Monday Bits and Pieces March 5, 2012

There’s not a lot going on in Baileysland this week.  The weekenda was spent preparing for Brian to change jobs and leave for training. It was bittersweet since he loved his store, but the new store is just too good to pass up.  He worked his last days and then left for training.  We’re getting quite good at this being aprt stuff, unfortunately. Practice makes….well, something.

Saturday Mama and I went to the Overwhelming Store For Babies and picked out a stroller.  Since any child coming into our house is going to be living with people with a serious go-bug, they need some wheels! I’m not sure how it took me 4 hours to make up my mind, but it did. We laughed way too much and enjoyed lunch and shopping before heading back home.

This week will be low key around here, at least as far as I’m concerned. I have a feeling it won’t be that way for much longer, so I’m going to enjoy it!

I would ask you to pray, if you would. Some people near and dear to my heart are walking through the toughest time right now.  It’s not my story to tell, but I know they would appreciate you praying as led.  As my YaYaPrincess tells me: the Big Guy knows.  Please lift them up.

Enjoy your Monday!

Thursday via My Thumbs! February 23, 2012

If you would, please keep my cousin Vickie in your prayers today. She’s undergoing surgery and would appreciate your good thoughts!

Check it out – blogging on my phone! Granted this was in between wiping noses, changing diapers, and spooning oatmeal, but I’m still amused!

Happy Thursday!

I’m Almost An Aunt January 9, 2012

My sister-in-law is currently in labor with my first niece, ESF.  Please keep my favorite superhero, Anchor Girl and her husband, Cop Guy in your prayers.  And definitely be in prayer for my niece, ESF!  Thanks!

Thank God…It’s Friday December 2, 2011

Thank God…It’s Friday, indeed.  It’s been a good week, but a busy one, and I’m ready for a weekend.  Today’s post is brought to you by the letters B, A, and Y and the numbers 12 and 25.  Points if you can figure that out.

Pray along with me on the home edition….

Praises

My friend, Arinne, welcomed her new son yesterday following what sounds like a marathon labor.  The little cutie is their second son, and looks to be just as adorable as his brother!  Mazel tov, Bravermans!

Not to be outdone, my friend April added an adorable boy to her houseful of girls yesterday as well.  He’s absolutely precious, and I can’t wait to see more pictures!  Yay for babies all around!

A friend had a good court date relating to her foster daughter this week.  Please pray that this continues to go according to God’s plan, the parents’ wishes, and what’s best for the baby.

I found an amazing deal last week.  A friend was selling a whole set of the cloth diapers we’re planning to use, super cheaply.  She had 33 diapers and 10 inserts of bamboo, which is a much better fabric than I was planning on (I was planning on plain old cotton).  This is about 10 more diapers than I thought we could afford, and they’re pristine. This is $507 worth of diapers, y’all.  She sold them for $200!  This means that we can diaper all of our future foster children or permanent children for less than half of what we had planned!  This is an amazing blessing to us and will make things so much easier financially as we prepare for children.  We’ll need to buy covers and we’ll still use the occasional disposable, of course, but this is the bulk of diapering paid for.  Yay!

Requests

Keep MadHat in your prayers.  Her grandpa passed last week, and I know this is especially hard at the holidays.  He was a sweet man and an excellent grandfather.

My Mama is sick.  She has the nasty hacking crud and pinkeye.  Also pray she doesn’t share.

I need each day to increase by about 5 hours and each week to increase by about 2 days in order to get ready for Christmas.  Prayers for organization and motivation are definitely needed.

Leaving a Hole October 3, 2011

This weekend I was reminded of the hard part of coming from a large family. While it’s usually awesome to have 89 people on the Hill side and (soon to be) 18 on the Dickenson side, it can lead to a lot of heartache when someone passes on. Statistically speaking, we face death more often than others.

This morning, I got a text from Mama letting us know that Aunt Margie had passed away.  We’ve known this was coming, as she had suffered from respiratory and pulmonary issues for years.  Several times we’ve been told she was at death’s door and she pulled through.  A few weeks ago, we were told she might not make it through the week.  Brian and I went to visit her and found her up, active, and talkative.  She left the hospital on borrowed time, and everyone knew that time was short.  This morning it ran out.

