So little time...

I'm terrible about blogging often.  It's become hard with this pregnancy and keeping up with my son.  We've been getting ready for my son's upcoming second birthday and the arrival of my in-laws.  We'll have a great time, but it's a bit crazy in the meantime.  My poor, amazing husband did most of the work this weekend, trying to get ready while I laid on the couch feeling terrible.   (Both physically, and for not having the energy to help him a little more.) 

I have to admit, that I'm starting to feel guilty for the changes that will be coming into our home in the next few months.  I love my son dearly, and know that I will love any future children the same, but it still makes me sad that our little daily duo is going to be broken up.  I love the time that we have together.  I am sad that I will not have the same time for him ever again.  I know that I need to use up every moment in the coming months so that we can enjoy our time together while it's just us. 

A sibling is one of the greatest gifts that you can ever give your child- one that will hopefully last long after you are gone.  I understand that, intrinsically, yet there is part of me that wants to hang on to what we have, just a little bit.  I feel bad that I will not be able to spend the same quality time with the new baby as I did with our oldest.  It's something that I know we will get through but ah- the emotions!  I'm sure that the pregnancy hormones are playing a large part in all of it! :)   Well, here's to the next several months. May this pregnancy be healthy.  May the next months bring amazing times and calmer emotions.  May my son be so close with this baby, and hopefully I will be able to give them both what they need to the best of my abilities.

Food, glorious food!

This past summer, we joined a CSA for the first time.  CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.  You basically pay for a share of the farm and the farmer will give you part of the harvest.  You hope that you will have a good year, as that effects the amount of food that you receive.  We truly enjoyed being a part of our litttle farm.  She sent newsletters every week with details of the farm life, and we received a box of certified organic produce, wheat berries, and eggs delivered to our house. 

Our original purpose for joining was to take advantage of cheaper and somewhat locally grown food. Our CSA is a bit of a drive, and therefore, they do not expect you to put in time working there as other CSA's might request.  But, it still beats food coming from California to the Midwest.  The variety that we received was incredible.  We tried a few new items like Gooseberries and Delicata Squash.  I made a gooseberry pie for the first time, and it wasn't bad!  They were a little too sour to eat alone, but I did enjoy them.   Our shares included loads of zucchini, onions, squash, and tomatoes.  I chopped, roasted and froze as much as I could.  It felt good to know that my son would be getting food through the summer and winter that was grown with care.  His joy in eating their green beans made it all worth it to me!  This has got to be one of the best ways to get a toddler to eat their fruits/veggies.  If they are this fresh, they will enjoy them! 

I found over time, that aside from getting great organic food, for a great price, we were really helping to be stewards in so many aspects.  First, and most obvious, we were supporting an organic farm.  They take care to grow their produce organically, and this is very good for the environment.  Another great bonus, is that they collected compost from everyone who was willing to save it for them every week.  I was able to save bags of food from entering our landfills every week.  In fact, now that our CSA is done for the year, I'm at a loss with what to do with our produce scraps.  Our homeowners' association does not allow bins in the yard but now I feel guilty throwing it all away! 

The "lightbulb moment" that I barely had recently, though, is that we are helping to support a locally owned farm.  So many farms are reaching corporate production levels that family farms are really hurting, especially during bad years.  You might argue that government subsidies help but it really doesn't do enough to support a farmer's livelihood.  I don't know why this never crossed my mind this summer.  After sending an email saying that we would join for the next year, Marie emailed me back with a "Bless you!"  Suddenly, it dawned on me that this wasn't just like buying from a grocery store.  Everything we do with this farm affects their well-being and ability to make a living.  Our current check was going to help them build some new areas on their land for growing seeds and protecting the plants from harsher weather.  You might want to think about joining one in the coming year to see if it is good for your family.  We will see next summer what the CSA might bring, but even if the proceeds are meager, I will feel that I am doing my part to support someone else's livelihood and the stewardship of the land. 

My Favorite Saints

I thought it might be nice to do a "Saint of the Day" once in awhile.  This isn't so much the saint's feast day, as random saints that I love.

Today: St. Gerard Marella

He's the patron saint of mothers, and also difficult pregnancies.  I found out about him when I was looking for patron saints for my friend who has been having a very hard pregnancy this year.  Nearly every day, I pray for her and ask him to do the same.  St. Gerard is one of those saints who had the ability to bi-locate, or be in two places at once.  I found this amazing.  Can you imagine having the ability?  More than that, was his devotion to God.  He was a very faithful man who longed to be in the priesthood.  He was turned down more than once due to his health but finally was able to convince them to take him in because of his dedication and drive to serve the Lord.  He completed a long walk to a location specified by a prior, thinking he wouldn't be strong enough to go so far.  After this display of faith, they ended up letting him join their monastery. 

You can read more at http://www.stgerard.com/.  It has fascinating information and some great prayers for mothers. 

News from Me!

