7 Quick Takes Vol 2

Check out more 7 Quick Takes here!

1. Last weekend I started working on a spring wreath for our front door a la Pinterest (I have a slight addiction).  Recently, we've also been testing leaving Buster out of his crate for a few hours a day while we go to the gym/run errands.  The other night I broke a cardinal rule of dog ownership and left my work in progress wreath on the floor...where Buster found it and promptly tore it to shreds.  He even chewed through the cord of the hot glue gun I had just bought.  *sigh*  Not his fault, but boy did that test my patience...

What the wreath will (hopefully) look like

2. Because of said ingestion of wreath, Buster has since woken us up the past two nights at 4 a.m. throwing up pieces of this wreath. He's fine...but again, my patience has not been. Needless to say, my prayer often this week has been "Lord, give me patience." I then just try and remind myself that someday Baby O will be here and I will be waking up way more than just at 4 a.m. and maybe this is God's way of giving me a little practice...maybe

3. Since we are talking about my dog...I'm gonna go ahead and ask for some prayers, I've personally been saying some to St. Francis. Buster is such a good dog, but he has had a lot of medical problems. A couple months after we adopted him we noticed he was chewing on his tail, to the point that it became this angry red sore. Took him to the vet and have to continue taking him to the vet almost every month since for a variety of itching/chewing reasons. Our vet put him on steroids, antihistamines, gave us a soothing shampoo to use on him but none of that worked - in fact, he got worse, losing fur and itching everywhere often to the point of making himself bleed. We put him on a grain free chicken free food and made sure his treats were the same but nothing was working so our vet told us to see a vet dermatologist. We left the derm's office with antibiotics for a skin infection, ear drops for an ear infection, shampoo for skin infection, and medication for mange. He couldn't say positively that Buster did or did not have mange so we're kind of hoping he did and the meds work. He has officially been off all the meds for about a week now...and while he's been a little itchy, it's nothing like it used to be and I'm praying we're done with monthly visits to the vet! Our poor lil guy

4. In last Friday's 7QT I talked about showing a video project to our students (here) Well, our principal loved it so much that he wants to do an exhibit with it and have a panel discussion with the boys and their parents! Super exciting, but we only have a week to get everything together. So far we've been doing pretty well, but it's been taking up a lot of our time and I haven't been able to see my client's like I should be. This will be something nice to do for the boys though and I'm excited/nervous and hoping everything goes smoothly

5. Last night was the second night of the Women's study group I go to. We read the book of Ruth and talked about what stood out to us from this Bible story. Two things that stuck out for me from our discussion are how Ruth's words to Na'omi are reminiscent of wedding vows, "Where you go I will go and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and Your God will be my God. Where you die, I will die and there will I be buried" (Ruth 1:16-18). Is this not more or less what we are promising to our husbands/wives as we say our wedding vows? Beautiful. The other thing that stood out for me was Ruth's faithfulness, her surrender to Na'omi without knowing what is coming next and the reward that she later reaps through Boaz, her next of kin, or Redeemer (which is what "next of kin" means...whoa. Hello Christ reference). How often are we called to surrender without knowing what will come next, but only having to trust in God's plan and will for our lives.

6. We finally have the building permit from our county so that we can start building our deck! I cannot wait to be able to sit outside and crochet while drinking some coffee. Oh man. And I know Buster is going to love it out there too, he just loves staring our doors/windows at the animals and people going by.

7. We took advantage of Memorial Day sales and bought a new fridge! It's getting delivered tomorrow.  Our old one was leaking and we would end up with puddles of water at the bottom of the fridge. We couldn't fix it, and since it was the only appliance that wasn't on the newer side when we bought our house, we just decided to replace it. I'm hoping this will kick start our kitchen "reno." I'd love to paint our cabinets and get some hardware for them.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

A Letter to Me

This morning as I was driving to work I was listening to our local Christian radio station (95.1 Shine FM) and the morning talk show host was asking people what they would say if they could talk to or write a letter to themselves as they graduated from high school.  Well, I literally spent the rest of my drive drafting said letter.

Dear Tiffany,

        First of all, Congratulations!  You made it through high school and I am so proud of you!  You have worked so hard and it has all paid off.

I know how happy you are and how excited and nervous for the next steps.  But don't worry, everything turns out just the way it should.  Just remember a few things.

