Be Disturbed. Merry Christmas!

During the holiday season, when we get around to the "meaning of Christmas," most of us think of a warm scene in a stable with serene characters surrounding the new baby. Nice. Just really nice. Cozy. Well, the below excerpt (from a column published in WORLD magazine by William H. Smith, Dec. 26, 1992) helps me to add a litle dimention to my picture.

"Why aren’t people disturbed by Christmas?.... Don’t miss my point. There is something truly comforting and warming about the Christmas story, but it comes from understanding the reality, not from denying it. Most of us also have not come to terms with the baby in the manger. We sing, 'Glory to the newborn King.' But do we truly recognize that the baby lying in the manger is appointed by God to be the King, to be either the Savior or Judge of all people? He is a most threatening person."

Attack Your To-Do's

"No unwelcome tasks become any the less unwelcome by putting them off till tomorrow. It is only when they are behind us and done, that we begin to find that there is a sweetness to be tasted afterwards, and that the remembrance of unwelcome duties unhesitatingly done is welcome and pleasant. Accomplished, they are full of blessing, and there is a smile on their faces as they leave us. Undone, they stand threatening and disturbing our tranquility, and hindering our communion with God. If there be lying before you any bit of work from which you shrink, go straight up to it, and do it at once. The only way to get rid of it is to do it."

-Alexander MacLaren (1826–1910), Scottish preacher

Smiles, etc.

While Ben was in Providence last week, my parents came for a visit. Here are some photos from our time-- isn't Henrik so big? He had his 2-month well-baby appointment on Monday and measured 24 inches!

New Photos of Henrik...

Well, Ben is off of work today. He is traveling next week to a conference in Providence (where he will also visit with Andy and Shannon!), so took today as comp time.
We're having coffee and figuring out the computer so that we can share some photos with you all-- enjoy!
Oh-- they're not in chronological order. Sorry. I'm just going to feel good about getting them posted at all...

Ben with Henrik the morning we came home from the hospital


























Henrik at the Apple Barn at two weeks old

Enjoying Delia's Mexican homecookin' from an early age.

Posing in the pumpkin, with only some success...

And a few weeks later, showing off his hat (thanks Grandma Edie!) and first tatoo at Pumpkin Fest.

Loving bathtime...

Henrik enjoying his gym at about 20 days old

North Korean Persecution

Advent Conspiracy

Pastor John on the Election...

Henrik Smiles?!

More Henrik

Love you Henrik!

Our niece has arrived!

Jazlyn Lucia

Visit her blog for more photos and the vital stats...

http://papooska.blogspot.com/

We love her.

A New Little Dude

Henrik (Henry) Joseph

Born 1:58, Monday, September 22

7 lbs. 5 oz., 21 inches

Dusting of dark brown hair

Dark blue/gray eyes like daddy.

Wanting to Wait Well

Well, we are definitely ready for the baby to arrive. Ben asks him to come at least a few times a day. And he asks me to go into labor. So far neither the baby nor the mama are very obedient. Through the day my own desires and patience fluctuate and change. I feel peaceful and patient in prayer for peace and patience. Then I feel a little nudge inside and hope for my water to break. Hmm. Our impatience must be obvious, as people often say things like, "Well, its better for him to have a few more days inside." Probably true. This morning Ben and I prayed for joy in this time of anticipation (a precious life stage that we will only experience this one time!), and rest in the assurance that God's plan for this baby's life (even the day of his arrival) is truly best.
Hmm. This Saturday I cleaned the house for 12 hours, washing curtains, rugs, vacuuming window screens and the dryer exhaust, etc. It didn't feel like nesting (in that it didn't feel special or unusual), and Ben and I reasoned that we can't really take much from that, since that is sort of how cleaning happens for me. Things get bad, then I clean everything all at once as though it is a battle for life itself. I also wonder if my emotional desire to have the baby soon didn't spur me on to the cleaning. Along the reasoning of if everything is ready around us, maybe my body will get ready, too? I'm pretty sure that isn't true nesting.
We've had a hard time narrowing down name choices, but I think we have a few good ones, now. That feels nice. We'll have to see which combo seems best when the baby arrives. Until then, all is secret.
These days I mostly think (talk and blog) about the baby. As far as the rest of life, all is well with us.
Ben has been finishing up a "shop" that provides us with wonderful work and storage space for things like paint, tools, etc. We are thinking of painting our house yellow. We have to paint the shop, so we might as well paint the house at the same time?? Right now it is a pretty depressing brown. I like the idea of a yellow house with white trim and lots of red geraniums all around. Happy and European cottage-y.
Yesterday I went 3-store grocery shopping. We hadn't restocked from our summer away, and had been in great need. It feels good to have that done, too.
We are having some good times with friends, enjoying dinner together, etc.
Really, though, the big news is that the baby is coming SOON! A few weeks at the most!
Hoping to post about his arrival next time. Or at least the time after the next...

September? Already?

This is indeed the busiest part of the year for us-- both schools back in session.
I returned to work in early August (the day after we returned from Slovakia, actually!). This year I am working at the elementary school less than a mile from our house. It has been absolutely wonderful! I work closely with 4 great ladies (this is the first time I've felt like I had co-workers in teaching... teachers tend to work pretty independently most of the day...), do a lot of paperwork, test students' English proficiency levels, and tutor a newcomer for a few hours each day. I am really enjoying it, and am a bit disappointed to be leaving soon!
Ben is back at Bryan, teaching 5 credits this semester. His two biggest undertakings are a Christian Life Formation Course called "Wilderness Disciplines" and a freshman Worldview section. He has spent a lot of time pulling together materials for these classes, doing a lot of reading, etc. I met a few of his students at the park the other day-- their main feedback was that his laugh is contagious. I guess that tells you he is enjoying himself! Also, this is his first semester taking on the responsibility of facilitating the student-led ministries in "PCI" (Practical Christian Involvement). We had those ministry leaders over for dessert and conversation with a chapel speaker the other night, and helped flip pancakes at an informational breakfast meant to recruit more participants into the ministries on Saturday morning. Probably 150 students showed up-- a great success. Tomorrow's chapel is aimed at calling the student body to begin (or maintain) a lifestyle of Christian service and ministry. Pretty exciting things happening at Bryan!
On the baby front, we had another appointment yesterday, complete with a quick ultrasound meant to size him. Baby Boy is very healthy. We saw him yawn, suck, and exercise his little lungs! His heartbeat is very normal at 146bpm. The ultrasound put his weight at 5 lbs. 11 oz., but that can be somewhat inaccurate, I understand. I am so excited for him to come-- to see him, hold him, name him, but also a little sad to lose the joy of the anticipation itself!
In the baby-prep arena, our busy schedule means that the to-do list only grows, with lots of hard work on lots of things every day, but little progress on the little tasks that I'd love to finish before the baby arrives. Things like organizing the fridge and freezer, dusting cupboard shelves and moving furniture to vacuum, etc. I told the doctor that I need at least two more weeks to get ready, and he tapped me on the forehead and told me to get ready now. Car seat in, bag ready. I REALLY DON'T think I'll be in labor tomorrow or anything (I repeat-- the baby isn't coming quite yet), but I guess I should start altering my mindset from thinking the baby is coming sometime in the far future to sometime in the near future. To that end, I am hoping to sort through my mess of papers at work this afternoon, with resolve to keep organized from here on out, for my coworkers' sake.

