I just felt like looking up the religious communities my friends are in on facebook and I found some cool stuff! I'm so proud of these ladies, I thought I'd showcase them on my blog.
Sister Kristina (novice) - Benedictine Sisters of St. Walburga [she's the Filipino one!]
http://walburga.org/Novitiate.html
Renee Myrick (postulant) - Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal
http://www.franciscansisterscfr.com/postulants.htm
Sister Donne Davidson (I don't know if she's received a new name as a novice yet) - Poor Clares of Mission BC [the one with the white veil]
http://www.poorclare.org/mission/pageone.html#intro
Sister Antoniana - Sisters of Life [the one in the picture]
http://sistersoflife.org/apostolates.html
Sister Julia Shideler - Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic
http://www.mklsisters.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=986&Itemid=1
Wonderful witnesses !!!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Too good not to share.....
Here's the second reading from the Office today. It was just too beautiful not to share. It's from the Imitation of Christ.
Uh.....as I was going to copy it from Universalis onto here I realized I read the wrong day's second reading. It's the feast of St. Mary Magdalene..... So.... anyways, here's the reading from another day as if it weren't that feast day. And I'm going to go read the real office for the day now....
From book 2 of the Imitation of Christ:
"Turn, then, to God with all your heart. Forsake this wretched world and your soul shall find rest. Learn to despise external things, to devote yourself to those that are within, and you will see the kingdom of God come unto you, that kingdom which is peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, gifts not given to the impious.
Christ will come to you offering His consolation, if you prepare a fit dwelling for Him in your heart, whose beauty and glory, wherein He takes delight, are all from within. His visits with the inward man are frequent, His communion sweet and full of consolation, His peace great, and His intimacy wonderful indeed.
Therefore, faithful soul, prepare your heart for this Bridegroom that He may come and dwell within you; He Himself says: "If any one love Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and will make Our abode with him."[9]
Give place, then, to Christ, but deny entrance to all others, for when you have Christ you are rich and He is sufficient for you. He will provide for you. He will supply your every want, so that you need not trust in frail, changeable men. Christ remains forever, standing firmly with us to the end.
Do not place much confidence in weak and mortal man, helpful and friendly though he be; and do not grieve too much if he sometimes opposes and contradicts you. Those who are with us today may be against us tomorrow, and vice versa, for men change with the wind. Place all your trust in God; let Him be your fear and your love. He will answer for you; He will do what is best for you.
You have here no lasting home. You are a stranger and a pilgrim wherever you may be, and you shall have no rest until you are wholly united with Christ.
Why do you look about here when this is not the place of your repose? Dwell rather upon heaven and give but a passing glance to all earthly things. They all pass away, and you together with them. Take care, then, that you do not cling to them lest you be entrapped and perish. Fix your mind on the Most High, and pray unceasingly to Christ.
If you do not know how to meditate on heavenly things, direct your thoughts to Christ's passion and willingly behold His sacred wounds. If you turn devoutly to the wounds and precious stigmata of Christ, you will find great comfort in suffering, you will mind but little the scorn of men, and you will easily bear their slanderous talk.
When Christ was in the world, He was despised by men; in the hour of need He was forsaken by acquaintances and left by friends to the depths of scorn. He was willing to suffer and to be despised; do you dare to complain of anything? He had enemies and defamers; do you want everyone to be your friend, your benefactor? How can your patience be rewarded if no adversity test it? How can you be a friend of Christ if you are not willing to suffer any hardship? Suffer with Christ and for Christ if you wish to reign with Him.
Had you but once entered into perfect communion with Jesus or tasted a little of His ardent love, you would care nothing at all for your own comfort or discomfort but would rejoice in the reproach you suffer; for love of Him makes a man despise himself."
Uh.....as I was going to copy it from Universalis onto here I realized I read the wrong day's second reading. It's the feast of St. Mary Magdalene..... So.... anyways, here's the reading from another day as if it weren't that feast day. And I'm going to go read the real office for the day now....
From book 2 of the Imitation of Christ:
"Turn, then, to God with all your heart. Forsake this wretched world and your soul shall find rest. Learn to despise external things, to devote yourself to those that are within, and you will see the kingdom of God come unto you, that kingdom which is peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, gifts not given to the impious.
Christ will come to you offering His consolation, if you prepare a fit dwelling for Him in your heart, whose beauty and glory, wherein He takes delight, are all from within. His visits with the inward man are frequent, His communion sweet and full of consolation, His peace great, and His intimacy wonderful indeed.
Therefore, faithful soul, prepare your heart for this Bridegroom that He may come and dwell within you; He Himself says: "If any one love Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and will make Our abode with him."[9]
Give place, then, to Christ, but deny entrance to all others, for when you have Christ you are rich and He is sufficient for you. He will provide for you. He will supply your every want, so that you need not trust in frail, changeable men. Christ remains forever, standing firmly with us to the end.
Do not place much confidence in weak and mortal man, helpful and friendly though he be; and do not grieve too much if he sometimes opposes and contradicts you. Those who are with us today may be against us tomorrow, and vice versa, for men change with the wind. Place all your trust in God; let Him be your fear and your love. He will answer for you; He will do what is best for you.
You have here no lasting home. You are a stranger and a pilgrim wherever you may be, and you shall have no rest until you are wholly united with Christ.
