+ 1 - 0 | § ¶news, house church and scary dream
First, the news...I'm gonna be an aunt again!!! My oldest brother, Rob, and my sister-in-law, Elizabeth, are gonna have a baby!!! Woo hoo! I'm so excited for them! The above picture is from their wedding last August. As I was looking for that picture, I came across this one and just think it's hilarious!!! They really do love each other! I will see them next week when we all meet up for my cousin's wedding in Wisconsin and I can't wait!
Second, house church...I went to the first meeting of a new house church that is starting up in my neighborhood last night. The house where it will be held is only about a 3 minute drive- I can totally walk there! The couple, James and Jenna, who will lead it are really cool and there will probably be about 8-10 of us to start. Only 5 were there last night, but it went well and I think we're all on the same page about what we'd like that community to be. I ended up staying until nearly 11 just hanging out and talking with a few of the people. So, yay! I've been wanting to be a part of a house church in my neighborhood for a long time, and now I am!
Third, scary dream...can you guess what it was about? Oh come on, of course you can. Anyway, it involved not one, but two centipedes that were quite literally chasing me around my house. One was a normal-size one, but the other...oh man... how do I even describe it?!? It was about the size of an iguana. And fast. So fast. Terrifying, really. I was pretty glad to wake up, but then had to keep reassuring myself that it really was a dream and the evil beasts were not hiding under my bed, just waiting until I dropped my guard.
And it's finally Friday!!!
+ 0 - 1 | § ¶june...
I can hardly believe that June is nearly over. It just started!!! Time is just careening past me lately. Maybe part of it is that work is crazy busy. Maybe the other part is that it's been graduation party/wedding season. Maybe it's just because I'm getting older and I've heard that's what happens. Anyway, I really wish I could just slow things down a bit. I want to enjoy the people in my life. Read a good book. Worry less about accomplishing tasks and focus that energy on more important things. Oh well, I'm not trying to complain...life is essentially good.
That picture is from last Thursday night when I went with Diana and John to hear my pastor speak downtown. He is going to be touring for the next month, all over the country, and giving the same talk to whoever comes to hear him. I was pretty impressed. He's kinda brilliant!
Also, I did a little investigating and found out that the new song we sang at church on Sunday (Better Way) was indeed written mostly by the Ben Harper I've heard of! He sings one of my favorite songs- Steal My Kisses. I sighed when I heard we were gonna learn yet another new song, but this one captured me. Also, very cool, loud drums!!! Ok, that's enough for now. Sorry I'm kind of boring, but I figured I should try to write something every once in a while and unfortunately that's all I could come up with!
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+ 0 - 1 | § ¶odd behavior and bugs...
The other day I met up with my d-group girls for coffee and to just catch up on life. They are a bit odd! Seriously, Aubrey has the Kelly Ripa face down! (from that one commercial where she's out to dinner with her husband and he spills wine on his shirt and she whips out the stain stick and starts singing to him and he's all embarrassed and says, "do you have to sing every time?" and she says, "uh huh!" with that crazy look in her eyes!) Anyway, we had fun and they made me laugh a lot! They're so cute! Here's Courtney and Erin looking normal and Ashleigh and Aubrey looking, well, like them! Actually Aubrey is doing what I did when I got home later that night....and found this. It's not a very clear picture, but it's an indoor centipede on the outside doorframe of my house. Right by the doorknob. Just waiting for me. I took this picture and then promptly killed it. Then I went inside and killed 2 earwigs in my kitchen. I've never had an earwig inside my house before. I have killed numerous ones since then. I think they are in here because my basement sort of flooded last week and brought in some extra bugs. They are gross though. Much easier to kill because they don't run as fast as centipedes and they are less aggressive. But my brother told me that they are called earwigs because they crawl into your ear and into your brain and then you die. I only partially believe him but I'm still trying to sleep with my ears safely covered by the blankets! The whole idea of anything crawling in my ear wigs me out. (hee, hee, hee! I am my father's daughter!)
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+ 1 - 0 | § ¶st. louis part 3
So, here are the rest of the St. Louis pictures I've been meaning to post! The main reason we went to St. Louis was to see Travis graduate!!! Yay Travis! We finally got to spend some time with Travis and Brooke on Sunday night and Monday. I just really like them. Houston had a blast playing with both of them. Katrina had fun too (pretending she's the new lead singer for KISS- can you believe how long her tongue is?!?)! We all went out to lunch at a yummy, cheap pizza place and then made our traditional trip to see the turtles. It was great to just spend time with Brooke and Travis. Oh, and I have a number of pictures of people with their laptops throughout the weekend...I love technology...
Oh, I also spent about two hours with the Botts family! Here's Becky, Abby, Chloey, and Ezra. (My close up of Andy has his eyes closed!) They are doing great and I just had a restful time with them. I love friends!
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+ 0 - 1 | § ¶my parents...and lobsters
So, here's a little description that my dad wrote (and gave me permission to share) about a very funny experience he and my mom had a few weeks ago, just after his surgery. It's sorta long, but it's worth the read! So, here it is:
"I have to give you the "blow by blow" description. You'll get a kick out of this.
Well, first there's the knock at the door. When I open it I see a delivery person with a package from LobstersLive or something like that.
"What is this," I ask rather timidly.
"Looks to me like you're going to be eating well tonight," he replies.
I call out to my friend Bert who is over visiting, and he relieves me of the package and I hobble back into the kitchen. He sets the package on the counter.
"Do you think there's a live lobster in there?" I ask, hoping he will assure me that there isn't. (Now this trepidation is because Shirley & I have never prepared lobster at home, not even frozen lobster tails, so the novice fears are beginning to take over.)