Home, Sweet Home

We're back in TN now-- and so glad to be here. Being back in our church family Sunday morning, spending time with friends Saturday and Sunday evenings, being back at work, visiting the baby doctor later today... All wonderful returns to routine. Well, there is also the laundry and cleaning that needs to be done, but I'm so glad for the super-enjoyable things that the housework isn't getting me down too much!

We have good pics to share and some stories to tell. All in all, our adventures abroad were rewarding and full of learning for us both. It was great to get to know some of the Bryan students so well, and to see first-hand the ups and downs of their time in their internships. It was also valuable, for that matter, to see the ups and downs that the ministry hosts experience, as well!

Our last week in Slovakia was spent in "debriefing" the students' experiences. The students flew in from all over the world to spend the time together at a "Penzion" (guesthouse) in central Slovakia. The scenery was beautiful and the culture rich: even a horse-drawn cart and a farmer harvesting with a sickle were seen from time to time! The students worked through some readings and reflections in small groups, and shared from their summer experiences with all 20 of us. Hearing about their personal and spiritual growth over this summer made all the ups and downs worth it. Amazing!

Ben says,
"Maybe we can ask the question, 'What are the most important things in life and see what people say.'"
Well?

On another note, we have been busy worker bees the last few weeks. Ben took a trip to China and returned last Sunday. Since then (well, for me, while he was gone, too) we've been helping the school here move to a smaller space next-door to their current location. This has been quite an undertaking, even for many people working very full days. Progress is made each day, though, and the end is in sight-- well, it has to be done by tomorrow, so that will be the end of it! The busy pace has really eliminated our time together, and even the time for one's own thoughts to materialize past the sorting and organizing mentality. But... the limits on those times makes them very valuable. I've had just a few moments to squeeze in some Bible and other reading, and found the times to be especially fruitful. Tonight, Ben and I were able to sneak out for supper together, and had a wonderful time of conversing, remembering good times and planning for the future. The little things have seemed especially precious this week, in a great way.

Tonight Ben will head off with some of the students to see Dark Knight. I will sleep. Ahhh....

Sons

I will hold my son in my arms in a mere few months. Time is flying by, so I expect to wake up one day, and my boy will be there.

Ariel and I are so excited.

My excitement levels are rising as I'm playing with the two-week old son of one of my college buddies. He and his wife are living and working in China, where I'm currently visiting them, and as I hang out with their infant boy, I can't help the rising anticipation of meeting my own son! How am I the recipient of such blessing?

Pretty

Here's a Hubble image for your enjoyment:

Nucleus of Galaxy Centaurus A

Am Samstag

This weekend the Bryan interns are spending time in Vienna. Ben and I stayed back in Bratislava, but took the opportunity afforded by their absence to travel with a neighbor-family into Austria for the day yesterday. I'm so glad that we did! Austria is a beautiful country, and there is so much well-preserved history there. It is just the sort of place that greatly appeals to the both of us.

Aggstein Castle Ruins.

We started the morning touring Burgruine Aggstein-- a castle ruins near the Danube. The castle definitely captured the imagination, and the beautiful scenery imparted such peace to our time. The blue of the Danube ribboning through a green valley, hillsides covered with vineyards rising up toward the castle--really lovely.

After a picnic lunch and exploration of the grounds, we drove back down the mountain and along the Danube through some very quaint villages. Because we had driven that route on our way to the castle ruins, we decided to hop the Danube by ferry and drive back on the north side of the river. We enjoyed some coffee and kuchen in a little shop, then explored the village church-- St. Michael's.

Cemetery at St. Michael's.

This was the best find of the day in my opinion-- a still-utilized place of worship, with faded frescoes from Roman times on the outside of the building, a beautifully tended cemetery and a very memorable mausoleum.

Mausoleum at St. Michael's,
viewed through a hole in the door.

We concluded the day with a visit to a church in a neighboring town-- the land for the church site was deeded to the diocese in the 800s! Parts of the school and church complex that stand there today date back to the 1300s.

At the base of the church hill there was a gentleman preparing saurkraut at a stand... The fragrance was delightful! Helps me to understand why my mom loves visiting Germany so much. Mostly for the food, she says. I realize the Germanic peoples don't exactly have a world-renowned reputation for their tasty cuisine, but perhaps more of us need to try it in Europe. Wow. Actually, we didn't even eat any. I'm convinced just by the aromatic scent, though.
After a detour for road construction on the way home, it turned out to be a very long day. Gladly, it was a memorable one!

Above St. Michael's, overlooking the Danube.

Baby Talk

Well, it's been a while now since I posted about our baby and the pregnancy in general. I am still doing well and feeling well. I'm at 28 weeks gestation, just starting the 7th month and the third trimester. Our baby is a very active little guy, and his squirming and poking is very visible. One of the Bryan students yesterday noticed my belly contorting and exclaimed in surprise--whoa! It is pretty notable, and somewhat shocking the first time you see it.
It is a little strange to not have visited my doctor this month-- normally I have appointments on the first Monday of the month. Being out of the country for this appointment, he simply asked me to be keeping track of my blood sugar levels on a little portable meter and email him the results periodically. Everything looks good with that, which is great. If I were to develop gestational diabetes here in Slovakia, it would not be convenient. Let me tell you. LOTS of carbs, and I can't read the labels on any of the food packages. Even though SK is part of the EU now, there package labeling is still mono-lingual-- usually just Slovak, though sometimes in Polish or German. Not that I can really tell the difference.
Healthy food here is a bit more difficult to come by (yes, I'm taking my vitamins and doing my best to eat my fruits, veggies, protein and calcium). The food sure tastes great, though (sausage, pastry, potatoes, lots of cream and butter, etc)... so I think I am gaining weight more quickly than I would choose to, though still in a normal range, so Ben tells me to be happy about it. This may require a change in wardrobe size even after Baby's arrival, though.
I am getting a bit more fatigued a bit more quickly, and if I sit for very long my ribs get pretty sore. That and some ankle swelling made the flight over pretty uncomfortable. Can't wait to do it all over again a month from now. Why can't I just stand up in the aisle the whole time, as in riding on the subway? There is so much more jostling on a subway than turbulence on most flights, by the way... Anyway.
One great thing about this point in the pregnancy is that although I am starting to get tired and uncomfortable, it isn't affecting my sleep yet. I fall asleep easily and sleep hard through the night-- even through my alarm. That is soooo unusual for me, and a blessing, being away from home and having less control over my sleep environment.
Ben and I are having fun watching and feeling our baby move (neat trick-- if he is stretching out and I press back a little on whatever extremity it is that is poking out, he'll kick back on my finger! It's amazing.), thinking through name possibilities and planning for family-life with a son.
I've just finished and Ben is just starting to read Babywise, a book that has been highly recommended to us by a few couples from church and through the grapevine of friends. It is NOT well-written, even confusing, in my opinion (and there are multiple editions already-- someone get these guys a ghostwriter!), but I am pretty convinced by the practical suggestions and overall point-of-view of the authors. If what they say to do really works, we should have our baby sleeping through the night after just 8 weeks or so, and consistently thereafter. I am hopeful for that, but the realist/pessimist in me just expects to be in the 8% or so of families for whom the method, though followed faithfully, does not work. Anyone out there with "Babywise" tips to help us start well?

