Our Little Feast for St. Patrick

Happy (belated) Feast of St. Patrick!

We celebrated yesterday with little to-do's throughout the day. No crafting parties but a few fun foods to be had.

Menu

Breakfast

Green Apples & Irish Oatmeal

Lunch

Chicken Nuggets

Green Peas & Carrots

&

Good News Popcorn

(Some Yummy Green Apple Popcorn that Lena from Joy Filled Family made. I found her recipe off of Catholic Cuisine. Love both of these sites!)

Dinner

Irish Corned beef & Potatoes

Green Broccoli

Beer

&

some more Good News Popcorn for dessert

Throughout the day I tried talking to the boys about St. Patrick. I showed them a few images from some Saint books we have and read to them little stories here and there.

I mentioned a few times that St. Patrick is not, in fact, Irish, and that we are celebrating with green and Irish culture because it was that beautiful place that St. Patrick brought God and our Catholic faith to. Haha. I felt this was a necessary component that needed emphasis since there were a number of people I saw on social media saying the Saint was Irish! As much as I'm sure Ireland would take him on, the Saint was not born there, and I figured it's never to early to start countering the mess that is thrown out in media today. Haha. Absurd, I know! But, that's how it went down yesterday!

Our little pot o' Good News Pop-gold wrapped in rainbow.

Meat & Potatoes. I'd share a recipe here, but I ultimately I just learned that I completely underestimate Worcestershire sauce and will never do it again. EVER! My slow cooked beef was a salty mess.

For the most part, I do think a few things stuck with Bigfoot, while Linus just did his new toddling thing. The evidence is in Bigfoot's conversations from today. He has been asking for God, and often. 

"I want to see God"

"Where's God right now?"

"I want to watch God."
"I wuvv God."

If I mention St. Patrick,"Right, Pad-trick and God.I want God."

I've enjoyed him asking for God throughout the day today. It's been sweet sharing with him about how God is always with us. How He was with St. Patrick and St. Joseph, and how they both loved God so very much. It's also been a sweet reminder for this mama.

As an added attempt at celebrating St. Patrick, I played an Irish station on my Pandora in the morning during breakfast, but that had to end real quick since the fast, up-beat music made my boys all kinds of hyper and ca-razy! I kid you not, Bigfoot managed to butt heads with Linus once, trip on something that resulted in some arm pain, and assisted in making his little brother cry at least three times. When he wasn't getting hurt or giving his brother a reason to cry he was running around with an I'm-going to-charge-at-you sort of AHHHH! yell, while shaking his head around like the craziness I mentioned earlier. Keep in mind I played the station for a good fifteen minutes at most. So, those of you with littles, consider yourself warned when it comes to the good ol' tunes of the Irish.

I pray to God to give me perseverance and to deign that I be a faithful witness to Him to the end of my life for my God.

― St. Patrick

There are a few things I love about St. Patrick. One is that he was so young when called. He endured so much in so few years and yet was beautifully obedient to His Call! Definitely a saint for our youth! I also love the incredibly beautiful prayers he left us. 

Christ with me,

Christ before me,

Christ behind me,

Christ in me,

Christ beneath me,

Christ above me,

Christ on my right,

Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down,

Christ when I sit down,

Christ when I arise,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,

Christ in every ear that hears me. 

― St. Patrick

All in all, it was a good day of celebration and getting to know dear St. Patrick. I love our Saints and am so grateful for the beauty and goodness they left us by answering His Call of love to them while on earth. 

My hope is that our little ones will grow to know and love these amazing saints God has shared with us - especially that whole obedience thing! Haha, just kidding! Kind of... Anyways, until then, here are some shots of them exerting every ounce of toddler obedience they can! Enjoy the sweetness!

Special thanks to Catholic Cuisine and Joy Filled Family for helping make our feast day a bit more special!

Wisdom from St. Jane Frances de Chantel

Sharing some wisdom from dear St. Jane Frances de Chantel today:

“There is no danger if our prayer is without words or reflection because the good success of prayer depends neither on words nor on study. It depends upon the simple raising of our minds to God.”

“Should you fall even fifty times a day, never on any account should that surprise or worry you. Instead, ever so gently set your heart back in the right direction.”

"When shall it be that we shall taste the sweetness of the Divine Will in all that happens to us, considering in everything only His good pleasure, by whom it is certain that adversity is sent with as much love as prosperity, and as much for our good? When shall we cast ourselves undeservedly into the arms of our most loving Father in Heaven, leaving to Him the care of ourselves and of our affairs, and reserving only the desire of pleasing Him, and of serving Him well in all that we can?"

