too busy to post...

...but one of my sons, who was away for the weekend came home and shared a new discovery he made over the weekend. To see what or who it is, click here!

To listen to an audio clip that I am currently listening to click here.

Thank you Miguel, for sharing your discovery with me.

Read more!

What has...

photographer, Paul Tomas been up to lately? Check this out!

Read more!

The essentials...

Entering the gates of some Army Bases is very serious business requiring each person to exit the vehicle you are traveling in, while bomb smelling dogs go over the vehicle inch by inch. Typically this will be followed by the inspection of each case that any of the passengers have brought with them. In our case this generally means seven book bags and one diaper bag, assuming I have not packed a bag for my husband and I.

One of our frequent business trips brought us to such a base in Georgia last year and each child obediently crawled out the side door of our 15 passenger van while the young officer dutifully stood to attention, his eyes gradually growing wider as the pile of children by his side grew larger and larger. Finally the 15 year old passed out her 1 year old sister to me before jumping out herself, and the soldier respectfully swallowed back the question I knew he was eager to ask: 'Are all of these yours?'
I answered his silent thoughts with a grin. "Yes, these are all ours, and now may they get back in?"

"Yes, ma'am, as soon as I have inspected their bags!"

Deferentially each child handed him their bag and once it was inspected they hopped back in. Finally we came to the nine year old and his bag. Of all the bags, the contents of this one obviously met the soldier's approval as a grin split his face in half before he zipped it back up and seriously passed it back to my son who nodded and got back into the van.

As we drove away, I was curious as to what might have made the soldiers eyes twinkle like that and I asked Benjamin if I might see what he had brought in his book bag. It seemed curiously light for a three day trip. However inside were what are the obvious essentials for a nine year. A full platoon of soldiers and one bathing suit, size 8. Read more!

while we are at it....

... I thought that I would repost one of my favourite cartoons from the early days of my blog.
Click here to read the original post that went with it.

Read more!

'streaking" down memory lane...

Do any of you remember when so many many months ago, (was it really 24?) and Emma and I were in training? With lots of accidents? Well, it has been quite some time now since I have had to praise Emma for ummm, errr, going in the potty and not in her undies.

Well, that time has rolled around again and not only do I not have two puppies, also in training, but Elsa has decided all on her own that it is time for potty 101 to begin. This has meant a lot of "streaking" around the house, as well as countless costume changes. Diapers are lasting about 20 - 30 seconds as we decide to sit on the toilet and try again, and again, and again. Once worn, of course a diaper can not be reused as it is "tinky' or 'distusting' and simply cannot be re-velcrowed back on.

I thought it would be fun to repost the cartoons Anna created to go with the posts about Emma's toilet training. If you prefer, you can also click on the hyper links above and read the old posts as well. And if you would like to hear the hilarious song, The Streak, I have added it to the top of the play list. So sit back, listen to this really funny song from the eighties and look back over the cartoons. And I will go check for fresh puddles, pick up severalarticles of littered clothing, search out the abandoned yet dry diapers and make sure that we have not run out of toilet paper...

So enjoy the streak, err, stroll down memory lane while I figure out what to with myself after nearly 24 years of diaper changing coming to an end... maybe I can take up knitting??? Read more!

Ooops!

Read more!

Oh yum, a little potty with your tea, Madam?

Read more!

Okay... whose puddle is it this time?

Read more!

Have a Teething baby?

Check this out!
Smart Mom Jewlery

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Father Rory Pitstick's Daily retreat....

The Lord is with me???

The deeds of Gideon are recounted in chapters 6-8 of the Book of Judges (it will take less than 5 minutes to read those chapters and thereby gain a much clearer picture of the importance of the incident in today’s first reading). Evidently, life was really tough - Gideon had to beat out wheat secretly in the wine press so the ruthless Mideonites wouldn’t confiscate the little bit of food remaining for his family.
Understandably, then, Gideon is skeptical when an angel appears to him with the greeting, “The Lord is with you!” Like you and me at times, Gideon is tempted to see disaster and the hardships of life as “proof” that the Lord is NOT with him and his family. Nonetheless, the angel’s words have become a reality - the Lord IS with Gideon, and insists, and inspires Gideon to make an act of faith - to prepare an offering (from the tiny store of food remaining to Gideon!), which is convincingly accepted by the Lord. Gideon will go on to seek even clearer signs that the Lord is with him, and the Lord will again give those signs convincingly (see 6:36-40).
What proof is there that the Lord is with you? The evil and tribulations which afflict our lives do not disprove the presence of God - rather, our perseverance in the face of adversity is itself only possible because of the presence of God! Gideon is completely aware of his insignificance - he knows his victories can only be attributed to the presence of God. So rather than resigning himself to being an eternal victim of injustice, Gideon allows himself to become the “champion” God wants to transform him into, a champion who will convincingly sing the Psalm that truly the Lord brings justice and “peace to His people, and to His faithful ones, and to those who put in Him their hope!”
As soon as you and I realize that “for God, ALL things are possible," then we will stop being intimidated by evil, and we will offer all we have (however little and insignificant that might seem!) and allow ourselves to become champions of God’s righteousness!


To read Book of Judges chapter six - eight click here.
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When one is struggling in a similar manner, this is a mouthful to chew on. We have found daily Mass that is early enough that we can attend and still have a an early start to the school/work day. I am very grateful for that. And each day that I meet Jesus in the Eucharist, like Gideon I am asking for a sign, an indication of the direction he wants us to take.

I am about to write my resume for the first time in quite some while and apply for a part time position as an ESL instructor. Starting wage is 18 dollars an hour. I have experience in this area and I am good at it. Please pray that if it is the Lord's will I will receive the job. I am very nervous about it.

To read Father Rory's daily retreats click here. Read more!

doing the same thing over...

and over and expecting a different result is the definition of sanity.

Today I typed 'ipod' over and over and over, trying to make it read as iPod but without remembering to hit the shift key each time I had backspaced before typing p. Over and over and over - and feling puzzled as to why the p would not turn into a P.

Yes, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity - or fatigue, your pick. Read more!

Happy Birthday!

(photo credit Paul Tomas)

It is one of my best friends birthday!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DORRY!!

Read more!

Whew...

I have been busy blogging these days as you can see. I will take a break for a day or two now, unless something incredibly funny happens that I simply MUST share with you, or I become aware of a prayer request we need to share. I do have a site I am hoping to share with you that is pro-life so I will be trying to post about that soon. Thanks for the heads up on that Michaela! I hope too to very soon be able to share a project that I have been working on with an author from my beloved homeland, Canada.

