I'm not the only one...

I'm not the only one that thinks Andrew is pretty remarkable! A couple of nights ago, Andrew found out he has received the outstanding student in field honor for this month!!! He will probably be frustrated that I even posted this, b/c he has been downplaying it as "no big deal" for the last couple of days. Well, I think this is a VERY big deal and I am VERY proud of him! He was selected out of both second and first year students at a school that is ranked number 1 in the Southeast and in the top 5 nationally. Way to go Andrew!!! You are rocking and rolling through your last two months!!!!

And this is why I am obsessed with Molly Piper.....

If you know me at all; you know that I am a huge fan of Molly Piper. She has an amazing ability to express thoughts about grief, loss, compassion, and love in such an eloquent way. All those things I wish I could figure out how to say to people, she throws it out there with such authority.

*Copied and pasted from Molly Piper's blog:

About two months ago, a friend at my church had a 35-week stillbirth. Her placenta just burst, and that was it. All her 35 weeks of

love

care

protection

nourishment…just over.

And while I know it’s not truly over, but that her son has true meaning and value in this life (and in the next), I feel the rawness of her loss sometimes as though I’m re-living some of my first days and weeks. It’s been a hard, but good, thing.

Here’s something I’ve been reflecting on the past couple weeks:

When we say to grieving people, “Oh, I can’t imagine” we might be saying “I don’twant to imagine.”

I say that because, if we took a few minutes and put ourselves inside that person’s situation, we would (in part) imagine.

And I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that anything less than that is not love or care.

Now, there might be people who say, “But I’m not a mom…” or “I’ve never lost a baby…”

“…when someone loses their baby, I really can’t imagine, because I’ve never been there.”

(I’m using my example, a stillbirth, as the example here. You really could fill-in-the-blank with any tragedy or heartbreak you’re seeing someone through.)

And while that’s valid on some level, it really isn’t the whole story. I have dear friends who aren’t married, have never been pregnant, and yet are extremely sensitive and caring about things they haven’t experienced. It just means that they’ve taken the time to enter into someone else’s heartbreak.

And no, you won’t imagine it perfectly, because it is what it is–an imagining…an image. You will probably never understand what it’s like to labor for hours with a dead baby. You’ll probably never understand how it feels to have terrors in the night, horrified that you forgot the baby somewhere or awakening to imaginary baby cries.

And I’m not trying to be overly dramatic here. These are real things that really happen.

I think another reason we shy away from imagining is that it’s not going to be pretty or comfortable. It’s often horrific and terrifying and depressing. But it’s your friend’s reality.

Real love gets into the trenches of grief and suffering. It imagines. It lets it’s mind’s eye linger. Real love will not avert its eyes. It won’t say, “Your disaster is too much for me.”

As I’ve watched friends walk through tragedies like mine in the past few years, or some others walk through tragedies very different from mine, I’m trying to be really mindful to not say, “I can’t imagine.” Because in some cases, it’s all I have. It’s the only window I have, with my puny little brain, into prayer, into continued love and care for that person–imagining their pain, imagining their grief or loss, imagining their ongoing need and brokenness.

Imagination is what will take you closer, even when you feel very distant from the situation.

I think we underestimate imagination. We shut it down too quickly, afraid we’ll either presume too much understanding or that it’ll just hurt too much.

You might be wondering

What do I say in that uncomfortable moment, when all I want to say is ‘I can’t imagine?’ What are some alternatives?

I think it would be okay to say, in the most heartfelt and heartbroken way, “I can only imagine.” And then go on from there, telling them some things that you’ve been thinking and feeling on their behalf, how it’s led you to pray, whatever. This communicates a love, a presence in their pain–even if from a distance.

Let’s gather the grieving in our imaginings. You might find it to be a powerful point of connecting, doing what you can to understand.

BEGGING for advice!

I am in SO. MUCH. PAIN! frown It hurts to breath, move, cough, and sneeze! I have pulled a muscle/having chest spasms due to an incessant cough I have had for two weeks now. I know I am not a heavily commented on blog, but I am begging for good advice today. Does anyone know any good ways to stop coughing???!!!! I obviously can't take much medication being pregnant, and even more limiting; still being in my first trimester. My doctor has prescribed Flonase (sp?) for the congestion, and tylenol for my pain. Does anyone have any old grandma tricks that I can try? I am willing to try just about anything. Recap: HELP with coughing, but no alcohol or medication in your remedy. THANKS!!!

