Welcome!

I want to offer a warm hello to those of you stopping by from Kelly's Korner.  This is obviously a topic near and dear to many of you so I'll give you a bit of background on our story while you are here.

The story of our dear Megan Grace is actually a timely one for today since we will be presenting a scholarship in her memory for the 3rd time tomorrow!

Megan Grace was born and passed away on 06/29/2009.  We learned at 20 weeks that we were having a little girl however she would not be with us long once she was born.

4 weeks later in a dark ultrasound room at Johns Hopkins, we learned that it was Osteogenesis Imperfecta Type 2 that would ultimately claim her life.

With a diagnosis firmly in hand we traveled home to prepare for the remainder of the time we had with our daughter here on Earth.

She was born at 35 weeks and lived physically only a matter of minutes.  We miss her every day!

As a way to remember her and create something positive from her short life, we established a scholarship at my alma mater.  Each year, we travel there to present it to a very deserving student.

Also, as you can see she also now has a little sister that we love dearly.  One day when she is older, we will share the story of Megan Grace with her.

If you want to read more about Megan Grace, the blog lets you search by tagged posts and they should all pop up under the tag Megan Grace.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Memorial Day!

Don't forget to remember those who have served and continue to serve our country!

The Sky is Falling, The Sky is Falling

Nope, that is just my retirement you see being flushed.

Just for historical purposes as I write this post it looks like the market will close today at around 7,500.

This is a drop from around 14,000 earlier this year. Wonderful.

"Americans never quit. We never surrender."

"We never hide from history. We make history." ~Senator John McCain

We are now a couple of days removed from Election 2008. Obviously, it did not have the outcome I had hoped for however I'm still an American.

The saying goes that you can always learn a lesson from even the worst of situations and this election has taught me many lessons. If nothing else I've learned how important it is to be involved in our nation's political system.

In the past, I've had some clue as to what was going on but this election was an eye opener and I'm scared. So, instead of sitting back and hoping things will work out I will get involved. For me hope is not a strategy as many who voted in this election seem to believe. No, I'm not going to run for office but I will be active and make my voice heard.

It's finally here.

This morning after a not so good night of sleep I woke up, got ready, and headed out to vote at my local polling station.

It hit me like a ton of bricks as I was pulling into the parking lot. I'm not sure why but I just wanted to cry. A large part of it was the whole feeling of being able to vote and help make sure an important decision for our country. The other part was I'm literally on pins and needles regarding the outcome of this election. I'm the nervous type anyway but I really feel like this election could have bad consequences for our nation depending on the outcome.

I'm going to run a few errands after work and then maybe stop back by the polling location near my house to take a few pics to put here along with my commentary once the results are in tonight.

Good luck everyone!

The question is not will but how will history be made tomorrow?

No, I'm not going to get all political on you but tomorrow really is going to be HUGE day in the history of America so I felt I had to put something in my blog.

Tomorrow we will either elect our first African American President or our first female Vice President. It will be really cool one day down the road to recap this little tidbit in history for our kids as they are studying it in school.

This country is facing lots of really big issues right now and honestly I don't think either of these candidates are going to solve them however it will still be historical none the less. What will also go down in the record books is the record number of voters who are predicted to turn out and vote in this election. It is amazing really.

This is such a big election that even many companies are pushing people to vote. Tomorrow if you vote you can go to Starbucks and get free coffee, Ben and Jerry's for free ice cream, and Krispy Kreme for a free donut. I'm voting anyway but free food is always good :)

I'll be up bright and early to vote, then picking up my free coffee from Starbucks before heading to work. May the best candidate win!!

7 years ago, at just about this time, tragedy struck

and the rest is history. Each year as this anniversary passes I'm always taken back to where I was when I heard the news on that fateful day.

In an earlier post, I had mentioned attending another college, UNCW, for my freshman year before transferring to ECU. As a freshman, a few of us shared a suite. That morning, being the obedient college student I was I had decided not to go to my 8 am class so I was still asleep when I was awaken by my suitemate screaming hysterically for me to turn on the television. I sat there confused, shocked, and scared as I watch the replays of the planes hitting the towers over and over trying to digest what exactly I was witnessing.

Finally, I decided to get dressed and head to my music class with my friend Kerry who is still to this day one of my very best friends. In fact, of all the girls I shared the dorm with that year I'm still fairly close with three of them even though we only attended college together for that one memorable year.

This whole event still seems very surreal even seven years later. It makes me sad to think of just how many people were touched in a negative way by the events that transpired that day. Many lives were forever changed that day and I pray for each and every one of them as we remember this tragedy. Hopefully, we will never have to witness anything like it ever again.

“Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children. “- President George W. Bush, November 11, 2001