For Pro-Choicers: What Does the Texas Bill REALLY Say

Courtesy of Designs by Birgit

I want to take a moment to address any pro-choice family, friends or other readers who may stumble across this blog post. I doubt many read my blog due to the pro-life nature of many of my posts, but on the off chance that someone does read this, I want to take a moment to share what the "Abortion Bill" in Texas is really about. I've been trying to read about it on both sides of the issue and I'm amazed at how completely misunderstood this bill is by the main stream media.

Quick Background
In a recent special session of the Texas legislature Senate Bill 5 came up for a vote on June 25, the last day of the session. Sen. Wendy Davis (D) took the day to give an 11 hour filibuster to stop voting on the bill. Voting took place at the last second, unfortunately it was ruled to have taken place just past midnight on June 26. So the vote to pass the bill was declared null. Pro-lifers took the phones and Gov. Perry called for a second special session to begin on July 1. The bill, commonly referred to now as the "abortion bill" will be refiled for this second special session along with other bills that still needed to be discussed, etc. The bill will be filed under a new number (I believe House Bill 2, initially) when the new session starts.

So now we're all up to speed.

The question is, though, what does the bill say?

On the Pro-abortion side, people are saying that this bill will close all abortion facilities in the state of Texas. They claim that this bill is bad for women, takes away their right to abortion and forces women to have babies they do not want.

On the Pro-life side, people are saying that this bill will not close abortion clinics. They claim that the bill is good for women and all who care about the safety and health of women should be in favor of this bill.

So who is right? Why the discrepancy in perspective on this bill?  What does the bill actually SAY?

You can read the complete text of Senate Bill 5 (the one that caused all the ruckus this past Tuesday) here. Remember the bill will get a new number in the new session and there is always the chance of language being changed, edited, amended, etc. during committee hearings. For simplicity sake I will refer to the bill as SB5

My son, Zachary,
born at 22 weeks.

SB5 is intended, first of all, the protect unborn children who are 20 weeks post-fertilization. At this point in pregnancy, medical evidence has shown, a baby can feel pain and therefore is in extreme pain when killed during an abortion procedure. So that's the first part.

While this isn't entirely what the pro-life side would like to see, it is a step in the right direction. A small step.

The second part of SB5 is the requirements for physicians who perform abortions. This is the aspect of the bill, I believe, that is raising the alarm for the pro-choice side. But why?

SECTION 2.  Subchapter A, Chapter 171, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Section 171.0031 to read as follows:

Sec. 171.0031.  REQUIREMENTS OF PHYSICIAN; OFFENSE.  (a)  A physician performing or inducing an abortion:

(1)  must, on the date the abortion is performed, have active admitting privileges at a hospital that:

(A)  is located not further than 30 miles from the location at which the abortion is performed or induced; and

(B)  provides obstetrical or gynecological health care services; and

(2)  shall provide the pregnant woman with:

(A)  a telephone number by which the pregnant woman may reach the physician, or other health care personnel employed by the physician or by the facility at which the abortion was performed with access to the woman's relevant medical records, 24 hours a day to request assistance for any complications that arise from the performance of the abortion or ask health-related questions regarding the abortion; and

(B)  the name and telephone number of the nearest hospital to the home of the pregnant woman at which an emergency arising from the abortion would be treated.

(b)  A physician who violates Subsection (a) commits an offense.  An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a fine only, not to exceed $4,000. (Senate Bill 5, 2013)

So basically, the physician must be able to go to a local hospital with the patient having the abortion if an emergency arises. This helps doctors at the hospital to better understand the situation (because the abortionist is right there) so they know how to help the woman in distress. The way things are now, if faced with an emergency, the woman goes to a hospital and the doctors have to guess at what may have happened in order to properly treat her. I don't think it is an unreasonable requirement for abortionists. It's a safety measure for the patients.

Secondly the above part of SB5 asks that physicians performing abortions provide a phone number and/or other contact information to the patient in the event that she experiences complications after she has left the facility. Again, I think this is a very reasonable stipulation.

Section 171.063 of the bill reiterates some of the above quoted passage. It also stipulates that the person performing the abortion, dispensing or selling drugs for an abortion, and so forth, be a physician. This is a medical procedure. I don't know about you, but I don't want to undergo any sort of medical procedure without being under the care of a properly licensed, medical physician. Why should abortion be any different?

To quote further from section 171.063:

(d)  The physician who gives, sells, dispenses, administers, provides, or prescribes the abortion-inducing drug, or the physician's agent, must schedule a follow-up visit for the woman to occur not more than 14 days after the administration or use of the drug.  At the follow-up visit, the physician must:

(1)  confirm that the pregnancy is completely terminated; and

(2)  assess the degree of bleeding.

(e)  The physician who gives, sells, dispenses, administers, provides, or prescribes the abortion-inducing drug, or the physician's agent, shall make a reasonable effort to ensure that the woman returns for the scheduled follow-up visit under Subsection (d).  The physician or the physician's agent shall document a brief description of any effort made to comply with this subsection, including the date, time, and name of the person making the effort, in the woman's medical record.

(f)  If a physician gives, sells, dispenses, administers, provides, or prescribes an abortion-inducing drug to a pregnant woman for the purpose of inducing an abortion as authorized by this section and the physician knows that the woman experiences a serious adverse event, as defined by the MedWatch Reporting System, during or after the administration or use of the drug, the physician shall report the event to the United States Food and Drug Administration through the MedWatch Reporting System not later than the third day after the date the physician learns that the event occurred. (Senate Bill 5, 2013)

Basically a follow-up visit is required and any adverse effects must be reported (as is true with any medical procedure). Again, why is this a problem?

One myth I've seen is that all these requirements will cause abortion clinics to close immediately. This is not true.  Under Section 171.064, Section 4:

(a)  The rules must contain minimum standards to protect the health and safety of a patient of an abortion facility and must contain provisions requiring compliance with the requirements of Subchapter B, Chapter 171.  On and after September 1, 2014, the minimum standards for an abortion facility must be equivalent to the minimum standards adopted under Section 243.010 for ambulatory surgical centers. (Senate Bill 5, 2013)

Abortion clinics are being given a little more than year to come into full compliance with this law. If the bill passes this July, we're looking at about 14 months before these clinics need to be in full compliance by September 1, 2014. Will these provisions close some abortion clinics? Probably yes. Will it close all? Most likely not. Personally, if abortion is going to be available to women, it needs to be as safe as possible for women. These requirements put the regulations of abortion clinics in lines with the "minimum standards adopted ... for ambulatory surgical centers."

