30 Days of Thankfulness- Brandon

I'm thankful for my husband every day- this just happens to be the day I'm writing about it!

I have known Brandon for a long time. When I was in 9th grade, we shared a homeroom. Brandon never talked. I thought this was funny. Everyone did. Not talking didn't take away from Brandon's social standing, though. Everyone liked him. They thought he was funny. Even though he never talked. He had a more active social life than I did, even after everyone stopped hating me sometime around the end of 10th grade. We didn't really spend much time together, other than sharing an elective here and there, and sitting across from each other in the limo on the way to Junior/Senior Banquet (my alma mater's version of prom.) A series of well-timed events led to us getting in touch after his graduation in 2005.

I had this friend that I used to spend a lot of time with in high school. When this friend graduated, and I still had a year to go, this "friend" (now referred to with quotation marks because this person was a really awful "friend") cut off contact with me completely. I just really wasn't interested in being a part of this "friend's" new lifestyle. That was a pretty sad summer. One day, when school started back up again, I sent an email to a very kind friend from the same graduating class, and somewhere in the conversation we ended up discussing the folks she kept in contact with after graduation. One of those people was Brandon- or B Jones, as everyone calls him. Seriously, if we run into someone from high school, they will yell "B JONES!" and shake his hand, and about half the time there will be a nod in my direction. But I digress. I asked for his email address because I thought it would be funny to email this person who never ever talked...and he emailed me back. And we sent lots and lots of emails, and in the weird, passive-aggressive way that many high schoolers manage to form relationships, we figured out that we liked each other and would like to go out together and probably get married (side note: what is the point of dating if you don't like the person enough to possibly stay with them long-term? Get to know them, THEN go out. Serial daters confuse me.) Brandon wanted to wait until he was finished with the spring semester of his freshman year of college before he officially asked me on a date, though, because he was pretty bogged down with school and I still had a few months to finish up my high school career. But he came to the homecoming game to sit with me, and came by my parents' house before my friends and I left for Banquet that spring (he didn't want to go) and came to my performance in Pygmalion, too. Regular boyfriend stuff. It was nice.

We were dating for about a year when Brandon proposed, and we got married about two and a half years later, on January 2, 2010.

I am so thankful for Brandon. He is funny and he makes me laugh. We are both tremendous nerds- we love Star Wars and Batman and superhero movies. We love watching movies together (we are working our way through this book we got from the library called "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", in addition to watching movies we want to see or ones that look interesting from the descriptions on the library website.) We both like to read, and our house is full of books on multiple bookcases! We love animals and love to go to the zoo together. We believe in the same things and have similar outlooks on life. He works so hard at his job so we can pay the bills. I am thankful for all his hard work. I am thankful for his friendship, and I'm thankful that he's my husband, and I'm thankful that I get to spend the rest of my life with him!

At my cousin's wedding in 2007

On my grandparents' Ohio River anniversary cruise

At my dad's company picnic thing at the zoo

At Brandon's cousin's wedding in 2009

Our wedding day

PDA! Please divert your eyes.

On our honeymoon at Disney World!

Earlier this year, at the zoo. It was hot and bright. My funny faces are not amusing him. 

Om nom nom

Glitter says, "I am thankful for my mommy's stale tortilla chips!"

30 Days of Thankfulness- Electricity

Hurricane Sandy knocked out power to several million homes along the east coast of the US recently. We weren't really affected by the storm, but we did lose our electricity for a few days back in 2009 when Hurricane Ike brought crazy winds to the landlocked state of Kentucky. Electricity is another one of those things we seriously take for granted. I was reminded of this whenever I logged into my twitter account the first five or six days after Sandy hit. I saw a lot of posts regarding the loss of electricity, particularly in New York. I guess it's because I follow a lot of celebrities. Those who weren't affected by the storm retweeted stuff from people who were affected. The majority of the electricity-related posts I saw during this time were about the most trivial things. When we lose power, our lives are affected in big ways. We can't charge our cell phones, turn on the air conditioning or the heat, use the lights, cook in our kitchens, and other big-impact stuff. But we also can't turn on our computers to shop online, or piddle around on the internet, or watch our favorite shows. By far, I saw more posts about that latter category than the first. When Ike came through my area, I remember a coworker had to bring her physically disabled daughter to work so she could charge her wheelchair in our meeting room. That's important. Cable tv? Not so much. I saw more posts complaining about missing tv shows than I did from people worrying about what they were having for dinner that night. It was weird.