1.  Do not ever forget how beautiful you are, and do not let anyone make you think otherwise.  I know you doubt this, and are never quite satisfied with the face staring back at you through the mirror but you are a daughter of the King, made in His image and likeness so how could you be anything but beautiful!  
2. Please remember that just because you have a kind heart, that does not mean that people get to walk all over you.  Find your voice.  Keep kindness in your words, but still, find your voice.
3.  You cannot help everyone, no matter how much you want to.  The world already has a savior through Jesus, you do not need to be another "savior."  Help those you can and lift the others up in prayer.
4. Never let anyone make you feel "stupid" or "silly" for your beliefs and Never let anyone change who you are.  You are walking with God, and even though the road may be rough at times, remember the lines from one of your favorite poems, "Two roads diverged in a wood and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."  Your faith and beliefs have put you on a road not traveled by many, but trust me, it will make all the difference.
5. You are enough.  Who you are, inside and out, is enough.  
6. You do not need to change for a man.  As I said, you are enough and the person God has chosen for you will recognize that from the beginning.  He will see your virtue, your gifts, your beauty and will pursue you and prove to you that you are enough.
7. Finally, just stay close to God.  Say your prayers.  Go to mass.  Read good books.  Engage is interesting conversations.  Continue to learn more about your faith.

  You will be just fine.  Trust me, I know ;-)

Love,

Your future, 25 year old self who is happily married, in a career she loves and growing day by day in faith.

What would you say to your past self on your graduation day?

What is Pastoral Counseling?

I get this question just about every time I tell someone what my degree is.  I may also get questions like, "Are you a pastor?"  "Do you only counsel pastors?"  and one of my all time favorites "Is that something with sheep?"

The last questions brings The Good Shepherd to mind

The answer to all of the above is, No.  Although there are many religious leaders who are realizing they are ill equipped to aide their faithful in regards to mental health and have been returning to school for extra training, one does not need to be a pastor, priest, rabbi etc. to be a Pastoral Counselor.

I first discovered this field of Pastoral Counseling as a senior in college.  I had majored in Psychology and minored in Theology and was in the process of looking for a graduate program.  I knew I would need to stay in Maryland to save some money and live at home so I narrowed my search for a clinical psychology program.  One of the programs I looked at was through Loyola University.  As I was looking over their website at the different programs they had, I noticed one called "Pastoral Counseling."  I had never heard of this before and had some of the same thoughts as most people, "Huh, I wonder if this is just for religious leaders."  Nevertheless, I sent a request for more information. When I received the information packet, I knew God had placed this program directly in my path.

In a nutshell I describe Pastoral Counseling as a combination of Psychology and Theology.  The program acknowledged and firmly believes that a person cannot heal and be healthy without healing mind, body, and spirit.  So often secular psychology and counselor programs deny the spiritual aspect.  In fact, I can remember hearing that to be a Psychologist I would need to put my spiritual beliefs to the side.  Well, to me, that was like asking me to take out my heart and put it on a self while sitting with a client...clearly not possible.  It just made perfect sense to me that if I felt like I couldn't separate my beliefs from myself, why would I assume that my clients would want to do that?

One of my favorite discussions we had in grad school was whether or not we felt we were "called" to this program/profession.  I immediately answered yes, as did  the majority of my classmates.  Like I said before, I really felt like God had placed this program directly in my path, a perfect combination of what I studied in undergrad.

The American Association of Pastoral Counselors states that 96% of of the population says they believe in God and 79% of Americans feel like faith/beliefs can help with healing (http://www.aapc.org/about-us/pastoral-counseling-today.aspx).  Oh heck yes!  For my Catholic friends, who among us has not left Eucharistic adoration feeling refreshed, revived, dare I say, healed?

In my program we acknowledged that in the counseling room, there is the client, the counselor, and God.  The counselor is merely an instrument for God's healing.  There have been times in a session where I have said something without really thinking about it, and it was just what the client needed to hear.  That wasn't me folks, that was the Holy Spirit.

Bottom line, I loved my program and what I do.  This leads to a whole other issue of actually having a counseling position in a religiously affiliated place.  Which, at the moment, I do not.  But I was unemployed for months after Chris and I were married and for the sake of our family I took the very first job I could get!

Now, I am praying for discernment as to where God is calling me.  To stay where I am?  Look for something with a Catholic school and/or church? (That would be my dream in all honesty)  Maybe a Christian Counseling center?  I don't know. But any prayers you could offer up for me would be incredibly appreciated!

