Baby Rylan Sawyer is Here!

"Whoever invented the epidural should be seated at the right hand of Christ." --Me.

Baby Rylan Sawyer finally arrived on June 9! I have been the biggest slacker when it came to blogging throughout this pregnancy. But I did want to share some pics for those of you who may still be checking in every now and again. :)



Here is Rylan Sawyer fresh out of the oven....


Our first family photo at the hospital.

Rylan and I taking a much needed nap.....

Rylan sleeping. He's obsessed with his hands, they have to be touching his face at all times...
My dog Scrappy cuddling with Rylan. Here, I thought my dog would be super jealous, but it turns out he loves little Ryles.


Rylan smiling right before dosing off to sleep.


Hopefully, once I get into the swing of things with a new baby, the creative juices will start flowing again and I can get back to writing. Thanks everyone for your prayers!

Pregnancy, Perusing, Pondering, and Procrastinating

"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered."~~~~Nelson Mandela

For anyone left out there checking my blog, after months of my absence, I just wanted to let you know, that I am alive and well and have committed to posting regularly again.

My life has changed quite a bit in the last five months. In September, I found out I am pregnant! YaY! My hubby and I are thrilled. We found out last week that we are having a boy. Here's a picture from my ultrasound of little Rylan Sawyer, who is expected to be born around June 8.
So here's a relatively short recap of the last five months.....

Pregnancy:

My husband and I were secretly trying for four months and found out we succeeded in late September. The moment the stick turned pink, we cried, laughed, celebrated and jumped up and down. Later that evening, as we got into bed, I rested my hands on my stomach and stared down at my belly. My husband asked, "What are you thinking about?" I immediately burst into tears and answered, "That it's just gonna get bigger and bigger until I have to push it out!" Needless to say, I'm having a little anxiety about giving birth. :)

I was very sick in the beginning, but I'm much better now and I'm looking forward to being a mom.
Perusing

The last few months, I've been up to my eyebrows in books; books on all different topics, written by all sorts of people. When I was going through the sickest part of my pregnancy, curling up with a good book was the best comfort to me. But all that reading, left with many challenges. Many viewpoints to wade through, to consider, reconsider, and respond to in my own heart. Which accounts for the next part of my hiatus.........

Pondering

Reading a plethora of books on the topics of parenting, pregnancy, theology, marriage, sex, women's roles, emergent thought, anti-emergent thought and biblical interpretation (to name a few) has propelled me into a very conflicting place. On the one hand, I have never felt closer to God as I've been searching through "uncharted territory" (at least uncharted by me). I've realized what a gift the body of Christ is, how God uses His children to encourage and challenge each other with their own experiences and unique perspectives on faith. I've also been challenged by the works of those outside the Christian faith who present some thoughtful questions, concerns and critiques of the church. I've been thinking, rethinking, examining, deconstructing, embracing, rejecting, balancing and searching. Most of all, I've been appreciating the abundance of avenues through which God reveals Himself in part, finding truth in the oddest of places and people.

On the other hand, the more I see "Aslan" in the dark woods ahead, where others think He doesn't go, the more disconnected I feel from my former life. It was so much easier to uncritically accept the specific viewpoints spoon-fed to me, instead of wading through the myriad of viewpoints within the Christian faith and allowing for some gray. So stepping out and reinforcing some of my old beliefs, while revamping others and embracing some new/enhanced ones, feels difficult and vulnerable. I've had my feelings hurt quite a bit recently (mostly likely exasperated by the hormones from pregnancy), and encouraged my retreat into private searching and questioning. But my faith in Jesus and His transformative gospel has never been so alive, so I know it's been worth it and continues to be worth it, and I can only hope my old and new friends will stick by me in this journey. Which leads up to the next part of the past 5 months..........

Procrastinating

I never really intended to take a break from blogging. I sort of said to myself, "tomorrow, I'll get back on there..." When I last left off, I was juggling three jobs, a new roomie, a new pregnancy, morning sickness, and a sudden spurt of introverted-ness as discussed above. All of this led to procrastinating in regards to this blog. But I've really missed it and so I am putting an end to the procrastinating. I do plan to weave in the rest of the women's study in the midst of some other posts.

Snapshots From Dysfunction Junction!

Thus far, our Christmas/New Years trip to NJ has been delightful! Spending the holidays with our families and friends has been long overdue! We spent Christmas Eve with Will's family and Christmas Day with mine. So, here are some pictures!

Christmas Eve Pictures:

My husband Will and my brother Joshua

Will and his brother Charlie "gaying" it up. :)

My sister Olivia chilling after dinner. :)

My sister Juliet grinning big while playing with a new toy!

My Sister Chloe

Will's brother Charlie and sister-in-law Elizabeth.

Johanna (Charlie and Lizzy's daughter) and my sister Julie.

