A Prayer Request

For Jim's Dad as he recovers from a second surgery in less than two weeks. Also for our wonderful relatives in Missouri who are helping to coordinate his care. We love you all!

Book club ladies, sorry I missed you all tonight. Hope you understand and I'll see you soon! Hope you enjoyed discussing Brooklyn!

Happy Birthday Jim!

Yet another boat/waterfront scene. Celebrated Jim's Birthday last night with dinner at Anthony's on the Everett Marina, then a sunset walk.

I love you sweetheart!

Along the Burke Gilman Trail

OK, I'm still resting and taking pictures more than serious training on the bike but what a beautiful day. Did get 8 miles in though.

Spent the evening at a rosary for a childhood friend's little brother. Life is so fragile and so temporary. Very grateful to God for all the beautiful days and beautiful people in my life.

Earth Abides by George R Stewart

One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth forever

Ecclesiastes 1:4

Was re-reading Brooklyn for book club. Also re-reading Harry Potter since the new movie is coming out. Then picked up Earth Abides which Jim had requested from the library.

Ish is a loner working on his graduate thesis "The Ecology of the Black Creek Area". He is out in the wilderness studying the relationship of men, plants and animals in the region. When he finally discovers that a disease has wiped out most of the human population, he feels that his anti-social tendencies and his field of study will help him succeed in this new world.

Earth Abides follows Ish through the rest of his life. It is interesting to see the survival and adaptation of all life forms on earth through Ish's eyes. Not to give too much away but he learns to help his new "tribe" survive and thrive, although not in the way he originally intended.

It is an amazing post-apocalyptic story which is extremely well-written. The characters and story will stay with me for a long time. The book cover likens the story to Robinson Crusoe. I kept comparing it to The Road, but with more positive life-affirming images.

Beautiful Autumn Day

Enjoying a few weeks off of work. Scheduled to start jury duty tomorrow. Today, had the opportunity to meet brother Jay and niece Sarah for a bike ride along the Puyallup River. Had a great time trying to keep up with them! Jay spied this blue heron along the river. Very cool!

Papa and Aunt Sandy accompanied Sarah to the local ice cream place afterwards. I wasn't brave enough to try the blue bubblegum ice cream but she loved it!

Gianna Jessen, abortion survivor

Gianna Jessen's Biography from her website

Gianna Jessen does not quit. Giving up is not an option to her. Gianna has what she refers to as the "gift" of Cerebral Palsy. She weighed a mere 2 lbs at birth and the doctors said she would never be able to hold up her head, sit up, crawl or walk. She began to walk by the age of three years old with the help of leg braces and a walker.

Gianna doesn’t believe that her Cerebral Palsy takes away her life, but, rather, enriches it. . . she walks with a slight limp today and runs marathons. On April 30, 2005 she completed her first 26.2 mile marathon after running just over 7 hours and was presented with the coveted blank blank award! On April 23, 2006 she completed the London Marathon as well. She is now determined to run marathons all over the place, because she was never supposed to even walk!

Gianna understands the plight of orphans, being one herself. She was placed into the foster care system early on in life, eventually being taken into the loving home of a woman named Penny. Penny has been a mother to 56 foster children in her life. Gianna was later adopted by Penny's daughter, making Penny Gianna's grandmother. According to Gianna, Penny saved her life.

Gianna is a Christian. Her life was given to her by the grace of God. She shouldn't be walking, but more miraculous still; she should not even be alive. Gianna's biological mother was 17 when she had a saline abortion in her third trimester. Many Americans don’t realize it is legal to have an abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy. After being burned alive for approximately 18 hours in the womb from the saline solution, Gianna was delivered alive in a Los Angeles County abortion clinic. Her medical records state, "born during saline abortion"...this is what caused her Cerebral Palsy.

Gianna's travels and experiences have led her all over the world. Her life has been covered by many major news media outlets, including, most recently, the BBC News and World Radio, Sky News, and The Good Morning Show in England, reaching many people with a message of hope and conviction. In November 2005, Gianna spoke in several colleges all over Ireland and in December of the same year, spoke at a meeting held at the House of Commons in London. She has returned to England this year to speak in several parochial and public high schools. Gianna’s audiences include: churches - church youth crusades and women’s ministry retreats; various corporations as a motivational speaker; secular and Christian youth organizations and schools – middle school age through college, as well as several times before Congress - most recently having her testimony read before the Supreme Court in Carhart v. Gonzales

Brit had a video of this woman on her facebook page. The story is, as Brit says, beautiful and crazy. I would add, Gianna's story is moving to say the least. I did not include the video since Brit has had her facebook profile hacked. The video, in which Gianna speaks at Queen's Hall, Parliament House, Victoria. Australia is on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPF1FhCMPuQ