cool baby name site:

http://www.nymbler.com/

Drumroll, Please....

Girl!

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Juno: some thoughts

Well, we watched it Sunday night...

I didn't like it at all. I had to talk it through with Roy before I could go to sleep, it was so...disquieting.

Bear in mind I'm pregnant and that I've lost a baby.

At the end I was so sad, I cried and cried (but quietly, so I wouldn't freak out the people who were watching it with us, in case they liked it). But it wasn't a beautiful-sad. It was a straight-up this-sucks sad. Nobody changed. Nobody grew (except for Juno's baby). A junior in highschool got a boy-friend. Whohoo. Everyone did exactly what they wanted. It's like the end of Judges...everyone did what was right in their own eyes. The man left his wife, the wife got her baby, Juno got her boyfriend and no consequences. Nobody wasn't selfish. Even the Juno character's carrying her child to term had less consequences--her family supported her, her medical expenses were paid, and she got to be even more different than the losers in high school who go to prom.

And the callousness towards the baby...of course, I'm sure it was calculated, to some extent, but...it hurt.

And of course there were some good moments--my favorite two: 1) when the stepmom chewed out the ultrasound technician. 2) when that boy said "I try really hard." And Ellen Page is REALLY pretty.

And it had fun clothes and was all indie and cute like that...and the music is the kind I usually like, but it just made my heart hurt.

And who the hell really says "wizard" all the time? I did get tired of teen-age language, I'm not gonna lie.

I'm not sure what Roy thinks exactly, though I know we had similar feelings. Maybe he'll add some to this.

It's weird, because so many of my friends really liked this movie, but it just really...hurt and didn't heal.

baby update

baby is as big as a bell pepper (if he/she is average) and weights
almost seven ounces. i'm getting bigger and bigger!

lunch hour articles i liked:

I knew it: Math manipulatives are annoying and don't work as well!
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/25/science/25math.html?em&ex=1209528000&en=10de70f5b0a8d0f8&ei=5087%0A

Yikes! How would you minister to these people?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/fashion/27trans.html?pagewanted=1&ref=style

The love story I wanted until I met Roy...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/fashion/weddings/27vows.html?ref=style

to come later, my reaction to the movie Juno.

enjoy!

also, my birthday is in one week! i'd forgotten about it until today!

home again...home again...almost

we are almost home! we've been kid/house sitting since Tuesday. The parents are coming home at four (well, probably they'll get here at four thirty), and Roy and I will get to go home to our little house and sleep for a little bit. Then he has to intern tonight.

I think I can say that we've really enjoyed taking care of the kids. They've been fun, even though I'm pretty sure we've let them watch too much TV +/or be on the computer too much. But they've been pretty well behaved and helpful and you can tell that they REALLY love Roy. They like me, too, but they LOVE Roy. Of course, who wouldn't? He really is the best person I know, besides Jesus. So, yeah, the kids were okay.

But I'm homesick. The house we've been at is HUGE. The master bathroom could fit a double bed in it--maybe two. Even though the bathroom adjoins the bedroom, I have to walk farther to get to the toilet here, than in my house where I have to go through a hallway. At least it feels like it. This point, while it may seem silly to some, makes a lot of sense when you get up to urinate two-three times a night. But I'm pretty sure it's right. I miss having two percent milk to drink. I miss having fewer electronic distractions, though I don't begrudge Roy the chance to watch the play-offs on DirectTV. I miss my furniture. I miss my little kitchen, and the food that's in it (or that would be it we'd gone shopping). I miss being in Jackson-Jackson...I don't like feeling so surburban, even if it's really only 15 minutes away. I just miss...the smallness of our life. I'm glad our home doesn't have an entertainment center built in. We could probably keep the kids for another week if we got to keep them in our house. Of course, they would go crazy because we don't have that much to do.


in other news...

