Stuff That Matters in Life

The hamster babies are 2 days old. We see them wiggling under their mom, and sometimes hear them squeak. Last night, I was freaked out when I saw the mom carry 2 of the babies and left them outside of the nest. Did she leave them out there to die? I read that hamsters will even eat their young. The poor little things! We haven’t been able to take an accurate count because the mom is always sitting on them. She came out to eat a few times. I gave her some cheese for protein.

Some advised to take the dad out, but it looks to me this dad is at least sometimes helpful. He shredded more tissues for the nest, and he seemed to take food back to the nest for mom. But he was chasing her every time she came out to eat. So we took him out once so she can have some peace and quiet. He better not get her pregnant again. She is already on the young side to have a litter. We think Lucky and Dusty’s birthday is early November. We brought them home on December 5th. They do seem to like each other’s company. But we may have to separate them soon so Lucky won’t get pregnant. They can have one of their babies for a companion in their separate cages after they are weened, of the same sex, if we can tell the difference.

Our hamsters had babies! We counted 7 or 8 huddled together. One little one was outside of the nest. Mike spooned him/her back in, hopefully he/she will not be rejected.

Just yesterday, we cleaned out their cage because it was stinking badly. I was marveling at the cozy nest they made from the cotton balls and cage liner stuff that we put in the cage. It was volcano shape with the cotton pulled apart and lined inside the nest. I am so sorry we threw away all that hard work they put in making that nest, probably in preparation for the babies. Now they are all huddled inside a small plastic igloo we put there, since they didn’t have enough time to rebuild.

Now we know Lucky is the female and Dusty is the male. We thought they were both girls! We don’t know our hamster anatomy too well. That explains why Dusty is bigger, and much more daring. He’d climb out of the box we put them in, and he jumps off the table when we put them there to play; we call him the extreme hamster. Lucky, now we know, is a dainty feminine hamster. She looked good, being pregnant with 8 babies! Her shape did not change; we couldn’t even tell she was pregnant.

Anyone want one?

I had an ultrasound on my thyroid this morning, also had some blood taken to check the thyroid function.

I’ve had an enlarged thyroid since I was pregnant with Elliot, that was 17 years ago. It has remained about the same size. The endocrinologist tells me it is about 2-3 times the normal size. He says that is not considered big, certainly not enough to consider surgery. It is not very noticeable to me, but I do feel some obstruction when I swallow. The function of my thyroid is normal – I am neither hyper nor hypo. There are some nodules that are of concern, but they are small, too small to even biopsy. The concern is that the nodules grow and become cancerous. I go in to check every 6 months to see if the nodules have grown. Up to now they have not. I am praying that nothing has changed, or perhaps the nodules would even shrink smaller.

There was very little wait at the lab today. I was out within 45 minutes, what a pleasant surprise! I have extra time to wash the breakfast dishes and do a load of laundry – exciting, I know.

“He who has God and everything has no more than he who has God alone.” – C.S. Lewis (?)

I may not fully experience the truth of that today, but I will be sure of it at my deathbed. “Everything” will be nothing at death. What will you take with you to eternity? Only life in Christ is eternal. If you do not have Christ, you have nothing at the end of this life.

Happy New Year!

I asked at dinner, “What are some of the best memories of 2004?”
Amy: Disneyland and California Adventures
Elliot: Mt Whitney
Audrey: Playing Taboo for the first time at the youth retreat. The word was ‘apartment’, and I said, “You go there, and you’re inside.” The time ran out, and Pastor Duane was cracking up!
Katy: Started as Bible Study Fellowship Discussion Leader
Mike: Going to Denver with Elliot for the FBLA competition

What are you looking forward to in 2005?
Mike: Going on the solar car road trip
Katy: Learn to make my own website
Elliot: Finishing the solar car
Audrey: Deciding whether or not to stay in the IB program
Amy: Disneyland again!

You can do something and have no recollection that you did it. A scary thought.

I had a library book that was due. I searched for it in order to return it before the due date, couldn’t find it, and thought I lost it. When Mike checked my library account, it showed that it was returned! I checked at the library and there it was, on the shelf.

I must have returned it, no one else would have. But I don’t remember doing it! I could imagine myself driving by, and dropping it off in the book drop, but I can’t remember that I actually did. If I imagine it enough times, I could convince myself that I actually did it. But how would I know if I did return the book, or I created a memory to say that I did?

What else did I do and not remember, or have a memory of doing something but did not actually do it?

It’s a fine line between imagination and reality.