looming

Who rises up for me against the wicked?
who stands up for me against evildoers?

If the Lord had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the
land of silence.

When I thought, "My foot slips."
your steadfast love, O Lord, held
me up.

When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul....

But the Lord has become my stronghold,
and my God the rock of my refuge.

Psalm 94:16-19, 22
It has been six months since Marit's last hip appointment that was so discouraging. she has now been treated for her hip dysplasia for 14 months, wearing the pavlik harness for 4 months 24-7, the hewson or craig splint for
the last 10 months for 18-20hrs/day. this experience has shaped us as parents. marit will surely never remember this time, but we will. and we will remember it as a refining time. we have finally come the point where we can say that we trust God to do good for us and for sweet marit, whether it be by healing her or by allowing her to endure pain for the rest of her life. we know that God loves her more than we ever could. thursday is an x-ray and her orthopedist appointment. graham is also being checked just due to the fact that his sister has dysplasia. worst case scenario (at least in our feeble human minds): graham has hip dysplasia, marit has worsened and needs surgery. best case scenario: graham has no signs of the condition, marit has improved enough to stop wearing the brace. we are bracing (pun intended) ourselves for this appointment and we get nervous whenever we think of it. however, our trust in God's sovereignty has deepened this time around to hopefully allow us to respond well to whatever news we are given. please pray for God's grace to go with us on thursday and for us to trust deeply so that we might not be shaken.

what do you think?

i'm breastfeeding graham about 8-9 times a day and i have a lot of currently and formerly lactating friends...what do you think about this? it seems a bit ridiculous to me...sure breastfeeding is not obscene, but why insist on posting pictures of it?


http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/02/breastfeeding-facebook-photos/

more

pictures courtesy of everyone

Christmas at Edisto

We traveled to the beach for Christmas with my side of the family. We spent 5 nights and days resting, conversing, walking on the beach, biking, eating, snuggling. we even did some dancing (!) and recorded a couple songs with abe's mixer. a wonderful time was had by all. adam just went back to school today hence the blogging hiatus over the last couple weeks. we had a wonderful break from the regular schedule and made an effort to be really engaged with each other for most of our waking hours. we have had some wonderful talks. enjoy the pictures of the beach!

the fourth file, fourth picture

just following suit like citystreams and lauren to randomly post the 4th picture from the 4th picture file. for some reason, we have a few videos in our picture file and you aren't supposed to cheat. this is shasta back when he was a mere adolescent kitten. it was before we had children and our cats were really important to us. now we are tempted to just "let them go." shasta is sweet at times and has brought us much laughter...like in this video...but if you know anyone who wants a big baby of an orange kitty, let me know...

if you want to join the fun, go find your fourth and fourth and share!

quick update

i can't believe it! my munchkins are taking SIMULTANEOUS naps! i must quickly take advantage of the opportunity to update the bloggy blog as it will soon pass. i have already taken a shower, wrapped christmas presents, read my Bible, straightened up the downstairs. it feels strange for me to be alone and for the house to be this quiet!

by the way, i LOVE my new diaper bag and highly recommend it for mommies who are dissatisfied with their current bag-toting situation.

today i ventured out on my first run with both munchkins at the greenway in our AMAZING double jogger. we had so much fun! marit sang and read her dr seuss book while graham slept. my knees are feeling it a little (maybe i need new shoes?), but overall i felt great! this is truly a blessing to be able to exercise with both bugs during their awake time and a wonderful way to get them outside while marit gets in-brace time.

marit learned how to stack blocks this week and she is becoming quite a little communicator. she eagerly says "nigum, digum, nigum" and points at what she wants, at which time we remind her how to ask nicely for things and she threateningly makes the "more" sign we taught her. it is in our nature to be demanding i suppose. she has been such a delight lately, though we do revisit the same discipline issues over and over, especially when i am nursing and can't pay close attention to her...she takes advantage of me!

graham has been smiling for a few weeks and it is wonderful to have a little real interaction with him. he wakes up once (usually) a night to eat and sleeps well for most of the rest of the night. we are working on naps, but a schedule is still in its formative days. marit delights in waking him up, so that makes it a little challenging...she pulls his pacifier out, hands it to me, and says "uh-oh" as graham starts to wail...we are working on that too.

adam has his last residency interview this week and then will be on christmas break for a couple weeks (his last one EVER). we are looking forward to the time together as a family as we celebrate advent.

the lead paint situation is still slightly stressful, though a pediatrician friend helped to calm our fears a bit. we have a couple options that we are considering, but right now we are content to stay where we are and carefully monitor marit and the peeling spots. we appreciate your continued prayers for this!

we continue to be so thankful that i will not be returning to work. we will be poorer, but rich in time together and significantly less stressed out. God is gracious to make it possible for me to be home with little chubby munchkins!

graham is stirring, so that's all for now!

yummy

with christmas around the corner, we are filling up on decadent edible delights. this soup is a welcome healthy meal. i love real simple's recipes. they have just about everything!

Squash and White Bean Soup with Parmesan Biscuits
Real Simple

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (4 cups)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, rinsed
1 bunch spinach, thick stems removed (4 cups)
Biscuit mix and ingredients to make 8 biscuits
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan (1 ounce)

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juices and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.

Stir in the squash, thyme, 5 cups water, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the beans and spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted and the beans are heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the biscuits according to the package directions, sprinkling with the Parmesan before baking. Serve with the soup.

Tip: To make this satisfying soup even heartier, add 1/2 cup orzo or other small pasta at the same time you add the water.


Yield: Makes 4 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 730; FAT 26g (sat 7g); CHOLESTEROL 9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 106g; CALORIES FROM FAT 32%; SODIUM 1890mg; PROTEIN 22g; FIBER 14g; SUGAR 12g