Feast of the Immaculate Conception-Baby Day

One site I read said this is one of the oldest Marian feast days dating back to the 7th century beginning in the Eastern church; it became a feast day in the universal church in the 18th century. In 1846, Mary was proclaimed patroness of the United States under this title. Her faith, obedience, and holiness teaches us what it means to be a bearer of Christ to the world. http://www.americancatholic.org/ has a beautiful summary.

Yes, the time is correct; I'm awake but not worried just getting anxious and ready to go. I hear the shower running- Paul's up. We'll be heading to the hospital in a little over an hour. I guess I should get my bag packed.

 I've asked Kristina to post pictures later today since she is our new family photographer.

Blessed Mother, pray for me and this little child about to be brought into the world. Pray for my dr and the nurses who will be taking care of us. Keep us close in your arms and bring us to your Son. Please be with my other children as I'm away from home and calm any anxieties they might have. Thank you Lord for the blessing of another child. I pray that Paul and I are pleasing parents to you.  Jesus, I trust in You.

Happy Feast of St. Nicholas

The kids found their hats last night when we were getting out the stockings; notice the big pregnant lady in the background waiting to be able to put them to bed?

Thankfully, St. Nicholas did not forget us this year, and surprisingly no one got any cole. The kids had a fun filled day. The painted with their new paints, ate treats, played with some new toys and even went to a Christmas play with their Yai-Yai and Auntie Shelley. For dinner, Dad treated us to Chinese food, and then we got to decorate the tree while listening to Christmas music. We put up two; the one downstairs is all theirs, and they got to decorate it however they liked. I have to admit, I moved a few things. The tree upstairs is mine to decorate and will have to get done sometime tomorrow- amongst the other things on my to do list before baby day. The not so fun highlight of the day was a trip to the hospital to get blood drawn before surgery. Not that it was that bad, but it kind of brought me to reality and got my mind anticipating surgery. I know it will all go fine- I just don't want to think about it.

St. Nicholas, pray for us; help us to be generous like you.

Final Countdown- Seeing Pink

We are in the home stretch- thank the Lord. Little Miss' clothes, blankets, etc are all washed and put away waiting for her arrival. Diapers and wipes are fully stocked, and excitement is in the air. Paul will have some work to do while I'm in the hospital like putting up the craddle; we waited figuring the two "littles" would get into it.

I saw my OB yesterday for my final appointment. All is going well except I still have a cold. He put me on an antibiotic incase it's a sinus infection brewing. I really hope the coughing is done by Tues. Prayers for health would be really appreciated. I would like to bring Little Miss home to a healthy environment. Surgery should be around 7:30 am. I like it early since I'm not usually sleeping anyway.

Jesus, I trust in you! Blessed Mother, pray for us.

Save the Dates

Little Miss is scheduled for delivery on December 8th early am at the same hospital as Gabriella and George. I'm not sure how early yet, but it's not my OB's scheduled day in the OR, so he has to get out of there before it is needed for other surgeries. I am thrilled that he granted my request for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception especially since it is on the early side even for a planned c-section. We're all starting to get very excited and a little anxious to meet her.

Little Miss is also scheduled to be baptized on December 20th. We are really excited about this because it is going to be a joint baptism with our dear friend's Jesse and Laura's baby John and the celebrant is going to be our friend Deacon Steve. Fun fact- John was born on the Feast of the Nativity, Little Miss is going to be the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and Jesse's (dad and godfather) birthday is the Feast of the Assumption.. Thinking about and planning the reception for the two cuties is keeping my mind occupied on something fun instead of the anxieties of the impending surgery.

Family Photo Shoot

Last night my dear friend Kristina and her children came over for dinner. Kristina has a special talent and loves photography, and I decided to take advantage of her. I have always wanted to have professional pictures taken to capture the final moments of pregnancy, but I have never been able to get up enough self-esteem to do it. I was thrilled when Kristina agreed to come to our house and take our pictures. It was pretty interesting wrangling the kids and the lighting, but the final product is amazing. I am thrilled beyond belief at her ability to capture this time in our life. She also got some great individual shots of the kids, but you'll have to wait to see them until Christmas. Thank you so much Kristina.

Service Project Disguised as Fun

My parents volunteer for a charity called Brothers of Peace where they help package food bags for local needy. The Brothers are trying something new and are putting rosaries in the food bags. They put out a request for rosaries and are getting them by the thousands. The rosaries then need to be untangled and put into little bags that can be easily distributed when filling the food bags. Pauly and Gabriella helped my mom package about 300 over the weekend, and tonight the busy beavers packaged 600 rosaries, untangled, and bundled a bunch more for filling once more little bags are bought. They had a blast. We love rosaries in our house, and they kept finding ones they wanted to keep, so needless to say we have plenty of rosaries in our home. When my mom brought the first batch back to the head Brother, he was shocked at the speed and even more shocked at the age of her helpers. He said that they could keep as many as they wanted and that he wants pictures.

Someone got a little note from me

Last night Paul and I were watching the local news and were shocked at the investigative report. We basically watched and listened to a story bashing many of our lifestyle choices. Paul watched as my body language and breathing changed to reflect my growing anger, and when the report was over he asks, "So, are you gonna email someone?" Yes, indeed. So here's the earfull this investigative reporter got from me.

"I am very disappointed in and offended by tonight’s one sided report. After seeing the title referring to Minnesota moms escaping their dominating husbands, I was prepared to watch a report of victims of abuse who were succeeding in escaping from their abusive partners. I was not prepared to view an entire segment bit by bit bashing many of the lifestyle choices that my husband and I have made and value.

While I have never heard of the Quiver Full movement and do not know all of their philosophies and teachings, I do know that my husband and I adhere to and believe in similar ideas. I do not believe the woman who was talking about her bad experience with the movement was a fair or full representation of the movement and it‘s beliefs, and the pastor and leader of MACHE was definitely not a fair and thorough defense. Trish did give a small disclaimer at the end attempting to validate all lifestyle and parenting styles, but by that point in the report people had already heard some very strong arguments against them and in no way provided for a balanced report.

Choosing to go against the grain of society is never easy, but a report like this is damaging and makes the arguments against so much stronger. I am proud to say that I support my husband as head of our house and in no way feel demeaned by it or less of a person for it; I choose to do it, and in return he respects me for the role I play in our home. Anyone who believes and teaches “wives be submissive to your husbands” also believes and teaches the counterpart “husbands love your wives as Christ loved the Church.” The respect is mutual and in no way demeaning.

I am also proud to say that we are a large home schooling family. You can ask any one of my children if they feel isolated, trapped, or lacking in friends and outside activities, and they will tell you no. In comparison to the young girl featured in the story proclaiming her freedom now that she is allowed to go to school and the fact that she has friends, my children will tell you that they are very much a part of the choice to stay home, and that they enjoy it.

As for the part of the story focusing on the promoted attire of skirts/dresses and birthing choices of women, why must is be seen as so derogatory that women would actually embrace there femininity and what our bodies were naturally created to do? There are many women who enjoy wearing longer/modest dresses; I have been surprised at the increase in courtesy especially from men when I am in a skirt. Maybe it’s because they can be a gentleman and be appreciated for it. As for homebirths, this trend is growing period and was given an extremely bad wrap. There is always risk for complications, and this woman’s story basically discredited the whole field dedicated to helping mothers bring their children into the world in the comfort of their home.

I would have hoped that Fox9 would have a more balanced story, and I think this was very irresponsible reporting. My husband and I were both offended and surprised and will be hesitant to return to your station for news."