Resolution

The day before yesterday my neighbor, Rose, and her two daughters came over to my house. Rose explained that she woke up at 3am thinking about Kennedy who had been sick for the past two weeks. She said she prayed for Kennedy that she would get better until she feel back asleep. Just prior to coming over she said that she remembered that her last impression before falling back asleep was that she needed to come and "pray on Kennedy" the next day. So she did. And brought her daughters too. The all circled around my beautiful baby and said the most touching prayer of healing drawing on the saving powers of the blood of the Lamb. Of course, on their way out Claire wanted a prayer too. So she got one as well--more of a preventative healing prayer since she isn't the slightest bit sick.

This is the same family that has a prayer board in their garage that anyone, including friends and neighbors, can post a name to or a need and their family will pray for it. I was on a walk with my girls one day and glanced in their garage and saw that someone in the family had put each my families individual names on it. This is also the same mother that after hearing I was worried about doing a natural birth with Kennedy "prayed on" me while at the mail box and asked that as I labored the thought would fill my mind "Perfect love casteth out all fear". And it was.

How do these type of people--prayerful people, unashamed people, blessed people--come about and how do I become one? The same type of people like a woman who stopped me on the streets of New York when I was pregnant with Claire and asked if she could bless my baby. A little skeptically I said, "Why not." and she then and there she made the sign of the cross right on my big belly. The same type of people like one of my old co-workers who arranged a weekly prayer and devotional group during Lent. The same type of people like my mother-in-law who prayers readily and willingly and invites others to do the same with her for almost any cause that is meaningful to the people she loves.

I want more of this in my life. I guess in thinking about what I want to do differently, or better this year, I want to envelop myself in prayers and gratitude and be courageous in sharing them with others. I want to be spontaneous about prayer and listen to the Spirit about when, how and what to ask for. I want to bless other people, the way I have been blessed by prayer. It will be hard. I am used to deliberate prayer, in scripted situations and free-flowing prayer will be a stretch for me, but I need it. And Kennedy needed it to. She is up and on the run again, just where she should be.

Because Dave is a seriously funny writer and because nothing is more funny than poking fun at Dave's brother Mark...

Flashback. Folks, let's go back in time about five years ago. It's a perfect summer day at the Thatcher Farm. Mark decides he'd like to showoff for all of his visiting high school friends by riding our family's old mustang named BLUE.

Mark wanted me to help him mount this somewhat wild and at times devious Mustang.
My reply, "Mark if you can't get on that horse alone, you have no business on him". Mark begins to mount up, one stirrup, then the next. To his amazement all is well and Blue is somewhat calm. Blue then flashes me a sly grin and gives just a little tiny kick. Mark's cowboy heritage readily handles this, but both participants (cowboy and pony) have their anxious ears go straight up.

Old Blue then digs a little deeper and this time gives a ONE, TWO kick out the back end. Mark's interpretation of this ONE, TWO kick is the equivalent of Blue saying "Stickem Up Cowboy". I regret to admit that Mark's cowboy heritage at this point crumbles as he drops the reins, throws his hands up and says "Okay Blue, you got me".

But on this perfect summer day with all the family and Mark's high school friends all watching, Blue let the Thatcher Coliseum crowd push him to the next level. With absolute precision, this pony launched his cowboy so high up in the air that he landed behind the saddle on Blue's massive hips. Hands in the air, Mark was now perched helpless on Blue's backside hoping desperately that Blue was done with the show.

But Blue had just staged the final act with his rider in a perfectly leveraged position. With power surging from all corners of this old Mustang, he launches the 230 pound mass straight into the air. Suspended in air for what seemed to be a Matrix slow-mo film clip, Mark soared and Blue side stepped, then turned his head to watch the train wreak with the rest of the Coliseum crowd. Seven feet to five feet, the earth groaned, four feet to three feet, mother gasps, two feet to one foot, friends began to laugh and THUD. The thud felt around the world.

Wind knocked out of his lungs and struggling for breath he finally fills the bags and yells, "Dave, you broke my hip!"

Friends now concerned that laughing may not be appropriate, plug their noses and run for an open car to release the explosion of laughter as the doors close.

I rushed to my brothers side as he continued to yell in short bursts of four letter words, I no longer saw Mark in my mind, but in his stead our 65-year old, retarded Aunt Sharon who had just had a hip replacement. I knew this could not be good--hip replacement at 28. Not good at all, BUT the Thatcher Coliseum was fed well that beautiful summer day.

And Blue, well I jumped on him and rode him out to pasture. It wasn't easy but someone had to do it.

YeleHaiti

I have been watching the footage on the earthquake devastation in Haiti and it is tragic. I can't imagine what these people, families, children are going through. I have also followed Wyclef Jean's foundation YeleHaiti for sometime. I admire him as an artist and I was curious to see what he would do for his people after the earthquake. Sure enough he set up a quick and easy way to donate to the earthquake victims. Check it out here. To donate up to $30 dollars all you have to is send a text to 501501, write "yele" and then send the text. They will automatically add $5 to your next phone bill. You can do it up to six times. I am sure we will all be doing more, but it is a quick way to get started. Wyclef's foundation is a legit grassroots foundation that gets a lot of respect from the Haitian people and government.

Kennedy is teething

Fire + Ice

Fire=
shooting grandpa's antique guns
annual christmas tree burning
warming myself in front of the toasty fireplace
heated arguments
intensity of making up
fire on the front porch and on the hearth
fever and burning caused by the stomach flu created in hell
warmth of the Spirit


Ice=
car heater malfunction in 0 degree weather
chillin'
cool balm of healing
the frigid results of global warming
Claire and Kennedy breakin' the ice with the cousins
black ice coating the roads
stunning snow-capped everything

Book Club Calendar 2010

Just in case you need some book ideas, here is what my book club will be reading in 2010. And who can ever get images in any decent order? I swear they land in different places every time I post.

January 2010, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold


February 2010, As a Man Thinketh by James Allen


March 2010, The Life of Pi by Yann Martel


April 2010, The Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell


May 2010, The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak


June 2010, The Help by Kathryn Stockett


July 2010, Peace Like a River by Lief Enger


August 2010, The Only Alien on the Planet by Kristen D. Randle


September 2010, The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale


October 2010, The Hunger Games Book #3 by Suzanne Collins


November 2010, Follow the River by James Thom

Three Year Olds

Despite having a 50/50 chance, three year olds always put their shoes on the wrong feet.

Three year olds call their favorite boy cousin, "Your Highness".

Three year olds know the rules at pre-school:
1. "Don't cry."
2. "We don't be mean."
3. "Don't hide the toys."

Three year olds pray for princesses. In every. Single. Prayer.

Three year olds sneak into your bed at night and after being tossed out for the third time, sleep on the floor next to your bed.

Three year olds push over almost one year olds and think it is okay as long as they say, "I'm sorry."

Three year olds name their first fish, Pinecone.

Three year olds sleep with the door cracked open, just a little bit.

Three years olds say things like:
"Don't do my hair. It hurts. It's hopeless."
"Wo Wo's pushing me, he is going to break me."
"Mama, I have a drumstick in my throat (while feeling throat bones)."

Three year olds like to be pinned, then tickled.

Three year olds are absolutely, undeniably, positively adorable, or at least my three year old is. Happy birthday Claire. Welcome to the world of three year olds.