Here are a couple links if you feel like you would like to learn more:
http://www.aapc.org/   <--- if you would like to find a Pastoral Counselor they have a link where you can do so, also just contains more in-depth information

http://www.loyola.edu/academic/pastoralcounseling.aspx  <--- My program.  Life changing.  Incredible.  Amazing education/clinical training.  Seriously, can't speak highly enough of it.

I bind unto myself today...

...the strong name of the Trinity. (from St. Patrick's Breastplate prayer)

This Memorial Day Weekend and Feast of the Holy Trinity was spent in New Jersey with Chris' family.  We had a fantastic time.  Chris and I left late on Friday night so that we would hopefully avoid holiday traffic on 95.  Buster was super excited to go for a car ride.  As soon as he sees his travel crate he knows we're going somewhere and goes nuts.  I gotta tell ya, getting a dog together plus all of the things he needs for a weekend is rough.  Mother's of young children, I applaud you and your ability to get your children together, in the car, safely with all of their things without pulling out your hair in the process.

We got to Chris' family's house pretty late Friday so after saying hi we went right to bed.  The next morning our wonderful pup heard Tim, Chris' youngest brother, get up to go to work at 6:30 in the morning.  Our dog does not like to know there are people up and awake and he can't say hi.  So needless to say, Chris and I were therefore also awake at 6:30.  We spent the morning relaxing - and drinking lots of coffee.  I started a new crochet project that I love.  It's that crocodile stitch beach bag I was talking about here.  As I've said, I LOVE the crocodile stitch.  I just think it looks so unique.  And the fact that you crochet with a strand of yarn and a strand of crochet thread held together helps make the whole thing strong plus adds some interesting contrast.

                                  My work in progress, I chose the colors to look like the ocean

After lunch, Chris' mom and I went to get facials.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  I've had facials before, many years ago, but NEVER like this.  I left that place so blissed out.  And after everything I've been going through recently with work and what not...let's just say it was needed.  Plus my skin was literally glowing, and who doesn't want that??  That night we had dinner and played a game with everyone.  His family is definitely a game family which I LOVE because my family so is not.

I love Sundays while traveling.  I have always loved finding a church to go to wherever we're vacationing and having to opportunity to meet a new priest and see a new church.  When we're visiting Chris' family we go to Our Lady of Good Counsel.  I love this church.  Not only is it a beautiful church, but the Irish priest is fantastic.  He always gives a wonderful homily.  Which is actually where the title of this post came from, he read part of St. Patrick's Breastplate prayer.  I really enjoyed the readings yesterday as well.  The second reading yesterday from Romans is one of my favorites.  "we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint"  Hope does not disappoint.  Bam.  Now that is something to hold on to.

Yesterday after mass Chris' mom helped show me how to use my new (well, new to me) sewing machine.  Chris' grandmother was getting rid of her sewing machine and asked if I wanted it, and I of course said yes!  I've been wanting to learn how to sew.  The sewing machine is awesome.  It's vintage, green, and comes in it's own cabinet.  Who doesn't love vintage??  It fit perfectly in our little office, which is great because now when Chris is playing his video games we can still be spending time together.  I can't wait to try some sewing projects.

                                             Seriously, how awesome is this??

Like I said, this weekend was fantastic.  And Buster absolutely loved running around in their fenced in back yard.  Makes me wish we had a yard for him to run in!  One day...Buster also almost had the chance to make friends with a black bear.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Yesterday afternoon we found out on of Chris' neighbors had spotted a black bear in the wooded area behind their houses.  Talk about scary.  Oh, and our incredibly friendly dog almost left us...he hopped right into the car of another family ready to go for a ride.  Oh this dog.  After such an eventful weekend he has be content to just sleep...which is exactly what he is doing right now next to me.

                                             Buster's (almost) new friend

We got home last night and today are planning on taking advantage of Memorial Day sales and getting a new fridge - I hope.

Oh!  And to top off this great weekend, we came home to a small package on our doorstep from our wedding photographers.  They had sent us three magnets with our wedding photos on them.  And some Worthers Original, oh yum.  I can't even tell you how much Chris and I loved our photographers and the amazing photos they took.  Seriously, I can't speak highly enough about them.  If you're in the Maryland area, I would definitely recommend them.  Check out their website if you don't believe me!  http://www.photographybysusie.com/

                                                 I am in love the the magnets...and the candy hit the spot

7 Quick Takes Friday vol 1

So here is my first post contributing to one of the "community" link-ups I was talking about!   Check out the other 7 Quick takes here!

