035: Do an independent blogathon for a worthy cause.
Did a 12-hour blogathon to raise money for Haiti on January 30th.
055: Write an ??I Believe?? statement.
Had to do it for a call interview.
Snow Day Humor
Quoth my friend Sir Pisco of Sours:
Next time there’s a blizzard I’m seriously having a Donner Party. We’ll have spotted dick, charlotte russe, ladyfingers…
(The wiki on the Donner Party for my non-US readers…)
10 Things That Make Me Happy
HT: Tracey
In no particular order.
01.) Daniel. He is the light of my life.
02.) Jon. We’ve been together for 10 years now, married for almost 8 of them.
03.) Smoking Gun: World’s Dumbest
04.) My cats. They’re my fur-kids.
05.) Iced vanilla lattés.
06.) My family.
07.) Lipton’s Pureleaf Raspberry Tea.
08.) Blogging.
09.) Facebook. Pathetic, I know.
10.) Crocheting.
Yes, I know I didn’t mention my faith. That one is assumed.
How You Can Pray for Us
As I said in my last post, we’re moving to southern California at the end of February,and we’re doing it kind of blind. We don’t have jobs, Jon tentatively has supply-preaching lined up, and we’ve got people trying to find us a place to live. People have asked what they can do right now and at the moment, the best thing is to pray/throw good energy our way.
Here are the things that need to be prayed for:
[=] A smooth move with no complications (or very little ones if any).
[=] A place to live when we get there. Got that one covered on 2/8
[=] Job prospects for both Jon and Jen.
[=] Enough money to take care of groceries, rent, utilities, and any other daily needs.
[=] A good doctor for Daniel.
[=] Good health for all three of us for the next few months.
As prayers are answered or more needs arise, I’ll update this. This entry will stick at the top of the page so scroll down to see anything new.
Dispatches from the [Undisclosed Location]
I’ve been in my undisclosed location since Monday night (can we just say desperate need of R&R that I haven’t been able to have since before Daniel was born?) and it’s been good. I was able to have coffee with Abra (who is also Daniel’s godmother)and today, I was able to sit at Posh Bagel and have lunch while reading and people-watching. I’ve been able to go for walks, something that I can’t do in Montana because of the current weather as well as the lack of sidewalks and such and I’ve been able to enjoy being around my family — it’s the first time I’ve been “home” in 3 years.
This is all good stuff because after some respite, Jon and I will probably be filling out call papers to head wherever God wants us to go next. Meanwhile, we’re moving to southern California to be close to family, friends, and just in a civilized environment with things like specialists in fields that apply to us (i.e. psychiatry, rheumatology for me, and possibly perinatalogy). As much as I dislike southern California, it’s offering us things that we don’t have in Montana or even up north with my parents: childcare options that do not involve daycare (*insert explanation of preemies and daycare risks), friends OUR AGE with whom we can go do stuff, family… We’ll assess our needs for the next parish and I think it will be a better time for us if we can take this time out and be normal people for awhile instead of the strange category that we fall under as clergy and clergy spouse.
Finally Some Good Political News Out of Minnesota!
CNN.Com: Coleman not running for governor.
Well, thank God for that! He’s a prick jerk (he sure was as a senator when I lived there) and he’s a sore loser. Why would anyone *WANT* to vote for this clown? (Well… other than yellow dog Republicans.)
What Do I Say?
So Olive Hope passed away last night. This isn’t a surprise. She was born at 28.5 weeks, she had a class 4 brain bleed, she was dealing with hospitals in Thailand, she had to have shunt surgery when she got here… It’s really miraculous that she lasted 4 months. The pictures on that entry were of her family cuddling her lifeless body. I really wish I hadn’t seen those pictures because they will haunt me for a very long time.
Still, I hurt for her parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and everyone else whose heart she touched in the last four months because *I* could have been in their place. Daniel’s NICU stay was a cake walk compared to what Rusty and Lynette went through. They’ve stood by Olive and had to make some pretty intense decisions. They’ve faced some really intense obstacles and yet, they still got things done. They got Olive into a private hospital. They assembled a team of doctors and nurses to fly home with them. They got her Medicaid benefits even though Olive was born abroad. I’m sure there are people saying that they could/should have done more; but I really don’t see how they could have.
Rusty’s sister is soliciting messages to put in a book for Rusty and Lynette and I wish I could tell her something but there’s no way I can quantify what I feel in words. I’m the mom of a preemie. Both Daniel and I almost died in his birth. I understand the four months of angst they went through — it was my first week times sixteen.
And yet, all I can say is that it’s good that Miss Olive is at peace now. She would have had severe developmental disabilities and I can’t imagine going through all the stuff she went through every day. How can you say it’s better that your child die than live and have all those problems?
I will eventually figure out what to say but I know my heart is definitely grieved.