Thursday, August 30, 2007

Danger, Will Robinson, Danger...

Nine separate lead paint recalls this month - NINE, people. Seriously, this is insane. I'm only going to let Josh play with old tires and organic vegetables from now on.

Recall details can be found here.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

much better

Not sure what it was, but he seems close to normal...low-grade fever but back to his rockin'-out self again.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

still yucky

now he's at 103.6 with Advil...yowza.

That's yucky yuck

Josh came down with something that is, as he says, totally "yucky yuck."

We're now heading into hour #5 of continuous (I mean that literally - CONTINUOUS) crying and a high fever. It was high last night, and fine this morning. It slowly crept up and he woke up from his nap back at 102F with Advil. So he has pretty much just laid on the couch and whimpered for hours.

Pray for him - all of us, really. Bummer birthday for Nate, and not so much fun for me here either...

Happy 32nd Birthday Nate!

we love you, schmoopie!

Friday, August 24, 2007

Josh in 3 years...

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Tetrachromats

Wow, this might be me.

That would also perhaps that Nate's color-blindness is not quite so severe as I see it...

Monday, August 20, 2007

Babysitter


I need a babysitter this Thursday from 12:30 - 2:00. Anyone interested?

Note: creepy men need not apply. I'm just too lazy to call the people I usually ask.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Everybody cut footloose

Celebrate



(Note the sudden change where he stops & puts his hands on his hips. He saw Andy checking him out and had to look cool.)

Cruisefest


Thursday, August 16, 2007

Tag...I'm it!

I was tagged by Brittan! Here are the NEW (Rachelle) rules:
-Let others know who tagged you.
-Players answer questions about themselves.
-Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 questions and answers.
-Players should tag 3 or more people and tell them they’ve been tagged.

1. one thing people might not know about you:
My college major was political economy @ MSU's James Madison College. Lots of fun, very interesting classes, fun with spreadsheets, pretty useless in terms of a career. I did however fall in LOVE with Milton Friedman and to this day Capitalism & Freedom is my favorite book.
2. the best invention ever is: Hmm...I'd have to go with the internet. I would most certainly shrivel up & die without it.
3. in my next house, i vow: To have a master SUITE with walk-in closets and a bathroom with a jacuzzi tub. And 2nd floor laundry. And a playroom. And a kitchen with a full-size pantry. I could go on - it just simply must be bigger. More, more, more.
4. in my next life, i vow: I don't know how to answer this one - there's no next life. so I'll be in heaven, gellin' like a felon. If I could redo parts of this one, I'd figure out a way to be less stressed. Less J-ness and a little more P-ness (that's for you, Dana).
5. if i had nothing else to do i would be happy:
Shopping. Nate would shudder if he heard me say that but I would absolutely love to shop all day.
6. my dream date would be: A quiet dinner anywhere that didn't involve getting up 50 times to cut up food, refill milk, clean spills, etc. And we could stay for dessert and not have to rush out because someone is getting antsy or has to pee or needs to go to bed.
7. one thing i do and one thing i will try to do to make our planet greener: I hang out with Daedra. She takes care of that crap.
8. one thing that astonishes me and one thing that amazes me: I find it astonishing that we have the ability - the gift - to grow little tiny people inside us and bring them into the world. However that works out, it's a miracle that happens and it's truly an honor to be a part of it. I never feel more empowered than when I'm pregnant.
Josh continues to amaze me every day. I find it totally astounding that he came from us. It's a joy to watch him develop into a little person and see snippets of what he will be like as a grown-up. We have our moments where it's not so fun, but overall it's remarkable, and I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Now I will tag Daedra, Lauren and Josie.

Currently reading

Daniel: Lives of Integrity, Words of Prophecy by Beth Moore

We're halfway through my women's bible study now. We've just finished all the historical study of Daniel and now we're moving into the prophetic stuff. It's way more challenging - I just finished Daniel 7 and I find all of the end times stuff confusing. But way fun too.

I found this week's lesson particularly interesting in light of this FT article that Nate sent me about the US and Rome.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

New and improved

Daedra, you rock.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

It's that time again...

The dreaded Woodward Dream Cruise. I know, I know..everyone loves it. Try living 6 blocks from Woodward - the smell of exhaust, the lack of parking at all my local stores, the idiots in lawn chairs for 6 weeks on Woodward...it gets old. Fast.

Berkley does have a smaller, more manageable version - the Cruisefest. After a classic car parade, they shut down 12 Mile and have bands, food, etc. It's a taste of the Dream Cruise without all the stink. It's this Friday night - if you're interested, give us a call - we just walk 2 blocks from our house.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Keeping up with the Joneses...

