Christmas 1997

(For Violet, a poet who has just chosen her Bible verse for the year.)

Fighting January sleet/snow, we left Michigan
on freezing roads and
reached our new home two days later.

Utility mapping wasn't
new to [my husband]; impending fatherhood was. On
the day of nurse's call, Julana had a sense
of God's love for the baby.

Understanding the statistics was
still a shock.

A dream showed Julana our baby nursing.

Creating a nursery kept us busy; so did
having a lawn ; [my husband] first mowed
in April. May arrived; we prepared for
labor with Lamaze classes. Denver
drew [my husband] for programming classes.

Infant care, CPR, and nursing classes were
soon followed by the pediatrician interview.

By late June, the
obstetrician decided to induce. We
raced to the hospital, and the next morning,
near dawn, July 27, [our son] came.

Until signs were stable, [our son] stayed in the
neonatal ICU. He returned
to [our] Drive
on July 1.

Under the care of Mom and Dad, with
support of family and friends, he thrived.

Audiology and cardiology found no problems.

Steadily, [our son] nursed and grew, weighing
over 15 pounds at four months, surprising his
nurse and pediatrician.

In the fall, he
started physical therapy.

Gaining trunk control and
improving head control is our goal. Now a
veteran father, [my husband]
enjoys holding and chatting with [our son]
nightly, repeating "oohs" and "aboos".

In the past year, we have
shared ups and downs. We
appreciate your support, and
in the year ahead,
ask continued prayer. Through the
holidays and beyond, we wish you His peace.

9 safe months of pregnancy
:
6 months of health for [our son]; thank You.
Amen.

Chicken soup for the body

Today my husband had the best chicken soup he has ever tasted, thanks to Sparrow's immunity-building Best Chicken Soup recipe. Its secret lies in the garlic, grated ginger, and cayenne pepper. (Just think how good it would have been if I had actually had garlic on hand. :-)

I'm looking forward to trying Simply Recipes' White Bean and Ham Soup. I have a drawerful of bags of various kinds of beans. We've cut back on afternoon therapies to make time for toilet-training. Voila! Time for simmering soups and stews.

The story of Jan Karon

For Jan Karon's Mitford fans who are interested in her formation, both as a person and a writer, see the Charlotte Observer's extensive biographical article, published August 2005.

Earlier, Dale Brown, a professor of English at Calvin College, published an interesting interview of Karon in Radix* magazine, "where Christian faith meets contemporary culture."

*Allthings2all's newest post further defines the meaning of the word "radix" for me, which reminded me of this magazine, and sent me down this path.

Goal-setting, Kavanagh-style

From Jan Karon's latest Mitford chronicle, Light from Heaven, wherein Father Tim Kavanagh and his wife Cynthia spend a year in the country, "farmsitting":

. . . .Hadn't he had enough challenges to last him a lifetime?

His wife, on the other hand, was ever drumming up a challenge. During their year at the farm, conveniently located twenty minutes from Mitford, she'd decided to ccomplish three lifetime goals: learn needlepoint, make perfect oven fries, and read War and Peace.
* * * * *
He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the back of the wing chair. "I believe if I were charged with having a goal, it would be to live without fretting--to live more fully in the moment, not always huffing about as I've done in recent years . . . to live humbly--and appreciatively--with what ever God furnishes.

Sunset, New Year's Day, 2006