So as you may have noticed in the comments of my last post, I caught some grief from the Mrs. over posting about a favorite dessert of mine that was not her cheesecake. I made a wrong assumption thinking that everyone knew that Sharon’s cheesecake, is by far bar-none, the greatest cheesecake in the world.
Doesn’t this make your mouth water? And it goes great with a glass of Madeira…
I am no where near the vacinity of being considered a wine expert. All I know is that I like to drink it. I tend to prefer the taste of any red (especially merlot) or dessert wine.
My favorite winery to visit whenever I was in Napa Valley was V. Sattui. When I lived in San Francisco a few years ago I bought a bottle of Madeira. This stuff is simply awesome. If you like the taste of brandy, ports, or any after-dinner wine I highly recommend this Maderia.
I thought I had been saving this bottle for a special occasion until I realized many had come and gone since I made the purchase. This Christmas I took a look at my loving family and decided that life itself is a special occasion. Thus the wax seal was broken and I’ve been enjoying a glass (or 2) each evening since. Cheers!
Blessings to you and your family this Christmas season!
There are two times a year that I especially feel blessed to be Catholic–Christmas and Easter. The reason…because we don’t just celebrate on the one or two days. Christmas is preceeded by Advent–the thoughtful preparation for the coming of our Lord. And Christmas doesn’t end on midnight of December 26, but lasts for a couple of weeks afterwards as we celebrate the Epiphany.
When I was talking to Al, from the grocery store, the other day, he asked if I was “ready” for Christmas. I said yes that we had prepared a few weeks ago because we knew after the baby was born, we wouldn’t or couldn’t go out. And he mentioned that his wife likes to go to the mall to “get in the Christmas spirit.” I responded that that was the last place I’d probably go to “get into the Christmas spirit,” as I really don’t like shopping or crowds…but more importantly the consumerism placed on this Holy of days. This year I even turned off the Christian radio station when Advent started because they were so caught up in the same consumerism that I could care less for…but it made me realize even more the value the Catholic Church places not only on the birth of Christ, but also on preparing our hearts, minds and souls to greet Him as He comes daily into our lives.
Do we recognize Jesus when He comes to us in the dailyness of our lives? Do we fall to our knees in loving reverence when we encounter Him at Mass, in the tabernacle, or whenever the Blessed Sacrament is exposed? Do we run to meet, feed or clothe Him in the poor on the steet corners?
Our friend Devin coordinates the adoration schedule at our parish. Last week he sent out an email asking someone to help a disabled man go to Adoration. The man is willing to go at any time but needs a ride. Nobody–including us–responded to his email. The blog he wrote made me wonder if “I” missed the point of Advent…It seems that we can always find reasons we are “too busy” or there’s not “enough time” to do something or help someone in need even someone who would like to spend a little time with Jesus.
Today was great! I got to see the light of day! And boy was it a nice day outside!
I made my first grocery shopping trip in a couple of week–alone of course. I picked up a few things for our Christmas dinner. I chatted with my favorite bagger …a nice man named Al that’s old enough to be my father…and told him about our new baby. He’s quite excited about seeing Fulton. Besides not waiting in lines, Al is probably the only highlight of going to the store at 8 in the morning.
We also ran a few errands before Fulton’s two week check up. At this point “errands” means Adam or I wait in the car with the kids while the other runs into the store to pick up whatever we need.
Fulton’s doctor’s appointment went really well. Our little guy is back up and beyond his birth weight. This is GREAT news for me as the doctor said I can let him sleep as long as he wants at night–which is what I was doing anyway. Fulton also grew a quarter of an inch in the last two weeks. So he’s up to 20.5 inches.
The day was so nice, Adam was able to play with Therese outside. It’s been a while since she’s been able to ride her bike or play on the slide. Hopefully we’ll have another nice day for her to enjoy tomorrrow.
So all this to say…looks like we’re back to normal!
For those of you who read the last post and said even the smallest prayer for us–Thank you! We had a good day yesterday. We managed to keep the harmony until nap time. God must be showering extra grace on us since we had such a rough week last week!
At this point I’ve totally broken down on the TV issue. I’ve decided that it’s not the devil incarnate, especially when I need to feed Fulton and Therese needs a little distraction. She’s almost 2 anyway, I think I did a good job for the first 23 months of her life.
Therese is on the mend but still coughing a little. Adam is coming down with something. So unfortunately he has been banned from holding Fulton which means I get all the diaper changes. When I wake in the mornings my throat is itchy. I’m pumping myself up wtih Vitamin C, Calcium and my prenatal supplements.