My friend Bert puts his ear to the package. "I don't hear anything moving," he says as if to reassure me that nothing is going to jump out of the box at me when I open it. We finish our visit, Bert leaves, and curiosity gets the best of me.
The first thing that comes to mind is "Who sent this?" Only one name keeps ringing in my head. Kathy Brennan. This is definitely a Kathy Brennan gift - the unusual yet very practical. Sure enough, I open the package and there it is "Kathy Brennan." Right below the card is a pak of ice, so I already know what is next. There they are, staring at me with their beady eyes. "Oh Kathy, what have you done?" goes through my mind. I don't have a clue as to what to do. Fortunately, there is a rather extensive instruction booklet. I look for the warranty, because it may take a while to get up my nerve. No warranty. That means these babies are supper tonight. I look at the two steaks and think of how much easier that is going to be. I plop the ice pak back on the lobsters and retreat to the den where I wait for Shirley to get home.
It isn't long before Shirley returns. I hear her rustling around in the kitchen. Suddenly I hear, "Oh . . . my . . . gosh!" I immediately identify with her total sense of inadequacy. She too is wondering what to do. Well, she surges way ahead of me and starts reading the instruction booklet. She never gave one thought to the warranty, but plunged into the task. The next thing I hear is she's on the phone with the neighbor asking if they have any big pots - big enough to hold two lobsters. What a brave soul I have married!
I take a nap, glad that everything is "under control." About 4:30 I awaken and hear Shirley puttering around in the kitchen, so I wander in there on my new hip. A big pot of water is sitting on the stove, not yet put to the fire. "You gonna need any help," I ask.
"Oh no, everything's under control," she says bravely.
"Ah, the advantages of marrying a farm girl," I say to myself and wander back to the den to watch the news.About half way through the news I hear this plaintive call . . .
"Honeeeey . . . I need your help."
"I'm on my way," I say bravely and hobble back to the kitchen. There before my eyes, everything is ready. The pot is boiling away, but the lobsters remain seated on their ice pak.
"I can't do it," she says. "As soon as I saw those eyes moving, I knew I couldn't do it."
"I'll take care of it," I say, outwardly brave but sneaking a look at those beady little eyes. "Oooh . . . they are moving," I think to myself, "as if they know my intentions for them."Well, the first thing I notice is that the pot is too small. I am wondering if I can get one lobster in, let alone two. No. Two is not going to work. I tell Shirley we'll have to do them one at a time.
"OK, tell me what to do." She starts reading the instruction manual.
"Stroke their back to make them hypnotized."
"You've got to be kidding me," I say.
"That's what it says," she exclaims, pointing to the line she is reading.
"OK." I start stroking the first victim's back. He still looks pretty
lively for sitting on the ice pak all day. I don't think the hypnotic
drill works.
She finally gets to the part about how to drop the lobster in the pot. I do it, but the damn pot is barely big enough, and the lobster is half in and half out, his tail hanging over the side. Shirley reaches for a set of tongs and wrestles the rest of the lobster into the pot while jumping away with a shriek from the hot water that is splashing all over the place. I look for an insurance policy in the lobster pak, and hear
the lid clank on the pot. Shirley stands there with a big grin on her face. I grin back at her like an old fool.
Ten minutes later we pull the first lobster out of the pot, and, strutting about like practiced professionals, dispatch the other quickly to his fate. This time, I don't even look at his eyes, and I skip the hypnosis. We don't even spill boiling water all over the place this time. While the second lobster boils away, we set about the task of cracking shells and plucking the sweet meat out of its crustaceous caverns. That too was quite an experience, but at least now the lobster is permanently hypnotized, and his beady little eyes aren't looking around. Soon the second one is ready, and we repeat the sequence popping the meat from the first one into the warming oven.Well, the rest of the story is the best of the story, as you can well imagine. For such ornery creatures who spend most of their lives in the ocean killing each other, these little cannibals sure have a succulent taste. Never was a feast more interestingly prepared, nor more thoroughly enjoyed!
Thus ends the story of our first "down home" lobster fest. All characters, places, and events mentioned in this story are completely non-fictitious, and you may draw whatever conclusions you want to about the characters and certain people you know. Thought you'd enjoy this little blow-by-blow description. I'm sure it will not adequately convey what went on because . . .
. . . YOU HAD TO BE THERE!"
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+ 0 - 1 | § ¶Princess weekend...and update on wee Beth
Well, it's been a while, huh? I'll post a few pictures from my weekend in Wheaton, but first an excerpt from Diana on the latest about wee Beth. She needs continued prayer.
"Thanks again for your faithfulness in talking to God about wee Beth. At the moment, she could use your increased and persistent conversations. Although she has gained weight to 2.6 lbs, she is not gaining in a satisfactory way for the doctors. In addition, since being put on the ventilator, in attempt to help her to not work as hard, so she could gain weight, she has become dependent on the ventilator. Also, they've realized that she has contracted Chronic Lung Disease (for more info checkout www.webmd.com/hw/raising_a_family/hw179356.asp).
She has a lot going on for such a little one! This has probably been one of the hardest weeks for Gillian, wondering if Beth can handle one more tube, or one more infection. The good news is she did not get the chicken pox, and Gillian was able to see her this week as a result. Please thank God for that report, even as we ask Him to heal her lungs. Monday (June 5) the doctors will assess whether or not to treat her with steroids. Although this isn't uncommon, it does incur significant risk because of potential side effects so they'd rather not treat Beth in this manner, but are not sure what else they can do." So, that's the news. Poor, sweet girl!
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