swedeinwyo's Xanga

2 weeks till Baby

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 18:02:25 GMT

Just 2 weeks away from the arrival of our baby boy! We moved into a new house last month and after unpacking all our boxes we got to work on the nursery. We created the best nursery ever and enjoyed having so many people contribute through painting and gifts.

Pregnancy has been great and motherhood will be even better.

And Along Came Baby

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 18:32:42 GMT

I’m having a baby!!! I’m nearly 4 months pregnant and our baby is due in February. We are so excited and already have names picked out. I am reading books on pregnancy, reading info on the internet and listening to baby podcasts in my free time. I can’t wait to be a mother and for this next season in my life.

I’ve also launched my new ministry this month and my new website: www.bebeautifulministy.com

I am speaking at an all women’s Chi Alpha retreat in PA this weekend. It will be an incredible time of sharing our lives, learning, healing and growing in God’s goodness.

Also, I’m gearing up to help Tory with marketing for his business. He just launched his web site too, which is great for anyone with a medical, missions or medical missions interest. www.arizonapain.com This is a fab website and I’m really proud of him and the new adventure he is beginning in October!

Other highlights: my hair...it's now platinum and I love it! Tory and I went kayaking on Lake Superior last week.

Sea to Sea on a Green Train

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 14:11:27 GMT

Last weekend, we were walking the boardwalk along the Pacific Ocean in San Diego. I had the most expensive ice cream cone of my entire life: $9.25 for just a double scoop waffle cone at Ben and Jerry's! The day was hot and beautiful and the exorbitant prices didn't seem to stop anyone, including Tory and I. Wow!

One week later, I am living in a quaint, furnished apartment overlooking Lake Superior in Duluth, Minnesota. There is nothing but a few pine trees and grass between our front door and the largest fresh water lake in the world. It looks like an ocean and we sit on our deck and watch the 1000 foot long iron ore ships transverse the endless blue horizon. It is beautiful, cool, green and refreshing here. We take Indi, our 8 month old golden retriever to the lake daily. She discovered a passion for running and leaping off the boat dock for a plunge into the cool waters. It's hilarious to watch her extend her legs like superman and fly off, creating a great belly flop below!

I'm working on increasing my green meter. For 3 months already, we have been sharing one vehicle. I love it. It keeps life simple, we cut down on gas and expenses. I purchased a Terrapass for my next flight to offset my carbons but my challenge with bottled water consumption still haunts me. We have well water which is salty and completely undrinkable...I buy mass amount of bottled water. I feel bad about this. Bottled water costs more than gasoline and leaves a terrible carbon footprint. I have been trying to fill my nalgene bottled with the good city water from the park drinking fountain. I can't make it there everyday, however. I'm still looking for a good solution. I never appreciated having good drinking water from the faucet until I moved away from it. I'm still looking for a few more environmentally friendly ideas to incorporate into my lifestyle...

Leader Reader Reader Leader

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:14:57 GMT

A review of my recently read books:

The Upcoming Economic Collapse by Dr Stephen Leeb

-Discusses the impending oil crisis, what we can do to prepare and where to invest your money to succeed in the future. Highly recommended! I want my own wind turbine now.

The Road Less Traveled by Scott Peck

-I finally read this best selling classic. I see this book quoted everywhere and finally read it myself. I loved it! Everyone read this one if you haven’t yet.

What’s So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancy

-A refreshing and challenging read. Great for discussion.

The Gospel According to Starbucks by Leonard Sweet

-I loved this book. It’s a perfect mix of spiritual principles and marketing genius. A great read if your into business models, marketing and the emerging culture.

Shopaholic and Sister by Sophie Kinsella

-I’m reading the entire series and it’s a great laugh and choice fiction.

A New Kind of Christian by Brian McLaren

-A thought provoking introduction to the philosophy of the emerging church movement.

Every Second Counts by Lance Armstrong

-Inspiring read. It has more racing and training details than his first book, It’s Not About the Bike. Read the first book first, it’s better and talks more about his battle with cancer.

Collapse by Jared Diamond

-I’m on an environmental/anthropology/economic crisis info kick. This books presents new concepts to me and is helping round out my world view.

Abba’s Child by Brennan Manning

-I love Brennan Manning’s books. Highly recommended! It is similar to Ragamuffin Gospel but includes more of his personal journey toward grace.

and finally…

The Happiest Baby on the Block

-After you get married, I guess you begin reading child raising books. Never too early to start.

Five Trips to The Temple

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 21:46:28 GMT

Trip 1: Stranger with an Umbrella. Caught in a downpour, leaving the bookstore with my new purchase heading to The Temple coffeeshop in Sacramento, CA. The unprepared, like me, running frantically. Those with unbrellas laughing at the rest of us. Then a man appears with an extra large unbrella and asks if I would like to walk with him. Savior! He walks me to the front door of The Temple and I escape inside to dry over steaming coffee and my novel.

Trip 2: The Weirdo. Glorious sunny afternoon. One of my great delights is outdoor dining...whether that's dinner on the patio or an ice cream cone on a park bench. This day, it would be coffee at The Temple, seated in a patch of sunlight. Tiny table for two. It was wonderful, quaint and peaceful until the weirdo arrived. "Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked pointing six inches from me at the chair across the table. It's one of those times you want to say, "no" but since I didn't want to be rude, I said, "ok." He sat down at my tiny table for two, never mind the completely empty tables all around us.

