Looks encouraging. Nice pink glow all over and all four eggs have a dark shadow nearer the tip of the egg. We’re at three days incubation. We will candle again on Friday to see how we’re coming along. 26 days ’til hatch… Ugh, the waiting is awful.

But I found a small, sore lump under my right arm last week. I have an appointment on Tuesday to have it checked. I’m not really nervous, but would appreciate any prayers that this is nothing…

My little eggs have arrived! Jack is, at this very moment, setting up the incubator in our library, safe from drafts. Later this evening, we’ll unwrap the eggs and place them ever-so-gently into the incubator and wait.

For. Four. Weeks.

Oh, it’s a terribly long wait. I feel like an expectant mother. I’ve never been a goose Mama before! I’ll post a picture of the eggs later on…

Is almost 15 and has just been hired for her first real job (here)!

She will be assisting with young children’s classes as well as feeding, grooming, mucking out and tack-cleaning duties. In exchange, she’ll be receiving lessons and training from one of the best. Her boss, Jamal, is a fixture on the World Cup circuit and is in training for the Olympics once again. What a priceless opportunity.

Did I mention that Jamal and Katie, his wife, are wonderful people? They’ve been so kind and down-to-earth from the first time we met them four years ago. I think Catherine could not be in better hands.

Just a brief update on my health. I am beginning to feel a bit better. I have gotten around without the chair for the past few days, with the nice weather. High pressure really does make a significant difference. I have been through all the treatment options, other than naturopathic (which I will continue regardless of anything else). I have exchanged several emails with Ted from the National Catholic Bioethics Center about the use of Enbrel, it’s manufacture, and my duties should I decide to use it again.

Several important points bear mentioning:

1. Enbrel is allowable (for Catholics) as a medication of last resort
2. There is no evidence that any of the genetic material from the little boy from which the cells were taken even survived the cloning, usage, and “washing” procedures
3. There is no evidence that it did not.
4. Enbrel is made from MRC5 - the same cells used to make our childrens’ vaccinations. Those cells were derived from a 14 weeks gestation boy in England in the 70s. He was aborted by his mother for “mental health reasons”.
5. Culpability is at the lowest degree.
6. If a Catholic must take such a medication, he or she takes on the reponsibility to do whatever he or she can (letter writing, lobbying, educating others, etc.) to change the way the drug is made, or push for drugs made from different material such as cord blood cells. This is extremely important.

I was very hopeful that Kineret would be an alternative. I’m not sure I properly understand its manufacturing process. Alas, it is not an option. It has disappointed rheumatologists everywhere, failing to live up to their hopes.

I have been struggling to get better over the last few months, have spent a great deal of time in prayer - as have my family and friends, have seen the blackness of depression rush up at me several times. We have decided that my mission on Earth would be better served by receiving a treatment that allows me to carry out the duties that God has laid before me.

I beg daily forgiveness and prayers of the little boy, whom I call Martin, whose life was taken from him and whose body was broken. He did not choose to die that I - and countless others might live healthy lives. I beg you all to help me in urging Amgen and other pharmaceutical companies to switch to using adult cells such as cord blood cells for the host medium in their drugs and vaccinations.

I realise that I did not have to share what is a very personal decision. But I feel an obligation to be honest about it because I have been so vocal about how I feel about conventional medicine in general, and this class of treatments in particular. I realise it may seem to some hypocritical of me. I can only say that circumstances often cause us to review previous opinions. We can decide that we were right and carry on, modify our opinions based on the information we currently have, or reject our previously held opinions in their entirety. I have chosen, with the help of my family, the middle way. I hope that the information that I share and my honesty will help another person who may be in this awful position.

My treatment begins later this week. I beg your prayers for me.

And I’ve once again fallen behind posting. Recently, I have decided to return to event planning, a job I love almost as much as being a wife and mama. We have spent the last two weeks re-launching my business - A Lovely Affair. We have a new telephone in the home office and a new website, as you can see above. I am re-designing business cards and print advertisements, I have renewed professional memberships, and we are negotiating a part-time office space in Boston. There are conferences to book into and supplies and equipment to procure. I am in desperate need of pretty work clothes, my denim duds won’t pass muster.

