"Look everyone! I can stand & play & laugh & make my moms laugh too! " Llife is pretty great when you get to dress up in brilliant colors awaiting the advent of Spring!
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Colorful Considerations
"Look everyone! I can stand & play & laugh & make my moms laugh too! " Llife is pretty great when you get to dress up in brilliant colors awaiting the advent of Spring!
Friday, March 16, 2007
Desert Considerations
A lovely long weekend in Palm Springs with the family...we had the pleasure of seeing our great uncle Herbie and his new girlfriend Gloria who hosted a cocktail party with extended family I had not seen in decades! Would that I would have thought to bring the video camera -- Woody Allen, you got nothing on this family!!!
90 degrees, open blue skies, lazy days at the pool, surrounded by loving family -- we were pretty blessed! And Henry got a few more swim lessons, as well as fine tutelage on balls, fruit tress and killer ants from his cousins.
Monday, March 05, 2007
The Delights of a Child
Henry really wants to be a kitty...
Henry and Momma Shannon nugglin'...
"Check it out, I am learning to pull up to standing!"
Deep thoughts...
Anne Geddes or What?
OK, so perhaps we cannot rival the Geddes fame...but our boy
sure enjoyed posing for these portraits! We call it the "White Trash Geddes Boy" display.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Leavenworth, Friends & Fun!
Carla turned the BIG 40 and the galz gathered in Leavenworth to celebrate! Karen and Anne hosted us in their splendid new house, Henry went on his first major snowshoe (upon Diana's back), all the aunties loved up on the boy and Carla got her new camera!!!
Bagel Boy
It is everything a Jewish mom can imagine...her baby boy indulging in his very first bagel!!! And loving it!
Friday, February 02, 2007
Considering Cousins
Jack, Noah, Chapel and Watson are beginning to embrace their cousin Henry now that he can interact with them. Jack loves to dance for Henry, Noah and Chapel like him to sit on their laps and Watson loves to say, "Baby Henry, Baby Henry!"
Documenting History
For the record...some photos of our historic moment:
Before we knew the judgement and anxious we'd never get in the court room...
Judge Buchanan says, "YES!"
Lots and lots of Momma Love
Before we knew the judgement and anxious we'd never get in the court room...
Judge Buchanan says, "YES!"
Lots and lots of Momma Love
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Gratitude for the Judge
We encourage everyone to write letters to the judge!
Dear Honorable Buchanan,
It is with extreme appreciation that we write to express our gratitude for your ruling in support of Henry’s adoption. We understand the complexity of such a decision in an environment such as Bonner County and we commend you for the courage and integrity you demonstrated in ruling on our behalf. Too often, people in positions of influence succumb to the political pressures of their peers or to fears of future retribution; you did not. You took a stand on what is in Henry’s best interest and what is, as we strongly believe, the “right thing to do.”
Out of respect for your desire to maintain relative privacy about your ruling, we have kept the news close to home. But please know that come time for your re-election, we will galvanize the entire forces of our social and professional networks behind you!
Thank you again for helping solidify the legal security of our family unit. May other judges around the nation learn from your leadership.
All the best,
Diana, Shannon and Henry
Dear Honorable Buchanan,
It is with extreme appreciation that we write to express our gratitude for your ruling in support of Henry’s adoption. We understand the complexity of such a decision in an environment such as Bonner County and we commend you for the courage and integrity you demonstrated in ruling on our behalf. Too often, people in positions of influence succumb to the political pressures of their peers or to fears of future retribution; you did not. You took a stand on what is in Henry’s best interest and what is, as we strongly believe, the “right thing to do.”
Out of respect for your desire to maintain relative privacy about your ruling, we have kept the news close to home. But please know that come time for your re-election, we will galvanize the entire forces of our social and professional networks behind you!
Thank you again for helping solidify the legal security of our family unit. May other judges around the nation learn from your leadership.
All the best,
Diana, Shannon and Henry
Friday, January 19, 2007
Ding, Dong, the Witch is...Outta Here!
For those who have followed my work-life drama, you will know that my boss for the past year has been very, very difficult (if not truly crazy-making) and today she was let go!!! Ah, justice seems to abound these days! Obama, Judge Buchanan and now this...
