A Time for Change.

Dear Zachary and Corbett:

You don't know it yet, but today was a truly historical day.

The United States of America inaugurated their 44th President, Barack H. Obama. You see, President Obama is of African American descent and he is the first African American to hold the Presidency.

You are too young to know why this is special, but in time you will learn. You are far enough removed from this horrible history that perhaps it will seem almost impossible to believe. It will seem as though someone has woven a tale that could only be imagined, not one of truth. Until the 1960's, African Americans - persons of colour - were not permitted to eat in the same restaurants, use the same washrooms, drink from the same fountains or attend the same schools as Caucasians. This is only a short list of the ways in which they were segregated from the general population. African Americans were called horrible names, and subjected to unspeakable acts of violence, simply because of the colour of their skin. They were treated as property, sold into slavery and traded as though they were mere objects.

As a child, I learned of such brave and inspirational people as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. African Americans who refused to accept the role that had been prescribed them. Their simple, peaceful acts of protest, inspired others to stand up for themselves and fight for what was rightfully theirs. The same rights held by Caucasians for centuries.

But is this history really so far behind us? As a teenager, I witnessed a reaction of rioting in Los Angeles and Toronto after the acquittal of 3 out of 4 police officers charged with the excessive force beating of Rodney King. After the riots, Mr King himself pleaded for an end to the riots, asking for everyone to "just get along"

To be completely honest, I certainly didn't imagine that as a society we had come far enough that we would see an African American hold office in North America. At least not this soon.

I don't think that Barack Obama deserves the Presidency because he is African American. And although some Americans may have voted for him because of this, I believe that he was elected on his own merits. And even more significant than the fact that he is the first African American elected to office is the fact that President Obama ran a positive campaign. He didn't get involved in the typical mud-slinging we see in elections - particularly our recent election in Canada, he publicly declared that family members of his political rivals were "off-limits", and refused to be dragged in to the negativity. He didn't tell people why the other guy shouldn't be President, he told them why he should.

Most of all, he inspired people. He inspired people to get out and vote. The 2008 US election had the highest voter turnout in at least 40 years. To compare, in Canada's recent election, we had our lowest voter turnout ever.

In his inaugural speech today, President Obama urged us all to remember “that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.”

Never forget those words. As you grow into young men, always strive to ensure that you treat people, no matter their circumstances, as your equal. Promise to stand up for human rights when you see a person being treated unjustly. Promise to always be the best person you can be.

Remember, it doesn't matter whether a person supports Barack Obama or whether they supported his rival, John McCain. Today's events show that people can change and history does not have to repeat itself. And change is what we all so desperately needed.


Love,

Mom

It's all downhill from here....

Jordan and I bought the kids some sleds for Christmas and today we finally got a chance to go use them!

We bundled up the kids, loaded up the sleds and drove out to Queen's Athletic Field.
I wasn't too sure how the kids would react to sledding because they had never been before. It was still cold, -24 with the wind chill), but much much warmer than the extreme cold we had all week.

Of course, I took my camera along to get some pictures. I am glad I did....the kids had a blast!








We can't wait to go back again!

Jessica

Build-A-

Dinosaur?

When Auntie Michelle asked Corbett what he would like for his birthday from her and Isaac, he answered with a very definitive "A Dinosaur".

So Auntie Michelle, the clever gal she is, went to Build A Bear and saw that they had the perfect dinosaur there. They gave Corbett a gift certificate so that he could go make his dinosaur by himself.

After cooking class, Zachary, Corbett and I headed to Build A Bear and the fun started all over again!

Zachary decided to use the money he got from his Grampa Norris and Gramma Linda to buy a peguin, and obviously Corbett got a dinosaur.

ROAR!



Stuffing Corbett's dinosaur. You can't see it in the picture, but there is a foot pedal for the kids to step on. This makes the machine that stuffs the dinosaur go.



Worrying when the stitching on the dinosaur won't work.



Kissing his new friend, Jordan the Dinosaur. I would laugh too, but just you wait!
Notice the clothing. Because every self-respecting dinosaur wears clothes!



Here is Zachary with his new friend.....Jessica the Penguin.
Yep, apparently, I am chubby with short legs.
Now before you go make some comment about Jessica the Penguin not wearing clothes and therefore not being self-respecting, might I remind you that penguins swim a lot. No need for clothes.

And here is a picture of the four of them (us?) together!



Obviously, it was an eventful day. So eventful, that even the Corb-ster couldn't stay awake all the way through Transformers:Animated.



Thanks for the great gift Uncle Isaac and Auntie Michelle!

Jessica

Hey good looking.....

What ya got cooking?

I signed the kids up for a kid's cooking class at Real Canadian Superstore today. It was a breakfast menu, so the kids made Cinnamon French Toast and Melty Muffins.

The French Toast was a huge hit, but they weren't big fans of the muffins. Personally, I liked the muffins!

Gramma Margaret came along, as I wasn't too sure how much parent help would be needed. Turns out that we didn't need her, but that matters little because we LOVED having her there!

I have to admit that I told a lie though. The cooking class is for kids ages 3-5. Zachary is 6. But seriously, I wanted something the three of us could do together. So shoot me.....

I got some great pictures.

The Valiquette/ Guenard / Guenard-Valiquette American Idol Encore 2 Karaoke Party

Yep. You heard me. A Karaoke party.

Everyone was involved.

Set lists included:

1) A rousing cover of Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Corbett and Grampa Peter,

2) Gramma Margaret channeling her inner Spice Girl with "Wannabe" and waxing philosphical with "Imagine" ,

3) Michelle rocking it out to "Paint it Black" and providing and interesting version of "Islands in the Stream"

4) Zachary wowed the crowd with an incredibly accurate version of "Livin on a Prayer" and "Eye of the Tiger"

5) As for me, I was "Losing my Religion" and left a little breathless on "Hey there Delilah"

Jordan was off to karate and missed all the fun!

It was a super fun party, and we all had a blast.

Jessica

Yesterday....

Yesterday was January 8th. Yesterday was the day my baby, Corbett, turned 3.

He is not a baby anymore I suppose, but he is still MY baby. He is now the age Zachary was when Corbett was born.

We had a little family gathering here at the house for him, but his birthday party will be on January 24th. I needed a little financial break between birthday parties!

My neighbours, Rosanne and Jamie took photos of Corbett today, so I hope to have something to post in a few days. Check out their site at www.photocaptiva.com!

Until then, here are some pics of my babies, laughing it up in the tub. It amazes me how much fun kids can have at bathtime! I took this pictures with my new toy. I purchased a Nikon D40. Its a digital SLR camera and boy do I have a lot to learn, but I think I am up for the challenge!



Corbett, 3 years old



Zachary, 6 years old



Mischa, 16 months old.......caught lying on the couch...tsk tsk Mischa


I don't need table manners Mommy.....today's my Birthday!

Happy Birthday Baby boy......we love you to pieces!

More pictures to follow!

Jessica