Why do you look about here when this is not the place of your repose? Dwell rather upon heaven and give but a passing glance to all earthly things. They all pass away, and you together with them. Take care, then, that you do not cling to them lest you be entrapped and perish. Fix your mind on the Most High, and pray unceasingly to Christ.
If you do not know how to meditate on heavenly things, direct your thoughts to Christ's passion and willingly behold His sacred wounds. If you turn devoutly to the wounds and precious stigmata of Christ, you will find great comfort in suffering, you will mind but little the scorn of men, and you will easily bear their slanderous talk.
When Christ was in the world, He was despised by men; in the hour of need He was forsaken by acquaintances and left by friends to the depths of scorn. He was willing to suffer and to be despised; do you dare to complain of anything? He had enemies and defamers; do you want everyone to be your friend, your benefactor? How can your patience be rewarded if no adversity test it? How can you be a friend of Christ if you are not willing to suffer any hardship? Suffer with Christ and for Christ if you wish to reign with Him.
Had you but once entered into perfect communion with Jesus or tasted a little of His ardent love, you would care nothing at all for your own comfort or discomfort but would rejoice in the reproach you suffer; for love of Him makes a man despise himself."
Monday, July 20, 2009
Office of Readings
I love doing the Office of Readings, but it is something I struggle with. In lent I tried to pray it every day and that went very well, but as soon as Easter came, I found myself growing lax in it once again. I know it's soooo good for me, but for some reason there's always this hurdle in front of it. I guess that's the way it goes with many things that are good for us. There always seems to be a great temptation to stay away from them. So, I'm attempting to re-discipline myself once again and get back into it during the laziest time of the year, summer.
I usually find myself saying the psalms in the office of readings quickly to get to the readings which I often find most fruitful, but today God had me really chew on the third psalm for the day. It's a good one! (In case you're wondering where to find it in the Bible it's a chunk of Psalm 73)
Ant. Those who depart from you will perish; my joy is to remain with you, my God.
And so when my heart grew embittered
and when I was cut to the quick,
I was stupid and did not understand,
no better than a beast in your sight.
Yet I was always in your presence;
you were holding me by my right hand.
You will guide me by your counsel
and so you will lead me to glory.
What else have I in heaven but you?
Apart from you I want nothing on earth.
My body and my heart faint for joy.
God is my possession for ever.
All those who abandon you shall perish;
you will destroy all those who are faithless.
To be near God is my happiness.
I have made the Lord God my refuge.
I will tell of all your works
at the gates of the city of Zion.
Glory to the Father....
Ant. Those who depart from you will perish; my joy is to remain with you, my God.
I thought this was really great to read this morning. The first stanza really spells out what we all fall into now and again. When we are bitter and short, when we are stupid and don't understand we're like beasts in the sight of the Lord. Hah! So true! It's often so difficult to look past the "stupid little instances" (the deacon at Bl. Sacrament mass mentioned these moments) and remember the peace and joy that we're constantly called to. We're always called to be in the presence of the Lord and to remember that the only thing we should want is heaven with Him. So even amidst the wonderful pleasures and irritating annoyances we're supposed to remember that our happiness and long lasting joy comes from God. Which brings me back to one of my favorite quotes from St. Teresa of Avila (mom's patron saint).
"Let nothing disturb thee,
Nothing affright thee
All things are passing;
God never changeth;
Patient endurance
Attaineth to all things;
Who God possesseth
In nothing is wanting;
Alone God sufficeth."
Well I hope that was as fun for you to read as it was for me to think!
I usually find myself saying the psalms in the office of readings quickly to get to the readings which I often find most fruitful, but today God had me really chew on the third psalm for the day. It's a good one! (In case you're wondering where to find it in the Bible it's a chunk of Psalm 73)
Ant. Those who depart from you will perish; my joy is to remain with you, my God.
And so when my heart grew embittered
and when I was cut to the quick,
I was stupid and did not understand,
no better than a beast in your sight.
Yet I was always in your presence;
you were holding me by my right hand.
You will guide me by your counsel
and so you will lead me to glory.
What else have I in heaven but you?
Apart from you I want nothing on earth.
My body and my heart faint for joy.
God is my possession for ever.
All those who abandon you shall perish;
you will destroy all those who are faithless.
To be near God is my happiness.
I have made the Lord God my refuge.
I will tell of all your works
at the gates of the city of Zion.
Glory to the Father....
Ant. Those who depart from you will perish; my joy is to remain with you, my God.
I thought this was really great to read this morning. The first stanza really spells out what we all fall into now and again. When we are bitter and short, when we are stupid and don't understand we're like beasts in the sight of the Lord. Hah! So true! It's often so difficult to look past the "stupid little instances" (the deacon at Bl. Sacrament mass mentioned these moments) and remember the peace and joy that we're constantly called to. We're always called to be in the presence of the Lord and to remember that the only thing we should want is heaven with Him. So even amidst the wonderful pleasures and irritating annoyances we're supposed to remember that our happiness and long lasting joy comes from God. Which brings me back to one of my favorite quotes from St. Teresa of Avila (mom's patron saint).
"Let nothing disturb thee,
Nothing affright thee
All things are passing;
God never changeth;
Patient endurance
Attaineth to all things;
Who God possesseth
In nothing is wanting;
Alone God sufficeth."
