The Good Book says, "Thou shalt not kill." Also, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee..."

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Real bedside conversation between me and Abigail, while looking at Savannah:

Abigail:  Dad, could this baby have been aborted?

Me:  Yes.

Abigail:  That’s sick!

Me:  Yes it is.

Well, we are up to 2 lbs 9 oz now!  Over 2 ½ lbs!  We have cold germs running through the house again, so we won’t be up there again for a little while.  Aarrgghh.

I had been worried about my friend Sam, whose blog http://samsam.blogdrive.com/ I read every day, lives in the part of the world where the tsunami hit.  He hadn’t added a new entry and didn’t e-mail me back right away, so of course I feared the worst.  I e-mailed a friend of his, whose blog http://jincruise.blogdrive.com/ I have started reading because Sam had a link to it on his blog, and she said he was okay and not in the danger zone.  I guess if I would have looked at a decent atlas, I could have figured it out.  She thought it was perhaps that he was away from his broadband connection and just relaxing at his home.

In other news, my daughter Elizabeth has started blogging.  Unlike mine, she is just putting down whatever rambling thoughts go through her head without fixing anything up.  She is at http://www.blurty.com/users/belas/ if you want to see it.

One of the presents I got was a ventriloquist’s dummy to use in Sunday School.  Ben found it (at the Goodwill Doll Sale, I think) and knew I had fixed up another one and thought I would like this one too.  I do, except he is staring at me, waiting for me to name him.  If you ever get one of these or find one of these, and the mouth doesn’t work, don’t toss it!  The heads are attached with an electrical tie, not sewn on, which makes it easy to come off.  Just take his head down to the hardware store (if you still have such a place in your town.  I love hardware stores, especially family-owned for generations ones.  They are one of the most helpful, educational places in the world.  Not like the big box super hardware and lumber and everything else including a lunch wagon stores.) and ask for a spring to fit the appropriate area.  Within minutes you have a working dummy.

My first dummy is a fellow named Herkimer Schnickelfritz Magillicudy, that Margaret found in the trash behind a church.  She asked the folks, "Is this supposed to be out here?"  "Oh yes."  "Okay."  He didn’t have any clothes, so we had to fix him some up.  This new fellow has a tuxedo!

Since I have 6 & 7 year olds in my class now and had 4 & 5 year olds before that, I never had to really learn true ventriloquism.  Kids don’t care if your lips move, they just think it’s fun that you are playing with toys, like they do.  I think I might like to learn how to do it right, though.  For free if possible.  I will have to search the ‘net or get a "for dummies" book on it.

I’ve gotta run this morning, but remember, the Good Book says, "It takes one to know one."

We have always had traditional things we have done for various holidays, like for Thanksgiving we have a big turkey and all that goes with it and I read the poem "When Father Carves The Duck" which i found on the internet at http://www.jeannepasero.com/Thanksgiving/duck.html.  We have it in a book of Children’s poetry that we bought when Ben was little.  Then we pray and eat.  We keep "grazing trays" out all day in case anyone drops over.

Normally, on Christmas Eve, everyone is so busy doing all the last minute stuff that we just order pizza for dinner.  Then on Christmas morning, we read the Christmas story and open presents.  Since everyone is so busy with their new stuff we just eat the leftover pizza from the night before.  We have always had pizza for Christmas dinner.  We set out the "grazing trays" then too.  We keep stuff through the season for just in case.

This year, Margaret’s brother John and his wife Becky came out to visit!  They drove all the way from South Beloit, IL, which is on the Illinois/Wisconsin border just to be with us.  That was really special.

You may or may not recall that we something like a menagerie at our house with 4 cats, 1 dog, 1 bunny and 2 birds.  John has allergies.  Bad allergies.  So bad that we had to take all the grazing trays to the hotel and order the Christmas Eve pizzas there.  We took the party to them.  Christmas morning we went to Ben’s apartment and carried all of the pizzas, presents, trays, some other breakfast foods over there.  So, our tradition was a little jumbled this year.

One of my favorite presents, they are all my favorites you understand, but one favorite I will take the time to tell you about is one I got from Abigail.  It was a Coca-Cola phone.  It looks like it was made form old-fashioned Tiffany stained glass with the logo inlaid in it and when it rings, it lights up inside through the glass and the handset looks that deep, dark., beautiful brown color that is the heavenly nectar.  It is so cool.  I also got a Coca-Cola clock this year.  I got an empty bag and a coloring page from Western Wearhouse because Margaret wanted to get me a new pair of boots or a gift card for some, but wasn’t sure how much it would be.  I guess she didn’t figger if there was any left over I also need a new hat.  (just a little joke there)  I am down to wearing my faithful old Army boots, which are the second most comfortable shoe on Earth.  They are 16 years old, however, and starting to leak a little now.

