Just got off of Facebook and was so disappointed in some of my "friends". It seems the ones who have so much to be grateful for, can't stop complaining. It certainly makes me more aware of the things that I post and my general attitude of gratitude.

Spent the morning dealing with my ongoing "dental crisis", spent the better part of last night laying awake stressing about said "dental crisis". Finally came to a conclusion that I can't figure this one out and the burden was getting to be too much to bear (in other words, I was stressed to the max), after a lot of prayer and wondering I decided (actually I think I was told, maybe in a dream) that I just needed to lay this burden at the Lord's feet. Once I did that I felt an amazing sense of calm, not that I didn't have to remind myself several times throughout the morning, not to go back and pick that burden up again. Incredibly things have started to work themselves out. I still can't see the end, but I'm not worried anymore, I know it will work out the way it should and I will be OK in the process.

After that morning crisis, I spent a good part of the afternoon writing. The assignment for my class this week is to post the first paragraph of our "final creative piece" and I haven't even come up with an idea for mine. Oh, oh, here comes the stress.... I started writing some disjointed paragraphs, good in their own, but I was scared to post any, because I didn't know where I was going to take them for the final piece. Rick was kind enough to take me out to dinner (I think he could see how stressed I was and how wrapped up in the whole thing I was getting and he had a fine sense of "no dinner tonight) we talked a lot about my anxiety about this assignment. With his help I came to the conclusion that even seven hundred page novels are written one paragraph at a time and not everyone has an outline of the entire work at the first second or even three hundredth paragraph. The real creative process is to just write and see what's in there (kind of like my blog, each night I just start writing and don't really know where I'm going). Anyway...I feel much better now and even think I have an opening paragraph for my "final piece", not quite ready to post it yet, need to sleep on it and make a few more revisions, of course, it has to be perfect.

Talked to Rachel today and learned that she is having contractions. She was at the doctors today and when they noticed the contractions they checked her to find out that she is dilated to 3 or 4. They kept her in the doctors office, under observation, for a few hours and when the contractions stopped, they sent her home. It does look like things "have begun". I sincerely hope she can keep that baby in for a few more weeks. She'll probably hate me for saying that (I do remember how "done" you are at about 8 months), I just want little Mavis to have every opportunity to have a good healthy start. I also want to be able to be there to be of some real help, not coming three weeks after the baby is born. Well, I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what happens. Praying for them both to be healthy and things to go well.