Trip 3: Sanguine Runner. Renae is the fun-loving, wise, wild, tatooed, Jesus-loving friend of Kathryn. She's a marathon running wonder, a wife, mother, leader and refreshing like spring wind. We laughed over lattes. Brillant.

Trip 4: Doctor in Scrubs. My husbands best friend lives in Sacramento. He is strangely like my husband, with the same verbiage and voice inflections. Funny, much like Tory. I left with a greater appreciation for their friendship and feeling I made a new friend, too.

Trip 5: Beautiful Best Friend. When it's time to leave, tradition has it, we get up early, and Kat always gives me a glamorous hairdo for the airplane ride home. Much more spectacular than necessary. I came to Sac to see her, and finally at 6am, on the way to the airport, we decide we have time for coffee. We never really have time, and she is trying to get a few more pictures of me, "oh, stop right there...the sunrise in the background." Click. We dash into The Temple and race out again with coffee and muffins. "Wait, right there, with the tree behind you." (She's an amazing photographer, just one of her myriad of talents.) It's tradition, running late, glam hair flying, juggling coffee, napkins, car keys, luggage, last minute photos, laughing, and oops, we took a wrong turn. It happens everytime. Different cities, different coffee venues but always the same. We HAD to get coffee. I make my flight with lots of laughs and a little stress. I love my best friend and I love life lived in around the coffeeshop.

Glam Hair by Kat

Off-Road Disciplines

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 00:21:55 GMT

I just finished reading Off-Road Disciplines by Earl Creps....wow! Earl has kindly addressed the cultural crisis the church is in. I would highly recommend this book to leaders...anyone in ministry that has a heart to be culturally relevant and also to anyone who desires to understand the current state of "the church."

This book accurately represents the voice of my generation, and it beckons a plea to the ministry leaders ahead of us on the journey. Earl talks of reverse mentoring....it's brillant, challenging and leads the reader into greater humility. If anyone wants to be effective in ministry in 2007 and beyond...this book is a must read.

AND now

Tumbleweed Awareness!

Every tumbleweed in West Texas raced wildly across a barren plain to pile up 20 feet high in a colossal tower in front of our garage door. The apartment complex sent out a maintenance man to shovel just so we could get out! Good times Texas!

Puppy in Rawanda, my midnight

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 03:01:00 GMT

My Valentine's Day gift from my husband is a sweet golden retriever puppy. We named her Indi -- after India (my country of focus this year). She is a first child who needs constant love and attention. We get up 3 times a night to her cries and take her outside. Wow! Sleep deprevation. She loves to play fetch already. So cute! Our family has grown to one puppy and 2 cats!

Try listening or reading Left to Tell and raising a new puppy at the same time. You'll have the craziest dreams and I promise a series of sleepless nights. The book was one of the most amazing and disturbing stories I have ever encountered. Read it but not the same week you get a new pup! You might confuse the lonely cries of a puppy for genocide.

life could be a dream, sweetheart

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 14:46:41 GMT

Christmas in Cabo!

Happy Birthday to me! Here I am celebrating 32 in fine style with my hubby.

Enjoying a sunset from our back porch.

What can I say? I married the perfect man and married into the perfect family and my life is a dream! I don't think there is anyone in the world who is happier than me!

anti-grandiloquent summary of the last 2 weeks

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 00:34:36 GMT

Laughing and carols at Christmas parties, Chi Alpha students

baking cookies, art galleries

live R&B music, saxaphone for the soul

drinks and desserts, crazy punch bowl explosion!

cats knocking off Christmas tree ornaments

and soon instead of snow it will be Mexico.

In Memory of My Horse Dancer

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 16:33:46 GMT

Dancer

Riding him was like magic. The last time I rode him was 10 days ago. I jumped up on his bareback and we moved like a single unit. His motion was fluid and smooth. We transitioned through his gates, galloping in a gentle rocking motion in both directions. He knew me and I knew him. After years of riding and working together, we knew each other’s slightest movements. I turned him in a circle with the simple pressure of my leg. He slid to a stop as I shifted my weight back and said, “Whoa.” He eased into a relaxed lope from a standstill as I lightly squeezed my calves against his sides.

I felt safe and free riding in the wind, holding his silver mane in one hand and guiding him with a light rein in the other. He was an angel, a pure joy to ride. He was feather-like in his response to me. He knew the shifting of my body weight; he would turn and stop on a dime, reading my signals like he was reading my mind. My husband couldn’t even see the cues I was giving him; they were so slight and subtle. It was magic, that last ride. The sun was warm and Dancer was as sweet and soft as he has ever been. His eyes were warm and bright and attentive to me. I kissed him on the nose and he blew warm air back into my face.

He stood at the fence for a minute when we left, hoping another carrot would emerge from our pockets before we drove away. We drove by his paddock and I remembered the time before when I called out to him, just to see him turn and lift his head in my direction. “See, he knows his name, and he knows my voice!” I had demonstrated to my husband. But this time, I didn’t call to him, I just watched him trot to the back fence where his buddies were waiting.

He was a good friend, my buddy, a very special horse, my baby that I watched being born, the horse I raised and trained. He was a great companion over the last 10 years and I will deeply, deeply miss him. There will never be another horse like my Dancer.

In Memory of Promised Wind Dance (Dancer) March 29, 1996 - November 13, 2006.