Sorry to have been away so long! We have the flu running rampant in our household. Ugh!
I had to log in though to show you all this. I know it's been going around awhile, so you may have seen it, but just in case you haven't yet, check out 12 year-old Lia's class speech! Just awesome!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
At the clinic
I've started joining the Respect Life Committee at my parish to pray in front of the local abortion clinic - wait, I'm sorry, Women's Services clinic - again. We were out there this Saturday. This was my first time being out there on a day when they actually perform abortions. You might remember that the last time I was there we had been told they might have added that day as another day, but there was no way to be sure.
Well this time we were sure. Saturday is a busy day. And it a very different experience. I was standing with my little group praying the Rosary when suddenly the gentleman a few feet away with us started yelling "Ma'am please don't kill your baby! Come back and talk about it!" My head jerked up and I saw a young girl in a car with a person who might have been her mother, I don't know. We all stopped in our tracks. It took a few moments before we were composed enough to continue praying and even then I felt a catch in my throat.
I was only out there for an hour, but this little scene repeated itself 4 times in that hour. There was the girl with her boyfriend, the girl with her best friend, and some others I didn't look up in time to see. I was a wreck by the time I left. I got in my car and just started crying. I felt like I was standing in front of an executioner's office watching innocent people being lead off to be killed. I guess that really is what I was watching, but it was such a reality check.
So please keep praying. Contact your representatives and fight FOCA. In my parish this morning we handed out pre-printed post cards that folks had only to sign and fill out their addresses. We will pay the postage - although we asked for donations towards postage and had a really great response. It was a really easy way for people to reach out to their reps, and speak out against FOCA, without having to do the work themselves. Maybe you want to try something like that your church. Just please do whatever you can manage to do. And pray, pray, pray. Thanks.
Well this time we were sure. Saturday is a busy day. And it a very different experience. I was standing with my little group praying the Rosary when suddenly the gentleman a few feet away with us started yelling "Ma'am please don't kill your baby! Come back and talk about it!" My head jerked up and I saw a young girl in a car with a person who might have been her mother, I don't know. We all stopped in our tracks. It took a few moments before we were composed enough to continue praying and even then I felt a catch in my throat.
I was only out there for an hour, but this little scene repeated itself 4 times in that hour. There was the girl with her boyfriend, the girl with her best friend, and some others I didn't look up in time to see. I was a wreck by the time I left. I got in my car and just started crying. I felt like I was standing in front of an executioner's office watching innocent people being lead off to be killed. I guess that really is what I was watching, but it was such a reality check.
So please keep praying. Contact your representatives and fight FOCA. In my parish this morning we handed out pre-printed post cards that folks had only to sign and fill out their addresses. We will pay the postage - although we asked for donations towards postage and had a really great response. It was a really easy way for people to reach out to their reps, and speak out against FOCA, without having to do the work themselves. Maybe you want to try something like that your church. Just please do whatever you can manage to do. And pray, pray, pray. Thanks.
More Interviews
I have posted my interview questions for those who requested it. Visit Crystal at This is Our Life, Cathy at From the Field of Blue Children, and Ellen at Modern Catholic Mom to see how they answered! Thanks for playing along ladies!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Interview
Here's how it works:
1.Leave me a comment saying "Interview me"
2.I will respond by e-mailing you 5 questions.
3.You update your blog with the answers to your questions.
4.You include this explanation and an offer to interview others.
5.When you receive the comment from another, you will send them 5 questions.
Thank you for the interview, Lerin!!
1. I don't know all of your children's names! Can you share them, and share how you chose them?
It's funny, because when I first started blogging I was afraid to give out any information about myself really. I was always amazed at the level of comfort other bloggers had, sharing names and pictures, of themselves and their kids. Slowly, as I've grown more comfortable, I've started to post pictures and occasionally use a child's name. I'm not sure which I've named and which I haven't. So I guess it won't be too big of a deal if I just go ahead and name them.
