unable to communicate - so laugh

My introverted self is waaaay over stimulated after this past, glorious weekend.  Behold was fantastic, and I'm still processing everything.  I have pretty much retreated, and since I don't even have any pictures to post I'll show you this, The Fresh Prince of Downton Abbey.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Hat tip to Lisa for sharing the goodness with me in the first place.

7 Quick Takes a little late

1 - This is a bit of an odd song, but one that I've loved for a long time.  I hope you like it, too.

2 - In case you missed Rose and my live television interview here is the link for CatholicTV's This Is the Day.  We begin around 8:10.  We were supposed to Skype in so I actually used the blow dryer.  Bennet had to ask what it was, that's how infrequently it is used.  And then no one saw my nice hair.  Oh well.

3 - A little while ago I asked to borrow a maternity dress for the Behold Conference.  I put the request up on Facebook and about a week later I had about 9 new-to-me dresses and several tunics/shirts to wear for the rest of the pregnancy.  Facebook - I love you!  (When I don't hate you and the way you suck the life out of me.)

4 - I have this sorta cheesy book - The One Hundred Greatest Poems.  I got it when I was in college and loved it then.  But after college I was so tired of reading that I barely read for, well, for years.  But recently I picked it back up because it would be simple and a no-commitment read.  But instead I've fallen back in love with a lot of the poems and I am hungry to read more.  I like how they demand to be read slowly, weighing the significance of each word.  It's very different from the majority of the articles, blogs, and simple books I've been reading the last few years.

5 - My favorite, I think, is Dulce Et Decorum Est.  Maybe you read it years ago in some Brit Lit class.  Read it.  The end is the best.

6 - All of yesterday and today I've been praying for my friends R and N.  R was induced today and I keep checking to see if she's had their baby yet.  Please say a prayer for them, too, please.  It's been a long, hard, emotional journey for them.

7 - The registration deadline for the Behold Conference is coming up, ladies - March 1st!  Make sure you register - scholarships are still available if money is making you hesitate.  The day is going to be so phenomenal - I sincerely hope you can be a part of it.  And, if any of you bloggity people out there come please introduce yourself!  I'd love to meet some of my blogosphere friends!

7 quick takes

1 - Thank you, Pandora Radio, for the above song.  About a minute into it sounds like something off the Graceland album.  And that is such a good album.  mmm-mmmm.  (That was a Lady Blacksmith Mambazo impression from "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" in case you missed it.)

2 - I have been very emotional lately.  Pregnancy hormones are to blame, of course.  So are memories of the NICU.  I was asked to be part of a panel suggesting improvements for the cooling therapy and communication with / integration of families.  Making my Top Ten list had me sobbing, so clearly there are still some things I haven't dealt with yet.  I think, though, that doing this panel will make me feel better as I work through different situations.  Hoping.

3 - I baked an apple pie yesterday because I just wanted an apple pie.  It was a good decision.  So what if dinner was late?  Nothing is better than warm apple pie on a hopeless day.

4 - In exciting news Betty Duffy is coming to the Behold Conference.  Betty Duffy!  Love her!  So see, there's one more reason why you should make the drive and come!  Come!  You can register right now if you want.  I'll wait for you to come back so we can finish these quick takes.


5 - For a long time James was afraid of stairs.  He managed to get stuck on the bottom on a few times (while I was upstairs showering) and then he just avoided them for a long time.  However, I've been working with him on doing stairs since the baby will be here soon and we need to get this done!  So I'm very happy to say that yesterday he just took off and walk-crawled all the way up the stairs to the second story.  He did it perfectly and we were all proud - most especially him.  The baby gate has come back out.

6 - Today I'm buying tickets for the local JJ Heller - Audrey Assad show.  So excited!

7 - Travis is going out of town tomorrow to do some work on a friends cabin.  We need money, badly, so the arrangement will have to work of pregnant me + 2 -3 kids who do not sleep through the night, all alone.  You can pray for me.  You can also hire Travis to do handyman jobs or renovations at your house, especially if you live 40 mins or less away.  We can all win.

7 quick takes

1 - I like David Crowder's voice.  A little raspy.  And then I like even more that it comes out of this thin little man with ridiculous hair.  There's been some buzz about DCB's newest album, mostly because the Protestant band's latest album is called Give Us Rest (A Requiem Mass in C - The Happiest of All Keys).  I don't know why people are so upset about them calling C the happiest of keys... 
 
