and now, a break from our regularly scheduled programming….

I know, I haven’t been regular about blogging for quite some time.  I guess what I mean is let’s break for a moment from Daily Demoting and spend some time talking about what is going to happen tomorrow!

Tomorrow I meet my grandbaby!!!!

Which in and of itself is quite important and I know ya’ll are equally thrilled….but WOW.  What a bundle full of emotions before the bundle arrives.

Poor Chrissy.  THIS has not been easy.  As she keeps telling me, “this is not the way it’s supposed to be.”

And she’s right.

I’ve tried to encourage her more than once during this pregnancy that no, this IS NOT the way it is supposed to be.

“Because you have done this….I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.”

No, sweet baby, this is not the way it was supposed to be.

I have wondered over the past months how God intended life to be brought into the world prior to the fall.  This experience has, as so many others, led me to once again middle-aged reflection and longing for the world God created (before we ruined it).

The divine reversal, however, shows up now; shows up even in this curse.

Though we suffer …

through morning sickness (or in the case of Goudzwaard girls, morning-afternoon-evening-and-every-moment-in-between-sickness)

through dehydration

through water bloat

through 1-hour AND 3-hour glucose testing

through sobbing over diabetic menu’s

through finger pricks

and

stretch marks

and

itching out of our skin!

God graciously and richly places life in our arms and then provides us everything we need to raise His gift to live and glorify Him.

Amazing.

(Isn’t He?)

Would you consider lifting Erik and Chrissy and little blessing McCarrin tonight and tomorrow when you think upon our Lord? Would you ask Him to still our hearts, to help us remember Him and thereby bring peace to our souls?  Will you pray for Chrissy’s body as it brings forth this life?  And then as it works to mend and heal.  And will you lift this little gift to heaven and ask God’s protection for the days He allows?  To continue to provide His mercy and call our grandchild to Himself…

We covet your prayers and thank you for the support and encouragement you have given OUR gifts; our blessings from heaven (Erik and Chrissy!)

Praise God, from whom ALL blessings flow…

(watch for baby postings tomorrow!)

Grandma Goudzwaard – henceforth known as G.G. )

lov’n on ma (ma lov’n on Tig?)

foiled again

(one more foil ball)

“I know if I do this I will purr, but mmmmmm!”

“enuf already!”

one more cuddle with K

laundry day snuggle

FANCY feast

the best spot in the house

April 26, 1995

July 13, 2009

“Many people grieve deeply when their pets die.  Some have told me they’re embarrassed or even ashamed at this.  Their loss is great, and they long for hope that they’ll see their pets again.

If we regard pets as God-created companions entrusted to our care, it’s only right that we should experience grief at their loss.  Who made these endearing qualities in animals?  God.  Who made us to be touched by them?  God.  Do we love animals because of sin and the Curse?  No.  We love animals because God created us—and them—to love each other.  We can turn people into idols, but it doesn’t mean it’s wrong to love people.  The same is true of animals.

We know the stories of pets who’ve risked their lives and died for their owners because the animals’ instinct for love and loyalty outweighed their instinct for self-preservation.  It’s noble for a person to lay down his or her life for others, so animals who do the same must also be noble.  We needn’t be embarrassed either to grieve their loss or to want to see them again.  If we believe God is their creator, that he loves us and them, that he intends to restore his creatures from the bondage they experienced because of our sin, then we have biblical grounds for not only wanting but also expecting that we may be with them again on the New Earth.

Let’s not “correct” our children and grandchildren when they pray that they’ll be able to see their pets again.  The answer to that prayer is up to God.  But he loves to hear the prayers of his children, and there is scriptural reason to believe he may answer those prayers.”

Randy Alcorn

Heaven

Did you ever attend a party and once you got there regretted you went out in the first place?  Introverts know what I am talking about.

“The typical introvert tends to have difficulty adjusting to social situations.”

That’s the first and final time you will catch me quoting Carl Jung.

Anyway, after a week in the Facebook community that is precisely how I feel.  First of all I said I would NEVER have a Facebook account.  Hopefully you (nor God) heard me say that.  In previous years, God has heard me say I would NEVER have more than 2 children, NEVER homeschool, NEVER go back to attending Sunday evening church services and NEVER counsel people.  God giggles when I use the word NEVER.

Second, I have an email account, a blog, a house phone, a cell phone, a Twitter account, and a pen and paper.  What other communication tool could this introvert possibly need?

Third, I am not at all interested in finding out That Much Information about my family.  It is a wonderful blessing to live in another state oblivious to the pervasive plastic cup usage by those I love (psssst, kids!  Grown-ups use glass!)

And Fourth, I don’t really want to relive high school.  I brought my favorite part of those years with me to North Carolina (hi honey!)

So, what WAS I thinking?  Guess what?  I’m gonna tell ya….

