Update on the earring

In February, I got the cartilage pierced in my left ear. Just in case someone was considering doing the same thing, I thought I'd give an update.

My ear was very sore for the first two weeks or so. I also had ringing in my ear, I'm guessing from the swelling. The swelling went down and my ear got much better, but I wasn't able to sleep on my left side until about two weeks ago. Even then, I have to shield my ear from the pillow with my hand. So, I thought my problem might be the earring post and back getting in the way, catching on my glasses, and generally keeping the area sore. Today I bought a nice sleek hoop that's small and makes a perfect smooth circle when it's closed. I figured it would be perfect.

I've had this piercing about 11 weeks now. The instructions said to keep the original earring in for 8-12 weeks, so I figured I was fine. It was kind of hard to get out because the earring back was "locked" on from the piercing gun. When I did get it off, my ear immediately swelled up. Great. I cleaned everything off really well, including the new earring, and started to put it in. But, the new earring is rounded, and the hole had swelled too much for me to easily put it in. At this point, I started to feel faint. :) I called Jon in to figure out what to do. After a few more attempts, we decided it was simply not time to put a new earring in, so back went the stud.

Maybe I'll try again in a few weeks. I do think the new ring would help keep it from getting knocked, which might be one reason it hasn't healed. On the other hand, I mentioned the soreness to a girl I bought the earring from today, and she said that could last up to a year! So maybe this is just normal.

It's not infected, and in almost every situation I don't even notice it, but I will be glad when it's healed. And I'll be glad when I can put the new earring in, because I like it.

So to all of you considering cartilage piercing, 3 months into it I like it, but I'm not sure it was worth it. I certainly wouldn't get another one. However, I do think I'll keep the one I have.

Japanese Gardens

Last Saturday Joe and Leanna came out to visit the Japanese Gardens with us. It was tons of fun, and we got lots of neat pictures. Lea, if you want any of these full-size, just let me know!

Awareness

There are a couple things going on that I wanted you to be aware of.

First, there is a new movie called Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. A documentary by Ben Stein, Expelled seeks to open up conversation between those who believe in Evolution and those who believe in Intelligent Design. To do so, he brought in the most polarized scientists from each camp. That has stirred up some controversy, because there are many "middle ground" campers. However, taking a view to its logical conclusion often leads to the very view of the polarized group. To illustrate the point, Stein interviewed Richard Dawkins, a staunch Darwinist and athiest. He argues that evolution, taken to its logical conclusion, means that there is no God. Another scientist whose name I can't recall, exultantly stated (in paraphrase), "There is no God, there is no life after death, there are no moral values, there is nothing!" That same scientists was also in favor of euthenasia, which is another logical conclusion of evolution. If we are just cells smashed together by chance, here for ourselves and no one else, then why live after it's not fun any more?

The real revelation from the movie is that both scientific theories--Evolution and Intelligent Design--come through their own world views. A world view is, simply, one's belief about the world that affects one's decisions. The important word is "belief." Evolution requires a belief system for it to work, and yet Intelligent Design is invalidated for that same reason.

All in all, it's an excellent documentary. I would highly recommend it no matter your beliefs. I would caution you, however, on your discussions after the movie. The point of the movie is to open calm, thoughtful conversation between the two sides. However, this is an issue where emotions run high, and rational thought is easily put aside for less productive words. You can find evidence of that all over the internet; I encourage you to do some sleuthing on both sides. Find out if the movie is showing near you!

In other news, many of you have probably heard of Oprah Winfrey's new "cult religion." Oprah has started a webinar series on the book A New Earth written by Eckhart Tolle. In typical Oprah fashion, the book is very New Age. And also in typical Oprah fashion, what she touches turns to gold, and thousands have joined in on the webinar series. I read a blog post that had some very good comments on what is going on, and I will encourage you to read it as well instead of me rewriting what's been said. I'm not an Oprah watcher, but I know many people who are. Be aware of what's happening so you can discuss it with someone who might be duped by it.

It's good to be informed about these kinds of things: origin of life discussions and support of a New Age movement by a very influential person. As much as I'd like to duck my head in the sand 'til Christ comes back, I know that won't do the Kingdom any good. And it won't help the people who are lost and seeking.

Get informed and get in the conversation!

