Moral Courage

Unless you have been living under a rock, you have probably heard about Malala Yousafzai, the 14-year-old Pakistani girl shot by Taliban gunman because she championed the rights of girls to receive an education.

I saw the illustration below on the Upworthy Facebook page here. It really makes you stop and think, at least it did me. This girl, she is an amazingly brave little girl... I don't even know what to say. She's still a baby. She was only born in 1998. I get emotional every time I hear or read her story. She is so brave. So intelligent. Simply extraordinary. I am in awe of her and her convictions.

As a mother, I cannot stop thinking about her parents.

How do you raise your daughter to stand up for what she believes in like this?

What the Taliban has done is beyond disgusting, but what she has potentially done for girls in her country- I am optimistic. 

Her story is one of the very few reasons I can appreciate the media. Her story is out. She has already made a difference in this world. I hope, with everything I have in me, that she is able to recover from her attempted assassination.

STAND UP FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN - Courage is a quality in men and women. Courage allows them to face up to challenges and dangers. A courageous person is not afraid to face any challenges or danger. There are two kinds of courage - ordinary courage and moral courage.

I Am Malala

--- EDIT --- UPDATE ---

Oh man, you guys scared me. I haven't found anything stating that she has passed. If it was anyone else, they wouldn't have survived. I say it again, this girl is truly amazing. She is at a specialty hospital in Britain being treated. The UAE and covering the bill. I can't tell you how much I am drawn to this story.

the huffington post article

USPS ~

a true story of humans acting awesome

Isn't it funny how you can remember things at the most unexpected times?!

Today, while standing in a busy Post Office I thought about ...


A few years back (probably in '07) I was struggling to stay sane and make it through another busy day as a deployment-induced "single parent." I had a wild toddler son and a needy baby girl, who demanded my attention every second of every day. I had just finished filling two large boxes with all the fake Christmas spirit I could muster up.  There was a small wooden Christmas tree, cookies, letters, pictures, candy, peppermints, snow flake confetti, and many many other goodies nearly busting out of these two boxes that the kids had scribbled "pictures" on. 

After loading the boxes, the kids, and the stroller into our car we headed out the Post Office off post in Savannah, Ga. We parked, Dollface went in the stroller, Redd was holding on to my back packet, and the boxes + customs forms were being balances on the stroller. I'm pretty sure my hair was a mess and Dollface was missing a shoe. We ventured on and made our way in the Post Office and found ourselves at the end of a very long holiday line. Redd was an active toddler and trying his hardest to have fun and play, Dollface was getting fussy and I was trying to fight off the empty feeling of sadness from spending another Christmas without my husband-their father.

I was able to see the light at the end of the tunnel; we were next to be called to the counter. Dollface was starting her soft cry she used to let me know shes had enough and its just a matter of time before she goes full blown spaz-child on me. Perhaps the lady in line before me over heard Redd and I talking about sending Daddy his boxes? Perhaps she could see the desperation on my face? Maybe she had planned on paying for someones packages before she ever went in there? I don't know what inspired her, but when the postal worker turned to me, and asked if my boxes were addressed properly with customs forms ready, then said to go a head and sit them on the counter and to have a happy holidays, I about fell over in shock/gratitude/disbelief/love. 

I some how formed the words Thank You then turned and walked away. I wanted to hug her, and I probably should have, but I knew I needed out there and away from all those people before the tears came. After I had kids in their car-seats and everything ready to go, I couldn't leave the parking lot without saying Thank You one more time. But I couldn't find her. It was busy, it was crowded, it was prime shipping time for the holidays. She was no where to be found. 

Every year I think about that nice lady at the Post Office. Though I never properly thanked her, or expressed my true gratitude for what she did that day, I still think fondly of her. I hope she knows that she reaffirmed my faith in humanity. 

Thank you, sweet southern lady in Savannah, Ga. 

its funny because its true

Well, I'm a little late on posting this meme. They were all the craze last week amongst bloggers, SO here I am, as fashionably late as ever, Darlings... (spoken in an Absolutely Fabulous voice)

Oh, if you really knew me you would know:

I am an only child, a middle child, the oldest of four, and the youngest of three. It’s safe to say that I am a sister to several.

I am the keeper of many, many secrets.

I am a news junky.

I was given my first typewriter for my 5^th birthday.

Wrote my first ‘story’ by my 6^th birthday.

I have a dream of completing a novel. Right now, I have notes, an outline, the first three pages, and several random pages. It is not as easy as I remember when when I was six was.

I swear like a sailor!

I am a compulsive picture taker. I own way to many cameras and I bought the iPhone, in particular, because of the camera and photo apps available. My kids jokingly call me Paparazzi Mama.

I suffer from mild migraines, but lately they have been getting worse. I think its time to call the doc.

My husband is my best friend. Always has been, always will be.  Hands down, no questions asked. Its him.
Yet he gets on my nerves so badly that I want to throat punch him daily. 
I love that man.

I am much more disappointed in my lack of personal accomplishments than I could ever express in words. 

I have anger issues.

I am a horrible cook.

I am overly sensitive about way to many things. I try not to let this show because I know how ridiculous it is that I care about so much that has nothing to do with me.