When I peeked over Bob’s shoulder the other night to read his Facebook page, I caught sight of a whole bunch of people I had lost touch with over the last year or so.  Now, it’s not like I am absent from THE FRONT OF MY COMPUTER SCREEN 2/3rds of the day and unavailable for the  occasional email; I am unemployed, housebound with a dying cat, and simply love to write;  if you email me, I will answer!  But several of those currently in my contact list recently, and  most mysteriously, disappeared.  When I looked at Bob’s page I noticed all of my missing  contacts partyin without me!

It was at that moment an idea hit me.  Here I sit, tapping away at a keyboard futilely, hoping someone will talk (not meow) to me during the day, someone will read my blog (which I agonizingly update daily) when it occurred to me there is a open forum.  An open, FREE forum where I can practice communication skills before I forget how to speak and at the same time shamelessly promote myself.  And ya’ll say I’m shy….

Simply said, I plan to one day have my Face on a Book (complete with speaking engagements) and therefore I am USING Facebook to propel me toward my goal.  Hey, it’s worth a try.

In the meantime I do want to make a commitment to my family.  I am not on here to a) look like the cool mom b) keep tabs on you via your pictures or c) be friends with your friends.

Actually, I will probably end up developing a new Facebook category.  Enemies.

“Mr. Pumblechook appeared to conduct his business by looking across the street at the saddler, who appeared to transact his business by keeping his eye on the coach-maker, who appeared to get on in life by putting his hands in his pockets and contemplating the baker, who in his turn folded his arms and stared at the grocer, who stood at his door and yawned at the chemist. The watch-maker, always poring over a little desk with a magnifying glass at his eye and always inspected by a group of smock-frocks poring over him through the glass of his shop-window, seemed to be about the only person on the street whose trade engaged his attention.” Great Expectations

That just about describes my life these days. I know, you folks with actual jobs and places to go are singing me a swan song right about now. Hey! You try it! I spend my days walking from window to window repeating the words from Proverbs, “all toil is profitable.” Lately, toil includes following Tigger around the house making sure he breathes.

I’m sure y’all are ready for another cat story. Apparently Tigger was a little jealous of all the attention his older sister was getting via the Internet so he decided it was HIS turn.

The bouncy-flouncy, fun, fun, fun Mister has been the picture of health and vitality throughout his life; he flies through the air like a kitten and LAUGHS at the days to come. That is, until Sunday. He had been doing this funny little yoga move over the past few weeks and it was KIND OF concerning to me. KIND OF, because a trip to the vet with him is always a challenge. The next-door neighbors at South Park Hospital are acutely aware when Tigger has an appointment. Consequently I typically hesitate before setting out on such an adventure. Anyway, back to Tigger’s newfound interest in eastern religion. He would purr, cough, and then lay out sort of horizontal and hack. And hack. And hack and hack and hack.

At first I thought, “hairball.” A couple weeks into his new yoga pose, however, I began to be concerned because no hairball “surfaced,” if you know what I mean. Then Sunday he wouldn’t stop. He would lay on his back and purrrr…. “pet my tummy…” and then HACK.HACK.HACK.

Hack.HACK.Hack.

So after church Sunday night, that will have to be explained in a different post, I searched the Internet for what appeared to be Cat Asthma. Sure enough, there was a YouTube. Some guy, out of concern for other cat owners, posted his cat having an asthma attack that had been undiagnosed. “David” SHE is called, yes, I said “she” would HackHACKhack just like Tigger! I felt the blood drain from my head to my toes (would I now be expected to give Tigger mouth-to-mouth?) and promptly called the emergency vet to see what to do. They, of course, for $86.50 recommended he be brought in immediately as this was considered an emergency situation.

I packed Tigger into his sweet lil carrier with the Sherpa lining and drove him to the seedy part of town where a vet half my age (and size) awaited his arrival.

Now this is why I write this story, and those of you familiar with “The Day the Cat Died” http://2meem.com/2008/05/18/the-day-the-cat-died/ will recognize the irony.

I was checked in immediately at the Carolina Pet Emergency facility—I mean why would there be a rush in a PET emergency room on a Sunday night anyway—and was escorted to a stainless steel room. A nurse (? is that what they are called?) took Tigger’s “vitals” and since his gums weren’t blue she decided we could have our conversation without an oxygen mask. On Tigger, silly.

I proceeded to describe the horizontal yoga pose with great detail; the purr, the pose, the hack.HACK.hack and she did her perfunctory, “hmmmm.” She finished her evaluation and picked up Tigger, Sherpa and all, and announced she would be taking him for further observation, and to get his temperature. Great. Out the back door she disappeared.

Why do vets have a front AND back door in the exam room? Do you suppose they design it that way just in case someone needs an escape route? I guess if you try to monitor temperature the way they do with animals, a safe and quick escape route is a good idea. Only a designer would think such thoughts. A designer with a LOT of time on her hands.

So off behind Door Number 2 the little “nurse” went while I pulled up a stainless steel chair and proceeded to stare out the window.

Five minutes passed

Ten minutes passed, did I mention it was dark outside and I could not actually see anything out the window anyway?