Just Courage

Just Courage, Gary Haugen's new book will be excellent, needed. It's his encouragement to the church to choose courage rather than safety in a world intended for perfection, but marred by injustice. You can listen to him talk about it here.

Dinner, etc.

After a mad dash through rainy Bratislava.

Waiting on a cappuccino in the old town of Bratislava.

A nice walk in the Slovak countryside.

When in the course of human events...
We watched 1776 last night. I wasn't here last week when the rest saw it on the 4th, and Ariel went to sleep half way through during last week's showing, so we tried again. Ariel fell asleep half way through this showing as well.
The musical is hilarious! It's a ridiculous rendition of the beginning of the Revolutionary War. 1776 was the icing on the cake though. Our evening began with dinner out. A date!
Ariel and I strolled to a nearby Italian restaurant, Pizzaria Amaretti and sat inside next to the open door, the breeze blowing in. Very nice. The food was superior to any Italian I've had in the U.S., and the presentation "wowed." We maybe ate a full third of what they brought to us-- 1.2 kilograms total! Does that mean anything to you?! Well? It should! Look it up! Ok. For those of you lazy bums who didn't check your conversion tables, that's 2.65 lbs.

The week is going well overall. Ariel continues teaching ESL methods on a smaller scale than last week, and I am teaching mosaics to a neighborhood boy who's coming for English camp. Fewer kids came for English camp, planned for this week and next week, than we expected. Some of us were disappointed at first, but the lighter work load that has resulted has been a blessing for all of us--it has meant that we can focus on some other activities, such as helping the missionary family here get ready to move their belongings back to the U.S. They've been here in Slovakia for over ten years, so there is a lot for them to wrap up before mid-August, when they move to NY for a two-year assignment there.

Continue to pray for a quality, life-altering experience for the Bryan student interns, and for Ariel and me to be good supports to them and the internship hosts. I will be heading to China this weekend, as well.

We love you guys!

This week the English camps are underway at BERC. There are 4 day camps offered-- in the morning, 2 sessions (one for 8-11 year-olds, one for 12-15 year-olds) focused on practicing English and playing sports. In the afternoon, the same age groups switch to a focus on English and art. I've been helping the Bryan interns with their planning for the camps-- sort of a continuation of the ESL training we worked through together last week. I feel as though I am making a valuable contribution to BERC and the Bryan students, which is nice. Ben is going to be teaching in the art class, so he's been making lesson plans and breaking up tile for making mosaics with the older group.
Ben has readjusted well to being back in Europe-- he also had a great experience in Kenya and Rwanda. I saw some great video that he took of the Care of Creation sites, driving around Kigali, and some wildlife at the nature preserve in Rwanda. When we are back in the states and y'all come to visit us (or next time we visit you), he can show you, too!
Yesterday we all went to the home of a family from a nearby church-- the wife is Slovak, the husband British. They hosted us for a delicious dinner, walked us to the nearby Austrian border (which used to be marked by a high, well-guarded wall), and began to tell us about the history of the area. The woman was a student here in Bratislava during the student protests and was an active part of the underground church as communism was falling in the '80s. Slovakia had a very peaceful transition out of communism, but boy, did she have some suspenseful stories to tell! It was an honor to hear about that period of history from someone who had lived through it, and indeed shaped it in part.
Tonight I am teaching more ESL methods, and Ben will have completed his first day of leading the English and Art camp for the middle/high school aged kids! More to come...

Independence Day

Well, July 4th has come and gone for me and the interns in Bratislava.

We began our celebration by reading the Declaration of Independence (please read it-- honestly, what was King George thinking?) then enjoying a BBQ of hamburgers (and they really were ham-- no ground beef available), hotdogs, baked beans, potato salad and watermelon. I made the baked beans. I tried to fix them up as best as I could with some spices and ketchup, but without any molasses or brown sugar, they were, well still pretty Slovak-style.
After tossing our paper plates, we connected the school's LCD projector to the DVD player and watched 1776. I went to bed about half-way through, but I am definitely interested in seeing the whole thing at some point.

All the festivities considered, this was the most patriotic of July 4ths that I've celebrated in a while. Even sans fireworks and parades.
I'm blogging now as I wait for a phone call from Ben, who has probably arrived at the airport in Vienna by now. After he gets his bags, he'll buy a bus ticket from the Vienna airport to the Bratislava airport (1hr drive), where we will pick him up-- he should be back here by lunch time today! I can't tell you how excited I am to see him. He'll be back here for about a week before he heads to China. We'll update you more on his adventures in Africa this past week in the coming days...

Friends Who Take Care of Creation

I'm sitting at Brackenhurst in Kenya, home of the office for Care of Creation. Jan, a friend of Ariel and mine from Bethlehem works here now as a supported missionary. Care of Creation works to enlist pastors around the country to teach what scripture says about stewardship of God's creation. They aim at transforming value sets that will transform behaviors toward the land. Deforestation is a major problem in Kenya, which leads to soil erosion, loss of indigenous plants and animals, and decreasing land that is useful for farming.



I'm enjoying my time here, though I miss Ariel and my boy. Can't wait to see them on Saturday in Slovakia.

Love to all.

Teaching ESL

Well, I've made it through day two of teaching ESL. The class is usually comprised of 7-9 students or so (students come and go through the day as they are available). About half have some language teaching experience, half don't. I feel pretty prepared and put-together overall, but this morning I woke up an hour late because the time on my phone got off by an hour, so I made it to class just in time. That threw me off a bit. Ugh. All is going well, though, really. Tomorrow the students will begin putting together some lessons!

