A Lesson in Sabbath

I don't write much right now because every week is so busy.  I mean, SO busy.  Every week, I think, "next week I'll have time to do this..." and then something comes up.  This week, I got to Wednesday evening, counted the hours I'd worked since Monday, and came up with 30.  Knowing that I still had a funeral on Saturday (this afternoon) and a worship service on Sunday, and an accompanying sermon/homily for each, I took Thursday and Friday "off."  That was a good decision.  

I don't think many people understand all the work that goes into being a pastor.  I recently heard a colleague in ministry joke that when people ask her what she does, she says, "I'm a preacher on Sundays and the CEO of a non-profit during the week."  I think that's true.  I'm not complaining, just trying to explain.  The way my congregation volunteers is extraordinary, truly.  I couldn't ask for more.   But it's such a behind-the-scenes job.  So much of it is about presence and trust-building-- being there when people need you, being a role-model, keeping up with what's going on in the community and in the lives of members.  I can never really stop working.  But that's okay, I love it.  And one of the things I'm learning is that if I'm a role-model, then I must display appropriate care of myself and my own family.  I want others to take care of themselves and their families, so it's also my job to say, "I've already worked 30 hours this week and have about 15 hours of work that I must do before the week is over, so I will take tomorrow and Friday off," because if I don't, I'm telling everyone else that it's okay to overwork and under-nurture their relationships, and I don't believe that's healthy.  

Anyway, yesterday was a really good day off.  We went as a family to Appleton, to the Children's Museum.  It was a free day so it was really crowded, but we had a blast.  The children were supposed to wear costumes, so Evelyn wore her cowgirl outfit (a costume we didn't think she'd get to wear anywhere, she's already worn twice, and I think we'll do a tiny bit of trick or treating, so that makes three!).  She was thrilled that there were some children dressed as animals.  Right now she is obsessed-- I mean, obsessed-- with animals, especially cats, dogs, ducks, and lizards.  So when she saw a little boy dressed as a dog, she just stood next to him and barked and panted at him for several minutes.  She's also been pretending that she is a cat lately, crawling around meowing.  We don't have a cat right now and I'm beginning to feel guilty about that.  But, to be honest, I'm still on team Bearded Dragon, and I think Evelyn is too, but Maic says no.  There was actually a Bearded Dragon at the Children's museum and Evelyn was thrilled about it, but Maic said, "She just likes anything with eyes that moves."  I think I know what he's getting for Christmas...

The traveling exhibit was a bunch of scenes and activities from Children's books--
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

Abuela by Arthur Dorros

Stackable snowmen from the Snowy Day

Little cowgirl stacking blocks

Climbing up a salad.  Where do they come up with these things?

So, here's my lesson in Sabbath for the day.  When you work too much, stop working.  When there's a free day at the children's museum, go.  And when you can put the baby to bed and watch Dancing With the Stars while knitting stuffed animals, do it. 

Finished, and relaxing!

I'm sorry I left you all hanging.  I did finish my ordination paper.  I still feel like a lot of it is a draft, but the hardest part is done.  Next, I meet with the working group in Ohio via Skype and they offer suggestions for revisions.  

I really want to take a little time to rest, but I'm aware that a final revision of my thesis proposal is now overdue.    Finishing it requires at least a couple hours in the library developing my bibliography.  I have the motivation, it's just a matter of finding the time.  

Rest will not be left undone this weekend however.  Maic and I are going on a date Saturday night-- something we haven't done since Evelyn was six weeks old, and even then it was to an Eden fundraising event so it wasn't much of a date.  Not sure what we're going to do yet, because it's the weekend before Valentine's Day and restaurants are sure to be packed.  All I know is Evelyn is hanging out with Stacy, and we're going to do something fun together.  Then on Sunday, we're having a baby shower for another Eden student who is having her baby next month!  

