Latest developments from Pip:
- I’ve made it to the size of an Avocado (about 5 inches long) and now weigh about 100 grams! #
- Here comes a growth spurt: will double in weight over the next three weeks, and add inches in length. Got a feeling it’s going to be tiring! #
- We’re all off to see the midwife today to make sure me and Mummy are doing ok. #
- I’ve just been checked out by the midwife: all is well. My heart is currently going at 140 bpm. # Mummy asked if her tummy was larger than expected, midwife replied: most of it is liquid and wind {tell us something we didn’t know ;o) } #
- I think I’ve found the umbilical cord – been playing about with it and squeezing it – probably shouldn’t squeeze it for too long though ;o) #
- My circulatory system and urinary tract are in full working order, and I’m now inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid through my lungs – eurgh #
- It’s great fun in here, and I think I can hear Daddy repeating the word “Dada” over and over. Can’t wait to get out though – much more fun. #
Bookmarks for May 27th
These are the links I’ve bookmarked recently on Delicious:
- The Clock Clock By Humans Since 1982 – Swedish designers Humans since 1982 have created this genius clock made from 24 analogue clocks to act as a digital display using the clock hands to read the time.
- UK Photographers Rights v2 – This is intended to provide a short UK guide to the main legal restrictions on the right to take photographs and the right to publish photographs that have been taken.
- EngageWorship: Resources and Training for Innovative, Creative Worship – engageworship.org is a new expression of the Music and Worship Foundation, furthering their vision and values for a new generation. We aim to resource youth, young adults and 21st century churches for innovative worship. We want to help people engage with God, each other and the world around them, through creative, multi-sensory acts of worship.
When I signed up for a hosting account with Dreamhost, the package included a free domain registration. I decided to go with a domain name which linked to the personal tagline I’ve used on this site (and in my email signature) for the last 10 years: Brain-free since ’73…
The domain in question is www.brain-free.com, and I’m currently using it as a personal portfolio site:
The site has been built with WordPress and the uses excellent Ipseity theme by H3. In time I plan to add further information to it about me, my skills and interests. I know it’s a bit of a vanity site, but I’m cool with that.
Please take a look at brain-free.com – I’d love to know what you think of it…
Taken during a short break from my dissertation – I can still remember the absolute joy of getting out of the house for half an hour. Bliss!
Latest developments from Pip:
- I’m still small enough to fit in the palm of Daddy’s hand. #
- Click to see an image of what I look like – much less alien this week: http://snipurl.com/babyrew-15weeks #
- I’m currently suffering hiccups – apparently it’s a way of mastering breathing. It’s lots of fun though :o) #
- I now weigh in at around 2.5 ounces and measure nearly 4 inches / 11 centimetres long, crown to rump. That’s quite a change from last week! #
- My legs are growing longer than my arms now; my fingernails are fully formed and all my joints and limbs can move – can’t wait to kick Mummy #
- Woohoo – my external genitals are now developed enough to be seen on an ultrasound. Mummy and Daddy want it to be a surprise though… #
Today I started reading Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen for the Worship & Spirituality module at CYM. I’m half-way through which for me is a record (ok, it’s a short book and fairly big text) and so far I’ve found it really inspiring and challenging. I’m looking forward to getting my head around it when brain-capacity allows. I don’t have time to write a review just yet but here are a few quotes which struck me:
‘Over the years, I have come to realise that the greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity, or power, but self-rejection. Success, popularity, and power can, indeed, present a great temptation, but their seductive quality often comes from the way they are a part of the much larger temptation to self-rejection.’
‘Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the “Beloved”. Being the Beloved expresses the core truth of our experience.’
‘What is required is to become the Beloved in the commonplaces of my daily existence and, bit by bit, to close the gap that exists between what I know myself to be and the countless specific realities of everyday life. Becoming the Beloved is pulling the truth revealed to me from above down into the ordinariness of what I am, in fact, thinking of, talking about, and doing from hour to hour.’
‘When our deepest truth is that we are the Beloved and when our greatest joy and peace come from fully claiming that truth, it follows that this has to become visible and tangible in the ways we eat and drink, talk and love, play and work. When the deepest currents of our life no longer have any influence on the waves at the surface, then our vitality will eventually ebb, and we will end up listless and bored even when we are busy.’
‘The movement of God’s Spirit is very gentle, very soft – and hidden. It does not seek attention. But that movement is also very persistent, strong and deep. It changes our hearts radically. The faithful discipline of prayer reveals to you that you are the blessed one and gives you the power to bless others.’
‘There is little or no neutral territory between the land of the blessed and the land of the cursed. You have to choose where it is that you want to live, and that choice is one that you have to keep making from moment to moment. [...] I must tell you that claiming your own blessedness always leads to a deep desire to bless others.’
‘As the ‘blessed ones’, we can walk through this world and offer blessings. It doesn’t require much effort. It flows naturally from our hearts. When we hear within ourselves the voice calling us by name and blessing us, the darkness no longer distracts us. The voice that calls us the Beloved will give us words to bless others and reveal to them that they are no less bless than we.’
You can purchase the book from the Youth Ministry Bookshelf, along with all the other booksI have found useful from the reading lists throughout my degree.
A couple of weeks ago I submitted my favourite Wedding photo to the Photobox Wedding Competition – they wanted to focus on inspirational Wedding photos on their front page to mark the start of the Wedding season (as it’s probably their busiest time of year). There are prizes available for three photos – each winning an A3 photobook worth £45. Well, we’ve not won the prize yet (closing date 26th May) but we’ve been selected for the short-list and our photo is currently being displayed on their front page:
If we win I’m sure we’ll create an amazing photobook of our recent trip to New York. As a thank-you to the photographer, we may consider sponsoring a photobook of his own Wedding which takes place this Sunday, 24th May.
Update: the results are out and sadly our photo didn’t win. It’s still my favourite though :o)
Latest developments from Pip:
- This is roughly what I look like now at 14 weeks – something a bit alien about the image: http://snipurl.com/babyrew-14weeks #
- I’m now 3.5 in (9cm) from rump to crown and weigh in at a respectable 1.5 ounces. #
- This week I will mostly be covering my parchment-thin skin with downy hair, and lots of it. Also growing eyebrows; it’s all about the hair! #
- I am now able to grasp, squint, frown, and grimace – I get the last two from my Mummy ;o) #
- Apparently about now I should also be able to suck my thumb; might give it a try later. Right, where will I find my thumb? #
- Don’t want to speak too soon, but Mummy’s been feeling much better towards the end of this week; hope it continues – sorry about the nausea! #
