Well, here we go….

People never cease to amaze me in their differences of opinion, specifically, Christians. I have Christian friends with tears in their eyes, rejoicing over Obama’s victory. And yet, I have other Christian friends crippled with fear at the thought of an Obama-led Country. What is causing this stark difference? Seriously, that is a question for the blog world. How did we get here? What do YOU think, regardless of your faith, or lack there of?

I think some of the cause needs to be placed on the media, specifically Fox News. Let me be clean in saying that getting all your news from one source is never a good idea. Remember in school, when you were writing a report, and your teacher made you have 5 to 10 different sources, which probably annoyed you? Same principle here, folks. I feel like this should go without saying, but consult more than one source (an unbiased one) first, before spouting off false information. To those of you who are in positions of authority, such as pastors, teachers, leaders in social circles or those that have high-traffic blogs, this is especially important for you. One off-handed emotionally charged comment can be misconstrued and cause numerous problems.

That being said, I would like to applaud Anderson Cooper, for his unbiased and compelling news reporting. Sir, you are in a league of your own.

I am happy Obama won. I think it’s a wonderful thing that he will support a ban on late-term abortions that includes a condition for life and death circumstances of the mother. I also think its an incredible thing that he is concerned about educating women about other choices besides abortion, such as adoption. This is a huge issue for me, being that I am adopted. Here is the deal: To all those that supported John McCain because of his pro-life stance, now is the time for you to act. Show Barack Obama that you care just as much as he does about educating and supporting women, which is the best thing we can do to reduce the number of abortions. Abortion is not the best option for any unwanted child. Volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center, take the classes in your state to become a legal foster parent.  When we educate women on their choices outside of abortion, there will be a lot more babies and children in an already crowded foster care system. Those of you that can, please, seriously consider this. At the very least, know who to contact in the event that someone you know may be struggling with an uwanted pregnancy.

Obama sees that George Bush, who is pro-life, has not been able to rid our country of abortion, and he knows he will not be able to either, by simply saying abortion is wrong. Hear me, please: I do not condone abortion. However, I think Obama is going about the process of significantly reducing them in the right way, and he needs our help.

For those of you who saw the Body World Exhibit this past year, you know there is no question that a mere 6 week old living being inside a womb looks like a baby. You saw it with your own eyes, there is know denying that.

I say all this because as I woke up this morning and checked my email, I saw numerous fellow brothers and sisters in Christ fearing for our country. Fearing that God has turned his back on our country, afraid of what the future holds. Some even continue to berate and degrade Obama and his family for the color of their skin, or his middle name, or his father’s nationality. Others question his sincerity over his faith in Christ. This is not the spirit of unification that Christ calls us to under our authorities that he has placed before us.

We are commanded by the words of Paul in 1 Timothy 2:1-2, to pray for Obama, and any leaders that make discisions which imapact our world. Aditionally, we are commaned by God in Romans 13:7 to respect those who deserve our respect.

Obama made some pretty big promises last night, and admittedly, that makes me a little nervous. However, I am willing to do my part in making this country a better place for my son to grow up in, and I am proud to be able to tell him one day that although he may not remember it, he watched with a room full of people who love him, that  on November 4, 2008, the United States of America elected it’s first African-American President in our nation’s history.

Welcome to a new day in America. I am happy to be here with you.

What am I 100% over the moon excited for?

That’s right, boys and girls. November 21st is just  a few short weeks away. For those of you who have been living in a cave for the last few months, the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer, has been transformed to an on screen experience that fans of Meyer’s books should not miss. I am encouraged that Meyer herself had a hand in the movie making process, to make sure things stayed true to the story line.

For your viewing pleasure, here is the final trailer for book one of the Saga: Twilight:

My little Harry Potter

We had a great time last night at Kennedy School with what felt like 1,000 other people! It was packed, but once you got past the craziness it was a good time. We saw the Krizs’, who were dressed up as a family of Jedi’s, and Luke and Mary brought Sam, dressed as a little lamb. Zach and Tiffany brought Nolan as well, and he was a little monkey. Buhler and Steve joined us to see the fun, and we all had dinner, which was crazy with three kiddos, but they all did great. Thanks to Steve and Buhler for hanging out smashed in the corner of the booth while we all ate.

And here is my little Harry:

“Hope.”

