1.27.2010
A Difficult Goodbye
Tomorrow night, we're hosting one last playdate/dinner date with Scott, Elizabeth, Lila, and 4-week-old Evan. On Thursday morning they are moving to Colorado. It goes without saying that we are going to miss them very, very much.
Juliette met Lila when she was four months old. "Lila" was one of Juliette's first words. I don't think there will be a dry eye in the house when we all say goodbye.
We're already plotting a family vacation together.
Juliette met Lila when she was four months old. "Lila" was one of Juliette's first words. I don't think there will be a dry eye in the house when we all say goodbye.
We're already plotting a family vacation together.
1.25.2010
Big Weekend = Loooong Post
Perhaps you correctly surmised from my unintended blog break that it's been rather busy around here. Among other things, Juliette turned two. (How did that happen?!) The weekend was especially eventful, so I'm recording it here for posterity.
On Saturday morning we had a congregational retreat at a beautiful retreat center up on the peninsula. The day started off with the great news that one of our dear members who had taken seriously ill earlier in the week was doing much better. We also had gorgeous weather - a respite from the torrential rains. Among other things, I lead a Praying in Color workshop that went over amazingly well. Sybil Macbeth is pretty much a genius in my book. During our closing worship, we celebrated Communion with fresh baked bread (oh, how I love my bread machine). After the elements had gone around the circle I tore off a little extra and gave it to Juliette, knowing she was hungry. One of the members had brought his border collie along, and just as I gave it to her the dog sauntered over and nabbed it. I suppose a dog receiving consecrated bread might be a theological emergency in some circles, but for our crew it was a catalyst for belly laughter. It truly was a joyful day.
Only - ha! The day was just beginning for us. After the retreat ended we headed off to the airport to pick up Elizabeth. She's in town for the Craft and Hobby Association, but she was able to spend the first day of her trip with us. I'm afraid we didn't manage to completely roll out the welcome mat - which is to say that she got clean sheets, but I figure one day isn't long enough to notice the dust. (Or the lingering Christmas decorations.) We had a great dinner; upon discovering our shared hankering for fried plantains, Ben took us to a Cuban restaurant.
We went to bed, and then when we woke up we had a two-year-old. Like I said, how did that happen??
Thankfully I had finished preparing my sermon on Friday. I talked about Kim and Patrick Bentrott, the Global Ministries missionaries who have been serving in Port-au-Prince. Their story has absolutely captivated me. I'm simultaneously incredibly proud that they are our missionaries and ashamed that I really hadn't paid any attention to their work - or to the plight of the Haitian people - before the earthquake.
After worship Juliette received a couple birthday gifts and cards from her church friends, including two homemade cards that were inspired by Praying in Color. So sweet.
In the afternoon we threw a party for Juliette in the church lounge. Ben did approximately 95% of the party planning and implementation, and he did such a good job he will definitely be in charge of any future family events. We kept it small and simple. My friend Sara, who is also Juliette's music teacher and one of her favorite people, did a music session. Juliette clearly had a wonderful time.
We didn't do gifts at the party, but back home she opened a few more from friends and family. From us she got a Radio Flyer wagon that I scored at the local Goodwill - brand new in box. Boo-yah.
I was too busy being mesmerized by Juliette's joy to take any pictures at the party, but no worries - Aunt Elizabeth was there, snapping away. Unfortunately all the pictures are still on her camera in Anaheim. I insisted on driving her to her hotel so we would have more time to be together. It's never enough, that's for sure.
This morning a few of us finished sorting and packaging hygiene kits to send to Church World Service. Our modest goal was ten... we had enough donations to make twenty-two! I was just about to head over to the post office to ship them when I discovered my wallet was missing. I scoured the office, the lounge, the bags of extra donations, the trash. I retraced my steps to the drug store where I'd gone to buy more gallon bags for the kits. I went home so that Ben could look (in addition to being the Official Party Planner, he is also the Official Finder of Missing Items). While he was looking in the lounge, one of the ladies who had been helping turned up at the door with my wallet - she'd accidentally picked it up when she left. Whew. My husband had the nerve to call and tell me that it was right in the center of my desk. Hmph.
The end.
