.blogspot.com

When I get a minute (HA!) I'm gonna do some blogging to let ya'll know what's going on. Until then, here's a beautiful post from an acquaintance.

In Psalms 37:25, it is recorded that David, the King of Israel said, I was young, and now I'm old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken, or their children begging bread. I've always considered this scripture a promise rather than a statement of someones observation. The other night Stephanie told me about a father who brought four of his kids to the orphanage. All were very hard of hearing or completely deaf. The oldest were in their late teens, so adoption really was not plausible. The family was obviously close to one another and to the Lord. But, the father was worried about his kids, who were ostrasized and abused in their village. He wanted more for them. They had managed as a family to send two of the children to a deaf school, and these two kids had taught the others sign language. I thought about it long after she told me the story and this scripture came to mind. The next day, we went to visit Dr. Mary. I mentioned the scripture to her and she said fiercely, that verse should not be in the Bible. That, or it is just David's observation. It is simply not true.Then she described the story of a poor, Christian mother. There are thousands here like her. She lives in a dirt hut where the roof leaks. The floor becomes mud in the rainy season, and she has no furniture. So, she spends the nights holding her children up, out of the water. In the morning, she is soaked to the core, muddy and very cold. But, she has no change of clothing, so to wash herself, she must go the fridgid river waters and wash her clothing while she wears it. Then, she must go, wet, and search for work to order to buy flour. Then she must find wood and light it in the rain to bake bread her food for her family. She is not dry or warm for months. I have grown up hearing that the United States is blessed because in our early roots, we are a Christian nation. Ethiopia's roots are the same, only older. From Jewish to Christian, this is a country founded on faith in God. So, why is she not blessed the way we are blessed? I question now, is blessing equal to financial success? Are we somehow better than the people here so God chooses to give to us? Often when I walk here, I think it must be so much like walking in the context of Biblical times. The culture is emotional, and respect for proper heirarchy considered very important. I can imagine two women fighting over a child, and one woman agreeing the child should be split. I can see why goats and sheep need to be separated, because they look alike. I can picture shaking the dust of a town from your feet, or washing someone's feet out of love for them. "Cry out to Me and I will answer" says God in another scripture. My young translator told me a story from his youth. "I was on my own from the time I was six years old because my parents did not have enough food. I had some torn clothes, and I was embarrassed because they did not cover me. One day I was so cold becuase of the rain, I said, God, please help me find some clothes. I had the feeling to walk straight down this road. A man came out of his house and said to me, "you look cold. Please, go down to the building on this street, they are giving clothes." God provided for me clothes that day."

new pictures