Saras parents holding the flat cousins

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Christmas in Washington

The Flat Cousins celebrated Christmas with Aunt Jeannie and me at the White House this year.

America's finest

The Flat Cousins (not pictured here) visited the home of some of America's finest heroes today in a visit to the Pentagon in Arlington, VA.

Family meeting!

The Flat Cousins meet their first cousin twice removed (my first cousin once removed), CB Elkington and her husband, Duane, in Boiling Springs, PA.

CB and I emailed all campaign season long and she was kind enough to invite me over for a delicious dinner as I drove from Bear Creek to DC. It was great to see her again and meet Duane.

Cozy on a cold day

The flat cousins enjoy hot chocolate and cookies made by Miga/Mima at one of the cabins in Bear Creek, PA.

My friends Grant and Christy

With the flat cousins in Bellefonte, PA

Caleb wears Uncle Jon's jacket

Happy Dirf-bay to Maffew D!

Happy Dirfbay, Maffew-D!!

So, tomorrow, December 3, around 0700, our little Maffew D is going to be 1. I can't believe it. My labor with him was easy and fast (literally 3.5 hrs), and from then on out, he's been a pleasant, sweet addition to our family. What a freakin' blessing he is--I couldn't imagine our lives without him.

Thank you JESUS for the gifts of my children. I am SOOO blessed.

PS Caleb wants to be called "Maffew D"; he thinks that if he is called that, he'll get the cake and candles! :)

hey family,
i was showing jake the pics of my family and he said nice things. he think that Jonny and Danny look alike and its so weird for me to even see that...... i couldn't see it b/c i grew up with them could always tell them apart............
anyway, we are just relaxing and enjoying thankgiving. jake will be getting ready for his deployment soon and will be going to FL for his training, so not bad at all!!! i am actually really jealous b/c i wanted to go there..........
anyway, work is getting really busy but it will be nice since our breaks will be coming up.... i won't be coming home for Christmas b/c their are people in my office that are taking off and i won't be able to....... anyway, i miss everyone and i miss my neices and nephews............. send them my love and will talk to you guys later.....
Love you,
Cha

Primanti Bros part II

So Flat Pharoah so enjoyed his stein at Primanti Bros in Pittsburgh last month that he came back for a redux. And this time he brought my girlfriend! See the pictures for evidence.

Funny Caleb-isms

So, today we did the Operation Christmas Child (the shoebox project through Samaritan's Purse.). It was with great angst that Caleb gave the shoebox over at the drop-off church, aka "shoebox church".. He really wanted the cars inside.

However, when we were on our way home from church, we saw a desk at the end of someone's driveway--a sturdy Little Tykes kid desk, complete with a lamp, lots and lots of room, nooks and crannies and drawers for different projects, drinks, paper and crayons etc. Perfect gift from God for a little boy who gave over some much-wanted cars. :) I'll post a pic soon. He LOVES it. It's just perfect for him.

Tonight, I was telling him how much I loved him, and I asked him if he knew where he came from. Without missing a beat, he said, "Shoebox!" John and I laughed and laughed. :)

My New Haircut

By request of Duke, here I am with my new 'do!
I just ran in from the car in the pouring rain, so it's a little damp. :)

Steal of a Deal

We got three sinks exactly like this one for $100 (total)! These are granite tops with nice faucets. I found them on Craig's list. They were previously used in the 5-star Hotel Raphael on the Plaza and they are currently updating all of their bathrooms. We are also updating our bathrooms, so we're really excited to be able to put in new granite tops.

Yay, I'm finally a full-fledged member of this blog and can post on it just like the big guys... thanks, Corey!

Since Dan's brain injury...

We have discovered that he has a new appreciation for flora and fauna.

Headed to grandma's for the weekend

Ruby Mtns NV

November 6

I have a few thoughts on the election I'd like to share here.