Fulton is doing well at night. I’m trying my best to keep him up as long as possible in the evening so we can get a realatively good night’s sleep. I’m also learning that only the diapers that wake him up really need to be changed. I used to joke with Adam that when we’re 90 years old in our depends undergarments that our kids would get us back by taking their sweet time to change us too. I’ve decided that I’ll take my chances!
Tomorrow Adam goes back to work for the whole day. That’ll be the true test. But I think we’ll be able to manage. Please keep praying for us.
Just when we thought we had parenting down, God humbles us once again. The first week as a family of 4 has been less than optimal. In a “perfect” world, Fulton and I would have returned from the hospital to a healthy happy family. In the real world, we came home and little Therese was sick. By Thursday, she had a fever of 102.4. Two crying children in the middle of the night made for a very long and tiring next day. God bless my mom for being here to help us. Unfortunately, she had to leave early as she got sick too.
Lots of people have been asking how Therese is adjusting to her new brother. She loves him as you can tell from the pictures we took at the hospital. She always wants to hug and kiss him. But since she’s been sick we’ve had to have her keep her distance from her little brother. Kissing the toes and patting his head very gently have been the extent of her contact with him. Unfortunately, I’ve had to keep my distance too–not only because she’s sick but also because I can’t carry her. And while she was ill she always wanted to be carried. Much of her screaming has come back in full force. That is probably her way of trying to get the attention she needs.
This week Adam returns to work and it’ll just be Therese, Fulton and I. Lord, have mercy on me! And friends please pray for us. Adam is going back for half days almost every day.
By the way, several people have asked to bring us meals. If you are interested, please let us know and we will give the contact for a friend who is coordinating all of that.
Update: Sharon has finished her birth story. It is available on Fulton’s page.
Baby G III is a boy! Fulton Timothy Gretencord was born to us on Sunday, December 11, 2005 at 8:03am CST. He weighed 8 lbs 10oz and measured 20 1/4 inches long. Mother and baby are doing great. Thérèse simply adores her new baby brother.
More information will be available on Fulton’s page. A few pictures are available in the gallery.
I’m so pumped! We’re already 3 cm dialated and 75% effaced. (*happy dance*) I know, I know…this could still mean the baby is a week away…but I’m all about having a headstart on labor!
We are looking forward to welcoming Baby G very soon. My mom is coming up to Austin tomorrow to help us out with Therese. It will be a great relief–not to mention an answered prayer–to have her up here and be able to leave for the hospital stress free.
Keep us in your prayers!
There are some days that you just shouldn’t get out of bed…but God gives you grace ANYWAY. God is just reminding me that in all things I still need to give thanks.
Therese’s first diaper today leaked through her cloths…reminding me I have to retreat her cloth diaper covers…oh fun…but thankfully it’s now done before the baby comes.
I went to kinko’s to make copies…and my silly pregnant brain forgot to get my CREDIT CARD out of the machine! I nearly went into labor at the next store I went to when I realized that my card was missing. Then my only other credit card I had in the wallet WAS EXPIRED! Jesus was good to me though and I used my checkbook. And when I called Kinko’s up, they had my card! Praise and thanks be to God.
Therese REFUSED to take at nap in her room today. (*double sigh*) So she’s currently napping in the Scion out in the garage. (Yes, I have a window open in the car and the door from the house to the garage is open so I can hear her when she wakes up.) NEVER EVER MOVE A SLEEPING TODDLER! I’m so thankful that she’s at least napping now.
On the upside, I found a couple of good deals on some used shoes for my little Cinderella whose feet no longer fit into her tennis shoes. I probably paid a third of the price I would have paid for new shoes for her. (*woohoo–happy dance*) Thank you Lord for fast growing feet and consignment stores.
Finally…with my crazy day, I’m thankful I didn’t go into labor just yet!
As my version of Movable Type was becoming dated and I’m too cheap to pay for the upgrade, I decided to make the switch to open source, hence WordPress. I know a few people who have been using it and enjoy the experience. I’m looking forward to implementing all the neat tools the community has been developing to support the tool; and perhaps creating a few of my own.
A note on the look and feel: no, it is not my own design. As if I have the time to do that sort of thing. 
I utilized one of WordPress’s features called Themes. I liked this theme (Blix) since it builds a list of Pages (also a cool feature) as your navigation at the top. I only had to tweak it a bit to exclude sub-pages and display them instead on their parent’s respective page.
Hope you enjoy our modified home!
