7 quick takes friday (vol. 5)

I’m pleased to participate once again in “Friday Quick Takes” (sponsored by Jennifer at Conversion Diary). Here are my seven random thoughts of the week:

1. Baby no more. I knew Nick was about to turn four when he came in my room the other day squinting his eyes. At first, I wasn’t sure what he was doing exactly. Then I realized he was winking at me. Soon, I realized he could do it with both eyes – and not at the same time. He was also snapping his fingers the other day – a skill he learned from his six-year-old brother. These milestones are the true mark of an exit out of babyhood. Since he’s so thrilled with these exciting changes, I can’t stay wistful for long. Here’s a shot taken by our daughter at his party at Chuck E. Cheese’s a bit ago:

And speaking of Chuck E. Cheese’s, he’s not your ordinary mouse. After Chuck E. Cheese made the rounds of taking photos with the tykes, he decided to change courses, and went up the play tubes with the kids, a trail of them following behind him.

Yes, that’s Chuck E. emerging from the slide!

2. Communications luncheon. Ever since the end of college, I’ve been a member of the National Federation of Press Women, along with its state and local affiliate groups. Today was our monthly meeting of the Fargo Moorhead Professional Communicators (overseen by the North Dakota Professional Communicators), featuring a talk by local communications expert Martin Fredricks of Fredricks Communications. Martin gave a fun “birthday party” themed talk (marking the fifth birthday of his business). I had the privilege of working with Martin briefly in a freelance capacity for North Dakota State University publications before he darted off in a different direction. He’s done well for himself, and among his many obligations, he puts out a great one-page newsletter that contains excellent writing advice and tips. You can subscribe here.

3. Prayers for Roxana. Roxana Saberi grew up in Fargo and attended school just down the road from our home. I first came to know her as a reporter for our local KVLY television news station, and took a liking to her right off, perhaps because of 1) her name and initials, so much like my own, and 2) she was doing what I’d once aimed to do (my college internship in news reporting took place at KXJB, also in Fargo). Roxana is in prison right now in Iran, where she’d been working and living as an international news reporter. The story has gone from the accusation that Roxana illegally bought a bottle of wine, to the more serious indictment that she’s been spying for the United States. I really believe she’s being used as a pawn by the government over there, and I’m not the only one who believes this. Her parents, who still live in Fargo, are of Iranian (father) and Japanese (mother) descent. Along with them and many others, I am very concerned for this young woman’s safety and future. Please pray with me for her safe return to the United States. Here’s a blog article written by a friend of Roxana’s.

4. How I know for sure it’s spring: A house full of mud. And by the way, it’s looking like our raging Red River has, in fact, completed its second crest, lower than expected, and that very soon now we’ll be able to bring the materials we hauled upstairs back downstairs so they might reclaim their rightful spots.

5. The soul of a writer. Here’s a nugget from the book I’m reading, Our Lady of the Lost and Found: A Novel of Mary, Faith and Friendship, by Diane Schoemperlen. It comes on p. 184 in a chapter describing the life of St. Teresa of Avila:

“Although Teresa frequently claims to hate writing, she is, in fact, a fast and prolific writer, author in her lifetime of many other books besides her Autobiography. She writes all the time, whether she is well or seriously ill. Often she writes in a small, cold cell without even a table or chair. She has the soul of a writer: a soul overflowing with contradictions, irony, self-doubt, stubbornness, wonder and faith.” (my emphasis)

6. Shadow-boxing it: I have been looking for a solution for how to display my “precious hands” plaques (see earlier post) done by all five of our children at 3.5 years of age, and discovered it in shadow boxes I picked up at a local craft store. I will post a photo of the results once I’ve found the right wall space for all five of them. The completion of this project has been a long time in the making (since 1999, when the first one was done) and I can’t wait to have them displayed.

7. Peace Garden Project. I received an email this week from an organization called Peace Garden Project. I haven’t had a lot of time yet to investigate what it’s all about, but it sounds intriguing, at the very least. I figured with the blogger name of Peace Garden Mama (which is no doubt how they found me), I could at least mention this project here.

Wishing you peace and plenty of sunshine in your weekend. Happy Easter season!