Our Anniversary

Yesterday was our one year wedding anniversary. We didn't do anything super special, but we're just not big anniversary celebraters. We did have a wonderful weekend full of laughs and looking back on our relationship. I have a post all planned out about the lessons I've learned in our first year of marriage, but it is still tucked inside my head. Hopefully I will get around to writing it tomorrow!

In the meantime... here are some of my favorite wedding photos. I have about a hundred favorite photos, but I figured y'all would get tired of looking at pictures of Ryan and me!

Ryan's groomsmen praying for him... do they think he needs it?

We had a memorial table to remember our family and friends who couldn't share
in our special day.

Ryan's "Plan"

My brother walked me down the aisle. This is one of my favorite pictures!

Vows... letting God's grace flow!

After communion

Our first dance as husband and wife

I love this man!

Anniversary Weekend!

No Quick Takes today. No lengthy blog post. I'm going to enjoy this weekend because one year ago this Sunday I married my soul mate, so I want to spend as much time as possible with him.

April 18th seems so long ago, yet it feels like it was just yesterday I was standing outside the sanctuary with my brother ready to escort me down the aisle, waiting to see my beloved.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Wondering Wednesdays Vol. 8: WWJD in 2010?

Sometimes the weirdest thoughts pop into my head. They aren't theologically significant, just kind of silly (OK... very silly.) There are other times that my husband likes to ruffle my theological-undergraduate-degree feathers and pick silly arguments which makes me wonder even more about the weird theological thoughts. (This first paragraph makes me sound crazy... I know. Just bear with me.)

For example, my husband likes to walk out onto our spider-infested deck without any shoes.

"Just put your flip flops on... I don't want you to get bitten by a brown-recluse and complain for 3 weeks."

"I don't need shoes! Jesus didn't wear shoes, why should I?"

Then I get into a dither (what's a dither anyway?) "What are you talking about?! Jesus wore shoes- sandals actually. It's right there in the Bible! John the Baptist says, 'After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.' (Mark 1:7) Besides, Jesus did A LOT of walking. You really think he would walk all over Palestine bare-foot?" Wife: 1 Husband: 0

"But Jesus is GOD. He walked on water, rose from the dead... you really think a few rocks in his feet would bother Him?" D'OH! Husband, you have a good point...

"BUT He is still a human being!" Victory shall be mine!

"OK, OK. Well, if He were preaching today, he wouldn't walk. He'd drive barefoot in a 1967 Volkswagon bus." Wait.... what?!

"JESUS WASN'T A HIPPIE! Sure, he was counter-cultural and went against government authority. But He wasn't some Rolling Stones groupie, pot-smoking, guitar pickin' flower child!"

I see my husband on the verge of laughter, with that pain-in-the-who-know-what glee in his eye. He's just trying to egg me on. He's good at that.

Then we started a discussion of what Jesus would wear if He were alive on earth today. No, I don't think he would wear a tuxedo t-shirt... although Ryan thinks that would be hilarious. I think Jesus would have much more class than that. I think he wouldn't wear anything too fancy. He helps the poor, so no suits or ties. I don't really picture him in a polo and khakis either. Maybe some nice jeans and a plain white t-shirt. With some sort of shoes.

But He is Jesus... maybe He would wear something a little more sophisticated. I don't know.. I still picture him with his long hair and beard though. "Yeah, his hippie beard!" my husband says mischievously. I ignore him.

Afterwards we started having a silly discussion of wondering what Jesus' occupation (pre-public ministry, of course) would be if He were alive today. Ryan suggests radio D.J. I can't imagine Jesus in the studio saying in that fake Ryan Seacrest-like voice, "Alright, alright, helllllloooo mankind! We got Jesus C. in the house ready to send you on your morning commute by rockin' you down the interstate!"

No, no... that's not right at all.

I can see him as doctor. He did heal people after all. He'd be the coolest doctor. He'd put his patients at ease. I can also see him as a college professor. He was a dynamic public speaker and taught to thousands. I wonder how tough a grader He would be. No one would fall asleep during his lectures. (I never once did that in college..) Maybe he'd be a police officer and rid the streets of evil-doers... just like he cast out demons. Perhaps he'd own his own winery.... he does make some tasty wine according to the Bible.

