tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-327879492024-02-28T10:49:33.970-08:00hj's haunthjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308251311434112623noreply@blogger.comBlogger305125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-85578429054324636602014-12-02T10:33:00.004-08:002014-12-02T10:33:55.575-08:00Where is Baby Jesus?
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We have a new game around our house. “Where is Baby Jesus?”
With Q everywhere and into everything, we find my whisk in the bathroom, his
bath toys under his crib, a kitchen towel in our closet, and a plastic hammer
in the pots and pans drawer. Last weekend we set up his small, kid-version
nativity scene, given to him by his grandparents as a reminder of the
importance of Nov. 30—his baptismal day—and the coming season—advent. And in that
nativity scene is baby Jesus. Only every time we go to play with it…Jesus isn’t
there. Q has chucked him, put him, shoved him, laid him, smooshed
him…somewhere. So we spend the next 10 minutes walking around the house with
our hands raised in question asking “Where is baby Jesus?” And yesterday as I
did that for the second time with Q, I thought about how similar this is to
life. We put Jesus somewhere, usually behind something…a to-do list and
busyness, a relationship, emotions, material goods, a job. And then we look around into
our difficult situations and relationships and wonder, why isn’t this working?
Where is Jesus? Why isn’t He helping? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The good news of Christmas though is that Jesus came to us
in a manger in a lowly stable so that he could be everywhere, not just
somewhere. He infuses a needy world with his hope, grace, and peace. He is
Emmanuel, <i>God with us</i>. Right here. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Where is baby Jesus? In our house, He’s behind the garbage,
in the tub, going down the slide, between the couch cushions and under the rug.
Rarely is He in the stable. And in our daily lives, He’s not just in church on Sunday
mornings. He’s in our dark fears, our quiet desires, our toughest challenges
and our biggest hurts. We need only look...not <i>for</i> Him but <i>to</i> Him. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel, And ransom
captive Israel, <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> That mourns in lonely exile here Until the
Son of God appear. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to
you, O Israel!</span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->hjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308251311434112623noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-59388035720929932842014-03-17T16:49:00.000-07:002014-03-17T16:49:22.279-07:00The Dartboard<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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As I weighed the pros and cons of quitting my job and going
back to school a number of years ago, a dear friend said something to the
effect that there isn’t always a right or wrong answer. That no matter what my
decision turned out to be, it hit the target. It made the dartboard. And God
would be there.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I think sometimes I fear making a “wrong” decision. That somehow if I decide X instead of Y God will be mad or at least absent in some way in the future.
I’m not talking about something we know to be moral versus immoral. I’m talking
about quitting a job to go back to school, quitting a job to stay at home with
babies, changing jobs, moving across the country, going after one dream while
letting another go, or in our case right now, purchasing a home. Good things versus other good things!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Really though, if we earnestly seek God and His will, I believe He will be—is—present whether yes or no, east or west. Not only is He present,
but He actually goes <i>before</i> us and paves the way. And knowing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that</i> makes me breathe easier. I loosen
the tight, fearful grip I have on the decision that needs to be made. We’ll hit
the dartboard, and God is already there. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>“<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">It is the Lord
who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.
Do not fear or be dismayed.” </span>Deuteronomy 31:8</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->hjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308251311434112623noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-21467449826221578462014-02-18T10:28:00.002-08:002014-02-18T10:28:31.876-08:00Move Like Jagger
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">A poopy wipe in
one hand and two chubby, squirmy ankles in the other, I was movin’ like
Jagger—changing Q’s diaper, singing and dancing to Maroon 5’s “Moves Like
Jagger” because it was making him laugh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">It would have
made others laugh, too, because you should know I can neither sing nor dance.
I’m doing good if I start the ABCs low enough so that I can actually hit Q—the
letter Q—without cracking. Our house has always been filled with music. But
since Q made his debut, the music is accompanied by much singing and much
dancing because Q likes it…he giggles, he coos, he quiets.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Right after we
brought him home, that Avicci song—“Wake Me Up”—was new and on every two
seconds. So, I danced around our kitchen with a newborn who quieted to the up
and down motion…to Avicci. My showers are now concerts. I belt out “Amazing
Grace,” “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” “She’ll Be Comin’ Round the
Mountain”…anything…because it quiets Q in his little chair should he start
getting fussy before I have a chance to shave. We sing the “Wheels on the Bus
Go Round and Round” so many times each day that I finally started writing
music, too, creating verses about Q toot, toot, tooting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Around Christmas,
B, Q and I would dance and sing to Christmas songs…Neil Diamond’s “Drummer Boy”
(yikes), “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” “Jingle Bell Rock.” The list goes on.
And Q would laugh and laugh as our little trio moved awkwardly around the
kitchen swaying, dancing, hopping around together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">In the mornings,
I hear B sing the German Good Morning song, as he calls it. …<i>Guten morgen
Guten morgen</i>. I’m still not sure if B made it up or not, but it’s become a
standard melody as we take our first sips of coffee and keep Q calm until he’s
fed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">The other night,
I was in the shower performing my usual concert and thinking, wow…it was really
working this time…Q was so quiet…I peeked out from behind the curtain to
discover that B had moved Q without telling me. I was singing to no one. Which
is when I got to thinking about how much I was singing and dancing lately.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Everyday, Q and I
read a book called <i>Giraffes Can’t Dance</i>. Long story short, Gerald the
giraffe doesn’t think he can dance. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His
“neck was long and slim, but his knees were awfully crooked and his legs were
rather thin.” Through a series of events, though, he discovers that he
can! At the end, in front of all of his African animal mates, “I am dancing, I
am dancing, I am DANCING!” Gerald cries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria;">I turned the
shower off and finished a verse of “Down by the Bay” to no one. “I am dancing,
I am dancing, I am DANCING!” Heather cried. I smiled and realized that
motherhood is a bit like dancing. You’re not sure you can and then next thing
you know, you’re movin’ like Jagger. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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P.S. If you don’t know “Moves Like Jagger,” have a little listen.
