tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74845905980292504402024-03-13T05:53:48.366-05:00Midwest "Mom"mentsPhoto courtesy of R. Peters Photography, http://www.rebeccapetersblog.com/Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comBlogger435125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-21758760221339755072022-02-15T16:25:00.003-06:002022-02-15T16:25:43.415-06:00Farewell… For Now<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi03Hec5zlPzQuyDJgOi5BO5xe5d4mkHPigz5Gc5P02ivhyeIeqEN5cRcnG8VIGEVCzaweq26Vs3cdpxMF_r6Nw7KXordCJ-NsyP2BgfDZugxAMuj4jWosZdgBu4UBrov1jE76YH6ORoyO-QN4cyfm_HR07NB3i87v-8WXYh48GI__wn0jSfDZnywcMQw=s2739" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1826" data-original-width="2739" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi03Hec5zlPzQuyDJgOi5BO5xe5d4mkHPigz5Gc5P02ivhyeIeqEN5cRcnG8VIGEVCzaweq26Vs3cdpxMF_r6Nw7KXordCJ-NsyP2BgfDZugxAMuj4jWosZdgBu4UBrov1jE76YH6ORoyO-QN4cyfm_HR07NB3i87v-8WXYh48GI__wn0jSfDZnywcMQw=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@craft_ear?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Jan Tinneberg</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/goodbye?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>As I log in to this blog site, blowing dust off the widgets and swiping cobwebs from the header, I remember the fervor with which I began it a little over 12 years ago. I still have that same passion to communicate, but my life is very different now than it was then, and this cozy nook isn't the right space for these new words to live in. I'll cherish the memories it brings when I come to visit. But for now, it's time to say goodbye. And move to a new place to share my voice. </p>Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-75383182162659793132021-08-25T12:27:00.003-05:002021-08-25T12:27:29.778-05:00My Babies<p>As we walked to school, R stomped ahead of me on the sidewalk, frustrated with sixth-grade drama, clothes that don’t fit right after another pubescent growth spurt and pretty much everything about the world in that moment. I tried to be positive and set her on course for a good day. “Let’s list three things you’re grateful for.” </p><p>“Ugh! Just forget it! I’m not grateful for anything! You don’t understand!” </p><p>My mama heart was hurting for all she’s going through and the sting from her biting remarks. V slid his little hand inside mine and whispered, “Love you.” Sweet boy. I told him thanks and that I loved him, too. We chatted as we walked along and then when we got within a block of school, he took his hand out of mine. I saw the group of kids at the corner. He looked at me, a little chagrined. I smiled at him. “I get it, Buddy. Thanks for holding my hand this far. I feel better.” He smiled more confidently and headed toward them. </p><p>By the time school got out, R was her cheerful self again. Tween life is hard; I remember how much I hated it. And navigating it with separated parents just adds another degree of complexity for my already sensitive girl. </p><p>They’re both growing up so fast. (As is S.) Just makes me even more grateful for those sweet moments. </p>Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-64405456790267401432021-08-21T15:33:00.002-05:002021-08-21T15:33:56.407-05:00Have We Forgotten How to Think for Ourselves?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV9JeNG-I-FSKBbwVcCdrucwuIKvNn_bKG84KFKwl8rWj45q6NaDR9pOw_g7W4ToK-LVNSu3KR7oAYuoQseMc4yVTP6KUCHr9DGIY5_6zdgP7QL-vyXJVYPAC9fB1mXlI_XIJnxoSo_xTY/s2048/neonbrand-2RRq1BHPq4E-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV9JeNG-I-FSKBbwVcCdrucwuIKvNn_bKG84KFKwl8rWj45q6NaDR9pOw_g7W4ToK-LVNSu3KR7oAYuoQseMc4yVTP6KUCHr9DGIY5_6zdgP7QL-vyXJVYPAC9fB1mXlI_XIJnxoSo_xTY/s320/neonbrand-2RRq1BHPq4E-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@neonbrand?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">NeONBRAND</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/critical-thinking?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>To say that the last year and a half has been traumatizing is an understatement. The world as we knew it came to a screeching halt with the COVID-19 pandemic. If this had happened 20 years ago, I imagine the chaos could have been somewhat less polarizing, but maybe that's just a middle-aged woman pining for the "good ol' days." </p><p>Don't get me wrong - I'm a huge fan of the internet. And social media. But we've gotten so used to having information served to us on a silver platter, we haven't paid much attention to the waiter. </p><p>The worst part is that when met with a conflicting opinion, people are no longer able to have rational conversations about their differences. It's partly due to the fact that there've been so few in-person interactions, and it's easy to say what you want from the safety of a screen. While I think most of us have realized that on our own, we can look to movies like The Social Dilemma to dig a little deeper into that. </p><p>Add to that immediate defensive stance the various "sources of truth," and you've got a recipe for disaster. Of course we're all arguing about who's right when every news outlet gives you different stats or a spin, And few consumers bother to do their due diligence by researching the statements to see if they're valid. </p><p>With school starting last week, the things I'm struggling with the most right now are masks and vaccines for kids. I refuse to argue with people through a screen. I'm happy to have a respectful conversation to hear logical opposing opinions on the matter, but so far that's not been my experience. I actually started writing this because on Insta there was a post regarding a school district deciding to give the parents the choice to let their kids opt-out of masks. Several vile comments were made, and I simply added one saying to keep in mind that most people are only trying to make the best decision for their family, not intentionally put others in harm's way, and there's no way we can know the circumstances surrounding every person's decision, so it's important to be respectful. To which someone replied that exempting their kids from masks for no reason doesn't deserve respect. Sigh. This is why I usually refrain from commenting. People are so defensive out of the gate that they're not even reading the whole statement before jumping to conclusions and flinging vitriolic diatribes.</p><p>Here's all I have to say about it. And it's neither pro/con for masks or vaccines, but highlighting another side of the story. According to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/">CDC</a>, there have been 430 COVID deaths of children in the US since January 2020. Of course this is tragic. The loss of any life is heartbreaking, particularly that of a child. However, the total average number of annual child deaths (again, all of this data is on the CDC's site) is 18,346. That actually only covers ages 1-14. The number of deaths from injury is 12,175 through age 18. So let's say roughly 5,000 child deaths a year are from factors other than injury, such as diseases like COVID. And for the sake of argument, let's pretend all 5,000 are from COVID alone. Even though we know that only 430 have been from that specific cause over 20 months, not just a year. But with this Delta variant being more dangerous for kids, let's just jump to that extreme conclusion. </p><p>Out of 80 million children in the US, their odds of dying from COVID would be .006 percent. </p><p>The leading cause of death in children isn't illness. In fact, in ages 10-14, the #1 cause is accidents, #2 is suicide, #3 is cancer and #4 is homicide. Those top 4 make up 75% of the causes of death. Then a combination of health issues (diabetes, anemia, flu, etc.) makes up most of the rest of the top 15. (Still on the CDC site.)</p><p>The amount of energy being put into this fight for masks and vaccines for something that's nowhere near as dangerous to our kids as those top 4 is astonishing to me. Well, people might say, we can't control accidents, but we can control masks and vaccines. True. Accidents will happen. But what are we doing for kids' mental health that leads to #2 and #4 on the list? Maybe we should devote more energy to those problems. Of course, that will take a lot more time and energy and work than a quick post to shame others for not wearing a mask or getting a vaccine. </p><p>On a personal note regarding the mask/vaccine debate, after doing my research, and taking into account my family's specific needs, I will wait to get us vaccinated until it's approved by the FDA. That said, I think it's fine for places to require masks if they feel it necessary, and I'm ok with complying. I think my 11YO and 14YO should wear masks to school if it makes everyone feel better, but I also think that my high schooler is old enough to do her own research and critical thinking to make the smart choice for her and her fellow students. She doesn't love wearing a mask, but understands the thought process behind it and is accepting of it. We've also talked about the vaccine, and she has come to the conclusion that she would prefer to wait to get it but would consider it if it was required for extra-curricular activities. </p><p>However, my 7YO is too young for that level of discernment. Because of that, I do believe that as his mother, I know what's best for him. He's behind in reading - not compared to his peers, but compared to where his siblings were at that age. It's so fundamental and the building block for future academic success, and I do believe the masks inhibit the kids' ability to hear/see speech patterns that build their vocabulary for reading. Not just from what I've witnessed personally, but from direct feedback from a speech pathologist. I also think that while it sounds like a good idea in theory that there were fewer illnesses during the school year, we've done our children's immune system a disservice. They need to get sick when they're young to build up their immunity. One winter with a mask isn't the end of the world. But the reality is that COVID is here to stay. It will likely take on a path similar to that of the flu, mutating every year but never fully going away. We cannot maintain this lifestyle forever. </p><p>The district we're in did not give the parents a choice, so for now, they're all wearing masks at school. My hope is that after flu season the numbers will drop enough that they can go back to being mask-free. In the meantime, just trying to remember that I'm not an expert on anything except my own family and will continue to try to remember to think for myself. </p>Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-9363766136885807432021-08-16T16:48:00.004-05:002021-08-16T16:48:40.314-05:00A New Chapter<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfv60L5y6al5zQFZayhLe3h12RQsN2RUugC3fDf9lbyrWLjokufBD6hyfNhPz8pFyt2kFtB8q_wcjtC03q_hK3hb-VU-9zp1AQbqlUoPNcHCCkSRnKuxP-q5srxDe3AIFkSOY4j14Zf4R2/s2048/sapan-patel--GkLdVcOjGE-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfv60L5y6al5zQFZayhLe3h12RQsN2RUugC3fDf9lbyrWLjokufBD6hyfNhPz8pFyt2kFtB8q_wcjtC03q_hK3hb-VU-9zp1AQbqlUoPNcHCCkSRnKuxP-q5srxDe3AIFkSOY4j14Zf4R2/s320/sapan-patel--GkLdVcOjGE-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@sapanpatel123?