My next sonogram, the one that for some terrible reason I keep thinking of as the "reveal" sonogram (...someone's been watching too many home improvement TV shows!), is Wednesday. This really is great and I'm excited-but I'm also really scared. I know that everything is likely fine and that it'll be great to find out which pronoun applies to our kiddo, but sonograms make me so nervous because it was my first sonogram in the first pregnancy when we found out that something was wrong. And then in the aftermath of the miscarriage, I kept having to have them to see what was going on--but not to see a little kiddo squirming around. I guess maybe I haven't grieved about that part yet. But it's still really hard not to worry about everything connected to the pregnancy...if I'm gaining weight too fast or too slow, what it means that my stomach is upset, if I'll ever feel the baby move, if I'm alienating myself from my child because I don't like the control it has over my body, if I'm eating the right things so our kiddo will be healthy. I'm sure this is fairly normal and most of the time my rationality is able to squelch them, but it's not comfortable. But I'm also sure it's heightened because we have already lost a child. And I don't think we'll ever forget that first baby. ... ... but Roy is really good about reminding me that God is good (all the time) and it helps a lot. If you aren't married, don't get married until you can find someone that loves Jesus as much as Roy does.

I guess the older you get, the more things there are to be afraid of.

On that note, I'm going to go get ready for church. Or eat breakfast. I think baby is hungry.

What do ya'll worry about?

Love,
Emily

You have an E-Card

Hello ,
You have an E-card waiting from roylhubbard@gmail.com
Roy L will be thrilled if you read the E-card. To see it, click or paste the link below:
http://www.expelledthemovie.com/ecard/ecard1.swf?id=1209149218

I am such a BAD person

I saw a headline for this:

http://clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080425/FEAT04/80425005
(Southern Baptists Memberships, Baptisms Decline)

and my first thought was "ha!"

Guess who needs Jesus.

ESPN.com: Madden NFL 09: Cursed!

You have received this ESPN.com mail from:

Roy L
roylhubbard@gmail.com

The "Madden NFL 09: Cursed!" story is located at http://sports.espn.go.com/videogames/news/story?id=3357871

I thought you might enjoy this story from ESPN.com.
Roy L

ESPN SportsFlash - Customized Headlines and Scores sent daily.
ESPN.com's daily headlines can be delivered to you each day by subscribing to SportsFlash today.
http://dynamic.espn.go.com/espn/beacon/email

i love Ricky

A little thinking about easter baskets.

http://www.redeemertulsa.org/News/NewsStory.aspx?guid=9bf7e923-87dd-4a1b-ba36-89e15e9fe303

Why Do Women Need To Be Perfect?

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1733856,00.html

oh, that's right--we don't!

Loss...or Jesus' gain

http://guittahogue.blogspot.com/2008/04/grieving.html

I just saw it on CNN.com: President Bush dances

Powered by    * Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified.       You have received the following link from roylhubbard@gmail.com:             Click the following to access the sent link:       President Bush dances*                 Get your EMAIL THIS Browser Button and use it to email content from any Web site. Click here for more information.   *This article can also be accessed if you copy and paste the entire address below into your web browser. http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/politics/2008/04/22/vo.president.bush.dancing.cnn

Another adventure

This week, Roy and I are kidsitting...until Sunday. While lots of our
life together has been adventurous (marriage, pregnancy)...this is a
pretty immediate adventure...especially since these kids look like they
could be our kids.

So..say some prayers.

Love!

links i like or think are thought provoking...

About a women's conference....scroll down to the very last points...I
liked them!

http://commongroundsonline.typepad.com/common_grounds_online/2008/04/leigh-mcleroy-a.html

"Men's right to choose"
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1173414,00.html
I'm not sure that I agree, but it's an interesting idea.

Also this one...

http://revolutioninthespirit.blogspot.com/2008/04/black-megachurches-and-african-american.html

three quick things...

this is going to be a crass-free week on the blog...I think three
times last week Roy asked if I thought that something I'd written
could be offensive. And in one case, he said, "Emily, small children
could be reading our blog!" So, to honor his wishes, (at least for
this week), we're going to try and keep it something my mom could read
without having to pray for me.

also, when i was checking facebook today, I saw that Lig on Dun-can
was on it. I laughed out loud! At work.

also, our baby weighs as much as a turnip and is five inches long
(assuming he/she is average.)

okay...happy monday.

Too good not to pass on....

Florida Senate amendment takes on 'Truck Nutz'

http://tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080418/CAPITOLNEWS/804180359&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

" The proposal would make displaying bull genitalia reproductions on
a vehicle subject to a $60 fine, moving violations and points against
a driver license.
...
"I find it shocking we'd tell people with metallic testicles on their
bumpers that this is a violation," said Sen. Steve Geller,
D-Hallandale. "There's got to be better things for us to spend time
debating." "

I've seen a pair of these in Jackson...and I have to admit...it always
makes my day, even though I always wonder if they should.

again...interesting

what's for dinner? the pollster want to know.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/dining/16voters.html?pagewanted=1

can what you eat tell who you're gonna vote for? what's in your fridge?

i heard just a snippet of this on my way to work:

Documentary: Racism Harms Your Health
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89678892

I thought these stories were FASCINATING!

