Tuesday, March 3, 2009
getting to know you
Several weeks back I noticed the little followers icon that I could add to my blog- no doubt it has been available for awhile, but I'm not always at the top of the bell curve with blog technology. Anyway, I like it because you can see the little mini-profile picture of each person who joins, and a quick click will show you a little bio information as well as any links. Through that "followers" widget, I have had a chance to get to know each of you who have joined, and if you have a blog, I've visited. It has been so much fun for me to see the faces and families of people I might have just known by a screen name, to get a chance to read the stories of those of you who already know mine. So thanks for giving me the chance to get to know you better. It means a lot!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
snow! snow! snow!
We got TEN INCHES of snow yesterday. If you're from anywhere around here, you know that is a wild amount of snow for Memphis, and we are loving it. Well, I don't think Chum and Adrienne are loving it-they may be neutral at best-but the rest of us are having some clean, cold fun!
Chum, our long haired dachshund, proved to be quite the snow magnet.
Here are the girls with our friend Maggie right after the first 5 inches fell.
This is today after the second wave had come. Almost up to our knees!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Around the House
Some things that are neither here nor there; an assortment of adventures in life this week around the house.
Culinary Expeditions~
Two of the many recipes suggested in this post were put to the test, and both to great success! This included my first ever attempt at a roast, complete with the embarrassing moment when I had to ask the meat man in the grocery store exactly what kind of meat is used in a pot roast. He led me to a section of meat ambiguously labeled with large stickers that said "pot roast," doing his best to act like this was a question he was asked routinely. His tact did not go unnoticed. That turned out to be the toughest part of my roast preparation, and the finished product was a winner. I also tried the taco soup recipe someone supplied, and I have been enjoying that one all week. The kitchen is definitely not the place I spend most of my time, but what I loved about these two selections was the payback with the leftovers! Cook one night and eat for three. That I can do.
Also related to new food adventures is Adrienne's introduction into the world of table food, so far, an introduction she has spurned. The doctor gave me the go ahead to begin giving her some soft table foods instead of baby food if she will tolerate it. Oh boy, I thought, now Adrienne will be able to sit in her seat and eat unassisted at her chair. What a nice change of pace this will be, I mused. And so I have begun with things from dinner, like a bean from the taco soup or a mushed carrot from the roast. Delicious things. Things her sister would have gobbled before they had hardly had a time to touch the plate. But these things we soon found out are quite repulsive to Adrienne. In fact, if forced into her mouth, she launches into a mellow dramatic rendition of someone dying from food poisoning. Maybe that's what she considers we are doing to her. In any case, it is still baby food for now.
Fitness Soirees~
Before Adrienne, I actually used to exercise. I ran several times a week, and for the most part I enjoyed doing it. But now, especially during these cold months, I've traded the actual "exercising" for my own brand of fitness fun. Here's the basic idea. Cleaning up the play room= Right lunge, pick up the book, left lunge, clean up the play groceries, double lunge, clean up Candy Land, double lunge, pick up the dolls. Heading to the tv to clean up the DVDs = Walk two steps, throw two punches, walk to two steps, kick to the right, walk to two steps, kick to the left. Deep knee bend, grab the first DVD, deep knee bend, grab the next. The list goes on, as would the entertainment if Nathan ever decided to install a Nanny Cam. Does this work? Probably not. I'm sure a treadmill would be the more conventional solution, but for now, I'll keep plugging away.
Soapy Encounters~
I recently switched the soap in the guest bathroom to instant foaming soap from Bath and Body works without thinking about what this would do to revolutionize Marianna's hand washing habits. It's been a full week now, and I believe she has spent at least thirty minutes each day, usually with the door locked, enamored with the magical soap. I didn't notice at first, but then I began to pick up on some significant absences every time she announced she needed to use the bathroom. I quickly caught on. This whole soap sud affair reached a climax last night when after an unusually long time locked away in the bathroom, I decided to check and see what was going on. I found Marianna, with not a stitch of clothing on, lathered up from head to toe. But it didn't end there. The floor, the door, and the bathroom walls were all generously soaped. The truth that later poured out was something to this affect. Marianna had not been able to get her play dress off in time to avoid a small accident in front of the potty. She then jumped to action cleaning the mess by soaping everything in sight. At least as far as messes go, it was a clean one =)
Singing Revelations~
I have found myself singing around the house with a little more than normal gusto and volume. It doesn't matter what it is, a hymn, a Disney sing-a-long, something from iTunes, each time I sing I find myself hoping that something amazing is going to come out of these vocal chords. Sometimes I even wonder, "hey, that wasn't bad, was it?" and then I'll sing later to Nathan and he brings me back down to size. It's hard to say why. I see there being a very great possibility that it is rooted in American Idol. But whatever the case, I feel positive that the thing I am most looking forward to about my heaven body is a new voice. I think the reason God didn't give me one here is because He knew I would be, how can I say this delicately, carried away. Yes, it would be a source of more than a little pride in my life, so He is reserving that belt-it-out voice I'm longing for now for some day later. One more thing to be looking forward to in Heaven.
