#s 11-15: Faith Category

I'm back for Round Three in updates for the category-by-category summary of my 20 in 14 goals list.  Click here for Goals 1-5 and Goals 6-10.

And here's the snapshot of Goals 11-15 (Faith Category):

Faith
11. Designate a person-a-day in prayer.
12. Rest in faith with practicing NFP as we TTC.
13. Receive the sacrament of reconciliation quarterly (at least).
14. Register as members of a church parish. 
15. Tithe to church (instead of non-profits) more regularly.

Overall, I think the items in this category went pretty well.  Excluding #12, the goals were very specific, and pretty typical of what would be considered S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-oriented).  Achieving these goals also didn't cost any money or require me to go outside of my comfort zone (except maybe #13).  So let's break them down:

11. Designate a person a day in prayer.  I'm really glad I included this one on my list, even if it did take longer than planned to implement.  (#oops) Click here to read a detailed summary of this experience.

12.  Rest in faith with practicing NFP as we TTC.  This is a bit of a touchy subject for us right now. Obviously we're not pregnant and we haven't moved forward with becoming a certified foster/adoptive home, but we have put thought and discussion into both.  I think one day I will write more on this topic, but for right now it just feels too personal and I'm not ready to talk about it here.  (Prayers are always welcome, however.)  Update (8/8/15):  Read here.

Designed by Kendra

13.  Receive the sacrament of reconciliation quarterly (at least).  I started out pretty well with this, and then sort of fell off the wagon.  Thinking back, I received the sacrament in March, June, September (I think), and November.  You'll notice that does include Lent, but not Advent.  One random weekend, the priest at our church gave absolution to everyone during his homily (I forget what the reason/occasion was), so that was unexpected.  But...then time totally got away from me and I didn't make to Confession during Advent.  Boo.  Now it's Lent again, so I need to make that happen sometime before Easter on April 5th...

Designed by Kendra

14. Register as members of a church parish.  I actually wrote about this back in April, asking for input on criteria for finding a "church home" (as I often hear Protestants refer to it).  Fast forward to today, we have settled on which local church will be home to us while we live here.  Mostly it came down to being located 3 minutes down the street versus almost 30, but that's neither here nor there.  These days we only attend other churches when the Mass times at our regular one don't work for our schedules.  Technically, we still haven't registered as members, but I keep telling myself to e-mail or call the office so we can figure out exactly how to go about doing that.  (A carryover for 2015, maybe?)

Just because it's funny.  (source)

15.  Tithe to the church (instead of nonprofits) more regularly.  Can I just say that I LOVE tithing?!  (Ok, maybe I'm weird?)  It's so fun to decide where to give our money too each month.  At certain times of the year, it's even more exciting to know I am supporting friends or family who have a particular cause/event that is close to their hearts.  I have gotten better about dividing the funds evenly between church and other organizations, even if that sometimes means everything goes to the church or other organization one particular month, and switches the next time.  I don't know what else to say except that I truly do get giddy feelings when writing those checks every month.  #callmeaweirdoifyouwant  :)

(source)

So there you have it, folks!  I committed to recapping 20 in 14 and it will happen!
-Lauren

7 Quick Takes (Vol. 7)

--- 1 ---

My health.  Lab results are in and...drum roll please...my prolactin levels are well within the normal rage!!!  As I understand it, normal levels are between 1-35 and at 4 weeks on Bromocriptine, my reading was 7.1!!  That's a 10th of where I was before starting the medicine!!!  Can I get a "Woop, woop!?"

...And the bittersweet part of that is having my first "normal" period in...gosh, a really long time!  Now I understand why women complain of aches and pains with their cycle, lol.  It's so strange to have "Aunt Flo" show up on exactly Day 30.  I don't think I've ever experienced that before! Here's to hoping things continue as they should and then maybe.........maybe (God willing) Baby B will be here sometime in 2015?!

--- 2 ---

Adoption.  Since writing about attending the adoption/foster care seminar, I spoke with a coworker who adopted a child about five years ago.  He and his wife went through a local adoption attorney and raved about that process.  He also made some good points about the difference in working with bio-families that are pursuing adoption voluntarily versus those whose children have been removed involuntarily.  It sounds like the attorney-route may be more suited to our interests, but we shall see.  Again, we're not ready to make any big decisions on this yet.

