Catherine

Book Review: Sinner’s Guide to Natural Family Planning by Simcha Fisher

by Catherine | Aug 26, 2014 | Faith, Marriage

I first discovered Simcha Fisher over at the National Catholic Register, and I’ve been following her blog, “I Have to Sit Down,” for a few years. I’m always sharing her stuff on social media and insisting that everyone I know read her stuff, so I knew I’d love her book, The Sinner’s Guide to Natural Family Planning.

Cover photo from Amazon
I love this cover!

The book was published in October 2013, but I didn’t get around to buying the book and reading it until last week. I absolutely loved it! Now, I’m doing what I always do with Simcha’s writing, and I am insisting that you read The Sinner’s Guide to Natural Family Planning.

She had me at the intro:

NFP boosters tend to paint a rosy picture because it’s a hard sell, persuading people to turn their sex lives over to God. And so, not wanting to scare anyone off, they emphasize the benefits while glossing over the sacrifices that often come along as a matched set.

I understand why they do this. You’re not going to convert the masses by saying, ‘Hey, everybody! Who’s ready for some redemptive suffering?’ But so many couples launch into NFP expecting sunshine and buttercups and are horrified to discover, instead, the Cross.

Unprepared to make any changes, they end up resenting their spouses and the Church in general–or else they feel guilty and ashamed to be struggling, like there’s something wrong with them for not lovin’ every minute of it.

That’s who this book is for.

FINALLY!!! Thank you, Simcha! Thank you for your honesty, your wisdom, and especially for your humor. Thank you for admitting that NFP is hard and that it isn’t always glamorous. After reading your book, with all of its honesty about finding the Cross through NFP, you’d think I’d be looking for the quickest escape from NFP.

Yet, I walk away from The Sinner’s Guide to Natural Family Planning more determined than ever to keep sticking with it. The Sinner’s Guide to Natural Family Planning affirmed that: it’s normal for NFP to be hard, it takes most couples a lifetime to figure out this stuff (hooray for lifetime monogamy!), we are soooooooo not alone, prudence and generosity aren’t at odds after all, Love is always better than fairness, and that we’ve “chosen the better part” by dealing with the effects of sex head on in our marriage.

Six years in, we still don’t have this NFP or Theology of the Body stuff down. God willing, we will move forward day to day, month to month, and year to year, propelled with the sacramental graces of marriage to keep learning more about how our marital union reflects Love to the world.

In the meantime, we are grateful for the gift of our fertility and married life. Despite that, we’ll keep stumbling clumsily, we will undoubtedly hurt each other, and we will end up in the confessional like the couple on the cover. (Hopefully, for Father’s sake, we will be clothed!) Fortunately, as Fulton J. Sheen wrote, it takes Three to Get Married. Any problems in marriage will always be on us, and we get to turn to Him for strength, forgiveness, trust, perseverance, and the grace to do better tomorrow. He’ll make us into the spouses we are supposed to be if we let Him.

Thank you for this book, Simcha. I wish we had it to read during our engagement, and we plan on gifting it to married couples in the future!

Book Review: Sinner's Guide to Natural Family Planning by Simcha Fisher

by Catherine | Aug 26, 2014 | Faith, Marriage

I first discovered Simcha Fisher over at the National Catholic Register, and I’ve been following her blog, “I Have to Sit Down,” for a few years. I’m always sharing her stuff on social media and insisting that everyone I know read her stuff, so I knew I’d love her book, The Sinner’s Guide to Natural Family Planning.

Cover photo from Amazon
I love this cover!

The book was published in October 2013, but I didn’t get around to buying the book and reading it until last week. I absolutely loved it! Now, I’m doing what I always do with Simcha’s writing, and I am insisting that you read The Sinner’s Guide to Natural Family Planning.

She had me at the intro:

NFP boosters tend to paint a rosy picture because it’s a hard sell, persuading people to turn their sex lives over to God. And so, not wanting to scare anyone off, they emphasize the benefits while glossing over the sacrifices that often come along as a matched set.

I understand why they do this. You’re not going to convert the masses by saying, ‘Hey, everybody! Who’s ready for some redemptive suffering?’ But so many couples launch into NFP expecting sunshine and buttercups and are horrified to discover, instead, the Cross.