Turandot

Ben left for Rwanda this afternoon, missing out on a night at the opera! The Bryan/BERC group saw Turandot this evening performed at the National Theatre. The building is new, luxurious, and beautiful. The old national theatre was an historic building in the old city, reputed to be beautiful as well.

Blah, blah-- I had a little trouble staying awake, but by the third act I was more perky, and especially enjoyed the beautiful costumes and choreography.

Not much of an update for today, but it's bedtime for me...

Basement Floods

In the last several days since arriving at our new summer home we've done and seen a lot. On Wednesday we settled into our new digs, pulled out our camera for a few shots, and (best of all) reconnected with our students who've been here for a month already. That night Ariel and I jumped a bus with some of the students and found a restaurant in the old part of town (hundreds of years old) for the Germany/Turkey Eurocup semifinal. Quite a dramatic game (especially for soccer). Germany won 3-2 in the last 30 seconds of the game. Ariel and I have another notable soccer memory from the last Worldcup, so it was fun to add another. After a fun night we paid our bill and took to the streets to walk to our bus stop--crazy storm! We made the bus shelter just in time as rain began pelting the sidewalk and the wind picked up to a frenzy! If we were in the Midwest during a storm like that we'd take to the basement because it would mean a tornado wasn't too far away! We also witnessed an expansive web of lightning stretch across the sky in front of us. Awesome. Truly awesome.

Thursday Matt Benson arrived in Bratislava to a warm welcome. That night, our ministry hosts drove Ariel, Matt and me across the border to Austria to use an atm (Matt needed Euros), and another furious storm hit! We ended our night spending two hours with a dozen people bailing inches of water out of BERC's basement!

Tomorrow I leave for a week in Africa. I'll be away from Ariel from Saturday 'til next Saturday. Matt and I will travel to Rwanda where we'll meet up with four of our students, spend several days with them, visiting their places of internship, catching up on their progress, and relaxing in the hotel room on Sunday night by watching the Eurocup championship, Spain/Germany. On Wednesday I'll say goodbye to Matt as he leaves for the U.S., and I'll go on to Kenya where I'll meet up with a friend Ariel and I made in Minnesota. She is now a missionary with Care of Creation near Nairobi. Then...back to Bratislava and Ariel.

Ariel will be spending this coming week teaching an intensive course on ESL methods to our students, area teachers from an international school, and a few others.

Bratislava

Well, we've arrived! Ben and I are on location with Bryan Missions Interns this summer. I'll be in Bratislava, Slovakia through the beginning of August, helping with some ESL training and various tasks at a school here-- Bratislava Educational Resource Center (BERC). Ben will have Bratislava as a home base, visiting the student interns working with ministries in Rwanda, Kenya and in Asia at different points.

We (Ben, me and baby, too) arrived on Tuesday afternoon, a bit travel-weary, but in pretty good shape overall. We slept well both Tuesday night and Wednesday night, which is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! Ben, by the way, provided me with a delightful surprise by lifting from his luggage my currently-most-prized material possesion... my body pillow! How he stuffed it in there, I don't know, but I love him for this act of care and thoughtfulness, as well as for many other reasons.

Other good news-- Ashlee passed her NCLEX (nursing board exams) on Monday! Pretty wonderful!

Prayer requests for us:

• for Ben, as he travels to Africa this weekend for about a week


• for me as he is away (Anyone else remember how I used to traipse off to foreign countries on my own and do just fine? I'm not so independent anymore...)


• for the interns here in Slovakia and elsewhere to grow, learn and serve well


• for the ESL training next week

We'll try to blog regularly-- keep us email-updated on your lives, too!

Northward-Ho!

Well, tomorrow morning we depart for MSP once again-- this time to celebrate Micah's wedding and enjoy some fun times with the Norquist clan. I will be staying up that direction until the following weekend, when Miss Mel gets married in Sioux Falls! Ben is in a wedding down south, but we are very excited for her and Tim, and for Ben's friend Bryce and his soon-to-be-wife Esther. And we are very excited to see our dear family and friends over these next few days!

Things That Go "Bump" in the Night

Soooo... last night when I went out onto our porch in the midst of a roaring thunderstorm to make a phone call (the only area with semi-reliable cell reception), I noticed a branch hanging down from the porch roof. Oh, wait. That is actually a snake. I didn't hang around to make a positive ID on the variety. Don't know if it was a bad snake or a good snake (Okay, are there really good snakes? Don't comment on that.) It was a snake, though. Maybe 2-2 1/2 feet long, an inch and a half around or so? Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew. Later in the evening I heard it fall (jump?) off and land on the porch. That was actually a relief, because I didn't want it to climb into our attic and make itself at home or something. Ew, ew, ew. Ben was teaching last evening, so he didn't get to see it. He says that if he finds it in the future, he will weed-whack it if it is a copperhead or the like. Weed-whack it? That is more than I can handle. Personally, I think it might be time to get a shotgun. By the way, this is the second snake that I have had the pleasure to encounter on our property. Ben has yet to make the acquaintance of any at all. Why is that? Not that I want him to see one, or whack one, I just don't want to see them any more! Ew.

Faculty-Award Winner in Our Hearts

We are up in fair St. Paul this weekend to celebrate Ashee's graduation from Bethel and from Nursing School. She has worked so hard and had so much success! It is clear, too, the work God has done in and through her. He is a gentle protector and provider, and has indeed worked things together for good. Yesterday we attended the pinning ceremony (a tradition in the nursing profession since like 830AD or something). I was hoping Ashlee would win the Faculty Award. She didn't. I still think that she should have! I don't need to elaborate on that to the whole world, but you all understand the loyalty and love for your own kin-folk, right? I just can't imagine another living soul who could possibly deserve it more than her. So I have awarded it to her in my own heart. See above. HA!

Afterwards, Ben and I took my grandma out for supper while the rest of the fam attended a banquet. They had dried-up chicken, and we had fabuous Chinese at Pei-Wei. That was Grandma's choice, believe it or not. Afterward, I found out that she has never had Chinese before, so I think that she actually chose it by accident or misunderstanding, but she happily ate her Sweet and Sour Pork anyway, so good for her. We also mined her for family names. It was fun to listen to her remember who is who and related to whom. She even elaborated on how to say some of the names in German, which is pretty neat.

This morning we're up before everybody else since we're working on TN time, so here I am blogging. After everyone else awakes, we will head off to Key's Cafe for breakfast. You might think that the highlight of the weekend for me is the food. That is a highlight, but also it has been fantastic to be with the fam.

Last night we watched video footage from Ashlee's trip to Uganda last January, and our ultrasound video while eatng strawberry sundaes and drnking root bear floats. Food again. Good times. Everyone has felt the baby kick by now, too, which is fabulous!