1. Today is Friday and the start of Memorial Day Weekend!  Which is exciting simply for the fact that it is a three day weekend, but also because Chris and I will be heading to New Jersey tonight to spend some time with his (our) family.  I have some fantastic in-laws...in fact, I hate calling them my in-laws because I feel like that has a negative connotation.  My family by marriage, that's better.  Pray that we have safe travels, and I will keep everyone else traveling in my prayers as well!

2. As another long, grueling work week ends, I am trying to remind myself how blessed I am to have a job.  Yes, it is stressful, difficult, and a struggle to stay true to who I am, but bottom line, I have a job.  And a job with great hours.  Focus on the positive.

3. This week I was able to talk to my old college roommate!  From the time we met as Freshman at Mount St. Mary's University we have been inseparable.  If one of us were ever out without the other people would also ask what happened to our twin :-)  We were SO inseparable that she even ended up moving into the same neighborhood as Chris and I (completely by accident too!  We both separately found houses in the same development, talk about providence!)  So for almost a year we enjoyed being able to just stop by each other's homes and sit and chat over a glass - or two - of wine.  Now, enter Pete.  Pete is one of Chris' friends whom Lindsay met at our wedding...and then began to date.  Pete lives in California.  AKA Pete took her away from me!  Just kidding, they're really great together.  But anyway, a few months ago she put her house up for rent and moved to CA!  So with the time differences and our work schedules it has sometimes been hard to stay in touch, so the phone call this week was fantastic!

4. Myself and my coworker have been working on a video project for our students.  We asked them to write one thing they think adults should know about 6, 7, and 8th grade boys.  From their responses we created a sort - of video montage.  It's powerful, let me tell you.  I'm super excited to show it to them, and we get to show them...TODAY!  I can't wait to see their faces

5. Michael's is having a 4 day yarn event...I should have posted a picture of my yarn stash and then you might understand my husbands reaction to my desire to go to Michael's today.  But my philosophy is, you can never have too much yarn!  Plus, I really want to make this beach bag before our anniversary!  Crocodile stitch is my absolute FAVORITE.

6. Chris and I are trying to be healthier.  We're trying to eat less red meat and eating more lean proteins like chicken and fish.  We also joined a gym and are trying to get our butts there AT LEAST 4X a week...but so far it's been more like 2, maybe 3 times a week.  We just started so I'm trying to allow us a "grace" period but we definitely need to work on our dedication.  We've been going after he gets home from work, which on a good day, is around 7 p.m.  I think we miiight start going in the morning...which would be a 5:30 a.m. alarm...which just makes me cringe.  I am anything but a morning person.  But then at least we would still have our evenings to relax with each other rather than rushing to the gym, hurry make dinner, hurry eat dinner, whoa where did the night go.

7. My "tia" is visiting from Colombia and just arrived this week!  I think she's actually my mother's cousin, not my aunt, but either way we call her tia.  She is quite possibly the sweetest woman I have met, and she was really there for my mother and I after my grandmother died.  She even flew home with us after the funeral and stayed with us until after my wedding.  I can't even describe how much of a help she was.  She came bearing gifts and I left my parents house laden with a juice box sized aguardiente (a staple liquor in Colombia), 4 handmade placemats, 6 cazuelas (special bowls to serve ajiaco - a delicious Colombian soup), true Colombian coffee - Sello Rojo, and a make up bag from a store there called Boots N Bag.  I can't even tell you how excited I am for all of these things!  But, I am most excited to spend time with my aunt and brush up on my spanish!  

I hope everyone has a safe, blessed Memorial Day holiday.  Lets remember in our thoughts and prayers all those who have served and defended our freedom, including my father-by-marriage!

Community

Yesterday I was struck by a feeling of "community" in the blogosphere.  I spent some time in the morning  looking at some other Catholic blogs - I almost made myself late for work, oops!  While feeling incredibly humbled and inspired by reading these different blogs, I also noticed some common postings.  The 7 Quick Takes and What I Wore On Sunday are two that I think would be fun to participate in myself!  All different blogs participate in this "link-up" and it really just gave a sense of community - to me at least.  For someone who has never really had a large Catholic community, it feels nice just to know that there are others out there who wouldn't think I was strange or weird for talking about faith, God, the Eucharist etc.  Catholic does in fact mean Universal and in this 21st Century of ours where modern Catholics everywhere have taken up blogging, it sure does help make the church feel even more Universal.