Unprepared to make any changes, they end up resenting their spouses and the Church in general–or else they feel guilty and ashamed to be struggling, like there’s something wrong with them for not lovin’ every minute of it.

That’s who this book is for.

FINALLY!!! Thank you, Simcha! Thank you for your honesty, your wisdom, and especially for your humor. Thank you for admitting that NFP is hard and that it isn’t always glamorous. After reading your book, with all of its honesty about finding the Cross through NFP, you’d think I’d be looking for the quickest escape from NFP.

Yet, I walk away from The Sinner’s Guide to Natural Family Planning more determined than ever to keep sticking with it. The Sinner’s Guide to Natural Family Planning affirmed that: it’s normal for NFP to be hard, it takes most couples a lifetime to figure out this stuff (hooray for lifetime monogamy!), we are soooooooo not alone, prudence and generosity aren’t at odds after all, Love is always better than fairness, and that we’ve “chosen the better part” by dealing with the effects of sex head on in our marriage.

Six years in, we still don’t have this NFP or Theology of the Body stuff down. God willing, we will move forward day to day, month to month, and year to year, propelled with the sacramental graces of marriage to keep learning more about how our marital union reflects Love to the world.

In the meantime, we are grateful for the gift of our fertility and married life. Despite that, we’ll keep stumbling clumsily, we will undoubtedly hurt each other, and we will end up in the confessional like the couple on the cover. (Hopefully, for Father’s sake, we will be clothed!) Fortunately, as Fulton J. Sheen wrote, it takes Three to Get Married. Any problems in marriage will always be on us, and we get to turn to Him for strength, forgiveness, trust, perseverance, and the grace to do better tomorrow. He’ll make us into the spouses we are supposed to be if we let Him.

Thank you for this book, Simcha. I wish we had it to read during our engagement, and we plan on gifting it to married couples in the future!

Paint Chip Clothespin Color Matching Game

by Catherine | Aug 24, 2014 | The Homefront

I’m trying to build up an arsenal of fun, educational activities for what I affectionately call “pseudo-homeschooling.” Since Jane and Walt alternate the mornings that they’re at preschool, we’re spending some of our one-on-one time while Harry is napping doing school-esque stuff. The activities come in handy when I’m looking for things that will keep their hands and minds busy while I’m prepping or cleaning up from mealtime, too.

Yesterday morning, I put together this paint chip clothespin color matching game.

Yup, that’s my own picture and text overlaying the picture, folks. In addition to posing as a real crafter, I’m pretending I’m a fancy blogger, too!

I got the idea for this game from Pinterest last year, and I finally put it together. It’s an easy craft and educational game for poser crafters like me.

To make the paint chip clothespin color match game, you’ll need:

2 sets of identical paint chip samples in varying shades. (I like the wide, 4-color samples in bold, rainbow colors.)
Clothespins (I found mine at the Dollar Store)
Scissors
Gluestick

Easy-peasy instructions:

Cut out a rectangular piece from each color sample
Attach the color sample to the end of a clothespin with the gluestick
Wait for glue to set
Voila! Kids are ready to attach the clothespins to the corresponding samples

First Days of Preschool

by Catherine | Aug 21, 2014 | Family

Jane and Walt started preschool this week at St. Joseph’s Catholic School. I am pleased to report that they both love, love, love preschool! The only bummer is that the preschoolers don’t wear uniforms. Good news: Jane gets to wear some adorable plaid next year!

Jane started preschool yesterday. She picked out her Princess Anna t-shirt from Mimi for her first day.

This is Jane’s second year of preschool, so she’s an old pro. Last year, I felt like a bad mama because I didn’t cry dropping our firstborn off at school for the first time. I’m told I’ll cry at kindergarten, though. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, Jane can’t get enough of this thing called preschool. If she had it her way, she’d be there all day everyday.

Philip blocked out his early morning so that he could join us on the walk to preschool. Can I just tell ya how amazing it is to be able to take a leisurely walk to school? It’s oh-so-glorious! Walt insisted on riding in Harry’s new toddler push car, Jane walked with Daddy, and I pushed Harry in the stroller. Sigh. They’re so cute!

We couldn’t keep up with Jane as she made her way through the hallway and into her classroom!

She made herself right at home as she found a hook for her backpack. I had to ask the girl for a hug before we left! It was like last year all over again.