Window Screens

Our house came without window screens. I realize that most of the world makes it without window screens, or even the option of A/C, but I was really getting tired of the situation. After pricing out (expensive) relplacement screens, we found a nifty screen making kit at Wal-Mart. Ben crafted perfect-fitting screens for each window in the house, installing the last one yesterday afternoon. We were in heaven! There was a light rain outside, and the breeze was refreshing and bug-free. Last night, perhaps around 11, when we were falling asleep in our newly ventilated bedroom, we heard furious scratching UP THE SIDE OF OUR HOUSE and clawing onto the screen in our bedroom. The CAT, whom we do not officially own, but who lives on our property, had torn a hole in the 6-hour old screen in an effort to socialize. Maybe this is why there were no screens on any of the windows. Ugh.

Something Like Christmas

Well, last night we were invited over to dinner by another Bryan staff couple. We had yummy, yummy brats with the fixin's, followed by a shopping spree!
This family has two boys, the youngest of whom is three years old, and they have a lot of baby boy clothes up to size 2T that they don't need anymore... So they gave us our pick!
We got some really nice items in all sizes and seasons. Even better, their boys were born about the same time of year as ours will be, so the seasons and sizes should line up fairly well.
Then, their next-door-neighbor gave us a really nice high chair.
What generosity. It really is a big blessing-- saving not only the money that would be involved in buying these items (even at garage sales or whatever), but also the time.
Just wanted to brag on a generous, generous family...
Hopefully we can pass things along to someone else someday-- that's the idea, right?

It's a Boy!

Well, another point for women's intuition. Every woman who ventured a guess (at least, those who told me about it) thought it would be a boy, and sure enough...

Tech: "Now, you want to know what it is?"

Us: "Yeah!"

Tech: "See that? There's no doubt about it. Those are boy parts."

Let's Pray for the People of Burma

On Saturday Cyclone Nargis hit the coast of Burma preceded by a tidal wave 12 feet high that claimed whole villages. As of this morning, 22, 464 people have been confirmed dead. Another 41,000 people are still missing. That means that the death tole will rise. But for thousands of families, the fate of their loved one(s) will remain unresolved--their names will never be removed from the missing list. Let's pray for the people of Burma as they move through this tragedy.



Read more about the cyclone: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7385662.stm

Subscribing to Posts

Okay, this post is mostly for Ashlee, who keeps asking me how to subscribe to blogs.... For Blogger, anyway, just scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on "Subscribe: Posts [atom]". You have to have a gmail account to subscribe, though.

The Loooong Weekend

Have you ever had a weekend that seemed TOO long?

It seemed like forever in longness. We had a short and yucky camping experience. We couldn't find our destination. I was hungry (when pregnant= cranky, then weepy). It stormed. I didn't sleep. It was dark most of the time we were there. We didn't hike, go to the Sequoyah museum or take the drive on the Cherohala skyway to NC as planned. We did eat breakfast at a cute diner, though. Ben will tell you it was a great birthday present, though, and that he had a great time (I love my husband. He is sooooooooooooo good for and to me!)
Then, on Sunday morning, Ben woke up with the stomach flu. He was miserable.
He is still home sick today-- keeping food and fluids down, now, but still pretty dehydrated and weak feeling.

We have been thanking God for the safe, quiet, sheltered bedroom in which we sleep well and healthfully most nights. Really, I am taking that much less for-granted now.

Onto the week at hand...this afternoon our life enters a new realm of knowledge-- we find out if freckle is a frecklo or a freckla! I've been thinking it is a boy for quite a while (an ultrasound we had a while back showed the little one bouncing all over the place with little-boy-like levels of energy. Maybe this is a sexist conclusion, but I needed something to go on...), but the Internet predicts a girl... Ben has not guessed. What do you think-- boy or girl?

Our birthing class last week was uneventful and not that interesting-- except for the"fetal bonding" time, in which we were supposed to imagine ourselves floating in the uterus with our baby, sharing the bond of love, while listening to the rhythm of ocean waves in the background. We couldn't stop laughing. Of course we were sitting right up front, where everyone could see our lack of composure. I felt immature, very self-aware and quite embarrassed, which made me more giggly, unfortunately. I hope that we don't have to do this every week.

Kicks and Somersaults

Well, we are feeling movement, for SURE. I've been feeling topsy-turvey-tummy feelings (like the feeling you get on a roller coaster) for a few weeks, but I thought I was just a little nauseous still. Not so-- that is baby Norquist making him/herself known! Now the swirling feeling is often accompanied by little nudges from the inside. Ben got a high-five from the baby yesterday morning, and a couple more last night. The nudges keep me company during the day, bringing a little smile to my face at otherwise uninteresting times.
Tomorrow night we start birthing classes... stay tuned...

A Piano?!!

While Ben was gone, I was busy refurbishing an upright piano for him.
I bought it at a thrift store for $100. All of the keys worked, and nothing was broken, exactly, but it had quite a few sticky keys, no key tops left, and about 40 years worth of dust everywhere. there were, in fact, areas on the inside which I thought had been painted black all through the vacuuming and first and second washings-out. The third time over, I discovered... beautiful wood under all the grime, not black paint. Yuk!
With the help of directions from the Internet, my dust mask, vacuum and Murphy's oil soap, I cleaned, filled holes, turned pins, filed felt, glued on new key tops and shined it up over the course of about 25 hours or so last week. (By the way, you, too can be a piano technician. Steve will help you at: www.stevespianoservice.com)
It is a gorgeous piece of furniture, but more importantly, a lovely instrument. There are still a few sticky keys to adjust and tuning to have done, but it's well on its way.
Ben was... "flabbergasted," when he walked in Monday evening, which was, of course, the idea. It's not so easy to surprise him, but he really loves a good one, so this was pretty fun to pull off. A big thanks to the RA guys who lugged the piano out of the store, into a truck, up our front stairs and into the living room. It was quite a job, and a substantial part of the gift! Maybe we can get a pic on here at some point. It is a walnut color, with thick pillars on each corner and under the keyboard. There are neat little sliding doors above and under the keyboard exposing the working parts of the soundboard (I don't know what that is called-- the area where the hammers hit the wires).
Ben had fun revisiting some pieces he used to enjoy playing, and is excited to get back into it. The piano will also be nice to use for some class times and Christmas parties and all of that!

Ben's African Email Journal

Well, Ben arrives back from Africa this afternoon. Here are some excerpts from his emails. This is sort of a long entry, and somewhat repetitive, but it will give those of you who wonder what Ben's job involves, exactly, a peek into the life of Ben. I've added a few explanatory comments.

[Ben was in Tanzania for a few days before going to Uganda. He was able to call me from there, so no emails to include here...]