My First Blood~
I'll end on this slightly gorey note. I have just today encountered my first blood as a parent. Marianna came up stair telling me that she had stepped on a shiny stick. She then plunked a bloodied foot onto my lap as further evidence. I've got to say that her calm helped keep me calm, because I don't think I would have done well if she had been in hysterics. We went downstairs, cleaned her up, and then found the culprit. A distressingly long shard of glass turned out to be the shiny stick she had been talking about.
As you can see, it's definitely not something you want turning up on your living room rug!
And here is the patient, posing with her Hello Kitty band-aid. I offered to carry her around, but she told me she could manage on her heel. Braver than her mom, no doubt about it.
Culinary Expeditions~
Two of the many recipes suggested in this post were put to the test, and both to great success! This included my first ever attempt at a roast, complete with the embarrassing moment when I had to ask the meat man in the grocery store exactly what kind of meat is used in a pot roast. He led me to a section of meat ambiguously labeled with large stickers that said "pot roast," doing his best to act like this was a question he was asked routinely. His tact did not go unnoticed. That turned out to be the toughest part of my roast preparation, and the finished product was a winner. I also tried the taco soup recipe someone supplied, and I have been enjoying that one all week. The kitchen is definitely not the place I spend most of my time, but what I loved about these two selections was the payback with the leftovers! Cook one night and eat for three. That I can do.
Also related to new food adventures is Adrienne's introduction into the world of table food, so far, an introduction she has spurned. The doctor gave me the go ahead to begin giving her some soft table foods instead of baby food if she will tolerate it. Oh boy, I thought, now Adrienne will be able to sit in her seat and eat unassisted at her chair. What a nice change of pace this will be, I mused. And so I have begun with things from dinner, like a bean from the taco soup or a mushed carrot from the roast. Delicious things. Things her sister would have gobbled before they had hardly had a time to touch the plate. But these things we soon found out are quite repulsive to Adrienne. In fact, if forced into her mouth, she launches into a mellow dramatic rendition of someone dying from food poisoning. Maybe that's what she considers we are doing to her. In any case, it is still baby food for now.
Fitness Soirees~
Before Adrienne, I actually used to exercise. I ran several times a week, and for the most part I enjoyed doing it. But now, especially during these cold months, I've traded the actual "exercising" for my own brand of fitness fun. Here's the basic idea. Cleaning up the play room= Right lunge, pick up the book, left lunge, clean up the play groceries, double lunge, clean up Candy Land, double lunge, pick up the dolls. Heading to the tv to clean up the DVDs = Walk two steps, throw two punches, walk to two steps, kick to the right, walk to two steps, kick to the left. Deep knee bend, grab the first DVD, deep knee bend, grab the next. The list goes on, as would the entertainment if Nathan ever decided to install a Nanny Cam. Does this work? Probably not. I'm sure a treadmill would be the more conventional solution, but for now, I'll keep plugging away.
Soapy Encounters~
I recently switched the soap in the guest bathroom to instant foaming soap from Bath and Body works without thinking about what this would do to revolutionize Marianna's hand washing habits. It's been a full week now, and I believe she has spent at least thirty minutes each day, usually with the door locked, enamored with the magical soap. I didn't notice at first, but then I began to pick up on some significant absences every time she announced she needed to use the bathroom. I quickly caught on. This whole soap sud affair reached a climax last night when after an unusually long time locked away in the bathroom, I decided to check and see what was going on. I found Marianna, with not a stitch of clothing on, lathered up from head to toe. But it didn't end there. The floor, the door, and the bathroom walls were all generously soaped. The truth that later poured out was something to this affect. Marianna had not been able to get her play dress off in time to avoid a small accident in front of the potty. She then jumped to action cleaning the mess by soaping everything in sight. At least as far as messes go, it was a clean one =)
Singing Revelations~
I have found myself singing around the house with a little more than normal gusto and volume. It doesn't matter what it is, a hymn, a Disney sing-a-long, something from iTunes, each time I sing I find myself hoping that something amazing is going to come out of these vocal chords. Sometimes I even wonder, "hey, that wasn't bad, was it?" and then I'll sing later to Nathan and he brings me back down to size. It's hard to say why. I see there being a very great possibility that it is rooted in American Idol. But whatever the case, I feel positive that the thing I am most looking forward to about my heaven body is a new voice. I think the reason God didn't give me one here is because He knew I would be, how can I say this delicately, carried away. Yes, it would be a source of more than a little pride in my life, so He is reserving that belt-it-out voice I'm longing for now for some day later. One more thing to be looking forward to in Heaven.
