The Catbird Seat

…for an update.

We have successfully moved into the house referenced in the previous post (written nearly 2 months ago…Holy Moses!) And though we have a few remaining items in the old rental house, we are considering ourselves “officially moved.”

We made the move a mere 6 days before Christmas, which is sheer madness, by the way. We managed to put up a tree (a cool white pre-lit one, courtesy of Target), buy presents, get the kitchen and living areas unpacked, and have family over for brunch on Christmas day. I’d say it was fun, (and I think it was) but truthfully, it’s all kind of a blur right now.

I am still working for Walgreens, though I am down to 2 days a week. It’s perfect for us. I work a Tuesday and a Friday or Saturday a week, depending on availability in the district. I am considered a “floater”, which means that I “float” from location to location in the Birmingham area, covering other pharmacists’ sick days, vacations, staff shortages and any other reason known to man that a pharmacist might miss work. It’s a good gig, and I still love my supervisor, Melissa, who is just my number one fan at work. And that makes me happy. So my work bottom line is this: I go in and do the very best job that I can for the 8 hours that I work, and then I go home and don’t think of Walgreens again until I get ready to work my next shift. It keeps me fresh and positive, and for that I am deeply grateful.

The girls are growing leaps and bounds. Jane is 4 going on 13, and trying (despite my best efforts) to drop her afternoon nap which is still desperately needed to stabilize her moods. And mine. She is learning-observing-playing-taking-in-and-enjoying-life so much that she just can’t seem to wind down enough to close her eyes and get that much-needed midday rest. And I have no idea what to do with that since for the last 4 years, 12 to 3pm has been my time. So we’re both a little grumpy in the afternoons these days. Our latest positive development is that Jane can now read. We’re working through “Dick and Jane” and each day she adds new words to her reading vocabulary. “Jane”, not surprisingly, is her favorite.

Elizabeth remains Elizabeth, in all her sweetness and spice. She has been in Speech Therapy since September, and we are really beginning to see the fruits of our (and our beloved speech pathologist, Carolyn’s) labor. Elizabeth is still incredibly resistant to describing actions and activities with verbs and in conversation, but her vocabulary is growing daily, with words like “ornament” popping up here and there. We are encouraged that her speech delays seem to be merely speech with a little dose of sensory integration issues, and not cognitive issues. Meaning, she understands it all, every last word! She just hasn’t gotten around to talking about it just yet. Her sense of humor is really emerging now, and much like her Daddy, she is subtle and quick. And she can say in one look what it takes Jane (and me!) 15 minutes of non-stop chatter to get out. Her independence and will are still both forces to be reckoned with, but I imagine they always will be.

Paul is doing well at St. Peter’s. In just 2 days he leaves for the AMIA (Anglican Mission in America) winter conference in Dallas, where he is on the national youth ministry team (YAMIA, just in case you were wondering.) He will be speaking there and attending various seminars and meetings, and will be back on Saturday; so if you think of me this week, say a prayer for us both. The youth group at our church is still small, which though sometimes discouraging, is ultimately a gift of God that allows Paul to disciple our teens the way he feels called. He is very supported by the senior pastor and children’s minister as well (actually, the whole staff), so we both feel like we have arrived in the Promised Land. I often wonder how we wound up here (at St. Peter’s); at the time Paul interviewed for the job it felt so random and a little strange. Now, I realize God chose this congregation for us, and us for them. What a blessing.

In other news, I have continued to create art from paper, and am preparing to visit a local art merchant to show my work this week. To see some of what I’ve been making, click here and/or here.

And, sometime before Christmas and The Move, I managed to take a trip to Pennsylvania to see MFB (Bonnie) who had a major birthday that isn’t in the 30’s and not yet 50’s. We had A BLAST hanging out and doing fun things in Pittsburgh…it was just what I wanted. Precious time with a great friend, revisiting old familiar places and people, and see new sights as well. If I didn’t think we were in the Promised Land right now, I’d move back to ol’ PA in a heartbeat.

I think that’s about it. At least for me. Oh, except for one other thing…Paul’s sister just informed the family that she is pregnant with another baby.

This one will be number 8.

And you guys thought I was the crazy one.

Filed under: General, Catbird, Local Color, Random Thoughts, Elizabeth, Jane, Lillybeth on January 20th, 2008 | 10 Comments »

As is appropriate, it is the time to give thanks to God for all the many blessings we all have: family, friends, health…you know, all those things that everyone says every Thanksgiving.

And then, after you do that, add this line to your prayer of thanksgiving:

“And thank you, God, for performing the miracle of giving the Martin’s their perfect home for what they could afford!” (or something like it!)

