Stealthy reading

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I have a confession to make: I’m the “random selector” for an annual Christmas lunch and book exchange with some old colleague friends, and I gave myself someone because I wanted to read one on that list. Done & wrapped! Didn’t even curl the edges. 😎

(In related news, I need to get back to my dissertation revisions, but the brain-break was nice for a few days.)

Worth Waiting For (Prayer Devotional for the week of December 15, 2013)

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When I was a kid, we had a tradition of opening certain presents on Christmas Eve night. My brother and I loved the idea, of course, because Christmas Eve seems so much closer than Christmas morning when you are a child. Waiting can be hard! The presents look so pretty under the tree, and you can’t help but wonder if maybe it’s that thing you really want … or perhaps it’s just a package of socks … but either way, the anticipation is mounting and you can’t wait to rip open the box!

Waiting is difficult in a lot of ways. I remember being 12 and thinking that it was the longest year on record; it seemed to take forrrevvvver to turn 13. I remember the few days between final exams and graduation, when the hard work is finally over and anticipation peaks. I remember being in the last few weeks and days of pregnancy, when you can’t sleep and can’t see your feet … the waiting is exhausting.

The Gospel of Luke tells us about a man who had waiting down to a science. In Ch. 2, Luke gives us a glimpse into the life of Simeon. We don’t know much about him, except that he was faithful to the Lord and was regarded as a good man. We assume that he was elderly, since he had received a promise from God that he wouldn’t die until he saw the Messiah, but the Bible doesn’t say how old he was. One day, Simeon went to the temple in anticipation. He was sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s prompting, and he knew that his waiting time was over. He got to meet baby Jesus face to face and cuddle him in his arms. The promise that Simeon had lived for was coming true right before his eyes!

I wonder if Paul had someone like Simeon in mind when he wrote Colossians 2:6-7 (CEV), “You have accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord. Now keep on following him. Plant your roots in Christ and let him be the foundation for your life. Be strong in your faith, just as you were taught. And be grateful.” You and I may not have received a specific word from the Lord like Simeon did, but we do have something special, and that is hope. We have hope because of that little baby cradled in Simeon’s arms. We have a promise of eternal life with our Lord and Savior, Jesus. That is something worth waiting for!

Santa’s early delivery

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I came clean about Santa earlier this year. I always said that I wouldn’t flat-out lie to the kids, so when they asked me if I was Santa, I said yes. (In previous years, the questions were always something like, “Is Santa real?” to which I averted the question and replied, “What do you think?”) Now that the cat is out of the bag (no pun intended), there’s some leeway on the element of surprise.

I swore off getting another pet after we had to give away our dogs a couple of years ago. Our yard is just too small, and they were eating the house (literally). I have decided that I’m a terrible dog owner. I enjoyed having a cat when I was young & single, but my ex-husband is allergic, so I gave her away before we got married. Now that he no longer lives here – and as far as I’m aware, none of the boys are allergic to cats – I thought perhaps that would be a safe bet for our next venture into pet ownership.

pet contract

The pet contract that each of the kids signed

A friend from work emailed me with news that a mama cat showed up on their doorstep and delivered six kittens. She is quite allergic, though her heart went out to the mama cat. They decided to keep her (allergies notwithstanding), but they had to find homes for the babies. The kittens are 8-1/2 weeks old now. There were two boys in the litter, and it seemed like the right thing to do to bring them home.

The boys were beside themselves when I told them the news. I had each of them sign a Pet Care Contract that I found online, and we talked bluntly about litter boxes and whatnot. Everyone agreed and signed the papers. One of them even had the idea to highlight key phrases and tape their contracts to the fridge as a reminder, and everyone followed suit.

Sushi & Bruiser

Sushi & Bruiser

I now introduce to you Bruiser and Sushi. Bruiser is gold with green eyes, so we named him after the Baylor mascot. Sushi is whitish-gray, and my 7th grader suggested his name because cats like fish and the boys like sushi. Makes sense to me! 🙂

They are a playful pair and seem to be acclimating to the house well. They are in the master bathroom right now, and we’ll introduce them to larger parts of the house a day at a time. My ulterior motive is that having cats might be an incentive for the boys to keep the floor clear of clothes and toys! We started litter box training today, but I’m sure accidents will happen. Maybe if someone’s jeans get peed on, then they’ll start picking them up off the floor. 😉

Snuggle time

Snuggle time