Glitter in the Air

This is more for my sweet husband than anything else, but I'll let you all in on our romance for a bit.

I love Pink's song "Glitter in the Air".  It is different than her usually creepy punky self, which I love musically, but weirds me out on video.  This is fresh, and beautiful, and even when she sang it at the Grammys, it was artistic and boundary pushing, but not freaky.  Since it's my current jam, I'll post lyrics.

Have you ever fed a lover with just your hands?

Closed your eyes and trusted, just trusted?

Have you ever thrown a fist full of glitter in the air?

Have you ever looked fear in the face and said "I just don't care"?

It's only half past the point of no return

The tip of the iceberg

The sun before the burn

It's the thunder before the lightning

The breath before the phrase

Have you ever felt this way?

Have you ever hated yourself for staring at the phone?

Your whole life waiting on the ring to prove you're not alone

Have you ever been touched so gently, you had to cry?

Have you ever invited a stranger to come inside?

It's only half past the point of oblivion

The hourglass on the table

The walk before the run

It's the breath before the kiss

And the fear before the flames

Have you ever felt this way?

La la la la

La la la la

There you are, sitting in my garden

Clutching my coffee, calling me sugar

You called me sugar

Have you ever wished for an endless night?

Lassoed the moon and the stars and pulled that rope tight?

Have you ever held your breath and asked yourself will it ever get better than tonight?

Tonight

One thousand years ago...

....I started this blog.  And subsequently stopped writing it.

Alas, I now have time to write again, and I will.  Today is for catching up on recipes while Naomi naps, but tomorrow, perhaps, I'll have something to say.

Thanks for your interest in my thoughts.

Pro Life Ponderings

Kohl's, eBay, ToysRUs, BabiesRUs, Darden Restaurants(Olive Garden/Longhorn,etc), Walt Disney, Nike, Hilton Worldwide, Nationwide Insurance....all of these companies are major financial supporters of Planned Parenthood, the world's primary abortion-advocacy group. I was shocked. We will not be going back, and we will be writing letters to these companies. I can do without their products or I can buy them elsewhere. I encourage all of you to do the same. The Boycott List, published by Life Decisions International, can be found at fightpp.org.

"The Pro-Life Movement will succeed only to the extent that pro-life people are willing to be inconvenienced." (Douglas Scott, Jr) It's true.  We can go to our churches on Sundays and Wednesdays and it will still not be enough. It's not enough to go and sit through the service, sing the songs, shake hands, and leave. Being a follower of Christ is hard work.  It is not for the faint of heart.  We are to be active in the harvest fields.  We are to be passionate about our hate for abortion and compassionate toward the young women who are considering it.  Although we may not have thousands of extra dollars to give each year to the local pregnancy crisis centers, we can certainly withhold financial support of the businesses that contribute to Planned Parenthood.  Why?

Heaven.  Because this world sucks compared to what awaits us.  Because there, what was lost will be restored.  We sing about it on Sunday, don't we?   Do we believe it?

When I was pregnant with Naomi, we prayed for her.  I prayed the hardest prayer of my life:  that no matter what, Naomi would come to know Christ.  Do you know why it was hard?  Because I was afraid.  Sometimes I still am.  I was afraid that it may mean I would never see her become an adult.  It felt like a legitimate fear, considering our loss of Malachi when he was so little.  Everything changed when God spoke to me (well, corrected me).  He literally said "Do you believe what you've always professed to believe? IS heaven really better than all you see now?  You love your children and want the best for them, but I love them more, and the best for them is ME."

He feels the same about all of us.  The best we can be is His.  I have no doubt that the thousands of children that are aborted each year are with Him now.  Their deaths break my heart and I want to change it.  But their mothers (and fathers) are the ones still hurting.  The only healing for all that hurt is Him.

For the women facing an unplanned pregnancy right now, Planned Parenthood is not the answer.  Planned Parenthood is not going to heal the hurt that comes in the aftermath of an abortion.  But there are thousands of pregnancy care and crisis centers across the country that lovingly minister to young women in need of direction.  They are in a perfect position to show these girls the Father's love.  We ought to support them.

For Malachi

There were photographs I wanted to take
Things I wanted to show you
Sing sweet lullabies, wipe your teary eyes
Who could love you like this?


People say that I am brave, but I'm not
Truth is, I'm barely hanging on
But there's a bigger story, written long before me
Because He loves you like this


So I will carry you
While your heart beats here
Long beyond the empty cradle
Through the coming years
I will carry you
All my life
And I will praise the one who's chosen me
To carry you


Such a short time, such a long road
All this madness but I know
That the sadness has brought me to His voice
And He says


I've shown him photographs of time beginning
Walked him through the parted seas
Angel lullabies, no more teary eyes
Who could love him like this?