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Sapan Patel</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/new-beginning?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></td></tr></tbody></table><p>I started a new job a couple of weeks ago. I'd been at my old company for almost 9 1/2 years, and though it was amazing when I first got there, the owners retired and after several buyouts, it became another corporation focused on the bottom line and uninterested in the people who made it happen. </p><p>Sadly that wasn't my first experience with something like that, so when I interviewed with the company I'm at now, one of the things I told them I was most interested in was finding a job where I liked what did of course, but more importantly, finding one where I felt valued. And this place is just what I was looking for. </p><p>In fact, not only is it an ESOP, but they have 117 hours of volunteer time each year for associates to do pro bono work with personal philanthropies. I'd never heard of such a thing. I thought my old company was progressive to offer us 8 hours a year. </p><p>The evening of the same day I accepted this job, I received an email from my church with an opportunity to go on a fully-funded mission trip to Kenya! The Lord works in mysterious ways, but this wasn't mysterious in the least. Message received! The only glitch in the plan is that my passport was expired, so I've done all the things to get it pushed through. Confident that God will make a way if it's meant to be. </p><p>Regardless, just so excited after 18 terrible months (well, let's be honest - things have been going downhill for about 3 years) to finally have two really amazing things happen. And back to back!</p>Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-63594621984583691202021-07-18T18:57:00.002-05:002021-07-18T18:57:13.487-05:00"For King and Country"<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6sLE8n0Ve8zu6wlH-XZjKVDoAP3wsPIPUM6-o8gn16uReYAQkuIf5ZZku8Med1HDlQ1G8ZPkT0k5ApERpeH-91deMKoAdWZ8gOazkXQ9kB-77dUBDj-hjgj0NC7fpp-ymSA-ES2JS3MJ/s1425/FKAC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1425" data-original-width="1425" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6sLE8n0Ve8zu6wlH-XZjKVDoAP3wsPIPUM6-o8gn16uReYAQkuIf5ZZku8Med1HDlQ1G8ZPkT0k5ApERpeH-91deMKoAdWZ8gOazkXQ9kB-77dUBDj-hjgj0NC7fpp-ymSA-ES2JS3MJ/s320/FKAC.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">"Burn the Ships" album cover </span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>If ever there was a time I needed to write, it was the last year and a half. It was the most painful of my life. Unfortunately, the content is not something for the public, so I've kept it hidden. The only thing that got me through was being rooted in my identity as God's beloved child. Someday I may be able to go back and share it, but for now, I'm looking forward, and writing about the good things. As "For King and Country" says, </p><h1 style="text-align: center;">The time has come <br />to make a choice, <br />and I choose Joy. </h1><p><br /></p><p>S is a huge "For King and Country" fan, and I love them, too, so I decided to take her to their concert as her birthday present since she's turning 14 in a couple of weeks. I bought tickets online about a month ago, and last night we headed to what will always be known to the locals as Sandstone Amphitheater. </p><p>It's been a hot minute since I've been to a concert there, and when we got to the entrance, it was blocked off, and we were rerouted around to the other side along with a very long line of other cars. It had started raining, so at first, we were ok with being stuck in traffic. But as we'd left in time to arrive 30 minutes prior to the concert starting, the fact that it was 5 minutes after showtime by the time we got to the parking attendant was incredibly frustrating. As we got closer, I got nervous as I noticed everyone was paying with cash. I'd chosen to leave my purse at home and had just brought my phone, keys and ID holder which only held plastic forms of payment. When it was our turn to pay for parking, my fears were confirmed, and I couldn't keep a few tears from escaping as I apologized to S while exiting the lot and heading to the nearest gas station. She told me it was ok, we'd only miss a couple of songs. With her encouragement, I found my optimism. I said maybe there was an opening band, and we wouldn't miss them at all.</p><p>We ran to a nearby Casey's, grabbed some gum, and as I paid at the counter, the card reader gave me a chip error. <i>Nooooo</i>, I thought. The cashier said they'd been having issues with it and to try it again. I said a quick prayer and it went through. I got cash back, and we ran to the car. As we sped down the road past the line of the cars waiting for the VIP entrance where we'd mistakenly gotten stuck before, we saw a rainbow. I smiled and told S that this mishap had been a blessing because if we hadn't had to leave and come back, we would have missed seeing that colorful sign in the sky. We finally got inside the gate, parked and started the long hike to the outdoor amphitheater from the back 40. </p><p>There was one more hurdle, and it was the one I was most worried about. When I'd tried to open the email that contained the electronic tickets right before we left, I couldn't find the barcode. While we waited in the ridiculous traffic for 45 minutes, S and I tried digging through all my old email and searching for new messages, as well as calling the phone number and clicking on the help link in the confirmation email to no avail. I'd decided we'd just have to go to the ticket window when we got there. </p><p>Thankfully it had stopped raining by the time we got to the box office, and we were able to walk right up to an open window. Unfortunately, it turned out that I'd inadvertently fallen for a scam site when I bought the tickets, and they weren't valid, which was why we could never get to the barcode. "But it shows the confirmation and the seat numbers right here - Upper Section, Row W, seats 12 and 13." The guy was kind and sympathetic, but he couldn't give those seats to me. I was so embarrassed. And furious at myself since I was going to be out the money and not get to take S to see the show. As I was about to walk away, the guy said two people who were supposed to pick up their tickets never showed, and we could have their seats. I teared up in gratitude. </p><p>Walking in, I was trying to pull myself together, saying to S, "There's no crying at Sandstone!" in my best Tom Hanks impression. We noticed that there wasn't any music playing yet, so we hadn't missed anything; they'd delayed the start of the outdoor show because of the rain. My spirits were lifted and I said a quick prayer of thanks. We were quickly distracted by the merchandise stand and able to move on with our night. As we walked away with our souvenir shirts, I checked the tickets and saw that we were now going to be sitting in the lower section, 10th row, left-center. Close enough to the stage to see Joel and Luke sweat in their long-sleeved jackets! To top it off, the woman sitting next to us works in radio and introduced us to a DJ we listen to on occasion. </p><p>None of these amazing things could have happened if our night had gone the way we had planned. Throughout the show, Joel and Luke told the amazing story of how they came to America and the hardships they faced and spoke encouragement to all of us. Woven through the performance was the thread of trusting that God loves us and He's the one who's in control, all of which was made so evident through the events of the evening. It was an amazing performance. God just blessed us so much in this situation, and we felt His hand on all of it. So grateful I was able to share it with my baby girl. </p><p><br /></p>Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-50839017075985365042020-05-25T09:48:00.002-05:002020-05-25T10:01:22.544-05:00Careful & Courageous<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW2NpTVCMDwW82u-gMa0OZezWCsl_Tj9NhEziSjY3Y8hnX379J5kpX_MewIEm3k009dN4PjufG8yYP4cmK7YxnD2IRaviP4isLcZjW-wPze9fHkaT-_5rCBTV_1_MWDbpMEWRHlPV3D1tO/s1600/edgar-laureano-EBP6zepIQAM-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW2NpTVCMDwW82u-gMa0OZezWCsl_Tj9NhEziSjY3Y8hnX379J5kpX_MewIEm3k009dN4PjufG8yYP4cmK7YxnD2IRaviP4isLcZjW-wPze9fHkaT-_5rCBTV_1_MWDbpMEWRHlPV3D1tO/s320/edgar-laureano-EBP6zepIQAM-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; white-space: nowrap;">Poppies photo by </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/@elaureano?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Edgar Laureano</a><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; white-space: nowrap;"> on </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/poppies?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Unsplash</a></td></tr>
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As we enter week 11 of stay-at-home restrictions, our county is in reopening phase 2, so yesterday we were able to go to church in person. Saturday, our pastor posted a video walking through how things would look - single entry door, communion in stacked cups for one touch point, no more paper and pen for filling in connect cards - just digital sign in, etc. But before that, he talked about Deuteronomy 31:9 and how Moses told Joshua to be strong and courageous as the Jews finally were able to enter the promised land. And now, as things are reopening, and there's a full spectrum of response from insistence that it's too early, to uncertainty, to people partying at the Lake of the Ozarks this first weekend of summer, it's important to be careful but also courageous like Joshua. I think that's good advice. We can't keep living the way we have, but we certainly can't go back to how things were. And with there still being a lot of unknowns about this virus, we need to proceed cautiously, but we also shouldn't live in constant fear.<br />
