Not the best Catholic blogger...

Here we are... the day after Easter. It's Monday, folks. And I didn't write a dang thing about Easter, arguably the most important week in the Church. No reflections. No well thought out analogies. Not even so much as a snap shot of Patrick and I in our Easter Sunday get-ups.

Fail.

But this week leading up to Easter was certainly a time of reflections for me. I'm an emotional person (shocking, right!?) and in my younger years (if you wanna call them that) I think I just got so wrapped up in the emotions behind Easter. Like the sad parts. Like Jesus dying. I would watch The Passion and use a box and a half of Puffs + lotion and wonder who in their right mind would not wear waterproof mascara to watch that movie. I dwelt so much on that. Gah... I was so emotional.

But my thoughts and focus this year has been on something different. And I don't know if its a sign of maturity or a results of what this last year has brought to my life... or probably both. But one thing has stuck out to me.

"Do you know what I have done for you?"

Yeah, I grew up in the Church so I have heard the same verses my whole life, I know all the songs they play during the Triduum. I got it. I know what Jesus did for me... or at least that has been my reaction for many years.

But the truth is, how can we truly comprehend the gravity of the sacrifice of Jesus? How can we even process with our simple human minds the kind of love that it takes to give yourself completely to save the souls of the unworthy?

Or... Have you ever put yourself in Mary's place? Have you taken the time to meditate on that? Can you imagine yourself as an imperfect human being able to handle that? I can't.

But then I remember a certain conversation I had with God. "God, please don't take my baby away from me, but if it is your will, I will try to find a way to accept that. I will probably be mad at you at first but if you take my baby, please heal my broken heart. But please don't take my baby away from me."

I have a feeling since Mary was about as perfect as a human can get that it went down a little more gracefully. But you get the idea.

"Do you know what I have done for you?"

I don't think my simple mind can really grasp it. But that has been my reflection, or I guess just something I keep going back to. That is deep stuff.




In other news:

Pregnancy.

WE FIND OUT IF WE ARE HAVING A BOY OR GIRL ON WEDNESDAY!!!!

Stay tuned.

Oh, and the reason we don't have a cute little picture of Patrick and I in our Easter clothes is that I almost passed out like 4 or 5 times in church, had to keep sitting down when everyone else is standing which is super embarrassing, and so I was not in the mood. Aw, the joys of pregnancy!

Happy Easter!!!

7 Quick Takes #13

Here we are again...

1. Last weekend Patrick and I began the (little did I know) daunting task of starting our baby registry. Oh. My. Gosh. It is so over whelming. Who knew there were so many choices! We have made decisions on the big stuff like the crib, stroller and car seat. So BIG sigh of relief there. I was shocked when I didn't have to do any convincing whatsoever on the MamaRoo. I actually didn't even bring it up. We just walked past it in the store and Patrick say, "I want this!" I think I have Katie thank for that!

2. This week has been drama, drama, drama at work. I do my best to not get involved but I always hear about it. Word travels fast. Anyways, the drama got stirred up because and medical assistant "confronted" a doctor and apparently was rude and aggressive about something ridiculous. Doctor was livid... to put it lightly. But it made me think, what on earth possesses a person to act out like that? I have a lot of thoughts but not all of them need to be shared. I don't get people.

This photo is not related to the above post BUT it is at work. These geese layed eggs right by the entrance to one of our office buildings and they are guarding them like crazy! All the patients were afraid to come in the front doors haha

3. I work as a nurse in a doctors office that is located inside a hospital which is the hospital I was employed at prior to my current job. So I know a lot of people in the building and sometimes that has its perks! Like on Tuesday this week when I decided to get away from the work drama and visit my friends in the echo lab. They weren't to busy so they decided to check out my baby! Isn't he or she cute sucking his or her thumb!!!? (cannot wait to find out the gender in a week or two!!!)

My sweet baby

4. I like trying new things and this week I got to try Indian food for the first time! I was a little nervous about it. Not because so much because I thought it was going to be gross but more because I was worried about how hungry I would be if I didn't end up liking it haha. And no that is not the pregnancy talking... just me and my typical appetite. But let me tell ya.. It was delish!!!

Chicken Kadahi and garlic nan

5. Spring time!!! I am so happy things are turning green again and finally warming up! Patrick and I will be working on Project Beautify Our Home all weekend long with the help of my in-laws. We got a little head start by purchasing some pots and flowers for our front door and the space between our garage doors. They are so pretty and I can't wait to get the yard looking nice this weekend!

