Last night, Kyle and I found out that President Bush was going to be in Nashville, speaking at the NRB convention. Kyle already had a pass, and our friend who told us about it had to fly home, so she wasn’t going to be using her pass.  This totally excited me.  I’m not one to get giddy about things, but I was giddy.

I know a lot of people don’t like President George W. Bush, but I do,  always have, and always will.  I don’t agree with everything he has done, but I don’t think I would or anyone would agree with everything ANY president does.   I’ve prayed for President Bush so much over the years, that I’m sure my prayers have contributed to my admiration for him.  I feel like he is a man that truly seeks the Lord, and has had to make some of the most difficult decisions any President in history has had to face.

How often does one get to be in the same room as such a powerful man?  And then get to hear him speak too!  Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a babysitter last minute, so what did we do?  We took her with us!  Years from now we will get to tell her that she went  to her first presidential address at 7 months old.  Hopefully, it won’t be her last.  We got there at 8:15, and they started letting people in at 8:45.  The line was slow, and of course we were in the slowest of all lines! We made it to our seats at 10:00.  They had a comedian that was really entertaining and then a classical guitarist, Christopher Parkin play while we waited for the President’s arrival.  Around 10:45, we were told that Air Force One had landed.   Official looking people (secret service) started swarming the area. The excitement in the room grew.  Then they announced, “the President of the United States”, and suddenly there he was, standing on stage.  The crowd roared with applause.  Of course, while waiting, Savannah fell asleep and the crowd’s applause woke her up.  Kyle recognized my enthusiasm for being there and volunteered to be caretaker.  He stepped to the back, and held her the entire time.  Ironically, the opposite of our fears were true.  We were afraid that we would have the crying baby that would be disruptive, instead we had the laughing one.  For some reason, she thought everything was funny.  Eventually, Kyle had to step out of the room with her, but he got to hear the majority of it.  After his speech, he greeted some of the people who were in the front, and I maneuvered my way as close as I could get (within about 10 feet) stepped up onto a chair, and started clicking pictures.  I didn’t have my great camera with me, but at least I got some pictures.  Being so close brought tears to my eyes.  It was probably a good thing that I didn’t get to meet him, because I honestly don’t know that I would have been able to say anything.

My favorite quote he said today, “Freedom is not America’s gift to the world, it’s God’s gift to humanity.”

He closed thanking us for our prayers, and said that being President has been a joyous experience.  For being one that has prayed for him, this was encouraging.