for dad

A Christmas Poem

it's beginning to look a lot like...

Coming to a (my) blog near you...is ME!!

I am coming out of my blogger hiatus and promise more posts in the near future.

Just wanted to give you a heads-up!

 I have pictures, updates, and random thoughts galore

Inside my head, waiting to be explored!

Oh, and just in case I don't make it back before....

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

 Here's a little something to tide you over in the meantime (heh heh). I have found the exact replica of our future daughter. Her name is Ella, and anyone who knows me will know why. Here she is!

a story of five miracles (and counting)

Late Monday night, or early Tuesday morning, my little brother finished his final project late and traveled back to Tulsa from his college to get a jump start on sleeping in his own, warm bed. About 20 minutes outside of Tulsa, he hit black ice on the Lake Keystone bridge. He spun around, missed hitting the wall that would have taken him into the water (Miracle #1), and totaled his car on the construction median.

He got out of his totaled car through the window without a scratch (Miracle #2), and called my dad, a little disoriented. As soon as he figured out where he was, my dad urged him to get off the road because it wasn't safe. Pretty much simultaneously, a semi comes barreling toward him, hits the same patch of black ice, and jackknifes.

All my dad hears is my brother yelling and then the phone goes dead as it smashes. The semi did not hit my brother (Miracle #3), but he had nowhere to go but over the bridge and onto the steep boulders that line the lake and keep it in its spot. He lands on his knee and not his head (Miracle #4) and shatters it.

The pictures are so disgusting I don't dare to post them, yet adrenaline somehow carries my brother to sprint up the hill to the semi driver where he asks if he's okay and then begs to use his cell phone. Remember, where we last left my dad, all he heard was that there was a semi, and then a scream, and the phone went dead. My brother assures him he's alive, and by that time, the fire truck had arrived.

It's only then that he realizes he is bleeding, and my dad takes him to the ER where my brother is diagnosed with a torn tendon and a shattered kneecap -- no ligament damage (Miracle #5) -- and has surgery that morning to fix it. He also gets stitches in his side where he has some deep lacerations and road rash.

I took off work that day to stay with him and keep my mom calm, and he had so many friends come to see him! Someone even brought him a Snuggie (see picture), and we joked and laughed a lot. He was completely himself, not super groggy or anything. He even got up and took a few steps even though he'd just had major surgery in his knee and got a screw put in.

I am so grateful for these Five Miracles (and counting) because it means my brother is here with us to stay. So many things could have gone wrong, but we believe that God had His hands in the entire situation. Mike would appreciate your prayers for his continued healing. He should be getting out of the hospital today!

to iPhone?

My beautiful phone Angus** has served me well since I got married. But an upgrade is mighty enticing right now. I am being courted by this smarter, wiser, technologically-savvy gentleman called the iPhone. iPhone can take really attractive pictures and post them to the internet in seconds. My blogs can be prettier, I can capture more of life, and when babies come along, I'd only have to drag along ONE device to capture their every spitup, giggle, and gurgle. Plus, and this drives JT crazy, when I can't figure out what movie someone has been in, I will have instant access to IMDB.

I've been asking around, reading reviews, and the scoop is unanimous: for now, the iPhone is the best phone out there. It's changing communication, convenience, and life. So I have my answer, but I have a new question: do I want my life to be changed? Do I want technology, communication, and people to be at my disposal every waking minute? I don't trust myself with that power, because I feel I'm already too dependent on the internet as it is. I'm not as strong as you. I don't have enough willpower. I can picture myself dropping my iPhone into a pot of stew because I want to find out who married whom on Facebook or missing the birth of my child because I wanted to find out the Texas Longhorns' score.

Yesterday, I got in my first car crash ever. I'll have to admit, I was distracted by my phone (not texting), but it probably would have happened anyway because I thought the guy in front of me had gone. Either way, I have resolved to limit my cell phone use to very important phone calls in the car, and only on speaker phone. We'll see how long that will last. I went almost 9 years using my phone and driving safely, but it's kind of like my invincibility is gone now, a little.

So the decision is made for me: my iPhone fund will be going towards the $1200 bumper cover the guy in front of me needs (and his OSU trailer hitch that got destroyed). One tiny crack and the entire thing is ruined, apparently. For now, my iPhone decision is put off, but I might rethink my plan after Christmas if I can prove it wouldn't become a hindrance.


**Angus my phone got his name because of his color and because of my favorite movie by the same name. In the movie, the title character, a disgruntled big kid, needs a tux for his winter formal, but they don't carry a black one in his size. All they have left is a purple suit. "It's plum," the salesman corrects him. 

"Angus" wasn't my first thought for a name: in the movie, when Angus tries on the suit, he looks in the mirror, and says, "I look like Moby Grape." However, since my phone is rather slender, Moby Grape just wouldn't do. So there you have it!

Praise God List

Do you ever get in a funk of sorts? I haven't been blogging because I've been in a bit of a haze lately. I don't know if it's because coming back to reality can bite, but in the spirit of a belated Thanksgiving, here is my top ten Praise God list.

