Friday, March 6, 2015

Seven Quick Takes (#8)


Another giant week...I can hardly believe time is flying through this Lenten season as fast as it is. Here were some noteable updates from our week. I know, I know. We've been posting all week...and there's still more to share!!

                                          



FCP Training - UPDATED: We have exactly 2 weeks until I start my training. And guys? GUYS!! We'll be going into this fully funded!!!!!!!!! We're grateful for all the help...and by grateful, we mean that our jaws are on the floor and our hearts have swelled with the outpouring of love you've shown us. We started this venture on Fat Tuesday and we can't believe how fast you (and God) have answered our big YES to this new adventure. Each day that passes fills me with more excitement. That excitement is only grounded by the gravity of the work and studying that is ahead of me. This didn't happen without your generous support and your giant hearts. I'll be taking your intentions with me to EP1, which is very fittingly being held in a church called the Prince of Peace. Each night, I will offer up my training for all of the selfless people who have made this opportunity possible. Your silent witness and support of me, my DH, and this blog have filled me with faith, hope, and love. I will never, ever forget how this career began.





What Infertile Women Eat - I'm so infertile, I broke a crockpot this week. Y'all, that takes some skill. My bone broth days are on hold for a while because of this. Sigh. That's ok, I'll live. But only because the crockpot didn't kill me or burn the house down! I'll never forget the sound it made when it exploded. In fact, if I might whine for a second here about something more important on the food front: why are these Paleo AIP reintroductions so flipping hard?? Nightshades are 100% out right now. Like, no two ways about it. That makes me so cranky. Potatoes. Tomatoes. Peppers. Eggplants. Cashews. The inhumanity of it....is truly cruel. Alright, alright, enough with the melodrama. Back to how hardcore I am for breaking my crockpot by cooking too much! Most of what I ate this week was super boring and involved chicken and rice. In soup form. In non-soup form. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.




Prayer Request Update - My father-in-law was released from the hospital today and allowed to go back home. Thank you to everyone for the outpouring of love and prayers you sent his way. They've made for wonderful conversations between us about the saints and shrines around the world. I should also mention that my father-in-law isn't necessarily better, but the public health hospital says it's time for his GP to manage things on an out-patient basis. Today was a rough day for DH. He literally spent the entire day being yelled at by a cranky father on food strike who was trying to convince him to do things that specifically go against his doctors' orders. We know that behavior changes are part of major illnesses. DH needed a lot of love and support tonight and he could use your prayers too. 75 year-olds don't like to be told what to do (and I don't blame them). This adjustment and role reversal are going to take time to figure out. And if today was any indication, it's going to be as graceful as a bull in a china shop. 







Blog Dedication - We'll be posting more about this soon, but we wanted you to know that we are dedicating this blog to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

We ask that this website may make a humble contribution to all who read it with glory given only to God (and none for ourselves). We seek this in what we write, draw, ask, discuss, and reflect here... including the humor that we poke at our own difficulties. May the Two Hearts lift our hearts and those of our readers in every way as they peruse the words we place here.

O, Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, You to Whom we owe everything, please bless all that we share here and guide us in our faith to grow closer to You.

If you would like to pray a novena to the Two Hearts, you can read more about that here. We pray for twins all the time and the Two Hearts Novena is a special way that we pray about our own hopes for parenthood, whatever form that might take in God's Plan. If you have prayed the novena, we'd love to hear about your experience.










Twitter - We are up and chirping as of this week. Feel free to follow us there if you'd like!










Bloglovin' - We know some of our readers like to follow us there too, so feel free to add us to your reading list there as well. We claimed our blog there this week.
   





Your messages to us - We heard from a lot of you sharing your prayer intentions with us this week. We've kept you all in prayer. If you asked us to pray for you, we're saying an Our Father and a Hail Mary for you nightly in Irish. Keep using our contact form and asking! We love hearing from our readers and we are very happy to pray for you and your intentions! <3







This Ain't the Lyceum - Don't forget to visit the host of 7QT!



11 comments:

  1. Dedicating this blog to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Most Immaculate Heart of Mary is very exciting! May they fill it with their grace!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It makes a lot of sense with all the quadruplets I'm praying for, love... I figure the Twin Hearts are the only ones who can manage that kind of prayer request! :P

      Delete
    2. Apparently there have been twin saints! They may be worth a prayer, too!

      http://saints.sqpn.com/saints-related-to-twins/

      Delete
    3. OK, so the first set of twins mentioned there are on very dubious grounds historically, but St. Scholastica and St. Benedict of Nursia are firmer...a centuries-old tradition that they were twins, at least!

      Delete
  2. Fully funded?!?!?! That's amazing! Thanks be to God.

    The changing roles as parents age are so challenging; I'll be praying for you and your husband as you manage this difficult transition.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're kind of shaking our heads in amazement at "fully funded". I actually had to take the donate button down to prevent further donations from coming in above the tuition need, as promised. I could not have imagined any of this when Lent began, when I made my birthday wish and prayed for clear direction from God. He's listening. I assure you He's listening. What has felt like a year of wandering aimlessly just became a clear path. It's amazing.

      Thank you for the prayers as we aim to learn how to become good caretakers. I know DH really appreciates all the support! :)

      Delete
  3. Congratulations on being fully funded! So exciting! Though I think you should keep a donate button up in case anyone wants to donate just because of all the awesome work you've done on your blog! Someone may be regretting the fact that they waited too long to donate, haha. You did at least have my prayers! Also, I have a spare crockpot over here I would totally be willing to send your way, though I don't know if it would be hardcore enough to stand up to the things infertile women eat, haha. I'll continue praying for your FIL and Mr. CH. Love the blog dedication, such a beautiful idea!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Really appreciate the shared excitement, Tomato! The donate feature is removed from the blog itself (because we promised those funds would only be for tuition itself), but if someone wanted to contribute to my travel expenses , I wouldn't turn them away! I've opted to rent a car instead of fly, since it's cheaper. It'll take a full day or two of driving to get to training. Thankfully, the church is housing me when I get there though!

      Thank you so much for the offer of the crockpot. We won't be needing any more American-wired electronics/appliances after this training (God-willing). We appreciate your prayers and generosity so much.

      I can't wait to finish the blog dedication post and tab I'm adding. It just felt like the right patrons for our prayers and all that we ended up putting here. This blog has turned out so differently than I originally envisioned it!

      Delete
  4. So glad that your FIL is home, but praying that the changes will be a little smoother moving forward! I really should try the actual Paleo AIP, but I frankly don't want to know if nightshades are an issue for me. I'm feeling stuck in a rut as it is with the food.

    So excited that you are getting so close with the FCP training! Praying that keeps moving forward as well!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm so happy you got fully funded! It is truly amazing and it gives me reason to hope in my own life. Taking care of parents can be difficult, I hope things improve soon

    ReplyDelete