It was the night that we brought our firstborn home from the hospital and I was crying like my heart would break. I had a wonderful natural birth, no complications, and a beautiful healthy baby boy. Everything was perfect. Then a storm rolled in. Not a soothing rainstorm, one of those eerie, harsh Texas storms that turn the sky an odd, unsettling color. Our front door was blown open with a bang … [Read more...]
Our Conversion Story: Part III
Part III: (Our Son, and Other Gifts of Grace) (read Part I and Part II) But still we didn’t act. Daily we felt more distant from our Protestant faith and discovered that objections we had always had to the Catholic Church were dissolving as we actually learned what the doctrines meant. But making the plunge would require sacrifices that we weren’t quite ready to make. The toll a conversion would … [Read more...]
Our Conversion Story: Part II
(In Which I Try to Prove St. Thomas Aquinas Wrong and Fail. Obviously.) (Catch up on Part I here.) In late high school I felt drawn to the Catholic Church for aesthetic reasons. But I ignored my attraction to it because I didn’t think the Church could possibly be true. I had so many misconceptions about Catholic doctrine from growing up as a southern Protestant gal. However, while I was … [Read more...]
Our Conversion Story: Part I
I have been putting off writing this post for two years. Because the story of our journey to the Catholic Church is really the story of our lives so…what to include? How to explain? Overwhelming. In my favorite novel, Brideshead Revisited, the main characters read a passage from a Father Brown story by Chesterton which becomes a theme in the book: “I caught him (the thief) with an unseen … [Read more...]
Keeping Vigil
On Friday morning when I woke up, I lit a candle we brought back from St. Augustine for a friend who was in labor. I knelt and prayed for mother and baby in front of our family altar, asking for a safe and joyful delivery. By noon, I heard that mama and baby were safe and after saying a prayer of thanksgiving for the miracle of new life, I blew out the candle and went about my day. That … [Read more...]
A Trip to the Ancient City
Last weekend my husband swept me away for a weekend in St. Augustine to celebrate our sixth anniversary (we went there for our honeymoon). After a scramble to pack with two little ones underfoot (note to self: next time pack when they’re sleeping) including tears when I couldn’t figure out how to fold up the maddening pack n’play (why do they make them so impossible?), we were off with this … [Read more...]
Getting to Know Mary (And a GIVEAWAY from Trendy Traditions! NOW CLOSED)
Daniel and I both agree that getting to know the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the most grace-filled aspects of our conversion to Catholicism. It was not so long ago that the idea was absolutely unfamiliar to me. I grew up in the Protestant tradition which, in my experience, completely ignored the Mother of God except during Christmas time when we were sure to mention that she was “just a regular … [Read more...]
The Cover of TIME and the Blessed Virgin Mary
Ok, so I promised I wouldn’t talk about sex for awhile after my two-part ramble on contraception, etc. But then I saw this TIME cover: You guys know that I’m a huge supporter of breastfeeding in public. Breastfeeding is not a sexual act. Breasts are not merely sexual. Breastfeeding in public IS NOT immodest. So, why does this image look so sexual? Some might claim that nursing is an … [Read more...]
What’s the Big Deal About Birth Control?
First of all, thanks for your encouragement about our decision to neither avoid or attempt to achieve pregnancy. And as a follow-up to yesterday's post about our super rad birth control method (AKA: none), some lengthy and very incomplete thoughts on contraception: Since the HHS Mandate, there has been so much press about Catholicism and contraception. SO MUCH PRESS. You may be … [Read more...]
AFP: Awesome Family Planning
On the outside chance that you haven’t already decided that we’re completely nuts, this post will probably convince you. You may previously have figured out that we’re Catholic converts leaning toward the traditional, but now you’re going to think that we’re bordering on total lunacy. Who knows? Maybe you’re right. And this topic is going to be a hot button for controversy, but I’m gonna post it … [Read more...]