Well I hope that was as fun for you to read as it was for me to think!
Friday, July 17, 2009
a bit of St. Ambrose
I thought the office of readings today were really cool. Here's the second reading from St. Ambrose.
Reading
From the treatise On the Mysteries by Saint Ambrose, bishop
To the newly baptised on the eucharist
Fresh from the waters and resplendent in these garments, God’s holy people hasten to the altar of Christ, saying: I will go in to the altar of God, to God who gives joy to my youth. They have sloughed off the old skin of error, their youth renewed like an eagle’s, and they make haste to approach that heavenly banquet. They come and, seeing the sacred altar prepared, cry out: You have prepared a table in my sight. David puts these words into their mouths: The Lord is my shepherd and nothing will be lacking to me. He has set me down there in a place of pasture. He has brought me beside refreshing water. Further on, we read: For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I shall not be afraid of evils, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff have given me comfort. You have prepared in my sight a table against those who afflict me. You have made my head rich in oil, and your cup, which exhilarates, how excellent it is.
It is wonderful that God rained manna on our fathers and they were fed with daily food from heaven. And so it is written: Man ate the bread of angels. Yet those who ate that bread all died in the desert. But the food that you receive, that living bread which came down from heaven, supplies the very substance of eternal life, and whoever will eat it will never die, for it is the body of Christ.
Consider now which is the more excellent: the bread of angels or the flesh of Christ, which is indeed the body that gives life. The first was manna from heaven, the second is above the heavens. One was of heaven, the other is of the Lord of the heavens; one subject to corruption if it was kept till the morrow, the other free from all corruption, for if anyone tastes of it with reverence he will be incapable of corruption. For our fathers, water flowed from the rock; for you, blood flows from Christ. Water satisfied their thirst for a time; blood cleanses you for ever. The Jew drinks and still thirsts, but when you drink you will be incapable of thirst. What happened in symbol is now fulfilled in reality.
If what you marvel at is a shadow, how great is the reality whose very shadow you marvel at. Listen to this, which shows that what happened in the time of our fathers was but a shadow. They drank, it is written, from the rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. All this took place as a symbol for us. You know now what is more excellent: light is preferable to its shadow, reality to its symbol, the body of the Giver to the manna he gave from heaven.
Reading
From the treatise On the Mysteries by Saint Ambrose, bishop
To the newly baptised on the eucharist
Fresh from the waters and resplendent in these garments, God’s holy people hasten to the altar of Christ, saying: I will go in to the altar of God, to God who gives joy to my youth. They have sloughed off the old skin of error, their youth renewed like an eagle’s, and they make haste to approach that heavenly banquet. They come and, seeing the sacred altar prepared, cry out: You have prepared a table in my sight. David puts these words into their mouths: The Lord is my shepherd and nothing will be lacking to me. He has set me down there in a place of pasture. He has brought me beside refreshing water. Further on, we read: For though I should walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I shall not be afraid of evils, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff have given me comfort. You have prepared in my sight a table against those who afflict me. You have made my head rich in oil, and your cup, which exhilarates, how excellent it is.
It is wonderful that God rained manna on our fathers and they were fed with daily food from heaven. And so it is written: Man ate the bread of angels. Yet those who ate that bread all died in the desert. But the food that you receive, that living bread which came down from heaven, supplies the very substance of eternal life, and whoever will eat it will never die, for it is the body of Christ.
Consider now which is the more excellent: the bread of angels or the flesh of Christ, which is indeed the body that gives life. The first was manna from heaven, the second is above the heavens. One was of heaven, the other is of the Lord of the heavens; one subject to corruption if it was kept till the morrow, the other free from all corruption, for if anyone tastes of it with reverence he will be incapable of corruption. For our fathers, water flowed from the rock; for you, blood flows from Christ. Water satisfied their thirst for a time; blood cleanses you for ever. The Jew drinks and still thirsts, but when you drink you will be incapable of thirst. What happened in symbol is now fulfilled in reality.
If what you marvel at is a shadow, how great is the reality whose very shadow you marvel at. Listen to this, which shows that what happened in the time of our fathers was but a shadow. They drank, it is written, from the rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. All this took place as a symbol for us. You know now what is more excellent: light is preferable to its shadow, reality to its symbol, the body of the Giver to the manna he gave from heaven.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Last night made me come to appreciate some things....
Here are a few things I love about my faith.
I thought I'd share.
1. 2000 years unbroken. We don't have any gaps in our history, the Holy Spirit has been guiding us along the same path (the path Christ gave us) for 2000 years.
2. I love these words, "You are Rock, and upon this Rock I will build my Church and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it."
3. I love that faith and reason are to go hand in hand. You can use your mind and your heart to glorify God because the Catholic faith makes sense!!!
4. I love the Eucharist. Christ in our Church, just like he said....until the end of the age.
5. I love the Bible and the fact that it is a product of Catholic Tradition. It didn't just pop out of thin air and King James didn't put it together!
6. I love that our sacraments are documented and they're the same from the beginning. I guess that goes with tradition, but it's also cool on its own.
7. I have more than emotion or blind faith to back up my religion.
8. I can count on the saints to pray for me. What great examples!
9. With the Catholic faith there is always an answer. I just have to go find it.
10. I'm so glad we have the Pope and Bishops and Priests. Where would we be without them? Thank you awesome priests and thank you awesome seminarians who are going to be there someday!