In the mean time for the next day or two as I attend to a few things with the business and school that will keep me from the key board, I have a new poll up that I would love to have some input on. The poll reflects that I currently have a music player that launches itself upon opening the blog. My husband wonders if some people find that annoying and I too wonder if some mums settle down to read with a baby nursing who perhaps become distracted by the music so I am contemplating changing the code so that readers can launch the player rather than have it launch itself.

For now I am also changing the songs about and the majority of them are soft songs and the louder ones are lower in the play list. Please so share your opinion so I know how you feel about the player.

God Bless and may you all have a blessed and peaceful Feast Day - the Assumption. BTW, I have been informed by Bethany Rose who was confirmed at her baptism in the Byzantine Rite that as she eventually chose Mary as her confirmation name - this is also HER feast day and she should get to chose dinner. Read more!

Poll Results...

Mummy guilt - looks like we all suffer from it. We had 89 parents participate in the poll and the results are now in!

The largest source of guilt among us is not listening more carefully to that long winded, err rather, that heavily detailed dream. Close on the heels of this source of guilt is the wish to read and cuddle more often at bedtime. And firmly in third place is letting our little kidlets watch too much tv.

Now how easy it would be to ease all of these sources of guilt by making sure that the TV was turned off after dinner and instead of taking in a video or tv show, we all sat around the living room and one of the older members of the family read a chapter each night from a classic story. There are even sources for some of these old books online. Here is one source. A discussion of the story can follow the reading of a chapter or two of your chosen book and then bedtime prayers. Voila - we might not have listened to tales of dreams, but we will have given great fodder to dream upon and wonderful memories for all.

Another fun thing we often do is to listen to the old classic radio shows - via the XM radio in the van. We travel a lot with the business so we felt that having this in the van is a worthwhile expense. We have heard that XM and it's competitor Sirus are combining and an even better rumour is that they will both carry EWTN when they do so.

Now be sure to share with us what story you think your family would most like to read together or any memories you have doing a similar thing as a child. If you are not yet doing something like this and you try - share with us all how it goes. We have done this on and off and writing about this has me eager to do it again. I believe an eye infection on my part left the children hanging with Peter Pan about to face off with Hook. Perhaps that is the story I will start off with again. Read more!

Generous to a fault...

Today Elsa found some nice yummy still fresh in the wrapper gum. Gum that she is not allowed to have. But that did not stop her. She gleefully bite a tiny piece off of one end of the blue stick and offered the rest of it to Gabriela. She placed it carefully in the palm of Lala's hand but when Anna caught a whiff of the peppermint in the air and exclaimed, 'Oh gum, may I have some?' Elsa cheerfully said "Yet!" and took the piece still resting in Gabriela's palm, carefully ripped it in two giving half to Anna and the rest back to Lala.

Yes - Generous to a fault definitely, esp when it is someone else's gum! Read more!

Laundry...

It seems that Danielle and I have something in common beside a large family and mountains of laundry. It is the Flylady AND a share in the universal dislike of actually putting away the laundry.

Gather up laundry - check
Load washer - check
Remember to turn washer on- check
Mover clothes to dryer - check
Help Elsa clean the lint box - Check
Again - remember to turn dryer on - check
Remove fresh, still warm to touch, clothes from dryer - check
Fold, sort and carefully place clothes in the basket to put away, later - Check

What is this universal paranoia about taking clothes out of the baskets and actually placing them in the correct drawers? Not one of my children like to put clothes away either. I have not met many mums either who, while sharing a break and a cuppa coffee, wax eloquently on the number of baskets of clothes actually put away last week! Attacking Mount Washmore - yes, but actualy putting the tamed mountain away - no! And yet - how much time does it actually take to put a load of laundry in its drawers? To see, click here.

So while turning this problem over my mind this Saturday whilst I caught up on two weeks worth of laundry for myself, Hugo and Elsa and put EACH and every load away and also cleaned out and re-arranged Emma's and Bethany's dressers - I hit upon a very Catholic solution. And by Catholic - I do not mean universal. Although it could be. Universal - I mean.

It is not unusual for me in the run of the week to hear of someone else's sufferings; a baby born premature and very ill, some one in a failing marriage, a friend's adult child lost in the world of drugs or just lost to the way of the world. And I cringe thinking 'so many people to pray for and so little time to pray for them'. Yet we Catholics have an established way to pray without sitting and only praying - we have the practice of offering it up.

We will often offer up our day, offer up the Mass, offer up some small sacrifice or offer up some suffering, whether small or great, as a form of continuous prayer through out the day. So why not offer up each load of laundry that we actually put away as a small offering through out the day?

I challenge each of you to add in the comment section how many offerings of laundry you actually sorted and put away in the dresser drawers or hung in the closet. Feel free to share what the intention was or not. But it would be great if you would share whether giving an intention to a particular load of laundry helped to motivate you to complete all the steps of washing a load of laundry - even that dreaded moment of putting the folded & sorted load in those drawers. Read more!

Decided to drop by Danielle's

...before toddling off to bed. I am so glad I did cause it gave me the amazing opportunity to donate a little cash to a great cause. To read more and maybe decide to donate yourself, click here. Read more!

Emma is away...

She has gone to visit her godmother and second oldest sister, Jenny. Also with her is Bethany. Calm, quiet, dependable Bethany who often quietly slides up beside me leaving a tall glass of ice water by my side.

Today, without Emma, there have been no sudden screams of anger from Nathaniel, piercing the air as she teases him. There have been no loud noisy follow the leader games with Elsa and Nathaniel imitating her piercing yells as they see if it really is possible to explode glass with high pitched notes. There has been no dress up strewn about the house as she and Elsa explore how many outfits they can change into within 20 minutes, and forget to put away. There have only been half as many ice cubes in front of the fridge as usual. Even the cat has been quiet.

Today has been quite peaceful and... boring. Read more!

note to self...

While listening to the play list on the headphones, remember to tape mouth closed so as to avoid the temptation of singing along with the music, to the great amusement of all others in the room. Read more!

Out of the bad must come some good...

We are all familiar with that saying and this past week, I experienced just that. I had written a thoughtful post about prayer and some of the conundrums a few bibles verses cause me due to the difficult past five years that we have experienced.

This post drew a very angry reader out of the woodwork who left an incredibly spiteful and hate filled comment. This person attacked my family on all levels, our faith life, our children, our morality, and s/he especially attacked my spouse directly and in a most hateful way. That was the most hurtful part for me - her attack on my beloved husband who works so hard trying to provide for the beautiful family God has blessed us with.

So what good could possibly come out of such a hate filled attack?

