God is Good, but maybe it doesn't mean what you think it means.

A dear woman I know pointed out, immediately following the presidential election, that we put our trust in God, not in rulers and politicians. She quoted a very succinct passage of scripture bearing this out, but I haven't been able to find it.

Would anyone like to share some references?

I've been thinking a lot lately about what trusting God means. For me it doesn't mean that I expect my life will always be enjoyable, that tragic things will never happen in my family, that I'll get everything I want out of life and more. I don't trust that God will make me happy, or that we'll always have what we consider enough money and resources, or that things won't get really bad sometimes. As a matter of fact, if you look very long at the Old Testament you see that things can get really bad for God's children. Trusting God means knowing that He is good, that His love is perfect even when it doesn't feel very good, and that we won't always be disappointed. We know from scripture that God enjoys giving us good gifts, we just can't get too hung up on what those good gifts are supposed to be.

I decided a few months ago that God is the only example of a good and perfect parent that the scriptures show.

This is so complicated, but it's very good for my prayer life, as are the economic struggles of rising prices and frozen salaries.

Is there a Leisure Class Extant Anywhere in the World Anymore?

Please don't think I think I know what I'm talking about. Huh?

Is there a leisure class in this country? I ask because I recently reread Jane Austen's Emma and started thinking about the fact that there was quite a large leisure class in the early 18th century in England. I started to wonder whether such a thing existed in America around the time of the Revolutionary War, having seen HBO's *John Adams* recently. Is there a leisure class in America today. The press and politicians would have you believe so.

I admit I don't stay up to date with Hollywood Gossip, but the only person I can think of who lives a life of leisure is Paris Hilton, and I don't care the tiniest little bit about what's going on in her life short of the most basic moral interest afforded another human being. Other people out there who seem to have boatloads of money, excepting politicians perhaps, work for what they have, or else provide living for countless others who work for or in association with them.

Actors and Actresses, at least those for whom I have any respect, work hard long hours. Some of them even take the time to think about what they do and why they do it.

I'm thinking about this because of economic factors. I'm curious about what will actually happen with our taxes under this new president. I can't afford to actually worry about it, but I am curious, all the while reminding myself that God will provide--somehow. Perhaps not in the way I would prefer.

Economic Concerns; on an individual level

It's been a few days since my last post, and I promise that I'm trying to do better. These days I sort of have to hide my laptop because whenever Parker sees it he begs to play games on PBSKids.org. Seriously, he asks for it by name, and he asks to use "Mommy's computer."

It's kind of annoying actually.

My electric range seems to be slowly dying, which means we may soon have to buy a new one. It seems to me that as long as we are buying a range we should look into converting to natural gas. I'm used to cooking with gas, like the amount of control that can be exerted over the flame, and find that we already have a gas water heater and gas heat, as well as the gas logs we are using more this year than last year. I know that at one time natural gas was cheaper than electricity. Does anyone know whether than continues to be true? I know that the cost of electricity is set to increase sometime in the near future, so I'm wondering which will turn out to be the better value.

The cost of groceries has been getting me down. I wonder if those prices will eventually decrease again considering the price of gasoline has almost halved itself over the past month.

Will I ever be quite comfortable purchasing cheese again?

The Answer to my Question about Leg Cramps

It took two days for me to get around to it, but I finally went online to Blue Cross/Blue Shield's WebMD website (www.webmdhealth.com, which is available to Blue Cross/Blue Shield members) to find out what to do next time I get a leg cramp.

It turns out that about half of all pregnant women get night-time leg cramps in the second and third trimesters. If you get one, you want to avoid pointing your toe. The website says to flex your ankle so that your toes point toward the ceiling, massage the muscle, and eventually, try walking on it.

I know what to do in cases of hydroplaning in my automobile. I have good reflexes when it comes to driving that have probably, with God's help, saved me more than once. But when it comes to leg cramps I was clueless as to what to do even though I had been given that information before.

For some reason this reminds me that we need to take the CPR class offered by Northport DCH.

Thank you, God, for White Cloud Diapers

I was looking around on Amazon a little while ago and found a discussion concerning the differences between Pampers Baby Dry and Pampers Cruisers. It was funny to me how just about every review I read absolutely contradicted my experience with both products.

Back in the days when I was willing to spend the money on Pampers Diapers I found that I liked Baby Dry much better than Cruisers. I can't tell you why, because I no longer remember the details. The reviews I saw tonight trashed Baby Dry in favor of the more expensive Cruisers. Of course, when Parker was a smaller infant I liked Huggies better than Pampers, so that may have some bearing on my choices. I was utterly unimpressed with Huggies Supreme. So much depends on the shape of your baby.

