My New Addictions

When I was on bed rest I thought there was absolutely nothing on TV after The Price is Right (10:00) until Wheel of Fortune (6:30).

Boy was I wrong.

Thanks to my mom, I have now discovered the food network. If there isn't a show that I'm just dying to watch on at the present time, you can guarantee the food network is on. Half of the time I have no interest in ever cooking what they're cooking that day because so many of them use seafood (remember the shrimp face?) but its still fun to learn little tips and tricks on flavors, chopping, seasoning, etc. I've tried quite a few of the recipes that don't include seafood or too much cheese/cream/other fattening products, and so far haven't been disappointed. I especially prefer the recipes that don't take too much prep time because that means when I go back to work I can still make them! A lot of the chefs have little quirks that annoy me though. For instance, on Down Home with the Neely's I don't think they could possibly refer to each other with pet names any more than they do: I'm gonna add some salt here baby. Ok thanks for seasonin up my chickn hun. No problem sweetie. Alright sugar I'm gonna get started on the sauce. Oh you do that sauce so good baby. REALLY? come on. Or on Everyday Italian when Giada decides to turn on her Italian accent just for Italian words, like "parmigiana", "pasta" or "ricotta". I mean seriously, you either have an accent or you don't. Make up your mind. But, despite the quirks I am glued to the channel all day long.

Except at 3:00. At 3:00 the TV auto tunes to Ellen and I laugh pretty much non stop during the first 20 minutes. After her monologue and jokes sometimes I change the channel if I don't care for the guests (back to the food network of course) but she usually entertains me for the entire hour. She is hilarious. Period. So hilarious that I downloaded her app on my phone so that when I go back to work I can take a break at 3:00 every day to see her monologue. I think my favorite one so far was when she criticized sock makers for being lazy by making their socks fit sizes 5-11. You don't see jean manufacturers labeling their jeans "size 2-12". She also noted that sock manufacturers and hospital gown manufacturers should get together and finish their jobs. I know I am not as funny as she is, so don't hold it against her that the sock story didn't have you rolling on the floor laughing. If you heard her say it, I promise you would have been rolling right along with me.

So if you wonder why I'm not blogging, William isn't the only one to blame. I'm not to blame, that's for sure, but you can point the finger at Paula Dean, Rachael Ray, Giada I can't spell her last name, the Neely's, and Ellen Degeneres. But, have no fear; I return to work in 2.5 weeks and will be back at it here on blogger.com.

The Peace of God

Growing up my church had an annual church retreat at Camp Allen in Navasota, TX. One weekend every November we'd all gather for a weekend of fellowship and worship. I also attended summer camp at Camp Allen from 3rd grade until 7th grade, and went to a few other miscellaneous retreats there over the years. There is a lake in the middle of the campgrounds with an outdoor worship center where we held services, and at the lake is a cross that says "I am the way, the truth and the life Follow Me". When my dad died in 1998 he had asked that his ashes be spread at the foot of a white cross near the front of the camp grounds, but because we learned that cross was going to be torn down soon we decided we'd spread them at the base of this cross by the lake so they wouldn't be disturbed. My mom, my brothers and I took a trip to camp allen one day and we took turns spreading his ashes, thinking of him and supporting each other as we quickly marked that spot as one of the most symbolic places in our lives.

Throughout high school and college whenever I needed comfort I made a drive out to Camp Allen for some quiet time by the lake. Sometimes I took friends, but more often than not I went alone. I found peace and comfort by the cross. Whether I talked to my dad, talked to God, yelled in anguish or sat in peace it was always my place to run to find shelter.

Tonight my aunt Laura let me know that Mimi broke her hip today and that her cancer has gotten worse. It pains me to think of her suffering and that there is no relief for her. I talked to Laura for a little bit about the details of the situation, then talked to Brandon to let him know more about what had happened. We had company over for dinner, and we were just about to sit down to eat, so it was taking every ounce of strength in my body not to burst into tears. It wasn't 5 minutes later when God poured out his mercy on me. My phone buzzed and on the screen I saw a text message from Maizeanne with the above picture of the cross by the lake. I am 1500 miles away from my place of shelter, so God decided to send that shelter to me. It doesn't change Mimi's situation, but it does bring me a little bit of peace.

So I'll say a prayer for Mimi that we used to recite at the end of our youth group meetings: Mimi, may the Lord bless you and keep you. May he make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. Mimi, may the Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace.

