Friday, September 24, 2010

What's in a Name: Part Deux

As the weeks towards our baby's arrival continue to become shorter, I wanted to write about the name we have chosen for her.  Post-birth, I'm anticipating (a) the loss of brain cells (b) the loss of time (c) the inability to sit at the computer (d) excessive grogginess and grouchiness due to lack of sleep.  Not very ideal conditions for writing, let alone about such a special topic.  One of the many things I have always looked forward to was selecting names for future children, making sure the first and middle names had special significance.  Both my husband and I strongly believe in selecting names in which you can easily tell the gender of the child (those of you who have taught school know what I mean!).  To have waited so long for a child makes this naming effort even more special!

Some of you may remember that during our adoption process from South Korea, we had hoped to name a son Andrew.  We are saving that name if we do adopt from there someday.  For some time, we have had a girl's name picked.  Thanks for indulging my little explanation.  So without further ado, our little girl will be called:

Kather.ine Eliza.beth, with a nickname of Ka.tie B.eth

Kath.erine's patron saint is St. Catherine of Sienna, a dynamic, passionate woman who was madly in love with Christ yet also not afraid to stand up for the truth.  Of course, our many Dominican friends are very pleased with this selection and have already told us our baby is "Dominican."  Don't know how the Poor Clares will feel about that one. :)

Kat.herine is also the name of my husband's grandmother's little sister, who died of tetanus at age 3.  His grandmother's middle name was Cather.ine.  So the name has familial significance as well.  As for spelling the name with a K, well, that was a bit of vanity on my part because that's my first initial too. :) Until Kati.e Be.th gets married, we will have the same initials.  So we can share all of those cute monogrammed items!! Bwa  ha ha ha!


The middle name, Eliza.beth, was rather easy.  That is my middle name and several women in my mom's side of the family share the middle name as well.  It's my sister's first name too.  I have long wanted to pass along my middle name to a future daughter.

It took a while to decide on which St. Eliz.abeth to pick.  We finally settled on my patron, Elizabeth, the mother of St. John the Baptist.   My parents gave me her as my patron after it took them a long time to become pregnant with me (funny how history repeats itself!).  We know St. Elizabeth has prayed for us during our infertility journey, so it only seems right to honor her in this way.

Just a disclaimer: As Catholics, we ASK saints to pray for and guide us, but we do NOT worship them. :)

Kati.e Be.th's nickname just sort of happened.  Some friends asked if it was due to our residing in the South.  Nope; we have both liked some of the 2-name combinations (Mar.y Kat.e, M.ary Be.th, etc.).  So there you have it.  We look forward to someday telling our daughter the significance of her two names.  It feels so surreal that a child will actually receive these names; for so long this has been a faraway dream.  

By the way, heartburn has been my constant companion lately.  I'm using it as a chance to pray for and offer it up for all of you still waiting....

Monday, September 20, 2010

10 Surprising Things About Me (a bit late)

Last week, several bloggers put together a "10 Surprising Things About Me" list and tagged other blogs to get in on the fun.  Thankfully, Faith and Family Live blogger Danielle Bean took the initiative to tag anyone who had not yet made such a list.  After a week of severe fall allergies, hectic schedule, and a huge amount of pregnancy-induced fatigue, it's a miracle that this list came together!!

1. Green Beans are evil. No matter what delectable sauce or bacon grease is used to enhance the flavor, I will never EVER like green beans. They still make me gag!

2. I can remember obscure dates: wedding anniversaries, birthdays, dates of death, my sacrament dates, and sometimes random events. But when it comes to remembering where my sunglasses or cell phone ended up, all bets are off.

3. Since childhood, I have loved to read voraciously (thanks, Mom). In fact, like my grandpa, I will be so absorbed in a story that someone could talk to me and I never hear them. My husband has discovered this to his chagrin, so if he’s trying to say something, he’ll tell me, “All right, Grandpa K, time to listen!”

4. While we’re on the reading track, my favorite genre is historical fiction. My 2 favorite authors are Cli.ve Cussl.er and Bo.die & Bro.ck Theon.e. These authors have put together books that help me delve further into history. I love it when a book impels me to look up locations and historical events online to provide a better context.

5. My BA was in journalism. After college I did youth ministry, which lead into teaching. Should have been an education major. Hindsight is 20/20. The one talent retained from my degree? Completing a 5-page paper in record time. Remembering random things from the AP stylebook.

6. Take a look at my DVD collection and you will find quite an array of Dis.ney and other kids’ movies. The collection did not transpire in the hopes of having kids someday; I truly enjoy these movies! And I score brownie points when friends bring their kids over to my house. One of my favorite kids’ movies to quote is The Emper.or’s New Gro.ove.

7. I’ve been blessed to see Pope John Paul II in person 3 times (Mass in the L.A. Coliseum, World Youth Day Rome, World Youth Day Toronto), and Pope Benedict once (papal audience). Each time was a thrilling experience. For our honeymoon in Rome, we had Sposa Novelli (newlywed) tickets which gave us a 2nd row seat. When the pope came by, he was very very close.  (I'm the second person dressed in white from the left)


8. Winter is yucky. Love Fall and Spring, albeit the allergies. Love most of summer. But winter is grey, mundane, and cold. This is not just because of my California roots.  Maybe it's because my favorite color is blue.

