Bullet Points

Another bullet style post for today.

• We're going to Iowa this weekend for Isaac's homecoming at the Univ of Iowa. I'm excited about going, yet a bit nervous about the flight to Chicago and 4 hour drive to Iowa City with Mark. We have free plane tickets on SW Air, so Chicago was the closest we could get. Plus, we have a non-stop flight from RDU so we won't have to deal with any plane changes. Our plane leaves at 6 am on Friday am! Whew. I hope we're ready for that. : )



• We had a lovely weekend with Isaac's mom and sister. We had beautiful fall weather, and enjoyed getting outside for a walk, picking out pumpkins, and even painting a couple. I'll TRY to post some pictures later. They are coming back for Thanksgiving and we can't wait! It is such a pleasure to have them visit.



• My mom's pneumonia isn't going away. The chest x-ray she had last week is not clear. I visited her on Sunday and I can tell she is short of breath. She has a follow up dr's appt today, and my sister is going with her. So I hope to have some more answers soon. The drs have talked about doing a lung biopsy to see what might be going on. That's a scary thought, but we need to know what's going on. She's been ill for over 2 months now.



• Our grass is starting to sprout, but much more slowly than we'd like to see. There are huge patches of dirt as well. We can see the grass seed laying on the top, and are watering like crazy. Our lawn man said if things aren't better by next week, he'll come by and check it out. I would really have expected it to look better than it does right now.



• Isaac bought a hay bale from the farmers market, so we have a lovely fall display outside: pumpkins, gourds, mums, and corn shalks. I found a pumpkin-shaped placemat at Target for a couple dollars, and taped it to the front door. So, we have a very festivey house! FUN.



• I'm trying to be better about reading my bible and praying. I can tell the more I do it, the more I WANT to do it. But it's still a struggle if I'm honest. I'm meditating on Paul's words in Galatians today:

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)

• I once read a biography of Amy Carmichael--missionary to India--and the book talked about how one of her goals was to walk with God all day long. I'm praying that I--and YOU--will be able to do this. Come Lord Jesus and abide with us!

He's Always Been Faithful!

Have you ever heard the song "He's Always Been Faithful" by Sara Groves? If you haven't, click here. The song is based on verses in Lamentations 3: 22-23 which is also what the hymn "Great is Your Faithfulness" is based on:

"Because of the LORD's great love

we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness."

How I need to be reminded of this on a daily basis. God never fails us, and every day we have a new opportunity to live in His love and be encouraged in the greatness of our God.

Later in Lamentations (3: 31-33), we find these verses :

"For no one is cast off by the Lord forever.

Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,

so great is his unfailing love.

For he does not willingly bring affliction

or grief to anyone."

What a relief! He does not willingly bring us pain, and he will show us compassion when we ask for it. I love meditating on the compassion and love of God (when I can remember to do so), probably because I need these things so desperately. How I deceive myself time and time again that I can do it on my own! And how quickly I wind up mired in pain and grief--all of my own doing. But all I need to do is remember God's faithfulness to me and remember my need for Him. He isn't going to force me to follow him, but he gently reminds me to follow Him on a daily basis. I struggle so, so hard with this!

And still later in Lamentations 3: 55-57:

"I called on your name, LORD,

from the depths of the pit.

You heard my plea:

“Do not close your ears to my cry for relief.”

You came near when I called you,

and you said, “Do not fear.”

So, God, I'm asking for your help. I need your guidance on career, life balance, and in trusting you more. I need your help to stop relying on my own strength. It's just a facade, when in reality, you are the reason anything goes well in my life. Without you I am nothing.

I need your strength and courage to follow your leading, and it use my gifts and talents for YOUR glory.

Amen.

Day off!

Today is Columbus day and I have the day off! We had a great weekend--hosted a meal for homeless families at our church, worked around the house and yard, and took Mark to Shelley Lake. He loved walking on the path and greeting all the runners and walkers. He is like a mini-welcome wagon! Too cute! He is so into saying "Hi" and "Bu-bye" right now. (It makes it hard to go to work in the morning.) And he loved the playground. I can tell we are going to have a fearless child. He was all over the play structure and slides. It was hard to take him home when it was time. We'll be back soon.