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Floridian Considerations
Four Generations of Barnes
Balmy Beach Days at the Atlantic Ocean
GG and the gang
Henry at his finest!Happy times in Ft. Lauderdale with GG (Great Grandma) Barnes! Henry was delighted to meet his snappy GG, the woman who was married to his namesake, Henry Barnes the first, for many years. The weather was balmy, the conversation vibrant and Henry decided it was high time to crawl! The fun has just begun!
WE DID IT!!!
Defying all Idahoian odds, Judge Buchanan accepted our petition for Shannon to adopt Henry! It may be at great cost to her professional endeavors, but the judge did the "right thing" and made everyone very happy! When it comes time for re-election, we are on her side!
Thanks to everyone who helped write letters of support and sent positive energy our way! There is hope for Northern Idaho!
Thanks to everyone who helped write letters of support and sent positive energy our way! There is hope for Northern Idaho!
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Friendly Visitations
We have been blessed to have many friends visit in the past few weeks -- Craig, Vic & Jess and most recently, Tammy & Lisa. Henry LOVES getting to meet his special auntiess and uncles...
Many days are spent in snow lately -- here, we took a walk and frolicked on the frozen lake. Simply gorgeous!
Considering MLK
In advance of celebrating MLK, I thought I would offer some of his lesser known quotations:
True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs re-structuring.
Riverside Church, NYC, April 4, 1967
I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become reality. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.
http://members.aol.com/klove01/marquote.htm
A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.
Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? , 1967
Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of out time” the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Dec.11, 1964
The curse of poverty has no justification in our age. It is socially as cruel and blind as the practice of cannibalism at the dawn of civilization, when men ate each other because they had not yet learned to take food from the soil or to consume the abundant animal life around them. The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the total, direct and immediate abolition of poverty.
Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community, 1967
True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs re-structuring.
Riverside Church, NYC, April 4, 1967
I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become reality. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.
http://members.aol.com/klove01/marquote.htm
A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.
Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? , 1967
Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of out time” the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Dec.11, 1964
The curse of poverty has no justification in our age. It is socially as cruel and blind as the practice of cannibalism at the dawn of civilization, when men ate each other because they had not yet learned to take food from the soil or to consume the abundant animal life around them. The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the total, direct and immediate abolition of poverty.
Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community, 1967
Friday, December 29, 2006
Happy Holidays!
Many blessings to all our friends and family for the holidays! This year, amidst many gifts of leisure, we also gave and received special items from Heifer International. I got a stand of trees, Shannon got a goat...just one way we are trying to participate in our global community. You can check out their offerings at http://www.heifer.org/
A happy New Year to you all!
A happy New Year to you all!
Monday, December 18, 2006
Hanukkah Considerations
Once again, we turn to haiku as we celebrate the festive season of holidays. Many joined us at our house this weekend for a Hanukkah celebration and those inspired wrote the following Holiday Haiku:
As Java looks on
Huck makes tiny snow angels
Winter in Sandpoint
White blankets Lost Horse
Autumn’s last tendrils now gone
Sleep softly, young prince
We ate some goodies
We learned about Hanukkah
We had so much fun!
Happy Holidays
A time for merriment bright
Light the menorah!
Magdalena comes
Like snowflake, unique she is
Spits up on mom!?!
Winter comes quickly.
Nothing can prepare you for
A moose in the road.
As home fires burn
Hands and hearts warm at the hearth
Friends make the season
Huckleberry shots
At a Hanukkah party
Lift you off your feet
Dark comes early now
It’s Henry’s first Hanukkah
Light the menorah!
Monday, December 11, 2006
Considering Mary Cheney
So Mary's gonna have a baby...well, perhaps karma is indeed in play! Bad enough he had to go through life with the name Dick -- now his lovely daughter is going to have a kid and two mommies...just like Henry!!! And just when we thought our fight for adoption here in Idaho was a challenge, PFLAG posted some comments from the "Right" to really make our day:
"I think it's tragic that a child has been conceived
with the express purpose of denying it a father...
