I'm thankful that someone answered the phone at poison contol on Thanksgiving!

So, it has been an exciting day! I made my first phone call to poison control ever! With all four of his molars coming in, Everett has been gnawing on everything. While I was changing Everett's diaper this morning, I handed Everett the Purell, which I have done before on numerous occasions. It keeps Everett's hands busy so that I can do what I need to do. He has never been able to open the cap, however, this morning he figured it out! I looked up at Everett and he was licking his lips rather strangely and I noticed that the cap was open. Lee was running the Turkey Trot (Go, Lee!) so I calmly took out a wetwipe, cleaned off Everett's hands, and read the Purell label. It said to contact Poison Control if ingested. So, I did! Someone answered, on Thanksgiving! He was very nice and said to watch out for vomiting and to make sure Everett had lots of fluids. Everett was thirsty, but seemed fine.

About an hour later Lee got home and I was trying to amuse Everett with the items in my bathroom drawer while I finished getting dressed. Lee said, what is on Everett's hands? Everett managed to get the cap off the tube of body scrub. Everett was not licking his lips, so I decided not to call Poison Control again!

We had a great rest of the day, we celebrated Thanksgiving with Lee's closest 45 relatives in Denison.

Teeth!

Everett has had red cheeks, a fever, been grumpy, and been eating his hands for the last couple of days. Today I saw that a tooth on one side was really in, then I felt around and he has teeth on all 4 quadrants of his mouth coming in at the same time! He has 8 teeth already, 4 on top and 4 on bottom, right in the middle, then there is a space and then these new teeth. I am pretty sure that these ones are his first molars. They have all broken through, the bottom ones are in and the top ones are poking through. I remember that the period when there is a lot of teeth was always a hard time, but how is it possible that my baby...





is now walking and has his first molars!

a mentor

Kathleen Baskin-Ball is an amazing woman. I feel blessed and priviledged that she served as my mentor during my 4 years of residency (2002-2006). Every month we would meet together to talk. We would always meet together for more than an hour, and Kathleen made me feel like I was the most important person in the world. She did not take phone calls, she did not leave when I am sure that there were a million things that she needed to attend to. And when she prayed for me at the end of our time together, wow, she would hold my hands and I would feel the power of the Holy Spirit wash over me. I learned so much from Kathleen during that period of my life, but I remember the way that she made me feel loved and valued. She made me feel confident in my abilities as a pastor and reminded me over and over again that I was never alone in ministry.

Kathleen is an incredible preacher. In the spring of 1999 I took Word and Worship in seminary where we had to visit a church for 4 consecutive Sundays, and I had heard great things about Greenland Hills UMC. It was my first time to hear Kathleen preach, and I was blown away. Here was a preacher who made children seem so important. Here was a preacher who got emotional in her sermons and it was not sappy or distracting, it seemed authentic and honest. Here was a preacher who talked about the Holy Spirit as a woman and could preach like nobody's business. Every sermon I was amazed at the way that the themes were constant throughout the service, I was impressed with the imagery, with the stories, with the way that Kathleen would weave her personal life into every sermon.

When it was time for residency (the years of probation before you can be ordained) I asked for a mentor that was a woman. I was blessed to be matched with Kathleen. When it was time for me to be ordained I could choose 2 people to lay their hands on me. I chose Kathleen and Sara Hardaway (my mentor in the candidacy process who officiated at my wedding). I am so blessed to have Kathleen as my mentor.

I have been praying for Kathleen for nearly 2 years as she has battled cancer. The cancer has now spread to her brain and Kathleen is saying her goodbyes. How do you say goodbye to someone who has made a difference in the lives of so many? How do you say goodbye to someone who is too young to die? How do you say goodbye to someone who has been an inspiration and a model to so many women (and men) in ministry? Kathleen has been so strong during these years. She has been so faithful and confident in God's healing. And when God heals us the most, God brings us into God's presence in heaven.