Showerhead Innovation

I ran across a new kind of showerhead today, and I thought I'd pass it on. There is a whole line of showerheads made by Evolve that preserve water when you're not using them. How many people (or people's spouses) turn on the hot water to the shower, then go off and do other things waiting for it to warm up? Shave, pick out clothes, check the mail.... When you get back, the water is nice and warm. But how long was it running nice and warm?

The Evolve showerheads have an auto-turnoff that reduce the flow of water to a trickle once the water hits 95 degrees. That will indicate that it's hot, and if you're in the middle of something, you don't waste any more water! Some people like water hotter than 95, and the showerhead does not prevent it from getting hotter; the designers evidently figured 95 was a comfortable temp to start, at least.

Check out the site! Only one of the showerheads is a low-flow design; the others are normal flow just like what you're used to. The cheapest one is $40, which is more expensive than the cheapest you can find at Wal-Mart, but really pretty on par with other showerheads. There's also an adapter which looks like it fits between your existing showerhead and shower arm, just in case you just bought your dream showerhead and are now finding it lacking. The site says the showerheads are available at The Home Depot, so we may go check them out. I know this would be useful at our house!

A Step

Today I've signed up to donate my photography to an auction whose proceeds go to a Christian school here in town. I'll be donating a sitting and a 16x20 portrait. I had started to donate an 8x10, but that's not going to be very impressive over someone's mantle, s0 a 16x20 it is. I'm giving about a $150 value (yes, those new prices I've yet to really use), and hopefully someone will bid more on it than that so that the school will make lots of money. And also, hopefully, this will be good publicity for me, too. I'll get to have my business cards set out as well as a sample of my work.

As far as a sample goes, I have two options for family portraits. One is the Sapp family. The other is the Schield family. The Sapps are a little older, with two grown boys, while the Schields are a mixture of ages (though they're all siblings except Mrs. Schield). The Schields is a more colorful picture, but I like the lighting in the Sapp portrait. What do you think? Let me know which one would make you bid for a portrait sitting for yourself.

This year's garden

This year, I haven't done nearly the planning as I did last year. I decided this morning that during my afternoon holiday, I'd go get some flowers. I didn't know how many, or what I would put where. I did know I wanted another rose and cucumbers.

So, I went to my favorite garden center and found flowers: petunias, daisies, verbena, and a rose. I also got some herbs: cilantro, dill and chives. And of course I got the cucumbers.

When I got home, our neighbor (not Holly) had her normal passel of kids over--her own, her nieces and nephews, and I'm pretty sure a few just come over that are no relation. Anyway, one little girl asked if she could watch me plant. Fine, I said. I was planting the herbs at the time, so I had them smell the leaves of each herb and I told them what they were and how to use them. I was pretty proud of myself. (Oh, and I say "them" because one little girl had grown to two girls and three boys, ranging in age from 5 to 10, most closer to 5).

Then, suddenly, it was not fun any more to just watch. Everyone wanted to help. Which was okay, because at the moment I was struggling with getting my rose planted. Well, before I knew it, the rose was done, as well as all the flowers, and all I had done was enough to show them how to plant. I showed them the proper way to get a plant out of it's plastic pot, how to carefully separate the roots, and how to cover it with dirt. I planted two flowers, and suddenly, each kid is at a different pot, planting "their" flowers however they saw fit. And, they didn't do too bad of a job, I have to admit.

They all begged me for the petunias. They asked how much they were, and could they buy them from me. I told them to ask their mommas to take them to Wal-Mart to get some petunias. I'm sure their mommas will appreciate that. But, at the end, we had a little dirt left over, so I asked each kid to fill one of the little plastic pots with dirt, and I gave them all seeds I had left over from last year's gardening experiment. They planted them and I watered them, and each kid took one home! I hope they have better luck than I did!

So, at first I was pretty proud of myself, able to handle five and sometimes six kids in a garden. Then I got a little frustrated, because I was reminded how self-centered kids are--especially young ones. But I think they had fun, and maybe they'll want to garden a little. And it was pretty cool, all in all.

I hope my plants grow! If not, I'm totally blaming it on the kids. :)

Happy Birthday!

We all celebrated at John & Karen's house. Bekah made the cake and it was SO yummy!

My dad laughed because he got to hold Ian first.

My mom looking upset because she wasn't the first to get a hold of Ian.

Little did either of them know that Jon and I got to hold him first!

Ian working on tummy time!

Look at how high that head is coming up!

Jon and I headed for the Stockyards today.

