Just what have the Newberries been up to??..and a little diatribe, bear with me

Well, let me fill you in.....

Level One of Nursing school....done. Finished that bad boy on March 24...with flying colors, I might add. Started Level Two Monday...first day of clinicals today at Cityview Care Center. If any of you have friends or relatives there, please tell me so I can know who they are! :)

I have strep throat. I didn't need a Dr to tell me that...it was blatantly obvious. White patches on the tonsils, feeling like I swallowed a rock, excruciating throat pain, 102 fever, yeah it was all there. I don't have insurance right now, so I had to basically call and beg my OB for a prescription for erythromycin...it's safe to take while breastfeeding. She finally did, on Tuesday, and I'm actually starting to feel less icky today. In fact, I feel almost normal. But I'm exhausted.

We spent last week doing fun things with the kids...zoo, the park, etc. Michael and I had some well deserved alone time overnight on Thursday. It was mixed....we missed the kids, but I liked the uninterrupted sleep!

We're looking forward to Easter....we're excited about the egg hunt, and I'm thrilled to introduce the Easter story to Daniel.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT,

We haven't been at Church much since Daniel turned two...why? Because, quite simply, we're scared. I'll admit it. Openly. He's hit the terrible twos. My precious "I'll eat anything" baby has given way to a toddler tirade....and a picky appetite. I'm afraid he'll act up in Church and we'll get those disapproving "take that child out of here" looks that we've gotten in the past. I don't want those looks, I can't take those looks. I can't handle those looks. And goodness, what if Zoe started to cry too? Nope. It's easier to sit here and not have to deal with feeling judged for being a bad mom (knowing full well that I'm not) , even though I know there are those who are praying for my soul right now thinking I'm a lapsed Christian. Rest assured, my relationship with God is strong as ever. He's continuously working in my life and in the lives of my loved ones...we just need some adjustment time. And I have problems with the fitting in aspect of Churches. I don't like having to feel as though we need a "niche" to fit in. My family and I have a niche....it's about to kick into high gear and we're pumped. It's VBS season, y'all. This is where we belong. I just wish we could expand it into a year long thing....doing a mini VBS each month, or each quarter....it would RULE!!

I've never been one to follow rules people like to set for me. I use words that some people think I ought not to use, I vote for the people other people think I shouldn't, I don't spank my kids, I try not to yell at my kids, I speak my mind and am open about my beliefs, and I don't allow other people (that includes my husband) to boss me around and tell me what I can and cannot do. It's just not in my nature. I am my own being, my own person. I have a brain and I use it for what God intended : to think. Should I be faulted for that? I don't think so. But there are people who do. I don't think all Christians are (or in any way should be) carbon copies of one another. After all, being diverse gives us an edge. Accepting people for who they are, for who GOD created them to be makes people more willing to listen to and accept US. After all, as Christians, we're really just auditioning to show people our paths. Do I have the right to illuminate someones path if all I'm going to show them is how judgmental it is? No. Tolerance, love, and empathy make a much more attractive pathway. IMHO, of course. In the end what matters is that our love for God and His creations guides our actions. Sure, the Bible is a great tool....I like to think of it as a hammer or a screw gun or some other tool that every person needs to survive....but it's not a substitute for the LIVING GOD. "God's word" HAS changed, it's been translated and translated and translated, and I refuse to accept the "nothing's changed" line because I'm not stupid...I can see some of the changes for myself...I can read the English. God's book's words have changed...but has God? Or is He the same as He's always been? Do we need to worship a book? Or can we just choose to worship God?