three weeks…

from yesterday is a very important day for americans. yes, it is the day my oldest (oldest meaning i’ve known her the longest) friend, jenny turns 26. what is jenny asking for as a present for her birthday? a new president. and, jenny, you are going to get it!

i owe all of my american pride to my father. he was born and raised in northern ireland and immigrated to this country when was my age. he got all the questions right on his citizenship test. (not a lot of natural citizens could say that would be the case for them!) he still has the american flag that was flown the day he became a citizen. (having a spouse that worked for the government at that time has its perks, you know!) he is very proud to be an american and loves this country. he has traveled the world and always is excited to place his feet on american soil. while christmas is the laverty family’s favorite holiday….4th of july would be my dad’s next favorite. he is a great example to me and others around him of what it means to be patriotic.

now, my dad is not one of those people that thinks america is perfect and that nothing should change. no way. my dad is of the thought that because he loves this country…he needs to help it. unfortunately for him, he is naturalized citizen so his dreams of being president were crushed at birth. so…what is the next best thing? VOTING. my dad, from the time i can remember, has preached the benefits and reasons we vote. my dad pounded in my head that my vote could make a difference. (when i learned more about the electoral college i started to doubt this being completely true, but nevertheless, i couldn’t escape my dad’s voice telling me to vote vote vote vote.)

one of my favorite memories of my dad was when he came to pick me up from kindergarten on election day 88 and i told him that i had voted in our school’s election for president. here is the conversation that followed in the car:

DAD: sara, that is so great! i voted today too! who did you vote for?
SARA: oh dad! it was so fun! i voted for dukakis!
DAD: um, what? why did you vote for him?
SARA: well, i liked his tie that he had on in the picture by his name. and his name sounds cooler.
DAD: yeah, but do you know what he stands for? do you know anything about him? you shouldn’t be voting for him, sara.
SARA: well, maybe the other guy should have worn a better tie. and i’m pretty sure it doesn’t matter, i’m only in kindergarden. it was just our school that voted.
DAD: thank goodness for that. and yeah, you are right. at least you voted. that’s a step in the right direction.

so, people. vote. for whichever candidate fits your bill. watch the debate tonight if you are still undecided. read the newspaper or the internet. pay attention. and get out there and vote. vern says so.

busy

brad and i are really busy. well, lets be honest. brad never writes on the blog, but this week, he has an actual reason. he is busy preparing for the biggest challenge of his seminary career. and he will do great.

me? well, i’m now a slave working on a major HR project that wil consume most of my time until january. and yes, it involves putting on a foam nasa hat at various times during the day. yep.

well, just wanted to share that with y’all. k. lots of love.

time after time…

do you ever wonder if you are friends with people because you truly were meant to be? or is it a matter of timing?

there was a brief time in brad and i’s lives where our paths could have crossed. the universities we attended played each other in most sports…and both us found ourselves in the other’s “hood”. (tulsa-ish for me, siloam for brad) so…there could have been a moment where we were in the same place at the same time. who knew.

i’d like to bring to the table an argument that had brad i met back in 00-02….we would have been friends. in fact, i’d like to take it one step further and say that if we had met way back in the early 90s…we would have been friends.

i give you exhibit A:

thats right people. we would have gotten along great. we probably would have had even MORE in common such as hair products or tools for styling. but…the past is the past…we’ll never know what could have been. but i do think brad and i were meant to be bffeeeee!!!!!

take a sec….

there are times when it is hard to see past the everydayness of life….the bills that demand payment, the people that require time and energy we might not have, the calls to be returned, emails to write, and so on and so on.

and then you read stories like this one and you realize that it is in the unexpected and otherwise mundane moments that you find what life is all about…

And…

This is the best thing I’ve seen in a long time….

Boomer Sooner.

a psa…

oh….

tomorrow…tomorrow…i love you…tomorrow…you’re only a daaaaaay awaaaaaay!

What I’ve been thinking about…

Christians do not live in cities of their own; they do not use a peculiar form of speech; they do not follow an eccentric manner of life. Although they live in Greek and barbarian cities alike, as each man’s lot has been cast and follow the customs of the country in clothing and food and other matters of daily living, at the same time they give proof of the remarkable and extraordinary constitution of their own commonwealth.

They busy themselves on earth but their citizenship is in heaven. They obey established laws but in their own lives they go far beyond what the laws require. The love all men and by all men are persecuted. They are unknown, and still they are condemned, they are put to death, and yet they are brought to life. They are poor and yet they make many rich; they are completely destitute and yet they enjoy complete abundance.

ode to brad

Brad turns 29 on Saturday.

A few months ago, Brad wrote a blog post about the person he desires to be. Much of that focused on the type of person Brad wants to be for his family.  I’ve spoken on the blog before about Brad being an incredible family man. As evidenced in the picture above, Brad is happiest when surrounded by his boys, Reece and Mason, and his wife, Jen. A side of Brad not seen in any other context comes out when he is with his family. He has been created to be many things in this life, but it is obvious that he views his most important role as being a husband to Jen and a father to Reece and Mason.

While much could be said about Brad, the family man…I’d like to talk about another facet of Brad. Brad, the friend. Later on in the blog post about the person he desires to be, Brad says “I desire for people to feel better about themselves after being around me, if even for the briefest of time.”

We all know people like this. We all know people that are not like this. It’s easy to think of names right now, right? Brad is definitely the former. I mean sure, sometimes I walk away from a conversation feeling dumb for keeping the dream alive that one day I will meet Justin Timberlake and he will fall madly in love with me, but any other time I talk to Brad, I feel all the better about life or myself or a situation. There have been many times over the course of being friends with Brad that I have talked to him about particular situations in life where I was feeling pretty unsure of the circumstances happening. Brad has always been nothing but supportive of me, and being genuine in his reaction or concern or response to me. Except for, like I mentioned above, when I come to him about my dream of becoming Mrs. Timberlake and asking him if he is available on October 15, 2010 to give the opening prayer at my wedding. We just can’t seem to see eye to eye on that one. Maybe when he comes to my wedding, as a present to me, he can get up and give Justin and me a toast to our new marriage. (Sorry, I’m trying to be funny so as to not make this a gush fest on Brad completely) Never have I walked away from a conversation with Brad feeling less about myself or who I have been created to be. Brad is a very encouraging person to be friends with or to spend time with. I’ve seen him build up those he considers friends and is the first to say something nice about the person sitting next to him. Just don’t mention anything about wanting to marry Justin Timberlake. For one, he is my betrothed. And two, Brad will not really jump on that bandwagon with you.

Brad, as you start this new year of your life, know that you are very much on your way to becoming that person you wrote about. I can see it and so can others around you. Those of us who call you friend are only the better because of it. Everyone should be so lucky as to have a friend like you.

Happy Birthday Brad!!

things to be excited about…

Things to be excited about on a Wednesday:

*It was revealed that Dylan is the father of Kelly’s 4 year old son. YES! (refering to 90210 people)

*The week is half over!

*I found Sunkist Orange Soda on sale at the grocery store!
*Greys and The Office start one week from tomorrow!
*It is almost Brad’s birthday!
*This picture is finally on the internet!