--- 3 ---

Friends.  It's been quiet here with Alex in Kentucky for the last 36 hours.  Times like this really make me miss having friends around.  It's kind of sad when we pause and think about how all we have is each other in this town (3.5 hour radius, really).  Sometimes we yearn for interaction with others...with people who just "get" us, and to have excuses for doing something fun every once in a while.  Wherever life takes us next, we are desperately praying for it to feel like home with a true sense of community and love for those around us.

Myself, Victoria, and Dawn - June 2014

--- 4 ---

In the works.  Life continues to evolve, and in the next few days we will be pursuing the possibility of a new opportunity for us.  I won't say much, but for the time being it involves a little bit of travel, and a great deal of gorging on some delicious food not available where we live.  Please continue to pray for peace and guidance as we look for God's prompting in our lives.

--- 5 ---

Minneapolis.  In about two weeks, I will be traveling to Minneapolis for a work conference.  With all the health issues I had over the last two months, I wasn't sure if I would be able to make the trip, but things have been better so it looks like everything's a 'go.' Other than having a layover at MSP, I haven't ever spent time in Minnesota, so I am excited for the trip.  Of course, being away from Alex for a week is never pleasant, but I'm counting on my far-away-friend Christy to make it well worth my time! ;-)  I can't wait to share photos when I return!

--- 6 ---

Peanut gallery?  I tried to be a good little wife by doing laundry and picking up the house while Alex was gone this weekend.  One of his jobs around here is to wash dishes, and I do not envy the boy one bit.  However, I decided to suck it up and scrub the George Foreman plates in an effort to help him out and let's just say I was ready to chunk the whole machine before it was all said and done.  The problem is that I am a germaphobe and hate getting close to raw meat, especially chicken.  Using the GF is the only way Alex likes to cook chicken (especially now that our meat thermometer is broken), but the residue is disgustinggggggggggggg.  So........anyone have suggestions for an alternative?  I'm not above chunking the dadgum machine and buying something new if it will mean less residue and impossible scrubbing efforts.  Lay it on me, folks!

This is the version we have.

--- 7 ---

Blog.  As promised, my new About page is up and running.  Have you checked it out yet?  (Yeah, I caught a few type-o's, so those will have to be fixed during the major overhaul I'm hoping to do...eventually.)

Ok...Alex will be back in an hour and a half (early, this week!!!), so I've really got to get supper in the oven and finish cleaning up the house!

That's all for now!
-Lauren

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Forgive me...

So...I have a little confession to make.  Alex and I haven't really shared this with anyone yet, so don't be offended if you feel like you should have had some insider knowledge before I posted it here.  Yesterday, we attended a seminar for prospective foster care/adoptive parents.

Let that sink in for a minute.

Welcome back.  No, we haven't "given up" on the prospect of conceiving biological children.  No, we have not received information or advice from a physician indicating an inability to conceive or bear biological children.  No my parents don't know about this (shhhhhh!).  And no...we are not actively pursuing foster parenting or adoption.

Why the seminar, then?  Everyone knows adoption can take years.  Heck, two of my three Jamberry recruits (who also happen to be friends..."recruits" sounds so sterile) are currently pursuing or planning to pursue adoption.  I also have several close friends who have experienced infant loss, and believe me, I am well aware that pregnancy and child-bearing is not something to take for granted.

Alex and I are not emotionally at a place where we feel called to pursue adoption immediately, but we figure it doesn't hurt to begin the process before we get to that point.  I fear we would become emotionally "desperate," for a child and then have to ache that much longer if we waited to do our research until we were already in those trenches.

Which brings me to the seminar.  We attended a 45-minute orientation for people who are interested in learning more about foster care and adoption.  It was really just a basic overview with information about parameters for families and steps in the process.

The next step would be to take part in a 21-hour training program (3-hours a week for 7 weeks), which includes the paperwork and home study portions of the certification process.  There is actually a training series starting this Saturday, but it is overbooked already, and like I said, we're not ready to go there yet.  The next series begins in January, so we are looking at that option.  Waiting a few months will give us time to discern this aspect of our lives, and also to see if my health situation irons itself out.

(Side note:  Typically, they start a new training series every month, but there are already over 100 applicants for the October series, so they decided to cut the November series in order to effectively manage the existing applications.  A good problem to have, yes!  ...In Louisiana, we are still desperately in need of foster families, but it just takes time to catch up with the paperwork.  It's also worth noting that we're not currently interested in fostering, but in Louisiana families are dually certified to both foster and adopt.)

...There you have it.  Shall I proceed with making my Act of Contrition?  ;-)

-Lauren

And if you're interested in following my friend Laura's adoption journey, you can check out her blog here.