The Third Prayer

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I took a two week break from these 7 Quick Takes because I was just overwhelmed with work and life.  And well, I’ve had an exhausting week, thanks to pregnancy, and I really wasn’t planning on being here again this week.  So these will be…quick.

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God reads my blog and Mary Rene had an amazing three hour nap on Wednesday so we were able to attend the Ash Wednesday Mass.  Mary Rene usually only naps for an hour or an hour and a half.  Occasionally we’ll get a two hour or 2.5 hour nap but I have never had a three hour nap.  So that was my sign from God.  Unfortunately she was very high maintenance during Mass and would not sit still.  But we are very glad we went.

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Yesterday our church was on duty for the 40 Days for Life at the local abortion clinic.  On Valentine’s Day they had the rally to kick off the event and we planned on going but the snow held us back.  I was so bummed out because I was looking forward to it for weeks.  So I wanted to badly to make our church’s peaceful protest day.  But when I got home from work I was exhausted.  Frank called and I planned on telling him that we could go another day but he sweetly talked me into it, without even being pushy.  And I’m so glad we went.  We didn’t stay entirely too long because it started to get cold and we didn’t want Mary Rene to get sick.  But it was very nice to be there and support the cause.  Mary Rene was having fun standing against the fence and looking in the, thankfully, empty parking lot.  We met a lovely family, mother with her four young children.  They were all praying the rosary and standing so peacefully as a family that it just melted my heart.

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I am looking forward to Fish Fry Fridays again!  Are you?

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Awhile back I did a guest post on loyal reader Rae’s blog.  If you are interested check out her blog sometime.  She is a great reader and has very interesting things to say.  I love to read a post that really “gets you thinking” and that’s what she does a lot.

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I haven’t sewn in two weeks!  I’ve been so busy with work and life ya know.  So today I am going over my parent’s house so they can hang out with Mary Rene and I can sew.  I am in the middle of making a shopping cart cover for a baby shower in two weeks, three bibs and two baby slings.  I really need to get moving.

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Mary Rene adores her papa.  She likes for him to carry her around, maybe because he is so tall and she can see more, and she likes to sit on his lap.  On Wednesday, the two of them sat in front of the computer for a good 15-20 minutes listening to music and watching Barney short videos.  I love this picture because she is just so relaxed on his lap and clearly let’s him know that she owns the place.

Last year we were able to make the 7 p.m. Ash Wednesday Mass because Mary Rene was still just a baby and she wasn’t going to sleep until around 9 p.m.  Now that she is in bed by 7:30-8 p.m. we won’t be able to make the Ash Wednesday celebration.  Unfortunately our church only offers morning Masses at 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. and the likelihood of Mary Rene being up and ready for either is doubtful.  I know I could wake her up really and get her moving so we could make it, but that is a lot of work. 

But isn’t that what Lent is all about?  Going the extra mile for Our Lord?  And the first day I am already struggling to do it.  I’ve been researching area churches that have a later morning Mass, say 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. but haven’t found anything. I know of two churches that have a noon Mass but again, that is during Mary Rene’s nap.  And messing with a nap, is not cool.  But, shouldn’t I be doing it for Our Lord?  I’m conflicted on my roles of being a mother and being a good Christian.  I feel my call to be at Mass on this day, even though it is not a Holy Day of Obligation but I feel my calling to be a mother as well.  Since I have to work on Thursdays I like for Mary Rene to be in bed earlier, 7:30-8 p.m. on Wednesdays.  If we go to 7 p.m. Mass, the earliest she would get to bed is 8:30 p.m., but really it would be closer to 9 p.m.  Which means she will only get 10-11 hours of sleep as opposed to a solid 12. 

Writing that out made me realize how silly I am being and it really only is about an hour difference.  I mean, seriously, 11 hours versus 12, really?  It is only one day, an important day, and she will be okay.  So she might be crabby during Mass because she is tired.  So she might be crabby the next day because she was up late and didn’t get to sleep in.  But isn’t that what Lent is about?  Sacrifice?