I do not feel sad over Senator McCain's loss. I don't feel anguish. On Tuesday evening, I felt the kind of muted grief you feel after hearing that a distant relative has died after a long fight with cancer. It's a grief that is easily routed, perhaps by a glass of Argentine malbec or an interesting conversation. I had that feeling for about an hour. And then it was overcome as pride in America welled up. Pride in the levels of civic participation we saw on election day, pride that our country had shown again we will continue forming a more perfect union, even conquering shameful undercurrents of racism along the way.

In sum, I am proud to be an American. Proud I was involved in the civic process, proud to have served a good President and his wife, proud to have served true patriots in Senator McCain and Governor Palin. And enormously proud of America for electing a good and decent man in President-elect Obama. I look forward to seeing how he will govern.

(As an aside, this is the most I have written publicly about politics in over four years.)

(As another aside, I remember when I was working at the White House in the fall of 2004, on the day after election day, my colleague Nina and I were called upon to gather the telephone number for Senator-elect Obama, which we did in a hurry. The President wished to call him to congratulate him.)

election night coverage..

Jonny--I want to tell you that I think you've done a GREAT job the past few months working for McCain. I am just SO proud of you. I hope you're enjoying these last few hours of working for the McCain campaign. Live it up. You deserve it. And, tomorrow, as you get on your flight to go back to DC (no home), just know that your family absolutely loves you.

In other news, I am so distracted tonight! I'm trying to study, but it's hard not to keep refreshing cnn.com...

love you guys!
kak

The flat cousins

Help with build out and order lunch in Elko, Nevada. Flat Obama couldn't make it to lunch, as he was busy manning a phone bank.

Post from Dan

The photo below captures a disturbing trend that is beginning to affect wildlife in the US .


Animals that were formerly self-sufficient are now showing signs of belonging to the Democratic Party... as they have apparently learned to just sit and wait for the government to step in and provide for their care and sustenance. This photo is of a Democrat black bear in Montana nicknamed 'Bearack Obama'!

Fall pics

This is of Caleb, in his "Pooh Bear" outfit. He had a Halloween parade at preschool, and THANKFULLY, we'd gotten a costume from some friends in a clothing box years ago. I kept it, on a lark, thinking that maybe we'd use it for something like this (for some reason, I'm loathe to go out and buy a costume). Anyway, Caleb loved it, and he was laughing hysterically, so I had to snap the pic. :)

John and I got away for an overnight last week. We hiked in the Hocking Hills (our most fun hike EVER!) and just generally had a good time. We spent the night in Columbus, and I went to clinicals the next day. It was great to get away.

I got a fall pic of the boys. They are too cute. :) Caleb calls 'pumpkins' 'punnin's'. So, he's holding a big 'punnin'.

Mr. Matthew is getting so big! Here he is on Caleb's (almost too small) car, and obviously, he's loving it! :)

Dan's first steak since August!

Voting!

Gentle readers:

First, we have two new flat travelers to introduce: "Neutral Flat Nobama Nomccain Dayton Flyer not Straight Talk Express but a Plane Because of Dayton's Rich Aviation History" and "Flat Obama."

The first is a contribution of Caleb and Matthew; the second a contribution from Mom. (The blogger appreciates the ease with which the latter flat cousin's name can be thumbed on a blackberry, especially compared to the former.)

The second bit of news is that all 5 of the flat travelers helped Uncle Jon vote today. Emotions ran high and not surprisingly, there were a number of disagreements.

Flat Rocket suggested I abstain because neither ticket will invest enough in NASA. The rocket said it was disappointed by the lack of space-based leadership and leaked drops of oil from its windshield as it told me it might never see its dream of flying to Mars.

Flat Pharoah said he just didn't understand why we need elections at all. "There's something so wonderful about absolute power," he said. "Monarchies work out so nicely for the royalty."

Flat Obama's suggestion isn't hard to guess. He also suggested I use a ball point pen to mark the ballot. Then he suggested inkjet instead of ball point. Then he suggested a Sharpe instead of inkjet. When asked about the changes he said, "Change! Change is what we need, and change is coming!" When pressed, he said, "America can hope again." Stymied, the blogger stopped asking questions.