Isaac and I went to a reception for one of Isaac's Navy friends. Kevin is originally from NC and he moved back to go to NC State years ago. He and Isaac connected on Facebook awhile back. Kevin got married in Mexico over the summer, and he and his wife had a party in Raleigh to celebrate. It was a lovely evening for a party, and I really enjoyed meeting Kevin and Tara. Tara moved to NC from South Dakota for her OB/GYN residency at UNC. And she now practices in Raleigh. I can hardly tell you how cute she is! Mark stayed home with a babysitter, so Isaac and I had a few hours to ourselves. Nice.

I picked out trees and shrubs today. That is another weight off my shoulders! Our landscaping guy is going to plant it all for us. It will be SO SO nice to check this off our list. It turns out the nursery we went to is owned by a fellow church member, so it was nice to have that connection. Good thing we were on our best behavior! ; )

So, after some errands, grocery shopping, and cleaning I'm now on the couch till my guys get home. I'm trying not to feel guilty about the fact I have two hours all to myself!

Ramblings

Hi. It's been a week since I've written. Trying to get back in the groove after being in DC to help with the new baby. Thought I'd do bullets since my mind is all jumbled up right now:

• We finished spreading the topsoil over the weekend. The lawn guy came and put down the grass seed on Tuesday, so now evenings are spent watering the lawn to get the grass to grow. I love my neighborhood, but wow, it's hard to get work done when neighbors are stopping every 10 minutes to talk.


• There was a construction accident at our church on Tuesday--where Mark goes to daycare. The workers severed a gas line right at drop off time. It was chaos and a nightmare. Everyone was safe, but I was less than pleased in the manner in which it was handled. Commence calls to multiple people at the church, talks with the directors, etc. I still don't feel better about it. May need to consider moving Mark to another place. There have been multiple "issues" since Mark has been there, but we've tried to work through it b/c it's our church. I'm honestly getting tired "working it out."


• I went for a jog on Tuesday evening to let off some steam. I ran 3 miles and only took 1 walk break. It was a lovely evening and I enjoyed using my anniversary gift, a new iPod touch, to listen to Adele. Hate that she's had to cancel her US tour due to voice problems. If you haven't heard "Set Fire to the Rain," go listen now and get ready to jam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlsBObg-1BQ


• My mom is still battling her pneumonia. She's been sick almost 2 months, including a week hospital stay. I feel like she will get well, it's just going to take some time.


• Isaac put out our "Happy Halloween" flag this week. This is one of Isaac's favorite "holidays" due to the presence of lots of candy, cute costumes, and lack of the usual family stress that can accompany the holidays.


• Mark has 12 teeth and is getting more. He is a drool-bug these days. He's letting us brush his teeth though, so I'm glad about that. I think he just likes the sweetness of the toothpaste (no flouride in it). : )


• Iowa homecoming is in 2 weeks. I initially told Isaac I wasn't going... but I find myself getting a little excited about it. Not so excited about flying 1/2 way across the country... but oh well! Isaac wants to show Mark off. I think that is PRECIOUS.


• Mark is a dancing fool. He can now dance with both his upper and lower body. He carries around my iPod and dances to whatever comes up. He is also apparently quite the dancer in chapel at daycare too! LOVE!

That's enough for now. I promise to be more organized next time and to post pictures. I'm still not back in the groove of uploading them since we got a new PC. Have a happy Thursday!

I have a new nephew!

Hi all. I've been in DC visiting my twin sister. She had her baby early, early Saturday morning via c-section. She called me around midnight to tell me her water had broken. I was so excited I could barely get back to sleep. Then I got a text message with a picture of Michael Joseph, so by the time 6 am rolled around, I HAD to get up. Baby Michael was 8 lbs 13 ozs and just perfect. He is a beautiful baby and is doing well. Kathleen is healing well too.

I certainly was reminded how grueling caring for a newborn can be. I had honestly forgotten the feedings every 2-3 hours. I don't remember it being that bad with Mark. But then again I was on maternity leave and he was my first. I also kind of think you're so in love with the baby that it wouldn't matter even if you didn't get any sleep.

We had to postpone our yard work till this coming weekend. We've gotten so much rain that it has been impossible to spread dirt. The weather is supposed to cooperate this weekend, so hopefully it will be all ready for seeding on Monday. I'm honestly just ready to be done with it. If I could do it again, I would just let the weeds be! : )

I'm thinking and praying through how to decrease the stress in my life, and how to approach a possible career change. I know something's gotta give, but I'm not sure or exactly how to go about it. Relationships are the most important thing to me, and I want to have more time and energy to invest in those. Mostly, I just want to feel better and have the emotional stability to be patient with my family, invest in my relationship with God and in teaching Mark about God, and to feel like I am making a difference in the world. I'm sure you'll hear much more about this as I pray and think through it. But in the meantime I would love your prayers.