1. Praise God for a house to clean and money that enables me to put food in our stomachs.
   
2. Praise God for blessing me with a fantastic husband and that we get along most of the time.
3. Praise God that my family is so close and that we got to spend a lot of time together over this break.
4. Praise God's name for mental, emotional, and physical health, His healing power, and His protective barrier.
5. Praise God that my first car accident this morning wasn't more serious than a few scratches in the paint and a ruined trailer hitch. In His name I believe He will keep it from escalating into anything more serious financially, legally, or physically.
6. Praise God for close friendships that keep us laughing until our sides hurt, grounded and accountable, and provide fun, safe, and wholesome forms of entertainment.
7. Praise God for the talents He provides, like writing, cooking, and singing, and so much more. I want to use them for Him.
   
8. Praise God for fun distractions like good books, awesome cruises, and chocolate chip cookies.
9. Praise God for a church that might be struggling financially, but is far from struggling where it counts: serving others in the name of Christ as we draw closer to Him.
10. Praise God for his provision and plan for the future.

 No funk can stand up to the God who is for me! What are you praising Him for today?

on impossible quotas:

Today, my firm completed the unimaginable. The short story: we have this goal every month, and this was our first month to have a about a 25% increased workload for which to fill a quota. Somehow, the awesome people filled this seemingly impossible quota with an hour to spare. I am so proud of them today!

Speaking of impossible quotas, tonight, I accomplished something in typical Undomestic fashion. Since it had been awhile since we saw my parents, when we got home on Wednesday, I invited them over for dinner tonight. While I'd planned to use my slow cooker to whip up a healthy, gourmet meal from scratch to simmer while I worked, life had other plans. Pretty much since the minute we've got home, my waking hours have been spent wiping dust and paint sludge from every surface in the rooms that got painted, and then putting things back in their proper place.

So today, I worked from about 7 to 5 with no lunch break, completed my 45-minute drive home, and went to the store, arriving at my home about 10-15 minutes before my parents. I only had time to preheat the oven, put the chairs back in their proper places, and scrub my bathroom.

"Dinner isn't started?" my mom remarked, a trace of panic in her voice. It was 6:00, over an hour past my parents' typical dinnertime.

But in less than 15 minutes, I set out a ham and cheese tray I'd bought for that very reason, put some dinner rolls in the oven to heat, put two cans of corn to simmer on the stove, opened and tossed a bag of the best salad kit I've ever eaten, and asked my dad to carve my two beautiful rotisserie chickens.

I may not have cooked a single thing -- except for an attempt at a cumin lemon sauce for the chicken, which no one touched -- but I'm proud of my compromise. With the help of the grocery store, my parents, husband, and I enjoyed a healthy, inexpensive dinner together without eating in a restaurant. I didn't have to make everything gourmet and from scratch. There is an alternative, a middle ground there's no crime in taking.

Sometimes, I think God moves mountains for us and then lets us take the credit and think it was our idea. He is definitely hand laying every step and stone in my path.

And I'm so glad I don't have to do it alone.

quiet conversations

I'm back from the cruise. It was SO nice and needed.

Will post pictures later once they're organized and edited, but let me first tell you about our days:

We woke up, and JT wandered around the ship, reading and taking pictures while he let me sleep in a little longer. We breakfasted (omelet bar and homemade waffles everyday) and then played gin rummy or chess in this special cabin with cute yellow wingback chairs. When someone got tired of winning (ahem, me), we changed and went into town wherever our ship was ported, and then after lunch, we'd lay in chairs by the pool and read or nap or swim until we were so full of sun and sweat. We tried to work out at least every other day to ease our consciences, because after we cleaned up, we had dinners with so much butter and all-out dessert every night. After dinner festivities included anything from the ship's fine nightlife entertainment, but most of the time, we kicked off our heels in our room and watched movies on TNT.

It was rough, let me tell you.

Last night, we arrived around midnight, and I had grand plans of taking off my makeup, brushing my teeth, and falling into bed. After I checked my email, that is. When I got home, I discovered a freshly painted house with custom crown molding by Andrea Cherie's fantastic husband. Oh my goodness my house looks completely different, updated, and wonderful! It was 51 degrees inside and still smelled like mothballs because a skunk got under our house just before we left, but it looked wonderful!

But hours later, I found myself awake with so many words running through my head -- and I mean just that. They weren't normal thoughts, they were words arranged how I would write them in my journal or blog. I was tempted to sneak away to another room with my laptop to blog about it, but instead, I had a little conversation with God.

One by one, I gave him all of the things that were running through my mind, from the mountain of cleaning I have to do, to missing my best friend who is leaving for China tomorrow, to my anxiety of returning to work and finding that I was in trouble like last time (I wasn't), to wishing I was in North Carolina to help my dear heartbroken friend whose husband's hip was broken in an accident during military training, which means he will be leaving for overseas in a few months instead of staying home and starting a family as they'd planned.

My mom's dog even crept his way into my thoughts, even though he's pretty much the world's worst dog. She gave him away while I was gone, and even though he was the worst dog ever (he was mean to everyone but her), I teared up when I pictured him living with his new family, waiting for her to come back for him. But she never will.

I asked God to give me peace and sleep like only he can. I forced my breathing into a restful rhythm and snuggled into a comfortable position, finally warm in our 51-degree house. I listened to my husband sleeping peacefully next to me like a blissful papa bear. But I still couldn't sleep, so I kept shifting, praying, pleading, and the next morning, when I realized what had happened, I knew a peace and restoration blogging never could have given me.

Here's to quiet conversations with a Maker who understands things in a way we'll never be able to and communicates to us in a language that transcends words.