Kind of an overused phrase these days, isn’t it? It’s like going to the same amusement park 30 days in a row. By the 5th day, you’ve been on all the rides, and have won all the carnival animals and fish you can handle. What gives you hope? I’m talking about the real kind. The thoughts that your family could actually have a home some day, with lots of acres and bees and llamas and goats? The aspiration to become President of the United States? Obviously some see that as a means to bring hope, and I am one of the millions who dream of a leader that is capable of instilling hope in the hearts of a country, uniting us as a nation. Some people are hoping for a spouse, a child, a place to rest their head tonight with a decent meal. A lot of people are hoping their 401k’s will still be there when they need them!

What do I hope for, you ask?

A chance at making this world a better place. How am I going to accomplish that insurmountable task? Through this:

This wonderful little boy is gifted with the potential to impact those around him by simply being a loving man someday. All I have to do now is teach him how to love.

So what gives me hope?

Living in this place, knowing I have a safe atmosphere to raise a family:

Having wonderful friends who share their lives with us:

Knowing that the life I choose to search after has purpose and promise:

“The spiritual life is a continual discovery of God in new and unexpected places. These discoveries are sometimes most profitable when we find him in something we had tended to overlook and even despise. Then the awakening is purer and its effect more keen, because he was so close at hand and we neglected him.”          ~Thomas Merton

My hope is found today in the promise of searching for God in places unexpected, and passing that love onto my son.

Have a great Saturday. We are going to the pumpkin patch!

Things I have been obsessed with.

Truth be told blog readers, there have been several other things keeping me from writing to you outside of class work. Here is a list, in no particular order.

1. Politics. A lot of my internetting these days has been on websites ranging from CNN, Daily Show and Colbert, to Anderson 360, but never FOX News.

2. Thanks to Katie Alpert, I started reading the Twilight Saga. I have now read Twilight twice, New Moon and Eclipse once, and I am on my third trip through Breaking Dawn. I’ve even read the partial of Midnight Sun on Meyer’s website. Call it what you will, obsessive, I know. You haven’t heard the worst part. I even have a Twilight Calendar and keychain. Yes, I know I am not 17, and no, I do not care how silly you think I am.

3. Buffy. Well, since I was on the whole vampire kick with Twilight, I figured I’d check out all the Buffy hype. It’s a good show, and Joss Whedon is a creative mastermind. However, I really am just watching for the relational aspect between the characters, and not so much the vampire story line. As it stands, I am in Season 5.

4 Facebook. For some reason, I feel the need to check status updates at least 5 times a day.

5. Walks. This is a good thing to be obsessed with. Xander and I have taken hour long walks through our new neighborhood every sunny day since moving two weeks ago. I love our neighborhood.

6. Bones. I started watching it on a recommendation from a friend, and I am glad I did. The relationship between Bones and Booth always gives me much to discuss.

7. And finally, Heroes. Which I have to go watch this instant, because Tarver is sitting across the room, staring at me, wating for me to finish my post. See, we watch on Tuesday nights since getting rid of cable. Thank goodness for streaming shows on the internet.

I’m still alive.

Little Ninja

Alright, so months have passed since I’ve even opened up this blog. My apologies. Quite a bit has been going on in the lives of the Hannants, and I will post more this week, with pictures as well.

Here are some brief details:

We moved! (Cheer and jump up and down, this is good news)

Tarver has a wonderful job! (Again, cheering should ensue)

We are both still in school full-time! (Cheer if you must, but know that this is the main reason for the lack of communication through blog posts)

Xander is wonderful, and as soon as I figure out how to include a photo in this post with the new wordpress format, I will.

Stay tuned. Good things are afoot!

Runnin’ runnin’ and runnin’

It’s been a while since I actually ran in my 5k, but I figured some of you might want to hear how it went and those of you who know me well might need to see some proof of actual running taking place to believe I in fact did it.

I trained pretty vigilantly from my birthday in January to the middle of March. The Shamrock Run was on Sunday, March 16th, which was a lovely, upper 40’s, slightly sunny day. Perfect. Wow, was I nervous when we pulled up to the race sight and saw over 6,000 people for one race! However, once it started, I found my groove and set off into a good pace. All was going well, until we hit the back stretch and I saw a slow but steady incline. For about a half a mile, up up up I ascended, and made it to the top. The last mile was all down hill, and I was pretty excited, until the two guys in the full Guinness -can body suits passed me!

My official time: 33:51 360th out of 593 women.

Not bad for my first run!