[So here is where I had planned to go with this post...These different "community" blogs then inspired me to think of something on my own, something that may or may not already be out there.  But I’m going to call it GratiTuesday.  As a counselor, we sometimes recommend to our clients that they keep a Gratitude Journal.  This will be my form of a gratitude journal.  It can be easy to forget how immensely blessed we are.  I personally have been more “woe is me, I hate my job” and have been ignoring the many places in my life that I am blessed.  Hopefully having a “GratiTuesday” blog post every week will keep me focused more on the positive rather than the negative.]

That is what I would have written had I not then Googled "Gratituesday" and lo and behold, someone beat me to it lol  But that helps make my decision that I will be joining in on that link up as well.  I was wary about this whole blogging thing, and I'm still so new that I'm fairly certain I'm the only one reading/the only one who cares but if through this whole thing I can stay inspired and "meet" new people who share a passion for our faith, well, then I say it's worth it!


On a different note, I have been wanting to get a picture up here of the blanket I am allllmost finished.  But the time I get to work on it is after I get home, cook, go to the gym and eat.  So by that time the lighting is awful...but maybe I'll try tonight and see what I can come up with.

Hope everyone has a good Thursday!

Everyone - "So when are you having kids?"

I have been wrestling with writing this post for a few days now.  I feel like the point of a blog is to write things that have been on your mind.  As someone who was a religious journaler (is that a word) in high school, the thought is appealing.  The idea for this post has been there, but I keep worrying about the “backlash” so to speak and therefore pushing the idea aside.  But, what the heck.

I am Catholic (you may or may not have picked that up from my other posts).  I was born and raised in the Catholic faith and my beliefs imbue every aspect of my life.  Including the fact that my husband and I do not use contraception.  Gasp  I know, you can pick your jaw up off the floor now.

But how, might you ask, could you possibly have gone a whole year of being married and not have gotten pregnant?!  NFP my friends, NFP.  NFP, or Natural Family Planning, is NOT the rhythm method.  I remember before I got married and my friends would ask if I would finally be going on birth control and I’d say “No, We’re going to practice NFP.”  They would die laughing and then assure me that I would get pregnant on my wedding night.  Gee, thanks for the support. 

Chris, bless his heart, had no idea what NFP was before we got married but agreed to attend a class with me so that we could learn more.   NFP is a method approved by the Catholic Church as a means to achieve or avoid pregnancy.  When done correctly it is 99% effective - the same as the pill mind you and more effective than just using a condom (http://ccli.org/nfp/effectiveness/compare-methods.php).  God, in His wisdom, designed the female body to naturally have times of fertility and infertility.  NFP teaches you to learn more about your body and encourages your spouse to do so as well so that you can accurately predict these times and during the fertile times the couple abstains if they are avoiding pregnancy.  Which is hard. Let’s be real.  But honestly, it’s opened Chris and I to learning new ways to show each other how much we love one another.

As I kind of said before, I’ve run into a few different reactions when people hear we’re practicing NFP – well, those that we’ve told at least, we don’t just go around talking about this stuff all the time.  There are those who think we are going against the Catholic Church and God’s plan.  That if we truly trusted God we would trust that he would not give us children until we are ready and all of this charting is not necessary.   This http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/natural-family-planning/ would probably be ignored.  But anyway, that is one reaction I get.  The second, as previously stated, is along the lines of “Ha!  That never works.  Just go on the pill then we won’t have to throw you a baby shower months after your bridal shower.”  Both reactions hurt. Chris and I are trying to be responsible parents (eventually).  I only just finished grad school and now have a mountain of debt.  The time for a baby is…not yet.  But, at the same time, we are open to life. 

I feel like there is so much more I could say…but this post is already getting to be on the long side.  I’ll just end with a little shout out to those Catholic couples who are also practicing NFP.  You are not alone and it helps me feel less alone when I Google “NFP blog” and see a ton of blogs about young couples practicing their faith and living it out, in one way, through NFP.

