Picking Teams

My Great-Uncle, Bud, died last week. He was a good friend of my grandfather, who died in 2004. They were both very active in sports and loved spending time together laughing and goofing around, and both of them became less and less active as their illnesses took their health, though neither of them let this get in the way of their joy for living for the Lord.
We went to the funeral this morning, and Mom and I simultaneously had the same thought:
Grandpa and Bud are playing together right now.
I said, "They're playing basketball."
Mom said, "They're playing softball."
Together we said, "They're playing CARDS!"
We laughed and Mom said, "They're picking teams in heaven right now!"
It's wonderful to think of their new bodies, their complete spirits, their wholeness with God.
The funeral was a very nice memorial to Bud and I was very touched.
There are two kinds of funerals. Today was the good kind.

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:4

In Theory

In theory, it was a great idea to move the microwave to the top of the refrigerator,

but I'm getting tired of getting stuff out for Richard.

I'm a lot taller in person than I am on my blog.

WWIII

You know how on tv, in movies or in books, they depict characters vomiting because of some sort of very emotional situation?
They are SO upset so they lose it all over their shoes?
What a load of baloney.
There is no emotional situation that would make me throw up SIX TIMES unless World War III was going on in my bowels.
Like last night.
If I die, please make sure SJ gets my diamond.

AI '09

Did American Idol suck this much last year?

Dear Past Erin,

Under no circumstances should you tell your consin's new girlfriend about thrush and it's nasty affect on breastfeeding over tamales at Ol' Mexico.
She will pretend to listen, but actually try to figure out what thrush is while staring at the cilantro caught in your bottom teeth.
Oh, Past Erin, do you remember the days when you talked about things other than your baby?
Me neither.
Sincerely yours,
Future Erin

One Observation

I only have one observation about HDTV.
It makes Oprah look very wide.
Mayhaps HD is telling the truth?
That's all I have to say about that.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Confession.

I am obsessed with conserving energy--and I'm a republican!

Haha. Anyway. I think it started with my reusable grocery bags. Then I saw a girl on Oprah who cut her energy bill in half by unplugging all the appliances in her home.

Now, I unplug everything. The microwave, the clock in Shirley's room (she doesn't need it, right?), lamps that are not in use, the VCR, the toaster, the coffee pot, the washer and dryer. You name it. If it's not in use, it's probably unplugged.

Also, I sit in the dark a lot of the time. And I lay awake at night trying to think of ways to cut back on our energy consumption. If we didn't have the baby I swear it would be 60 degrees in here.

If I could figure out a way to do it, I would unplug the fridge...I just don't think it would be wise.

I think it's getting a little weird.

Next time you come over, would you mind bringing your own slippers and candle?

Coffee Cake

I have a sneaking suspicion that having coffee cake for breakfast is the same thing as having cake for breakfast.

2/8/04: Amsterdam

In the spring of 2004, I spent a semester in Dalkeith, Scotland. It was a time of searching, exploring and maturing for me. I planned the trip for over a year and made the commitment to keep two journals. One in a calendar to keep track of daily activities, and one in a journal, journal. I poured my heart out to my beloved blue journal, endlessly. Occasionally, I like to look back and see what I was doing "today" in 2004.
Here is a snippet of my journal entry from February 8, 2004:

[Editor's note: this was written while visiting Amsterdam, Netherlands.]
Today is McClain's birthday. I hope he is doing well.

[...]

On Friday, we got up early and went to the Anne Frank Museum, which is one of the most depressing thing ever. They've set up the old house that they hid in to be just like it was when they were hiding, and it was so well done that you couldn't help but feel like you were trespassing in someone's private life. I was very moved at the end of the tour when I realized that Anne's father outlived her. I don't know what I thought, but not that. He was the one who published her diary, which made me so sad, because I imagined my own father reading my journal for some reason. I don't know...it was just very touching to me that he was able to finally know his daughter so intimately--after hear death--and decide that her thoughts and feelings were print-worthy.

[...]

People come to Amsterdam from all over the world, which I find strange. [Many of them are] coming to participate in a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah. I'm happy to say that we leave tomorrow, and I've managed to maintain my purity: I have not seen the red-light district, and I have not smoked anything--nor will I!
I'll never forget how many people ride bikes in Amsterdam, or how much anxiety crossing the street causes me, because neither bicycle nor automobile are quick to stop if you are in their way. Also, every country I visit, only Americans and old women wait for the light to change at the crosswalk. Go figure.
I think I should describe where we are staying. We're at #43C Plantage Straat, Amsterdam, Netherlands. It's basically a flat with two bedrooms, a living room and a kitchen/dining area, AND a patio [Editors note: I remember very, very little of any of this.] There are three beds, two couches, two easy chairs, a tv, and a dining area in the one main room. Then in the other bedroom there are three beds, and my room has a double bed. We have two bathrooms that make up one. Toilet and sink in one--no mirror. Tub, sink and mirror in the other. [Editors note: I do not remember bathing at all while visiting Amsterdam.] We are on the top floor. The woman below us is old and crippled, with a little tiny dog and she yells at us to not make noise coming up the stairs because her baby is sleeping. Weird. There are very strange people in this city.


I'm not sure why I felt like sharing this. It's something that captured my heart tonight.

Sleeping to Dream

I had a VERY vivid dream last night that I went to Mexico to get my nipples pierced. It was horrible. The pain was excruciating, then they were crooked (whatever THAT looks like--let your imagination run wild), then they got infected. Oh, and I did this well while I was lactating ifyouknowwhatimean.
I kept thinking, "Why are you doing this? This is a terrible idea. Don't do this!" But I did it anyway.
I was so relieved to wake up and find that I hadn't actually done it.
That would be a bad idea. I don't think I'll do that.

Ice Scupltures

We went with Kristi and Hannah to visit the ice sculptures at the Winter Carnival in St. Paul.

Shirley had a GREAT time.

The Last Supper--cool, huh?

Ice Queen
My favorite: Dancing Norwals.