Just as with any medical procedure and any medical center, abortion clinics need to be held to the same standards. Otherwise, patient health is put at risk. As pro-choice people, don't you want women to be safe and in the best medical situation possible? That is the real point of this bill.

I will admit, that as a pro-life person I would like to see Roe v. Wade overturned and abortion made illegal in this country. This bill is far from perfect from a pro-life perspective, but it is a step in at least making abortion safer for the women who feel like it is their only option.

Wrapping Up
As a Kentuckian, why am I bothering to get into the details of this bill?? This bill could have a massive effect all across the country. If Texas passes this (and they are expected to) then we can see other states following suit. But they can only be successful if the bill is completely understood. This bill is about making abortion safer for women, not about prohibiting abortion out right.

In a world where "agreeing to disagree" is all the rage, certainly those on both the pro-choice side and the pro-life side of the abortion debate can agree that making abortion conditions safe for women is important. We may disagree on the necessity of abortion or whether or not it should be legal or illegal, but I see no reason why we can't agree that as long as it is available, women should be safe and not have to fear for their lives when they enter an abortion clinic.

For more about this topic and to see how you can get involved in supporting women in Texas, I recommend the post "Protect Babies and Women - Stand with Texas" by Designs by Birgit. She summarizes the bill and the reasoning behind it very succinctly and provides many ways to help and show your support.

I hope that pro-choice women can join with us in passage of this bill, recognizing that this is a way to provide safe conditions in line with all other medical facilities in the state of Texas for the women of Texas. Because women deserve to be cared for in the best possible way.

Note: I apologize if there is any weird formatting in the quoted texts. It was a long process trying to copy and paste from a legislative document, into a separate document, and reformat it to get proper display on this page. Thank you for understanding.

Discovering Television

At two years old, my boys don't watch any television. Well, at least not until recently. Before now, we never had it on when they were up. If we did, they showed no interest.

I occasionally put it on the public broadcasting channel to watch cartoons when one of them was sick. Even then, they showed almost no interest. I love this! They don't know characters yet, no Thomas the Train or Dora or whatever character kids are into these days. All fine with me! The longer we put that off, the better.

But they have now discovered TV. We watch one show with them before bed and they love it!

Yes. My boys love Wheel of Fortune. Who would have thunk?! It's so cute, too.

They sit quietly on the couch, they clap every time the studio audience claps, they are enraptured by the spinning wheel, and they sometimes catch the letters the contestants ask for and repeat them. So we're learning some too. Maybe. And when a puzzle is solved, Peter knows it and starts asking for more. I laugh every time. He claps and then immediately starts making the more sign and saying more.

When the show ends, we wait until Pat and Vanna say goodbye so the boys can say goodbye and then we go up to bed.

If they are going to watch something on TV, I can't think of a better thing to watch at this age. Maybe they'll learn their letters this way too. Bonus!

Two Stats at Two

Yesterday was the two year old well-visit for my two two-year-olds. Enough "twos" for you?

I'm pleased to report that the boys are holding steady in the 10th percentile for weight and the 25th percentile for length. No wonder I have such a hard time finding pants for them that stay up!! One pieces and overalls are the best!

Despite their position on the percentile charts for weight and length, they still have big heads, comparatively speaking. Both are holding steady in the 75th percentile there. They take after my family in that respect. Not me specifically, but there happen to be a lot of big mouths heads in my family. ;)

One thing Hubby and I have always joked about was our hope that our children all get my eyes (no glasses) and his teeth (no braces). So at their appointment the doctor noted that that the boys didn't have much room in their mouths and some of their teeth looked a little crowded already. I meant to ask if that meant their mouths were on the small side (mine is, I still need the children's bit at the dentist when they do x-rays). But before I could ask she added that their bottom front teeth were turning in a little. I laughed and pointed to mine. "Like this?" I asked her. She laughed and said, "Okay, so we know where they get that from."

Maybe we should start saving up for braces now.

Unfortunately we also learned that our doctor is leaving. Her husband got a job out in the eastern part of the state and apparently both their families live in that area too. So they are moving, she's going to spend some time home with her kids and then maybe find some part-time work once they start going to school. I wish her luck but we'll miss her.

Now I have the unfortunate task of finding a new doctor. I could just stay in the same office and see another pediatrician, but I want to take some time to cover all my options. I've talked to at least one friend who is in the same insurance group I am and I've started polling co-workers. I have a feeling it is going to be a long process. At one point yesterday afternoon I was talking to someone about it and said I had a year before the boys had their next well visit so I had some time, except for sick visits, of course. Later I realized that, no, I had to find someone before Baby comes in December. Duh!!

Yeah, I still forget sometimes. Just smack me over the head every now and then.

Two Whole Years!!

Can you believe it?? My little guys are turning two today! Happy Birthday, Peter and Ethan!!

I couldn't have posed this picture more perfectly if I had tried.

Peter, always with the tongue out (and looking like he's planning something).

Ethan, so excited!!

Just One Small Thing ...

That's all.

Just kidding. We're very excited!!! Prayers appreciated as always. We're expecting anther cerclage surgery, hopefully before it becomes an emergency, probably in July. But at this point we're just waiting to see how things progress.

Exact due date is December 11. So I'm a little over 11 weeks now, will be 12 weeks on Wednesday. So far so good. Already have had a few ultrasounds and several appointments plus I've been put into a study on preterm labor. And no, we will not be finding out gender until the birth. We like the surprise!

Lots of appointments in my future! Thanks again for all your prayers!!

More Cute Boys

I couldn't resist sharing another picture of the boys. The picture on my post yesterday was from a photo shoot we did in April with a local photographer. This is another one of my favorites from that day:

Peter looks so much older to me in this picture. Ethan just looks so happy and excited. They both make me smile!