I cry during movies, commercials, songs, books, anything. If it truly moves me, I promise you, I am probably fighting back tears.

I am happiest during a Midwest fall. I miss the crisp to the air and the colors of the trees. Desert life is not for me.

I am a roller derby wanna be.  I wish there were more hours in a day and I wish there was a Derby Fairy & she would bring me all the awesome gear required for practice & play. Shits expensive!

I over think and over analyze EVERYTHING and I usually make myself miserably sick because of this bad habit.

My dad has stage 4 Melanoma cancer. The doctors told him he would be lucky to make it another 12 months. That was two years ago. Sadly, he is the person I am least compassionate to. I'm working on this.  

I love bad jokes. Like, really love them.  
Did you hear the one about the roof?

I want to be covered in amazing tattoos, but I am scared of how some respected family members would react. My parents wouldn’t mind, but other elder family members would. I wish I didn’t care about what they thought of me.



I have severe body image issues. 

I lose everything. Everything. From keys to wallets to sunglasses to jewelry to phones to children. It is, by far, the most frustrating thing. 

Just getting something off my chest :)

Manners, Manners, Manners.

It is not hard to be polite. 

It absolutely amazes me when my own wild and crazy kiddos have better manners than most adults I meet these days (in person & online.) Wal-Mart hosts the vilest of people at times. A simple “excuse me” seems to escape their minds as I get cart blocked from the frozen veggies. Or an “oh, I’m sorry” as their cart rams my heel leaving me to feel as Achilles must have felt.  Instead, they turn the other way and ignore any wrongdoing. 

Don't even get me started on parking lot etiquette.

This is not ok.

Just because someone has a tiny car does not give you the 

right to bud in on their parking space.

RUDE!

However, Wal-Mart is not the only place with these types of people, oh no, not even close. I have witnessed a disturbing level of rude behavior on blogs and usually not by the blog authors, but by the followers/visitors. "Anonymous" is a bitch. Let us not forget that when we visit someone’s blog, we are visiting their home, their journal, their outlet.  Not only is it rude to attack the blogger, but it is offensive and intrusive. Would you go to her home and speak to her in that way? If the answer is no, then we should not go to her blog-home and speak with no filter. BELIEVE ME, I have felt the need, many times, to speak my mind and straight up say WTF WHERE YOU THINKING?! However, I do not. Maybe I am a dying breed.  

I typed this up a few weeks ago. I've wanted to post it, but thought it was best to wait until I was no longer upset.

KONY 2012

Where you live shouldn't determine whether you live. Please, take 30 minutes and watch this video in its entirety.

We've Seen These Kids

We've Heard Their Cries

This War Must End

We Will Not stop

We Will Not Fear

We Will Fight War

KONY 2012

We are not powerless
[you can help too]

I am sharing this, today, because I care.

time to be happy

I came across it last night via Facebook.    I watched it. I cried. I cried some more. I imagined him being my child. Now I cannot stop thinking about this young man and his parents.

What would you do if your child was being bullied in school? Do you allow him or her to  change schools or even begin to home school? By picking one of those options, are you teaching your child to run away from their problems?

I'm at a loss. My heart still hurts for him.

UPDATE, PLEASE READ
"To all my friends and supporters,
I made this video 4 months ago just before school was about to start. I was 13. It was a very emotionally dark time in my life. I made the video at 4:00am in the morning; I hadn't been sleeping at night for a long time, too many things going on in my head. I was dreading going back to school and I had not come out to my family yet. Only my closest friends knew. I didn't know how to say what I needed to say. All I could think about were all the bad things that had been happening at school last year, every year for that matter. I just couldn't bare to go through that anymore. I was done being fake happy, pretending hateful words didn't hurt, done hiding it from my family.
So this video was made for my friends that had moved on to High School who were worried for me, to say to them that I was going to take a stand, and to the haters at my middle school that I'm not going anywhere. I am who I am. I posted the video here and told people were to find it. That was it.
My friends were moved by the video and thought I did something important. I was encouraged to upload it to my Facebook page so more people could see it. Maybe it could help someone else going through the same thing. So I linked it Dec. 1st. My Parents saw it for the first time Dec, 2nd.
Then..... all this happened.
I never expected in a million years that it would have such a wonderful impact on so many people. I am truly humbled and truly thankful for all the love, encouragement and support from people all over the world. It's been incredibly overwhelming. I don't know what to say. Thank you so, so much!
Lastly, yes you have seen me happy in a couple short videos replies I posted; I would think that would be a good thing , and yes I do have friends, my High School friends, and I have made friends because when I came out they realized that they had hurt me and that they fealt sorry. The video is real, and true.
In the last few months everything eventually came out in the open, I felt a huge weight off my shoulders; I'm happy, I'm excepted for who I am, I'm more confident and feel stronger every day.
Thank you all, Love and peace to all who are hurting.
Jonah Mowry"

☆ Wordless Wednesday ☆

The emotional roller coaster that is being a little sister playing Mario Brothers with her big brother.

He stole her star and broke her heart, for about 30 seconds. 

She was back to giggles in no time at all!

linking to:

and then, she {snapped}
oh snap wednesday 
project alicia