I post this in honor of my husband who was recently told he looked like Adam
Levine. He later asked me… “Who is Adam Levine?” Maroon 5, baby. I’d also like
to point out that Adam Levine, who my husband looks like!, was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">People</i> magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive in
2013. Ha!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/iEPTlhBmwRg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Cambria;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Cambria;"><br /></span>hjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308251311434112623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-51204911761139693312014-02-12T14:15:00.000-08:002014-02-12T14:15:54.762-08:00The Exchange
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There’s something funny that happens at the beginning of
every get together with my girlfriends. It’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the exchange</i>. The other night we met at a Mexican restaurant, and
as we unzipped our coats, took our gloves and hats off, hooked our purses on
chairs and listened to the waitress quickly tell us the specials—margaritas
half price…the exchange occurred. I slid a breastfeeding book I borrowed from
one friend across the table. That friend passed a stack of bass fishing
magazines to another—from one husband to the other. A different friend handed
me a bag—three books she had borrowed so long ago, I had forgotten she had
them. She also had an unfinished knitting project—baby booties—did someone want
to take and finish? And the fifth friend passed out Valentine’s bags filled
with candy and stuffed fabric hearts to each one of us. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In the past this exchange has included clothes—our own and
baby, pictures, food, coupons. Bits and pieces, odds and ends, of our lives and
personalities that when shared with one another has made life a little easier,
a little better, a little brighter. More often than not this exchange of goods
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As the night came to a close, and we huddled in the entryway
saying goodbye where the heater was blowing warm air, I thought maybe friendships are the exchange of life. Dear ones who quietly—amidst babies,
devastating test results, cross-country moves, achievements and failures, the
monotony of a long cold Minnesota winter—lend different aspects of themselves
and their experiences at opportune times. And at their best—no explanation
necessary.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
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Our neighbors were not so neighborly in California. One
called and reported us for parking in front of her house. For the record, it
was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">public</i> street parking! Open to
all. The cop shrugged his shoulders and told us not to be offended…she’s called
on others, so maybe just steer clear of that 12-foot space. Often we heard our
next-door neighbor yelling at his girlfriend on the phone. And then there was
the pervert across the street. The list goes on. Suffice it to say, we got used
to watching our backs on our street and in L.A. in general.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we moved back to Minnesota and settled into a cute
rental house on a quiet cul-de-sac, we hoped our neighbors would be different. And
they have not disappointed. They’ve been great. Which is why B was
mortified when I decided to mow the lawn 8 months pregnant. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What are they going to think of me?! Makin’
my prego wife cut the grass?!</i> It’s also why he would have been mortified
last week when I got Q down for his nap and decided to help out—shovel the
driveway. Still in my red plaid pajama pants, I threw my boots on not caring
whether the pjs went in or outside the boots. Live in Minnesota? You know the
look. Pulled my hat down over my ears and zipped up my big warm coat. One
cannot be vain in Minnesota when it’s 10 below and you have to shovel. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I stepped outside and one look at the driveway revealed that
much more snow had fallen than I thought. At certain points, it was up to my
knees. Nevertheless, I got to work, breathing in the crisp, sharp air to the
rhythm of the shovel against pavement. A few minutes in, I was huffing and
sweating and looking at our next-door neighbor—what with his fancy snow blower
just easily and quickly clearing his driveway. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wow, he must feel like a tool</i> I thought, self-righteously! <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Watching me do the hard work by hand! </i>Really
though, I was envious of the resources he had and I was also beginning to think
that maybe our neighbors in California weren’t as bad as I remembered—at least
they didn’t snow blow in front of me? I continued and a few neighbors drove by,
waved. Well, I got half the driveway cleared. My back hurt, and I was nervous
leaving Q in the house alone for too long. So I called it and hoped B would be
impressed with that amount. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Late afternoon, I peeked out the front window to discover
that—lo and behold—someone came and snow blowed the other half of our driveway.
I was stunned. Kindness! We haven’t been used to this. I think it was more pity
than anything. Someone saw this woman in raggedy pajama pants wielding a shovel
bigger than her trying to clear snow. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I called B to proudly tell him that I shoveled half the
driveway and then Voila! ...that made someone feel bad and another Voila! ...now
the whole driveway is clear for him, the first thing he said was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“What?! Why were you out there?! What are
the neighbors going to think of me?!”</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We don’t know who did it though. And it’s not like we’re
hanging outside right now, able to chit chat with the neighbors and ask around.
I want to know so I can somehow repay them! Make them cookies. Send B over to
shovel their driveway? Something?! But that’s the beauty of true kindness. It’s
done quietly with no intention, sometimes no possibility, of repayment. And funny, I want to repay the person who did this, which would be
nice, but in a twisted way it would somehow glorify me and make me look like a
fancy-nice, thoughtful neighbor. True kindness humbles and inspires the receiver, leaving them no option but to do the same for another. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->hjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308251311434112623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-31761165746244945772014-02-04T19:08:00.000-08:002014-02-04T19:08:22.019-08:00Happy Book Day<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’d been so long. I hadn’t read a book—turned the pages,
used a bookmark, let it rest on my night stand—since before Quade…pre-Q, as we
say. I used to roam the aisles of Barnes & Noble slowly, sipping coffee.
And after all rows had been combed I’d pick a book—<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the</i> book! Now you should see me when I run into a store. I’m a
maniac. The goal is to get in and out as fast as possible. The only reason I’m
there in the first place is because I wasn’t able to get what I needed online
from my phone while nursing. All this to say, I haven’t had time to go to
Barnes & Noble and pick out a book! And I’ve thought about the library, but
the cold weather, Q’s potential to scream like a pterodactyl, and the fact that
I probably couldn’t get through a book before it was due ended that thought.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And then the Kindle. Someone generously offered to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">give</i> me their Kindle. Not sell it to me.
But <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">give</i> it to me. They dropped it
off for me to see if I’d like. I tried. Oh how I tried. I brought it to bed
with me. I let my fingers practice what it’d be like to turn the page. On off.
On off. On off. “Here, B, you try it,” I said as I shoved it at my husband.
“What do you think?” I asked excitedly, wanting him to encourage me that it
would be fantastic! But, alas, he knows me too well and we’re too much alike.
“I think you won’t use it,” he said. Big sigh. I knew he was right. I couldn’t
do it. I couldn’t see myself using it. I sadly gave it back. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then, a couple Wednesdays ago. There it was. A book. Mom had
stopped by to drop a few things off, and in the pile she left on the kitchen table
was Shauna Niequist’s book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bread and Wine</i>.
It was so pretty. Hardcover. I couldn’t wait to open it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, the next morning as the sun was rising and
I was nursing, rather than mindlessly sliding my finger across my phone, checking
the weather, Facebook, my email, etc., I read. The words were like pillows.
Soft, comfortable, warm. I couldn’t get enough. Wow—reading’s like riding a bike,
I thought, you don’t really lose it! I read, read, and read, and felt a little
bit of my pre-Q self return. When Q finished eating I read aloud to him as he
stared at me milky-eyed. And when I nursed him after his morning nap, I read
some more. By the time I crawled into bed with B that night, he looked at me
with eyebrows raised? Really, Heather? Half the book already? Yup. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s actually the perfect book to begin reading again on.
It’s light. It’s fun. It’s inspiring. It’s a blend of short stories and fun
recipes. And if you get to feed a five month old four times a day, you can read
half of it in a day! I actually made a recipe from it last night, too, and it
was great and so easy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps the best part of my book though is that on the
inside cover, mom left a note:<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Happy Hump Day<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Happy Darn Cold Day<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Happy Flat Tire Day<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Happy Dermatology Appointment Day<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Happy “thank you for taking us to the airport in two days”
Day. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Relax and Enjoy. </i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As you can tell, my mom is a rockstar. On that particular
day, I was in need of some brightness, and like all rockstar moms do, somehow
she just <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">knew</i>—she maybe even knew
without really knowing that she knew I needed something bright. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And here’s what I concluded. You can’t write an amazing note
on a library book or a Kindle! You need a real book that you get to keep. And
any day during which you can relax and enjoy the words of a book—if only for a
few minutes while nursing—is a happy day. Which is why I promptly lined up
another book (ordered online from my phone to be conveniently delivered to my
doorstep). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Happy Book Day!<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->hjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308251311434112623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-18272087950483200302014-02-04T18:58:00.000-08:002014-02-04T18:58:08.393-08:00Now is the time
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<br />
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<i>* written June 10, 2013</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am reading a book review—about one woman’s yearlong
adventure in Iceland—in the Sunday paper’s Variety section as if I’m going to
have time to not only check the book out next time I’m casually strolling
through Barnes & Noble, but to actually purchase the book and read it! I
know instinctively this is not going to happen. I still have a couple books to
read about how to survive labor which is now a mere eight weeks away, and then
a book about breastfeeding, a book about keeping God and your faith front and
center in the midst of a new baby, a book about healthy sleeping habits for
babies, a book about how to make your own baby food, a book about the best
books about surviving the first year of motherhood—and the list goes on. And
from what I understand, all this reading better be done before my cervix
dilates to 10 because after that, it’s all over.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Supposedly I won’t have time (or energy) to even go to the
bathroom let alone do any sort of pleasure reading. There will be no more going
out to eat (scrounging for crumbs at home will be hard enough), no more
sleeping in, no more caring what you look like or when you look like it, no
more quiet, no more peace, no more sex. But congratulations on the forthcoming
arrival of your baby boy! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The warnings of many have been somewhat daunting for me and
my husband! To be fair, they’re usually quickly followed up with assurances about
how wonderful parenting is, that kids are pretty much the best thing ever, and that
we will be fantastic parents. Thanks, but…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In one way or another all of the warnings seem to do with
time—lack thereof or how it’s spent or where it goes. And I get it—I will
likely not get to read about one woman’s yearlong adventure in Iceland…just for
the heck of it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But I can’t help but think that there’s actually plenty of
time. Amazingly God creates a baby between husband and wife. And amazingly, He
has created my body to build this baby without me really having to do a thing
for 9 months! He will soon prepare my body to push this baby out. And if all of
this is any indication, He has built in the appropriate and necessary <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">time</i> to enjoy and be present as
compassionate parents <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">during</i> this
special time. It’s me who will—I know I will—clutter my time with earthly
things and wonder where it’s gone once this baby arrives. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, as I worry about how quickly time is running out—only
eight more weeks!—I am praying that my husband and I prepare to honor God’s
timing. Clearly, now is the time He has called us to be parents. Now is our
time to have and nurture a baby. <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->hjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308251311434112623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-42494722149503220942012-03-02T16:07:00.003-08:002012-03-02T16:07:23.979-08:00Skype me<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
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Skype is great.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we first moved to Los Angeles, we carried my laptop
around our new patio and house using Skype to “show” our families our new digs.
