The Vaccine Decision

There is no decision that has caused me more anxiety as a parent so far than that of whether or not to vaccinate my son. A wrong decision either way could have grave consequences, but who is to say what a wrong decision is?

The medical community will, of course, tell us that vaccines are necessary, that we would be crazy not to do something that could prevent our children from having serious illnesses.

But is it possible that their motives aren’t entirely pure? Is it possible that they are driven by a pharmaceutical industry that is making HUGE amounts of money? Is it also possible that the Center for Disease Control may know that they are at least partially wrong about vaccines and their consequences, but wouldn’t dare admit it because doing so would result not only in massive lawsuits, but also in a public distrust in them, in parents not vaccinating their children at all and the potential return of epidemics to our country that had previously been eradicated?

There is a lot of hype involved. I noticed this about the flu vaccine long before I became a parent. Every year there is some crisis, such as a “shortage” of the vaccine, so everyone must hurry and get theirs before it runs out. (Amazingly, they never do.) Or perhaps the flu will be a particularly deadly strain this year, and we must get vaccinated right away or risk certain death. But, whew, in the end enough people got vaccinated to keep it from spreading and we dodged another bullet. But next year . . . Interestingly, the only person I knew who had the flu last winter had actually gotten the vaccine (but of course, she was told, she had a milder case of it than she otherwise would have, had she not gotten the vaccine).

I’m not sure, but I believe doctors may take a drama class in medical school. They are prepared for parents like me who suggest that maybe vaccines are not the best option. “WHAT?? You would consider not vaccinating your child? Do you know what the consequences could be if you don’t?” Like they’ve never heard of such a crazy idea.

In a doctor’s defense, they constantly have the risk of a medical malpractice suit hanging over their heads. If my doctor were to agree with me that yes, choosing not to vaccinate your child is a valid option, and then my child were to acquire some illness that a vaccine might have possibly prevented, then I could easily slap a huge malpractice suit on my doctor. So that, of course, is a driving factor in their dramatic presentations.

We are led to believe that vaccines are required by law. They are not. We are told that children must be vaccinated before attending a public school, but in truth, you are allowed to “opt out,” based on your own philosophical reasons.

For many years, everyone just accepted their doctor’s word. If the doctor said their child needed a vaccine, they got one. But now we are in the information age. We have the Internet, where articles on virtually every topic in the world are available to anyone and everyone. Now we can find out all we want to know about vaccines, not just take our doctor’s word for it, though we have to realize that just because something is on the Internet, it isn’t necessarily accurate. We have to also use our common sense and get our information from a variety of sources.

But why would I NOT want to vaccinate my child? There are a multitude of reasons, but you have to dig to find them because the above-mentioned entities do not want to you to even be aware of them.

Vaccines can have side effects. They are hard to prove, and when you’re fighting such huge organizations, the little guy usually loses. But the parent whose 2-month-old baby dies of “SIDS” (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) within a few days after receiving a series of vaccines, or the parent whose healthy toddler gets his MMR shot and suddenly develops full-blown autism can tell you that these things are real. And then it is too late to do anything about them. And the medical community generally won’t admit that there is a connection. Incidentally, the United States comes in 46th for their infant mortality rate for children under one year of age. That means 45 countries have less babies dying, including far less developed countries. After all those vaccines we give to our infants. . .

There is a lot about vaccines that doctors won’t tell you. Did you know that many of them are made from tissue from aborted fetuses? Did you know that they contain poisonous materials such as mercury, something you would normally keep your child from ingesting at all costs, yet in vaccinating, you are injecting it directly into his body? It is also speculated that this unnatural way of forcing these foreign substances into the body can actually harm the immune system rather than build it up. What’s more, vaccines are not always even effective against the viruses they are designed to prevent.

“But the risks are much lower than the risks of getting the viruses,” they will tell a parent like me, who dares to question. Are they?? Do you know anyone whose baby has died of SIDS? What about a child with Autism? Both of these are currently “unexplainable.” A doctor will assure you that they’re not associated with vaccines, but how can they prove that, if they can’t tell you what did cause them? The SIDS rate is highest between 2 and 4 months of age, right at the time babies get their first rounds of vaccinations, often 6 or more at one time. Other things have been associated with vaccines too, including ADHD and more, even possibly diabetes and some types of cancer.