I gave Ben a gag gift from the dollar store, a remaindered book and tape set called, "How to Win at Parenting without Beating Your Children."  It was full of new-age claptrap that is worse than worthless.  The real present I bought for him was Dr. Dobson’s, "New Strong-Willed Child."  This is a completely re-written version of "Raising the Strong-Willed Child" full of new research and data, and is excellent.  It seemed, since when she was born she came out with her fist raised and obviously determined to live, and many of the things she does now, appropriate.  One of the paragraphs on the back cover starts out, "They come into the world smoking a cigar and complaining about the temperature in the delivery room..."

Ben and Isabel went to the hospital and visited Savannah.  They took all of her presents up to her, read her the Christmas story, and opened her presents with her.  She would respond to the brightly colored papers and the crinkly sound it made.  We spent the day at Ben’s house, Grandma took her nap in their glider rocker and a great time was had by all.

Margaret is doing better; she is less dizzy all the time and may be ready for work on Monday.  She still has a pain, but I’m not going anywhere.  Seriously, her head itches where she hit (she had an abrasion) and she can’t scratch it.  She really is doing a lot better and it is because people were praying for her.

As the Good Book says, "Santa brought gifts to the Baby Jesus and Rudolph’s nose was the star."  Okay, maybe the Good Book does not say that.

We had another snow, about 7 inches.  This is looking promising for a white Christmas.  Here in Colorado Springs we don’t often have one.  It is VERY slippery, however.  Margaret came out of church, slipped, and fell flat on her back, hitting her head hard.  She had a giant goose egg and was disoriented including some short-term memory loss!  I’ve never seen anything like it before.  All of a sudden, she could not remember what day it was or what we had done all day or where she lived.  She was very upset and so was everyone in the van.  I had planned to take her to the hospital after I dropped everyone off at home, but she wanted to stop at the fire station and have someone look at her, so we did.  They put her in an ambulance and she went to the ER.

I took Grandma and the girls home at 10 MPH, it was that slick, then made a couple of work-related calls and head for the hospital.  Elizabeth had gone with her in the ambulance so she would not feel quite so bad.  It was bad enough for her, though.  She is claustrophobic and they had put a neck brace on her and strapped her to one of those boards I can’t think of the name of because it is 3:04 AM.  We were done in the ER about 1:15 and then had to go get a prescription for a painkiller filled.

I mention she is claustrophobic (which is not, as I thought, a fear of Santa) because not only was she strapped down, but she also had to have a CT scan.  Yes, Carter and Randy, there was something in there.  Of course, I was a big enough brat to ask the doc.  It helped that Margaret was helpless and couldn’t slug me or anything.  They also X-rayed her neck to make sure she hadn’t hurt herself.  They didn’t find a concussion, but I have to wake her up every couple-three-four hours to make sure she knows her name and where she is, etc. so here I am.  Telling you guys what happened, drinking double-strength coffee and trying to focus on writing.

She is actually doing okay as of this writing and says she can tell someone was praying for her because of how much better she feels.

*YAWN!!!*  Excuse me.  Okay, I haven’t gone on this little sleep since the bad old days.  *YAWN!!!*  Oh!  Excuse me.

I think I just go ahead and post this.  As the Good Book says, hmmm...I have too little sleep to put something in here.

Okay folks, unless I update this entry later this will be about it.  I recommend for your reading pleasure this link http://www.xanga.com/item.aspx?tab=weblogs&user=sbalak&uid=174359431 which goes to Susan’s blog.  Her tips, for both women and men, are absolutely true.  I especially like the propriety ones, but there is something for everyone.

I will post pictures of the baby as i get them developed.

Here we have a picture of Abigail sitting awfully close to a big guy with a red suit.  We went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s "Electric Safari" where they have over a million lights on display with animations and colors, plus getting to see the critters and they had Santa there.  All my girls are beautiful, but the most photogenic is Abigail.  Of course it helps that she likes to get her picture taken.

Over the weekend, I finally met Randy in person, which was fun, even if he does like coconut.  Ah well, I have a friend who prefers pepsi to Coca-Cola, too, so i guess it takes all kinds to make a world.  There may be no accounting for some people’s tastes, but some people are just no-account.

Okay gang, that’s it for now.  Remember, as the Good Book says, "When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy."  Matt. 2:10 (KJV) 

Let’s not forget the baby’s birthday.

We got to see Savannah today.  We had been avoiding the hospital because we have all had a variety of stomach and cold viruses and did not want to carry anything up there.  The nurse said she wished everyone would show that kind of common sense.  She was moved to a different section of the NICU (Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit) because she is doing so much better.  She is in a plastic "house" which the nurse said is an improvement as well.  A plastic box is more like it.  One of the things it does is make it easier for them to control the light coming in.  It also controls the noise she is exposed to.  She had been in the open warmer before so they could get at her in a hurry.