"We should go to prayer with deep humility and an awareness of our nothingness. We must invoke the help of the Holy Spirit and that of our good angel, and then remain still in God's presence, full of faith that he is more in us than we are in ourselves."

"Hold your eyes on God and leave the doing to him. That is all the doing you have to worry about."

"Let us lose nothing of what God bestows on us. Difficulties and sufferings will disappear, but the merit we acquire through our fidelity will remain forever. Let us therefore build our eternity through all things that pass away."

~~~

Found some of these quotes here and here. Get on over to read more about her life at the very same sites!

~~~

St. Jane Frances de Chantel, pray for us!

"I had wondered for a long time why God had preferences and why all souls did not receive an equal amount of grace [...] Jesus saw fit to enlighten me about this mystery. He set the book of nature before me and I saw that all the flowers He has created are lovely. The splendour of the rose and whiteness of the lily do not rob the little violet of its scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. I realised that if every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its loveliness and there would be no wild flowers to make the meadows gay. It is just the same in the world of souls — which is the garden of Jesus. He has created the great saints who are like the lilies and the roses, but He has also created much lesser saints and they must be content to be the daisies or the violets which rejoice His eyes whenever He glances down. Perfection consists in doing His will, in being that which He wants us to be." -St. Therese of Lisieux

"True relationships among people point to God. They are like prayers in the world. Sometimes the hands that pray are fully touching, sometimes there is distance between them. They always move to and from each other, but they never lose touch. They keep praying to the One who brought them together." -Fr. Henri Nouwen

Little Crosses and Little Blessings for this Mama's Little Heart

As many of you know, I desperately stormed Heaven for the possibility of avoiding major surgery (ie cesarean birth) with our newest little. As with Bigfoot, I so much wanted to have a vaginal delivery, au natural, but as life and His Will would have it, I did not get that. Through a lot of tears, prayer, talking with my husband, family, and friends, as well as, trying to always be thankful for the present moment, I moved forward and began praying for a chance to VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) with our second child.

You may be wondering why I have been so stubborn about it. And, sometimes I ask myself the same thing. But, in my heart I know that a piece of me will always mourn the loss of being able to deliver vaginally, as God intended our bodies, as women, to bring life forth into this world. I'm not entirely sure how I will feel come future children, given I most likely will not be able to ever have another chance for a trial of labor, but I do know a little bit of me will ache.

You see, I prayed for such a long time, that God prepare me physically, spiritually, and emotionally to be a mother and wife. I began praying ever since I felt that my vocation was to be a wife and mother. When I would think of bringing life into this world, of being a physical vessel of his goodness and miracles, my heart experienced a joy that was overwhelming. And, you now may be saying that I did carry a healthy miracle to term and had two healthy baby boys, despite having them via cesarean. And..you are right! I have had two very blessed pregnancies and do have two wonderful little boys to show for it! For this, I could not be more grateful. But, somewhere in my heart, there was a seed that was planted long ago that I nourished as well as I could and did not see it bear fruit as I thought it would. It has been somewhat heartbreaking, leaving me feeling a little broken, that I was not able to share a vaginal delivery with my sons nor my husband. I know the health benefits, for my children and for myself significantly outweigh that of surgery. Knowing this, how could a mother not want to give her child the birth that exemplifies our feminine genius?

But, for whatever reason, it has not been in His Will for me or us. I know there are many lessons that have and will continue to be learned through this. There already have been so many gifts that came with my first cesarean: my healthy first-born, an amazing outpouring of servitude from family and friends, incredible love in others caring for me in my post-surgery state, friends being so wonderful and present, me being forced to allow others to see me incredibly vulnerable and weak, suffering that I was able to offer up daily for others, me being forced to not have it all together, me being forced to not work my way to being good at something because my body was so crippled from the trauma of two days of labor and major surgery...I could go on and on, but off the top of my head these were gifts.

Fast-forward to the birth of my sweet P. All, or most, was different. Different in that the crosses and blessings didn't look quite the same. We did wait three days post due date to see if our little guy would come on his own. Apparently, he decided I was way more comfy than the bright and cold world that awaited him (I don't blame him). My ob-gyn, said that it was in our best interest to schedule the cesarean - so, we did.