I should just say real quickly that naming my children is sometimes complicated by the fact that I insist on two things: 1) that at least one of the names (first or middle) honors a saint and 2) that at least one of the names honors a family member. That said:
My oldest child is Jacob Thomas. When we came up with the name Jacob we thought it was the most original name on earth. We truly thought that we were resurrecting an oldie that no one had heard in a long time. Needless to say every kid on our block is named Jacob! I am only slightly exaggerating - there is a Jake on one side of us, a Jake behind us, and a Jacob diagonally from us. This is the first year of school that he doesn't have another Jacob in his class. I felt really bad about this for years, because having the name Cassie growing up, which was really original, had always been fun for me. One night I was going on and on about it - how it was so sad that there were so many others with the same name and how it must be so weird - when my husband, whose name is John, stopped me and said, "You know, it's not the worse thing that can happen to a person." I looked at him and just cracked up laughing. I have never worried about it again. His middle name Thomas honors St. Thomas the Apostle and is also his uncle's name.
Next is Peter Abell. Peter is one of my all time favorite boy names. As a matter of fact, Jacob came very close to being Jacob Peter. The name Peter, of course, honors St. Peter. The name Abell is a family name on my side. Funny enough, out of all the names I've given my children, I thought Peter would be the most popular and that we would run into lots of others. It has turned out to be exactly the opposite. We have never met another one!
My third child is Henry John. The name Henry is, again, just a name we really liked. It's another one that I thought would be really original, but it turns out there are quite a few others. I knew we were in trouble when the Pottery Barn catalog went from featuring "Jacob" as their sample personalization, to featuring "Henry" as their sample personalization. His middle name honors St. John the Apostle and also his own father.
Next is my daughter Johanna Page. I wanted to honor my mother, whose name is Joan (which is also my middle name) but Joan Page sounded too much like my husband's name to my ear (He is John Page - hence her middle name). I looked up Joan in a baby book and went through the list of variations. Johanna just sounded really pretty to me. I had never heard the name before in my life, but since we named her, I've seen it dozens of places. So her name honors a lot of people. It honors Sts. Joan and John (since it is a feminine form of John) and also her grandmother, mommy, and daddy. Her middle name honors her daddy and his side of the family (it's a family name ) as well.
Last is my baby Mary Rose. Obviously this name honors Our Blessed Mother and St. Rose. But it is also my grandmother's name, though she only went by Rose. Actually, there is some controversy over this. My grandmother always listed her own name as Rose Mary, but after she passed away my aunt found a birth certificate that listed it as Mary Rose. All other personal papers said Rose Mary, but it appears that originally her name was the other way around. For me, I liked the way Mary Rose sounds together, so we call her both. She may shorten it to just Mary, or just Rose, one day herself, but until then we run it all together!
Aren't you sorry you asked?
2. How did you meet your husband and fall in love?
Oh gee, well unlike most people, this isn't a very interesting story. We worked together and over time just got to know each other. Our desks were only about 6 feet apart so we spent a lot of time talking. For our first date he invited me out for a ride on his boat. We had a great time and were pretty much inseparable after that! We were married June 12, 1999. Unfortunately, we were not married in the Catholic church. Foolishly, at that time I had different priorities and was really excited to have a beach wedding, which of course a priest will not conduct. So we renewed our vows and had our marriage blessed just this past summer on June 14th. It was a wonderful day and just such a blessing. It was great having the kids there and Father even threw in some vows about having children, something along the lines of, "Since you have children, do you promise....whatever, whatever.." I can't remember exactly. It is quite the experience to take those wedding vows again when you actually have some years behind you and really know what they mean! I highly recommend it to everyone. The only problem with the whole thing is that now I don't know which day to call my anniversary!
3. What is your all-time favorite movie and why?
I am not really a movie person. Just the other day a friend reminded me of the movie Amadeus, which was definitely, at one time, one of my favorite movies of all time. Mostly because I thought it was interesting, funny and dramatic all at once. Plus I loved the music. And, well, I love period, historical, films in general. I love period, historical books as well, but that wasn't part of the question I guess. Another movie that I love love love is The Sound of Music. I'm pretty sure that needs no explanation.
4. If money was no object and I took you out to dinner for Mom's Night Out, where would you want to go and what would you order?
You know, even if money were no object, I think I would still want to go somewhere kind of divey. I went to a real fancy upscale restaurant in London once. The clientele was snooty, the waiters unfriendly, and we waited for nearly two hours to get our food. When the food finally came it was a piece of beef only 3 inches by 2 inches big, 2 baby carrots, and some garnish on a big white, empty, expanse of plate. We paid the ENORMOUS bill and went to an Indian place down the road. Delicious!!!!