Anyway, we went up there and she is 2 lbs 5 oz!  She is also now getting 7 CCs an hour.  This is a mixture of mother’s milk and powder with fats, vitamins and calories added.  She is still on oxygen, which is to be expected, but has NO IVs.  They took the last IV out today.  She now only has the one tube down into her stomach, and any medicine she needs she gets that way.  And, she was smiling!  Some people say babies don’t smile, but don’t believe ‘em.  Not only that, but while she was sleeping she looked just like she was laughing.  I will try to get some pictures developed but without digital, it takes longer.  I hope to get the pictures that Isabel took with her camera because she is the real photographer and able to capture things on film that escape me.  She has a pic of the baby smiling with her eyes open.  That will be so cool.

Isabel is doing fine; she just has to have her blood drawn often to make sure it is not thinning too much.  They are hoping the clots will dissolve.

I have been too busy to do justice to the Christmas series I wanted to do.  It is too bad because it is so exciting to me that God himself, not some second person of an alleged trinity, came and lived among us as a man.  He was born in a cave and laid in a trough the cattle ate out of and wrapped in barn rags, even though he was the Creator of the universe and King of Kings.

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."  Isa. 9:6 (KJV)

How can the son be called the Everlasting Father?

Since so many people I know are looking for work and some for their first real job, I have decided to put down a few of the rules that I have used in the past to get a job.  Modify them to fit your situation and I guarantee you will get a job.

I will assume that you understand the basic rules of hygiene and the importance these have to a good first impression. Even things like fingernails. Every thing you know about those things and have control over you should.

You already have a job.  Yes, you do.  No, I do not mean by faith, although you should apply that everywhere.  No your new job is now finding a job.  You have to work at finding a job.  God will help you, but faith without works is dead.

Set your clock to get up for work at 6 every morning. Dress for the job you want or better.  Your boss or prospective boss should say to you, "You don't have to dress up for this job." rather than the other way around.  Always look and act professional, no matter what and no matter what job. People DO judge you by how you look. A neat, clean appearance without strong perfumes or odors puts you one leg up on everyone else.  It is both amazing and shocking to me the way people look and, er, well, smell, for interviews.  It’s astonishing to me the way they are allowed to work, also.  Take a little pride in yourself.  You not only represent yourself, but your family, your church, and any organizations to which you belong.

Pray, eat a good healthy breakfast, then set out into the community with a plan. Break the city down into square blocks and start a pattern on a map.  You should work as many hours a day on this job as you will be available for when you get a job.

Keep a notebook that is just for your work search. This is valuable and interesting later. Also print out or put in your notebook a list of personal and business references, and references that are relatives and are not relatives. Also keep a list of places you have worked, even if it was "just" volunteer work. A prospective employer may or may not contact your references so make sure everything is up to date and people know they may get a call about you. You can make up a resume for yourself also. If you do, keep it to one page.  Having your references ready saves time borrowing a phone book, looking everybody up and hoping they are in there.  Make sure your contact information is good.  If you use a message phone or contact number, be sure to indicate this.

When filling out the applications, always take your time to write clearly and legibly, printing being preferable to longhand.  No fancy scripts or calligraphy and beware of spelling. I was an assistant manager type to a woman who would take a stack of applications and tell me, "Go through this stack and if there are any spelling errors anywhere, they go in the discard pile.  I would just as soon throw them away if I were allowed to."  Neatness does count.

If there is a place to put down hours of availability, think before you just write down, "any."  There might be shifts you would be unhappy with working.  Putting down your availability correctly allows you to refer back to your application after you are hired.

Make a few notes in your book about the time and date and whom you turned the application in to.  Be friendly and nice to the receptionist or secretarial type person.  They are good people to know, not annoy.  Find out the name of the person who actually hires and fires people and when they are usually in.  At some places, the manager instructs the workers to keep people from doing this and encourage the application process.  This is where being on friendly terms with your future co-workers is nice.  Ask if at least you can have someone put your application on the person’s desk again.

Make a note or two or use a star system to tell yourself how bad you really want to work there.  Again, make friends with any receptionists or secretarial types you meet.

After a week of doing this, you need to make your "rounds" again.  You should have a large number of applications in.  Now start the follow-ups.  Go back and talk to everyone.  Ask them if they have had time to consider your application.  You will notice I said at the beginning that this was your job.  Every day, you need to work actively on this plan.  You can also watch the want ads in the paper and on local websites, but these are not best for a primary search.  What can happen is a company may come up with an opening that is somewhat different from the qualifications you listed on your app and when you see the ad, you can update your information.

