7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 6)

1) Will and I went to my ultrasound earlier this week and found out we're expecting a baby BOY! We're super excited! And it's weird because I didn't think I was partial to wanting either a boy or a girl, but as soon as we found out it's a boy I was kinda sad it wasn't a girl. It was weird and kind of hard to explain, but I'm now pumping myself up for a boy. And I'm very excited to be able to talk about "him" instead of "it" or "the baby."

2) I was so glad to be able to go to adoration shortly after having my sonogram on Tuesday. I was so happy to be able to spend that time giving thanks for our baby boy, and reflecting a bit on how my life is going to change  (drastically) in just a few months. Oddly enough toward the end of my hour I finally came to the realization that I have a son. I'm not sure why, but the word "son" really struck me. I not just having a baby. I'm going to be... I am... a mother. Weird. 

I'm not sure why that struck me so hard, but it did. I was a little dumbstruck there for about 5 minutes. I kept thinking and repeating over and over in my mind "I have a son. That means I'm a mother." Once I got over my initial shock I was immediately struck by how Mary must have felt at finding out - choosing! - that she would be the mother of God. She knew from the beginning that she would have a son. How did that make her feel? Wasn't she terrified at what was about to happen? She was so young. She wasn't even married. I can't imagine what was going through her mind, but I did feel that I could relate to her on a whole new level.

3) After reading this post (and the recipe suggestions in the comments) over at Testosterhome I really want to try some keilbasa recipes. I rarely cook any form of sausage simply because I don't know what to do with it. I think this will give me a good jumping off point.

4) I discovered Blueberry Eggo Waffles this week. I'm not sure if I should tell you to avoid them like the plague or if I should tell you to go buy out the entire stock at your local grocery store. These things are SO good. They don't even need syrup! Who knew a waffle could taste so good. Luckily, baby Rayel likes them, too. :) 

5) I started reading Holly Pierlot's "A Mother's Rule of Life" this week. It was recommended by a friend after I told her about my attempts to "bring structure to my life." I haven't gotten too far into the book, but I have really enjoyed what I've read so far. I have a feeling this will be a book I read more than once in order to get as much out of it as possible. The book focuses not only on structuring your day and your life by scheduling out your day, but she also talks about the importance of ordering your life in terms of your values by taking a hard look at what exactly you spend your time doing. I am so excited to read (and re-read!) this book. I'm sure I'll be talking about it more in the future. You can also find her blog here.

6) I have a feeling this blog may turn in to a "gush about the baby (babies?)" blog. But I shall do my best to avoid doing that :) If you know of any good recipes or home projects I should try feel free to pass them along!

7) I've decided to forego the "favorite Facebook status of the week" this week because it was going to be one of my own statuses (I again wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to Facebook)... Instead I'm going to talk about how my passport came back to me on Thursday only to tell me that I filled out the wrong form. And they only returned one of my passport photos, so now I'm going to have to get them retaken. Fun times. Is this a sign that I shouldn't go to Spain?