Some verses I'm meditating on today:

John 14:1 – Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

Hebrews 13:5 – Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

Matthew 28:20 – and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Psalm 147:3 – He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Sick

It's no wonder I'm sick... waking up super early several days in a row doesn't help my immune system.  Plus, I think Mark was a little under the weather over the weekend and it's catching up with me.  I'm staying home today and am going to TRY to rest.  I have a couple conference calls to do... but my primary goal is REST.

No baby Starkey yet.  I'm still praying he bakes through the weekend.  I could REALLY, REALLY use to be here to help with yard work and Mark child care.  Plus, I'd prefer NOT to get Kathleen and family sick from my illness.  I left my cell phone in the kitchen last night.  I did it on purpose.  I finally decided that I wouldn't be help to anyone if I wasn't well-rested.  And waking up in the middle of night wondering if Kathleen had called wasn't going to be helpful to that goal.

I was thinking about the Westminster Shorter Catechism today.  It's one of the Presbyterian (and Protestant) church's doctrinal guides.  I LOVE the first question and answer:

Q. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

Did you catch the answer?  To glorify and ENJOY God.  There are lots of scripture references that support this part of the answer:

Psalm 144:15, Isaish 12:2, Philippians 4:4.  But I am relishing the fact that God wants to bring us joy and he want to bring us peace and love and happiness.  Not that our Christian faith is all about "feeling good."  But it is an aspect of my faith journey that I sometimes forget.  I know that probably sounds weird.  Why would people want to know God unless this was a big part of it?  But I honestly forget this sometimes....

Up since 4:30

We had a great anniversary.  We purchased a Living Social deal to a fancy restaurant and really, really enjoyed our food.  We estimate we consumed a 1/2 lb of butter between us.  YUM.  Mark was with a babysitter from his school, so he was well taken care of.

But for whatever reason, I'm here and up at early again.  I got up searching for my cell phone to see if Kathleen had called in the middle of the night from going into labor.  I finally found my cell phone right beside the bed, charging.  I forgot I had brought it back with me.  Last year when Matthew was born, I missed Kathleen's phone call because I left my phone in the kitchen and didn't hear it.  Not the end of the world, but I need to know when she goes into labor so I can pack and get on the road.  You'd think I was the one having the baby with the anticipation I'm feeling!  : )

My dad is scheduled to come to Raleigh this weekend to help us in the yard.  We have some big holes to fill in the yard from pine trees that were cut down after a big hurricane years ago.  The root systems have sunk into the ground over time leaving us with lovely gaps--gaps that can cause sprained ankles too!  We also removed all the bushes from the front of the yard.  They were so overgrown and dwarfed  our short ranch house.  So, we need to re-plant the shrubs and buy a few shade trees.  I'm glad dad will be here to help.  I just wish I could guarantee that I would be here to help.  It all depends on baby Starkey.  : )  I found a nursery about 30 minutes away that has excellent prices.  We just need to rent or borrow a truck so we can pick the stuff up! 

We also have a slight drainage problem in the back yard.  And we have some holes in the crawl space covers that need to be patched.  Our pest control guy kindly reminded us that we need to get this done before the weather gets much cooler unless we want some friends in the house.  No thanks!  Maybe I can call someone to help with these tasks.  Honestly, Isaac's to do list is long enough.  And there are certain things I just can't help with.  Not planning on using a drill any time soon... I need my hands in good working order!  (I'm klutzy.)

And then finally, we seem to have an issue with our thermostat.  It's a fancy programmable one, but neither Isaac nor me can get it to work properly.  It was 80 degrees in one part of our house last night.  Fortunately, not the side we sleep on.  But goodness.  Add that to the list too.   

So, no wonder I'm feeling sleepless... Fall is the time to do many of these things, so it isn't like I can just put it off.  Planting grass and then digging a hole weeks later to solve the drainage problem is not an option.  So, maybe it's time to call in some reinforcements.  : )

If anyone wants to come over and hang house numbers, plant trees, or trim bushes... please let us know!  And in the meantime, baby Starkey, I need another week.  Please listen to your aunt and arrive AFTER the weekend.  Thank you very much!  : )

Now to shower and tackle this day.  I wonder when I'll crash? : )