Get the lead out... literally!

It started just like any other Friday morning. Chatting with Robert, talking on the net to with my sister, enjoying the calm morning. Then the call came. The nurse informed me Brigid's lead levels were high... and well, not just high... almost toxic. She was measuring 37.5. They admit to the hospital at 45. She said someone from the department of housing would be calling me, and someone from the health department would be calling me to set up appointments for consultations and inspections on our home, our clothes, her toys, the soil, the water. Everything. And the Dr wanted to see her again on Thursday (the day we leave for Crosby, ND). They will do cognitive and physical tests to make sure they is no damage, and draw blood again.

Begin Mommy Panic Mode.

I immediately called our health and human services rep, who refereed me to call the Visiting Nurses Association (VNA) or the health department. She gave me phone numbers, but didn't know much. I called the VNA first. The gal who deals with the lead cases (yes, they have a person who that's all she does, is deal with cases of lead poisoning. I imagine in this old of a town, there are quite a few old places that still have lead pipes and paint.) was on the phone, but the gal I talked to gave me the phone number of the housing authority. I wasn't about to wait for people to call me. I was going to get to them first. She took my name and phone number and said Michelle (VNA lead lady) would call me back. I called housing and got the number of the person who works for the state and tracks lead level cases (yes, we are now a "case" with the state) and left her a message.

Michelle from VNA called me back. We talked at length about measured I could take to help prevent Brigid from being further exposed. These included Vacuuming and dusting the entire house once (at least once if not more) a day, and wiping out any open window, sill, frame.. everything. And also wiping down anywhere there was exposed wood or wall. Daily. She is coming on Tuesday to meet with us, help us determine if the paint is lead, or see if Brigid has any toys that are a recall list, or might have lead in them.

Being the Panic Mode Mommy, I called the housing lady again, and found out I had left a message on her supervisors phone and he was out of town.. Good thing I called back. She got on the phone and talked with Michelle, and they coordinated for the people with the sample machine to come out on Tuesday morning also. They will take numerous samples from all over the house from all different kinds of things. Water, soil, paint, wood, dust, toys.... She said it would take a couple of hours.

So all that is happening on Tuesday. And there I sat, knowing there was poison in my home, and not knowing where it was coming from. My friend Lindy called and asked if I had used the home test? What? There is a home test out there for this? I had no idea. So I left the house in search of this home test. After 3 tries, Lowes had them. I bought a couple and preceded home to swab the suspects. My first swab was the window sill next to Robert's chair. The liquid was supposed to turn pink within 30 seconds if lead was present. The pinker it got, the more concentrated the lead. As soon as the liquid touched the under layer of paint next to the exposed wood, it turned bright hot pink. Great. That was all the confirmation I needed.

Robert and I thought what are we going to do? We can't stay here. So Robert got on the phone with the maintenance guy, and he agreed we should probably go somewhere else. He thought some of the apartments were open, but didn't know for sure. He told us to call the housing gal. She wasn't home but the baby sitter gave us her cell, and she was so wonderful and came to the school on a Saturday to see what she had and bring us keys. So we packed up some bags and boxes and moved to the apartments down the hill. We're hanging out in a two bedroom place. It's nice and clean, and lead free :) Hopefully being out of the house will bring Brigid's levels down.

So that is where we sit. Tuesday is meetings and sampling. We will know more then. If levels are extremely high they will advise us to move out and the school will have to make the place lead safe. Not sure what "lead safe" means, but that's what they housing lady told me. If that's the case I doubt we will be moving back in, given our time frame with first call.

We will keep you updated as to our journey with this, and Brigid's health. We are thankful for prayers and all the help and kind words we've received. Even in the mists of this all we can see God walking with us. Praises and thanks to Him. Now let's get the lead out!

Process

Alright. This has been a process, and will continue to be a process. Process, trust the process, flow with the process, know the process, blah blah blah process. Anyways....

On April 30th we embarked on Amtrak from LaCrosse Wisconsin to Stanley North Dakota. Two children and all their "stuff" in tow. We boarded the train. Robert interviewed in Stanley and Crosby North Dakota. Both were wonderful places. The congregation in Crosby seems to be a better fit for Robert's ministry style. After the interview, and careful, prayerful contemplation, we called Crosby and let them know we were with them. Kind fells like we're dating :) Cute!

