Today, while still early, I prayed before Iris ate breakfast, and told
her that Jesus loves her. I didn't do anything to help Roy.
(I also took nyquil last night).
The end.
and the growth is Iris's, not mine.
Yesterday, she took two (non consecutive) tiny steps!
We are not hurrying her to walk, but it was pretty exciting.
Also, I think she has realized that we cant MAKE her go to sleep.
Snuggling with her doesn't do any good, nor does giving her her
favorite blanket, or a stuffed animal, or a pacifier. I'm sure this is
all a good developmental thing, but it's definitely making life a lil
bit more difficult right this second. Momma could use more sleep
herself!
We are making it. God is good. Our friends are sweet. Our living child
is precious.
Keep in touch.
second verse, same as the first
I'm really sad. and we told a lot of people about this baby because we
(especially me) were SO excited...so there's a lot of untelling. so
please, make sure everyone you know that knows us knows we had a
miscarriage. i'm not sure which one is worse, being asked how the
baby is doing or hearing other people's sad baby stories, when you
only want to grieve for your own, but please please please make sure
people know. it's weird, because this is a deeply personal thing...i'm
still carrying my child whose heart isn't beating, but I want everyone
to know. and they can pray, too. So I don't mind people knowing, but
I'd probably rather just have a hug than any words of comfort. we've
already done this before...i know the drill...but I don't mind knowing
that you care about us. Roy is a very good comforter--not as good as
Jesus, but pretty good. :)
We'll still take flowers and/or casseroles. And we do have a beautiful
little girl to snuggle and hug tight. and God is good to us. and I
like my new doctor, still.
This grief is different...it's a familiar grief, not a strange one,
and it's tempered by Iris's presence and her daily needs. You can't
just be sad all day and mope when you have to feed and clothe and play
and supervise a precious baby, who will lean in for a kiss if you say
"Iris, give me a kiss!" But at the same time, I'm not sure how to
grieve as good as I did with Beulah.
But my doctor is ...gracious is the word that comes to mind, even
though I'm not sure how that fits. He didn't pressure for a d&c at
all, though if my body doesn't cooperate, who knows what will
happen... so I have time and space to grieve and wait, and still hold
little Reuben (this one I decided is a boy, and Roy named him) with
me.
So pray for us, please, that we would both have grace to be good
parents to Iris and to support each other, and PLEASE tell people,
anyone at all that might know us. And I think some visits would be
okay...I'm just not sure.
Sorry this is a little / a lot distracted...I've been dreading writing this.
Thank you.
I think I'll be able to live with the clothes I'm giving away, but
some of my shoes, even though I never wear them, ever, or they are so
old I am not stable in them, I'm still very sad to be throwing out.
So...I'm makin' a list:
1) My prom shoes from 11th grade. They are thick and clunky thong
platforms, Steve Maddens, red sole and straps, and black with red
asian pattern on the sides. I wore them with Mom's yellow prom dress.
2) The running shoes I got from the Lodge in Starkville when I was a
sophomore. They only cost $20, I think, and I was very proud of them.
They were mostly grey Reeboks, and sometimes my feet fell asleep in
them.
3) My pink flats with the flowers on the toe. These were some of the
first "cute" shoes I picked out without my sisters, and I was (again!)
very proud of their purchase. I've worn them so much my feet kinda
slide around in them, which now that I'm carrying babies all the time
isn't very safe.
4) My Merrell sandals. Carroll called them my "athletic grandma"
shoes, and when I was in my walking phase my senior year of college, I
wore them ALL the time, walking to class, social events, etc. One of
the shoes--I think it was the left one, got ravaged by John Wiggins'
dog Chaco, but I wore them anyway. "Ravaged" is a bit strong...maybe
"damaged" is better.
5) My blue "Slickrock" Clark's shoes I bought when I was a freshman. I
wore those shoes everywhere, too. I ordered them from Zappos, and I
still remember how excited I was when we got to 525 (I think it was
after tutoring at Brickfire), and I could see the box on the steps of
my apartment. And I wore them to RUF that night, but decided that I
needed a bigger size, so I sent them back, even though I'd worn them
once. I wanted to have a pair of Clarks, but now be like everyone else
and get Wallabys.
6) My peacock blue Crocs that Roy got me last year for my birthday. I
wore them constantly--they were great pregnant shoes. I walked all
over New York in them and didn't get any blisters, and that was right
after we'd gotten them. But then we wore them so much I wore the tread
off them and slipped while I was pretty pregnant with Iris. I didn't
land on her, but I have a scar on my ankle from making sure I didn't.
7) My tan Mary Jane wedges I bought from Walmart...mmmm...maybe when I
was a sophomore? They were the first pair of "cute" shoes I ever just
wore around--of course, I didn't start doing that until my senior
year. They were a copy of I think Steve Madden shoes, and I thought
they were really cool. My feet have grown too much from being
pregnant, so I don't think they'll be comfortable again--and they are
wedges and I definitely prefer flats these days. But I wore them a lot
and liked them.
Okay. The end. Thank you for indulging my sense of nostalgia---I get
terribly attached to my things and sometimes the only way I can bring
myself to throw them out is to make sure I'll remember them.
Time is filled with swift transition,
Naught of earth unmoved can stand,
Build your hopes on things eternal,
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Refrain:
Hold to God's unchanging hand,
Hold to God's unchanging hand;
Build your hopes on things eternal,
Hold to God's unchanging hand.
Trust in Him who will not leave you,
Whatsoever years may bring,
If by earthly friends forsaken
Still more closely to Him cling.
Covet not this world's vain riches
That so rapidly decay,
Seek to gain the heav'nly treasures,
They will never pass away.
When your journey is completed,
If to God you have been true,
Fair and bright the home in glory
Your enraptured soul will view.
--Jennie Wilson
-----
It seems like this whole year has been full of the promise of change,
but none of it has been the change I hoped. Well, only a couple
things.
I think you all know most of the saga of Roy's search for
employment--how RUF at Tougaloo didn't work out, and so we visited
churches, with several seeming VERY interested in us, but ultimately,
none of them hired us. And so we decided that God must want us in
Jackson, and Roy went to look for teaching jobs in the public school
system here. His certification was out of date, so none of the schools
were as interested as they should be in such an awesome teacher. [:)]
We were interested in the Jackson public schools for a couple
reasons--we wanted to be working where we lived, we are pro-Christians
serving in the public schools (and sending their kids there!), and
the pay was good...not compared to other states, but compared to our
current situation. And state benefits are decent. But none of the
schools wanted to hire Roy. We had gotten to the point of saying "If
you don't have a job by September, maybe we should look for church
jobs again." I think the next day, Roy got a call from a private
school in Clinton. The call was on a Monday, interview was on a
Tuesday, he accepted the job on a Wednesday, and he starts next
Tuesday. It is not the same financially as JPS would have been were
Roy to be hired there, and definitely provides fewer benefits, but it
is a JOB!! and we are very thankful for it. (Take note that benefits
are important--this will be explained later.)