Anyway, I am thankful for electricity. I use it every day, and often. I am thankful that I can charge my cell phone, because it's basically my only contact with the outside world (we do not have a landline, as we deemed it too expensive about a year ago.) I am thankful I can get on my computer in the morning and check the news, since we don't have TV or a newspaper subscription. I'm thankful I can turn on the lights in my bathroom when I get up feeling icky in the middle of the night. I'm thankful that I don't need to use a motorized wheelchair or other important, electricity-charged medical equipment. I'm thankful I can safely store my food in the refrigerator, and that I have a microwave for my heating pad (I'd die without it, seriously.)

If you look at a graph showing how much electricity everyone in the world uses, the United States would account for 20% of that. And yet, the United States accounts for about 5% of the world's population. Sheesh. I read recently that over 1 billion people in the world don't have access to electricity or modern forms of energy. When I wrote to my sponsor kids recently about Hurricane Sandy (they worry about me here in the US when they hear news reports of bad weather, just like I worry about them), I felt weird telling them that so many people lost their electricity. I have never heard any of my kids say anything about electricity, except one time in a letter from Jayid, he said they have power "sometimes."

I am thankful that I live in a country that has such easy access to energy. I do wish that we were more responsible about our energy consumption. Maybe if more people knew how our homes are powered, and how that affects the world around us, we'd be better about how much electricity we use. But I am thankful for the conveniences I have, and I am praying for those people who are still without power along the east coast- the lack of electricity has led to many people using generators and grills in their homes, which is sickening and killing people. Be smart, folks!

30 Days of Thankfulness- Water

When I'm thirsty, I find a glass and fill it up at my kitchen sink. When I brush my teeth, I rinse my brush under the bathroom faucet, fill up my little paper Dixie cup and rinse. I can wash my hair, take a bath or a shower whenever I want for as long as I want. When I want to wash dishes, I turn on the dish washer, at any time of day or night. Same with the laundry (though that goes in an entirely different kind of washing machine.) I can even go to the store and buy a jug of water to put up for emergencies, and it will just cost me pennies.

Water is available to me whenever I need it. I don't have to walk to water, hauling the heavy, all-important liquid miles to my home. Women around the world dedicated 200 million hours a day just to carrying water. When I'm a mom, I won't have to keep my children home from school so they can spend their day carrying water, just so we can do laundry. At least for now, water is available where I need it, when I need it.

Water has never made me sick. We recently bought the least expensive water filtration pitcher available at our grocery store, but I don't think we really need it. Our water isn't flammable, like the stuff flowing from the sinks of people who live near fracking locations. Our water isn't brown or yellow, like the Appalachian residents whose ecosystem and health are being destroyed by irresponsible, greedy coal-mining companies. Diseases borne from unclean water kill over 3 MILLION people every year. Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a water-related illness. Children are dying from diarrhea they developed from drinking water. We get it from Taco Bell, crack a joke on facebook, pop an immodium, and go back the next week.

I am thankful for water. Abundant, clean, life-giving water. I take it for granted. We all do. Would you consider making a difference today and sharing some of your comparative wealth to help bring clean water to everyone?


Blood:Water Mission - Make a donation

Charity: Water - Make a donation

Samaritan's Purse - Shop the gift catalog. Purchase a family water filter for $100, sponsor a well for $400 or share the cost for $40. Make a donation to emergency water relief. Or just make a donation, even if it's small, earmarked for water projects.

Compassion International - Purchase a water filter for a family for $79. Ensure that children have access to safe and sanitary bathrooms for $30. Help build a reservoir for families in Ethiopia. Just $23 will build one reservoir.

