Winter Has Arrived

Kelsey's blood pressure was too high, so they admitted her to the hospital yesterday. After over five hours of labor they decided to take the baby via C-Section.

Winter was 7 lbs 4 oz and 20 inches long. Check out all that hair.

Winter and Daddy

Winter

Isn't she alert? And look at all that hair!

Eating and Hawaii

The eating thing isn't going bad. While I'd like to lose some pounds, I also have to be realistic this time of year. If I break even this holiday season I'll consider myself ahead of the game. Money's tighter this year, so I'll be doing some baking for gifts. One more time stealer--and not so easy to bake or cook candy and not lick a finger.

One of my challenges has always been dealing with poor Ed's food allergies. He hasn't had fudge in years. But I had an epiphany recently. I can get margarine without milk for the fudge, but the recipe calls for canned milk. Sorry, but rice milk doesn't cut it. I'm going to try coconut milk this year! That is one recipe I am excited to give a try. I'll report how it comes out.

It's not going good, either. I've just been so busy with so many things. Put in another very long day at work this week, getting on the job at 8 a.m. and finishing our part in the city council meeting at 11:30 p.m. This week has included too many late nights followed by an early mornings. I'm seriously dying here.

This is from my trip in June 2010.

But, only 3 1/2 weeks until we fly to Kaua'i for ten days. We're really excited by that. Hopefully Ed will be used to his orthotics by then. Poor guy. He's got an abscessed tooth, and they're going to do a root canal on Monday.

The Healthy Eating Thing

It's funny but Ed's having a bit of a hard time with this. We were doing pretty well. He'd lost 5 lbs and I lost 3 lbs.

He's baking his own bread now that he's home. We're supposed to stay away from white bread but he didn't like the heavy denseness of a 100% whole wheat bread without any conditioners to lighten it up. In the past I've used soy flour to help with that since it's high in protein and fiber but much lighter than wheat. Unfortunately we're supposed to stay away from soy wherever possible.

Obviously Thanksgiving included a lot more food, but it was nonpreservative and homemade. I found a fabulous recipe for a brown rice stuffing that had lots of dried fruits in it. I'm so making that again for Christmas. Loved it. (I modified the recipe because I couldn't find plain wild rice, and I used sausage that didn't have a lot of preservatives rather than the bacon--oh, and I used poultry seasons. I love in my dressing.)Ed could eat some for once. The recipe actually made more than we could eat, so the rest of it went in the garbage disposal after a few days.

This past week has been a hard one. We both got sick this past weekends--a nice cold the little girls across the street shared with us. Ed got it first, but I was down for three days and missed two days of work. Thank heavens the election craziness was over!

I think Ed's realizing how much he misses eating out. He's been helping Adam with a project to pay for a motorcycle Adam now doesn't want anymore. Seriously. That kid! Well, he's a man. If he had any married sibling close by who weren't living with their inlaws or having other challenges, I'd so be pushing his lazy butt out the door. He's a big talker and little doer. And he's got as many excuses as Carter has pills. Anyway, Ed's been eating out since he's making a little money and working. He took some jobs to try and pay for his plane tickets for the extra trip to Hawaii.

He finished one of the projects and is paying for it today. So much pain. I told him it's a reminder about why he retired. It's hard to judge if eating differently is making him feel better when he's making these hard demands on his body.

Anyway, we'll try and refocus now that I'm feeling better myself. He won't do it if left to his own resources. He's such a guy that way. But he's watching Davey today. Yay!

Asundry Things

We had a fun Thanksgiving. Paul and very preggers Kelsey came as did Robert, Michelle, little Davey, and Robert's friend and roommate, David. After dinner the kids all played Game of Thrones. They love that game but were forced to quit early as Paul and Kelsey had her family's dinner to attend.

Davey was a lot of fun to play with and did really well, considering that he didn't take a nap.

His mouth has grapejuice stains from Ed's crop this year.

I was flipping through the channels and as soon as Davey heard the Sesame Street character's voice, the TV had his attention.

Davey really got into the cow last time he was here. He wasn't really sure about it then but caught on to riding it very quickly. This time he enjoyed pushing it around the room. Gave new meaning to the term "cowboy".

After they were gone, Adam brought out a game called Bang!, which is a western-themed card game. It's funny because it's an Italian game, so all the words are in Italian with English subtitles. One of the goals, if your characters is the Renegade, is to shoot the sheriff. So, of course, people were randomly singing snippets of the song.

It's funny because the game really does have a deputy, who responsibility is to keep the sheriff alive. Unfortunately the sheriff doesn't know for sure who the deputy is and could kill that character by accident. It's really a fun game.

It's Michelle's family's turn for Christmas, so I'm not sure we'll see them for the holiday. Kelsey's due around the middle of December, so we'll see what she's up to for Christmas travel. We could visit them except they're still living with her parents. Kelsey's just done being pregnant, and they're both excited to meet little Winter Dream.

I won NaNoWriMo this year. Very excited about that, and the story's almost finished besides. Of course, finished is relative. What I really mean is that first very rough draft will be done. It'll still take a lot of work.

Thanksgiving

The Thorn Bouquet

by George Matheson

Sandra felt as low as the heels of her Birkenstocks as she pushed against a November gust and the florist shop door. Her life had been easy, like a spring breeze.

Then, in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a minor automobile accident stole her ease. During this Thanksgiving week she would have delivered a son. She grieved over her loss. As if that weren't enough, her husband's company threatened a transfer. Then her sister, whose holiday visit she coveted, called saying she could not come. What's worse, Sandra's friend infuriated her by suggesting her grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer. "Had she lost a child? No! She has no idea what I'm feeling," Sandra shuddered. Thanksgiving? "Thankful for what?", she wondered. For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an airbag that saved her life but took that of her child?