Brotherly Love

Tuesday morning I got the boys out of their cribs and started the morning routine of diapers, getting dressed, and putting everything away before going down to have breakfast. Once out of their cribs they like to start pulling books down or getting into the blocks or whatever. They also usually like carrying around their large stuffed animals, which are almost as big as they are.

That morning Peter insisted on carrying his large monkey with him and his blanket. And he wanted to have them both with him on the changing table. There isn't much room on a changing table for him, a monkey, and a blanket. But I tried to make it work for a little while.

I finally got tired of everything and took the blanket away tossing it towards the crib. I missed the crib and the blanket landed on the floor next to it. Peter was not happy. He fussed and fussed about not having the blanket as he laid there under the monkey.

But his brother came to his rescue. He went and got the blanket and brought it to the changing table. I was trying to get Peter dressed while Ethan tried to push the blanket up onto the changing table. Unsuccessfully, of course.

It was very cute! I love seeing how much these two little guys look out for each other. They fight plenty, too, but these moments remind me how lucky they are to have a built in best friend.

Congrats to our New Priests!

Today in my diocese, three men will be ordained to the priesthood. It is such an exciting time!! I've only been to one ordination and it was amazing. I am not able to attend today's, but it'll be on my mind and I'll certainly offer my prayers for these men and their ministry.

Our diocesan vocations office has been posting some cool pictures on Facebook over the last few months and one of them really struck me when I saw it. It featured one of our soon-to-be priests who is also a member of my parish. It also conveys such a powerful message in such few words. I love it and wanted to share it here.

Isn't it beautiful! I love this message and it is so true. Congrats Fr. Alan and to your newly ordained comrades. May your ministry as priests in service to our Lord and His people be fruitful and fulfilling.

St. Jean Vianney, pray for our priests.

7 Quick Takes at Catholic Sistas

It's a little later in the day than I usually post, but I wanted to go ahead and get this in here. In case you're wondering where I've been, I'm still writing over at Catholic Sistas. And I have lots of ideas for posts I want to do over here as well. Eventually I'll get to those too.

In the meantime, I polled the Ink Slingers at Catholic Sistas about their favorite blogs. Today's Quick Takes post is a sampling of some of the blogs they shared with me, as well as some of my own favorites. Our only requirements were that the blogs were Catholic and that none of them on our list were written by any of us. We didn't want to appear too biased.

So come check out the Sistas' favorite blogs (or as many of them as I could squeeze into one post without going overboard) and then leave us a comment with some of your favorite blogs. And shameless plugs for your own are more than welcome!!

Reviewing a New Book at Catholic Sistas

I got the opportunity to review Pat Gohn's new book, Blessed, Beautiful, and Bodacious: Celebrating the Gift of Catholic Womanhood. I was very excited since it was a book I was planning on buying and reading anyway. Check out what I had to say over at Catholic Sistas.

Another Why-I'm-Not-Writing Post

But really I am! Things are a little crazy around here.

What?? How is that possible?

Yeah, yeah, whatever. Two kids, work, house, blah, blah, blah. I know you all understand.

But all is not lost! Check out my post today over at Catholic Sistas. I'm doing a little Scripture reflection, which always leads to a bit of self-reflection. Go check it out and leave me some comments over there. I'm hoping to see your comments!!

And I bet everyone wants to see updated pictures of the boys. Yeah, me too. ::sigh::

But once again ... in time. We're actually having pictures done very soon. So stay tuned.

In the meantime, I can tell you that we have some more vocabulary around here and these boys are starting to look like little boys more and more each day. Babyhood seemed to last forever, but toddlerhood is just speeding by. Don't tell me it gets faster from here, I don't want to hear it. Let me live in my naive little world where my little boys will be little boys for a long, long time.

The weather has finally started to warm up and we're having more warm days than cold (well, except for today, but that's KY for you!). This means a bit more time outside. The boys LOVE being outside. I'm sure the neighbors must think something is wrong when we have to bring the boys in, because they can scream like you wouldn't believe. You'd think we were torturing them!

That's all I have time for at the moment. I do have lots of posts swirling in my head, one day I hope to share those with you. In the meantime, hope you enjoy my little reflection over at Catholic Sistas today. Stop on over and say hi.

Easter is Here! Hope lives!

It is Easter Sunday! The biggest day in the Church year! He is Risen!!

Today gives us hope. There is amazing hope in the Resurrection.

Today my family also remembers our very first baby, Casey Marie. It's been five years since we lost her. I find renewed hope in today's celebration that we will be reunited with Casey and our other babies one day in Heaven.

Happy Easter, dear readers.

Thank you, Jesus!

Beyond Our Privileged Comprehension

Can you imagine being pregnant, going to have an ultrasound, finding out it's a girl, and then aborting her because she's a girl?

Can you imagine getting pregnant for the first time without a birth permit and going into hiding so that the government doesn't find you and force you to abort your child?

Can you imagine being in hiding and discovering that the government has arrested a family member (your husband, father, brother, etc.) and they are beating him until you turn yourself in for an abortion?

Can you imagine living in a place where any of the above is completely normal?

No matter how much I think about this kind of thing and go over and over it in my head, I still can not comprehend it. I have grown up in a country where I have the freedom to do what I want within the reasonable laws (mostly) of our country, the United States. And many other countries in the world are like ours.

But many are not. And unfortunately, some of the above scenarios even take place in our more "advanced" countries.

I'm not a stranger to China's One-Child Policy. I'm well aware that it has existed for several decades now. And I know that forced abortions happen there all too frequently. It's horrific. But last week I read an article about a woman who narrowly escaped a forced abortion when she was five months pregnant. There was also an accompanying video. Together, the article and the video really bothered me. I shared it on Facebook and it was on my mind all day. And has continued to be on my mind ever since. This woman was able to have her little boy, unlike many of her fellow countrywomen, but that still comes with consequences. Her child is alive, but she and her husband face a $15,000 fine in order for her son to be eligible to register as a citizen. Until then, he doesn't exist as far as the Chinese government is concerned. And as long as he doesn't exist, he can't get an ID or register his own household when he grows up.

And how much exactly is $15,000 in China? I used a currency converter and $15,000 in USD is over 93,000 CNY (the Chinese currency). But what does that mean exactly. According to this website, the average income is $5445 per person per year in 2011 US dollars. That means that this fine is roughly three times what the average person makes in a year. That is ridiculous!