Please pray for Kathleen, her husband Bill, and their incredible nearly 5 year old boy Skyler. Read more about Kathleen and amazing news stories of her during these past years here.

drunk walking

There is a stage in every toddler's life when they look drunk while walking. Everett is in this stage and it is cute and funny. Enjoy this video of the drunk man walking. We are at the American Doll store in Dallas, we have been countless times to play (they have everything out for the kids to play with) but we have never bought anything!

sermon quotes

Am I the only one that does this? We had a guest preacher this past Sunday, Dr. Gary Kindley, and he had some great lines that I wrote down. I haven't fact checked them, but they sure sounded impressive.

Desmond Tutu said, "We may be surprised at the people we find in heaven. God has a soft spot for sinners. His standards are quite low."

Dr. Gary Kindley said, "How dare we blame God for the problems of this world when God has given us all we need to make this world work and make sure no child goes to bed hungry -- it is our greed and our lust for power that hinders us."

Dr. Gary Kindley said, "If you have a full tummy and an extra set of clothes, you are wealthier than one billion people in the world."

Dr. Gary Kindley said, "UMCOR (the United Methodist Committee on Relief) feeds one million children a day."

Dr. Gary Kindley said, "the United Methodist Church is the most diverse Protestant Church in the world. When you take out all the white people, we are the largest African-American Protestant Church in the world. When you take out all the white people and all the African-American people, we are the largest Korean Protestant Church in the world. When you take out all the white people and all the African American people and all the Korean people, we are the largest Native American Protestant Church in the world."

I thought they were worth writing down...

sliding and laughing

Two great videos

Madeleine holding Everett as they slide and

Everett laughing so hard when Madeleine was putting a cat on her head

It is so wonderful to see Madeleine and Everett play together, they love each other so much! Good times!

Big news: I beat Lee last night at bowling on the wii and we had the wallpaper taken down and repainted the guest bathroom and round breakfast room. Now, to refill the china cabinet and have the carpet taken out of the guest bathroom and tile put in... oh, and repair the gutter that fell down... the joys of home ownership!

Before

and after

and

Wii!!!

We got a Wii!!! Why is it that when you get on a roll spending money you always seem to want to spend more? It's like eating brownies (or something), it's hard to stop. So, we bought a mac mini (still getting used to the mouse and the keyboard) and I have been wanting a wii and we knew that they would be hard to find at Christmas, so Christmas came early! The interface on the wii is amazing! So far I haven't beaten Lee in a game, but we both had so much fun creating our mii (the character that is you) and finding out our wii fit age.

And, I finally got tired of the wallpaper rips in the breakfast room. We have two rooms that still have wallpaper and we didn't repaint last summer. The guest bathroom (still has carpet too) and the round breakfast room. Madeleine taped one too many of her artistic creations and the wallpaper has seen better days. So, a wonderful painter man is taking down wallpaper as we speak.

I am now working Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday because we started a new women's Bible study on Wednesday mornings. We had a great group yesterday, 10 ladies! Everett is walking better, and successfully transitioned this week to Oak Lawn UMC daycare! He didn't even cry once! It is so nice to have all the chicks under the same roof! Have a wonderful day!

All Saints Day

Today is All Saints Day, November 1st.  It is a day in the church when we celebrate and remember those folks who have finished their earthly journey.  I remember my Grandpa Nicholls who lived to be 98 1/2 years old.  I asked him how he made his mashed potatoes and he answered, "Kerry, I boil the potatoes and then I beat the hell out of them."  I remember saying, "Grandpa!" astounded that he had said the word hell!  

I remember my stepdad Verleon Porter.  He died tragically in a car accident when I was 17.  I remember he would protect me from all of those gentleman callers that I had in high school...  One time a boy called and asked if I was home.  My stepdad answered, "yes" and proceeded to hang up the phone!  

Today I had the privilege of being a part of a Remembrance Service at our local Gilda's Club.  I shared the words from Ecclesiastes 3 that talk about how there is a time to be born and a time to die.  It does not say that there is an appropriate time to die, a fair time to die, a just time to die.  It simply tells us that in our lives we will die.  Will we embrace that fact or be fearful?  

Another aspect of All Saints Day that my mom pointed out to me is that this day gives us an opportunity to celebrate and give thanks for the saints that are in our midst.  The people that we talk to on a daily basis who show God's love to us.  The people who inspire us, who bring us joy, who share with us their strength.  Today is a day to thank those people for being saints to us.