Okay.  I think I’ve talked myself into it.  Starting Lent off on the right foot.  Starting Lent where I really need to be.  I’ll just have to work extra hard on getting Mary Rene to take an awesome long nap today so we can make 7 p.m. Mass.  Sometimes you just got to talk it out to realize how unreasonable you are being.  Good try devil.

As for our Lenten journey, we decided to change it up a bit this year.  I usually give up a list of items but by the time Lent is over I am ready to greet those items back in my life.  Two years ago I was pregnant, last year I was nursing and this year I am pregnant again.  So giving up alcohol or caffeine, yeah, already did that.  Giving up sweets, seriously the baby needs it.  Giving up junk food, seriously the baby needs it.  TV?  I don’t really watch it.  Facebook?  I only get on it three or four times a week.  Limiting my internet usage?  Okay, I can do that.

So this year we are doing more than giving up.  I am going to give up talking on my cell phone while driving, which is very important, and I pray that this will continue after Lent.  But that’s really all I plan on giving up.  Two days ago we started reading The Love Dare Book, my Valentine’s Day gift for Frank, and it is going to last a year.  It is a prayerful book that focuses on our relationship with God and each other.  (I highly recommend all married couples to rent the movie “Fireproof” and watch it with your spouse.  The acting is very poor but  the message is beautiful.)  In addition, we are going to start praying a decade of the rosary every night after dinner, go to weekly Mass (our church will offer Mass on Thursday evenings), attend adoration more frequently and do our prayer chain.  I have some personal things I am working on as well but would rather not discuss in this forum.  I’m hoping this Lent I am able to draw closer to God and be more prayerful.  Because really, that is what Lent is all about.

Better than any dictionary can ever say it, the Bible has the most perfect definition of the word love.  Unfortunately, the definition is so perfect that only two people on earth have ever been able to follow it: Jesus and Mother Mary.  But starting this Valentine’s Day and for the remainder of my life, I am going to try my hardest to love my husband this way.

Love is Patient

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love is Kind

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it is not jealous

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it is not pompous

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it is not inflated

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it is not rude

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it does not seek its own interests

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it is not quick-tempered

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it does not brood over injury

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it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth

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it bears all things

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believes all things

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endures all things

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Love never fails

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1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

Frank thinks that when I read something I instantly jump on it and believe it is true.  Well, that is not true.  When I first read of the disturbing ingredients used to make some of the vaccines I couldn’t accept it.  There was no way that the source was accurate.  So I dug deeper, and deeper, and deeper, and unfortunately, every place I looked pointed in the same direction.  I am so disturbed to know that Mary Rene may have received up to six separate vaccines that included human tissues from an aborted baby.  Yes, from an aborted baby.  I really could not believe that when I first read it because it seemed too far out there.  I mean, really, a vaccine from an aborted baby?  If embryonic stem cell research caused such an uproar then how have vaccines slide under the rug?  I just couldn’t make sense of it.  But it is true.

Along with Stephanie Cave’s book, “What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Vaccinations,” there are many websites that have pointed out this fact.  I even found a list of all the vaccines that did contain the aborted baby online.  That is when I realized Mary Rene could have gotten six of the vaccines.  Ignorance is bliss.

So I dug even deeper to see what my church had to say about this.  I mean, if we are so against abortion and embryonic stem cell research then where do we stand with vaccinations?  The Vatican released a statement in June 2005 addressing this issue in Medicina e Morale by the Center fro Bioethics of Catholic University in Rome, titled: Moral Reflections on Vaccines Prepared From Cells Derived From Aborted Human Foetuses.  It is an eight page document regarding vaccinations using aborted babies and this is how they summarize it:

