A minor

Notes From the Edge

Sorry for the dearth of posts here. I haven't forgotten about or quit blogging; I've just been too busy. Here are a few updates, in no particular order:

Levi is two weeks old today. Hard to believe, isn't it?
I was offered and have accepted the job at Grace. I think the position title is parish administrative assistant, but the rector and others have been referring to me as the new parish administrator, so I'm not sure which I am. There's quite a difference in my mind, but whatever - at least they're confident in me. I officially start April 1. My plan is to stay with Kinko's too on a minimal part-time basis (at least for the next few months).
Thanks to some of our kind friends at Auburn Avenue, especially the Lusks, we've been eating royally this week. So far, in addition to delicious salads and breads, we've enjoyed Jenny Lusk's savory chicken with mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes, and Sarah Garner's to-die-for manicotti and chocolate cracker candy with liqueur.
We finally got cell phones last week. (If you'd like our numbers, please leave a comment or email me; I'll make a list and send a group email in a few days.) After some shopping around, we finally decided to go with ALLTEL (via Wal-Mart Connect, no less), add a phone, share the minutes, etc. The deal included free activation, free first month's access, and free Motorola phones with no deposit since our credit checked-out. So, incredibly, I left Wal-Mart with two active phones and didn't have to pay a dime (though, of course, I did have to sign a one-year contract). We're hoping to make a local move soon and plan to drop our land line when we do so. All that's left is to add a modem to our cable plan and we'll be set.
I've been really struggling to handle this full plate of mine lately. I don't know if it's just having another child or if it's the anxiety of starting a new job while continuing an old one and taking classes part-time, etc, but I've felt the end of my rope more than once in the last few days. For me, being overwhelmed makes me prone to both dark depression and outbursts of anger. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. LORD, have mercy.
Tonight Ethan and I went to Grace's Lenten Evensong, which was lovely. I prefer sung liturgy, so an Anglican Evensong is right up my alley. In a way I wish it would continue even after Lent, but that would be asking too much of the volunteer choir (unless the choir were, say, twice its size).

Well, there you have it. I will try to resume more regular posting; we'll see how it goes.

Little (Or Maybe That Should Be Not So Little) Levi

Here's our new little one's photo page at the St Francis Virtual Nursery. He wouldn't open his eyes for this particular photo shoot no matter what, but you can still see his fat little face and full head of hair. And for those of you who were around Ethan as an infant, you can also see our boys' strong resemblance.

Hollie's labor was comparatively easy, and both she and Levi are doing well. In the words of the hymn-writer Johann Jakob Schütz (one of the later German Pietists, not to be confused with Heinrich Schütz), "All praise to God, who reigns above!"