So, here's the current hair, although it was "fixed" here and is quite a bit flatter today. I like it.... I'm not CRAZY about it, but I am so glad to get rid of the long hair. Toby was a little suspicious, but he warmed up. Next, some drastic hair color... of some kind.
I called to check on Brynn, but her nurse had stepped out, and the other nurse had the nerve to call her "him". Humph. She must not have noticed her hairbow, variety of pink shirts, pink blankets, and large pink stuffed animals. The nerve.
Coming up: a baby shower invitation. This shower is open to the public, so much so that it is stressing me out to try to make a guest list. So consider yourself invited, and spread the word to any who would be interested.
Here's the quote for the insecure or "paranoid of party crashing"...
" Dear (your name). Yes, you are invited to my shower. PLEASE come. I am too lazy to make a massive guest list, but you are not, intentionally, or unintentionally, excluded. YOU, yes YOU are invited! I'll see you there!"
Sonia, Joshes and Yvonne- even you are invited. Come from all the corners of the earth! =)
There is (are?) a variety of small smelly people sitting as close as possible to me to remind me that a) they are awake now and b)they are hungry. So I'm out.
3 lbs, 1 oz!
ReplyDeleteWoohooo - what a chub!! Well, you know, relatively speaking. ;0)
ReplyDeleteI'd love to come to your shower and I actually might be in Houston soon, but not that soon. Still, I can't wait to see Brynn if I come - she's a doll.
Yvonne
Georgia
ReplyDeletecheck thine email
IN answer to mamapc's questions yesterday.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have twins, Heather and Michael are 21
I also have Layla she is 25
And Lacy is 18
Everybody lives with me. I love that.
And I will make you a boston creme pie, but I am not as good of a cook as servant who made some last year and I did not get any.
When are you coming back?
And now to look at the much requested snow pictures!
Ooooh that was spooky, Jess how did you know I was on? Ooooh scawy.
ReplyDeleteMUAHAHA
ReplyDeleteI didnt get an email.
ReplyDeleteLove the snow pictures, Josh, just cant believe its real. It is just so beautiful. Is that near your house where those trees are?It looks like something out of those rudolph movies we all used to watch when we were kids, remember with the abominable snowman coming over the top of the hill and screaming.
whoa...
ReplyDeletevery sister-esque hairdoo
I checketh mine email and none cometh forth, o, when o, when, will I getteth my email. It hath not a bill so I know it may henceforth come unhindered, alas, again I ask,
ReplyDeletewhere cometh mine email?
heck if I know.
ReplyDeleteI was seeing if you might be eligible to watch m'boyz tomorrow
Jess, Richy didn't say anything about your haircut, right? He's had to have learned...:)
ReplyDelete(It looks great)
What did you make R1 for breakfast? He was one of the smelly people sitting by you, right?
ReplyDeleteG- All those pics are from our front and back yard. The one with the sun on the trees is across a small valley from the front of us.
ReplyDeleteOh course I remember rudolph and the abominable snow man… who could forget.
3/06/07 - HOUSTON) - A few weeks ago, in a tattoo parlor in the hip art deco district of Miami Beach, people were lining up to get "666" tattooed on their bodies, and then smiling through their pain. But these are not devil worshipers. They see themselves as devout followers of Jesus Christ. But the major difference that separates them from other Christians around the world is that the Jesus Christ they worship is alive and well -- and living in the suburbs of Houston.
ReplyDeleteThese people belong to a new movement devoted to a man who calls himself the Second Coming of Jesus, and also claims the title of Antichrist, which to him is the next incarnation of Jesus on earth, not an evil being. To show their devotion, some followers ink themselves with "666." One follower said, "I just want to make sure it's visible, that everyone knows my life belongs to the man." Another said, "I want everyone to know I'm one of the antichrists."
They and others like them are fervently devoted, some say fanatically, to a 60-year-old Puerto Rican whose legal name, to his pleasure, is Jose de Jesus, or "Jose of Jesus." He counts followers in more than 30 countries; some say they total more than a million. But where does this man, who claims to be God, live? Not where you might expect: He resides with his wife in a suburban community just outside Houston.
The Birth of 'Jesus'
When asked to explain who he is, de Jesus responds: "Jesus Christ, man, the second manifestation, the Second Coming of Christ." He acknowledges that "it bothers a lot of people" that he calls himself Jesus.
De Jesus' beginning was anything but grand. Born in Puerto Rico, de Jesus grew up poor, living in government housing. He stole for a living to pay for his teenage heroin addiction and admits to eight felony charges that put him behind bars for nine months.
Like many, de Jesus says he was born again in prison. From there he moved to the United States, where he became involved in church youth groups, and eventually a minister in Boston. But it was a vision, de Jesus says, that turned him from man of God to being God.
"The same spirit that was in Jesus of Nazareth, and the same spirit is in me. He came to me. He [integrated] with my person in 1973." de Jesus says this happened when two angels came to him in a vision, and while he admits there's no real way for him to prove that he's Christ, he says his followers aren't asking for proof.
"So you tell the millions of followers I have that … this guy is a liar. You know what are they going to say? Is that I prefer his lies than what religion gave me. I prefer, see because when they believe in what I teach, they activate angels in their life."
