Monday, April 06, 2009
Two Weeks and Counting
Tomorrow I will be 38 weeks pregnant and I feel like there is a whale head strapped to my body. Like one of those beluga whales. People tell me my belly is cute, and even beautiful, which I truly appreciate, but I can't really go there with them. I have been having some troubles, mainly bladder infections and a kidney stone (what?), which was one of the most painful things I've ever experienced. My baby boy is crushing my innards, but really, he can't help it, he's just doing what he was made to do. So I've had several hospital stays and I am so thankful for everyone's prayers and assistance and love and concern! Mac ran in to my hospital room on Saturday as I was being discharged; ran up to me and said, "where's baby Harris?" I said, "exactly." I really really hope my next stay will be the one where I come home with a babe in arms and not so much one using my bladder as an air bag to cushion his head, sweet thing.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
At Nonni and Papa's
Here are some pictures of the kids at my parent's house. There is so much to do there- we go on walks on Papa's trails in the woods, we go on tractor rides, we swing on swings, we play in the sandbox or the sandpile, we go on walks down to the lake and look for gators, and we play with our cousins. Ruthie has a cousin her age, Annabelle, just 5 months younger, and Mac has Alee, one day older- and they have so much fun together as you can see. Mac loves his Papa and wants to do everything he does. He was a big helper with the spring raking. I'll post some other pictures from former trips sometime.
A day at the beach
March means beach weather is here again! I love the beach in the early spring- it is cool and refreshing and amazingly beautiful. I spent time with my parents last week since Jay was out of town and they live just north of Navarre Beach, Florida. This beach holds so many memories for me- many other days at the beach in high school and beyond- and the memory of Jay asking me to marry him! So we loaded up the kids and spent some hours playing and having a picnic. Ruthie amazed me by actually playing in the water- which is still way too cold for most people. She danced and frolicked and it was precious to see. Mac loved digging in the sand and sliding down the big cliff cut out by the pounding surf. He liked the water too, but he wanted me to get in with him and I just couldn't do it. (Especially since my balance is all out of whack with this huge uterus.) I was sad to pack up and leave, but there will be more memories made on this stretch of white sand.The Beauty of Bellingrath
Spring is here in Lower Alabama, and it is lovely in all its manifestations. I love going to Bellingrath each spring to try to catch the azaleas, and just to see the beautiful blooms as the gardens awaken. Ruth, Mac and I went with Jen and sweet baby Isabelle, and we had a really good time walking the paths. There is so much to enjoy with all senses, especially for children. We found polliwogs, frogs, fish, turtles, birds, fountains, and of course blooming things everywhere. Ruthie loved collecting fallen camellias, and gazing at the mermaid fountain (she has a special split fin.) She wants to be a mermaid when she grows up. Mac ended up covered in mud, from joyfully exploring every fountain and pond, and he stepped into the large lake with both feet, before I could stop him. He was a trooper though, and walked the rest of the way with completely wet and algae covered feet. Isabelle was a sweetheart, and really a good sport as we kept yanking her in and out of her cozy stroller for various photo opportunities. I love the one of her in the green, green grass (as it was St. Patty's day). Check out Jen's blog for more pictures of our fun morning.
Little Painters
We recently painted birdhouses- the kids loved it. They were so intent on their painting- even Mac, who I wasn't sure about. Ruth also painted a jewelry box that she had made at Lowe's in February for her friend Paige's birthday party. (If your children like making things they should check out the projects at your local Lowe's. They are free!)
New Haircut
Here is Ruthie's latest haircut (about a month ago). We love it! We had "girl time" together and got our hair done. I will put a picture of mine when I get a picture of myself that is decent. I decided to color all my gray and so I got a dye job. It is not that noticeable except to me! I do hate sitting there while it "processes." I felt like I was sitting in hell under that dryer. It burns! It burns!
Monday, March 02, 2009
Let Me Sing the Unsung
(This is an editorial I wrote that was published Sunday in my local paper. I was very excited to be able to honor my mother in this way, and also bring exposure to the Women's Resource Centers around our area.)
