Justice is served!

THIS IS SO VERY INTERESTING!!!!!

Remember the guy who got on a plane with a bomb built into his shoe and tried to light it?

Did you know his trial is over?
Did you know he was sentenced?
Did you see/hear any of the judge's comments on TV or Radio?

Didn't think so.!!!

Everyone should hear what the judge had to say.


Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court.

Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant if he had anything to say. His response: After admitting his guilt to the court for the record, Reid also admitted his 'allegiance to Osama bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah,' defiantly stating, 'I think I will not apologize for my actions,' and told the court 'I am at war with your country.'

Judge Young then delivered the statement quoted below:

January 30, 2003, United States vs. Reid.

Judge Young: 'Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you.

On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General.... On counts 2, 3, 4and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutively. (That's 80 years.)

On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years again, to be served consecutively to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon you for each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 that's an aggregate fine of $2 million. The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298...17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines.

The Court imposes upon you an $800 special assessment. The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further.

This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence.

Now, let me explain this to you. We are not afraid of you or any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is too much war talk here and I say that to everyone with the utmost respect. Here in this court, we deal with individuals as individuals and care for individuals as individuals. As human beings, we reach out for justice.

You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier, gives you far too much stature. Whether the officers of government do it or your attorney does it, or if you think you are a soldier, you are not----- you are a terrorist. And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not meet with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice.

So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow. But you are not that big. You're no warrior. I've known warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal that is guilty of multiple attempted murders. In a very real sense, State Trooper Santiago had it right when you first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and the TV crews were, and he said:'You're no big deal.'

You are no big deal.

What your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today?

I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing? And, I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you, but as I search this entire record, it comes as close to understanding as I know.

It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose. Here, in this society, the very wind carries freedom. It carries it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom, so that everyone can see, truly see, that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely. It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf, have filed appeals, will go on in their representation of you before other judges.

We Americans are all about freedom. Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties.. Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bear any burden; pay any price, to preserve our freedoms. Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here.... The day after tomorrow, it will be forgotten, but this, however, will long endure.

Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America , the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done. The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice.

See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America . That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag stands for freedom. And it always will.

Mr. Custody Officer. Stand him down.

So, how much of this Judge's comments did we hear on our TV sets? We need more judges like Judge Young. Pass this around. Everyone should and needs to hear what this fine judge had to say. Powerful words that strike home.

Update. It has been FOREVER!

I believe that most of you have heard the news, however I will update the rest of our very few blog followers :)

As most of you know Matt and I recently moved to Albuquerque, NM last September. Matt got a really good job with Qwest. I was not too excited about NM I have to say. NM was on my list of places I was never willing to move to, however when your hubby is jobless you got take what you can get. Things were going well there, I was somewhat starting to make some new friends, but then on Nov. 18, I believe it was, Matt came home early from work. There was only one reason he would come home early and he had that same look on his face that he had before. He got laid off AGAIN. I didn't even shed a tear. I was laughing somewhat in fact. My poor man was laid off twice in 4 months. We had picked up and moved our entire family to NM on our own dime for this job. We just got insurance, so I was able to see the doctor for the first time since I found out I was pregnant. I was in total shock and had to giggle because of the irony in the situation.

Matt was amazing though. He didn't even blink an eye, or feel sorry for himself at all. Right when he got home he started making phone calls to reach out to all his contacts and once again find a new job. By-the-way, as bad as it may look, Matt did not get laid off for any reasons on his part. Due to the lovely economy Qwest decided to completely abolish Matt's position and department, in all of Qwest throughout the US. Even the man who hired him got laid off. Anyways, Matt got interviews set up right away in NM, UT and CA. I am sure all of you know which one I was rooting for :) All the interviews went really well, however he got two offers in CA. How ironic once again right? The other jobs were not hiring yet, since most of them were having to reevaluate their owns staff's due to the economy as well. Matt accepted the position with Tele Pacific in Irvine, CA. We are now staying with my parents for a little while till we are able to find a place. I am sooooooooooooooooooo happy to be here, however the cost of living is definitely an adjustment for the two of us. We are so blessed to have found another job.

On the baby front, I was finally able to get some insurance through my Dad and yesterday I was able to go to the doctor for the second time this pregnancy. She was absolutely wonderful and we will finally find out the sex next week, on Thursday. I am 20 weeks right now and the baby is very healthy!!!

I hope that this blog does not sound like I am throwing a pitty party for myself and my family. I hope it comes off as just the opposite. Things have definitely been rough, but it just goes to show us how absolutely incredible and generous our Heavenly Father is. We had confidence that everything would work out and it absolutely did. It never ceases to amaze me that the plan that I have in mind for myself tends to be quite different than the plan our Heavenly Father has for me. However, his plan is always what is right and makes me the happiest in the end. We have ben so blessed this previous year and are very excited to see what is to come in 2010.

Here are some pics to go along with all my jibber jabber. There will be more to come.

I really just can't get enough of her!!!

Oh, and the birthday pics are not for Maddie's birthday, it was my Mom's. I am just so in love with this girl and thought I would post some over due and needed pics of her :)

"What are YOU thankful for?"

THANKSGIVING:

One of my favorite times of year. It is not crowded with the stress of buying presents and the forgetting of why we even celebrate these holidays in the first place. It is purely a holiday where you sit around with the people you love the most and celebrate everything and everyone you are grateful for.

I am thankful for my family and to know that we are an eternal family. My husband and daughter are my world. Waking up to them everyday makes my life already feel complete. I feel so complete with them, I cannot even fathom why the Lord is so gracious to bless me with another perfect little gift from him.