Welcome Liam

**I just noticed I had this "draft" from March 27 and had never posted it. so...a couple months late, Welcome Liam!!!

William got his newest baby cousin last week, and we were lucky enough to be in Dallas when he was born. Liam Patrick was born March 25, weighed 8 lbs 12 ounces, and was 22 inches long! We saw Shannon the day before and she was so tiny - it was definitely all baby in there!

Liam is Shannon and Ryan's second baby, and their first is SO precious I just know he will be too. Ryan is Austin's first cousin, so I guess that makes Liam William's second cousin? But its all too confusing for me to keep track of so I'll just call them cousins!


Welcome Liam, we can't wait til you 2 can run around and wreak havoc together!!!

Nostalgia

William took his first plane ride last week - which also marked his first trip, his first time to meet Austin’s parents and brother, his first time to meet my aunt “Lolly” and his first time to meet his Mimi. That was the initial purpose of the trip, though we had lots of fun filling our time doing other things too.

We had a wonderful time, and William really seemed to enjoy it. When we’re at home and he’s tired he has no trouble falling asleep. He just closes his eyes and he’s out. But the entire trip, starting with the plane and not ending until we returned home, he tried with everything in him to stay awake. There were so many new places, new faces, new smells, and new things to look at that I guess he just didn’t want to miss anything! He was so tired that Thursday morning after his 7 am feeding when he is usually awake for 4 hours he slept for 2+ more hours! Austin didn’t mind as I heard him start to snore before I had even turned the light off.

The trip, wonderful as it was, was so nostalgic for me. I don’t want to put the words in writing that this might have been the last time I’ll ever sleep in Mimi’s house - but its hard to ignore the elephant in the room at the same time. Mimi has had a few health issues pop up this year that have been pretty hard on her, and now we have found out she has lung cancer. At her age there is no sense in trying to treat it, so I can only assume it is a matter of time before the cancer takes over completely and her body shuts down. Because of this, the entire trip was flooded with memories from time spent in her house: sitting in Lolly’s room while she put on make up pretending not to be mesmerized, playing with my brothers and cousins in the “green room”, playing “Old Maid” with mimi at the kitchen table, loving to look at all the pictures on the walls of her family through the years, grabbing candy from her candy jar each time I entered and exited the front door...the memories just kept coming. Each time I walked into a room I was reminded of something new, and I just kept reciting memory after memory for Austin to hear. It was as if my subconscious was trying to retain every moment by recanting them for Austin.

Mimi has been such a blessing in my life as she is a remarkable woman and an even more remarkable grandmother. To say that she has lived a great life is an understatement, and I realize that at 92 years old not only is she probably ready to go, but she has surpassed most expectations of what a “lifetime” is. Just think of all the parts of history she has seen from 1917 until now! However, losing her will leave a hole in my life that would be impossible to fill. With the loss of her house I will also see my memories fading away. There are things I haven’t thought about since they happened, moments when I didn’t realize we were making memories, that will fade away with her house. Even though I can’t think of all of those things, it makes me sad to know I’ll lose them forever.

I couldn’t be more thankful that we made the decision to take a short trip to Dallas to spend some time with her. I thought the love a grandparent had for his/her grandchildren was unique and as good as it gets, but I learned this week that there is an even greater admiration and love for one’s great grandchildren. William will not remember this trip, but the look in Mimi’s face as she stared at him is one memory I will surely not forget. I will treasure the love she has for him forever.

Are you There Blog World? It's Me, Amanda.

I took my title from the Judy Blume book I read in 4th grade: Are you There God, it's me Margaret. Good play on words huh? I'm so creative :) I don't really remember the book, just the title. I ask if you are still there because I feel like I haven't blogged in years. I used to come up with a few things a week, sometimes 5 things a week, to say and now...I'm just at a loss most of the time. Then, when I do think of something to write about its at the least convenient time. For instance, last night at 1:00 when I woke up with William I thought of blogging. But do you really think I Was going to walk downstairs, get the computer, and stay awake 10 minutes longer to blog? Nope. And that has been how my blogging-thoughts have gone for the past...well, 6 weeks!

Here are examples of what I've wanted to write about:

William's Godparents: The decision made!

I can't believe some people: tax preparers who are careless and dishonest

My New Addictions: Ellen DeGeneres and the Food Network

How do I love Thee: Song Lyrics have a new meaning

William meets his first uncle and only aunt

Never Enough Time: How did I do all of these things when I worked - and how will I when I go back?!?!