I have long admired my mother. When some talk of heroes I think of her. You will never see her face on a morning talk show. You will never see an article in your local newspaper featuring her hard work and faithfulness to her mission. She will never sit on Oprah's couch with a caption under her face and a blurb about her selflessness and the lives she has helped save. A presidential award will never be bestowed on her for standing up for the helpless, the silent victims of an unacknowledged war. Donations from yogurt companies, flower companies, clothing companies, and grocery stores will never pour in for her cause. Yet she labors. Yet she weeps. Yet she remains uncomplaining, not seeking glory. Yet she strives day in and day out.
Her battlefield is one of the Women's Resource Centers (formerly known as Crisis Pregnancy Centers) on the Gulf Coast. She strives to help women who are making one of the biggest decisions in their lives, a decision that will impact them every day for the rest of their lives. She longs to show them truth about the life growing within them. She provides for their practical needs, and offers a confidential, listening ear in the midst of their turmoil. She not only strives for the lives of the unborn children, but for the lives of the women who must choose- she works for their hope of a fulfilling future.
I have watched her struggles. I have seen her heart over the years as she has wept for these babies who have no voice. I have seen her heartbreak over the lives of the young mothers-to-be (or mothers-not-to-be), women suffering from abuse or violence or bad decisions. I have sensed the exhaustion in her voice after a day of counseling and listening and hearing the same stories over and over again. I have rejoiced with her over the pictures of the babies that are born out of these struggles, not necessarily to an easy life, but to life. I have smiled at my mother's joy as she held one of the precious lives in her arms and was glad.
These centers are quiet in the corners of America, but they are mighty. The women who work and volunteer are women who love life; some have made past decisions that have led to years of pain and regret, and they desire to save other women from this pain they have known. Some have fought the heartbreak of infertility, love adoption, and long for each unborn baby to find a loving home. They are all dedicated to life and they give themselves, their time and money and resources to the war for the souls of the mothers and the lives of the children.
My mother works long hours at the center, and she has helped it grow from a place where once only free pregnancy tests and baby clothes were offered to a place where ultrasounds are performed by a team of medical professionals, so the women can see the tiny being within- the pulsing heartbeat at six weeks, the little limbs being formed around seven or eight weeks, and later yawning and stretching as he or she grows and develops in secret. It is hard to deny the life that exists when you can see it moving on the ultrasound screen. Yet there are so many who continue to decry life, to say women like my mother are misinformed, and without a valid cause.
Why is my mother unsung? Why is her cause unacceptable to the mainstream media and popular culture? Why does she not win cruises and spa treatments for her unflagging labor in saving lives? Why do celebrities not sit at press conferences with serious faces and donate millions to rescue these millions? Simply because life inside the womb is not accepted as life. Because it is often inconvenient and unpopular to say that life begins at conception and should be protected. It forces people to ask hard questions, and face the consequences of their actions by making difficult, often painful decisions.
What are the acceptable causes? Starving children in Africa are clearly alive and in need of saving. We see their hurting faces and our hearts break and we long to rescue them. Women dying of breast cancer are clearly alive and in need of saving. They are our mothers and sisters and friends, suffering, and in need of a cure. Endangered whales and turtles are clearly alive and in need of saving. We see the newsfeed on CNN of the whales trapped in the shallows, dying unless the rescuers can return them to deep water in time. These are causes that are widely broadcast and that we can easily support, causes with many popular and vociferous spokespeople. If you save some of these, and please, please do, you will be lauded and feted. But if you say there is life in the womb, clearly, and that you want to protect it, you will be ignored, quieted and left alone to fight for your cause. These little lives are ignored because they are inconvenient, voiceless and unseen.