Oh, or maybe because people are afraid he's going the way Rich Mullens and Audrey Assad went - to Rome.  Shoot.

2 - Do you listen to Relevant Radio?  Usually I don't - especially in the mornings.  But when I get a tip on a good show I like to dig around in the archives.  Today's Morning Air is one show I dug around for.  The second hour features Msgr Deptula from my Diocese talking about Archbishop Sheen.  The third hour features Kate Wicker talking about glorifying God with our bodies.  She also mentions the Behold Conference several times which is cool.  You can find the links here.

3 - Speaking again of the Behold Conference - let me just say it's amazing all the things that are coming together so wonderfully.  God's Hand is definitely guiding all of us through this process and it's such a blessing to be a part of it.  I sincerely hope you can join us.

4 - This picture is a little old but I wanted to share it with you.  Usually St. Nick only comes to our house on his feast day but this year, well, you can read for yourself:

In case you're wondering, St. Nicholas brought Lydia this letter, some dress-up shoes, and some more gold coin chocolates. 

5 - In a related "parenting success" story, James was wearing some pajamas that were a little too long.  As he walked around the living room Lydia, who is 3 and 1/2, started singing, "Pants on the Ground."  I asked; she learned the song from me.  So proud.  *tear*

6 - Last night I slept for ten hours, having gone to bed at 8:30pm.  By 9:30am I was so tired I had to lay down.  I napped this afternoon.  And I'm still super tired.  I also have a cough.  Ugh.

7 - Lastly, I want to warmly welcome to the world Lucy Anne, who was born to our friends Michael and Susan on Wednesday and Elijah Nathan, born to our friends Margaret and Nathan.  I am so happy for our wonderful friends who have all just entered the lovely, crazy, beautiful world of parenthood!  Please join me in thanking God for Lucy and Elijah.

7 quick takes

1 - You may not like country music. Sorry, this week's song is not for you. 


2 - This is what happened in my kitchen last night:

Me - Whoa!  Jeff Cavins is following me on Twitter!  That's crazy!  Why would he do that?  (Feeling all kinds of pressure to be holy, funny, intelligent in my forthcoming tweets, especially since in my head I was thinking, "oh shit!".)

Travis - What?!  I bet it's because of James and Sheen.

Me - Maybe.  I'm gonna check into this...  Oh.  He's following over 6,500 people.  I'm not that special after all.  He doesn't know me or James or anything about us.  Well, that changes things!  (feeling of sweet relief mingled with a touch of humility)

3 - I am a product of public schools.  I am a fabulously lousy pre-school homeschooling mom.  But I totally loved this video.  He brings up a lot of great examples of why I'm a little jealous of my friends who do homeschool. 



4 - Watching the Republican debate.   I didn't even begin to follow this stuff until the candidates are more "manageable".  Four is manageable.  I can research their voting records, go over their websites, etc now that there's four.  In recent history Mikhail Gorbachev said that what Ronald Reagan was able to accomplish with the Cold War Obama never would have been able to do because of Reagan's character:  strong, but a gentleman.  I think Gorbachev would say the same thing about Newt that he said about Obama, and I think that matters. 

5 - Kate Wicker has a guest post up at the Behold blog called "Glorify God in Your Body".  It's great and will give you a little glimpse of what Kate will be talking about at the Behold Conference.  Check it out!

6 - I'm so tired.  So go read Dwija at House Unseen instead.  She's funny and hospitable - what a great combination.

7 - Congrats to all of us for making to the weekend. 

7 quick takes

1 - This song is a tribute to what I had wanted to happen.

2 - I am on Pinterest.  Are you?  It's true what everyone says about - a great way to have hours of your life sucked away from you.  But it did teach me about the sock bun.

I look cute with a sock bun.  Not gonna lie.

3 - It's also how I learned how to do a simple Gibson Tuck.

I was hoping I'd look really cute with my hair like this.  But I got 0 compliments and my husband told me I looked like an AC.  (That's Apostolic Christian.  I was told once, by an AC, that there are more AC churches in Central Illinois than in the rest of the world combined.  So you may not know what an AC is.  Think strict Baptist meets strict Mennonite.  They're good people.  The women wear skirts, and always have their hair up with a little croqueted covering.)  It's not an insult to be told I look AC, but I would have preferred "pretty", "classy", or even "nice".