First I got to see my older children and husband band together, in love for me, as they tried to remove the comment in hopes I would not see it and protect me from such ugliness. Sadly, their efforts were in vain as all comments are also emailed me due to the settings I have chosen. Imagine my puzzlement though when I read from Jackie: "Is that comment above for real?" posted just below a very nice comment by Margaret?? By then my 21 year old son had already hacked my blog and removed the comment. He even managed to remove the statement "Comment Deleted" which is always left after I delete something. I need to learn how he did that!

However, checking my emails cleared up the mystery and as I sat in shock - not knowing whether to laugh or cry given that the accusations were so off the wall as to be almost funny, my oldest child, Amanda, IM'd me from Boston to ask in a casual and off hand manner how I was. She was trying to determine if I had seen the comment before Jonathan had deleted it. I explained about the emails and she was very upset for me. However, as I was quite chipper about it all she was very relieved.

Our second oldest daughter did not learn of all of this until the next day when she got the email from me explaining I was considering closing the blog to the public and why. She asked to see the comment. She was horrified when she read it.

So the second good thing came of it when she wrote the following comment in response. I decided to add it as a post because it is such a positive and beautiful statement of her love for her family as well as a testament to the love and support she feels she had received over her 23 years of life.

Jenny said...

As the proud second of this "mum to twelve" it is very hard not to be extremely angry at the person who wrote those horrible and nasty things about my beautiful family. For the sake of the blood of Christ I will give my anger to Him and pray for the conversion of my heart and all.

Whoever wrote those ugly words- I hope that you read what I have to say. I will pray for the conversion of your heart and for simple charity. I have never heard or read anything so hurtful, hateful, or judgmental.

I would not trade out one member of my family for any other person in the world. My life as a whole has been beautiful-even if there have been hard times. I thank God everyday for everything he has blessed me with-and at the top of my list is my husband, father and mother and everyone one of my beautiful siblings. I would not wish that any one of them not be born so that my parents could have bought me a car-or spoiled me with the things of this world.

You need to rethink your view on what is precious in this life.

Sincerely,

Jenny
college graduate with honors, self- sufficient, well brought-up, refined, successful in my non-profit job for the unborn, daughter of this beautiful "mum to twelve"

The third good thing that has come of it is the opportunity to practice Jesus' directive to "Love Thine Enemies". It is a hard thing to practice and it is good to be reminded of its necessity. Only someone is great need of love and compassion could only have written such a hate filled comment. If you have a spare prayer in your heart today, please offer it up for that person. And please pray for me as I have not yet been able to totally forgive them their attack on my husband who, unlike so many of this world today, did not turn his back on a huge weight and challenge when he lost his job five years ago. Instead he put his shoulder even more firmly to the plow and gets up everyday, not knowing what new and difficult challenges this day may bring, and goes back to our very challenging family business. I thank God every day that I married him.

My family, so far, are all of the opinion that we should leave the blog open to the public but that I should continue to moderate the comments. This way any ugliness is seen only by us and not foisted on my readers, rendering such attempts of character assassination as pointless and moot. Read more!

play list...

There is a pause on the play list, it is beside the two arrows that are for forwarding and rewinding. Please hit it if you don't want to listen to the music. I will redo the code later this week to allow people to choose whether to listen to the music list or not.

I have figured out what the prizes will be for the contest. Just need to tweak my idea a bit and then hit the sewing machine. Watch for details... will keep this post at the top for a few days, at least until I have redone the code.

In the meantime, I need to go check on the pumpkin bread. I am not using the Down East Maine recipe, although it is almost exactly like the one I am making. However, I am using my daughter's mother in law's recipe so... I don't feel free to post it without her permission.

Next I am working on oatmeal raisin cookies. Thank Heavens for A/C, eh? Here is the recipe I will be using for the cookies but sans the malt flavour - which is optional. Read more!

Thank you Cath!

Cath left a comment, and as I so often do, I followed her back to her blog to take a peek at what her life is like. And I loved her blog. To my other faithful readers, please do not think because I have not made mention of your blog, after dropping by, that I did not love yours as well . I am mentioning Cath's because she very kindly posted directions as how to add the music play list to one's blog when I left a comment on her blog asking her how she had done that!!!

After going there and signing up - I realized that I am going to be the subject of much ribbing because it became apparent that this very music site is one that my older children have told me about repeatedly.

Slowly, I am creating a play list and will try to add it to the blog today, somewhere between the loads of laundry I am washing, drying, hanging and folding and hopefully actually putting away! Currently the house looks like a Chinese laundry mat while I sort through out grown VS still too big clothes.

I am choosing meaningful songs that have beautiful memories attached to them or in some way remind me of my older children's teen years! In that list will be a song that would have been the song Hugo and I would have chosen as our first dance had we had a big formal wedding, instead of the two informal weddings. Yes, there is a story there but that is for another day! Just as we have lived a life filled with craziness and adventure - so is the story of our weddings!

Hmmm - I have an idea for a contest! Details to follow! Read more!

follow up to HOT!

It is 10:30 am here in the eastern side the States and according to one weather report we have already hit 34C (Sorry, my Canadianism is showing through here, I will look this up in Fahrenheit and translate this below!) Expected high is 38, not counting in the humidex factor. With it - we will feel like 42C again.

Maybe now that I have found, err rather now that Benjamin has found, my camera ( and charged a hefty 3$ finders fee, I might add!) I will see if I can gather enough dimes and quarters in my change drawer and run to the store to buy some batteries so that I might be able to share some photos as to how we are coping with this heat spell. Even these temps are hot for us Southerners, esp we Northern transplants.

Check back later to see the photos!

Celsius to Fahrenheit
34 C is 94 F
38 C is 101.4 F
42C is 108F Read more!

HOT!

As we stepped out of our air conditioned van into the 102 temperture (humidex was 108) 2 year old Elsa commented:

"It ... 'mells like HOT!!" to which we all agreed. It did smell hot, face too close to the fire hot!

(For my Canadian readers... that is 38.8 and 42 respectively!) Read more!

to all my readers...

I am currently considering closing my blog to the public and making it available by invitation only. Some of you may be aware that a person left a very venomous comment in response to my request for prayers while my husband I try to discern what to do with the family business. It was not on the site for long as one of my oldest children saw the comment and arranged for it's removal. She was hoping I would not see the hate filled comment. I, however, receive all of these comments in my email and so I did see it and am certain that I recognize who wrote it.

We all know that when we write publicly we will incur the dislike of some, possibly even the hatred of others but for the most part we will enjoy the company of many who enjoy your writings and will leave pleasant thoughts as comments. Sometimes I have touched a nerve and a few people have left less than pleasant comments, but nothing as hate filled as the one my son deleted today.

