The Daily Life of Sweetpea[s]

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Please pray for my friend Martha today. Martha is a delightful new friend from church, 25 years old, and a magazine writer. She has MS and has lately been through a lot because of it--hospital stays, lots of nasty steroids. Today she's in the hospital getting a port put in, and tomorrow she starts 6 months of chemo.....(yes, the fact that chemo is used to treat MS was news to me, too.) Martha is a young woman who trusts Jesus with her situation. Please pray that God would continue to fill her with faith and peace, and that He would heal her body.

One thing I've experienced as a parent is that I am never as prepared for things as I think I ought to be. I imagine that thing will come up at the appropriate times and I will have the perfect responses. But most of the time your 6-yr old waits until you are madly driving him to school and yells from the backseat, "how do babies get inside of you??" In those moments you do the best you can and you use whatever is at hand to help.

A long time ago we explained to Sam that Mommy had 'seeds' in her body and that Daddy helped make them grow. For a 4-yr old it is all he needed to hear. But recently Sam was asking more questions about the whole baby thing and I asked him how he thought the baby got inside of me. He said, "You swallow a seed and Daddy waters it." (He was way off and so close in so many ways.) I looked at Andrew and asked him to please have a talk with Sam. I couldn't have Sam thinking women swallow seeds to have babies!

20 minutes later they emerged from the bedroom having had 'the talk' or nearly so ,as is appropriate for a 6-yr old. When Andrew realized he needed to illustrate some things he grabbed what was closest, a Far Side book. There in the front cover forever immortalized are the drawings of how a baby develops and is born.

Sam didn't say much afterwards he appeared to be quite satisfied with what he had been told. He did tell Ethan the next day that he had come from an egg. Ethan didn't seem impressed.

WG's 10:

1. I think my feet are beautiful. I love my feet. I wear shoes that show off my feet.

2. I hate smelling like food. I'll change if I have to. I'm getting better at this.

3. I love having 3 brothers. I will probably not have 4 children of my own, but I love having 3 siblings. They are on my top ten list of things I'm thankful for. I love my brothers.

4. I genuinely feel like events in my life are less valid if I don't have photos to "prove" it to myself. I'm working on this because it exhausts me and I feel very free when I don't HAVE to be a photographer.

5. I love the way Stephen's skin smells.

6. I love to dance. I've secretly always wanted to be a dancer even though I have no real training. Ballet, Jazz, Hip-hop, Salsa...you name it.

7. If I could wake up tomorrow with a super power it would be to speak all languages.

8. Fav show that I never admit to anyone: America's Funniest Home Videos.

9. I love physical comedy. It makes me laugh when people fall. (If they're ok.)

10. If my family lived closer and if there were Tex-Mex food restaurants, I'd live in New England forever. I love Boston.

1. Speaking of toes, my big toe looks like a thumb. So, in case I ever lose my thumb...I got extras.

2.Pet peeve-When you order Dr. Pepper and they give you Root Beer. It is NOT the same thing.

3.My favorite time of the day is when I look in on the boys before I go to bed. I love to see them sleeping peacefully, astonished at how much they have grown.

4.Favorite guilty pleasure show: American Idol

5.Favorite Guilty Pleasure shows that I don't even admit to my husband: 'Dog, the Bounty Hunter' and 'Most Haunted' on the Travel Channel

6.I love, love, love iced coffee chocolate drinks and I sadly am not supposed to eat sugar anymore.

7.I live in San Jose, Ca and its beauty is good for my soul.

8.I am presently in training to be a Deacon (non-ordained) in my church. Some consider this controversial, and I vascillate between intimidation and excitement to love and serve my church body in a more formal position. "Oh Lord, let your will be done."

9. In another life I would be a massage therapist, a hair-stylist or a counselor.

10.I am not organized and I am o.k. with that...for now.

Okay, I can't think of anything else to post on right now, so how 'bout a little self-focusing?

And this isn't just for me--it's for ALL ya'll who like thinking about yourselves.

So, join in!

10 things about me. (I was going to do the ubiquitous "100 things about me" meme, so you people are getting off easy tonite.)

Ahem, 10 things about me:

1. Today I sat with friends under a partially shaded arbor thingy for two hours at a restaurant in 70 degree weather, and I am burnt to a crisp. Ironically, we spent part of our time there chatting about what painfully whitey-white girls we are.

2. I have extremely long toes. Especially my second toe. (Thanks, Dad.) You know those peep-toe flats that are currently chic? Those don't really work for me. When I was backpacking in Europe after college, I noticed that in lots of neo-classical paintings, the goddesses/queens/aristocrats (who are generally pictured barefoot and in greco-roman gowns) tend to have long toes exactly like mine. So now, rather than feeling embarrassed about my toes, I feel rather smug and superior.

3. I am not scared of mice.

4. Speaking of rodents--once when I was on a trip in rural Haiti, a rat sneaked into my bedroom and chewed on my flip-flops, which were located under my cot along with my other personal items. He (or she) also stole my contact case and attempted to drag away a pair of my shorts. The next morning I found my shorts pulled partway under the bedroom closet door. My contact case was inside the closet. Thus I came to understand the meaning of the term "packrat."

5. I am not a very organized or clean person, but I'm working on it. I am better than I used to be.

6. However, I like to do laundry.

8. I do not like to feel emotionally manipulated by movies. For example: The English Patient.

9. I forget the gospel all the time. I forget what grace is, what the Cross means. I lose faith pretty much everyday.

10. Therefore, my life verse should be, "I believe, help my unbelief."

I just wanted to let y'all know that there is practically a blizzard outside. The snow is coming down fast and the wind is really strong. It's so funny because it was in the high 60s just a couple of days ago. Enjoy your spring temps for me!

I promise this is my last post on Sam losing teeth, but this one is worth mentioning because of how it happened. Sam lost his third tooth by a blow to the back from his brother, Ethan. E. was so proud of himself he felt he deserved a treat for pulling Sam's tooth!

Sorry I haven't been blogging lately. I had to make a last minute trip to Texas because my paternal grandmother (not pictured here) passed away last week. It was a sudden death by stroke and head trauma. The funeral was hard for all of us....I still can't believe she's gone. She was 80 years old.

On a happier note, I got to spend some time last weekend with my maternal grandparents (pictured here). Grandpa is 98 and grandma is 95. It really cheered me up to be able to spend time with them. The time with my immediate family, my friends and my nieces & sister-in-law has been really special, too.

I finished the shawl I was knitting and decided to give it to grandma. She loved it and wore it all day.