The conversion story of a former protestant pastor.
Read it here!!
I thought I'd share.
1. 2000 years unbroken. We don't have any gaps in our history, the Holy Spirit has been guiding us along the same path (the path Christ gave us) for 2000 years.
2. I love these words, "You are Rock, and upon this Rock I will build my Church and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it."
3. I love that faith and reason are to go hand in hand. You can use your mind and your heart to glorify God because the Catholic faith makes sense!!!
4. I love the Eucharist. Christ in our Church, just like he said....until the end of the age.
5. I love the Bible and the fact that it is a product of Catholic Tradition. It didn't just pop out of thin air and King James didn't put it together!
6. I love that our sacraments are documented and they're the same from the beginning. I guess that goes with tradition, but it's also cool on its own.
7. I have more than emotion or blind faith to back up my religion.
8. I can count on the saints to pray for me. What great examples!
9. With the Catholic faith there is always an answer. I just have to go find it.
10. I'm so glad we have the Pope and Bishops and Priests. Where would we be without them? Thank you awesome priests and thank you awesome seminarians who are going to be there someday!
The conversion story of a former protestant pastor.
Read it here!!
Friday, July 10, 2009
business?
Soo....I've been thinking of starting an Etsy store, but I'm not sure about the whole paypal thing and the whole $0.20 per item listed thing, and just a general feeling of "I don't know if this is right for me" hangs over the whole thing. Anywhoo, I talked to the owner of Alleluia Catholic store in Mill Creek today and she said that she'd sell some of the stuff I make consignment! Cool! Anyways, here's some of what I'll be selling. Still working on prices, but I think the bracelets will be $15. I'll probably get chains for the pendants too. Let me know what you think! I'll probably be taking a trip to Michaels soon to get some materials to start making my own cameos too. We'll see how that goes.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Coerced abortion
This is disgusting. I just saw an article on American Papist talking about a Men's magazine that gave tips to men about how to coerce their girlfriends into having an abortion. Check it out.
"Outrageous: Absolutely vile’ advice column tells men how to pressure pregnant women to abort"
The blatant disregard for the fact that the woman is carrying a human person is disgusting. The liberal media's approval of abortion is just disgusting. Blech, I don't know what else to say.
Pray to end abortion.
"Outrageous: Absolutely vile’ advice column tells men how to pressure pregnant women to abort"
The blatant disregard for the fact that the woman is carrying a human person is disgusting. The liberal media's approval of abortion is just disgusting. Blech, I don't know what else to say.
Pray to end abortion.
Friday, July 03, 2009
Modern Physics and Ancient Faith
Jon just finished reading this book, "Modern Physics and Ancient Faith". While he was reading it he described a lot of it to me and it sounded soooooo interesting I had to start it as soon as he finished. It's by Dr. Stephen M. Barr a physics professor at the University of Delaware. He received a Papal medal for it. Yeah, it's that good!
I'm only on page 15 and so far the book is so great that I need to share some things.
Did you know that St. Augustine, St. Clement, Origen and other early Church people held this view about creation
"St. Augustine held that the six days of creation were not to be taken literally as a period of time or a temporal sucession. He held, rather, that all things were produced simultaneously by God in a single instant and subsequently underwent some natural process of development."
Sounds a little like Big Bang and evolution :)
I knew St. Augustine was an awesome doctor of the faith, but I didn't know he wrote stuff like this:
"Usually even a non-Christian knows something about the earth, the heavens, and the other elements of this world, about the motion and orbit of the stars and even their size and relative positions, about the predictable eclipses of the sun and moon, the cycles of the years and seasons, about the kinds of animals, shrubs, stones, and so forth, and this knowledge he holds to as being certain from reason and experience. Now it is a disgraceful and dangerous thing for an infidel to hear a Christian, presumably giving the meaning of Holy Scripture, talking nonsense on these topics, and we should take all means to prevent such an embarrassing situation, in which people show up vast ignorance in a Christian and laugh it to scorn.... If they find a Christian mistaken in a field which they themselves know well and hear him maintaining his foolish opinions about our books, how are they going to believe our books in matters concerning the ressurrection of the dead, the hope of eternal life, and the kingdom of heaven, when they think their pages are full of falshoods on facts which they themselves have learnt from experience and the light of reason? Reckless and incompetent expounders of Holy Scripture bring untold trouble and sorrow on their wiser brethren, ... to defend their utterly foolish and obviously untrue statements, they will try to call upon Holy Scripture, ... although they understand neither what they say nor the things about which they make the assertion."
SO AWESOME!!
This is why believers have a responsibility to educate themselves about the natural world and science. Basically you don't want to be caught spouting nonsense. Faith and Reason people, faith and reason. JPII said something at one point about Science and Faith both being out to find the truth. Since faith and reason go hand in hand we can't deny that which is found to be true! Something like that anyways....
In short, this book is rad. I highly recommend it, even though I'm only on the 15th page. Jon said the whole thing is awesome so I'd trust his opinion. I'll update more as I go on!!
I'm only on page 15 and so far the book is so great that I need to share some things.
Did you know that St. Augustine, St. Clement, Origen and other early Church people held this view about creation
"St. Augustine held that the six days of creation were not to be taken literally as a period of time or a temporal sucession. He held, rather, that all things were produced simultaneously by God in a single instant and subsequently underwent some natural process of development."