Proud cubed

So not only am I proud of my sweet little girl, I am also extremely proud of my "boys!" Andrew got back another paper last night that the professor asked to keep a copy of, because he "nailed" the assignment. What makes this even cooler, is that it was a paper analyzing Man's Search for Meaning, so he was able to express more of his deeper/spiritual self as well! He has been at times; but I am not surprised one iota at how well he has done during school! I love you, Andrew!

Graeme has also been showing off some cute skills lately as he loves to sing and dance. His two favorite songs are "Jesus Loves Me," and "This little Light of Mine." He really only sings the word "Jesus," but then can hum the rest of "Jesus Loves Me." He will hum "This Little Light of Mine" until he gets to the "hide it under a bushel" line, and he shouts "NO" at the right time. It is PRECIOUS! I am going to try and video it soon.

Graeme (and Ceilidh) are due some credit as well, for sitting through a doctor's appointment and behaving so well today! Why is this a big deal.... well, it was a pregnancy confirmation ultrasound appointment! I am 10 weeks pregnant with Baby C #4! We saw and heard a strong heartbeat today and are very excited. Can't wait to keep you updated on our newest family member!

So Proud

My computer has been finicky again this week, so I have taken a break from blogging. I have a few fun/sweet stories to share, but not a lot of time this morning. I had my second semester parent-teacher conference yesterday for Ceilidh. I am so proud of her! I know how incredible she is, but it is always neat to hear that other people recognize this as well! ha Ceilidh ADORES preschool and her teachers; and I am so thankful that it is reciprocated. Even though I am obviously thrilled she has met all her milestones "academically;" I am most proud of her sweet, friendly, and kind spirit! I think I have mentioned before that one of my most frequent prayers for her while I was pregnant, was that she would become a compassionate person.

We all have our days where we are way more self-concerned; but overall, Ceilidh is really compassionate and sensitive. Her teachers have commented over and over again that Ceilidh is ALWAYS inclusive of all the children, both girls and boys. She has a couple "best friends" in her class, but there are a few girls in her class that are pretty shy, and she seeks them out to play with them as well. She supposedly even comforts these students when others aren't so nice to them. I LOVE this about her!

Her "grow" areas mentioned that she shuts down on days that she is feeling moody; and doesn't want to talk about what is wrong. They call her their "drama queen!" HA Surprise? I think not! ha Andrew promptly said, " I wonder who she gets that from?!" wink Overall, I am so proud of my compassionate drama queen! I pray the Lord will continue to mold her sweet spirit into his image!

Just a quick post

My proud artist with some of her preschool crafts this month!

Graeme's first craft! ha I had to sub in the one year old class this Monday and we "talked" about the night sky with stars and the day sky with clouds. He had a blast running around with all the other kids!

The day sky!

We played a trivia game about Suzanne and the prizes were a free doughnut from Krispy Kreme! woot woot Thanks Susanna!

He didn't care who won at this point! ha

ZZ blowing out her cupcake with Phoenix desperately hoping he gets a bite! ha

The "kid" table.

Fun little football goodies that Lydia made!

Yummy cupcakes provided by the cupcake queen, Susanna!


The spread minus Lydia's "oh so yummy" cheesy chicken dip!


Our onion rings and dip!


Bad lighting, but Susanna did a great job decorating!

Ceilidh is going to come ZOOMING out of her room any minute from quiet time, so I am just going to post a few quick photos of our birthday celebration/superbowl party for ZZ this weekend. We had a great time, even though both of my sweet little babes were EXHAUSTED for two days after! ha Poor Graeme just couldn't hang during the game as you will see from pictures! Thanks to Susanna for orchestrating such a fun party! I actually tried making homemade onion rings and dip, and they weren't too bad. They weren't difficult, but it doesn't take much for me to mess things up in the kitchen. wink Happy Birthday ZZ! We hope you enjoyed your day as much as we did!

Uh oh!

As we were playing "store" tonight before dinner......

Ceilidh: Do you want a popsicle?
Me: Sure, but I don't have any money to pay you?
Ceilidh: That's ok. You don't need money. The popsicles are $2.
Me: I thought you just said I don't need any money.
Ceilidh: You don't need any money silly! Just give me the "swipy" card thing and I have $2.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Not boding well for our future, huh?! wink We had a very thorough discussion (3 year old style) about the fact that debit cards ARE money, and that the bank takes your money away every time you "swipy" that "card thing!" I know my INCREDIBLY financially astute husband almost had a heart attack when he heard her! HA

A Ceilidh funny

Ceilidh: You know what?
Me: What?
Ceilidh: This water feels so good I just want to cozy up and go to sleep in it! (while she was taking a bath)