Big A and I both had appointments on Monday. Mine was in the morning and I was able to leave both kids with BF. I came home to Big A making herself lunch (yay!) and Little A passed out (double yay!). I got home around noon, rested a bit, cooled off, and then headed back out with both girls to Big A's appointment at 3:30 that afternoon. I also stopped by the library to pick up a book, Sandstorm by James Rollins, and then headed home to attempt to cook something edible for dinner.
With the weather being so icky (humid AND hot), we've had to run the A/C several days this week. I'm afraid of our electric bill next month. Doubly so, since I'm already behind in paying it. We couldn't make it with just the fans, though. It was really that hot. We had heat advisories and warnings several days this week from around 11:00 in the morning until the sun set at 9:00 P.M. Working on crochet projects, even small ones, was definitely out this week. I read instead. I found a blog online that I'm really enjoying and I requested several books from the library. Sandstorm was a little slow to start, but picked up momentum and turned out to be a really great read. It mixes science fiction with treasure hunting and the search for an ancient city lost in the sands of Saudi Arabia. I enjoyed it and I will definitely add the rest of the books in that series to my library request list!
A few years ago, I met with Mormon missionaries for several months and became really good friends with one of the women. K was not transferred to another location and spent about nine months (of her 18 month mission) in Saint Cloud. This is pretty unusual for missionaries. They are typically transferred to another location (sometimes within the same state, sometimes not) every six weeks. She came back for a visit in Spring of 2011 and we've kept in touch (a bit sporadically) over the two years since her first visit.
K was in Saint Cloud this week, visiting from Utah with her mom. K planned to show her mom the places she spent time while she was here, to introduce her mom to some of the people she made friends with, to see the sights, and she sent me a message asking if they could stop by for a quick visit on Thursday. They only stayed for a little over an hour. I wish they could have stayed longer, but it was nice to visit, even for so short a time. I think I embarrassed them when I breastfed Little A. It wasn't intentional and I meant no offense, but I was in my house and I don't use a cover at all because Little A won't tolerate one. BF said that was probably part of the reason they left after about an hour. I'm sad that something so normal is such a big deal, especially to people who typically tend to have large families where breastfeeding would be pretty common. Or, at least, I think it would be pretty common.
The blog I've been reading is written by a woman who converted from Atheism to Catholicism. I spent nine years in a private Catholic school and religion (pretty much any type of religion) fascinates me. I was curious what made a life long Atheist convert to Catholicism. She's also a Stay At Home Mom with a large family. I'm enjoying her posts about prayer, conversion, mass, contraception, Natural Family Planning, finances, moving back in with her mom, starting a business with her husband, and all the questions she has about converting from believing there isn't anything out there to believing there is. It's fascinating to see her mindset change, little by little, as she grows in her faith and learns about religion.
The blog was started in 2006, so I've been haunting her archives for a couple of weeks. In one post, she talks about an unexpected pregnancy in the midst of a medical battle that requires medication definitely NOT SAFE for pregnant women. She was warned before starting the medication that a pregnancy was not advised and would most likely need to be terminated. She doesn't believe in terminating the pregnancy and is able to find a medication (not fully covered by her insurance at first) that she can take while pregnant. She said she really started to notice a change in her attitude and behavior toward her (then) small family when she prayed the rosary daily.
Despite spending nine years in Catholic school, I'm not Catholic. I was baptized Episcopalian, but my parents were never church people. I've been exposed to a few different brands of Christianity, but nothing really stuck, and I don't go to church at this point, though I have attended two different churches while living in Saint Cloud. What the writer posted about praying has really stuck with me. I'm not typically the type of person to pray. I have a very difficult time asking anyone for help when I feel overwhelmed. I usually end up snapping and yelling when I can't take the pressure anymore. Then, of course, I feel like a shit. So, I figured a little meditation or some prayer every day would probably be a good thing. It might help me find some strength I didn't know I had, or some peace when I feel like I can't handle one more act of defiance from Big A. We're pretty strapped for cash, so, as nice as all the prayer and meditation beads online are, they're out. The whole family went with me to the craft store today and I spent $2.14 (including tax) on wooden beads so I could make myself a set. I already had the thread I wanted to use to string the beads on and the charms are from two different necklaces I don't wear, so I only needed beads and some time to figure out the best way to put the whole thing together. I think it turned out pretty well. I intend to leave it on the windowsill during the three nights of the full moon to bless it. The full moon starts Sunday this week. Pretty perfect timing, right? :)
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