Quick Takes

“Give yourself fully to God. He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you believe much more in His love than in your own weakness.”  -Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

1.  Tired.  The vomiting began somewhere in the middle of the night this past Tuesday, so I had to start taking the Unisom to hold it at bay. 

You know how tired you are during the first trimester, how you could sleep at the drop of the hat?  Well, add to that taking a sleeping pill every morning when you get up.  Yeah.

2.  Ed has been home all week taking care of me and the kids.  That has to end on Monday, so I’m going to have to be strong, SUPER-MAMA, to do all that needs doing ’round here.   And you know, to not forget to pack Tommy’s snack, or change him out of his pajamas before school.

3.  RCIA was great last night, we talked about the Saints, the cloud of witnesses.  The leader of the discussion read and excerpt from a biography of St. Maximilian Kolbe, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.  I didn’t think he was going to be able to finish reading, but he persevered.

4.  I think my nose is getting bigger.  Is that possible when you’re six weeks pregnant?

5.  Thomas told us he’s going to be a “church guy” when he grows up, or sometimes, as he calls it, a “criest.”  Let’s first concentrate on not being blasphemous during the prayer before our meals, m’kay?  Baby steps.

6.  Tomorrow is my birthday, and like every year, I keep forgetting all about it.  I’ll be 34.  Yup.  I feel 34, so I guess that’s okay.

7.  I want to say a huge thank you to Ashli from The Sicle Cell, for sending me the book she authored, Beyond Morning Sickness:  Battling Hyperemesis Gravidarum.  What a tremendous resource for women and families battling this debilitating condition.  Knowledge is power, and Ashli has done and continues to do so much to put that power into the hands of women who need it.  Thank you, Ashli!  May your work continue to help save lives.

Standing On The Front Lines

I have often contended that anyone in this country who would like to see us move to the far left, or even anyone who is driven to a deep discontent with the ethics of those like George Bush; are woefully, painfully, deeply uninformed about the world we live in.

Those who have an inexplicable wish that America were more like Europe, or South Africa, ya know, someplace more enlightened.  Some place where the abortion debate died years ago, where throwing out human embryos and abortions aren’t given a second thought, but are as common place as having your teeth cleaned.

If you’d like to see the results of living in a culture of death, the kind of culture that so many of our citizens who consider themselves enlightened would like to see us become, check out the trailer for ‘Killing Girls,’ a documentary film that’s winning all kinds of acclaim in Europe.

Done?  Okay, let me tell you something.  Those of us who stand UP against these kinds of atrocities, those of us who stand on the intellectual, spiritual front lines of the cultural war that we are in; we are the only thing stopping our culture from becoming that which you see in ‘Killing Girls.’

Just as our armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan are the only thing standing between the citizens of those countries, the citizens of the world, and Muslim Extremists.  Obama will soon be removing our soldiers, and you will see the bloodshed as a result.

Obama and his ilk would also like to get rid of every voice that cries out for justice for the unborn, and let the blood flow.  Never.  Going.  To.  Happen.

Watch ‘Killing Girls,’ and know this:  The world where people have forgotten the humanity of their unborn has also forgotten the humanity of their physicians, forgotten the humanity of their women, forgotten the humanity of their men, forgotten the humanity of their children. 

Why should it come as a surprise to anyone that this is so?

A Couple of (Now a Few) Great Links Today

1.  I’m sure you’re all aware of Obama’s latest disregard for the lives of the smallest and weakest of us when he ended the ban on embryonic stem cell research.

This is only the latest in a string of executive orders that will result in increased destruction of human life.   It began with the overturning of the Mexico City policy, which was in place to ban U.S. funding of abortions over seas.

Instead of reaching across the aisle as he promised to do, he has reached out and slapped every pro-life and Catholic across the face by nominating Christine Sebelius as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Sebelius is notorious for rubbing shoulders and excepting money from the infamous late-term abortion doctor George Tiller.

Please read Ashli’s beautiful post on the most recent move by Obama to end the ban on embryonic stem cell research.  And ask yourselves, why the rush to end the ban, when even in countries where there is no ban on this type of research, it is becoming increasingly clear that it is the adult stem cells that yield the most promising research?

What is to be gained by formally renouncing the person-hood and the rights of these, the smallest and the weakest among us?  What is to be gained by not only encouraging the destruction of the unborn, but making people feel like they’re potentially doing a good deed by consenting to this atrocity?  Could there possibly be monetary and political gains to be had?

2.  I was referred to this article by TRT.  I love it when someone fully ”comes out” as pro-life.  It’s such an encouragement for others to do the same.

3.  And on a lighter note–I love Jennifer’s post today on raising children in small houses.  Very appropriate for my current situation!  I love the way she and her readers address this problem!

The Good News Making Me Sick

I suppose it’s time to post the news, we’re expecting our fourth baby!  I’m six weeks pregnant as of today.

We’re due on November 5.  What’s interesting about that is that I had a miscarriage in 2004, and was due at about the same time.  In a way, it’s like I’m getting another chance at that pregnancy. 