This goes to show how unreliable product reviews are, but it also makes me wonder, how can one gather reliable information about any given product without examining it for yourself? This has greater philosophical implications.

Question: Maybe Later I'll Have a Chance to Look This Up Online

At about 6:15 this morning I woke up with a cramp in the calf muscle of my right leg. It was terrible. Now I know that when you get a cramp there are certain things you should do, and there are certain things you shouldn't. Neither Michale nor I could remember what they were.

Are you supposed to point your toe, or flex your ankle? I flexed, which led to an ankle that wouldn't stop flexing. Finally Michael suggested that I get up and walk on it a little bit, and that seemed to do the trick.

I haven't had a leg cramp in ages, although I used to occasionally get a small one while driving. There's a scary thought.

Making Room

I think it is funny that while my mom is always telling me I should do something with my interior design degree, both she and Michael are better space planners than I am.

Michael is responsible for the only living room arrangement that has ever worked for us in our living room space. Yesterday my mom came over to help me get ready for Isaac. I had already done some rearranging of Parker's room, but she suggested a couple of additional changes. When Michael came home at the end of the day and saw what had been done in Parker's room he said, "Wow, this is a more efficient use of space."

It isn't perfect. My rocking chair is no longer next to the bookshelf, so choosing books at bedtime will be a little more tricky. And we still have to put some of Parker's toys into an organized rotation, but with the work my mom did yesterday, decisions about rotating toys are going to be a whole lot easier. Also, she found a way that we can keep the chest of drawers in Parker's room so I'll have some of the storage space I'll need with an even smaller child in the house.

I'm feeling better about fitting Isaac into our home.

It's Been a Busy Day

You've noticed by now that I can barely add anything to my blog these days. There are many reasons for this, many of which I have probably already covered, either here or in conversation. Even if my blogging days aren't over, it will probably still be many months before I get into the swing of things again.

According to the calendar I am officially thirty-one weeks pregnant today. This means that Isaac (his first name) will be arriving soon whether I am ready or not. In the meantime I will be helping out a friend (whose fifth child is due tomorrow) with various things that are going on around her house. My expectation is that in helping her, I'll be helping myself as well as I attempt to develop some routines that will make my home run more smoothly with a little boy holding each hand.

Over the weekend I washed lots and lots of baby clothes. Monday morning I rearranged Parker's bedroom to make space for a second bed. Today-- today turned out to be a really long day. Isn't it funny how the course of approximately 45 minutes can turn an entire day into a difficult one?

We had a good day today. We spent the morning at my friends house getting oriented to what life will be like for the next month or so. Parker missed his nap because Michael and I got together to vote, each at separate locations, so afterwards Parker and I went to the church playground to play instead of going home. It was next that the unfortunate series of decisions was put into action.

I recently attempted to replace a part on my bathroom sink, among other things, and the part I acquired didn't quite fit, so I decided to pay a visit to Lowe's since Parker and I were already out and about. I needed gasoline too, and it was still an hour before Michael would be home. In my mind this seemed simple enough. Well when I told Parker that we were going to Lowe's I think he got the idea that we were either going somewhere to get something to eat, or that we were going to play and someone's house, because he said that he wanted to go, but was clearly disappointed once we got there. He told me he was hungry, but I did not heed his warnings.

Parker was, understandably, whiney and disobedient inside Lowe's. I returned the part that needed returning, but the replacement part was nowhere to be found. Since I was there already I thought I might as well look at their selection of freestanding ranges as Michael and I are considering replacing our dying one over the weekend. Here's where it goes bad.

The nice salesman at Lowe's is showing me a selection of ranges that may meet our needs, and he is showing me the differences in oven capacity. Parker is very curious himself and opens the oven door to one of the units even though he knows never to touch our oven at home. He opens the oven door, is propelled toward the floor by said door and cracks the back of his head against the concrete. Ouch. Poor, poor baby. The salesman is quite alarmed. We leave the store as quickly as possible.

Since Parker is hungry I give him an apple to eat on the ride home. Parker chokes on apple peal as we enter the turn lane onto McFarland. Thankfully the light stays red long enough for me to put the car in park, reach back, and let him spit the apple peal out into my hand. These events blew out my energy reserves for the remainder of the day. Thankfully Parker was fine on both counts. I wish that my emotional state were as good.

There was a package waiting for Parker when we got home. Michael's grandparents sent him some books, and a really neat collection of Alphabet Animal cards. The cards are lovely, and the books make music, which Parker loves. He sang to himself this evening--To Market, To Market. When they prayed before lunch this morning, Parker folded his hands and said his own prayer, the one that Michael taught him.

I love that little boy so much.