Neutral Flat Nobama Nomccain Dayton Flyer not Straight Talk Express but a Plane Because of Dayton's Rich Aviation History told me the most patriotic thing to do would be to vote for both candidates, thereby ensuring I vote for a historic ticket no matter who wins. When this confused voter suggested that might invalidate the ballot, the flat traveler kindly told me to go to hell. Asked where he learned such language he said, "Aunt Kak."

Flat Nobama Baby Doll's suggestion isn't hard to guess either. When questioned about Governor Palin's relative newness on the political scene, she said, "She can see Russia from her house!" Asked why that mattered, she winked and said, "let me get back atcha.". The blogger stopped asking questions.

TSA!

The flat cousins enjoy a trip through security at the Salt Lake City Airport!

Bridges

Here Flat Nobama Baby Doll, Flat Pharoah, and Flat Rocket explore a bridge in Pittsburgh. Flat Pharoah, contemplating the fall of the Egyptian empire, nearly jumped into the waters below. Flat Nobama Baby Doll convinced him not to by singing about the benefits of Senator McCain's tax plan.

Look what we woke up to this morning!!

Go Chiefs!

From the game last weekend...

Fall Pics with the Springfield Block Babies...

Yesterday, we hung out in the yard and snapped some pics of the kiddos....

Flat Rocket and Flat Pharoah's Long Journey

As regular readers might have noticed, Flat Pharoah and Flat Rocket took a several week hiatus from this blog.  It was not their fault, it was this writer's fault.  He left them in St. Louis several weeks ago.

For those who might be tracking the progress of the little flat guys, their journey is detailed here for the very first time.

Late September:  flat guys are left behind at a friend's house in St. Louis.  They are mailed from Ladue to Hillsboro, where they miss me by 2 days.  Dad mails them to Sara's address in Washington, DC, where they miss me by 3 days.  Sara mails them to Des Moines.  I picked them up there and they have resumed life on the campaign trail. 

Now they are in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Making Friends!

Flat Rocket, Flat Pharoah, and Flat Nobama Baby Doll make friends with Gene and Marilee at Primanti Brothers in Pittsburgh.

Flat Nobama Baby Doll pledged allegiance to the Steelers, but Pharoah and Rocket rooted for the Chiefs and Eagles, respectively.

Also, Pharoah could be seen occasionally sipping a stein. Contents thereof are unclear to the writer.

Loves it

Breaking News! Flat Nobama Baby Doll, Flat Pharoah, and Flat Rocket are reunited!

After a long separation and many miles of travel (which is another post by itself), the flat nieces and nephews are back together again.

Here they are enjoying a sign painting party in Des Moines, Iowa. After lots of hard work, they are resting on a sign painted by a supporter named Craig.

Flat Nobama Baby Doll

Buys coffee in downtown Des Moines, Iowa at Java Joe's.

thoughts by jesse and shanee on election

Jesse and Shanee (missionaries in Nepal) that we know from Truman State had something to say about the election. If you are interested go here.

Dan's ATV accident

Andrew reconstructed Dan's accident. There are some pictures and a video.


The view from the dip (where the accident started). You can see where Dan ended up.



Dan apparently attempted to slow down before the dip as seen by the skid marks right before the dip (also known as the oh $%&* moment).



This shows roughly where the skid marks ended and where Dan ended up (roughly the distance he was thrown from the quad).



A view of dan (the fish) and the ATV at where they ended up ... although realistically the fish would be on its back ... and the fish would have some messed up teeth.



Just another view of where Dan (fish) and his ATV (wagon) ended up.



A view from where Dan was. That is Jon standing in the dip where the accident started.



Andrew's accident reconstruction video. Good work Andrew!

If you can't see the pictures go here.

The whole family is thankful you are alive and getting better.

Our bear friend

Visits the kids' slide.

Flat Nobama Baby Doll rents a car!

In Des Moines, Iowa.