I do NOT see Jesus as a professional soccer player. You know those pictures of Jesus playing soccer with a bunch of kids? They just weird me out.

But what I can picture Jesus REALLY doing... is doing what he did thousands of years ago before his public ministry- carpentry. Working with your hands, building something out of nothing- what a noble profession.

No matter how He dresses or what His occupation would be, He'd still be loving and almighty. The more I think about it.. the more I fall in love with Christ. He's pretty awesome.

My brother just texted me with a question: "Do you think Jesus had allergies?"

Hmmm.... another thing to wonder about!

Love Thy Neighbor: "But Do I Have To?!"

This pregnancy has served me up a nice concoction of hormones. This lovely cocktail has brought out some crazy mood swings. One minute I'm a happy goofball. Five minutes later I'm snapping at my husband for no good reason, he offers to get out the Holy Water to sprinkle on me, then I burst into tears that my husband thinks I'm Satan in bodily form.

I'm finding lately that I get even more easily annoyed than I did before I was pregnant. What really annoys me is inconsiderate people. You know, that woman who you hold a door open for and she doesn't say thank you. Or that dad in the Wal-Mart checkout line who lets his kid throw grapes at your head and says, "He's going to be a Major League pitcher, ain't he?"

So what is it that has really, really, really, really been annoying me? My neighbors. I've mentioned before that I live in a four-plex and the people in the other apartments are all related to each other.

Ryan and I get along with our neighbors. But it's the little things they do that drive me nuts. Wearing steel-toed boots and POUNDING up and down the stairs in the morning. It is so loud it has waken me up at 8:00 a.m. and has confused my doggie (he thinks it is someone knocking at our door so he starts barking and growling.)

They slam their front doors numerous times a day. They fight outside our apartment. They ride their wake-the-dead-they're-so-loud go-karts around the perimeter of the apartment. They play their ghetto hip-hop music and the bass carries to our apartment so loud we can barely hear our TV. One of them has been arrested for drunk driving and drugs and spent a week in jail. There are many other things that drive me crazy, but I'll stop the list here, lest y'all think I'm a complainer. :-)

Some of you might be thinking, "Gee... how come you haven't high-tailed it out of there?!" Others might be thinking, "You need to get over it. It could be a lot worse. Be thankful you have a home to live in. Be thankful you live in a safe town and not some hood where everyday you walk out the door you face the risk of getting shot."

There are many times I'm thinking the former of the above statements. "Poor me." But then I open my eyes, realize that darn, pesky Original Sin is distorting my reason and judgement, and I start to realize the latter of the above statements is what I should be thinking.

But that's not all I should be thinking. I shouldn't just grin and bear all the annoying things. I should love.

When the rich man comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to have eternal life, Jesus says to keep the commandments. When the young man asks "Which commandments?" one of the answers is, ".... you shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 19:16-19)

Sigh... so that means I can't say "I love my neighbors" and then turn around to my husband and say, "They annoy the living poo outta me." I wouldn't want someone saying that about me.

What makes it worse is that as much as I complain, our neighbors are so charitable and kind to us. Whenever we have asked to do laundry at their place they have never said no. When I went to take Chandler out to potty one of them stopped me and expressed how happy she was that I am pregnant again and how sorry she was to hear about me losing our first baby. They have helped us out numerous times without even thinking of what's in it for them. Then the guilt creeps in.....

There is always going to be someone who drives us crazy or makes our lives miserable. There is the supervisor that we are convinced hates us and we are tempted to spit in their food. There is the family member that seems hell-bent on controlling our lives or be mean to us and we would just rather not show up to the family reunions. There is the lady that is standing in front of you at the "10 Items or Less" register at the grocery store and you know there is at least 30 items in her shopping cart, but she doesn't seem to care that there are six people behind her carrying toilet paper or just a jar of pickles in their hands and that's all. There is that good friend who is so sarcastic you often wonder if they are kidding around, or if they really are that mean.

Why are we supposed to love others who we'd rather hate? Why does Jesus demand so much from us? I'm sure there is some great theological answer out there that would blow our minds. But I like to keep things simple.

