Lucy, 4 Days Old

Emily and Lucy

Things For Which I'm Really Thankful

My brother-in-law. Not only is he an amazing father and husband, he's an amazing man of God as well. I sat in on the Alpha course this evening as I helped him get the house ready, and one of the segments was on healing. Usually I'm not comfortable around things that have to do with healing because the only setting that I've ever experienced topics like are in the more charismatic movements, or if you're watching some televangelist. However, brother-in-law was able to lead a discussion about healing after watching the video discussing it in a very comfortable, non-guilt laden way. It's the first time I've ever felt at ease when talking about or asking for prayer for healing for various things in you/your life. While I didn't ask for prayer specifically, I didn't have the urge to go running out the door either; and for me that's saying a lot! I really couldn't have parted with sister one to a better guy. 

Sister one. She's just such a patient, loving, resilient woman of God who tends to look at everything with an unbiased, kind disposition. She's pretty much everything I'm not. She just amazes me. I only hope I can strive to be a small fraction of the wonderful person she is. 

Water of Life Evangelical Luther Church. This tiny little church has flooded me and sister one's family with more love than I could ever imagine. They may be small in number, but they are mighty in serving one another for the Lord's glory. I'm so thankful that sister one and brother-in-law have this community reaching out to them at a time like this. 

Granna & Grampa and Grandad. Brother's-in-law mom and dad, Granna and Grampa, have been so great through all this. Grampa was with brother-in-law at the hospital almost the whole time during their ordeal Sunday morning. Granna's been keeping the kids since yesterday. Sister one's and my dad, Grandad, has been a comfort to sister one, visiting her shortly after the birth and praying for her. I'm just so thankful for brother's-in-law and my family. They are all just so great. 

God's Abundant Mercies. He's shown my family so many of them over the last 48 hours. Lucy continues to grow stronger, and sister one continues to recover quickly. I can't imagine trying to get through this time in our lives without God going before us. 

Okay, I'll stop with the sappy post now. I realize this is very out of the ordinary for me, and I'm attributing it to exhaustion. However, I feel like my cup runneth over, and I really am thankful for all of this and so much more.

My new niece and goddaughter

                              Lucy Katherine

                 3.22.09   3 lbs 3 oz    11 3/4 in

She's off the oxygen supplemental tube and completely breathing on her own. PTL! She's a little jaundiced right now, which is why she's sporting these very cool shades as she's under a bright lamp. She's a cutie though for being so tiny. She's covered in this light blonde fuzz, so I like to call her my Monkey Baby Lucy. 

She's Here, She's Here!!!!

I'm a new aunt today. Lucy was born via c-section this morning around 11:30 a.m.; she weighs a little over 3 lbs and is 14 inches long. Sister one is recovering well, and the doctors are being optimistic about how little Lucy's doing for being 9 weeks early. 

Not only am I an aunt, but I've been asked to be her godmother as well!!!!!! I'm so super excited there are no words to express how I'm feeling. 

I'm so thankful for a safe delivery and positive diagnosis so far. Obviously, we have a few hours and weeks to go before we'll know for sure how everything will turn out, but I'm so thankful God's in control and has His hand over the situation. 

Anyway, just wanted to share my good news. Now I'm off to get snacks ready for the new big brothers and sisters!

Edit: since posting this, I found out that baby Lucy is breathing on her own! She wasn't put on a respirator after delivery; she just has a tiny oxygen tube pumping oxygen into her nose, but her little lungs seem to be doing what they're supposed to thus far. That's a HUGE answer to prayer. 

Posing the Hypothetical

Hypothetical Players: Favorite pair of shoes. Animal. Owner of shoes. Owner of animal. 

Hypothetical Scenario: animal chews up favorite pair of shoes owned by person who does not own the animal. 

Hypothetical Question: Does animal owner now owe the non-animal owner a new pair of shoes? 

Hypothetical Answer: Non-animal owner thinks "yes," animal owner thinks "no."

Hypothetical Curiosity: What do third parties (read: you) think?

