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Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Holy Housewifery ~ Chapter 3

Chapter 3 ~ What, Me Worry?


  • "Let nothing disturb thee, nothing affright thee, all things are passing" - St. Teresa
  • "We must have a supernatural view that all will work out to the good, no matter how bewildering life seems at the moment."
  • "When we worry we are politely disbelieving God's promise that if we seek first the Kingdom of God, all else will be added."
  • Yet simply trusting God and not working to provide for ourselves will not do.  As St. Ignatius once said, "We must work as if everything depends on us, and pray as if everything depends on God."
  • When we are faced with endless worrying it may help to stand back and think: "In the light of eternity--so what?"
  • Today being Ash Wednesday, I found reading this chapter to be very appropriate.  This morning I went to Mass and was reminded that I am dust and to dust I shall return.  When I think about my life in this way, the worries that fill my mind seem so trivial.
  • This chapter also made me think of my favorite Gospel passage: Luke 12:22-34

As a side note (kind of) please keep my grandpa in your prayers.  He has been in the hospital since Monday morning.  He has cancer, which we have known about, but he was admitted on Monday for bleeding in the brain.  The doctors are not sure what exactly caused this, but he is not expected to make it through the week.  So pray for a holy death.  I thought about him today when I received my ashes at Mass: "To dust you shall return."  Also, please keep my grandma in your prayers.  I know she will deeply miss her beloved spouse.  Thank you so much!

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Holy Housewifery ~ Chapter 2

Chapter 2 ~ Pollyanna was a good kid

  • "There is nothing phony in ferreting out joy.  It takes courage to dig deep and constantly.  It takes courage to not succumb to ever-waiting-around-the-corner self-pity.  
  • There are so many things in the day that could be a cause to dwell in negativity, but finding joy in each moment will lead to your sanctity.
  • Play the "glad-game": look for the good in what you have now, right this moment--or in what you are or what you are doing.  "When we start playing [the glad game], frilling it up with our spiritual motif, it becomes an involuntary, subconscious thing.  It gets in your blood, you become an addict.  You'll even smile when the bills come in." (I don't know about that one!)
  • The story of St. Germaine was told in this chapter.  Her story is basically that of a Saintly Cinderella.  She lived with much physical suffering and her stepmother treated her like she was less than human.  She slept in a barn with the sheep and was in charge of them. Through all this physical and emotional suffering, St. Germaine was joyful.  Her "joy was not contagious.  The townspeople considered her the village idiot for being happy with so little reason, and they subjected her to the open ridicule and suspicion this position bestows."
  • Inspired by St. Germaine, I realize that I need to be more joyful--not necessarily for the purpose of spreading it to others, but just because joy is the fruit of love and to be loving is to be in close union with God.  If I want to be closer to God, then I should try more earnestly to live out the virtue of joy.
  • "Cheer up, tomorrow may be worse!"

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Holy Housewifery ~ Chapter 1





I just began reading a book called Holy Housewifery by Ethel Marbach.  It was written in the 60s and definitely has a 60s flavor to it, but I find it refreshing and very applicable to my life!  I thought it would be a good idea to post some highlights I find in the chapters so I can pass on the wisdom of a 60s "holy housewife."





Chapter 1 ~ Folk Dancing is for Other People

  • Many of the other wives we know may have good ideas about how to encourage holiness in their family members, but their ideas may not work the same in your household.  The key is to adapt ideas, not necessarily adopt ideas.  Face it, we are all different and we should not compare the holy habits of others to our own.  Our Lord wants us to be holy in a specific and personal way.  
  • "Family rituals, traditions, all must be suited to the personalities [you] live with."
  • Individual sanctity within the family: "How can we possibly know for certain that our idea about the proposed perfection of any one individual is the same as God's idea?...They belong to Him; they are only lent to us."
  • "How often our hopes are that our children be reflections of ourselves, rather than the unique being that they are.  It is our job to help them become saints, but more, help them to do it in their own way."
  • Even though Baby St.Hilaire is not born yet, I have begun developing hopes that he has a calling to the priesthood.  After reading this chapter, I realize more that I should not impose a vocation on him; rather, I should help him be open to whatever Our Lord may be calling him to.  It is so neat to think that God already has a special plan for our son.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Let's Compare...


I was looking through our blog and found my first belly picture. I couldn't believe how small I was! It is pretty amazing to see the progression over the months. Seeing this first picture made me long to be just me. I don't mean that in a selfish way- I love Baby St.Hilaire and I am honored to share my body with him. I would do anything for him! But, since I know the months are dwindling down, I can't help but long to just have him in my arms instead of my belly =)

Lately, I have not been sleeping very well. Last night I woke up from a crazy dream and found the time to be 2 am. Normally I would rejoice in having a lot more time to sleep, but I found myself feeling exhausted from sleeping. I have such vivid dreams and they seem to occur all night long. This makes my sleep seem like work. I forget who I was talking to, but I recently had a conversation with someone about this matter and they told me it was kind of God's way to prepare you for perpetual tiredness, which you are bound to have once the baby is born and keeping you up during the night. So I guess in my tiredness, I should be saying "thank you" to Our Lord for the preparation. And so, I choose to submit. I know God has a special design for motherhood, so I am glad to see Him working to prepare me for the important task of caring for His son.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Yummy Pizza

The other night we had some very yummy pizza, thanks to our friend Neil,who provided the recipe for the pizza dough. We do enjoy Papa Murphy's pizza, but I thought it would be fun to experiment and see if I could satisfy our tastes without spending the $10+ and make a healthier meal. Here are the before and after pictures:


Ta-da!!
It turned out really good and made me day dream about making it with my kids someday...

Overdue Belly Pictures

I know I promised you all belly pictures a couple of weeks ago... sorry!  I don't know what happened to the time.  Each week goes by so fast and I am always behind on my to-do lists.  So without further apology, here you go!





Just joking!!! =D

I am very glad I am not having octuplets!  I already feel uncomfortable- I can't imagine having eight babies inside of me!

Here are the real pictures:

Taken at 27 weeks (two weeks ago):


Taken 29 weeks (today):



Tuesday, February 10, 2009

One year ago today...



One year ago today, we got engaged! It is hard to believe that a full year has gone by. Today, we have been sharing our special memories of the day. The above video was sent to Andrew's phone from all the people in Bellingham after they heard that I said "yes." We also just celebrated our 6 months of marriage by taking a mini-vacation in Oregon. I love Andrew so much! I feel truly blessed to have such a wonderful and thoughtful husband.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Corina and Ed

Corina and Ed came over to visit us on Saturday.  It was a great excuse to clean the house! =)  We spent most of the day cleaning, and the house was spotless (almost).  

We had such a wonderful time with them.  After they left, Andrew said that it was good to laugh with friends.  I agree.  Don't get me wrong, Andrew and I laugh a lot-- but there is just something wonderful about being with another couple or group with whom you share so much in common.  We really miss spending quality time with our friends.  Andrew and I are both so busy, and I would like to think that life will slow down after I am done with my night classes and teaching... but then our little bundle of joy will be almost out!  We also used our friendship tablecloth for the first time at our home (thanks again Mom St.Hilaire)!  Here are some pictures from the grand event: 




Stay tuned this week--it is almost time for a new belly picture!