Just an idea of what has been going on in my mind. I promise I'll get around to writing about all of those things - maybe even later today! For now I need to take a shower, and then maybe this afternoon I can try to teach myself the art of "sleep when he's sleeping" - sounds like such good advice...........

Baptismal Plans

In my last blog I said that we had some baptismal decisions to make - and one of them has been made. We weren't sure if we wanted to have William baptized at our church here in Colorado or at St Cuthbert in Houston. We liked the idea of having him baptized here because he was born here and this is where God blessed us with him, and he will be going to that church for the next year and a few months. On the other hand, it has been hard for us to truly feel connected to our church because we know how temporary of a church home it is. We liked the idea of baptizing him in Houston because it is close enough for family and close friends to be there, and St Cuthbert will always seem like home to both of us. We were both raised in that church and even though people have come and gone, and we don't know as many members as we once did, there is still that comfortable feeling when we walk in and see the familiar faces and feel so welcome and so at home. Granted St Cuthbert has moved to a new building, which neither of us have seen yet - the building doesn't make the church and I think we will still have the same feeling when we walk in the doors.

So - we talked with Father Desmond and he agreed to baptize him Memorial Day weekend when we're in Houston for Patty's wedding. It was already going to be a crammed weekend, so I know it'll be busy, but it will be worth it. He moved the May baptisms to that weekend to accommodate William, which was very nice of him. He definitely didn't have to!

The last decision we have to make is godparents. If you remember my post months ago about the meaning of a godparent, you probably know how stuck we still are. I know whatever we decision make will be fine, and he will have so many people surrounding him that love him and will help guide him...but its still not easy! So, we'll keep thinking on that and hopefully have our minds made up soon.

For now my computer is running on reserve power so I better get it plugged in and get back to my obligations other than blogging!

American...What?

I'm a big American Idol fan. I've seen every season except 2008 - and overall have liked them all. I don't always like the winners but that's ok. This year though, the contestants just seem mediocre at best. Is it just me? None of them have blown me away and I don't think I'd buy any of their CDs. Its pretty disappointing - especially since I'm a TV junkie these days!

My mom left yesterday so its back to being me and William during the days now! We're having fun - so far today William has eaten, slept, and peed and I've worked out, done dishes, and watched TV. Oh - and ate a bagel. Glad I updated you on our day? We have a doctor appointment this afternoon - his one month check up! I know how seriously cliche this sounds - but I can't believe its already been a month. What I can't believe even MORE is that a lot of working moms would just have 2 more works with their baby before taking them to day care or grandparents or whatever day-time-care they had worked out. 2 weeks? WHOA! I can't imagine. My last 6 weeks will be unpaid, which won't be fun, but I am still just so glad that I decided to do that. William is still so tiny and fragile (not as fragile as I think he is though) so I can't imagine putting him in someone else's arms all day yet. 4 months is so much older than 1 month...

We took him to church for the first time on Sunday. He had eaten an hour before the service started and was fast asleep by the processional hymn, so I was sure he'd stay asleep until we got home. Nope! He woke up right after the gospel, before the sermon. And by woke up of course I mean crying. I'm sure it wasn't as loud as I felt like it was, and I'm sure I got out of the sanctuary faster than I thought I did - but it felt like it took forever to soothe him. He fell back asleep once we got out of the sanctuary, and I got the big "I told you so" from Austin about where we should have sat. Our church has 3 rows of seats outside the doors of the sanctuary (the doors are glass so you can see inside) and sometimes families with small children sit back there. My mom insisted no one was bothered, especially because there are so many families with small children in our church, but I was still uncomfortable. I guess once you have 3 rowdy kids running around like my brothers and I you just quit being embarrassed :)

Our pastor came by last night to meet William and discuss baptism with us. So now we just have a couple baptismal decisions to make and then we'll set a date! I wonder if William will poop all over the priest like I did???? Ah, one of the lovely stories I like for my mom to tell people about me. The other is about my birth - and she always insists that even though her description of me sounds hideous, I was beautiful. Well mom: today I found a picture of me from the hospital...beautiful was definitely not the word that came to mind. Don't worry, I made up for it a few months later :)

Well, just thought I'd give a quick update now that we're back to life on our own. Only for a little while - Brandon and Dana come in 8 days. YAY!!! William is so excited to meet his first of 3 uncles and his only aunt (for now). Then it's our trip to Dallas, then Addie comes up here, then we have 3 more weeks before work. Man time flies!

Better get going and eat lunch so we can make it to the doctor on time. Happy one month birthday William - mommy and daddy love you!!! :)