AQM

My sweet son will be 8 months old on Wednesday, and he'll have his second surgery. The first was his circumcision...but you don't receive sedation for that. Anyway, it is a relatively minor surgery. He's having a dermoid cyst removed from near his left eye. He'll be put under general anesthesia, which I'm told is safer for him than it would be for me. So, its not a major thing...except to his mommy. OK...so maybe it will be to Roger and a few key folks...but to me it is huge.

I tend to worry. Sin nature at work. I tend to assume the worst when it comes to my family. Why? Well, for more than one reason, I suppose. The first time I was pregnant I was not that way, and I lost that baby. Somehow I think that if I assume the worst, then it can't come to be.

Because of that miscarriage, I know that God is faithful to heal us when we are broken. I know that no matter what happens to me or my family, that He will get me through. I just don't want to feel that kind of pain and loss again. It was so crushing.

So, yesterday was emotional because I finally let out a lot of that pent up emotion. I cried when my friends prayed for me...and so many of you did. And I cried when Roger was 1/2 hour late to church because I assumed that he and the kids were killed in a car accident instead of just late. (totally lame, I realize) And I cried while I fed my sweet boy. Coming up to something big like this opens up the possibilities that really exist every day. Possibilities that something could go wrong or we could lose someone we love.

So, I'd love it if you would pray for my Alex. And for me.

The Second Chance

So, MLE and I got to see the Second Chance on Wednesday night...10 PM showing. Only like 7 people in the theater including us on Wednesday at 10PM...but its only showing in one theater in town, so make the effort to see it.

Item 1--whoever put the trailers on this movie was CLUELESS! Can you believe that actually put a DaVinci Code trailer on any movie billed to Christians???? Somebody wake up!

Item 2--I did not find the acting distracting as it often is in Christian movies of years past. There was maybe 1 scene that didn't ring true to me...and it was very short. MLE didn't even notice that one

Item 3--I found it challenging though a bit predictable. It didn't make Christians seem perfect, so that made it refreshing.

I liked it!

Catching up

So, MLE went home yesterday. :(
We had a good visit :)

Friday we went to the Zoo! It was a gorgeous day, and we had lots of fun until the very end. I pushed it a little too long, and Katrina threw a huge fit the whole way from the Primate Panorama to the entrance. We did have a fun picnic, and Katrina had her first merry-go-round ride.

Saturday, Roger and I tweaked our spiritual focus for the Marriage Matters Valentine Social. Then we gave it. I think it went well...even though it was unconventional and short. It was about LOVE...big surprise... but our verse was 1 John 3:18. Love can be stated, but its really shown in action. Love is a verb. I've read a couple of posts recently on love...and real love is the hardest and the best.

Sunday was emotional. At the cafe after Elevation, Adina and I dubbed ours the crying table...but I did the most at that point.

Roger is playing Pac-Man with his Xbox360 controller hooked up to his PC...WEIRD

A few thoughts on my birthday

I have great friends! Thanks to those who shared the day with me.

If someone calls ahead to a restaurant to see if it is a kid friendly place and mentions having an infant, you might want to mention that you don't have high chairs!

Its good to go with the flow.

The Blue Bonnet is a really good, kid friendly restaurant with great service and food.

Cold Stone cakes are good...but they'd be better if they skipped the whole cake part and just made it all out of ice cream.

more coming later

Blog news

I'm happy to report 2 new blogs! One is by a blogging veteran--WCW--Check out Live Free or Die. The other is by a blogging baby--A Soprano's Sketchpad (yes, I actually know an opera singer, and she is SO cool!)

Also, Acoustically Speaking is experiencing a few technical difficulties, but I'm counting on G Money to get it all sorted out and post soon!

:)

I've been laughing a lot more lately. Its funny how when you haven't laughed in a while, and then you start to again, the sound of your own laugh can be kind of surprising. And really fun. I was pretty down in January, but now my laugh is back.

It reminds me of the few days after 9/11 when no planes were flying.
When its normal, you just don't notice.
Then when its gone, it seems SO quiet.
Finally, when the planes were flying again, it was so much more noticeable.

