Trick or Treat!

A few years ago my nephew, Cooper, and my niece, Avery, called and told me they had sent something to me in the mail.

They were all giggly and excited and wouldn't tell me what it was about. And I'm not ashamed to say it worked... the two little instigators totally got me excited with anticipation. They wouldn't tell me what it was about, where it was from or what it was for.

Then the mail came. And I laughed really hard. And then I put the item to use. And I about peed myself laughing. So, without further ado, I show you the end result of their great shopping excursion:

 "Lassie... I am your father..." 

He chewed up the headpiece within a matter of seconds, but he's remarkably patient about the costume. So, on behalf of Riley...

   Happy Halloween!!! 

All About the Comma

 
This is one of the canvases I made to auction off at Relay for Life this year, and it's the phrase that stuck in my head all day yesterday as we watched together to see how little Stellan was going to do after he was born.

The thing is, if Stellan's family would have taken the news from the doctors 23 weeks into the pregnancy and put a period at the end of that sentence, he might not be here today. They could have heard, "Your son's death is imminent." Instead, they put a comma at the end of that statement and heard, "Your son's death is imminent, so now what do we try?" And they tried, and they hoped. They didn't believe foolishly that all would turn out as they wanted and be easy just because they had faith. They believed that whatever was in God's will would be ok, but they wouldn't stop trying until He made His will known.

It's all about the comma.

I've had to remind myself of that from time to time. Ok, not from time to time. All the time. In reality, the odds of something great happening to improve my health are very slim. The odds are I'll keep getting worse. There have been new medications that can improve my quality of life, but my body has rejected them all. I've gotten to the point where I don't just react to wool and flowers anymore, I react to the air. To someone's lotion. To additives. To picc lines. To everything.

There are new drugs on the horizon that hold promise... but the moment I get excited about them a voice creeps in, "Those won't work for you, remember? Your body will reject them." And then I have to balance accepting my reality, with a comma.

Odds are that new medications won't help me, but there's always hope. Stellan's odds were against him, but they held onto hope. My friend Kelly is always changing the "ifs" in our conversations to "when." She's always reminding me that until something is done, it contains hope.

Stellan has me thinking about that today... 

So I wanted to remind all of you to keep the commas in your lives, too.

Let's Move a Mountain

****UPDATE****

Click here to see PHOTOS OF STELLAN :)

From her Twitter (a little before 3pm):

Prince Charming and I JUST got back from seeing Stellan...it was my first time to see and hold my baby!! Pure bliss.

This is directly pulled from her website:

Big Mac, MckNugget and Small Fry joyfully announce that they now have another brother!!

Our long-awaited little MckMuffin has finally arrived...

Stellan

entered the world this sunny fall morning

at 10:19 am, CST

weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces

and measuring 19 inches long

As you can imagine, there is a lot going on here at the hospital. Please thank God with us that little Stlellan is here and be in prayer for these first hours of his precious life. 

The NICU attended the birth--which went very smoothly--and Stellan is with the NICU team now. MckMama is recovering and, in spite of a pretty low blood pressure, is feeling well. She has seen Stellan only briefly, but Prince Charming has been back and forth between her and baby Stellan. When she is stable, she'll be wheeled on her bed down to see their new baby.

Details on exactly how Stellan is doing as well as photos of the sweet baby will be forthcoming. But, let's just say that Stellan got a 9 and a 9 on his APGARS and the NICU team has yet to find a single thing wrong with him...

Happy birthday, sweet Stellan. You are God's miracle to us and you are finally here!!!!

******

My original post today:

I love the story about the guy who worked hard all of his life but was tired of being poor. So he prayed diligently every day for years and years that he would win the lottery, and every time the weekly lottery was announced he was sorely disappointed. Finally one night in prayer he cried out, "God, I have been so faithful and worked so hard... why can't you just do this one thing for me?" Finally God spoke to him and said, "I'd love to help you out, but first you have to buy the ticket."

I think life is a delicate balance of trusting in our faith and belief, and taking action to help ourselves. One can't exist without the other, but each must be done with careful prayer and consideration. As another saying goes, "God said we could move mountains. But He never said we wouldn't need a shovel."