• There is a grave responsibility to use alternative vaccines and to make a conscientious objection with regard to those which have moral problems;
• As regards the vaccines without an alternative, the need to contest so that others may be prepared must be reaffirmed, as should be the lawfulness of using the former in the meantime insomuch as is necessary in order to avoid a serious risk not only for one’s own children but also, and perhaps more specifically, for the health conditions of the population as a whole-especially for pregnant women;
• The lawfulness of the use of these vaccines should not be misinterpreted as a declaration of the lawfulness of their production, marketing and use, but is to be understood as being a passive material cooperation and, in its mildest and remotest sense, also active, morally justified as an extrema ratio due to the necessity to provide for the good of one’s children and of the people who come in contact with the children (pregnant women);
• Such cooperation occurs in a context of moral coercion of the conscience of parents, who are forced to choose to act against their conscience or otherwise, to put the health of their children and of the population as a whole at risk.  This is an unjust alternative choice, which must be eliminated as soon as possible

I did some more research and it turns out that every vaccinations that Mary Rene received with aborted babies had an alternative option but the MMR.  Measles and Mumps separately are available without the aborted babies but Rubella is not.  Since the MMR is only offered as a trio, then we will not be giving this vaccinations to Sweet Pea.  As far as Polio, Chickenpox, and Hep. A are concerned, we will only be giving Sweet Pea these vaccinations if the alternative is available.  We feel that it is our moral duty to do this.

Interestingly, the CDC website does not list aborted baby on their website as an ingredients.  They actually only address a few ingredients and then vaguely mentioned that other combinations of ingredients are used.

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 Besides tissues from an aborted baby, there are more offensive ingredients in vaccinations.  You can go to this website and read the entire list of crazy ingredients or just scan the list below that I took from their website.

Formaldehyde. “Pungent gas: a colorless gas with a distinctive smell. Use: manufacture of resins and fertilizers, preservation of organic specimens.”

Mercury. “Liquid metallic element: a poisonous heavy silver-white metallic element that is liquid at room temperature.”

Antifreeze  “A liquid causing low freezing point: a substance added to a liquid to lower its freezing point.  An antifreeze such as ethylene glycol is added to or substituted for the water in a vehicle’s radiator to stop it from freezing in winter.”

Yuck.  And that’s all I have to say for now until I read the Dr. Sears book.

I have been praying without ceasing for nearly three weeks now.  My prayer life has become consumed with this particular prayer, to the point that it has become a constant.  I have realized that I am praying for this particular intention so much that many mornings, I forget to thank God for Mary Rene’s health, ask Him to get Frank to work safely, and pray for Sweet Pea.  Three important prayers that I always started my day with but have been forgetting lately.  That is how important my intention is to me.

At this time I do not want to share my prayer request but I want you all to know it is very important.  So I am asking that my friends in Christ, please join me in prayer.  I am praying that God shows mercy and brings strength and courage where it is needed.  I am praying that we can put our trust in Him, in all things.  I know that His will be done, and each time I pray about this intention, I always make sure to say that I know His will be done.  I am just praying that His will matches my intention.

So if you can, please join me in prayer today.  I am praying that God listens to my prayer, every one’s prayers, and one day I can share this intention. 

And He came in the form of a baby…

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Merry Christmas everyone, from our family to yours!

Pregnant.

Not just pregnant.  Nine months pregnant.

Translation: The biggest you will get.  Center of gravity completely off.  Uncomfortable when you are awake and sleeping.

Another translation: Riding on a donkey for a long, long, long time.

Remember the part of center of gravity being off?  On a donkey.

Remember the part of being uncomfortable?  On a donkey.

All of this, while traveling, a long, long journey, in a desert.  No water, no food.  Only what the donkey can carry. 

Hot, hot, sticky weather.  Did I mention she was nine  months pregnant?

Need more?

In labor…on a donkey.

No yoga ball to bounce on and do breathing exercises on for comfort.

Breath in, breath out, bump.  Breath in breath out, bump.

In labor while riding on a donkey.

No place to go.  No inn to welcome them.