While I can appreciate the fact that Aunt Margie is out of pain and finally at rest, the hole she leaves here is gaping.  She personified everything “Hill” to me:  she was an amazing cook who could feed a family (or several) with no money and few resources, she sewed and crocheted as easy as breathing.  She spoke her mind but fiercely protected her own from any one else’s judgement.   She endured loss and illness while keeping her sense of humor.

There are no words to explain how much we’ll all miss Aunt Margie.  When I was trying to think of how to quantify this loss this morning, so much came to mind…..

Anytime I’ve ever taken food to a family gathering, I’ve hoped (not so secretly) for approval from Aunt Margie.  A head bob over my cake once left me happy for a week.

I sat down with Aunt Margie one Thanksgiving and asked her how to make her famous ham pot pie.  It’s….oh, my goodness…..look up ‘comfort food’ and just look at that picture.  We sat for 15 minutes while she explained how to make pot pie….and I still have no idea.  It was amazing just to hear.  She walked me through the entire process, and it should have made perfect sense. One step was “make dough”.  I know how to make five different types of dough from memory alone, and not one of them leads to pot pie.  Needless to say, I still have no idea how to make pot pie.

After she referred to her fancy, flower-covered cane as a Ho Stick, I’ve used the term as often as possible.

Just two weeks ago, I said I needed to talk to her about knotting a comforter.  I never got the chance.

I’ll never forget listening to her and Brian talk about the Cowboys and give the Redskin-loving nurse a hard time when we visited her in UVA.  On the way home Brian and I decided to invite her to either our house  or Mama’s to watch a wrestling pay per view because she would have loved it.  We never got to do it, but I wish we had.

When we had to leave to get home to give the cat her insulin, Aunt Margie asked how much insulin for a cat cost.  Hearing it was only about $40 every few months, she said she needed to tell Uncle Roy to be a cat.

Aunt Margie said one of the most profound things ever:  “There’s no use being mad about something that’s already happened.” I’m trying to remind myself of this daily.

Over Christmas 2009 Aunt Margie was near death.  She recovered, and we went to visit her.  She said “I woke up and everyone was standing around my bed and crying.  I said ‘Sh!t, I must be in rough shape!'”  She decided to get better instead.

Every visit to Aunt Margie led to laughter, and she could talk to a post.  Two weeks ago she got to meet her fifth great-grandchild, and I’m so glad she did. This week we’ll gather to  say goodbye to Aunt Margie, and the entire family could use your prayers.  She leaves behind one husband who loved her dearly, one daughter, one son, their spouses, four grandchildren and their spouses, five great grandchildren, two sisters, three brothers, their spouses, and on the Hill side alone approximately 17 nieces and nephews, 21 great nieces or nephews, and something like 6 great-great-nieces or nephews. It all adds up to 89 people, when you do the math.  Every single one of us will remember her forever.

July 18, 2011

The past seven days have been a blur!  We agreed to help a friend with her garden while she was on vacation, and it turned into a nightly job.  We picked over 100 cucumbers, about 10 peppers, and a mess of beans.  We played with the goat, loved on kittens, and encountered weeds I couldn’t identify as friend or foe.  Over 100 cucumbers, people!  Did I mention I don’t like cucumbers?! So, I’m trying to learn to eat them (not easy), pawning them off on family and friends (and a Munchkin who loves them with a passion), making cucumber spread and tzatziki sauce that I’m going to attempt to freeze, and making pickles.  Tons and tons of pickles.  At the time of this writing there are 8 quarts and 2 half-pints in my fridge (and two more quarts at Mama’s house for her and Little Br0), enough spears to fill about 12 pints and enough slices to fill about 6 more quarts.  Plus I sent about 10 pounds home with Mama for her to make her 7-day pickles.  AND I’ve put a big box by the backdoor for everyone to help themselves.  I’m going to attempt to dry some, too, as chips.

The pickle recipe I’m using seems very flexible.  The first time I did it as written, and it’s a little sweet for my taste.  The second batch I reduced the sugar considerably( by more than half) and they kick you in the face.  So I’m probably going to add a smidge more sugar than that (like half the original amount) and add more dill than I did before because I was running out.  I highly recommend this site for more than pickles, too.  I’ve used several of her recipes and she’s never steered me wrong.