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Careful and courageous.<br />
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It's the approach soldiers protecting our freedoms have taken, and as we honor those who sacrificed their lives today, Memorial Day, it seems fitting to keep it in mind for us as well.Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-77721214570817963832020-05-16T09:09:00.002-05:002020-05-16T09:09:51.463-05:00Milestones<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvErFStl-XYT1KJU3p-Hvvt7F2J2eaa26EqkutOTcF1jVOpeG3JKz9bLLR8taybUmTgqY4JEyW9nlur4UxBdcdpz4JniQgDAiU2H5NmAae_zyzzxOIglQIxfsMi6x2X8-3RfKMtH9suxKY/s1600/vidar-nordli-mathisen-Kuu5mmxkwW4-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="886" data-original-width="1600" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvErFStl-XYT1KJU3p-Hvvt7F2J2eaa26EqkutOTcF1jVOpeG3JKz9bLLR8taybUmTgqY4JEyW9nlur4UxBdcdpz4JniQgDAiU2H5NmAae_zyzzxOIglQIxfsMi6x2X8-3RfKMtH9suxKY/s400/vidar-nordli-mathisen-Kuu5mmxkwW4-unsplash.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; white-space: nowrap;">Photo by </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/@vidarnm?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Vidar Nordli-Mathisen</a><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; white-space: nowrap;"> on </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/timeline?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Unsplash</a></td></tr>
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At work I'm on our Social Committee. It's been tough to keep morale up while everyone is working remotely. This week we decided to do a fun series of throwback photos - Wednesday was high school pictures. Yesterday was photos from milestones in life. Suggestions were first job, graduation, marriage, kids, etc. Of course I immediately thought of the births of the kids. Someone posted the first time they went to a Super Bowl game. I got to thinking outside of the suggested areas. What were pivotal moments in my life?<br />
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Falling off my bunk bed and breaking my nose in 1978.<br />
Starting kindergarten in 1980.<br />
Taking my first dance class in 1980.<br />
Starting softball in 1981.<br />
Taking my first ballet class in 1982.<br />
Meeting my lifelong BFF in 1984.<br />
Royals winning the World Series in 1985.<br />
Witnessing the Challenger crash in 1986.<br />
Breaking my hand in 1986.<br />
Getting stitches in 1987.<br />
Watching the Berlin Wall come down in 1987.<br />
Winning 1st place at a national dance championship in Disneyland in 1988.<br />
Becoming best friends with the rest of my HS girls in 1988.<br />
KU winning the national championship in 1988.<br />
Accepting Jesus as my Lord in 1989.<br />
Going to my first concert - Bon Jovi - in 1989.<br />
Dad having triple bypass open heart surgery in 1990.<br />
Watching kids in my high school stage peace sit-ins opposing the Gulf War in 1990.<br />
My first kiss in 1992.<br />
Graduating high school in 1993.<br />
Meeting my future husband in 1994.<br />
Moving to Colorado for college where I knew no one in 1995.<br />
Making a new best friend in my dorm roommate in 1995.<br />
Pledging Theta in 1995.<br />
Graduating college (the first in my family) in 1997.<br />
Starting my first "real" job in 1998.<br />
Moving into an apartment with one of my HS BFFs in 1998.<br />
Meeting the SPC kids and moving into a duplex with 2 of them in 1999.<br />
Stocking up on a few things for Y2K in 1999.<br />
Celebrating a new millennium in 2000.<br />
Going back to school and finding a career in 2000.<br />
Witnessing 9/11 in 2001.<br />
Traveling to Hawaii for 3 weeks with my newest BFF from work in 2003.<br />
Being sexually assaulted in 2003.<br />
Getting married in 2005.<br />
Taking a family trip to visit my mom's home in Canada in 2006.<br />
Getting to travel to China for work in 2006.<br />
Having to put down DH's dog, Scorpio, in 2007.<br />
S being born in 2007.<br />
KU winning the national championship in 2008.<br />
Barack Obama being the first African-American to win the presidential election in 2008.<br />
Joining Facebook in 2009.<br />
Getting vaccinated for H1N1 swine flu in 2009.<br />
Buying our first house together in 2009.<br />
R being born in 2009.<br />
Starting this blog in 2009.<br />
Totaling my car in 2010.<br />
Opening an Etsy shop in 2011.<br />
Getting laid off in 2012.<br />
Having a miscarriage in 2012.<br />
V being born in 2013.<br />
Mom being diagnosed with Alzheimers in 2014.<br />
Royals winning the World Series in 2015.<br />
Finally being baptized in 2016.<br />
Taking the kids to Disneyland in 2016.<br />
Dad passing away in 2018.<br />
Having surgery in 2019.<br />
Getting our dog, Judy, 2019.<br />
Chiefs winning the Super Bowl in 2020.<br />
Going into quarantine due to COVID-19 coroanvirus in 2020.Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-49661521858837726072020-04-28T15:57:00.001-05:002020-04-28T16:00:59.767-05:00Staying Connected to Loved Ones in Memory Care During COVID-19Since the company I work for does marketing for senior living, I was able to write a post about how this is affecting me personally that they shared on their blog <a href="https://www.glynndevins.com/news/staying-connected-to-loved-ones-in-memory-care-during-covid-19/">today</a>. So hop on over and check it out.Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-28367149005966103272020-04-18T09:36:00.000-05:002020-04-18T09:41:21.302-05:00SPC<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPGd8OHLfTAKosDfv4QLQfHX9HfkGUBEzs2JW8dvDw8W2ly2JrNtGbcDJ_iMuwPGotukBHKu4WtxBq_2Xu9Fk7mr02jUeiFQiB4siyeyah-xEaotpH8Ek62HX7ElKbFBBA3UtKh0QcV7Zh/s1600/SPCCookieCake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPGd8OHLfTAKosDfv4QLQfHX9HfkGUBEzs2JW8dvDw8W2ly2JrNtGbcDJ_iMuwPGotukBHKu4WtxBq_2Xu9Fk7mr02jUeiFQiB4siyeyah-xEaotpH8Ek62HX7ElKbFBBA3UtKh0QcV7Zh/s320/SPCCookieCake.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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One of the highlights of the shelter-at-home order is that I have nothing on my schedule that prevents me from attending virtual happy hours with my SPC friends.<br />
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When I was working at my first job, I became friends with a girl, Red, whose sister worked at Garmin. There were some guys there who played volleyball, and since Red played in high school and was new to the area, her sister suggested she join them to meet people. Not wanting to go alone, she asked me to go with her. We had a blast and started hanging out with them and their friends.<br />
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The group grew to encompass 25-30 people from Garmin, K-State, Sprint, volleyball teams and people who were only connected through other members. Because there wasn't one factor that linked us all, a girl started referring to our group as the Social Planning Committee, or SPC for short.<br />
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We were all single and in our 20s. Many of them weren't from KC. We played volleyball a couple of nights a week, went out dancing on Saturday nights, and grilled out together Sundays. We became roommates with each other, took trips together, celebrated Thanksgiving Eve with drinks around the world at a local bar, went to concerts, and did life. We became each other's family.<br />
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As time went on, we went through weddings and divorces, miscarriages and death of parents. Some people moved away. A few new people joined the group. As our kids got older and more involved with activities, our schedules filled up. We saw each other less and less - a couple of times a year instead of a couple of times a week.<br />
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Despite those obstacles, over the last 20 years we've still managed to keep in touch. We set up a Facebook group page. We still hung out on Thanksgiving Eve and got together for birthdays when we could. But I felt a real sense of loss. I love my husband, kids, mom and sisters, but I still miss my SPC family.<br />
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Since the first week of shelter-in-place though, we've had a weekly Zoom happy hour. And it's been awesome. There've been 10-15 of us log in and chat for an hour or so. It's been a bright point in a storm, and I'm grateful for it.<br />
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<br />Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-3752876586483098932020-04-12T21:53:00.003-05:002020-04-12T21:53:52.223-05:00He Is Risen<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVfJ4seuJQj-ESQECGzxoK5lazdecgOLTUk265yfgnhRR44hpef9kpyhMO3MpvYbGlTJHQLeyOqGPs1JZsl8iHm2lZJkZkEideVswDab9kHZ5AHOXbBG3tTGjjmoaB535yniBWR0CEpzB8/s1600/bruno-van-der-kraan-v2HgNzRDfII-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1063" data-original-width="1600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVfJ4seuJQj-ESQECGzxoK5lazdecgOLTUk265yfgnhRR44hpef9kpyhMO3MpvYbGlTJHQLeyOqGPs1JZsl8iHm2lZJkZkEideVswDab9kHZ5AHOXbBG3tTGjjmoaB535yniBWR0CEpzB8/s320/bruno-van-der-kraan-v2HgNzRDfII-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; white-space: nowrap;">Photo by </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/@brunovdkraan?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Bruno van der Kraan</a><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; white-space: nowrap;"> on </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #767676; font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.1s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Unsplash</a></td></tr>
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<br />
