Tuesday, November 18, 2008

November News from Bakersfield


I'll have to have Erin or Emily send me all the photos they've been taking of Nathan. The ones I found on my computer and camera are over a month old (OH NO!). I had to put in a picture of Abby as I had no more pix of Nathan to put in, but aren't they all cute?

Bill, Julie, Em, Jeff, Nathan, Dad and Mom and myself plan to gather here at our house to celebrate Thanksgiving. We will truly miss the blessing of seeing Viv and Von, Jo and Mike, Dan and Willy, and Erin and Scott at that gathering, but we understand everyone has other family or plans in the works. We hope you will plan to visit some time in the not too distant future.

I get to see and hold Nathan at least twice a week, and that is a blessing to me. Nathan is still not sleeping through the night at 10 weeks, but Em and Jeff seem to be getting used to sleep deficit. The pediatrician now has them placing Nathan on his side to sleep as his round head is getting flat on the back. He is drinking mother's milk from a bottle, since he never got the hang of nursing, and they recently increased his volume to 6 ounces at a time rather than 4. Lets see...he loves to be naked - but I am told that is true for a lot of little boys! He is also starting to smile, and has even made some cute little laugh noises upon occasion. Our favorite sound is his snorting, and our favorite motion is his rooting for a pacifier or bottle. Of course we just LOVE him!

Erin's sister in law, Molly Williams, delivered her 6 1/2 lb and 7+ lb fraternal twin boys last Wednesday! They are miracle babies. Erin and Scott have not seen them yet, so you can understand they will be visiting them in San Diego over Thanksgiving!

On another note, Em and Jeff have put their home on the market, as they would like to find a home that is better configured for their new little family. Don't know if it will sell in this poor economy, but they figured it wouldn't hurt to try.

At home, Bill and I have replaced two gates and painted our bathroom in the last few weeks. Julie has been going through all her digital Europe pictures and getting them printed through Costco. She says she is "through France" so that leaves only Germany, the Netherlands, and the trip home. She has filled up a huge album, though I know she isn't printing ALL her pictures, as she took over 5,000 of them! She is also loving her new church, The RiverLakes Church. Bill and I are more than ok with her finding a church where she feels connected and encouraged by her peers to grow spiritually. To us it is more important that our offspring love the Lord and follow Him than that they stick with us at 1st Pres.

Well, I am going to finish this up, but I think I can find a picture of Molly's twins to put on the blog site, and will do that before finishing up here!
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Wednesday, October 15, 2008

The Volksloff (Mud Run)


Bill and Julie determined to take part in the annual Volksloff this October, and so they began a walking/running regimen a few months ago. However, they decided to opt for the shorter, 5 mile obstacle course rather than the regular 10 mile course. This is a mud run with lots of mud pits to sludge through, mounds of dirt to climb, tunnels and nets to crawl through or under, walls to climb, and a rope course over a muddy water pit. The first obstacle was a mud pit with a wall at the deep end, so everyone was muddy up to their chests within the first few minutes of the course. Bill and Julie opted to wear military boots and pants, and gloves. Julie purchased gripping type gloves without fingers, while Bill opted for rubber soled full gloves which also were good for gripping. They actually did quite well with their equipment, but because they didn't tape up their shoes, they did get a lot of muddy water in their shoes and the bottoms of their pants. They were tired but ok until they got to the rope pit, where there was a bottle neck of people and they had to wait 20 minutes to take their turn. It was a fairly cool and windy day, so standing on top of that dirt mound for 20 minutes made them cold and stiff. Julie made it across, but Bill fell into the pit shortly after I took his picture. The last obstacle consisted of two long pools of muddy water with hills of dirt on either end and one in the middle. The last pool was 6 feet deep, 2 feet deeper than previous years, and with all the weight of their wet clothes filled with mud and water, they ended up going along the edge of the pool so they wouldn't drown. Then they had to climb up the last, tallest hill to reach the finish line on the other side. After they passed the finish line (they didn't finish well, but they DID finish!), they walked over to a fire truck and got some of the mud hosed off with a fire hose. By this time they were freezing, so we all trudged a LONG way back to the car where Bill and Julie and Vicky took turns changing into dry clothes and shoes behind a blanket I held up for them. Needless to say, they were tired and didn't do much the rest of the day!
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Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Here we all are!


Well, I have just set up my first blog, per Mom Twogood's request, to keep you all updated on being a grandma, which is the best experience ever! I will keep this short so I can post it then go inform you all of my blog address.

