7 Quick Takes

1. Our stove was red tagged last night. I thought all day that I had been smelling gas. And I felt like I could smell it everywhere. Before I left for tutoring, Brian came home from work and while he faintly smelled something in the kitchen, he did not smell it near as strongly as I did. My dad told us that we could call the gas company and they'd send someone to check for any leaks. (Seems like an obvious solution.) So Brian did that. And guess what? The stove was leaking gas. So, it's red tagged and we're waiting on parts to come in before we can fix it and use it again. Looks like the microwave and toaster oven will be the way to cook this weekend. In all seriousness, there was a huge house explosion caused by natural gas just across the border in West Virginia this morning (very close to where I attended school.) The house is leveled and one teenager died. We are very blessed and beyond thankful that the leak was detected before something awful occurred.

2. We headed to Soergel's Farm this morning to hang out with some moms from Mommy's Group. We didn't get to stay nearly as long as I had wanted (had to meet the stove repairman), but my boys had a blast. Noah ended up falling in a large mud puddle, and Matthew purposefully rolled in the same puddle. He then removed his pants and underwear while I was tending to Noah and was standing in the middle of the play area stark naked from the waste down. Parenting fail. But the good news is that they both had a wonderful time and loved the little break from the city.

3. This weekend is the Diocese of Pittsburgh's 2nd Annual NFP Awareness Sunday. Being trained NFP Promoters, Brian and I are responsible for doing something at our parish to promote NFP. We put up a large trifold board with all kinds of fun facts in the back of the church along with some pamphlets. We are also mentioned in the bulletin. And I have a strong suspicion that Father Jim will somehow weave NFP into his homily on Sunday and his homilies about NFP are pretty much the bomb. We are excited and ask for your prayers that many hearts will be converted this weekend and that many couples can recognize the goods the come from practicing NFP instead of artificial contraception.

4. After the repairman left this morning, the boys and I got crafty with our baby pumpkins that we picked up at the farm. (We will go to a different farm at the end of the month with my parents to get big pumpkins, so we opted to get the tiny ones this time around.) We decided to make bat pumpkins. We painted the pumpkins, glued on eyes and wings and now we have bat pumpkins. Matthew made the wings for his pumpkin. I had to help Noah. It was again, an easy and fun craft. I highly recommend trying it out.

5. Noah went to this ENT this week for his usual 6 month follow up. I already knew he had an ear infection before we got there, and we had started drops a few days before. Well, it turns out one of his tubes is completely blocked. And on top of the infection in his ears, he also has a pretty bad yeast infection going on in his ears, too. He is now on two sets of drops. We are praying that this clears the blocked tube and he can start into the colder weather with healthy ears. We really do not want to have to replace the tubes, and we are discouraged that they haven't worked as well for him as they did for Matthew. Please pray his ears get better quickly.

6. This weekend we are heading out to the Dormont Street Fair. I love the street fair. It is such a fun, free community event. (Well, it's not free for us because we definitely indulge in all the local food offered, but it doesn't cost anything to attend. :)) The boys love seeing all the fire trucks and playing in the kids area. Last year I met a politician who was a huge fan of Propel Schools, and he picked my brain for a while about why the Propel Way works. It was awesome. This year a local band, The Justin Fabus Band, will be performing. We first saw them open for the Hillbilly Way in January and April. The best part is....I went to high school with Justin and was in chorus class with him. Great guy. He has no clue who I am, but he was pretty popular back at KO. Everyone knew him. I am happy to see a local guy have a lot of success.

7.This past week, one of my students was having a hard time because his grandmother is dying. (They were actually taking her off of life support today, so offer a prayer for them.) His mom and I had a heart to heart with him, and during the conversation, I mentioned I had lost a daughter a few years ago. At this point, his mom starts crying. She, too, had lost a baby girl many years ago. And just like that: BOOM! Instant connection. We hugged and then made plans to meet for coffee next week. This family is truly wonderful and I work there three hours each week. I knew I always felt especially connected to them, and now I know why. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for prompting me to share so personally. I have gained another friend. :)

And on that note, have a happy, enjoyable weekend! :)