For Roy, this means that he will get to stop keeping Iris and start
going to work. For me, this means I am now working 15 hours a week at
the job that I love (most of the time), and have to find a sitter
(even though, really, there's no reason that sitter-finding is solely
my job, especially because I am not good at it) for when I am working,
and I'll be at home, keeping Iris, for most of my time. I am also
losing my benefits, and getting paid enough (not counting what taxes
will take out) just enough to pay for COBRA health insurance coverage.
And that's NOT counting paying the babysitter. [If anyone wants to
keep Iris for free a couple days a week, let me know. She's sweet and
fun, and when she smiles, she's radiant!] While I am so glad that Roy
has a real job and a real paycheck, I'm a little stressed about how it
will all work out.
Roy will also be doing a little bit of RUF stuff with Tougaloo/JSU and
teaching a Bible class for Belhaven's adult education program.
Now, about why benefits are important--we're having another baby! This
doesn't help with the stress...but we are really glad and excited.
Little Jo-Lo should be born when Iris is about 17 months old--March
sometime (I know that was your first thought--don't even try to lie!)
and as fast as Iris is growing up, I think it'll be okay. But that's
why having benefits--and keeping me insured, is very important. If my
insurance lapses, from what I understand, the pregnancy will be
declared a pre-existing condition, and wouldn't be covered. I also
switched doctors so I can try to not have a c-section this time...his
practice is much smaller than where I was before, and I already feel
happier about having to go to the doctor all the time again. By the
time Iris was born, I was so sick of the doctor's office, I could
barely stand it. I also got my medical records from the doctor's
office and was very sad to see that there wasn't very much information
about Iris's birth--maybe I need to get that from the hospital? I was
really curious to see what had happened, since I don't really remember
that much. But we are excited about God's blessing us with this newest
little one. I get to go to the doctor next Friday to get another
sonogram--the first one disagreed with my dates by about two weeks, so
the doctor wanted to get another look.
So, that's what's up with us Hubbards...Roy is going to be teaching
math to 7th, 8th, and 9th graders at Clinton Christian Academy, and me
and Iris are going to be hanging out most of the week...I'll be
working a little bit and growing a baby as well. A lot of change, all
at once, and none of it exactly like I anticipated... Time is filled
with swift transition, indeed! I better be reaching out to God's
unchanging hand, huh?
Also, come to think of it, Iris and I, and to a lesser extent Roy, are
sick--Iris with an ear infection (doctor diagnosed) and me with a
sinus infection (self diagnosed)...Iris has antibiotics, and I'm
drinking hot Tang and being grumpy (apparently a symptom associated
with being pregnant...I've been very internally grumpy at work, so it
seems fortuitous that I get to take a break now).
So, what's happening with y'all?
We might get to get a kitten after all, too and might not have to move
from the church house--but I'm too tired to explain all that.
So, that's all.
Love,
Emily
How long are you planning on staying with me? I'm tired of you.
Love,
Emily, your constant companion.
a quote: >>>
One final comment. It is common for opponents of health care rationing
to point to Canada and Britain as examples of where we might end up if
we get "socialized medicine." On a blog on Fox News earlier this year,
the conservative writer John Lott wrote, "Americans should ask
Canadians and Brits — people who have long suffered from rationing —
how happy they are with central government decisions on eliminating
'unnecessary' health care." There is no particular reason that the
United States should copy the British or Canadian forms of universal
coverage, rather than one of the different arrangements that have
developed in other industrialized nations, some of which may be
better. But as it happens, last year the Gallup organization did ask
Canadians and Brits, and people in many different countries, if they
have confidence in "health care or medical systems" in their country.
In Canada, 73 percent answered this question affirmatively.
Coincidentally, an identical percentage of Britons gave the same
answer. In the United States, despite spending much more, per person,
on health care, the figure was only 56 percent. <<<
on the flip side,
i also love reading, eating, and facebook.
game night, our house, pending roy's approval, tbd?
This means Roy will have to find another job, most likely teaching
somewhere. I am working full time for the summer (if you ever want to
keep Iris and give Roy a break, let us know!). Also, we have to move
in July so the church can have their internship back. None of this
was remotely in my plans. Hurray. But I guess God knows better than us
what we need. Also, I am usually against people leaving Mississippi
when there's so much work to be done here...but I was very ready to
make excuses for us. [I think Iris might be having a BM...she looks
VERY serious.] So I guess I'll just have to practice what I
preach.....but man, there's still a lot of disappointment.
To compensate, I'm trying to have the best summer ever. My plans
include a lot of socializing. (If you don't have kids or medical
problems, please come to our house...it's so much easier!) I'm also
planning on learning to cook like a Louisianian by cooking through the
books "You are Where You Eat" and "New Orleans Cuisine" (both
published by my employer). I would also like to watch a lot of sports
with Roy. And put a brick on Iris's head to stop her from growing! And
making a wonderful summer soundtrack.
She can now cruise a little bit--definitely all around her crib. Her
eating Cheerios is the cutest thing I've ever seen. She's so serious
about it...and still has a little bit of problem picking them up. Also
she is "scooting" with an occasional real crawl. Her hair is getting
even longer. Basically, you just need to come her to know what's going
on...it seems like major changes keep happening every week.
Unbelievable.
On the food note, I'm going to brag a little bit. I don't really like
it when people say what they ate or cooked. It either makes me feel
inferior OR hungry and sometimes both. However, when Roy affirms
something by saying "This tastes like it does in New Orleans!" it
makes me feel so happy I have to share. When I went to Kroger, I
bought a super-long loaf of "poor boy" bread (that's what it was
labeled). Also a lil andouille, though I'm sorry to say that it was the
Johnsonville kind instead of a local kind because all the regional
ones had MSG in them. And so I thought I'd make him a sausage po' boy.
THEN, I remembered that we had some frozen fried shrimp, so I cooked
those. And then I remembered reading about a remoulade sauce in "New
Orleans Cuisine" that seemed easy to make, so I whipped that up.
(mayo, ketchup, mustard, worcestershire sauce + tabasco). We didn't
have lettuce or tomatoes, so I skipped that part, but I did add some
cheese. I toasted the bread...he really liked it. I felt so cool.