Other than that, here are a few things that are going on around here: 

We're trying to get Evelyn on a sleep schedule instead of putting her to bed whenever we go to bed.
As a result, Maic made this comic strip, which I think is pretty much the truest thing I've ever seen.
 If you can't read it, click on the photo to enlarge it.  

Evelyn and I Skyped with Gramma and sent an e-mail to cousin Zoey's new e-mail account.
They set one up so people can send her memories and letters, etc.
I think we'll do the same for Evelyn soon. 

I'm stash-busting (aka trying to clear out my yarn stash by knitting a bunch).
Here is a big shawl, and a summer tank top.
I'm also making a baby blanket for a friend.  Not pictured :)  

Evelyn learned to put her foot in her mouth.  Okay, now you try.  

Cuter than a kitten?

Things are looking up since the last post, and I finally got a little bit of knitting time in this evening.  Just had to share!  

What's on my table?

It's finals week.  Half of me is anxious to get all these finals out of the way so I can just say, "I'M FINISHED with the semester!  and I only have ONE SEMESTER LEFT!!"  But the other half of me can't stop thinking about Christmas-- visiting family and introducing Evelyn to a few people for the first time, eating big delicious meals, watching my little girl and her big cousin Zoey play together again, meeting baby Max, a good friend's new baby who was born last weekend, etc.

So I'm stuck here at this cluttered table, with Christmas pulling on one arm and finals pulling on the other.  Oh, and Evelyn, pulling on my hair.  She does that now.

On it is:
1. UCC Book of Worship and Methodist Liturgy book, for working on my Liturgy final-- a full worship order for a wedding, a funeral, and a Sunday morning service.
2. A stack of Christmas cards and photos, which I will never send out again.  What a PAIN!!!  Okay,  next Christmas I might change my mind, but for now I'm motivated by the idea that this will never happen again.
3. A cup of tea.  Earl Grey in a giraffe mug.
4. A wobbly jingly toy.  We call him "Sassy Clown" because he has the word Sassy on his butt.  Realized later that it's a brand name.
5. The laptop hanging out at-- what?-- Facebook.  Of course.  So addicting.  It doesn't help that my August 2011 birth group moved to Facebook a couple months ago.  Now I am constantly on there seeking advice, venting, and sharing photos.  I seriously don't know what I would do without their support.  However, I'd probably have A LOT more of my finals done and my ordination paper would be more or less finished.  And my dishes would be clean.
6. Some yarn and my miscellaneous craft box.  I already mentioned that I've given up on handmade Christmas in its entirety, but there are still a few handmade things in the mix.  Two more to finish up.
7.  The rest of the stuff is always there.

Evelyn is sleeping now.  She is getting so big.  She laughs now and really loves to hear herself talk.  The days of letting her lie on her playmat while I work are over, however.  She is easily bored and wants to be read to, talked to, or carried around.  I try to read my articles for school or the papers I'm writing aloud to her as a compromise, but the second I turn to the computer, she squeals.  Smart girl.

Well, something's a bit off about blogging while complaining about my finals not being finished.  I'm going to go take advantage of the rest of this nap.

LOOK AT THESE BOOKS! at Three Months

This mama is tired.  Tomorrow, I am preaching my senior sermon in the chapel at Eden.  It's something I've been thinking about doing since I was a first year student.  I love preaching and the chance to preach in front of so many awesome students and faculty is quite an honor.  At the same time, however, I'm nervous as can be.  I'll try to do a blog post on it, or at least post a picture or two.  

Also, Thursday, I am doing a Thanksgiving service at First Congo.  I have hardly even started working on it because I've been so busy thinking about Monday. 

I have a lot of other stuff going on too, but let's not get into it.  Let's just say I haven't knitted in over a week, at which point I knitted these!  

For myself.  I'm knitting more, or at least similar ones,
for Christmas gifts.  Shh.  

Anyway, today Evelyn is three months old.  Sometimes it sounds about right, sometimes I can't believe it at all.  Time flies, but I also feel like we've been together our whole lives (not just hers).  

Did you know three months ago
this was inside me? 