A lot of my focus and posts have been on the anxiety and negativity caused by this quarantine. I've felt lonely and frustrated and stressed and irritated and tired and wanted to scream. It's created strain in my marriage, impatience in my parenting and tension at work. But there are good things. It's forced us to slow down. We used to run from activity to activity. And I do actually feel like those were good for the kids - they didn't have that many things each - but 2 activities per kid is 6 for me to shuttle them to. So not having anywhere to go on the weekends has helped me get a little more done with housekeeping (though admittedly not as much as is needed), and to have time to rest and not feel guilty. And to start to ask the question - what does God want me to learn from this?<br />
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This quarantine has been a time of seclusion and reflection for many. I've not spent as much time in the word as I should, but I do pray about it often. It's a season of waiting. It seems as though there should be a growth of some kind. Easter was today. The resurrection. Death of the old; birth of the new. I'm praying to hear God's will for me in this time, so I can emerge from this season in alignment with Him.Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-75850489095858099952020-04-03T21:25:00.002-05:002020-04-03T21:25:58.605-05:00Lord of the Flies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGnN-FiXKba8Fzuz5gUcmDXz4IBoPgCszqbA3rujUfq7FCXvLdEME81210jKyzpafln8RMlhNP_dBBeYR_DfyHYP8_c0rRgjvXqraKqOsZVUjMsXiuWgmWZg80OnTtNNgwTgm5Xaqe2fOm/s1600/Image.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGnN-FiXKba8Fzuz5gUcmDXz4IBoPgCszqbA3rujUfq7FCXvLdEME81210jKyzpafln8RMlhNP_dBBeYR_DfyHYP8_c0rRgjvXqraKqOsZVUjMsXiuWgmWZg80OnTtNNgwTgm5Xaqe2fOm/s320/Image.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Art class color wheel assignment</div>
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School started this week. Which basically meant that the kids got away with murder because I just needed them out of my hair so I could work. It's like Lord of the Flies here. They're going to have fond memories of the quarantine. "Remember when Mom didn't have the capacity to discipline us so we got to do whatever we wanted? Good times."<br />
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The house is a mess, V did no school work (the girls were good about it), the lunch menu went out the window and they may have had pizza 3 days in a row (I think?), the dog is stir crazy, my body aches from typing in weird places because I have no office/desk and none of the tables and chairs are the right size for me, we found out that our office is planning for us to work from home through the end of May, and V got stung by a wasp - that was somehow in our house on a 30 degree day?<br />
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But my anxiety has lessened amid the chaos, so feeling grateful.Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-45171156823449256642020-03-29T13:07:00.001-05:002020-03-29T13:07:45.884-05:00FunIn the gloom and doom, we're trying to find ways to have fun. Even with the rain, the dog needs to go for a walk, so when it was mostly dry, I took her and V around the block. He rode his scooter, and along the way noticed all the birds chirping. He said, "Mom! I can here that hoo-hee bird all the way at our house!" He was talking about the blue jay. So cute.<br />
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A little while later he said, "I need to pet Judy. My hands hurt from riding my scooter. (From the vibrations of the sidewalk bumps) She's soft. This is why I wanted to get a dog!" Pretty sure that wasn't your original need, but glad it's working out for you, buddy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTph1LVoB6NecPOWunC4BVIzJnhwo8NSJZrph4DLl5ftYbeB6pGGK3w6nzQedpC3kJ4kzeUIpRTRPF-r1_9_ke0uK_Ht7ycBdcUaegEN_9S6RbgzKHmRHigEDvJHewd4tC5I5YcqzwICdQ/s1600/Image+%25285%2529.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTph1LVoB6NecPOWunC4BVIzJnhwo8NSJZrph4DLl5ftYbeB6pGGK3w6nzQedpC3kJ4kzeUIpRTRPF-r1_9_ke0uK_Ht7ycBdcUaegEN_9S6RbgzKHmRHigEDvJHewd4tC5I5YcqzwICdQ/s320/Image+%25285%2529.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Side note: I haven't posted yet about getting our dog! She's a black lab mix who we rescued in September. We had planned to change her name, but V called her Judy about 500x in the first hour she was home, so there was no going back. She just turned 1 a couple of weeks ago. She chews on EVERYTHING, so she has to stay in the kitchen. (We've lost 2 dining chairs already.) She usually was in her kennel while we were at work/school, but now that we're home all the time, we leave her out, but then she whines if we're not in the kitchen with her. And she's figured out how to open the gates, so we have a bit of a struggle on work days. We need to install a fence, but are trying to be frugal right now just in case. Overall, she's great and we love having her as an addition to our family.<br />
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Speaking of our family, I haven't updated the blog Cast of Characters in a long time, so I did that today. It still said:<br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">S</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Our 9-year-old – spunky, contemplative and sassy.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;" />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Baby R</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 16px;">Our tenderhearted 7-year-old loves dancing, princesses and dreaming of ruling the free world.</span><br />
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<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<b>Cinco</b></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
Our son. He's a big boy now, and all of the highs and lows of being 3 years old.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">It's funny because my dad is the only one who called V Cinco. I've updated the sidebar to say V now since that's what we use for his initials when labeling things. Crazy to think of all the things that have happened since I last changed it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: small;">One of those things was that the Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV. It's been FIFTY years since we've been to the Super Bowl. It was crazy and awesome and I'm still somewhat in awe that it was real. We got our new Super Bowl bags yesterday, and it was sunny and gorgeous out, though still muddy, so we played on the driveway. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times;">Today we participated in online church for the second week which is so awesome. If you are looking for a place/way to worship, you should check it out: </span><br />
<a href="https://foundrychurchkc.com/">https://foundrychurchkc.com/</a><br />
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After that R was doing an assignment for her music teacher - tomorrow is when remote learning officially starts for us, but some of the teachers have been keeping in touch with activities to keep the kids busy. She was supposed to make her own music video of her singing along to a song she likes. After she finished, she asked S if she wanted to do one with her. They were so sweet together, I had to record a few seconds. The girls are in a stage where they fight a lot, but have fun together a lot, so trying to capture those moments when I can.<br />
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Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-39619028066681404602020-03-25T22:40:00.000-05:002020-03-25T22:40:08.466-05:00The Light In the Storm<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "segoe ui" , "segoe ui web (west european)" , "segoe ui" , , , "roboto" , "helvetica neue" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "segoe ui" , "segoe ui web (west european)" , "segoe ui" , , , "roboto" , "helvetica neue" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">What an emotional roller coaster it's been. Last week felt like a month passed between Monday and Friday. The weather was cold and rainy most of last week. Yesterday, the Kansas City metro was directed to shelter in place to continue helping flatten the curve of the outbreak. As an extrovert, I've struggled with the lack of human contact. I'm loving being with my kids more, but it's been incredibly stressful. I've never been good at balancing working and being a mom, and now that I have to do all of it in the same space, I'm floundering. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "segoe ui" , "segoe ui web (west european)" , "segoe ui" , , , "roboto" , "helvetica neue" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "segoe ui" , "segoe ui web (west european)" , "segoe ui" , , , "roboto" , "helvetica neue" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">That said, I know I'm incredibly lucky to have a job still, and one that I can do from home. And even luckier that the same is true for DH. So many we know are out of work or struggling with limits on their work options. So I'm really pushing myself to find the silver linings that coincide with the frustrations. One of them is the opportunity to do devotions with the kids at lunch each day. I've had a lot of anxiety lately, and I'm struggling to lean in to God and trust and let go. It's certainly fodder for a season of growth for me. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "segoe ui" , "segoe ui web (west european)" , "segoe ui" , , , "roboto" , "helvetica neue" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "segoe ui" , "segoe ui web (west european)" , "segoe ui" , , , "roboto" , "helvetica neue" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">This photo I took last week is a great illustration. This church is across the way from our neighborhood. There have been other times when the spire has been highlighted by the sun after a storm, but I'm usually driving or in a rush to get somewhere. A blessing of this time is that I'm out walking more and have very little time constraint. I was able to stop and take this picture. Thankful for the opportunity to capture a peaceful moment in this time of chaos.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "segoe ui" , "segoe ui web (west european)" , "segoe ui" , , , "roboto" , "helvetica neue" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-90759262619007680632020-03-20T08:48:00.003-05:002020-03-20T09:21:34.445-05:00The Big ValleySo ironically, the time I needed to be writing I didn't. The largest valley of my life started in the January of 2018 with my dad having congestive heart failure. His kidneys finally gave out from that, and he started dialysis. After three weeks in the hospital, he was released to rehab and after three weeks there they let us know he couldn't go back to living in his apartment alone. We had to scramble to find him a senior living home in a few days. Luckily he could handle an independent living place. Unfortunately, the only dialysis times available at first were 5am Monday-Wednesday-Friday. So I was up at 4am to take him for a few weeks until he was able to get a different time slot. Thankfully by then he was also strong enough to drive himself since in April, DH had hernia surgery.<br />