In addition to garden-tending last week, a friend gave me an awesome opportunity to care for her brand-new foster daughter for the week.  I usually get kids around 12 weeks of age when their mamas go back to work, or considerably older if they transfer in from someplace else.  But this little sweetie was only 5 weeks old, so she fed my need for newborn loving pretty nicely.  She was a joy and really reaffirmed my growing desire to start foster care.  It was so great to be included in this phase of their lives as they care for her and adjust to the possibility of her being their new daughter.   I know they’d appreciate your prayers, as well.

While you’re praying, keep Madhat’s grandma in your prayers. She’s having some blood pressure issues, and needs some answers.  Likewise, Little Bro and Sweet Lizzy are in Cambodia living it up visiting family, so please remember them as well.  Please pray for our family on the one year anniversary of the death of Brian’s cousin and her daughters.  Brian’s aunt Betty will need God even nearer this week.

I’m off to make some vegetable soup for dinner (and the freezer!), and to…make pickles.  Imagine that.

Thank God…It’s Friday May 27, 2011

Cancer has been heavy on my mind lately.  So today, please pray with us….

For people facing biopsies or awaiting results.

For our friends’ family and our family’s family starting chemo and radiation this month.

For a woman diagnosed with breast cancer who hopes that’s as bad as it gets, because the biopsy could show even worse.

For several family members and friends receiving treatment for brain cancer.

For a friend’s elderly mother battling pancreatic cancer.

For a complete stranger with lymphoma.  Mama and I met her mother, and the lady with cancer has no insurance.

For a friend whose parent is making end of life decisions, but still praying for a miracle.

For two people I know of who have just beaten cancer, and are succumbing to something else entirely.

For friends and family members who have beaten cancer and are now picking up the pieces and learning how to be survivors.

Brian and I have heard so many cancer stories lately that it’s overwhelming. There is no common demographic here, no common age, no common circumstance.  From people in the prime of their lives to people who have lived through eight decades only to be taken down by this horrible disease.  From parents of little children to the grandparents of our friends, from people we know and hold dear to people we only hear stories of.  Little children, elderly people, healthy people, people for whom cancer is the latest in a long line of health problems.  Pray for them all, please, today and in the future.

Friday Catch-up April 15, 2011

Oh my gosh, it’s been weeks since I updated!  I’m sorry, but it’s been so busy.  We’ve been busy getting our lives back in order, basically.  Here’s a brief account of the past few weeks around Baileysland….

I got very ill.  I thought it was the flu.  But I have yet to recover, and it’s possible I was exposed to mono.  All I know is I am exhausted — blinking takes too much effort.  Between that and the splitting headache and the stiff neck from enlarged lymph nodes, I’m a wreck.  Mama had the same stuff, and Brian is starting with it.  I’ve now been sick a month.  Monday I did the first lick of housework in three weeks.  I’m about 50% better than I was, thank goodness.

Brian got a new job, selling shoes.  Then he got another new job.  It’s (much) better pay, (incredibly) better benefits, and (unbelievably) better hours.  He’ll be the assistant manager of a cell phone store, and we will be like normal people: they’re only open 9-7 through the week and 9-5 on Saturdays!  He starts Monday, and this is the job he’s been wanting since he left his old job.  Thank God!

I’ve been crafting my little fingers to the bone.  Projects I have in the works include a baby blanket, a throw, a shawl, a flower chain, gifts for the Munchkins for Easter, a tag blanket, two bags for kids, cabin curtains, living room curtains, and pillow covers.  Easy peasy, right?  So if I’m not around, you know where I’ll be — chained to either a crochet hook or a sewing machine.  I’m hoping to get a serger soon, so that will be cool.

I lose one of my Muchkins next week due to a family move.  I am not okay with this.

The element is dying in my oven.  The result is things like pizza that’s raw on the inside but burnt on top.  Yum!  My laptop appears to be dying, too. Brian’s laptop is basically Frankenstein at this point. Technology for the win!

While I’m at it, pray for this stuff, if you are so led:

Praises

Hello, new job for Brian!!  Goodbye craziness in our house!