So this day I sing the unsung- my mother and those who labor alongside her, and ultimately the tiny lives who cannot sing for themselves. May we as a nation open our eyes, may we as a city open our arms, and may we as individuals open our hearts to these tiny ones and the women struggling to choose. May they choose what is right, though it may not necessarily be convenient, and may we come alongside them, through a Women’s Resource Center or just as a neighbor and fellow citizen and lift up their weary arms, dry their tears and offer them hope.
I have long admired my mother. When some talk of heroes I think of her. You will never see her face on a morning talk show. You will never see an article in your local newspaper featuring her hard work and faithfulness to her mission. She will never sit on Oprah's couch with a caption under her face and a blurb about her selflessness and the lives she has helped save. A presidential award will never be bestowed on her for standing up for the helpless, the silent victims of an unacknowledged war. Donations from yogurt companies, flower companies, clothing companies, and grocery stores will never pour in for her cause. Yet she labors. Yet she weeps. Yet she remains uncomplaining, not seeking glory. Yet she strives day in and day out.
Her battlefield is one of the Women's Resource Centers (formerly known as Crisis Pregnancy Centers) on the Gulf Coast. She strives to help women who are making one of the biggest decisions in their lives, a decision that will impact them every day for the rest of their lives. She longs to show them truth about the life growing within them. She provides for their practical needs, and offers a confidential, listening ear in the midst of their turmoil. She not only strives for the lives of the unborn children, but for the lives of the women who must choose- she works for their hope of a fulfilling future.
I have watched her struggles. I have seen her heart over the years as she has wept for these babies who have no voice. I have seen her heartbreak over the lives of the young mothers-to-be (or mothers-not-to-be), women suffering from abuse or violence or bad decisions. I have sensed the exhaustion in her voice after a day of counseling and listening and hearing the same stories over and over again. I have rejoiced with her over the pictures of the babies that are born out of these struggles, not necessarily to an easy life, but to life. I have smiled at my mother's joy as she held one of the precious lives in her arms and was glad.
These centers are quiet in the corners of America, but they are mighty. The women who work and volunteer are women who love life; some have made past decisions that have led to years of pain and regret, and they desire to save other women from this pain they have known. Some have fought the heartbreak of infertility, love adoption, and long for each unborn baby to find a loving home. They are all dedicated to life and they give themselves, their time and money and resources to the war for the souls of the mothers and the lives of the children.
My mother works long hours at the center, and she has helped it grow from a place where once only free pregnancy tests and baby clothes were offered to a place where ultrasounds are performed by a team of medical professionals, so the women can see the tiny being within- the pulsing heartbeat at six weeks, the little limbs being formed around seven or eight weeks, and later yawning and stretching as he or she grows and develops in secret. It is hard to deny the life that exists when you can see it moving on the ultrasound screen. Yet there are so many who continue to decry life, to say women like my mother are misinformed, and without a valid cause.
Why is my mother unsung? Why is her cause unacceptable to the mainstream media and popular culture? Why does she not win cruises and spa treatments for her unflagging labor in saving lives? Why do celebrities not sit at press conferences with serious faces and donate millions to rescue these millions? Simply because life inside the womb is not accepted as life. Because it is often inconvenient and unpopular to say that life begins at conception and should be protected. It forces people to ask hard questions, and face the consequences of their actions by making difficult, often painful decisions.
What are the acceptable causes? Starving children in Africa are clearly alive and in need of saving. We see their hurting faces and our hearts break and we long to rescue them. Women dying of breast cancer are clearly alive and in need of saving. They are our mothers and sisters and friends, suffering, and in need of a cure. Endangered whales and turtles are clearly alive and in need of saving. We see the newsfeed on CNN of the whales trapped in the shallows, dying unless the rescuers can return them to deep water in time. These are causes that are widely broadcast and that we can easily support, causes with many popular and vociferous spokespeople. If you save some of these, and please, please do, you will be lauded and feted. But if you say there is life in the womb, clearly, and that you want to protect it, you will be ignored, quieted and left alone to fight for your cause. These little lives are ignored because they are inconvenient, voiceless and unseen.