This horse was beautiful, and the longhorn was NOT wanting to do the walk around the block they do twice a day.

This guy was really pretty.

My handsome man! Taking me to Riscky's BBQ for lunch!

...and 5 pictures later....

I, however, never tire of the camera.

I'm so distraught about being in jail....and did I mention I dyed my hair red?

This little girl was the cutest, riding the bull like a pro!

Another sad post

Sorry for yet another sad post....Wesson died today. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

Kitten update

Smith died this morning. Wesson is doing worse--acting like Smith was a couple of days ago.

Little kitties

If you are the kind of person who prays for animals, please pray for my kitties. They have had upper respiratory infections since we got them, and they are both getting worse. Smith doesn't have much more room to get worse, and I really don't want to lose another cat. Wesson has been our trooper, but even he is not wanting to eat now. The vet's done everything he can, and so have we. Pray that we'll keep working hard to get them better, that we'll have the energy we need (we're doing 2am feedings, and if this is any indication, we'd never make it as parents of a newborn!), and that the kitties will have the will to brave it out and get better.

General Update

The kitties are still sick. :( No real change from yesterday. Smith is still pretty sick, though I've noticed little improvements: he's making better eye contact, has stood up more today, went to the bathroom on his own, and hasn't needed glucose but once today (four times yesterday). Wesson is still Mr. Sneezy, but he wanted to play a little today. Mostly they've just slept! But, they're stinky and grossie, so I think they're headed for another bath soon.

And, on another front, Jon and I are going to dinner with a seminary professor to talk about church planting tonight. He's the head of the Nehemiah Project at Southwestern, and will probably be an invaluable resource to us. I'm excited about our conversation tonight.

At work, I'm ALMOST done with a website that persists in acting dumb. There are some bugs I just can't figure out, and I've spent the whole day today on it. Very frustrating.

I donated to the Arbor Day Foundation, and got 10 free trees! I gave 5 to Holly, and we planted them a week or so ago. And our crabapples are starting to get leaves! Hooray!

Other than the trees, I haven't planted anything, yet. I'm thinking we might be done with frosts, but I'm not sure. I know a few things I want to plant, though.

I got a bike rack and basket for Christmas, and I got it put on a couple weeks ago. The weather has been too cold/rainy for biking, so I'm looking forward to a day pretty soon when I'll be biking to the park with a picnic in my basket! I'm so excited!

Anyway, I guess that's about it. I have Spring Fever, and I really want a vacation. I'm taking next Monday off, so hopefully that will suffice.

Things I've learned today

1. Roughly two thirds of the casualties in the Civil War were due to disease.
2. Until about WWI, all prior wars had more casualties due to disease than they had actual victims of battle.
3. Kittens can have low blood sugar levels when sick.
4. Glucose is like syrup in a syringe.
5. When kittens are dehydrated, Pedialyte can be a bettery hydrator than water.
6. For as bad as Pedialyte tastes, kittens don't mind it so much. (Seriously, have you tried it??)
   

My husband knows all about war, and he still has the soft side to buy his kitties Pedialyte. What a great guy.

HOORAY!!

So I haven't posted in a week, which is unusual for me. Sorry about that. It's been a really tough week. Even my dreams have been bad. Evidently losing a kitty and facing an unknown future aren't good for the psyche. Anyway, it hasn't made me up to chit-chat, and the tag I got from Teresa...well, I tried to fill it out, but it just turned out depressing. A lot like this first paragraph.

So...on to lighter things! First, it snowed! A lovely white, fluffy snow! It was beautiful.

And second, well, I'll let you watch the next video to find out.....

So yes, we have two kitties, Smith & Wesson. (I think they'll always need the ampersand, don't you?) They're from the Humane Society, and kind of pitiful. I thought we'd seen it all with Friday, but evidently we hadn't. We are familiar with Amoxyl (that you all took when you were kids, and yes, the kitty version also smells like bubble gum), and we give them extra nourishing food in a syringe, as well as give them droppers of water. The food (for my parent's information) is a lot like what we gave Mitten when he was so sick. And the syringe is because their nose is stopped up so they don't smell/want food. Anyway, they'll be up and at 'em in no time, I'm sure. In the meantime, we're enjoying their cuddliness, and hope it lasts when they get to feeling better!

I'm sure you'll be seeing plenty more of this crazy pair! I officially have a new label for all things Smith & Wesson (though Blogger didn't seem to like the ampersand design choice). And probably pretty soon I'll have that tag from Teresa done, this time on a little bit lighter note!