Medicine is a science. Everything is an experiment. If things work time after time, they are generally considered true, but there are always exceptions. Everyone’s body is different and reacts differently to things. Some things have long-term effects; it may be years before we see those effects and even longer before we can unquestionably associate them with certain causes.

The currently recommended number of vaccines given to infants under one year of age is approximately 26, beginning with Hepatitis B in the hospital within hours of their birth (this, by the way, is an illness generally spread through sexual contact or by sharing used hypodermic needles, which the majority of babies hopefully never encounter). This number has increased dramatically in recent years as more vaccines are being developed. So have the number of Autism cases. Hmmm. Some of them are for diseases that are really not all that serious (isn’t chickenpox just a rite of passage in childhood?). And there is currently discussion about adding 4 doses of a Meningococcal vaccine to this schedule.

So, what is a parent to do? Danged if you do; danged if you don’t. I wish I could conclude this article by telling you the right answer. I wish I knew it myself and could confidently take my child in for his routine vaccines, knowing that I am doing the best thing I can do for him. Or not vaccinate him at all with full assurance that he will never contact any of the illnesses.

But I can’t do either of those things. I have prayed about this. A lot. And I have yet to feel a complete peace about any of the options available to me. I have talked to a number of other parents, ranging from those who are adamant that their children shouldn’t have any vaccines, to those who completely trust their pediatrician and agree to give their children every vaccine recommended. And others, like me, who just don’t know what to do. I have even talked to a couple who feel certain their children were affected by their vaccines, one suffering seizures and another, Autism.

My current plan is to follow Dr. Bob Sears’ selective vaccine schedule. He has a program for spreading out the most important infant vaccines (so they don’t get so many at once) and then waiting on the others, or putting them off indefinitely. I’m not sure my husband is in total agreement, but he will admit that he doesn’t have all the answers either. My pediatrician may balk (some would treat me like a complete idiot; mine isn’t quite that bad), but I’m really trying to do the best thing, based on prayer, my research and my own maternal instincts.

If you want to read more about this, here are some websites that may interest you:

Dr. Bob Sears
Center for Disease Control Vaccine schedule
Infant mortality rate - Wikipedia
Aborted fetal cells in vaccines
National Vaccine Information Center
Mercola - Meningococcal Vaccine article

A Time to Mourn

This past Wednesday marked the end of an era. My little dog Dasha left us.

The week started out pretty normal, other than the snow we had on Monday. Don and I took the dogs out, and Dasha romped and played and acted like a pup again. Later in the day Don kept Cooper while I took her for a walk, something else she loved doing. I noticed that she had developed a little infection, but it was something she had had before which was relatively minor. I called the vet to see if I could bring her in to have him take care of it, but he was closed because of the snow.

The next morning I called him again and took her in. He performed the routine procedure and gave her some antibiotics to kill the infection. Soon after we left, she began shaking and acting like she was in a great amount of pain. Back home she vomited several times, so I called the vet again. He said it was probably just stress, but to bring her back later in the day if it didn’t get any better. By that afternoon she was no better, so I took her back in after Don got home from work and was able to keep Cooper. The vet gave her some shots to help the infection, nausea and her pain, but that night she wouldn’t lay down and stood or paced around the house all night long.

Finally on Wednesday morning she wanted to get on the bed, so I lifted her up there. She lay down and barely moved for several hours, moaning pitifully when she did. I wanted to take her back to the vet, but it had snowed again, the roads were covered and I wasn’t anxious to get out in it, especially with Cooper. Finally, I knew she would need to go to the bathroom, so I picked her up and carried her downstairs. When I tried to set her down on the floor, she couldn’t even stand. I got really scared at this point and asked a neighbor to care for Cooper for me and rushed Dasha to the vet. By the time we got there, the vet said she was in shock and said he believed the infection had somehow spread throughout her body, which he had never seen happen before. He said he would try to treat her but didn’t offer me much hope. I had no real choice but to leave her with him, since I had to get back to Cooper. I got to love on her a bit and say something of a quick goodbye, knowing I may not see her again, but time was of the essence in getting her treatment started.

