Orphans. Do you see these darling children?
Brett still needs a mama. Iris finally has a family committed to her and they were supposed to have met her on the 29th.
Stopping here this week. We got some really tough news today (don’t worry — Daniel is fine) and I’m really not feeling like writing right now. Do me a favor and pray for our special intention (related to the one from yesterday). Please and thank you.
For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.
FOR TODAY January 28, 2014
Outside my window… dark. Then again, it *is* 1 a.m. so this isn’t surprising. It was in the 60’s today. We are *hopefully* going to get rain on Thursday — something that we pretty desperately need here in California.
I am thinking… about tomorrow (today?) and what needs to get done.
I am thankful… that Daniel is finally asleep so that I can blog, do my examen, and go to sleep!
In the kitchen… dishes to be done. Yippee.
I am wearing… charcoal shirt and black yoga pants.
I am creating… this entry. 🙂
I am listening to… a Matt Maher playlist on Youtube.
I am wondering… if we’re ever going to catch up rain-wise this season.
I am reading… How The Light Gets In by Louise Penny. I finished My Life with the Saints by James Martin, S.J. on Sunday and devoured all of The Whole Enchilada by Diane Mott Davidson that day as well.
I am hoping… Daniel goes down at a reasonable hour tomorrow night (tonight?) so that I’m not up late trying to get quiet and private prayer time.
I am looking forward to… Wednesday morning when Daniel goes back to school and when my laptop should hopefully be arriving!
I am learning patience with the whole laptop sitch. Jon has the patience of a saint to be sharing with me.
Around the house… cats sleeping or walking across my keyboard being needy. (Ahem… EDDA!)
I am pondering… why Fed Ex had to ship my laptop from China to Alaska (that part makes sense) and then to MEMPHIS!!! Seriously, wouldn’t it be easier to ummm… ship it to California next????? (Actually, I should know why they did it as I’ve worked in shipping and logistics but it still makes no rational sense.)
A favorite quote for today… “God, grant me the serenity
to accept the people I cannot change,
which is pretty much everyone,
since I??m clearly not you, God.
At least not the last time I checked.
And while you??re at it, God,
please give me the courage
to change what I need to change about myself,
which is frankly a lot, since, once again,
I??m not you, which means I??m not perfect.
It??s better for me to focus on changing myself
than to worry about changing other people,
who, as you??ll no doubt remember me saying,
I can??t change anyway.
Finally, give me the wisdom to just shut up
whenever I think that I??m clearly smarter
than everyone else in the room,
that no one knows what they??re talking about except me,
or that I alone have all the answers.
Basically, God,
grant me the wisdom
to remember that I??m
not you.
Amen.”
–James Martin, S.J. (borrowed from The Jesuit Post)
One of my favorite things… orange cats with good motors.
A few plans for the rest of the week: ABA therapy for Daniel, the rest of the week, errands on Wednesday morning, massage on Friday, and Respite Night on Saturday.
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Interesting… My friend Kristen posted a link to this article on Facebook. I don’t know if the presence of said missionaries is the exact reason why some countries did better than others in terms of development but it is an interesting theory.
Apparently, I’m “sheenazing”. I got nominated for a Sheenazing Award in the “Best Blog by a Non Papist” category. I’m up against Ann Voskamp and Ree Drummond so I’m not expecting to win, but hey… I’d love your vote anyway! To vote, click on the picture.
Orphans. Do you see these darling children?
Brett still needs a mama. Iris finally has a family committed to her and they have an appointment in her country next week.
Touched. I’m a James Martin, S.J. fangirl and after finishing The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything, I wrote him a note telling him how much I appreciated his writing and his Christian witness. This week, I got a note back from him thanking me for the one I sent him. This is a guy who has many balls in the air that he’s juggling and I’m touched that he took the time to write me back.
It’s probably fitting that I got through 218 pages of My Life with the Saints (re-reading it) while I was sitting in the E.R. with the wee bairn on Monday.