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It should have been a simple outpatient procedure, but due to the opioid crisis, the pain meds he was prescribed were less than he needed, and he ended up having a vasovagel episode at home resulting in my having to call 911 while he was unconscious. After three days in the hospital, he finally came home. The silver lining to his experience was a greater appreciation for the three C-sections I had.<br />
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That was followed in May by my own trip to the Minute Clinic due to severe abdominal pains. They were concerned it could be appendicitis so they refused to do a diagnosis and sent me on to Urgent Care. FYI, Urgent Care will also not be able to help in that scenario, you must go to the Emergency Room. I tell you that to save you the other two co-pays if you're in the same situation. The fun part was that we saw our favorite ER doc who usually was there to check Dad in, but this time it was me. Basically, it was a wasted trip. It was just stress.<br />
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Oddly enough that wasn't our last appendicitis scare for the year, though the one we had in the fall was legit. This time, it was DH, so he had his second abdominal surgery in a less than six months. He had been training for the Marine Corps Marathon and was devastated by this setback. But he had much better pain meds, and bounced back much more quickly so was able to get back on track.<br />
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October 24, 2018 my dad passed away.<br />
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It was strange because he'd been so sick in the spring but he was doing so well over the summer - using his walker to come to the kids' activities, enjoying life at the senior community. When he went to the hospital on October 22, it was because he'd been at dialysis and his blood pressure was too low for them to let him leave. He still felt good - in typical fashion, giving the ambulance driver directions on the best way to the hospital. They gave him a blood transfusion, which wasn't anything new. When I went to see him Wednesday night, he was crabby, but I thought he was just tired. I kissed him goodbye and told him I'd see him in the morning. When I got home, DH and I were talking about his upcoming trip to Washington, DC Friday when he was finally going to get to run the Marine Corps Marathon. And then 20 minutes later, the hospital called. The nurse said they had started chest compressions and asked me if we had talked about what his wishes were. I said,"No, stop - he has a DNR!" She frantically told them to stop. I couldn't believe it. He'd been in that hospital for 3 days on this visit, but had been so many times over the years that several of the staff members knew him. Regardless, he was an old man - wouldn't that have been the first thing to check? He would have been so pissed if they had brought him back.<br />
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Anyway, DH was going to cancel his trip, but I told him that was ridiculous - he'd been through so much this year he had to go. Besides, my sister was in NYC and still had to fly home to STL before coming back here so it wasn't like the funeral was going to happen for a few days. He didn't want to leave me, but the upside to having a parent who's been on the verge of death most of your life is that while it's still terrible when it happens, you aren't as unprepared as someone who hasn't been through that. DH completing the marathon was the bright light we needed in deep valley we were in. And he was my rock when he got home and we had the funeral.<br />
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Things went back to a new normal, though for Thanksgiving we just went out for Mexican since it was the first holiday without Dad. Then December 22, my father-in-law had a stroke. Luckily, DH and my mother-in-law were with him. They were all helping DH's Aunt P move. My FIL and Aunt P's boyfriend were following each other, and her boyfriend noticed that my FIL pulled the car over. He came back to check on him, and when my FIL said he couldn't move his right side, he called 911. Luckily he was able to quickly be treated at the nearest hospital to prevent the stroke effects from getting worse. Then they decided to move him to a hospital downtown to have his carotid artery cleaned out.<br />
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DH waited til they got settled in, then ran out to get some lunch. On his way back, he was sitting at a stoplight, and a truck coming the opposite direction came across the median and hit him head on. The driver had some kind of episode and passed out behind the wheel. Thankfully, DH had minor injuries, but the brand new Explorer we'd only had for 6 months was totaled.<br />
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And because we needed an exclamation point to finish off the year, I threw out my back for the first time in my life December 30.<br />
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I kept thinking things would turn around after the first of the year. Surely 2019 can't be as bad as 2018? Unfortunately, it took some time for that to happen. The accident happened on the Missouri side of the city, and they took over a month to get the police report completed. It ended up requiring a lawsuit to get enough money to cover most of the bills we incurred which dragged out for a couple of months.<br />
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In the meantime, I'd started having really heavy periods the previous summer, and they'd just gotten worse and worse. To the point that I had to leave work one day in January. So finally went to the doctor about it. She thought I might have a polyp so had me come back for a possible in-office procedure. Unfortunately, it wasn't just one small one, she saw 2 very large ones that almost were the size of my uterus. So in April it was my turn for surgery. She found another polyp while she was in there and did an ablation to help keep them from coming back. So far so good!<br />
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Things (kind of?) started getting better after that. It's a weird time right now, of course. Counting our blessings.<br />
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<br />Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-33993660780614908412020-03-17T23:07:00.003-05:002020-03-17T23:07:37.357-05:00St. Patrick's DayWe started the day with a bit of normal. Our tradition is to have Lucky Charms for breakfast on St. Patrick's Day. Mixed it up a little by trying the chocolate kind.<br />
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We added something new since I'm working from home. We had devotional time at lunch. The verse we discussed was Psalm 119:105<br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.</span></span></h2>
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And we finished the day with another tradition for dinner, corned beef and cabbage. I'm not a big fan, but DH loves it. Luckily, R liked it enough to eat a full serving, too.<br />
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Unfortunately, things took a big twist after dinner. Governor Laura Kelly announced that all K-12 schools in the state of Kansas would be closed for the remainder of the school year.<br />
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I'm trying really hard to understand how this will work. The kids who have special education needs won't have the help they need. The health care workers and hourly wage workers won't be able to have care for their kids. The seniors won't have prom or graduation.<br />
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Holding on to the verse from today. Definitely need to seek Him in this crazy time.<br />
Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-50917491606094872182020-03-14T22:31:00.000-05:002020-03-14T22:31:07.233-05:00Pre-Apocalypse?I imagine there are many out there who've fallen away from blogging who will be back at it in the days to come. Life is surreal right now for most of the world. COVID-19 is the word of the day. It's a coronavirus like SARS, but a different strain. Only this one made its way to the US. At the moment, the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html">death rate</a> is roughly the same as the regular flu (2.5%). And, like the regular flu, is more dangerous for the elderly or those with compromised immune systems. Unlike the regular flu, so far it doesn't have as dangerous implications for children. Which is good. The tricky thing is that this strain is contagious before you have symptoms. Which has led to worldwide panic.<br />
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In preparation for shutting everything down, people have bought all the toilet paper. No one really knows why, but it's made for great memes.<br />
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<a href="https://says.com/my/fun/best-memes-and-responses-to-toilet-paper-crisis">Photo credit</a><br />
