NaPro Doctor

On Monday the hubby and I have an appointment with a NaPro doctor. This doctor has come highly recommended from a couple girlfriends. He is an expert in Natural Family Planning (NFP) and rather than pushing a couple towards artificial means of conceiving, he uses the NaPro to work with the woman's body. Kind of hard to explain...but I'm looking forward to a doctor's visit where I can relax. Most of my regular doctor visits include "No, I can't do that and here's why." Those of you who familiar with Catholic morality and Theology of the Body know what I'm talking about.

With all the ice and snow over the past week, we are hoping and praying the weather holds out on Monday. On Tuesday we will meet with an adoption agency, weather permitting. The adoption agency lives in a city that had no power, water, or phone service as of Thursday (!) so we'll see what happens.

Thanks for your prayers!

Count your blessings...

School was cancelled for the FOURTH day in a row today, so I was home. Or at least, for a little while. I went to visit some family friends who kindly finished the uneaten cupcakes for my Latin students. Upon arrival I saw why it's good to get your house blessed. Thankfully, the family is OK & unhurt. There was some obvious damage to the roof, but no broken windows. Deo Gratias!

My EWTN "debut"

As most of you know, I had the undeserved privilege of flying to EWTN to appear on Johnette Benkovic's show, The Abundant Life. Although the show was taped in November, it will air next week. The president of the Catholic Medical Association and an author also appeared on the show with me, so you don't have to endure listening to my voice the whole time! Ha ha ha.

The episode is called "Barren and Blessed: The Plight of Infertility" Program #447 The Abundant Life airs on EWTN, the global Catholic Network. If you have satellite TV, you can watch it through your provider. If you don't have satellite, you can catch the episode online live at http://www.ewtn.com/tv/index.asp Click on the "now showing" box on the right, ensuring that the "U.S." tab is selected. Or, like Mark and I, invade a friend's house who has EWTN. :)

Monday February 2: 10:00 pm EST

Tuesday Feb. 3rd: 4:00 am EST (um, I probably won't catch this particular program)Wednesday Feb. 4th: 2:00pm EST

Friday Feb. 6th: 10:00am EST

The program was definitely a grace-filled experience. Thanks for all of you who prayed for me during the taping. Please pray for couples enduring infertility who have no one to turn to in their sorrow; hopefully this show will serve as a vehicle for means of support.

Frozen Food?

The ice continued into last night. We kept hearing the creaking of branches breaking and falling. This morning I watched a large limb of our neighbor's pine tree crack & plummet to the ground. So far, no damage. Hopefully that will remain.

I took some shots of our yard and this one of our bird feeder. Do birds also eat frozen food?

An icy January day

If you watch the national weather report, there are many multicolored masses moving through the midwest & mideast. Unfortunately, those colors have translated to snow, ice, and freezing rain today. All the area schools cancelled for the day, so my cabin fever is increasing. The biggest bummer of all this is that we had an appointment to meet with an adoption agency this evening and will now have to cancel. :(

Central Kentucky very rarely gets mentioned on the Weather Channel; when I hear my home city mentioned frequently, I know the weather is bad out there!

A New Infertility Support Group

Through an interesting twist of providence & events, God has lead me to start a new infertility support group. Other than Elizabeth Ministry, which provides excellent one-on-one support, there really aren't a lot of resources for infertility here. From what I've heard from other women across the country, the lack of support (particularly from a Catholic standpoint) is rather scant. However, the need for support is great. As Catholics we are asked to follow different guidelines than other denominations, thus requiring unique help.

So please pray for the group tomorrow at our first meeting. I hope God uses this group to bring healing to hurting women.

What's in a Name?

You may stare at the banner and photo on this page, pondering the title. Or you may look at it and say, "Huh?" Besides the use of alliteration, one of my favorite poetic devices, the title of this blog brings in other aspects.

Percolating refers to the brewing process of coffee, my all-time favorite beverage. I linger between a coffee aficionado and addict. Thankfully, a Starbucks lies within walking distance of our house. My students know of my love of coffee and often draw pictures of me holding a Starbucks cup. (heh heh heh, they draw it like they see it!). This knowledge comes in handy come Christmas & end-of-year teacher gifts; many students generously give me a Starbucks card to support the habit. Of course, Mark gets to enjoy the effects too!

I think the great thing about coffee is its versatility: hot, iced, decaf, various sweet additions, milk, etc. Coffee can hit the spot on a cold, frigid day; a Frappuccino tastes marvelous on a hot, sticky day. My hope is to have the same versatility in writing with some cohesiveness.

Petals refers to my favorite saint, St. Therese of Liseux, also known as the Little Flower. She is a simple saint whose path to heaven was forged through the Little Way, i.e., doing small things for God instead of huge things. Her spirituality really appeals to me. Additionally, when I have asked her for prayers, she often sends me roses as a sign. Believe me, these roses show up randomly and without warning. One of the prayers to her I will never forget: just after meeting my future husband Mark, I asked St. Therese to help me know that he was a good man and worth pursuing. A few days later, Mark sent me pink roses for my birthday. The pink roses almost exactly matched the statue I had seen of her a few days prior. The rest is history...and in honor of St. Therese, I carried pink roses in my wedding bouquet.

So now you know...and "knowing is half the battle." Ha ha ha!

Hello & Welcome

Greetings and welcome to my blog. This blog has been about 2 years in the making...well, at least in my head. After the opportunity to contribute to a blog (Hannah's Tears), the blog bug bit me. Say that 5 times fast. Special thanks to all those who have encouraged me to blog: my Mom, Aunt Mary, and countless others. Now that I'm teaching and not necessarily using my journalism degree, this blog will provide a useful outlet.

As the title description implies, I am a Catholic coffee lover riding the roller coaster known as infertility. This blog will hopefully become a resource for those in a similar situation and provide updates of either pregnancy or adoption.

I dedicate this blog to St. Therese of Liseux, my favorite saint.

A.M.D.G. (Ad Majorium Dei Glorium: For the Greater Glory of God)