All of the scheduling and arriving at the hospital at said time, filling out paper work, sitting and waiting, etc seemed pretty cold to me. We got our instructions on when to arrive, to not eat after midnight, a quick run through of what to expect and that was that. The nurses decided on Sweet P's birthday based on availability. Something about that hurt a little, but trust me when I say, I will be needing to re-frame all of the things that rub my heart the wrong way given my cesarean delivery method now being a sealed fate for me after having had two.

Even though I could continue to share more of my not-so-pleasant experiences of scheduling your child's birth, I want to share the more encouraging side of the day too.

I did have family and friends cheering me all the way. Part of me couldn't help but be scared and sad given my previous cesarean experience with my first son, but there was a turning point for me. I know many were praying for me; some sent emails, others texts and phone calls. All of them nudging my heart to be open to what God had for me in this delivery and reminding me that I would be holding my sweet gift from Above very soon. The excitement from all the grandparents and my husband, as well as the staff, was also a constant reminder of how joy-filled I should be. Very quickly, through all of their loving hearts and eyes, I was able to let go more and more and just focus on the love and joy that I had for this child. Fear and sadness did enter my heart from time to time, but overall I felt His Peace and was constantly calling our Lord's Sweet Mother to hold me.

The blessings continued to pour forth on Sweet P's birthday. For starters, all the grandparents, aunts, and uncles could plan to be present to welcome our little love into our sweet family. Also, we were blessed to be scheduled for the Hour of Mercy, which really helped me focus on uniting all my struggles to the Cross of Our Lord. Our nurse and anesthesiologist as well as all others involved in our hospital delivery were wonderful at guiding and comforting me through each stage of this surgery. They brought my son to me immediately and let me hold him. They never took him from me. I was able to do skin-to-skin and nurse him within the hour of his life. My son was never out of my sight. The beautiful child I carried for nine months was able to be with his mama. Those moments I treasure more than words because with my first-born I was under heavy medication and don't recall the first 5-7 hours of his life including the first time I held him, nursed him, meeting the grandparents, seeing family post surgery, and more. All just a big blur in my heart. So, as you can imagine, being alert and functional throughout the surgery and day were more than I could have asked for and blessed my soul so very much. Also, I was able to walk within 24 hours. My surgical recovery has been much easier. And even though it broke my heart to not be able to carry my oldest at all in the first two weeks and still limited carrying at one month, this allowed me to spend extra attention to our newest addition. Time I may not have focused on as much had I been without any physical restrictions post-delivery. So, with that cross, came a blessing - wonderful bonding time with my youngest son. Or rather, with all of these little crosses that I carried within me all came with amazing blessings that only He could give.

I could go on, but for now I think I'm at a good stopping point. Part of me, at first, wanted to avoid posting our cesarean delivery pictures. I guess, for me, posting those birthday pictures make everything more real and official for me. Makes the realization that I have to let go of a woman's natural way to deliver ever more present to me. But, little by little, I am embracing my path and trying to do so with Joy (even if it just happens from time to time for now). So, with Joy, I am posting (and have been posting) pictures of our family immediately following the surgery. My first moments with my son. Moments that I did not have with my first delivery. Moments that I will forever treasure. And could not be more grateful for. 

