Natural Family Planning

Inside Catholic just published a story about NFP. I was unable to leave my comments at their website, so I'm going to write about it here! Stop reading if talk about NFP makes you uncomfortable. I'm surprised at the slightly negative approach that the author took. She hinted that people are mostly frustrated with it and that couples do not like the periodic abstinence that is necessary when trying to avoid pregnancy. Natural Family Planning has been nothing but a blessing for our marriage. Periodic abstinence is nothing compared to the complete abstinence required before marriage. Why is it so frustrating for many people? Since a natural result of marital intimacy during a fertile period is a child, perhaps we should actually view this periodic abstinence with a small dose of sorrow. Shouldn't we be a little disappointed that we feel unable to help our Creator bring a child into the world at this time?
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I will admit frustration with the Creighton method but it had nothing to do with periodic abstinence. When we were first married, this is the method we were trying to use to postpone pregnancy. God had a different plan! We became pregnant two months into our marriage and delivered a healthy baby girl. Thirteen months later, our second daughter arrived. Sixteen months after that, our first son was born. All three children were unexpected but welcome. However, couple close pregnancies with C-sections, and you get one very worn out mother. Our goal was not to avoid children altogether, it was to space them farther apart.

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We signed up for a class about the Sympto-Thermal Method offered by the Couple to Couple League. Creighton offers only one clue to identifying fertility. The Sympto-Thermal Method offers at least three ways to identify your fertile days. We got the hang of this method and immediately understood why the Creighton Model didn't help us to avoid pregnancy. We planned and welcomed our fourth child two and a half years after the third. He is now fourteen months old. We hope that we will be blessed some day with another, but in the meantime, we'll give my body some time to continue recovering and hope that our plan is in line with God's plan.

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Natural Family Planning is such a healthy choice for marriage and such a good tool for communication and understanding. Many people who are not Catholic (or who are Catholic and contracepting) do not understand why anyone would use NFP, much less have four children and desire more. We hear judgmental comments occasionally from people, but we take them in stride and pray for their hearts to be opened. Children are not liabilities; children are assets! Not all assets are easily earned, but these assets, these God-given gifts, are the only things that we take with us to Heaven. Encourage couples to continue with NFP even when they are frustrated.

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Post Script: I found a beautiful article on Infertility at Faith & Family online. This article complements the practice of Natural Family Planning.

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Photo credit to WeddingChaos from flickr dot com.

Peaceful Morning

All four of my children are playing happily downstairs. I have cleaned up the kitchen, gotten dressed, and pulled my hair back into a pony tail. They are still playing together. Each child finished his breakfast and headed downstairs. Isaiah was the last to finish his eggs and blueberries. When he did, he yelled to be let down. I wiped him and let him down and he headed straight for the stairs, turned around, and worked his little body down them so that he could play with his brother and sisters. I'm not sure what they're doing, but Morgan is calling, "Release us! Release us!" I imagine that it has something to do with a ugly old troll, a castle, and two little princesses.

After breakfast, there is usually a bit of chaos in my house as the children adjust to a new day and figure out what they are going to do or until I begin an activity with them. Normally, someone's hair was pulled, someone was hit, someone spilled a big cup of water, someone needs something out of reach, two people need their hair done, one little boy needs help finding clothes to wear, another little boy needs a fresh diaper and then another fresh diaper, someone called someone else a name, Isaiah spilled something, everyone is hungry, someone is bored, it's too hot outside, no one can find their shoes, someone is following me around crying to be picked up, then it escalates into bickering and I have to put my referee shirt on.

This morning is peaceful and I am grateful. We must go to the post office to mail my goddaughter's birthday gift. Maybe we'll stop at a park on the way home and play outside a bit before it really warms up. As I have finished writing this entry, Isaiah has made his way up the stairs, came around to the computer, and is crying, "no, no, no," because he wants to be picked up. I'd say that babies are much more important than blogging, so I'll pick him up. I enjoyed my moments of peace! .