4 - Of course I was not trying to look like an AC.  I was a little more inspired by this:

It is true.  The void in my life created once I finished Lost has now been filled by Downton Abbey.  Simply put: I am in love.

5 - Here's a little post I wrote over at the Behold blog.  It's all about how I got involved with Behold in the first place.  Check it out!

6 - There is a youtube video all over the place called "I hate religion, but love Jesus".  It's really well done and you may have seen it.  If you have, I encourage you to read this commentary, written by Marc Barnes. 

7 - We still have our Christmas lights on the front porch and I still turn them on.  Especially now that there's snow I like having them glowing in the night.

Winter is so dark and I love coming home to a dark street with our cheery lights welcoming me.  But I do promise to you all that they won't stay up all year long.

Fancy Behold Button

No need to be jealous.  You can have a Behold button for your blog, too!

Let everyone know that you are so cool you'll be hanging out with Kate Wicker, the Sisters of Life, Marie Miller, and Ginny Baldridge for the day.  Oh yeah, and in case you want some more names to drop, how about Jennifer Fulwiler, Hallie Lord, and Sr. Helena Burns.

Then encourage your mom, sisters, cousins, friends, daughters, and grandmothers to register too.  And make sure you do it by December 15th if you want to save $15 and be signed up to win a free registration!


All you've got to do is copy the  text.   https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijoo4n8VdFscjCU7Sm1d2ymTzghb9A-yXPCW5SY2OLOAs2bn91nupHzNdNgBbajZAG0A7SgjvNpxBbaYuuvuzad4EO8Mq4YVcCO-IzTRJJHVSrrNL7HnJJyDoYZiZGn9gWNkjmvbleT8sQ/s350/Behold.jpg
Then, in the Layout page of Blogger click "Add a Gadget".  Choose "Picture", select "From the Web", paste the text in the box, and Save.

The Sisters are Coming!

We recently got word that the Sisters of Life have accepted our invitation and will be returning to the Behold Conference! 

They will be joining us on Saturday, March 10, 2012 and so should you!

The Sisters will be joining our already stellar line-up of

- Kate Wicker, author of Weightless, contributor to Faith & Family magazine, and blogger

- Ginny Baldridge, image consultant and author

- Marie Miller, musician

- Hallie Lord, owner of Bloom Personal Shopping and blogger

- Jennifer Fulwiler, author, speaker, and blogger

- Sr. Helena Burns, Daughter of St. Paul, speaker, and blogger on Theology of the Body and media

I'll be there!  My mom will be there!  My kids' godmothers will be there!  You should be there, too! 

Online registration for the Behold Conference is open, you can print off a paper registration form at the same link if you'd prefer to send a check.  If you register before Decebmer 15th you can save money - a good reason to register early.  Scholarships are available for those in need, including poor high school and college students!

7 quick takes

1- I know that They Might Be Giants is not everyone's cup of tea.  But an accordian + clever lyrics = my cup of tea. 

2 - The reason Birdhouse in Your Soul is in my head is because of my latest post at Virtuous Planet, Virgin Mary Nitelite.  I pretty much always associate nitelites with TMBG's song.  I'm sure I'm not the only one!  Also, if you need a good reason to read the post you may be interested in how I pretty much call a bunch of people snobs.  I hope no one takes it personally.

3 - Hey!  Exciting new!  Kate Wicker is coming to the Behold Conference as one of our keynote speakers!  I was able to speak with her on the phone today and she was just wonderful.  (Of course all three of my kids woke up from their naps during the conversation, and while I was trying to speak with her and sound intelligent I was holding James and trying to keep him quiet and happy.  But she's gracious enough to overlook that.)  Anyways, it's going to be a fabulous conference and I hope you can join us on Saturday, March 10, 2012 at the East Peoria Embassy Suites.

4 - Tomorrow morning we have family pictures with Travis' siblings and parents.  It'll be really nice having a new family pic since we haven't had any since Lydia was a baby.  I also look forward to some really cute pics of the kids.  I'm not too thrilled about having my fat self photographed, but maybe I can stand behind Trav or always hold James.  Maybe.