My First Blood~
I'll end on this slightly gorey note. I have just today encountered my first blood as a parent. Marianna came up stair telling me that she had stepped on a shiny stick. She then plunked a bloodied foot onto my lap as further evidence. I've got to say that her calm helped keep me calm, because I don't think I would have done well if she had been in hysterics. We went downstairs, cleaned her up, and then found the culprit. A distressingly long shard of glass turned out to be the shiny stick she had been talking about.
As you can see, it's definitely not something you want turning up on your living room rug!
And here is the patient, posing with her Hello Kitty band-aid. I offered to carry her around, but she told me she could manage on her heel. Braver than her mom, no doubt about it.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Just a tent
The past week, I've been thinking a lot about Heaven. One week ago today our beautiful friend Vivienne was released from her courageous battle with brain cancer when Jesus came to take her home. She now joins the many, many other precious babies, including Poppy, who know what it like to be free from a body that is crippled with disease and who now are more alive than we will ever be this side of heaven. With this in mind, I want you to read the following verses from II Corinthians 5.
For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not handmade—and we'll never have to relocate our "tents" again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what's coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we're tired of it! We've been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we'll never settle for less. That's why we live with such good cheer. You won't see us drooping our heads or dragging our feet! Cramped conditions here don't get us down. They only remind us of the spacious living conditions ahead. It's what we trust in but don't yet see that keeps us going. Do you suppose a few ruts in the road or rocks in the path are going to stop us? When the time comes, we'll be plenty ready to exchange exile for homecoming.
Wow.
I'm sure I've read that many times before, but when I read it this morning, it was like I was reading it for the first time. None of us, healthy or not, were made for this world, and no matter what the status of our personal fitness, these bodies we are in are shabby at best! But having to watch a baby fight against something like cancer or trisomy 18 or any number of other illnesses makes it crystal clear that there is something so much better that waits for us. And when I read that, I can't help but feel excited about what Poppy and Vivienne and all the others are already experiencing. We grieve only for our loss, and that is something I can live with. It is not easy, and it never will be, but as long as I have this promise, this absolute assurance, that what they have left behind doesn't even share comparison for what they are enjoying right now, I can rejoice for each of them!
If it weren't for that, I can tell you I wouldn't be able to wake up and move each morning. It would be impossible. Unbearable. But God hasn't asked us to do that. He has asked us to release these babies to Him, knowing that they are perfect, whole, living in His presence and experiencing what living really is. What we are living in is such a dim, murky shadow of LIFE, I think we wouldn't be able to stand our time here if we could taste what is in store. But there is a reason for our time here. We are here with such a specific, important purpose: to live in such a way that points others to Jesus and the Hope he gives us.
So in the end, thinking about Vivienne, thinking about Heaven, stirs a passion in me to live purposefully, not wasting the time we have here. It will be worth it when we are able to leave these tents behind, and put on something that exceeds what my imagination is capable of grasping. It is indeed what keeps us going.
For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not handmade—and we'll never have to relocate our "tents" again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what's coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we're tired of it! We've been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we'll never settle for less. That's why we live with such good cheer. You won't see us drooping our heads or dragging our feet! Cramped conditions here don't get us down. They only remind us of the spacious living conditions ahead. It's what we trust in but don't yet see that keeps us going. Do you suppose a few ruts in the road or rocks in the path are going to stop us? When the time comes, we'll be plenty ready to exchange exile for homecoming.
Wow.
I'm sure I've read that many times before, but when I read it this morning, it was like I was reading it for the first time. None of us, healthy or not, were made for this world, and no matter what the status of our personal fitness, these bodies we are in are shabby at best! But having to watch a baby fight against something like cancer or trisomy 18 or any number of other illnesses makes it crystal clear that there is something so much better that waits for us. And when I read that, I can't help but feel excited about what Poppy and Vivienne and all the others are already experiencing. We grieve only for our loss, and that is something I can live with. It is not easy, and it never will be, but as long as I have this promise, this absolute assurance, that what they have left behind doesn't even share comparison for what they are enjoying right now, I can rejoice for each of them!
