7 Quick Takes Friday (Take 13)

I’ve been absent for a little while, mostly because we no longer have internet at home, so I have to make the attempt to go to a coffee shop to post, but also due to the fatigue that accompanies the first trimester of pregnancy.  I always relish “7 Quick Takes Friday” as an opportunity to catch up on my blog.

1.  I saw Shawn Carney (cofounder of 40 Days for Life and featured prominently in the book, UnPlanned) speak at a fundraiser for Matrix Pregnancy Resource Center.  We were invited to the dinner by our priest, who purchased the tickets for two full tables of parishioners, and he didn’t really tell us what the even was about or who the speaker would be, so it was a very pleasant surprise.  Shawn was a fantastic speaker, and it means to much to have a young, energetic father (a man!) at the head of the pro-life movement.  He is doing great things.  I was more than a little star-struck!

2.  I previously looked up Matrix because I was interested in volunteering for a pregnancy resource center, but that will have to be shelved until after our move, because I wouldn’t have much time to volunteer after the center took the time and energy to train me.  What I didn’t realize about Matrix is that it truly is doing great things.  It recently moved into a building across the street from a Planned Parenthood (women don’t have to seek out other options, they can see it and walk to it!), recently acquired sonogram machines, and will soon be providing STI testing and early pregnancy care in the form of various tests.  Apparently, the only clinic in the area that takes Medicaid patients often can’t get women in for their first appointment until they are 5 months along, so the center being able to do some of the early testing needed to ensure a healthy pregnancy is really vital in the local community.  And there aren’t any clinics or other resources for women who are uninsured. Sonogram technicians may want to look into the great work that Matrix does. 

3.  We announced our pregnancy to family and (some) friends several weeks ago and it went much better than expected.  Our families, although noticeably still worried about us financially, were very supportive and excited about the news.  My mother is already planning to fly us home for a baby shower in August or September and all she can talk about is little duckies for her grandbaby (we decided to do a yellow duck nursery).

4.  Although it is still early in the pregnancy, my husband and I have spent a lot of time on baby names.  If it’s a boy, that’s easy, he’ll be a jr.  But for a girl, we want a strong Christian name, either a Biblical name or Saint name.  And it’s been so hard because there are SO many Saints (and unfortunately, some of the names aren’t quite usable, if you know what I mean - I don’t see to many Hildegardes and Sexburgas wandering around).  I think we’ve found two we like, so we’ll see… It seems that everyone is convinced it’s a boy, so we may not have to worry about a girl’s name anyway.  How did you find your children's names?

5.  Although I read a lot of novels, I love non-fiction (it’s the history nerd in me) and I recently read two books I loved:  John Adams by David McCullough and The Imperial Cruise by James Bradley.  Up until recently, Fly Boys by James Bradley was my favorite book (I also loved his Flags of Our Fathers), but it has been eclipsed by John Adams.  It may be the pregnancy hormones, but I cried for a half hour when I got to the part where Abigail Adams died and then for another half hour when John Adams died (five or ten pages later).  I’m not really sure why it was so sad, I mean, they lived to ripe old ages and they couldn’t have lived forever.  But I think it does attest to how David McCullough is the master of story weaving - so much so that he can make you love his characters.  Plus, John Adams was really a great guy in a million different ways, not just in his service to our country (which was pretty spectacular in itself!).  Although none of the Founding Fathers were the perfect demigods we tend to think of them as, he was a generally decent fellow, a family man with Christian values.  It’s a long book - 651 pages - but it’s definitely worth the time!  I learned so much more than just about Adams, Abigail plays a huge role in the book as she did in John’s life, and it made me understand that time period, early American politics, the Revolution, etc. that much better because it was portrayed through a storyline instead of random facts.  SO GOOD!

6.  Going to Chicago to spend the weekend with my husband’s family again.  It such a nice weekend vacation (my husband may have a different view since his cousin’s kids want him to play with them 24/7 - he comes home more tired than rested).  Although even going a few hours away for vacation is expensive for us now that gas prices are so crazy.

7. A random tidbit about me - I love good old rock ‘n’ roll (CCR, Fleetwood Mac, anything my mama loved and listened to when I was young).  They just don’t make music like that anymore!