twelve

Someday, in a little over a decade, I'll have at least two teenage children. I'll be in my *GASP* ...FORTIES.
1. I hope we'll own a home.
2. I hope we'll have a great church family.
3. I hope we'll live closer to some family members, or maybe, possibly, closer to some of our favorite people.
4. I hope that I will have finally read all of Dombey & Son.
5. I hope I'll have figured out what to do with my hair.
6. I actually hope I'll have some gray hair, so I can stop getting comments about how I look like a teenager.
7. I hope my children will honor God and their parents with their behavior and decisions.
8. I hope my husband and I will have continued to discover and delight in even more of each other.
9. I hope I'll have spent more time laughing than crying.
10. I hope downhere will have won a Grammy.
11. I hope more people will start filling their minds with good stuff, instead of junk.
12. I hope that more people in the world will have the opportunity and space to have hopes for themselves.

nice things

Today, I'm feeling better. Physically - I slept very well last night, thanks to the Vicodin. While I don't necessarily LOVE the fact that I'm taking a strong narcotic, at least it's one that doesn't give me the crazies. And yes, it's safe, which I know in my head although I freely admit to prodding my stomach this morning to make damn sure baby was still kicking around. In return for this rude awakening s/he has been moving non-stop ever since. I feel like I have more freedom of movement today, although I've taken it very, very easy. My one trip out of the house today was this morning - I forced myself to return two DVDs, and then I thought if I had to be in my house for ONE MORE MINUTE without any fruit to eat, I'd go nuts. So I went to the grocery store and bought cantaloupe, blueberries, apples, and bananas. (And okay, fine, a Reese's PB Cup, too. Whatever.) I started feeling the bad pain on the way home, and so I got here, cut up the cantaloupe and then laid down on the couch to eat some of that and some of the berries. And the peanut butter cup.

Emotionally - As the wise K suggested, I'm putting off thoughts of what this condition will mean for the birth until I can better think it through. And thanks again to the rest of you who've been so kind in your comments. I do feel more focused today, which is nice.

And so, I present some photos of other things that are nice:

It's nice to ride your first big boy bike!


It's nice to have the birthday cake you asked for.


I mean, seriously - have you ever seen anything so nice as this?
(the only possible way to make this nicer would be to have the corn
picked and bought TODAY from here, and cover it with butter,
and for it ALL to be mine.)


And, YAY! Birthdays are SO, SO nice! Happy 6th, ANNA!

hope ***now with more news***

Read this CNN.com story for the latest on Eric - I'm filled with hope.

**********
Dave just emailed me this link and CNN.com also says Eric and his mom have left Nicaragua. THANK YOU, GOD!!!!

update

I received this email from my friend Dave a few hours ago. Eric Volz's situation has grown even more dire - PLEASE pray. If you're not a pray-er, give it a shot. What could it hurt? One more voice adds much to the chorus already being sung to the heavens.

********************

Dec 20, 2007 12:22 PM

Subject:

URGENT 12/20/07: YOUR HELP IS NEEDED

Body:

TAKE ACTION TODAY BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!

We are asking everyone to contact (a phone call would be more immediate, but follow up with an email if you can!) their elected representatives in the next few hours, to ask them to pressure the Nicaraguan government to carry out Eric's legal release from prison. The reason this is so urgent is that Nicaraguan government offices leave tomorrow for the lengthy holidays... we need the US government to act IMMEDIATELY to compel the Nicaraguan government to honor their own law and release Eric Volz!

Call your representative with the question "What is being done to expedite Eric Volz's release from Nicaraguan custody?"

BE INFORMED!

READ THIS: Associated Press story:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jGlrnMklKMa1DSqmiTxcJLaMvRhwD8TKU66O1

TAKE ACTION: Here's how to locate your representatives:

State Department: http://contact-us.state.gov/cgi-bin/state.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php or main switchboard: 202-647-4000

White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ or main switchboard: 202-456-1414

Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Click on the above link and locate your two State Senators

Congresspersons: http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml

Click on the above link and locate your Congressional Representatives

Details are changing almost hourly, but here's what we know as of 10:30am Central, December 20th:

Judge Ivette Toruno, who initially convicted Eric for Doris' murder, is required to sign his release papers, but she has created various excuses to avoid doing so.

In the meantime, the original prosecutor of Eric's case (Isolda Ibarra) is attempting to overturn the Appellate Court ruling, and is filing an appeal to the Nicaraguan Supreme Court. She is asking that Eric be held in custody (illegally) until the Supreme Court rules. Typically, Supreme Court cases take years to process.

Nicaraguan law says that the order of the Appellate Court to free Eric should not be overridden by the filing of a Supreme Court appeal, but that Nicaraguan law is being ignored.

If Eric is held, he will certainly be moved back to the penitentiary, and may not be afforded even the minimal protection he had previously - he will be in the gravest of danger. Eric has kidney stones, and is still recovering from intestinal issues and severe asthma, which is why he has been in the prison hospital for more than 2 months now.

This morning, Penitentiary Director Molina dispatched a truck to take Eric back to the prison. This forced his visit with his mother Maggie to be cut short, due to security concerns.

outrageous.

I first heard the story of Eric Volz from my friend Dave, whom I met on my trip to Greece last winter. This story has gotten some national media attention, having been featured on Dateline and the Today Show several times each. Dave's friend Eric is a young American who was living in Nicaragua, creating and publishing a magazine devoted to "sustainable development and lifestyle." Eric was two hours away from San Juan Del Sur on Nov. 21, 2006 when his ex-girlfriend was murdered. Despite the fact that none of the overwhelming physical evidence at the scene could be tied to Eric and that at least 10 witnesses and other conclusive evidence placed him in Managua during the possible crime hours, he was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Please read the Facts page at the Friends of Eric Volz website for the more complete and more infuriating details of this atrocious case. Also take the time to watch this video.

On Monday, his case was finally heard in the appellate court of Nicaragua. The judges there overturned his conviction and sent orders to the prosecuting judge to sign release papers immediately. She arranged to meet the American embassy officials and Eric's attorney at the court at 2pm, and then left the courthouse at 1:30, leaving orders not to be disturbed. As far as I've heard she has not returned, nor has she signed the release papers. What this has done is allow the media to stir up enough of a frenzy to where the threat to Eric being able to leave the country safely is in real danger, whenever or if the prosecuting judge signs the release.

Eric and his family are urgently in need of prayer. He has said over and over in the rare letters he's been able to send just how much the prayers of so many are sustaining him throughout this nightmare. Please share this story with everyone you know, and click on this link for instructions on how to write your senator/congressperson to plead on Eric's behalf. There is hope for this year-long ordeal to end before Christmas - and although Eric's health is poor right now due to being imprisoned and denied his asthma medication, he could spend the holidays back in the US with his family in Nashville.

this one's for monk jeanne

It's never too early to teach the message of peace.



(please check out MonkMail)