What's In A Name?

Considering I'm currently going through a baby name quandary of sorts, Simcha's post today gave me a good chuckle this morning.

I just had a baby eight months ago for crying out loud, shouldn't I just use the leftover names we didn't use?

Well, that would just be too easy. And, some of those names just don't feel 'right' this time around.

What's a Catholic girl to do?

And what's the Catholic girl's husband to do for the next four months as she hashes and rehashes names in search of the perfect list?

Poor man.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Baby Meets Leaves

P.S--Baby liked leaves. So much so, that between the kids and I we could hardly keep her from eating them while shooting these photos. Hence, we had a small choking episode that followed later on. Man, kids can scare their mamas!

We All Have Favorites

Of course I have a number of favorite blogs, but every once in a while I like to check out someone new. Do you do that too?

I've got my if-only-we-lived-closer-IRL-we'd-totally-be-friends bloggers, others who humor me with their posts, those who always leave me with food for thought and some I periodically visit.

I'm looking for a few new places to stop by and read.

Who are a few of your favorites? Who encourages you in your vocation, inspires or leaves you down-right laughing on the floor?

Please share, won't you?

Or perhaps you have your own blog, but haven't commented here in the past. Let me know who you are, I'd love to stop on by and say Hi!

From The Mailbox

Have you received your Fall issue of Faith & Family yet?

I'm always excited to reach in my mailbox and find the latest issue waiting for me. I received mine late last week and have already enjoyed it cover-to-cover and marked several pages to return to.

Danielle Bean shared some delicious recipes in the Lovin' from the Oven section. We already tried the Baked Apple Oatmeal on Sunday after church and it was a family pleaser for sure. We'll be trying this recipe again.



I found Danielle's link on a previous Faith & Family Live! post that led me to the recipe over here.

I was also enlightened by Rebecca Teti's article On Sticking to It and inspired by Kate Wicker's Run, Mama, Run.

Countless advertisements always catch my eye, like the one for the movie titled The Greatest Miracle (You can catch the trailer over here). Or how about the new Glory Stories? It even includes a CD of Best-Loved Catholic Prayers that includes the new Mass responses to teach your children.

As always, Faith & Family has not disappointed this reader!

What's that you say? You don't subscribe to the magazine? Click on over now to subscribe or give a gift subscription.



**These opinions are strictly mine and this post written only to serve my readers. No goods or services were received for my plug of the magazine.

Look Familiar?

In answer to yesterday's question.....

'Terk' from the Tarzan movie back in 1999!

Notice that hair? Gianna's seriously does the exact same thing every day, especially in the morning right out of the crib. It makes me crack up and I wish you could all see it in person. We love our little monkey!

Here's my favorite scene from the movie:



Happy Wednesday!

Name That Character

What Disney character does my little girl remind you of?

Since my niece pointed out the similarity last weekend, we can't help but laugh when we think of it.

Any guesses?

I'll post the answer tomorrow.

Hint: Think 'newer' Disney movies, as in the 1990's to present. And, focus on one particular aspect of Miss Gianna that has a resemblance to the character.

See you tomorrow!

My St. Therese Story

Inspired by Margaret who shared her story on St. Therese's feast(Saturday), I'm posting mine.

I'd always marveled at people who prayed novenas to St. Therese and received roses. And I mean LOTS of roses in answer to their prayers. These people couldn't help but find themselves immersed in roses everywhere they turned. My SIL is one of those people. In the past, I was not one of those people.

After struggling for a few years with an unexplained infertility diagnosis, I couldn't help but be drawn to St. Therese and the possibility that she would shower me with roses too. I knew my SIL was praying, so I thought I'd pile on the prayers as well.

I don't think I shared with anyone besides my husband that I was praying the novena. If I recall correctly, I just kept repeating the prayers daily. You know, because I couldn't just let up after praying for nine days.

At some point after that first round of the novena I received roses, randomly, from my SIL. I couldn't believe it! She didn't know I'd been praying and didn't know that I had been looking for my rose. Because, after all, answers like these to novenas such as these hadn't ever been given to me.

Months followed, but I was hopeful that in time the answer to our infertility issue would be fully found and a miraculous pregnancy would occur. I held on to the hope of the roses.

On June 11, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus that year, my lab results revealed that I was indeed pregnant. Two days later, at Mass in our small church, my eyes caught roses placed in front of the statues of Mary and Joseph. In our church, this is not a normal occurrence. Rarely in my nine years of living here have I seen roses at our church!

Throughout the pregnancy, my eyes caught small and big signs of roses all over. When I was taken in to the ER at 16 weeks pregnant, my ears perked as one of the attendants who cared for me said her name. I then pointed it out to my husband later. Her name was Rose. I smiled even then knowing that St. Therese was sending me a sign that she too was watching over me and the baby.

Even at Christmas time when I was just six weeks or so away from delivery, I found myself wavering. Fearing. Anxious. The dreaded what-ifs and unknowns of labor and delivery and if everything would dare turn out perfect and our baby would be healthy. Christmas Eve mass brought its own signs. We sang the song, 'Lo, How a ROSE 'er blooming' and our priest in his homily talked about how God grants the desires of our hearts (remember my blog name, right?) and He protects those and sees them through. While celebrating with family, I also noticed an etched rose on a glass that caught my eye. Little wonders and signs that I suddenly couldn't help but be reassured by seeing.

In the end, our Gianna ROSE was born happy, healthy and perfect. We knew we had to give honor to St. Therese in some way and decided that by giving her the middle name Rose would remind us of the extra roses she sent our way.


Since then, I can't recount the ways that roses and signs have come my way. Too many to mention and count. I continue to give gratitude and thanks to St. Therese, because she surely is the saintly sender of them all.