And what really bothered me, was that the couple says this is their first child (the government disagrees). We hear about the one-child policy in China and assume that the horrific crime of forced abortions is done when a woman becomes pregnant with a second child. But that's not the case here. And as I looked into this more I've discovered that abortion only after a first child is not always the case. I read through the cases on the Women's Rights Without Frontiers website and it was clear that first children are also at great risk of abortion (not to mention the mothers as well, many of whom also lose their lives due to the brutality of this practice in China). A family must have a Birth Permit, even for a first child, or they risk being forced into aborting that child.

This is horrifying to me. It completely eats me up inside to think about the fear these families must live with. And the pain throughout this country of the 336 million unborn children who have been murdered since 1971. That's approximately 8 million abortions a year or almost 22,000 abortions a day. A. Day.

My question is: What can I do? It's such a huge problem, though. I could make a donation to WRWF, which will definitely help. But that still feels like a drop in the bucket. A massive bucket! Stop buying anything that was made in China? Probably hard to do, but not impossible. But does that make any difference. My little, teeny-tiny part of the economy won't matter much.

I don't have any answers right now. This has been on my mind and I had to share it somewhere. My brain is swirling with so many thoughts. But so much of what I am reading is leaving me speechless and feeling powerless.

More thoughts later.

A Sweetest, Nicest, Beloved, Welcoming Award!

I mentioned a little over a week ago that I was given a blog award. I was stunned, to say the least. But here now, finally, I am getting around to sharing the award and all the things that go with it. So I am pleased to present, the Liebster Award:

I was given this by Nancy who blogs at The Breadbox Letters (among other blogs and places she writes). I love her blog and if it wasn't her granting this award to me, she'd surely be on my list. And I want to quote Nancy in what she said about this award:

What is the "Liebster Award," actually?  The award is given to up and coming bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers.  From what I understand, liebster is German for: "sweetest," "kindest," "nicest," "dearest," "beloved," "valued," "endearing," and "welcoming."

This award is supposed to be fun. So along with receiving it, there are a few things that I have been asked to do. Here are the five "simple" rules for accepting the award:

1. List 11 things about yourself
2. Answer the questions that the nominator has posed for you.
3. Nominate 11 up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers
4. Create 11 questions to ask the nominees
5. Go to the page of each nominee and tell her about her award

Simple, right? Hopefully! I always struggle a bit with these kinds of things (listing things about yourself and coming up with questions for others), but I'm going to give it a try. So here are 11 things about me:

1. I almost never wear make-up. I do for special occasions, like a wedding or a formal dinner or something, but generally, no, I don't. The last time I went to use my make-up (in November) my foundation pump was actually clogged up by the dried up make-up. Maybe I should use it a bit more often.
2. I'm shy and very quiet around new people or in large groups. I have to know the person or persons really, really, really well for me to be more open. Or have a glass of wine in hand.
3. I often worry that people find me unfriendly due to #2 above.
4. I am a musician (sort of), BUT ... I do not sing, I don't know much about choral music or Broadway musicals, and my classical listening preferences are usually for instrumental music, not choral music. Why do people always assume I am a singer?
5. When I was a kid I wanted to be famous. Famous at what? No idea. Just famous. I really had no clue when I was a kid.
6. I am in awe of writers who can write about an experience that was difficult, exhausting, traumatic, or demanding and make it sound funny. To all you who can make readers laugh through your difficulties, I tip my hat to you. I admire that kind of witty writing.
7. I love York Peppermint Patties. LOVE! If you ever need to get on my good side, just come by with a bag of those.
8. I find coming up with 11 things about myself very difficult. I wonder if that makes me a boring person or just a person with a horrendous memory?
9. I started writing sometime during elementary school (around 4th grade, maybe) and kept it up until sometime around 10th grade. I always wanted to be a writer, but my focus changed around that time. I guess I've been trying to find my way back the last few years.
10. I tend to write most of my blog posts at night and have them post the next morning. Except for this one. I'm once again home sick, so I'm using my time to do this post.
11. I used to always read fiction, but now I almost never do. These days I prefer to read things that challenge me, make me think, or help me grow as a person. I think that's why I like reading blogs as much as I do.

And now for the questions Nancy asked in her post:
1. If you won a trip to anywhere, where would you go?
I would go to Europe somewhere, not sure where exactly, but it would definitely be in Europe.
2. What is your favorite childhood memory?
One year my dad read James and the Giant Peach to my sister and I, a little bit each night. I always loved that! Years later when the movie came out (and I think we were already adults by then), he gave us each a copy of the newest edition for that Christmas. That was very special because usually my mom handled all our Christmas gifts, but this one he went out and did totally on his own. I'm not sure my mom even knew about it until we opened them Christmas morning.
3. What is your favorite season?
Fall
4. Favorite kind of music?
Instrumental chamber music, usually wind instruments. Mozart, Beethoven, Reicha, Danzi, and many others.
5. If you could spend tomorrow with one canonized saint, who would it be?
St. Gianna Beretta Molla. I think I could use the advise and perspective of another faithful Catholic mom who worked outside the home.
6. What is your favorite Scripture? (either chapter or verse, or a whole book)
I did a Bible Study once on the Gospel of John. I don't know it as well as I would like, but I find John fascinating because it has so many layers. Specifically, I love John chapter 6. I don't know how anyone can read John 6 and not see the Eucharist there. Beautiful!
7. If you were dressing up for an elegant evening out, what would you wear? ...
I'd probably have to go shopping if it was something really elegant.
8. ... and where would you like to go?
Oh! Well, if I get to choose ... probably a symphony orchestra concert and a nice dinner out.
9. Who has modeled the Christian life for you, or taught it to you, in an inspiring way?
I think this is hands down my husband who has always left me in awe of his knowledge of the faith and his humble ways.
10. What is your favorite poem?
"I'm nobody, who are you ..." by Emily Dickinson. Thus the title of this blog.
11. How do you like to relax and wind-down?
How I *like* to do this versus how I actually do this are two different things. I tend to veg-out in front of the TV when I am in need of winding down. I wish I could just pick up a book or something instead.