5 - I am half way through the 5th season of Lost.  I am taking suggestions for a new show to watch.

6 - I have a daughter who wants to be held.  I need to go.

7 - Have a good weekend, everyone!  God's blessing be upon you!

Behold: Coffee and Chocolate

Ladies!

Mark your calendars and call the women you love.  The next Behold Conference will be on March 10, 2012 at the Embassy Suites in East Peoria, IL.

We are super excited about all the plans - our speakers! our theme! our team members!  our new location! - and we will be revealing all the details at the Coffee and Chocolate Night!

The Coffee and Chocolate Night is a special event for all women who are interested in being a part of the growing ministry that is the Behold Conference.  I invite you to come so you can hear about all the opportunities to serve and grow in your faith by being a member of one of our planning Teams.  There will also be coffee, chocolate, and fellowship.

If you are interested in attending please visit us on Facebook or send me an email.

I hope to see you there!

Behold Conference 2011

Over a week ago 60+ women volunteers from throughout central Illinois, ranging in age from 25-60, worked together to honor and celebrate the dignity and vocations of the 400 women who attended the second annual Behold Catholic Women's Conference.

It was beautiful.

It was fun.

It was inspiring.

It was delicious.

It was truly Christ centered and Spirit led.

Here's a few highlight pics:

One of several centerpieces.  They were all so gorgeous!

Our food crew putting the last touches on our completely home made breakfast.  (And when I say "home made" I mean from scratch!)  The men are from St. Mary's Knights of Columbus council - they cheerfully and silently served during breakfast while St. Joseph Newman Center's Knights worked lunch.

The vendor tables!  We were thrilled to have, among others, Lagron-Miller Catholic bookstore, the Sisters of St. John, Rose of Sharon Media, Catholic Charities, and our speakers and musician.

The lovely, wonderful, beautiful, joyful Sisters of Life!

Some of our 400 guests enjoying their breakfast.

Many new Marie Miller fans were created at the Behold Conference - she was wonderful!

Filling our seats in the Auditorium.

Sr. Fiat Marie, Sr. Michela, Behold's executive director Rose, Jennifer Fulwiler, me, Sr. Bethany.

Thank you to everyone who came to the Behold Conference!  Thank you for being part of such a special day!  I hope you left feeling cared for, appreciated, and loved. 

Blessed be God!

7 quick takes

-1-

It seems that the must read book right now is Unplanned by Abby Johnson.  Jen's talking about it at Conversion Diary, and so is Nancy with the Catholic Post Book Group.  (Nancy has a great interview with Ms. Johnson - check it out!)  Do I know anyone who owns this book and will let me borrow it?  I'd love to check it out!

-2-

On the Behold Confernece front, we have over 275 women registered for the day!  Rose, the director of the conference, and I have agreed that if we get 350 women registered we will dye our hair green and serve lunch to the patrons of the Germantown Hills Michael's on St. Patrick's Day.  Rose is a blond and I have loooong hair, so this is going to be worth it. 

So get your sisters, daughters, nieces and friends and sign up!

There will be pictures taken, I promise.

-3-

Right now I'm in a Mom's group that's doing the Epic study on Church history.  It is so wonderful!  

Some of the things I'm learning make my jaw drop open. 

Like this:  Ignatius, who was the Bishop of Antioch, was discipled by John, the beloved of Jesus.  In 115 AD during the persecution of Christians, he was arrested and taken to Rome to be killed.  On his way to Rome he wrote a series of letters and in them he talks about the hierarchy of the Church (priests, bishops, pope), the primacy and authority of the pope, the Eucharist, and he refers to the Church as "Catholic".  His understanding of these things is the same as modern Catholics. 

So either he, a disciple of John, got everything wrong or the Catholic Church truly is the church that Jesus Christ founded.

The more I study Sacred Scripture and history the more I am certain that the Catholic Church is the fullness of the faith.

-4-

Have you ever heard of the following book?  Holy Ground: Walking with Jesus as a Former Catholic.  This book makes me so frustrated. 