So this day I sing the unsung- my mother and those who labor alongside her, and ultimately the tiny lives who cannot sing for themselves. May we as a nation open our eyes, may we as a city open our arms, and may we as individuals open our hearts to these tiny ones and the women struggling to choose. May they choose what is right, though it may not necessarily be convenient, and may we come alongside them, through a Women’s Resource Center or just as a neighbor and fellow citizen and lift up their weary arms, dry their tears and offer them hope.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Military Mardi Gras Ball 2009
Well, it's that time of year again. The time when people knock each other down for plastic beads, squashed moon pies, cheap plastic cups and crusty teddy bears- Mardi Gras in Mobile! Jay and I enjoy the Military Ball every year, and this year I was able to squeeze myself and my volleyball into last year's dress! That was priceless, let me tell you. I got some funny looks- I guess pregos don't usually go to balls. The sit down dinner was nice, and it is just fun to get dressed up perty now and then. This year there was a cardboard Coastie there- Bob, and I was lucky enough to get my picture with him. His wife said he wanted to come but was not able, so she brought the cardboard version of him. I am glad I had real Jay with me. He is now a Lieutenant JG, and really stays busy working on CG duties despite the fact that he is a Reservist. I am proud of his service to our country, and I hope he continues to succeed in it and enjoy it.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Hodgepodge's Book Selections of the Month- February
This month I have chosen two books by a wonderful author, John S. Goodall, a painter who actually painted portraits of England's royal family and began creating children's books for his daughter and granddaughter. His books have wonderful watercolor illustrations, but no words. Some people might be intimidated by the idea of having to tell the story on your own, but I think it is a really good exercise for one's brain. It is also a good way to teach your child how to be imaginative as they can contribute as the story unfolds. Goodall alternates full and half pages, which is another interesting thing about these charming little books.
We own The Midnight Adventures of Kelly, Dot, and Esmeralda, which tells the story of two toys and a mouse who jump through a painting on their toy shelf and go on an exciting, and harrowing adventure. We also have Shrewbettina's Birthday, about a sweet little shrew lady who throws a party for her friends on her birthday. The two we discovered at the library are The Surprise Picnic, and Naughty Nancy. The Surprise Picnic is my favorite and it unfolds the tale of a mother cat and her two kittens who go on a picnic on a sunny day, which turns into a fiasco but ends happily. In Naughty Nancy, the title character is a little girl mouse who gets into mischief on her older sister's wedding day, including stowing away in her honeymoon trunk! Ruthie really loves these books, and we hope we can find more on our next trip to the library. Enjoy!
(The publisher's website for Goodall's books is www.simonsayskids.com.)
We own The Midnight Adventures of Kelly, Dot, and Esmeralda, which tells the story of two toys and a mouse who jump through a painting on their toy shelf and go on an exciting, and harrowing adventure. We also have Shrewbettina's Birthday, about a sweet little shrew lady who throws a party for her friends on her birthday. The two we discovered at the library are The Surprise Picnic, and Naughty Nancy. The Surprise Picnic is my favorite and it unfolds the tale of a mother cat and her two kittens who go on a picnic on a sunny day, which turns into a fiasco but ends happily. In Naughty Nancy, the title character is a little girl mouse who gets into mischief on her older sister's wedding day, including stowing away in her honeymoon trunk! Ruthie really loves these books, and we hope we can find more on our next trip to the library. Enjoy!
(The publisher's website for Goodall's books is www.simonsayskids.com.)
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Ruthie's 4th Birthday
This year Ruthie had an all-girls Princess Tea Party at our house. (This was back in January, but of course I am just now posting this.) It was so much fun to have our friends and cousins over- the girls played "Pretty, Pretty Princess" and had "tea" (pink lemonade actually) from tiny little polka-dot tea cups. Even baby Victoria was a princess (see second picture with my mom holding her). I love the picture of Paige sipping her tea, and wearing her princess hat (third pic). The bottom picture shows Becca, Paige, Bailey, Ruthie, and Annabelle decked out in their princess dresses. I have to say " I can't believe Ruthie is four," because it is really true. She is so grown-up, independent, smart and beautiful. She loves reading, has books memorized and "reads" them to Mac. She is now really in to role-playing, like playing Hospital, or Nutcracker, or Library, and we dress up and imagine every day. Her favorite foods are chips and salsa, tacos, and she still loves good old plain avocado. Ruthie is really a girly-girl, and wants to wear a dress every day. Some of my favorite recent quotes,
"Mac, I think you're so cute I want to marry you. But I can't and that makes me so sad."