'Jesus Drank Wine Because He Didn't Have Dewar's'
His followers do seem happy. They greet him with mariachi bands at airports and often collapse in tears when they see him preach. But when he speaks to them, it is without theatrics. No holy rolling, no healing -- it's a pretty straightforward lesson in the fundamentals of what he believes. And it's an upbeat, no-fault, sin-free message. This self-proclaimed Jesus does not believe in sin, hell, the devil or damnation of any kind.
"Before the presence of God, there's no more sin," he says. And with no sin, de Jesus teaches his followers, there's no devil and no need for prayer, because after Jesus of Nazareth died and was resurrected, one can literally do no wrong in God's eyes.
De Jesus says things like murder and theft are crimes, but not sins, and that people are punished for these crimes on earth. "Heaven doesn't have anything to do with your behavior," he says.
And de Jesus practices what he preaches: He loves women and has been married twice. He smokes cigarettes and while enjoying a glass of scotch, he says, "Jesus drank wine because he didn't have Dewar's."
De Jesus doesn't mind that his ministry often gathers in the corner tavern. "Like my former, Jesus of Nazareth, he used to go to places like this and the religious people, they used to criticize him. … I'm just doing the same kind of thing."
But he does draw the line: no drugs, and he says no getting drunk.
"Jesus never got drunk and I never get drunk. I enjoy life. I enjoy everything that I do."
'The Super Raza'
De Jesus has come a long way from Puerto Rico, and those rough times. Today his believers give money freely. And where does all the money go? Joane de Jesus, the daughter of the man called Jesus, is the official accountant for the ministry. She says, "What you see as luxuries are gifts that members have given him. They're just very grateful, and they want to give him gifts."
There are no rules in de Jesus' church. Anything goes when you follow "Jesus of Suburbia." But he is serious about being the Second Coming of Christ. And along with his followers, he also has many detractors. Some who think he's the devil incarnate and others who think he's just a charlatan and a con man. One of the things that makes him so hated, so controversial, is that he preaches the Catholic Church is evil, and his followers burn pictures of the pope and hold protests outside churches.
And what about the children who grow up in his movement believing that Jesus is alive and well? He calls them the "super raza" or the super race, because they are being brought up pure and with no stain of false religion on them.
The de Jesus ministry is growing, with big followings in Venezuela, Columbia, even Cuba, and the man who believes he is the Second Coming of Christ is now turning his attention to America.
"Miami is the bridge for all nations," he said. "That's where Hispanics are, and then eventually I'm going to find a lot of beautiful English-speaking people who will want to believe in me and I'm going to have millions of them."
Hair cut- I’m neutral. It looks nice, but I neither love it nor hate it. It does look good. You do look a lot like Leah in that pic from the side, holding Toby.
ReplyDeleteBaby Shower- Would love to be there, but we shall only be there in spirit and in pocket book.
The WORST things happened this morning. I got some new hookey radio song, from one of the Christian bands that all sound the same theses days, stuck in my head. I couldn’t get it out while I was trying to work. Good thing I had the faithful MP3 player with me, and could expel the perpetrating hookeyness far from my memory.
ReplyDeleteClose one… hookey Christian radio songs stuck in the cranium have been know to cause mental breakdowns. I mean, my family depends on me.
Oh Jess, I so wish I could come to your shower!!! Brynn is looking soooo cute! I am checking in every day.
ReplyDeleteSonia
Hi Sonja.......Welcome to the BLOG....
ReplyDeleteI have never seen you here before.
What a precious little one.....
Stef........YOUR day is coming....
ReplyDeleteSomeone has 3 days without any kids this weekend........and the minivan...
:0)
Jess
ReplyDeleteCheck thine email
Supern8
ReplyDeleteDid you have anything to do with the Hannah Montana fiasco last night?
Sonia
ReplyDeleteWhat is your baby's name? Is it in the hospital with Brynn?
Anonymous, What is your last name?
ReplyDeleteWE'RE OFF!!!
ReplyDeleteto Freedom-land!!!
Say prayers whilst we're out..
haven't packed yet...
ReplyDeleteneed to get on the stick, huh???
11 days...
ReplyDeleteMama pc.........
ReplyDeleteI think Sonia lives in Japan....
Where are you going? ARe you finally off to Tailand (spelled?)
IS everyone going who wanted to go?'
I am so excited for you.....
Get OFF the computer and go and pack already!
God will be with you. I am so happy for you.......
Go mamapc,
ReplyDeleteGet some thai people saved!
G
ReplyDeletecheck thine email
offer gratefully accepted
I am off as well...
ReplyDeletehere I go.
It's 11:40, still haven't packed yet...
!w00t!
Have a blessed time in Siam!
ReplyDeleteGeorgia, no (that show was Sunday, btw). It was the house electricians fault...
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteWe moved to Japan from the US over 4 years ago. We have twin babies, one here on earth - Isaac - and one in heaven in the arms of Jesus - Rachel. They were born at 23 weeks 0 day exactly and Rachel stayed with us for only 102 minutes. Jess gave me great support and encouragement through out my hospital stay (Rachel's water broke at 18 weeks and I was in the hospital the entire time while Rachel fought for 5 more weeks inside me with no water to save her brother's life!) and Isaac's 6 months NICU stay here!
Nice to "meet" you!
Sonia
I'll be in Tokyo in some number of hours...
ReplyDeleteafter a 4 hour flight to SanFran, then a long flight to Tokyo...
is anime as big in Japan as it is in US?
ReplyDeletecome on spring break!
ReplyDeletethailand is never gonna be the same. a powerful work will be ignited by the crouse team!