Pictures From Christmas Day

Will and I having tons of fun at my mom's house!

Myself and my Mommy!

My sisters: Angela, Sarah, and Christina, myself, and my step-father, Michael.

Aunt Laura and Uncle Rich with their children: Ashley, Noelle, and Jordan.

My Sister Sarah being a cute little stinker!

Washington Through My Eyes

I arrived home from Washington D.C. today, and while I missed my hubby and my puppums, I am completely infatuated with our nation's capital and can't wait to go back. My three days in D.C. were spent touring the inside of the White House (a truly overwhelming experience), The National Museum of Art, The Smithsonian, The Lincoln Memorial, The Washington Memorial, and Jefferson Memorial.

My three nights in D.C. were spent at restaurants, bars, and jazz clubs sipping wine and discussing religion and politics (my two favs.) with my fellow Christian gal pal, my atheist professor, and agnostic student advisor.

While New York City will always remain the Mecca of American cities, D.C. has taken up residence in my heart. I love how the entire city radiates history. The monuments and buildings are truly majestic and most of the museums and historical attractions are F-R-E-E, so that's always a plus.

I loved every moment of this trip, the trekking through the city, the sight seeing, the tours, the vast amount of historical information absorbed, and the great fun and conversation exchanged with the group I was with.

One moment during the trip particularly stuck out in my mind. I was walking with my friend between the reflecting pools and the Washington Monument and the pathway was PACKED with busy preoccupied people hurrying along their way. We, too, were rushing to fit everything into our short trip. While my friend stopped to fix the settings on her camera, a small object on the ground caught my eye as people unknowingly kicked it back and forth. When it landed on the side of the path this is what I saw....

I watched person after person obliviously shuffle this beautiful little lost cross further down the path, splashing water on it from their shoes, almost crushing it. Seeing this tiny cross kicked to the side of the road next to sopping wet dead grass and a pile of mud made me think of the still small voice that is always speaking, but rarely heard, or the presence that is always there but remains unknown to so many. Just a small moment that spoke volumes to me.

Anyway, the Washington D.C. was phenomenal and I can't wait to go back!

Ambiguously Gay Duo Gets A New Getup!

Sam and Scrappy got new outfits today. They look like little sailors/inmates. :)

And as you can see below...they love 'em!

And I just find this picture says it all.."I love ya man, but you're in my personal space."

Doggings!

I don't have children like most of my other blogging buddies and many of their posts are pictures of the fun things they do with their little darlings. My life is very different-instead of homeschooling, cooking, and chasing after kids, I work and go to school. Unfortunately, those activities don't make for cute pictures. But I do have dogs that I cherish. Some would say TOO many dogs, and they are probably right. But I completely love my dogs and enjoy the time I spend with them. Anyway, here are some recent photos of some funny moments with the pups.

The Ambiguously Gay DUO!
(SNL fans know what I mean...and it's a joke, so everyone just unclench)

Sam (white and red guy) and Scrappy (lil brown guy) are our two inside dogs and are the best of friends. They do EVERYTHING together...eat, sleep, wrestle, etc. etc.

Luna (black and white girl) and Caspian (tawny guy) are the dogs we've had since Will and I have been married. If you want to get technical, Caspian is a bastard, cause we had him out of wedlock! :) Aravis (the black girl) we got from a shelter when we moved down here.
Luna, as you can see, is OBSESSED with playing ball.

Above, are Roonwit (lil tawny guy) and Aravis (the black girl). They are, well, sort of "married." They are ALWAYS together...playing, running, wrestling, and well...ahem..you know. They are surprisingly monogamous for canines. It's kind of sweet and just one more reason why I am convinced that God gave dogs the ability to love. This is Cappuccino and Roonwit. Cappa is Roonwit a Aravis' lovechild :)

This Mocha. Roonwit and Aravis' other lovechild. He is one of the sweetest dogs. He used to be painfully shy and didn't really care about interacting with people. But one day he got caught up in our hammock, really bad. His back legs where tangled up SO TIGHTLY and he couldn't get out. He was yelping and Will heard him and saved the little guy. Ever since that day, Mocha became a "people dog," giving lots of hugs and nuzzles. Very CUTE!
This is Jewel (Luna's daughter) chilling with scrappy.

This is Susan (Jewel's sister). She is our smallest outside dog, yet she has the biggest mouth. :)But she is very sweet and playful.

So this is our canine clan. One of my favorite things to do is sit on my trampoline and watch the dogs play tag and run in circles around the full length of our fenced in yard. Giving such sweet creatures a safe place to reside where they can run and play as much as they want is so mysteriously satisfying. Sometimes I'm actually jealous of my dogs (and I say mine, cause they have good lives, while sadly so many others do not) They are so care-free, with no worries and without any concept of death or evil. But I digress.

