Links I Love

Who doesn't love a good conversion story?  This is one of the best, and she's Elizabeth's godmother!  I remember seeing on facebook that she and her husband had moved so that he could attend Protestant seminary, and then suddenly they were being received into the Catholic Church?  Here's Beth's story

Big Ugly Buts - Love my sister's latest post - is God calling you to do something but you just don't know how/aren't ready/are all full of buts?

Some surprising statistics about moms of (fraternal, spontaneously occurring) twins - apparently we live longer, have longer reproductive lifespans, and more!

Maia's birth story is one of my all-time favorites in the history of birth stories - I loved it the first time I read it and I love it again!  Go read it - seriously, it's epic!

I thought this was a good brief reminder that we're on the same team here:  NFP Subculture: Don't Punish the Obedient - because how often do we see someone comment on a blog post saying something like, "Blah blah blah, their reasons weren't grave enough for postponing pregnancy" or "Blah blah blah, you complain about having a tough time with your kids but at least you're not infertile like me" or "I don't know why NFP doesn't work for you, because I practice it and my kids are all perfectly planned and spaced - you must be doing something wrong!"

Interestingly enough, I've talked to two priests (and I'm sure there are more) who say they don't recommend that couples preparing for marriage learn NFP, because they see no reason for couples that are open to life to be hindered by all the charting.  I understand why some people wouldn't want to learn any method, because they are open to as many children as they are blessed with, but I tried to state as nicely as possible that NFP is for achieving and postponing pregnancy, and that I think it's important for couples to learn some method of NFP if only to be able to recognize fertile/infertile signs so they're not going into things blind!

AND I can't tell you how often I've wished that we still charted, because that temperature elevation that indicates pregnancy?  It lets you know way earlier than any pregnancy test, and I hate waiting!

Okay this has been sitting in my drafts box for long enough - go forth and read!  What else are you doing on a Saturday night, after all?