I’m looking forward to the excitement of designing and planning again, getting re-acquainted with colleagues, meeting new people, traveling some.

I am blessed that event planning is entirely compatible with a family-centered life. I truly can make my own hours, take only the work I want, and I can allow my older children to assist with certain tasks. Some of my projects (like writing) may take longer to finish as a result, but that’s OK.

Sebastopol Geese, that is. We picked up an incubator yesterday at the local farm supply. I won a clutch of 4 eggs on EggBid, yesterday afternoon. Aren’t they beautiful? I love their mad, curly feathers!

I decided a few years ago that I wanted geese because I am an egg artist (as a hobby). Getting eggs from a supplier is easy enough, but I wanted to have an ample supply to teach classes with and such. I also love the idea of having goose feathers handy for art supplies.

When looking at breeds of geese, I fell in love with these crazy-looking birds and was just about sold. I also love Toulouse geese - classic. However, when I read that Sebs are extremely gentle and friendly, I was completely sold. Can’t have a big bird nipping at my babes.

So, we wait for the eggs to arrive… Hopefully they’ll be here in a day or so from tomorrow.

Won’t they look lovely wandering through the lavender patch?

Then view this video. I was floored with I read on Danielle Bean’s website that 80% of children diagnosed with Down Syndrome in utero are aborted. Just shocked.

Is not every smile, every laugh, hug, kiss… Every tiny accomplishment a simple gift from these precious, special children? They are not here to fulfill their own destinies. Being here is the fulfillment of their destiny. They are here to BLESS US! To teach us about who we are as children of God. They are all that is good - pure love.

Deo Gratias - partial birth abortion has been banned. It’s a small step in the right direction. Every life is precious and of infinite worth, however short, however inconvenient, however “imperfect”. The world would be a very different place without each one of us - it is a different place without the innocent souls of those children who will never be born.

We have been in a state of change. God has closed some doors, or at least put up safety gates in front of some of them. I have come to accept these little twists and turns in life, knowing that His wisdom is far beyond mine. It doesn’t mean that I don’t feel disappointed. However, I have learned that there is a greater gift in store for me, which will undoubtedly lead me through some new doors and back through the gated ones, much better prepared. And able to see with open eyes and immense gratitude the blessings He has given me.

Yesterday I had the great joy to meet a room full of AMAZING women at a “New Moms’ Tea” for a local group of homeschoolers. Our gracious hostess, Loretta is quite simply wonderful. She is the mother of 13 children and hospitality comes very naturally to her. Her lovely home goes beyond its obvious physical attributes. It is full of love. Palpably full of love. I have never felt so at home in a room full of people I had never met. The relationship goes beyond mere friendship with these women - it is a sisterhood. I felt very blessed to be among such wise, talented, and loving women.

I found out that a few of the ladies there were familiar with my weblog, much to my astonishment! So, good morning, Ladies! Now that I know you’re there, I expect you to chime in, even if it is to deliver a raspberry in response to something silly I’ve said!

I am so looking forward to our next meeting and hoping that I can contribute something meaningful. Thank you, Loretta for inviting me to be a part of such a wonderful circle of women. Thank you Kathy S. for insisting I contact Loretta in the first place. I know that the new friendships I make will make my life so much more beautiful. It has already begun to…

Rick and Dick Hoyt. Rick has CP and his dad Dick has truly earned the title of “World’s Greatest Dad”. They live just down the road from us and have been locally famous for almost three decades. Dick and his wife, Judy are champions for the value of LIFE! When told that they should ‘dispose’ of their oldest child, they said, “Not a chance” and took him home to raise as a normal little boy, as best they could.

Rick and Dick aren’t running the Boston Marathon this year. Rick recently had surgery and is recovering. I wrote in an post last year about these two. For all the tough times I’ve been through with my arthritis, Team Hoyt gives me such hope. They inspire me to keep on trying, to never give up.

For those of you with special kids - you already understand that God put them here not for their own benefits, but for ours. For those who pity special kids, don’t. Watch them, learn from them. They are our teachers. They are truly precious gifts from Above. Don’t ever think you can’t. Rick Hoyt is proof that you CAN!