And now, my list of 11 nominees. In some cases I don't know how many followers these blogs have. If they have a widget listing followers it's pretty easy, if not ... it's a bit impossible to tell. So whether these are all "up and coming" blogs or not, I don't know. In any case, these are some blogs, in no particular order, that I enjoy and I'm happy to nominate for the Liebster Award:

Pass the Flu Bug Please

Meagan

Candid Catholic Living

The Confused Homemaker

Percolating Petals

My Favorite People

Cheerios and Lace (hasn't been updated in over a year, but she writes really well and it's such a pretty blog. Hopefully, she'll come back one day.)

Franciscan Mom

Fear Not Little Flock

Theological Librarian

Lox Populi

Phew!! That was harder than I thought it was going to be! Many of the above blogs are friends of mine, some I discovered through Facebook, and a couple I discovered years and years ago when I first started reading blogs and I still follow them. I'm not sure what the definition of "up and coming" is supposed to be, but all these blogs had less than 200 followers on any sort of Following widget they had up on their blog. If they did not have any sort of follow widget, then I added them anyway. Just because.

So, to my blogging friends who I've nominated for this prestigious Liebster Award, I hope you'll participate. If you don't feel you have the time, to write a post like this, please accept the award anyway. I know I have many busy mamas on the list above. And here are the 11 questions I am asking of you (though I'm stealing a few from Nancy, because she asks good questions), should you choose to participate:

1. What is your favorite prayer?
2. What volunteer activities are you involved in?
3. What do you like most about having a blog?
4. What is your favorite childhood memory?
5. What most makes you smile?
6. What is your favorite religious icon, statue, or other image?
7. If you could spend tomorrow with one canonized saint, who would it be?
8. What is your secret favorite indulgence? ...
9. ... And, do you have to have a hiding spot in your house for it?
10. Who has modeled the Christian life for you, or taught it to you, in an inspiring way?
11. Chili: beans or no beans?

And with that, I am done. Thanks to Nancy for the Liebster Award. This post took a long time but it was kind of fun, too. Now I'm off to let my 11 nominees know that I have bestowed this award on them as well.

Your Mission: Short and Sweet

I feel like I've been neglecting this poor little blog for the last few months. I know I said I was going to be writing less, but I didn't intend to stop writing altogether. Sorry for that, dear readers.

Today I'm home from work so I thought I'd pop in with a short post. Sort of an update. But then I realized that I don't have a lot to say, really. I mean, I do, if I wanted to write a longer post (and I have plenty of things on my mind I could scribble away about), but I don't. Short and sweet was my objective for today.

So, getting to the point ...

The reason I'm home: strep throat. I don't think I've had strep throat since I was a kid. I certainly done recollect the last time and I'm not certain enough to say I've never had it, so let's just say it's been a very long time! This winter has been terrible! I'm generally a healthy person and am not used to being sick this often. I guess this is the result of having kids now, particular kids who spend their days around other kids.

Second, I had an article on Catholic Sistas last Friday: Ignorance Demands Charity and Patience. I was pleased with how it turned out although it's not the article I thought I was writing. The Holy Spirit has a funny way of making that happen. So the end result is not as much my doing as that I allowed the Holy Spirit in to dictate the direction of the post. Hope you like it!

And that's it. Short and sweet. Mission accomplished.

7 Quick Takes Friday, v. 52

~1~

I've been a bit slack in writing in this space for the last month. This is usually about the time that I resolve to write on a more regular basis. But I'm not going to do that this time. I'm sticking to my plan of not writing just because I feel like I have to and instead writing because I want to. It's been nice, almost like a vacation, but not really. I actually have a ton of ideas swirling in my head, so I will have to get them out at some point. Or not. What is it about sitting down at the computer to write that makes your brain go completely blank?

~2~

Despite my lack of regular writing lately, I somehow managed to get a blog award recently (thanks, Nancy!). I need to write a post to share it and answer a few questions. I learned of this honor just before a trip I was taking, so it's still waiting to be done (one of the many things swirling around in my head). But wanted to at least mention it and share my surprise! More to come.

~3~

A trip? Yes! It was a work related trip, all the way out to San Jose, CA. It was so nice. The sun was out the whole time I was there, I could leave the hotel without a coat, there was a ton of stuff in walking distance of the hotel, and I got to visit with so many wonderful people and meet many new people. It was almost a shock to my system to come back and it be so cold. And then it snowed here on Tuesday! Snow!! I was starting to think about spring and got jolted back into winter. So not fair.

~4~

While I was away, my heroic husband had to single-parent it for seven days! The whole morning routine on his own, the whole night time routine, including baths, on his own, and everything in between. He's such a great dad. And I could tell he was exhausted by the end of it all.

~5~

And yet, he still got them out of the house on Saturday morning and took them to the mall for a walk. While they were there they ran into some unlikely characters. I was sitting in a session in a massive ballroom at my hotel when I got this picture sent to me on my phone:

~6~

I'm glad to be home. I don't mind traveling, but the actual days of travel are so tiring. Especially when practically the entire day is spent sitting in airports and on airplanes, which is unavoidable when traveling to the west coast. Oh, so glad to be home!!

~7~

I have to share what happened Thursday afternoon that I found kind of funny. I was picking up the boys from daycare and as we headed out the door and down the stairs, another mother and her child were in front of us. Her child seemed a little older than my two since he was able to walk down the stairs on his own without holding her hand. So here I come behind her, carrying one of mine and holding the other by the hand while he starts down the stairs. She looks up at me and offers to let me go in front of them because "it takes us a little while to get down the stairs." I just smiled because her words are the exact same words I use when I'm the one holding other people up with my two children. But the funny thing is, her and her child were moving along much faster than we do. We are the slow ones, I can assure you of that. And of course, her son managed to work his way down the entire flight while we were still only about 3 steps down. They were out the door and she had him in the car by the time we got to the door. So yeah, I had to laugh, I know I'm way slower than everyone else coming in or out of that place. 

To anyone who thinks you're holding me up in any way, please know that you most definitely are not! It takes me at least three times as long as anyone else to get my children in and out of school each day. And that is no exaggeration. Efficiency with twins has so far eluded me.