Please keep us in your prayers as we think about this as a family and determine what is best to do for our family. If I decide to close the blog, I will let all of you know and try to make it possible for those of you who wish to continue to read it - to do so through private invitation.

God Bless
Christi aka mum2twelve and proud of them all! Read more!

loving life...

To protect the anonymity of this family I have removed the names. But this is such a strong message of hope and love for God and life that I had to share this message. If any recognize the family and leave comments please be careful not to use the family members names.
--------------
Let me begin by expressing how much my husband and I appreciate your continued
prayers for our little newborn son . We did not expect to welcome him into the world so
soon; and consequently, it has taken a while to adjust to our new reality.

I, in particular, have been reluctant to discuss the particulars of his
health; and I thank you for respecting that need on my part. Now that he is
four weeks old, however, it is natural for people to wonder about when he
will leave the NICU, how much weight he has gained, and similar 'preemie'kinds of questions. Given your kindness as friends and prayer partners with us, my husband and I would like to share some of the things that we are praying about for our wee son.

(Personal details regarding the baby's prognosis were here... it is expected the little fellow will be in the NICU for a few months.)

Please continue to pray for his healing. We also ask that you pray for
us - for our strength and perseverance.

We believe with everything we are that each day Our Lord chooses to give
our wee son life on this earth is an intentional act of love on His part and a
blessing for us. Regardless of the physical or mental limitations he might
face in the future, we know that our wee son's life has a spiritual power that
cannot be measured.

God Bless...
signed by the mum of this wee baby boy.
---------

Is this not a powerful statement regarding the sanctity of life and respect for God's authority over us?

Please join all of us who know or are acquainted with this family in praying for God's blessings, love, and support be felt daily by this family. Read more!

adorable grammar...

Some of Elsa's adorable turns of phrases:

"Ow! You pulled mine hair!"

"Help button me dress Mummy, pease!"

"Those are mine shoes!"

Me thinks it must be the Irish in her that causes these quaint little sayings. Read more!

Little Miracles...

My regular readers will know that my 20 year old, six foot four soon was diagnosed with Viral Myocarditis last fall. It was a shocking discovery and each test lead to more tests with more surprising results which finally resulted with our son being assigned to a cardiologist's care shortly after his 20th birthday.

We have been praying for his recovery and last week Miguel had an echocardiogram. In addition to this ultrasound of the heart a substance was fed into his heart through an IV in his arm and traced to determine if one of his valves was leaking into the other chamber. It is not.

We then saw the cardiologist today and we received good news indeed. Miguel's heart muscle which was functioning only at 45 % is not up to 56% and while one chamber is slightly enlarged it is in direct correlation with the lack of functioning of his heart muscle and his prognosis is very good. The doctor would like to see his heart muscle functioning at 70% and we are slowly edging up there.

A small miracle and happy news indeed. Thank you Jesus! I pray my son continues to heal and is soon stepped back down to his medical care being provided by his primary care physician. I thank all those who have included Miguel and his health in their prayers and ask that you continue to pray for him. Read more!

Ohhh!

I have so many little things to share and so little time to do it in. Say a prayer for me that I stay organized and on top of things this week and maybe I will even be able to do some serious blogging!

One such nugget - regarding generosity:

Emma to me:

"Mummy I decided to share your duckie, that I gave you, with Elsa, cause I want you to be good!"

She is getting the idea... in a way. Read more!

John and Jenny's online Wedding Album

John and Jenny's Wedding album is online for a few weeks and then in late August, people will be able to view by invitation only.

If you wish to peruse the album, please click here: John and Jenny June 23 2007. I would also like to thank Paul Tomas again at this time for sharing his wonderful talent with our family on this joyous occasion and enabling us through his fantastic photographs to be able to review those special moments over and over. Again, here is his website, Paul Tomas Photography. Paul has a special from now until October 31st, for wedding photo sessions. If you know of anyone in the NC area planning a wedding, please share his website with them so they can see first hand his talent at catching those special moments.

One last request, those who visit the online album please respect Paul's copyright of the photos. He has very generously allowed our family to freely use his photos, if you should use them for any reason, be sure to give him credit and if possible refer to his website. Read more!

Random treasures...

...or otherwise known as Pearls of Wisdom from the mouths of babes.

We were preparing to leave out pew and so I reminded Emma about the need to genuflect:

"Emma, don't forget to say good bye to Jesus" and I nodded towards the Alter where Jesus had just been placed in the tabernacle.

"But Mama," came 4 yr old Emma's quick reply. "You don't need to say good bye, Jesus is ALWAYS with you!" Read more!

Wedding photos...

I have been wondering the past few days when and how to go through the awesome wedding photos and pick out which ones to share with all of you. There are so many beautiful ones. However, I think I have found the solution.

The photographer who took the wedding photos has finalized the last details of his website and here it is. Paul Tomas Photography If you check out his web site you will see many beautiful photos, and not just of the wedding.

I promise though to share more of the photos but in the mean time check out Paul's website. Read more!

ITS A BOY!!!

Thank you to all who prayed...

Details are sketchy, this is all we know at this point...

C-Section last night at 5.27


8 Lbs 21 IN

Mommy and Baby doing well. He is nursing great! Read more!

NO news is good news...

...or so they say. And so far I have no news regarding our friends and the expected birth of their baby nor how mum is doing with her BP. Please keep praying. And thank you!!! Read more!

Sisterly love

Said by 14 year old Anna as we were drawing up to the front door after being out for several hours.
"Is that Bethany by the door? Oh, good it is. I have to give her a hug!"

and before I could comment on how sweet this was, her statement was followed by an evil giggle and:

"She HATES hugs!" Read more!

Yet another prayer request

Please pray for a very beautiful couple K. and E! They are expecting their first baby in ten days, only one short year since their wedding last June.

Unfortunately, several weeks ago I noticed that K's feet were very swollen. Very Swollen. We chatted a bit about that and some ideas for helping to reduce swelling.

Sadly today I received a phone call. accompanying K's swollen feet for the past three weeks has been swollen BP figures. Today those numbers reached a critical high and K has been admitted for induction. Please pray for her and her baby and her husband. K is at risk of going into seizures. I am very worried for her.

I will let you know how all goes and if I get permission I will release the first names but for now I will stick with initials. Please also keep K's very frightened mother who is traveling a long distance alone by car to be with her daughter, son in law and new grandchild.

"Mary we ask you to place your mantle of protection over this new little family. Pray for the grand mother as she travel to her daughter. She is full of concern and love for her daughter much as you must have felt as your traveled to Elizabeth with no thought for your own comfort but instead, full of love and concern for your cousin.