"Good afternoon, can I help you?" The flower shop clerk's approach startled her.

"I . . . . I need an arrangement."

"Do you want beautiful but ordinary, or would you like to challenge the day with a customer favorite I call the Thanksgiving Special?" Jenny saw Sandra's curiosity and continued, "I'm convinced that flowers tell stories, that each arrangement insinuates a particular feeling. Are you looking for something that conveys gratitude this morning?"

"Not exactly!" Sandra blurted. "Sorry, but in the last five months, everything that could go wrong has." Sandra regretted her outburst but was surprised when Jenny said, "I have the perfect arrangement for you."

The door's small bell suddenly rang.

The store clerk politely excused herself from Sandra and walked toward a small workroom. She quickly reappeared carrying a massive arrangement of green bows, and long-stemmed thorny roses. Only, the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped, no flowers.

"Want this in a box?" the store clerk asked. Sandra watched for the customer's response.

Was this a joke? Who would want rose stems and no flowers! She waited for laughter, for someone to notice the absence of flowers atop the thorny stems, but neither woman did.

"Yes, please. It's exquisite." "You'd think after three years of getting the special, I'd not be so moved by its significance, but it's happening again. My family will love this one. Thanks."

Sandra stared. "Why so normal a conversation about so strange an arrangement?" she wondered.

As the store clerk reapproached her Sandra said pointing toward the door, "That lady just left with, ah . . . well, she had no flowers!"

"Yep. That's the Special. I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet."

"But, why do people pay for that?" In spite of herself she chuckled.

"Well," the store clerk began, "Barbara came into the shop three years ago feeling very much like you feel today. She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had lost her father to cancer, the family business was failing, her son was into drugs, and she faced major surgery."

"Ouch!" said Sandra.

"That same year, I lost my husband. I assumed complete responsibility for the shop and for the first time, spent the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too great a debt to allow any travel."

"What did you do?"

"I learned to be thankful for thorns."

Sandra's eyebrows lifted. "Thorns?"

"I've always thanked God for good things in life and I never thought to ask Him why good things happened to me. But when bad stuff hit, did I ever ask! It took time to learn that dark times are important. I always enjoyed the flowers of life but it took thorns to show me the beauty of God's comfort."

Sandra gasped. "I guess the truth is, I don't want comfort. I've lost a baby and I'm angry with God."

Again the door's bell diverted their attention.

"Hey, Phil!" shouted the clerk as a balding, rotund man entered the shop.

She softly touched Sandra's arm and moved to welcome him. "I'm here for twelve thorny long-stemmed
stems!" Phil laughed, heartily.

"I figured as much," said the clerk. "I've got them ready." She lifted a tissue- wrapped arrangement from the refrigerated cabinet.

"Beautiful," said Phil. "My wife will love them."

Sandra could not resist asking, "These are for your wife?"

Phil saw that Sandra's curiosity matched his when he first heard of A Thorn Bouquet.

"Do you mind me asking, Why thorns?"

"In fact, I'm glad you asked," he said. "Four years ago my wife and I nearly divorced. After forty years, we were in a real mess, but we slogged through, problem by rotten problem. We rescued our marriage - our love, really. Last year, at Thanksgiving, I stopped in here for flowers. I must have mentioned surviving a tough process because Jenny here told me that for a long time she kept a vase of rose stems! as a reminder of what she learned from 'thorny' times. That was good enough for me. I took home stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific thorny situation and give thanks for what the problem taught us. I'm pretty sure this stem review is becoming a tradition." Phil paid for the flowers, thanked her again and as he left, said to Sandra, "I highly recommend the Special!"

"I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life," Sandra said.

"Well, my experience says that thorns make roses more precious. We treasure God's providential care more during trouble than at any other time. Remember, Jesus wore a crown of thorns so that we might know His love. Do not resent thorns."

Tears rolled down Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since the accident she loosened her grip on resentment. "I'll take twelve long-stemmed thorns, please."

"I hoped you would, " Jenny said. "I'll have them ready in a minute. Then, every time you see them, remember to appreciate both good and hard times. We grow through both."

"Thank you. What do I owe you?"

"Nothing but a pledge to work toward healing your heart. The first year's arrangement is always on me." Jenny handed a card to Sandra. "I'll attach a card like this to your arrangement but maybe you'd like to read it first. Go ahead, read it."

My God, I have never thanked you for my thorn!

I have thanked you a thousand times for my roses,

but never once for my thorn.

Teach me the glory of the cross I bear,

teach me the value of my thorns.

Show me that I have climbed to you by the path of pain.

Show me that my tears have made my rainbow.

Jenny said, "Happy Thanksgiving, Sandra," handing her the Special. "I look forward to our knowing each other better."

Sandra smiled. She turned, opened the door and walked toward hope.

Eats

Ed and I went shopping on Saturday and got the stuff we needed to try this new way of eating. He's terrible, can I just tell ya? He doesn't feel like he eats that much sugar, but it really bugs him that he won't be able to eat what he wants when he wants it. I've been on diets since I was 13. I have no sympathy for the poor baby.

But I did tell him if he eats food he shouldn't (and this does have treats in it) and they make him feel like crap, he'll get no sympathy from me. Sorry. We're doing this first and foremost to see if it makes him feel better.

We weighed first thing this morning and took our measurements. I measure a lot more body parts than he does, and then I add them all up, so I can look back in a month and see how many overall inches I've lost. If I get brave enough, I may post to totals. We'll see.

Ed just measured his neck, chest, waist, and biceps.

The food we ate today was tasty. It will be interesting to see how things go with my busy schedule. Ed's also into easy, but easy usually includes pesticides, preservatives, and things like nitrates and nitrites.

Please Tell Me 'Tis Not So