I'm Proud to Be An American

Today I was one of 22 people who took the oath of citizenship. Together we represented sixteen different Countries. It's hard to express the significance of this day. It's a day I have looked forward to for so long. I felt honored to stand beside others who have the same dream as I do. Next to my marriage to Alan and giving birth to my children it was the happiest day of my life. I share that joy with my grandparents and parents. Without their sacrifice this day wouldn't be possible.

The ceremony itself was very enlightening and emotional. I learned so much about my responsibilities as a citizen. Something that I hope I will never take for granted. I'm grateful that my voice can now be heard with my right to vote. I look forward to serving my community and being part of the process.

I'm grateful I could share this with Alan, the boys and a few of our closes friends. I felt so much love and support. The one thing I could of done without is the camera crew. I was trying so hard to keep it low key but Alan was so excited and so proud he couldn't keep it to himself. I reluctantly did an interview. The story aired on the six o'clock news but I couldn't bring myself to watching it. I don't like being in the spotlight.I was more nervous about doing the interview than I was about the ceremony. The nice thing that our family members who couldn't be here can now see the story. Click http://kfyrtv.com/News_video.asp?news=28250

After the ceremony we were treated to a nice reception and luncheon. That was so unexpected it just made the day even more special. What a way to celebrate the first day of spring. It was a beautiful day!

A gift from the Cavanaughs.

It was a wonderful experience one that I will never forget. I hope you all appreciate the gifts and blessings of this country. I can't help but think of Lehi and his family traveling through the wilderness finding their way to the promised land. I picture my family as Lehi's family being guided by the hand of God.

" Wherefore, I Lehi prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit which is in me that there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord." 2Nephi 1:6.

I am so proud to be an American!

Everyone Loves A Blizzard!

Last week I had an appointment in Fargo for my citizenship test and interview. I was so excited to finally get this part of the process over with. It originally was planned for February then got canceled. You would think that the weather would be better in March right? Wrong! The weather was far more favorable For the February appointment. Alan would of been able to go with me too. Oh well, I guess it just wasn't meant to be. Since Alan couldn't take the time off I asked my good friend Debbie Billings to go with me. Poor thing she didn't have a clue what she was getting herself into! I had heard there was going to be a huge storm. I have to admit I was a little nervous about it but I couldn't miss my appointment. I knew Debbie was nervous too. We were both afraid we would get stuck in Fargo overnight. Just as precaution we left on Sunday night. We didn't know for sure when the storm would hit. You know those weathermen they're not always right! We didn't want to risk our lives or a chance of missing my appointment. Well, it was a good decision the weather got nasty over night and by morning we were hearing about accidents on I-94 near Casselton. From Jamestown to Fargo the roads were icy. By the time we went into the immigration office the snow had stopped and it looked like the storm was calming. We thought maybe we would try to make it home. By the time I finished and we came out the snow had come back with a fury! We decided right then we wouldn't even try.

The only thing to do was to go to Hobby Lobby and get stocked up on scrap booking supplies. I had suggested to Deb we bring our scrap booking to have something to do. It turned out to a good idea. We ended up getting stuck in Fargo for three nights. I-94 was closed from the Minnesota border to Jamestown, ND. I-29 was closed from the Canadian border to the South Dakota line. By Tuesday morning they were advising no travel within the Fargo city limits. Schools, banks, the mall, and most businesses were closed. We could get food delivered. We had Cheetos and pop for dinner that night.

This is what we saw outside our window. It reminded me of what I don't miss about Fargo. It was not a pretty sight! It was also freeeeezing!!!
Deb brought her Cricut (not sure about the spelling) so we had a great time figuring out how it works.


Deb got inspired to scrapbook again and got a lot of pages done.

I got caught up on Monica's baby book which I had ignored for so long. I got about eight pages done. When I got home I organized all of her baby pictures so I can keep going. We also decided to get together once a month to keep each other motivated!
By Wednesday morning the storm had ended but the roads were still closed. We checked out of our hotel room having faith that the roads would open later that day. We killed some time by having lunch with my friend Jody Barret. She treated us to lunch at The Green Mill. Then we hung out at the mall. Meanwhile Debbie kept checking the road conditions. This is a picture of the pool in the hotel. This was at ground level and if you look closely you can see how high the drifts got. It covered the windows. The sun was shining you cam see a little bit of it peeking through. The roads finally opened about two that afternoon. It was smooth sailing most of the way home. The closer we got to Bismarck the better the roads got. We got home abour 5:45 that evening. We were happy to be reunited with families.

We are so grateful for the inspiration to stay. There were many accidents some of them fatal. I was grateful for my good friend who was willing to go with me. She has twos boys who really need her at home. One of them a special needs child. I know she missed them terribly! So, I really appreciate her very much!!

If you're wondering if I passed my test, don't worry I passed with flying colors!