*photo credit to Spooky Chris via flickr.com

Aunts and Uncles

Any child will tell you that the best part of having aunts and uncles is the muscle! Uncle Seth is home for a month on leave from the Navy. Before he left, we spent a lot of time together since his work hours allowed and I stayed home with the children. Isaiah is just getting to know him since he was just coming to life as Seth was leaving for recruit training (boot camp). In fact, this was the last thing that I told Seth before he left for Chicago that fall (that we were expecting a baby). Seth was back to see him baptized, back around Christmas last year when he was seven months old, and is back now in time to see Isaiah walking and beginning to talk. The other children, especially Morgan, looked forward to his phone calls and his brief visits home.

They don't miss a thing, rushing him with hugs and trying to climb on him and wrestle him in hopes for some roughing. When Seth comes home, the other brothers and sisters are around more and so the kids are in aunt-and-uncle-heaven! Seth brought Uncle Eli and Aunt Sophiw into town for a weekend and we took the kids to see Wall-E. It was Noah's first time to the movie theater! Seth and Eli stopped by one morning and spent time outdoors with the children, spinning them in circles until they were dizzy, kicking balls around, and tickling. Sophie stayed with us the evening after the movie and spent quality time on her hands and knees being the children's horse! What patience aunts and uncles have. God has truly blessed us with plenty of them and we are grateful!

Uncle Eli lifts Morgan with one arm while we wait in the lobby of the movie theater.

Morgan rides her Aunt Sophie around the house. Uncle Seth was also giving horse back rides today.The children sit through the credits at the end of Wall-E, with Noah in his favorite place--right beside Uncle Seth and close to Uncle Eli.

Madeleine sits with Uncle Eli on the deck.

Morgan gets spun around by Uncle Seth while Eli and Noah kick balls around in the background.

Multipurpose Kitchen

You can give your baby a bath and clean up supper at the same time!

At Great Grandma and Grandpa's Home

We went down to Great-grandma and Grandpa's house today (my grandparents). They have six acres with a pond and pasture, horses and kittens, and a large, delicious garden. My youngest sister Sophie and her friend Eli were there today. Ross, the next-door neighbor, who is kind of like a cousin to us and the children, joined us today. Sophie, Eli, and Ross gave the kids piggy-back rides all around, chased them, cuddled them, and played tickle monster. Grandpa brought kittens inside for the children to pet. Morgan and Noah helped Grandpa shuck the corn from the garden(we're true cornhuskers here) for supper, then they went to feed the horses the husks and stalks. After supper, Grandpa picked the damaged corn stalks from the garden and the children got to feed them to Lady and Queen, along with the watermelon rinds (also from the garden) left over from our meal. I'll let the pictures tell the rest!

Ross makes popcorn out of the kids on the trampoline.

Madeleine, Morgan, Grandpa, and Noah wait for the horses to approach after pouring the shucks on the ground inside the pasture.

Noah and Grandpa watch the horses have their second dessert.

Noah played so hard today that he fell asleep on Aunt Sophie's shoulder!

A Nebraska storm rolls in from the southwest over the wheat field.
The pond is a good place for canoeing, fishing, and dipping the toes.
Isaiah provides supper time entertainment with his corn on the cob. Since people were laughing, he kept on grabbing his corn with his teeth, then he'd drop it when he laughed, then put it back in.
Isaiah was playing a game with (great) Grandma. He would pick up handfuls of dirt and drop them, then she would say, "woop!" Then he'd start laughing. Eventually, he was laughing so hard that he could not stand up!

Ross is so good with the kids and the kids love to spend time with him.

Isaiah entertains us with his "surprise" face, stopping only when we stop laughing. Between this, the dirt dropping game, and the corn cobs at supper, I wonder if I'm raising a future comedian? (Or maybe a really funny priest)

Maddie loves horses and her favorite thing at Great-grandpa and Grandma's house is to feed and pet them.

Isaiah rests his hand on Great-grandpa's hand.