Based on their reactions when they actually experienced our new digs in person,
Skype likes to make things seem bigger than they really are. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My Minnesota girlfriends Skyped me in for our Christmas
party at the end of which, I actually put on my first-ever, newly purchased
skinny jeans to dance around my living room hoping my friends could get the
idea. <i>Did they look OK? Did they look ridiculous? Should I return them? But they were cheap. </i>And if the
bigger-then-reality thing is true, they said I looked great, but they were
probably thinking, <i>wow, her thighs have gotten much thicker!<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Oh, and there was the time when B and I thought it’d be fun
to begin our marriage with seven months of Skyping while he was away at training.
Yes, that was a good time!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But have you ever noticed—or maybe it’s just us—Skype never
goes smoothly. Never. You set a date/time with your family or friends, and
something doesn’t work. One party can’t see the other. Or one party can’t hear
the other. Or it freezes. Or one party’s words don’t match their mouths and
it’s really hard to follow. Or it sounds like one party is in a cave or a
bubble or outer space. Or when B was at training, and for some reason he was
always jaundice. The screen would always be this sick yellow color. We never
did figure it out. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A couple weeks ago, B and I Skyped with some family members,
except we couldn’t see them. They could see us, but we couldn’t see them. We could
hear each other though. I suggested just talking on the phone as Skype wasn’t
working appropriately but the idea was thrown out because the other party was
happy as a clam…they could see us without having to look at themselves in a
little box the whole time. Meanwhile on our end, we talked into a computer
screen, staring at ourselves the whole time. This also happened to be a day or
two after <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the</i> first bob haircut. Awful. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s funny, too, when new-to-Skype users log in and then don’t
understand why the other party isn’t there. So they’ll call or text and say,<i>
hey, I thought you had a Skype account. Where are you?</i> Well, not at my
computer, logged in to Skype, just waiting for one of my friends or family to
come on! I guess some people probably are though. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I can’t knock Skype too much because as I’ve said, it
affords a much more personal connection with friends and family who are many
miles away. But it is a funny phenomenon. And now even my 87-year-old, very-hip
grandpa has joined the more than 405 million people across the world who have a
Skype account. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->hjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308251311434112623noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-39228445361653421612012-02-23T13:19:00.000-08:002012-02-23T13:19:06.858-08:00Like we're really living...Every now and then B talks in his sleep. A few weeks ago, he actually <i>whispered</i> in his sleep. Groggily, I rolled over and began to wake up as I heard B moving and then, in a whisper...<br />
<br />
<i>"If we keep moving forward, it'll feel like we're really living." </i><br />
<br />
Um. What? I started chuckling and then repeated the line about 10 times in my head so as not to forget it when I re-woke up in the morning. I wanted to remember to tell B.<br />
<br />
So, now we've been trying to figure out what it means (and why the whispering?!). I said I think he was dreaming that he was leading an expedition through a cave. I can see him holding a flashlight and in all seriousness he turned to his followers and whispered: <i>"If we keep moving forward, it'll feel like we're really living."</i><br />
<br />
He thinks it's about L.A., and the lack of <i>real</i> living one can do here. He was merely offering some encouragement that if we keep on keepin' on, things will get better.<br />
<br />
He also thought maybe it was <i>pre</i>-marriage, and he was trying to convince me to make out more on the couch.<br />
<br />
Whatever it was, the phrase has become part of our everyday vernacular. The other night, we were so tired after a really long day, and yet we still had a few things we needed to knock of our list...<i>"If we keep moving forward, it'll feel like we're really living,"</i> I said...encouragingly...in a whisper.hjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308251311434112623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-20934720606598075352012-02-21T14:33:00.000-08:002012-02-21T14:33:05.051-08:00Nice Hair<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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I hadn’t had my hair cut in a very long time. It needn’t to be
done. One day recently, while B and I took a walk through Hermosa Beach, I
peeked into each and every salon…<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Which
one did I like? Which one had a good vibe?</i> I took a few business cards,
even met the owner of one. I went home and looked them up online…checking cost
and reading reviews. I landed on one that had unending good reviews and one of
the lowest prices. Which by the way…absolutely kills me…the cost of haircuts.
In fact, I took to haircutting myself just to save us some money. I now cut B’s
hair on a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>regular basis (outside, with
him on our step stool under a plastic tarp…he loves it!). But anyways, I call
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money, so it's OK. I excitedly await my appointment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I go. I say I’m willing to go short. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He says, what about a bob? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I say, sure. I’ve had before and I like. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He says, how about an asymmetrical bob? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I say no, thanks. It’ll bother me to have one side longer
than the other. I’m a pretty even girl. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He says, c’mon. Give it a try. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mmm. I don’t think so. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Oh, c’mon. Just try it for a few days. If you don’t like,
come back in and we’ll fix. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, in my head I’m thinking<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, yeah, Heather, live a little, this guy gets paid to do this, give it
a whirl.</i> Ok. I say. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He gives me an asymmetrical bob as I try to figure out what
the tattoos covering his arms mean.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I get home. I hate it. I hate the bob. I take the scissors to
it myself. And then when B gets home from work, I make him take a scissors to
it in efforts of evening it out. It doesn’t work. It gets worse, and I almost
start crying, to which B says, “It’s OK. I get it. I started crying when I got
a bad haircut once.” At the time, I was too wrapped up in my hair horror to pay
much attention to his words. But later, I asked him, "did you really say you
cried once because of a bad haircut?" He says "Yes, I did. I didn’t tell you
though it was when I was like six and it was more because I didn’t want the
haircut in the first place…not because it was a bad cut." But you can see why I
love the man. He tells me he cries after a bad haircut too.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, I call the salon the next morning and say I have to come
in. I go back in that afternoon. He evens it up. But he doesn’t wet my hair
down to do it. He spends maybe three minutes tops on it. I know as I walk out, he hasn’t
done it. He hasn’t fixed it. It was still—although even in length—an
asymmetrical bob. And I am not asymmetrical. I get home and again take the
scissors to it myself. Hair snip-its all over the bathroom. B gets home. I make
him take a scissors to it too. More hair snip-its all over the bathroom.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For the next few weeks, I can’t walk past a mirror without
wincing in pain at the horror that is my hair. It feels like I have 10 more
pounds of hair on my left side. I also have a nice shelf going on all the way
around. I mean I could put some hooks in and hang stuff on my shelf! It
vaguely resembles a bowl cut. An asymmetrical bowl cut. And the worst part,
literally…if I don’t part my hair in the exact spot it was parted when tattoo
man cut it, I have chunks of hair an inch longer (or more) than the rest. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After spending nearly an hour in the bathroom one night,
multiple wet downs, blow drys and breakdowns, and making us 15 minutes to a
friends’ happy hour, I reluctantly agree with B. For his sake and mine, I need
to go back in. I need to spend more money to fix my stupid bob for which I want
to bob tattoo man’s head. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, I take to the internet again. Searching. Reading
reviews. Etc. I land on a salon called Tangles because Lord knows I’ve really
gotten myself into one. I go. I sit and wait and look around. On the wall is an
artistic rendering of a woman with a bob. In fact, the word “Bob” is in some
fancy calligraphy under the woman. Bob, bob, bob. I feel like Ben Stiller in
<i>Meet the Parents</i>. "Bomb Bomb Bomb. I said bomb on an airplane." Bob bob bob. I
say bob in a salon. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I sit in Tangles chair. Tangles lady asks what I’d like
done. I nearly wail…HELP! I tell her my problems, the extra weight, the shelf,
the part. She nods. She feels my hair. She nods again. She cuts out a lot of
hair. A lot. Not much in length, but everywhere else. The nasty shelf lies in strands
around me on the floor. The extra weight is shed. The part moves once more! She fixes my bob. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I walk out knowing I got a good hair cut. I go home and
smile. B gets home and smiles. I go out and get a compliment: “nice hair.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->hjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308251311434112623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-42251844711128773442012-02-14T16:29:00.000-08:002012-02-14T16:29:35.232-08:00Letting Them Win<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
B always jokes that I let him win in the kitchen. Like I’d
maybe let a child win at checkers, I let B think he can help with the cooking
and baking. Well, maybe he’s right, a little. But it’s not really his fault.