Jesus is God. God is love. God loves us and wants what is best for us. Really, He does! He's that Ultimate Parent- when we whine, "But do I hafta?!" He says, "Yes, because I know what is best for you." And then we stomp off and pout, because deep down we know He is right. Do we really want to go through life harboring resentment and anger towards others? Many times we do, just simply because it is easier. It is easier to focus on others' annoying habits or bad deeds rather than focus on our own shortcomings. Believe me... I'm sure I have some habits that annoy the living poo out of my neighbors, but it is so much easier not to think of that.

But we all know, that when we find the strength and wisdom to look past the annoying things of our neighbors and focus on the good.... well that makes life a whooooooole lot better.

This is one big thing I need to work on spiritually. The next time I find myself getting annoyed, angry or irritated, I'm going to try my hardest to smile and go above and beyond to be nice. I think I need to make the Beatles' song "All You Need is Love" as the soundtrack to my life! I'll try to keep the Darth Pregger in me from emerging so often!

7 Quick Takes Friday Vol. 12

1.

Is anyone else tired of hearing about Tiger Woods? I enjoy watching the news, but every time I turn it on, there he is in all his post-scandal glory. My husband, ever the SportsCenter fanatic, is getting annoyed as well because almost every piece is about Tiger Woods and they even have his golf score from the Masters posted on the side at all times. Gag me.

2.

I brought back two huge totes of old photographs. I need to organize and put into photo albums pictures from 2001 to the present. I have to get pictures printed off my computer from 2007. Looking back at my senior year I thought, "Dang, I was SKINNY!" I'm sure I'll look at pictures of my post-baby body (I don't even want to know what that will look like....) 10 years from now and think, "Dang, I was SKINNY!" Oh body image.... my fickle, fickle friend!

3.

My newest pregnancy fear: delivering a 10 pound baby.

4.

The nearest Wal-Mart (25 miles away) is really frustrating me. We went grocery shopping and I wanted to pick up some baby carrots. They were completely out. Three shelves that once held baby carrots- empty. We asked the produce guy and he said there should be more coming in on the grocery truck later that night. I used to work at Wal-Mart so I know how some of the grocery associates fib so they don't have to walk all the way to the back to check. I gave him a skeptical look, thanked him and went on my way.

I wanted to get some Special K multi grain crackers. They didn't have any. I thought my search for healthy food was an epic fail so I wanted to look for those Keebler Elf sandwich cookies. They didn't have any.

This isn't the first time this Wal-Mart has let me down. Reason #254 why I want to move.

5.

Speaking of getting frustrated, last night I tried to burn a DVD of all our holiday videos that were saved to my husband's computer. It took about 3 hours for it to burn completely. I popped it in the DVD player- nothin'. I popped it back into the computer- nothin'. Thankfully I was too tired to throw a temper tantrum.

6.

OH my gosh... I can't believe I almost forgot to mention this. This news almost deserves its own post.

WE GOT A WASHER AND DRYER!!!

Oh glorious day! We can do laundry whenever we want! We don't have to ask our neighbors to do laundry anymore! Whenever the dog pukes on the blanket we can wash it right away instead of storing it in a trash bag until our neighbor's washer is open! Now our house smells like laundry soap and dryer sheets! Huzzah!!!

7.

My sense of smell is heightened a bit more since I got pregnant. Cool Ranch Doritos makes me gag. I was worried the smells I usually love- fresh cut grass, the lawn and garden department at Wal-Mart, would become too strong. Nope- still some of my favorite smells!


Have a happy weekend!

Writin' About the Big Stuff

I love to write. I love to make up stories, inspire others, make people laugh and to inform. I have a folder full stories I wrote as a child. I have numerous journals starting from about 3rd grade (oh those playground woes... they were brutal!) I remember the satisfaction after writing a really awesome paper for my classes in high school and college. I may have even fist-pumped after a few of them...

I started this blog in September for a lot of reasons. First of all, I was unemployed and searching Monster.com and working on my resume only took so much time. I had also caught the blogging bug from reading an article about Catholic mommy bloggers. It is my dream and vocation in life to be a mother, so I would spend hours reading about the blessed chaos of motherhood.