(I'm tired just recounting it all!)
On Saturday morning we had a congregational retreat at a beautiful retreat center up on the peninsula. The day started off with the great news that one of our dear members who had taken seriously ill earlier in the week was doing much better. We also had gorgeous weather - a respite from the torrential rains. Among other things, I lead a Praying in Color workshop that went over amazingly well. Sybil Macbeth is pretty much a genius in my book. During our closing worship, we celebrated Communion with fresh baked bread (oh, how I love my bread machine). After the elements had gone around the circle I tore off a little extra and gave it to Juliette, knowing she was hungry. One of the members had brought his border collie along, and just as I gave it to her the dog sauntered over and nabbed it. I suppose a dog receiving consecrated bread might be a theological emergency in some circles, but for our crew it was a catalyst for belly laughter. It truly was a joyful day.
Only - ha! The day was just beginning for us. After the retreat ended we headed off to the airport to pick up Elizabeth. She's in town for the Craft and Hobby Association, but she was able to spend the first day of her trip with us. I'm afraid we didn't manage to completely roll out the welcome mat - which is to say that she got clean sheets, but I figure one day isn't long enough to notice the dust. (Or the lingering Christmas decorations.) We had a great dinner; upon discovering our shared hankering for fried plantains, Ben took us to a Cuban restaurant.
We went to bed, and then when we woke up we had a two-year-old. Like I said, how did that happen??
Thankfully I had finished preparing my sermon on Friday. I talked about Kim and Patrick Bentrott, the Global Ministries missionaries who have been serving in Port-au-Prince. Their story has absolutely captivated me. I'm simultaneously incredibly proud that they are our missionaries and ashamed that I really hadn't paid any attention to their work - or to the plight of the Haitian people - before the earthquake.
After worship Juliette received a couple birthday gifts and cards from her church friends, including two homemade cards that were inspired by Praying in Color. So sweet.
In the afternoon we threw a party for Juliette in the church lounge. Ben did approximately 95% of the party planning and implementation, and he did such a good job he will definitely be in charge of any future family events. We kept it small and simple. My friend Sara, who is also Juliette's music teacher and one of her favorite people, did a music session. Juliette clearly had a wonderful time.
We didn't do gifts at the party, but back home she opened a few more from friends and family. From us she got a Radio Flyer wagon that I scored at the local Goodwill - brand new in box. Boo-yah.
I was too busy being mesmerized by Juliette's joy to take any pictures at the party, but no worries - Aunt Elizabeth was there, snapping away. Unfortunately all the pictures are still on her camera in Anaheim. I insisted on driving her to her hotel so we would have more time to be together. It's never enough, that's for sure.
This morning a few of us finished sorting and packaging hygiene kits to send to Church World Service. Our modest goal was ten... we had enough donations to make twenty-two! I was just about to head over to the post office to ship them when I discovered my wallet was missing. I scoured the office, the lounge, the bags of extra donations, the trash. I retraced my steps to the drug store where I'd gone to buy more gallon bags for the kits. I went home so that Ben could look (in addition to being the Official Party Planner, he is also the Official Finder of Missing Items). While he was looking in the lounge, one of the ladies who had been helping turned up at the door with my wallet - she'd accidentally picked it up when she left. Whew. My husband had the nerve to call and tell me that it was right in the center of my desk. Hmph.
The end.
(I'm tired just recounting it all!)
1.09.2010
Seven on Saturday
1. Oooh boy, did I have a week. As far as I'm concerned, Wednesday didn't happen. I woke up in the wee hours wracked by the worst kind of back pain, the dreaded spasms. They hit about every other year. This time I decided I wasn't messing around. I went to urgent care and got a shot of Demerol, and after sleeping nearly 18 hours, I woke up on Thursday morning with nary a twinge. Lesson learned: a little intervention not only relieves the pain, but also gives my back the rest it needs to restore itself.
2. I have tentatively started a photo-a-day project, which you can find through my Flickr page (see right). So far, I'm only committing as far as January. I missed Wednesday for obvious reasons, but that doesn't count because it never happened.