When I got home the vet called and told me that she had died just a few minutes after I left. I was not surprised, but I was heartbroken.

I could blame myself, the snow, the vet or any number of things, but in the days since this happened I have thought about the sovereignty of God. I believe her time was simply up. She had finished the job she came to do. I have recorded the story of how Dasha came to me here. I think God gave her to me as a gift to walk with me, to be my companion through what could have been a very lonely time in my life. And she did it well. Even after Don and I were married, there was still the sad emptiness of childlessness for several years, and Dasha, and later Nash, helped fill that void.

But now we have a child. And I am no longer lonely. Oh, I am sad – I miss that little dog desperately, but I have been able to see how God was merciful in the timing of her death. We had a fun day together on Monday. She only suffered for one day. I had feared as she aged that I would someday have to make a decision to have her put to sleep, and thankfully, I didn’t have to make that decision. She was growing increasingly incontinent and was difficult for me to care for with a baby too. I’m thankful God waited until I had Cooper to focus on, but it didn’t happen in the crazy early days when we first brought him home or when he was sick in the hospital.

I’ve been reminded of a quote I’ve heard before: “Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened.” I can’t say I’ve adhered to this over the last few days; I’ve shed many tears as I mourn her loss, but I think as time goes on the pain will diminish, and the joy of my memories of the nearly thirteen years I had with her will outweigh the sadness. God was good to give her to me, and I will always be thankful for the time that she was a part of my life.

Blessed

While the past week has been a whirlwind, last night Don and I had to step back and be thankful. I am okay. The baby is okay. While I have had to endure some unpleasant things, it doesn't appear there will be any long-term problems for the baby or me. This is going to cost us a lot of money, though thankfully we have good insurance, and we won't have to pay another deductible when the baby is born.

So nothing really bad has happened. And a lot of good things have happened. We have been shown SO much love, and concern by those around us! The day I came home from the hospital (when we were both trying to get some much-needed sleep!), I counted 18 phone calls we got from concerned friends and family. There have been many more since, plus cards, e-mails and other forms of caring. People Don hardly knows have been coming up to him at work, asking how his wife is doing and assuring him they are praying for us. We have never felt so loved!

God is faithful. He is taking care of us and using those around us to remind us of that.

We are optimistic that the worst is over. I went to the doctor yesterday for a follow-up visit and he said things were looking better, though still not exactly as they should be. I will see him again in another week. Please keep us in your prayers -- that this problem will be resolved and that I will give birth to a healthy baby in mid-October.

Overwhelmed

If I were going to choose a single word to define the past few weeks, since I learned I was pregnant, it would be “overwhelmed.” When I first found out the news, I was overwhelmed with a whole gamut of emotions ranging from excitement to fear to thankfulness to doubt that it was even real. (I’m getting past that one, now that my belly is getting bigger by the hour!)

In the weeks since, I have been overwhelmed with exhaustion, trying to just get through day-to-day life at about half my normal energy level. Rarely does a day pass when I don’t need a nap, and even then, I find it hard to muster up the energy to do the things I normally do.

Now that the word is out, Don and I have both been overwhelmed with the love, the joy, the excitement that those around us have shown. When he announced our news in church on Easter Sunday, the entire congregation responded with applause and cheers, followed by hugs and lots and lots words of happiness and encouragement. This has been echoed by the many others who have found out our news since then. It is so heartwarming to both of us to have people be so very supportive and joyful for us.

I’m sure I will have plenty more overwhelmingness in the days ahead: long nights with little sleep after the baby is born, the responsibilities of being a parent, and other things I can’t yet imagine. I am trying not to get overwhelmed with worry about my health and the baby’s, what kind of world this child will grow up in, how we will manage financially, etc. God is in control. He loves us and gave us this child for a reason, and I know He will take care of us all. I am so thankful for that and so thankful that He works all things together for the good of those who love Him.

And I am overwhelmingly thankful for all of you, who have shared in our joy and been supportive to us during this precious time in our lives.

