The joy of living out a vocation (thoughts from Corpus Christi Sunday)

This truly is a week of  awesomeness. Sunday was the Feast of Corpus Christi, a celebration which dates back to the 13th century. And today celebrates the Feast of the Visitation, in which we recall the meeting of Mary, Elizabeth, Jesus, and John the Baptist in Luke's Gospel! So party it up this week! Yet, as I sat in church on Sunday, I did not think about either of these feasts. Instead, I thought about marriage. 

"Tattoos" & an Unexpected Surprise: Time for a Pregnancy Update!

It blows my mind, but I am already 37 weeks pregnant. It's a bit surreal to think about how in about a month or so, Baby will be out of my belly! Time has been flying by for me, so I thought I'd take a moment to tell you all about my recent life and adventures as a Fat Pregnant Woman ;) 

On the Bookshelf: Comfort Books!

Greetings, friends! As I alluded to on Friday, I have a bit of a reading problem. So, I figured that I should share the joy and tell all of you about some of the books which I have been reading lately! Sometimes I go through phases of reading certain genres, and I think the books I've been moving towards lately could fit into the "comfort book" genre. Nothing intense, nothing that stretches my  brain too far, but just some peaceful books to relax with. 

A Hilarious Video, Austenite Musings, & Some Very Random Happenings (7QT)

Happy Friday, everyone! Life has been random in small ways here and there as of late, so I thought I'd share some 7 Quick Takes with y'all to spread the joy and update you a little bit! 

Anyone who shares my sentiments about the marketing of essential oils may really appreciate this humorous video. 
Some friends showed it to me at a party over the weekend, and watching it was so cathartic! It takes so many of my feelings and just expresses them perfectly in such a fantastic and hilarious way :) 

When the Belly Pops Out: Uplifting Pregnancy Stories

Pregnancy is surrounded by horror stories.
I'm sure all of you, like myself, know at least one woman who has been on the receiving end of indelicate comments about weight or family size. Some of you may even know women who are criticized for the names they choose for their children. And, perhaps, some of you-like me-frequently hear stories of pregnant women being disrespected and shown a lack of concern by their own family members. Some of the remarks, criticism, or lack of concern are said or done in complete ignorance, others stem from bitter feelings. Regardless of what spurs people on in saying or doing certain things, the fact still remains: pregnancy is surrounded by horror stories.

35 weeks gestation!

For the vast majority of this pregnancy, depending on what I was wearing, it was not completely obvious that I was pregnant. I wear a lot of flowy skirts & dresses and my weight gain has been rather contained, so if a person did not know I was pregnant, I often just looked like I had been enjoying too many chocolate muffins. However, around week 30 or 31, my belly popped out. And so, I joined the ranks of women who receive comments from random strangers about pregnancy.

However, I have not experienced the horrors which other women have told me about. Instead, I have been overjoyed to see the opposite play out. So, to show you that there is a reason to have hope for humanity, I'm linking up with the ladies of Tuesday Talk to share a couple of stories from this pregnancy.

The Pontipee Brothers & Franciscan University

I recently watched Seven Brides for Seven Brothers for the first time in a few years. As it often happens when I re-watch movies that I haven't seen for a great length of time, I had unexpected takeaways from the experience. Many people could focus on the energetic song-and-dance numbers in this film. Other people choose to analyze the misogynistic elements, particularly in light of our modern society.  

However, I found myself thinking about my time at Franciscan University of Steubenville. 

No, there weren't groups of backwoods men who abducted women, oodles of cute farm animals, or big barn dances. But, as I watched Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, I began noticing some themes or events from the movie (besides the long skirts) that bear similarities to many things that I observed during my time on campus. 

Adventures with Pigeons! Exploring The American Pigeon Museum

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope that you all are doing well. Mondays can be daunting sometimes, so let's start off the week with some adorable photos of pigeons! See, over the weekend my husband was in Texas for DreamHack Austin (he plays competitive Super Smash Bros. Melee, and he made it into the top 64 at the tournament, which was awesome!), so I decided to have some very random adventures. One of my friends had heard about The American Pigeon Museum, so we decided to go exploring! 

Apparently, Oklahoma City is the nation's headquarters for pigeon racing,  and there are also quite a few pigeon breeders around as well. Who knew that pigeons were such a big deal here? I love finding quirky museums and places and discovering random facts about history, so I really enjoyed our trip. 

When Mommy Bloggers Seemed Like Freaks: How I learned about the faces and seasons of motherhood

There was a time when, to my young self, "mommy bloggers" seemed like freaks of nature. I would see blogs or websites run by mothers of young children, some of whom were also authors and speakers, and immediately have thoughts like the following:

How in the world do these ladies magically have so much time?

But don't they want to available for their children? How can they do that if they're always online or on speaking tours? (because when a woman writes a couple of blogs a week, it must mean that she's "always online," right? I have stellar logic...)

I can't see myself being that kind of mom ever, so naturally, it's impossible for any other lady to be a successful mother who also writes, speaks, and blogs.

I feel quite silly looking back on all of these assumptions I once made about "mommy bloggers." I have long prided myself on being a nonconformist who isn't afraid to step out of pre-made molds and images...yet in these statements, I was trying to push other women into my mold of what motherhood must be like. Thankfully, over the past few years-especially as I became a mother myself several months ago with the conception of the little boy in my belly-I have been learning quite a lot about motherhood. 

A Constant Hope: Star Wars Day 2016

Hello, friends! As some of you might be aware, May 4 is affectionately known as Star Wars Day to many geeks (of varying degrees of geekiness) worldwide. However, as much as I love Star Wars, I usually fail to plan anything special for this memorable occasion. Last year, one of my friends asked me what I was specifically doing to celebrate, and my answer was something like, "Uhhh...I mean, I'm pretty busy with semester Finals, so I guess I'll just post a meme on Facebook?" It felt like a fairly pathetic way to celebrate the day, so I promised myself that I would try to celebrate in style this year. With a few small plans in my mind, I woke up on May 4...and a crazy day unfolded before my eyes. 

Thoughts on Fatherhood from Doctor Who and Pope Francis

Mother's Day is just around the corner, which is great! Motherhood is beautiful, awesome, and I applaud all moms out there for what they do (including the ever-inspirational single moms!). I have some thoughts on motherhood that I want to blog about sometime, but I need to develop it all a bit more. In the meantime, I'd like to briefly discuss fatherhood. Just last week, Huffington Post advertised a "Dads Don't Babysit" shirt, so I'd be willing to bet that others are thinking about this topic, too. 

Fatherhood is a big deal. I think that sometimes, in our zeal to proclaim the awesomeness of motherhood, we can downplay the importance of fatherhood. We turn parenting into a "her vs. him" competition where we try to determine who is "more important" or "necessary" in a child's life. We really shouldn't do this, though. Both parents are important, and both a mother and a father bring unique gifts to family life and parenting. I recently finished reading Pope Francis' document, Amoris Laetitia, and it includes a couple of awesome points on fatherhood! But first, let's look at Doctor Who.