Update on the Daniel bear. The bear child was completely wired on Sunday night (would not go to sleep until 1 a.m.) and woke up coughing on Monday. It was a school holiday so we lazed around the house all day in our jammies and I did a few breathing treatments on him. The problem: he started “belly breathing” (where you’re using your abdominal muscles to move air because you’re not getting good lung function) and the breathing treatments weren’t helping. I decided to take him to the ER at UCD Medical Center which was packed. Thankfully, there was a bed in the pediatric ER so we got in immediately after being triaged. Daniel was feeling so awful that he was content to curl up in my lap on the gurney. They did two breathing treatments and gave him some steroids which got him back to normal. We also broke in a new resident and a new ER attending physician which was lovely. (It’s funny in a twisted way that we know one of the ER physicians so well that she comments on how much Daniel has grown.) After 6 hours in the ER, we got home around 12:30 and Jon bathed Daniel while I ate something (my first solid food in 12 hours — wheeeeeeee!!!!) and put him to bed while I showered.
Little boy has been home the last few days and has done well thus far. We were doing breathing treatments every 4 hours on Tuesday and Wednesday and we’ve only had to do one of them today.
Source of the Stephen Colbert quote from last week. I found the video with the quote I referenced here on the Colbert Nation site. I’m having issues embedding it so you’re going to have to take my word on this one. The pertinent quote is at the end of the video.
Update on the laptop situation. The case manager from HP called me on Wednesday morning. My laptop is shipping as we speak and will be here on/before the 28th. Of course, I don’t have my tracking number memorized and I’m not checking Fed Ex eleventy-billion times to see if it has cleared customs in China yet. Noooooo…
For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.
FOR TODAY January 12, 2014
Outside my window… dark. It was fairly warm today.
I am thinking… about my nutritionist consult tomorrow that I’ll have to reschedule because Daniel has diarrhea.
I am thankful… for being able to get away for a little bit the last couple days.
In the kitchen… chicken hotdish that I made and portioned out to be frozen.
I am wearing… brown shirt with a ruched collar and black running shorts.
I am creating… this entry and a baby blanket.
I am going… out to replace my headphones when Jon gets home from his concert.
I am wondering… what injury Daniel is going to give me this week. He gave me a minor concussion last week and he almost hit me with my lapdesk a few minutes ago.
I am reading… The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything by James Martin, S.J. — I’m almost done with it.
I am hoping… my stomach calms down.
I am looking forward to… my massage this Friday. (It got rescheduled from last week because my massage therapist had the flu.)
I am learning how to remove gel nail polish.
Around the house… *puts fingers in ears* I can’t hear youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!
I am pondering… waaaaaaay too many things.
A favorite quote for today… After seeing Fr. Jim Martin, S.J. on the Colbert Report talking about income inequality, I though of the following:
??If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn’t help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we’ve got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don’t want to do it.?? — Stephen Colbert
One of my favorite things… quiet so I can pray.
A few plans for the rest of the week: ABA therapy for Daniel Monday to Friday, possibly Morning Prayer on Tuesday, and my massage on Friday.
A peek into my day… I still don’t have my laptop (and thus can’t upload pics) so we’ll just go with a funny Youtube video.
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Why yes, I am aware that we have one more Sunday of Advent before Christmas starts. 🙂 I am usually teh Scrooge at this time of year because Christmas is a religious holiday for me, and I’m not amused at the secular celebration of it.
“2000 Decembers Ago” sung by Joy Williams. I first heard this on KLOVE yesterday while waiting for my prescriptions at Walgreens. (I was in my car in the drive-thru lane — Walgreens isn’t playing anything this religious in their stores.) I love the words and I love the haunting quality of the music.
“Go Tell It On the Mountain” sung by NEEDTOBREATHE. I love this Christmas carol enough to sing along in the car when it plays. (OK… that isn’t a stretch for me — I sing along to everything.) I love the encouragement to tell aloud the news of Christ’s birth. I also have good memories of being on a Christmas train ride 25 years ago when I first heard it.
“The Huron Carol” sung by the Canadian Tenors. I love how this carol combines the Christmas story with elements of Huron culture. It dates back a few hundred years and was written by a French Jesuit priest (St John de Brebeuf, SJ). It’s also one I remember from attending Midnight Mass with my grandfather.
“Gabriel’s Message” by the Good Shepherd Band. This is a Basque carol and I love its haunting quality. The Good Shepherd Band keeps its plainsong sound and there are beautiful harmonies. The instrumentation is fairly minimal and enhances it rather than detracting from it.
“For Unto Us A Child Is Born” from Handel’s Messiah. I sang the Messiah with the San Jose Symphonic Choir for their “You-Sing-It” one during high school and college though this has been one of my favorite choruses since I was a kid. It’s one that I can sing from memory (for both the soprano and alto parts) and it figured into today’s devotion from Our Daily Bread.
