Even though I'm nearly 19 weeks pregnant, I'm still mired in a muck of nausea that I keep hoping will lift any-day-now. This makes life exceedingly difficult, in that my temper runs short and my exhaustion levels never seem to wane. Those blasted pregnancy reminders keep telling me "you're in the best part of pregnancy! no more exhaustion or nausea!" Don't worry, I turned them off; it's just that I really like knowing what fruit/vegetable my baby currently resembles (a sweet potato). 
Anyways, the good news is that the weather finally turned warm, which means we've been able to sit out on the front porch. And eat dinner on our back patio. Also, if I haven't mentioned it before, I absolutely adore my neighborhood in warmer weather. The number of people who come outside, and walk by singing songs, and head to the park, and stop by for a quick front porch chat: perfection.
All of this rambling to say that I realize I've been absent around here the last little bit. But between nausea, and some really discouraging/hard/sad ministry/life stuff, my words have mostly just been percolating in my own heart I suppose.
So for now, some links to other people who have been writing things I love around the internets lately.
Bringing a Daughter Back from the Brink with Poems - NY Times
A Death Row Inmate Finds Common Ground with Theologians - NY Times (Have I mentioned that you should read Wanted? Because you should).
I am loving my friend Lori's series on How to Love Our Neighbors Well (full of so much wisdom and beauty, as usual for her).
I'm also looking forward to following along with my friend Judy's new series: Understanding the Racial Empathy Gap: The Power of Narratives
Also, it has come to my attention that most people dont know we have a dog (since I never talk about him). Well, we do. Meet Maverick, who has been a part of the Stanley Clan since 2006. It's just that he's mostly annoying and drives me crazy, so I dont regularly talk about him. Sorry for the confusion.
Anyways, the good news is that the weather finally turned warm, which means we've been able to sit out on the front porch. And eat dinner on our back patio. Also, if I haven't mentioned it before, I absolutely adore my neighborhood in warmer weather. The number of people who come outside, and walk by singing songs, and head to the park, and stop by for a quick front porch chat: perfection.
All of this rambling to say that I realize I've been absent around here the last little bit. But between nausea, and some really discouraging/hard/sad ministry/life stuff, my words have mostly just been percolating in my own heart I suppose.
So for now, some links to other people who have been writing things I love around the internets lately.
Bringing a Daughter Back from the Brink with Poems - NY Times
A Death Row Inmate Finds Common Ground with Theologians - NY Times (Have I mentioned that you should read Wanted? Because you should).
I am loving my friend Lori's series on How to Love Our Neighbors Well (full of so much wisdom and beauty, as usual for her).
Also, it has come to my attention that most people dont know we have a dog (since I never talk about him). Well, we do. Meet Maverick, who has been a part of the Stanley Clan since 2006. It's just that he's mostly annoying and drives me crazy, so I dont regularly talk about him. Sorry for the confusion.
Finally, we also have some pretty big news on the newest Stanley front. No, it's not that I'm feeling better (I'm not). We went to the specialist yesterday for an ultrasound, and found out that we are having another little BOY! Which means that Adam was right, and he wanted me to be sure to tell you that this is because he is always right.
The goal was to get a look at littlest's heart. Unfortunately, he was facedown and his spine shadowed the heart, so they couldn't really see anything. And apparently he's already a stubborn little guy, and didnt want to move for us. As a result, we have no news on that front, but we are excited to start thinking of names and other boy-related stuff that makes this whole growing-a-human thing feel more real!