Dave Matthews Band Live

Our setlist:
07/22/2008 Dave Matthews Band
1. Dreaming Tree
2. You Might Die Trying
3. Eh Hee
4. Corn Bread
5. Old Dirt Hill
6. Sugar Will
7. Drive In Drive Out
8. Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel cover)
9. Ants Marching
10. Out Of My Hands
11. So D--n Lucky
12. Dancing Nancies
13. #41
14. Crash Into Me
15. So Much To Say
16. Anyone Seen The Bridge
17. Too Much
18. Louisiana Bayou
Encore:
19. Sister
20. Gravedigger
21. Stay (Wasting Time)

What a great night! Yes, that's Jeremy and me in the picture with CARTER BEAUFORD'S DRUMSTICK! We really enjoyed the show and its setlist. We love Dreaming Tree; it's rare to hear live. Louisiana Bayou is a fun song to dance to and to see live. Stay is so energetic! It was funny to hear it live without the Lovely Ladies.

Tim Reynolds is apparently traveling with the DMB. Usually, you see him only as a guest on an album or on tour with Dave alone. Tim Reynolds is a master guitar player and it was a thrill to see him; the only drawback of having him on stage is when someone hands him an electric guitar, the distortion drowns out the rest of the band. I like the acoustic sounds of the DMB, not the electric ones. Luckily, Tim didn't get too out of hand.

Rashawn Ross is an excellent addition to the band's tour; the trumpet works well with their sound.

Since LeRoi Moore is in the hospital, Jeff Coffin of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones is his replacement. We've seen him live with his own band. There's a 20+ minute version of #41 in which Jeff Coffin and Bela Fleck insert a duet/jam with the DMB (from a show many years ago). Tonight, Jeff treated us to this duet/jam along with Rashawn Ross and it was great! This was the highlight of my night! On the album Stand Up, Dave plays the piano, but this is the first time I've seen him do it live. At the end of this show, Carter tossed out several drumsticks and we caught one!

Who won the set list game? Jeremy and I tied. Hoping for Butterfly was wishful thinking, but it was worth a shot!

This is the last DMB entry, I promise!

Photo Mosaic

I visited Shower of Roses today and Jessica had this on her blog: Mosaic Meme. I thought that it was very pretty, so I followed her directions and came up with the above mosaic. Each picture represents an answer to a question. The questions (and answers) are:

1. What is your name? Aubrey
2. What is your favorite food? Lasagna
3. What high school did you go to? St. Thomas Aquinas
4. What is your favorite color? Blue
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Not a crush--Anthony Hopkins
6. What is your favorite drink? Starbucks Vanilla Bean Frappuccino
7. What is your dream vacation? Chaffee County, Colorado
8. What is your favorite dessert? Creme Brulee
9. What do you want to be when you grow up? Still--Jeremy's wife
10. What do you love most in life? God
11. Give one word to describe you. Catholic
12. Give one hobby. Clarinet

Thanks, Jessica!_________________________________________________________

Your turn to jump on the bandwagon! Go ahead and make one of your own. Here's how: a. Type your answer to each of the questions above into Flickr Search. b. Using only the first page, pick an image. c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker. d. Save image to hard drive and post to blogger. e. Copy HTML code for flickr photo credits and paste into blogger at the bottom of the post.

1. Aubrey Beardsley, 2. nettle interfolded lasagna, 3. Silence, 4. Fantastic Blue, 5. Anthony HOPKINS, 6. Starbucks = Mmmmmm Good!, 7. Majestic Peaks, 8. Crème Brulée, 9. Wedding Rings, 10. The Crucifix and Calvary (#109), 11. San Pedro, 12. concierto para clarinete

For Nursing Moms

My friend Jessica read Kate Wicker's comment on an earlier post and asked about the article that Kate mentioned. I read an article that she wrote for InsideCatholic.com, visited her blog, and commented on it. She returned the favor. For those of you who haven't yet seen Kate Wicker's blog, that is a link. The article that she wrote is titled Why I Nurse at the Mall and at Mass. There were over 150 comments. I was surprised how many people were vehemently opposed to women nursing their babies during mass. Most comments were supportive, assuming that a nursing mother is going to be discreet. If you are interested in the article and its comments, click on the link when you have a good block of time to read. The article is short but the comments take awhile to get through.

