GOD Bless America

I'm so tired of seeing what's WRONG with this country....this was truly refreshing!Enjoy. I did!


From a Romanian Newspaper

We rarely get a chance to see another country's editorial about the USA


Read this excerpt from a Romanian Newspaper. The article was written by Mr. Cornel Nistorescu and published under the title 'C'ntarea Americii, meaning 'Ode To America ') in the Romanian newspaper Evenimentulzilei 'The Daily Event' or 'News of the Day'.

~An Ode to America~

Why are Americans so united? They would not resemble one another even if you painted them all one color! They speak all the languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations and religious beliefs.

On 9/11, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a hand put on the heart. Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the Army, or the Secret Service that they are only a bunch of losers. Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts Nobody rushed out onto the streets nearby to gape about...

Instead the Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a helping hand.

After the first moments of panic , they raised their flag over the smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the colors of the national flag. They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in every place and on every car a government official or the president was passing. On every occasion, they started singing: 'God Bless America !'

I watched the live broadcast and rerun after rerun for hours listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian hockey player, who gave his life fighting with the terrorists and prevented the plane from hitting a target that could have killed other hundreds or thousands of people.

How on earth were they able to respond united as one human being? Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone call, millions and millions of dollars were put into collection aimed at rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit, which no money can buy. What on earth can unites the Americans in such way? Their land? Their history? Their economic Power? Money? I tried for hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases with the risk of sounding commonplace, I thought things over, I reached but only one conclusion.... Only freedom can work such miracles.

Cornel Nistorescu
(This deserves to be passed around the Internet forever..) It took a person on the outside - looking in - to see what we take for granted!
GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

Two Years

What a crazy and wonderful two years! It was two years ago today that the judge signed my divorce papers and I became a single woman again. In looking back at the last two years I see how blessed I have been.

During my marriage, I became extremely submissive and gave up on a lot of my dreams and goals in life. The one goal which I never gave up on was being a wife and a mother. I have two of the most amazing children (babies from another mother) whom I am still very blessed to see and spend time with on a regular basis. They are two of the largest blessings in my life. It does make my heart ache to hear the challenges they are facing in life and the feelings the have towards people in their life. Children should not have to understand happenings in life at such a young age. I am amazed at their comprehension and understanding of people, their actions and their words. They have a deep understanding, much deeper that I think we as adults give them credit for. They have and understand their feelings and are very creative in their ways of expressing them. Michael and Sabrina are amazing and the best children! I love them with all of my being and am so grateful for them.

I originally was ashamed of my divorce. It is something I never wanted in my life. I always wanted to be married only one and to the man that we would grow together, love, and support each other. Spend time building each other up. Unfortunately that did not happen in my marriage. There were 25 months spent trying to make it work, changing myself so that it would work. I was very blessed to spend many hours in the temple, praying about what to do... then the answer came that it was time to leave... it takes two people working at a marriage and giving to make it work. It was time for me to leave the abuse. I think this was the hardest part for me. My ex was only physically abusive several times in the marriage and I was great at making excuses for it. The first time was 2 months into our marriage, when I ended up with two small black eyes and a cut across my forehead. He did an amazing job at justifying his actions. There was the bruises on my ribs from him poking me, the bruise on my shin from him kicking me... the bruises on my stomach from him 'tickling' too hard. Then there was the verbal, which is also mental and emotional abuse, and the spiritual abuse. I struggled with realizing it until I was able to meet with a counselor, read several books and made some tough realizations, as well as going back to a self discovery stage. I was great at making excuses for his behavior and even got to the point of blaming myself. It was a horrible place to be and I realized that now. I am back to my spunky, loving life and living life self. I am checking goals off my list and completing wants and wishes off of my bucket list.

I think that his family is great and amazing. I have enjoyed keeping in contact on a high level with his family. His mom sent me a very sweet letter, even stating that she was grateful that I had gotten out and away from the abuse. His sisters have been fun and amazing. I love seeing their children grow and have new experiences. His family are blessings in my life!

I pray that my ex can become the man that I saw in him, especially now that he is remarried to a woman with 2 children. I would hate for her to have the same experience I did and for her children to go thru a 2nd divorce.

As for things I have been able to do over the last two years...I am back in school studying Chemistry and Biology, working towards working in the forensics field or medical research field. School is challenging and I love it! I am still teaching dance and am back to being the Assistant Director of Southpointe Ballet company. I have been on a hot air balloon ride, I have returned to Disneyland with the kids, I have been to Europe and am going back in 3 months to experience more! I have met amazing men, who have treated me with the utmost kindness and respect. I have rekindled friendships and have become more social again! Life is amazing. I am so grateful for my trials and the lessons learned thru them. I am grateful for my blessings. I know that GOD is real and truly cares about each and everyone of us. He has carried me at many times thru the last two years and 9 months. My ex and I were separated for 9 months prior to the divorce being final.