I thought it would be neat, as I'm a bit of a bibliophile, to post Evelyn's top five favorite books each month.  For now, it's more about us than her.  She doesn't really care what we read as long as there's noise somewhere.  I've actually been reading her Marcus Borg's Speaking Christian, which she seems to enjoy, but we won't put that in her top five.  Maybe six?  

Sooooo....here we go!  The first installment of LOOK AT THESE BOOKS! (The name comes from what Evelyn says (?) whenever she sees the first book on the list: "LOOK AT THESE PENGUINS!")

1. Don't Be Afraid Little Pip!: I posted a photo of Evelyn looking at this book a few entries back.  I'm gonna be honest; I don't even really know what the book is about.  I just know that there's one page that says, "Swimming is flying!" (a statement that I happen to disagree with) that Evelyn could stare at forever.  It is FULL of penguins.    

2. Toes, Ears, and Nose: This is a book I actually like for the content.  The wording is super simple and somewhat predictable, but she loves it because I tickle her when I read it and it gets her smiles going.  

3. On the Day You Were Born: Evelyn couldn't give two diapers-full about this book, other than that the inside cover has these amazing stars on it (also pictured a few entries back).  However, either I'm still hormonal enough, or her birthday is still recent enough, that I cry every time I read it.  Okay but seriously, you try reading the words, "We're so glad you've come" into these eyes without crying. 

You're crying just thinking about it, aren't you?

4. Matisse: Dance for Joy: We actually just got this one today, but it is exactly her cup of tea-- lots of really high contrast, bright pictures.  And my cup of tea-- real, intriguing, evocative art.  

5. The Little Prince: Okay, another book she doesn't care all that much about.  But, we've been reading it to her little by little for about a month now.  We're over halfway through.  It's a fun part of our nighttime routine (Whoa whoa whoa....routine???? I guess I use that word loosely) and someday when she's older, we'll tell her that she read her first chapter book before she was six months old.  

In case you were wondering...

This is how I get work done: 

Well, during the weekdays, I just don't.  I am home alone with E and she's not very generous about sharing me with my schoolwork.  But in the evenings and on weekends, I get a lot done!  Evelyn has a wonderful daddy who takes awesome care of her.  When she is crying, he carries her around, sings to her, changes her diaper, and reads to her.  Most of the time, she's pretty happy when she is with him.  I think she loves him because of his glasses, on top of the fact that he's just a pretty cool guy.  

Evelyn is learning to play the baritone ukulele

When he can't get her to stop crying, it's usually because she's hungry.  So, I practice the art of nursing and typing one handed.  We're getting pretty good at it.  

When I really can't think straight, I head up to Cafe Nura, a cafe right next to our apartment complex.  I do work there, or sometimes just drink a cup of coffee and talk things out with Maic. 

What do I work on?  Right now, I'm working on this: 

My Ordination Paper-- This is hard stuff.  Really makes my head hurt. 

and this: 

My Master's Thesis on Language of the Body and Feminist Theology
in the Book of Judith (Haven't heard of it?  Then you must not be Catholic.
 It's an Apocryphal Book.) 

In fact, I just wrote my abstract yesterday!!  Wanna read it?  Yeah, probably not.  But if you do, let me know.  I'll send it-- it's only 100 words.  

and this:

A sweater I started before she was born
and finished (except for buttons) yesterday.  Still a bit big. 

And a hat with the leftovers. 

I knit for sanity purposes.  I have a lot of people ask me, "How do you have time to knit?"  Well, truthfully, I don't have time to not knit.  The rate of sweaters completed per week is congruent with the rate of articles read and pages written per week.  When I knit, I think (or don't think, sometimes) and when I go back to work I am entirely refreshed and inspired.  And as a bonus, Evelyn has a super warm wardrobe.  

Well, E is half asleep and Maic is writing.  I'm going to go back to work on my ordination paper and try to fit my theology of Jesus, including Incarnation, Atonement, and Resurrection in roughly 350 words.