Oh, wait, what was the question? Sorry, I was thinking about the wonderful food. Indian food is my favorite so I would have to say it would probably be Indian. Not a chain food Indian restaurant, but an authentic, owned by immigrants or the 2nd generation, Indian restaurant.
Or maybe I would go for seafood by the sea. That would be nice too. I'm thinking a little clam shack on a wharf in Cape Cod. Sorry, I can't decide. But I am definitely hungry now!
5. What was your favorite subject in school?
Easy. English. Just because I love reading books. I enjoy writing too, but mostly I just enjoyed it for the books. I ended up majoring in English Literature in college and graduated Summa Cum Laude. In the end, though, I never did anything with my degree. Just got married and started a family. I did get to read a lot of great books however!!
***
If you would like to be interviewed just leave "Interview me" in the comments and I will get my questions to you as quickly as I can. Just please know that I have trouble getting online every day, so it may take a couple of days before you hear from me! :-)
1.Leave me a comment saying "Interview me"
2.I will respond by e-mailing you 5 questions.
3.You update your blog with the answers to your questions.
4.You include this explanation and an offer to interview others.
5.When you receive the comment from another, you will send them 5 questions.
Thank you for the interview, Lerin!!
1. I don't know all of your children's names! Can you share them, and share how you chose them?
It's funny, because when I first started blogging I was afraid to give out any information about myself really. I was always amazed at the level of comfort other bloggers had, sharing names and pictures, of themselves and their kids. Slowly, as I've grown more comfortable, I've started to post pictures and occasionally use a child's name. I'm not sure which I've named and which I haven't. So I guess it won't be too big of a deal if I just go ahead and name them.
I should just say real quickly that naming my children is sometimes complicated by the fact that I insist on two things: 1) that at least one of the names (first or middle) honors a saint and 2) that at least one of the names honors a family member. That said:
My oldest child is Jacob Thomas. When we came up with the name Jacob we thought it was the most original name on earth. We truly thought that we were resurrecting an oldie that no one had heard in a long time. Needless to say every kid on our block is named Jacob! I am only slightly exaggerating - there is a Jake on one side of us, a Jake behind us, and a Jacob diagonally from us. This is the first year of school that he doesn't have another Jacob in his class. I felt really bad about this for years, because having the name Cassie growing up, which was really original, had always been fun for me. One night I was going on and on about it - how it was so sad that there were so many others with the same name and how it must be so weird - when my husband, whose name is John, stopped me and said, "You know, it's not the worse thing that can happen to a person." I looked at him and just cracked up laughing. I have never worried about it again. His middle name Thomas honors St. Thomas the Apostle and is also his uncle's name.
Next is Peter Abell. Peter is one of my all time favorite boy names. As a matter of fact, Jacob came very close to being Jacob Peter. The name Peter, of course, honors St. Peter. The name Abell is a family name on my side. Funny enough, out of all the names I've given my children, I thought Peter would be the most popular and that we would run into lots of others. It has turned out to be exactly the opposite. We have never met another one!
My third child is Henry John. The name Henry is, again, just a name we really liked. It's another one that I thought would be really original, but it turns out there are quite a few others. I knew we were in trouble when the Pottery Barn catalog went from featuring "Jacob" as their sample personalization, to featuring "Henry" as their sample personalization. His middle name honors St. John the Apostle and also his own father.
Next is my daughter Johanna Page. I wanted to honor my mother, whose name is Joan (which is also my middle name) but Joan Page sounded too much like my husband's name to my ear (He is John Page - hence her middle name). I looked up Joan in a baby book and went through the list of variations. Johanna just sounded really pretty to me. I had never heard the name before in my life, but since we named her, I've seen it dozens of places. So her name honors a lot of people. It honors Sts. Joan and John (since it is a feminine form of John) and also her grandmother, mommy, and daddy. Her middle name honors her daddy and his side of the family (it's a family name ) as well.
Last is my baby Mary Rose. Obviously this name honors Our Blessed Mother and St. Rose. But it is also my grandmother's name, though she only went by Rose. Actually, there is some controversy over this. My grandmother always listed her own name as Rose Mary, but after she passed away my aunt found a birth certificate that listed it as Mary Rose. All other personal papers said Rose Mary, but it appears that originally her name was the other way around. For me, I liked the way Mary Rose sounds together, so we call her both. She may shorten it to just Mary, or just Rose, one day herself, but until then we run it all together!
Aren't you sorry you asked?