Sounds a little like Big Bang and evolution :)
I knew St. Augustine was an awesome doctor of the faith, but I didn't know he wrote stuff like this:
"Usually even a non-Christian knows something about the earth, the heavens, and the other elements of this world, about the motion and orbit of the stars and even their size and relative positions, about the predictable eclipses of the sun and moon, the cycles of the years and seasons, about the kinds of animals, shrubs, stones, and so forth, and this knowledge he holds to as being certain from reason and experience. Now it is a disgraceful and dangerous thing for an infidel to hear a Christian, presumably giving the meaning of Holy Scripture, talking nonsense on these topics, and we should take all means to prevent such an embarrassing situation, in which people show up vast ignorance in a Christian and laugh it to scorn.... If they find a Christian mistaken in a field which they themselves know well and hear him maintaining his foolish opinions about our books, how are they going to believe our books in matters concerning the ressurrection of the dead, the hope of eternal life, and the kingdom of heaven, when they think their pages are full of falshoods on facts which they themselves have learnt from experience and the light of reason? Reckless and incompetent expounders of Holy Scripture bring untold trouble and sorrow on their wiser brethren, ... to defend their utterly foolish and obviously untrue statements, they will try to call upon Holy Scripture, ... although they understand neither what they say nor the things about which they make the assertion."
SO AWESOME!!
This is why believers have a responsibility to educate themselves about the natural world and science. Basically you don't want to be caught spouting nonsense. Faith and Reason people, faith and reason. JPII said something at one point about Science and Faith both being out to find the truth. Since faith and reason go hand in hand we can't deny that which is found to be true! Something like that anyways....
In short, this book is rad. I highly recommend it, even though I'm only on the 15th page. Jon said the whole thing is awesome so I'd trust his opinion. I'll update more as I go on!!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Birthday
Last Friday was my birthday!
My husband once again surprised me with a cool get together bbq at Meadowdale Beach park on Thursday. It was a small gathering but loads of fun. We got a workout hiking back up from the beach though. Man that incline where the stairs are is brutal!!
The next day (my actual birthday) we drove up to Canada and caught the last half (Silly Everett traffic) of the Mass of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart then went to get Pho with my parents.
On Saturday I had an awesome BBQ in my parent's back yard with the family and some friends. Clare got to play with her cousins and her friend Seher and we all ate lots of great Filipino food that Mom and Dad made too much of. :)
Sunday and Father's Day we went to Mass then headed straight down to be with Jon's family for Father's Day dinner. Lots of travelling!
On Thursday someone at the bbq asked me what year # 25 was like. I didn't say too much besides, "pretty cool" but I've been thinking more about that.
What a blessing my 25th year was!
I...
...went to Australia for World Youth Day
...had my first child
...transitioned from work to being a stay at home mom
...my best friend Annie got married and I got to be her maid of honor
...learned how to make all sorts of things (spa stuff, cool jewelry, pretzels, naan, all sorts of bread stuff, butter chicken, much more)
...went to Eastern Washington for the first time
...celebrated my first Mother's Day
...am learning to practice the Little Way every day
...helped out with Theology of the body at another parish
...paricipated in 40 days for life while pregnant
...am growing in patience as Clare learns that screaming is her favorie form of communication
...took more pictures and video than I ever thought I would in my entire lifetime
I'm sure more will come to me, but that's a little bit of what my 25th year was like.
Thanks for another year God. You bless me in more ways than I can count.
My husband once again surprised me with a cool get together bbq at Meadowdale Beach park on Thursday. It was a small gathering but loads of fun. We got a workout hiking back up from the beach though. Man that incline where the stairs are is brutal!!
The next day (my actual birthday) we drove up to Canada and caught the last half (Silly Everett traffic) of the Mass of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart then went to get Pho with my parents.
On Saturday I had an awesome BBQ in my parent's back yard with the family and some friends. Clare got to play with her cousins and her friend Seher and we all ate lots of great Filipino food that Mom and Dad made too much of. :)
Sunday and Father's Day we went to Mass then headed straight down to be with Jon's family for Father's Day dinner. Lots of travelling!
On Thursday someone at the bbq asked me what year # 25 was like. I didn't say too much besides, "pretty cool" but I've been thinking more about that.
What a blessing my 25th year was!
I...
...went to Australia for World Youth Day
...had my first child
...transitioned from work to being a stay at home mom
...my best friend Annie got married and I got to be her maid of honor
...learned how to make all sorts of things (spa stuff, cool jewelry, pretzels, naan, all sorts of bread stuff, butter chicken, much more)
...went to Eastern Washington for the first time
...celebrated my first Mother's Day
...am learning to practice the Little Way every day
...helped out with Theology of the body at another parish
...paricipated in 40 days for life while pregnant
...am growing in patience as Clare learns that screaming is her favorie form of communication
...took more pictures and video than I ever thought I would in my entire lifetime
I'm sure more will come to me, but that's a little bit of what my 25th year was like.
Thanks for another year God. You bless me in more ways than I can count.
my eight! Lauren tagged me!