April 22
I've arrived in Uganda without a hitch. The flight was quick--reading Supper of the Lamb made the short flight seem like moments. Enos picked me up. He was right there, holding a sign that read "Ben Norquist, Enos Ekato." He is such a happy, smiley person! I'm having a great time with him. We stopped in Kampala for Ugandan lunch, local fare that's just like I remember, and we ran right next door to the bus terminal and purchased tickets for tomorrow morning. We'll leave the house at about 6:30 tomorrow morning to fight through traffic to our bus leaving at 8:30.
I'm trying to figure out what to give to Enos and his family, with whom I'm staying, as a gift of thanks...I'm going to notice if they have a CD player in their truck. If so, I'm going to give them a copy of John Piper's "Fire and Light" CD, of which I've brought several copies. By the by, I listened to Pipers latest sermon podcast--"We are to be Midwives in the Second Birth for Other People."[Who else would title a sermon that way? Ha!]

April 23
I just arrived in Kigali, not too road weary, but certainly glad to be out of the bus, and now with friends, anticipating dinner at Emmanuel's [Emmanuel is an administrator in the Episcopal Church of Rwanda, and our close friend and contact there. He has visited Bryan twice]. Emmanuel picked Enos and me from the bus station upon arrival an hour ago, brought us directly to his office to show Enos (a good friend of his who has never been outside of Uganda in his life).
The bus ride was nine and a half hours--quite a long trip admittedly, but it felt to me more like two hours. Supper of the Lamb hurls me through hours without my really noticing. We bought water off a hawker who boarded the bus and rode with us from one town to the next (and, I bet, jumped on the next bus heading in the opposite direction from the town we dropped him in). The view, especially in southern Uganda, is majestic, just jaw-dropping. God is gracious to give us such overdone grandeur to enjoy.
Mary, Enos' wife, is a kind, a spiritual leader in her family (at her instigation we sat in the living room for a full half hour of prayer and scripture reading before dinner), and soft-spoken. She is quite the person. I will look forward to showing you the picture I took of Enos and Mary on their front steps early this morning as we readied to pull away to catch our bus.
Yeah, it's April in Rwanda [the anniversary of the beginning of the genocide and time of the mass panic and horrific killings]...that occurred to me as well, yesterday, as I watched the Kampala news and the anchor mentioned the date. Yes. Please pray for the church to do a good job of offering God's comfort. Please also pray for me:-That I'll be able to simply fellowship, connect on a human level with Emmanuel and our other friends - I'm afraid that I could easily be all business and end up failing to strengthen the relationship. It could even feel worse--like I'm using people.-That we'll be able to construct a vision for the interns for this summer that Emmanuel, ministry hosts, Bryan, etc. can get excited about.

April 24
Today was wonderful! I say that because my meeting with Michael at MOUCECORE [a Rwandan Christian organization that does community development and reconciliation work. We stayed at their guest house last October. Two Bryan students will be interns there this summer.] was so successful. We had a great time connecting on a personal level (I've shown our picture to many people already today). We talked about having children, naming children, and other family-related items. We also got to business, which was pretty good. There may be some internship costs (hiring a translator, fuel for several/many special trips throughout Rwanda), but Micheal said that MOUCECORE would be willing to share the costs with Bryan, which will be helpful.

April 25
Hi, baby,I'm quite ready to come home now--I've completed the business I came for with great success. I had a wonderful meeting with John, the director of Solace this morning [a Rwandan Christian psychological counseling and community development center], who was full of ideas as to how Bryan and Solace could partner. I think I'm going to enjoy John's company whenever I'm in Rwanda, same with Michael of Moucecore, both wonderful men, easy to get along with, and passionate about their work.
I also had a great time with the IJM staff today. I met two of the interns (actually one fellow and one intern Alistaire and Marissa) for lunch at the Novotel (four star restaurant) [Poor Ben...] . Great fun. Hey, Marissa is a student at Bethel U! Who'da thunk it. It was just us for lunch, but after we went to their offices which were abandoned for lunch, so we went to where they were finishing lunch. They were celebrating two birthdays for two of the Rwandan lawyers. It was fun chatting with them all there, but it was even better when they finished up. I walked with the whole staff to their offices, got the tour, sat with Dieter, the director for a while, talked with the director of programs, and really, just made friends with them. I won't feel uncomfortable calling them for lunch now any time that I'm here. Dieter and I spoke about their internship needs here, which was helpful. And Merissa, the one intern, is excited about connecting with our students this summer, orienting them to Kigali, and introducing them to an ex-pat Bible study that's been meeting recently! Oh, man. Very good.

April 26
I'm so pleased with how my visit has gone--I'm coming home having truly connected on a personal level with Micheal, Emmanuel, John, the American team here, a few staff from Solace, Enos and his wife from Uganda, and several staff and interns at IJM! Oh, man, I've seen that God has been generous in the last few days. But I'm so glad to be starting my long way home tomorrow morning!
I finished The Supper of the Lamb, so I'll spend a good bit of time in the Bible, sleeping, reviewing notes from the trip, and, once I board my transatlantic flight, watching some films I bet. I reason I've e-mailed again is that I think that once I check out of Solace in a few hours, I'll have passed to the dark side of the moon until I get to Amsterdam, where I may have a chance to find an Internet terminal.

The "Traitor-Heroine" of the Reformation

I just watched Lady Jane, starring a teenage Helena Bonham Carter. Quite interesting. Let me tell you the Lady's story.

Jane was a Protestant intellectual by the age of 15, reading the Bible in Hebrew and Greek, as well as other classic literature in the original languages. She engaged in debates with Catholic scholars and lived, as she said herself, for the purpose of study and prayer.

At age 16, her parents' close advisor Lord somebody Dudley arranged her marriage to his own son, Lord Guilford Dudley, a young man whom Jane initially despised as "ugly and stupid." Months into their cold marriage, the two discovered a mutual dissatisfaction with certain oppressive ways of the monarchy, a common vision for the service of the monarchy to its people, and indeed fell in love with one another over time.

Jane Grey was the 15-year old cousin of the sickly King Edward VI and fourth in line for the throne. On his deathbed, Edward "willed" her to power, superceding the succesion order that would have placed his Catholic cousin Mary Tudor, illegitimate cousin Elizabeth, or Jane's own mother, Mary Grey, as Queen. As Edward was but 16 or 17 years old, he was not yet old enough according to English law to will anything to anyone ( a right obtained at 21 years), so Jane's claim to the throne was tenuous. In fact, her reign lasted but 9 days. In those 9 days, she ruled side by side with her husband and swiftly enacted various social reforms, including revaluing the shilling, releasing prisoners arrested for treason under Edward, and returning commandeered lands to the populace. It is suspected that had she been more prudent with her power in those early days, her right to the monarchy might not have been challenged by her own advisors and Parliament. She saw her position as an opportunity to "set the captives free," though, and perhaps she had an idea of what was to come.