It’s the nature of our jobs and schedules right now. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s how it works…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
B will ask if he can make dinner one night—to give me a
break. I say sure! So, he’ll find the recipe. But then I’ll actually pick up
all the ingredients at the grocery store because I do the grocery shopping. I
mean, with his long hours, it just wouldn’t make sense for him to make an extra
stop at the zoo, aka grocery store. And then with the recipe sitting
out on the counter…I’m home…and he won’t be home until late…so, of course, I’m
going to do as much prep work as possible. Otherwise, we won’t eat until
bedtime. So, all this to say, by the time B gets home to “make” dinner, the veggies are chopped, the marinade's been made, the spices are out, etc. etc. etc. All he
has to do is turn the oven or grill on.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After we eat , I say, "Wow, Brian, that was really good. Thank
you!"<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He says, “Sure, so glad I could make you dinner.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And in this fashion, I let him win at checkers. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, he <i>is</i> super helpful in the kitchen, and I did in fact,
need his help the other night as we got dinner ready and made dessert. I
tried a new cookie-in-a-skillet recipe—it’s a chocolate chip cookie that bakes
in the cast-iron skillet and then you slice like a pie and serve with ice
cream. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, I made the cookie dough, smooshed it into the skillet,
and threw it in the oven. I took it out a tad early as it seemed to be getting plenty brown on top (and toothpick came out clean). I let it cool for a few minutes as the recipe
said. Then, as I moved forward on dinner, B offered to flip the cookie onto
a wire rack from the skillet. Sure! Great! Thanks! So, he flips the skillet
over and the cookie plunks down on the wire rack in its solid form as it's supposed to. As I ask
him if I can get him a plate so he can flip it once more, so it’s right side up, I
see the wheels spinning in his head. He’s going to do it on his own. He dosn't need another plate. And almost
in slow motion, as my mind says <i>nooooooooo</i>, I watch him take the wire rack and cookie in one hand and assuredly
flip it so that the cookie lands on his other hand. And…cookie-in-a-skillet becomes
cookie-mush-all-over-the-counter. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I wish I could have taken a picture of B’s face. He was so
sheepish and so sorry. It wasn’t all his fault though. I should have let it
keep baking, I told him adamantly! That would have solidified it a bit more. Definitely not his fault...he's winning the checkers game.<br />
<i><br /></i><br />
<i>But, really? You’re
going to flip it on your hand?!</i> Well, nevertheless, the cookie mush sure tastes
good. We’ve been eating off of it like vultures for a few days now. I’d
recommend the <a href="http://somekitchenstories.com/2012/02/07/cookie-in-a-skillet/">recipe</a>. Just bake it as long as it says, don’t flip onto your hand, and let them win. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>hjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308251311434112623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-13872287215992540912012-02-08T11:25:00.000-08:002012-02-08T11:25:15.539-08:00Customer Service is (not) HereHere in Los Angeles, customer service was taken to a new level when customer service themselves were not even aware that they were customer service.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We hit up Macy's a few weeks ago to do a couple of exchanges from Christmas. Stopping at the first register area, we asked the Macy's worker where customer service was located. <i>Could you please point us to customer service, please?</i> </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Young, skinny jeans, heavy eye makeup, she said, um, yeah, hold on. In front of us she walked two feet to her coworker and said, can you show them where customer service is? Her coworker said..."this IS customer service." Young, skinny jeans Macy's worker walked two feet back over to us, gave a little sheepish giggle and said, "yeah, so, this is customer service." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>hjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308251311434112623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-89315715995205960122012-02-07T10:28:00.000-08:002012-02-07T10:29:25.362-08:00Holy Busy and Whole Foods<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Alright. So, I’m honored that people have been asking me why
I haven’t written on this blog in so long. But it also makes me feel
delinquent! I’m sorry! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The main reason? At the beginning of
the year, I started co-blogging with dad. We are walking people through the Bible
chronologically in a year at <a href="http://BjsBrew.blogspot.com/">BjsBrew.blogspot.com</a>. So, we post each day—dad does
video or I write. And that has been sucking up a lot of my time and the
remaining creative juices I have after school and freelance. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Additionally, I am 1.5 classes shy of getting my masters and
am in full-on cram mode trying to write my senior statement. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s been a little busy! But, I’m going to try to check in
more frequently to HJ’s Haunt and will likely talk about very frivolous topics
and the stupid, quirky things that I observe in Southern California. For my
deeper, more philosophical, spiritual thoughts, you’ll have to go to <a href="http://bjsbrew.blogspot.com/">BJsBrew</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, anyways, B and I hit up Whole Foods a while ago for a nice guilt-ridden meal. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Whole Foods out here is not just a store. It’s an
experience. You can take yoga classes, buy yoga clothes—and Tom’s shoes, taste
beer and wine, take cooking classes, grab espresso at the coffee shop, get your
groceries, and eat your heart out. One
whole side of the store is a big multi-cultural buffet. There’s the Asian
counter, the Mexican counter, the Japanese sushi counter, panini counter, soup
and salad counter, deli, bakery. And then after you’ve spent an hour just
trying to figure out what to have, you can enjoy a nice sit-down dinner IN the
store at one of the many booths and tables available. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On a busy, errand-running evening, B and I became <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">those</i> people. You know, the people who
eat hotdogs at Costco or Subway inside the Wal-Mart, amidst the consumer chaos.
I’ve always thought that was gross (sorry if you do it on a regular basis!).
