May 7, 2010 [108 views]
I reached a mile-marker today. I’m 30 weeks pregnant and moving right along. Just a little update, my sweet baby is going to be a BOY! This really surprised me, because my pregnancy has been very similar to when I was pregnant with my daughter. Oh well, so much for comparisons. We’re super excited that our lil guy will be here soon enough.
The pregnancy has been fairly uneventful, but I do find myself becoming increasingly agitated and grumpy. To be honest, people are just annoying me like crazy. My tolerance level is extremely low. Even the family dog has lost his place on my lap in the evening. I don’t even recall this aggravation happening with me with the other pregnancies, so at least I can say something is new…lol. At least I will have a better sympathy for my dear friends that do experience this with their pregnancies.
I may be able to contribute some of my annoyances with a couple students I had this semester. Usually I get the privilege of tutoring awesome students, but there were two disrespectful ones this time around. I ended up letting both of them go, because they were rude, unappreciative, & undeserving of my time. My time is just precious anymore and if I’m going to take time away from my family, it better be for a good cause & with good hard-working individuals. Lucky for me, the rest of my students are the complete opposite and I’m most grateful for them & their successes this year.
I’ve been recognizing the ever growing need to re-prioritize my time. Our family has more than doubled over the past five years and my prayers have been centered around what God really wants from me lately. I love our kids new part-time private school and I’m happy that I can afford for them to attend it with my tutor income. It was exciting for me this week when I got an email from the assistant headmistress inquiring if I would like to teach a couple classes in trade for one school tuition. I told her thank you so much, but it just wasn’t possible right now. The baby is coming soon and then my mom is having knee surgery in the fall. I will need to help her out, instead of relying on her for babysitting. Anyhow, I did mention that I would love the opportunity to apply for a teaching position eventually when our lil guy is a little older and she was very receptive. It would be an answer to prayers to be able to exchange private tuition for my services. It would also be fun to be right there with them everyday. It is a big change to homeschooling, but honestly, the last couple years were just not working for me in that area. Part-time is plenty for me. I will just need to continue to pray about all these areas of our family life and remember to let God guide us. I seem to want to jump in on moving things along and I need to remember to sit back sometimes and let Him be in control. Then, I must rely on Todd to do his part, as well. It’s this whole control thing that I have to continue to work on, too, but I’m a work in progress and I’m getting better. When keeping the design God designed for the hierarchy of family, things work out much better. I know that from experience.
Thank you, Jesus, for loving me enough to grant me another beautiful child on his way. I hope he will be as wonderful and loving as his three awesome big brothers and amazing father.
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February 2, 2010 [553 views]
We’re expecting our fifth! I am a few months into my pregnancy and feel great. Todd and I are just delighted that God has blessed us once again with another little one. When I start to doubt my mothering abilities, I have to sit and think He must think I’m doing a pretty good job to send us another one to join our bundle of babes. Many apologies to the few readers I do have, that I haven’t been blogging lately. I rarely find time to sit down at my laptop anymore to catch up on the latest online, let alone blog. I usually rely on my ridiculously convenient iPhone to read my emails and check Facebook.
So far, almost everything about this pregnancy has been great. I didn’t have morning sickness, which leads me to think I am probably having a girl, since I was utterly sick with my boys and not at all sick with my daughter. We’ll find out soon enough if my intuition is correct. The kids are very excited about the baby and it is fun to drag out the old maternity clothes. Oh, and it was fun to shop with my cousin this weekend for a few modern outfits, too:-).
Yep, it has been a great time, except for an annoying part of going to my doctor’s office and being repeatedly asked if I would like genetic testing. Mind you, this isn’t only because I am now officially “Advanced Maternal Age”! This has been my experience with every one of my pregnancies. My doctor is fantastic, but he works with a group that has a ton of high tech equipment that can apparently tell the parents with 95% certainty if they are having a baby with chromosomal defects. One of the other doctors is very proud that they have incredibly reduced the population of Down Syndrome babies by offering this testing to expectant mothers. When I told him I wasn’t going to have any testing, he was completely shocked. He actually said, “what! Why? No, really, I need to know why!” My reply was that my husband and I have never gotten the testing and that we feel that God will give us what we are meant to have. Then he proceeded to tell me that the THREE women that decided to carry on with their pregnancies were able to get the best care for their babies when they arrived. This would not help me at all. I wouldn’t have any further testing than the initial blood work and ultrasounds, because any further testing than that puts the baby at risk. So, what difference would it be for me to know there was a greater chance of having a baby with defects?
It just makes me sad to think of all the women that went along with the 95% chance. That means that 5% of them were told wrong and the rest were led to believe their chromosomal defective babies couldn’t provide any worth to our world and their souls are less valuable. I just wish people could trust Jesus more. After all, He never gives us more than we can handle.
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December 1, 2009 [316 views]
The Holy Spirit works in mysterious ways. Recently, I was contacted via email by a special deacon from Arizona. Deacon Tom had found my conversion story online and was interested in talking with me further about doing an interview on his podcast. He has a marvelous website with his wife, Dee, where they discuss and examine a variety of catholic topics. He happened to have reached Vitamin L and his topic was “Leaven”.
Jesus called us to be like leaven. Once our faith is planted in us, we begin to grow. We have to be truly open to the growth, constantly seeking a stronger relationship with Him. I remember talking to one of my parish priests about feeling a bit overwhelmed when I was fresh in the faith. There was much to learn and I felt like a kindergartener. The numerous traditions, prayers, saints, angels, etc…were enough to intimidate any convert. He looked at me kindly and said to me that it begins with my personal relationship with Christ. That was the most important part of all and not to lose sight of that. As the years have passed, I feel as though there is still so much to learn. The one thing I can do is look back to where I was in the beginning and how far I have come. It is a fabulous journey that I am enjoying immensely.
I believe my respect for life began my draw to catholicism, but now there are many other aspects that light my fire. For starters, our precious gift of the Eucharist. The words “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed,” touch my heart and soul. What a gift! Then, I get to confess my sins and put them behind me. I don’t dwell on wrongdoings like I did in the past. Not to mention, my relationship with our Blessed Mother. I was robbed of knowing her for most of my life, but now she is there to help guide me on my spiritual path.
Deacon Tom and I had our podcast interview a couple weeks ago. It went very well and I hope you will take some time to listen to Vitamin L and all the other Catholic Vitamins at www.catholicvitamins.com.
God Bless You on your own personal journeys and may the leaven work in you!
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