I will carry you

While your heart beats here

Long beyond the empty cradle

Through the coming years

I will carry you

All your life

And I will praise the one who's chosen me

To carry you

(written by Angie Smith, for her daughter Audrey)

Change is in the Air

Changes are coming to the Rabbits' Nest! ( For those of you wondering, we really do call our home that) But we are an adventuresome lot, so I know we can handle these things.

Firstly, Rabbit has decided to become a member of the US military. Wow, big one, huh? He spoke with a recruiter from the Marine Corps yesterday and was very excited and enthusiastic about this branch. I have a feeling that this is where he'll finally land after he finishes gathering info. Hopefully tomorrow, he can get into a meeting with the Army recruiter to find out what they have to offer. (Also on his list is the Air Force. My brother-in-law, Jeremiah, is an airman currently serving in Okinawa. My mother-in-law served as well, and Rabbit would be remiss in not researching this option before he makes his choice.)

I'm proud of my man. He did very well on his preliminary testing and if he does that well at MEPS, he could do any job. But I'm proud for a lot more than that.

At 23 years old, he's been through more than many others his age. He has a two-year degree, which he earned while working full-time at Babies'R'Us. Early in life, he learned to save his money and not waste it, which really helped us when we married. With a child on the way, and me going to school at Carolina, (and an apartment with rent at over $700 a month) we lived on those savings plus his earnings. He was a natural at being a daddy when our son Malachi was born, and a stronghold for our family when Malachi died. He read scripture at M's funeral, even when I couldn't bear to speak. He held me and we cried together as we picked our baby's burial plot. The day we found out our second child would be a girl, I'll never forget. His face was radiant, even though I know he was hoping for another son. The way he holds Naomi is as tender and as fierce as his love for her. Goodness oozes from this man, and I am so proud, military dreams aside.

Do I think he can do this? Absolutely. Do I think it'll be hard? Absolutely. Worth it? Absolutely.

It's sad that I don't take as much time as I should to reflect on the sacrifices thousands of men and women have made for their country and fellow citizens. For the families of those killed during their service, I'm sure a few federal holidays a year just aren't enough. Everyday, I carry Malachi, and the memories, the pain, the joy, of his life in my heart... I swell with pride for him and all that he was. I don't just remember him on his birthday and deathday, or only at the holidays. I don't expect everyone to remember him every day and mention it, but more than three times a year would be nice. I know the correlation here is a stretch, but it's how I wrap my mind around it all. Remembering, and being thankful, is good for all of us.

Alas, I'm tired of typing, so I'll cut this post off for the day. No good chat is complete without some nibbles, though, so I leave you with a recipe.

Crock Pot Beef Stew
1lb stew beef
1qt chicken broth (the low sodium kind)
1qt water
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
1 can diced potatoes
1 can sliced carrots
anything else you like (we usually throw in a handful of lentils or barley to jazz it up)

Combine all ingredients in crock pot set to low (it will look pretty full, but will cook down) for 8-12 hours. We start it before work and by the time we're home and ready for dinner, it's perfect. Season with salt and pepper.
Happy Thursday everyone!

Welcome to the Nest!

Hi and welcome! You've found the web home of the Ferrell family, the Rabbits' Nest.  We're new to blogging, so please pardon the initial "kid-in-puberty" awkwardness as we find our way. A bit about us:

We are a family of many names, but the basic structure is father, mother, baby, cat, and dog.

Meet Father: His name is Samuel, but he might go by Justin or Rabbit just as often.  In high school, we dated for eight whole days before I decided I couldn't stand him anymore, so I broke up with him...["It's not you, it's me...jk, it's totally you."]  Looking back, we laugh. I was just too insecure to date someone as unique as Rabbit then.  Sometimes he still intimidates me, dancing around the house, singing to the cat in his underwear. He's 23, and has been working at Babies R Us for a number of years.  We got married on Valentines' Day 2009.

Annnnd Mother: Me! I'm Jamie Elizabeth, and like Rabbit, I go by both my names.  My husband always calls me Mama Rabbit though. I'm 22, work as an automotive service advisor for Autoworks of Valdese, and I have a passion for simple living and large families.  There's plenty more to say, but I've got to leave something to write about tomorrow.

Then there's baby! Our daughter, Naomi Leia (like the princess in StarWars).  She's 11 weeks old, and though we think she's just the most awesome thing ever, there's still not much to write about.

Cat and Dog, aka Sasha and Mercedes, are family too.  Currently they annoy the heck out of us, and if anyone in the Valdese area needs some gently used pets, I would consider hooking them up with ours.  Sasha has more personality than many humans I've met, but when she's biting my ankle early morning because she's upset with me, I wonder if this is indeed a good thing. Mercedes is big and sweet and stupid. She barks like a champion.

On a serious note, there's a member of our little family that you all should know about.  His story is, in some ways, the beginning of our story.  Our son, Malachi, would be 17 months old now, but he died last fall of SIDS.  Where we are today came about because of his life and his death.  I will tell you the whole wonderful, terrible, beautiful story in a later post.