And there I was eating food where people shopped. But again, Whole Foods not just a
store. It’s an experience! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After about 20 minutes of wandering the buffet befuddled by
so many options, we paid $20 for cups of soup and grilled sandwiches. B and I
sat down at a booth and then proceeded to watch all the people pay for their insanely high-end, organic groceries, put them in expensive, organic reusable bags, and
then walk out in their brand-name yoga or workout clothes. Lululemon is, in
fact, just across the street!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With my mouth full, I told B…<i>this is sort of disgusting</i>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Whuddya mean?" he asked.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>All this organic, fancy-schmancy food and the only people
who get it are the rich!</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Yeah."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Slurp on some nummy soup.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And, B says, "This just encourages our society to be what we
don't like..."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Whuddya mean? <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Well, we can’t take time for anything. Heaven forbid you
slow down and enjoy life. We need a store where you eat, work out, get
caffeine, say hi to friends, get your liquor (taste your liquor), eat again, get your vitamins, and
leave. Maybe there’s even a room in back where you can sleep. But do everything
as fast as possible with as little effort as possible."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Yeah</i>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nother bite of our tasty sammiches. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>So, next time, just eat at home? <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Yeah."<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>hjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308251311434112623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-71441257010865233482011-10-03T13:26:00.000-07:002011-10-03T13:31:06.725-07:00Rain, for heaven's sake!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> 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mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">Friday afternoon around 2:30pm it started getting cloudy and then…thunder! Thunder, glorious thunder. Then…raindrops! <i>Praise Jesus, it rains in Los Angeles</i>, I thought, giddily. (I think the last time we had rain was in March?)<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I ran outside and let the drops make big spots on my T-shirt.<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I did a little rain dance. <i>More, please! More!</i><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I texted mom, "It’s raining here!!!!" She texted back, "you’re a weirdo."<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I texted B, "It’s thundering, sprinkling! What about where you are?" He texted back, “I hope God washes away the dirty, dirty sins of L.A.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And then, as quickly as they came, they went. The sprinkles were gone, and I could see the sun, and the spots on my T-shirt were already drying. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The end of the rain.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And L.A. is still sinful. <o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->hjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308251311434112623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-44051307450322197962011-09-27T08:17:00.000-07:002011-09-27T08:44:36.893-07:00Doin' up some fall<div>It <i>is</i> fall. It <i>is</i> fall. It <i>is</i> fall.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm trying. B and I have taken to eating fall-ish dinners--stews and soups--despite 80-degree temps. </div><div><br /></div><div>I brought a small pumpkin over to some friends' house Saturday night as a hostess gift. It didn't really seem to go with the bright yellow and pink flowers decorating her table (mums, people, where are the mums?!), but whatever. I liked it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Yesterday afternoon I made a batch of pumpkin scones, and the smell of warm cinnamon and nutmeg was amazing. I just tried a random <a href="http://www.joyofbaking.com/PumpkinScones.html">recipe</a> I found online and would recommend. I made them slightly healthier by reducing the butter from 1 stick to 3/4 of a stick. And I'm enjoying one right now--no problemo. 3/4 is just fine. Maybe you could even go a little less!</div><div><br /></div><div>Guess what was for dinner? Pumpkin pasta. Following another <a href="http://ellysaysopa.com/2011/09/22/pumpkin-penne-with-arugula-mushrooms-and-romano/">recipe</a> found online, I made penne with mushrooms and arugula in a pumpkin cheese sauce. Nummy! </div><div><br /></div><div>And I start a fall class tomorrow. I'm thinking of wearing a sweater, even though school's in Pasadena--inland about 40 minutes--which means hot. But the air conditioner will be cranked, so a sweater or scarf will probably work! I'll take first-day-of-school picture for you, mama!</div>hjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308251311434112623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-21331292812811127882011-09-26T13:36:00.000-07:002011-09-26T13:40:52.192-07:00Worthy Headline<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> 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mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">I spent a lot of time with grandpa at the nursing home center on my recent trip to Arkansas. We’d sit in grandma’s room and talk while she slept. Or we’d walk the halls and he’d introduce me to all the nurses, who adore him and actually already knew that his granddaughter was coming out to visit. He’d already told them all about me.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The center is depressing though, in my opinion. It’s everything a nursing home always is. The smell of urine and poop waft through the hallway every now and then. Processed food is being rolled on carts under blue plastic domes. TVs are turned up super-duper loud and play the news or some out-of-season ice-skating competition. Random outbursts from alzheimered patients sometimes break the monotony. Loud beeps alert nurses that someone needs help. Healthy spouses push sick spouses around in wheelchairs. One husband pushing his wife came up by me and said he had some advice: never get old. (Thanks. Very helpful.) On the bulletin board in the “activity room” are old black and white photographs of the current residents from when they were in high school, the military, college. Old John Wayne VHS movies line one whole shelf. Board games from a long time ago are stacked up on another one, dusty. For nursing homes, I have to admit, this one is very nice, but I had a difficult time seeing the people behind the age. I couldn’t reconcile the high school photos on the wall with the hurting, broken people lining the hallways. For everyone except my grandma, I saw the age, and I felt bad. As I watched three nurses take grandma to the bathroom and get her dressed, I was overcome with gratitude for those who take good care of the sick and elderly in a way I can’t.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">On a break to step outside and check in with B, I ran into Nurse Karen. She likes my grandparents a lot. She asked how long they’d been married because the love they demonstrate—mainly the love my grandpa demonstrates with his vigilance—is pretty amazing. She said she knew grandma was in good hands and being taken care of, but she asked how grandpa was doing at home alone. Did I think he was taking good care of himself? During this conversation, she shared that she’s actually left the nursing home center a few times, gotten into her car, and driven over to my grandparents’ house (about a mile and a half away) to check on my grandpa when he hasn’t arrived at the center at his usual time in the morning—6:45am—with donuts for grandma.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Each time it turned out he had merely overslept. But her kindness took my breath away. To go so far out of her way, to leave work, to check on my grandpa… I came to three quick conclusions. It takes a special person to be a caregiver—a good one who sees the person first, not the age—in a nursing home center. Second, we should all question how we can show that kind of kindness and go that far out of our way for others. And third, Karen deserves a headline. Sometimes the work B is involved with makes headlines in the newspapers. My friends and I joke about what the headlines would say about our jobs. For me perhaps “Female Editor Discovers Misplaced Comma” or “Split Infinitives Reunite.” Karen’s? Maybe “Nurse Leaves Work To Do Her Job Well” or “Caregivers’ Hearts Determined to be Huge!”</p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Editor Greatly Appreciates Nurse”<o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->hjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16308251311434112623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-68698358203564494122011-09-22T15:39:00.000-07:002011-09-22T16:00:52.199-07:00Fly much?<span style="font-style:italic;">“Do our suitcases come on a different plane?”