9. My husband and I met on Catholic.Match.com in 2002. After dating long distance for 2 years, I packed up my blue car and drove across the country to live closer to him. Many people are surprised to learn this idea came from my parents, who also chose to live closer to each other prior to becoming engaged. Obviously, things worked out very well. We truly got to know each other through every day contact instead of visits every couple months.

10. I do not have graceful arms. That’s why Irish dancing works so well for me; the arms stay down at my side except during dances with other people. In other dance forms like ballet and Scottish, my arms never look nice and rounded.

Well, as part of this list effort, I will tag anyone who has not written a top 10 list, including these lovely ladies:

K at Journal of a Nobody
M at H Family Happenings
D.C., Baby!
RyanAnn, who doesn't have a blog but should post something like this on Face.book

Friday, September 10, 2010

7 Quick Takes...Yep, I'm on the Bandwagon

OK, I finally did it.  I gave in.  A thoughtful blogpost became lost amid the first week of school.  However, coming up with 7 random things makes it easier.  Perhaps the writing juices will flow more!!



1.  Faith and Family Live (a popular Catholic blog) recently had an excellent post on reaching out to women dealing with Infertility.  It's worth reading the many heartfelt responses

2.  Half of our driveway looks like a rock pit.  The city installed a backflow valve so as to help us avoid the nasty sewage seepage that invaded our house this past May.  They only tore up the part of the driveway for which the city is liable; we have to cover the rest.  I will post a picture soon; the driveway looks rather funny.

3.  In the first week of college football, both of my favorite teams won!!  That trend will most likely not continue, but at least the season started on a good note.  Go FIGHTING IRISH and UK Wildcats!

4.  We assembled the crib and picked out a glider last weekend, both of which were on our list of "Things We Can't Do After the Baby Comes."  The next rather painful task is selecting a (newer) family car.  My husband keeps bringing up a 1970s wood panel station wagon.  Yeah, right!  I answered that HE would have to drive it to work.

5.  Last night I had horrible, tightening pains which caused a phone call to my midwife (she gave me her cell #; how awesome is that!). Thankfully, the pain was muscular, not labor.  It was a bit scary to think that the baby could be coming right then.  All You Who Hope alluded to this in her recent post, but buying/receiving all this baby stuff still feels very surreal.  In my particular case, I packed away all hopes of pregnancy in order to cope with IF.  Then when this miracle happened, I've had to unpack those feelings and hopes, as well as convince myself (again) that this is actually happening.   

6.  I neglected to point out in my last post that a "novena" is typically 9 days of prayer for a specific intention.  It hearkens back to the apostles praying in the Upper Room for 9 days between Jesus' ascension and Pentecost.  One of the advantages of a novena is that it brings the intention more to the forefront of your mind.  There are about 15 women in my local area participating in this novena, and so many of you have been included in this prayer effort. :) 

7.  On Wednesday during Latin class, I pointed out to the students that Star.bucks used one of our vocabulary words (via, meaning road or way) as the name of their instant coffee packets.  I'm sure they'll impress the baristas.  In case this looks like a plot to receive Star.bucks cards for teacher gifts, the entire student body knows of my addiction, I mean, affection, for Starbu.cks.  So it's nothing new....

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Photo, Spiritual Bouquet, and New Look (Part II)

It seems as if the summer heat has zapped any creativity for blogging!  Sometimes post ideas mull in my mind at non-computer locations (e.g., the shower).  But then the thought of putting the words onto the screen convinces me to procrastinate yet again.  At least my lesson plan updates are getting done.

Recently quite a few of the Catholic IF bloggers have posted a spiritual bouquet for pray for our sisters still struggling through the difficult IF journey.  I'm not sure how to officially join...However, it's a wonderful, providential coincidence (or "Godcidence") that a friend/SHE member organized a group novena (9 days of prayer; in our case we are doing 9 days of petition + 9 days of thanksgiving) to St. Gianna Molla.  So we will join our prayers to all of those participating in this prayer effort.  And even if you're not Catholic and still a blog reader, consider yourself prayed for anyway! :)


This is for all our sisters in Christ who are in the midst of their journey with infertility, loss, and adoption. Know that you have our continued support, love, and prayers.


Thanks for the many birthday wishes.  RyanAnn wins the virtual prize for immediately recognizing Disney.land's famous "Club 33." :)  And many thanks for the suggestions of making a new header in pica.sa; it took a few tries but I'm pleased to finally have a better look!!

In other news, I have officially "popped" out.  If today is not the day to look at a pregnant photo, (I've been there), you will want to quit reading after this paragraph.  At 29 weeks, my belly finally decided to pop out.  I was rather thrilled about this, as the thought of needing a wheelbarrow to support a big belly did not sit well with me.  So I was in no hurry to "look" pregnant.  I had no idea until preparing for Back to School Night last week and saw my new look in the mirror.


And just to show the far-reaching effects of IF, I still am in a transition stage.  With under 11 weeks to go, the reality of a baby is setting in more clearly.  Fears of the coming changes and sleep deprivation have attacked.  Feeling guilty that the changes scare me after longing for a child for so long.  Anyway, I'll explore the feelings in another post.

We plan to have a true "Labor Day" weekend: putting together the crib, shopping for a glider, fixing the bathroom baseboards, sorting through clothes, and the unpleasantness of car hunting.  I hope that no matter your plans, you have a blessed weekend.  To all of you folks on the East Coast, stay out of Earl's way!!