Now for the proof…..

This is right before the finish line

Just crossing…….

Ahhh… sweet victory. It’s over.

I plan on running another race at the end of the summer. Who’s in?

I’m too busy!

Yes, I am in fact, still alive and well. There are a few reasons this blog has been non-existent over the past few months:

1. We’ve been out of town, twice, to the other side of the country, and traveling with an infant in and out of time zones really messes up schedules.

2. Xander is 10 months old, and as many of you know, you have to watch a ten month old every second they are awake. Hence, no fun computer time.

3. Tarver and I both started school full time in March, so when the boy is sleeping, we are both studying.

Throw in all that plus trying to take care of a house, husband, and myself…. you get the picture.

Hopefully, even if its just a quick note, I will be back to blogging soon enough.

On another note, I made peach cobbler today, and I think I would take a bath in it if I could.

Yes. It was that good.

Oh, V Day. How We Love Thee!

Well, Happy Valentine’s Day. Xander sent out some pretty cute cards this year with his “I stole Mommy’s heart shirt” pictures included. He gets cuter every day, and on a day that forces you to think about love, I just want to say I love my little cutie! I love my Big Cutie too, but poor Tarver is off doing the most romantic thing you can think of…….. yes…..wait for it…..

JURY DUTY! Ha! I think that is a pretty crappy place to spend Valentine’s Day, but to be honest, neither of us really wanted to celebrate it anyway. We are lucky enough to be one of those couples that surprise each other with cards, flowers, or something special on those random Tuesdays, when you least expect something. Somehow, it always means so much more when you don’t know it’s coming. I will share a sweet story though.

When Tarver had his leg amputated (he likes to refer to it as “having his leg chopped off”) I was a wreck during the surgery. Thankfully, Justin, Tarver’s brother, and our close friends Steve and Eddy were there to wait during the surgery with me. It was early in the morning, so we went to the cafeteria in the hospital, and when we sat down to breakfast, someone handed me a card from Tarver. Well, of course I started to cry as I read beautifully comforting words form the one person I wanted at that very moment. He was so reassuring and loving, and it was what I needed in that moment. Through that whole “leg ordeal” that was the one moment that might stick out to me in mind for the rest of my life. At the most difficult moment since Tarver’s accident, he was worried about how I was handling the surgery.

However, this is just one example of the selfless way in which my husband loves me. He also made sure all of the 5 days we were in the hospital, someone brought me a gift or flowers from him (funny thing is, he doesn’t really remember doing that the poor guy was so drugged up). I have never felt such love, in all my life. Every day, I get to wake up next to someone who loves me more than himself. Not a day goes by that I don’t thank my wonderful Creator, that He kept Tarver safe through his accident, all his prior surgery’s, and his crazy life before he met me. I certainly would not know the love I know now, had it not been for my lovely husband.

One of the reasons I love being married is that it’s such a wonderful picture of Christ’s love for His church. His people. The way marriage was intended to be, before it became a joke to some in our society. I feel like you can’t turn a channel on the TV today without seeing some show about the degradation of marriage. So sad. Back to what I was saying, Tarver and I strive to have a marriage that is God-honoring, treating each other with love and kindness. People always ask us, don’t you guys fight? You are with each other so much! Well, no, not really, is usually the reply. Fighting is seldom something we have to deal with, when we are mindfully trying to love each other every day, as Christ loves us.

So what is Xander loving today?

Why butternut squash, of course!

Happy Valentine’s Day To You! May you feel loved today.

On my reading journey

Thank goodness for other bloggers’ “Best of 2007″ posts!

Why, you ask?

“Cause I’ve started my reading and movie watching list for 2008, and so far, I’m enjoying every read.

I’ve started with a book by Philip Yancey: Soul Survivor: How My Faith Survived the Church.

Yancey talks freely about his struggle to forgive the churches that shaped his young developing mind, and about the people who influenced his road to forgiveness and hope.

Yancey, speaking of G.K. Chesterton here:

“”The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult ; and left untried,”" he said. The real question is not “”Why is Christianity so bad when it claims to be so good?”" but rather “”Why are all human things so bad when they claim to be so good?” “Chesterton readily admitted that the church had badly failed the gospel. In fact, he said of one of the strongest arguments in favor of Christianity is the failure of Christians, who thereby prove what the Bible teaches about the fall and original sin. As the world goes wrong, it proves that the church is right in this basic doctrine.”