Tagged by Lauren Frisch
8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:
1. Jon coming home at a decent hour today.
2. My new niece being born in August.
3. Seeing my friends be ordained.
4. Clare's first word.
5. Open house at Evans Lake next weekend.
6. Starting Clare on solids this week.
7. My mom parents next visit down here in July.
8. Clare's first sign.
8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Went to mass
2. Drove for a few hours from Canada back here.
3. Wished Jon Happy father's day like 4 or 5 times.
4. Hung out with my family.
5. Hung out with Jon's family.
6. Changed a poopy diaper in the back seat in the Alderwood mall parking lot.
7. Taught Clare a few tunes on the piano.
8. Listened to Clare scream herself to sleep :(
8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
1. Swim laps whenever I wanted.
2. Start an online Catholic jewelry store. (considering etsy, but still unsure)
3. Sew clothes.
4. Finish the 4 books I'm reading simultaneously.
5. Be disciplined enough to read the Divine office every day.
6. Buy a house.
7. Travel to the Philippines so Jon can meet the rest of the family.
8. Travel to Euyrope again so Jon can see how cool the Vatican, Lourdes, Fatima, Paris and Salamanca are.
8 Shows I Watch: - I can't get some of these anymore, but if I did I'd watch. Only Heroes and Fringe get weekly attention.
1. Heroes
2. Fringe
3. Legend of the Seeker (though I don't know if it's on anymore)
4. What not to wear
5. Myth busters
6. CSI
7. Law and order
8. Masterpiece movies
I tag Jessica!
8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:
1. Jon coming home at a decent hour today.
2. My new niece being born in August.
3. Seeing my friends be ordained.
4. Clare's first word.
5. Open house at Evans Lake next weekend.
6. Starting Clare on solids this week.
7. My mom parents next visit down here in July.
8. Clare's first sign.
8 Things I Did Yesterday:
1. Went to mass
2. Drove for a few hours from Canada back here.
3. Wished Jon Happy father's day like 4 or 5 times.
4. Hung out with my family.
5. Hung out with Jon's family.
6. Changed a poopy diaper in the back seat in the Alderwood mall parking lot.
7. Taught Clare a few tunes on the piano.
8. Listened to Clare scream herself to sleep :(
8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
1. Swim laps whenever I wanted.
2. Start an online Catholic jewelry store. (considering etsy, but still unsure)
3. Sew clothes.
4. Finish the 4 books I'm reading simultaneously.
5. Be disciplined enough to read the Divine office every day.
6. Buy a house.
7. Travel to the Philippines so Jon can meet the rest of the family.
8. Travel to Euyrope again so Jon can see how cool the Vatican, Lourdes, Fatima, Paris and Salamanca are.
8 Shows I Watch: - I can't get some of these anymore, but if I did I'd watch. Only Heroes and Fringe get weekly attention.
1. Heroes
2. Fringe
3. Legend of the Seeker (though I don't know if it's on anymore)
4. What not to wear
5. Myth busters
6. CSI
7. Law and order
8. Masterpiece movies
I tag Jessica!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Backwards Culture of Death
This is an article a friend sent me. She said it makes her angry. It makes me angry too, but I can't say that I'm surprised that this is happening since the man the nation elected as President was all about making abortion more available.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29864032/from/ET/
Doesn't anyone see how backwards this is? Why is there so much money going in to contraception and abortion? People want their babies!! Give them money so they can have their babies!! Not abort them!! God help us.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29864032/from/ET/
Doesn't anyone see how backwards this is? Why is there so much money going in to contraception and abortion? People want their babies!! Give them money so they can have their babies!! Not abort them!! God help us.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Clare's communication skills
I've been trying to get her making noise on the camera for a couple of weeks now. She finally got over her stage fright and let loose!! Ha ha!!
I don't know how to turn the video, so sorry for the neck workout!
I don't know how to turn the video, so sorry for the neck workout!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Vaccines
I had heard that some vaccines were made using cells from aborted fetuses. That disturbed me, but I didn't check it out at the time. Recently a friend sent me an article about embryo adoption because we had a conversation about it a while back. It had some information about a company called avm biotech which is committed to producing vaccines without aborted fetal cell lines. So I started reading more about all this. Here's my info track so far. I thought you might find it interesting.
The article my friend sent me
http://www.seattlearch.org/FormationAndEducation/Progress/VaticanBioethicsDocument01-22-09.htm
the company that is trying to do things ethically
http://www.avmbiotech.com/home.html
more info about the vaccines and how they're produced
http://www.lifecanada.org/html/science/Vaccines/VaccineQuestionandAnswers.html
Moral implications
"On Vaccines Made From Cells of Aborted Fetuses - Pontifical Academy for Life Response "
http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1452002/posts
"However, in this situation, the aspect of passive cooperation is that which stands out most. It is up to the faithful and citizens of upright conscience -- parents, doctors, etc. -- to oppose, even by making an objection of conscience, the ever more widespread attacks against life and the "culture of death" which underlies them.
From this point of view, the use of vaccines whose production is connected with procured abortion constitutes at least a mediate remote passive material cooperation to the abortion, and an immediate passive material cooperation with regard to their marketing.
Furthermore, on a cultural level, the use of such vaccines contributes in the creation of a generalized social consensus to the operation of the pharmaceutical industries which produce them in an immoral way.