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I don't want to make light of this virus. But I'm much more afraid of how this will impact our economy. My husband and I have both been told to work from home - him for 3 weeks, me indefinitely. Our kids' school district is on spring break this coming week, but will probably shut down the week after. We have the luxury of working from home, and using some PTO if necessary. Not everyone is in the same situation.<br />
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Anyway, we'll see how it all goes. On the up side, hopefully I'll be better about making time to blog, Lots has happened since my last post. Wash your hands, don't touch your face, and stop hoarding TP.Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-17645529979759747572017-01-04T22:39:00.002-06:002017-01-04T22:39:47.255-06:00#BoyMomLife<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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V is at such a fun age right now. Full of wonder, curiosity... sass. One morning I was changing his diaper, and he had an erection, which happens regularly. He noticed it and said, "Mommy, my penis is standing up!" I told him he was right, and then he asked me why. Now, as a mom, I've spent many visits to the bathroom with the girls asking me about my period and how and why and as a woman, I was able to answer those questions adequately. But when V started asking how and why about his erections, I had to play the "Ask your dad" card. I mean, I understand it to a certain extent, but this is something DH is clearly better equipped to handle. So he scooted off to our bathroom where DH was getting undressed to shower, and said, "Daddy, my penis is standing up!" Then he looked at me and said, "Daddy's penis is standing down."<br />
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On Christmas Eve he came in with his mask on.<br />
Me: Hi, Batman!<br />
V: I'm V!<br />
Me: Yes, you are.<br />
V: You're Jennifer.<br />
Me: That's right! Who's Daddy?<br />
V: Babe. <br />
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Tonight when I was snuggling him at bedtime, he realized I was wearing a t-shirt instead of my work blouse. He asked me why, and I told him that I was wearing it for pajamas. "Mama, that's not 'jamas." I told him I didn't have any pajama tops, and he said maybe Santa would be bring me some. "But Mama, you have to be nice. You can't be naughty." Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-45888464370493194982016-11-13T23:44:00.003-06:002016-11-13T23:50:39.369-06:00The Election Is OverThe one thing that made this miserable process worthwhile this year was that I learned a lot more about our system of government and how brilliant our forefathers were. For many years I've thought we should get rid of the electoral college because we have mass communication now which was one of the major factors in the need for creating it to begin with. But it was brought to my attention that we still need the electoral collage because if we just used the popular vote, the people in California, Texas, New York and Florida, who comprise the bulk of the US, would speak for all of us and wouldn't truly represent the entire republic.<br />
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The girls had a very narrow lens through which they viewed the election until I explained to them that it was very complicated and there was more to voting than just the candidate. Baby R said that in the end, she was kind of glad Hillary Clinton lost because she wants to be the first woman president. You go, baby girl.<br />
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On a personal level, the latest in our family history has been that Mom spent the weekend in the hospital. She had elevated liver enzymes and when the checked her in the E.R., she had gall stones, and by the time they moved her to the ICU, she was septic. They flooded her system with heavy doses of antibiotics, and she's made a dramatic recovery. She was speaking actual words today, some of which she strung into a complete, logical sentence, though it was out of context. But so much better than she's been in months.<br />
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Things were quite hectic this weekend since in addition to spending time at the hospital with Mom, we celebrated Baby R's 7th birthday. We saw the movie Trolls which was ok. Great music, so-so story. R is at such a fun age. She's lost so many teeth she looks like a jack-o-lantern. She often refuses to wear a coat because she has invisible fur, so says she doesn't need one. The other day when I picked her and S up from school, she put her arms in front of her like a zombie and repeatedly walked into a pole like a wind-up toy. She did an "About Me" project and one of the things she wants to be when she grows up is a boss. She wants to own a company that invents the fountain of youth, basically, and it will be several stories tall, and I will get to live on the top floor with her. Sadly, she takes after her clumsy mother and was the first of the kiddos to break a bone. She broke the tip of her ring finger doing a handstand in the living room.<br />
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And then there's Cinco. I asked him what cereal he wanted for breakfast the other day, and he said he wanted circles. I thought he meant Cheerios, but he meant Oatmeal Squares. Square, circles, a shape of some kind. Another misnomer he's been using lately is calling the Amazon tablet the Panzon. At dinner one night, he wanted macaroni. I told him he had to clean
his plate first since he still had a lot of food. He put it all on the
table and said, "I'm done, mama!" He's become intrigued by the mole on my inner elbow. He told me he wants one. He's going to buy it, and he wants the one he buys to be blue. He's going to buy it at the super store. But when we went to Super Target the other day he didn't want to be there - he wanted to go to the Batman Target. He also has started locking the back door of the car when DH gets home with him. DH told him to unlock it NOW the other day. He did and then DH told him it wasn't funny. To which Cinco replied in his 3YO voice with pinched thumb and finger, "It's a wittle funny." Such a stinker! But also such a sweetheart. He listed off all our family and friends the other night at bedtime and then said, "I wuv all my people." He turned 3 in September - where has the time gone!?! We have no more babies in our house. So having a new nephew who was born in July has been a fun blessing. (Cinco's bday was the day after we came back from Disneyland - need to do a whole post about that.) <br />
<br />
S also had a birthday since my last post - yikes I'm slacking. She's 9. Nine, people. Half of her life in our house is over. (Insert deer in headlights emoji here.) She's amazing and frustrating, and I love her to pieces. She's taking piano lessons again this year, and has begun doing gymnastics which she really enjoys. For her birthday party we did an art theme and painted mini canvasses, decorated cupcakes and painted rocks for Lenexa Rocks. She wanted to have lunch with my mom since she couldn't come to our house for dinner with the rest of the family. We went to the facility and ate pasta. Mom has to have help eating now and didn't speak much, and I don't know
whether or not she recognized us, but she seemed happy seeing S there.
Thankful for our daughter's beautiful heart.<br />
<br />
A few other random notes to summarize life since my last post:<br />
• My SIL moved back to KC from Cali - yay! Love having her and my niece and nephew close by. <br />
• Summer Olympics. Yessss!<br />
• S started 4th grade, and Baby R started 1st grade.<br />
• We celebrated my FIL's 70th bday, though I missed it because I was sick for about 6 weeks. <br />
• Pokemon Go was all the rage.<br />
• The Dakota Access Pipeline protests <br />
• Earthquakes in Oklahoma <br />
• My company bought our local competitor, so we are now in 3 buildings here. We also bought a company in Maryland.<br />
• Crazy clowns terrorized the country this fall.<br />
• DH ran a full marathon. He finished tied for last with 2 other people. But he did it. So proud of him for not giving up!<br />
• I rented Inglorious Bastards. Which is not the same as Inglourious Basterds.<br />
• The girls learned how to play Monopoly. As banker, S kept saying, "And don't forget to pay the lady!" Perhaps we watch too much Storage Wars.<br />
• Hurricane Matthew<br />
• S got to go to iFly.<br />
• The Chicago Cubs won the World Series. For real!<br />
• October and November (so far) have been unseasonably warm. Which has been great except for the horrific oak mites! Which prompted me to write this parody of 'I Love Paris in the Springtime," a la Meg Ryan in French Kiss:<br />
I hate pollen in the springtime.<br />
I hate leaf mold in fall. <br />
I hate mosquitoes in the summertime. <span class="text_exposed_show"><br /> But I hate oak mites most of all. </span><br />
• For Halloween, I was Joyce from Stranger Things. With the rest of the cast done by coworkers, we won for best group contest at the office. On the homefront, S was Batgirl, R was Wonder Woman and Cinco was Batman. But he was too hot to wear any of the outfit except the mask, part of the time. DH was our neighbor, ha ha.<br />
<br />
<br />Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-9341654228866850692016-07-08T23:37:00.001-05:002016-07-08T23:37:38.060-05:00Mothers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
As a mom, a good night's sleep is always fleeting. Even if the kids don't wake me up, dreamland can be elusive because I'm worried about their general health and safety. <br />
<br />
But this week, between more videos of <a href="http://www.local10.com/news/video-captures-shocking-kidnapping-attempt">kids being snatched right in front of their parents</a>, and <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/06/us/baton-rouge-shooting-alton-sterling/index.html?sr=fbcnni070716baton-rouge-shooting-alton-sterling0424AMVODtopLink&linkId=26290972">civilians</a> and <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/08/us/philando-castile-alton-sterling-protests/index.html?sr=fbcnni070816philando-castile-alton-sterling-protests0110PMVODtopVideo&linkId=26339902">police</a> being shot, I couldn't fall asleep last night. Once I did, I kept waking up, imagining my children as the victims of each of these horrific events. Our country is spinning out of control. If we don't do something - and soon - a civil war will result. But what? How do we change something so subtly infused into our culture that it permeates every fabric of our lives without us even knowing it? <br />