Also, I think Iris, given how much she likes cheerios, might be ready
for more finger foods. Do you just give regular food cooked for a LONG
time and cut up...not too small, but small? I am such a total amateur
at this baby feeding business. I have decided not to feel bad about
buying baby food if I want to...especially this summer if I'm working
so much. I'm pretty sure I'll want to be spending time with my baby,
not just cooking for her. We'll see.
And now to the music. Roy recently got me an Othar Turner cd. It's
fife and drum blues, from the Mississippi Delta. Almost no one plays
this kinda music anymore. The CD he got me, whose name I don't
remember, is basically the soundtrack from a picnic. It's freaking
amazing. Iris and I both love it. Roy, my sister, and my mom don't.
Their loss.
So, maybe I'll pick a day of the week to cook my food and you, dear
reader, can come over and be my guinea pigs. (pending Roy's approval).
You can play with Iris and visit and help me be glad God's stuck us in
Jackson.
The End.
[p.s. bowels definitely moved....]
Iris can pull up on the crib now. She's so big that she can have her
whole head over the rail. And yes, the mattress is as low as it can
go. How is my baby as big as a toddler?
The end.
I said "yes, and I work 30 hours a week."
My work laid someone off from our staff of around 18 today. They laid
off someone who'd been working there for twenty years. It's kinda
bizarre. I don't even know what to say.
Aptly, I saw white things floating down from the sky when I went home
for baby-feeding...it looked like a special effect in a movie or
something. As they got closer, I could see that they were little downy
feathers--later I could see some longer, grey ones. When I left the
house to go back to work, there was this odd electrical burning smell.
At first I thought that maybe something...a bigger bird, I guess, was
eating the bird whose feathers were falling (it looked like a
mockingbird, maybe), but now I'm wondering if it was a stupid young
bird who somehow fried him/herself on a power line. Feel free to use
this in your next novel. I know I will!
We now have a 21 pound six month old. She's eating solids, and I've
found that I really enjoy making babyfood. It's really fun, grinding
things up! She's had sweet potatoes, carrots, and tastes of pineapple,
apple, and banana. The apple she actually pulled out of my hand and
started gumming, so I gave her a piece in the little mesh bag thing to
chew on, so she couldn't get anything to choke on. As I was doing
this, I realized I'm not exactly sure what to do if she was choking,
besides hit her really hard in the back. Yikes! Maybe Roy knows. We
are also planning on weaning her from momma's milk soon... I keep
putting it off because I'm really grossed out by formula, but it's
time. Our life is about to have too much upheaval to be pumping all
the time. I'm already not making as much milk, so hopefully it will
be a smooth transition...but I think it might be harder on me than it
is on her. We haven't tried giving her formula yet, though, so I hope
she does take it. When do babies not need bottles? She also has a
lil ear infection, probably caused by a plane ride to a city in New
England. But we're giving her medicine and hopefully she'll get well
soon--and not wake up in the night screaming and clutching her ear!
It's kinda scary how often my hopes for her health and well being are
ultimately for mine--I want her to sleep through the night mostly
because I want to sleep through the night, not because she needs her
sleep. We are still very unscheduled, but she doesn't seem to mind, so
far. It's so hard to tell because baby things always change. When she
was right at six months, she was having sleep interruptions--my
favorite answer was because she was growing and needed more food. Then
we traveled and she got sick, and we're about to travel again! so,
poor baby, I don't know when we'll get back to normal...by that time
it'll almost be seven months normal, not six months. It's getting so
joyful to have a kid, now...she smiles when she sees me and reaches
out for me! And I love snuggle time with her...depending on which
method you are dogmatic about, I'm probably spoiling her, but I love
it. Sorry.
Um...coming up we have some big final decisions to make about where we
live for the rest of our lives...hopefully. I think Roy said by the
end of april, we would know where we are going. At that point, I will
probably make a blog with the title "[chosen location] 4 lyfe!" I'm
debating about whether I should use a "f" or a "ph" LYPHE! Anyway, I
am cautiously excited about the direction it seems we are heading. I
know that whereever we end up, Roy will be preaching the gospel and
I'll get to help him, serve others, and have babies and make
bread...and hopefully not go crazy. And maybe have a little job
outside the home.
Okay. I'm going to go now. Have a nice night!
Turning into a cry...ooh! I hear Roy getting up to investigate. Hurray.
We went to Renaissance today, me 'n' Iris. The shopping center place.
I struggled to take apart her stroller and put it back together (maybe
we should have read that pdf of the manual Ets sent us). But I put her
in it and we strolled around. Went to all my favorite catalog stores,
and got lots of good stuff--I think all of it was on sale. I really
enjoyed myself. It's much nicer to shop with someone, even if they
can't really talk. Too bad I couldn't get fashion advice from her.
Initially, I've been against that shopping place...since it's just
more urban sprawl, more moving tax dollars away from the place that
needs it the most, and it's so consumeristic. But since I've gone
there, I have to admit, the outdoor classical music and the fountains
were pretty enjoyable and calming. It was fun to tootle around the
place with Iris. Even though it did make me a bit unhappy with my lot
in life when I went into the store and could only look at the sale
racks. But it was so very pleasant.
Sometimes I forget that I can get out of the house--even take Iris
with me to places. It was so good to get away...and fun to have her
along. I did get lost, but that's another story.
I went shopping because, ahem, we're going to boston this weekend!!!!
and I wanted to have clothes to wear. I got a tank top (green) from
Jcrew and a sweatery-cardigan thingy also from there, and a grown up
t-shirt from jjill, and some more long sleeve t-shirts and leggings
from Target. Pretty sweet additions to my wardrobe.
I also got a highchair at target! Hurray! now it can be normal to feed
Iris grown-up food, instead of having to prop up her bouncy seat. and
blank onesies. Nothing is on them.
Okay. It's probably time for me to be diligent. But I just wanted to
say, "I had a good night."
Subject: Announcing the Free Book Stimulus Plan
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 27, 2009
Contact:
Wanda Jewell, Executive Director
Southern Independent Booksellers
803.779.0118
wanda@sibaweb.com
Announcing FreeBookStimulusPlan.com
Increase Your Karmic Footprint
Wanda Jewell has a problem. After serving nearly 20 years as Executive Director of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) she is overrun with books. All kind of books; finished copies and galleys, advance reading copies, advance reader editions, paperback and hardbound, slip-covered and not, limited editions, signed and unsigned, personalized and not. Books here, books there, books, books, everywhere…and each publishing season brings more. It was while she was contemplating the management of her extensive personal library, (with the television news on in the background) that Wanda had her “Aha!” moment: How to weed her collection and support her southern indie bookstores at the same time? In a flash of Obama-induced inspiration, Wanda created her own Free Book Stimulus Plan.