I don't know what I've sent anyone, other than a picture from my cell phone while in the delivery room. I was there! I saw him born. I am still so amazed! Emily did a great job, especially after she was given the epidural at midnight. Jeff also did a great job helping Emily with her contractions and encouraging her through the whole process. Her labor started 9/9 around 1:15 am, but didn't get serious until 10 pm, when she called me as they were leaving for the hospital. Julie and I met them there while Bill held down the home front. Her labor/delivery and a lot of recovery were spent in one very small room. I wasn't supposed to be there when it came time for delivery, but the doctor put both Jeff and I to work holding Emily's legs and feet to aid in contractions, and then all the equipment for delivery and baby were brought in, and there was no room for me to leave.

Since his birth, little Nathan went from 9 lb 3 oz down to 8 lb 5 oz, then started gaining before he left the hospital. He was circumcised on the 8th day, and weighed in then at 9 lb 10 oz. So even though he has refused to cooperate in the nursing department, he is still getting plenty with pumped mamma's milk and formula. I stayed at their house through this last Thursday evening, then have just put my head in for a few hours as often as I can to hold and feed and all the stuff that grandmas do. I am quite tired, but I know that Em and Jeff are MORE tired. At least they are still young, so they will recover more quickly than I will.

Got to go get ready for work. Love to all!
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Spheres of Glass, by Erin McArdle

We are spheres of glass, these souls, blown from the very breath of heaven. Each one of us is dipped, shoved into the painful heat of the glory hole, shaped on a hardened plate of steel, rounded out with just the right amount of pressure, and then, while we are still pliable, the air is pushed through us, filling us with volume, with shape, and if the artisan desires, a crackled color is then applied. I...I am a bright turquoise with red and orange piping. There's a bit of sunset yellow that glows somewhere inside, along with a bit of that color that pauses on the horizon somewhere between twilight and the final whisper of the last ray of sunlight.
Once we are set in the hay to slow dry, we either crack slightly or come out crystal and shining. I used to think I wanted to be crystal clear. Now I think I prefer a little bit of character, and some very serious color.
God sets us on the earth, hands us our precious ball of delicately blown glass (just one to start with), and asks us to walk along side him. He points out the visions of life, whether we are listening or not, presenting us with opportunity beyond our imagination. We are watching the starlight sparkle within, the sun and moon glitter across, all the while taking each step with care as we hold our gift. Many times the ball drops. Many times the sphere we spend so much effort protecting breaks, and Oh Lord, how unthinkable that must be...
I stand somewhere in the middle of a New York style street, staring at the shattered pieces of glass, the noise - a blur fading into the background, trying to pick them up, hands bleeding with every shard scraped off the horrid, burning pavement. Heart beat desperate to turn back time, to fix my mistakes, to move a little quicker, to hold onto my precious sphere. some of it has ground itself in and the powder is blown away under the hell of the wretched summer heat. I gather what I can and leave the rest. I empty it into a small bag. There are so many pieces as my feet crunch across the ground, and I wonder whose soul they belonged to, and if they really wanted them back and just couldn't get them or if they lost the ability to care after trying for so long to preserve it.
Somewhere along the way I find a side street and a bottle of superglue, revlon nail formula. Laughing out loud, I seriously thought it would work...for about 30 seconds. The ultra bonding substance could hold limbs together, but not the shattered pieces of me. As I stood there, almost hopeless, two thoughts came to mind: 1st-a clear bag. Definitely zip-lock, definitely tear proof. But then, as I grow older, I realize that nothing can tear proof the soul, or the heart that feeds upon it. 2nd-I have to find the glass blower. The artisan. He will be saddened to see such a mess, but there is a small twinkle in his eye, much like Ollivanders, that keeps the desperate hope I cling to from fading.
His shop is filled with gadgets...time collectors, tear drop measurers, colorful bits and baubles unrecognizable to me. Beautiful and aged. The room has that yellow glow to it, like the end of a sepia toned summer day on its last spark. He takes my bag, pours the remains into the glory hole and we watch it melt. I have done this many times before. And I am lost for words every time. But he knows. I can see it in the lines on his perfectly wrinkled face. He always knows. Slowly, he takes the rod and swirls it into the liquid glass, creating a new sphere - knowing in time I will break this one too, but making it just as pristine as the very first. He looks at me for just a moment before gazing at the colors he might add to it. This time, the piping is jet black, and the glass is of a sparkling mist. Somewhere I see the old hint of turquoise, and a hidden stripe of autumn. He finishes my ball and sets it to cool...Carefully he puts his tools back in their place, and then turns to me. He has not said a word, nor have I. We use the small sink to rinse my hands, the aloe plant sacrifices a limb for me.
And here I sit, like the fainting phoenix, waiting to rise from the ashes, as the glass cools and takes on its new shape and plethora of colors. Eventually the time will come, and he will hand it back to me-this new and old gift.
And somewhere down the road, it will come to pass that I will need to come back here again, perhaps slightly less battered. But I should make my way back here again. And maybe next time, it will only be to add on a bit of color - something more golden and starlit - or maybe, just maybe, he'll hand me another to carry.