The Good Lord Giveth and the Good Lord Taketh Away

 Four years ago, our "goddaughter" Haley married Jonathan and had the most beautiful wedding, everything a girl could dream of, and the fruit of lots of plans.  What was not in the plans, however, was spending the next four years trying to conceive a baby.  Month after month of being disappointed, while doing everything medically possible as Catholics, was so very difficult for them.  During times like this, there is not much one can do except pray, and pray we did.  Every morning in the car on the way to school, at least one of us would pray for Haley to have a baby, each rosary at night was offered for a baby, every family novena was prayed with the specific intention of Haley getting pregnant.  

We were at Mass one summer Sunday, and out pastor mentioned that our parish would be participating in a 54 day Rosary Novena.  But what really caught my ear was that it was set to start on Brendan's birthday and end on Phil's birthday.  We got into the car after Mass and I told our family that we were being called to do this novena.  I printed out a calendar and hung it on the fridge to keep track:

Almost everyone in the family prayed the novena for Haley and Jonathan to have a baby.  I have to admit that I was so frustrated and tired of praying for something that obviously wasn't happening, that I chose a different seemingly impossible intention, because I am still only a practicing baby Catholic.  But God is bigger than me and prayers are answered in his divine timing, and guess who came over with big news to tell the kids right after their Novena ended:

We are all so very excited to welcome their baby girl Karoline (named after JP2 ~ Karol).  You can hear in the video the kids telling Haley multiple times how  much they had prayed for this.  So sweet and strong is the faith of children.

Week in Review: Adulting and Falling, But Not Down

Happy Friday!  The best day of the week, loaded with potential and good intentions.

On Monday, I realized that my Town Hall was open late for early voting, so Phil and I went and did just that.  There were NINE questions on the ballot which makes it really hard to memorize your answers, so I brought a cheat sheet with me.  I know we are outnumbered here in MA but I have to at least do my civic duty and clear my conscience when/if our evil governor wins again, God forbid.

Think about the women finally being able to vote here after it was built!

After voting, I went and got a flu shot and felt very adult-ish indeed.

In New England, fall is peaking, and we are leaf peeping:

At the YMCA parking lot

On my lunch break walk near work

Week in Review: Cravings, Workouts and Adventures

  Happy Friday! 

Guys, I can't remember how we used to eat normally because all I want for dinner lately are baked potatoes + protein, rice bowls + protein, and smash tacos.  It's like pregnancy cravings but I'm too old for that.  Perimenopause cravings?  Is that a thing?

Beef Broth Bowl - slightly adapted

Baked Potato with Cottage Cheese and Pickle Seasoning (I had a few chicken tenders too)

Big Mac Smash Taco - ground beef on a low-carb wrap with lettuce, onions, pickles and thousand island dressing

Don't fret though, I am still exercising every day to try and combat these cravings!  This week was an especially fun week of workouts: Friday - Ran 4 miles on treadmill on my lunch break + 15 minutes of free weights Saturday - Walked 2.5 miles with Phil and Lucy in the morning and then met a friend (hi!) for a lovely 4.25 mile walk and talk Sunday - Bodypump class at 8am at the gym (here's an at-home class you can try for free on YouTube) + walked 30 minutes uphill on treadmill + walked 1 mile with Phil and Lucy Monday - 4 mile run on treadmill on lunch break + 2 mile walk with Declan and Lucy after school He practiced his new skill: Tuesday - Spin Class at gym at 6am + 3 mile walk on lunch break + 1.75 mile walk with Phil and Lucy Wednesday - 3 mile walk outside on lunch break + Bodypump class at 6pm at gym. The instructor talked about how she had recently seen a study where working out your quads led to a decrease in anxiety. I believe it! I think that's why running is so helpful for anxious people like myself. Saw this Mermaid Skeleton on my walk.  Coastal ghostal. Thursday - Spin Class at gym at 6am with Phil + 3 mile walk on lunch break + 2 mile walk with Phil and Lucy and littles Riding home after riding our bikes to nowhere for 50 minutes Last Friday night was the Halloween dance at the elementary school, and Phil took one for the team and brought the littles.  I hate this school event.  It's loud and chaotic and people are in costume and there's a scary stage to walk through and it just overwhelms my Halloween-hating-heart.  But the kids love it, and that's what matters!  Brendan was Harry Potter and Declan ran the basketball game, as the 7th graders do. Meanwhile, I put on pajamas and watched the Norm MacDonald documentary, extra cozy with my Comfrt blanket: At the same time in Steubenville, Eamon was at a football game: JP was climbing with friends in Pittsburgh: And Maggie was in the sauna on campus: On Saturday, Phil took Brendan to his swim meet and Declan went to our Diocesan Youth Day with friends, so Xander and I made time for a seafood lunch date.  We had been planning on splitting the Fisherman's Platter but it included clams which neither of us wanted (I like clam strips though) so we got the lunch special instead.  I'm just happy I have a kid who is willing to eat seafood with me! Fish and Chips for him and Fish and Rings for me