Books can be purchased anywhere. So why shop at indie bookstores? Because buying a book at your local indie bookstore doesn’t just stimulate your reading, it stimulates your local economy. Shopping local is an investment in your own neighborhood and good karma all around. And because you can get a free book!
Hoping to stimulate sales at indie bookstores, Wanda is dismantling her personal library and offering it to shoppers one free book at a time. Beginning April 2nd, readers who purchase a book at a SIBA-member indie store and send her a copy of the receipt will receive book from her collection completely free of charge. Visit FreeBookStimulusPlan.com for details and a list of participating bookstores. Print out the request form on the site and mail it in with a copy of your store receipt (the receipt must include the name of the store). That is all you have to do to get a free book from Wanda’s personal library.
This offer is open only to consumers living in the contiguous
Here is all that Wanda asks in return. Visit FreeBookStimulusPlan.com; Pass it on. Post to blog. Pay it forward. Print to press. Play the 411. Shout it out. Share the news. Spread the word. Soapbox it up. Tweet & Retweet. Facebook & Myspace. Get the word out. Free Book for Shopping
thaumaturgy \THAW-muh-tuhr-jee\, noun:
The performance of miracles or magic.
Of course, none of these improbable meetings ever took place in
reality. But within the realm of showbiz thaumaturgy, they're
perfectly acceptable examples of latter-day digital compositing,
wherein it's possible to have anything share a frame of film or video
with practically anything else.
-- John Voland, "Prez presses tech buttons", Variety, July 21, 1997
There was ever a cautious hesitancy on the part of the clergy to
recognize evidence of thaumaturgy, and the superstitious use of
relics.
-- John Mcgurk, "Devoted People: Belief and Religion in Early
Modern Ireland", Contemporary Review, September 1998
Thaumaturgy comes from the Greek words for "wonder" (thauma) and
"work" (ergon). A practitioner of thaumaturgy is a thaumaturgist or
thaumaturge.
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for thaumatur
1) I love being creative in the kitchen
2) Man, I can't stop eating andouille!
3) Sometimes I confuse "chunky" with "larger than bite size"
4) I hope my chicken-tomato-eggplant-mirliton-onion-garlic-white
corn-andouille-and maybe barley soup (or stew, as it may turn out to
be) is good.
5) I must be really out of shape or pretty sick, because I am TIRED
after standing up for so long cooking.
6) Tomorrow is my and Roy's second anniversary. Hurray!
Purim commemorates the story of Esther, who saved Persian Jews from
extermination. A day for eating, drinking and being merry, Purim also
features hamentaschen, triangular cookies that resemble the hat of
Haman, Esther's nemesis.
we'll see what happens.
but anyways, I was going through our laundry basket, preparatory to
washing clothes for this weekend (more on that later) and we found TWO
bottles! one moldy, one not. IN OUR LAUNDRY BASKET. I'm not sure how
they got there OR how long they've been there. But frankly, I'm a
little grossed out. Don't tell Iris. I don't think I'll be using the
moldy bottle again.
This weekend, we are visiting a church in Alabama. We have a couple
more churches lined up to visit. I'm not actually sure how discreet
one's supposed to be about the whole preacher-job-finding experience,
but I have to say, it's kinda like dating multiple people at
once...weird. almost like the bachelor. ..."these churches are all
amazing! how can i choose when i have feelings for all of them?"
And we have to travel to get there. Travelling makes me so nervous,
even though every time we have travelled, it's been fine. But
travelling with a baby and a pumping mommy makes everything more
complicated. I don't want to get into too much detail, but interesting
things are going to be happening on the interstate.
On giving up TV for Lent. I actually picked it because I thought it
wouldn't be too hard to do. Is that terrible? I haven't ever been a TV
watcher til I was pregnant with Iris, and didn't do as much night
church stuff. So, though I'll miss knowing whom the bachelor picks,
I'll probabbly just look it up online after the show.
IRis, by the way, is hitting some nice milestones. She can roll over
now, though not from her right side, and roll back. she can pull her
bottom lip in. She'll be FIVE calendar months tomorrow. (Shout out to
her Aunt Juli, who'll be more months than that...also Trey). She has
crawled a tiny bit. Being on her stomach seems to make her spit up a
lil bit more, so we'll have to wait for that to work itself out before
she's a really comfortable tummy girl. She smiles at me every morning
when I go to see why she's making all that noise. She likes toys. She
takes baths in the tub now, something I was deathly afraid of until I
realized that I could lay her down as long as I didn't put too much
water in the tub. She likes it a lot better now, too, and loves her
bath toys, though it's mostly to chew on. but she kicks and splashes a
little more now. I'm still waiting on her sitting up by herself, but
she's so chunky, all the milestones that require muscle development
take a little more patience. She would like to sit up, though. Also,
we are probably going to see if she likes orange vegetables next week.
I'm still nervous about that...for some of these apparently basic
parenting skills, my imagination fails me and I need step by step very
literal and complete instructions. She's been having rice cereal in
her bottle for breakfast (with the concomitant stinkier poo), but
spoons and real food will be an adventure.
I think I might have overloaded the washer...i should go check on it.
and also be diligent...only 2.5 hours until we're supposed to leave!
our government has commited so many injustices.
and then don't ask me to join any more facebook groups about it. please.
love,
Emily
Iris is huge.
Emily doesn't have an infection or anemia.
Iris is making unhappy noises...
from a Christian Sociology listserv I follow:
Thursday, January 15, 2009 (ALC) - During the years 2005 and 2006,
American sociologist Phil Zuckerman spent fourteen months in Denmark
and Sweden to study these two societies. According to Zuckerman, Danes
and Swedes are among the most contented and generous people on the
planet. But that's not all that Zuckerman has to report about these
two nations. Remarkably, he notes, two of the most prosperous
societies in the world are also two of the least religious.
Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.A., Tom Shipka, WYSU-FM 88.5 MHZ, Fine Arts
Radio Station for Youngstown State University and the Mahoning Valley
Community www.wysu.org January 14, 2009
During the years 2005 and 2006, American sociologist Phil Zuckerman
spent fourteen months in Denmark and Sweden to study these two
societies. In a recent book, he reports these findings: (1)
Denmark and Sweden have among the lowest rates of violent crime in the
world. (pp. 28-29) (2)
Denmark and Sweden have the lowest rates of HIV and AIDS in the world. (p. 27)
Sweden is third and Denmark is fifth in the world in economic
competitiveness. (p. 27)
On gender equality, Denmark is second and Sweden is third in the world. (p. 27)
On access to the Internet, Sweden is third and Denmark is fourth in
the world. (p. 28)
Denmark and Sweden are tied for the lowest infant mortality rates in
the world with Norway, Iceland, Japan, and Singapore. (p. 26)
Denmark and Sweden are tied for first place with the Netherlands in
the health and safety of children. (p. 26)
Denmark ranks fourth and Sweden ranks eighth in the world in the
standard of living. (p. 27)
Political corruption is virtually non-existent in Denmark and Sweden. (p. 28)
Denmark and Sweden are tied for first in the world in a recent
international study of social justice (p. 30) (3), and
Denmark ranks second and Sweden ranks third in the world in financial
aid to poor nations. (p. 29)
Thus, according to Zuckerman, Danes and Swedes are among the most
contented and generous people on the planet. But that's not all that
Zuckerman has to report about these two nations. Remarkably, he notes,
two of the most prosperous societies in the world are also two of the
least religious. (4) Indeed, a huge majority in both countries are
atheists or agnostics. Only 24% of Danes and 16% of Swedes believe in
a personal God compared to more than 90% in the United States. (p. 24)
Only 18% of Danes and 33% of Swedes believe in heaven compared to 80%
of Americans. Only 10% of Danes and Swedes believe in hell compared to
75% of Americans. (p. 11, pp. 24-25) This is the lowest rate of belief
in hell in the entire world! (p. 25) Next, only 7% of Danes and 3% of
Swedes believe that the Bible is the literal word of God compared to
33% in the United States. (p. 25) Further, Danes and Swedes have the
lowest church attendance in the world with only 3% of Danes and 7% of
Swedes attending regularly. (p. 25, p. 162) (5) Also, only 8% of Danes
and 15% of Swedes consider it important for a politician to believe in
God compared to 64% of Americans who do (p. 12), and contrary to
public and private practice in America, very few Danes and Swedes
pray. (p. 2) Finally, more than 80% of Danes and Swedes accept
evolution while less than half our population does. (p. 10) (6)
Professor Zuckerman sees an important lesson for us in his study of
Denmark and Sweden. Contrary to what we've heard from "certain
outspoken conservative Christians" (7), the sociologist suggests, a
secular society need not be a scene of violence and depravity. (p. 4,
pp. 17-18) Denmark and Sweden, he says, are not only "impressive
models of societal health" (p. 17) but living proof that humans can
survive and prosper without religion. (pp. 55-56) (8)
1. Zuckerman reports his findings in Society without God: What
the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment, New York
University Press, 2008. All references hereinafter are to page numbers
of this book.
2. For instance, in Aarhus, Denmark, a city of 250,000
residents, there was a total of one murder in 2004. (p. 6)
3. This study was done by a German group of social scientists
associated with an institute called Hans-Bocker Stiftung. (p. 30)
Denmark and Sweden are not without problems, however. Taxes are high,
there is social friction due to recent waves of immigration, children
eat too much candy, rates of bicycle thefts are high, fertility rates
are low, and alcohol consumption is high. (p. 34)
4. Other irreligious societies are the Netherlands, the Czech
Republic, South Korea, Estonia, France, Japan, Bulgaria, Norway,
England, Scotland, Wales, Hungary, and Belgium. (p. 25) Zuckerman
points out that in all of these relatively secular societies the
citizens freely gravitated from a religious to an irreligious
perspective unlike North Korea, the former Soviet Union, China, and
Albania where the governments attempted to impose secularism on the
citizens. Zuckerman says that forced secularism doesn't work. See pp.
20-22.
5. Paradoxically, despite the fact that most Danes and Swedes
are atheists or agnostics and don't attend church regularly, 83% of
Danes and 80% of Swedes continue voluntarily to pay a tax to the
National Church, which is Lutheran (p. 112), and many hold traditional
events such as weddings, baptisms, confirmations, and funerals in
church. Zuckerman says that Danes and Swedes, while rejecting the
supernatural dimensions of Christianity - Jesus performed miracles,
Jesus was God, Jesus rose from the dead, the Bible is God's
revelation, the Genesis account of creation is accurate, there is an
afterlife with a heaven and a hell, etc. – maintain a "cultural
religion" similar to many Jews. (pp. 153-155) Oddly, in Denmark a
person may be a pastor and an atheist. (p. 154)
6. Despite the fact that Danes and Swedes are irreligious, they
are not hostile to religion, they shun serious discussions of it, they
deem a person's views about religion a private matter, and many
non-believers dislike being labeled an atheist because they take the
term to imply hostility to religion. Further, many non-believers
self-identify as "Christians." When one asks them what it means to be
a Christian, they say it means being kind, helping people who need
help, not hurting others, etc. As a rule they reject the supernatural
components. See Chapter 8, "Cultural Religion," pp. 150-166. Also, see
pp. 97-109.
7. Zuckerman lists the following examples of Christian
conservatives who claim that a society that is irreligious will fail:
Pat Robertson, the late Jerry Falwell, Ann Coulter, Bill O'Reilly,
Laura Schlesinger, William Bennett, Rush Limbaugh, and Paul Weyrich.
(p. 4, pp. 17-18)
8. American fundamentalists will no doubt object to Zuckerman's
strongly favorable evaluation of Denmark and Sweden by noting that in
these countries abortion has been legal for more than thirty years,
prostitution is legal, and homosexuality is tolerated.
Source: http://www.wysu.org/commentaryview.cfm?RecNum=154
Photo: Book Cover: Society without God: What the Least Religious
Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment, Phil Zuckerman (Amazon.com)
------------------------
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English edition: Casilla 17-16-95 - Quito - Ecuador
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Also, Roy informed me that she held her bottle all by herself this morning.
She's working on rolling over, but so far, not successful.
iris is rolling onto her side. (from her back). she hasn't figured
out how ot go all the way onto her tummy, though.
emily worries about her childbirth and future childbirths (or is that
childrenbirth?).
she also worries about both being self righteous about childbirth (and
feeding) as well as being judged by other self righteous people.
so here are at least three for today:
emily needs a kinder heart
emily...iris is fourteen weeks old today
emily is so so so so so tired
i would blog more but a) i'm too tired or busy b) most of my thoughts
are about how i feed my baby and when the next time is to pump and
nobody wants to hear about that.
well, since they can't give us a whole night's sleep, i don't really
know what to say.
but i know what i want: a margarita. very badly.
life is getting more manageable. ...I think.
I got to run errands today and felt like a new person.
life is still hard...we haven't really fallen into a rhythm yet, and
Iris is getting bigger and so her eating schedule is changing anyway.
I'm not very good at patterns anyway, so this would be a struggle
anyway. But I do so much better with routine, so I don't know how
we'll work things out. We'll have to have some sort of schedule by the
time I go back to work, so I guess we'll work something out. Iris has
started sleeping longer, which is nice, but it makes feeding her
confusing. We are still bottle-feeding her breastmilk, so it's not
just a matter of letting her eat as much as she likes. But it's
cheaper than formula!
