Conversation Points

How ‘bout them Zags?

They’re doing well this year. Let’s break the cycle boys.

Facebook Hiatus

I hate to be one of “those people” who need to do something like this, but when you are defeated sometimes you have to be the bigger person. So here I am saying it out loud, Facebook defeated me. Last week in the midst of Lenten fasting, I found myself more obsessed with Facebook than ever. So, I am taking a break. I have not logged in since last Friday. I plan to check it once a week on the weekend. If you need to urgently contact me, call my cell phone; it’s listed. And thank you for understanding my temporary Facebook insanity. (If you are reading this on Facebook, it’s not because I logged in. It’s imported from my blog.)

Married with Children? –Read This (Funny Because It’s True)

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/personal/03/20/p.husband.wants.besides.sex/index.html

My sister sent me this article on being married with children. It is basically a letter from husband to wife about what his experience as a husband and father has been. It is so poignant to my husband and my married life that it could have been written by Andrew himself.

As I read it I had a Walker Percy Moment: Walker Percy writes about how understanding your place in the universe is key knowledge and will help you in your understanding of just about anything else in the universe…In his writings he talks about the joy beings take in being able to identify with one another—we take pleasure, feel comfort and safety in being able to find oneself elsewhere in the world—being at a T.V. talk show and the host says, “hey, is anyone from New Jersey and some in the crowd cheers.” The cheer is the joy—saying to the world, “hey, that’s me. Woohoo! I am from New Jersey.” Or walking on a downtown street and catching your reflection in the store window and you turn and stare as you walk by. You think hey that’s me and you react to your appearance.

As I read the article about the relationship of a loving couple married with children, I look at the window saw the reflection and said, hey that’s me. Then I laughed. It’s funny because it’s true.

This Week in Review - I Have to Review, Otherwise, I Am Not Sure It Happen

This week we had some visitors. Shout out to Uncle Bart, Amy, Will and Katie Clayton. It was a nice little visit. Will was looking at Baylor for school. I hope he comes here—if we are still here. I hope he gets a big fat scholarship. By the way, see you guys in San Antonio in July ;-)

I made corned beef and red potatoes (no cabbage-it's bad for breastfeeding) on Tuesday for St. Patrick's Day. My mom always made corned beef and cabbage when we were growing up. It is a nostalgic, comfort food for me. St. Patrick's Day is quite a joyous feast day. It is full of folly and jolly amidst a solemn Lenten fast.

Boy, am I tired. Kristiana has her first illness. She had a fever at the beginning of the week, Thursday, last night and today. I hope it kills whatever she has. She has had a wet scary sounding cough all week. On Tuesday, I stayed home with her. She was complaining rather pathetically about being sick that day. I think she might have RSV, which is the same virus that caused Alexander's asthma. But, I am keeping her nose clean and it does not sound like it is in her chest. Ever since Tuesday, this week has been a blur. Say a little prayer for our little Krissy. (No, we don't call her Krissy, but it's cute isn't it?)

Alexander’s new things: He has to play outside everyday with the other kids in the neighborhood. They are all older than him and not quite nice to him. He has taken to sitting quietly by himself and “reading” books. It’s great. We encourage this activity.

Last Saturday, I took him to the library for the first time. They had a bunch of wooden toddler puzzles there. He put together every puzzle (about 10 puzzles) and refused to look at a single book. It took candy to get him to leave. We went today and his friend Brenna was there. They both put the puzzles together and then they both looked at books together.

A couple of nights ago Alexander started asking to “Watch Cars. Watch Yighting” I knew what this meant. He wanted to watch the movie Cars. He has watched everyday since. Andrew and I think this is okay for now, since we both really like this movie, and it is nice to have a break from Thomas the Tank Engine.