So on Thursday the 6th of May, the call committee from Crosby recommended Robert to their council. The council would like us to visit again. So we booked another train trip for May 28th. Robert will interview with the council on Saturday the 30th, and if all goes well the council will recommend him to the congregation for a vote. The congregational vote will be June 14th. We don't have a start date. I'm sure that will be talked about on Saturday the 30th. Robert will also preach on Sunday the 31st, and they are having a fellowship coffee between services for people to meet us. It will be a busy weekend!

Ordination is tentatively set for the 30th of June. That's a Tuesday. Bishop Narum wanted to come for it, and that's what works into his, and hopefully everyone else's schedule whom Robert wants to be a part of the service.

Wow, this is all happening so fast. Weren't we just packing up from internship?

This whole process has been a whirlwind. I'm so glad I was able to sit back and just let the process do it's thing. I really think the process (and the humans involved in it) have found a great fit for Robert. We'll let you know how the final steps of the process go.

Trusting the process! Trusting in God's process!

Why I blog.. outlet

Blogging is an outlet for me. My friend Jennifer at Getting Down With Jesus (whom I've known long before blogging times) posed the question "why I blog" to her readers. My blog is kind of a journal I guess. I only have a few readers, or a few who comment. Most of my posts don't get comments, which is okay. I like to just write them down. I vent, I think things out, I talk to God. And I guess maybe, some day, some scared wife will read my blog and see it's not so bad being a pastor's wife, and maybe her husband's calling to seminary is a good thing, and she should trust in the Lord and follow him (him her husband, as well as Him). So I guess I can say I blog to make a difference to the one person who might google "pastor's wife" and get my blog and read it on a day that I post something awesome... or maybe she'll be inspired. Who knows.... so many possibilities on this world wide web!

Time in for mommy

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/13/mothers.internet.addiction/index.html

a friend posted this article on facebook, and I realized that it's me. I'm feeling some serious mommy guilt now, as my little one sleeps in my lap as I type this.

So I'm taking some time out. I might not be back, or it might be a long long time. I need to focus on my girls and my mommy role. Time out on blogging and time out on spending endless hours reading other blogs and playing games on facebook. Time to call it quits. Time for a time out online and a time in for mommy.

Given for me, Given for you

That hymn plays through my head as I begin the spiritual journey of making communion bread. (although I only know the chorus... and bits of the verses I still like to hum the tune). The recipe is in my head now, which makes it easier.
2 c whole wheat flour
1 c white flour
1 1/4 t. baking powder
1 1/4 t. salt
4 t oil
1 c hot water (115 degrees)
3 T molasses
3 T honey
Pretty small cast of characters. This is an unleavened bread, so no yeast, making it simple, quick, and fool proof. The lack of yeast also causes no need for kneading, which made me to scrap my original title of this blog "kneading prayer". Catchy, but not applicable here. Maybe another post.

As I collect the goods, I thank God for my stocked pantry, for the food I eat daily, and the abundance I have. I pray for those whose pantries are empty this day, and whose tummies will grumble as they lay their heads to rest.
I mix the dry ingredients together. Moving them about with my fingers, thanking God for the convenience of grocery stores, and a product I didn't have to grow, harvest or mill to use.
Working the oil into the dry mix moves my thoughts and prayers to blessings. I thank all those in service to God who anoint the sick, who pray for them, and bring them the message of the risen Christ.
I carefully heat the water in the microwave and pray for those who lack clean water to drink and wash with. Being thankful for the faucet in my kitchen that flows with safe water each and every day for me and my family to drink and wash with.
As I pour and mix the honey and molasses into the hot water I pray for babies. Honey always makes me think of sick babies, since babies aren't supposed to have honey. I think of my dear sweet girls and am so thankful they are safe and healthy. Honey contains small traces of botulism and causes severe problems in babies whose immune systems can't fight it off like adults can.
I pour the dark, sweet mixture into the dry ingredients while thanking God for diversity on our earth, thanking him for the melting pot of life and praying for tolerance and understanding amongst those who differ from each other. Mixing the light and dry with the dark and wet until it forms one solid ball, which will be a bit sticky, but none the less, is one.
Diving the ball into four sections I pat each one into it's own ball and flatten it, giving it a little flour dusting to prevent sticking. Thanking God for my hands, and my ability to do work, my ability to be a useful and contributing member of society.
Each ball finds it's place on my baking stone and is scored with a serrated knife. While I score the symbol into the raw dough I think of taking up my cross, the cross to follow Jesus. The cross I bear, but Jesus died on, for my sins.
The loaves going into the 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. As the timer ticks I've done different things. Sometime I've read a short chapter in my bible study book, or pulled out the bible. This day, my dear sweet Clara awoke from her nap. As I waited for the oven buzzer, I held her in my arms and fed her. I thanked God for the miracle of her birth, and for bringing her to me happy and healthy. I prayed for her, and her big sister snoozing through her nap time.
I get the dishes to the sink and pray for my husband who is my dishwasher. Lord bless him!
The loaves come out after 10 minutes and are brushed with oil, giving them moisture. I pray for rain for the fields, and flowers. I think of the flood victims who have too much moisture, and the drought victims with too little. I pray for recovery in Fargo and the other areas effected recently.
The bread goes back into the oven for another 8 minutes to complete it's baking time.