I pray that my little crosses help my little heart to grow in ways that only He can fathom. I pray that it helps me to grow into a better wife and mother, daughter/sister and friend. I pray that somehow, despite my constant failings, He will help bring me closer to Him, which in turn will help me bring Him closer to others.

~~~

Suscipe 

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,

my memory, my understanding

and my entire will,

All I have and call my own.

You have given all to me.

To you, Lord, I return it.

Everything is yours; do with it what you will.

Give me only your love and your grace.

That is enough for me.

-St. Ignatius of Loyola

"At every occurrence we should say: Dominus est. It is the Lord; and in all circumstances we should find a gift from God: we should consider creatures as very feeble instruments in the hands of an Almighty Worker, and we should recognize without difficulty that nothing is lacking to us that God’s constant care leads Him to give us each instant what is suited to us." -Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade

"Good will, strengthened by the grace of God, will produce marvelous results. Yet, in order to succeed we must try hard to know and to feel the beauty of virtue and the joy that is in store for those who serve a loving God."- St. John Bosco

Happy Feast of St. John Bosco, patron saint of our youth.

St. John Bosco, pray for us!

"Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you, All things are passing away: God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices." - St. Teresa of Avila

Happy Feast day of St. Vincent de Paul

Wisdom from a wonderful saint:



"Let us be submissive to Providence, He will see to our affairs in His own time and in His own way"

"If after so much effort and prayer, the matter is not successful, it will be a clear sign that God does not will it."

"God often delays the conclusion of a holy endeavor so that those involved in it might merit its grace by the length of the work, their patience, and their prayers. This is why I beg you not to grow weary in yours. Although He may delay, He will reveal that it is pleasing to Him, if it is done, nevertheless, in a spirit of resignation regarding the outcome."

"I beg Our Lord, Monsieur, that we may be able to die to ourselves in order to rise with Him, that he may be the joy of your heart, the end and soul of your actions, and your glory in heaven. This will come to pass if, from now on, we humble ourselves as He humbled Himself, if we renounce our own satisfaction to follow Him by carrying our little crosses, and if we give our lives willingly, as He gave His, for our neighbor whom He loves so much and whom He wants us to love as ourselves."

"Be acted upon rather than active. In this way, God will do through you alone what all men put together could not do without Him. "




To learn more about the patron saint of charity check out this website, this one, and/or this one.

St. Vincent de Paul, pray for us.

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. -Colossians 3:12-14

Family, become what you are…the family has the mission to guard, reveal, and communicate love, and this is a living reflection of and a real sharing in God’s love for humanity and the love of Christ the Lord for the Church His bride. -Blessed John Paul II

Thankful hearts...

When I was living in Houston I would meet with my spiritual director every week. And that continued up until our wedding. However, after our wedding we moved away and now I only talk to Sister K (or Special K as my roomie named her) once or twice a month over the phone.

I miss meeting with her. She truly is so special. She’s touched so many lives with her Christ-like presence. Just sitting and talking with her I could feel His warmth and for that I am forever grateful.

Since moving I carry our conversations with me in my heart because they taught me so much. One specifically has been running through my mind quite a bit lately and I wanted to share.

Gratitude

Special K always talked about having a grateful heart. A heart that is always thanking the Lord in all times. Times of joy, times of sorrow, times of confusion, times of blessing, times of anger, times of peace, times of certainty and uncertainty - and for all in intensive purposes, every possible time under the sun. She would always remind me to try and keep my heart thanking the Lord and through this my heart would leave room for God to work to occupy the space that is His in the first place. Through my heart being filled with gratitude in good times and in bad, my eyes, heart, and soul would be more open and ready to see God’s gracious Hand ever so gently leading the way. All because I would be thanking Him each step of the way. An act that ultimately helps me focus on His Perfect Will instead of my own ideas of what would be “perfect”. A thankful heart keeps me looking outward rather than getting stuck in my own head of what I think He should give me or do for me in my life.

Everything works together for good for those who love the Lord. -Romans 8:28

Special K would then remind me of the scripture quoted above. Remind me that no matter what is going on in my life, He loves me and therefore all things would come together for good in my life in His Perfect Time (which is usually where I get into trouble because I have my time stuck in my head lol).

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad. -Psalm 118:24

My family has again been reminded of this special message today. God has perfectly orchestrated something so sweet and kind. We almost missed it because we had our hearts set on something else, but we felt Him tugging, telling us to wait and be patient. Thankfully we did - just not with a thankful heart because we got stuck on what we thought would be just great. But, now we see. We see what He had in mind. And while talking and reflecting on the last week or so, we kind of chuckle to ourselves. We laugh only because we are grateful. We laugh because we are in awe at how much He loves us and how patient He is with us (again!)! We laugh because we know we didn’t start off in perfect obedience to His Will but he nudged us ever so clearly when we most needed it. And I think we mostly laugh out of relief. Relief that He is our God. Our God who makes loving promises and keeps them. Our God who has infinite Mercy. Our God who is Perfect Love and shares that with us through such amazing grace.