Monday night I had a total panicked "I am not good enough" moment. We're close enough (in proximity not lifestyle) to Birmingham that I have those periodically. This was driven by my absentmindedly inviting a mom from Josh's swim class over for the Berkley Cruisefest. Then I got home, looked at the 1970s orange carpeting on our stairs and freaked out. I thought "Omigod she lives in like a million dollar house. I have to have new carpeting or I'll die of embarrassment."

Do we have money for new carpeting? Absolutely not. So what did I do? I tore it up anyway. I almost gave Nate a heart attack when he came home to this yesterday:Does it look better? Absolutely not. Under the carpet are totally beat-up, worn-out charcoal-painted pine steps.

So now what? Unless the carpet fairy comes soon, I need to get really creative, really fast...

And so it goes...

Up & down. That's the way the last two weeks have gone. It's hard for me to believe that it's been 2 weeks - we went to a 3:30 ultrasound on July 27th and our lives turned upside-down.

Today, for some reason, everything is getting to me. Nicole Richie is totally bumming me out. I mean, granted, it's Nicole Richie and on some level, she bums pretty much everyone out. But she's particularly getting to me at the moment with her 18-week old baby bump.

A couple of days ago I was laughing about an old post that freaked my dad out. He sent me an email that said "Wow, that was a loooooooong story!" and then told me that he couldn't believe all the things I was willing to tell the whole world. Truth be told, it's actually easier for me to say something here than face-to-face. So anyway, while I was preparing for a follow-up visit with my midwife, and planning to talk to her about ovulation. I thought "I should blog about ovulation just to freak my dad out again!" So here I am, saying the O word - O-V-U-L-A-T-I-O-N. Dad, are you breaking a sweat?

So, we talked ovulation - which should happen in the next 4 weeks. In 2 months, I can try to get pregnant again. Sometimes I think that's what I want to do, and sometimes the idea completely terrifies me. I think we'll just have to see where we're at in 2 months.

For now, I am finally sleeping, thanks to Ambien. And I'm praying again, due in large part to Daedra. So I'm getting there...but it does seem to be a step backwards for every 3 or 4 forward.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Hilarious...

You've got to love YouTube.


Sarah Gewirtz, if you get married, we are so doing this.

WWYD?

Do you journal? I've had a few people recommend it as part of the grieving process. I have to be honest - the word journaling makes my skin crawl a little. It sounds so...junior high. And I'm so cool I stopped in the 4th grade. I'm kidding...sort of.

So I don't know...what do you think? What would you do?

Monday, August 6, 2007

Moving on...

@ my sister-in-law (and pastor's) encouragement, i'm moving from job into psalms...should be interesting. i've never really read psalms because it's so stinking long...that's probably sacreligious to say stinking about the bible - apologies to those that are offended. i just happen to be a big fan of closure, so i don't like to read things i can't finish quickly.

for those who haven't tried it - i highly recommend the Message translation. it's a really great, conversational, easy way to read the bible.

------
on a side note, many congratulations to dave & becky who welcomed
kate avery locke on friday.

Saturday, August 4, 2007

Currently Reading

The Misery of Job & the Mercy of God
by John Piper

"O Dinah, do not speak like those
Who cannot see, because they close
Their eyes, and say there is no God,
Or fault him when he plies the rod.
It is no sin to say, my love,
That bliss and pain come from above.
And if we do not understand
Some dreadful stroke from his left hand,
Then we must wait and trust and see.
O Dinah, would you wait with me?"


I'm in the waiting stage right now - I don't understand WHAT happened, WHY it happened, and why it happened to ME. I am trying to figure out where/how God is merciful in all of this...I know in my head that He is, but am struggling to feel it in my gut at the moment.

Friday, August 3, 2007

How Great Is Our God

This song is really speaking to me right now...

Thursday, August 2, 2007

I've been trying to figure out what to say here. I think blogging would be good for me - sort of 21st-century journaling. It's a fine line though - between what's interesting and useful to share, and what is cathartic for me but inappropriate. So I'm stuck.

Bottom line because I know you care - I'm here and I'm okay. Physically, I feel almost 100%. Emotionally, I'm pretty much a train wreck, but I think that's what you'd expect at this point.

I'll be back online soon. Until then, just please keep praying for us. I'm in a difficult place right now - I actually have not prayed since we lost the baby. I haven't been able to. So if you would pray, we could use it.

Thanks for checking in...

P.S. Today was Nate's first day back @ work. His boss pretty much kicked him out when he got there, so he will be home until Tuesday. I'm relieved to say the very least - I wasn't quite ready to be on my own here.