Shawna Atteberry

We’re on vacation this week in Nebraska visiting my in-laws. We’re having a great time. Yesterday was my father and mother’s in law 44 wedding anniversay. We went out to eat and people they have known for years joined us. I got to meet friends My Hubby has had since high school. It was so much fun. Earlier in the day my MIL treated me to a pedicure, and they had massage chairs! I was in heaven. Here are my pretty toesies:

Blue sparkly toes with flowers! Squee!

We went to the zoo with my sister-in-law and her family Wednesday. It was a lot of fun. As you can see there are three kiddos, whom I’m calling Thing #1, Thing #2, and Thing #3 because I love Dr. Seuss.

Thing #1 riding a horse.

Thing #2 riding a horse.

Things #2 & #3 feeding the goats

PENGUINS!

Thing #1 in the butterfly tent. Thing #2 is to the left, also in the butterfly tent.

The whole family

I love flamingos. Don't know why, but I do.

Grandma finally got Thing #3 to look at the camera. She looked away from the camera all day.

I’ve also gotten some work done. I posted a review of an excellent book yesterday: Touching God: Experiencing Metaphors for the Divine. I really enjoyed reading this book, and it challenged me to be more mindful of where I see Godde, and how I experience her in my every day  life. I highly recommend it.

Today’s plans are up in the air depending on the weather. If it stops raining, we’re going to the county fair. I’m excited. I haven’t been to a fair in years. If the rain keeps up, then we’ll go see a movie. We head back home Sunday. It’s been a really good week, and we’ve had a lot of fun.

Not only is there coffee by the FIL provided donuts as well! Have a cup of coffee, grab a donut, and tell me about your week. Then go sit and have a chat with another Company Girl.

I woke up with a massive headache this morning. It has been weaned down to a dull throb by Extra Strength Excedrin. In lieu of actually thinking about my week, I am going to share some links that I discovered earlier this week that I think you will like.

Last Sunday my church had a pet blessing in honor of St. Francis of Assisi’s feast day, and The Chicago Tribune covered the event. The pictures are online here. Victoria and I are in the 4th and 6th pictures all the way to the right: She in her cat carrier and I in my funky cloak. Since you really can’t see her (due to the cat carrier), here’s a picture of us a couple of few years back:

Earlier this week I read a wonderful post a stay-at-at-home mom wrote about the tough decision between working or staying at home that every Mom, including Christian Moms, have to make. She calls herself The Goomba Wrangler, and she wants to see a more balanced discussion between Christians than the extremes of if you stay at home you’re wrong and if you go to work you’re wrong for Christian Mothers. What’s a Mom To Do? is an insightful, heartfelt, and intelligent discussion of the many options the Bible gives us as women, wives, mothers, and career women, and the tough decisions we make in negotiating all of our roles. (I’m not a Mom, but I have had plenty of friends who have made these tough decisions, and I’ve supported them no matter what their decision was. I think this is something the family has to decide for itself, and that there is no one pat answer.)

The Bible Study Connection has a post up about Jacob’s Well with pictures of the well and describing what it was like when Jesus and the Samaritan Woman had their conversation there 2,000 years ago. I always love seeing pictures of the places I read about in the Bible.

And here’s to hoping the dull thudding in my head soon diminishes all together.

Don’t miss what the other Company Girls are writing about this week.

Wow. Can you believe it’s October? This year has just flown by. This is my favorite month. I love Fall, and the wild weather we have. And the weather has been in full cooperation here in Chicago. It’s been chilly, stormy, and that wild wind I simply adore. We had a beautiful thunderstorm last night. I watched lightining dance along the clouds reflected in the lake and listen to the wind howl through the buildings. Most of the Halloween decorations are out too. Halloween is our favorite holiday. This is normally when I’m most creative as well, so I look forward to having a very productive writing month. I think the Fall wind blows my muse around more than normal. Things come, things flow, and I don’t bang my head up against the wall near as much.

This week was not a productive week to say the least. We wound up in the ER Monday night because The Hubby was having some intense GI pain. It turned out to be gastritis, but they kept him overnight for observation to be on the safe side. He was released Tuesday afternoon, and I crashed Wednesday. So tired. My body just did not like all the adrenaline and stress that pumped through it, and it’s having a bit of time recovering and getting back to normal. Of course the first thing it knocked out were what little circadian rythms I have, so my sleeping has been all over the place (figuratively and literally). I’m hoping to get that straightened out this weekend. I’m going to get back in my schedule which means grocery shopping and cleaning today. I’m very tempted to just write, but the house is a mess. How does that happen when your not home for a day and a half? But it is a mess. And I’ve learned this year that I just don’t operate well when the house is messy. And routine is very important in getting the body back to it’s own schedule. So cleaning and shopping it is. I plan to write and work on the book proposal tomorrow.

Make sure you go see what the Company Girls from Home Sanctuary are up too.