I was surprised at the emotion that it brought up in me. I nursed discreetly during mass for several reasons: it was difficult to get out and walk ALL the way to the back of church without disrupting others, the baby was quiet and would fall asleep, and the cry room was usually full of people who were late for mass or unwilling to sit in the sanctuary (sigh). I also didn't think that I should miss the greater part of a mass every Sunday for the six or seven months that a child was nursing. Never did it occur to me that others might be shooting daggers into the back of my head...if they even knew that I was nursing to begin with! That's enough said, I think.

I enjoy checking the blogs of other Catholic Moms. Reading the stories of their daily lives gives me encouragement similar to the comfort I receive from sitting with a friend over coffee and hearing about their trials and triumphs. We are all in the same boat. Some days, the boat sails. Some days, you wear your arms out rowing. Yes, other moms have to deal with spitting, hitting, potty talk, and dirty diapers. Other moms also witness the joy of their child's first steps, first words, and their early grasp of reading, praying, and playing. Soon, I will rejoin Catholic Moms Online and display their blogroll in my sidebar. You may enjoy looking through those blogs. I do!

Family Wedding

My sister Valley married Roger today! The ceremony was held outdoors at their restaurant and we went indoors for the reception. Their son Tre'mon is pictured here, receiving encouragement from his father when he started to become uncomfortable in the heat.

My four brothers and four sisters were all present today. This has become rare since we've begun to grow up and move away. To date, Valley and I are the only ones married. What a nonet we make!
Morgan and Maddie are pictured telling their aunt how beautiful she is today (and everyday!)
Maddie and her cousin Tre'mon made their way out to the bench at the edge of the island. When I snuck up on them to take pictures, they were discussing whether or not they'd be given candy when they got back to The Restaurant.
"Where's Isaiah?" asked Jeremy. Why, he's in the server's closet tipping the condiment bottles up like sippy cups. Yes, the lids were closed and yes, we took them to the kitchen to be sanitized. He was lifting the bottle of grenadine when I stopped him.
My father the photographer was taking pictures of Valley outdoors as the reception was winding down. I copied his pose, stood on his chair, and took this shot of the beautiful bride.

Overheard

I heard Maddie and Noah yelling on the stairs, then thump, thump, thump, a yell, then pitter-patter and a little more yelling into the living room. I hear Morgan, the six-year-old, say, "Wait, Maddie. The devil is tempting you. Think...who had the slipper first?" Then I hear her say a prayer with her brother and sister: +Dear God, please make me stronger than the devil. Amen.+ After this, all three of them ran outside with no more arguing.

This is Daddy's hard work showing through (yes, maybe a little me, but mostly Daddy)!

At the Lake

The children packed their backpacks and we headed out to the lake for the afternoon. Grandma and Grandpa P. were already there with three of the kids' cousins. They had stayed overnight and were planning on staying Thursday night also, if things went well. They brought squirt bottles for the children to spray each other with. When they had emptied the bottles, Grandpa would walk them down to the pump to refill them. There was plenty of room to run, a circular drive for the kids to ride their bikes in, and a nice breeze to keep the air moving.
The kids rode their bikes, squirted each other (and the adults) with squirt bottles, took walks with Grandpa, and enjoyed their afternoon. When it began to rain, everyone--three adults and seven children--piled into the camper to wait it out. The weather gave us breaks every so often and the children would run out and splash in the puddles, then back into the camper when it began to rain again. Grandma managed to make supper for everyone while we were all in the camper! The rain disappointed the children, who were looking forward to having a campfire and roasting marshmallows; the firepit was full of water. Jeremy had planned to join us after work, but I called him and advised him to go home because of the rain. The kids ate, played a little more when the rain let up, and then it was time to take off. We met two deer on our way out of the park, but we stopped and waited for them to finish their business, so no deer and no mini-van grills or radiators were injured today. ;) The children slept for the 30-minute drive home. What a day!