I have come to know a woman who embodies that balance. I told you all about her when I listed my seven favorite blogs last week and MckMama's was one of them:

MckMama: My Charming Kids
     Even though we've emailed back and forth I just now realized I only know her by MckMama. On her blog she gave the family McDonald-esque names, so she has a 3-year-old named Big Mac, a 2-year-old named MckNugget, and a 1-year-old named Small Fry. The newest edition to the family will be born next week and we know his real name... Stellan. He has health conditions they have been concerned about, early on saying he wouldn't make it to birth - but here he is. She is faithful, insightful, a great photographer and really ridiculously funny.

Stellan (soon to be known as MckMuffin) is going to be born this morning at 9:30am and I would consider it a personal favor if you could all stop at some point in the day and pray for him and his mom. Throughout the pregnancy Stellan has been diagnosed with multiple problems. At 23 weeks they were told that Stellan's death was imminent. But he's been stronger than they thought. MckMama has done everything medically possible to help her boy, at times taking medications for his heart that puts her own health in danger. She has taken her shovel and done everything in her power to move the mountain that has been put before her family, and has trusted God every step of the way to give her the strength to lift each mound of dirt.

So today, Stellan will be born. As soon as he is, he will go through many tests to determine what will be done for his enlarged heart and MckMama has all the faith in the world that things will go as they are supposed to. And I think it would be great if we could all put our faith behind her, too. Today we can send her all our prayers and strength and help her move a mountain.

Thanks for doing this for me, people. It's lovely to have such a great group of friends to go to when it counts. :)

I'm a Twit

:)

My new friend Tam, who I met through this blog world, has been pestering me in her not-so-subtle-ways that I should join Twitter. I've resisted... partly because it's fun to be a little ornery and partly because I've already pretty much committed my day to being obsessed with reading blogs. And one obsession at a time is enough, right?

Apparently not. Because on Sunday she broke down the last of my defenses and I signed up for an account. And it took me all of three seconds to love it. Here's why:

It takes no brainpower. It takes none of my energy. It gives me something to do that I can actually accomplish without making me physically feel worse. Win-win-win.

Twitter is a weird phenomenon where you write random thoughts or things about your day, but each "tweet" (yep, that's what an entry is called) can only be 140 characters long. Then you sign up to follow your friends and they follow you, and before you know it there's a bunch of random snippets about people. Everyone can reply to each other and you end up with a day-long conversation about nothing.

Seinfeld would love it.

I like it because when I need a distraction I can look and see what people are up to, reply if I want or don't if I'm not in the mood. It's not like email where you feel guilty if you don't reply and it's not time consuming because your words are limited.

Unless you're bored and interested in what everyone in the real world is doing... because then it can be very time consuming. Trust me. So, for a girl who loves hearing stories about the day my friends have had and living vicariously through their crazy busy lives, this has turned out to be quite entertaining.

And thanks to Tam, I'm officially a twit. Which isn't a flattering term. But I still don't think it's as bad as the fact that my sister Laura used to live on Nimrod Street. I'm just sayin'.

I Got Churched

People, I'm so relieved. Because it would have really sucked to write this post if I wouldn't have liked Matthew's book. Lucky for me, it lived up to all the hype. :)

First things first: I love his writing style. There's not a moment of lag during the entire tale, and you see where his active imagination as a child pays off. Without even trying you are in his childhood kitchen as he tries so diligently to avoid the sin of dillydallying, or sitting on the bus as he turns people away from sitting in the seat he saved for Jesus. Matthew is a storyteller through and through. And he manages to find humor in the things most of us wouldn't.

In truth, Matthew and I couldn't have had more different religious upbringings. As a member of the Independent Bible Baptist Church, Matthew's family would have been praying for the souls of my Catholic family in hopes we'd become Christians. While we both went to private Christian schools, my textbooks contained information on evolution and his explained that dinosaurs are extinct because Noah couldn't fit them on the ark.

You know, little differences like that.