Grassroots movement

Today is Leap Day! One extra day every four years! The question is: why do I have to spend it working?? The last three years, my boss has not expected me to work this day. No one planned for any extra sales to be made on this day. As a matter of fact, most people probably forgot about it until just this month. So again, why do I have to be working?? This is clearly an infringement on my rights. So, I vote to start a movement to declare Leap Day a national holiday. Who's with me? We've got four years to get it passed!

How it happened (from my point of view)

Just in case you wanted more Ian stories, and to complement Karen's account....

Thursday, February 21, 2008 was like any other day. I'd been mostly packed for Ian's arrival for two weeks. The day before, I had fully packed before heading to Waco, just in case Karen went into labor. She didn't, but I'd kept everything in my bags, only pulling out my toothbrush and face wash. As I prepared for my marketing class on Thursday morning, I contemplated taking my things with me. But, since that involved two overnight bags, one camera bag, one video camera bag, plus my laptop for class, and since I would basically pass right by my house on the way to Waco in the event of labor, I decided to leave everything at home. Of course.

I made it to UTA at about 9:00, made the trek from the parking lot (where I realized I had the wrong parking tag....maybe they won't notice....) to class, and settled in and started taking notes from the first powerpoint slide. At 9:30, I could see my professor start to gather his thoughts for lecture. Then my phone rang. It was John! "Hi. It's time. We're at the hospital." Just about as deadpan as they come. Like this moment wasn't the beginning of the biggest challenge Karen had ever faced, like this wasn't going to change the rest of their lives. "What? Are you serious? You're kidding me!!" After he reassured me that he and Karen had been in the hospital since 8:00, I gathered all my stuff in my arms--not taking time to put my notebook or pen away--and started down the steps of the lecture hall. I dropped my phone, the battery fell out...sheesh.

With all my things still in my arms, I scrambled for the battery and phone pieces. As I rushed out the door, I explained to my professor, "My sister-in-law is in labor. I have to go!" He yelled a congratulations as I swept out the room. As I headed to the car, I put the phone back together to call John back. Karen answered (she was as calm as he), but handed the phone to John because the nurse was putting in an IV. Oh my gosh! It's really happening! I hung up and called Jon to let him know that I was heading out of town. At that point, I made it to my car...only to realize I'd left my purse in the classroom. Dang!! Forcing myself to calm down a little, I stopped and put my notebook and pen away, then headed back to class for the purse, passing the campus policeman writing tickets. I hoped he wouldn't make it to my car....

But he did. Back in my car 10 minutes and one ticket later, I called Mawmaw, who told me I needed to sit down, get something to drink (preferably not caffeinated) and calm down! I did decide to be responsible and not call anyone while I was driving. I felt the same way I felt after I was in my car accident--jittery and a little surreal. I had no idea I would be such a flake when "go time" came!

The trip to the hospital was uneventful, and a good time to calm down. By the time I got to the hospital, I was excited and ready to cheer Karen on until the baby came. By the time we made it to the 5th floor, the passengers in the elevator knew I was going to be an aunt! I got out, made it to the waiting room, and waited. And waited. And waited.

You know, after all that morning's excitement, it was a little anticlimactic. I didn't even get to see Karen (evidently searing labor pains don't make people very social) except for a brief hello. John was doing his duty well in keeping us out. It wasn't until 3:00 that we got to fill the labor and delivery room. Karen's parents, my parents, me and the nurse....with Karen feeling much better with the epidural, we had a good time visiting. Still...as lovely as that was, I think we were all wishing Ian would come! Karen's fever was a concern, and the time between her water breaking and the delivery was getting longer, meaning more chance of infection and complications.

At 9:00, the nurse decided, even though Karen wasn't quite fully dilated yet, that it was time to push. And push we did! The men left the room (John stayed, of course), and the women all held our breath as Karen pushed...willing the baby to come! It was so exciting, and Karen was a champion pusher. My birthing hero! Despite the different techniques and our efforts at "willing," Ian just wasn't coming.

Enter the doctor! With the skillful use of the forceps, and an epesiotomy that still makes me cringe, Ian came into the world. (I'd like to mention here that I was the only one that cried at this momentous occasion. That obviously means I love him most.)

