I'll Take Irish Twins...Twice!

I've copied and pasted my sister Tricia's entire post because for some of us (ok, maybe just me), sometimes clicking on links is mentally taxing or maybe it's just blog ADD,  anyways I just don't click the link sometimes, I don't know.

So a little background on my sister Tricia...
This is a summarized version of her fairytale: Phil, oldest of 10, graduated from West Pointe and was wrestling for the Army in Colorado. Tricia, 3rd of 11, was studying to be a nurse in Georgia. They met, fell in love, and then he left to serve in Afganastan. They got engaged before he left, he got back, they got married = Honeymoon Baby! John Philip was born January 12, 2011. Then a few months later came more baby news and Dominic Joseph was born December 31, 2011. Then a few months later...baby number 3 is due in....drum roll...January. We are hoping he/she makes an early appearance for the fun of it and make it another set of Irish twins. By the way...Tricia and Phil's birthdays are both in Januray.


So for fear that some of you will be lazy like me and skip the click, here is her beautiful story and perspective about being open to life below :)

Or you could visit her blog here and click away:)

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Our little Miracle

Could it be true? We’re not only going to have “double the pleasure, double the fun” of John and Dominic, but now we get YOU too?! God is tripling our blessings.

When we found out I was expecting our third child, I couldn’t grasp the fact that this could really happen again, and it all felt like a dream. It’s definitely been harder for me this time around. I am secondary in nature, so it took a while for it all to soak in as usual. Feeling mostly overwhelmed with the thought of having so many little ones! “How am I going to handle this?”…. “Why this timing?”…“I thought it was hard to get pregnant”….and, “Why do you trust us so much, God?!” I blame that one on Phil since he’s such a good Dad. J With there being a one and a million, very slim chance we could have gotten pregnant but did, we knew God wanted this baby for a very specific reason. That is the most consoling and liberating thing. Despite my passing emotions, there is something greater here that I was chosen to be a part of. We cannot try to figure out God and the magnificent plans he has for us, but I somehow always try. I always try to figure out why He seems a little crazy at times. J

Slowly I felt His hand upon my shoulder in comfort, guiding me to His Mother Mary, and teaching me how to continually trust in Him in all moments. He will give me all the graces I need to get through these challenging, but oh-so-sweet years. His plan is perfect and I know I will be amazed when I see it unfolding. I didn’t imagine my life already filled with four chubby feet running around (and two still acquiring their chub). But it’s a reminder to me that when you let God in, in every aspect of your life including your fertility, you experience the ultimate freedom, peace, and joy….for me that comes along with my two sweet boys and baby on the way.

With the coming days I feel God telling me, “because I need you.” And that is enough for me. I know this is right and I know this is part of our beautiful story and masterpiece slowly unfolding, even if it’s not how I had originally envisioned it. You know, before a painter creates a mural, sometimes he has to strip down old wall paper, or fill some holes in the wall, smoothing the surface. Then one by one, he starts his brush strokes, creating his vision. If we don’t allow God to do some patch work/stripping or even painting, what will we be missing out on?! The mural is not going to look nearly as beautiful.

So sweet baby, you’re our little miracle! A part of that wonderful masterpiece. One that God has planned since the beginning of time. We love you dearly and cannot wait till the day comes when we can bundle you up in our arms and kiss your sweet cheeks. 21 weeks to go and counting!


HUGE note: My husband Phil has of course been exactly what I need. His faith, support and strength ground this family. He never questions God's amazing plan for our lives. Without him, I'd be an even bigger mess!

Another note: These pictures are from our talented friend, Kathy Wight. I added the captions.
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Wight-Photography/136581026376652

And Sharing the news with our families is always the most fun and best of encouragements:

-Please excuse the Greek olympian god.
-I'm the one being attacked.

Some readings that helped me when I first discovered I was expecting again!

2^nd Letter of Paul to the Corinthians 9: 6-10—“Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully...for God loves a cheerful giver. Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work.”

Excerpt from, I believe in Love – My nature says, “No”; my will says, “Yes.” My nature trembles; with all my will, I smile through my tears. My nature is troubled and afraid; my heart recalls the divine testament: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto you.” (Jn 14:27) My nature revolts; I force myself to say, “All is well, Jesus; do not change anything.” It is a fight which we must take up again and again without ceasing, for our fallen nature always rears up its head. St. Fancis de Sales says it dies a quarter of an hour after we do! This is the drama of our life. But the beautiful thing is that Jesus sees our will united to His by a fundamental choice. All those movements of our nature, if we do not consent to them, do not exist for Him.