Passion

Hannah was talking about Passion in youth yesterday and it got me thinking. How does passion develop? Can it be pursued? Isn't passion, by definition, emotional? If so, then can you do anything to make it happen?

Heard today

Chocolate is a girl's best friend. Screw the diamonds.

t-4 days

I've known MLE for 31 1/2 years...yes, she has been my bestest friend and an truly my "oldest" friend pretty much forever. And she's going to be here in just 4 days. And in 5 days it will be my birthday. So, we'll see how much blogging I'm inclined to do.

Thoughts from my day

I wasn't a very good listener today--sorry Sherrie! I hope you met your deadline.

Ronald McDonald has gotten Mickey Mouse's autograph...so, has Mickey gotten Ronald's?

I heard that the Brewery Bar has good Mexican food...but the name just doesn't lure me in.

Youth Group Dating Game was tonight. People totally miss the point of the dating game. How can the hidden person choose a bachelor or bachelorette based on answers that someone else whispered to them.

A few quotes from the night--
From a winning bachelorette "This is going to be....interesting."
From the MC "They are brother and sister...How unfortunate!"
After drawing a name out of the hat. "Mrs. Farrell" "She's Foxy!"
When Drew looks at the card with his mom's name on it "Hey, that's your handwriting"

Randomness

I love milk! It's so great. 2%--none of that silly skim business.

Roger just arranged our outgoing letters by zip code...why? Don't ask me!

I don't really like sandwiches. And cereal...its just not my idea of a great breakfast. i guess I see both of them as ordinary...necessary evils, but definitely not first choice on my list of foods.

It's still Monday somehow

I'm not a very careful person. And today was a particularly bad day with me spilling carrot baby food and old hot chocolate on the floor at different times. I'm also messy.

What I really want to do is play Star Wars Trivial Pursuit, but what I should do is the dishes.

My kids are really cute. I know I'm biased and all, but I'm continually amazed at how God came up with these two adorable kids and put them in MY family.

Can you tell I'm in the kitchen by all my silly food thoughts?

I really really like HOMEMADE tapioca pudding. The canned/premade stuff isn't so good, but if you have never had REAL tapioca, you have to give it a try. Its good warm and cold and especially for breakfast. I was going to make some tonight, but I finally finished my Valentine's letters instead.

I need to find a babysitter for Friday so I can go see the Second Chance.

One of those amazing moments

I was thinking back to college. I had this totally amazing moment in one of my Lit classes at UNC, but first you need background.

Norm! Well, Norm was the most pagan of the hedonist pagan professors that I knew. After this first class, I promised myself I'd NEVER take another class with him. Of course, he turned out to be the only one who taught Grammar. And then I had him for Linguistics. I had him more than any other prof...God knows why. (and I mean that literally)

Sitting in class one day, we were working on analyzing a piece of literature. All of a sudden, I totally understood the piece. OK, English major, what's so amazing about that? Well, the piece was referring to the book of Exodus when Moses hides in the cleft of the rock and gets to see the back of God. Your average English major probably doesn't know the Bible well enough to see that at all (unlike the folks of that time period). Even that really isn't the cool part.

All of a sudden I was speaking--I was explaining--and it really wasn't coming from me at all. It was coming direct from the Holy Spirit. I felt this move of The Spirit so clearly that I remember it even now...over 10 years later. *gulp* 10+ years? But I digress!

How do I know? And what does Norm have to do with it? Well, I know it was the Holy Spirit and not me because I was much less bold than I am now. And Norm did not make his classroom one that was open to Christians. He challenged my faith many, many times...indirectly through his attitudes and use of colorful language and situations as well as directly assaulting my faith through odd questions. So, how would I have come up with not only the words, but also the guts to explain it? I wouldn't.

Its one thing to be intelligent and Biblically literate. But its a whole entirely amazing thing all together to have the Spirit of the Living God working through you to affect a few people around you. I'll never know what affect that had on Norm or my classmates, but I know the affect it had on me--making me a woman who could be bold and be used for His glory.

Perhaps I'll pass on the whole MySpace thing...