“Jane! Mommy and Daddy are leaving. Can we please have a hug?”

“Okay! (Millisecond hug) Bye!”

While the drop-off experience was the same as last year, the pick-up experience could not have been more different. Last year, when I picked Jane up from her first day of preschool, I was chomping at the bit to ask her every last detail about the day.

Who did she play with?

What did she do?

Did she do any arts and crafts?

Learn any new songs?

What was the snack?

Tell me, tell me, tell me!

“Mama, I’m too tired to talk about it. Maybe we can talk later.”

This year, Jane had story after story after story to tell us on the ride home. “I met Grace, but she’s in Mrs. ______’s room. We got to play on the playground! I drew a picture of a bear, and I brought it home in my new red folder to finish it. There is a DRINKING FOUNTAIN in my room! Mrs. _____ is so nice. I went to the potty all by myself, but then I got lost, and my teacher had to come and find me! Oops!” What a difference a year makes!

On to Walt’s first day…

This morning, we woke up to a thunderstorm, but Walt wouldn’t let the storm clouds dampen his spirits! Just look at that cheesy grin!

He was raring to go with his Lightning McQueen backpack and Thomas t-shirt. He picked out every element of his wardrobe all by himself. What a big guy!

Unfortunately, the rain ruled out walking to school. Philip was able to join us for drop-off again. Walt loved his little photo shoot in the rain. “Do I get to take a picture with the sign like Janie did?!”

It really started to pour, so Walt had to pose with the umbrella.

Just like Jane, once Walt got inside the door, he bolted as quickly as he could for his classroom. He chatted it up with these older ladies as he made his way down the hallway.

“It’s the Cat in the Hat! It’s the Cat in the Hat! This way!” He remembered to follow the Cat in the Hat striped hats down the hall to the preschool classroom.

Without hesitation, Walt made his way over to the hooks to hang up Lightning McQueen. He was so excited to get going with this preschool stuff that we had to remind him to tell us goodbye and give us hugs. These kids, I tell ya!

When I picked Walt up from school with Jane and Harry, he IMMEDIATELY spotted our minivan in the pick-up line. (We would have walked, but the combination of storm clouds and the high probability that Walt would be too pooped to walk made me opt for driving.)

Walt was all smiles the whole ride home! He told us all about his new friends, sang some songs (“Where Is Thumbkin?” is his current favorite), and filled us in on all of the other important details. “Snack was sticky. I played in the rocket. They had white milk AND CHOCOLATE MILK! A boy cried THE WHOLE TIME! Where is Thumbkin? Where is Thumbkin? Here I am! Here I am!”

To celebrate his first ever day of school, Walt got to choose what they had for lunch. “Circle carrots and peanut butter and jelly!” (In case you’re wondering, “circle carrots” are canned sliced carrots. Nothing but the best, folks.) Jane and Walt were giggle monsters at the lunch table. They have missed each other these past two mornings, and they love swapping stories.

After I asked Walt for several more details about his day at the lunch table, he looked across the table and said, “Janie, tell us about your day! What was your favorite part?”

It’s been a great start to the school year so far. I love that Jane and Walt have the same teacher and that we’ll be up there everyday (Jane will be there Monday/Wednesday/Friday, and Walt will be there Tuesday/Thursday). Hopefully their teacher really, really likes us!

Since one kiddo will be gone everyday until lunch, we will have some relatively quiet mornings at home–especially since Harry still takes a snooze for a good chunk of the morning. Jane and Walt are enjoying the one-on-one time with me while the other one is at school. I’m making every effort I can to soak in the quiet morning while we still have them. Walt practiced his scissor skills yesterday while Jane was at preschool and Harry was napping. He relished the one-on-one time.

“Wow, Walt! I’m so proud of you for using scissors!”
“Thanks, Mama. I’m so proud of you for teaching me how!”

Melt.

It all goes too quickly, I tell ya! Cheers to a blessed school year!

Harry’s 1st Birthday – A Photo Recap

by Catherine | Aug 20, 2014 | Family

Wee little “Harry Barry Boo” turned 1 last Thursday! I know us moms always say it, but where did that first year go?! It really flew by this year. In case you missed it, I wrote him a little birthday letter.

On to the birthday celebration…