End of the Great Books Week

Friday: When I want to give someone a special gift, I give them [name of book] because…

I have two by the same author that I just can’t decide between: A Grief Observed and The Great Divorce, both by C. S. Lewis.  While I may not always agree with Lewis’ theology, these two books have inspired me for a long time with their poignant images and other-worldly perspective.  I generally give A Grief Observed to married friends who need a little eternal perspective on the purpose of their relationship and The Great Divorce to fellow teachers who need some great spiritual narrative and imagery to integrate into composition or other non-literature classes. 

A Grief ObservedThe Great Divorce

Great Books Week #4

Thursday: I hated … when I had to read it in high school, but when I read it on my own later, I loved it because….

Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan of the Apes, believe it or not.  My mother forced me to read it at somepoint during my sophomore year and anything that wasn’t Jane Austen was reprehensible to me.  During a fantasy and science fiction literature class in college, I picked this up again, after reading an excerpt in my anthology/text book.  Instead of devaluing it for its setting (as I had), I loved it for its participation in the traditions of Jules Verne and other exploratory or frontier literature.  Despite racism and other controversial issues, it’s still a fascinating read.

Tarzan

Great Books Week #3

Wednesday: I’d write my autobiography, but I don’t need to, because my story has already been told in….

William Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew.  Yes, I’m referring to Katherine/Katerina.  This particular post took a while for me; my husband could veto ridiculous options for me (e.g. Confessions of a Shopaholic – soooo not me), but he couldn’t really make any suggestions.  I’d have to get him to reread the play before he’d agree to this one, but the banter between Kate and Petruchio is what convinced me.  I submit to my husband; I won’t say that I always have, but he would definitely agree.  And our quirky back-and-forths are the spice of our marriage. 🙂

Katherine in Taming of the Shrew

Great Books Week #2

Tuesday: When I was a child, my favorite book was…

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede because it was my first experience with something other than high fantasy.  🙂  My mother used to read The Hobbit to me before bed, and by the time I was 10 years old she’d moved on to Lord of the Rings and other extended classics.  When we found this book at the library, the sequels hadn’t yet be written/released.  I got to go back and read those as an adult and was just as impressed with her sarcastic style as I had been as a kid.  Just a fun read.

Dealing with Dragons

25 Weeks and some “Great Books”

Saturday marked 25 weeks of pregnancy!  Definitely a milestone for us.  I’m not in the hospital on an unspeakable number of medications, nor am I contracting regularly at the moment.  I still have to behave myself (irregular contractions and a significant amount of pain ensure that), but I’m willing to do so at this point.  Our goal is 30+ weeks, and His grace is sufficient. 🙂

I have also unofficially joined the Great Books Week blog tour along with my lovely friend Nikki. 🙂  Day #1: If I were stranded alone on a deserted island with only seven books to read over the next few years, I would like to have…

1) The Holy Bible (nothing like a book that never stops revealing truth);

2) Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (because I’m a girl);

3) The Complete Sonnets of William Shakespeare (see above);

4) Yann Martel’s Life of Pi (a multilayered survival narrative with a lot of fun imagery, and one of my thesis texts :-P);

5) J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy (yes, three books, but I’d pack the edition that includes all of them, just to save space ;-));

6) Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (you didn’t mention where this deserted island was, and there are pertinent points :-));

7) and C. S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters (for those days I’m feeling a little schizophrenic and picked on; it could always be worse).

24 weeks and nesting …

For the most part I’ve been able to behave myself for another week.  It’s getting more difficult, though, with “nesting” in full swing.  The nesting stage is difficult enough without being able to actually get up and do anything about it.  I’ve compensated so far by keeping everything of Lia’s in a box next to the bed (so far, some blanket gifts and very cute hand-me-down girl clothes).  In my head, I guess that I keep praying for a financial windfall that will let us get her all new things, matching sets, and a completely stocked nursery before she’s born.  We were blessed to have saved a lot of money when Jamie was a baby due to gifts and second hand items (that money was needed for more important things).  I’m going to blame hormones for this sudden obsession with a new and coordinated nursery set (and, while we’re at it, a house with a nursery in which to put all of this).  Matt and I continuously pray for the Lord’s will in our lives, including in our finances.  This month has become exceptionally difficult, but we know that He will give us exactly what we need.  It’s times like these (with Babies’R’Us sales and coupons in my mailbox by the thousand) that I have difficulty remembering that His definition of “need” and mine may be dramatically different.  Still, please pray for our financial Needs this month, for my emotional “wants,” and most especially that I can tell the difference between the two.

Philippians 4:19

23 Weeks! :)

So I have officially made it through my first week of bedrest and to week 23 of my pregnancy!  At this point in my pregnancy with Jamie I was completed effaced and starting to dilate and didn’t even know it.  This time, I’m much more aware of my pregnancy and I’m being monitored much more closely.  It’s both a relief and an added burden: I know that I need to behave myself for the sake of the baby.  God’s blessed so far, of course.   

Psalm 127:3 – “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward.”

For ultrasound pictures, see my Facebook. 🙂

Bedrest

It’s official — I’m on bedrest.  I’ve been on unofficial bedrest / house arrest for the past couple of months, but the formal order came down from on high this morning (or a couple of inches below, since my OB is shorter than I am).  I am currently 22 weeks pregnant.  We’ve been having weekly ultrasounds for a while now and both my cervix and the baby are doing fine.  I have, however, been having contractions for a month or so.  We knew that I would end up on bedrest sooner or later, and 22 weeks is actually a little later than I expected.  It’s still an interesting dilemma. 

During the past few weeks I’ve been sent multiple links to websites that prepare moms for extended periods of bedrest.  They suggest various ways of coping with the traumas that are inherent in the situation (guilt from being unable to care for kids, husband, house, etc.; boredom; anxiety about finances, baby, etc.).  Most of the suggestions include knitting and/or blogging, but few of them discuss prayer time.  It’s amazing how easy it is to make quiet time when you can’t be “busy and productive.”  Please join with me in praying that this is a time of major spiritual growth for me and mine.  It certainly has been up to this point.  My husband and son have been coping extremely well with the situation, and again I have to chalk that up to prayer. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV — “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven” – even bedrest.