I really want to write some childrens' books. My mom got me thinking about this last month. I bought myself a childrens' rhyming dictionary. It is my belief that the best childrens' books rhyme. Besides being entertaining, rhyming helps a child understand the cadence of language, and adds a touch of whimsy to the story. It also helps for memorization. My book writing is not going very well. I’ll be darned if I have five minutes of free time when I get home. The only true free time I have all day is my lunch break, which I usually use to go for a walk/jog, check my facebook, pay a bill and choke down some lunch. I also get about 15-30 minutes of reading in before bed.

Speaking of reading, I am on page 60 of Atlas Shrugged. Yep, it took me two weeks to finish 30 pages. Don’t get me wrong, I am thoroughly enjoying this book. I was hoping to read 20 pages a night to finish the book in three months. However, by the time I get to my book every night I have been awake half the night with baby, wake up for the day at 6 am, made lunches, breakfast, wake up everyone else, dress the kids, feed the kids, take kids to daycare, go to work for 8 hours, come home make dinner, clean up after dinner, wash bottles & pump, play outside, wash child(ren), story time, bedtime, finish some of previously mentioned kitchen stuff, sometimes finish up laundry, one day a week volunteer at church…who has time to read. I am out by 9-9:30 pm.

Andrew and I both have March Madness. But after next weekend I am sure it will wear off.

God Bless to all who partook in reading this week in review.

Thoughts of this Friday – Faith, Reason & Evangelism

I have not forgotten two years ago when I began this blog an acquaintance began a debate with me about faith. This person sent me a very provocative video featuring a prominent atheist with reasons why faith in God is foolish and dangerous. I watched this video and then immediately went to work on an extensive rebuttal. The video was very compelling however, the speaker’s arguments were full of fallacies, which I desired to demarcate and explain. However, an hour later, and several pages into my response, I grew weary, laid down my metaphorical quill and paused to think about where this was going. I no longer desired to make my rebuttal--tediously, line by line; I no longer wished to continue the debate. I realized that perhaps this debate would go on for a long time and no ground would be gained. I thought that after a break I may come back to this.

Months later, I felt guilty that I had not come back to it. And then thought, if someone were seeking in the opposite direction from which I was arguing, then they would only be seeking to find ways in which I was wrong, in the same manner I was seeking to argue their wrongness; and the cycle of arguments would continue indefinitely. There is a very good Muslim medieval philosopher--and I should be shot, I cannot remember his name now (sorry, Dr. Tkacz, al Farabi?)—who said if one cannot argee to the existence of God in the first place there is no point in beginning an argument on faith with that person.

If there is one thing I did retain in all my philosophical training at Gonzaga, it’s this, you cannot reason yourself to faith. No one has ever done it. C.S. Lewis couldn’t do it, Soren Kierkegaard could not do it, and neither can you. You can reason whether some notions are right or wrong, but faith is not of the same nature.

Andrew always tells me that I should not be mad at him for being an hour late to dinner, because he was evangelizing. “It’s a chance to save a soul.” He reminds me we are all called to evangelize. The reason I did not finish my rebuttal was out of my own weakness. So some days, like today I feel guilty that I never finished my rebuttal. Maybe I will dig it out and see if I can finish it (now, two years farther from my years as a philosophy student).


+May God be merciful to me, a sinner.

Keeping a Vigil for Jeanette

Please join me in praying for the repose of Jeanette's soul, who passed away last night.

And for the consolation of all her family.

Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord.

And let perpetual light shine upon her.
May she rest in peace.
Amen.

Tone 3 for Resurrection

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad.

With His arm the Lord has won victory.

By His death the Lord has conquered Death.

He has become the first born of the dead;

he has delivered us from the depths of the Abyss

and has granted great mercy to the world.

Through Heaven's Eyes

Andrew always tells me to look at my life through heaven's eyes. It's from this song in Prince of Egypt. I embedded the song from YouTube below. I am not exactly sure what my life would like in "heaven's eyes," but I think it means each person's life has purpose and meaning; and your life is part of the beauty of creation. See the video and you will feel better about yourself and creation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG0a9WFkgzU

7 Quick Takes Friday - While Christ Was on the Cross

1. I saw a news headline that said the Seinfeld cast was reuniting for his new show. Wouldn’t it be fun if the Seinfeld Show came back on the air? They would pick up with the same cast and characters and a few new characters like Jerry should have a wife on the show. That would be great. We’ve all had a break from that show and it would be nostalgic for those who used to watch and it would new to the next generation. It would also be the first show to ever come back from retirement.