Divorce and unwed births cost a lot of money (assuming good methods)
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1730928,00.html
(but how do you fix that?)

Spain's defense minister is pregnant! Whoa.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1730927,00.html

my sister is going far away...

View Larger Map

Baby news and other thoughts...

My baby is as big as an avocado, though hopefully not as green. Sixteen
weeks! I should start to feel it move (the quickening--doesn't that
sound biblical?) in the next few weeks. Weird. I kinda feel like I'm
living in bizarro world, but it's nice.

I just sneezed.

WE have roses growing on the side of our house. They are pinky-red...too
red to be fuschia, but not pure red. They look really lovely against our
house's white siding. And it makes me extra glad to come home. Maybe one
day I'll take a picture of it. I still haven't planted tomatoes...but we
probably have a long enough growing season that it's okay, right?

Sometimes, I really get tired of people assuming that my husband (and
thus my baby) are white. It's kinda frustrating that when people meet
only me, and I talk about my husband, they'll be picturing some
pasty-white-boy who could never ever be like Roy.

Also, someone from work volunteered to recommend daycares. Yuck! I might
not stop working, but no infant of mine is going to be in a daycare. I
saw some research once that said that all the ill effects of day care
were gone by sixth grade. Kinda encouraging, but not really. Even though
if you have to stick your kid in daycare to get by, I'm not going to get
mad at you and I'll probably tell you that research to be encouraging.
Life is hard and not everyone has the resources to make the choices that
I can.

Anyway, more on jobs/childcare later...I have to get to work!

gross!

only read the following text (by highlighting it) if you are not queasy and don't mind hearing about bodily functions. but this was too good not to share. if roy had been online, i probably would have just told him, but he's not...so...

okay, so i just went to the bathroom and farted for like a minute straight! i'd never done anything like that before. man! i don't know what i ate that did it...but golly gee! be glad you weren't there! my situation is compounded because i share an office, so i can't just fart when i feel like it, like i can (and do) at home. i feel so much better though...baby probably has like...5 or 6 more cubic inches to play in now!

well, that's it for now. sorry i'm so gross.

this is also interesting...

http://www.mochamoms.org/article.html?aid=14

this looks interesting:

hip-hop ballet?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/04/10/big.boi.ballet/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

Also...

We just found out that I/we have to figure out what to do about my
employment after baby comes! By next Wednesday, at least! Yikes!

Say some prayers!

heartbeats and other things...

Today I went to the doctor and heard my baby's heart beat. Yay. As far
as they can tell, everything is fine. In three (3) weeks, we'll have
an ultrasound and find out (if possible) the sex of the baby. Whee!

I also had a nice talk with my doctor (I really like him) about
delivery and what I wanted. Not like a definitive talk, but a good
one. He said that really, the most important thing was not to be
married to your preferred method of delivery, since circumstances can
always change--you don't want to feel like you've failed when really,
as long as you actually have a kid, you're fine.

I'm taking that to heart. This week has been kinda hard--losing
control of your body, even if it's for the greater good of someone you
love, is disconcerting. I'm just not very good at being pregnant
(though my blood pressure was "perfect" and my blood tests came out
fine (so i don't have any STDs! yes!). I'm trying to remember and to
learn that there is no law in pregnancy--and lots of grace.

In other news, Roy had an RUF lunch today...hopefully he'll give us a
good report soon.

I'm trying to plant some tomatoes (that i haven't bought) ...I was
cleaning out the little space in front of my house where I was going
to put them, and there were several pretty, small reptiles. I wasn't
sure how to feel about them. I guess they'd be good to have and I
didn't want to destroy their habitat, but I hope they don't get hurt
in the hoeing/planting process. I don't think any of them were
poisonous. I hope it's not too late to plant.

I think that's about all I have time to say...this girl's gotta work sometime!

Oh--I really am planning on putting up links SOMEtime...and having
thoughtful posts...but if I were to worry about sounding good all the
time, I'd never post at all. My life is an endless quest to avoid
perfectionism (and find Jesus).

grace,
Emily

in the storm...in the night...