It's taken me some time to come to terms with that. I used to get frustrated that the parents who showed up after I did were in and out and gone long before me. And it doesn't matter how many children they have and what their ages are, I'm still the slow one. But I'm mostly used to it now (mostly) and have learned to ignore other's abilities to get their children gathered up and in the car so efficiently. One day, though ... one day!

Hope you enjoyed these Quick Takes! For more, go visit Jen at Conversion Diary!

I Have Called You By Name ...

Four years ago I was privileged to attend a naming ceremony. At the time we had two children in heaven, Casey and Zachary. I thought the ceremony was well-put together and very meaningful for all those attending. And despite the public ceremony, the naming part of it was very private. The next Naming Ceremony is coming up on March 3. If you are local and have experienced a miscarriage, still birth, or abortion at any time in your past, please consider attending this event. Here is the complete information:

"I Have Called You by Name..."

For those who have experienced the loss of a child through miscarriage, stillbirth or abortion, you are invited to attend the 5th Annual Naming Ceremony Sunday Mar 3, 2013 at 2pm at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church. This Diocesan event is for Catholic or Non-Catholic parents and their family who would like to remember their child/sibling/grandchild in a special way. Often a child lost due to miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion does not receive a funeral observance nor are the children given a name, other than in the hearts of his/her parents. This beautiful and healing commemorative liturgy will be led by Fr. John Moriarty and will be followed by a reception in the parish hall. This event is sponsored by the Diocesan Bereavement Ministry and the Bereavement Ministry and Elizabeth Ministry at St Elizabeth Ann Seton Church. If you have any questions about the service please contact either Laura Napora at lnapora (at) juno (dot) com or Deacon Bob or Connie Kotzbauer at ckotzbauer (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Tuesday Ten: Truly Random

Another installment of a Tuesday Ten and I have to tell you that this is the first time I'm going into it completely blind. There was no thought given to this post at all until just about 10 seconds ago.

Ever want to know how a person's brain really works? This might give you some insight into mine.

Maybe. It might just prove once and for all that I have no thought process at all in regards to anything. Totally empty up there in the old noggin.

Sometimes it feels like nothing is going on up there. Especially when I sit down to write. I really do like writing, but I spend so much time using my brain for other things that writing becomes hard. It's an outlet for creativity but I have nothing left to give it.

I thought about that some on my drive home from work on Monday. I had a hair appointment Monday afternoon (rescheduled from Friday). So I had to leave work, go to the appointment, and then go back into work. I was half hoping that I'd have a little extra time and be able to stop at the grocery store after the appointment, grab a few things, run them by the house, and still make it back to work by 3:00 or so. But I've been going to the same hair dresser for like 6 or 7 years now, so my appointments are never short and sweet. We chat about our kids mostly and before I knew it, it was almost 3 when I walked out of there.

So I get back to work (and luckily found a parking spot--one of the dangers of leaving campus in the middle of the day with the plan to actually come back ... crazy, I know!) and it's about 3:15. I immediately dived into some tasks I was helping another librarian with. These are things I am not used to doing. I'm filling in on an as needed basis for a librarian who is on sabbatical (remember that sabbatical I took, yep, payback time!). So I'm working on her stuff and I was kind of getting into it. Plus emails still come in and other things pop up that I have to handle, but mostly it was this one task.

And here's the thing about that one task ... it was something different. I enjoyed it! I get kind of bogged down in doing the same thing in my job all the time, as much as I like my job, it is nice to do something I'm not used to doing.

But that wasn't the point (sorry, randomness ensuing), I got so into what I was doing that before I knew it, it was after 5. By the time I packed up and headed out the door it was 5:20. Get to the car, get to the daycare, get the boys into the car (that's always a task!!), get home, immediately start helping hubby with dinner, change a diaper, eat dinner and try to get the boys to eat their dinner, and then suddenly, because of the lateness that I left work which caused our arrival home and dinner to be late, it is now bath time and bedtime. Phew!! I felt like I did nothing but run, run, run from 3 o'clock on.

But that wasn't all. I felt the need to also do a load of laundry (okay, it actually did need to be done) and go to the grocery store.

And somehow I still decided to write a ten minute post for Tuesday before going to bed. Which, of course, took loner than ten minutes. Maybe I should change these posts to Friday Fifteen. Ha!

A New Spin on Eating your Vegetables

I was cleaning up after lunch today, wet rag in my hand, wiping off the table. Hubby had just finished wiping the boys off and getting them down from their seats. And that's when the following conversation ensued.

Me: Chris, come get your son, he's eating off the floor.

Hubby: Well, that's the only way he's going to eat any vegetables.

There wasn't anything I could say in response to that, because he's right. Vegetables on the plate or tray are apparently not nearly as good as vegetables on the floor.

A Tuesday Ten Book Review

I finished my first book of the year!! Most years (in recent memory) I read one maybe two books the whole year. I'm on a mission to read more this year. My first book was Matthew Kelly's The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic.

I was hesitant about this book because I find Matthew Kelly very repetitive. I'm sure it's a technique in his speaking that helps to drive home a point but I find it hard to read his writing when he is constantly repeating the same thing. I found this book to be much less repetitive than my previous experiences with him. Not that it didn't still have some repetitiveness, it was just less so.

This book was given away at my parish on Christmas weekend. We weren't around then, but I was able to pick it up the next weekend when we were back in town. I started reading it out of curiosity (since I was a bit hesitant at first) and ended up being drawn in. And I ended up liking the book a lot and I believe I got something out of it.

I was surprised to find out that his research showed that only about 7% of Catholics are the ones that are the most likely to be the volunteers, primary financial contributors, and most dedicated Catholics in a parish. Only 7%! He was expecting to find that number to be 20% to correlate with the 80/20 principle (80 percent of the work is done by 20 percent of the people--usually a business principle, but I've seen it applied in many other areas as well). Instead only 7% of the people do about 80% of the work in a Catholic Church.

As I continued reading I realized that I probably do not fall into that 7%. Few of us do. That was a bit eye-opening, to say the least! With this book Kelly was trying to make the case that we as Catholics could change the world just by increasing that number by 1%. But how?? That's where the four signs came in.

In short, he broke down the four signs to prayer, study, generosity, and evangelization. Anyone who has ever  done a Cursillo retreat will recognize three of these signs and honestly I think generosity can be folded into evangelization. But what I like is that he broke these four signs down and made them seem simple.