I think the biggest difference is that, while I knew that hell and the devil were real, they were the side note during the lessons about how much Jesus loves us, forgives us and wants us to choose right because we love him, too.

As Matthew explained, hell was the major component of the belief system he was raised on. That came through brilliantly in his retelling of the boxing matches between his pastor and the devil in red leggings on the altar of the church... or when the Sunday school teacher pulled out a Barbie and lit her on fire to show them how hot and scary hell would be if they ever sinned or smoked. The fact that he managed to tell those stories in a way that didn't belittle anyone and had me laughing out loud means that Matthew has a gift.

What struck me most is that while we lived such different lives, there were so many ways I could still relate. As kids we all have big imaginations and questions. I had my own rules I was nervous about: like the Sunday morning shortly after I had made my first communion and I came to my mom in tears because there was only 45 minutes until church and I had just eaten cereal... breaking the rule of not eating an hour before communion. I was just lucky to have a mom that helped me figure out that communion was a good half hour into the Mass so I had still met the deadline.

There were times in the book when I was laughing out loud on every page, times when I wanted to reach back in time and put my arm around the kid who was scared something horrible would happen to his mother as punishment for forgetting to read his bible passages that morning, and times I could relate to the confusion of a kid that wanted to do right even when he wasn't sure what right was.

Matthew opened my eyes to a world I have never experienced, and did it in a way that allowed me to relate to him... his transparency and sincerity made this a book that taught me something new, took me back to old memories and reminded me that at the end of the day we all want to do our best... some just go about it much differently than others.

Mostly, it made me grateful that I've gotten the chance to find Matthew's blog, appreciate his family and read his book. And I think you should all do the same. :)

A Wee Bit Giddy

Remember how I posted yesterday about the cool people I've met in the blog world and directed you to some of their sites?

I feel the need to clarify that I wrote that post BEFORE what I'm about to tell you happened. Because what I'm about to tell you is really cool and crazy fun and ridiculously kind. I'm still a little giddy. And I want to clarify that it didn't sway my post yesterday in any way, shape or form. At all.

See that photo above? All the cool things on my counter? They came in a box. In the mail. Like a care package for NO REASON WHATSOEVER. Just because.

Did I mention the giddy part?

So, I've been following Jessica's and Matthew's blogs for quite a few months. Jessica I talked about in yesterday's post and Matthew is her husband... an amazing writer who just released a new book called Churched, and the tag line of the book pretty much says it all, "One kid's journey toward God despite a holy mess." See... it's even funny before you get to the first page.

Anyway, I go to the mailbox and Jessica has sent me a care package full of fun stuff that is so me. I told her if she would have thrown in a candy bar she would have covered all my basic life needs. :) There is scrapbook paper, chipboard letters, canvases, embellishments... anything a girl could need for creative endeavors.

Then Matthew threw in three of his books... with a signed copy of his new one for me to read. (I'm not going to lie, I feel cool about that.) There you have my intellectual needs.

Both of these lovely people are friends with Pastor Pete, whose blog I frequent, so he threw in some cd's of his sermons to listen to at my leisure. I love that he gives his messages in a series so you can focus on one main topic for a few weeks and really delve into it. Thanks, Pete, for covering the spiritual need part of the care package.

Do you see where the whole overwhelmed and giddy thing is coming from? Here's the thing... I did nothing to deserve this. Jessica just did it because she is that kind of nice. You know, the kind whose mission in life is to make you happy for no reason.

And I don't know how to say thank you big enough. And it came on a week when the weather's been icky and my body's been less than fun ... and while everything around me is cloudy I feel like I've had sunshine on my face for days.

I might be the most spoiled human on the planet. I am specifying human because of the dog snoozing on my lap who whimpers every time I put my hands on the keyboard. But as far as humans go... no contest.

Check back Monday and I'll give you a review of Matthew's new book (you know, the one I have a signed copy of because I'm cool)... and I'll let you all know if he's really as funny as I think he is. Hopefully I'll get it read between listening to Pete's cds and playing around with Jessica's scrap supplies.

:)

Honest Weblog...

When I first started blogging I had these dire warnings from people wary of the Internet...