At Long Last

I am having a bit of trouble adjusting to Daylight Savings Time, particularly with getting up in the morning while it is still dark, but when I finally managed to take the poor dogs out this morning, I saw something that woke me up quickly:

FINALLY, I have a daffodil! This is at least a couple of weeks later than I got them last year, but they are here now, or at least one of them is. The days are still cold and dreary for the most part, but this gives me hope -- spring is just around the corner!

Jury Duty

Today was my second day of jury duty. Besides my obvious complaint of having to miss work and the pay that goes with it, I'm realizing that this whole experience is WAY out of my comfort zone for a number of reasons:

1) Having to drive downtown in rush hour traffic and park in a parking garage.

2) Being stuck in a building all day, especially when the weather is nice outside.

3) Being away from home and my dogs for long stretches of time (my dogs were locked up for 11 hours today).

4) Being made to socialize with people I don't know and have little in common with.

But it's really not so bad. The trial itself has been kind of interesting (I'm not allowed to share any details), and I am getting more comfortable around some of the other jurors. None of them know each other either, so we're all on equal turf. Once I found my way there and knew where to park, I was less fearful about that too.

I'll probably survive. I might even become a more well-rounded person because of it all. I guess sometimes God has to get us out of our comfort zone a little bit to help us grow.

RIP Heidi

Our bunny died in the night last night. It wasn't a huge surprise. She had been acting sickly for a month or so, and last night she took an obvious turn for the worse. Don and I loved on her and prayed over her, that if it was her time to go, that she would die peacefully, so it was kind of a relief that she didn't linger on.

Do animals go to heaven? I like to believe that all of the pets I have loved in my lifetime will be at the gate to greet me when I get there, but the Bible isn't really clear on the issue. Heidi had some sort of little spirit that was her life, her personality, that inhabited her body only yesterday but has now left it. Where did it go?

Animals aren't made in the image of God as people are, and they obviously don't have the capacity to understand their sin and accept Jesus, but Isaiah 65:17-25 does refer to them being there in the new heaven and new earth.

It's one of those things I will probably never know for sure in this life, so I just have to let God handle it.

I am sad, though certainly not as sad as I would be if I lost one of my dogs. A bunny just doesn't have the bond with humans that dogs do. Nonetheless, she was a part of our lives for 3 1/2 years, and we will miss her.

Look at My Garden Now!

Following my tradition from last summer of taking pictures of my garden from my upstairs window, I decided to take one this morning: Yes, believe it or not, we got about 4-5" of snow yesterday! This is the first "real" snow we have had here in several years, so it's pretty exciting!

It's a little crusty on top this morning, so my dog Dasha, who weighs 15 pounds, had a really hard time walking in it. She would take a careful step, and it would hold her up for a couple of seconds; then SPLAT -- she would fall down into it. Made for a rough time pottying this morning.

But all in all, it's kind of fun. I'm considering us to be "snowed in," though I'm sure we could get somewhere if we really needed to.

I posted a question on Facebook yesterday: if you were snowed in, assuming all your basic needs were met, what would be the one thing you wouldn't want to be without? I got lots of creative answers, some of which I am listing here, in the order that I would find them important:

Spouse/family
Pets
A good book
Junk food
Puzzle book
Facebook
Blankets
Chili
Hot chocolate
Sled
Movies
Beer/Wine

We never get snowed in for more than a day or two here in Nashville, so I guess we'll enjoy it while we can. Thankfully, I'm well equipped with the first few items on the list above, so I'm in good shape. Now maybe I can go out and build a snowman.

Prayer for Haiti

Well, I haven't blogged in nearly a week now, and I had a silly little one in mind to do this morning, but then I got on Facebook and went to a page about the Haiti search and rescue efforts. Apparently the rescuers in Haiti are posting updates, and those whose family and friends are still missing there are posting pictures and other details about their loved ones, just in case they are found. Others are just praying for and trying to encourage both of these groups of people.

I heard on the news a couple of days ago that the rescue efforts had stopped, but on Facebook I heard that yesterday some rescue dogs identified the same spot twice, bringing hope that there might still be someone alive in there.