“The Rebel Jesus” sung by Jackson Browne. I first heard this song (and this album) in December 1991 (my family is hugely into the Chieftains and we’ve seen them in concert) and it’s been a favorite of mine since then. It brings to light some of the not so sweet aspect of Jesus’ life at a time of the year when his innocence and sweetness as a baby seems to be the focus. It also brings to light the hypocrisy in our giving and our materialism.
Need guest posters. I’m needing to take a blog break for two weeks while my laptop is off at HP being repaired and while I’ll be visiting family. I’d like to have some people guest post during that time so if you’re interested, email me — jen at grace-filled dot net.
For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.
FOR TODAY December 15, 2013
Outside my window… dark. As usual, I’m doing this at night once every other creature in the house is asleep. It was maybe in the 50’s today — definitely warmer than a week ago!
I am thinking… about Thomas‘ twins who were born this weekend.
I am thankful… that I have less Christmas crocheting than I anticipated.
In the kitchen… I baked 3 batches of cookies yesterday, most of which disappeared after church this morning.
I am wearing… black t-shirt with constellations and my blue striped fleece pajama bottoms.
I am creating… cotton snowflake ornaments for the family gift drawing this year. The theme is “homemade”.
I am going… to be starching these ornaments tomorrow.
I am wondering… if I missed anyone on my Christmas card list. I got all of them done this afternoon while sitting at $tarbux and listening to a talk by Fr. James Martin, S.J. on humor and faith.
I am reading… Mysteries of the Middle Ages by Thomas Cahill. I don’t get a lot of reading time right now (my own fault) so this might be a book I finish on the way down to southern California after Christmas.
I am hoping… I can get all my shopping done and everything mailed off in time for Christmas.
I am looking forward to… my massage on Friday.
Around the house… my Roomba just finished cleaning the floors. (It was a gift from my mother-in-law for my last birthday.)
I am pondering… many things.
A favorite quote for today… ??For outlandish creatures like us, on our way to a heart, a brain, and courage, Bethlehem is not the end of our journey but only the beginning – not home but the place through which we must pass if ever we are to reach home at last.?? — Frederick Buechner, The Magnificent Defeat
One of my favorite things… my Jacquie Lawson Advent calendar.
A few plans for the rest of the week: installing my new keyboard whenever it arrives (a certain little blond boy decided to remove the keys from my current one and broke the Tab key), ABA therapy for Daniel in the afternoons from Monday to Friday, doctor’s appointment for the wee bairn on Tuesday morning, quarterly meeting with all of Daniel’s ABA staff, my massage on Friday afternoon, and a respite night on Saturday night.
A peek into my day… the talk I was watching while compiling Christmas cards.
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Linking up with Mary Kate as well for her gift-giving link-up.
Gift cards from Barnes & Noble. I have a NOOK. I like to read. Enough said. 🙂 I’m also having to replace books which were damaged while they were being stored and it makes more sense to get them on my NOOK.
Gift cards for Kohl’s. I’m slowly having to replace out my wardrobe and I’m fond of the stuff at Kohl’s. I can try stuff on in-store and I’ve actually found clothes that I would wear when I’ve shopped there.
Peace on earth. A girl can dream, right?
A Kiva loan. Kiva loans allow you to loan money to entrepreneurs all over the world to help them become self-sufficient. I’ve made 17 loans and only $200 has been my own funds or new loans that people have given me as present. This means that those funds have been loaned out several times over and it’s honestly the highlight of my month to get an email saying that I have Kiva credit. I’ve made loans to 12 different countries on 3 continents and 16 of those 17 loans has been paid back or is in the process of being paid back. (One person did default and unfortunately that does happen on occasion.)
A Target gift card. Daniel needs some long-sleeved shirts and I’m a fan of Target’s clothes on him. I love the Circo and Cherokee brands and I find that they hold up to lots of abuse.
For Daniel to develop speech. He’s making so much progress right now in that area but it’s hard to be patient sometimes. I did get to see him say the letters in his name when I was dropping him off at school on Tuesday. When his ABA tutors have been working with him, they make him sound out words.
For Brett and Iris to have families adopt them. Do you see these lovely children?
Brett still needs a mama. Iris finally has a family committed to her and their dossier has been submitted to her country.
For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at ConversionDiary.Com.