Please, through your prayers of intercession protect this grandmother from reckless, careless drivers or anyone who could harm her in any way. Protect her from mechanical failures of any sort, or running out of gas. Pray for her to a careful and observant driver herself.

We place them all in your tender care Mary and ask your son, the greatest healer, to place His loving hands over our dear friends and gently guide this new life into the world.
Amen!" Read more!

Pool time = Prayer time

With summer time comes pool time. With pool time comes water. With lots and lots of water, comes puddles. Oodles and oodles of puddles.

Add to this equation, summer wear like, oh, flip flops and you have skids and ... falls. Now bad enough is the skidding and sliding about like a baby giraffe trying to balance herself the first time on her spindly legs. But worse are the bruises that come to doing it twice within a few hours of each other. Then not only is the body bruised, but so is the ego.

But while the ego bounces back fairly quickly, not so the spine that feels more like a twisted pretzel than a malleable but straight nerve center. At fourty-five, I don't deal as well with these falls as I used to. So please feel free to throw a few prayers this way. I think I will be needing lots of them. That or the pool, and its puddles, will need to go! Read more!

Christmas come early.

I feel as though I Have been handed a Christmas gift. In less than three weeks I will begin to add two weekly appointments to my busy schedule.

Aha, you think, sarcasm abounds. You could not be further from the truth though, if you are thinking that.

But how is it then, that a woman who finds it difficult to find time to brush her teeth, would be excited to add two regular weekly appointments to her already hectic schedule.

Because, they are speech therapy sessions for Nathaniel Paul whose speech is severely impaired. We have struggled these past years, since his hearing returned, trying to understand him.

Our delight, and his, is almost indescribable. We been told to expect quick results. I will keep you posted about his progress. Read more!

A moment of gratitude

Tonight while out on errands, my husband had our 4 year old, Emma, with him. As they were driving home they were talking about the yummy things we would eat and my husband said and "we will also have lots of hugs and kisses."

"Lots of hugs and Kisses?!" Emma repeated

"Yes, we are suppose to give children lots of hugs and kisses because they are so wonderful."

To which Emma replied:

"You know something Daddy, I am so happy with the family God gave us. God is so good and kind" Read more!

Dryer Update

After waiting for about three hours for the same load to dry and even after removing half of it and stringing it across the line on the porch... nine year old Bethany finally came to me with her tale of whoa.

"Mummy - I fear your dryer might be broken. What will we do? My clothes are still not dry and not even the towels I hung on the clothes line on the porch are dry. "

Small wonder given the humidity we are suffering these days.

Now my faithful machine has been grumbling of late, in a high pitched sort of way. Something reminiscent of the whine of racing car tires on hot pavement until it slowly settles into a low rumble that fades away. Every day - it takes just a little longer for it to fade. So when Bethany broke the news of the lingering damp clothes that were just refusing to dry I resigned myself to the idea that the dryer was finished, capoot, DEAD

Well - I decided to pull out the dryer and make sure nothing had fallen on the vent. Lo and behold - it was crunched up so tight a spider would have been challenged to get through it never mind pounds of hot air trying to escape to the great wide outdoors.

I rearranged things took a deep breath and turned the dryer back on and presto - dry clothes 40 minutes later. So to all who opted to pray that my dryer would miraculously repair itself - thank you. To all who were praying that I am somehow able to miraculously afford a new set of stackable front loading environmentally friendly laundry machines, please feel free to continue in that vein. After all, one never knows when my poor old loyal dryer actually will give up the ghost.

God Bless you all and all joking aside - thank you very much for your prayers. Read more!

Oh no... say it ain't so!

I

think

my

dryer

might

be

broken

Feel free to join my howls of dismay as well as in prayer
for a new set of machines, maybe like these ones.

Sniff

Sob

Whine

Sigh

In the mean time, any body know where my clothes pins are?
The last few I saw were littered across the porch....

Read more!

Grateful...

I am very grateful to Jesus for the wonderful opportunity I was recently blessed with. A few weeks ago I received an email from Tom Bengston, the editor of Family Foundations the magazine for the Couple to Couple League. He wanted to know if I would be interested in writing an article about the challenges of parenting a large family as well as what advice we would give to new couples about how to discern what is the right sized family for themselves.

I was so very happy to oblige Tom! Before the weeks end of his request, I had my article written and emailed to him. This month the article was published in the July/August edition of Family Foundations together with our family picture that was taken by photographer Paul Tomas of Cary, NC on Mother's Day this May.

At a later time I will publish the article here on the blog, but for now I wish to leave it as fresh reading for the readers of Family Foundations, a few of whom who may pass by here on occasion. This week as well as receiving my first cheque for a published article I also received a complimentary copy of the magazine. I enjoyed reading it very much and I especially enjoyed the article "Dad's Not Perfect by James L. Johnson. It is a wonderful essay about the challenges of being a dad to a large brood. Even as a mum I was able to identify with much of what he said. If you have a chance, take a peek at this magazine - it is filled with wonderful articles and columns. It's so good I am considering subscribing to it again as it has been a few years since my first subscription to it ran out. Read more!

Awesome News!

Our Catholic culture has much to offer and I think it just got better. While I have, on occasion, enjoyed participating at Life Teen Masses complete with guitars and drums, I have always lamented that it has not been so easy to also expose my children to the older Latin Mass complete with its reverence, beauty and tradition.

The first Mass that I ever attended in small town Saint Andrews, N.B. Canada was still being celebrated in Latin in the early 70's. While I had not a clue what was being said, the incense mixed with the chanted Latin replies spoke to my inner soul of something deep, mysterious and well beyond myself and my human limitations.

Many years passed before I actually converted to the Catholic faith, but I do attribute that first Mass, in no small part, as being responsible for my first hearing Christ's call to me to come home to the Catholic Church. And this was despite my not being able to understand a single word of that Mass.

So imagine my delight when I discovered this on a 'new to me" blogspot: I have to Sit down by SIMCHA.

What exciting news. While I do not have a problem, per say, with Vatican II or the Novus Ordo (circa 1970) Liturgy of the Mass, I have certainly found the sung High Mass to be without comparison in the Post Vatican II Mass that has almost entirely replaced the Tridentine Mass. That this rich Mass credited with stimulating "the spiritual life (of) very many saints in every century of the Christian age"as well as stregthening "the virture of religion of so many peoples" is to be freely offered again, I find wonderful news indeed.

(quotes are from the unofficial translation of Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Letter.)

(Be sure to click on the bold red links to be taken to other blogs, articles as well as towns!) Read more!

Cathechism from a four year old

Two Sundays ago we were attending Mass in a church that is new to us. It is a small simple building that actually looks like a church, both inside and out. Lining the walls are the Stations of the Cross. Not the modern kind where it is difficult to distinguish what exactly is being depicted. Instead they are detailed and there is little doubt as to the suffering that is happening. Nothing gory, but nothing hidden either.