I did go to the lactaction doctor and was going to try straight-up
breast feeding, but I realized that my attempts just made me really
unstable. And since I'm high risk for post partum depression anyway, I
figured it was better to have a sane mommy...especially since she's
still getting breast milk. Maybe for our second kid, I'll have had
enough therapy and know what I"m doing enough to be a good breast
feeder. But I do like being sane.
This is not very coherent. Sorry. I still definitely feel like I'm not
sure what the heck I'm doing--and I'm still nervous about bathing
her--which is why she smells so milky. But we are both champion diaper
changers. And fortunately, Iris doesn't explode too many diapers.
Okay. I think I need to feed her.
She's really really precious. I tried to take pictures of her today,
but the camera batteries didn't work.
this is what i wrote for facebook:
So, last night (well, october first) at 7:03 (19:03 military time),
Iris was born.
We went to the hospital at 5:30 AM to be induced (this meant I
couldn't eat or drink anything after midnight the night before--it
stunk.) They gave me pitocin and broke my water (roy thought it was
really scary) and then I labored and labored and labored...and it was
painful, though not the end of the world, and the reason why it wasn't
painful enough was because I didn't make very much progress--not
enough to have a baby. So after ten hours of labor(during which Roy
rubbed my feet and back at great sacrifice to himself), the doctor
told me that I probably needed a c-section, because I wasn't making
progess. I was kinda scared of that, but I'd been in pain for a long
time, and wanted to have a baby, so we decided to go for it. A funny
thing: I wanted to ask my sister Betsy/Elizabeth, because she's in
physician's assistant school, but when we tried to get in touch with
her, her husband said that she had just gone into surgery (she's
observing them right now) and I said, "well, if she's in surgery, why
not me?" And then Roy and I talked for like 30 seconds and I said, "My
righteousness is in Jesus, not how I give birth." And he said, "Yeah,
you can do what you want, I love you."
So we had to go chase down the doctor, who probably didn't expect us
to make our decision quite so quickly. And then I got ready for
surgery. Roy got to wear a doctor outfit (I'm sure you can find
pictures) and loved it. I actually really enjoyed the c-section. I'd
been in pain for so long that to not feel pain just made me feel
WONDERFUL. I had a spinal block, so I couldn't move my legs (and even
way up into my trunk)...it feel like my legs were in concrete and all
prickly. They poked me with things to make sure the feeling was gone.
Roy got to come. I was happy. There was a sheet in front of me so I
couldn't see what was going on, but I could hear. The doctor said,
"Oh, that's a big head!" and then "that's a big baby!" I couldn't see
at that point, but Roy watched. I did hear the doctor grunting,
though, and I threw up multiple times, and between the big baby being
pulled out of a small hole and my throwing up, one of the nurses
hyperventilated and had to run out of the room. It was really
exciting. We got to see her really quick before they took her back to
be cleaned up--she was light purple looking. and Huge. Then Roy got to
go see her (but I was still stuck in the bed and I couldn't move
except for my arms). And they made someone go get a camera so he could
take pictures. The staff at the hospital was super sweet. It was
really funny, they made predictions about how big the baby was as they
were pulling her out. She ended up being 9 pounds, 2 ounces. I mean, a
big ol' baby! Also, 20.5 inches.
And so she was born and I got to see her for a little bitty second and
Roy got to take her to the nursery, and then I had to go "recover." It
was really crazy waiting for the feeling to come back into my legs and
body--it was a while before I could wiggle my toes.
After a while I finally got to see Iris (at first it was just
pictures) and I fed her and it was really sweet. She's such a
beautiful girl! We think she looks kinda like a tomato or an eskimo.
We love her so much--there's a lot to love.
_____________________________
so...now our little girl is two weeks and a day old. and i don't know
how much she weighs. but i think it's close to ten pounds. she is
absolutely the most beautiful human being i've ever seen. she's also
congested right now and i'm glad her mumsie is coming so i can make
sure it's not a big deal.
having a child is so weird. besides the whole loss of sleep thing,
there's so many things to worry about. for instance, iris doesn't
like to breast feed. and she was jaundiced when we left the hospital.
of course, she would be, since she wasn't getting any milk, so she
couldn't pass anything. so that ol' bilirubin didn't have any place to
go and it just stayed in her body. they send us home with a
biliblanket and made us come back the next day. the nurse said that if
she didn't get better, we'd have to put her in the hospital! talk
about scary! and since she cried everytime she saw my breasts, they
taught me how to pump, and let me rent a pump from them. but it's
really hard not to feel like a failure because iris doesn't want to
breastfeed. she is getting breast milk, so she's getting everything
she needs, and pumping is actually a pretty good deal for me, because
it means that roy can feed her without me--so I get more sleep, but...
and i'm not sure that i'm not going to not try to breast
feed...but...even though no one has been mean about it and mostly
everyone has been encouraging, it's hard not to feel like a second
class mommy because my daughter doesn't like my breasts. that's a
pretty intimate rejection, especially to occur repeatedly....'cause
you have to keep trying to feed her.
there's just so many things to worry about if you're screwing
up...like if she got a pacifier too early (and if that's one of the
reasons she doesn't like to nurse) or if we hold her too much while
she's asleep, or if we don't play with her enough when she's awake....
etc., etc., etc...
all this makes me feel more like an incompetent little sister caring
for someone else's baby than a real mom. but she's still alive and
roy is great with her, and she's really Jesus' baby, not ours, and He
won't let us screw her up permanently. roy is really encouraging, too,
even though i think we've also been more unhappy with each other than
ever before--but I think we can chalk that up to lack of sleep--and
different philosophies of pacifier use. we've also had really sweet
times together, too, and not just emily-roy-iris times, but roy-emily
times.
So... God is still good. and i'm a little bit more basketcase-y than
usual...definitely very insecure about being a "mother." I'd probably
be a lot more confident if i were like a pioneer wife or something and
had to do it all by myself, without other people to compare myself to.
A note about pictures: because there are mean people abounding in the
world, we don't want to put pictures of iris up just for everyone to
see--so there are some on facebook. if you can't get to facebook, let
me know and i'll send you some pictures. because she is beautiful! and
worth all the insecurity.
okay. bye!