Well, we just found out Thursday night that I'm pregnant!  We are thrilled.  It's hard to believe that this time next year, we will have two little ones.  Overwhelming thought!  I could not post yesterday b/c my mother was here and we aren't going to tell anyone for awhile.  Maybe once everyone is here for our son's birthday.  :) 

For Your Listening Pleasure...

About a year ago, I was fiddling with our XM radio out of boredom.  We were nearing the end of our one year trial and I was just playing around in the meantime.  Lo and behold, I found a new station- The Catholic Channel!  I love this station, and it is now nearly the only station I will listen to when in my car (the one with XM, anyway).  It's almost become an extended catechesis for me and I'm so thankful.  I just wish I could listen out of my car- there are times that I pull in the driveway and idle or turn off the engine to catch the last bit of an episode

I love the programming, there is just so much to choose from, these are the shows that I manage to hear if I'm in the car:

• The Catholics Next Door- Greg and Jennifer Willits discuss their lives with their families and their faith
• Across the Nation with Bob Dunning- A great way to catch up on the news headlines. Esp. for a mom.   We try to leave the tv off when my son is up, so I don't hear much news unless I actively seek it out.  Time for that is limited.
• The Catholic Guy- Lino Rulli leads fun and interesting discussions of the Catholic faith out in the world with a slant toward someone who is Catholic and single. 
• Busted Halo- Fr. Dave Dwyer and his team lead fun shows detailing different facets of our faith.  Ex. Mass Class Weds., Faith and Culture Thursday, Free For All Friday.

All of the shows are amazing!  I left more off my list, but that is solely b/c I rarely hear them during the day because they are too early or it is nap time in our house.  I highly recommend this station, if you are Catholic or not, you might just find that you've learned something.  Case in point?  Last night Fr. Dave was discussing a new website called Catholic Heroes of the Faith, with some wonderful programming for children discussing the lives of different saints.  It's amazing and I'll discuss it more another time!

Striving Toward Sainthood

I was looking at the comment from yesterday, and actually I found the "religious nut" reference amusing.  Why?  As most of us probably heard this weekend for All Saints Day, being a saint means that you made it to heaven.  Aren't all Christians (and some of other denominations) hoping to get to heaven? 

Being religious in today's culture runs counter to everything that we are supposed to believe in and do, according to the masses, anyway.  Hasn't this always been the case, though?  Weren't other Christians, our current Saints, thought of as religious nuts in their time, too?  It's not meant to be this way, but maybe we should take this as a compliment.  I am striving to live my life so closely to Christ's example that most people think I'm crazy.  I truly believe our canonized saints lived the same way.  That is why we emulate them and hope that we can live our lives in similar ways.  St. Therese, St. Benedict and others were living their lives counter to their culture but infinitely toward their Lord.  It is my greatest wish to join them in their adoration of our God.  I'm nowhere near their level of "holiness", but perhaps someday, I will reach that point.  In the meantime, I continue striving!

Prayers needed!

An old classmate of mine from high school posted today that her baby has a malignant brain tumor.  Please send all the prayers that you can out for her family.  I cannot imagine the graces that they will need to get through this.  She has an extremely positive attitude, and I'm just hoping he is the little fighter that she seems to be! 

As an aside, St. Peregrine is the patron saint of cancer patients.  If you ever need him, now you will know who can pray for you.  We do not pray to saints, only ask that they pray for us in times of need. 

Christmas Redux

It's my first post so why not jump in with something slightly heavy, right?

I cannot, cannot understand proliferation of Christmas in OCTOBER. What?!? Can we please get through Thanksgiving first?!?  I will readily admit that a few years ago, two of our local radio stations started a Christmas music war. Who could be the first to play all caroling, all the time? At that point, I enjoyed the early music, but I've put more thought into it in recent years. Christmas is not technically supposed to start until December 25. That's right folks, Christmas should start on the DAY OF Christmas, not two months before that Madison Avenue has launched. I'm not sure that I can support carols the day after Halloween. I absolutely cannot stand seeing decorations and other items in stores in early October. I know that a certain children's furniture store started with stockings and stuffers that early, as my son and I attend their story time pretty often. A store that for the life of me, I cannot remember, unveiled part of their Christmas regalia in September! I remember thinking that seeing Christmas gear before my end of the month birthday was insane.

And truly? It really is! Why did we get to a point where Christmas is once again more of a pagan holiday than what it was meant to represent. Christ is born to save us all! Why is it okay to reduce that to "a few more shopping days"? I will never understand the change that has occured over the years, and it honestly has made me want to put off decorating or anything Christmas as long as possible. If I can be one of the few holdouts, I will be happy.  I will truly try to experience Advent this year without jumping the gun.  No early carols in this house, and I really think I will delay the tree. However, I will leave the tree up for the TRUE Christmas season- the twelve days AFTER Christmas day. And my presents? I think this year, I will try to keep them as religious-based as possible. It's the reason we have Christmas to begin with, right? My family will receive homemade rosaries and other items to hopefully advance their spiritual lives. That I believe is the REAL reason for the season!