Yesterday I went to  my first prenatal visit, and had an ultrasound to make sure everything is where it’s supposed to be.  It’s amazing to see that tiny heart beating away, in a baby that’s measuring only 3 mm. 

When Thomas got home I told him all about the ultrasound, and he sat listening with a smile and his eyes as big as saucers.  I told him about the baby’s heart, and how that same heart would beat throughout the baby’s entire life, however long that would be.  He was simply amazed, which if you ask me, is entirely the correct response when faced with something so miraculous.

We haven’t mentioned names (because it’s so early and it drives me nuts to talk about names before 18 weeks), but Thomas already has two picked out.  Henry for a boy, and Leah for a girl.  He also says he would like a sister, but Ryan would like another brother.  We’ll just have to wait and see.

The nausea began in earnest yesterday morning, with full-on throwing up and drive heaves.  Thank God for Unisom, it’s the only thing that gives me any kind of relief. 

It’s hard to believe that we’re having a fourth, but I do feel excited.  We’re going to have to seriously think about a bigger house in the next couple of years, that’s for sure.

7 Quick Takes Friday

1.  TGIF.  This has been a really long week for some reason, and I’m just glad it’s over!  Hop over to Conversion Diary to participate.

2.  The contractor is coming on Monday to begin work on our siding and roof.  Things will be a mess for a few weeks, but it’s going to look great in the end. 

3.  I heard from Tommy’s SpEd teacher this week.  She is going to recommend that he gets a shared aid for next year, mostly to keep him on task and to help with transitions.  It’s a relief, because I know it’s something Thomas really needs.  He really doesn’t have a problem with being able to do the actual work, it’s just being able to follow along and not get distracted by whatever else is going on in his environment.

4.  The little boys and I are off to a puppet show this morning! 

5.  Yesterday I hurt my back getting orange juice out of the refrigerator.  With all the ridiculous lifting I do, of toddlers and laundry, etc., it would be the oj that gets me in the end.

6.  We’re down to about a foot of snow on the ground outside.  I’m hoping the warm weather this weekend will melt the rest!  I miss the grass, even if it’s dead and soggy under there.

7.  Thomas had a “lock-down” at his school yesterday.  A couple of kids thought they saw a man in the woods near the play ground.  Everyone was brought inside, the school was locked, and the police were called. 

No evidence or foot prints were found, but better to be safe than sorry.  How sad is it when my 5 year old comes home and wants to play school lock-down?

Gratitude

Jennifer at Conversion Diary re-ran an old post today about gratitude. 

It reminded me of the morning I had.  Thomas decided to lose it about 10 minutes before the bus came this morning, suddenly insisting that he had to have a shower.  The same shower he had refused to take for me an hour earlier.

So he missed the bus, and all 3 of the kids were crying and carrying on this morning, which I’m sure had nothing to do with the rotten mood I was in. 

When we finally made it to the garage door to load into the car, Thomas dropped his backpack and the dog took that opportunity to bolt out the door.  I. Was. Angry.

So, being unwilling to control the impulse to indulge the anger, I slammed that door on my way out to the car.  That should’ve made me feel a lot better, thus justifing this small act of destruction, but it didn’t.  What did happen is that the door is now stuck shut, and I locked myself and the kids out of the house.  Without my purse. 

Yeah, that was totally worth it.

So a small loss of self-control has now resulted in two broken windows.  The first on the door in question, which I broke only to discover that it wasn’t going to open from either side.  The second broken window is to the door on the back of the garage, the one I managed to get open.

I’m not mad anymore, but the windows are broken.  Now all I need is for the dog to step on a piece of broken glass so I can get slapped with a $200 vet bill and an even guiltier conscience. 

Isn’t it funny how expensive a small loss of self-control can be?  I know I’m laughing.  Next time, I hope I can tap into that Grace and that gratitude.

It isn’t enough that I have clean water to give my children and in which to bathe them, or, like Jennifer said, to be able to go to the grocery store and feed my kids anything in the world I choose to feed them.  I have the whole world at my fingertips; healthy children, a husband who is dedicated to his family, a safe home to live in, a nice car to drive.  That dog getting outside was the last freakin’ straw.  There was no going back on how rotten my day was going to be as a result.  Ugh.  How embarrassingly ungrateful.  I’m ashamed.

We are in the season of Lent, a time that we are to reflect on our shortcomings and make efforts and prayers toward changing them.  I know I’ll do this sort of thing again, but I hope to make it a regular habit to wake up with gratitude in my heart and on my lips.  That might give me strength, so that next I can stand up to my anger, and practice a little self-control.

Hard Truths

This is dedicated to the woman in RCIA, who finds herself ambivalent about abortion; who was shocked to know that such horrors happen in our country, and are sanctioned by the current President.

You are asked the following question at the baptism of your children, at your own baptism if you are old enough, and at your confirmation:

Do you reject Satan and all his works?  Well, do you?

Go watch Christina’s slide show.

Then visit her web site, Real Choice.

Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kngdom of God.  Mk 10:14