The problem?  The "former Catholic" was a nominal Catholic (he admits to only attending Mass twice a year by the time he was in high school!) so, sadly, he never knew or understood the teachings of the Church.  This is even more evident because, though he quotes the Catechism, he is still getting Catholicism wrong.  His book is filled with the same jargon and misunderstandings that I've come to expect, all of it is misleading, misunderstood, and untrue.  A nominal Catholic is NOT an authority on Church teaching!

-5-

This is the picture of the first time Lydia came to me, told me she had to go potty, and then went.  I was so proud of her and Bennet could tell so he gave her a hug. 

Side note:  how about that bed head?!

-6-

I have tried to post this video on my blog but it won't work.  So do yourself a favor and click on the link and listen to this song.  It's so good.  Thank you, Mumford & Sons Pandora station for continually introducing me to great music.

Noah and the Whale's Shape of My Heart

-7-

Have a great weekend!  Thanks for reading!

Behold!

One month from today the second Behold Conference will be happening at Five Points in Washington!

Our guests will be Jennifer Fulwiler, the Sisters of Life, and musician Marie Miller.

With over 200 women registered we are filling up!  Get your registration form and send it in today!  Registration deadline is February 25th!

Go to http://www.beholdconference.com/ for form and all the details.



And now let me be frank:  Ladies, I am working my butt off on this conference because YOU are worth it.  You deserve a day where you can be served, inspired, encouraged, uplifted.  I want you to come, to fall in love with your faith, to understand how much God loves you.  I want you to have the chance to go to confession - maybe for the first time in years - to worship, to sing, to pray.  I want you to learn, to be challenged, to be surrounded by hundreds of women who are joyful.  This conference is going to be great, and it will be better if you are there.  So come!

7 quick takes

So this was written on Friday...

-1-

Do you use Pandora?  If you don't and you're a music lover then you're totally missing out on the awesomeness that is Pandora.  And I highly recommend creating a Mumford & Sons station.  

-2-

My husband bought me a brand new bread machine for Christmas.  I'd tried using an old one from a friend, and tried making Travis buy one off craigslist as a gift.  When the seller had a thick Asian accent Travis just dropped the ball.   But a year later I got a beaut of a machine and it makes me very happy.  Every time I use it I wonder, "When will the novelty wear off?"

-3-

Lydia wanted to draw a square the other day.  She knows how to write an 'L' for her name so I told her that drawing a square is a lot like drawing two 'l's.  She made the lines as I directed her and then in great frustration and disappointment said, "That's not a square!  It's a rectangle!"

-4-

Tonight, just two days shy of the four month marker, James rolled over!   We're so proud!

-5-

I have the cutest video that I've been trying to upload but blogger will not allow it.  But I will persevere and you will get another one of my "daily dose of cute" posts.  Don't you worry.

-6-

If you haven't signed up for the Behold Conference yet there is still time!  Our registration numbers are really climbing - we easily and quickly surpassed the number of attendees from last year's conference.

I was able to converse reacently with our speakers Jennifer Fulwiler of Conversion Diary and Sr. Bethany Madonna of the Sisters of Life and I'm really excited about their topics.

Jen will be sharing about her conversion, especially how motherhood opened her up to God, and about what we can do with the fears we encounter every day - fears of not having enough money, or being a good enough mom, etc.

The Sisters of Life will be giving a talk on the dignity and vocation of women, and one on all the ways satan strikes at the heels of women - especially through infertility.

-7-

Does anyone get Real Simple magazine?  I'm tempted to try all the smoothie recipes in the edition that just came in the mail - especially the pumpkin one.  If it's good I'll post it on my food blog.  Promise.

7 quick takes

-1-

Yesterday was a baking day at our house.  Mom, sister-in-law, Lydia and I tackled peanut butter cookies, sugar cookies, chocolate crinkles, snickerdoodles, orange shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, and spritz cookies.  It was a lot of fun and produced a ridiculous amount of sweets.

Clearly.

-2-

Today we be visited by a therapist of some kind.  She's going to assess James so that at the Early Intervention meeting next week everyone will have a good picture of how James is doing six weeks after leaving the hospital.  I think she's going to be impressed!

-3-

Speaking of James... he's three months old now!  Isn't that amazing?! 