After fifteen minutes the nurse pops her head back through Door Number 2 and announces that the Doctor will want to do an X-ray. Or two. Maybe 3. That will be $120, $130 or more. “What’s up with the ala carte practice at the Animal Hospital” I start to wonder, and then ask lil nurse to explain what all of it means. Do I get an X-ray for Tigger only to find out he needs a $1500 surgery? Y’all remember Bob works in the banking industry, right? Cat surgery isn’t in the budget. She patiently explains that the Doctor thinks there might be a blockage, not asthma, and they need to see where. “Ok,” I say, and lil nurse tells me she will keep me up to date, and then vanishes again through Door Number 2.

That was 8:45pm.

9:00 rolls around. Nothing.

9:10, nothing.

9:30 still nothing.

9:45pm in pops Dr. You-can’t-be-old-enough-for-liquor- (and would NOT be serve at PF Changs) something (who remembers) and she…..

sits down….

and proceeds to triage Tigger (who isn’t in the room, by-the-way) AGAIN. “Thanks for being so patient,” she begins –was I being patient?- and asks me to describe Cat-Cow stretch for her in Veterinary terms. So I again describe purr-pose-hackHACKhack and she looks at me with a kind of weird expression on her freckled face.

Here’s the punchline.

Wait for it….

She says I’m sorry, “but I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

First I laughed. Then I fell backwards from the stainless steel table into a stainless steel chair and said, “NO way! You DID NOT just say that!” Now I need the triage.

Long story short (oh, too late for that? Too bad, I have no life) I made sure Tigger was stable, demanded my Sherpa-packed kitty and paid my $86.50 before marching out the “hospital” entrance.

This story does not end quite as sweet as the other, however. The next day I took Tigger to his vet and an X-ray revealed an either bad case of pneumonia (not-likely) or lung cancer. He has some medicine to take for the next week to find out if the mass will shrink and next week we will re X-ray for the results.

I spend my days (between actual responsibilities…really!) walking between the rooms of our house to check if Tigger is breathing, yet I tread cautiously so that I don’t make him happy and therefore purr. And hack.Hack.hack.

Gives new meaning to Cat Scan. I’ll keep y’all updated.

Well, it’s official, we wrote our last check to a higher education institution this week.  I have earned every single one of those wrinkles you see on my smiling face.

But before we get to the graduation festivities, let’s back up a week or two. Of course nothing happens in my dull, day-to-day life unless it all happens within the same two-week time span.  

May began with a bang as I prepared for “Do It Yourself” day at our church.  I committed to plan the DIY luncheon, host a table (explanation to follow) and teach a workshop.  Now you may note a little insanity associated with such a commitment, however each component did not overlap and was therefore completely manageable.  Since the event fell on Mother’s Day weekend, though, I made sure to confirm with Bob that I would be available.  He assured me it was fine.  That is, until a couple days later, when he decided we should meet up with the kids and leave for the beach –the same day.

So if you have lost track, I was then slated to; plan a luncheon, host a table, teach a workshop, arrange for leaving the house and cats for a week, then pack our entire house (sheets/clothes/towels/paper goods/food etc) and drive four hours to the beach.  On Saturday May 9.  Oh ya, one more thing.  The day after we returned from the beach we scheduled a flight to Chicago for Cori’s graduation and party (the one I planned)

Tired yet?

Good thing I lead a dull life. 

So now that it’s over and my stomach is a complete mess (Bob would add that my attitude fell off a cliff as well), I thought I’d share what’s new with this photomontage tracing our journey.

  ”Hosting” a table at DIY day meant that each lady who volunteered would decorate a table in which 8 guests could    enjoy their lunch.  12 wonderful ladies volunteered and this a sample of their incredible designs.

  DIY day ~ Kari Lapp’s table setting

DIY ~ Dianne Britton

                                                                                                                      DIY ~ the “princess” table ~ Kimberli Spolar

  DIY ~ MY table!

DIY ~ FABULOUS! Faith Glaser

Storms rolling in at the beach (Topsail)

Brett CAN cook (and clean up!)

this is me and Andrew, although it looks just like what Bob and I are doing right this minute

oooooo! My baby graduated

Amanda (soon to be Ozinga), Chrissy McCarrin, Cori Goudzwaard, Jocelyn (soon to be something else), Katie (soon to be something else too)

mmmmmmmmmm the reward for four years of college

  Andrew and Alecia…..(that would be  Alecia CPA !)

So from what I understand, every time I move things around or change my theme ya’ll get a notice that there is something new to read.  My apologies!  I have been messin with this thing to make it “reader friendly” as well as meet my needs (which change daily)  Let’s just say I am an artist and we get bored easily!   Well, I think I have found a theme to stick with, I can at least change the picture on the home page without changing the whole blog.  I am also working on having Bob switch the url to my website so that there is less for you to type when you want to go to my site.  In the meantime, please be patient with all the notifications of change!  At least all of this messing around is helping develop my tech skills..

Happy Weekend!