Tag Archives: Prayer

Teacher duty day…1/4 of the school year: DONE!

And this Friday finds our lovely children home with Hubby (as he actually tries to work with them around…good luck with that, babe!) as their teachers put together report cards wrapping up the first 9 week period of the school year. And you’ll find me…..at work. Whatever. At least I’m not waking/dragging kids out of bed, to the breakfast table and then herding them through general hygiene and dress to the car. A little break, if you will. I’ll take it. You’ll also find me “groupie-style” with Jennifer Fulwiler and peeps throwing down some Quick takes…7 to be exact.

1) I’ve lost my way this week. Eating healthy that is. It started with my sister and nephews in town for the weekend (I always like to blame my sister….it feels comfortable…), then rolled into a potluck lunch at work and now here it is Friday and I’m wondering where in the HECK did my mojo go??? Fortunately, I’m still moving. Each day I seem to pull it together a little more, however, it’s KOOKOO (for cocoa puffs) KRAZAY what sugar does to you….it’s like a drug. Serious. C’mon, just a taste. Everyone’s doing it. Before you know it…it’s Friday and your body is all kinds of confused and begging you to just. walk. away.

2) We let our oldest stay home from school one day. End of the semester. The older grades were doing PSAT testing and the 9th graders were stuck in home room all day. Not to fear though….I left him a list. *finish driving permit practice test *laundry. all of it. *dishwasher *vacuum house*mow lawn. front and back. and neighbors. front and back. It was sooooo nice to come home to a clean and tidy house. We should keep him home more often…

3) I had to make a difficult decision in the best interest of someone else this week. Sadly this resulted in cutting out a treasured annual trip. However, in doing so, and receiving affirmation from a friend in my decision, it was an incredibly FAST and certain answer to prayer. I’m not sure what God has in store for ME that weekend, but I know He’ll be busy and I’m happy to not be an obstacle, but rather an intercessor, and that’s OK. The most important work ALWAYS happens behind the scenes.

4) Our girl has her cheer competition this weekend and each practice I’m more amazed at how these girls have put so much effort in over these past few weeks and to see this routine come together. Tonight, I actually got a lump in my throat as they practiced in front of the older and younger cheer groups. Pathetic, I know. What can I say? I’m a sap. Her first year cheering and of this I am sure: Sunday will be quite the experience that is a certainty. Which also means the season is almost over. Can I get an AMEN?!??! **note to self, grab earplugs from MRI tomorrow….

5) We are one week into the Read the Catechism in a Year for the year of Faith. I must say, I am truly enjoying it. So is Hubby! It’s in small bite size pieces (so far) and it’s a great Faith discussion for us to focus on TOGETHER during this year.

6) It’s Biketoberfest here. Thinking about taking my camera this weekend and shooting some frames. An interesting mix. Soccer. Football. Romney/Ryan. Cheer comp. Bikes. We live in an interesting and eclectic area. Fo’ sho!

7) Now that I’ve stayed up too late…it’s time to go to bed….and get a walk in before work. Because I can. Happy Friday, all and have a super weekend!!

**in reference to a portion of #6, I will NOT be attending…mainly due to time constraints and kid activities, also I really don’t enjoy getting stuck in traffic, etc. I’m good, I’ve made up my mind….I completely agree with Calah Alexander on her article about Politics…I’m pretty sure she wrote it for ME…though with many more actual facts…I’m not really a detail person, so thanks, Calah!!

Friday: caffeine, cooties and chicken edition

Put a Fork in me….it’s Friday!!

Last Friday in May?!?! or 7 months until Christmas…..

6 Replies

— 1 —

We’ve been in a rut (according to the kids) as far as dinner goes, so I’ve been letting our youngest (8) pick out a few new dinners from our Publix Apron Meals collection. (We grab the recipe every week while they ~~stalk~~ chat up Rick, the cooking dude and see if he has any grub ready. Last week was a Rib dinner (not so great), Scallop dinner (delish!) and Honey mustard chicken pasta (pretty tasty). This week, she picked out Peanut Satay chicken. I figured it would be tricky, since we aren’t a very spicy or Thai craving people….however, OH MAN! Huge hit. Especially the Edamame sauté side dish. We’ll keep up with this…it’s shaking up dinner in a good way!

— 2 —

I finished the Kite Runner. I can’t say my Hubby didn’t warn me. Multiple times. I just finished yesterday. It was “difficult”. In that heart wrenching, yanking it out of your chest, stomping on it, trying to shove it back in “difficult”. A glimpse of a life I really can’t bear to think about most days. I’m still processing the book. Rest assured, the next book will be light and fluffy. Maybe the next two books. I need to regroup.

— 3 —

We hit the beach for Happy hour last night. I needed it after finishing my book (see #2). It was great. Nice breeze. Refreshing water. Fun waves. Ahhhh. My soul rejoiced. Heart refreshed. Zero calories and no hangover 😉

— 4 —

Adoration. Lunch break. Never disappointing. I went for peace regarding a few things in my life right now…ask and you shall receive. (Matthew 7:7) Super cool. I don’t ALWAYS get my prayer request answered so quickly!! Sadly, I did NOT get the handout with bullet points and step-by-step instructions as to the direction I should take. It’s coming though. Probably in the format I least expect, seems to be how it usually works out.