I'm almost out of time (wow ten minutes isn't very long!), but I wanted to say that I sort of disagree with him on one small point (and I'm out of time, but I'm going to finish this one thought anyway). In his last chapter he summarizes the points of the book and speaks a little to the erosion of the Church in our modern time. He is pushing for a revival of sorts and mentions that the Church could crumble without it. I understand what he is getting at and why he goes this direction, but we shouldn't forget that Jesus Himself told us that His Church would never fall. Yes, it may deteriorate a lot due to negligence on the part of the people and outside forces trying to break us apart, but I think there will always be a Church until the day Jesus comes back and there is no longer need for a human Church. What I think Kelly was trying to emphasize here was that we need to work on building the Church up and being unapologetic in our Catholic faith. I can agree with that. But I was just struck by his mention that the Church could disappear.

And that's all I got. Overall, a very good book and I recommend it. Sorry I ran over my ten minutes! If you're interested in this book you can find out more about it at www.dynamiccatholic.com.

The Non-Resolutions-In-Late-January Post

If you remember, I took a short break from blogging beginning at the end of November. It wasn't a complete break since I still added an occasional  post here and there and continued writing over at Catholic Sistas. The break was really a good way to just focus on other things for a while without feeling any pressure to keep something new and fresh going on here.

Plus ... well ... I just had a lot going on.

And I still have a lot going on. Somehow there is always something.

Regardless, I am picking up writing again when I can, but I liked not feeling like I had to write something. Not that I have any pressure from anyone but myself, but myself can be pretty demanding sometimes. Myself is learning to be less demanding and I am reconsidering what I want to use this blog for.

I want this blog to reflect more who I am. Yes, I did read Jen's post about being authentically yourself, but no that is not what inspired me to think about this. It was actually on my mind during my little blogging "break" in December and I spent a bit of time reflecting on that. Jen's post helped articulate what was already in my head and I so appreciated that because she is definitely more articulate than I am.

I don't yet have any plans for what I am doing next. But I have a lot of things in my life I want to work on. So I think for starters, while I am going to try and get back to blogging on a regular basis, my "schedule" may be a little less than it has been in the past. Not that I was even a daily poster anyway. I know it helps to post as regularly as possible, but I don't think my mission is to gain readers. So if you're here, great! I hope you stick around. If I get new readers over time, that's great too. I hope those who are here enjoy reading what I post. But I'm not going to be trying to be a "big time" blogger.

That's one thing that will help the pressure I tend to put on myself. As for everything else in my life ....

I'm not a fan of New Year's resolutions. I've done them in the past, they never last long. It's now the end of January anyway, so we're way past the period where everyone posts about how they are not making New Year's resolutions and instead doing x, y, or z, blah, blah, blah. So consider this my non-resolutions for the foreseeable future.

I have a new goal to be done with any sort of emailing, blogging, blog/internet reading, or Facebook time by 11 o'clock each night. I managed to do this for a short period in January and then I got sick and my desire to follow any self-imposed rules fell by the wayside. Whatcha goin' to do.

If I can do the above, I also plan on doing a little bit of reading from an actual book (or maybe the Kindle) before bed. The goal is about 5 pages or so from a good Catholic book. I also added a new tab at the top of the blog to my reading list for the year. Feel free to check it out.

Speaking of good Catholic books ... I am not looking for recommendations. Sorry. I actually have tons of good books that I've never read. I'll be lucky if I read 12 books this year and I guarantee I have more than that around the house. [Probably mostly still in boxes because we have nowhere to put books currently, but I'll figure that out as I go.]

I'm also taking a new look at what I'm choosing to read. I'm not anywhere near the spiritual level required to read some of the books that I have; books that were purchased because they looked so interesting and came so highly recommended. I'm being more realistic with myself. I get bogged down in some of those books. I need to take a step back and read something I'm going to get more out of, something that will lead me down the right spiritual path, something that will prepare me for higher levels of spiritual reading down the road. I think I'll be a lot more successful this way.

Finally, I need to get up when my alarm goes off in the morning (as opposed to an hour later) and spend at least 15-20 minutes in prayer. If I don't do it then I won't do it at all. I know, because I haven't. It's really a very simple solution to a problem I've been struggling with for a very long time. And yet, I can't seem to implement it.

These things are all works in progress. I think over the next year you'll see more posts on how I am progressing in this area and where I am struggling. It's a journey, I know we all have challenges on the journey and I welcome your thoughts and experiences in your similar struggles during the year.

And with that, I will say goodnight. Because it is already way past 11. C'est la vie!

7 Quick Takes Friday, no. 51

~1~

I have never been to the March for Life. We were supposed to go in 2009, but we lost Zachary just a few weeks before and it was not a good time to go on that kind of a trip. One day I hope to make it there.

~2~

I was able to listen to part of the opening Mass at the Basilica in DC. Mainly I was interested in the homily, since listening via radio to a 45 minute procession isn't that interesting. Well, the music was good. One thing struck me in particular as Archbishop O'Malley was speaking:

A society that allows parents to kill their children will allow children to kill their parents.

This is a scary thought. Abortion leads eventually to greater acceptance of euthanasia. This is our future.

~3~

Hearing the Archbishop say this reminded me of this quote of Blessed John Paul II from 1996:

A nation that kills its children has no future.

~4~

If you are interested in following the March fro Life live, Catholic Sistas has some of our writers there. They will be tweeting form the event and using the hashtag #SistasMFL13. Search for it on Twitter to get live updates. We're trying to spread the word too so others will use it too. You can use it even to ask questions and maybe someone who is there can answer for you. I'm not a frequent user of Twitter, but I do find that to be a cool feature of Twitter. 

~5~

The Archbishop also mentioned something else in his homily that caught my attention: for every one child that is adopted there are 100 abortions. That just stuns me. Wow! I knew that the increase in abortion in this country had an effect on adoption placements, but hearing that number really puts it into perspective. 

~6~

This needs no words:

~7~

On Friday afternoon I'll be a guest on the Mike Allen Show once again. The show is on at 5pm eastern, I'll be on at 5:30 with Mike. You can listen in by going to the Real Life Radio page and clicking on the "Listen Live" button.