Anyway this my little canine family. They're a huge part of my life, so I thought I'd share.

Meet Scarlett

"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. That is the difference between dog and man."-Mark Twain

Well, the Pied Piper strikes again! Friday night, Will and I were on our way to a friend's house, out in the middle of nowhere. Suddenly, a dog ran in front of our car, stopped, and stared at us. She came running out of a driveway, so we figured she belonged to the house there. Only there was no house at the end of the driveway, but an old church. After taking a good look at her, it became unmistakably apparent that this tagless, collarless, malnourished dog was abandoned, been out on her own for too long and was starving to death. Our friends confirmed that dogs are abandoned all the time where they live because it's a remote area.

Despite my deeply held belief in nonviolence or alteast an Augustine-like "just war theory," if I ever found the person who would leave one of Gods' beautiful creatures to suffer such a slow, cruel, and painful death as starving alone in the wild, I'm pretty sure that there would be some violence involved. The following pictures do not even properly convey the extent of Scarlett's malnourished body.













I have never in my life seen such a skinny dog. Every rib and bone is protruding from her fatless body and her pelvic area is completely caved in. Obviously, we could not leave her to starve, so she hopped in our car, and off we went. After feeding her some dinner at our friends' house (that she devoured in a second flat), we took her back to our house. On the way, she leaned her head forward from the back seat, and placed it on my shoulder. It was as if she breathed a great sigh of relief. Jokingly, I said, "As God as my witness, I will never be hungry again!" Will, not up on 1930s movie classics lines, said, "What is that from?" So, I explained how Scarlett O'Hara was starving after the Yankees destroyed her home, farm, and all sources of food. She desperately digs in the dirt, trying to eat a root from the ground. Then in one of the most dramatic proclamations in cinema histroy, Scarlett declares that she will never be hungry again, not matter what she has to do. After telling the story, I looked at the sad, wasting-away dog in our backseat and said more seriously, "I promise, you'll never be hungry again." Will suggested that we call her Scarlett to seal our promise to her.

When we arrived home with Scarlett, we fixed up a huge bowl of dog food mixed with cheese and some meat (fatty foods are needed to get some weight on her). I swear to you, I saw that dog smile. We placed the food in front of her (probably the most food she as seen in months) and watched as she devoured it. There is nothing in the world like watching a creature that has been starved enjoy a simple meal. Satisfying physical hunger is one of the rare tangible spiritual expereinces.

So, Scarlett is currently taking up residence in our yellow room (the room between our kitchen and laundry room) because it is closed in, uncarpeted, and can be cleaned easily in case of accidents. We are going to see if the Humane Society will help us place her in a good home and also put her on Craig's List. We really cannot keep this one. She is very sweet tempered, and gets along with other dogs and children FANTASTICALLY. If anyone knows anyone who would like an approximately 7 or 8 year old dog to love, let me know.

So please pray we can find a good home for Scarlett and that we see through on our promise to never let her go hungry again.

For those of you who are in the same clueless boat, I bring to you one of the most famous scenes from Gone With The Wind. :)

The Worst Haircut EVER!

It's summer, in Georgia. It's hot and will only get hotter. Our little Alpha-male, Caspian, has a butt-load of thick fur and is therefore highly susceptible to heat exhaustion. Of course, he DESPISES haircuts. Forget a buzzer or clippers, he gets into a full on convulsing frenzy just at the sound. So scissors it is! But he still won't hold still, which resulted in the hack job Will did. It's pathetic looking, I know, but atleast Caspian won't be as hot. :)

Mother's Day Photos

Even though the circumstances leading up to me unexpectedly going back to NJ for a week were sad (my great-unlce passed away), I was so happy to be home to see my family on Mother's Day. The dynamic of my family, though some would label "dysfunctional," is something I cherish. The connection, love, and HUMOR cannot be duplicated. It was great to spend time with my mom, stepdad, grandma, and sisters. Although my trip did require a reluctant visit to "dysfunction junction" (my biological father's pad to see my siblings), the time spent with my sister Olivia was really fun, she helped me pic out my first pair of earrings! Jimbo encounters are never good and I'm pretty sure they will all culminate into a future therapy session one day.

Anyhow, here are some photos from Mother's Day

This is me and my Mommy.
From the left: My cousin Ashley, My sister Mayo (Christina), My aunt Laura, Me, My sister Angela, and My Mommy.
From the left: My cousin Ashley, My grandma, Me, Angela, My aunt Laura, Mayo, My Mommy, and my sister Sarah Rose.
My Grandma, Angela, Uncle Michael, and Uncle Mark watching their science experiemnt fly away (a bunch of helium balloons tied to a bag of cookies), hopefully landing to some hungry people craving chocolate chip minis! (There might have been some beers consumed while dreaming up that plan up!)