"Daddy I see hairs up in your nose. They look like rat whiskers."
She tells us stories too, and a recent one involved two princesses named Joshua and Syrup and they got married (to two princes) and had babies and lived happily ever after.
Ruthie is a joy, and I love watching her grow and learn and love and live life so freely. Our greatest prayer is for her heart, that she would love Jesus above all else and follow him. She has a compassionate heart, and I can see the Lord at work in her.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Go Jags!
Last week Ashley, Charlene and I took four of our friends from Trinity Gardens to a Lady Jags basketball game at the Mitchell Center. All three of us adults are alumni, so we sat there like old people and remembered "those good ole college days." KiKi, Maya, Bria and Priscilla were not sure what to make of our silliness and laughter, but I think they enjoyed getting to go to the game too. Southpaw, who was really the most outgoing Jaguar I have ever met, even came to take a picture with us. It really was fun, and USA beat Troy, Ha! My only regrets were that I had only enough cash for a bottle of water and not one of those huge yummy soft pretzels with pebble-sized grains of salt and spicy mustard on it, and that I didn't get a free t-shirt. (We did get a free car wash, which is always useful.) It was also fun to see the huge picture on the Mitchell Center wall of a ton of us old students (including some down from Troy for a visit) at a game years ago. Made me feel young again.
The baring of my soul, and telling of my most appalling secrets
Piles
I have trouble with piles. Especially paper and book piles. Here is my bedside table. It is more like a homeless shelter for various publications. It is terrible. You can all shake your heads ruefully and sigh with me.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Hodgepodge's Children's Book Selections of the Month
I am a bibliophile. I love books. I wish I could read as much as I used to, but one of my joys is passing on this love of reading to my children. One of our favorite things is our monthly trip to the library, where we can pick and choose wonderful children's books to take home and enjoy. We end up meeting so many fun characters, and learning so many new things that we often re-check out our favorites, or buy them somewhere so we can keep them at our house permanently. I have a far-fetched dream of owning a children's book store, and a more realistic dream of getting my Masters in Library Science and becoming a children's librarian. So I thought I would start sharing some of my favorite books, so those of you with children can enjoy them too. Snuggle up with your babies and read till you're hoarse!
My first selection is Mole and the Baby Bird by Marjorie Newman, illustrated by Patrick Benson. It is the story of a little mole who finds a wild bird and wants to keep it as a pet. He learns how loving something means letting go, a cliche, but true. This story is precious, with detailed illustrations and simple text. I really almost cry when I read it- it is so poignant somehow. This is one of our re-check out favorites.
My second selection is BooBoo by Olivier Dunrea. This is the tale of a little blue gosling who likes to eat. My children love BooBoo, especially when she swallows a bubble and burps and burps. Dunrea has a whole series of books about little goslings (Gossie, Gertie, Peedie) several of which we own and love and reread often.
(If the links don't work, just go to amazon.com and search. I just wanted to let you see the covers of the books.)
My first selection is Mole and the Baby Bird by Marjorie Newman, illustrated by Patrick Benson. It is the story of a little mole who finds a wild bird and wants to keep it as a pet. He learns how loving something means letting go, a cliche, but true. This story is precious, with detailed illustrations and simple text. I really almost cry when I read it- it is so poignant somehow. This is one of our re-check out favorites.