I have seen that computerized applications are big in some places.  I have never had to deal with these, but I guess I would check the company’s website and do those from home if possible.  I still think that even with the machines, there has to be a way to make that human contact that is necessary.  Maybe talking to managers on duty and asking them about how the process works, I am not sure.  Tell them the job-hunting advice you have received and ask them for suggestions.  Somebody leave a comment on how you dealt with this.

You will need to make your "rounds" every week.  You can start out applying at the "good places" first, but as time goes by, you should have an application in at every business in town.  If there is a kind of work that you think you are just too good for and will not do, then obviously do not go there.  You do not want money enough and you will not be taking this advice anyway.

One important note, which you would think is self-explanatory, but is not, is never lie on an app or a resume.  Writing your qualifications in the best possible light is good, but never make stuff up.  Also, if there is something in your background that is, er, uncomplimentary, you are best off disclosing it if they ask.  The same company I just mentioned would not call references and former employers themselves, they used a professional third party investigating firm and would send back a report that included detailed descriptions of their conversations with your former supervisors.  Even though most employers will not give a reference, good or bad, they will to a third party because then if you do not get the job because of what they say, they never told your prospective employer anything.

Special note to you skirt-girls:  It is religious discrimination for a prospective employer not to hire you because you follow the Scriptures and will not wear men’s clothes; however, I would not make this an issue until after the job offer has been tendered.  After you have the job, many places nowadays are very upscale, tolerant, and easy to work with on the issue.  Some are not.  Margaret was going to have to sue a Popeye’s franchise (which suit the ACLU declined to help on) because they told her she could not do the job in a skirt even though Pentecostals were working at other Popeye’s in town.  She got a better offer elsewhere and nothing ever came of it, but discrimination does exist.  One Arby’s around this same time did not even want to let her apply because they would have to modify their uniform regulations.  Normally this is not a corporate policy, but a lazy local manager.

In this modern age where it is against the law in some places to say that homosexuality is a sin against God and nature and an abomination, which it is, we are going to have to make sure that people realize that we have rights, too.

Remember, as the Good Book says, "If ya don’t work, ya don’t eat!"

Our little baby has a tube coming out of her stomach through the esophagus to help her burp.  I offered her a Coke but the nurse said no.  Can you imagine a Thiel not being allowed to drink a coke?!?  Well, she seemed pretty sure about the proper way to let the baby get air up, so poor little Savannah will just have to wait to taste the heavenly nectar.  I thought maybe a Mountain Dew, but no, she was a real stickler.

The baby does NOT like the tube down her throat (no, duh) and she pulled it out with both hands, once already!  I laughed.  Margaret asked the nurse, what’s this tube go to and it had to be reinserted.

She had been getting 1 CC of mother’s milk every 2 hours, then 2 CCs.  Now she is getting a full 2 CCs!  A teaspoon is approximately 5 MLs = CCs.  To put this in perspective, When our first preemie, Elizabeth, came home at 4 lb 12 oz, she was on 20 CCs.  an ounce is 30 CCs.

Ben was just here and told how she will now use her legs to push herself up and around and fight.  She is very feisty. 

In an interesting but totally unrelated story, Margaret has a new cappuccino recipe.  At 7-11 they have a flavor called "Bananas Foster" and what Margaret does now is puts 1/3 "Bananas Foster," 1/3 hot chocolate and 1/3 steamed milk.  She puts graham cracker crumbs in it where available and then tops it off  with marshmallows and calls it coffee.

I drink the stuff that, as one of the Sacketts, says, is "hot and black as the hinges of hell."  Or, "It was so thick you could float a mule shoe on it."

I apologize for the brevity of these messages; it has just been a little overwhelming, time-wise.

As the Good Book says, "If a politician promises a chicken in every pot, better check the hen house."

Woo-hoo!  1 pound, 13 ½ ounces!  Ben and Isabel can hold the baby for one full hour a day.  She is so stable; they are considering moving her from the NICU (Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit) to a different hospital.  That sounded a little premature (pun intended) to me.  I do not know what that is all about, yet.

They are also going to step up on her feedings a little bit.

We are, I think, I hope, over with being sick, so we won’t be carrying a bunch of germs up with us, so we will go and see her more again.  I hate doing pics on film or other people’s cameras because it takes longer to get them on the computer.

Took the girls to the Chapel Hills Mall, mostly to window shop, but there is a store there where you can custom-make teddy bears "While U Wait" and Tabitha bought the baby a dress there.  Even that is going to be too big for her, but it will make for pretty Christmas pictures.

I slept in this morning until almost 5 and tried to answer some e-mails before I did this, so I am behind the time curve again.

Sorry,  just remember, the Good Book says, "Be patient with me and I will write more gooder later."