So all that is to say that I didn't feel right posting a silly blog after reading these things. To think about this country, already devastated by poverty, having to go through such a traumatic thing, makes me want to fall to my knees and cry out to God to help them.

I don't know why God allowed this to happen. If it was for the sake of punishment, why hasn't such a thing happened here? Are we any better, really, in God's eyes?

I encourage you to pray for Haiti: for the rescuers, for those missing loved ones, and that God will use all this for the ultimate good of this economically and spiritually impoverished country. And pray for our country as well, that God will have mercy on us and not allow something so tragic to happen here. I'll be praying too.

Winter

My husband Don loves winter. He says in heaven, it will be winter year ‘round. I say he must be going to a different heaven than me. But in order to be a good wife, and an optimist, I’ve decided to try to come up with a list of 10 good things about winter. So, here goes:

1) chili
2) flannel sheets (my mother-in-law gave us a set for Christmas, which we love!)
3) fires (if you have a fireplace, which we don’t)
4) getting snowed in (when everyone is safe at home)(doesn’t happen much here)
//(I’m really trying here, folks),
5) hot chocolate (preferably with either marshmallows or a peppermint stick)
6) seeing the days start to get longer once 12/21 is past (see how hard I’m trying?),
7) not having to mow the grass (even though I like to mow the grass)
8) getting to play in the snow with my dogs and go for walks in it (if we have any, which we rarely do)
9) big, bulky sweaters, and
10) knowing spring is just around the corner

Wow, I did it. Well, sort of. I guess. But that doesn't mean I'm not still counting the days 'til spring! There are 75.

Things I Love About Fall

While I always dread winter, I do enjoy fall. Here are some of my favorite things about it:

1) The view from my kitchen window: 2) It brings back memories of my high school band days, spending chilly Friday evenings at football games and sunny, crisp Saturdays at marching competitions.

3) Pumpkins.

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4) Hayrides and bonfires, together or separately. I don't get to do either of these things too often, but it's always a treat when I do, and fall is the perfect time to do them.

5) Apples. This includes caramel apples, hot spiced cider, Southern Fried Apples, apple crisp, apple pie, and just plain ol' apples, maybe dipped in peanut butter.

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6) Taking walks, especially with the whole family, especially in the woods or a park.

7) Watching Don wrap the dogs up in their "blankies" every night. He does this when the weather gets cooler, and they generally stay that way all night, sleeping between the two of us. They don't look rotten, do they?

Summer Nights

Facebook is a place to express yourself, preferably in a non-offensive way. They have all sorts of things that you can identify yourself as a "fan" of. Some of them are silly. I recently saw one that I related to: Summer Nights. I became a fan of summer nights.

Actually, I always have been one. Ever since childhood, I loved going out on summer evenings and catching fireflies, sitting outside with family or friends enjoying the cool of the evening, camping and sleeping in a tent, hearing the crickets chirp, staring at the stars, swimming in a pool that has its lights on, watching fireworks on the Fourth of July, grilling out, the long days . . . what’s not to love?

I’m so glad that we’re getting into that season. I should be in a better mood for the next few months. Summer does that for me.

Random Thoughts

One thing I have learned in my medium-length life is this: what gets made a priority gets done. What doesn’t get made a priority usually doesn’t get done. I have struggled in recent years with my priorities. I first have to decide what is really important. Then I have to make it a priority. Usually it’s the deciding that’s the hard part.

For the second half of last year I blogged every day, with a few exceptions that were accompanied by good reasons. Blogging was a priority for me. But when new year came and I thought about what my resolutions should be, I had to reexamine my priorities and realize that I was spending way too much time on the computer and neglecting some other things that should be higher priorities. So I’ve been blogging and participating in other computer activities less.

Another issue for me is that it’s hard for me to do things halfway. A part of me either wants to blog every day or not at all, so it is a major accomplishment for me to be able to do it some of the time. But I’m working on it.

And while we’re on the subject of new year’s resolutions, my other resolutions were to get healthier and to control my tongue better, particularly in the area of judging others. I am happy to report that I have been doing at least somewhat better with my eating and have lost the 7 lbs. that I gained over Christmas, but still have more to lose. As for the judging thing, well, each day is a fresh start. It seems like I’m doing it just as much as ever, but it may be that the Holy Spirit is just making me more aware of it because I have asked Him to.

