4 New X 2 Meme

I still seem to have writer's block, but here's a meme to get something out of the recesses of the pregnant mind...

Four new things in the past 4 years:

1. 4 new souls. Since Mary Clare was born over 4 years ago, the blessings of the past 4 years include...Agnes, Elizabeth, Augustine, and NewestBabyInUtero (likely to be named Peter or Theresa)!

2. Our first house. This is our 5th home in ~6yrs of marriage and we are positively thrilled that our dear friends were gracious enough to sell us their beautiful home! We are already making such precious memories here and enjoying all the space, the backyard, the garage, and the neighborhood park and pool!

3. Regnum Christi. About 2 1/2 years ago I felt God's calling to this beautiful lay movement. Through Christ, the movement has helped me to grow in my faith, my prayer life, my apostolic life, and my life as a wife and mother in so many ways. I have been blessed to encounter so many friends, mentors, and families who each draw me closer to God through their own witness. I am forever grateful for this calling and pray that I will continue to live it out to the fullest, in service of Christ and the Church.

4. The information highway. When I think back to our wedding and to college, I often think "I wish we had Google back then!" It's amazing how much technology has improved our communication in the past few years, from email to blogs! And now we have a digital camera, Apple computer, and high-speed internet to connect us even better. Sometimes I'm not sure how good the internet is for me, but I really can't imagine life without it (especially since we have no TV)!

Four desires in the next 4 years:

1. A few more souls :) I pray we'll be cuddling the one growing inside me this Christmas, and hope that God might entrust one or two more precious little ones to our care in the coming years.

2. Security. My hardworking husband has spent the past 4 years completing his degree and working so hard to provide for our growing family, while allowing me to stay home with the girls. I know as he continues to succeed in the workforce, he will be rewarded financially for this hard work. God has always provided for all our needs, but we both still worry about all the financial stresses surrounding us. Hopefully in the next 4 years, we will have more financial security and the opportunity to travel a little more to visit friends (especially my "nun" friends), family, religious sites, and wonders of God's creation (although the girls are perfectly happy watching snails and "doodle" bugs in the backyard)!

3. Organization. I plan to start homeschooling Mary Clare in a more formal way this fall, which means I need to get started on better organizing my home and all my teaching supplies! We now have the space to be organized, I just need to do better at keeping things in their place and cleaning up after all of us!

4. Health. I pray that our family continues to have good health in the coming years, and hope that I can do better at keeping our family healthy, especially through eating better foods and doing more exercise. I was so blessed to have a sweet community of girlfriends in our last town who walked together at the park every weekday morning. I felt so healthy during that time! I need to find or create a similar group here, or get involved in some other activity like dance, which will always be my favorite means of exercise. Must pray about this more!

Well, I do hope that everyone has a beautiful weekend and hope that some more of you will share your "4 New X 2". If you haven't done it yet, I TAG YOU!