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Newsworthy Boy Birth Announcement

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Outside My Window
It's evening now, just darkness, the hushed tolls of wind chimes, and a gentle breeze.

I am wearing
Blue snowflake pajamas. When does one "grow up" and gradutate to cute and/or feminine pajamas?

I’m thankful for
My little (growing) family.
And my 88% today...three cheers for the Baker girls!

I am Reading
Not much these days, except for an exceptionally tall (and expensive) stack of nursing textbooks.
And then there's The Politics of Birth and Homebirth in the Hospital. I don't think I'll finish them though...

Towards Rhythm and Beauty
I'm getting better at keeping up with a steady housekeeping routine. I'm in school Wednesday through Saturday now (two full days and two half days), Sunday's are happily taken up too, leaving Mondays and Tuesdays for reading, homework/assignments, and studying (if it's a test week!). Add a busy one year old who just learned to walk and is skilled at mess making...the end result is not much time for scrubbing toilets and showers. I've adopted a few tricks though to do a little bit of cleaning everyday. In theory they work great ALL of the time. In actual practice, it leaves me with a semi-clean home, and a really clean home when my mom comes over or I get a huge burst of energy post Emmelia bedtime (on the days there is a bedtime ;)

Around the House
Pumpkins, pumpkins, and more pumpkins. A beautiful wreath to greet our visitors (few and far between these days), and a mantle chocked full of leaves and pretty autumn colored things. A sweet vase filled with dry wheat to grace the table and lots of new candles (such a luxury...) around the house to fill our rooms with yummy scents.

From the Kitchen
Just leftovers from a delicious potato cheese soup I made yesterday. So good! Not to mention, yesterdays cold, gloomy, open-up-your-windows-and-put-on-a-sweater kind of weather...made it that much more enjoyable.

One of My Favorite Things
Emmelia is doing new things everyday...it's so fun and I'm trying to soak it all in. Her newest thing (apart from tantrums-which, we're working on) is doing something bad or that she knows that she is not allowed to do (like open up the bathroom drayers and sticking her hands inside), stopping the behavior or action, and then clapping for herself because she's being a good girl.

A Few Plans for the Rest of the Week
School...school...school and maybe if I'm feeling fancy, some homework.

Picture thought

oh...

I had this thought today, as I was trying to brush away my prenatal vitamin flyaway hairs, and keep my eyes open from a second sleepless night, "Is this really worth not having to live paycheck to paycheck?"

I'm tired and I'm convinced that if I could just sleep and lay around, or pause, that I wouldn't feel so sick and this wouldn't seem like such a monumental task.

I reassured myself that it wasn't and that today only feels hard because of the 12 hours of sleep I've missed out on over the last 2 days.
and then....
I was sold a stale bagel.
and then....
They were out of pancake batter at the school cafeteria.
and THEN...
I saw a little girl in a hospital crib, all alone in her room, who looked just like mine.

...and I completely fell apart.

I'm home now, waiting for my little family to get here too. I should be studying, or cleaning, or doing laundry...something a little more productive than a blog post. Oh well. Tonight, it's all about the little things, and I'm thankful for leftovers, the 4 packages of boxers I just brought home for someone who currently has none that are clean, that I remembered to buy zip lock bags at the store this time, and for the tiny box of milk duds sitting in the pantry.

New Eyes

I can't sleep tonight, though, I'm well aware that my baby will be up and ready for another day in just a few short hours. Maybe it's the thought of school and the intense months that await me. Or maybe the fact that Emmelia is in her own room now (I really miss her being in ours). Or just the excitement of life. Whatever it is, I can be thankful that it's given me a few extra moments in the day to say a prayer for the sleeping ones, and jot (or type) down some thoughts. I'm thinking of a beautiful little thought I heard just a few weeks ago, while driving in the car with Thomas. He is the king of silly podcasts, and usually I loathe them, but this one was interesting and grabbed my attention. It reminded me of This American Life...I think that's why I liked it.
It was something by Stephen Tobolowsky, who is I guess an actor, who happened to be severely injured. To make a long story (or podcast short) he was riding a horse around a volcano somewhere far away, fell off, and broke his neck. Only, the doctors somewhere-far-away didn't discover it had been broken, and sent him home, on a plane (a HUGE no-no for someone with a broken neck!!!). Back in America he discovered he was walking around with a broken neck and the only thing saving him from severing his spinal cord was his arthritis. Kind of interesting right? The next half of the story involves his recovery, the insane head brace he had to wear, near death experiences, and a really, really mean squirrel. Apparently, a very well endowed squirrel at that. So the following excerpt is from some heavy reading he was doing during recovery.



