My Rose

I got my rose on Day 6 of the Novena from my sister. We were riding around in the car and I hadn't mentioned the novena to anyone, except Beka who was doing it with me. Mom asked Kendl to write out a check before we got to the bank. Kendl opened up the glove box and pulled out a pen with a huge pink dew dropped artificial rose on the end that was wrapped in green, for the "stem", all the way to the pen point. I saw her pull it out but bit my tongue because I knew it would have to be handed to me to for it to be "my rose". A few seconds later, I'm not sure why, either her phone rang or she had to get something ready for the bank as well. Mom said hand it to Amber and there being handed to me by my sister was my rose from St. Therese. After talking about it because of course I was thrilled, I found out that Kennady had made that pen for my mom years ago. In a way the rose pen was from Kennady too. It was a very very special moment. Mom gave me the rose pen.

HOP's and Ultrasounds

Day 4 Of Novena:

At 10:11 on Dec. 16th I'm up researching Prayer Houses and landed on Blanchester's page, again the time was 10:11 and here at the bottom left corner of the page is their address.

Blanchester House of Prayer

111 North Broadway Blanchester, OH 45107

Glenn Beck did a special presentation from Wilmington, OH called "America's First Christmas". During his regular broadcast on Fox he talked about how The Wilmington House of Prayer has and continues to be a place that is helping to change and shape their town. It sparked my interest, this idea of a prayer house. Upon researching more I have found that there are many of the HOP's, as they call them, nation wide. Wilmington's is just beautiful though. Even through the pictures I feel the Holy Spirit. I posted one below that if you look close enough you can see many orbs in. There are two incredibly strong ones over the girls face.

I am struck by this notion of a prayer house for anyone to come to pray. They are open 24/7 staffed with people in prayer. I'm Catholic and this reminds me of our Adoration Chapel. They use to be open 24/7 as well, but now I think most of them are just during the day. You can go in and pray before Jesus Christ anytime of day and there is always someone in there. However, this is very different because they incorporate music and other learning events as well. There are chalk boards that people write their specific prayers on and then people pray for them. I don't know where this will lead, but I can see myself opening one of these someday somewhere. God will open the doors if it is to be.






Earlier today I was surfing around the net and came across this poster, taken from The Great Campaign, that also had a profound effect on me. I immediately fell in love with it and posted it to my twin's blog. It just seemed to go with all of the other ultrasound pictures I have up from when I was pregnant.

My first thought was just how amazing it was at capturing the true spirit of Christmas that so very many people miss every year. This has been an extreme year for me. It has been filled to the brim with a mixture of extreme joy, very tough growing pains with myself, my husband and my family, financial instability, and pure love. It has also been the fastest year of my life. I think from here on they just get faster. I'm 29. With all of that it seems like this Christmas season has been one of the most spiritual and true in my entire life. I am so thankful for that! For me the year has culminated with self renewal, thankfulness, confidence, and Faith. I am ready for the new year no matter what is to come I am ready to face it head on ready to lend a helping hand to anyone in need. All I hope is that I have prepared myself this year well enough for the Lord to use me. He has over and over again in the past, but now my hope is that I am ready for wider impact. 

Hours later, in fact just about 30 min ago, I was sitting in my bathtub thinking about being a diagnostic sonographer. I saw myself standing there with a woman laying on the table looking into her belly and seeing her twins. At that moment I stopped and said, "God will you please lead me there if that is where you want me. You will have to give me a sign because I can't imagine going back to school AGAIN" seconds later a voice in head simply said, "I did". And in popped this image of baby Jesus on a sonogram that I just happened across earlier today. I have been thinking more and more about this. During my pregnancy, which was a high risk twin pregnancy, I must have had around 10 ultrasounds. That is where I lost myself in this thought of me doing that. I was so connected to my Dr. performing the ultrasound because it is such a profound moment...every time you see your unborn baby. It is intense. I guess that intensity could go both ways though. Good or Bad. I am good with bad though as well, I'm strong and extremely compassionate when people are at there lowest. So that part doesn't scare me. So I researched at that point, talked to my Dr., saw that the need for techs was growing, and during the first few months after the girls were born I thought about it a lot. Then things got overwhelming and I let it out never to think of it again...for a while. I think my cousins pregnancy is what resurfaced it and since then, not in an obsessive way, I've just been thinking about it again. Researching and finding out what it would take. It would basically be about 4 prereq's and then 18 months of school specifically for DMS. I don't know about that. I don't know if I want to take that on at all. I'd love if I had done this years back but I'm almost 30 with 1 year olds that won't be in school for a while and on top of it all I can't afford any school right now. So even though I got an answer tonight in the bathtub I will continue to ponder and pray.