Not much to add to this...you just need to watch it.

Take a minute to watch this amazing dog. 

 

 

So, I'm trying to stop wasting my time online...which means xanga...which is not hard cuz it's almost totally a ghost town.  However, I did just get on facebook... 

Anyway, our family has sort of "adopted" a Brazilian grad student named Clodoaldo.  He has been such a gift to me!  I am back to learning Portuguese and loving it.  He's also helped me find some great Brazilian music that I LOVE!

Here are my current favorites, embeded for your auditory enjoyment.

Ana Carolina

Cesár Menotti e Fabiano

Pitty (pronounced "Peach")  I can't say that I love the video for this one, but I love the song.

It's official. Kerry has the flu, and she gave it to me.

Poor Kerry. She got a cold the week before the ski trip. She got caught up in the stomach bug epidemic of CPSki '08 (hereafter to be known as CPSpew). And somewhere in the the mess of sickness, picked up the flu. It had to have happened on the ski trip because she hasn't been out of the house from the time she returned on Sunday night until going to the doctor this morning. I'm wondering if anyone else has it.

John and Jessie return from Ethiopia tonight and we won't even be there. We'll be protecting the world, and our family, from the flu by staying home and letting the Campbells get them. The only bright spot is that I'm still early enough to take Tamiflu. If you start it within the first 48 hours, it's supposed to lessen symptoms and duration, but after that, it's not much good. Poor Kerry has suffered through with it since Monday and we didn't realize what was going on. We though it was just the end of the stomach bug, and maybe a cold. Can I say it again? Poor Kerry! Everyone give her lots of love and sympathy when she gets out of quarantine, or on her facebook!

So, here's a fine Valentine's day for us, huh? We decided to be each other's sweethearts, cuz no one else would want us!

Even though it seemed that Kerry was well on her way to better-ness when I collected her at church last night, such was not to be. She spent the entire day in her bed today, coughed more than I have ever heard her cough, and by late afternoon, was running a fever, which a few minutes ago was 101 point something. At least she's been able to eat a little today - some soup, crackers, toast, and even a little ice cream -but her body is still battling this bug and so, is pretty wiped out.

In such situations, a sister's macbook is a wonderful friend - especially when she's out of the country and not using it. It was very handy for her to commiserate with fellow sufferers on facebook and watch Pride and Prejudice on dvd (P and P is the Udall gals' standard sick days movie). We're just going to have to give it a good wipedown with disinfectant before Jessie returns from Ethiopia on Thursday night.

So, the day was pretty surreal for Kerry as it always is when you spend the whole day in bed. And when you add to this that she spent Sat. afternoon until Sunday afternoon in a bed in a condo in NC with about 40 other sick people all around, then piled into a van while still sick, with all the other sickies, and all on anti-nausea meds, to drive home, and then went back to bed...only to wake up the next morning and spend the whole day in bed...you've got a weird, surreal kinda few days.

I spent the day doing laundry, checking on and chatting with Kerry in between her naps, bringing soup, toast, tea, etc, walking Ruby, and generally puttering around the house. In the last 2 days I have listened to about 17 hours of of the most wonderful audiobook. Jessie told me several years ago that she loved The Robe, and I have been intending to read it ever since. Well, I finally decided to do so, on audiobook. Wow! It is so good. It is all about a Roman young man, a tribune, who ends up being head of the soldiers who crucify Jesus. The story is absolutely riveting as the author takes you through this man's journey to faith in Christ. There are definitely some liberties and license taken with what we know about Jesus' life, but none that are beyond what might have been. Overall, the desire to be faithful to the biblical account is obvious. One thing that has really interested me is the way this man (Marcellus) keeps investigating Jesus' life and miracles by talking with people who were with him, and because he is so committed to rejecting anything supernatural, he keeps offering possible natural explanations for the miracles. Marcellus is looking to find out more about this extraordinary man, but he expects to find simply a great man. He has no desire to find a God, in fact, he doesn't even have the mental category of such a being. The interesting thing is that because it is only a year or so after Jesus' ascension, the people who knew Jesus, the first believers, are not even sure they fully understand or believe all that they've seen and heard. They're still putting it all together, figuring it all out. So, they don't simply insist that what Jesus did was miraculous and that settles it. Rather, they allow that Marcellus might be right. They allow him his disbelief in their understanding and experience...but then they offer another story to go along with the one that could have a natural explanation, and this one cannot be explained away. No one tries to argue with him. They simply tell what happened, tell him that they saw it themselves, even if they still don't fully understand, and assure him that they believe in Him.

This story is amazing me with its patient, methodical way of building and carefully putting the pieces in place. There is nothing spectacular here. Actually, in so many ways it is understated and so very simple. But somehow there is great power in that. I am totally gripped and have been living with these characters for the last couple days. I have about 5.5 hours left. I guess I won't make it tonight...but then again, I just might.