The Date is Set!

June 27th is the big day.....the big ultrasound will be performed to determine the gender of our newest addition to the family. We'll be happy either way; however, all three of us are keeping our fingers crossed that it's a girl. We'll see!

Judge Rules Man too Short to Serve Prison Time

Well, I guess there's an advantage to being short....if I ever commit a horrible crime I might be able to use my (lack of) height to get out of prison time like this guy!

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12969163/?GT1=8199

Ha! My Mother Was Wrong!

Scientists have said that there is no real benefit to taking vitamins. So there, Mom, you were wrong all those years. Therefore, you really shouldn't have grounded me when you caught me flushing them down the toilet.


http://www.latimes.com/la-sci-vitamins18may18,0,635571.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Sad, but true.......

Sadly, a new poll came out today stating that 1/3 of Americans between 18 and 24 cannot find Louisiana on a map (just one of many sobering statistics within this poll). Perhaps the even sadder news is that I am not surprised by this.

Of the 600+ students I had in my five year career, all of them were drilled and given map tests covering the entire world (minus Oceania/Pacific islands...impossible for even the best geographers). I'm sure if they were polled today, they would fare no better than the general public, despite my best efforts.

The truth is, until parents understand the importance of being informed of not only world events, but where those events take place and the cultures that are affected by those events, children/teenagers will not find those things important, either. IF the entire family gets together for dinner these days, the topic of conversation is not the day's news events, but is more likely to be the Astros' record or how many deer were shot the previous weekend (at least in the district I taught in).

Hopefully, Ryan and I can reverse this terrible trend, at least within our own household. It will be tough, however. Not only are we tempted to talk about more trivial things at the dinner table, but we want to protect Sydney from the horrors of the day's news. I only hope that we can find some kind of balance and that someday Sydney will blow those pollsters away with her knowledge of the world.

Sydney Wants a Sister

After we had our first official ultrasound, Ryan and I told Sydney about the baby. It took her a little while to take it all in, but now, if you ask her, she'll tell you that there's a baby in Mommy's tummy. And when we asked her if she wanted a baby brother or sister, she informed us that she wanted a sister.

I think it's because one of her little school friends, Anna Catherine, just became a big sister to a baby brother. According to Anna Catherine's dad, Anna Catherine is not adjusting very well to the new addition. Apparently, two and three-year-olds talk about such matters amongst themselves because Sydney refuses to acknowledge that our baby might be a boy.

Either way, we can find out the gender of the baby in July. I just hope that no matter what the results are, Sydney adjusts well. I see how frustrated Anna Catherine's dad is and I definitely don't want that to be me come November.

Another "First"

We thought that we were pretty much done recording Sydney's "firsts." We've got all the major milestones down: walking, talking, singing, using the potty, going to school, going to the dentist, etc. Yesterday, however, we encountered a new one: our first visit to the emergency room.

While stirring the macaroni and cheese that was to be her lunch, Sydney accidentally touched the pot. She suffered first and second degree burns on her right palm and after a call to the on-call pediatrician from our doctor's office, Ryan took her to the emergency room.

Amazingly, she got in within an hour and was the bravest little thing in the world while the nurse practitioner cleaned the burn and wrapped her entire hand and wrist. Ryan said she was the perfect patient and didn't cry at all (as opposed to when it first happened and she was completely inconsolable).

So for the next few days, her hand will be wrapped so that the burn can heal and hopefully an infection won't set in. A visit to her regular pediatrician on Monday should tell us when we can expect for the burn to heal completely.

I asked Sydney if she was going to touch a pot again and received a vehement, "NO!" in response, so we're hoping she learned her lesson. As difficult as it is, I guess it's one of those things you just have to learn for yourself. Sadly, I'm sure this won't be the last lesson she has to learn for herself.

The Power of Prayer

A few days ago, a study came out stating that having people pray for you during recovery is detrimental rather than helpful. Heart surgery patients who knew that others were praying for them actually did worse than those who did not have people praying for them. How scientific could this study be? Can you measure the faith of those who prayed or the faith of those who had prayers said in their name? I don't think so.

I know prayer works, despite what scientists say. Most of you who read this blog know that Ryan and I got some good news a few weeks ago when we found out that we would be having a baby in November. Unfortunately, there were complications early-on and I was on bed-rest for almost two weeks. We had our families and friends praying for us. We were added to a prayer list at my sister's church. I even had my internet support group praying for us. People of several faiths kept us in their prayers.

It worked. On Tuesday, we got the news that despite the complications, the baby is thriving and all looks well. I'm still on a 'restricted regimen' but the chance of a miscarriage is down to 3%. The first words out of my mouth once we heard our little one's heartbeat was, "Thank you, God." I think I've said that prayer about a thousand times since, as well. After all, God most definitely deserves prayers of praise after such a terrifying situation is resolved.

I'm sure the study that was done was conducted as scientifically as possible, but I still don't believe the results. How can you measure something that has no physical manifestation? Isn't that the point of faith - to believe in something or someone so strongly that you don't need proof of physical existence? I simply don't believe this study's results; I'm pretty sure anyone of faith (Christian or otherwise) probably feels the same. Our little one is living proof (literally) that prayer works.