After those 9 days, Mary Tudor came to power and Queen Jane and her husband Gulford Dudley were charged with high treason. Initially, Mary made clear that she intended to spare their lives, but after Jane's father led a rebellion to restore her to the throne, the sentences of death were delivered and carried out.

Jane was beheaded at London Tower on February 12, 1554. On the platform, she forgave her executioner, dellivered a short speech to the onlookers, and recited a Psalm. Her last words were, "Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit."

John Godwin said she was "the most perfect young creature of the female sex to be found in history."

Pretty high praise! The movie is engaging, gracefully acted and pretty accurate (okay, I think so, based on my quick internet research of her life).

Check it out...

Things this Week

Last weekend Ben was in D.C. with a group of students attending the Global Prayer Gathering of the International Justice Mission. I wasn't there, so can't give a first-hand account, but it seems that it was a top-notch experience for all. He and the students came back with some new perspectives. Ask Ben more, or visit the website for details...

Tuesday night Ben took me out for my birthday to The Curry Pot for Indian. It was really wonderful-- incredible spice flavors (better than India Palace, which used to be my measuring stick for all other Indian-- can you believe it?)! The Curry Pot is owned by Christians, interestingly, and they serve beef! Ben ordered Beef Biryani, and I had Vegetables Korma.
Yesterday afternoon I told my Punjabi 1st-grade student that I had Indian in Chattanooga, and he got sooo excited.
"Did you have the circle things?" (I gathered that he meant the doughnuty sort of dessert
served in a rose water syrup-- I don't remember what it is called, either.)
"No, but I've had that before. It's yummy, isn't it?"
"Yes, I want one. I really want one. I want a BIG one. I want one as big as an ELEPHANT!"
By this time, he had climbed up on top of his chair and was shaking with excitement as he gestured. Guess he likes to eat out, too. So cute. As for myself, I am ready to go out for Indian again tonight. I won't, of course, but I'd like to. I'd really like to.

Sigh. In all, we have had a busy few weeks. Right now there is are ENORMOUS piles of dirty dishes (the dishwasher is malfunctioning, which doesn't help that situation), dirty clothes, garbage (we haven't taken a trip to the dump for a few weeks), and the grass is about 18 inches long in the front yard. It's a good thing there aren't any ordinances in these parts limiting one's right to a lawn au natural.
Tonight I have about 2 hours after work before students come over for class. Hopefully these piles can be diminished. Except for the lawn problem, which will linger a bit longer, seeing as we don't own a lawn mower.

Garage Saleing

I really love garage sales-- always have. I love the deals, of course, but also enjoy the stories a family's discarded possesions tell. I love exploring the neighborhoods and back roads. I love that it is a chore in one sense, but a pretty fun one!

I had a great morning of saleing this past Saturday.

Details:
In our parts, sales happen not just in garages, but in parking lots, yards, and along the roadside. Few take the time to price their wares, or even sit them out on tables. Often there are just piles or boxes of junk, through which the bargain-hunter sorts. The first few ventures I made at Southern garage saleing were totally unsuccessful. If things weren't priced, I would just wander a bit, say thanks, then leave quietly. How Minnesotan of me.

Major breakthrough in strategy this Saturday, though!

Here's how you sail the sales, Tennessee style:
1. Excavate the piles.
2. Load up your arms with the desired goods.
3. Approach the seller, "How much for this?" Point to ONE of the objects.
4. Seller responds, "Oh, 75 cents. Well, how about $2 for all of it?"
5. Deal! Pay up and head out.

A list of what I got for a total of $7 on Saturday:

• 6 pairs of Baby Gap socks, various sizes and colors
• Baby Gap sweater and hat set, off-white cable knit
• Answering machine
• 2 hardcover kids books
• Vick's brand humidifier
• 2 really nice Carter's onesies
• baby carrier (the soft cloth kind that fits on the parent's front or back)
• baby bottle drying rack
• "I love Daddy" bib

Pretty good, huh? 3 cheers for assimilation!

Atlanta? Gag me!

Today Ben is traveling to Atlanta with the missions class. Here is our conversation from last night regarding this trip . I was washing my face while Ben was already curled up in bed, so I was sort of calling across the rooms to him.

Me: I'm excited for your trip. I mean, I'm not excited that you will be gone, but the trip is going to be--(gag. GAG. blech sound.)

Ben: (laughing uncontrollably, now running into the bathroom in his underwear, laughing more) I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I'm not laughing at you. (laughing, laughing, laughing, now rolling on the floor and clawing at my knees, laughing)

The morning/noon/night sickness attacks quite unexpectedly. Ha ha.

I didn't actually get sick, just gaggy. So it was funny.


So, about Ben in ATL. Here's their COOL plan, beginning Wednesday afternoon:

• Visit Hindu temple (several of the students will be in India this summer)
  
• Visit Operation Mobilization headquarters, eat supper with staff
  
• Talk strategy with OM staff
  
• Stay at horse ranch!
  
• Spend weekly global-prayer time with OM staff
  
• Eat somewhere fabulous, I hope; debrief
  
• Something else I can't remember
  
• Be home by Thurs. evening!

Hurrah for Edy's!

Surprisingly, ice cream seems to fit my pregnancy diet. Ok, not a super-food, but at least it has some of the good stuff.

In a 1/2 cup serving of Edy's Loaded Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream:

6 g fat
140 calories
3 g protien
2 g fiber
4% RDA Calcium (Why isn't there more? They should fortify this...)

Mmmm... The Baby and Mama really like ice cream.

I Love Luci

Lately I have finished Water my Soul: Cultivating the Interior Life, a spiritual devotional based upon the imagery of cultivation, by poet Luci Shaw. Shaw's writing style is quite close to the "Christian Living" writings of Madelience L'Engle. The two, in fact, were great friends and often conducted writing seminars together.
An excerpt from th chapter, "Growing in the Light":

"I join in our universal human longing to be with God, to have all my unsatisfied longings fulfilled:
Unless I am mistaken

'All of us wait for this--
To jettison the grasping hands
To lope through new-created lands
Where hope and have may kiss.'

Perhaps the growing seed wonders if it will ever pierce through the skin of soil and sod and burst into the light. This is, for me, a parable of the life of faith. It is across the gulf between the wanting and the having that faith carries us. Our belief in a God who is good, who understands our yearnings, who teaches us much by making us wait, and who will untimately reward our upward struggle, allows us to persevere, to persist. As the author of The Cloud of Unknowing challenges us: 'Smite upon the thick cloud of unknowing wth the sharp dart of longing love; come what may, never give up.'"