<br /></span>This was the question the 23-year-old girl next to me on the flight from L.A. to Bentonville, Arkansas, asked me as we landed. <br />“Mmmm, nope. They’re on this plane,” I answered, trying to keep my eyebrows from going up. <br />Next question:<span style="font-style:italic;"> “Do we have to go through customs?”</span><br />“Mmmm, nope. I mean Arkansas does feel like another country, but no.”<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">“Can they see us?”<br /></span>"Who’s they?" <br />"Oh, the people picking us up."<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"Can they see us right now?" </span>(I don't understand.) <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"No, I mean, when we’re getting off the plane can they see us?"<br /></span>"No." <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"Is it dark here right now? Should I wear my sunglasses?" <br /></span><br />It was an interesting flight to be sure. The open, free-for-all seating Allegiant provides for the cheap-os who won’t pay for an assigned seat rendered me in the middle seat, aisle 40, between a 19-year-old girl who had never flown before and a 23-year-old girl who <span style="font-style:italic;">had</span> flown before and still asked me if her suitcase was on a separate plane. <br /><br />When I sat down the 19-year-old by the window was visibly anxious. She reeked of cigarette smoke. She had short, short cut-offs on and her mid-section showed below a short, short, loose-fitting tank top revealing her zebra-print bra. She asked me if I had flown before. I said yes and asked "you?" "Nope," she told me. She’d only driven between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. My first thought was…<span style="font-style:italic;">NIGHTMARE. L.A. and Vegas? Could it be any worse? </span>And then my myriad, global travels began playing through my mind, and I couldn’t imagine having never been on a plane before. <span style="font-style:italic;">What would that feel like?</span> I suddenly felt really lucky and caught myself taking for granted the opportunity to fly! On the aisle seat on the other side of me was a 23-year-old girl who resembled the deceased Amy Winehouse. She wore black, heeled boots that went above her knees to mid thigh (Julia-Roberts-pretty-woman style!) and she kept her cell phone between her boot and thigh. Her eyelids were rainbows…five perfectly drawn stripes of different-colored eye shadows. Her carry-on? One large Louis Vuitton bag containing all makeup. In fact, there was even a separate trifold wallet of sorts containing just makeup brushes! <br /><br />Upon reaching the desired altitude and making sure the virgin flier next to me was OK, I put my iPod on and began to doze, until the girls struck up a conversation with me in the middle. Come to find out…the 19-year-old virgin flier was heading to Oklahoma to visit her friend indefinitely. She had bought a one-way ticket and only knew she was going to get drunk the second she got off the plane. Her mom is in prison. She doesn’t know where her dad is. She’s been on her own since she was 13. She goes to raves all the time and does hair for money. The 23-year-old is Mexican, going to school to become a nurse and told her parents she was going to a nursing conference (in Arkansas?) when in reality she was going to visit a guy she recently started dating from a distance. It was the guy who she was concerned may see her as she was getting off the plane. <br /><br />They turned to me and asked me what I was doing—me in my comfy travel outfit of leggings and flip flops (all body parts covered), my iPod in a little ankle sock because I’m too cheap to buy a fancy case for it, and chapstick and a little mascara for makeup (the eye shadow I <span style="font-style:italic;">do</span> have comes in one small case and has two options, beige and a darker beige). "I’m visiting my grandparents," I say. "And no, no. I've never really frequented the L.A. rave scene, nor the reggae bars in Hollywood, but thanks for the heads up on the big rave taking place on New Year’s behind the coliseum." <br /><br />The contrasts of our lives seemed to create expansive divides between the seats of aisle 40. But apparently I was still cool—cool-ass to be more precise. Upon landing, the 19-year-old called her boyfriend to tell him she had survived her first flight. That she was nervous but thankfully she had some pretty cool-ass people sitting next to her. <br /><br />I got off the plane, walked to baggage claim, and began descending the escalator and there…standing at the bottom, both arms outstretched and waving was my grandpa, beaming. <br /><br />I turned and waved goodbye to my cool-ass flight buddies and went to hug grandpa. He asked how the plane ride was; I just answered "fine."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-74761570620783181192011-09-09T08:07:00.000-07:002011-09-09T08:19:01.221-07:00Chasin' waterfallsWith friends who were in town over Labor Day weekend, B and I went hiking up in Topanga Canyon—L.A. County guidebook in hand. We chose the Santa Ynez Waterfall trail. When it's pushing 90 degrees and dry and deserty, who wouldn’t choose the option featuring water? We got started and slowly made our way down. <br /><br />Odd. I questioned how we’d hit a waterfall if we were going down…don’t you normally go up for that? <br /><br />About 25 minutes in, we pass a young family towing a two or three year old. They’re sweaty and squinting into the sun. We asked how the waterfall was. The dad doesn’t make eye contact, only grumbles, shakes his hand and rolls his eyes, mumbles there’s no water. Committed, we continue on anyways. Another 20 minutes in, it seems like we should be there by now. We pass two more hikers. We ask how much further to the waterfall. The guy actually laughs. "Uh, there’s no waterfall." (Like <span style="font-style:italic;">duh! Why would you think there’s a waterfall?!</span>) He continued that there’s no water, but the fall is just up and around the corner and if it were raining we may be able to see something. <br /><br />I’m thinking <span style="font-style:italic;">ok, when does it ever rain in L.A., and when it does, why would I be hiking in Topanga Canyon?</span> <br /><br />We continue on, now fully convinced we’re searching after a make-believe waterfall, and I’m wondering why our guidebook says "waterfall!" We go up and around the corner and…nothing. Just more dry creekbed. No hint of a place where water may fall if there was water <span style="font-style:italic;">to</span> fall. B, the ultimate Eagle Scout, is floored. We cannot go on a hike without a destination! There must be a point at which we say "We’ve arrived… And now we go back." The trail we're on seems to stop and start in fits now, but B presses on. Trailing behind our friend says, "anyone else find it ironic that we’re in search of a waterfall that has no water in the first place?" I start singing TLC: “Don’t go chasin’ waterfalls, please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to…”<br /><br />We never found a waterfall or anything that resembled the site of a waterfall, and ultimately turned around sweaty and squinting into the sun. That’s so life though. You always think you’ll hit a point of arrival. <span style="font-style:italic;">Once that happens… When we get this or that… After we’ve accomplished that… </span>But the trail never ends. It may turn, but then you’re just in search of yet another point of arrival. <br /><br />Even though we didn’t find a waterfall, we had a great time in each other’s company and enjoying a break from the oppressive L.A. congestion. We smelled warm eucalyptus and wildflowers, saw quick lizards zigzagging in front of us, and watched birds soar high above us… <br /><br />"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.”<br /> <span style="font-style:italic;">Matthew 5:5 (The Message)</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7aa5peph4Wcewp90osAIfH4l_jx1qSenO5zZsOcqMPdTxMTnawkxK5cC9i3v0qG2Utiy1IzvOxAcCUlaKN1quxtIlk6SpcompqxRYJxo1O7wJuox_2fcuO_gfAA_YAXX1l7H_/s1600/IMG_0999.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7aa5peph4Wcewp90osAIfH4l_jx1qSenO5zZsOcqMPdTxMTnawkxK5cC9i3v0qG2Utiy1IzvOxAcCUlaKN1quxtIlk6SpcompqxRYJxo1O7wJuox_2fcuO_gfAA_YAXX1l7H_/s320/IMG_0999.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5650378339237933698" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVowuDa1iji_t7pDkxrqw9k8OQiXXzQmz4qhSFw3fzdvi-Qr1ufEkChcjhJaLTb2bEYXhVQZoQT9tWmUL4EC7wMze8NiYQNCgfpSJjCFhDeZhOoT1YuXocrRViXqCw5Eis8r3H/s1600/DSCN0046.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVowuDa1iji_t7pDkxrqw9k8OQiXXzQmz4qhSFw3fzdvi-Qr1ufEkChcjhJaLTb2bEYXhVQZoQT9tWmUL4EC7wMze8NiYQNCgfpSJjCFhDeZhOoT1YuXocrRViXqCw5Eis8r3H/s320/DSCN0046.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5650378335634997026" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-40178266644478206942011-09-01T08:56:00.000-07:002011-09-01T09:02:28.017-07:00Where the fall has no leaves...It’s September 1, and I’ve been throwing an internal tantrum the past week or so. Facebook posts from friends and family (who don’t live in Cali) talk about the onslaught of all things fall—cinnamon, leaves changing, cooler temps for sweaters, pumpkins, fresh pens and pencils for school. Oh, they’re so excited for the change of seasons. I want to cry. Food blogs are now apple ciders, soups, hearty stews, breads—“autumn delights.” I want to cry some more.