He was beautiful, with a good hearty cry. And he wasn't nasty and bloody like I'd expected. I've always had a fear that I wouldn't want to hold my baby right at first, because he/she would be nasty, but this was not the case with Ian. After Karen got to hold him, a nurse transferred him to the warming table for cleanup. We all oohed and ahed from a distance until the nurse said we could take pictures. And that we did! Then we set down our cameras and each took our turn holding Ian--so tiny and precious, and so loved. What a blessing to come into a family that has loved you for 9 months, that will drop everything and drive anywhere to see you arrive, and that will pray for you and support you as you grow up.

Ian, that's exactly what you have.

The Ian Slideshow!

You know you've all been waiting for it! It's super long, but I figure friends of John and Karen (most of my readers) will want to see it. Enjoy!

2/21/08 10:21pm 7lbs 13oz 20.5in

How the meeting went

[Several of you have asked, so I thought I'd put a post up about it. This will also serve as "meeting notes" for me in the future. As it is, these are notes and not really "arguments," though many points could be. The reasoning behind each, and the conversation surrounding it during the meeting would require quite a bit more time to write down!]

Last Saturday night, we invited anyone from Sunday School who was interested to join us for coffee and a discussion about church planting. In all we had nine couples express interest! 5 1/2 of those couples were able to make it to the coffee.

A little surprised by the number of people, we started off our meeting with the question, "Why are you here?" There were many answers, including: We want to show support. You are a step ahead of us, and we want to see how you got to this point. We want to know your story. How can we better pray for you? We'd like to think about how to structure a church, and this would be a good forum for discussion.

Above all, it seemed that the Experiencing God bullet point, "Go to where God is at work," was what drew people to our home. I tried to draw them in with cake and coffee, but I have a feeling they would have come if we were standing outside in the rain. Not because of us, but because of God!

After hearing everyone's answers, Jon and I both gave our testimonies of our salvation and calling to ministry. We explained a little of our background for those who didn't know us very well, and how we ended up here.

We began to answer the questions Who, What, Where, When, Why and How as we walked through where we believe God has led us. (We didn't answer them in order, which bothers the part of me that likes that, but oh well.)

Why? There are people who have never heard the good news of Jesus--in our own country! Also, we'd like to consider if there's a better way to structure a church than the way we've always done it.

What? Our primary goal is disciple-making. The question we asked ourselves was, "What should the end product of a church be, and how do we get there?" We realized that the end product of a church is a maturing Christian, and we get there through discipleship.

How? Through books and discussion, Jon's come to the realization that a Senior Pastor is not always the best thing. A church inevitably comes to look like its pastor--both his strengths and his weaknesses. An Elder-driven church has the advantage of no single person in charge, which leads to more accountability and less likelihood of picking up the weaknesses of one person.

Also, we discussed the lack of knowledge among Christians about their own faith. We'd like to teach Biblical history, Church history, and above all, solid theology. We'd like to train families how to be responsible for their children's spiritual learning, and how to be responsible for their own, as well, so we--to use a cliché--teach them how to fish.

Regarding the nuts and bolts of church planting, we'd probably go at first bivocationally, with each couple needing to find jobs to support themselves. What it would look like later, we don't know.

In this next year (and perhaps longer), we will prepare to go. We will be preparing ourselves--growing spiritually as we read books about church planting and meet together to discuss. Preparing our marriages--recognizing that church planting is hard on marriages, we will work to strengthen ours, as well as keep our finances in order. This step is the most exciting to me at the moment, because it means that in a year or so, not only will we be stepping out to start a church, but we will be changed people. In this time of preparation, God will be molding us and readying us for battle. (He should be doing this already, but without a clear reason to do it, we seldom allow Him to.)

When? Jon graduates in December of this year, so we will be able to go after that point. Some people on the team might not be able to go for another 6 mos or a year. We will be willing to wait for them. We are not tied to the seminary housing or jobs, so we can stay here indefinitely after we graduate.

Where? We don't have a specific location, but we do have a few parameters:

1. Unreached: Low ratio of evangelical churches to population. We don't know what that ratio is right now, but further research will give us an idea of what to look for. This parameter is to insure that we're not "sheep stealing" from other churches. This means that we will be most likely in the north (east, mid, or west), well away from the Bible Belt. We will still be in the states, though Canada is an option as well. (Note to self: buy wool socks. Lots of them.)
   