If you’re interested in learning more, The Couple to Couple League is a wonderful resource.  It was through CCL that we took our class about NFP and if you become a member you will receive a quarterly magazine called Family Foundations.  It has some fantastic articles.  Also, as a member you can download their mobile charting app, very handy for the modern NFP couple ;-) http://www.ccli.org/

Squeaky Clean...Sometimes

We all have growing edges, right? Right.  A couple of mine happen to be organization and keeping my home clean.  Chris and I both tend to lean toward the "lazy" side (vice, I know)  So while this means the pile of clothes waiting to go in the laundry and the stack of dishes in the sink don't lead to many arguments it still gets to a point where one of us (usually me) gets to the "AHH!! Our house is a MESS, we MUST clean!!"  And then a weekend long cleaning spree ensues.

That happened this weekend.  I decided our house was disgusting and we needed to clean.  NOW.  So, I started by googling different "spring cleaning lists."  Now, we live in a 2 bed 2.5 bath townhouse so there really isn't all that much to clean so I mentally adjusted said cleaning lists into something manageable for our home.  And after the hour or so spent finding the "perfect" list and a good iheartradio station - Time to Dance in case you were wondering - I finally started actually cleaning.

I began in the kitchen cleaning window sills, drawers, dishes, the fridge, (we haven't cleaned that since we moved in and I just have one word for that.  EW.) the oven, floors etc.  It took me all of Friday night but man did our kitchen sparkle.

Today I only really managed to clean our teeny "dining room," if you can call it that.  Our small dining room table tends to be a "catch all" for bills, letters, cards etc.  so after sorting and filing all of that we could see our table again!  I dusted the furniture in our living room and called it a night.  Tomorrow I plan on tackling our basement and master bedroom.

I hate cleaning.  Bottom line.  I love the result and actually having a clean house...but putting the work into sucks...for lack of a better word.  When I do actually clean, I am borderline OCD about it, but again, it sucks.  I keep telling myself I am going to make a cleaning schedule (oh wait, I have) and stick to it (oh wait, I haven't).  But hey, that's the point of growing edges, isn't it?  Something you know you need to work on.  I know I need to work on this, and I'm trying.  I'm a homemaker work in progress

Hookin' It Up

No...this is not an inappropriate post, I just thought it'd be a good idea to talk a little more about my passion for crocheting and how it all got started.

A few years back, while I was in the midst of my graduate work, I learned about a ministry through my church called the "Prayer Shawl Ministry."  I can remember watching these women carrying up to the altar these beautiful knit/crocheted shawls and having them blessed by the priest to be given to people who were ill, home-bound, or those who just needed comfort.  The shawl was meant to symbolize God's love, His peace, embracing them.

Well, I just HAD to be a part of this ministry.  So I bought some knitting needles and some yarn and sat down with my mom and asked her to show me how to knit.  She showed me the two basic stitches, the knit and purl stitch.  And I made my first prayer shawl, just a big rectangle of knit stitches.  I was so proud of myself; finally I was the one carrying my shawl to the altar to have it blessed.  I think the biggest thing I learned was not the simple knit and purl stitches but rather that knitting gave me my own inner peace.  When I was stressed out by my internship/clients and coursework, picking up those needles and yarn centered me and helped cool me down.  What we in the "biz" refer to as, self care.  

After another shawl and a few scarves I decided to try my hand at crocheting.  I had read somewhere that crocheting is unique because while knits can be replicated by machines, crochet cannot.  Sweet, sign me up.

Enter YouTube...Oh, the many things one can learn from YouTube.  What I learned was how to crochet a pair of fingerless gloves.  I stayed up waay past my bed time and made them in one night...and LOVED THEM.  I was offically hooked on crocheting and from there I learned as much as I could.  I made blankets, hats, scarves, dishcloths, leg warmers...any free pattern that I could get a hold of I made.

And so began my love affair with yarn and hook.

Here's one of my most recent project...a granny square blanket for a very special baby girl who is due in July.  I was literally finishing this blanket in the car before the mother-to-be's shower so the pictures don't show the white border (and hence the pictures of the blanket on my bed of all places)...but one can use their imagination ;-)

I am currently finishing a blanket for C in his favorite football team colors - green and white for the New York Jets.  I'll post some pictures when it's done!  