I knew I wanted to write about a variety of subjects. My big brother's blog, Roman Catholic Cop, inspired me to write on Catholic apologetics (which I haven't... I will explain later.) I wanted to write about tales of being a newlywed, a recent college grad with no job, and my future goals as a mom.

I started writing and thought, "Ugh.. my life is booooooooring." But in my head was a bunch of ideas just bursting to be put on the computer screen. Issues like being an orthodox Catholic in an overly secular world, birth control, abortion, my struggles with depression, apologetics, finances, pop culture... the big stuff.

There are two reasons I haven't gotten on my soap box.

First of all- I'm lazy. I want to spend a lot of time on these topics and choose my words carefully. That takes time, patience and discipline. But then Facebook, FailBlog and Awkward Family Photos get in the way of writing about important issues.

The second reason I haven't written on these topics is because I'm a coward. I stand by my beliefs and am not ashamed. However, I don't want to upset anyone or make people uncomfortable. I don't want anyone to argue with me because I am very uncomfortable with confrontation. Plus I have a bit of a temper and have a tendency to get carried away...

I've realized that no matter what "side" one writes for, there's going to be someone that isn't happy. Even if a mother writes on the subject of breastfeeding there is a possibility that she will be lambasted and scolded. If someone writes about depression there will be someone who thinks that author shouldn't be so "open" and let everyone who has a computer know their feelings.

So what does all this mean? Well, I'm going to put my big-girl pants on and get on the soap box a few times. The purpose of this blog is not to be soap-box-ish. I'd much rather write about stretch marks in pregnancy and my latest craving (pepperoni.... mmmmm...) But every once in awhile a sticky subject may come up. Will they make people mad? Perhaps. Is that my intention? Of course not.

I would love to be a free-lance writer. I don't think an editor will pick up my writings about my shopping trip last Thursday or my fears of my future child becoming an ax murderer. That means I need to branch out, get some courage, and work on my grammar and punctuation skills! (That also means I should lay off the FailBlog.....)

How Was Your Lent?

Now that Lent is over, I've been thinking back to these past 40 days and assessing how fruitful Lent was for me.

It is always the same with Advent and Lent- I have these grandiose plans to grow spiritually by leaps and bounds. Sometimes the blog-o-sphere can be a bad thing, because I find that I compare myself to my fellow bloggers and thinking, "Gee... it sounds like they are having a very spiritually fulfilling Lent and here I am watching Dancing with the Stars getting annoyed that Kate Gosselin is crying yet again. Shouldn't I be doing something a little more spiritually productive with my time?"

Sometimes I feel that I'm somewhat emotionally immune to the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Everyday I see a crucifix. There is usually some sort of reference of the Passion and Resurrection at every Mass I go to. When I pray the rosary and enter into the sorrowful and glorious mysteries I think about Christ's ultimate sacrifice and victory over death and sin. It's not that I'm not grateful for God overwhelming love for us, or that I don't feel horrible that it is my sins that nailed Christ to the cross. It is hard to explain.

After Good Friday services I felt kind of a letdown. I didn't "feel" anything. When I got home and checked my facebook there were some people's statuses stating how they cried during the service. (There I go again- comparing myself to others!) Looking back over the past Lenten days I wondered if I had grown at all.

The next morning I had choir practice and instead of singing slow, somber songs about the pains and suffering Jesus felt on the cross we were singing upbeat and joyful songs about Christ's resurrection. Later that day a bunch of my family came over and we had a great time playing outdoors. I could feel the glory of Easter shining through the environment around me. I could feel the joy by watching my cousin's two little boys hugging each other (and they weren't even told to!). I could feel it by seeing my own nieces and nephew playing with their cousins and by observing the adults in casual conversation while enjoying the warm sun. I could feel the power of God through the blooming flowers and the warm spring wind.

That joy carried through to Easter Sunday Mass. I thanked God for giving me the gifts of family, our beautiful world and the opportunity to be with Jesus Himself during the Mass. I realized that in order to feel this happiness, I had to feel the sadness of Christ's death. There can be no resurrection with out His crucifixion.

So I feel my Lent was a very blessed one. I realize that I need to put more effort into making Lent meaningful. However, I also need to realize that Lent isn't about making myself feel better or happier. It is about growing closer to God and developing a greater desire to be with Him for all eternity.

How was your Lent?