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<br />I look outside and see pavement. The sun glares 85 degrees. People are in their swimsuits and flip flops. And southern Californians will try to tell you that we <span style="font-style:italic;">do</span> get fall out here. But don’t believe them. I’ve been through this before. People walk to the beach barefoot to surf on Thanksgiving day. It ain’t right! Temps that are 10 degrees cooler don’t cut it. And just because you wear your scarf doesn’t mean the weather requires it! In some places it’s a necessity, not an accessory.
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<br />I’m not joking when I say I’m crabby about it. Fall has always been my favorite time of year, but living in California renders it a sad, homesick time of year (experience has told me this!). I’ve tried to think of creative ways B and I can round up some fall around these here parts, but everything seems a bit superficial against the backdrop of palm trees and blinking L.A. billboards.
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<br />Last fall though B and I had to send pics to each other of our respective falls—Virginia and Minnesota. Newly married and miles and a timezone apart, the autumn months passed by in a lonely blur as we spent hours on Skype and mailed each other endless packages. So, despite this whining post, I must tell you that a fall-less autumn with B brings more color to the season than an autumn without B. And to help us weather our lack of fall this month—dear friends arrive this evening for a visit over Labor Day weekend, and our three sibs fly in together in a couple of weeks for what will most assuredly be a raucous, laugh-filled weekend. And with these thoughts…my internal tantrum subsides as the colors of love and comfort outshine the colors of changing leaves.
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<br />Sigh. I suppose I’ll pull out my scarves anyways.
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-51166452719313537542011-08-29T11:26:00.000-07:002011-08-29T11:30:31.132-07:00Probably JesusWhat can be sickening is that we never get sick of each other. B and I are together all the time, and we haven’t tired of each other’s company yet. At the end of a great weekend in which we never separated—I mean we even went into the same fitting room to try clothes on—I crawled into bed wondering how someone could <span style="font-style:italic;">not</span> get sick of me and my idiosyncrasies. And I was sad that the weekend was over because that’d mean, sigh…we’d have to go our separate ways for work on Monday…
<br />Sickening, I tell you!
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<br />So, I turned the light off and asked B as I rolled next to him: “how is it that we never get sick of each other?” Without a moment’s pause he said—in a simple, no-duh way—“Jesus.” Ha! The Sunday School answer, indeed, but I think probably the right one in this case.
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<br />And completely unrelated…
<br />At LAX, a woman headed to China tried to get through security with live yellow birds stuffed in socks and taped to her body. Say wha?!! <a href=""><a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/08/bird-smuggling.html">Read</a></a>. I have to ask, why is this on the front page of LA Times right now, and how exactly did she think her avian friends were going to make it China?
<br />Jesus maybe.
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-49616112754312852682011-08-24T13:56:00.000-07:002011-08-24T13:59:00.695-07:00Take your much and do something littleI’m working on a catalog of success stories for a Christian non-profit that feeds starving children around the world, and I’ve spent the past four hours reading up on and writing about these children. Children so hungry and so malnourished that when they finally get food, they actually can’t eat it. They vomit—their body rejecting it, having forgotten how to digest. With time, if they can fight through the vomiting, their bodies will eventually readjust and begin taking in the nourishment again. A 13-year-old girl in Liberia wrote a thank you for the food that she received. She’s so happy now to be getting three meals a week. <span style="font-style:italic;">Three meals a week!?!</span>
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<br />Meanwhile, my kitchen timer goes off, and the lemon blueberry muffins I made this morning are done…
<br />I don’t want one anymore.
<br />The injustice brings nausea.
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<br />These children’s stories make another timer go off. They alert us. They snap us out of our grocery-shopping, restaurant-going bubble. We have much; many have little. We should take our much and do something little—sponsor a child, volunteer to pack food, drop off canned goods at nearby pantry. Or do what my momma does well…bake cookies and deliver them to someone who could use the compassionate attention.
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-28711215718862292122011-08-23T13:12:00.000-07:002011-08-23T13:28:50.613-07:00Love, deep and longLast November, I sat in the corner of the hospital room watching my grandpa stroke my grandma’s cheek, softly, shakily combing her hair back with his hand. Grandma suffered the first of what has now been many little strokes. And thankfully, mom and I happened to be visiting when it happened. But what came to mind as I sat there watching my grandparents was the photograph of my grandma on their honeymoon. Stunning, absolutely stunning, in her swimsuit. The first time I saw that picture, my grandparents became real people, not just my grandparents. They became lovers. They became 20-somethings. New parents having their first baby--my dad. People who had struggled through the very things I’ve struggled with.
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<br />Grandma’s lower lip quivered and my grandpa bravely smiled, patted her hand, and the doctor came in…
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<br />The hospital released my grandma a day later, so we took her back to the care facility where she was staying. Grandma clutched the rocky road ice cream that grandpa had stopped to get for her at the grocery store. It was her favorite, so he wanted to make sure she had some when she returned to the facility—where she did not want to go. She just wanted to go home, she said. She wanted to go home and eat her ice cream. She just wanted to go home. Why wouldn’t we just take her home?! I so desperately wanted to fulfill her wishes. I wanted her to go home with grandpa and eat her ice cream! I wanted her to make beef stroganoff for dinner. I wanted her to roll her eyes and say "Oh, Bob" when my grandpa would get sentimental and tell a story about them. I wanted to go home too. Instead, holding back tears, I tried to explain why we weren’t heading home.
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<br />After we got her situated back in her room, I plopped down on a chair while grandma dozed off, ice cream completely forgotten about in the hubbub of getting her back into her room. Mom and grandpa went to talk to nurses. I was left to beeping of machines and grandma’s uneven breathing. On the armoire in the room was a note alerting the nurses not to take my grandma’s clothes because “patient’s family” did them. In the armoire was a plastic bag containing some of my grandma’s clothes and underwear. It then registered that grandpa was taking grandma's things home on a regular basis, washing them, and bringing them back, even though they could do it at the facility. Even though he battles his own physical disabilities.
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<br />A few months later I returned to visit with my dad. Grandma had declined more. Grandpa, dad, and me went to visit grandma, and as we walked down the hallway to her door, we could hear her crying out for help. Grandpa tried to quicken his pace with his walker. Once to her, she clutched my grandpa’s arm and cried that she had had more nightmares. Grandpa stroked her face, calmed her down. Said he was there now. Not to worry.
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<br />But what about when he’s not there?! When she’s not there?! Their love is so so deep and so so long. But with that comes pain, loss, deep and long. I lose my breath sometimes looking at B, wanting the longevity and depth of grandma and grandpa’s love, but so afraid, too...
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<br />Grandma is headed to her real home soon. And if you ask grandpa, he’ll smile with watery eyes, and tell you that he and his bride--that stunning woman in her swimsuit on their honeymoon--have had an amazing life. What shines through is not the pain, but the love.
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<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
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<br />But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love. </span>
<br />--1 Corinthians 13:12-13
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-65849906432111755382011-08-19T08:54:00.000-07:002011-08-19T09:12:30.706-07:00Come hang and...Happy Friday, friends.
<br />Whatcha up to this weekend?
<br />If you came over to hang with us, you’d:
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<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Hear Josh Garrels.</span> Our current music obsession.
<br /><iframe width="560" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FeJ2URNrozo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<br />Download his new album for free <a href="http://joshgarrels.com/">here</a>.
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<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Eat peanut butter oatmeal sammich cookies. </span>
<br />I made ’em for B as he cannot get enough peanut butter. And now he can’t get enough of me either. I guess he’s the envy of all his squad mates too. Their wives have never made peanut butter oatmeal sammiches! Check out the <a href="http://letsdishrecipes.blogspot.com/2011/06/oatmeal-peanut-butter-sandwich-cookies.html">recipe</a>.