For more Quick Takes, head on over to Jen's blog Conversion Diary.

Wordless Wednesday

Ethan (l) and Peter (r) in their new sweater vests
Thanks, Aunt Mary!

Suave Peter

Ethan, figuring out how to use the spoon.

Why are you so excited, Mom?

Spoon, what spoon?

3rd Annual Ask Them What They Mean By "Choice" Blog Day

In all the testimonials I have ever read or heard from someone who has had an abortion, there are some commonalities in all of them. First of all, they all felt like they did not have a choice. Secondly, they thought, at the time, that abortion was their only choice. And finally, they wish someone had told them that there was a better choice.

It is heart breaking to read those stories or hear those testimonials. You can see the regret on their faces, you can feel it behind their words.

Didn't have a choice.

It was the only choice.

I wish someone had told me I had a different choice.

It is not a choice when you tell a pregnant woman who finds herself in an unplanned pregnancy situation that her only choice is to have an abortion. Especially not when her other choices aren't explained to her fully. And especially not when the only choice she is presented with is not given with all the information.

Is that what you mean by "choice," pro-abortion advocates? Do these women truly understand the choice they are making?

You may think they do, but do you really know. Do they understand that there is a separate individual developing inside of them who already has a beating heart? Do they understand that this "choice" will stop that beating heart and murder that developing human? Do they understand that this "choice" is major surgery, what the complications are, what the risks are? Do they know that post-abortive women have higher rates of suicide than other women?

If the answer is no to any one of those questions (and probably a litany of others), then these women were not given a choice.

Choice is not advocating for one method for all women. Abortion is not a "one-size fits all" solution to every unplanned pregnancy. And no one should have to make a "choice" without all the information in front of them.

I don't know what your definition of choice is, pro-abortion advocates, but it is not the same one I use. I believe that if women were given ALL the facts about abortion and told with complete honesty what ALL their choices were, we wouldn't have lost over 55 million babies in the last 40 years.

This post was written as part of the 3rd Annual Ask Them What They Mean By "Choice" Blog Day hosted by Jill Stanek.
This post is also linked up over at Catholic Bloggers Network.

Writing on Marriage

I'm over at Catholic Sistas today writing on the vocation of marriage. I explore the five characteristics of a vocation as they pertain to marriage. Did you know that marriage is considered a vocation? Here's a very short excerpt (I don't want to give too much away):

Marriage, too, is a vocation. I think this is too easy for many of us to forget. And for many of us, we might not have ever been taught this concept. I wasn't and it has taken awhile for this concept to fully unfold for me. And I’m sure I still have a long way to go. So, how is marriage a vocation? To answer this we need to look at the characteristics of a particular vocation.

Click here to read the whole article.

Our Little Saint

Happy Birthday, Zachary!

We love you and miss you!

Wordless Wednesday: Christmas and Snow

Peter is excited!

Ethan is trying to figure out why there is paper on everything.

All the cousins in matching jammies!

Back home and it snowed!

What is this stuff?

Heading back in.

The Answer to Christmas: Happy

"Why does Santa bring gifts to children on Christmas?"

This was the question that was the basis for a cartoon program I was watching with one of my boys the other day. The question took me a bit by surprise at first since this was a secular, non-religious show. But then as I watched the program I saw where the story line was going and it made sense.

Well, it made sense from a secular stand point. It holds an empty message from a Christian perspective.

I'll skip over the details, but basically the main characters in the show, a set of four kids, find Santa who tells them that he loves making and giving gifts to people. It makes him "happy." As it turns out the answer to the question from the beginning of the show is "Happy." So why does Santa bring children gifts on Christmas? It makes him happy.

Really? That's it?

I know I'm crazy for analyzing a children's cartoon, but here it goes anyway. First of all the "answer" doesn't really answer the question. "Why on Christmas?" is how I heard this question. Giving gifts (or anything nice and unexpected, for that matter) often makes the giver happy and the giftee happy (presumably). It feels good to give gifts. I don't want to belittle the message this show was trying to convey, it was a good message for kids. However, it still falls short.

Christmas is so much more than just giving gifts to our loved ones. As Christians we know this. We recognize this day as the day God gave the human race the greatest gift ever, the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. It's not just an arbitrary day to give gifts to make us all happy.

I don't expect a secular TV show to get into the religious purpose of Christmas, but it still left me a bit empty.

I guess my take away from this was that I'm glad to be a Christian and to recognize a higher purpose for Christmas. Specifically, I'm glad to be a Catholic where we follow a liturgical calendar that places Christmas into a logical place in the year along with all the other feast days and memorials in the Church.

It's too bad some TV programs go out of their way to try to do a Christmas show without bringing in the actual purpose for Christmas. It just leaves an empty feeling instead of the "happy" feeling they were going for.

Today on Catholic Sistas: Be Vigilant

I have a new post up today at Catholic Sistas. Once again I am using my background as a musician as a jumping off point in an attempt to make an analogy to the spiritual life. Here's a quick excerpt, see what you think:

Normally, I’m not a big fan of listening to Mass on the radio. Most of the time though I leave it on anyway and try to listen and get something out of the readings and the homily. Recently I left work early and when got in my car the mid-day Mass was just beginning. I almost turned the station but stopped instead as my ears listened carefully to the opening hymn being sung. I couldn't help but notice that as each verse was sung the tempo got slower and slower. By the end of the hymn it was dreadfully slow compared to where it had started.

As a musician I can tell you exactly why this happened. And it is very common. I bet we've all experienced it at some point. I've experienced this phenomenon at churches, in processions, in parades and on the football field (think marching band), and in large groups of singers with no leader to keep the tempo. Sound actually travels pretty slowly. It’s why you see the lightning before you hear the thunder (unless the storm is right over you). Without a leader or some sort of tempo-keeper singers and musicians start listening to each other. Because sound travels slowly, things start to slow down.

Go on over to Catholic Sistas to read the whole story.

Wordless Wednesday: Santa Encounter

Not too sure.

Scared of the big man with the beard and the gifts.

It might be in the box, but Ethan knows what it's supposed to do.

The boys with their new Thomas/Percy trains.
Thanks, Santa!