— 5 —

The kids all received their FCAT scores from their teachers and everyone passed. Hallelujah! There wasn’t a “doubt” per se, but there’s been a lot of controversy on the testing changes this year and they had to have an emergency education meeting for the state to address the scores (they were THAT bad). It’s an awful test. Every year they take it is another year I mourn the fact I can’t home school (sorta) and not subject our kids to this ridiculous test and the immense amount of pressure it brings to the teachers and the students. EVERY. YEAR. There must be some growth in it for us. somewhere.

— 6 —

Apparently, my our lazy summer plans just got less lazy. Our youngest wants to do Pop Warner cheerleading. She’s been interested before, but dance and soccer have always won out in prior years. This year she’s committed. And our oldest daughter wants to play Club soccer. She’s been conditioning with DaddiO this week, running and biking and will start drills next week since tryouts are in about 10 days. She’s better than she thinks she is, she’ll just need to find that “competitive” spirit and learn to dump the “nurturer” to the curb during game time. Thankfully the boys will be focusing on skateboarding and practicing French Horn and Xbox. And they have their little lawn business. So they are set. phew.

— 7 —

We’ve been hitting the old home movies this week. The girls LOVE to see themselves as babies (their baby scrapbooks are worn. out.) The movies are putting them over the moon. Meanwhile, Hubby and I have vacillated between sadness, laughter and absolute AMAZEMENT that we made it through those years mentally intact–for the most part. It’s such a bittersweet, tangible thing to see your sweet BABIES and toddlers and now you look UP to look them in the eye. Surreal. And I did not enjoy those years enough. I am, however, relieved that I am not really shrieking or scolding anyone (on camera), and I have video proof that I did laugh, so maybe I enjoyed it more than I think and it just went so quickly I don’t remember.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

and my other May blogging friends!

Laura

Lynnell

Apurva

Brite

Amanda

Lea

NFP is hard

2 Replies

**warning: if you don’t want to hear about NFP (Natural Family Planning), you might just want to skip down to everyone else….

We’ve been doing this a long time. (With an unscheduled break in between) It’s still hard. If you aren’t aware of what NFP is, I’ll give you a super quick version or you can head over HERE to get the full version. Essentially, it is tracking your body’s natural temperature cycles in addition to your body’s mucous (EWWW, wish there was another word, sorry) pattern to determine the most fertile time of the month to either a) become pregnant or b) avoid a pregnancy. Generally done with God’s will in mind and being open to life. Although, you don’t have to be Catholic to use it.

Now, an egg’s lifespan is a mere 24 hours (at best), but sperm can last several (up to 4!!!) days in the fallopian tubes on their journey to conquer the egg. Therefore, if you are avoiding a pregnancy and you are using NFP there can be a substantial abstinence period depending on the regularity of your cycle. Substantial people. Anywhere from a week to 14 days or more. Like I said, it depends on your regularity.

For the most part, people who use NFP are OPEN TO LIFE. They believe God has a plan, that His plan doesn’t always gel with what we believe the plan to be, and His plan is ALWAYS better….even if it doesn’t seem that way at the time. He can use ANYthing for good. So “open to life” means, if a pregnancy happens, they are OK with it. Sometimes it is meant to be. Just ask the people who contracepted and still conceived. If God wills it….it’s going to be. Believe it.

The difficult part of NFP is in the abstinence (obviously). That part is also the most fruit-bearing. This is the period to communicate and find other ways to be close, to enjoy each other’s company without it being all about sex. Sometimes for women it’s easier….though usually around ovulation women are more amorous. So you have to find a way around not getting all worked up and other ways of being distracted. That. Is. Challenging. Mainly because it’s a two-way street and if you both aren’t on that same path and wavelength there is a LOT of potential for strife. Simcha Fisher wrote a great piece about that in the National Catholic Register.

The other difficult part about NFP is that not a lot of people practice it. Even in the Catholic church. Sometimes those that do, don’t talk about it. So how in the world do you help each other? Encourage each other? Commiserate with each other? It’s tricky. We are called to encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11). This is where friends come in very handy!! We have a large Catholic community, but honestly, I can only say I know for SURE 2 that practice NFP…although I suspect a few others. The subject just does NOT come up.

The great part about NFP is that: a) After the abstinence period…..GAME ON! Well worth the wait. and long-term, b) couple who practice NFP in their marriage have EXTREMELY low divorce rates. Other pluses to abstinence:

mastering the art of self-control, which really just spills over to EVERY aspect of life…finances, physical well-being, prayer. Simply because in this life, although we’ve grown quite accustomed to instant gratification, not everything is to be obtained. RIGHT. NOW.
Improving communication. It’s a good way to pass the time….
Picking up hobbies. The kids won’t always be home and when that empty nest comes, there should be some things you enjoy doing together. Aside from bedroom “stuff”.

And these “pluses” will spill over to our children as we lead by example. It’s a difficult example to lead, don’t get me wrong!! However, once practiced and then “second-nature” it will be a fruit well worth the wait. As for us…..we’re in the practicing stage. So pray for us!!! We’ll be honing those skills, too!

Head on out and see what all the other May bloggers are up to!