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/09/26/o.improve.your.marriage/index.html
but i think i liked the most what it said about compassion.
this isn't a really good time not to have a car, either.
love,
Emily
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/fashion/21love.html?pagewanted=1&em
but it's really good. maybe not quite appropriate for the next week
in my life, but...it is a little applicable. but it's really sad. if
you are pregnant, you might want to skip it.
if you do read it, i think it raises some interesting questions. it
does seem like our culture (big culture and subculture) doesn't really
have a good way to deal with unborn loss. Please don't turn this into
something about abortion--i realize it's related, but that's not what
i'm interested in.
this is a quote from the man after he sent out an email to his
college, telling about his still-born son:
"AND then came the outpouring: for weeks after, people I barely knew
would come into my office, gently shut the door and burst into tears.
I heard stories of single and serial miscarriages, pregnancies carried
nearly to full term, stillbirths — all the lost, lost children. Grief
hauled about, and nowhere to put it down. Some said they had never
told anyone; who would understand?"
When we lost our baby (our first baby, even if I don't take the time
to explain why I want to say "no" when people ask if Iris is our first
baby..I just say yes and move on), people kept telling us all their
sad stories, like our grief gave them permission to sort of re-grieve
and be sad again, even though some of them were very matter-of-fact,
and almost even jolly about their losses. At the time, i really wanted
to bitterly resent their sadness, that I was having to carry their
burden as well as the heavy weight of my own. I'm still not sure that
I would tell someone I knew had recently miscarried about mine. Nobody
else lost OUR baby, the pieces of DNA that could only come from me and
Roy and that merged together in a unique (and probably fatal) way and
lived in my belly for a little while.
And we are delighted to have Iris but she isn't the baby we lost.
this post maybe continued...but i really have to stop now. but anyway.
our culture sucks at baby grief. how can it get better?
http://commongroundsonline.typepad.com/common_grounds_online/2008/09/cgo-forum-on-de.html
best headline for the day, from our very own clarion ledger:
"Grant sought to catch dumpers"
http://clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080919/NEWS/809190347&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL
I am now at 39 weeks... only one more week til my due date. I'm not
going to quote babycenter because all it says is that Iris is getting
fatter and changing her skin. My weight has stabilized a little
though. I am having contractions occasionally, but not enough to have
a baby. I'm trying to have patience. Also, I have a date to be
induced: October 1. While I hope I don't have to use it, it's so nice
to know there's an end in sight and I won't be pregnant forever.
"Jacob's most original and provocative argument is that original sin has strong democratic implications. Denial of original sin leads to elitism....Original sin, on the other hand, is egalitarian because it means that everyone is alienated from God and has an innate tendency to sin. Equally egalitarian is the belief that Christ died in order to give everyone the liberty to escape sin. No one person can dare to consider himself or herself better than others, and no nation or race should dare to do so either. Jacobs offers this fascinating angle on the age-old debate in a splendid book."
The reviewer is an emeritus professor of history at UC-Santa Barbara.
Who knew that was original and provocative?!
this one is interesting because i'm taking a gender class this semester:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/09/science/09tier.html?em
this one because i know so many nurses...and wonder what a preacher
would say to this lady:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/09/health/09case.html?em
Here's the babycenter update:
How your baby's growing:
Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby
arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to
life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks
away.
Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head
to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of
hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But
don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours.
Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their
children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have
been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies
sport only peach fuzz.
I also have this horrible rash. it's associated with being pregnant,
but not all pregnant people have it. But it's terrible. I have
hydrocortisone cream and benadryl that i'm taking and it's making it
better, but i'm still itching and i have weird bumps spreading over my
body. Pray that I don't scratch myself to death. I've never been good
at not-scratching, and it's even worse because I have very little
comfortable clothes still...and even fewer that I can wear to work.
We have one last baby shower this saturday. If anyone wants to
volunteer to help us organize all our stuff, feel free. Maybe Saturday
later afternoon? We still need to get a lot of our stuff out of the
way.
We do have a car seat now...we just need to get it into the car. And
our car is fixed and will run safely, too. Yay! But I don't have a bag
packed. Maybe I'll do that this weekend. Also, if anyone wants to
make mix cds for us to listen to during labor, feel free.
oh, and also, I'm one centimeter dilated. This doesn't mean anything
except that the process has started...i could have a baby now or five
weeks from now. I'm kinda hoping that the full moon (september 15)
will have an effect. I don't think I would be so eager to deliver if
it wasn't for this darn rash...I want to be not-pregnant so it will go
away!
Well, I have a lot a lot a lot to do at work, so I'd better go, but
that's our story for today.
At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term.
(Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term
and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a
head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest
scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of
saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by
manipulating her from the outside of your belly.
I have FOUR weeks left! that is, two - six weeks. whoa.
also, we're going to starkville this weekend! but still coming back in
time to see my dear friends who are coming to jackson!
i need to get to work...
So, I slipped and fell Monday night--I was trying to be good and walk
on the sidewalk, not the grass, so it wouldn't be slippery, but there
was mud on the sidewalk and I slipped. I landed on my ankle and my
knee--same leg (now it looks like i have a stigmata on my ankle) and
am scraped and bruised, but fine, as far as I know. Aside from the
excitement that my body would have triggered, I don't think anything
could have happened to Iris and she's still moving around a lot, etc.
But I figured I should probably tell my doctor anyways. I thought I
had an appointment today, so I was just going to wait, but then
yesterday I realized that the appointment was next week. So this
morning before I left for work I called--I figured I'd have to leave a
message for nurse anyway, so it wouldn't matter that it was before
they opened. So I called and listened and followed all the prompts,
and then got a real live person, which was a pleasant surprise...until
she said, "this is the answering service. you'll have to call back
during their business hours to leave a message." I almost cried. It
doesn't make any sense at all. Most of the time you leave messages for
people when they are not there, and speak to them when they are, but
at my doctor's office, you can't leave them a message until they are
there, and heaven forbid you get to speak to a real live person! I'm
so frustrated! This compounds the frustration I'm already feeling
because of waiting so darn long before I get to see the doctor.
There should be some kind of ratio worked out--if the length of time
you see the doctor is less than x% of the time you waited, you should
get a reduction on your bill or something.
Also, because I apparently have the world's best pediatrician, it
makes my OB's office look much worse. Not only do they have a real
person answering the phone, but I can call anytime, day or night, and
reach a doctor. Like, actually talk to the doctor. I don't know how
normal that is, but compared to my OB, it's wonderful!
Okay. Sorry. thank you for listening *reading?* to me.
Back to work.
Runner ups:
Bulldog Deli
Starkville Café
Mexico Tipico
MSU Cafeteria
Stromboli's
What else did I leave out?
If only we were going to be there for that many meals! I'm not even sure that Iris has been to Starkville. Can anyone remember?
