Baby

I had a doctor's appointment this morning and just wanted to let everyone know the latest. Everything is fine with the baby. The doctor set up a tentative induction for me which would start Monday morning. This day/time is very tentative however, depending on two things: how busy labor and delivery is and emergencies. We are supposed to wait until the hospital calls us Monday morning and tells us that there is a space for me. After they call, then we go to the hospital. The doctor said it is not uncommon for inductions to get delayed a day or two, so Monday is not a definite. With hospital delays what they are, even if they do call me in on Monday morning, it could easily be Tuesday morning or afternoon before the baby is born. So, that's what's going on here. I will let everyone know if there are any major developments!

Throw leaves all over me!

Tonight Isaiah was getting kind of cranky from being cooped up in the house, so we went on a walk at this little park off 910. It's funny how much happier he is just being outside. So Dan threw a bunch of leaves up in the air and let them fall all over Isaiah. He loved it! He couldn't get enough of it. So we did that over and over again, and just had a blast enjoying nature and each other.

Pictures

Today I decided to start a family Flickr site, so here's the link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12138375@N02/. There's also a link to the right under "Check out..." There are just a few pictures now, but I'll try to update them often. Enjoy!

Fire Tornado

Pretty much any time you watch national news these last few days, the coverage is almost exclusively of the wildfires in southern CA. This morning some firefighters were being interviewed about the dangers of fighting those fires. They discussed the phenomenon that the fires create their own weather patterns including fire tornadoes. I had never heard of this before. They showed video footage of flames of fire actually spinning around like a tornado, and apparently these fire tornadoes can go up to a mile high from the ground into the sky.

When I saw the video the first thing that came into my mind was God leading the Israelites through the desert. The Bible says He "guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire." (Ex. 13:21) It's one thing to imagine a pillar of fire or see a drawing in a book, but to see actual video footage of what it might have looked like was surreal. I don't know if God used a fire tornado to lead His people, but I would definitely say that a fire tornado sure looks like a pillar of fire.

Uncertainty...

So Dan's message this morning got me thinking about uncertainty and the decisions we make. I'm talking about big decisions - where to live, whether or not to take a job, dealing with messy interpersonal situations, etc. In general, it seems like we tend to respect people who make well calculated, well thought out decisions - people who have a plan. We see those decisions as mature, responsible, and sensible. But lion chasers are supposed to be brave and fearless. We're supposed to embrace circumstantial uncertainties. So do we respect the people who make decisions that aren't so calculated out? Do we think those people are crazy? Irresponsible?

There's a teacher at Eden who is definitely a lion chaser. This woman isn't afraid of anything. She's isn't afraid to "bite off more than she can chew" as they say. She is divorced, has two grown daughters, and one granddaughter. At the beginning of last school year, she got full custody of her six-year-old nephew whose mom clearly wasn't able to raise a child. This teacher didn't have a plan. She couldn't possibly get to her nephew's school to pick him up on time because of her teaching obligations. She didn't have clothes for him. She didn't have anyone to watch him while she helped out with some extra-curricular activities at school. What kind of decision did she make? To her it wasn't an option. She knew that God never wants a child to be neglected. She loved her nephew and he loved her. I just find her decision amazing, and I hope I can grow to be that selfless and brave despite circumstantial uncertainties.

Are you here?

Sometimes when Isaiah and I are alone, he'll look right at me and say, "Mommy, are you here?" I'll usually reply something like, "Honey, of course I'm here." Strange, huh? What if God feels that way when we wonder if he's there? Of course, we can't look God straight in the face as if he's sitting next to us, but doesn't nature point right to the existence of God? Plus, His word says he will never leave us (Heb. 13:5). So we should simply believe that and be content.

I've never actually done one of these before but here goes...

4 jobs i've held:
1. Piano Teacher (pays more and is a lot easier than teaching in a classroom)
2. Music Teacher at Eden Christian Academy (taught band, choir, general music, piano, and violin to grades 1-12. The high schoolers were my favorite by far.)
3. English teacher in China
4. Associate at Toy Works (the summer between high school and college)

4 films i could watch over and over again:
1. Only You (the one with Marissa Tomei)
2. Cinderella Man
3. Office Space (by far the funniest movie ever made - but I prefer the censored TV version)
4. Anne of Green Gables/Avonlea

4 tv shows i watch:
1. The Office
2. Deal or No Deal
3. Wonder Years (it doesn't seem to be on ion anymore =( )
4. News

4 places i've lived
1. Bristol, CT (14 years)
2. Houghton, NY (College - 4 years)
3. Bakerstown, PA (3 years)
4. Gibsonia, PA (3 years)

Favorite foods:
1. Max & Erma's Tortilla Soup
2. Sweet and Sour Chicken with Rice
3. Anything Dan grills up
4. Strawberry/Cherry Cheesecake Ice Cream

4 websites i visit everyday:
1. Yahoo mail
2. Mars Bank Online
3. Everybody's blogs
4. Weather.com

4 favorite colors:
1. Red
2. Black
3. Brown
4. Blue

4 places i'd rather be right now:
1. Spending time with extended family
2. H & M spending a nice big gift card
3. Italy
4. Leaving the hospital with my new baby

4 blogging friends i am tagging to do this next:
1. Katherine
2. Valerie
3. Cory
4. Brooke

It worked!

So this week in our Chase the Lion series we were talking about opportunities. In our Thursday night small group we were talking about the importance of praying in the morning, to help get your body, mind, and spirit in prayer mode (not survival mode) so we can see the opportunities before us. So this morning I woke up and prayed that God would give me an opportunity, that I would see it, and seize it. So at Isaiah's preschool today I saw an opportunity to help someone in a practical way. I knew exactly what to do, and I did it. It wasn't difficult, but maybe God gave me an easy one to start out with.

I've also been trying to figure out what my "big" lion is. In my mind I was thinking that it must be some exotic adventure, epic undertaking, or business venture. At a recent pastor's conference someone asked Mark Batterson what his biggest lion was in his life at the time. He said that it is his adolescent son, Parker. I'm not trying to be a copy cat, but after trying to come up with some great exciting lion in my life, I feel like God is telling me that my lions are Isaiah and the one to come. It kind of seems like a cop out, like a sorry excuse for a lion. But really it is consisent with God's role for mothers. Our children are supposed to be a priority, and raising a child is a pretty big undertaking. So that's my lion for now.

Underwear Monkeys

When it comes to to seeing and seizing opportunities, I'm pretty oblivious. According to Mark Batterson that means I need to pray more and ask God to help me see those opportunities. I need to set a prayer trap, to trap the opportunities. So that's what I'll be working on.

Oh, and Isaiah has been running around the house all morning saying, "Underwear monkeys" and laughing his head off. I'm not sure what that's about...

Some fun fall pictures

These are some pictures from Soergels Orchard. This first picture is one of my all-time favorite fall pictures, taken in 2005. The other two were taken in 2005 and 2007. It's hard to believe how quickly time goes by... so cherish every day.

Interesting Quote

I read this quote over the weekend and I thought, if we could live our lives this way, what a difference we could make. So here it is: Write your hurts in sand and your blessings in stone.