-4-

Here's a quick confession:  we haven't been very good about the Jesse Tree.  We don't do it daily, more like every four days.  It's there, it looks good, Lydia loves hanging the ornaments on it, but for some reason I just walk past it time and time again.  The other thing I should mention about the Jesse Tree is that it's really hard to explain ancient prophecies to a two year old who - for some reason - has a hard time even remembering the names of the first man and woman.  If it's a religious-y kind of question Lydia usually defaults to "God," "Jesus," or "Mary" as her answers.

-5-

I've been updating my little recipe box blog a lot more recently.  There's a couple good, new recipes over there, if you'd like to check it out.  There's also some weekly menus.  My hope is to be more consistent with weekly menus, and incorporate some of the delicious meals that people made for us into them.  I encourage / challenge you to leave your latest meal plan in the comment box of my meal plan, or post your own if you too are a blogger.

-6-

Quick Reminder!

If you haven't registered for the Behold Conference yet, you only have eleven more days of mail delivery to get yours in and receive the $10 discount! 

I registered - I hope to see you all there, too!

Go to http://www.beholdconference.com/ for more information, and to print off a registration form.

And please remember that there are partial and full scholarships available for those who cannot afford the $35 registration fee!

-7-

Because of how great you all have been in supporting my family and me since James' birth, and you are deeply connected to us through your prayers and sacrifices for James' miraculous healing,

You are warmly invited, during the joyful Season of Christmas, to help us celebrate James' miraculous life and his Sonship of the Father.

James was Baptised at birth, but the anointing and godparent promises will  be celebrated on

Sunday, January 2, 2011

during the 9am Mass

at St. Luke's Catholic Church

Eureka, IL

A celebratory brunch will follow in the church hall.

Behold

A Conference on the Dignity and Vocation of Women

Whether single or married, working in or out of the home, the Behold Conference aims to support you in your vocation, challenge you to seek God's will, and inspire you to better serve those around you.

Please join us for a day of reflection and fellowship:

Saturday, March 5, 2011, 8:00am-4:30pm

Five Points Washington

Featuring Guest Speakers Jennifer Fulwiler and The Sisters of Life

With Music Performed by Marie Miller

The day will also include Mass, Adoration, and Confession.

Cost:  $35 before 12/31/10, $45 as of 1/1/11

Visit www.beholdconference.com for more information and to register.

Funded by the Fulton Sheen Endowment of the Rooted in Faith Campaign

Hosted by Saint Mary's of Metamora and Sponsored by OSF Healthcare

miscellaneous things I wanted to tell you

This picture, our first family picture, taken as soon as Trav and I brought James out of the NICU doors, right after Lydia fell and hit her head, shows what happens when your small children play with your camera.  They smudge the lens.

Now, I have three kids.  Our mini-van is filling up.  This, along with a daughter who changes her own diapers but won't be potty trained, a son with an epi pen, and another son who does physical therapy, makes me feel old.  But not really that old, ya know?  It's so weird to be in this middle place where I have huge responsibilities but still want to stay out late, drinking beer at a bar with some friends.

Second, we haven't used the g tube for feedings for over 48 hours.  This is so exciting for us.  We have finally figured out how to hold James best and he has finally figured out how to suck a bottle dry.  It's awesome.  Who is this kid?

Today I learned that James will drink and drink because he can.  The boy took almost 5oz in 3 hours and a bunch oozed out of his g tube site.  It was pretty gross cleaning it all up, but once the access was gone everything was fine again.  So mental note:  8 week olds should not take over 4oz.

We live near a town called Eureka.  Lydia refers to it as "My Reka."  A few days ago she referred to it as "Daddy's Reka."  How cute is that?

Life with James is not as bad as I thought it would be.  However, life with Bennet has been horrible lately.  He's hungry but won't eat anything but pretzels, chicken nuggets, and candy.  He cries a lot.  He also lays down on the floor and has fits.  It stinks.  Fortunately for him, when he's cute he's c.u.t.e!  Especially when he gives kisses to his baby brother - completely unprompted!  awwwww!

Lastly, a huge group of women across the Diocese of Peoria and I have been working our butts off on the upcoming Behold Conference.  If you're a woman you should be there, and you should bring your mom, sister, cousin, friend, child's godmother.  Yes, you should.  It's going to be fabulous.  March 5, 2010 - mark your calendar and start saving up your $35.  http://www.beholdconference.com/.