Blessings for Today

* Love that fall weather!

* The arrangement of "Great is Thy Faithfulness" that my church choir is singing... it's seriously beautiful.

* Lit Circles! I love this unit with my GOAL kids. 6th grade is doing Moral Dilemma, 7th grade is doing Culture Clash, and 8th grade is doing the Holocaust. I love hearing their discussions... one of the best parts of my job!

* WICKED! I finally got to see it this weekend in Des Moines. Freaking AWESOME! Plus, the weekend was just a ball. Andrew & I drove up on Saturday, had sushi, met friends (Jeff, Duane, Heather, Tom, & Gay) for dinner at Cheesecake Factory, stayed at the Savery, had banana pancakes for breakfast, and then saw Wicked. Can you get any better than that?

* Oh, yes you can get better than that... can you say GO HAWKS???? Beating Penn State? Are you kidding me? What a great game! Andrew's going to his first Hawkeye game on Saturday... I hope the Hugunin boys take it easy on him!

The President's Speech to Students

I'll never forget how my friend Jason was shocked that I was interested at all in hearing George W. Bush speak at the Iowa State Fair a few years ago. I didn't get the opportunity, but I think it would have been great. Even though I couldn't have disagreed more with the policies and philosophies of our last President, that doesn't change the respect I have for the office. I would take any chance to hear any President speak. I guess that's why the uproar over President Obama's speech to students today saddens me so much. It seems like some people only respect the office of President of the United States when the person they want is in that office. Parents are worried their children are going to be brainwashed by listening to the speech today. I'm worried about them being brainwashed too... if they're NOT allowed to listen to the speech. The idea of the President addressing the nation's students is not a new one. I read where Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush did the same things during their administrations. Since I can't remember a thing about these particular addresses, I don't feel I was brainwashed at all. ;)

The text of today's speech is public. Read it first if you're hesitant. And, if your kids didn't get to see the speech today at school, show it to them at home.