Genius?

Is this a compliment or does it mean that you have to be a genius to figure out what I'm trying to say?

Movie Reviews

Bucket List

Jeremy and I recently bought the movie Bucket List. We took a chance--hadn't seen it in the theater but we like Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson and the plot sounded interesting (and fairly clean). These two men, when being treated for cancer, shared a hospital room. Morgan Freeman's character came up with a Bucket List: things to do before you kick the bucket. After their release from the hospital, they began to check things off.

My bucket list consists mostly of places that I'd like to see. I'll leave out the part about going back to Colorado again (and again and again). My deepest wishes--marry a wonderful man, have beautiful children, remain Catholic, have great girlfriends--have been satisfied. I'll leave out the obvious: seeing my children grow up, celebrating our 50th and 60th wedding anniversaries, etc. Even if I never got to do the things on my bucket list, I'd be happy every day with what God has already given me.

Aubrey's bucket list:
1. Visit the Vatican, see the Pope (even from far away)
2. Visit Alaska
3. See the Aurora Borealis
4. Visit Besancon, France, where Jeremy spent a semester of college
5. See the Pacific Northwest; stay with my aunt who lives on Puget Sound
6. Go fossil hunting (again) in the Green River Formation
7. Go back to Moab, Utah
8. Visit New Zealand and Australia
9. Visit the Czech Republic
10. Take the kids to Yellowstone National Park
11. Visit Lourdes and other holy sites
12. See the pyramids

What would be on your bucket list?

Fw: My Two Sons

Here's a blast from the past: Noah at a year old in this little red outfit that Grandma Potter bought.
Then Isaiah in the same outfit at the same age.














My next order of business is to find pictures of the girls at matching ages in the same outfit.

Great Weekend

Our Sailor is home for 30 days and we are enjoying him. We had a backyard cook out on Sunday evening. For a brief time, all 9 Daniel siblings were together once again. Hopefully, this happens many times over the next few weeks. I am ashamed to say that I did not take as many pictures as I should have. I will not make this mistake again! My own children were going crazy trying to keep their aunts and uncles straight. I give them credit, though, because between Jeremy's family and mine, they have 15 aunts and uncles. What a blessing it is to have four brothers and four sisters. The best gift that any parent can give to their child is another sibling. As the oldest, I enjoy watching everyone change throughout the years, especially the twins, who were 3 years old when I left home for college. When you need help moving, want to go out on the town, or want to have company, there is always someone to do it with. (The picture above was taken by our father in December of 2007.)

My mother, uncle, and aunt were here also, and Father C. joined us as well. Fr. C. is unique because he knows both sides of our family so well--mine from being the superintendent of the Catholic Schools we attended in D.C. and Jeremy's family from his early priesthood. He (along with Fr. B. and Msgr. H.) concelebrated our wedding mass. Father played with Noah in the backyard with his boomerang and frisbee. What fun!

Happy birthday to my dear husband, who celebrated this weekend. It was remarkably cool, so we were able to treat the children to a little "hot tub time" in the morning. After their fun time, I had to haul 15 + gallons of water back out to the tub! The children were so excited to participate in plans for Daddy's birthday. They had fun choosing his gifts with me and then making him cards and kissing and hugging him all day long. Never could I have hoped for a more wonderful husband! I am so happy he was born!

My sister will get married Sunday and so we will have this new joy to celebrate and a new brother-in-law to formally (because he's been "Uncle R." for 5 years already) welcome to the family. Cheers!

New Adventures in Peek-A-Boo

Sometimes I wonder what is going on inside the minds of my children. Eventually, they begin to tell you EVERY thought that goes through their head, but here is the blessed verbal silence of a one-year-old who best expresses himself with items from the cupboard.

Is he thinking, "Wow, you guys...check out this cool hat I just found in Mom's cupboard. Good thing she didn't have this one locked. Man, it's just the right size for my head. Oooh, I can see Mommy through those holes! Whew--when I take it off, she's right there! This is so funny!" ???