Wednesday

and counting

just a quick little update...no, my water didn't break, yet. we did set a date, though, in case she needs a little prodding. assuming that she isn't as adventurous and eager as her older brother, she will be arriving sometime february 13th. i don't think she'll take her sweet time once she's been summoned and i predict a birthday of the 13th; who cares if she's a "valentine's baby" or not, as long as she's out! so any time you feel like praying for a healthy and easy delivery, go for it. i'mlooking forward to it, the delivery, and i'm not worried. i checked out shawnee mission on monday and they seem just as nice as menorah, except that kelley won't be there to take care of me. but this should be old hat, right?
anyway, i'll keep you updated and let you know if her birthdate changes.

Friday

1.26.2007

happy birthday paul newman. or paulito newmano. or p. brigando newman. whatever your name is, you look darn good for 82.

in case you weren't aware of my extreme liking of paul newman, here's a little catch up on why this man is great...

one- he's been in some of the best movies ever made (thanks to steph and brad for being watchers of great movies): cool hand luke, butch CASSIDY and the sundance kid, the long hot summer (william faulkner short story), the hustler, hud, the sting, the drowning pool (with his wife joanne woodward, blessed woman), the color of money, and the hudsucker proxy (the coen brothers).

two- if you haven't tried "newman's own" you're missing out on great food, some totally organic (like the chocolate chip cookies which makes them good for you). and also the chance to help paul's charity, the hole in the wall camps (get it?), expense-free camps for kids with life-threatening illnesses and conditions. they've raised $175 million dollars for charity in the last 20 years; all of the money they make on newman's own, after taxes, goes to charities like the hole in the wall camp.

three- he's got gorgeous eyes. blue eyes that dabble just a little bit in the green realm. he also has an odd nose, a little hooked at the bottom. almost beak-like some might say. not me. perfect. (which really reminds me of a man who is even dearer to me... who will be 52 years younger than mr. newman on 4.11.2007)

four- he tells terribly corny jokes. like this one: (in reference to newman's own steak sauce) preferred by 9 out of 10 cows. we steak our reputation on it. (again, this reminds me of someone i love who tells jokes so bad that i wouldn't be surprised if he tried to add this to his own arsenal)

also, who else would let people see an image like this except someone totally confident and wonderful, and a little humble, although still very sexy. curious?

but with a mug like this, you can do anything... even eat 50 eggs (free-range, i'm sure).
happy birthday.

Monday

c'mon over


i wish i could invite everyone over during wyatt's naptime. he is so stinking cute when he's sleeping and then just getting up. i just peeked in on him and he's standing up in his crib, leaning on the edge of the rails with his pacifier in his mouth and holding onto his soft grey blanket. then, pop, he spits his pacifier out and starts to talk. wow. he's got to be the sweetest poco pollo in the world.

short attention spans


i knew you guys would go quiet on a long post. the only time people comment is on a funny or scandolous post. so here's a little (actually a lot) of skin. can you believe there's a small child in there? and she was freezing her tookus off at the time, i'm sure. i was.

funny story: my sister sarah took these pictures. when i was pregnant with wyatt we had scheduled to shoot some pregnancy picutres on friday, november 4th. well, my water broke thursday the 3rd and we never got around to the big belly pictures. i'm glad we got to take pictures this time around, but i'm ready for the girl to come out so i can tie my shoes.

may this photo warn all of you having sex...this could happen to you...lord willing.

Saturday

elephant knees

we talk about the church being the bride and Christ the bridegroom a lot, in churches these days. for me it's always been kind of a floating term; how can a group of so many people represent one entity? what kind of suit does Jesus wear? and what's the point of the whole analogy anyway? i understand the general meaning behind it. tom and i used it in our wedding vows: just as Christ is head of the church so you will be head of our family (or something like that. i couldn't remember it 3 1/2 years ago, you think i'm going to be accurate now?) but finally i think i'm getting the meaning of this Christ and the church romance.

i'm reading gary wiens' book, _bridal intercession_, and he describes what this relationship looks like. i'm not very deep into it yet, but with what mike bickle says in the foreward and then the first chapter, this is what i've gathered. (i'll just quote because they say it so well). get ready to be excited about praying:

"...prayer that grows not out of our place of need, but out of God's passionate desire to commune with us as his Beloved."MB

"As we approach the last days, nothing is more important than growing in our understanding of the ways of God, so that even when we find His strategies unexpected or confusing, our hearts can be firmly established in the knowledge of His goodness and trustworthiness."MB

whether or not you believe we're living in the end times, the point is we were created to talk WITH God, not just at Him. we're not supposed to have this list of things we want to say, but to find out what He wants to say, too. it's called conversation and i've never really understood that in order to be in "relationship" i have to listen to him. to sit and be quiet, or ask questions and then wait for an answer.

so then gary wiens says, "And so He has spoken to us in various ways, with the consistent goal of engaging us in a dialogue about life in relationship with Him. this dialogue is called prayer, and its primary purpose is that we might come to know the heart of the One Who loves us and understands who we are and what we will become."

he goes on to talk about how God wants us to trust His intentions, like i trust tom's when he does things for me whether or not i can recognize it's because he loves me. He wants to be partners with us, not just this God in the sky who gave us a really fat book; somebody we use to explain things away, or question when we don't agree with what's going on in our lives or the world. it's humbling to think that, like tom says, the Almighty God, Creator of the heavens and the earth, wants to talk with me.

and then gary says, "We begin to say back to God that we agree with His agenda and His strategies, not only for ourselves and the things that concern us, but for every situation outside ourselves for which He gives us the strength to pray." i might even add "the strength and FAITH to pray". i think there's so much power in that, because sometimes, no matter how much i love you people, i don't have the energy in-and-of myself to talk with God about your needs.

i know this seems really random, but it hit me pretty hard this week. i'm looking forward to having a cup of coffee with the Almighty God, Creator of the heavens and the earth today. i'll ask Him if He wants cream and sugar, among other things...

Friday

adat yeshua


well, it's friday and time for shabbat. last semester several good friends and family spent our monday nights at this messianic jewish synagogue studying our jewish roots, our history through the jewish jesus and lots of other wildly interesting things that we just never knew. so, if you've got your mondays and/or tuesdays free and miss school and want to know more of jesus and the jews (no, john wasn't a baptist, har har, he was an immersionist) then check out adat yeshua and the jewish roots institute of kansas city.
it's not the fanciest of websites, but it's one of the coolest experiences. if little girl cassidy weren't coming so soon i'd sign up, but tom and brooks and lots of other cool people will be there. and if friday is open then come on out to a shabbat service at 7:30. rabbi feldman is a brilliant man who loves the lord and loves non-jewish people, too. what a combo. as we used to say in the 90's, "it'll rock your world."