Sleepy Time

As a parent, one can sometimes focus on the struggles or difficulties that come along with raising a child: changing a very dirty diaper, arriving to Mass a little late, rocking a bawling child in the middle of the night.  Sometimes these things just irk you.  It really boils down to one thing that most if not all parents desire to have during the child-rearing years: SLEEP.  Aw, good ole sleep.  It would be a lot easier if at those moments of frustration mom and/or dad were with it completely.  But, as we know, with a baby comes lack of sleep.  And, with a lack of sleep comes irritated parents...not all of the time, but it definitely happens.  Since Gianna was born, both Lauren and I, especially Lauren, have battled with trying to find time to sleep.  Some days are better than others and most nights have been very similar: Gianna cries for food, Lauren or I gets her from bed, Lauren feeds her, and we or most of us fall back to sleep.  That has been a pretty consistent routine.  To our surprise, though, that may all be changing.

During the past couple of weeks, we have been trying to put Gianna in bed around nine o'clock.  She occasionally cries or stirs, but usually she sleeps for at least a couple of hours.  Two nights ago, Lauren put her to sleep around eight, and so we both thought she would awake around 11 or 12 wanting to nurse. To jump forward a bit, Gianna and I went to the noon Mass at the Cathedral Basilica that following day.  Since Lauren works across the street, we stopped by to visit her for just a bit.  This is how part of conversation went:

Lauren: Did you get Gianna out of bed last night?
Me: No.
Lauren: You know what this means?
Me: What?
Lauren: She slept until 4:45!
Me: Are you serious?
Lauren: Yes!

Disclaimer: this is not word-for-word what was said, but you get what I mean.  In other words, Gianna slept for almost nine hours straight!  We couldn't believe it.  We thought it was going to be a gradually thing: four hours one night, four and a half another.  But no, she definitely pulled a fast one on us.  And you know what?  She did it again last night!  She slept close to eight hours straight before Lauren got her out of bed. 

What does this tell us?  Gianna is growing up...sob, sob, tear.  It's a good thing, though, and we are happy God is blessing Gianna as well as us with a few more consecutive hours of sleep.   Hopefully this will give Lauren more energy and me, well, more energy knowing that Lauren has more energy :) 

So, pleasant dreams to you all and may God bless you and rock you gently in His arms...and happy feast of St. Vincent de Paul!

This and That

Greetings, all!  It has been a little while since my last post.  I had a busy past week and a half.  Here are some highlights of what has gone on in this Catholic dad's life:
 
- Weekend spiritual retreat.  It was good to have some peace and quiet to prayerfully reflect on life.  God gave me some great insight into how to focus more on Him and others.  It helped that I was around some great friends, Tony and Pam, who run a retreat center in Lesterville, MO.  Although I tried to be in silence during my retreat, what I ended up getting--and needing--were many words of wisdom from this holy couple.  Praise God for Tony and Pam! 

- A trip to the doctor.  Gianna received a couple of shots this past Tuesday.  It was a little painful...she cried for several seconds, but after the doctor was done and gone, Gianna calmed down.  She was a good girl!  I was very happy to be there to cuddle her after that unpleasant experience.

- Two tests.  I have been taking a couple of accounting classes at UMSL.  It has been challenging, but I am learning a lot.  I recently learned that I need to study more for these exams!  I scored a 76 on one of the tests, and I have yet to know the result of the other one.  Although I was frustrated with my performance, I felt that God gave me some peace of heart...He's basically saying "Don't worry about it!"  He knows I do sometimes, but there is no point in doing so.  I need to move on and learn from this experience.

- A weekend with the fam.  My older brother and my dad were in town this weekend.  My older brother stays with us once a month while he takes classes through Ave Maria U.  He's working toward a master's in pastoral theology.  My dad tagged along this time and stayed at the seminary where my younger brother, Joe, goes to school (Joe is in second year of theology, btw).  Although it took some time for Gianna to warm up to everyone (she is still a bit frightened of my older brother...sorry, John!), we enjoyed some playtime and good humor along with a yummy dinner, thanks to yours truly (humbleness, Patrick, humbleness!).  Anyway, it is always a joy to see the fam from Springfield.

- A talk with my wife.  My wife is a beautiful person.  I have learned so much from her  We had a lengthy discussion last night, something we have not had the chance to do very often.  She reminded me of the importance of prayer amidst the busyness that goes on in our lives (her teaching, me going to school, us taking care of Gianna, etc).  We hope to be able to pray together as much as we can even when it is difficult.  Please pray that this happens.  I cannot emphasize enough how crucial prayer is within marriage...I love you, my blushing bride (phrase I picked up from my dad). 

- First soccer game.  My team won today, 3-0.  It was good to start another season in the CYC league.  Hopefully I won't be too sore tomorrow...St. Sebastian, patron of athletes, pray for us!

Have a blessed week, everyone!  Happy feast of St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina!

Prayer...

Today's Gospel passage is from Luke 6:12-19.  It begins like this: "Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God."  Wait a minute, Jesus prayed?  Wasn't he God, though?  Why should he have to pray?  I am sure many of us have thought those questions before.  But we can look at it like this: Jesus spent some quality time, in quiet, talking to God the Father.  What a way to spend the entire night!  If only we had the time...