3. My dad sent along this video:
It is wonderful. My favorite part is that you don't know who will start singing next. The people start looking around at their fellow shoppers, not suspiciously, but expectantly, believing that the seemingly ordinary people are capable of something extraordinary. It reminds me of the incarnation, and of Jesus telling people that he can be encountered among the least of these.
4. Speaking of my dad, I got a kick out of this FB activity:
Indeed.
5. Last summer I was in the audience for a taping of Dr. Phil. Because I don't actually watch Dr. Phil, I didn't catch the episode when it aired back in October. You can't tell from the YouTube clip that it's me, but I know where I was sitting.
That's right. Front row.
If I didn't watch Dr. Phil before that taping, I sure wouldn't take it up now. A totally surreal experience that demonstrated how very much shows like that are not based in reality. After a concerted effort to stir up animosity between the stay-at-home and working moms, Dr. Phil stepped in to say, "Ladies, ladies, let's all just get along." I would kind of like to see it, if only to see if you can catch me rolling my eyes. But that would involve paying attention to the Dr. Phil reruns schedule, and... no thanks.
6. I'm in the process of rereading Marilynn Robinson's Gilead for the church book club, and my heavens. It is so good. I read it far too quickly the first time around. This time I'm savoring every word.
7. The nice thing about the photo-a-day project is that I sometimes end up with a couple extra keepers. Here are some outtakes from a recent trip to the Trump golf course, where they have public walking trails.
I got in trouble for suggesting that the girls have a chicken fight.
Cactus, smog, and Catalina Island
Pretty flowers.
Us. (And Smog and Catalina Island.)
My favorite Easter sermon started with an image of people looking at the ocean: "Something about being in the presence of something so deep, so mysterious, so big, just grasps people. I’ve heard it said that gazing at the ocean actually causes one’s soul to expand. The soul simply grows in response to what it sees."
Goodnight. :)
2. I have tentatively started a photo-a-day project, which you can find through my Flickr page (see right). So far, I'm only committing as far as January. I missed Wednesday for obvious reasons, but that doesn't count because it never happened.
3. My dad sent along this video:
It is wonderful. My favorite part is that you don't know who will start singing next. The people start looking around at their fellow shoppers, not suspiciously, but expectantly, believing that the seemingly ordinary people are capable of something extraordinary. It reminds me of the incarnation, and of Jesus telling people that he can be encountered among the least of these.
4. Speaking of my dad, I got a kick out of this FB activity:
Indeed.5. Last summer I was in the audience for a taping of Dr. Phil. Because I don't actually watch Dr. Phil, I didn't catch the episode when it aired back in October. You can't tell from the YouTube clip that it's me, but I know where I was sitting.
That's right. Front row.If I didn't watch Dr. Phil before that taping, I sure wouldn't take it up now. A totally surreal experience that demonstrated how very much shows like that are not based in reality. After a concerted effort to stir up animosity between the stay-at-home and working moms, Dr. Phil stepped in to say, "Ladies, ladies, let's all just get along." I would kind of like to see it, if only to see if you can catch me rolling my eyes. But that would involve paying attention to the Dr. Phil reruns schedule, and... no thanks.
6. I'm in the process of rereading Marilynn Robinson's Gilead for the church book club, and my heavens. It is so good. I read it far too quickly the first time around. This time I'm savoring every word.
7. The nice thing about the photo-a-day project is that I sometimes end up with a couple extra keepers. Here are some outtakes from a recent trip to the Trump golf course, where they have public walking trails.
I got in trouble for suggesting that the girls have a chicken fight.
Cactus, smog, and Catalina Island
Pretty flowers.
Us. (And Smog and Catalina Island.)
My favorite Easter sermon started with an image of people looking at the ocean: "Something about being in the presence of something so deep, so mysterious, so big, just grasps people. I’ve heard it said that gazing at the ocean actually causes one’s soul to expand. The soul simply grows in response to what it sees."
Goodnight. :)1.07.2010
Update Update (4)
It seems a little late to be reaching so far back into 2009 for a post, but I sort of like keeping track of my FB updates here. So here goes...
(11/14/09 - 1/7/10)
Katherine...
(11/14/09 - 1/7/10)
Katherine...
- is sort of having fun with the apocalyptic Mark text, especially since it gives her an opportunity to roll her homiletical eyes at 2012.