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<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sit against our newly covered throw pillows.</span> Just sewed some crazy-easy envelope covers using this <a href="http://www.sandyalamode.com/2010/05/19/sew-simple-foldover-pillow-cover/">site</a> for help. Jill, you could do these too! I promise.
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<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Hear me saying “fuhgeddaboutbit”</span> because I’ve suddenly turned into a mobster. We recently watched the movie <span style="font-style:italic;">Donnie Brasco</span> (with Johnny Depp and Al Pacino) about real FBI agent Joe Pistone who went undercover for six years in the mob. His work led to hundreds of convictions. After watching the movie, I read the book. <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Donnie-Brasco-Unfinished-Declassified-Undercover/dp/0762432284/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1313768130&sr=8-13">Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business:</a> Shocking Declassified Details from the FBI's Greatest Undercover Operation and a Bloody Timeline of the Fall of the Mafia.</span> Just finished the <span style="font-style:italic;">Unfinished Business</span>. Fuhgeddaboutit.
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<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Pray with us for little Levi</span>, who is still recovering.
<br /><a href="http://lovinglevidaniel.blogspot.com/">http://lovinglevidaniel.blogspot.com/</a>
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<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Wonder who Shelby is</span> because we’ll be talking about our friend. She is entering the Minnesota State Fair baking competition this weekend, on top of selling her sweet goodies at the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Shelbys-Bakeshop/219483818084270">New Hope Farmer’s Market</a> and a food/wine event called <a href="http://www.thehomegrownexperience.com/ ">The Homegrown Experience</a>.
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<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Brew a Petite Saison with us. </span> B ordered the kit from Northern Brewer in St. Paul and has been checking its FedEx status religiously. It should arrive this afternoon. We should brew this evening. Wanna know what a Petite Saison is? <a href="http://www.northernbrewer.com/default/petite-saison-d-ete-extract-kit-2.html">Check it out</a>.
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<br />Maybe <span style="font-weight:bold;">help us put together a photo album for our 1-year anniversary</span>. I ordered the pics and hope they arrive today. I love B. Madly.
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNv41C_P3R3vjzsqMD1UqInoQ8-oWUE-E9zxxqae8kEM_owNPMYbmtjwMBExBsZEKQMQbyNjJCov69HnwhgVgNNrmwnz70nenJI5Kgcfdw2fJJVCDJXzkz5Fk48q8M9y0dzDQu/s1600/DSC02042.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 308px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNv41C_P3R3vjzsqMD1UqInoQ8-oWUE-E9zxxqae8kEM_owNPMYbmtjwMBExBsZEKQMQbyNjJCov69HnwhgVgNNrmwnz70nenJI5Kgcfdw2fJJVCDJXzkz5Fk48q8M9y0dzDQu/s400/DSC02042.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5642599125548568402" /></a>
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<br />Wanna hang? Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-69423097106868051102011-08-14T11:24:00.000-07:002011-08-14T11:37:21.115-07:00Things to do in L.A. ...Great news! After a longer-than-expected surgery, doctors were able to remove all of the tumor from Levi without damaging any of the optic nerves. An MRI confirmed that it appears they got it all!! WOOOO!!!! So, he is now crazy swollen, but recovering well, only on tylenol for the pain, and drinking chocolate milk. For more: <a href="http://lovinglevidaniel.blogspot.com/">lovinglevidaniel.blogspot.com </a>
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<br />For fun, I thought I'd share the suggestions that the L.A. Times gives in their <span style="font-style:italic;">Calendar</span> section for things to do this week around town. Lord, help us...
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<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"> National Go Topless Day
<br /></span>"A rally and march for women's topless equal rights. March proceeds along OceanFront Walk from Navy Street to Windward Circle. Venice Beach Pavilion..."
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<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">World Gyoza Eating Championship
<br /></span>"The L.A. Nisei Week Japanese Festival welcomes Major League Eating's top superstars for its 5th Annual eating competition. Competitors will have 10 minutes to eat as many Japanese potstickers as possible..."
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<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Fight Club OC
<br /></span>"An innovative series featuring boxing and mixed martial arts competitive fights with ringside luxury suites. VIP access for season ticketholders..."
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<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Annual Watermelon Festival
<br /></span>"Free watermelon slices, carving demonstrations, eating contests, greased watermelon relay races, seed spitting contests, growing contests, wearable art contests and nightly prize drawings..."
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<br />So...this week you can find B and me hiding in our house...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32787949.post-60289667228266452942011-08-12T13:34:00.000-07:002011-08-12T14:10:05.018-07:00More on LeviIt's Friday afternoon, 1:35 Cali time, and I can't stop thinking of little Levi currently in surgery. Because so many of you have emailed and texted wondering more about him...THANK YOU!...I wanted to share a bit more...
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<br />A number of years ago while living in San Diego, I went on a mission trip to South Africa with my church. Dan and Kara were on my team. For 10 days we planted gardens together throughout small villages in South Africa while simultaneously trying to teach locals to be self-sustaining. Needless to say in prepping and praying for the trip, sitting next to each other on a couple red-eye flights, hours spent down on our hands and knees together in dirt ...we all got to know each other very well. In fact, my team, affectionately called TEAM 2, got so close that we decided to do it again, going to Tijuana, Mexico, a year or so later to help build houses together. Additionally TEAM 2 would get together regularly for dinner and hang outs, and despite people moving, getting married, moving again, we've kept in relatively good contact. Shortly before I moved back to Minnesota, Dan and Kara had their first little boy Kaden. And then came Levi, now two years old.
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<br />If you've spent a little time on their blog, you'll see that they found out Sunday Levi has a brain tumor. Now, just six days later, he is in surgery which I guess could last 6+ hours. It started at 11am Cali time, I believe. I haven't heard anything yet. Kara did post on Facebook this morning that Levi just wanted some FOOD! Poor guy couldn't eat because of the surgery. But not understanding, he just kept rattling of food! <span style="font-style:italic;">Hot dog? Waffles? Chocolate milk? Hot dog? Waffles? Chocolate milk? </span>And then his big eyes in the pictures on their blog today...my own eyes filled with tears. Life just isn't fair.
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<br />I have to admit...last night when B got home from work, I said, "Do you think the more people who pray for Levi makes a difference?" The second the words came out of my mouth, I cringed because I knew I was getting caught up in the things of THIS world. B said "yes, yes I do, because we cannot put God in a box or in our worldly concepts." He's right. I'm thinking about the number of hands folded and the outcome of Levi's surgery in a very transactional sense. 5,000 hands will maybe = positive outcome? 500 = not-so-positive? I want the black and white of it.<span style="font-style:italic;"> Tell me, God, how many hands you need to heal Levi because I'll go out and get that?!</span> This way of thinking gives me the control and diminishes God's power. B's point was less about the numbers and more about God's power.
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<br />Later last night I read Dan's most-recent post in which he said that they were choosing to hope and to trust in God. He said:
<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">As I have wrestled with God trying to comprehend all that has passed this last week I have come to realize that even my own child is not my own. Each of us is created with a purpose. A purpose that is so much greater then ourselves. Because of that I cannot choose how God will use my child for his purposes. I do believe that God has a purpose in what is happening right now. This is no accident, this did not take the Creator by surprise. While in our limited scope this floored us, in God's grand view of things this is all part of the process of showing Himself to the world. If God's whole purpose in this is to show off His church and his miraculous power, then I am okay with that. </span>
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<br />I was reminded of what I already knew. God hears our prayers--whether there are 500 or 5,000. He knows. And in praying to God, we acknowledge His power and give up our own. This world is messed out, so the outcome may not always be what we want in earthly terms, but God is there. He is here. And Dan and Kara have testified that in the midst of their horror, God has held their hands.
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<br />Will post again when I hear something.
<br />Pray.
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1