We can even rejoice, in a sense, in having an evil nature which justly gives us the occasion to deny it our consent and to repeat, “No, Jesus, it is your will that I love; it is that which I want and nothing else. It is you whom I choose.” According to Saint Paul, “strength is perfected in weakness,” confidence is perfected in worry, humility is perfected in the movements of pride, light is perfected in darkness.


Thank you Tricia for sharing your spiritual insights and testimony to LIFE, it is so strengthening to see God's grace at work in your soul.

Friday NFP QuickTakes

1. I saw this on Pinterest...what a fun way to find out your babies gender! My husband and I never find out, we are always surprised. If I did find out though...I would do it this way for sure!

2. On Being Comfortable....

The recent C.S. Lewis quote brought forth some serious thoughts...God gently reminds me in various ways.

"I didn't go to religion to make me "happy". I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don't recommend Christianity." C.S. Lewis

Sometimes I forget this. How much I run to comfort!

In Little Things: I want to sleep 15 more minutes when I should get up and pray. I think to turn down the air when I'm up or the heat up when I'm cold. I just want to sit and relax and drink my coffee...or sometimes I just want some particular baby phase to end so I'm not inconvenienced. Maybe it's just peace and quiet that I long for or my house to be in order and I don't have to pick up the beads off the floor for the 7th time today. Don't get me wrong, times of silence and order are good and necessary, sometimes they don't always come. I can look for comfort all day long and miss the very essence of my Christian vocation. Those wonderful little opportunities sprinkled all throughout my day that I can offer to God and ACCEPT that He is sending them, they are apart of his will and apart of my vocation, because when it is hard, I need him.

In the Big Things: No wonder most people stop having kids after two or three...we long to get back to "normal"! To be comfortable once again, to not have to make bottles, wake up at odd hours or all hours of the night, to not have to panic attacks during fevers or bleeding cuts, or lug out the tub of maternity clothes once again.

BUT....When do I fall to my knees most, when are my rosaries said with much more ardor, when do I suddenly think of eternity, when are my thoughts less on my self, when does my body become not my own anymore, when am I most physically uncomfortable...when I am expecting! ...and for the first six months after the baby arrives as well. Wow, what an incredibly beautiful, albeit very uncomfortable at times, built in way that Christ has allowed mothers the opportunity to grow closer to Him. It happens most when I am UNCOMFORTABLE.  There is never a perfect time to be pregnant and each time is costly, but I get this incredible little soul in return as a gift for all eternity!

With each new baby, apart of my selfishness chips away, and I know God is shaping me into who I am meant to be. Personally, it helps me to fight MEDIOCRITY...spiritual no man's land. Even when I couldn't conceive, the pain of wanting a baby way a way to bring me out of myself as well.

We are meant to get out of our comfort zones, because that is the essence of Christianity! "Those who wish to save their life will loose it, and those willing to loose their life will find it." Luke 9:24. It is the way we find life...and happiness.

I should tattoo that quote to my forehead.

3. My new favorite blog!! I stumbled upon her testimony on  Ewtn's Coming Home show and read her chapter in Style, Sex, and Substance book in the same week. Maybe most of you already follow her, but I just love her brutally honest and funny thoughts...you have to check out Jennifer Fulwiler at http://www.conversiondiary.com/  ...and I love that she was an atheist and now Catholic...stellar.

4. Confession: I've never done a "7 Quicktakes Friday" post and not sure why or how they got started... also I don't really know if I'm doing this right and 7 things is a lot. So here's to attempting, sporadic blogger that I am.

5.  MyFeminineMind blog had a great post about "Things your Doctor May Have Not Told You about Your Birth Control" that provides some great statistics and medical information on the subject from barrier methods to male sterilization for the times when you need proof of the pudding in that conversation or even to help educate your doctor ;)

6. I sent my first born to Kindergarten yesterday and I use to wonder what the big deal was when other people did that...shoot. Therapeutic blog post about that here. And what does this have to do with nfp or being open to life you may ask? Well, all in all it made me think about the gift of time in relation to eternity...that life is short, the phase of your fertility is relatively short in comparison with your life and I pray that I use both those gifts how God wants and hold nothing back.

7. If you want not to life and time and fertility and love for granted, read this blog: www.viviangodishere.blogspot.com . I've met Maria, as she is a close friend to my sisters. Her family is in great need of prayers, even if you just look at the precious face of her baby girl, it is to see the face of God.

Happy Friday!