I may get new curtains done this weekend, if I have help from a friend.  Huge praise for our living room and our electric bill!

My kids are finally able to go outside and have fun with no strollers or slings or valium (for me, of course).  This is an improvement over the past two summers.

Requests

Sweet Lizzy’s father was taken to the hospital following a seizure.  He had surgery Tuesday to remove a tumor from his brain.  He is recovering well and is awaiting tests. This is an incredibly hard time for their family.  L is already in PA and Little Bro is headed up tomorrow. Please keep them all in your prayers.

Pray for a few friends who have had pregnancy difficulties and are pregnant now.

Pray for family members facing job loss or in need of new jobs for whatever reason.

Pray for Sealgair, who is living apart from her husband for a year and is handling it way better than I would be.

Madhat has been ill — I’m praying she’ll feel better soon and will be moving back to VA where we can torment her.

YaYa Princess, her husband, and Baby EB are en route to Mississippi.  Pray for traveling mercies, please.

I’m off to make some pasta and get ready for the rest of my day! Have a fabulous weekend, and I’ll try to get back to writing halfway regularly.

Thank God…It’s Friday! March 25, 2011

This Friday, I am thanking God even more than usual.  This morning, Brian left the house around 7:45, dressed neatly in a button-down shirt and dress pants.  He fired up my newly repaired car and headed off to Charlottesville.  To begin training for his new job.  Praise the Lord, we’re back to two incomes!  He’ll be working managing a well-known shoe store here in town. It’s a complete 180 from his old job; he’ll be working in a clean, organized environment with manageable freight and (slightly) better hours.  Is it perfect?  Not quite.  Is it a job that will take the pressure off and get him back in the work force?  Absolutely.  And after his first day, he reports that he likes it.  Thank you, God.

I’m also glad it’s Friday because it’s finally the end of my week of being sick.  It’s been a long week and I couldn’t have managed it without Brian.  At this point, I’m just happy to have a weekend to recuperate!

Here are a few other things we’ll be keeping in our prayers this week.  I hope you will, too, and will add your prayer requests in the comments.

Praises

One of my Munchkins nearly lost her dog this week.  The 13 1/2 year old black lab had a stroke and the family was heading towards euthanizing her because she was unable to get up and move at all.  After a few days of steroids, the dog is able to walk and is playing again.

Our friends’ baby came home from the NICU this week!

Requests

A member of my family is dealing with the grief of baby loss.

A friend is still looking for work.

One unspoken request from a friend.

My brother is waiting the results of a series of interviews.  It would be a great opportunity for him.

Have a good weekend, folks!

Thank God…It’s Friday! March 18, 2011

And it still is, too…for about an hour and an half yet.  Today was busy, so I’m just now getting a chance to write.  It seems like a lot of days are crazy busy lately and I rarely get time to just sit and write like I’d like.

Thank God…It’s Friday Prayers

Praises

My sister in law returned to work this week.  She’s a superhero, I tell ya.  She is still having a lot of pain, and now gets to deal with the emotional repercussions of everything she found out, so please keep her in your prayers.

Mama had an appointment with a hematologist this afternoon.  I wasn’t sure if she wanted it to be public knowledge so I hadn’t posted before now.  Her platelet counts were elevated, so the appointment was a bit scary.  Turns out she’s okay and just needs to keep an eye on it.  In addition, I personally think she has The Kissing Disease!!  Thank God for good news, but we’re praying for a continuation.

MadHat is moving back home!  I’ve missed her!

My friends, Jenny and Tom, were blessed by a second baby this past week.

Requests

My car died last April (busted head gasket, among other things).  Brian’s car died this week from a myriad of problems.  Between this and unemployment, we’re really not having much fun these days.  Hopefully my car will be getting fixed next week as it’s the easier, cheaper option.  Prayers for a job, some unemployment, and no other big surprises would be nice.  And peace, wisdom, and patience!

Some friends had a baby last week.  He’s in the NICU right now, but is doing better than feared.  Please keep baby Riley in your prayers.

Sealgair’s kitty has cancer.  It’s treatable, but please keep the whole Currie family in your prayers, both fuzzy and non.

I have a nasty cough that hurts in my lungs. Pray, please?

Have a good weekend, ya’ll.