<br />
And then I pictured a line of women, alternating black and white, marching down the street together. Every one of the victims and assailants in these tragedies has a mother. And I imagine all of them are grieving today. This fight will not be won by legislation - the government has spent the last 150 or so years tackling the legal side, yet still we struggle. The only way for our actions to change is for our hearts to change.<br />
<br />
As mothers, what if we reached out to each other, faced our racial preconceptions head on, and formed a bond? And then that bond grew to friendship and love? And we passed that love to our children who we introduced to each other and helped them to develop their own bonds? And that love grew?<br />
<br />
“Motherhood: All love begins and ends there.” – Robert Browning Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-30582225204782452332016-05-03T21:19:00.000-05:002016-05-03T23:00:23.676-05:00Splash<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
I'm going to be baptized on Mother's Day. Part of the preparations include sharing my testimony. This will be the long version; I'll cut it down to a reasonable length for the ceremony.<br />
<br />
As a small child, my family attended a Presbyterian church. Sometimes my sister and I went to Sunday school. I remember wearing dresses, learning the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments, playing on the playground, seeing Bible stories enacted on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flannelgraph">flannelgraphs</a> (I'm dating myself here, so included a link for reference) and the smell of wax melting when they made multi-colored crayons from the leftover bits. (They were way ahead of the times, Pinterest.)<br />
<br />
Sometimes we went to the main service with my parents. I remember the cushioned pews in the enormous sanctuary, beautiful stained glass windows, signing the attendance book, passing the collection plate and communion plates, singing hymns - my favorite part - and my dad dozing off. And at Easter, they'd bring in a live lamb.<br />
<br />
My mom had been raised Methodist and my dad had been raised Baptist. He
had had negative experiences in the church as a child, and only went to
appease my mom who didn't want us growing up as heathens. My parents flipped houses, so we moved a lot when I was growing up - 13 houses for me. After we moved to a different suburb that was further away from that church, we went less and less often, until we became <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=chreaster">Chreasters</a>. By the time I was in 5th grade, we didn't even go on Christmas and Easter anymore.<br />
<br />
When I started 8th grade, I was blessed to form my circle of lifelong best friends. It included six girls whose faiths were Nazarene, Catholic, Mormon and non-denominational. I began attending church with all of them. It helped me to learn more about my faith, ask questions about religions and investigate what I really believed. <br />
<br />
Two years later, at a retreat with two of those friends, I answered an alter call and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I love how my church I attend now explains it. I believe:<br />
God is real.<br />
I am wrong.<br />
God is right.<br />
Jesus is life.<br />
Life is better<br />
because I believe.<br />
<br />
At the time, it didn't change anything in my life too dramatically. My parents gave me a Bible for Christmas which I read in its entirety a couple of times as is evidenced by the well-worn red leather cover. I continued praying and attending church with my friends.<br />
<br />
When I moved away to college, I ended up going to a Methodist church occasionally. It was ok, but I never felt like it was a place I belonged.<br />
<br />
I came back to Kansas City when I graduated and began "church shopping" with two of my best friends. We ended up attending an Assemblies of God church for awhile. It was out of my comfort zone - speaking in tongues, a lot of "Amens!" and dramatics. But the sermons were incredible. One that stuck with me was about tithing. I'd been very cynical about tithing and hearing about churches who misused the money, and ministers who stole it, so I gave a little bit but more as a token, than anything else. But the pastor gave a sermon that got me to understand it differently (that's a long post for another day). I also made some new friends there through which I began attending a Bible study at a local coffee shop.<br />
<br />
After a year or so, I decided to move on to a different church, but kept attending the Bible study. The new church I found was non-denominational. It was the first place I felt plugged in and really a part of. I became part of the 20-somethings small group, volunteered in the food pantry, nursery and with the cleaning crew, joined activities like caroling, etc. It was during this time that my relationship with God was at its strongest. I felt His presence in my daily life and found myself in constant prayer - in the shower, in the car, just going about my day. There was a time when I felt as if Jesus was sitting in the corner of my room hanging out with me.<br />
<br />
When my husband and I got married, I moved into his house which was about 30 minutes away from my church home. I kept going for a few months, but it was difficult. Eventually I stopped going. I began attending the Presbyterian church I'd gone to as a child on occasion as it was nearby, but slowly the constant presence of the Lord faded.<br />
<br />
A couple of years later, we moved to another suburb. We had a 2-year-old and one on the way. After our second daughter turned 1, I started looking for a church nearby. The first time we attended, I knew Cedar Ridge was our new church home. Their mission statement is Love God, Love People, Serve the World. And they DO it. They don't sit and talk about what Christians should do, they go out and do it. Our pastor is one of the founders of <a href="http://www.whatifthechurch.org/">What If The Church</a>.<br />
<br />
The last six years have been tumultuous for my family. My husband and I found out I was pregnant on Christmas Eve one year, and the next week, we both found out we were going to be laid off. That pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and moved into a facility. My father sold their house and moved into an apartment and then had a heart attack and spent two weeks in the hospital. We had a third child; being a mother is greatest blessing I've ever experienced, but it's also full of stress and incredibly exhausting. My husband has been working on his master's degree off and on since our oldest was born. I've let myself be distracted by these worldly things and lost my heavenward focus. But every time something terrible happened, God was there anyway. And I felt a peace and a joy in the midst of whatever calamity we were facing.<br />
<br />
And as I find to be true more often than not, every time I read the Scriptures, something speaks to me in a new way. Lately, verses about baptism have caught my attention. And I would think, I should really get baptized. But. But I have a lot on my plate. But I need to lose weight before I get dunked in front of the whole church. But DH might have to go out of town for work for 6 months. The list goes on.<br />
<br />
A few months ago, one of my good friends at church was baptized, and it felt like God nudging me. <i>She has a lot going on, too, you know.</i> And then last week, it hit me what my real issue was: I was afraid to be baptized. Not because I was ashamed of acknowledging Jesus as my Lord and Savior, but because I didn't want Him to be ashamed of me. As soon as I get it together and stop sinning, I'll be worthy of baptism. I relate closely to Paul on a daily basis: "I<span class="verse v15 selected" data-usfm="ROM.7.15"><span class="content"> do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." (Rom 7:15) I'm a hypocrite.</span></span><br />
<span class="verse v15 selected" data-usfm="ROM.7.15"><span class="content"><br /></span></span>
<span class="verse v15 selected" data-usfm="ROM.7.15"><span class="content">But I'm never going to have it all together. And God knows that. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">He wants us to be authentic; it's ok not to be ok. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." </span><span style="font-size: small;">(Matt 11:28) </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">So I'm done waiting for that day to come when I'm good enough. It's time to take the plunge. </span><br />
<br />Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-71957376488366434372016-02-18T22:39:00.003-06:002016-02-18T22:51:36.276-06:00PlaguesIt all started the Sunday after my last post. Baby R started throwing up in the middle of the night. By lunch the next day, S was also sick. Thankfully that wrapped up by Tuesday evening. However, Wednesday morning, Baby R said her head was itchy. DH and I, having had zero experience with lice, initially dismissed it as a stalling tactic and wanting another stay home day. However, after looking more thoroughly, calling the school nurse, calling the pediatrician, posting on FB for advice and, of course, Googling, we confirmed she did, in fact, have lice.<br />
<br />
DH ran to Walgreens to grab a box of RID. I sent S to school with the neighbor. Got Baby R shampooed and combed out in about 2 hours. Then, per school protocol, sent her to class. I took the rest of the day off so I could take everything in the house that could be washed to the laundromat and do 10 loads of laundry at once, get my car cleaned, bag
everything in the house that couldn't be washed and put it in quarantine in
the spare bedroom, and vacuum the carpets and the couches and under all
the furniture.<br />
<br />
In the last four years, our experience has always been that whenever there was a case of lice at the school, a note was sent home to let everyone know they need to be on the lookout. FYI, this year, the CDC downgraded lice from a health risk, to an inconvenience. If you've ever had to deal with this pesky bug, you know that's an understatement. Our school district, as well as others nearby, no longer notify anyone -