My second selection is BooBoo by Olivier Dunrea. This is the tale of a little blue gosling who likes to eat. My children love BooBoo, especially when she swallows a bubble and burps and burps. Dunrea has a whole series of books about little goslings (Gossie, Gertie, Peedie) several of which we own and love and reread often.
(If the links don't work, just go to amazon.com and search. I just wanted to let you see the covers of the books.)
Winter Poems
I meant to share a Christmas poem nearer to Christmas, and then I found a collection of winter poems, so I have put some here for your enjoyment. I hope you too, like the shepherd, are pierced by the beauty you see around you- how it stirs your soul. And if you say "what beauty around me?" look, as Sara Teasdale did, and " you will find it, it is not far..."
Night
Stars over snow,
And in the west a planet
Swinging below a star-
Look for a lovely thing and you will find it,
It is not far-
It never will be far.
--Sara Teasdale
I Heard a Bird Sing
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember:
"We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,"
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.
--Oliver Herford
The Sheep Herd
I am a shepherd- I have hated
The smell of damp sheep in the rain,
The pain
Of clouted shoes on weary feet,
The silly barking of watchdogs in the night,
The blinding light
Of summer suns on hillsides without shade.
Nor anything I did not wish was not
From hoar-frost on the meadow grass
To dizzy stars that blinked on stupidly and bright.
Last night
I went with other men who tended sheep
Over to Bethlehem to see-
We did not know just what we'd come to see
Who'd followed up a cloud of singing wings.
Until we came to where a young girl held
A little baby on her lap and smiled.
She made me think of flowers,
White flowers on long stems and blue night skies.
Nothing happened-
But today
I have been shaken with the joy
Of seeing hoar-frost wings
Atilt upon tall grasses; the sun
Upon the sheep, making their gray backs white
And silvery
Has hurt me with its beauty, and I heard
The sound of the barking watchdogs break
The tolling bells against the quiet hills.
--Sister Mariella
Night
Stars over snow,
And in the west a planet
Swinging below a star-
Look for a lovely thing and you will find it,
It is not far-
It never will be far.
--Sara Teasdale
I Heard a Bird Sing
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember:
"We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,"
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.
--Oliver Herford
The Sheep Herd
I am a shepherd- I have hated
The smell of damp sheep in the rain,
The pain
Of clouted shoes on weary feet,
The silly barking of watchdogs in the night,
The blinding light
Of summer suns on hillsides without shade.
Nor anything I did not wish was not
From hoar-frost on the meadow grass
To dizzy stars that blinked on stupidly and bright.
Last night
I went with other men who tended sheep
Over to Bethlehem to see-
We did not know just what we'd come to see
Who'd followed up a cloud of singing wings.
Until we came to where a young girl held
A little baby on her lap and smiled.
She made me think of flowers,
White flowers on long stems and blue night skies.
Nothing happened-
But today
I have been shaken with the joy
Of seeing hoar-frost wings
Atilt upon tall grasses; the sun
Upon the sheep, making their gray backs white
And silvery
Has hurt me with its beauty, and I heard
The sound of the barking watchdogs break
The tolling bells against the quiet hills.
--Sister Mariella
Explanation
That post entitled "We wish you a Mackie Christmas" is supposed to be a video. I've tried to get it to repost, but I guess it is too big of a file, or something. I will keep trying because it is hilarious.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Holy ____! Where's the Tylenol?
So our Christmas tree fell over yesterday. It was very tragic, but I am so glad no little children were forever traumatized, or physically hurt by a huge spikey tree landing on them. We lost about 6 or 7 ornaments, including one of my grandmother's hand-blown glass balls, and one of Jay's grandmother's glass bells, but I was able to salvage several of the other slightly broken ornaments. We were thankful for our shop-vac, which was amazing at cleaning up the equivalent of a pine forest floor from our carpet. And we got to decorate our tree again once it was back on it's feet! And I get to rewrap half of the presents that were soaking wet, further enhancing my holiday spirit! I do still love my Christmas tree, named Spike, (because his needles are wicked sharp) and I am thankful for his resurrection.
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