A tree fell on our house!

Hope for Mississippi State...

Here is the text of the interim president's letter to the "MSU family"
(originally found here:
http://www.msstate.edu/web/media/announcement.php?id=347)
_________________
Dear MSU Family:

Three days ago I became interim president of this great university
that I have loved and served for more than 40 years, and I could not
be more grateful or more honored by the opportunity. Some of you have
been my friends and colleagues for decades. All of you, collectively,
have my utmost appreciation for what you do and my highest confidence
in your abilities and commitment to the institution and state. To cap
a long MSU career as your advocate, coach, and leader is the
culmination of a dream for Jo Ann and me. We promise to work hard,
shoulder to shoulder with you, to move The People's University
forward.

Mississippi State has been a profoundly important and positive force
in the life of Mississippi for 130 years. To a greater extent than
most institutions can claim, MSU understands and fulfills its purpose
as a comprehensive land-grant university in a state with unique
challenges and opportunities. Despite periodic changes in emphasis and
terminology, our primary goals and priorities have been predictably
consistent through several presidential administrations, and we will
continue to focus on high quality learning, research, and service
tailored to the needs of our students and our state. Like other
institutions, we have experienced ups and downs, including periods of
rapid growth and times of constraints and contraction. But I encourage
all of us to look at our past, and our future, with a long-term
perspective, and to see that our direction has and will continue to
trend upward.

My immediate predecessors, like talented and dedicated leaders before
them, have helped build a strong foundation and generate momentum in
important areas that we will maintain as we map the future of MSU in
keeping with its historic strengths, campus culture, and vision for
excellence. As we look ahead together, you should know what you can
expect from me and what I expect from you.

My first priority is to listen. As one of the longest-tenured members
of the MSU community, and having been a graduate student, faculty
member and administrator here, I think I have a good understanding of
who we are and who we want to be as a university. But I realize that I
have much to learn in my new role about many aspects of the
institution, and I look forward to hearing from as many of you as
possible in a variety of formal and informal settings. Your opinions
matter.

I will make mistakes. When I do, I expect you will let me know about
it, and my goal will be to acknowledge it, learn from it, and fix it.

I plan to be patient, as I hope you will be with me. Patience, in my
opinion, is an under-appreciated virtue in our fast-paced society, and
one that should not be confused with lethargy or indecisiveness. Our
emphasis will be on making good decisions, rather than quick ones. We
will take time to listen, learn, and collaborate on issues important
to us all.

I will work to keep the university engaged with our students and
alumni, with the community and state, and with the many constituencies
that look to MSU for expertise, leadership, and service.

I will depend on you--our faculty, staff, and administrators--to know
your jobs and do them well, offering support where I can and guidance
or course changes where required. My philosophy is that if you cannot
trust the folks you hire, you didn't need them in the first place.

Let's work hard, cooperatively and collegially, and have fun doing it.
I look forward to visiting with as many of you as possible in the
weeks ahead. In the meantime, you can tell me what's on your mind by
writing to president@msstate.edu.

Sincerely,

Vance Watson, Interim President
________________________________

Notice the part where he says "But I realize that I have much to learn
in my new role about many aspects of the institution, and I look
forward to hearing from as many of you as possible in a variety of
formal and informal settings. Your opinions matter.

I will make mistakes. When I do, I expect you will let me know about
it, and my goal will be to acknowledge it, learn from it, and fix it."

I don't think he'll write snarky letters to my mom!

Yay!

I never thought I would reach the point...

...that I would admit this, but I am getting old. I have had this fear of getting old, ever since I was about 18, particularly that my body would wear down and get old, and then the younger generation would run circles around me on the basketball court. Or I would just be the old veteran sidekick of some young superstar (in pickup basketball games of course). Well I'm starting to have to play like a veteran now, and it's scary because I remember the days when I did not get tired--the days when I could carry my team to victory on the court. That's not happening anymore....maybe it's the added weight (I weigh 200 lbs now!) or the slowed metabolism...or seminary...or just a poor work ethic in general...but I've definitely lost a step.