Four year old Emma was distracted by the one closest to our pew. Jesus has fallen and the soldiers are beating him, rather than helping our poor suffering Lord back unto his feet. Emma asked the inevitable question.

"What are those men doing to Jesus, mummy?"

"They are pushing him, sweat heart."

Her deep brown eyes meet mine, filled with sorrow.

"But why Momma, why are they hurting him?"

How to answer a four year old such a question, especially when needing to whisper during the Mass...

I wondered how to explain such a complex idea - Jesus was preaching the Gospel, the good news and the leaders of his religion felt threatened by him and so they arranged to have him executed.

As quietly as possible I whispered to her that Jesus was teaching the truth and the leaders of his religion did not want to hear this truth so they asked these men to kill Jesus.

"But why didn't they want to hear the truth Momma? Why?"

"Because it meant having to change and people do not always want to change because it is hard to change. Changing how you live can make you afraid. "

Emma sat pondering this and so did I. I didn't feel I had answered her well. I felt I had dodged the real truth of the matter - Jesus was dying for us and he was taking on our punishment. We are doing this each time we tell a lie, treat someone rudely, choose to skip Mass. We are the ones hurting Jesus in this picture, not just the leaders who wanted him condemned or the men actually carrying out the orders to crucify Jesus.

Emma stared into my eyes once more and I explained to her gently, this idea of how when we hurt someone else, we are actually hurting Jesus so it is important to remember that Jesus is living in each person and to be nice to every one we meet.

She was silent and I turned my attention once more to the Mass, hoping my words had been the right ones.

A few seconds later she interrupted my thoughts again.

"Mummy - who do I kiss?"

"Kiss? Why do you want to kiss someone?"

"I want to kiss JESUS Mummy. So who do I kiss?"

"Oh," I replied. "Well, you can give one of our statues of Jesus at home a kiss and Jesus will get it in heaven. Or you can look up into Heaven and blow Him a kiss and He will get it. "

"If I kiss a statue at home, I will kiss his feet 'cause Jesus does not always like kisses on his cheek. "

"No, Emma, you are right, he does not always like kisses on his cheek."

She stood up on the kneeler and leaned forward and blew a kiss in the direction of the crucifix and then blew a kiss to His Mother to the side of the alter. She smiled at me and stepped down off the kneeler. "I gave them both kisses, mummy!"

I smiled back and then once more directed my attention to the alter, not a little touched by her love for Jesus and his mother. Suddenly though, I was distracted again. Emma's head had disappeared and I suddenly felt a little peck on my ankle. Emma's brunet head reappeared and she smiled shyly at me.

"I just kissed Jesus' feet Mummy. Do you think he is happy now?"

What is it Jesus said; We must be like little children??? He was so right. Read more!

Photo update....

Wedding photos will appear as soon as we receive them from the photographer, Paul Tomas of Cary NC.

Until then, like my readers, I await impatient... err I mean patiently. I believe they are almost ready and Paul hopes to mail us the CD soon.

Thankfully I am more closely related to cats, than dogs and so have nine lives to work through while my curiosity to see the final product almost kills me. I see you smiling Michaela!!! Read more!

The Honest Truth...

Even with only three small ones at the table - it was still a rather loud dinner taking place. Bethany, before leaving to go on an errand with her daddy had decided to bequeath her harmonica to Elsa, her 2 year old sister.

After a few minutes of sucking and blowing on it and getting little return from her efforts, Elsa tossed it aside and moved on. Emma and Nathaniel pounced on it, wrestled over it and Nathaniel being the stronger of the two won first dibs on it. I have to say, the boy has talent.

The grilled cheese sandwiches on homemade wheat bread was ready so we sat down at the table and tucked in to the simple but delicious meal. Every other bite, however, was punctuated with Emma's constant whine;
"Pleeeeease Tanny, can't I have a turn?", sometimes alternated with "I can't I have a turn to make some mucus!" (Read music for mucus...)

Knowing that her talent with a harmonica is about the same as most four year olds, I tried to turn a deaf ear to her pleas. Finally unable to bear it any longer, I sighed:

"Please Emma, would you stop your whining about the harmonica!"

To which she replied:

"But Momma, if you would just give me the harmonica - I wouldn't whine any more." Read more!

PUMPLES!!

Two days before the wedding a few of us were indulging in chocolate chips; dark chocolate mind you but chocolate none the less. And we all know what chocolate can do to your complexion if not eaten in moderation. As one of the girls sought another small handful of the luscious chips I quipped, ‘best be careful or you might get pimples. “

I turned my attention back to the flower girl basket that I was working on and as I sewed another stitch on the ribbon for it, I heard a loud gasp and Emma leaped into my line of vision.

“PUMPLES!” she exclaimed. “Chocolate can give you pumples? “

She continued as her little hand stretched out searching for the bag chocolate chips.

“I better put some of dese chocolate chips back if they make pumples. Actually I will put them ALL back!” she declared as she hurriedly stuffed her tiny handful back into the yellow bag.
“I don’t want any pumples for the wedding. I want to be beautiful for the wedding!”

…and she was as you will be able to determine from the photos once I receive them from the photographer.

It was a fairy tale wedding, with a few bitter sweet tears but many more joyous tears shed throughout the day and evening. Thank you to all who prayed for our eldest daughter who had many difficult memories to face that day. She got through it very well, like the trooper she is. She has also been physically very ill, and we are so grateful that she was able to celebrate this day with us.

I have many sweet and funny memories to share as well as loads of photos. However, my camera is missing and so I must wait until our photographer sends the photos onto to us.

In the meantime please keep the new couple, John and Jenny, in your prayers while they travel in the west on their honey moon.

PS Any of my readers who enjoy the photos we often post, please join our prayers to Saint Anthony that through his intercession we will find my camera.

Read more!

Here are a few peeks we have been given of the many hundred photos taken throughout the day. However, like me, you will have to wait to view pictures of the bride and groom and the actual wedding. Read more!

A few teasers....

Two of Las Tres Amigas...

My feet hurt and the dancing hasn't even begun!

Read more!

Proud daddy of the bride...

Here is the handsome man I married almost 27 years ago, watching his (second oldest) baby girl dance to " The Luckiest" (by Ben Folds) with her husband. Personally I think he is as handsome now as when I married him, if not more. I think maybe it is I that am... the luckiest! Read more!

Simple Math...