- cannot stop listening to Katie Herzig, and thinks you should start and not stop, too.
- despises the monthly "It Happened To Me" blurb in Parents Magazine, and believes it would be more aptly titled "Freak Accidents That Could Happen To Your Kid."
- is thoroughly enjoying Juliette's language and sleep explosion.
- rejects her doctor's over-the-phone conjecture that she has swine flu. Strep, maybe. Bad cold, possibly. In any case, the prescription is fluids, rest, and no Thanksgiving trip. :(
- is grateful for Urgent Care, antibiotics, and the fact that she does NOT have the flu.
- is feeling better and hoping for a good night's sleep tonight. Happy Thanksgiving!
- had a great afternoon with Ben and Juliette - Trivial Pursuit during naptime, playing at the park, window shopping at the local toy store, and reminiscing about our Europe vacation over spaetzle.
- has discovered her least favorite movie of all time: Synechdoche, New York.
- has preacher's block.
- is giving the sermon another try after a very long nap.
- is almost out of Stadium Mustard, and is shamelessly using her Status Update to drop a hint to her parents to bring more when they come to visit next week.
- was paging through an old FTE Fellows handbook, and was amazed how many names she recognized from the classes of '99, '00, '01, etc.
- is so sad that Disciples World is folding.
- thought the SYTYCD finale was... weird.
- finished her Christmas Eve sermon, but is afraid to look at the rest of her to-do list. It includes finishing three more scarves and mailing them in time for Christmas. Perhaps Aunt Katherine is going to be in the business of giving Epiphany gifts...
- wonders how Toot and Puddle afford their rock 'n roll lifestyle.
- is glad that Juliette waited until after Christmas to pull the tree down, that she had taken a picture, and that there wasn't all that much water in the stand. Bye bye, noble fir.
- is unexpectedly jealous of all the people who got Snuggies for Christmas.
- is celebrating Ben's birthday.
- is on Team Jacob, and is apparently thirteen years old.
- is finally doing an Update Update on her blog. [how postmodern!]
1.04.2010
Suburban Cowgirl
I don't know how it happened. Maybe because I've been listening to alt.country music
for almost a decade. Maybe because there's a lot of urban cowgirl around LA. Maybe because I used to tease Marie for wearing them to the Boot Scootin' Saloon, and the universe thought I needed some humbling irony. Whatever the reason, sometime last year I became completely enamored of cowboy boots, particularly Frye cowboy boots. These are none too cheap, so I opened an ebay account, which is apparently where gently used Fryes go to pasture. The first pair I bid on was rudely stolen away from me at the last second; apparently this is how true ebay hawks win their wares. It is a good thing that I am not hugely into sports, because I learned something about myself: I might be the first person on the streets rioting when my team loses in overtime. Just kidding... though I did let out the sort of holler I grew up hearing from my mother during particularly tense Cleveland Indians games. As it turns out, my brother-in-law, Matt, wins all of his Russian watches by setting a special ebay watch to count down to the end of the auction, at which point he swoops in and bests the highest bidder. Hmph. Water under the bridge now, because the second time was a charm: meet my Carson Fryes.
for almost a decade. Maybe because there's a lot of urban cowgirl around LA. Maybe because I used to tease Marie for wearing them to the Boot Scootin' Saloon, and the universe thought I needed some humbling irony. Whatever the reason, sometime last year I became completely enamored of cowboy boots, particularly Frye cowboy boots. These are none too cheap, so I opened an ebay account, which is apparently where gently used Fryes go to pasture. The first pair I bid on was rudely stolen away from me at the last second; apparently this is how true ebay hawks win their wares. It is a good thing that I am not hugely into sports, because I learned something about myself: I might be the first person on the streets rioting when my team loses in overtime. Just kidding... though I did let out the sort of holler I grew up hearing from my mother during particularly tense Cleveland Indians games. As it turns out, my brother-in-law, Matt, wins all of his Russian watches by setting a special ebay watch to count down to the end of the auction, at which point he swoops in and bests the highest bidder. Hmph. Water under the bridge now, because the second time was a charm: meet my Carson Fryes.
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