Therefore, doctors and parents have a duty to take recourse to alternative vaccines [13] -- if they exist -- putting pressure on the political authorities and health systems so that other vaccines without moral problems become available. They should take recourse, if necessary, to the use of conscientious objection [14] with regard to the use of vaccines produced by means of cell lines of aborted human fetal origin.
.....
Summary
To summarize, it must be confirmed that there is a grave responsibility to use alternative vaccines and to make a conscientious objection with regard to those which have moral problems.
As regards the vaccines without an alternative, the need to contest so that others may be prepared must be reaffirmed, as should be the lawfulness of using the former in the meantime insomuch as is necessary in order to avoid a serious risk not only for one's own children but also, and perhaps more specifically, for the health conditions of the population as a whole -- especially for pregnant women
The lawfulness of the use of these vaccines should not be misinterpreted as a declaration of the lawfulness of their production, marketing and use, but is to be understood as being a passive material cooperation and, in its mildest and remotest sense, also active, morally justified as an "extrema ratio" due to the necessity to provide for the good of one's children and of the people who come in contact with the children -- pregnant women.
Such cooperation occurs in a context of moral coercion of the conscience of parents, who are forced to choose to act against their conscience or otherwise, to put the health of their children and of the population as a whole at risk. This is an unjust alternative choice, which must be eliminated as soon as possible.
The article my friend sent me
http://www.seattlearch.org/FormationAndEducation/Progress/VaticanBioethicsDocument01-22-09.htm
the company that is trying to do things ethically
http://www.avmbiotech.com/home.html
more info about the vaccines and how they're produced
http://www.lifecanada.org/html/science/Vaccines/VaccineQuestionandAnswers.html
Moral implications
"On Vaccines Made From Cells of Aborted Fetuses - Pontifical Academy for Life Response "
http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1452002/posts
"However, in this situation, the aspect of passive cooperation is that which stands out most. It is up to the faithful and citizens of upright conscience -- parents, doctors, etc. -- to oppose, even by making an objection of conscience, the ever more widespread attacks against life and the "culture of death" which underlies them.
From this point of view, the use of vaccines whose production is connected with procured abortion constitutes at least a mediate remote passive material cooperation to the abortion, and an immediate passive material cooperation with regard to their marketing.
Furthermore, on a cultural level, the use of such vaccines contributes in the creation of a generalized social consensus to the operation of the pharmaceutical industries which produce them in an immoral way.
Therefore, doctors and parents have a duty to take recourse to alternative vaccines [13] -- if they exist -- putting pressure on the political authorities and health systems so that other vaccines without moral problems become available. They should take recourse, if necessary, to the use of conscientious objection [14] with regard to the use of vaccines produced by means of cell lines of aborted human fetal origin.
.....
Summary
To summarize, it must be confirmed that there is a grave responsibility to use alternative vaccines and to make a conscientious objection with regard to those which have moral problems.
As regards the vaccines without an alternative, the need to contest so that others may be prepared must be reaffirmed, as should be the lawfulness of using the former in the meantime insomuch as is necessary in order to avoid a serious risk not only for one's own children but also, and perhaps more specifically, for the health conditions of the population as a whole -- especially for pregnant women
The lawfulness of the use of these vaccines should not be misinterpreted as a declaration of the lawfulness of their production, marketing and use, but is to be understood as being a passive material cooperation and, in its mildest and remotest sense, also active, morally justified as an "extrema ratio" due to the necessity to provide for the good of one's children and of the people who come in contact with the children -- pregnant women.
Such cooperation occurs in a context of moral coercion of the conscience of parents, who are forced to choose to act against their conscience or otherwise, to put the health of their children and of the population as a whole at risk. This is an unjust alternative choice, which must be eliminated as soon as possible.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Clare after 1 month
Our little Clare is already a month old. I don't know where the time went! Out the window with our sleep I guess!! She's had a busy first month what with snowstorms, Christmas at the Ramseyers', New Years at the Ledesma's in Canada, a wedding in Bellingham and her Baptism last week!
Her Baptism was really special. Our little Clare Scholastica was Baptised in a truck driving school on the eve of the Baptism of the Lord. Well....okay so it's a Church inside a truck driving school, but it's still fun to say. All parishes have to start somewhere! Fr. Frank made the private baptism feel extra special. It was wonderful having a priest we've known for so long be able to bring our baby into life with Christ. I wasn't sure how it would feel as a parent to have our baby Baptised, but I think for Jon and I the most prominent feeling was of relief. For me it felt like our first duty of being a parent was fulfilled. Task #1 get her baptised has been completed. I almost had a feeling that someone up there kept telling me, "The clock is ticking! Get it done!!"
So when it finally happened I was a lot more relaxed. Ah, who knows it might have been the great smell of the Chrism working some aromatherapy magic. ;) ha ha! j/k
Woohoo! Now she's without original sin! It's crazy to think that she'll basically be in a state of grace until she's 7 at the age of reason. That's so cool.
God does marvellous things with our lives. Baptising our baby was step one in acknowledging that. We had the chance to sign the sacramental child rental papers. I think it was St. Therese of Lisieux's mother who instilled the idea in her that God had only let her mother borrow her for a time before she was to be returned to God. That's a lot of what I thought about as the water was pouring over her head. I just kept thinking, "We'll take good care of her for you God."