2. Mid- to large-size city: Population of 100,000 or more. We're trying to find jobs for many people, so size is important. It also means we'll be able to reach more people.
3. University town: We will not be a college ministry, but a university is a sign of growth and openness to new things.

Who? Us and whoever wants to come with us! We've only asked people our age who are still in transition and were going to be moving within the next couple of years anyway. That said, the offer is open to others.

Some questions that were posed (that we haven't answered) and thoughts/recommendations:

1. Where does evangelism and teaching happen? Do we evangelize in the large group, and do the deep teaching in small Bible studies? Vice versa? Both or neither?
2. How do we deal with theological differences among the Elders? I answered this question to a small degree by comparing it to a marriage. In a marriage, we don't have to agree on everything, but we do have to agree on the foundational theological truths. For the most part, we will agree on the foundational truths (we're all Southern Baptist, so we'll probably have similar thoughts on theology). Any differences can actually make us better. After all, what's the point of multiple leaders if they're all the same?
3. Research other elder-led churches: Covenant Life Church, Bethlehem Church and Hope (in Tupelo, MS)
4. In the next year (and more) of planning, do we want to include only those committed to go, or can others who want to just learn join in on meetings and discussion? Others are welcome to come at this point.
5. Think about books, studies, etc. that we will want to complete before going. Jon is hoping to take a class on church finances, and any other church planting course that might be available. We would also like to go through the Crown Financial study. Books to read: Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas, Simple Church by Thom S. Rainer and Eric Geiger, Love Your God with All Your Mind by J.P. Moreland. I'm sure other books, sermons, etc. will come up that we'll all want to read/hear and discuss.
6. How do we, a bunch of southerners, move into a northern city and not look like we're a cult (a little bit of hyperbole there, but it could be an issue) or like it's an "us vs. them" scenario? We have to pray for God to work this out. We do have a couple interested in joining us who is not from the South, and we'd also hope to incorporate "the locals" quickly.
   

So those are the notes. By the end of the meeting, everyone seemed very excited about what God was doing. None gave a commitment of joining right then, but we have since had discussions or plans for discussions with four couples. I'm sure we'll try to contact each before too long. We will have a follow-up meeting on March 29th, with the charge to think and pray until then!

After we had discussed everything, someone asked if they could pray for us, and they did, which was neat. It's good to have so much support going into something that's so...unlike us! I have a feeling that each person's thought and discussions will be invaluable in the next year or so of preparation.

Thanks to each of you for praying for us! To parents and grandparents reading this, thanks for the spiritual impact you've had in our lives. Thanks for teaching (by word and example) that we need to live according to God's will, no matter how crazy.

Stepping into the Water

This year, Jon and I are reading through the Bible with Holly. We're made it to the book of Joshua so far. The Israelites' story is one of faith and disobedience. It can be pretty frustrating to read, actually. But sometimes, their faith is awe-inspiring. Take their walk through the Jordan river, for example. They're all lined up, ready to go. The Levites are in the front, carrying the ark of the covenant. They're at the edge of the river, and the water at its peak due to the flood season. It seems crazy, but God told them to walk to the other side, so the first in line step into the water. That's what they're called to do, and they have to rely on God to do the rest. And he does! At that first step, the waters part for the Israelites to cross over.

That's a little the way I feel right now. Jon and I feel that God has called us to church planting. And not just us, but a team of us. Who will be on our team? We don't know. But we feel that's the way God is leading, so we decided to step into the water. We shared a little of our vision with our Sunday School class, and invited anyone interested to join us for coffee tomorrow night to discuss it further. We have 6 couples who expressed interest! What confirmation! The waters are parting....

I'm sure that each step in this process will be a step of faith, and I pray that God continues to part the waters. Please pray with and for us as we begin this journey. And I'll keep you posted!

Did I mention I was an emotional shopper?

So we went to the mall tonight to get our minds off of everything. I only made a few purchases.

I got a couple new pairs of shoes, taking advantage of Payless's Buy One Get One half off deal.


And then I got a second earring in my left ear (I used Photo Booth to take the picture, and it takes a mirror image, so it really is the left ear).

I know it's random. Some people get tattoos or plant a tree. I guess I felt the need to do something, since we didn't get to bury Friday, and there's nothing to say, "He died. Here is where we remember him." And I'm sure I won't think of Friday's death every time I look at it, and I won't get a new piercing every time I experience loss, but this is my marker. (And yes, Jon was there when I got it done--Holly's first question when I called and told her I was doing it.)