Mary and Martha

I've been trying to write more in my paper journal in order to train myself to not put so much out there on the internet (Facebook, mostly), plus, EJ bought me a wicked cool journal from Barnes&Noble and I want to hurry up and finish my current one so I can begin to use it! Oh, hey, I'M PREGNANT. Finally! EJ and I have been trying for about 16 months and it finally happened! I'd actually had my first appointment with an infertility doctor about two weeks before I took the test. Funny how God works. (^_^) I've been extremely fortunate to not experience any nausea so far. In fact, if I hadn't taken confirmed it with a doctor, I'd have a hard time even believing I was pregnant. I certainly don't feel so!

My kitchen is actually clean... I keep looking over at it disbelievingly. Is it real? Are the countertops really clear? The dishes all washed and put away? The floor really swept? Even my adjacent living room looks somewhat put together. Which stars aligned to create this happiness? Alas, EJ doesn't work today; it shall not last...

I know the good folks in Maryland and Washington D.C. might like for nothing better than to see the white stuff go, but down where I am, it never snows - and especially not 5 1/2" deep!! When I saw the snow coming down last night, I almost cried, it reminded me so much of home. Not content to simply watch it out of the window, either, I put on my flimsy shoes and walked around the entire apartment complex just to experience it. Ah, what a glorious night. But we're probably going to have zero customers at the sub shop today. lol. I may very well be bored out of my mind. (>.

So I went to my family doctor Tuesday to get a referral for an immunologist. To say he wasn't too happy to see me would be an understatement. Before he even came into the room, he stood right outside the door (or so it seemed) and complained about how I'd waited to make a follow-up appointment to my ER visit until almost a month afterward (if he'd bothered to ask, that was due to some confusion on my part). When he did come in, he listened to my request and then basically tried to talk me out of seeking more treatment for my disease. "There's nothing that can be done," he kept saying, "that's all the immunologist will tell you, too." When I mentioned that there were three drugs out there (well, one will be coming out, soon) to treat the symptoms, he then tried to talk me out of using them "because many drugs have side effects worse then the disease." Umm, excuse me? This condition could kill me within the day and you're worried abou...

What has been one of the hardest things for me to understand on my journey to Orthodoxy is the difference between being a fallen being and having a fallen nature. In my protestant incarnation, I was raised to believe that humans are essentially evil, our natures are corrupted, and we can never hope to approach perfection. Orthodoxy, on the other hand, rejects that belief. Instead of butchering things by explaining it myself (because this concept seems to still be eluding my me on a basic level), I'll let the ever-wise Father Stephen take it away: A Nature that is Less than Obvious

When I joined the Church, in keeping with tradition, I took a new name: Monica. I've now changed my Blogger user name to reflect this. I chose Monica after the mother of St. Augustine , whom I've felt close to since even before I began investigating Orthodoxy.

Last night I became an official member of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Finally, I don't feel like an outsider, anymore. God be praised!