Practicing my flute has become a high priority for me for now so I can try to get up to speed with this concert band thing I’m doing. Hopefully at some point I will be able to slow down a little and make that a lower priority.

So those are my random thoughts for the day. Maybe for the next few days. I’ve got to go plan a healthy menu and maybe do a little exercise. And practice my flute.

Facebook Therapy

God has been doing a lot of pruning on me lately. When He does that, He is usually getting me ready for something, though I have no idea what it might be.

One of the things He has been doing involves Facebook. If you’re not familiar with it, you can become "friends" with someone on there, at which point you can see each other’s profile, chat online, and they show up on your profile as your friend for all to see. I started out just "befriending" people who are currently a part of my life, but then people from my past started finding me and requesting to be my friend. That was when the pruning started.

Many of these are old friends I am glad to hear from, glad to know how they’re doing and what’s going on in their life. But there are others that I turn up my nose at, not really wanting to be their friend. Why? I never really liked them. It could be that they did something to me in the past that I never quite forgave them for, and I wrote them off as someone I wanted nothing to do with. In some cases, they are people that I at one time considered myself to be better than and didn't want to be associated with.

Obviously, these are not grudges I am actively holding, and I had all but forgotten about them until the people tried to befriend me on Facebook. At that point I had to acknowledge how I felt about that person and why, and decide whether or not to let bygones be bygones. Most of them are people I went to high school with, and I have hopefully matured considerably since then in every way, including spiritually.

So far I haven’t refused to befriend anyone because of a past grudge. God has been working in my heart to show me that these are His children too. I am not better than any of them, and if they have wronged me, I have an obligation to forgive them. I am still working through these things, but God is using it to clean out the clutter in my heart and move me on to a new level in my walk with Him.

Organ Donation

There was an article in the paper in Don’s hometown recently about a former roommate/landlord of Don’s who volunteered to be a living donor of one of his kidneys to an anonymous recipient. I see this as one of the most selfless acts I can imagine. Not only did he endure surgery that he didn’t need; he gave up a part of his body that he may someday need, and did it for someone he didn’t even know. I doubt this is something I could ever do, though perhaps if someone I knew and loved needed an organ that I could spare, I would consider it.

At one time in my life I struggled with the issue of organ donation, of whether I should agree to be a donor if I died an untimely death. It just seems like an odd thing to me which is not addressed specifically in the Bible. I prayed about it, and the question came to my mind of whether I would accept an organ transplant if I needed one to live. I believe I would. My next thought was the verse, "Do to others as you would have them do to you" (Luke 6:31). That was the answer I needed.

While I still don’t believe I could be as selfless as this man was, I have signed my organ donation card and plan to donate my organs when I die, if needed.

A New Beginning

So, 2008 has come and nearly gone. A new year will soon begin.

A new year is a time of new beginnings, a time to re-evaluate your life and set "resolutions," if you’re into that. In spiritual terms, it’s a time to listen to the Holy Spirit tell you what areas of your life He needs to do some work in.

So what do I need to do differently?

I definitely need to get healthier, primarily by eating healthier, but taking care of myself in other ways too. After all, I’m not getting any younger.

I need to spend less time on the computer. It’s become an obsession. I may start just blogging only when I have something useful to say, like a normal person. Several people have complained that they have a hard time keeping up with me anyway, and some days I just write something for the sake of posting it. So maybe I’ll spare you on those days. I definitely need to spend less time on Facebook. It’s fun and a good way to keep up with people, but it needs a limit.

I also need to control my tongue better. I have gotten way too lax about saying what I think (but not in love), being judgmental of others and otherwise running off at the mouth in ways that are not pretty. I am prayerfully going to try to be better at this in the coming year. This involves a heart check as well, ". . . for out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34).

Over the holidays especially, I feel like my life has gotten out of control, but it’s time to rein myself in, quit blaming the holidays and get serious.

I wish all of you, my readers, a very happy 2009!

A Scary Christmas Gift

This is what Don got me for Christmas this year.