"It's a predator's dream come true, this Web site," says Middletown, Conn., police Sgt. Bill McKenna, who's investigating a spate of sexual assaults in which contact with 12- to 16-year-olds was first established on myspace.com. "Because not only can you see them, but you can see their friends. You can find out where they go to middle school and high school." Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who says his office has received many complaints from parents regarding the ease of accessibility to sexually suggestive material on MySpace, adds, "This Web site is a parent's worst nightmare."
AP, 2/3/06

Overalls can be dangerous

My friend MLE is coming to visit me soon! Yay! So, I've been thinking about her visits in recent years. One visit about 6 years ago taught me something very important about overalls.

I never really wore overalls until I was married. Roger said I'd look cute in them, so as a loving wife I finally ran out and bought some. MLE and her sister C stayed with us in our apartment, and we decided to check out the White Fence Farm. Yummy food and fun time! So, before we headed back to our side of town, I headed to the ladies' room.

I was in a rush to get back to my friends, so I didn't really pay close attention to what I was doing. I heard a splash. Now, in my mind, I found this out before I used the bathroom, but I may have been so grossed out that I have cleansed the story like I cleansed that strap in the bathroom sink for the next few minutes. But, it was still damp when I finally emerged from the bathroom, and so please, you who wear overalls, be careful out there!

Can you say "understatement"

Bratton(LA Police Chief), who often calls the city the car chase capital of the world, was asked why there are so many pursuits in Los Angeles: "There are a lot of nuts here," he said.

here's the whole article

Phenomenal Cosmic Power

I'm happy to announce the opening of Acoustically Speaking...yes, another friend that I have influenced/pressured has given in and started a blog. So now I'm 2 for 2. Maybe this is a special power I have. What if I could get anyone I wanted to start a blog.

Well, for starters, I'd have to influence the following to get or revive a blog:
Connor W
Sarah J
Tracie Duncan
Ellie Seligmann
Tricia Williford
Than Brown
Jeff Larsen
Cindy Larson
Zman
Hae Won Qwon
Tyler S
Jake Olsen

Then, maybe I'd start taking money from you to influence your friends to start a blog. I'm not thinking I'd make millions or anything, but maybe it would pay for my DSL. I'd just print their names here, and they would feel compelled to start writing.

Don't see your name here? Well, it was an oversight. You need a blog too, if you don't have one. That way I have more blogs to read... :)

updates

1. I did get my hair cut. I cut off about 6 inches. Hardly anyone has noticed. That's the way it goes when your hair is long, I guess.
2. This is my hundredth post. I'm almost at the 6 month mark
3. Roger and I leave for our retreat tonight...and as of yet, Alex is still refusing a bottle. Grandma got him to take about 2 ounces from a cup yesterday. Please pray that it goes well for Grandma as well as the kids.
4. Katrina watched Charlie Brown Christmas again this morning.
5. Alex is scheduled for surgery on March 1.
6. I'm still considering a part time job, but nothing has panned out yet.
7. I did finally go see Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightley. I liked most of it. I found that a) when you are used to a 6 hour miniseries, a 2 hour movies seems BREAKNECK. b) Ms. Knightley did better than I expected c) the male lead did not live up to the expectations I had for Mr. Darcy. d) the setting was more dirty and informal e) I hated the last scene.
8. I'm rooting for the Seahawks in the SuperBowl because they used to be AFCWest, they've never been before, and my sscooRW ties to me to Washington state--and yeah, and my dad was born in WA. I have no ties to Pennsylvania.

Hope you have a great day! I'm sure planning to.

I love February!

I love February! Not only is Valentine's day in February, but so is my birthday! I love my birthday. I was born on George Washington's birthday, so he is my favorite president, and I love cherry pie.

Well, I'm trying to decide on a place to have dinner on my birthday. I like most basic foods...steak, chicken, pork...I like a lot of your average ethnic cuisines...Chinese, Italian, and Mexican... None of the folks celebrating with me have lots of money, so it can't be over the top expensive...like $10 a plate would be good I think. I love Red Robin, but since we eat there often, it isn't exactly what I have in mind. Also, the kids will be along, so it needs to be family friendly. I'd like something special. :D

Also, I'm contemplating a Cold Stone birthday cake. Anyone ever tried one?

Anyway, I'd like some suggestions, folks. Doesn't matter if its a chain or a mom and pop shop as long as it's in the south Denver area.