Jesus' prayer shows us that his will was completely and totally united to the Father's will.  Everything that Jesus did--preaching, teaching, rebuking, healing, etc.--was out of love for his Father.  And by praying, Jesus shows us we ought to pray...he gave the great prayer, Our Father, in which we speak to God the Father asking that our will be united to His.  This is our purpose: to accomplish our Father's will, to do what we ought, not necessarily what we want.  That takes a lot...and that is why Jesus showed us we need to pray.  Without prayer, we are truly lost. 

Why do I bring this up?  Well, I have been thinking about what God wants of me.  I know He wants me to love my wife, my daughter, my other family members and friends.  How do I go about doing that, though?  Where does love fit into work?  How can I love completely while taking care of Gianna and going to school in the evenings?  How do I love my wife as I ought to?  These are questions that I have pondered for quite some time and they continually come back to me. 

This upcoming weekend, I will have the chance to maybe get these questions answered, at least in part.  I will be spending most of the weekend in silence while at a retreat center that some friends of ours run in the solitude of southern Missouri.  My hope is to be committed to constant prayer.  The thought of going into the night with God in prayer is awesome...I don't know if I could make it the whole night, but my hope is that He will give me the grace to listen, as Jesus showed us how to listen to Him.

If you have the chance, please offer me up in your prayers this weekend, and my wife and daughter as well since they will be at home.  Please ask for the Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts, words, and actions so that I may give my full attention to our Heavenly Father and whatever He has planned for me. 

God bless you all, and have a happy feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary!

Nicknames and Shyness

As a parent, you have the joy of giving your children nicknames or hearing other people come up with nicknames.  With Gianna, many such names have come about.  So here are a few with a brief explanation of their background:

- Pumpkin: Thanks to one of my uncles, this nickname has been in the Kelly family for years.  I do not remember when it came to me, but it has definitely stuck.  It also has a few variations...little pumpkin, pumpkin head; we try not to say "pumpkin head" too much.  We never want her to think that her head is funny looking.  But for now, it works...she's a baby!

- Sweet Girl: This is Lauren's nickname for Gianna.  It usually comes in the form of "How's my sweet girl?"  I always enjoy hearing that name.  Gianna is a sweet girl...and so is her mom.  : )

- Gigi: This name became popular before Gianna was born.  Since my dad was certain that she was a girl, he would ask "How's Gigi?"  I usually told him to stop saying that because I didn't want him to be disappointed if she came out a boy.  But, dad guessed right and the name has stuck. 

- Little Miss: A former co-worker and fellow parishioner came up with this one.  She was my carpool this past school year, and she usually asked how "little miss" was doing.  Even though I don't see my co-worker as much, I sometimes think of Gianna as my "little miss." 

- Wookie: This is a name that till now only Lauren and I knew about.  It goes along with a term of endearment that I use for Lauren, which will remain with me...I think one of my friends guessed it before, which was a shocker.  But for now it is just for me to know.

There are probably more that I am forgetting at this time.  Be sure to let me know if you think of any others.

Final note: Gianna has definitely entered her shy stage.  My brother and two of his friends stopped by this morning.  Almost right away, Gianna started crying and laid her head on my shoulder.  She eventually warmed up to them, but it took several minutes.  Let's hope tonight's babysitting time with G'ma Murphy goes well.

Take care, everyone, and God bless!

Home Sweet Home...

This past weekend, we went to Springfield, MO, my hometown, to visit my family.  Here are some of the highlights from the weekend:

- Gianna met several of her relatives from my dad's side for the first time at one of our classic Kelly weenie roasts, as they are popularly known.  She fared well...although she broke out into tears a few times due to unfamiliar faces.

- Speaking of tears, Gianna seems to be a little scared right now of my brother, J.B.  We think it is because of our close resemblance...the beard, the hair and eye color, the sound of voice.  She may be thinking "Hey, this isn't dad?  What's up with him looking like dad?  Where's my real dad!?!"  Anyway, J.B. has decided that if he doesn't talk to her but only look, they are good to go.  Let's hope Gianna gets past this shy stage soon...

- J.B. and his wife, Emily, had a housewarming party on Saturday evening.  It was a good way to end the day considering we had to be inside most of the day due to the rain remnants of Isaac.  Gianna had a ball walking over to their house (they only live a few hundred feet away): the misty rain and breeze brought her to shouts of joy and dancing while I held her in her daddy-carrier.  We had a fun time eating a home-cooked meal, watching a few old home movies (we almost died laughing), and playing a few rounds of Bananagrams.
 
- Gianna saw my parents' next-door neighbor, Mrs. F., today for the first time.  She is the sweetest neighbor and she has always been so good to us: giving us leftovers, letting us come over to see her dog, paying us to do random jobs around her place...she has a very charitable heart.  Gianna was very well behaved!  We hope to stop by to see Mrs. F. again next time we come down.

- This is the first time in a while that Lauren and I went to different weekend Masses.  I rode with my parents to Saturday evening Mass and Lauren went with my brother, Joe, to Mass Sunday morning.  It just worked out this time without having to get Gianna ready to go...and we were both able to focus a little more in prayer, even if we were disappointed with the opening song choices (send me an email if you want to know what they were).

- When we returned to St. Louis this evening, we were invited over to dinner by Lauren's parents.  We didn't need to worry about going out to get some food to eat!  What a blessing to have them so close!  Guess what Gianna did upon arrival: yep, she bawled at the sight of her grandparents.  It didn't last too long.  She soon warmed up to them both.  We had a pleasant evening as we enjoyed the mini cookout as well as the finishing touches of the painting that went on today in their living room.

May you all have a grace-filled week...happy feast of St. Gregory the Great!