"Don't put too much information about yourself; people are crazy out there."
 
"Don't talk too much about your faith, people judge so harshly."
 
"You're seriously emailing people back? You don't know who they are... they could be pretending to be anybody."

I'm so glad I didn't listen. Here's what I've discovered about the blogging world: it's very similar to the real world outside your door. Who you surround yourself with is going to affect who you continue to become.

I am so fortunate I've found people to be as wonderful in the blog world as I've found in every other stage of my life. People who think like me, people who don't think like me, people who make me laugh and others who challenge me.

Recently Tam, one of those wonderful people, put me in a post where she acknowledged other bloggers who she always enjoys, without fail. Tam's blog (InProgress) is one I go to every day because she
quantifies "all of the above." She challenges me, makes me laugh, incites conversation and welcomes so kindly.

Here are the rules of the "Honest Weblog" prize:

“When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back.

Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or more) that you find brilliant in their content or design. Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing them they were prized with ‘Honest Weblog’.

List [if you can and/or dare] at least ten honest things about yourself. And then, pass it on.”

So here are seven people (besides Tam) who I visit every day and have come to admire...

Angie: Bring the Rain
     Angie is an incredibly faithful, funny, kind-hearted and honest woman. She began blogging when she was pregnant with her fourth daughter, Audrey, who died shortly after birth, and has encouraged an amazing number of people simply by being herself. Basically, I want to be like Angie when I grow up.  
Pete: Without Wax
     Pete is pastor at Cross Point church in Nashville, and I've talked about his sermons in other posts. He is a soulful and mindful person who challenges my thoughts every day on his blog.
Brandi: Brandi & Boys 
     And Brandi is Pete's lovely wife who totally keeps it real. They have three of the cutest boys you've ever seen (which is saying a lot when you consider how cute I find my nephews), and her honest, caring and fun nature comes through so effortlessly on her blog.
Anita: Mud and Coffee
     Anita commented on my blog one day and now she can't get rid of me. She's funny and sarcastic and kind and very prayerful. She's a lovely friend.
Liz: Mabel's House
     I think Liz and I might be sisters but were separated at birth. And she's talented enough that she could write a story about that. She and her husband live in a quaint little home with their dog Mabel, who might be as spoiled as Riley... and she has written a wonderful young adult book that you can download for free here: The Secret of Cold Springs
MckMama: My Charming Kids 
     Even though we've emailed back and forth I just now realized I only know her by MckMama. On her blog she gave the family McDonald-esque names, so she has a 3-year-old named Big Mac, a 2-year-old named MckNugget, and a 1-year-old named Small Fry. The newest edition to the family will be born next week and we know his real name... Stellan. He has health conditions they have been concerned about, early on saying he wouldn't make it to birth - but here he is. She is faithful, insightful, a great photographer and really ridiculously funny.
Jessica: The Life, Faith & Creativity of Jessica Turner
     I love Jessica. I love her husband Matthew. They are kind, fun, creative, talented and faithful people. And while I could gush over the both of them endlessly, you should look at her blog if for no other reason than to lay eyes on her little boy, Elias. I don't know if it's ok to describe children in edible terms, but I look at him and think, "delicious."

So, there you go... the seven people I'm giving the honest weblog prize/shout out to. Now here are 10 honest things about me:

1. I have had naturally straight hair in my life, and naturally curly hair in my life. Which makes me an enigma wrapped in a riddle.
2. I rarely defend myself, but would fight like crazy for any of my friends.
3. It takes a lot to offend me or make me angry.
4. I spent most of the 90's trying to eat as little as possible and now because of steroids I'm pretty sure I've consumed all the food I missed out on back then.
5. Pretty much everything I'm good at I've stumbled upon by accident.
6. I miss singing and dancing more than just about anything.
7. If I was well tomorrow the first thing I'd do is hop in a car and travel to see all my nieces and nephews so they'd know how important they are.
8. My dog keeps me sane.
9. When I was little I wanted to be a nun with 9 kids.
10. I eventually learned the rules, and now I am neither a nun, nor do I have kids. Go figure.