I wanted one. Well, sort of. Unfortunately, I think our world is becoming such a place that I may need one. I hope I’m wrong.

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I’m a little scared of it, but I guess that’s healthy. My dad and Don both asked me if I would be able to pull the trigger if I was in a situation where I needed to. I think I could, but I wouldn’t know for sure unless it happened. And I hope it never does. I’m certainly not anxious to take a life, but if someone was threatening my life or that of someone I loved, I suppose I could if I had to.

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I’ve been reading the safety manual, and we’re planning to go to the firing range soon and learn to use it. I learned to shoot a rifle pretty easily, so I have a fair amount of confidence that I can learn to shoot this too. Hopefully target practice is all I will ever get to do with it. It’s one gift I don’t want to need.

Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree

Don and I got our Christmas tree this weekend. This is our fourth Christmas as a married couple, so we’ve kind of developed a few traditions. We get our tree at Lowe’s, and Dasha goes with us. (Nash will probably never get to go to Lowe’s because of his tendency to lift his leg and leave his mark on every new thing he encounters.) We bring the tree home and set it up in the corner of the living room. We turn on Christmas music, and Don puts the lights on it, and then we get out our ornaments. We both have moms who have always made sure we were well-supplied with Christmas ornaments, so we collectively have a lot of them. We’ve kept them stored separately, which helps us remember whose are whose, plus we have acquired a few together since getting married. As we decorate the tree, we review memories attached to certain ornaments.
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I have several favorites. One is a "Tennessee" ball that my parents gave me about 20 years ago. It’s part of a collector series of all 50 states, but I only have Tennessee.
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This is another of my favorites. It was given to me several years ago by one of the kids in a Sunday School class I taught. It closes up and looks like a Bible, but opens to reveal a scripture and a mini nativity scene.
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I got this one at an ornament exchange party. It hooks into the string of lights and lights up, changing colors periodically.
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Don’s favorite is his "naked skiing Santa." He’s had it since he was a little kid. I’m not sure why he likes it so much; it’s kind of obnoxious. Maybe that’s his reason. But I indulge him by letting him place it in a prominent place on the tree. Whatever.
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I also have a special tree skirt that my mom made for me. She made my brother one too. It has pictures representing each of the "Twelve Days of Christmas" that she cross-stitched. I know it took her many, many hours to make. A tag she put on the underside says "1991."
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Hauling in a live tree and decorating it, only to un-decorate it, take it down and haul it away a few weeks later, leaving massive amounts of needles in its path before, during and after, really is a lot of trouble if you think about it, but it’s one of those things that I enjoy about Christmas, even though it has little if any spiritual significance. It’s pretty, it makes for good memories, and it sure does make my house smell good.

Halloween

I don’t know what I think about Halloween. Some years I think it is evil and boycott it altogether. Other years I go ahead and pass out candy to trick-or-treaters, thinking it really is a good opportunity to get to know and reach out to my neighbors. If I had kids, they would probably really resent me if I didn’t let them go trick-or treating. When I was growing up, I never thought of Halloween as bad. We dressed up as witches, ghosts, skeletons and other sinister things, though we weren’t Christians then.

Am I caving in to the world, putting cultural standards over God’s? I don’t know! What do you think? Is Halloween just a time to have fun or is it inherently evil?

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

The Sound of Music is a movie I have always loved. In one of the scenes, the children are afraid, and Maria tells them it will help if they think of their favorite things. In light of what is going on in our country, I am pretty afraid right now too, so here are a few of my favorite things:
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1) Having a whole day with nothing I have to do.
2) Reese’s peanut butter cups.
3) A garden in springtime.
4) Being surrounded by those I love.
5) Coming home and having a whole bunch of e-mails, and at least some of them are worth reading.
6) When God answers my prayers in unexpected ways.
7) My next-door neighbor’s maple tree in the fall.
8) When someone is genuinely interested in something I am saying.
9) Getting my legs licked by my dogs.
10) Having a good reason to play my piccolo.
11) Being able to help someone who is truly in need.
12) Walking in the woods with Don and the dogs.
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Well, I don’t think the problems went away, but at least I feel better now. ( :