The Third Prayer

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.

***

 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 Jay Harrington 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.

-1-

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. 

-2-

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.

-3-

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

-4-

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.

-5-

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.

-6-

(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.

-7-

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

I’ve been working on a series of post to discuss Natural Family Planning and why we made the decision to use this method of birth control.  Please feel free to ask questions, leave comments and I will address them in a further post.  This will be Part I in the series on NFP.

Why?

When we were engaged to be married, we knew we wanted to practice NFP.  We didn’t know how it worked or anything about it at the time but we knew it was the right thing to do.  Mainly because we understood the church teachings and why they opposed the use of birth control.  There are many Catholics who do whatever the church says and others who don’t at all.  I tend to think I belong in a third category: listen to what the church says, do some research to understand why they say it, and finally, do it because I understand.  That is how NFP came to be in our marriage.  And this is what we found out:

God clearly points out in the Bible that he wants us to be fruitful and multiple (Genesis 1:28.)  Here is just one beautiful example, Psalm 127:3- Children too are a gift from the Lord, the fruit of the womb, a reward.  (How true it is!)

There are tons and tons of references to how He loves children and as man and wife, it is our gift to make them.

The church opposes the use of artificial birth control because it prohibits the creation of a baby.  (Although, next week I will discuss how this isn’t the case at all when it comes to the pill.)  The main reason a man and wife becomes one is to create a family!  The church believes that by barricading your fertility you are going against God’s plan for you.  When you use condoms, the sponge, the pill, etc., you are doing so because you are not ready to be a parent.  You are using unnatural means to get to your end. 

 At the same time, you are telling God, “Hey it is my body and I can do what I want with it.”  And really that’s not true.  God gave you everything you have, including your gift of fertility.  That right there was proof enough for me. 

Some skeptics would say that NFP is no different then the use of artificial birth control because you are still avoiding pregnancy.  God is wise and He doesn’t expect for married couples to have baby after baby after baby.  Some couples are meant to have one, some are meant to have 10, and some, are meant to have none.  God knows that there are times when a pregnancy should be avoided.  For instance, you are not financially ready.  God knows that financial stresses will only hinder a child’s growth so He understands.  God understands if you have other stresses in your life and are not ready to accept another baby at that time.  God understand situations.  But we don’t believe that He understands when you make the decision to say no by taking control of your own body.

But why not use birth control instead of “risking” a pregnancy during a stressful situation?  Well, God makes it clear in the Bible what happens if you use birth control.  In Genesis, Chapter 38, Onan didn’t want to have children with his wife so he would “waste his seed on the ground.”  What did God do?  He killed him (Ch. 38:10.)

And I will leave it at that.  Next week I will discuss How NFP Works and the method we use.

Along with tomorrow being the Immaculate Conception, tomorrow is my dad’s 60th birthday!  Someone sure went over that hill again.  Happy birthday dad!

My dad is a big guy and can be really imitating when you first meet him.  I’m sure some people are even scared of him and think he is mean.  But really, he is a softy.  He has these callus hands from working hard his whole life.  He always has some type of cut or bruise from working around the house.  But under those rough hands and all those bangs and bruises is a man with a huge heart filled with love.

My dad never was into sports and probably couldn’t name three Cardinal players if you asked.  Instead, he likes those sappy movies that make you feel good at the end.  He loves watching those Hallmark movies, Little House on the Prairie and he still talks about Highway to Heaven.  He loves good moral shows, even if he won’t admit it.

My dad loves buying cards but even more he loves receiving cards.  He even claims that he will be buried with all his cards someday.  Yes, he loves his cards that much.

But more than his cards, he loves his animals.  We had a dog, Pepper, for 12 years and my dad loved that dog to pieces.  Since my mom works third shift, and all us kids had moved out of the house, it was just him and Pepper most nights.  They became the best of friends and he would talk to her all the time.  I’ll never forget when we had to put her to sleep because of her incurable tumors.  My dad’s heart broke in a million pieces.  As sad as I was to see our beloved pet pass away, I was more sad to see my dad lose his friend.  After Pepper passed away they got another dog, Buster, and he is getting really old and has incurable tumors too.  Again my dad fell in love with his furry little friend and they have become inseparably.  My dad has a big place in his heart for animals. 

As much as he loves his animals, it doesn’t compare to how much he loves his family.  My parents have been married for 39 years and still get along great.  They tell each other everything and don’t keep secrets.  They are ying and yang.

He has always been a softie when it comes to us kids.  If we ever wanted anything, all we had to do was put a big frown on our face, bat our eyes and with puppy dog eyes say, “daddy.”  And he would bend over and do it.  He is putty in our hands, and he knows it.  But that’s not why we love our daddy so much.  We love him because he is pretty darn cool.  He calls us nearly everyday to check in, see how we are doing and to give us the latest updates on our cats (he took in my sister’s cat since her husband is allergy and he took in mine since I’m allergic.)  If we ever need help with our cars, he is the first person we call.  If something goes wrong at our house, he knows how to fix it without calling a professional.  Why?  My dad is the professional.  And most times we call, he doesn’t hesitate and is over in a jiffy to help us.

But who am I kidding, he is head over heels in love with his grandbaby girl, Mary Rene.  You probably could tell that by all the pictures leading up to this point.  My dad loves when we come over for a visit.  He always ask to talk to Mary Rene on the phone and then wants to know when he gets to see her next.  He tries to act like a tough guy and say “he is busy” but I know he just wants to crawl on the floor and play with her.

He likes to call Mary Rene, Angel Eyes, because she is the angel in his eyes.  He adores her and you can tell by the way he looks at her when she walks in the room.  Mary Rene makes him laugh by her silliness and he just gets a kick out of her.

If he knows in advance that we are coming over, my mom and him make sure they have all of Mary Rene’s favorite snacks: bananas, Ritz crackers, Cheez-Its and…ice cream.  Their house is junk food heaven and well, Mary Rene is in heaven over there.

On Mondays I go over my parent’s house so I can conduct my work conference call while they watch Mary Rene.  I’m sure my dad looks forward to this time so he can play with Mary Rene and watch her take over his house.  (Which she does a pretty darn good job of!)  I love to watch my dad crawl on the ground and play with her because he is so tall but he gets down to her level so he can be a good playmate. 

My daddy is a great dad and a super papa and we love him to pieces.  Happy Birthday!

Beatrice & Mary Rene-

Today is the Feastday of St. Nicholas.  This is a saint that as you get older, you will grow to love because of what he represents and who has taken his place.  St. Nicholas was a fourth century bishop of Myra, a city in Asia.  That is a fact. 

The legend side of St. Nicholas starts with a story about him helping out a poor man who had to provide dowry for his three daughters when they married.  If he didn’t provide the dowry they would be forced into prostitution.  St. Nicholas had a kind heart and made sure the man had the dowry so his daughters could marry and their honor would be protected.

That is where the legend started and it only grew.  The legend goes on to say how he gave gifts to the poor and was a very charitable man.  If he happened upon someones open shoes then he would slip coins in them.  This is why we set our empty shoes by the front door on the eve of this feast day.  (opps…I forgot to do this!)  When I was a little girl, St. Nicholas always visited our house.  We left our shoes by the door and the next morning we would find an orange, apple, candy cane and some nuts in our shoes.

Many people wanted to carry on the generosity of gift giving from St. Nicholas and that’s how Santa Claus came to be.  On Jesus’ birth, Santa comes and brings everyone presents.  Just like the Wisemen did for Baby Jesus when he was born.

And if you girls are good, Santa might come visit you too.