The following was regarding the divine gift of love. It was taken from the afflictions of love, which is a book in the Torah (I think?). It was written during a period of hardship, war, and loss. Obviously Stephen found it applicable :)

From Stephens readings,  he surmised that "certain individuals are occasionally tested with injury or illness as a means of lifting them up to a higher spiritual level. Despite the trauma of the test, the rewards are great, nothing less than being able to see life with new eyes. Therefore the injury or illness does not have to be viewed as catastrophic, but a rare, even divine gift of love."

(ha...I know what you're thinking..."She's still talking about that"...yes, yes I am.)

I have new eyes, and I am so thankful. God help me to keep them.

Simple

FOR TODAY


Outside my window...
Just the quiet hum of air conditioners, no crickets or frogs tonight.

I am thinking...
Of my shortcomings and blessings.

I am thankful...
For a sleeping baby and a few stolen moments to revive this poor neglected blog.

From the learning rooms...
CPR recertification next week and studying for an math proficiency exam for year two of the VN program. I have to pass with 100%.

In the kitchen...
Just some neglected dishes and some vegan double chocolate cookies left over from dinner with the Clark family.

I am wearing...
My favorite black nightgown. Nothing fancy, just another Target favorite. I bought it before I gave birth, and wore it during part of my labor.

I am creating...
A FAFSA and birthday invitations (for a very special almost-one-year-old).

I am going...
To the mission inn this weekend for some crafty fun with a sweet friend.

I am wondering...
Why we can't be normal or simple.

I am reading...
Just recipes.

I am hoping...
That the air conditioning bill won't make us frown (or cry).

I am looking forward to...
Celebrating our baby's first birthday.

I am hearing...
Just quiet.

Around the house...
It seems there is always a mess to be made or cleaned around here, constant dishes to be washed and put away, and swelling piles of laundry to be taken care of. We are only three, but we like to play, we love to cook, and we have lots of clothes to keep us warm (or cool) in. Thank God.

I am pondering...
What I was wondering.

One of my favorite things...
Ben and Jerry's Half Baked ice cream. The best ever.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
DMV, dinner and a visit to the Watson's, craft fair, and one trip to Kaiser for mama and baby bloodwork.

Here is picture I am sharing...

Sweet Baby Emmelia

Oh Christmas Tree!

I just love our tree! It's an old fat artificial tree with lots of sturdy branches, and just the right amount of missing color coded bands to keep you on your toes during assembly. I rescued it from a curb on trash day, and to my surprise all that was missing was the base. We weren't in need of a tree, but I snatched it up anyway (which made for a very grumpy Thomas).

Anyway...

This year it was a lot harder to get our fat little tree up. What used to take a few hours took two carefully planned days, a daddy, and a mother-in-law (okay, and another day) to accomplish. But, I wouldn't want it any other way. Emmelia watched me from her bouncy seat, laughing at my renditions of holiday classics (I think Frosty the Snowman is her favorite), studying my branch fluffing technique, and dozing off for a few moments here and there. It was so great. Maybe next year she can break stuff help!

Autumn

"The time is always right to make a beginning of a way of life that will lead to salvation...however, if it were necessary to name the most appropriate season of all, and if, just as there is a time to sow and a time to reap, a time to plant and a time to harvest, and a time for everything else (cf. Eccl. 3:1-8), you are looking for a season especially suited for beginning a good work, then it is autumn, particularly this month, which is our first month and the start of our year, when our salvation had its origin, as we celebrate today." taken from a sermon on the Nativity of the Theotokos by Saint Gregory Palamas

 Back in August, I read these words and was so excited to be starting a new season of my life, something so new and so potentially beautiful for my soul. St. Gregory's words were reassuring and inspired me with the hope that I could change and start over in a sense, that I, with enough effort and prayer, could grow out of my old self and into something new and more pleasing to God.

I know that it's a month late, but happy Autumn, happy beginning of whatever newness this season is bringing to your life. I hope that it is beautiful.