2. Alexander story of the week – We had a scare last weekend. We thought Alexander might have a cavity. He was complaining that something in his mouth hurt, he wouldn't eat much, and woke up crying in the night. He said his mouth hurt. He would not eat. Further, he has never been compliant about letting us brush his teeth well on a regular basis. So we were a bit frantic about it. I started calling dentists on Monday. No one will see a child under three. Finally, I was able to get him in with the only pediatric dentist in town (she's only open 3 days a week). He was still complaining about it Monday morning. But, when I picked him up from daycare that evening the caretakers said he didn't complain all day and ate well. So the next morning I canceled the appointment. I think his pain was either associated with his nasty cold he also had over the weekend, or he had a sore in his mouth. Andrew later admitted to giving him sunflower seeds!!! The package clearly states not to give the seed to children under three. Anyway, the message of this story is brush your kids' teeth even when they don't want to. 4,500th time you do it, they will learn. ;-)

3. Kristiana story of the week – Last night something awoke me. I wasn’t quite sure what it was, but 15 seconds later I heard it again. It was my precious daughter letting out the loudest farts you’ve ever heard come from a little bit. I thought, “Dang girl, you woke your mamma up with all that noise!” She was letting off stream after stream of farts all night long. The funniest part was that she was dead asleep. It didn’t bother her. She’s the gassiest baby I have ever met. Other people have commented about her gassiness—from both ends. A couple weeks ago she farted really loud in church. You can imagine our embarrassment. People who were not looking at her did not know it was her. Oftentimes, she lets out a little baby grunt when she pushes it out. This might be an issue later on when we have to explain to her that she needs to work out how to do this quietly. :-(

4. Did anyone else see the political commentary on Ugly Betty last night about the Bailout? Scathing. I was skeptical about where they were going with it at first. The company on the show did not get their bailout. The owner had to put up his own assets. Betty and her family did not get their bailout, nor did Betty want a bailout. Her father earned it instead. In the resolution of all the dilemmas on this episode of the show, the final message was, “Do the right thing.” We all know that there is a right way and a wrong way to deal with money matters and interpersonal relations. So, do the right thing.

5. My Lenten soul refurbishment is not going as well as I had hoped. I definitely need to spend more time praying. I haven’t gone for reconciliation yet and I had hoped to make it a weekly practice. If you get a chance, say a little prayer for me that I may make more frequent reconciliation. It’s more important than you can imagine.

6. I did not cook dinner at all this week: one dinner at a friend’s house, two frozen pizza’s, one sandwich on the run to church, and Taco Bell bean burritos tonight. It is totally weird to not have cooked for five whole days. I love cooking, but on the other hand, it’s kind of nice to have had a break. Even with this little break I have found it difficult to get little things done, let alone do anything extra like pray, read, knit, etc.

7.“While Christ was on the Cross, you were on His mind.” Remember His labor of Love.

P.S. I started Atlas Shrugged. I am on page 30 of 1063. So far, it’s brilliant.

Attack of the Alexander Monster

Photoshoot - to update pictures of the princess. Notice Alexander in the background.

"Mommy, take pictures of me too." (the jealousy begins)

"Baby Sister, get out of my Picture!" (Whack!)

(Head butt.) "Move, Baby." (Sadness.)

"This photoshoot is over. I am getting my 3 month old self outa here." (Scoot, scoot, scoot)

As Alexander would say, "Ta da."

That was our day, all day, yesterday. We spent most of the day trying to fend Alexander off Kristiana. I had really hoped not to repeat what went on in my house growing up. Somehow, I have got to figure out how to stop the cycle.

Do I have to be the little sister.