WorldVision - Donate to the clean water fund. Help purchase water purification tablets and water filters for children and families. Share the cost of a foot-powered freshwater pump.  Help build a well.

UNICEF's Tap Project - Help fund UNICEF's water and sanitation programs.

30 Days of Thankfulness- Pets

After yesterday's hardcore post, and all the frustration that half the internet is apparently experiencing, I thought it would be nice to write about something lighthearted. Today's post is about cute, fuzzy animals. I am thankful for my pets.

I have always had pets in my home. My parents had a dog named Bear when I was born. bear was the best dog that has ever walked the face of the earth. bear was the kind of wonderful dog that professional authors write children's books about. He was that good. My first pet was a fish named Elbow. He was named Elbow because I desperately wanted my parents to name my baby brother Elbow. They got me a fish instead. We also had a cat named Pickles. She was quite flabby and very sweet. Kind of like me.

We started collecting pet birds shortly before I started 5th grade. Sometimes they were rescues from meanie pet stores. Sometimes they were breeders that weren't so great at the careers that were chosen for them. At one point I had four lovebirds, all in separate cages, stacked on my dresser.

We've had quite a few dogs over the years, too. We had a basset hound named Merlin. He sat on the porch with me sometimes and ate the bees that buzzed by- a real lifesaver. We got Ivan when I was in 4th grade. He was such a tiny, scared puppy, we gave him a big name to boost his confidence. It definitely worked. We have Wolfie, truly the dumbest and most loyal canine in the world. Diego, who didn't bark until he was at least 2, was such a circus dog when he was younger. We have a special bond. He slept in my room and when asked "where's Sissy? Go find Sissy!", he would come find me. We took little Polo in shortly after I graduated from high school. And then there's Elwood, the attention-starved, bow-legged nervous tinkler of a basset hound. We also got another cat, Oscar, when I was in high school, but he lives with another family now.

Moving from a house full of animals to an empty, quiet apartment was a monumental adjustment after I got married. We adopted Brandon's brother's guinea pig shortly after the wedding. Pig got a big new cage, and I became dead set on getting a pair of rats for my birthday. I found an ad on craigslist for a litter that was born on tax day (April 15), 2010. Quincy and Monster came to live with us at exactly one month of age. Quincy got her name because our last name is Jones. Monster was named in honor of Lady Gaga, a big favorite of mine at the time. It was pure coincidence that she turned out to be semi-hairless and have beady red eyes. Quincy and Monster were silly, sweet, mischievous and hilarious. Monster was and still is a daddy's girl, running around, rough-housing and wrestling Brandon's hand. Quincy was so cuddly, riding on my feet, kissing my ears and hiding under my hair.

On Quincy and Monster's 2nd birthday, Glitter and Cupcake came to live with us. They were born on St. Patrick's Day this year to a young momma rat belonging to a friend of mine. They were so tiny, and really skittish for the longest time- nowhere near as friendly as Q & M. But they're a lot better now.

It's been a hard year for our pets. Ivan died earlier this year. Quincy had a stroke this summer and we put a lot of time and effort into rehabilitating her. At the end of August, Pig died. Quincy followed about  two weeks later. I miss Pig, but I really pine for Quincy. Oh, how I miss her.

I am thankful for the pets I have known, and I'm thankful for a family and a husband who love animals and have always been willing to share our home(s) with animal companions.

Oscar cuddling with a Harry Potter book

Wolfie the Dumb-Hearted

Polo, Diego and Elwood, chilling on the couch

Baby Me and Bear

Pig

Ivan

Baby Cupcake

Cupcake and Glitter, on their first day with us

Monster, exploring the window

The three amigos, all crammed in one little tent

Quincy

30 Days of Thankfulness- 19th Amendment

Today is election day. I have no comment on the candidates, policies, or any other current news-worthy items. Today, I am thankful for events that happened well before I was born. I am thankful for suffragists who worked so incredibly hard to bring my country out of the stone age, and won the right to vote for women.