I am grateful for Mandi(his first ex-wife) and our friendship. I love that we have become friends, after all we both experienced a very difficult marriage. It was very strange at first to sit down with her and compare our experiences with him. Our stories are almost exact, even from the phrases he used on us. She is a blessing in my life!

So, here is to another exciting time in life, to checking more off my bucket list, to finding my spouse, to starting a family, to living life to the fullest. Thank you to all of my friends who have been there for me in the difficult and sad times. Who have been there to lift me up and keep me going, to hold me back when necessary. I love you all and am grateful for you everyday!

Great Article

ORANGE COUNTY ( CALIFORNIA ) NEWSPAPER-New Immigrants
This is a very good letter to the editor. This woman made some good points..
For some reason, people have difficulty structuring their arguments when
arguing against supporting the currently proposed immigration revisions.
This lady made the argument pretty simple. NOT printed in the Orange
CountyPaper...................

Newspapers simply won't publish letters to the editor which they either deem
politically incorrect (read below) or which does not agree with the
philosophy they're pushing on the public. This woman wrote a great letter
to the editor that should have been published; but, with your help it will
get published via cyberspace!


From: "David LaBonte"
My wife, Rosemary, wrote a wonderful
letter to the editor of the OC Register which, of course, was not printed.
So, I decided to "print" it myself by sending it out on the Internet. Pass
it along if you feel so inclined. Written in response to a series of letters
to the editor in the range County Register:


Dear Editor:
So many letter writers have based their arguments on how this land is made
up of immigrants. Ernie Lujan for one, suggests we should tear down the
Statue of Liberty because the people now in question aren't being treated
the same as those who passed through Ellis Island
and other ports of entry.

Maybe we should turn to our history books and point out to people like Mr.
Lujan why today's American is not willing to accept this new kind of
immigrant any longer. Back in 1900 when there was a rush from all areas of
Europe to come to the United States, people had to get off a ship and stand
in a long line in New York and be documented. Some would even get down on
their hands and knees and kiss the ground. They made a pledge to uphold the
laws and support their new country in good and bad times. They made learning
English a primary rule in their new American households and some even
changed their names to blend in with their new home.

They had waved good bye to their birth place to give their children a new
life and did everything in their power to help their children assimilate
into one culture. Nothing was handed to them. No free lunches, no welfare,
no labor laws
to protect them. All they had were the skills and craftsmanship they had
brought with them to trade for a future of prosperity.

Most of their children came of age when World War II broke out. My father
fought along side men whose parents had come straight over from Germany,
Italy , France and Japan . None of these 1st generation Americans ever gave
any thought about what country their parents had come from. They were
Americans fighting Hitler, Mussolini and the Emperor of
Japan. They were defending the United States of America as one people.

When we liberated France , no one in those villages were looking for the
French-American or the German American or the Irish American. The people of
France saw only Americans. And we carried one flag that represented one
country. Not one of those immigrant sons would have thought about picking up
another country's flag and waving it to represent who they were. It would
have been a disgrace to their parents who had
sacrificed so much to be here. These immigrants truly knew what it meant to
be an American. They stirred the melting pot into one red, white and blue
bowl.

And here we are with a new kind of immigrant who wants the same rights and
privileges. Only they want to achieve it by playing with a different set of
rules, one that includes the entitlement card and a guarantee of being
faithful to their mother country. I'm sorry, that's not what being an
American is all about. I believe that the immigrants who landed on Ellis
Island in the early 1900's deserve better than that for all the toil, hard
work and sacrifice in raising future generations to create a land that has
become a beacon for those legally searching for a better life. I think they
would be appalled that they are being used as an example by those waving
foreign country flags.

And for that suggestion about taking down the Statue of Liberty , it happens
to mean a lot to the citizens who are voting on the immigration bill. I
wouldn't start talking about dismantling the United States just yet.

(signed)
Rosemary LaBonte

Good Things to Come

Where oh Where!

I am amazed that July is more than half over. July is one of my favorite months. I love celebrating Independance Day and Pioneer Day. I love fireworks and that there are fireworks every weekend for the month of July. Fireworks make me smile! As life goes on, you learn to appreciate the small things in life, the sunrise, the sunset, the butterflies, the silence, beautiful music, smiles... I am so grateful for my friends, my family, those on the other side. This world is amazing and wonderful. There is so much to see and learn, enjoy and take in.