Serving Adoration with our pastor Brendan PR'd in every race Maggie went white water rafting with a big group from Franciscan last weekend.  I am all for my kids being adventurous and having fun - I just don't want to know about certain things until they are over.  White water rafting and skydiving (Eamon) make that list so far. Let's see, what else is going on?? Oh! My favorite coffee mug got a hydration partner - meet my new water bottle: Much like my eyebrows - they are sisters, not twins I went way out of my comfort zone and went line dancing with a friend (hi!) last week.  It was very fun even though I hate feeling stupid.  Does anyone like feeling stupid?  I just need to practice.  These women are so amazing...a song comes on and they just know the steps...color me impressed. Andrew had to present his Biology Senior Seminar last week and he worked really hard on it (here he is practicing for his girlfriend the night before).  Thanks be to God that he got an A! That's a wrap - and now I want a tuna wrap with lettuce, onions and pickles - haha, cravings! Have a wonderful weekend everyone, only one more left in October.

JP's Medical Mission Trip to Guatemala (Recap and Thank You!)

Hi everyone!

I recently returned from my medical mission trip to Antigua, Guatemala, with Operation Walk Pittsburgh, and I wanted to share a little bit about my experience and what we were able to accomplish throughout the week. First, thank you to everyone who supported me and helped make this opportunity possible. I’m incredibly grateful to have been able to take part in this mission as a Walk It Forward Scholar. A record number of students applied this year, and after interviewing, I was fortunate to be among the three chosen from my medical school.

A quick recap of the week:

We arrived in Antigua on Saturday and spent Sunday screening patients to determine who could safely undergo surgery. One patient had to drive 16 hours to get to the hospital!  From Monday through Thursday, our team performed hip and knee replacements for patients (80 joint replacements for 61 patients) who otherwise might not have had access to these procedures. Some of the patients had dealt with joint issues since childhood. Throughout the week, I had the opportunity to scrub into and assist with surgeries, help prepare patients for surgery, participate in community bone and joint health screenings, and learn from the incredible physicians and other healthcare professionals on our team.

Fall Road Tripping - To Ohio for the Hallow Summit

Hallow from the other side!  

We just did a whirlwind drive from MA to MD to PA to OH to MD to MA in order to attend the Hallow Summit and see our lovies out at Franciscan University this past weekend.  We left early Thursday morning with our youngest three kids in our giant 12 passenger van, so even Lucy Doodle got a seat.  She looks a little like she's been caught.

We arrived at Phil's parent's house after a pretty long trip filled with traffic, but who could complain with this warm weather in October?

The Twins (born 9 days apart)

We left Declan and Brendan and Lucy with Phil's parents, who not only kept them alive but did lots of fun activities with them, and then Xander, Phil and I headed to Phil's brother's house in PA where we spent the night.  My sister-in-law happens to be my bestie, so we love any chance to sit and catch-up, especially when it's outside by the fire pit.  We stayed up way too late (midnight!) but were on the road at 6:30 am Friday morning to get to Franciscan so Xander could join in with the official college visitors.  We made it to campus and ran up to this science and engineering presentation:

Maggie had been stalking our location and we had a romcom-style running up to each other big hug in the academic building.  Ah it was so great to see our girlie again.  Then we had lunch in the cafe with Xander, Mass with Maggie and Eamon (so beautiful that I couldn't stop crying) and a tour of campus that we skipped because we're pretty fluent in Franciscan campus.  We randomly saw our nephew:

Xander got a haircut the next day

And Maggie and her college bestie eating lunch outside:

Week in Review: Feast Days, Fundraisers, Fall Fun

Happy October!  We had another full week here in the Martin family, which included a lot of worrying over JP's whereabouts while he was serving a medical mission in Guatemala.  He arrived back to school late Saturday night, thanks be to God, and I'm hoping to have him post a little about his adventures soon.  Here's one photo from the hospital, where he was allowed to scrub in on some surgeries:

I saw a recipe that looked good on Instagram, and tried it, and it was!  Butternut Squash Soup with Boursin.  I topped with Hot Honey and some Chow Mein noodles we had leftover.

We had bought some Chicken and Cilantro wontons at Costco last time we went and I turned them into a quick soup with chicken broth, sesame oil, soy sauce, hot chili sauce, garlic and onion.  We all loved it and it took less than 15 minutes: