“Swine flu girl.”

That was the phrase I heard loud and clear outside our examining room door while we were waiting on the results of the flu swab for S last night at her pediatrician’s office.

Hmmmm, must be us.  S did have the symptoms, but it was also crowded so it could’ve been anyone.

It sure was us.  S started with a cough yesterday or the day before and yesterday afternoon was down and out so fast – within fifteen minutes – with a fever of 103.6.  My super active child was on the couch with her stuffed monkey companion either asleep or whining or cold or wanting in my lap.  Poor baby.

Did I mention how brutal that swab is for a 2 year old girl?  No fun.  I’d rather hold her down for a shot than for liquid then a cotton swab up the nose.  Ugh!!  Needless to say, she was less than trustful of anyone who entered the room after that.  The PA was super sweet and so good with her.  She convinced S that Dora and Boots were hiding in her ears and that Diego was in her mouth.  S promptly swallowed Diego.  Hilarious!

I haven’t been feeling so hot the past couple of days and woke up feeling rough this morning, so I guess it’ll be a weekend on the couch with a perpetual rerun of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.

And I wonder why I keep singing about this strange, rude guy “Gaston” in my head.

She is doing great this morning – no fever yet, just a cough.  Me – barely a cough, more really achy and runny nose than anything.

You so wanted to know those details, didn’t you?

On the plus side, we’ll save money on vaccinations and then we’ll have no worries about catching it anymore.

It’s really not so bad right now for our family, but I do understand how tragic it has been a lot of people.

More later,

Nurse-Patient-Mommy Tara

Growing Up

Again, just the chapter title of Francis Chan’s Crazy Love hits the heart of the matter.  In chapter five, he examines whether calling yourself a Christian makes you a devoted follower and if there is such a thing as a “lukewarm Christian.”  Lots of food for thought.  Here is the next in my series of favorites quotes from one of my favorite books:

• The chapter is called “Serving Leftovers to a Holy God.”  Ouchy.
• God doesn’t just want us to have good theology; He wants us to know and love Him.  (As is often said, it’s all about the relationship, not the religion.)
• Matthew 28:18-20 [The Great Commission] ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Some people claim that we can be Christians without necessarily becoming disciples.  I wonder, then, why the last thing Jesus told us was to go into the world, making disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey all that He commanded?  You’ll notice that He didn’t add, “But hey, if that’s too much to ask, tell them to just become Christians – you know, the people who get to go to Heaven without having to commit to anything.”
• Each of us has lukewarm elements and practices in our life; therein lies the senseless, extravagant grace of it all.
• How many of us would really leave our families, our jobs, our education, our friends, our connections, our familiar surroundings, and our homes if Jesus asked us to?  If He just showed up and said, “Follow me”?  No explanation.  No direction.  When you think about His disciples in that way, well, WOW…
• Many of us believe we have as much of God as we want right now, a reasonable portion of God among all the other things in our lives….But the fact is that nothing should concern us more than our relationship with God; it’s about eternity, and nothing compares with that.

God Stuff

• Chris really, really, really loved his Love Letter.
• *grin*
• Currently, there is a black snake on my deck.  I think it’s an Eastern Ribbon Snake after looking it up.
• Harmless.
• But, well, yeah…
• I like to watch So You Think You Can Dance with my friend Mindy and last night’s episode was great.  This dance just got both of us.  Amazing.  Even more amazing is knowing where the guy, Legacy, has come from and how far he has come to dance this style.  Wow.  It’s called “Fear.”   We watched it a couple of times before moving on.  You can watch it here at YouTube and their segment starts about two minutes in.
• SYTYCD is such a breath of fresh air from American Idol – the judges are nice, contestants are nice – everyone’s behavior is always professional and positive and encouraging.
• Did I mention the amazing talent?  Oh my word.
• I can only dream of dancing like that.
• We are looking forward to seeing family at the holidays.  We are both missing our families right now.  *sniff*
• S has learned how to burp on demand.
• She’s very proud of this skill.
• I’m excited, so very excited, to have my appliances back in place and running.
• Home, sweet, home.

Going Nowhere

I saw this on Marriage Monday over at Chrysalis blog hosted by e-mom.  The ladies there are writing love letters to their husbands and posting them on their blogs.  It must be a forgotten art once you’ve been married for several years.  So why post it “publicly”?  We are committed in our marriage and we were before we even said the vows before friends, family, neighbors and God Himself.  If I can say those vows in front of others at a “public” ceremony, I can publicly post what I so dearly love about my husband (boundaries included).  *deep breath*  Here we go!

Dearest Chris,

Where do I start?  Almost eleven years this month we have been together, first as friends, then as spouses.  It tickles me to no end to think on all those questions from our friends when we were “hanging out” – are you and Chris dating?  are you a couple?

“No, no, no…he’s not my type, just a great friend.”

I’m thrilled beyond words to know that after eleven years we are still great friends.

You are patient, you are kind.  Generous almost to a fault.  I love that about you.

I have never known you to be envious or proud.  Confident in what you do, but never proud.

You are not rude or self-seeking, you always are thinking of our children and me first and foremost.

You are not easily angered and I’m so thankful you keep no record book of all my faults and wrongs.  You certainly exhibit the love, grace, and mercy of Christ in all that you do.  What a wonderful example for our children.

You keep evil far from you, even to the potential ridicule of others in this world that is not our own.  I am always more thankful than words can express for the high standards that you hold yourself to.  I am blessed.

You protect us, you trust where trust is due but do not trust when it is in our best interest to protect us.  What a fine line to walk and what wisdom you carry.

Thank you for laughing with me, holding me when I cry, caring for me when migraine pain attacks, persevering with hope when I was so sick after the birth of our son (that requires a love letter all its own!), giving of yourself to others, being such a great home repair guru, and for being such a great daddy to our children.  To see them so excited when you walk in the door is a clear reminder that you are loved, cherished, and rock their world.  Heck, even the dog gets excited when you get home.

And so do I.

I love you.

For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her ²⁶ to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.^{[b] 27} He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. ²⁸ In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. ²⁹ No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. ³⁰ And we are members of his body. -Ephesians 5:25-30

A few months before we were married...

A few months ago...

God of My Story, Growing Up, Gulps

They are working today…should be done today.  Yea!!!

Here are some before/after pics as the work stands now…

Looking from breakfast area into living room, pink stuff is crack sealant.

Breakfast area

Tile finished (not yet mopped) in the living room - Chris and I did the baseboards. Woohoo!

Almost there…

Going Nowhere