So now, our hearts are filled with gratitude again. We are in that place where we feel so much peace. Peace that only He can share.

Thank you, Special K

I thank Sister for reminding me to try and keep a thankful heart at all times. Literally, almost every meeting we had, we would talk about what I could be thankful for. And that reality filled with gratitude would ultimately have me leaving her a much more peaceful and excited child of God. A child of God with a thankful heart that drives her to trust The God who He keeps His promises rather than forget that He ever made them in the first place (which I so easily do in my own self absorbed way of thinking).

Thank you, God

So, thank you God for loving this family. Thank you, dear Lord, for sharing the Grace that we needed to follow your Will. Thank you Lord, for your handmaid, Special K. And lastly, thank you for everything under the sun - always.

note: this isn’t the last you’ll be hearing about Special K ;)

True Love

True Love - Phil Wickham from Jody Hill {Ezekiel Productions} on Vimeo.
Thissong was played at our wedding Mass during Holy Communion. :) A beautiful song for an incredibly beautiful day! “Jesus is Alive!” :D ily, Husband. always.

Grant, O God...

GeekMan’s grandmother passed away Saturday evening. I don’t have much to say about it all right now, but a good friend shared this scripture with me and so I thought I’d share it here to remember.

Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned to joy. -John 16:20

I also found this prayer. I’m grateful for prayers like this in times where I can’t find the words to pray.

Grant, O God, that while we lament the departure of this Thy handmaid, we may always remember that we are most certainly to follow her. And give us grace to prepare for that last hour by a good life, that we may not be surprised by a sudden and unprovided death, but be ever watching, that, when Thou callest, we may, with the Bridegroom, enter into eternal glory: through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Sweet Lord, share your healing peace with us and our family; and thank you for the gift in the life of Bigfoot’s great grandma.

Come Holy Spirit.

But while we are co-operating with God we must never cease to followHis direction and lean upon Him. To act in this way is to act withassurance and consequently with calm. When one looks upon oneself inall one’s actions as the instrument of Divine Providence and aims atnothing but fulfilling God’s designs, one acts gently, without troubleor hurry, without disquiet about the future or regret for the past,abandoning oneself to God’s fatherly Providence and counting on it morethan on all possible human means. In that way, one is always at peace,and God unfailingly directs everything for our good, either temporal oreternal, and sometimes for both. -Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade

Trust

spiritualinspiration:

www.getoutthebox.org

40 weeks and 1 day...

At every occurrence we should say: Dominus est. It is the Lord; and in all circumstances we should find a gift from God: we should consider creatures as very feeble instruments in the hands of an Almighty Worker, and we should recognize without difficulty that nothing is lacking to us that God’s constant care leads Him to give us each instant what is suited to us.  -Fr. de Caussade

The due date of our little one has come and gone. And today we are 40 weeks and 1 day :) Yup, our little Junebug is cozy and comfy in my womb and is showing few signs (up to this point) of making a full exit. Naturally, I (and many beloved family members and friends) are sitting at the edge of our seat waiting on this child and on God. Admittedly, having had our first born on the due date would have been so exciting! So, part of me is a bit sad that the day has passed. But as His Will would have it, we are still being called to patiently wait on Him. 

I like this quote from Fr. de Caussade, because it reminded me to be grateful and to Trust that It is the Lord who is working in each moment that passes. And not only is He working but He is giving us a gift. Gifts that I have only been able to recognize with some evening time spent in prayer and reflection.

Our Gifts thus far:

Friday, our due date was spent at an enjoyable morning Doctor’s appointment where we heard that this Mama and our little one are as healthy as can be at this point. That is always a joy to hear and definitely a gift. GeekMan and I had lunch thereafter and then I was able to spend some wonderful quality time with my brother who is visiting. Not only did I get to spend the afternoon with him but GeekMan and I were given the opportunity to have an early dinner with my brother as well. Then later, GeekMan and I enjoyed a movie, relaxation, and needed conversation. Dominus est.

Saturday, our 40 weeks and one day, were spent catching up on some much needed to-dos in the morning followed with a brief but wonderful time with my brother - again! These gifts were followed by our good friends calling us up for a delicious dinner out and we suggested getting some raspas for dessert (snowcones, something I’ve been wanting since this past Monday;)). After receiving these evening gifts we are now home enjoying each other and relaxing. Dominus est.

So, thank you again Fr. de Caussade and Holy Spirit for opening my eyes to see the goodness in the time that we have had and pray that my eyes continue to stay open in the days that come. Who knows when God and this little one will decide to exit my womb? Am I excited? YES! Am I ready? As ready as I’ll ever be :) But, for now I’ll try my best to focus on all the little gifts that God is sharing in moments that have passed and are yet to come. Dominus est.

haha, just a side note:

My guess is that our little Junebug doesn’t want us to miss Mass tomorrow morning. Perhaps he or she already sees the great gift in that and we’ll go into labor after celebrating Mass :D Will keep ya’ll posted!!!