Yes, folks, that’s right.

We finally have a home. This home, to be exact.

Praise the Lord! God is good.

So, join with us as we faithfully give God the glory for attending to our needs, both great and small, down to the very last detail.

A few interesting points of note:

The sellers…they have had compassion on us, because (like us) they had a buyer back out on closing day after tying up their house during the best time of the year to sell a house…and violating a signed contract in the process. Oh, and they moved to Orlando. (God is not just really cool, he also has a sense of humor.)

When our mortgage broker ran the final numbers, he discovered an error in his earlier calculations that ended up in about $100 reduction in our projected monthly mortgage payment.

In addition to that, the sellers are covering closing costs, so we will likely have the finances to do a few things in the house (refinish the hardwoods!) that otherwise would have had to wait.

The highly busy home inspector that Paul chose just happened to be free yesterday, so the home inspection is already done.

The sellers want to close earlier than we originally planned, so it is entirely possible that we will be in our new house by Christmas. (we hope!)

I could go on and on.

So, join with us as we give the credit to God for our future home.

Oh, and keep your eyes open for your invitation to our “Glory to God Party” to be held at our new home.

I expect it will be happening very soon.

Filed under: General, Catbird, Like a fire, Local Color on November 24th, 2007 | 14 Comments »

…on some kind of answer about the house. We haven’t heard a thing.

Our real estate agent says that every call she’s received seems positive. She’s talked to the seller’s realtor several times, who indicates that the sellers are seriously considering our offer, and [hopefully] trying to work it out.

Stephanie (our agent) has also spoken to the seller’s attorney; the poor sellers (much like us just a few months back) had a buyer that backed out after signing a contract, so they are dealing with that nightmare as well.

We’re hoping that what all this adds up to is sellers who appreciate our ability to buy their house now, and close on it quickly. Even if it’s not exactly the price they want. Stephanie continues to be, in her own words, “Cautiously optimistic.”

I myself am either completely convinced that we’re going to get it, or desperately trying to keep from being disappointed if we don’t, depending on the time of day. Afternoons are typically my low point. (weak grin.)

Meanwhile, we wait.

And wait.

And wait.

And though it’s only been less than 48 hours since we made the offer, it feels like an eternity of waiting! (o.k., that was a slight exaggeration…maybe just a week.)

So, I’ve been forced to think about waiting for 2 days. Here are a very disjunct thoughts about the subject:

I really hate waiting! I am actually pretty bad at it, as well.

My least favorite phrase of Paul’s (generally given when I ask him a question like, “Are we going to do…?” or “Do you think we can…?” , etc.) is, “We’ll have to wait to see!”

I’ve also heard, “Wait and see!” many times from various sources, including my own mother.

And the one I say to Jane at least 10 times a day is, “Just wait!“, usually followed by, “I’ll help you in a minute” or “I am in the middle of something, but I’m coming” or “I will get that for you!”

Sometimes, I just say, “Just wait. You’ll see.”

All things that God is probably saying to me right now, even as I write this. (grin.)

Gotta love that about God. He’s a parent. He understands the value of waiting.

I did a keyword search on Crosswalk.com using the word “wait”: 89 verses in the NIV Bible. (For a little perspective, “trust” yielded 86 verses. Interesting, huh?)

Of the 89 verses I found, by the way, this one is my favorite: “Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” (twice in one verse!)

Particular comfort for me today is this one! So out of context it’s almost funny, but when I read the list, it jumped out at me. Small wonder.

I’ve waited for a lot of things in my life. Almost none of them were disappointing.

The most important things I’ve waited for were (a) my husband (b) Jane and (c) Elizabeth. I also waited the longest for them. (9 months, twice, is a lot of waiting!)

I love them more than I love my own life.

There you have it. A perfect example of the value of waiting!

And now I have probably 6 loads of clothes that need washing, and a bedroom that desperately need cleaning. They’ve been waiting on my attention, so I’d better have at it.

We’ll keep waiting. Y’all keep praying.

Filed under: General, Catbird, Like a fire, Random Thoughts on November 17th, 2007 | 4 Comments »

This is the house that Paul and I made an offer on today.

It is going to take a miracle for the deal to go through, because what we’re offering is MUCH lower than what they’re asking…and it’s as high as we’re willing to go.

So, fellow believers, PRAY with us as we seek to see God provide for us a house.

And not just any house, but an AMAZING house.

One that is perfect for us.

Not just a house, but a home.

And not our home, but His home where we can thrive and help others to do the same.

