Where I've Been

So, it's been almost a year since I have regularly blogged here. What happened?

Life happened. We were trying for a baby. I finally got pregnant. Had a difficult pregnancy and preterm labor, and wound up on bedrest. None of the drugs they tried to keep the baby inside had the desired effect, and little boy #2 was born November 4, 2007, six weeks earlier than originally forecast. By the grace of God and thanks to many, many Memorares said for our little one, our baby is fine. He never needed oxygen, tube feeding or any other major intervention. Even the kidney problems that had shown up on ultrasound throughout the last half of the pregnancy miraculously vanished. Prayer is amazingly powerful.

I did not fare so well. I'll spare the gory details, but suffice it to say that the emergency C-section did not go well for me. I had a couple one-in-several-thousand complications/mistakes happen and ended up needing quite a bit of surgery before they could close me up. I didn't see my baby for twelve hours after he was born, not because HE was too sick, but because I was still recovering myself.

Anyway, the good news is that I'm okay now. Baby #2 is 13.5 weeks old. He was baptized a couple of weeks ago -- a most joyous occasion. He is a ray of sunshine, so sweet, happy, precious and cuddly. Our home is happy.

I'm also coordinating and sometimes teaching RCIA this year, which has kept me busy on top of everything else. More about that later, the baby is crying.

Anyway, this should explain why I've been MIA from the blogosphere for a while ... stay tuned, though, because I'm coming back.

Meme-y goodness.

RNW was too tired after her post to tag anyone, but in the interest of forcing myself to post something, I'm going to pretend she tagged me.

Book Meme Rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

Amazingly enough, I've been caught on a day when I've just cleaned the house and actually put everything I'm not actively using away. I actually don't have much in the way of book clutter right now, it's all neatly on the shelf in the living room or stacked on my bedside table. Right now, I'm at the breakfast table, and the closet book to me is a cookbook called "Complete Comfort Food." Page 123 is just a giant, delicious-looking photo of chicken fajitas with all the fixings.

The next closest "book" is my husband's 720-page "Cheaper Than Dirt" shooting accessories catalog. From page 123:

"Designed with a pleasant oder (sic), this gun treatment is assured perfect firing from -50 F below (sic) to 350 F. This is the single and best (sic) gun care maintenance product ever designed to solve a gun owner's cleaning, lubricating and corrosion potection problems. A unique formulation of active lubricants will not freeze, oxidize or evaporate."

Clearly, proofreading is not a priority at Cheaper Than Dirt. Perhaps the expense of employing a decent editor would force the brand to raise prices, thus destroying the brand name forever.

The closest book to me related to the topic of this blog is The Essential Pope Benedict. It's on the shelf in the living room. I'm not going to post excerpts right now -- go buy it and read it for yourself, it's awesome.