Rants, Raves, and Ooh La La's

Okay, why is it that veggie steamers are soooooo outrageously priced? $6.99 for a small metal vegetable steamer? Are you kidding me???? Maybe this is one of the reasons why so many Americans don't eat enough vegetables because we can't bring ourselves to pay $7 for a freakin' steamer!!!!!! Unbelievable. 

I made mashed cauliflower the other day (without the help of a veggie steamer, but I'm not bitter!) and it was oh so yummy. I boiled the cauliflower in chicken stock until it was really soft, then drained it really well. I mashed it up with a potato masher (they are so handy, let me tell ya!) and added maybe a teaspoon of butter, a good glob of all-natural, plain yogurt (probably somewhere between 1/4 - 1/2 cup, I think), a little garlic powder and paprika, and stirred together until well mixed. I topped with cheese once on my plate and paired it with my dad's pan-seared chicken. Divinity is the only way to describe it. 

I tackled the fridge last night. I don't know when it was last cleaned, but it had crusty, dried gunk every where. It wasn't really white anymore; more like a rusty colored orangey-red on the bottom and off-white every where else. Gross, right? So I took Lysol and sprayed it down very liberally. I took out all the shelves and bins and cleaned each and every one of them. I even took bleach to all the mold growing around the bottom and top of the fridge. It now looks like a fridge is supposed to look like- white! Then I took apart the freezer and got it cleaned up too, which was easier as it's smaller. It's funny how little simple things like that make you feel like you've been productive. Of course, now all I want to do is stare at the inside of the fridge as it's the cleanest part of the house at the moment! I didn't think to take pictures of the "before," but I'll snap a few pictures of the "after" and post them later. 

Okay, off to deep clean the rest of the kitchen, which is a form of torture by itself, and then continue my purge kick I've been on by getting rid of old blankets, towels, sheets, clothes, shoes, stuff, etc. 

Is it Me?

I think I have a personality type where I feel the need to take care of somebody. Or at least feeling like I need to be needed to help with something. I don't like being taken care of myself (I'm fiercely independent; have yet to determine if that's a good thing or not), but if someone else is in need, I'm totally there. I bring this up not because I want praise or compliments (because I don't) but because I've realized something. During this latest furlough of being home the times when I've felt like going crazy or wanting some extreme change in my life- i.e. tattoo, new piercing, shave my hair off- because of boredom or wishing I was back in Slovakia doing ministry, something has happened where all of a sudden I'm needed to help take care of someone. I think it's God's way of saying, "I have a bigger sense of humor than you ever will, and I know the plans I have for you. Be patient. And don't shave your head just because you're needing change in your life!"

I was thinking about all this on my drive home from my sister one's house this afternoon. I've been watching her kiddos for about three and a half weeks now as she's been on strict bed rest and then modified bed rest from some complications she's had with her current pregnancy. The complications started a day after I was going out of my mind and being completely irrational with myself. Just this weekend, some things came up with sister three needing some medical attention and care, and I had just spent the day before with the crazy, irrational side of my mind going outside of itself and entertaining the idea of things like shaving my head for some change. Uh, I really hope it's not me that's causing all this to happen. Ah! "GOOOOORRRREEEE!" (*envision that outburst with an angry fist shake*) But in all seriousness, while I don't like the scares that have been running through my family, I'm thankful for the ways I'm able to fulfill this gift of service I feel the Lord has given me. Or maybe it's just my fleshly, sinful, "I must take care of people!" desires that are being satisfied. Hmm... if so, must work on that! In either case, it's helping me stay away from tattoo/piercing parlors and the hair clippers in the laundry room. 

And in case your wondering, the Lord has been completely gracious to our family. Sister one and the baby have both been cleared by the doctors as healthy. The complications that presented themselves three and a half weeks ago have cleared up and we are expecting a full-term, normal pregnancy and birth from here on out, unless something else comes up, for which we are all so very thankful for! 

Anyway, that's just going through my mind right now. That and the fact that I want mashed cauliflower really, really badly right now.