Fatherhood is important and always will be, so if
Mary and her partner indicate that that is a trivial
matter, they're shortchanging this child from the
start Mary and Heather can believe what they want,
but what they're seeking is to force others to bless
their nonmarital relationship as marriage...and to
create a culture that is based on sexual anarchy
instead of marriage and family values." (Robert Knight, Culture and
Media Institute of the Media Research Center)
"Mary Cheney's pregnancy raises the question of
what's best for children. Just because it's possible to
conceive a child outside of the relationship of a
married mother and father doesn't mean it's the best
for the child." (Carrie Gordon Earll, Focus on the Family)
Mary's pregnancy is an "in-your-face" action
countering the Bush Administration's pro-family, pro-
marriage and pro-life policies. She continues to
repudiate the work to which her father has devoted
his life. Mary has repeatedly said that "studies" show
that children only need a loving home. Her statement
is incomplete because the experts agree that for the
well-being of children, they desperately need a
married father and a mother. (Janice Crouse,
Concerned Women for America)
"But children are not guinea pigs to be used in
social experiments in redefining the institution of
marriage. They are vulnerable individuals with vital
emotional and developmental needs. The great harm
done by denying them both a mother and a father in
a committed marriage will not easily be reversed, and
society will pay a grievous price for its ill-advised
adventurism." (Former Alabama Chief Justice
Roy Moore)
Obviously, we're saddened at the spectacle of
the Vice President's daughter, Mary Cheney, living in
an open lesbian relationship, and now bringing a child
into a home that is fatherless by design. In our view,
this is another case of the "gay" movement putting
its wants (in this case, having a child) above what's
best for children. "Two mommies" or "two daddies"
will never substitute for a home with a married mom
and a dad, and it is sad when men or women model
immoral homosexual behavior before innocent children
in a home setting. (Peter LaBarbera,
President, Americans for Truth)
AND THEY CALL THEM THE "RIGHT???" Oh, the work we have to do!
"I think it's tragic that a child has been conceived
with the express purpose of denying it a father...
Fatherhood is important and always will be, so if
Mary and her partner indicate that that is a trivial
matter, they're shortchanging this child from the
start Mary and Heather can believe what they want,
but what they're seeking is to force others to bless
their nonmarital relationship as marriage...and to
create a culture that is based on sexual anarchy
instead of marriage and family values." (Robert Knight, Culture and
Media Institute of the Media Research Center)
"Mary Cheney's pregnancy raises the question of
what's best for children. Just because it's possible to
conceive a child outside of the relationship of a
married mother and father doesn't mean it's the best
for the child." (Carrie Gordon Earll, Focus on the Family)
Mary's pregnancy is an "in-your-face" action
countering the Bush Administration's pro-family, pro-
marriage and pro-life policies. She continues to
repudiate the work to which her father has devoted
his life. Mary has repeatedly said that "studies" show
that children only need a loving home. Her statement
is incomplete because the experts agree that for the
well-being of children, they desperately need a
married father and a mother. (Janice Crouse,
Concerned Women for America)
"But children are not guinea pigs to be used in
social experiments in redefining the institution of
marriage. They are vulnerable individuals with vital
emotional and developmental needs. The great harm
done by denying them both a mother and a father in
a committed marriage will not easily be reversed, and
society will pay a grievous price for its ill-advised
adventurism." (Former Alabama Chief Justice
Roy Moore)
Obviously, we're saddened at the spectacle of
the Vice President's daughter, Mary Cheney, living in
an open lesbian relationship, and now bringing a child
into a home that is fatherless by design. In our view,
this is another case of the "gay" movement putting
its wants (in this case, having a child) above what's
best for children. "Two mommies" or "two daddies"
will never substitute for a home with a married mom
and a dad, and it is sad when men or women model
immoral homosexual behavior before innocent children
in a home setting. (Peter LaBarbera,
President, Americans for Truth)
AND THEY CALL THEM THE "RIGHT???" Oh, the work we have to do!
Messy Considerations
Henry has taken to eating peas...he loves them! And we love enjoying his messy little self and the aftermath! Whether or not they are the culprit, he has been sleeping 9-10 hour nights ever since we started solid foods -- my how this makes his moms happy!!!
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