It's hard to believe that women weren't allowed to vote when my great grandparents were born. It's hard to believe that the 19th amendment, granting women the right to vote, came half a century AFTER slavery ended in the United States, and men of color, formerly so famously known for only qualifying as three-fifths of a human being (disgusting), were granted the right to vote after the 15th amendment was ratified in 1870. It's hard to believe that on November 5, 1872, Susan B. Anthony was arrested for filling out a ballot in the presidential race of that year. And she wasn't the only one. From 1917-1919- fewer than 100 years ago- the Silent Sentinels protested in front of the White House, holding provocative, well-worded signs condemning President Wilson for neglecting the inherent rights of women. In October of 1917, the incredible Alice Paul was arrested while picketing with the Silent Sentinels (again, she was not the only one.) She then began a hunger strike, was committed to a psychiatric ward for her lack of cooperation, and was ultimately force-fed by doctors who feared she might die. Three times a day, for three weeks, Alice Paul had a tube shoved down her throat, while high-protein foods like raw eggs and milk powder were poured into her belly. She was prepared to die of starvation, just so I, and the other 157 million females in the United States, could voice our opinions and cast our votes.

In 2010, only 46% of eligible women in the United States voted in the congressional elections. As of that year, only 66% of eligible women reported to the United States census that they were even registered to vote. After decades of protests, arrests, imprisonment, fines, pamphlets, picketing, writings, force-feedings, restraints, social ostracization and character assassination, we finally got the right to vote. And less than 100 years later, only two-thirds of us have even registered to exercise that right.

Today, I am thankful for the 19th amendment. I am grateful that I can drive my car over to my alma mater and cast my vote for whomever I choose.

Thank you, Alice Paul.
Thank you, Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Thank you, Susan B. Anthony.
Thank you, Lucy Stone.
Thank you, Sojourner Truth.
Thank you, Abby Kelley Foster.
Thank you, Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis.
Thank you, Julia Ward Howe.
Thank you, Isabella Beecher Hooker.
Thank you, Henry Browne Blackwell.

Thank you, everyone else who dedicated their lives to ensure that I could cast my vote today. Even if you aren't thrilled with the candidates, please GO VOTE!!!

Monday Mail Call!

This is my first "Monday Mail Call" post- I've been reading Blogging from the Boonies for a long time, and have finally remembered to post on the right day! From now on, I'd like to make this a regular feature on my blog. I've been posting my letters from my kids on facebook for two years now. Hopefully I will remember to share those letters on Mondays here, too.  : )

In the last week, I got two letters from Tasya, our sponsor child in Indonesia. Tasya always writes the absolute sweetest letters. These letters were dated in July, which means it took about a month longer than usual for them to arrive, but I'm just thankful they made it to my mailbox!

Mother beloved, 
My family and I were fine. I celebrate Easter with joyful and simple. We go to church together, we also find Easter egg (Easter game.) But what we [are] grateful for is that Jesus has won, and the salvation becomes the part of my life. I pray for mama and family. God bless. 

With love, 
Tasya

Shalom!
I'm here fine and so does with my family. 
Does mother fine? [That sentence was highlighted for emphasis!!]
My aunt will [be] getting married. 
I'm here also have two dogs. I love to see the rat picture that mama sent to me. I have also a little sibling, cute and love me. 
I hope I can hear some news from mama. I pray for mama and Father Brandon. God bless!
With love, Tasya


We also recently received our final letter from Tae, printed on special goodbye stationery (which was very sad.) I'm so thankful that I was able to send him a final letter, and that he took the time to write to me one last time.

Dear Jessi, 
Hello, I'm so glad to write to you again. How are you doing? I'm doing well. Thank you so much for supporting me with well always. I've worked with parents now and I've got money from working too. So I would like to open this opportunity for you to support other poor child who can't make money by themselves like me. Thank you again for all good chances from you. 
During my time in the project, I was taken care with well from project staffs. They visited me always too. I was developed and learnt to take care of myself. Please pray for me in working too and I'll pray for you as well. 
May God bless you, 
Tae

These children are the biggest blessings of my life!