So one of the things I have proposed, in light of having a kiddo soon, is to dominate on the basketball court while there is time. I'm looking forward to posting my 8 year old son up in the paint, and then dunking on him ferociously (as the goal will probably be at 8 feet high). I look forward to blocking his shots into oncoming traffic and doing my best Mutombo impersonation. A demonstration of my game can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iVrFc7OlXs

But I figure it will only be a matter of time until he has his day, and the clearest picture of what it will look like for him to dominate me is that of Ray Allen as he schooled Denzel in Spike Lee's "He Got Game."

This is of course if we have a boy.

Peace,

Roy

gross!

i papercut my thumb and my blood tasted like my prenatal
vitamin...good? bad? yuck?

A friend has sent you a video from The New York Times

I thought you would enjoy this video, even though I haven't seen it. But Roy LOVES basketball.	Barack Obama's Basketball Family A Conversation with Coach Robinson Click to watch the video
PERMALINK: For more New York Times video, go to nytimes.com/video This service is not intended to encourage spam. Your personal details have not been added to any database or mailing list, and the authenticity of the sender's email address has not been verified. The information was used for the sole purpose of facilitating this e-mail communication and has not been retained by New York Times.

IN-teresting!

http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/in3on3

As his brother-in-law says, "You can tell a lot about a man by the way
he plays basketball."

also....

soon, we will have links up to other blogs we read and people we like.

PRIZE!

To the first person to respond from the metro Jackson area:

Most of a block of Parmesan cheese. Fresh. Aged ten months.

I got it to make a failed Alfredo sauce and discovered that I don't
like the way it smells anymore.

Be the first one to comment and it's yours!

(except for Roy)

which one would you pick?

http://www.cafepress.com/larknews/

enjoy.

music that i liked

http://www.masonjennings.com/

i only heard one song, but it was pretty.

roy's sermon

if this works:

http://www.redeemerchurchms.org/Audio%20Files/2008/March/Mar%2030%20-%20The%20Light%20of%20Gethsemane.mp3

According to our preacher, Roy communicates the gospel effectively.
And I love him.

It's raining it's pouring

And all the trees are green again. My backyard is green. It used to have colors in it, but somebody (not Roy) mowed it and mowed down the blue-eyed grass and the phlox. But it's still pretty just to be green.

My favorite color green is the second phase of green...not summer green, which is kinda dark and waxy, but before that, when the leaves are still young and tender (but after they are yellowy). Mostly, I think, it's in oak trees. I saw an oak tree with that color on the way to work yesterday and braked because it was so beautiful. Fortunately, no one was behind me. I'm never the world's greatest driver, but I'm especially an unfortunate driver in the springtime, because I'm always seeing beautiful things and wanting to stop and look at them.

Roy finished up his weekend from hell (two sermons on Sunday and a final and an eight-page paper due Monday) but now he has to teach at basketball (tonight) and youth group (tomorrow), not to mention school-stuff. Maybe we'll get to do our taxes this week...I don't know. I don't know how he keeps that schedule...I'm going to be SO glad when school is finished!

Roy was also kind enough to let me sleep right next to him last night...even though I used to be a constant left-side sleeper, it's harder to stay on your left side when your body is not balanced like it used to be. And I have discovered (I knew this would happen, but I thought I still had a few weeks of regular life) that if I sleep on my back, my back hurts the whole day. So I'm trying to be a good side sleeper. Roy also brought me KFC yesterday. I think he wins the HUSBAND OF THE WEEK award! Cheers to Roy!

Okay. I'm going to post again later...I kinda have to work.

But first, here are the books I checked out from the library last Wednesday:

The Borrowed Alibi
Jackson's Dilemma (Iris Murdoch)
The Vanishing Senator
Mennyms in the Wilderness
Murder Must Advertise (Dorothy Sayers)
Ivanhoe (Sir Walter Scott)
Dragons in the Waters (Madeline L'engle)
Mary Poppins Opens the Door (P.L. Travers)
Vienna Prelude (Bodie Thoene <sp?>)
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
Sunset at Blandings (Wodehouse)
Darkness at Pemberly (T.H. White)

Sorry...I don't remember the authors for all of them. I have a scheme of getting the ones that have the library binding--you know, not with paper covers, so some of the authors are unfamiliar. Not all of them were like that, but most of them. I would also like to say I was astonished to find an endorsement by John Wayne (!) in the Thoene book! John Wayne-cheesy Christian fiction [that I thoroughly enjoyed, not for the first time]. Who knew?

Well, more on that later. I have to make tip sheets pretty so we can sell some books.

Much-love-to-all.

Emily (+ baby)