a story i liked

i read this story in the sunday times and really enjoyed. the right mix of harsh realities and hope.

the article is about the fugees- a soccer team of refugees. ironically, immigration services decided that the heart of the bible belt would be a good place to resettle some families. unfortunately, kingdom welcome is not the expereince described in the article. hope you get to read it too.

speaking of fugess (and i don't mean the band)- we watched children of men last weekend. charles didn't like it as much as i did- i liked it very much. made me hope for the day where the dialogue about immigration can take a different tone.

on a personal note- have been thinkking about fending off the winter/post partum blues and have some thoughts of things that i can do to make myself smile after baby comes (aside from looking at her all day long). here's a brief list:

• talk to someone other than charles and/or my mom daily.
• go for walks.
• make progress on my modest list of house projects.
• get out of the house daily as soon as i am able w/ or w/o baby.
• get a professional massage.
• take baths.
• have one thing daily that i can look forward to (that can include any of the items on this list).
• take naps.
• get some highlights.
• go out w/ charles.

any mommy's out there that had a hard reocvery from birth- feel free to add to the list.

the next time i write- we might have a kid.

later my peeps.

chewable vitamin (a repeat- but i love it):
"i am only one, but i am one. i cannot do everything, but i can do something. and i will not let what i cannot do interfere with what i can do. ~edward everett hale

is that so wrong?

all i want to eat is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

2006 highlights/overview

our first christmas in a house we own!

favorite thing that happened in 2006:
getting pregnant

biggest suprise of 2006:
buying our first home and have it contain some of the specific things we both dreamed of in a home.

biggest challenge of 2006:
work and managing the stress it has caused.

favorite used phrase of 2006:
"... make sweet sweet love..."

biggest success of 2006:
asking for help during my pregnancy in dealing w/ some of the emotional side effects.

most encouraging thing God has started in me in 2006:
that i am largely clueless and that's ok and that i'm not alone.

guilty pleasure of 2006:
: grey's anatomy. a show i want to hate- but can't.
: peppermint stick ice cream.

biggest disappointment of 2006:
being in a work situation that doesn't suit my skills.

most favorite memory of 2006:
when i showed charles the pee stick from our pregnancy test.

it has been a very full year- God has been very generous to us.

last night, we went out for a nice dinner at typhoon as our christmas gift to one another. it was great. then we came home and took a nap watched part of a movie and prayed in the new year together. it was wonderful.

my first goals of 2007 involve staying in pajamas all day and doing nothing. i'll let you know how it pans out. other things to look forward to in 2007- obviously- the arrival of our first baby, three months away from work, charles' trip to nigeria, and seeing how parenthood impacts our followership of Jesus.

things we will continue to pray diligently for in 2007 is a safe and healthy delivery of our baby, the elections in nigeria, direction for graduate studies, and how to be parents.

hope you are having a good day off!