2. How did you meet your husband and fall in love?
Oh gee, well unlike most people, this isn't a very interesting story. We worked together and over time just got to know each other. Our desks were only about 6 feet apart so we spent a lot of time talking. For our first date he invited me out for a ride on his boat. We had a great time and were pretty much inseparable after that! We were married June 12, 1999. Unfortunately, we were not married in the Catholic church. Foolishly, at that time I had different priorities and was really excited to have a beach wedding, which of course a priest will not conduct. So we renewed our vows and had our marriage blessed just this past summer on June 14th. It was a wonderful day and just such a blessing. It was great having the kids there and Father even threw in some vows about having children, something along the lines of, "Since you have children, do you promise....whatever, whatever.." I can't remember exactly. It is quite the experience to take those wedding vows again when you actually have some years behind you and really know what they mean! I highly recommend it to everyone. The only problem with the whole thing is that now I don't know which day to call my anniversary!
3. What is your all-time favorite movie and why?
I am not really a movie person. Just the other day a friend reminded me of the movie Amadeus, which was definitely, at one time, one of my favorite movies of all time. Mostly because I thought it was interesting, funny and dramatic all at once. Plus I loved the music. And, well, I love period, historical, films in general. I love period, historical books as well, but that wasn't part of the question I guess. Another movie that I love love love is The Sound of Music. I'm pretty sure that needs no explanation.
4. If money was no object and I took you out to dinner for Mom's Night Out, where would you want to go and what would you order?
You know, even if money were no object, I think I would still want to go somewhere kind of divey. I went to a real fancy upscale restaurant in London once. The clientele was snooty, the waiters unfriendly, and we waited for nearly two hours to get our food. When the food finally came it was a piece of beef only 3 inches by 2 inches big, 2 baby carrots, and some garnish on a big white, empty, expanse of plate. We paid the ENORMOUS bill and went to an Indian place down the road. Delicious!!!!
Oh, wait, what was the question? Sorry, I was thinking about the wonderful food. Indian food is my favorite so I would have to say it would probably be Indian. Not a chain food Indian restaurant, but an authentic, owned by immigrants or the 2nd generation, Indian restaurant.
Or maybe I would go for seafood by the sea. That would be nice too. I'm thinking a little clam shack on a wharf in Cape Cod. Sorry, I can't decide. But I am definitely hungry now!
5. What was your favorite subject in school?
Easy. English. Just because I love reading books. I enjoy writing too, but mostly I just enjoyed it for the books. I ended up majoring in English Literature in college and graduated Summa Cum Laude. In the end, though, I never did anything with my degree. Just got married and started a family. I did get to read a lot of great books however!!
***
If you would like to be interviewed just leave "Interview me" in the comments and I will get my questions to you as quickly as I can. Just please know that I have trouble getting online every day, so it may take a couple of days before you hear from me! :-)
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Clarification
Wow! Oh wow! There has been a misunderstanding. When I blogged about Trust and I was asking questions about NFP, I didn't realize that anyone reading it would think I was asking why I couldn't use artificial contraception. It wasn't until Regina commented last night that I went back and read all of the comments and realized that some of you thought that is what I was asking when I said "I don't understand the difference between a calendar and a condom." That is not at all what I meant.
I completely understand why artificial contraception is wrong. Completely. What I struggle with is why NFP isn't wrong. I can't shake the feeling that by using NFP I am imposing my own will rather than following God's. It still feels like I am limiting the number of children to a number I am comfortable with and not necessarily what God would ordain. That is what I was asking. Some of that has been clearer to me through some of those links but, to be honest, I can't shake that feeling.
What I really want to make clear to the readers of this blog though is that I follow the teachings of the Church in everything. I would NEVER consider going against Church teachings to use artificial contraception. And I would feel terrible if anyone reading this was lead astray by a miscommunication.
I completely understand why artificial contraception is wrong. Completely. What I struggle with is why NFP isn't wrong. I can't shake the feeling that by using NFP I am imposing my own will rather than following God's. It still feels like I am limiting the number of children to a number I am comfortable with and not necessarily what God would ordain. That is what I was asking. Some of that has been clearer to me through some of those links but, to be honest, I can't shake that feeling.
What I really want to make clear to the readers of this blog though is that I follow the teachings of the Church in everything. I would NEVER consider going against Church teachings to use artificial contraception. And I would feel terrible if anyone reading this was lead astray by a miscommunication.
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