Nine months pregnant, in labor on a donkey and a manager, with dirty animals.  Manure. 

All of this, for a child that she was  hand-selected to carry.  A child to  nurture, cherish, and love all the days of His life.  All of this, for a child, she would love, just like any other mother, but knowing His whole existence would end in the greatest sacrifice in mankind.  All of this, for a child that she knew, one day would save the world. 

Nine months pregnant, in labor, on a donkey.  When it came down to it, it really didn’t matter.  She was up for the challenge.

And this is why we honor Mary.

This morning I pulled off “pregnant women” from the Advent chain.  And what a fitting day to pray for pregnant women.  An hour later I found myself at Mass and the Gospel was Luke 1:39-45, the story of Mary visiting Elizabeth. 

And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. (Luke 1:41.)

Father Jay Harrington, the priest who baptized Beatrice last weekend, went on to give one of the best homilies I have ever heard.  He talked about pregnant women feeling their unborn baby kick and poke them throughout the pregnancy.  He talked about fathers who said they would put their face against their wife’s belly and the baby would bump them.  As I listened to him talk, I looked down at my little Mary Rene and instantly was taken back to when I was pregnant with her.  I remembered feeling her first little poke when I was sitting in the lobby at the dentist.  I remembered as the weeks went on, the pokes became kicks and head butts.  Soon, Frank was able to feel her too.  I remembered the countless nights that I would lift my shirt while I was laying on the couch and I would watch her move from one side to the other.  I remembered those last couple months when she would be squirming all over the place while I was trying to sleep (oh how things haven’t changed.)  And eventually all that kicking and head butting stopped because she was born.

My mind was filled with all those pregnancy moments until Father Jay said, “Elizabeth was far enough along in her pregnancy that she knew what her baby’s movements were…and when John the Baptist lept she knew she had never felt anything like that.”  And at that moment it really hit me…

John lept for joy.  They say that at a certain point in the pregnancy, an unborn baby can hear his/her mother’s voice and those that she is speaking to.  John the Baptist heard the mother of Our Lord, and he lept for joy.

So my thoughts shifted away from my pregnancy with Mary Rene to the birth of Christ.  We will be celebrating the birth of Our Savior, the tiny baby Jesus on Friday.  I’ve been so consumed with getting shopping done, taking care of Mary Rene, other little things, that I am wondering, is my heart ready to leap for joy?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot today and in order to prepare my heart, I will be taking a blog break.  Out of routine, I will write my Mary’s World Tuesday post and I’m sure I will be back on Christmas.  But for now I am going to prepare my heart so I can leap for joy.

Dear Beatrice-

Today you became a child of God and a member of the Catholic Church!  Congratulations!  You were a sweet little angel throughout the Mass and didn’t cry once when Father Tim poured the Holy Water over your precious little head.  As the picture above shows, you were at peace and it seemed almost as if you knew what was going on this special day. 

And what a special day it was.  When I first got to church and saw the visiting priest I was a little upset that you wouldn’t receiving your first sacrament from a parish priest.  But Father Tim did such an outstanding job that I don’t think any other priest would have done better.  He took every opportunity possible to mention your name and the wonderful sacrament you were receiving.  You were blessed, literally, to be baptized by such a reverent priest.  (My husband, Frank, and I wish he would become a permenent priest for us-he was that great!)

It was only fitting that today’s Gospel reading, Luke 3:10-18, was about John the Baptist. 

Now the people were filled with expectation,
and all were asking in their hearts
whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all, saying,
“I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming.
I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

And today, on the Third Sunday of Advent, you were baptized with the Holy Spirit, the promise of the Resurrection of Christ and life everlasting.  Oh what a beautiful day!

I was honored and priviledged to be your mom’s sponsor when she joined the Catholic Church back in 2008.  We didn’t know each other before, but we instantly hit it off and became friends.  We stayed in contact after RCIA ended and she started giving me mommy advice when I was pregnancy with Mary Rene.  When Mary Rene was born, your mommy was always so helpful and answered any questions that I had.

