calling it quits for xanga

hello, friends.

xanga has gotten way too complicated for me, so i'm now posting on a new blog:

www.newmerciesrising.blogspot.com

i'll keep checking up on you all through xanga, but if you want robin (giberson) lawrenz updates, you'll have to visit the above site.  sorry for the inconvenience.

much love to you!!

please pray...

My sister Amy just went to an infertility specialist, and after 2 years of a monthly emotional rollercoaster and lots of doctors appointments and tests and medications, she has finally found out that she has a rare condition that makes it very risky and nearly impossible to get pregnant and carry a baby to term.  She and her husband Jared are totally devastated and much in need of prayer.  I'm sure they haven't ruled out adoption, but at this point, they're mostly just trying to grieve.

It's so strange.  As a woman, you never really think about the possibility that you won't be able to get pregnant.  You grow up thinking about how many babies you want to have and what you'll name them and what characteristics they'll get from you.

And you hear all the time about 14 year olds and crack heads not being able to stop getting pregnant and people getting abortions and pregnancies happening as a result of rape.  And Amy and Jared have a wonderful home, and they really want to be parents, and they'll be really good ones.  It's so unfair.

So please pray for them.  Pray for peace and healing and unwavering faith.

Thanks.

EDIT: December 12th

So on Monday, less than a week after finding out about Amy, my sister Megan found out that she has lost her baby six weeks into term.  Needless to say, she and her husband Justin are really really sad.  Megan is an art teacher for PreK-High School, and she had told all of her students about the baby.  They had named it Cletus the Fetus, and she had the ultra sound picture posted on her desk.  So Megan is mostly just dreading having to tell people and see the look on their faces.

The good news is that Megan is able to get pregnant, so they'll keep trying.  And their faith is strong.  But it's still hard, and it's still a loss, and they're still upset about it.

So please pray for my family, for Megan and Justin and for Amy and Jared and the rest of us (especially my mom) trying to find words to say to keep everybody together.

Thanks again.

i guess it's that time again...

time for an update:
So Jason and I are still married, and we really wish we could see each other more.  For moving to a place where we didn't know anybody and for not having kids, we are both pretty ridicuolously busy and much in need of some quality time.  part of the problem is that i work until 5:30 every night, (sidenote: I have a job.  i'm a receptionist/admin assistant for an international shipping company that ships dry bulk in large boats.) so by the time jason and i get home, make dinner, and do dishes, we have about an hour before i'm ready to go to sleep.  my kingdom for a dishwasher.  i really think that would solve about 99.6% of my marital woes.  (A note of clarification: I never do dishes.  Because I hate doing dishes.  Jason always does them and does so without complaining ever.  I just feel guilty about not doing dishes.  Hence the marital woes.  So you'd think that maybe I would just help out with the dishes.  But I hate doing dishes.  Catch 22.)

In other news, my sister Megan is pregnant, and I'm super excited to be an aunt.  She's due right around Jason's and my wedding anniversary, so happy times!

Speaking of babies, my oldest sister Amy has been trying to get pregnant for almost 2 years now and has been having major medical complications.  Please pray for her.  She's gonna make such a good mommy.

I cannot wait for Christmas.  Jason and I are going to start Christmas shopping soon, which is one of my favoritest things to do ever.  I've been listening to Christmas music at work (www.pandora.com), which is vastly improving my days, although the mix isn't nearly as good as the freaking amazing one that Amber and I put together last year.  Oh for local friends to throw a Christmas party for!  sigh.  We get to go out to Chicago for a few days over Christmas break (with a 12 hour pit stop in South Jersey!!), so we'll get to see friends and family.  Speaking of which, we went to Jersey for Thanksgiving, and nobody fought all weekend!!!  Miracle of miracles.

I'm pretty tired.  Any ideas for things to do when you have down time at work?

welp...

Thanks to all for your suggestions.  I've decided to finish Sense & Sensibility because I ran out of time on my lunch break to buy something new.  But I'm sure I'll revisit your suggestions when I finish that.  So thanks again!

Now, keeping in mind that I haven't read that much, so my scope is limited...
a word about A Wrinkle in Time: Having gotten many suggestions to read this book even previous to my post, I decided to read this when I was sitting at home with pneumonia with nothing else that I was allowed to do but read (having finished HPatDH).  So I read it, and I've gotta say...I really didn't enjoy it even a little bit.  Let's put aside the fact that about 80% of the book is the author not telling you anything.  Let's also put aside that the only interesting character gets sucked into IT pretty early on and trades in his interestingness for obnoxiousness.  Let's allow the author her very forced scripture references and allusions.  Let's forget all of that and just consider for a moment that Meg is the most ornery, irritating, dreadful, uncompelling, unlikable character ever.  Is this an exageration?  Is it really?  I don't think so.  I'm considering all of the other characters in literature that I have ever really really not liked: Pip, Odysseus, Dolores Umbridge, to name a few.  No character that I have ever encountered has been more unbearable and uninteresting than Meg.  You may disagree.  But you'd be wrong.

Recommendations, please?

So I want to start reading again.  I'm thinking some more fantasy because it holds my interest.  And since ya'll are wheaton grads (aka the world's experts on everything), I was hoping for some recommendations.  I prefer something in which the characters are not too moody because I tend to be very easily influenced by the moods of the characters I read.

Note (aka Confessions): It is true that I have never read the LOTR series, nor have I finished the CoN.  Get off my back.  I'm sure someday it will happen.  But I figure if I've waited this long, it's okay to wait a little longer.

That is all.  Let's get those suggestions rolling...