I have hope...

There is no doubt, history was made today. Barack Hussain Obama has taken the oath that 43 men took before him, a promise to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States. As the first African American president, he has an astounding level of support by American citizens, and with that comes an even more astounding level of expectations. Concerning the prominence of the United States, Obama stated in his inauguration speech that, “Greatness is never a given. It must be earned.” We, as a supporting nation, should hope that he takes his own advice, as he faces the challenges of leading our great nation.

But the success of any presidency also depends on the support of American citizens. I have hope… hope that the American people can unite behind our leader. There will be debates on his policies, as there is very little chance that anyone would ever agree with every single choice that any leader ever makes. But in the end, he is our leader, and I have hope that Democrats and Republicans, of all religions, skin tones, and gender, will stand behind our new leader and provide the support of a successful nation.

I have hope that those who booed Former President George W. Bush as he made his exit will come to appreciate how he kept our nation safe following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

I have hope for those who claimed that upon Obama’s election they were planning to move to Canada… I have hope that they will unite with their fellow citizens and stand behind their nation’s leader.

I have hope that President Obama’s leadership will encourage a unity within our nation that has not been seen in years.

I have hope that, as individuals, we will take President Obama’s advice and “will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”

What a breathtaking, inspiring, sobering, and historical day.

New Year's 2009!

We had a very low-key (but very fun!) New Year's Eve with our good friends... The Carpenters! (No, don't start singing any songs... I'm talking about Larry and Morgan Carpenter!) Since I had to be a party pooper and get up for work the next morning, we planned on dinner at our very favorite pizza place in Macon (Ingleside Pizza- it's a necessary stop if you are ever coming through or visiting the area), a little cosmic bowling in Warner Robins, and then back to the Carpenter home for snacks and champagne (or beer for the guys) while watching the ball drop!

Larry's hand, Morgan and me at the bowling alley.

The Carpenters!

My husband's bowling moves.


Post-bowl reaction... gutter ball.

Morgan's post-bowl reaction- not good! :)

The Rays

Morgan and her bowling shoes that were so small they were velcro instead of lace-up! :)

Toasting the New Year with our peach bellinis!

We had a great time with great friends and can't wait to see what 2009 brings us!

Happy New Year everyone!

A little late... Newlywed Ray Christmas

Ok, so I am definitely behind on posting. I finally found the cord for our camera, so now I can upload our pictures! We forgot to bring the camera to Cartersville for the holidays :( , but I do have some shots from our mini-Christmas we had with just the two (well, three including Kitty Bug) of us before heading home!


This is a shot of our Holiday meal on a Saturday in December. We had both had a very grumpy week, so to break the funk we spent all day Saturday in the kitchen cooking some roast beef, potatoes and veggies. We even broke out the china for the first time!

In between meat checks, we put up some Christmas decorations and blasted the Christmas music. Kitty Bug was going wild wondering what the green stuff going up on the stairs was... I've never seen her do so many crazy zig-zags!



On Monday the 22nd, we decided to go ahead and have our own little Christmas. Andrew was off all week, so I thought he'd have fun playing with his new gift before we got on the road Wednesday. We didn't have a lot of extra money this year, so we decided to split up our wedding gift cards and get each other stuff off of our registry. I knew I would be very excited to get anything off of our registry, but Andrew would be a little less than enthused to open up plates or candles or bakeware! So, I cheated a little and combined all of our Wal-Mart gift cards to get him a new iPod Touch. I wrapped it up in a tiny box, and then put the tiny box on a big box and weighed it down with anything I could find (seriously, I used a glass blender, deviled egg trays, marbles... anything!). It was hilarious watching him pick up that box about 200 times a day trying to figure out what the heck I had gotten him... he probably thought it was a crockpot or something! Anyway, here's a shot of our tree and part of our fireplace... and Kitty Bug playing with a Christmas ornament! (Bad Kitty!)

And here is a shot of our Christmas treat table as we opened presents... hot chocolate with marshmallows (and maybe a lil' Bailey's), snowman cookies, and candy cane hershey kisses! YUM!
And we absolutely loved having our first Christmas tree in the house! It was not a happy occasion taking that puppy down this past weekend. But I am so excited to pick out another tree for next year! :) One last shot of our first tree:
We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a great ending to 2008!

Waaay behind in 2009!

New Year, same procrastination. I have some holiday photos that I could be posting, but I have to find the cord for the camera. I have basically been a slacker at this blogging thing! Trisha recruited me and I am letting her down! :)

I still can't believe it is already a new year! I was kind of sad at first, since 2008 was such a great year for us. But Andrew reminded me that the good things that happened in 2008 will still be here for 2009, only getting better and better as time goes on. It only takes a little for me to be reminded how much I love that guy... :)

So new house, new marriage, new traditions... prepare to get better as 2009 progresses! We have lots of big plans to make 2009 the best year of our lives! Let's get our paint brushes and tools together, vacation money saved, and work hard! I can't wait to see where it takes us.

We wish everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2009!