And again I have been given such an amazing honor, but now, to sponsor you.  It is fitting that earlier in the week we pulled your name off our Advent chain to pray for you.  We spend that day, and today of course, praying that you always feel the closeness of God.  No matter what, He is always there for you.  And today is proof.  The Second Reading says it more beautiful then I ever could:

Brothers and sisters:
Rejoice in the Lord always.
I shall say it again:  rejoice!
Your kindness should be known to all.
The Lord is near.
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

-Philippines 4:4-7

I take this role very seriously and want you to know that you will always be in my prayers.  My constant prayer will be that while you are always filled with the love of God you also feel His love and understand His love.  God’s blessings on you sweet baby girl.

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So, we may have pinpointed why Mary Rene was waking up so much in the middle of the night.  I really wish this wasn’t the reason but I really think it is.  All that caffeine was getting to her and keeping her up.  I didn’t start drinking coffee again until she turned one.  By that time she was only nursing four times a day, morning, two naps and at night.  I would time my morning coffee at the perfect time so the highest level of caffeine in my blood stream would not be near the time she nursed.  In October, I went on my soda kick and that lasted until a week ago.  So I was drinking a cup of caffeined coffee in the morning and an occasional soda in the afternoon.  I know some of you will comment and say, “that’s not much caffeine, you are fine.”  But if you think about it, I went caffeine free for the first year of her life.  She was not used to it at all and then out of nowhere I was drinking it like an addict.  On top of that, she decided to start nursing more.  Even though she is only napping once a day, which would turn her nursing sessions in to only three a day, she has started asking to nurse frequently throughout the day.  Yesterday, I nursed her about eight times.  And that’s with going to work for seven hours!  This has been going on for about a month and there was no way for me to calculate when she would nurse next to make sure the caffeine wasn’t at its highest point in my blood stream.  So, no caffeine for me.  And since I stopped drinking the coffee, which gave me a huge headache the next day, she has only woke up once each night.  So we are back where we started.  Now we just need to know what the trick is to get her to sleep through the night. 

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Back in August we were at my cousin’s house and Mary Rene was playing with her son’s Little Tikes washer & dryer.  She was having a really good time putting gumballs in the dryer and opening and closing the door.  My cousin said we could have it since her son never used it.  Well, that was in August.  I kept asking my mom about it and finally…

sweet!  I decided to keep it at my parent’s house because they have more free space there and I knew they would get a kick out of Mary Rene playing with it.

First Mary Rene had to do an inspection to make sure it was in working order.

Then my dad had to show her how to wash the towels.

She ended up washing both of her sippy cups, some mardi gras beads and two washcloths.  She played with it for a bit but had too many other toys to occupy her that day.  I’m sure next time I am over she will be washing everything in sight.

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What else does Mary Rene have to do when she is at my parent’s house?

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I’ve been sewing like a mad woman this week.  I finished a cute Dora the Explorer shopping cart cover for a friend’s daughter, a holiday bib for Mary Rene, I started making a pink ladybug dress for Mary Rene and I finished making her some cute pink reindeer pj pants.

I’m getting so quick at sewing and just loving it.  I really wish I could find a way to do this for a living.

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I coudn’t find my master Christmas sheet so I decided to go through all the cards from last year and rewrite the list.  Mary Rene decided to help.

That was a disaster.  For some reason she loves cards.  When we go shopping, to entertain her, I just go to the card section, put a card in her hand and she is fine while I shop.  Beats picking up toys and ending up buying them.

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(For a minute there, I thought this was going to be an “All About Mary” post.”)  We were invited to four holiday parties and one birthday celebration tomorrow!  And unfortunately they are all at the same time so we can only attend one.  Oh how the holidays get so busy.

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On Sunday, my Goddaughter, the beautiful Beatrice Louise is getting Baptized!  Please say a special prayer for her.