Tiny Dancer (a kind of lily) potted on our front porch

Pink Hyacinth potted on our driveway between the garage doors. (They still need to fill in a little)

6. My friend from nursing school, Reanna, is two weeks ahead of me in herpregnancy. We don't live very close to each other but we keep up through facebook and texting and try to get together whenever possible. Well she just had her ultrasound to find out gender and we were texting before and we both think we are having boys. Then I got the news! It is a boy! TWO OF THEM!!! She is having identical twin boys! Oh my word. Word cannot describe my excitement for her and her husband. This is their first pregnancy, too, so they are blown away! Such happy news!

Reanna, me, and our other friend, Julie... back in our prime. Oh, college :)

7. Speaking of all this baby stuff... I am really starting to pop I think. Unfortunately, I'm at this weird stage between looking skinny and pregnant. My normal clothes don't fit right and I look like a diet would do me some good. But I'm still swimming in my maternity clothes. I admit to being a little vain and not wanting to look fat but right now I'm really looking forward to getting a little more shape so I won't be in between. I also just bought a maternity dress that I was hoping to wear for Easter... but I might be jumping the gun on that one. We will see though!!

Well.... this is about as exciting as life gets over here. But for much more interesting QTs go over here!

Negativity

Negativity has a tendency to rub off on me. I think I am a generally positive person but when I am surrounded by negative people I feel myself becoming negative too. I think that is human nature.

It's not that these people don't have legitimate complaints or concerns that they are talking (or gossiping?) about. I actually totally agree with them most of the time, but ugh... it brings me down.

I used to be very passive when I was younger and never showed when I was mad or frustrated. In the last several years I have become more vocal and opinionated. I think maybe I have always been opinionated but maybe not so outwardly? I don't know. All I know is that whether it is due to the people around me or not, things bother me far more than they used to. And I feel much more confident in expressing that.

So is this a flaw in my personality that I have developed or is it a strength that I should be proud of? I don't want to be passive but I don't want to be negative either. I have strong beliefs and I often feel the need to express them but I don't ever want to come across and harsh or callous. 

I have been asking myself these questions a lot recently and I can't seem to find a straight forward answer to any of them. It's been on my mind. So maybe it's something I need to work on. It's never a bad thing to take a look at yourself and evaluate your actions. I suppose that is how we grow as people. 


Random thoughts for the night :)

7 Quick Takes #12

1. I know Spring is technically here and has been for a few weeks but the Kansas City area has not yet received the memo until now. This is the first week I have seen green in... I don't know how long! And we had thunderstorms. With rain. Not snow. Rain. It's still not quite warm enough for shorts and skirts though... which is probably good because I'm so dang pale.

2. Patrick and I have been brainstorming some landscaping ideas. The people that owned our house before us didn't have much and since it was a foreclosure turned short sale... well they just weren't taking care of it. So now that our house is looking good on the inside it's time to move outside and work on that. Unfortunately, my knowledge of plants that can grow successfully in the midwest is slim to none. Apparently I only know about plants that grow in topical climates. So if you have any suggestions throw 'em at me!

3. I am 16 weeks pregnant (rounding up 2 days :)) and getting more and more excited by the day! I can't help but be a little nervous still though. I have been more worried in the last week and I'm not sure why. The only thing I can think of is that this is about how far along I was will Anna when I learned she wasn't doing well. I'm looking forward to being able to feel some movement in the upcoming weeks... that will make me feel better.

4. Oh, and I get to find out if it's a boy or a girl within the next month! yay!

5. Speaking of baby stuff... We had a shower for a friend at work. My friend kept talking about how she thought it was going to be awkward because she isn't really "friends" with most people at work. It was actually a great shower though. LOTS of people bought gifts.... like a LOT of gifts. It's amazing to me how much money people will drop when it comes to baby stuff. Maybe I need to be more generous. I will say it is very tempting to go overboard... baby stuff is just so dang cute!

6. Sister is in town this weekend. I like it when she is here. It makes me feel like I'm not so far away from home.

7. Speaking of being far from home... I am planning my trip for late May to go down to Texas. There are already big plans in place. Two baby showers that people are throwing for me AND Jimmy Buffet will be in town at the Pavilion. So obviously we are going. We never buy tickets though. There is a big green space right outside the Pavilion and we camp out there for the evening. Only bummer about it is I will not be drinking margaritas this year.... sad day. But I am so excited!!!!

Boring QTs over here. But go here for better ones!