Choice Fr. Frank quotes from the baptism:
Choice Fr. Frank quotes from the baptism:
"Yay no more pagan baby!" - after baptising Clare with the Holy Water
"This will be the most well documented baptism in a truck driving school ever!" - after all the camera flashes
"This will be the most well documented baptism in a truck driving school ever!" - after all the camera flashes
Here are some of my other favorite shots of her in the past week. She feels like she's grown so much! My arms tire quickly now when I hold her and Jon found out last night that he can't secure her diaper as tightly as before. It seems that when you're a parent time just feels like it's constantly slipping away, so you really have to make a point to enjoy every second of their development. People aren't kidding when they say, "They'll be all grown up before you know it!"
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Pictures of Clare from the Hospital
This is easier than emailing people. The shots we have are really big. My sister Joy took these while she was at the hospital for Clare's birth and through the next day.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Baby Clare
Well, she's out!
Clare Scholastica was born on December 19th 2008 at 6:46pm. She was 6lbs 11oz and 19.5 inches long.
The started me on pitocin at around 8am, broke my water and my ob described me as 3cm dilated after forcing me open with a balloon. After 11 hours, no further dilation and Clare not dropping any further into my pelvis they gave me a choice
1. Get an epidural to deal with the contractions which were around 1 minute apart and rendered me unable to speak while they were happening and just wait to see if anything else happens (they said I'd probably have to have a c-section in the end.)
2. Go straight for the c-section.
The doctor (not my ob, but a nice parter of the same practice) told me that the chances of me dilating further were slim considering my mother didn't dilate with my sister or me and my sister didn't dilate with her kids. After 11 hours of pitocin and contracting it didn't seem likely that I would progress and that I might just end up spending hours in pain with no result and a c-section anyways..........
...............................so we decided to have a c-section.
About 20 minutes after I signed the forms Jon had Clare in his arms. :)
We're recovering very well and Clare has gained some weight since birth. She had her first pediatric appointment today and we found that she's in the 15th weight percentile, 35th length, and 70th for head circumference!! Ha ha!! My baby has a big head.
Anyways, here is my favorite shot of our cutie pie!!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Update
Being induced tomorrow at 7:15am!! Hopefully all goes well and we'll be able to show everyone pictures of little Clare Scholastica soon!! We're bringing the laptop and the hospital has wifi. Ha ha! So if Jon is still functioning after tomorrow's ordeal he'll probably be posting pics of our little bundle! Please pray for us!! Thanks!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Waiting....
So .....she's 4 days late now. She was supposed to be born on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Dec. 12th). Interesting factoid about the image of our Lady of Guadalupe: in the image she is wearing an aztec maternity belt to show that she's pregnant! Cool huh?
Just like me....I guess Mary wouldn't have had a specific due date to look towards when she was giving birth. Or maybe she just knew that Jesus would come out at exactly 9 months 'cuz the Son of God probably wouldn't be tardy. Ah, who knows. Mother Mary please pray for my patience.
I can't say I've ever wanted to feel bodily pain in my life....but going against all survival instincts I am really wanting the pain of contractions to start up. At least, everyone says they're going to be painful. C'mon baby! So prayers for baby to come soon would be greatly appreciated. I'd rather not be induced, which may be the case if she's not out by Friday.
There are a few reasons I'd rather not be induced:
1. My doctor will be on vacation.
2. Artificial administration of oxytocin usually means fast, painful, full force contractions instead of a gradual build up to them.
3. There's not even a guarantee that I'd be induced on Friday. I guess we have to request days and it's possible that I may be denied Friday, so it may have to happen next week! Being in the hospital on Christmas would be pretty lame.
Ah, but what a lesson for advent eh?
Patience people. I read so many of my friends' blogs saying that parenting is a time when you learn to give up control because you realize that you didn't have it anyways. So I guess it's time to start realizing that now. You think with all the surprises in life I'd have learned that already. Ha ha! Oh well, time to learn God's time.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Monday, December 08, 2008
Coffee
The doctor said I can have a little caffeine. So don't worry, it's okay.
They sell Mystic Monk coffee at the Catholic Bookstore in town and I've been wanting to try it every since I saw an ad on my google ads sidebar, so I bought some on Saturday. Then I started hearing ads on Catholic Radio. I was on their website last week and about to order but I didn't.
This is my first brew of their Chocolate Mint blend and it's awesome. I highly reccommend buying this coffee! The Carmelite Monks of Wyoming Brew it and sell it so they can build a new Church for their order! So support a good growing Catholic religious order and get some rad coffee!!
There's a link to the Mystic Monk Coffee site.
http://www.mysticmonkcoffee.com/monks.html
Here's a link to the Carmelite Monks of Wyoming.
http://www.carmelitemonks.org/
They sell Mystic Monk coffee at the Catholic Bookstore in town and I've been wanting to try it every since I saw an ad on my google ads sidebar, so I bought some on Saturday. Then I started hearing ads on Catholic Radio. I was on their website last week and about to order but I didn't.
This is my first brew of their Chocolate Mint blend and it's awesome. I highly reccommend buying this coffee! The Carmelite Monks of Wyoming Brew it and sell it so they can build a new Church for their order! So support a good growing Catholic religious order and get some rad coffee!!
There's a link to the Mystic Monk Coffee site.
http://www.mysticmonkcoffee.com/monks.html
Here's a link to the Carmelite Monks of Wyoming.
http://www.carmelitemonks.org/
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