I am so excited to be seeing The Lion King on August 14th! I love the arts, the talents that are shared. Less that a month and I get to see a show that I have always dreamed of seeing! I love the music and can't wait to see it on stage.

Happy 4th of July!

I love the 4th of July holiday and it was especially fantastic this year. The holiday celebration began on Friday July 2nd! I would have my babies from another mother for the majority of the weekend. I love seeing the excitement in their faces! Mike and Sabrina were dropped off abotu 4:30 by their mom and we then headed to Park City. I had to exchange a pair of pants that I had picked up the week before. It was 90 degrees in Park City. I was amazed when we arrived at the outletss that a mother had left her infant child in the car with the windows up. The fire department was there and about to shatter a window to rescue the child. It broke my heart. Upon returning from Park City, we did the Saturday errands so that we could play all day Saturday. Once the errands were done, it was off to Subway for sandwiches and then to Granite High School for the live music and fireworks. We met a group of friends there and had a blast. The fireworks were amazing. They were the best fireworks I have seen in years and the kids loved them! Mike wouldn't let me take his picture, but here is Sabrina wearing my sunglasses!

Saturday it was off to the West Jordan Carnival. My dancers performed at 1:00, then the kids rode rides, ate snow cones and have an awesome afternoon! The kids and I headed to Red Robin for burgers and fries! Yummy. Mike and Sabrina talked to Mandi, their mom at the restaurant, discussing their lack of desire to spend time on Sunday with their dad. Listening to their reasoning behind not wanting to go, I felt very bad for them. I am grateful for my relationship with my father and that he never made me feel the way they do. Once the conversation was over, we enjoyed our meal and then headed home for a bit of relaxing before more fireworks! Saturday night it was off to Pleasant Grove for more fireworks. The fireworks were very adventurous tonight as some of them shot off into the crowd. Made me very grateful for not sitting close and on the front row! I love watching the kids faces as the fireworks dance thru the sky. On the way home I dropped the kids off at Mandi's as their father was picking them up in the morning at 9:00.

Sunday was very quiet compared to the rest of the weekend. I completely over slept and missed church, OOPS. Other than that I just chilled at home and did homework until I headed to American Fork for a BBQ with Russ, who I have been seeing a bit since May. He is a very nice guy, I am just simply not ready for an exclusive relationship and neither is he. so that is perfect!

Strange Day

What a day, what a day! The morning started off great! Talked to my boss at the dance studio about teaching some modern this summer, excited for that! I then called and left my ex a VM about a game I had left at his house... I had been trying to communicate with him via text about it for two weeks...granted I only sent him one text a week, as I didn't want to irritate him. So this morning I left a VM about it and offered to pick it up from his house and suggested that he could just leave it out by the garbage can and I could just grab it... It is the Atari Frogger game, my favorite. It brings back such fun memories of my childhood and college days.

So, then I get to work, and talk about the day from HELL. I don't get why people don't feel they need to pay their bills, pay for the services rendered, and pay late fees on past due balances. I am amazed. I have even explained it like a credit card bill, that has a due date and finance charges. It is not that difficult. So then I come home and am outside talking to a friend that has stopped by and up pulls my ex with the game. It felt really awkward. That is strange to me, as I am still friends with the majority of my ex-boyfriends. He didn't even say two words to me, just handed me a sack. Strange, but then verbal communication was not one of the strong points between us. I am very glad he had my game still. I will admit I plugged Frogger in and relaxed a bit this evening while playing! After unwinding, it was time to study a bit before I went on a date for dinner.

In the meant time, I get a text from a guy I have been out with many times, we have been spending time together since early May, asking me if he gets to see me. I informed him that tonight wasn't good as I had plans... his response, do you have a hot date. I inform him that yes, I do have a date and proceed to tell him I will talk with him later and to have a good evening... His response "Now I won't, thanks
REALLY, YOU ARE GOING TO PULL THAT CRAP WITH ME! I personally believe that you as an individual are responsible for finding happiness and such in life. There are people and situations that add to or detract from it, but the ulitmate decision is yours and you have no one else to blame. This line took me back to my marriage. It was always my fault when anything went wrong of we weren't happy as a couple. I am amazed at how a little phrase can bring back the hurt and pain that was felt. It took me months in counseling to work thru it. Crazy!

I am grateful I recognize it and am able to move past it. I am beyond excited for the weekend and had an absolutely amazing 4th of July weekend with friends and kids! Really I couldn't ask for a better life. I am so grateful for where I am, for being able to keep a roof over my head, having a job, being able to teach, having amazing friends and family... I could go on and on! Life is FANTASTIC!