I am thankful for trials. By no means are they punishments from God. They are disguised gifts that make us stronger, more humble, more grateful and closer to those who really matter. They help us to realize our potential as children of a perfect being.

I am thankful for the sheer knowledge that God lives, loves us, and wants nothing more than for us to live with him once again and for us to be eternally happy.

I am sooooooo blessed and do not have ONE thing in my life to not be grateful for.

I would love for you to share what you are grateful for?

Click here for a sweet Thanksgiving message.

I LOVE THANKSGIVING!!!

We have no need to apologize!!!

Our European arrogance in alphabetical order

1. The American Cemetery at Aisne-Marne , France . A total of 2289 of our military dead.

2. The American Cemetery at Ardennes , Belgium . A total of 5329 of our dead.

3. The American Cemetery at Brittany, France . A total of 4410 of our military dead. Excuse us.

4. Brookwood , England American Cemetery. A total of 468 of our dead.

5. Cambridge , England .. 3812 of our military dead.

6. Epinal , France American Cemetery. A total of 5525 of our Military dead.

7. Flanders Field , Belgium . A total of 368 of our military.

8. Florence , Italy . A total of 4402 of our military dead.

9. Henri-Chapelle , Belgium . A total of 7992 of our military dead.

10. Lorraine , France . A total of 10,489 of our military dead..

11. Luxembourg , Luxembourg . A total of 5076 of our military dead.

12. Meuse-Argonne. A total of 14246 of our military dead.

13. Netherlands , Netherlands . A total of 8301 of our military dead.

14. Normandy , France . A total of 9387 of our military dead.

15. Oise-Aisne , France . A total of 6012 of our military dead..

16. Rhone , France . A total of 861 of our military dead.

17. Sicily , Italy . A total of 7861 of our military dead.

18. Somme , France . A total of 1844 of our military dead.

19. St. Mihiel , France . A total of 4153 of our military dead..

20. Suresnes , France . a total of 1541 of our military dead.

Apologize to no one.

Remind those of our sacrifice and don't confuse arrogance with leadership.
If I added correctly the count is 104,366 dead.
And we have to watch an American elected leader who apologizes to Europe and the Middle East that our country is "arrogant"!
HOW MANY FRENCH, DUTCH, ITALIANS, BELGIANS AND BRITS ARE BURIED ON OUR SOIL, DEFENDING US AGAINST OUR ENEMIES?
WE DON'T ASK FOR PRAISE ... BUT WE HAVE ABSOULUTELY NO NEED TO APOLOGIZE!!

Actually if you want to help out our troops, please go to my friend Kelly's blog here. The troops in Afghanistan are cold and need the help of your knitting fingers.

Inquiring minds want to know.

This is not my ultrasound, I just always feel the need to post a pic.

So, I know I told all of you that my appointment was on the 4th and it was, however they scheduled the ultrasound for the next day. I guess the ultrasound person wasn't in on the 4th, or something like that. So, I had to wait YET ANOTHER day to find out how far along I am. Since most of you probably know me pretty well, you know that patience does not exist in my vocabulary. By Halloween I am dying to know what I will be getting for Christmas basically.

Well, I know all of you were probably pacing your rooms all night last night and even biting your nails, so your fingers are probably just little nubbins now, as you were dying to find out the results.

The results were quite unexpected actually. After I had Madeline I got an IUD (a form of birth control for those who are not familiar). When I got it out I was totally fine, but my woman stuff was all irregular. Well, it turns out there was good reason my woman stuff was acting all weird. I actually got pregnant while I had the IUD in and I was lucky to have not lost the baby.

So how far along am I? Drum roll please..............

I AM 21 WEEKS!!! and there is more. THERE IS MORE THAN JUST ONE IN THERE. THERE ARE TWO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES, I SAID IT, 2222222222222222, IF YOU DID NOT HEAR THE FIRST TIME, OR IF YOU VISION IS GETTING A LITTLE BLURY.

Both Matt and I almost passed out together. Good thing he didn't though, because he was holding Madeline. I am still in shock. I still really can't believe it myself. But, the main reason it is so hard for me to believe is that I am so full of crap. I had to keep you on the edge of your seat. Ok, the truth is I am 11 weeks and 5 days and they are not sure of the sex quite yet, but they said I will be able to find out in a couple of weeks when I go in for a different test. Ha, I had you going didn't I? I am good! Really though, the baby was so cute and it was so exciting. Even though this is the second time around, it is still just as amazing. So, the winners of the pole are all those who guessed 12 weeks. They were the closest. Congrats to those who won. You get a whole day of bragging that you are always right, well, that you are right most of the time! Do what you want with your win. I think you should go out and celebrate your rightness!

I will post the pics of the ultrasound soon :)

How far along do you think I am?

fyi: This is not my belly of course.

So, Matt and I have been betting each other on how far along in my pregnancy we think I am. I wont tell you how far along I think I am. I will however give you some helpful hints.

Hints:

-My woman stuff was totally off before I got pregnant, so I really have no idea when my last woman thing took place.

-I have been throwing up for about a month now.

-I have been off birth control since July and I know I did not get pregnant right away.

-My belly is poking out a tiny bit. No one else would probably notice in clothes, but I am showing a little.

I hope that helps. The winner of the pole gets absolutely nothing. Sorry. I am not very creative, so I have nothing amazing to make that I could send you. If you lived near me however I would make you very yummy cookies. All you will get is the satisfaction of being right, which I think is a wonderful feeling anyway.

I am going to the doc Nov 4th; that is this Wednesday. I will tell you the results then.