Mmm... I know that most people will be in Ruston, but...I'm so glad we'll be in Starkville.
and kicking me, apparently.
also, most of my maternity shirts don't cover my belly. if i'm nto
careful, i show off all my stretch marks. gross. and my crocs, whcih i
have pretty much worn every day since Roy got them for me in mid may,
have finally worn out and are makign my feet hurt. i've been thinking
i was really tired, but it's relaly just been my feet hurting. there's
also a little swelling goin' on.
on the bright side, only 32 more days until my due date... that's five
weeks, even though technically, it could be plus or minus 2 weeks. ...
our kiddo is three to seven weeks away from arriving. wow.
also, i am having a shower, and this is a craptastically informal way
to invite people, but i'm pregnant and my brain is mush. it's next
saturday, between 11-1 at mrs. leverette's house. leave a comment if
you want to rsvp and let her know you're comoing and i'll give you her
phone number. i'm excited.
okay. i need to get back to work. but befor ethe day is out i want to
mention the two yummy dishes i've made in the past week. roy-tested
and approved.
also, she is kicking a LOT, and sometimes I can even see my skin
move...it's really weird looking.
we are going to the doctor on monday...childbirth classes start the
week after that...we have a car-seat coming (courtesy of my
co-workers!) we have a crib, when roy gets paid next week i'm going to
order the bassinet, i have another shower coming up (let me know if
you want an invite), someone has offered to let me use her baby sling
and a front carrier, i'm going to call a pediatrician today and make
an appointment to get to know her, i'm thinking about my birthplan...
(basically, don't mess with me unless i need it)...
all i need now is a breast pump and a rocking chair. and maybe some
more bottles. and to buy my lil sister's ticket so she can come from
colorado.
Thursday-Everything is 25% off
Pear Orchard Presbyterian Church
750 Pear Orchard Rd. – New Multi-Purpose Building(former fellowship
hall, Ridgeland
You may also enter from Northpark Drive and follow the signs.
This is a Consignment Sale for quality toys and baby equipment
Sellers receive 65% of their marked price.
All proceeds benefit POPC Mother's Morning Out and Christ Covenant
School. We reserve the right to have first choice on items put in the
sale for the benefit of our children's programs.
49 days left, holy crap!
http://www.upress.state.ms.us/books/1118
And I can't stop reading it! I won't get my staff copy until it
actually comes out in September (another good reason to keep working)
but I'm already in love with this book. It's amazing. I keep thinking
of how much Roy will enjoy it when he gets a chance to read it, even
though I'm pretty sure it will make him homesick.
I wish there was a picture of the cover somewhere online, but I'm
afraid there's not.
-Emily
By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is
about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus.
You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes
right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth
weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside
the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at
least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as
she plumps up in preparation for birth.
Also, we've definitely felt pointy things poking my belly. I'm not
sure if it was an elbow, hand, foot, or knee, but it was very pointy.
Also, my sister found a free stroller in her NYC apartment building
and it should get here today. I'm excited. I have another dr. app't
monday. (I'm up to every two weeks--have i mentioned that yet?)
Here is a link to be able to download talks from Jackson-Summer RUF,
including an excellent one by my husband! I mean, you can tell he's
still got some baby-preacher kinks to work out, but while I was
listening to him preach, I started to be afraid he'd be really
successful and we'd end up at a mega-church! (Yes, I know...my fears
are bizarre.) Roy loves the gospel.
http://www.fpccollege.org/GenericPage/DisplayPage.aspx?guid=5F11845B-35A7-4A42-97E7-F712BE161906
My first batch of wedding pictures came in. Yay! You are welcome to
come and see them, though since they were taken by my
bridesmaid-sister, there are a very few of the actual event and more
of the entire weekend, as well as shots of the mississippi country
side and horses.
the site i am using (yorkphoto.com) is having free shipping for orders
over $35 until august 8, so i'm hoping to be able to upload all the
rest of the pictures before then, since last time, half the cost of my
order was the shipping--but it was still pretty affordable. And the
pictures have white borders around them, which just looks cooler.
We are also seriously starting to work on clearing out space for
Iris...I've been goign through drawers of stuff and my filing cabinet.
trying to be good about throwing stuff out. I had years and years of
receipts. Some of them, i saw and thought, "gosh, that was from a trip
to Jackson just before I met Roy! I should save it." I did throw that
one out, but I did keep others--some of them from the grocery store
effectively function as a recipe! ...It's kinda funny...I have a lot
of stuff from freshman year (one of the happiest (pre-roy and
pre-counseling) years of my life), and then a lot from senior year +
grad school (also a mostly good time in my life--therapy started
working! and at the end, I met Roy). [Those of you who have known me
through college know that the years in between I was dating someone...
I'm finding it kinda ironic that those years appear like a giant blot,
both in my own memory and in the stuff that I kept. I guess that's
good, really. I want to have plenty o-room to make memories with Roy
and Iris. But I guess it's indicative, too. Anyways...off that track.
] I also still have all my notebooks from all my college and grad
school classes. I'm kinda afraid that I even have my stuff from
highschool squirreled away somewhere. I REALLY loved school and going
to class (I know, I'm a dork). And I still don't want to throw them
away. But I don't think I need to keep them in Iris's room, either.
Roy and I are both just sentimental packrats. He has a whole box
(large shoe box) full of stuff, too, that he calls his "memory box"
and I...well, right now, our whole spare room bed is covered with
stuff that I still can't bear to throw away. So I think we are going
to have to turn into scrapbookers, though not the cutesy kind with
special scissors. We've also saved all the cards from our wedding
gifts, etc., etc., etc. Did anybody else keep them? if so, what did
you do with them? I save all the wedding invitations and christmas
cards I get...I just love feeling _special_.
Of course, we are also coming to realize (at least I am especially)
the importance of filing non-emotional but important stuff--like bills
for having a baby and stuff that we'll need for taxes, and other
bills...right now we don't really have a standardized spot--though I
think we are doing pretty good about paying bills. But this lil baby
coming is certainly making us take stock of all the excess stuff we
have.
Tomorrow will be an epic quest for plain ol' cheap scrapbooks.
Also, Roy has been playing NCAA09 not quite non-stop, but a lot. He's
been playing with Mississippi State (yay! best husband ever!) and as
he finished his season last night, he only lost to LSU, one of our
players came in second in the Heismann race, and another won the Jim
Thorpe award (I think that's right). and he beat wisconsin in the
Capital One bowl. I don't know how much of that is related to our team
and how much to his video game skills, which are pretty amazing, but I
thought it was encouraging. I'm counting down the days to football
season as well as to my daughter's birth--only 29 more!
Okay. I need to go get a ride home.
I hope ya'll all have fantastic weekends!
Emily-n-Irie (our nickname, which is apparently Rastafari slang for
"positive emotions or feelings, or anything that is good. Specifically
it refers to high emotions and peaceful vibrations."