God Listens

Last night I was blessed with the opportunity to be a part of a women's study group.  Do you ever have those moments, small or large, where you just stop and think "Wow God, you really are listening to my prayers?"  This was one of those times.  Ever since C and I got married I had been feeling a pull towards either joining or starting a women's fellowship group.  Growing up I really did not have any Catholic friends, I was sort of the "odd one out" in my groups of friends - although don't get me wrong, I have fantastic friends!  But still, sometimes there are some things that I could really use someone with the same belief system to talk to. Which led me back to this "pull."  Our church had a women's group but it was at 9 a.m. ... not conducive to the working woman's schedule.  So then I thought...well, maybe I'll just start one!  And I can make it a sort of craft/prayer/fellowship group!  But that sort of fell by the wayside...my shy, introverted self did not much relish the thought of being a "leader" of anything.

Then the other day I was having coffee with a dear friend from college and her a-dor-able daughter.  She brought up the fact that her sister was starting a woman's group and, would I like to join?  *"Wow God, you really are listening to my prayers"* I would love to join, thank you so much!

Last night was the first meeting of this group.  I only knew a couple people and had to fight with my shy self (or you could call it an attack) that kept saying "It's going to be awkward, you don't know anyone, YOU'RE going to be awkward...just stay home"  I fought my inner demons and showed up promptly at 7 (my husband would have been proud).  I am so thankful that I went.  The women were so wonderful and we all came from different backgrounds/walks of life.  Some were married, some single.  Some had children, some did not.  Everyone was so candid and open that I felt comfortable enough to talk and participate!  We touched on so many different topics and at the end, we all prayed for each other and the particular struggles we were going through at that moment.

I left the group feeling refreshed and rejuvenated and am looking forward to the next meeting in a couple weeks!

Last night the topic was femininity, so I'll leave you with this quote from Blessed John Paul II

"In fact, femininity has a unique relationship with the Mother of the Redeemer, a subject which can be studied in greater depth elsewhere. Here I simply wish to note that the figure of Mary of Nazareth sheds light on womanhood as such by the very fact that God, in the sublime event of the Incarnation of his Son, entrusted himself to the ministry, the free and active ministry of a woman. It can thus be said that women, by looking to Mary, find in her the secret of living their femininity with dignity and of achieving their own true advancement. In the light of Mary, the Church sees in the face of women the reflection of a beauty which mirrors the loftiest sentiments of which the human heart is capable: the self-offering totality of love; the strength that is capable of bearing the greatest sorrows; limitless fidelity and tireless devotion to work; the ability to combine penetrating intuition with words of support and encouragement" (Redemptoris Mater #46)

Who am I?

Welcome!

Well, I am new to this whole "blogging" thing, but it's been something I have been wanting to try for a while so...here it goes!  I figured the best place to start would be with a sort of, "About Me" post.  

I am 25 years old and last June I married my best friend, "C".  We also bought our first home last year, and three months after we were married we adopted our first "fur-baby," Buster.  

                                               Buster!  6 months old when we rescued him

Last year was a pretty crazy year...we got engaged in November and were married 6 months later.  During that time I was finishing up coursework and clinical work for my Masters in Pastoral Counseling.  C and I were also looking for a home for ourselves which we were able to find...and move into the Monday after our wedding (we were married on a Saturday).  

In March my family welcomed my niece "E".  We call her our little miracle baby.

In May, my grandmother passed away and my mother and I jet-set to Colombia to grieve the loss and rejoice in the life she led.

June 16 finally arrived, and while I could probably write a book on how amazing, fun, beautiful, spectacular, and a "dream come true" our wedding was...I won't make you suffer through that!  Just let me assure you that it was all of that, and more!

                                     Married at Mt. Saint Mary's University (Photography by Susie)

After the wedding, and moving in to our new home, I finished up my final class for my M.S. degree and in August C and I took a cruise to the Bahamas for our honeymoon/my 25th birthday.  It was amazing.

                                             I have a thing for sunsets...beautiful, right?

Now, here we are, almost a year later and we are (mostly) settled into our home, our pup is a year old, I have a new job that I started in January as a counselor, and I am continuing with my crocheting and even trying to start up a lil "business" with it (enter shameless plug for my Etsy shop here - https://www.etsy.com/shop/GloryDesignbyTiffany)  It is still a work in progress, I'm working on better pictures etc.  Any suggestions would be fantastic!  

                   The inspiration for my shop name and the name of this blog comes from the bible verse 1 Corinthians 10:31 "So whether you eat or drink, whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."  So this blog, my crochet, being a counselor, wife etc.  I hope it is all for God's glory


Until next time