BesoMami

I guess I should have seen this one coming.

You know why some conservative Christians are not supporting McCain's choice of Palin as VP? Because she is supposed to be home with her kids (even though her husband is a stay-at-home dad).

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/31/1469/85335/817/580901

Gah.

I am frustrated with how some on both sides are acting. If you don't like her, don't vote for her. But don't tell her she is a 'bad' Christian.

Yes, he did this by himself.

Many times over the last five years, especially with the arrival of each of my three children, I am amazed at how God, in her infinite wisdom, placed the right children in our family. My sweet Thomas, the most loving boy in the world, is also a little worrier, just as I am. I've spent hours and hours of my life worrying myself into frantic episodes of insomnia. As a child, I would become so upset when I couldn't sleep that my mom employed all sorts of devices to soothe me and calm me down. I am sorry to say that Thomas has experienced a few of these episodes lately. Thankfully, with my lifetime of knowledge on this subject, we've been able to work through things pretty well. My poor boy -- I know how awful he feels at these 2 o'clock in the morning moments when the night seems endless and threatening.

One thing that I've discovered, through the blessing of our particular brand of faith, is that Thomas adores the constancy and predictability of the liturgy. Saying the same prayers and singing the same songs help him in ways that I also remember from my childhood. (My mom singing Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life" is an early memory and one that can still lower my blood pressure. Odd, I know. But it is my mom's voice, not Debby's, that helped).

A few months ago, standing in the Eden Seminary bookstore, I made an impulse purchase -- a gorgeous kid's book titled Sleep in Peace, written by Ingrid Hess. The book is published by the wonderful Mennonite Publisher, Herald Press.

An example of the text:
When the songs you've sung
fill the evening sky
with the melody
of a lullaby

and when bedtime stories
have all been read,
when memories swirl inside your head

God loves you, sweet child. Sleep in peace.

The proper execution of the liturgy goes like this:
1) I read the verse
2) Thomas chants the refrain

1) I read the verse
2) Thomas chants the refrain

The upshot of this... when Thomas becomes anxious about something, I can say, "God loves you, sweet child" and he replies, "Sleep in peace" with the seriousness of a little cantor with a slightly lisping, lilting voice. The purpose of liturgy, some say, is to both glorify God and to equip Christians for carrying out Christ's mission in the world. Essentially, liturgy should transform us through the knowledge of God's presence with us.

As I see my child, God's precious child, enter into peaceful, restful sleep precisely because he knows that God is with him, I am filled with wonder and thanksgiving. Sleep in peace.

There is a guy in our old presbytery who has a vanity license plate on his truck that says 'NO CIRC'. Besides being a very active Presbyterian elder and the religion reporter for my hometown newspaper, this guy would be very incensed about the out-patient surgery our youngest child had performed this morning. The surgical resident commented again on the appropriateness of this procedure for our baby, but I know there are people out there who are adamantly opposed. Nevertheless, David is sleeping now and seems pretty comfortable.

Thomas decided that today was the day to stuff his entire pb&j sandwich into his mouth at one time during lunch. Evidently recess occurs immediately after eating lunch, so the sooner you eat, the sooner you can go out to the playground. This "eat-a-sandwich-in-one-bite" plan was an awesome one on Tom's part, until the large sandwich caused him to gag and then barf all over himself. So, we were in the recovery room at the children's hospital with #2 son when the school nurse called to ask us to pick up vomit-covered #1 son. Due to the fact that we were "across the river" with David, Thomas had to sit in the school office for an hour until we could come to pick him up.

Thankfully, our daughter spent the day with a dear friend and there was no vomit or other grossness (that I know of).

My kids make my heart hurt. They are all tucked into bed now and I am exhausted. I love them so much and they infuriate me and exhilarate me, all at the same time. I am glad that I am going to work tomorrow.

Thomas loves Kindergarten! I am not surprised, as he loved preschool. But the first three days have passed and he seems very pleased. No unwelcome notes from the teacher, no tears from Tom.

Lily starts preschool next week. That will be the bigger challenge. Let's hope she can keep her teeth to herself. I did buy her this book a few weeks ago (Susan found it at the Hogwarts Bookstore)...

Sorry that I haven't been blogging much.

Thomas begins kindergarten on Wednesday.

I have Presbytery on Thursday.

Brett begins teaching next week.

Lily begins preschool a week from tomorrow.

David has an outpatient surgical procedure a week from Tuesday.

I am trying to get back in the swing of things at church, after being out for three weeks (two weeks of vacation and one of study leave).

Things are going well here -- I am just trying to keep my head above water!

We should all be into our fall routine after Labor Day. The church is gearing up for Big Church Big Programming. I need to write some Sunday school lessons and get ready for Deacons kick-off for the year.

Sorry for the boring nature of this post. Sometimes boring is good...

I am here at the National Cathedral in D.C. for the Young Clergywomen Project board meeting. We are having such a good time and making quite a bit of progress on the future of our project. I am thrilled to be part of this group of amazing women. Very late last night our dear Sarah asked, "How did we all get to be so awesome?" Good question! I think it is because so many of us were born in the blessed year of our Lord, 1977. ;)

We finish up our board meeting today and then the preaching conference with Dr. Ruthanna Hooke begins late this afternoon. I am looking forward to more young clergywomen joining us for the conference, especially two priests from Sweden!

It is hot here because D.C. is always hot in the summer. But it is nothing like the record-breaking heat wave that we experienced while here last August. And the Cathedral has updated their A/C system since then, so we are positively comfortable inside the building.

Getting here yesterday was a bit of a disaster. I left my cell phone in my car at the airport and I managed to spill a Starbucks on my skirt before I even got on the plane. After those mini-disasters, my flight was good and there were no travel issues.

I hope my boys and girl are having a fun time at Camp Daddy!

First of all, THANK YOU for all the prayers you've lifted up for Brett over the past six weeks.

He went to his follow-up appointment with the infectious disease specialist on Thursday. Over the past month, he has been tested for meningitis, hepatitis, leukemia, lymphoma, mononucleosis, West Nile, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, CMV, and just about any illness of that type. Their conclusion? They don't have one. Brett is getting better and they've decided that they cannot know what specific virus or illness caused his symptoms.

So -- we have quite a few bills to pay (Board of Pensions pays for these things at 80%) and we also have our son's adoption fees to finish paying in the next six weeks. But we are so thankful that Brett is healthy and does not seem to have any long term issues.