not even the teacher of the classroom in which the afflicted child
attends.<br />
<br />
I checked everyone else in the family every night and every morning. Each night, I spent an hour combing out R's head to get rid of the nits just like the instruction video showed. Each morning when Baby R woke up, I had her get undressed in her bed and go straight to the bathroom to put on clean clothes while I stripped her bed and washed the sheets. And yet, Saturday morning, as I was checking S before taking her to cheerleading, I found she was infected.<br />
<br />
DH had stocked up on RID after the initial discovery, so I immediately treated S. She has a tender head and hair that's so long it's almost down to her rear end. Several friends recommended professional lice removal services after my
initial inquiry, but I couldn't fathom the idea of paying $90/hour for
someone else to do it, regardless of how daunting a task treating S was going to be. But after spending 3 hours combing out her hair, I simply couldn't get the nits out. I called Combers and they were able to get us in right away.<br />
<br />
While there, I asked them to check me, and I, too, had it. Obviously, I was going to have to have them treat me as well. DH is amazing at many things, but this was a bit outside of his skill set. Thankfully, Combers just had a flat fee instead of an hourly rate.<br />
<br />
Sunday morning when I was combing out R's hair, there were dozens more nits than there had been the previous few days! Clearly another one had hatched; R had scratched one spot so much she had a scab. I felt terrible; clearly I wasn't doing a good enough job myself. I bit the bullet and took her to Combers, too.<br />
<br />
The woman there was very supportive and told me I'd done the best I could. I found out that part of the reason I was having so much trouble was
that the comb that is provided in the OTC products is inferior and only
gets about 50% of the nits out. I purchased one from the salon, and it
was much more effective. I also found out that the RID is a pesticide. Not something I would have used on my kiddos had I known!<br />
<br />
I continued checking the boys twice a day, combing out the girls nightly, and having DH comb mine. He was a trooper about doing it, and I bit my tongue through the painful pulling. Unfortunately, a few days later, I found nits on DH, so he treated his hair with RID, and I added him to the combout routine. I thought we'd made it without Cinco getting it, but unfortunately, he finally had it, too. I wasn't going to treat a toddler with the pesticides in RID, and I wasn't going to spend $120 on professionals either, so we just shaved his head. My poor baby!<br />
<br />
We girls had a follow-up visit 9 days after our treatment, and we were all clean. Hallelujah! Finally, it seemed life would be back to normal.<br />
<br />
And then the next morning, Cinco had a fever and we had to keep him home for 2 days.<br />
<br />
I'm happy to say that we had our second follow up visit at Combers this week and it also came back clean, so I'm optimistic that the plagues have finally ended at our house.<br />
<br />
(This was not a sponsored post, but I'm including a link to <a href="http://comberskc.com/">Combers</a> website because I thought they did an amazing job and would recommend them to anyone unfortunate enough to have to deal with lice. They also have a lot of good information on the site regarding myths and facts about lice.)<br />
<br />Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-26396268827967057002016-01-21T20:30:00.002-06:002016-01-21T20:30:46.392-06:00Little ManThese are notes from the last six months that I never got around to posting. Sigh. Added a few new ones at the end as well.<br />
<br />
Cinco is adorable in his uniqueness. S loved to hold my ears when she was nursing/snuggling before bed. Cinco likes to hold my hair, and unlike most babies, he doesn't yank on it. Usually. :)<br />
<br />
If he's lying on the floor drinking a bottle and near a wall, he'll crawl his feet up the wall so his bum is up in the air. Silly boy.<br />
<br />
He started putting his head down on the floor when he crawls like a bulldozer, though usually with his head turned so his ear is what is rubbing on the carpet. Our dog used to do that when he had an itchy ear. But buddy, you have hands, not paws. What are you doing?<br />
<br />
He took his first steps when he was 11 months old.<br />
<br />
He's not doing much signing, but he does say "mama," "dada," "baba," and "mi" for milk.<br />
<br />
He waved bye-bye for the first time while DH was in Germany.<br />
<br />
He had his 1-year checkup today and he's<br />
<br />
<br />
Skip ahead to August<br />
<br />
He's singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.<br />
<br />
He stomps his foot and says "No!" when he's angry.<br />
<br />
He holds his legs so you can't take his pants off when he doesn't want his diaper changed - smart kid.<br />
<br />
When I carry him downstairs, I say "boom" as we go down each step - "boom, boom, boom, boom."<br />
So when he wants to go downstairs, he says "BoomBoom."<br />
<br />
He started calling his blankie "KiKi" so the other day when he wanted to take his blanket downstairs, he said, "KiKi BoomBoom." I briefly wondered if we were in a brothel. <br />
<br />
He loves to snuggle and he reaches his little arms as far as he can to get around to your biceps and squeezes as hard as he can to hug. <br />
<br />
He tells me to "Sit!" when he wants to keep rocking before bed.<br />
<br />
He says "foffee" for coffee, "hee haw" for horse, "bo-bots" for robots, "hoopsy" for oopsy, and now he calls blankies "gankies." <br />
<br />
He pretends to be a kitty and meows.<br />
<br />
He holds a cracker with his thumb and his first two fingers.<br />
<br />
When his hands are dirty, he makes fists and picks up his cup to drink.<br />
<br />
He's slept in his big boy bed off and on a few times always climbing back in his crib in the middle of the night. He finally slept in it for a whole night this week!<br />
<br />
He's become an expert at stalling at bedtime, just like his sisters. <br />
Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-71153665209054326812016-01-03T23:17:00.000-06:002016-01-03T23:17:40.123-06:00Happy New YearSo many things that were great from last year I never got around to posting about. I'm hoping to remedy that this year. But after talking to people who read our Christmas letter that summarized 2015, I realized how much we really went through, and cut myself a break for slacking on blogging. I definitely spent most of the year getting by with Dory's motto to "Just Keep Swimming" and focusing only on the task at hand. So here's to a mellower 2016!Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-56406298719767160982015-11-02T09:30:00.000-06:002015-11-02T09:30:01.123-06:00One of Those Days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
End of daylight savings wasn't as bad as it could have been. Halloween landing on the Saturday night before worked out well. Still, Cinco was up at 6am on Sunday, which explains why a lot of what happened yesterday, happened.<br />
<br />
While eating breakfast, he slipped off the chair and hit his cheekbone and bruised it.<br />
<br />
At church, he pushed the "Call For Help" button on the elevator. The fire department came.<br />
<br />
In the playroom after service, he slipped and fell and got a bloody nose.<br />
<br />
We decided to leave before anything else happened and walked over to the park where he promptly fell and scraped his cheek climbing on a retaining wall.<br />
<br />
And then got a second bloody nose when he fell on the playground equipment.<br />
<br />
We got home, and while I was putting him down for his nap, Baby R decided to "color" with stamp pads and got ink all over her legs, hands, and in places on her arms and stomach, as well as the kitchen floor.<br />
<br />
And then I ran away. But I came back. And we had lots of snuggles that made it all worth while.<br />
<br />
That, and then the Royals won the World Series for the first time in 30 years. And suddenly it became the Best. Day. Ever. Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7484590598029250440.post-52046072219183859692015-08-27T20:50:00.002-05:002015-08-27T20:50:55.429-05:00So This Happened...<br />
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My cell phone rang yesterday afternoon while I was at work. I didn't recognize the number, so let it go. When it beeped a couple of minutes later to let me know I had a voicemail, I went ahead and listened to it. It was R's kindergarten teacher calling to tell me R had cut her own hair at school. The teacher went on to say she wasn't sure when it had happened, she hadn't seen it happen but had just found the hair sitting in her spot. She asked R about it, and R said she didn't know and thought maybe she had pulled it out. The teacher told her it looked like it was cut with scissors. R said she didn't remember but maybe she had cut it. So the teacher is keeping her scissors on her desk for a few days until R can earn them back. She was very apologetic in the message, and ended by saying they usually make it a few more days into the year before someone cuts their hair, and that she was sending the hair home in an envelope.<br />
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I could not stop giggling at my desk. R is the most thoughtful and kind-hearted soul, but she's also mischievous and a bit of a rascal. It doesn't surprise me at all that she cut her hair. It's kind of a rite of passage. I feel like most kids either cut their own hair, or have a sibling who cuts it. It's definitely nothing to get worked up about in my opinion; natural consequences are really effective and there's no permanent damage as her hair will grow back. And since I was prepared with the knowledge before I picked her up, I was able to use it as a learning opportunity. She was adorably chastened when I asked her how her day went. Guess we can check that off the kid experience list for our house!<br />
<br />Not Just Another Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01455496431589188635noreply@blogger.com