When that happens, whether it’s this house or another, we’ll let you know just exactly how faithful God is to us. (Just as he has always been!)

And then we’ll have a “Glory to God!” party at the house that He chose just for us!

We think this is the one.

Filed under: General, Catbird, Like a fire, Local Color on November 15th, 2007 | 7 Comments »

Jane and I went to the zoo last Friday morning. Just the two of us.

And we had a blast.

My favorite (by far) part of the very enjoyable morning was our visit to the “Primates” exhibit.

As we neared the Porcupine section, Jane said very animatedly,

“Mom! We have to be careful near the porkie-pines or they might PORK US! PBbbbft!!!” (fingers out as if casting a spell)

[clearly imitating the noise and motion she imagines for a porcupine shooting its quills.]

After I laughed my head off, called my sister to share this priceless Jane-ism, and pulled myself together, I thought:

Porked by a porcupine. Well, she’s right. That would be bad!

Indeed.

Filed under: General, Catbird, Local Color, Jane on November 8th, 2007 | 1 Comment »

Today is my mother’s birthday. She would have been 65 years old.

Sigh.

You think I might be used to her being gone, since this year marks the 14th anniversary of her death.

But I’m not.

I still miss her and wish she was here.

Especially on her birthday.

Filed under: General, Catbird, Random Thoughts, Tidbits on November 5th, 2007 | 6 Comments »

Which Disney Princess Are You?
	You are part Cinderella. You are hard-working and never complain, however, your trust is sometimes misplaced and people sometimes take advantage of you. Still, you are beautiful inside and out, and one day you will realize it and find true love.
	You are part Pocahontas. You defy convention and sometimes do what is considered taboo. Unfortunately, others do not always appreciate your differences, so it’s good that you are so strong-willed. You are loyal and you believe in fate. Your true love will find you one day.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

I must have MPD (multiple personality disorder) to be two totally different Disney princesses!

I mean, is it possible for the gap to get any wider than Cinderella (compliant to the point of doormat!) and Pocahontas (SO rebellious!)?

I don’t think so.

And, just in case Paul reads this and calls me on it: the hard-working part might fit, but the “never complain” part…well, let’s just say that I’m not known for holding my tongue!

I DO, however, believe in Fate; I just prefer to call him, “Sovereign God.” (grin.)

Now I think I’ll go take it again for a tie-breaker!

(hat-tip to Patricia for the link!)

Filed under: General, Catbird, Random Thoughts on October 28th, 2007 | 5 Comments »

It’s official. I’m turning into my Mother.

Today we celebrated Jane’s 4th birthday with a party at a local Elementary School playground. We had family. We had friends. We had presents. We had chips, and cokes, and juice boxes, and balloons, and goody bags. We had cake.

That I made. (from a boxed cake mix, lest anyone think that I’m bragging.)

I iced and decorated it myself, and, probably much like my mom did, I spent a long time last night trying to get it just right.

Yesterday I went to Hobby Lobby to get cake-decorating apparati like decorator tips, disposable frosting bags, and an 8″ square pan, because the “design” I had imagined for Jane’s cake was definitely square, NOT round. (I know, the perfectionism is pathetic.)

As I was there, I noticed a sign advertising the next cake-decorating course and I actually thought, “Oooh! If I took that class, I could make ALL of our cakes and cupcakes! And decorate them myself! They’d look professional! And I wouldn’t be afraid that they’d end up ugly!”

Did I mention that Mom took cake-decorating classes and got so good that people paid her to make cakes for birthdays, weddings, baby showers and such?

And then tonight, as I found myself eating supper alone at the table (while Paul bathed the girls; I love that man!), I thought, “This would be a great time to look at a cookbook!”

Whaaaaaattt?!

Read a cookbook? For pleasure? Like it’s a magazine?!

There’s no other explanation than this: I’m turning into my Mother.

(p.s. With a little luck, I’ll post a photo of the cake tomorrow! Nowhere close to my mom’s cakes…but not bad!)

Filed under: General, Catbird, Random Thoughts, Jane on October 27th, 2007 | 6 Comments »

My grandmother (Mom’s mom) died a peaceful death on Sunday morning, after deteriorating quickly during a difficult and painful couple of weeks in the hospital.

Paul and I were fortunate to have been able to say “Goodbye” to her the prior Monday.

The funeral is today, and the four granddaughters (Julie, Jan, Jennifer and me [the only “C”]) are each writing a little something that represents Nannie to us.

I thought I’d just include mine here, so that y’all could see what an amazing legacy I have.