Delighted sigh.

Bigger and bigger news

Hi all. Ben here. Ariel really is showing now! Just ask Elden, Ronelle and Ashlee because they saw the rounding belly over Easter. Ariel's usable wardrobe is diminishing; she's experiencing various kinds of discomfort; she's moving around a little differently--and it's all wonderful! I love that Ariel's body and life is changing--I get to be a partner with Ariel and a witness to the mysterious things happening in and to her! Oh, man...Oh, man.

Most other personal news pales in compare to Ariel and my parenthood, but I'll go ahead with one piece anyway. In April I'm taking a group of interested students on a trip to Washington D.C., where we'll be gathering with folks from around the world whose jobs it is to advocate (throug the legal system) for women and children trafficked in the sex trade, widows who have had their property seized and families in bonded servitude. The meeting is called the Global Prayer Gathering, and it's hosted by the International Justice Mission, an evangelical organization dedicated to rescuing and caring for slaves and prosecuting slave masters and traffickers under the laws of the host country. This meeting is an opportunity for my students to see the incredible dedication of these men and women and to come along side them in prayer for the work God is doing around the world. We leave April 11th!

Bella Band Wanna-be Update

It worked! I took a black spandexy tank top (it is otherwise too short and constricting under the arms, so only gets worn very occasionally) and cut off the top half so that I have about a 10-inch stretchy band. This I pull on over my pants and... Voila! Transition-wear! It works, so far. I'll let you know if my pants shimmy down later today.

Spring Break Visits and a Button-Popping Solution (Is there a solution to button-popping, or is the solution button-popping?)

So, we have had lots and lots of family fun these past few weeks. Jim, Becky and Anna were here last week and my parents and Ashlee came down this weekend. Both visits were wonderful-- we feel pretty blessed that our families come to visit us "just because!"

Also, my belly is getting round. So far, no non-family members have noticed, but family can tell! I am down to one and a half pairs of pants. The half pair can zip and button, but the metal hooks can't close. They are still wearable, thanks to the button (this is perfect, because having two pairs allows me to alternate washing and wearing). Enfamil suggests that I wear my other pants unzipped and an elastic band around my hips to hide that fact. This seems to be a rather strange suggestion to me. Maybe they sell the bands, and that's why they think this is a good idea.

I will check this theory.

Okay, they don't sell the bands after all, but other companies do. And maybe it isn't such a bad idea.

Here is a Bella-Band photo. Of course the models look cute in their bands. But doesn't it also look like they are wearing maternity pants as well? Those jeans look pretty zipped-up to me. And they are going for the layered tee shirt look. How would the stretchy band-thing look under work dress shirts? Hmmm. Maybe I will try to experiment by altering an old tank top or something.

Trail of Tears, Continued

A few months back Ben and I were told that our home sits pretty much a stone's throw from the old road bed that was the Trail of Tears. This has caused us to do a bit of research into the history of the Cherokee people in our area, and more specifically, into the portion of their history that ended in their removal at bayonet-point from our area.

The short version of the story is that from 1833-1836 (after an embarrassing series of failings in our system of checks and balances), 18,000 Cherokee were forcibly removed from their homes in Northern Georgia, parts of Tennessee and North Carolina to a reservation in Oklahoma. During this thousand-mile trip on foot, 4,000 Cherokee died of starvation, exhaustion and disease. It is a pointed example of the injustices in the United States' relations to the Native American Nations during the early part of our country's history.

You can read the long version of the story (please do, it really is interesting!) at:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2959.html

A Belated Memorium, and the Promise of an Introduction

Did you know that author Madeliene L'Engle died this past fall? Apparently this wasn't a happening that made the radio, but for those of us who have been shaped by her writings, this is indeed news-worthy!


Hmm... for those of you with a pull toward the creative, read Walking on Water if you've not yet. Madeliene takes on faith, art, the work of the Spirit in and through us...


I mean it! For those of you who don't already love her works, be inspired to discover the gift that her writing is!


Here is a better source of inspiration-- a beautiful NY times obit. I mean that seriously. It communicates something of the honor due:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/08/books/07cnd-lengle.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=books

My first reading recommendation is Walking on Water, then A Wrinkle in Time and its companions, then A Circle of Quiet. Actually, those are the only books of hers that I have read, so to be honest I guess that isn't a very encompassing recommendation. What I've read, I've liked, and perhaps if you choose something of hers, you will enjoy it, too...


Read! Read the NY Times piece, then one of Madeliene's books. At a future meeting, I will acquaint you with a dear friend of hers and mine, Ms. Luci Shaw...

Baby Garden

Look at the cute counter! Thanks due to Naomi and the link from her blog...

We're Back!

It's seems to me that my friend Amy or my friend Mel would give good advice about not blogging about not blogging. In the same way that they give advice about not talking about the camera when someone is video-taping you. It is an archiving no-no. But, well, I haven't blogged in a while, and feel compelled to acknowledge that.

Oh, glad change of topics. A man behind me just walked into the library and said, "Where's she at?" But it didn't sound the way it probably sounds in your mind. Use your best Southern and try it again. Do you hear it? When he said it, my Northern language processor heard, "Horse ****!" Of course that doesn't make sense, and I figured it out when the woman behind the desk said, "She's in the back."

Much, much more importantly, if you haven't heard already...

We're having a baby! The newest Norquist has an estimated delivery date of September 28th, 2008. We are, of course, quite excited. Aren't you??? We had an ultrasound at 7 weeks (now at 9 weeks, 2 days) and saw the little arm and leg nubs and heard the heart beat. It really sounded steady and strong. By now the baby has all of its parts, they are just really, really, minuscule. There is a lot of growing left to do, but it is pretty neat to think of all of the crafting God has already done!

I can't say much to follow that up. Oh, here's a beautiful book with beautiful images of fetal development (the text isn't my thing, but the illustrations/photos are like no others):

From Conception to Birth: A Life Unfolds

by Alexander Tsiaris

Semester 2

Well, it's back to work for us this week-- the county schools are in session this week, so I am back in the classroom, and Ben has been on campus at Bryan preparing for the second semester, which begins next Monday. I'm pretty excited about the classes Ben is teaching this semester (he is, too)-- The Church as a Global Community and The Gospel and Human Trafficking (I might have the title of that one a bit off). As busy as the semesters are with our day jobs, evening classes, retreats, etc., and as much as I've enjoyed the winter break, I must say that I miss the students and all of the happenings on campus. All will be back in full swing soon enough! Bryan kicks off the semester with their Christian Life Conference Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of next week with Nick Nowalk presenting about Jonathan Edwards' theology of the trinity in chapel and evening sessions. We are praying that the Holy Spirit will move the students' affections to adore God in deeper and life-altering ways.