If it weren't for that, I can tell you I wouldn't be able to wake up and move each morning. It would be impossible. Unbearable. But God hasn't asked us to do that. He has asked us to release these babies to Him, knowing that they are perfect, whole, living in His presence and experiencing what living really is. What we are living in is such a dim, murky shadow of LIFE, I think we wouldn't be able to stand our time here if we could taste what is in store. But there is a reason for our time here. We are here with such a specific, important purpose: to live in such a way that points others to Jesus and the Hope he gives us.
So in the end, thinking about Vivienne, thinking about Heaven, stirs a passion in me to live purposefully, not wasting the time we have here. It will be worth it when we are able to leave these tents behind, and put on something that exceeds what my imagination is capable of grasping. It is indeed what keeps us going.
Friday, February 20, 2009
tagged
I've never done one of these things before, but after Kenzie tagged me, I thought I might as well go see what was in that fourth folder at picture slot number four. It was one worth sharing, so here we go.
Here's how you play!
1. Go to your 4th folder where you store your photos.
2. Select your 4th picture (no exceptions)!
3. Post the picture with an explanation and link it back to your tagger
4. Tag 4 people (or as many as you want) to do the same!!
This picture was taken when Marianna was six months old, weighing in at a whopping 19 lbs! Goodness gracious, have you ever seen so many arm rolls? This picture makes me laugh now more than it did then because of the contrast I have between her and Adrienne. At her nine month check up this week, Adrienne weighed 15.5 lbs. There's no denying I have a lizard and a toad =)
Okay, now for the tagging. Renae, Amy (that means you need to get a blog!), Melody, and Tracy.
Here's how you play!
1. Go to your 4th folder where you store your photos.
2. Select your 4th picture (no exceptions)!
3. Post the picture with an explanation and link it back to your tagger
4. Tag 4 people (or as many as you want) to do the same!!
This picture was taken when Marianna was six months old, weighing in at a whopping 19 lbs! Goodness gracious, have you ever seen so many arm rolls? This picture makes me laugh now more than it did then because of the contrast I have between her and Adrienne. At her nine month check up this week, Adrienne weighed 15.5 lbs. There's no denying I have a lizard and a toad =)
Okay, now for the tagging. Renae, Amy (that means you need to get a blog!), Melody, and Tracy.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Marlee
There are some days when having a dog seems like a great thing. And then there are others when you come home to something like this, and all the days where it seemed great no longer matter.
Have I ever told you that our dog's name is Marlee? It really is. Long before there was a book or a movie, we had Marlee, and as it turns out, she lives up to the name.
Have I ever told you that our dog's name is Marlee? It really is. Long before there was a book or a movie, we had Marlee, and as it turns out, she lives up to the name.
what do you think?
I am an American Idol junkie. I went through a phase of denial early on, pretending I couldn't be sucked in by any form of reality t.v., but there gets to be a point where you have to admit the truth. And when you are a die hard fan that rarely misses an episode, I think it's safe to say that point has been reached. Something in me loves watching, season after season, the good and the bad, and though I can't pin point exactly what it is about the show that draws me in, drawn I am. I want to know what it is about Idol that has made it a facet of our culture. I'm not saying it is universally loved, because I have no doubt that there is a huge contingent (maybe even many of you) who can't stand it, or are over it, or never got into it to begin with. But we're heading into the 8th season here and it continues to be the biggest show on the air. What else has had a run like that?
I guess it's possible that the show's success has to do with it's the pure entertainment value. Or maybe it has more to do with a universal love for music? Or it could be the human connection that the writers work so hard to achieve week after week between the viewers and the individual contestants? Or maybe the draw has something to do with the fact that the show is frivolous and all of us need a dose of frivolity every now and then to balance out all the junk we deal with each day. Or perhaps it's a combination of them all instead of one single thing that makes it what it is. I guess that's the most likely option. And I guess these questions are spurred on by a curiosity that stems from that small part of me that really wanted to be a psychologist, and had I actually pursued that path, maybe this whole topic would be of more interest. Or maybe I would understand human nature well enough to know what it is and move on.
Okay, I'll put the deeper musings aside and turn briefly to the specifics of last night. For what it's worth, here's my analysis. I like the new elimination system, which although much more brutal, spares us from watching the worst of the talent week after week. And at this stage, it's pretty easy to pick out the front runners. To me, hands down, Danny took the night. I have to admit I was already in his camp when I heard his story, but that aside I think he is tremendous. I also really liked the second guy, Ricky Braddy. I don't remember him being highlighted up to this point, but he stood out to me last night. The girls had a rough night of it, but I feel like the Memphis girl, Alexis Grace, rose above all the rest, and I feel confident she will go on tonight. What do you think?
And finally, I'll end on a completely non-related note with this picture I took today at the park. I really love this one. American Idol and all the silliness aside, these girls are the highlights of my life.
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