Poetry from the Inner ENFP

Inner cyclones assaulted her,
caused her to tumble inside out.
Look up, she told herself! Look toward the Sun!
Yes, yes I see a glimmer of eternity.
What’s that noise?
Turn, turn, slowly turn
Back to navels and gray that matters.
Eternity slips away
But wait.
He’s there and will not leave…
Forever steady, holding that glimmer,
Knowing she will strive, strive, strive to return.
There are those who gaze continually.
They are no closer to His heart.

The Fam ( - Sweetie Pie)

Here are the kiddos (minus our beloved Liz) on Christmas Eve after Mass. Go to Theresa's Blog (www.tmarie.blogspot.com) for more pics (click on the picture of the kids holding Liz's picture).

We brought Theresa to the airport on Thursday and her flight was postponed and not expected to leave Denver for Oakland due to weather. So she stayed until today! It was so nice to have her here longer.

Love you guys!!

Christmas Update

I wish I had pictures to post, but they're stuck inside Theresa's camera.

We're all sitting at Nordaggio's coffee shop, keeping Sarah company while she works. We're all working on computers, reading and talking - except Mary, she's sleeping (except when we all laugh at her, which wakes her up!).

We're about to leave to take Theresa to the airport, which is very sad. She has to work tomorrow, which is crazy.

We had a wonderful Christmas - we went to Mass on Christmas Eve then read our Christmas Chimes story. On Christmas morning we all woke up kind of late so the eggnog wasn't ready (wasn't even purchased!!) and the monkey bread hadn't been started yet, but oh well, it was wonderful anyway. Then after our ham dinner we watched the Christmas Story and T, Sarah and I went to the adoration chapel. I can't believe I went along with this, but we then all came home and watched the SIMPSON'S movie. Anyone who knows me knows how much I DON'T like the Simpsons, but the kids talked us into it and guess what, I loved it! I laughed and laughed.

Yesterday we went to the Whitehursts for games but we ended up enjoying our conversation so much we ended up talking instead.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jesse Trees, Noble Trees, and Family Trees

When the kids come home we end up talking about so many interesting topics. I learn so much. And sometimes I cringe, like when Sarah told me about the 450 party at Swarthmore. She and I are sitting in a coffee shop right now while she finishes a final paper that's due by midnight.

We put up the Jesse Tree today - a pretty nice specimen collected in our own back yard! (There are benefits to ice storms - we usually have to go hunting for just the right one.) We string it with lights, hang it from the ceiling by the windows in the dining room and then, one by one, hang from it symbols of the Old Testament that were precursors to Jesus, the root of Jesse. We found some of the ornaments that the kids had made when they were kids had molded this year - not sure why because we stored them the same way we do each year. Sad.

It's ideally hung up the first Sunday of Advent, but oh well - we just got our tree up too. Putting up the tree on December 18th is actually a Shea tradition because we used to put it up on Mary Ellen's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SIS!

Sarah arrived home today, following David and Mary who arrived last week. And Theresa comes tomorrow. And Elizabeth Clare whom we talk about constantly because we miss her so much will celebrate Christmas this year with those she is serving through the Peace Corps in Honduras. We talked to her three times in the last three days which is wonderful - she usually only calls once each week or two. She's doing such a great job. WE LOVE YOU, LIZ!

Blessed Light and Heat!

HURRAY! The power's on!! The whole neighborhood lit up Thursday night except us. That was a bad day. Especially because we knew the people who were one-off's were at the bottom of the priority list with some people at work hearing they may go until Christmas without power.

There was also a run on electricians because anyone who had damage on their house electrically had to have it fixed before PSO would turn on the house power. We weren't sure why the power wasn't working, but it looked like a house issue. Fortunately we had the name of a wonderful electrician who has done work for us before. We called him Thursday night and he came Friday after he got out of work. He said the reason we weren't turned on was because the electric box on the house was tilted a little and PSO probably thought it was a safety issue. Oh boy, I thought, we'll get it straightened and then wait til Christmas for PSO.

Anyway, the electrician fixed the box and then said, "Don't tell PSO, but they left their box open and I'll turn you back on." HURRAY! When he was finished and heard us cheering I said, "How much do we owe you, $1000?" He said "No, just $35."

From the Ice Castle

OK, let's see if this works. I have never successfully uploaded a pic before to the blog. I wish I had a pic of our house, but this will have to do since it's the only one I could find on the web.

We're in the middle of an ice storm, been without power for 2 days. I called Mary Ellen this morning and said, "Help me I'm being held captive by the Ice Princess in her castle!" I'm at work now - got here at 5:30 - where there's heat! And light!

Chris and I were thinking a lot last night about the New Orleans residents. We pulled into our neighborhood where it was getting dark and looked so desolate with trees bent in half, falling into the street, etc. It was depressing to think of going into a dark, cold house. (We had FINALLY found some fire wood - a man and his kids selling it by the side of the road. It's so ironic because there's firewood all around us but with 250,000 looking for chain saws they're a little hard to come by.) We have only experienced this for 2 days, with a lot less devastation. What must it have been like for NOL? And now?

A tip for any who would like one: run, don't walk, to your nearest Home Depot and buy a crank up radio/flashlight combo. What a relief to be able to use it without worrying about having to try to find batteries or a plug to recharge it, etc. We had one in our emergency box, along with all the other stuff that's been stored there since September 12, 2001!

Violence

It was a sad day today. A friend of Mary's, who she visited when home for Thanksgiving, was murdered by her boyfriend (whom Mary also knew) and he then committed suicide. I am so angry at the violence in the world, in our hearts, in our families. Mary has had to experience it twice - the first time when she was in 3rd grade.

I love you, Mary. I've left messages with all the bro and the sis's - we're all praying for you.

Love,
Mom