12 Children
1 Wedding in 10 days (still double digits for 14 more hours)
6 roasts to order for hubby to cook for reception
11 children participating IN their sister's wedding
6 children starting new curriculum in 14 days
3 hours worked as secretary for home business
24 hours full time mum
10 pumpkin loaves to cook for reception
5 cups of dulce de leche to make... for reception
1 head dress left of three to make
4 baskets to stain and decorate
1 missing diaper bag located in West Virginia, ships home today...
+ X number of unknowns yet to be discovered

= brain dead and little to no blogging these days.

So my apologies to my faithful readers. You will be rewarded with the equivalent of THOUSANDS of words when I post wedding pictures.

In the meantime, keep this brain dead mother, who keeps calling the ring bearer the Flower Boy, in your prayers.

(P.S. My husbands doesn't think I should tell the bride that the above mentioned ring bearer CUT his bangs last week. WHAT do you think?) Read more!

What was the occaison?

Now where and why did we gather for this almost complete family picture? Well, we were all together in Belmont for a few reasons.
One) It was mother's day and
Two) we were gathering together there in Belmont instead of at home so as to allow a family friend who will be doing the wedding pictures an opportunity to see the beautiful church where Jenny will be married in just NINETEEN days from today!

But there was another reason for taking this family picture which is sadly missing our oldest daughter. I have been asked to contribute an article on parenting large families and discerning family size for the Family Foundations magazine, the membership magazine for the Couple to Couple League. In their July/August edition and they wanted a family picture.

So voila! Our family - sans our oldest who still resides in Boston.
Read more!

Read more!

a few more pics

...have been posted below. Blogger sometimes does not really want to load picures and the evening I was trying to get that post on the day at the park was one of those times. Look for more pictures later as we took lots!

In the meantime, please keep those prayers coming our way. We are wading through some tough times, armed only with our prayers and our faith.

Blessings from mum2twelve
aka Christi Read more!

Has it really been 11 days???

... since my last post.

Time really flies when you are.... busy!

I have a favour to ask of my faithful readers. Please offer up a prayer or two for our family. We have come to a cross roads and what did my husband do - but pray for "more faith". As I heard those fateful words cross his lips - my eye brows raised- about an inch and he looked startled.

"What?", he asked defensively.

"Faith? Should you maybe try asking for graces instead?" I quiered.

And then import of what he had said struck him and his eyebrows went up as it sunk in.

"Oh.", he replied flatly.

And the Lord has been quick to answer my spouse's plea for a growth in faith. I can almost imagine His grin at the invitation to stretch our faith.

And so I ask you to join us in our prayers for the graces to face the immeadiate challenges in front of us. In particular we need many pieces to fall in place quickly as well as people in two different countries, as well as different provinces, to all co-operate in order for all to come about in a quick manner. Suffice to say, things have not yet begun to fall in place and our nerves are stretched thin enough to twang a song on them.

Still, with all that is going on health wise, financially wise and spiritually we took some well deserved time off and I will share the results below.... Read more!

just a few photos from a day at the park...

Even a six year old looks tall from the right angle!




Ooops - caughtcha on the camera!



Hey Mama - Look at me!


New Skills practiced on...


A quiet moment to reflect by the water's edge.



Brother and sister quiet time... with the fish.




Bye bye - come again soon! Read more!

Silence is golden...

...unless you are a mother. Typically silence means trouble as when I visited my neighbour the other day and ended up helping her scrub her two little ones off once we discovered why they were so silent. She was down one tube of diaper cream, they were up a whole load of fun terminated in a bath and shampoo each.

Today I was lulled into ease by the giggles coming from the three youngest, after all it is only silence or high pitched screams that require immediate investigation. Right? However, the background of water and splashing should have clued this vastly experienced mum into realizing something was amiss. Alas - I ignored the clues and continued deep cleaning my bedroom.

Finally I needed to take something to the bathroom where I discovered my error in assuming the giggles were the result of some simple game being played together. This threesome had decided to wash their feet... and about 6 inches of bubbles made me very suspicious. I can not, no matter how much I beat the water, get that many bubbles with a reasonable amount of shampoo or baby wash. One glance at the cupboard where a very soapy bottle lay innocently in the toothbrush basket did little to allay my fears. A quick handling of the bottle told all. The once full bottle was feather light and e.m.p.t.y.

After scolding them for such waste I stripped them down and tossed the three into the tub. After all there was little point in wasting all of those bubbles and I was able to get about 20 minutes more cleaning done resulting in squeaky clean children and a very tidy bedroom. It seems that 1.99 is a small price to pay for so much cleanliness... not to mention a tubful of fun. I guess the bottle of bubbles was not wasted after all. More importantly I now know to check for the cause for giggles; when accompanied by the back ground music of running water. Read more!

Veggie Tale Viewers beware!!

The majority of our family are meat lovers. Spare ribs, steak, sausages, ham, bacon, turkey; you name it - we love it. There was one lone family member that from a tender age was not overly fond of meat and to this day prefers a good salad to a ham sandwich. Strange, I know but there it is.

However, one of our natural born meat lovers has been watching movies such as "Chicken Run" as some of you know. Add in movie previews from the likes of "Charlotte's Web" and "Babe" and you run into a problem as evidenced at the dinner table the other night.

Four year old Emma politely refused a serving of meat and watched the others being served. Her eyes fastened on her older sister Gabriela who had been serving. Gabriela sat down and cut into her meat. Emma leaned forward and hissed to her "Do you know you are eating ANIMALS?"

The retelling of this story to me leads me to ask: "Should I be cutting back on the Veggie Tales?" Read more!

Better late than never... is my motto!

Remember our Easter tree last year? Well this year, with the sudden deep freeze that hit us - there were little flowers left and the zero temps (32 f) made it rather chilly for the angels who were bringing the tree back to life. The little ones still enjoyed devouring the chocolate eggs hanging from it, regardless how limp the flowers became or how lopesided the tree was.

But there were many beautiful moments caught on tape and I have finally taken the time to share some of them with you.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. And yes! I will try to change the poll soon!!

GOD Bless Read more!

Easter finale

Read more!

"The baby ... the baby!!!"

The day was warm and the sun was out and we were experiencing some pleasant short sun showers. Miguel and I had just returned from dropping off packages at the local UPS store and he entered the house while I headed to the neighbors to see the dress she had been sewing and wanted me to look at.

I heard our front door open and close again and it was Miguel who joined me as a different neighbour stopped us and asked if we could help her mover her freezer and a few other belongings to her new home around the corner. She and Miguel headed over to her house so he could get an idea of the amount of things she needed to move and I turned back to my friend's house.

The sun was warming my shoulders and the odd drop of rain was falling on my face and nose and the contrast was striking. Suddenly, as I reached the front door step I heard a male voice calling from across the street "Baby" I paused only briefly conjecturing I really did not want to see who was yelling Baby at me, or anyone else on the street.