Stacked on my table they cool. Usually after nap time the girls and I walk down to Wartburg to put the bread in the chapel. I use the walk to pray for all those who will partake tomorrow and thank God for their forgiven sins and the symbolism of that meal. On this day I will freeze the bread and walk it to Scott's house so he can make sure it gets to Chapel next week when we will be gone in North Dakota interviewing. Thank God for Scott and all the work and coordinating he has done this year for chapel linens and Communion bread making it to the table on Wednesday mornings. What a daunting and logistical task!

Most of all I enjoy making the bread. It's a wonderful spiritual time for me, being thankful for things, remembering to pray, being humble and doing something simple. I enjoyed thinking about how I would write this and present it as I made the bread and photographed my steps. I think it made the experience more fun this time. I hope the congregation we are called to uses fresh baked bread, and perhaps I can even be the baker of that special bread. I would really like that.

I thank God for the bread, given for me, and given for you.

God will

Below is a link to one of the best pieces of sound engineering work ever seen. It is a composite audio/video of song whereby additional tracks were laid in by different singers and musicians from different places around the world. The finished product is tremendous!

The song itself is that classic standard "Stand By Me" originally released in 1955 by The Staple Singers and released again in 1961 by the Drifters. This composite version is a real toe tapper.

So turn up the speaker volume. Click here to listen
My sister posted this link. It really is an amazing collection and I'm glad she shared it with me. I wanted to share it with you.

When I hear that song.. of course it makes me thing... who's going to stand by me?

And of course I know the answer... God will.

So please listen and watch, and know who will stand by you. God Will.

more cake bites

 So these little bites of Delicious were made last week for a MOPS event I had to bring a dessert that didn't require a fork to. I remembered about 7:30pm on Wed night I needed this dessert, and was home alone with the girls. So there was no way I was going to try and hit the grocery store. I had the cake mix, frosting and candy melts already, and also had lollipop sticks. I had bought all this wanting to make little baseball cake bites for my nephew's birthday while we were in Omaha, but just flat out didn't have time. So these tasty little bites became a treat for the MOPS childcare workers luncheon. 

I did some things differently which I think made them 100 times better tasting and looking. I used yellow cake and chocolate "rich and thick" Betty Crocker frosting as opposed to the whipped stuff. Worked much much better. And I used just enough to make the balls tight, not crumbly. I put the cake balls on sticks, which was a great idea and made for much easier and cleaner coating of the chocolate. Although the balls were maybe a bit to heavy and a few fell off the sticks while I was dipping. there is no way they could have stood the other way, like a sucker, the would have all fallen off. My hubby commented they look a bit like chocolate covered caramel apples. Yes, I guess I see it too. Whatever they look like, I know they tasted AWESOME. I also took some to my friends at Pier One. While I never felt compelled to take food there while I was working over the holidays, for some reason I did this time. I brought donuts and strawberries one day, and these little guys another day. Pretty sure everyone had a heart attack they were so good. I wish I would have brought more and people could have eat more than one each. Oh well. Maybe next time. I absolutely have to make them smaller next time. Once again they were 3-4 biters, and after bite two, they usually fell off the stick, so they sat in your hand melting. I need to make them about half the size so you can just take one bite and eat the whole thing. I think that's how Bakerella does hers. 

So that's the next step in the cakes bites adventure. Don't have anything I can think of coming up that will call for more. But I am going to make communion bread for chapel. Perhaps I will do a spiritual blog about my "routine" I go through when I make it, and photograph it along the way. Good idea. Note to self... do that :)