President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia attend the Christmas in Washington taping at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., Dec. 11, 2001. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, with daughters Sasha and Malia, attend Christmas services at the Marine Corp Base Hawaii chapel in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Zeal Harris painted an interesting portrait of the Obamas titled simply "First Family" It's oil (mostly) on panel and is 30 inches in diameter.
Tell us what you think of Zeal's interpretation of the First Family in the comments below!
Think there's something funny in this picture? Caption it!President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and daughters Malia (partially seen at left) and Sasha attend church services at Zion Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., Sunday, Jan. 15, 2012.
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Sasha and Malia look adorable, and so grown up, in the new official portrait of the First Family recently released by the White House. And Barack and Michelle aren't bad either. What a lovely First Family we have!
President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and their daughters, Malia, left, and Sasha, right, sit for a family portrait in the Oval Office, Dec. 11, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Barack headed to Dupont Circle with daughters Sasha and Malia to do a bit of book shopping at Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe.
President Barack Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia shop at Kramerbook & Afterwords Cafe in Washington, D.C., Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011.
As part of a tradition that stretches back 89 years, last night the First Family lit the National Christmas Tree.
First Lady Michelle Obama looks wonderful, choosing to celebrate the occasion in a tweed overcoat and standout orange scarf.
There's a new tree this year that still has some growing to do to reach his prime. The previous tree fell over in February in the face of strong winds.
Michelle, Sasha, Malia, and Bo the First Dog get the White House Christmas Tree. Don't they make quite the cute group?
First Lady Michelle Obama is joined by Malia Obama and Sasha Obama for the presentation of the Official White House Christmas Tree at the North Portico of the White House, Nov. 25, 2011. The 19-foot-tall balsam fir came from Schroeder’s Forevergreens near Neshkoro, Wisconsin and will be displayed throughout the holiday season in the Blue Room of the White House.
The tree from Schroeder's Forevergreens in Wisconsin is being decorated to honor of military families.
Schroeder's is one of approximately 800 Christmas tree lots and farms in the US that participates in the Trees for Troops program, which gives free Christmas trees to military families. This year they hopes to deliver their 100,000th tree.
The First Lady is presented with the White House Christmas Tree, which will be displayed in the Blue Room of the White House and decorated to honor military families. November 25, 2011.
The First Family took some time the day before Thanksgiving to volunteer at the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington DC.
President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, daughters Malia and Sasha, and Marian Robinson greet people as they fill care packages with food for Thanksgiving at the Capital Area Foodbank in Washington, D.C., Nov. 23, 2011.
In one of those silly yet fun traditions, President Obama, with Sasha and Malia at his side, pardoned two turkeys this Thanksgiving. I guess he didn't want to sacrifice Liberty or Peace, which marks the 64th anniversary of the National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation.
President Barack Obama, with daughters, Malia and Sasha, pardons 'Liberty', the National Thanksgiving Turkey, in a ceremony on the North Portico of the White House, Nov. 23, 2011. At left is National Turkey Federation Chairman Richard Huisinga.
Both Liberty and Peace are 19 weeks old, weigh 45 pounds, and were raised by students at Willmar High School in Minnesota under the supervision of National Turkey Federation Chairman Richard Huisinga.
After the pardoning, the turkeys were given to George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens. They will be on display for visitors during Christmas at Mount Vernon. After the holidays, Liberty and Peace will call a custom-made enclosure at Mount Vernon’s nationally recognized livestock facility their home.
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody! Well, it is wonderful to see all of you here today. Happy Thanksgiving, and welcome to the White House.
Tomorrow is one of the best days of the year to be an American. It’s a day to count our blessings, spend time with the ones we love, and enjoy some good food and some great company. But it’s also one of the worst days of the year to be a turkey. (Laughter.) They don’t have it so good.
The rare exception, of course, are the two birds who’ve joined me today. Now, is Peace here, or just Liberty? Just Liberty is here, but Peace is back here somewhere. Some of you may know that recently I’ve been taking a series of executive actions that don’t require Congressional approval. (Laughter.) Well, here’s another one. We can’t wait to pardon these turkeys. (Laughter.) Literally. Otherwise they’d end up next to the mashed potatoes and stuffing.
I want to thank Richard Huisinga, the Chairman of the National Turkey Federation, and his wonderful family for donating this year’s turkey from his farm in Willmar, Minnesota. The turkey’s name is Liberty -- there he is -- and along with his understudy named Peace, he has the distinction of being the luckiest bird on the face of the Earth. Right now, he’s also probably one of the most confused. (Laughter.)
Liberty was chosen from a flock of about 30 other contestants for the honor of being here today. And for the first time in history, these two turkeys were raised by four students from nearby Willmar High School.
Now, I’m told that in order to prepare Liberty and Peace for their big day, the students exposed them to loud noises and flash bulbs so that they’d be ready to face the White House press corps. This is actually true. They also received the most important part of their media training, which involves learning how to gobble without really saying anything. (Laughter.)
So Liberty is ready for his turn in the spotlight. And after he finishes a round of cable hits and a few Sunday shows, he’s going to retire to a life of leisure at Mount Vernon -- the same place where George Washington spent his golden years.
And later today, Michelle, Malia, Sasha and I will also be taking two unnamed turkeys, who weren’t so lucky, to a local food bank here in D.C. that helps those in need. And I want to thank the folks at Jaindl’s Turkey Farm in Orefield, Pennsylvania, for donating these dressed birds for the third year in a row.
A great writer once called Thanksgiving the “one day that is ours … the one day that is purely American.”
When we gather around our tables tomorrow to share the fruits of our blessings, let’s remember what that means. Let’s be grateful for what we have. Let’s be mindful of those who have less. Let’s appreciate those who hold a special place in our lives, and make sure that they know it. And let’s think about those who can’t spend the holiday with their loved ones –- especially the members of our military serving overseas. I’d like to thank all our men and women in uniform and their families for their incredible service and devotion.
And that’s what being an American is all about. Even when times are tough, we look out for each other. We lift each other up. And we remind ourselves just how lucky we are here, together, in the greatest country on Earth.
So from our family to yours, I want to wish everybody a wonderful and happy and healthy Thanksgiving.
And now, since Liberty and Peace have been so patient, it is my privilege to grant them the official pardon. And I’m going to -- I’ve got to give them a little symbol. (Laughter.)
(The turkeys are pardoned.)
THE PRESIDENT: All right, you are hereby pardoned. (Laughter.) Give them a round of applause. (Applause.)
President Barack Obama pardons 'Liberty', the National Thanksgiving Turkey, in a ceremony on the North Portico of the White House, Nov. 23, 2011. At left is National Turkey Federation Chairman Richard Huisinga.