Again the male voice boomed out, this time with a real note of desperation in his voice.

"The baby!" he yelled. Noting 'the' I turned and as I did he yelled again; "THE Baby!!" I caught in the corner of my eye Elsa's curly red hair and her pink plaid sun dress.

She was hesitatingly crossing the very busy road we live on. She was almost half way through our side of the road and coming on that side was a car. Her gaze was intent on the other side of the road and on Miguel who was already too far away to do anything but watch helplessly. My mind went into a blur and everything around me shut down while Elsa's tiny body and uncertain steps crystallized in my mind. I was tearing towards her without even knowing I was running. My breath was hoarse in my throat and my arms stretched out to grasp her to my chest, enclosing her warm body next to my heart. She felt the fear in my body and melted into me whilst looking into my face, my terror reflecting in her eyes.

With the car closing in behind me, my feet meet the grass and then our red brick path. I continued running until I was on our door step and gasping I pulled open the front door. She did not move, but clung to me as tightly as I was hugging her. Her curls were pressed under my chin and I called out as I entered the house; "Who left the door open, who left the door open?" and then I burst into tears.

Elsa tenderly reached up and touched my cheeks saying: "Don't cwy mummy, don't cwy!" Then Emma, also concerned by my tears, attempted to force feed me french fries. (Clearly the child finds comfort in food.) We were quickly surrounded by the family all of them anxious to see Elsa and know that their darling baby sister was okay. She was and is. Thanks be to God and a young man whom I never saw but only heard who, whilst frozen to the spot, had the presence of mind to cry out the only thing he could think of; "The baby... The baby!"

I love my children dearly, but something like this really reminds one just how precious they really are to you! In the twinkling of an eye their life can be robbed from you. We never know when that moment will come and while I do want to live in fear of the loss of a child, I would do well to remember this and to guard against having regrets should I someday actually experience the loss of a child. Read more!

Borrowing from a fellow Blogger

Chelsea from Wise is She has written a wonderful post on NFP. She has done a wonderful job of expressing the beauty of such a natural means of controlling one's fertility. One of the things that I love about NFP is that one can reverse the process and use it to become pregnant. If only more Doctors would embrace this wonderful means for a woman to come to know and understand her cycle as well as her body.

I immediately asked Chelsea if I could post her article on my blog and she very generously agreed.
Unfortunately I have taken forever to take her up on this! But at last, here it is: Read on and enjoy. If you like her writings be sure to check out her blog and see what else she has shared about NFP. Oh and by the way, Chelsea is Lutheran.

Embracing Natural Fertility

The other night as my husband of five months and I were cleaning up
after dinner, we started talking about our experience as Natural
Family Planners. Natural Family Planning is a natural alternative to
synthetic forms of birth control. It requires observing patterns in a
woman's cycle in order to determine times of fertility and
infertility. During our discussion it struck us what a blessing NFP
has been for us, in so many ways.

One of the most appealing things about NFP is that it is exactly what
it claims to be; natural. NFP is free from devices and chemicals and
side effects. It empowers women by teaching them the nature of their
fertility cycle, helping them to understand why things happen and at
what time. It allows couples to unravel the mystery of conception and
get a glimpse of how God creates life from love. Its very nature is
open to life, although it allows you to exercise a certain amount of
discretion - discretion that takes into account the health and well
being of the mother and father. God has given us minds and hearts to
consider such important things.

Another benefit is that NFP is a two person decision. Not controlled
by one or the other, NFP encourages two as a couple to communicate
continually with honesty and love about whether now is a good time to
avoid or achieve pregnancy. Using NFP has encouraged my husband and I
to communicate openly and often. It has taught us patience,
anticipation and what it means to be open to life. It has taught us to
pray and to ask God what His plan is for us. It has reminded us that
children are an integral part of marriage and a gift from God. And
that is only after five months!

The path to accepting NFP has been a long road for me. The idea of
managing my fertility naturally was, in theory, appealing. However, I
was scared about what this would mean for my life. Would it be too
restricting? What if I have 14 kids?!? Will I have to abandon study?
Are you sure it works? Ever since my first sex education class I had
assumed that contraception was the way to go. Every sensible person
recommended it. As for the Catholics, well, they were just 'ultra
conservative' and 'out of touch.' Yet, the more I considered these
things, the more my conscience was stirred. Maybe the Catholics were
on to something after all? Interestingly enough, our ancestors seemed
to share similar views. I wondered what had made them change their
minds?

In my search for answers I came across a book called 'Good News about
Sex and Marriage,' by Christopher West. This book speaks about the
marriage act being one of total, self sacrificing and life giving
love. This means not withholding anything from your partner. Not even
your fertility. This is the stuff I wanted to hear more about.

After a long time of praying and reading and talking about this
all-too-big-and-scary venture into NFP, God replaced every fear with a
blessing. This should not surprise us as we know the character of our
God. When we put our trust in Him, God helps us to order our lives. He
puts meaning into things that seem meaningless and he gives peace
where there is unrest. For some this means the challenge of six
children, 5am breast feeding and 40 loads of washing. For others, this
means coming to terms with the fact that they could only have one
child, even when they prayed fervently for a second. Then there are
those for whom God grants peace, and purpose, when he has not granted
conception at all.

At our congregation we have a beautiful young Sudanese woman named
Ajulu. Ajulu loves talking about her children and hopes that God will
bless her with many more. On days when her children Ter, Ruon and Deng
are behaving, she even talks of wanting nine. What perplexes Ajulu is
that people in our country have so few children. In her home country,
children are considered as one of the greatest gifts from God.
Children are a vibrant and vital part of the community. These
communities grieve when they cannot conceive. Knowing the sadness that
comes with infertility, the Sudanese community embrace marriage as a
union that is open to life. Where God will grant life, they will
receive it.

What is it in our culture that leads us to prevent pregnancies from
occurring? What does this mean about how we view our bodies, most
especially our fertility? A doctor only prescribes medicine to ill
people. Is fertility something we need to be protected from? Is it a
disease? Why are we excited and relieved when a new form of
contraception hits the market and is -- wait for it -- even more
effective than the pill!? Finally, no more 'unwanted' pregnancies.
What a major contradiction this presents; that one of the greatest
gifts from God might be a burden for us. What a major contradiction
that one of God's greatest gifts is 'unwanted' or a 'mistake.'

Ajulu has been a beautiful reminder to me what it means to let God
permeate every aspect of your life. Every aspect of our life is in His
control, even the things as personal as our fertility. Let us find
comfort in the fact that He never gives us more than we can handle.

Read more!