Nannie, to me

Before PawPaw died, I almost always referred to Nannie and PawPaw together, as if they were one unit: nannieandpawpaw.
And in many ways they were.

But Nannie was an amazing individual in her own right, and here are a few things about her that I remember, admire, respect, or just plain love.

Nannie was a working woman virtually her whole life. A lot of that time it was not widely accepted that you could be a good mother and also work outside the home.

Despite working a full-time job and being a full-time mother and wife, Nannie made time to express herself through crafts (needlepoint, yarn flowers, felt-and-feather ornaments, beadwork, etc.), often into the wee hours of the night.

Nannie was a voracious reader; her genre of choice [Harlequin romances!] is still a shock (and a laugh) to me, but I still love that she was a reader.

When Julie and I (and Jan and Jennifer, too, I bet) spend the night with her, she would make an evening snack for us. It was really special because she gave us Mountain Dew in cool glasses with ice and a dessert (often homemade) all served on a tray that she rested on her stackable footstools or her postcard-decoupaged coffee table. I felt like a queen.

Her house was rarely really clean, and never completely ordered, but it was a treasure chest full of amazing things that she let us explore carte blanche. I loved that.

Nannie taught me some of the finer points of writing cursive (specifically, how to make lowercase “b’s” and “d’s”.) She had beautiful penmanship.

She was the caretaker of the family, and though sometimes it was a heavy burden, she did it (and did it well) anyway.

Nannie cooked with butter and oleo. Exclusively, I think. And even though you can’t spread cold Land o’ Lakes on warm toast at all, and cranberry juice is mighty sour first thing in the morning, I loved them both because only Nannie used real butter and drank cranberry juice.

One time she told me, “Baby, think about what you’re going to say before you say it. Don’t say anything you’ll regret, because one day how you feel about this will change, and you won’t be able to take back your words, even though you’ll wish you could.” Wise words.

Nannie had a real soft spot in her heart for “the second daughter”—because she was one. As a second daughter myself, that always meant the world to me.

She recently gave me one of her Bibles; it was one for which my other grandfather had made a leather cover since the original cover had worn off. When I opened it, I saw that page after page had been written on with notes from many years of sermons. It was obvious that almost every page had been handled and read.

Nannie made life-sized Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls for all four granddaughters from a pattern that she created herself. My doll had a red heart with “I love Cathy” stitched on the chest. Now I understand those were her words to me—not Raggedy Ann and Andy’s.

She love the Lord.
She loved me.

Although I spent many years of my adulthood not keeping up with her goings on, when we moved to Orlando, FL it became a very short 2.5 hour drive to visit her in Jacksonville. So we did. Those visits over the course of our 2-something year stay in Florida restored some of what may have become lost in our relationship, and has made her death have more of an impact on me than in probably would have in earlier years. In fact, I find myself very sad that she has died.

But, as a believer of Christ for more years than I’ve been alive, Nannie’s future in heaven is assured, and it has, no doubt, already begun. And that is a fact which makes me very happy, both for me and for her.

So, goodbye, Nannie. I love you.

Filed under: Catbird, Like a fire, Random Thoughts on October 24th, 2007 | 7 Comments »

I recently received the following comment on “The Short Story By James Thurber” page:

I Hate Your Site &*^%!? I hate James %^&* Thurber!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?

The author was listed as, “hateu.” Fitting.

I have to say, I was floored.

Most comments posted on my are generally positive; due in part, no doubt, to the fact that most of my readers are family, friends, or friends of friends, I think.

“The Short Story by James Thurber” page, though, is the exception to the rule on my blog. I get many, many readers who come to my site after having Googled “The Catbird Seat”. That very fact is the reason I included the short story on my blog in the first place. (I didn’t want my blog to falsely advertise.)

These readers of Thurber’s story are unknown to me. For a long time I didn’t get any comments on this “post” at all. When I did, I was delighted that they were words of gratitude for my inclusion of the story on my blog.

I probably should be surprised that I haven’t received comments such as these. After all, the anonymity that a blog offers sometimes empowers people to make comments that they would never say in real life.

Nonetheless, I have been exempt, it seems, until now.

After the initial shock, and the feeling of “You HATE me? REALLY?”, I found the comment amusing.

I’m not sure if it was the comic book swearing, or the author’s name, or just how ridiculous the whole comment is, but it really just makes me laugh. Maybe it’s just that it’s so pathetic.

Whatever the case, I can now count myself among the many bloggers who have gotten “hate comments” and lived to tell about it.

Do I get a badge or something?

Filed under: General, Catbird, Tidbits on October 8th, 2007 | 3 Comments »