Gobble Gobble

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

Since Ian was still a bit under the weather we decided to stay home for the holiday, but it was still nice. I managed to throw together an impromptu thanksgiving dinner, and the rest of the day was filled with relaxation, football, and Theraflu.

Did you catch that? I said Theraflu. Who was the Theraflu for you ask? Well apparently, the best way to get over a cold is to pass it on to someone else, and Ian, being such a giving child, decided to give his cold to his Daddy. He's such a sweet boy.

But even with two sick men in my house, I still have a lot to be thankful for. I have great family and friends, enough food for a holiday dinner, a roof over my head to protect me from today's rain, and a life full of laughter.

I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving and managed to pinpoint a few things in your own life that you are thankful for.

Ok, I gotta run. I need to take another dose of Vitamin C.

turkey picture courtesy of gravityx9

I guess it was bound to happen

Ian is sick.

Well, it's either a cold or really bad allergies. Either way he's not a happy camper these days.

It all started late last week when we noticed he had a slight cough. By Saturday night, his cough turned into this loud, persistent, sleep disturbing, highly congested hack, and we decided to take him to the doctor early Sunday morning (thank God for our after hours doctor's office).

Thankfully, his oxygen saturation levels are in the acceptable range, so right now we are on a medicinal cocktail of daily steroid treatments combined with frequent breathing treatments via nebulizer.

Seeing how last night was a rough one (he woke up practically every two hours crying and coughing, and also had a low grade fever ) we'll probably make a judgment call Thanksgiving day on whether we will still go out of town.

This is the first cold that Ian has had since we brought him home from the hospital, so I'm dealing with my fair share of "Mommy guilt". Dan is calm and collected as usual :-)

If you get a chance, please say a quick prayer of healing for Ian.

Olbermann: I have some questions

I identify religiously as a Christian, however I am in support of legalizing gay marriage (I explain why here). I know to some this is an oxymoron, and some of my friends disagree with me, but this is my opinion nonetheless.
I stumbled upon a video of Keith Olbermann explaining his take on the subject, and it resonated with me so much I decided to link to it here.

Who Am I?

You know those goofy people that like to take online personality quizzes? I'm one of them. Here's my latest find: What Punctuation Mark Are You?

You Are a Question Mark

You seek knowledge and insight in every form possible. You love learning. And while you know a lot, you don't act like a know it all. You're open to learning you're wrong. You ask a lot of questions, collect a lot of data, and always dig deep to find out more. You're naturally curious and inquisitive. You jump to ask a question when the opportunity arises. Your friends see you as interesting, insightful, and thought provoking. (But they're not always up for the intense inquisitions that you love!) You excel in: Higher education You get along best with: The Comma

I stand in awe

In a country where African-Americans were counted as property instead of people, Americans elected a Black President.

In a country where it was illegal for a person of African ancestry to learn to read and write, Americans elected a Black President.

In a country where Blacks were not allowed to enter the same establishments as Whites, Americans elected a Black President.

If you've come to this blog looking to argue and debate political positions, I'm sorry, you can save that for another day.
Today, I'll be too busy looking my child in the eye and telling him:

"Son, you can be anything you want to be; Even President of the United States of America."

Guess who I met

I know this has been a very intense political season, and with election day right around the corner both major candidates have been feverishly campaigning for those last minute votes, but imagine my surprise when I saw Barack Obama in my neighborhood on Halloween night. Geez, these guys don't take a break do they?

Well, always one for a photo op, I invited Mr. Obama into our home and asked if he would allow me to take a picture of him. He kindly obliged.


On his way out the door, I also managed to snag a picture of him with one of his secret service agents


Pssst, that's not really Obama. That's Ian. The resemblance is uncanny, I know, but take a second look and you'll see that it really is the munchkin.

Yes, we dressed the little one up as Barack Obama for Halloween and hit the trick or treat trail. His costume was a big hit in the neighborhood, and he promised no tax increases for everyone that gave him candy.

Here are a couple more pics of the evening.

Hitting up the neighbors for candy

Checking out the loot

Happy Halloween everyone!

p.s. The white chicken scratches in Ian's hair are actually supposed to represent Obama's gray hair. See, in my fantasy world, I thought I would have Ian sit down while I strategically placed those gray hairs all over his head. Yeah, that didn't happen and you can only do so much when you are trying to pin a kid down with one arm and draw gray hairs in his head with the other.

The Shack

A few weeks ago a co-worker and I were browsing a local book fair. As we were perusing the spiritual book section chit chatting about the books we planned to read, a man nearby overheard our conversation and asked if either of us had read The Shack by William P. Young. We both responded that we hadn't (neither of us had even heard of the book) and with excitement in his voice he proclaimed, "Oh, you just HAVE to read this book. It will change your whole perspective on who God is."

Intrigued, I asked him for a little more background, and our new friend gave a 5 minute spiel as to why The Shack is one of the best books we would ever read.

As Peter* began to speak, it was obvious that he was very passionate about the book. It seemed to stir up emotions from deep within him, and there were a few times when he just had to pause to gather his thoughts. He was speechless.

After our chat with Peter*, both my co-worker and I were excited about this book. At the time, I was in the middle of, A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, but I got to a point where I wanted to take some time to absorb the information in that book, and I thought I would go ahead and pick up The Shack and do some light reading.

***OH MY GOSH***

Now I understand why Peter* was so emotional about this book. It was absolutely phenomenal!

Synopsis (taken from barnesandnoble.com):

Mackenzie Allen Philips's youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation, and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later, in this midst of his great sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change his life forever.

The Shack seems to articulate what I've been thinking about for the past couple of years, but couldn't find the words to say. The subject matter ranges from Perceptions of Who God is, Suffering, Forgiveness, Judgment, Good and Evil, and much more.

I will give a warning though. Young definitely challenges what I call traditional Christianity, and although I've only read a small amount of reviews, I can only imagine he has a lot of religious people out there that are upset with him.
But in my mind, this book is not about religion, it is about relationship. Relationships with those around us, and also about being connected to something bigger than you or me. Something that is Divine, something that IS; and that IS-ness, that Spirit, I call that God.

I highly recommend The Shack. It's the type of book that speaks both to your heart, and your head. It takes you on an emotional roller coaster. It..... I don't know what else to say.

Just like Peter*, I'm speechless.


*While I do know the name of the man that recommended the book, I've decided to call him Peter in order to respect his privacy.