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. 

Arizona, Part One: Play

The three of us are in Green Valley, Arizona for the week visiting some friends for two reasons:  Work and Play.  Curt and Nancy Ackley run a consulting group for church capital campaigns, and they have started brainstorming about the idea of opening a school for new pastors to teach them about fundraising and stewardship.  They invited us out so that I could be a guinea pig for their developing curriculum and so that we could visit and get an inexpensive vacation!  I'm going to write about this trip in two entries.  First I'll talk about the fun things we've done, and then I'll come back in a couple days and write about the work we did and present to you (my colleagues in ministry) a new way of looking at fundraising and stewardship for your congregations. 

We began our play-week by going to San Xavier Mission, a church constructed in 1783 and filled on the inside with marvelous murals and statuary.  It reminded me so much of some of the churches we saw when I was travelling across Eastern Europe, but instead of having an Eastern flare it had a Mexican/Southwest flare.  

The three of us outside of San Xavier Mission 

On the fourth of July, we went to a Farmer's Market in the morning, worked in the afternoon, and then had black bean burgers and wine in the evening.  It was a surprisingly manageable day outside heat-wise, so we spent a chunk of the afternoon playing on the back patio.

I love this shot of her sweet little face. 

On Thursday, we went to the Saguaro National Park.  Saguaros are the big beauties below.  The National Park is filled with them-- literally one every 5 feet for acre after acre after acre.  These cacti are so fascinating.  They don't even sprout an arm until they are 50 years old, so you can tell how old they are.  A good Saguaro lives to be 200 years old.  

We don't think the hats look silly at all, by the way.  

After that, we needed to cool off so we took Evelyn to the big pool for the first time.  She could have died of happiness.  She's a very serious baby, but on the rare occasion that she laughs, nothing else in the whole world matters.  

Today, we went up to the Madera Canyon, high in the mountain range.  It is about 20 degrees cooler up there than where we're staying.  We had lunch and took a short hike.  Then Maic and I had the awesome opportunity to go out to eat and have Margaritas (well, actually Maic doesn't like Margaritas, but it's only because he's a party pooper--er--fiesta pooper) by ourselves while Curt and Nancy watched Evelyn.  She was a sweet angel for them, and the second we walked in the door she started crying.  

At the Canyon, with the Santa Rita Mountain Range behind us

In a lovely reclining rock. 

Tomorrow, Nancy and I are going to do some shopping while the boys go check out the Titan Missile Museum.  Then on Sunday, we'll go to church and relax and we're flying back on Monday.  I actually didn't get a chance to blog about our trip to visit Allen and Charis in Rockville, MD last week, but we had a blast.  We're pretty excited to get home and just relax and be in our home together, however.  We will have been away for two weeks, with the exception of last weekend, when I came home and preached and then left again.  Having a blast, but so, so exhausted!

I'll conclude this entry on "play" with my master pointer, who says:

"Hey you over there."

"No, YOU!"

"You with the face."

"I like you!"

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.  

4 Months; 1 Year

Okay, friends, now on to something that you will probably find more interesting.

Evelyn was four months old yesterday.  Tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of when we found out we were having a baby.

(Disclaimer: The auto-focus on our camera is broken because I left it on the arm of the chair and it fell off.  You'd think I'd learn that things shouldn't go on the arm of this chair, after the amount of times I've put my waterbottle on it and spilled it all over the ground, but I haven't learned yet.  As a result, the photos are not the best quality.  I'm learning to use manual focus but it's hard.  I think our warranty will cover the repair, but not thinking about it until after Christmas.)

Four months is around the right time to start using the exersaucer, so we did!  It takes up like 90% of our apartment, but I love it and she loves it.  I love it because I can put her in it, set it outside the bathroom door, and take a shower.  It's great.

We had a playdate today with a friend from my August birth group and her baby Collin.  Collin is 3 days younger than Evelyn.  

Collin with his hand on her leg, getting fresh.  

Mama, look a friend!  

We had a great time!  I love Mama Friends! 

Then, this evening Maic took us on a Christmas date!  We each had a budget to spend on Christmas gifts for Evelyn.  I spent mine on a bunch of toys, etc. (I'll show you in a post-Christmas blog post)  He decided to spend his to take us on a horse carriage ride through a Christmas-light filled park.  It was so much fun.  He is such a sweetheart.

We went out to dinner first at a Mongolian Grill.  

Evelyn had these soft mittens on,
and she couldn't stop rubbing them on her face.  

Can you see the horse?

Evelyn and Daddy in the
One Horse Open Sleigh

Now that that's out of the way, I want to tell you a little bit about what the past year has been like for us.  A year ago today, we found out we were going to have a baby.

December 22, 2010

Maic and I were going to be leaving to go home for Christmas after the 11:00 Christmas Eve service at Salem UMC (where I was working at the time.)  It would be a 10 hour drive, so we would arrive on Christmas morning.  I thought it would be cute if I made us Christmas pajama pants to wear home.  On the evening of December 22, I finished the pants for myself and went to try them on.  WAYYYY too small.  So I started yelling about how I can't do anything right, and threw the pants and the scissors across the room.  Maic came out of the kitchen and told me that it wasn't a big deal.  I began to list all of the reasons it was a big deal, ie: I can't do anything right, ever; I just want to be good at sewing and I made a stupid mistake; I don't know anyone else who has ever done something this stupid.

Maic asked me if I was about to get my period, which just made me even more mad.  Why would he think I was being hormonal???  That's just ridiculous.  I yelled, "NO I'M JUST UPSET OKAY???"  And sat down to work on the pants some more.  But his question got me thinking.  Was I about to get my period?  No, that was last week.  No, actually, it wasn't.

I decided to take a test, and there it was.  A faint little pink line.  The best Christmas present I've ever received.

New Year's Eve last year, not sipping any champagne!

Can you believe how much can happen in a year?  For a year, I have been creating life out of my own body.   All 12 pounds, 5 ounces of Evelyn (found that out yesterday) have been created out of what I have given her.  I am blessed that I have been able to exclusively breastfeed, and I plan to continue to do so for a while.    It feels so right that I have given so much of myself so that she could be.  I thought I might be sad that my body has changed so much or that my schedule and my diet is so dependent on her, but I'm not.  I am just proud.

Now, don't hear me wrong, I have a lot of friends who have had trouble breastfeeding or have needed supplements, etc. to sustain their lives and not an inch of me thinks that I am better than them.  They have each made the right decisions for the health of their babies, and that's what being a good mother is about.  I do hope, however, that they will celebrate with me that I have been so blessed.

In this year, everything about my body has changed.  My hips are wider, my ribs are broader, my skin and hair are different, and I won't touch the more personal changes.  Parts of me wish I could have myself back-- a full night without having to wake up to nurse (I thought I might get one when I was in Columubus.  Boy was I wrong. Woke up in pain each night and needed to pump), clothes that don't have to be accessible in the case of a hungry baby, pants that fit me from one day to the next.  But then part of me knows that I don't have that anymore, and instead I have 12 lbs, 5 oz. of the most beautiful human I've ever seen.

About 35 weeks pregnant

And, most importantly, when I see how beautiful she is and how much I love her, and remember that she and I are created by the very same God, I realize that if she is beautiful, I am beautiful too.